A SOUL IN TORMENT
Chapter 10: Something Evil This Way Comes
Felina frowned unhappily at the corpse laying broken and beaten where it had apparently been tossed and barely hidden by cardboard from a shanty area for the homeless under the soaring Megakat super highway.
The call had come in early that morning from one of the homeless who had found the body. This made the fourth body in the last four months that had been found in this condition. Forensics had said the victims had been pumped full of some unknown chemical, raped and beaten then discarded. They were at a loss for the reason for the brutality though one suggestion was someone was conducting experiments and these were the failures.
By number three, the lab finally identified the drug as some new form of mind control. No doubt was left that someone was conducting illegal experiments. The idea of Kats being used in such a way made Felina feel ill. What made this case confusing was the fact all the dead were male of no particular age and all worked for city hall in a minor political level capacity.
That rang alarms for Felina. To her it smacked of someone trying to find a way to attack the city government from within. But she couldn't prove it so here she stood over yet another body and she was sure the poor tom would turn out to be yet another city official.
Sighing, she turned away and allowed CSI to do their thing. She wished she could discuss this case with her uncle but didn't dare.
The case had come up on her uncle's desk from the night shift, four months earlier, and Sgt Fallon had been lucky enough to have spotted it before his superior did. Quickly grabbing it from the pile of reports on Feral's desk, he hurriedly took it and gave it to Felina. She knew immediately why he hadn't wanted her uncle to see it. The fact all the victims had been raped could have set off a flashback and the two of them didn't want to cause him pain and a possible return to the hospital.
So she had been handling the case alone and had lied that she'd been assigned to it by coworkers who asked. Sgt Fallon had sneakily faked her uncle's signature on the assignment sheet so no one would question her. The hard part was keeping it from him. As the body count rose, it was becoming harder to do that as the press got a whiff something serious was going on.
Felina had managed to make it seem the dead were homeless and the enforcers had to investigate any unattended death in the city. She had gotten lucky that the bodies were spread out over several months so they didn't seem to be connected and sent no red flags to anyone watching. However, her subterfuge just wasn't going to hold for long and with this fourth body and she knew it was only a mater of time when her uncle heard or saw for himself.
Unfortunately for her, the next dead body was her downfall and it would test the strength of her uncle's fledgling relationship with Forry.
Another month slipped by with no leads on the city hall case but Feral, who was still ignorant of it, was getting in deeper with Forry. They still hadn't moved past hugging, touching and kissing but Forry didn't feel any urgency for anything more than that and he firmly felt, that whatever emotional support Ulysses needed, he would get. That steadfastness from his friend was what Feral needed at this point and it was what held him together when the next body was found.
The Metallikats had managed to escape Professor's Hackle's lab yet again and decided to do what Hard Drive had attempted the year before, rob the money train. They had laid in wait in the tunnel made specifically for the money train to pass through going to and from the main bank and the mint on a daily basis.
They were at the bank end of the run when they blasted the train engine causing the rest of the cars to smash into it and block the tunnel. The guards were killed as were the train crew. The Metallikats didn't know that the caboose engineer had been able to send a mayday before he was killed which was why the SWAT Kats and the enforcers arrived in time to prevent the pair from making off with the loot.
It was a messy, noisy fight and many enforcers were injured or killed before the pair were finally knocked out of commission again by one of Razor's special missiles. When the dust of battle settled, the area was in a shambles.
"Hey Commander, we'd be happy to lift the trains out of there if you want us to. It will at least make it easier to get the track cleared quicker," T-Bone called on the enforcer band.
Feral almost automatically told them to get lost but with his new mindset he paused to think first then turned to his cleaning crew to see what they thought about the offer.
"As soon as CSU and the medical examiner are finished, sir, it would be a big help if they hauled these things out and carried them to the impound lot for further examination. It would cost the city a lot and take time for us to get the equipment here to do it ourselves," the leader of the cleanup crew said.
Feral had to agree that was true. "How long will it be before you need them?"
