"Whoa," Jake breathed, causing Chance to pause in the middle of adjusting his black tuxedo vest and turn.
"Suri," Chance said, eyes widening at the odd combination of formal and rebellious.
Suri blushed beneath her pale fur. The orchestra dressed their she-kats in black dresses and their toms in tuxedos, but, as she was doing a solo performance, her dress was more formal. It was strapless and form fitting to the waist where it billowed out elegantly. Her long dreads tied back in a thick black ribbon. "Mr. Furlong," she replied. "Jake." She smiled at him. She'd told him to wear a black tuxedo, but he'd outdone himself with the black undershirt as well. "Nervous?"
"You have no idea." Jake squeaked.
"You'll be fine." Suri purred.
"Go stand over there." Chance pointed to the wall near the doors to the auditorium. "I want a picture of you two." He pulled a slim digital camera from his pocket. "Jake, hook your arm through hers or something. You're makin' it look like a mug shot."
"Heh," Jake awkwardly held her arm. He felt even smaller next to her with her in heels and standing nearly 6 inches taller rather than her usual two or three.
"Perfect." Chance grinned, taking several pictures.
"Okay," Suri let out a breath. "Time to go."
Jake watched her walk away before turning to look at Chance.
"You're gonna do fine." Chance reassured.
"I feel kind of sick." Jake felt his stomach twist.
"Don't think about the audience." Chance coached. "And if you do, me and Callie and Ma are right there in the front row cheering you on."
"Right," Jake breathed and turned to go into the auditorium.
Unlike Suri, who was on the stage the whole time, Jake waited on the steps leading up to the stage. He wasn't needed until her solo. It amazed him how easily all these students played, how it didn't phase them that a hundred family and friends were watching. Maybe that was it. They all had somebody in the audience. They weren't playing for a crowd of strangers. Feeling a little braver, he was more settled and ready to play when it came time for him to join Suri on the stage. The lights dimmed around the rest of the orchestra so that they were the main focus point on the stage.
"You said his mother was a music teacher?" Rita whispered to her son when Jake started to play. Chance simply nodded. "I bet she'd be proud to here him play like this." She patted him on the knee before looking over to find Callie leaning on his arm. Rita smiled and returned her attention to the performance.
When Jake played out the final key strokes, he shot a sly look towards the audience and then Suri. She bowed elegantly and then, as she stood, swept the paw that had held her bow towards Jake. Swallowing nervously, he stood before the standing ovation and bowed stiffly.
"This concludes our Holiday Performance." The orchestra director said to the crowd. "See you all next year." There was a collective groan at the overused joke before the curtains closed and the students were allowed to leave the stage.
"You were amazing." Jake said to Suri, though he'd been so focused on getting his part right that he hardly heard her.
"Me?" She blushed. "You were the amazing one. They are used to my solo performances at this point. Walk me back to the orchestra room?"
"Sure." Jake ducked his head. "So, when do you leave?"
"Tomorrow afternoon." Suri answered, holding her viola and bow in one paw, tucking them carefully under her arm at the chin rest.
"It will be weird not seeing you for two weeks." Jake shoved his paws into his pants pockets and looked up at her through his lashes.
Suri gave him a funny look and then chuckled softly. "I forget sometimes that this isn't typical for you, that you aren't used to the way school works. I will send you updates online."
"I can't wait." Jake smiled shyly.
"You really were great." Suri said, pausing in the orchestra room doors.
"Thanks." Jake cleared his throat and looked down at her shoes. "So... uh... I guess I should be... you know..." He looked back up at her.
"Yeah." Suri blinked expectantly at him.
Jake swallowed nervously, pushed up on his toes and pressed his lips to hers. In that very moment, there was a gasp and a bright camera flash. Quickly, they parted. Suri went into the orchestra room, and Jake slowly turned around to find Chance, camera in paw, and Rita and Callie with amused expressions.
