Just Another Day Ch.11
Chance pulled into the salvage yard, with no car in tow. It had been a prank call, which had put him in a bad mood. He jumped out and slammed the door to the tow truck shut. He caught a glimpse of Callie's car as he headed for the garage. Chance sighed as he opened the door, he tried to put himself in a better mood to talk with Callie. When he stepped into the tv room he froze as he saw Jake laying on he couch. Kim was kneeling on the floor by the couch and Callie was leaning against the back of the couch, stroking the top of Jake's head in a soothing manner. The key's slipped free from Chance's fingers, clinking as they hit the floor, making Kim and Callie look up. Chance walked up to them, a shocked expression fixed on his face.
" What happened to him?" Chance asked, concern in his voice as he leaned down, looking over Jake's beaten face.
" Well, remember what Jake told you about why I treated you so bad before?" Kim said slowly, sounding as though she was afraid to tell him.
" Yeah..." Chance said, not liking where this was going.
" Well, my ex-boyfriend found out I was here, he came down and he ended up beating Jake. I don't want to think about what he would have done if Callie hadn't of shown up when she did." Kim said softly. " Mitch would have left Jake alone if only he kept his mouth shut."
" What do you mean?" Chance asked, the angered expression on his face made it obvious that he didn't like what she said.
" Mitch only beat Jake because he said things that made Mitch angry." Kim said.
" What kind of things?" Chance asked.
" I'd rather not repeat what he said." Kim said.
" And if he had kept his mouth shut, what would this Mitch have done to you?" Chance asked.
Kim remained quiet, and Chance had his answer. He knew exactly what Mitch would have done to her after he saw what he had done to Jake. He was sure she was feeling guilty for Jake's condition, he didn't have to stand up to Mitch. Chance then straightened up, his hands balled into fists as he turned around. Kim and Callie noticed immediately, both of them afraid of what could be going through Chance's mind.
" Where are you going?" Kim asked quickly, but Chance didn't answer as he picked up the key's off the floor.
" Chance, stop." Callie said firmly, and Chance stood on the spot. " Think for a minute. If you go looking for this guy it will only cause more trouble. Your time will be better spent here, helping Kim look after Jake."
Chance lowered his head as he stood there, he knew Callie was right. He couldn't help but feel ashamed that he seemed more concerned with hunting down the guy who beat Jake, rather then stay and care for him. Chance sighed as he turned around.
" You're right Callie, taking care of Jake is what's important." Chance said as he set the key's down on a small table.
Callie was a bit surprised with Chance, she had expected some sort of an argument from him. She watched Chance as he returned to Jake's side, where he stood next to Kim. Chance glanced down at Kim and she quickly turned her face away from him. He noticed she was trying to keep him from seeing her face. He leaned down, trying to see her face, but she looked away again. Then he gently placed his hand under her chin and turned her face towards him. He saw a fairly big bruise on her cheek and anger flared in his eye's.
" He hit you, didn't he?" Chance said, pulling his hand from her chin.
" Yes, he did, but I got a punch in first. I was trying to get him to leave Jake alone." Kim said, covering the bruise with her hand.
" Does it hurt?" Chance asked.
" Not really, not anymore." Kim said as she took her hand away from her face.
Chance straightened, rubbing the back of his neck as he thought about what to do. At the moment there wasn't really much he could do to help Jake. As he thought this he heard the sound of a car pulling up. The last thing Chance wanted to do was deal with a customer. Chance just stood there, looking at his unconscious friend. After a moment there was a knock on the door, and Chance sighed as he reluctantly turned around. He opened the door and froze as he saw Feral standing there, as well Felina along with two other Enforcers behind him. Chance definitely wasn't in the mood for Feral.
" What do you want Feral?" Chance asked, trying not to let his temper get the best of him at the moment.
" The Deputy Mayor called and asked me to come down. She said it was important." Feral said, looking as though he could care less.
Chance released a frustrated sigh as he stepped aside, allowing Feral to enter. Chance looked over at Callie with a how could you call him look on his face, she gave him an apologetic look. Feral's expression changed quickly when he saw Jake laying on the couch. He had only been told it was important that he come down to the salvage yard as soon as possible, he wasn't told why. It took a moment for the shock of seeing Jake in the condition he was in to wear off. Feral looked at Chance for a moment, then back to Jake.
" What happened to him?" Felina asked, the first to speak.
" Well apparently Jake was beaten by Kim's ex-boyfriend, because he tried to protect her from the guy. I wasn't here when it happened, so I don't know the exact details." Chance said.
" I don't think I've ever seen a case of assault this bad before." One of the Enforcers said, the other still shocked at the sight of Jake.
