ANOTHER SIDE
Chapter 12: Marching orders.
Garrett groaned in pain as he was lay on the padded floor of the workout room.
Jake was dusting off his paws, a grim look on his face. "You can't keep charging out of control, like that Garrett. An opponent can easily use that against you and knock you on your tail like I did. You must stay calm and in control."
The teen slowly got to his feet clutching his aching shoulder. He glared at Jake with annoyance. With a look of determination, he got back into his battle stance with Jake doing the same. They began to spar again. Garrett stayed focused on the way Jake moved, learning the other tom's method of throws and punches as he kept blocking to keep from being tossed again.
Chance watched the whole thing as he lifted weights nearby. He was impressed by how much progress the teen had made since they'd begun training him. He didn't give up easily despite the number of times he kissed the mat and he was a quickly learner.
Finally, Jake got through Garrett's block and wham, down the teen went to the ground once more. He lay there groaning in pain for a moment.
"You're still losing your cool which ruins your focus, Garrett," Jake warned, crossing his arms over his chest.
Garrett glared at the cinnamon tom. "I hate you…" he hissed quietly.
Jake just laughed and offered the teen a paw up. "Hey this is part of it, I went through the same thing during training." Garrett accepted his paw and got to his feet. Jake flexed his paws. "Let's take a break then we'll head out to the obstacle course." Garrett reluctantly nodded and sat on a bench rubbing his sore arm. The three made an obstacle course a week ago to help keep them in shape and help train Garrett for his future in the enforcers.
Jake was pleased at how well the teen didn't let being knocked on his tail get him down. Though he might lose his temper a bit, he never stopped trying to improve himself. 'The kit's determined, I'll give him that," Jake mused.
Garrett rubbed the side of his temples; a small headache forming from the falls he'd taken. 'Wow, and here I thought I was good but I'm just a beginner against Jake. How the hell do I compete with that? He's just gotta have a weak spot somewhere,' he grumbled to himself.
Chance was still lifting his weights and watching scaredy kat he laughed at his favorite cartoon screaming.
Jake rolled his eyes when he heard Chance laughed uproariously at the cartoon, Scaredy Kat, he was watching as he lifted weights. He wiped sweat off his face with a towel and noticed Garrett seemed awfully deep in thought.
"You alright?" Jake asked with a little concern.
Garrett snorted and glanced over at Jake, a small smile tugging on his lips. I've been better," he admitted.
Jake laughed, patting the kit's affectionately. "It may hurt now but trust me, it'll pay off in the end."
Warmed by the supporting words, Garrett nodded and took a sip of water sitting on the bench next to him.
"So what was it like being in the enforcers… excluding the fact you got canned, the paperwork, and dealing with assholes," he asked.
Chance dropped his weights and cracked his knuckles. "Well despite us 'getting canned' and all that, it had to be one of the best period in my life," Chance admitted, smiling at the memories.
Jake smiled, "Yea mine too." Garrett perked his ears with interest. "How so?"
Chance took a breath and looked up and exhaled. "Well I was twenty-one when I joined, scored high marks in the academy then aced the pilot training course, making me the youngest pilot to do so in years," he said with pride.
The teen's eyes went wide in amazement.
"And that's how I met Jake. He was also top in his class and was certified as the top sharp shooter on the force. It didn't hurt that he was a genius as well. Anyway, we we're paired as a fighter team when we finished training." Jake blushed a little at being called a genius.
'Wow! Seems these two had a rather exciting life before their banishment,' Garrett thought.
"It helped that the two of us hit it off really well and became fast friends which made our team more cohesive and unstoppable," Chance said, grinning.
Jake, however, frowned. "Yea, we were hot alright and that's what made Feral unhappy as we outshone him easily. Other teams were also a bit jealous of our skills and took to calling us hot shots. Feral took that up and began calling us 'reckless hot shots.' Just because we didn't follow all the rules to the letter and could think for ourselves, it made us unpopular with high command. It didn't matter how many lives we saved just how many rules we broke to them," he said sourly.
"Well you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs you know…" Chance said, shrugging.
"That's one way of putting it," Garrett snorted, amused.
The two toms chuckled.
"The two of us could go through any obstacle and take down any villain that showed their ugly face in Megakat City. With Chance's ace flying and my marksmanship, we blazed our way up the ranks. The two of us were the youngest to ever reach the rank of 1st Lieutenant Aerial Wing at the age of twenty-five."
Chance leaned against the wall, arms behind his head, "Yea…I can't believe we got sent here at all. Most that get into trouble get their pay docked or receive an Article 15 for bad conduct or both but never kicked out for it. We were valuable. The Enforcers spent a lot of time and money on our training and to throw that all away because Feral felt out shined by us was crazy, but he's in command and we had no recourse but to accept it."