"Probably several hours. We could contact them on the enforcer frequency when they will be needed," was the response he got.
"Fine. SWAT Kats!"
"Yeah, Commander?"
"When the preliminary investigation is done and the bodies removed then you'll be called to help pull the cars out and take them to the impound area," he told them.
"Roger, we'll be listening for your call!" Razor answered then the jet took off for their hangar.
"Well, will wonders never cease! Feral actually accepted help from us!" T-Bone snorted in mild surprise.
"Yeah, quite the surprise but I'd like to think its those pills that are keeping him calm. Which, I have to admit is a good thing because it forces him to stop and think for once rather than hot-headedly jumping the gun and losing his temper. It's a nice change," Razor commented.
"I agree but it does feel weird."
Razor could only snort in agreement.
Back at the scene, Feral looked around and thought he should just leave since there was nothing more he could do here when a cry went up that a strange body not associated with the scene had been found.
The brutally beaten body of a young male had been stuffed into a cardboard box and pushed into one of the indented areas of the tunnel.
Feral grimaced angrily at the callousness of the killer. Felina came to stand by him and kept staring between the body and her uncle, watchfully. She had an awful feeling and it was confirmed a few minutes later when the medical examiner gave the body a quick going over.
"At first look, death may have been caused by blunt force trauma to the head but I won't know for certain until I looked him over at the lab. He was thoroughly beaten and it looks like he was raped as well," the doctor said with a sigh, not noticing the Commander's reaction to that pronouncement. "I'll get the report to you as soon as I can," he said quickly, without even looking at Feral before heading toward the train wreckage where the crew and guard bodies were being extricated.
Felina thanked god that the doctor hadn't said he thought the victim was yet another of the city hall cases but mentioning the rape had done her uncle in, if his sudden pallor was any indication.
Feral had gone pale at those plain, blunt words. His stomach clenched as he had a brief flash of his own rape and beating. He staggered and only Felina's strong grip kept him on his feet as she hurriedly drew him aside so no one could observe his distress, the tunnel being dark here made that easy. His body trembled under her paw, his eyes were closed and he was panting.
"Uncle, easy....shhh....it's okay...look at me..."she said urgently, desperately trying to get him to focus on the here and now and not the past.
Heaving for breath and control, Feral struggled to shove the images of both the victim and himself from his mind and finally managed to succeed after five minutes. He opened his eyes and stared around cautiously, worried his enforcers had noted his sudden panicky reaction. He let out a long breathe when he saw that Felina had pulled him from the scene and was keeping him faced away so no one else had witnessed his mini-breakdown.
"Thank you!" He said in a thick, shaky voice.
"It's okay, Uncle," she said softly. "I'll take care of this. There's nothing more for you to do here so go back to the office. I'll stay at the scene and insure everything gets done and write up the report."
"It's not right!" He said suddenly, sounding angry.
"Uncle?"
"I need to be able to do my job! This isn't right !" He repeated.
"Uncle, none of what happened to you was your fault and you are getting better. Please, just give it time," Felina urged, shaking his arm a little to make her point.
He stared down at her for a long moment. "I know that, Felina ....but I just hate how long it's taking." Then he made a swipe in the air as if rubbing something out. "Anyway, this is not the place for this discussion. You're right, go ahead and take care of this and send me the report." He said, making a strong effort to get control of his shaking nerves and moving away from the troubling subject. He gave her a brisk nod then walked hurriedly off.
Felina sighed and returned to the scene. She watched as forensics collected their evidence and insured clean up was well on it's way. It was more than four hours before all the bodies had been carried out. The homicide body was being put in the medical examiner's van, separated from the other casualty's at the site.
When she received the go ahead from CSU that the site could be cleared of debris, she summoned the SWAT Kats. It took them over two hours to pull the wrecked cars out of the tunnel and haul them away. When it was finally done, she thank them.
"Great job, guys! You saved the city money and time."
"Hey, always glad to be of assistance to the enforcers, Lieutenant. Have a good night!" T-Bone called back.