" You should have seen him before we cleaned him up." Callie said as she approached Feral.
" You should have seen him the first time this happened. He doesn't look as bad as he did then." Chance said as he leaned on the wall.
" The first time? This has happened before? Why didn't he file a report against the guy?" Feral asked, a mixture of shock and irritation on his face.
" He was afraid of causing more trouble for Kim." Chance said, shrugging.
" That's a ridiculous reason, he only gave the guy the opportunity to do it again." Feral said, anger in his voice.
" Getting mad at Jake won't help you catch the guy Commander Feral. Why don't you get the information you need from Kim and get to work on finding this guy?" Callie said, crossing her arms.
" Ms. Clawson, I think we should talk in the kitchen." Feral said as he glanced at Jake. " Felina, stay in here, in case he wakes up. He needs to tell us his side as well."
" Yes Uncle." Felina said.
Feral and Kim went into the kitchen, followed by one of the Enforcers. The other one stayed with Felina who was looking over Jake. She couldn't believe the condition he was in. Callie looked over at Chance, who was looking at Jake. It was obvious he was still angry, but she was glad that his temper hadn't clouded his senses completely. Chance had noticed that Callie was looking at him. Then he wondered why she had come to the garage in the first place.
" Callie, why did you come down today any way? Was you're car giving you some trouble, or did you just have some time to waste?" Chance asked as he walked up to her.
" I just had some time on my hands. Which is over I'm afraid, I have to get back to the office." Callie said as she glanced at her watch. " Take care of Jake, don't let that monster get to him again, and you stay out of trouble."
" Sure thing Callie." Chance said as Callie left.
" Chance, you said this happened before right?" Felina asked, and Chance nodded. " Is there anything different then the first time?"
" Yeah, the guy came here. Now I don't know if Jake went looking for the guy the first time or if they just happen to bump into each other. But I definitely know that guy didn't go looking for Jake. And Jake wasn't his real target, Kim was." Chance said.
" Any thing else?" Felina asked.
" Yeah, the first time that guy had the time and opportunity to dump Jake in an alley somewhere. I don't want to think about what could of happened if I hadn't gone out looking for Jake when he didn't come back that night." Chance said.
" That's terrible. I'll never understand how some kats can do such things and continue on without any guilt." Felina said, shaking her head.
" Neither will I." Jake said weakly.
" Jake! How long have you been awake?" Chance asked leaning down so Jake wouldn't strain himself to be heard.
" Just long enough to hear that last sentence." Jake said.
" Jake, I'm going to need to know what happened from you're point of view." Felina said, and Jake gave Chance a peeved look.
" Hey don't look at me buddy, it was Callie who called them, I wasn't even here." Chance said.
" Fine, where should I start?" Jake said, knowing he wasn't going to get out of telling them what happened.
" Start from when the guy first got here." Felina said.
" Ok, basically the guy, Mitch, just pulled up and said some bad things about Kim so I told him to leave before I called the Enforcers." Jake said as he absentmindedly began rubbing his chest. " Apparently he didn't like that because he threw me against his truck."
" He threw you against his truck!" Chance said, balling his hands into fists.
" Yeah he held me there by my shirt while we had an unpleasant conversation, then Kim came out looking for me. Mitch saw her and I told him to leave her alone. Then he punched me in the stomach and dropped me to the ground. When I got back to my feet I told him to leave her alone again, but that time I used a few choice words, one of them I don't want to repeat. Well, that got his attention and he rounded on me. I just dodged most of his swings, but I couldn't keep that up. He eventually got me and worked me over. Everything gets fuzzy around there, I kind of remember Callie pulling up at one point but like I said, it gets fuzzy." Jake said, closing his eye's.
" Try to remember." Felina said.
" I can't, it's all a blur, I just remember that he beat me. Sorry, I wish I could remember more." Jake said as he closed his eyes.
" You just take it easy buddy." Chance said, gently gripping Jake's shoulder.
" Alright, that should be enough. You should get some rest." Felina said.
Jake just nodded as Felina looked off towards the kitchen. It wasn't much longer before Feral, the Enforcer, and Kim left the kitchen. Feral just motioned for Felina and the other Enforcer to follow as he headed for the door. The four of them left quickly. Chance was sure Feral saw this as a waste of his time. He returned his attention to Jake who was looking down at his chest. This worried Chance, especially when he realized Jake was wearing a different shirt then when he left.
" How's you chest feel?" Chance asked as Kim walked over to them.
" It's been better. I think Mitch might have made it worse then before." Jake said, trying not to look at Chance.