Garrett noticed Jake lowered his ears in humiliation and anger, which made the teen more than a little angry for the tom's sake. "Yeah, I couldn't believe it either when I saw it on the news. It was just so wrong but it seemed no one was willing to stand up to Feral to come to your aid which showed how much clout the Commander holds. Everyone has a right to be heard in a court of law, even the military, and your rights were violated," Garrett commented, angrily. Then he paused, eyeing the two gravely.
"What makes this worse to my mind is, it's an Enforcers duty to protect the Katizens of this city from harm, regardless if they are an Enforcer or a simple person on the street. Their one goal is to protect and to serve, there is no in between. No Enforcer should ever forget that!" He said sternly.
Jake and Chance eyed the teen with respect, Garrett had a very firm grip on what was wrong and right in life which was refreshing to see in one so young.
Jake smiled and patted the teen's shoulder. "Spoken like a true enforcer." Garrett blushed with pride at the supporting words.
They left the workout room for the apartment and made themselves lunch. While they ate, Chance and Jake regaled Garrett with their tales of their time in the Enforcers.
Garrett found himself laughing hard when Chance related a time when he had put dry ice in the locker room toilet and caused an evacuation of near naked toms out into the busy corridor as everyone thought there was a fire.
He learned Jake was very shy and didn't interact with anyone much until Chance came along and soon he had many friends thanks to his new friend's outgoing and funny ways. He even could be accused of having pulled a prank or two of his own.
In a lighter mood, rested and rehydrated, the three went to their rooms to change. Time for the obstacle course. Chance's favorite attire was a pair of army pants and a gray tank top with combat boots. Jake wore nearly the same outfit except his shirt was black. Garrett opted for a pair of arctic cargo pants, old combat boots Jake gave him, and a white t-shirt with a skull covered in ice and a whole bunch of urban designs on it.
This was Garrett's first time using the course and he was determined to do his best against the more experienced pair. Chance and Jake went ahead to do the course without him while he watched in awe. The one thing that grabbed his attention and not in a good way, was the pool of water at the base of a mountain of scrap. The object was to swing across with a rope, which was suspended from a crane, and land on the opposite side without falling into the water.
'Well, I just have to get across without falling in is all,' he firmly told himself. He returned his attention to the pair who were on the last stretch of the course.
Chance got the lead at the last minute and past the finish line ahead of Jake. Once he caught his breath he did a fist pump in the air. "Yes! I've still got it! He cheered, grinning from ear to ear as Jake arrived beside him a moment later, panting.
The smaller tom snorted at Chance's antics. "You just got lucky, is all," he said, wiping the sweat from his brow.
Garrett walked up to them and smiled. "That was an amazing run! You guys did great!"
Chance chuckled. "Thanks kit, now let's see how well you do," he said smugly.
Garrett scratched the back of his neck nervously but smiled with assurance he certainly didn't feel. Jake walked towards three lawn chairs they'd brought out and pulled a stopwatch from his pant's pocket and grabbed a bottle of water from a cooler next to the chairs.
"The course is safe, don't worry. You'll do a timed course while me and Chance rest for a bit, that alright?" he asked then took a sip of his water.
Garrett nodded. "Sure that's fine." He insured his boots were on tight then jogged to the start of the course.
The two adults took a seat and had a perfect view of the course.
"Alright you ready?" Jake yelled out to the teen, Garrett gave a thumbs up.
"Go!" Jake shouted pressing the button on the watch at the same time.
Garrett sprinted forward then leaped to the first bar of the tall monkey bars, climbing quickly upward then across the ladder spanning over the ground to the other end and leaping down, going at a pretty good clip so far. Sprinting across the ground without wasting a move, he ran the tire course without a misstep before running for the crane Once he made it threw he headed towards the crane and scrap heap. On his way, he stumbled and began to fall but landed on one hand, did a dodge roll to his feet again and kept going.
That move impressed Jake and Chance, a great recovery that didn't cost him time according to the watch, Jake glanced at. It also showed he was making very good time.
Garrett made it to the large pile of scrap and began climbing; his experience in mountain climbing making it no challenge. Once at the top, he grabbed the rope but paused as he stared down at the large pool of water.
Swallowing, he held the rope tightly and pushed off strongly. As his swing brought him to the edge of the pool, he let go and landed just at the edge of the water. Grinning in relief, he continued on to where an iron pole waited for his next hurdle.
Slamming the end of the rod into the ground, he used it to leap up and over a large scrap heap, stumbling only a little on landing then racing toward the finish line.