"You done here, Casanova?" Chance teased, finding immense delight in the dark shade of red visible through Jake's dark fur.
"Yeah," Jake replied quietly.
"You were wonderful." Callie complimented. "You should do this more often."
Jake scrunched his nose. "I dunno."
"I bet if that young she-kat asked, he'd do it again in a heartbeat." Rita winked, deepening the teen's blush.
"Alright," Chance gave the two she-kats a reprimanding look. "Get off his case." He gripped the back of the teen's neck firmly in one of his paws. "C'mon lover-boy. I've gotta get these ladies home."
Jake was up early the first day of holiday break, having become used to getting up early for school. Chance was already at work in the garage when he came downstairs in his worn hoody and an old pair of jeans.
"Where you going?" Chance asked, a water pump in his paws.
"To look for parts for the Cyclotron." Jake responded as he went outside.
"Oh." Chance looked down, and then back up sharply. "Hey wait!" He ran outside after the teen. "I never said that was okay."
"I'm pretty sure you did." Jake looked innocent.
"No." Chance glared. "I said I was less nervous about it. I never said go right ahead and do it."
"Come on Chance." Jake sighed. "Just let me build it and, by the time it's done, I'll be doing flips on that dirt bike."
Chance stared at Jake for a long moment before sighing as well. "Fine. Build it. But you don't get to ride it until I say so."
"Thanks." Jake grinned. "You won't regret this."
"I better not." Chance turned to go back into the garage.
Jake shook his head and strolled out into the miles of broken and seemingly useless junk. He was walking around, more or less, running potential designs through his brain when a sudden flash caught his eye. Turning, he looked towards the 15 foot gate that surround the salvage yard. A green truck was parked on the curb. "Caught ya." Jake acted as if he didn't notice and kept walking until he was hidden behind a large mountain of steel. Slowly, he worked his way around the backside of the junk until he had a clear view of truck. "Wonder if they knew I was out here, or just waiting for us to leave or something." Jake screwed up his face in thought before attempting to get closer. "Maybe I can get a plate number or something," he thought. The sun reflected off something in the cab. "Camera lens?" Jake mused moments before his eyes recognized the barrel of a gun. "Crud," he hissed, ducking just as a loud crack sounded. He gasped as he felt something hit his leg with crippling force.
Chance looked up sharply. He knew the sound of a gunshot. Immediately he darted out of the garage in time to hear the sound of screeching tires. "JAKE!" He shouted, his gut twisting with worry as he ran out into the salvage yard. After a minute or so of frantic searching, he saw movement in his peripheral vision and turned to find Jake wriggling out of his hooded sweatshirt to press it against his leg. "Christ! What the hell was that?" He hurried over to the teen, immediately noticing the outpouring of blood. "Fuck," Chance cursed and dropped to the ground to put as much pressure as he could on it. "You got that cell on ya?"
"Y-yeah," Jake drove a shaking paw into his pocket and pulled it out, fumbling it.
"Dial the number." Chance instructed. "Then hand it to me."
Jake quickly complied and thrust the phone at Chance. Chance removed one paw just long enough to tuck the phone between his head and shoulder. Jake let out a gasp as full pressure was returned to his leg. He was shaking too hard to pay attention to Chance's frantic conversation with the dispatcher.
Something about femoral arteries and drive by's. Jake closed his eyes, not entirely aware of the painful whimpering sounds he was making while all too aware of the pounding of his heart.
"Hey stay with me!" Chance shouted, pushing down harder on the teen's leg, drawing out a gasp and a moan.
"... hurts..." Jake mewed.
"I know," Chance wished he could scratch Jake between the ears or something to comfort him. "Ambulance is on its way." He struggled for something to keep the kit focused. "Did you see who did it?"
Jake panted, digging his claws into the dirt. ".. was a truck..."
"What color was it?" Chance pushed him.
"Ahh..." Jake gasped and tried to jerk away. "Green... it was green."