" Do you want some pain killers, or do you think it's too risky?" Chance asked.
" I really don't think that's a good idea, the medicine from before is still in his system." Kim said.
" Sorry buddy." Chance said.
" Forget about it, I can handle a little pain." Jake said as he gave Chance a small smile.
" Are you still hungry Jake?" Kim asked as she stroked the top his head.
" I think I can get something down." Jake said.
" Alright, I'll be back in a minute with something for you." Kim said as she headed for the kitchen once again.
" Jake, do you really not remember what happened, or did you just not want to go into detail?" Chance asked once he was sure Kim wouldn't hear.
" It really is a bit fuzzy, but I remember what happened. I just didn't want to talk about what he did to me." Jake said, his smile gone.
" Well, I won't make you talk about it if you don't want to." Chance said.
" Thanks Chance." Jake said as he watched the kitchen door way. " Look Chance, I think maybe we should tell Kim about us being the SWAT Kats."
" What! Are you nuts, she can't know about that." Chance said a little louder than he meant to, then he dropped his voice to a whisper. " I mean it's not safe to tell her."
" If you're worried about trusting her, believe me she can be trusted. Kim's never given me reason not to trust her. She can keep a secret Chance." Jake said.
" I still don't think it's a good idea to tell her about us." Chance said.
" She's going to find out eventually. Whether it's because she's around when the alarm goes off, she finds her way into the hanger, or if the worst happens... She'll find out." Jake said.
" I really don't think it's a good idea to tell her about us, for her sake as much as our own. No one else knows, so she shouldn't either." Chance said, crossing his arms.
" If we tell her about us then we won't have to hide it from her any more, she could even be a great help to us. We wouldn't have to lie about our injuries, and if something like the katalyst incident happens again, then she won't make the mistake of giving me medicine I really don't need. And I'm sure she could cover for us if we ever need her to. And we won't be going nuts about her over hearing our conversations when she's around." Jake said.
" Look, don't tell her about us just yet. Let me think about it, and I'll let you know how I feel about this tomorrow. Until then I don't want to hear another word about this, got it?" Chance said as he sat down in the near by chair.
" Alright, I won't say another word about it, and I won't tell Kim anything about us." Jake said, hoping that Chance would change his mind.
Nothing else was said between them while they waited for Kim to return from the kitchen. It was only a few minutes wait as they saw Kim walk in with a bowl of soup in one hand, a plate with a couple of sandwiches in the other and a six pack of milk clenched between her teeth. Jake and Chance couldn't help but laugh as they saw her. Chance got up and walked over to her, trying to stop his laughing.
" Want some help?" Chance asked, and Kim nodded then he took the milk from her.
" Thanks." Kim said as she walked around the couch then handed the bowl to Jake.
" Thanks Kim." Jake said as he rested the warm bowl on his stomach.
" No problem Jake." Kim said softly, then she held the plate of sandwiches out towards Chance. " Want one?"
" Sure." Chance said as he took one of the sandwiches from the plate.
Nothing was said while they ate, which made Chance feel a little uncomfortable. He didn't like the silence, but there wasn't much to say. He wanted to find out more about Mitch, but he knew that he shouldn't say anything else about it. Especially since he and Kim just started getting along earlier that day, he couldn't risk messing that up. He tried to think of something he could do to clear his mind, but everything that came to mind meant he would have to go down to the hanger. He just couldn't risk it, not with Kim around. He would just have to find another way to clear his mind. But no matter how hard he tried to think of something his mind kept coming back to Mitch and what he did to Jake. And having Jake laying right there didn't make it any easier. Kim noticed Chance looked upset, she knew he was mad about Mitch and she was afraid of what he was planning to do. She wanted to talk to him about it, but not in front of Jake. She didn't want him to worry, she felt he'd had enough trouble for one day. She looked at Jake while she tried to think of a way to talk to Chance without Jake hearing them. He wasn't eating, and he looked like he was starting to drift off into sleep again. She waited until his eye's closed before getting up and carefully taking the bowl from him. She looked into the bowl there wasn't much soup left, so she didn't put much thought into it. Chance had noticed Kim had gotten up and now he was watching at her.
" Chance, can we talk in the kitchen?" Kim whispered.
" Yeah, sure." Chance said, grabbing the plate as he got up from the chair.
He glanced at Jake as he followed Kim into the kitchen. He didn't know what she wanted, but he had a feeling it was going to have something to do with what had happened earlier. He just hoped she wouldn't make a big deal about how he reacted when he heard that Mitch had beaten Jake. He was willing to admit that he had nearly done something stupid, but he was glad Callie had stopped him. He set the plate in the sink then turned to Kim.