"You too!" She returned, then signed off and sighed.
She was bone tired and she still had to write up her report and leave it in her uncle's office. It was late, he would have left for the day, she was certain. Tomorrow would be soon enough for her to get up the courage to brief him on what that dead body meant. She headed for her chopper and set off back to Enforcer Headquarters.
When Feral returned to his office, he closed his door firmly behind him then took off his coat. He barely got it hung before his stomach, which he'd been clamping down on, threatened to unload. Racing to the bathroom, he promptly threw up. By the time his stomach was emptied, he was shaking and sweaty. He rinsed his mouth out and washed his face.
Katrina had been right, his job had indeed triggered a flashback. This damn memory was wrecking havoc with his ability to do his job but getting angry wouldn't make it go away or help him get past his self imposed block.
Collecting himself, he returned to his desk and firmly put aside the memory of that young kat. He asked his secretary to get him some tea and settled down to work. He was very grateful he had a date with Forry tonight.
They met at their favorite restaurant later that evening. His stomach and mind still churning, Feral could only pick at his dinner.
"What's the matter, love? You look like you've had a major shock today," Forry asked quietly. He hadn't missed the hunched shoulders and the way Ulysses couldn't meet his eyes.
"I can't talk about it right now," Feral said tightly, taking a sip of his small glass of wine.
"Work related and too high security or it's too upsetting to discuss here?" Forry probed gently, not letting Feral off the hook.
Feral sighed and stopped pretending he was going to eat. "Too upsetting," he murmured.
"Then let me finish my food and we'll go somewhere more private."
"It's kind of late for the ocean and I'm of wrung out......" Feral muttered a soft objection.
Forry eyed him as he finished his meal and signaled for the check. "Then why don't we go to your place or mine, whichever you feel most comfortable. I have a feeling this is something you need my comforting for."
Feral gave his friend a look of relief. They had been together long enough now that Forry could almost read him like a book and it made it much easier to convey his need without actually having to voice it aloud.
"My place......" he said hesitantly.
"Your place it is. Let's go. I'll follow you," Forry said firmly, staying close to Ulysses as they walked out of the restaurant and to their cars.
There was barely any traffic so Forry had no trouble following Ulysses to his apartment building some five miles away. Forry parked in the guest area and walked to meet Feral who had parked in his usual spot. They walked in silence into the building and took the elevator to the top floor. Feral stepped out of the car and went down the quiet carpeted hallway to his door.
Forry barely noticed the place, except to see it was fairly upper class, with a nice thick rug underfoot and some excellent paintings on the wall before he stepped into Uly's apartment.
In here he saw a tastefully designed space with comfortable furniture, paintings, and high end entertainment center. He waited patiently near the entryway while Ulysses removed his coat and weapon and put them away. Feral politely asked for Forry's coat and hung it up as well before leading the way into the living space.
Feral sat on the couch with Forry sitting beside him, putting an arm around the dark tom's shoulder and waiting.
Shifting his shoulders uncomfortable and feeling uneasy, Feral had a hard time trying to tell Forry what had happened to upset him this badly.
Forry reached up and gently caressed the tom's face. "Whatever it is, love....I'll help you through it......just get it out before it chokes you!" He coaxed.
"You heard about the Metallikats attack on the money train?"
"Yes, it was on the news and everyone was talking about it at the office."
"What no one knows yet, was a body had been stashed in that tunnel that had nothing to do with the attempted heist. It was just luck the two occurred together."
"How awful! Was this person killed?"
"Yes! Definitely a homicide. Young male, beaten and..and...raped...then tossed in a box like garbage," he said thickly, beginning to shake a little but working hard not to relive his own memory again.
Forry pulled Uly into his arms tightly and nuzzled him comfortingly. "I'm sorry love.......caused you a flashback did it?" He asked softly as the tom clung to him and shook harder. A nod was his answer. Forry sighed mentally. 'Sounds like I'll be staying here tonight,' he thought, sadness running through him that the first time they would sleep together would not be for a much nicer reason.