Jake pressed the stopwatch as soon as the teen crossed the line. Smiling at the results, he walked over to the recovering teen with a bottle of water.
"Way to go! An excellent time of five minutes and thirty-seven seconds," he congratulated Garrett, patting him on his sweaty back then handing the teen the bottle.
Garrett grinned from ear to ear as he caught his breath and accepted the bottle. "Only one minute shy of beating you guy's record...fantastic." He drank down the water to ease his parched throat.
Chance grinned proudly at the teen but before he could add his own congratulations, his ears pricked up to the sound of a phone vibrating.
Garrett realized a second later that it was his phone and pulled it out of his pants. The screen ID told him it was Taylor but he'd missed the call. Shaking his head, he put the phone away and headed for a chair to sit down and rest a bit while he finished his water. Only minutes later, his phone vibrated again. Sighing, he pulled it out once more and noted he'd gotten a text message.
It read: 'Hey dude! What's up?'
Garrett typed back, 'Training with Jake and Chance...you?'
Chance noticed what Garrett was doing and that sparked an idea in his brain. "Hey Garrett?"
Garrett looked up at Chance. "Yea?"
"Have you ever thought of inviting one of your friends over?" the tabby asked.
Garrett gaped at Chance in surprise. "Uh…no I haven't but that's because this place isn't exactly inviting," he said, shrugging.
Chance raised an eyebrow at this. "Alright, I can understand that so what about going to their house?" he asked, cocking his head to the side a little.
Garrett sighed. "I usually don't have time because of working in the garage," he explained patiently. "It isn't like they haven't asked. Just last week John and Daniel asked all the guys to come over to play video games but it was a Wednesday and I had work waiting for me. I do need to make a living you know." He looked past Chance and saw Jake warming up to do the course again, oblivious to Chance and he's conversation.
"Aww come on kit, you work hard at least six days a week. I know you need to work but your needs aren't much and we're here now so you don't need to miss making time being with your friends. You're still a teen and friendship now is very important toward your adulthood. Those friends can come in handy later in life, trust me. So, there's no reason you can't take a break during the week and use your Sunday off to be with them," Chance urged. "And don't forget, you did promise Jake you would try for a more social life."
Closing his eyes, Garrett sighed inwardly. Chewing his bottom lip he thought about what Chance had said and knew the older tom was right...he did need to spread his wings a little. It was a bad thing that he'd never been to anyone's home before except Matthew's. His habit when his dad was alive was to help in the garage, never seeking any other contact outside his home. That had to stop.
"Okay, I now you're right but its going to be hard doing it. I've just been a homebody and that's hard to break," he admitted.
Chance patted the teen's shoulder. "I understand but you've made good progress so far by joining that club now step out a little further. I know you can do it. Just try, that's all we ask," the big tabby said encouragingly.
Garrett nodded then his phone vibrated again. He flipped it opened and read the text. 'Dude that's awesome...You'll be Mr. Universe in no time ...' Garrett blushed a little at Taylor's excited message.
Chance craned his neck to read the text and snickered, "Sounds like you've got an admirer kiddo."
The teen gave the adult an irritated look. "Don't you have a course to run?" he replied texting Taylor 'Thanks' then closing his phone.
"Chill kit I'm just messing with ya." Chance patted Garrett's head.
"Whatever…" he grumbled a little.
"Come on guys I'm dying of old age here!" Jake yelled, waving at the two, impatiently.
They chuckled.
"Yea, yea buddy were coming," Chance hollared back, took a quick sip of water and set his bottle down. "Ready kit?"
Garrett smirked at the burly tabby, determination on his face. "You know it!"
The two jogged over to Jake and continued their training day. By the end of it, Garrett was finally getting the hang of it; not landing in the pool once, which pleased him immensely. The sun was going down when they knocked off and headed inside to eat dinner.
Garrett was sore all over, his muscles screaming at him but he kept moving so they wouldn't stiffen. The two ex-enforcers warned him he would have to do workout at that level everyday before it would stop hurting and just be strong muscles instead. All he could do was groan.
Finally upstairs, he flopped down on the couch and sighed. Jake had made for the fridge in the kitchen and tossed Chance a can of milk looking almost as fresh as they started the day with. Garrett could only shake his head. Well that only made sense as they'd been doing this sort of thing for years and were used to it. Hopefully, I soon will be too.
He leaned down and untied his boots, kicking them off and sighing as his feet felt the cooler air. A paw holding a can of milk in front of him interrupted his thoughts. It was Jake, "Thirsty?" Garrett nodded and took the can from the slim tom.
"You did good today kiddo." Jake complimented the teen then took a seat next to him.