" Chance, what are you planning to do about Mitch?" Kim asked, watching Chance closely.
" Well, if he ever shows up around here, I'll kick his tail in, other wise I'll have to leave him to the Enforcers." Chance said rather calmly.
" I understand that you're mad at him, but you don't know what he's like. He's a sick sadistic creep who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. I'm afraid if he comes back, he won't be alone, or he might have some kind of a weapon." Kim said.
" I can handle him, I used to be an Enforcer, I was trained to deal with crud like him." Chance said as he placed his hand on her shoulder.
" So was Jake." Kim said as she looked to the floor.
Chance was at a loss for words, he hadn't expected that. He rubbed his neck as he tried to think of something he could say to reassure her that everything was going to be alright, but he couldn't think of anything to say that wouldn't upset her. He hated moments like this, where he couldn't say anything and the other person wouldn't say anything.
" I should get going, before it gets dark." Kim said as she glanced at the clock.
" Where are you going to stay tonight?" Chance asked.
" I don't know yet, I was thinking about maybe staying in that hotel not too far from here." Kim said as she rubbed her arm.
" Where did you stay last night?" Chance asked.
" Well, I was going to stay with my mom for a few days, but she's out of town, taking a vacation most likely. I ended up sleeping in my car, but I'm used to it. There's not always a place to stay when traveling, so I stay in my car, it's no big deal." Kim said, shrugging.
" No, there's no way I'm going to let you go out there with no place to stay, especially while that creep is still out there. You're going to stay right here." Chance said, crossing his arms.
" I don't think I should." Kim said.
" Please, I would never forgive myself if something happened to you that could be avoided if you just stayed here. Besides, I think it would be best if you were here for Jake. He's been through an awful lot over the past few days, and having you around will be good for him." Chance said, begging her to stay.
" Are you sure?" Kim asked.
" I'm sure, you can stay in my room if you want, I don't plan on sleeping tonight." Chance said.
" Why not?" Kim asked.
" I'm going to keep an eye on Jake tonight." Chance said as he glanced towards the kitchen door, he could see the couch from where he was standing.
" I'd like to watch over Jake tonight." Kim said, looking at Chance.
" No, I will, I won't be able to sleep knowing he's in such bad shape." Chance said.
" You can stay up but I'm still going to stay up and watch over him. If you don't like it I'll just leave." Kim said, crossing her arms.
" You don't have to leave Kim, I guess we'll both stay up and watch him." Chance said.
" Alright then, but to be serious Chance, I'd like you to promise you won't do anything too rash about Mitch." Kim said, a pleading look in her eye's.
" I'm not going to go looking for him Kim, but if he shows up again I'm not going to stand aside and let him do what ever he wants." Chance said.
" Just promise that you'll think before you act." Kim said, Chance was about to say something when she gently gripped his arm. " Please, just promise me that much."
" Alright, I promise I'll think before I act." Chance said, gently gripping he shoulder.
" Thank you." Kim said, releasing his arm.
" So, why are you worried about me all of a sudden? You don't think this guy could actually hurt me do you?" Chance asked with a soft smile on his face.
" First off, I'm concerned about you because you're Jake's friend, and I'm not really worried that you'll get hurt. I'm afraid you'll get yourself in trouble with the law." Kim said.
" How do you figure I would get in trouble with the law?" Chance asked, crossing his arms.
" If you can't avoid fighting him, just make sure he throws the first punch. If you hit him first he can claim what ever he does to you after that as self defense and he might choose to press charges against you." Kim said, giving Chance an accusing look.
" I already knew that, I'm not stupid like everyone thinks I am. Just because I'm strong doesn't mean I don't have a brain to go with this muscle." Chance said, a bit of a pout on his face as he turned away from her.
" I don't think you're stupid Chance, a little immature and maybe a little hot headed, but not stupid." Kim said, trying not to laugh at the pouty look on his face.
" I guess I haven't been acting on my best judgment today, huh." Chance said as he turned to look at her.
" I guess not. I'm sorry for upsetting you." Kim said as she placed her hand on his arm. " Come on, lets get back to Jake."
Chance nodded and the two of them returned to watch over Jake, who had practically passed out. Chance disappeared upstairs for a few minutes, when he returned he had a blanket. He carefully draped it over Jake, then he sat down in a chair. Chance then took a seat across from Kim. Something told Chance this was going to be a long night.
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Finally, I got another chapter done. Sorry for making you guys wait for so long. I bet it surprised you guys that Chance isn't hunting Mitch down, huh? Well, I'm really going to try to get the next Chapter up as soon as possible.