Garrett blushed a little and poked a hole in the can with his claws. "Thanks."
Chance took a sip of his milk and also smiled. "If you keep this up, you'll be pulling in the females in no time." Garrett blushed and looked away embarrassed.
"Too late." Jake snickered remembering when Rebecca had come by.
Garrett glared at the cinnamon tom knowing what incident Jake was remembering.
"Just kidding." Jake quickly replied, smirking. "How about we order pizza? I'm not in the mood to cook."
"Great idea," Chance said, going for the phone and calling in an order.
Garrett grabbed the remote and turned on the TV but couldn't find anything of interest until Jake told him to stop.
"It's my favorite show, David litterbin!" Jake said with excitement.
Garrett left the station on but he couldn't help but notice Chance wasn't as enthused about the show. 'Oh well, can't please everyone and I've not seen this program before,' he thought, staring at the screen with Jake. Chance just snorted and pulled out a magazine to read instead.
The show turned out to be both interesting and funny. He laughed at some of the truly hilarious jokes. Garrett had never watched these kinda comedies since Scaredy Kat or CSI were the shows usually on. But this show he kinda liked much to Chance's disappointment.
Their dinner arrived and Chance went down to get it. He lay the boxes on the table before the other two. He pulled out several slices for himself then retreated to his seat and his magazine.
Garrett and Jake immediately attacked the boxes as they were ravenous. "I didn't think you'd enjoy something like this, Garrett," Jake said when a commercial came on and he began to eat his pizza with relish.
Garrett chuckled. "Neither did I, actually." He took a mega bite of his pizza just as the show returned. He perked his ears to listen.
Jake was really pleased the teen liked his favorite show, it made for an excellent bonding experience for the two of them. Chance may of not liked the show but was glad the kit was enjoying it.
With dinner and the show over, the three went to their rooms, took showers, then put on pjs to go and watch some more TV before bedtime. Garrett wore his usual dark green plaid bottoms with a loose gray shirt, Chance preferred boxer shorts and a gray tank top, while Jake wore black plaid bottoms and a loose white t-shirt.
They watched some scary movies for the next few hours. Chance and Jake looked comfortable and relaxed while poor Garrett was beginning to look like everything hurt, badly because every movement he made was accompanied by a groan of pain. He'd also began to lose interest in the TV and got drowsier and drowsier until he fell completely asleep.
The adults didn't notice until Garrett tilted and fell onto Jake's shoulder. Snorting, the slim tom smiled in tender amusement.
"Aww looks like we tuckered him out." He snaked his arm around the teen's shoulders to support him. Garrett started to snore a little but didn't wake up. Instead he began to purr in his sleep which the toms thought was just simply adorable.
Chance stared at the kitten and smiled as well. "That's kinda cute." Then an idea struck him. He opened a drawer of the side table beside him and pulled out a camera.
"What are you doing?" Jake asked then noticed the camera and gave Chance an irritated look. "Chance, don't."
Chance snickered. "Relax buddy, I'm just making memories for all of us to enjoy." He pressed the button and the camera flashed taking a snapshot of the two.
Jake blinked a few times to get rid of the glare from the camera flash, "You mean for you to enjoy?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
Chance looked to the left out of the corner of his eyes smiling, acting innocent, "Maaaybe."
Jake shook his head. "He's gonna kill you, you know?" Chance put the camera away then sat back down. "He'll get over it, but ya gotta admit, that is kinda cute." He scratched the back of the kit's ears.
"Yea he is." Jake admitted, smiling.
Garrett's tail twitched with delight from the petting and continued purring.
Chance chuckled, "He's such a kitten…in a good way."
"We better take him to bed, buddy." Jake looked down at the sleeping teen, rubbing his shoulder.
Chance nodded and stood up, picking the teen up. It was a bit of a struggle as the teen was getting bigger and taller all the time, but he managed to carry him to the teen's bedroom and lay him on the bed, Jake had opened. The slim tom pulled the covers over Garrett then turned on the small fan he liked on. They left the room quietly, closing the door behind them.
Chance stretched, "I'm too tired to work on the jet tonight, buddy."
"Yeah, so am I, surprised to say. On night missed isn't going to set us back too much," Jake agreed, only a little down not getting back to his pet project.
Chance grinned in relief that Jake relented tonight as he was really tired and barely able to stand right now. "Thanks, Jake. Good night," he said, patting his friend on the shoulder before turning to his own room.
"Good night, Chance," Jake sighed, going into his room and closing the door. He had to admit he was too tired as well. They'd really worked out more than usual today. Slipping into bed, it wasn't long before he was fast asleep.