"Good boy." Chance smiled forcefully. "Was it newer or older?"
"New... newer... four doors..." Jake kicked out with his uninjured leg. "... tried to... get closer... see who was... gah..."
"See who was driving?" Chance edged on.
"... taking pictures... didn't see the gun til... til right before..."
Chance looked up when he heard the sound of sirens.
"Chance..." Jake said through clenched teeth. "Kinda dizzy..."
Chance looked down at the blood soaking through the thick black fleece. "I bet. Just hang on for me. Okay?"
"Uh... uh huh..." Jake ground out. "Don't leave me," he added suddenly.
"I'll be right behind the ambulance." Chance promised.
"...kay..." Jake replied tiredly.
"I don't think they missed." Chance spoke quietly to Lt. Felina Feral in the nearly vacant ICU waiting area. "If they went for a kill shot, all they would've got is one pissed off ex pilot." He growled.
"So you think it was a warning?" Felina asked.
"Maybe a reminder that they're still out there." Chance lifted his cap with one paw and scrubbed through his hair with the other. It was freezing outside, but he was sweating.
"When they get the bullet, I'm taking it with me. Maybe we can trace it." She looked hopeful. "In the meantime, don't let your guard down."
"And don't let him outta my sight." Chance added tensely.
"That too." Felina offered a grim smile.
"Chance Furlong?" They both turned around to find a doctor in scrubs. "We removed the bullet from Jake's lower left leg. It tore through some muscle and ligaments but there's no reason he shouldn't make a full recovery."
Chance exhaled loudly. "That's great news. How is he?"
"He's in recovery, and a little weak from blood loss. I'd say he lost close to two pints. We've got him on an IV and a small dose of morphine for the pain." The doctor replied, smiling a bit at the end. "As long as nothing catastrophic happens, he should be able to leave in a few hours."
"What about the bullet?" Felina asked urgently.
The doctor held up a jar. "Here ya go."
"Great." Felina took it, eying it suspiciously. "Let's hope it isn't stolen."
Chance watched Felina go before following the doctor to where Jake was resting. He seemed a little gray around his ears and nose, and his eyes were clenched shut. "Hey kiddo," he purred as he sat next to the bed.
"Chance..." Jake blinked his eyes open. "Can I go home now?"
Chance chuckled lightly. "Not yet. How ya feel?"
"Kinda dizzy..." Jake stared bleary-eyed at a spot on the wall across from him. "Leg hurts... feels like they dug around inside of me with an ice pick."
Chance snorted. "I don't think that's SOP for removing metal from someone's leg." He patted the teen's paw. "You're gonna be limping for a while though, and you'll probably have an interesting scar."
"Think Suri will like it?" Jake whispered tiredly.
"Sure." Chance smiled. "Chicks dig that sort of thing."
"Hey Chance..." Jake blinked up at his guardian. "Why didn't they just kill me?"
Chance gave Jake a pondering look. "I think they had something else in mind."
"Like what?" Jake shifted uncomfortably.
"I dunno." Chance sighed loudly.
It was late when Chance pulled up to the front gate of the salvage yard. He looked over at Jake. "You okay?"
"Yeah," Jake whispered, though the way his face was drawn up and his ears flat, the morphine was long gone.
"You took that like a champ," Chance squeezed his shoulder.
Jake snorted in disbelief.
"Almost home." He reached for the control pad out the window and paused. The panel around it was loose. "Say... what are the chances that they shot you so that we'd leave and they could toss the place?"
Jake's head snapped up. "That's... highly plausible."
"Stay in the car," Chance warned him as the gates closed behind them.
"But what if..."
"I can handle it. And you're safer in here with the doors locked. This whole car's made of bulletproof materials." Chance left the keys in the seat. "Lock it as soon as I get out."
Jake gave the tabby a sulking look.
"Lock it." Chance repeated and shut the door.
Jake huffed loudly and grabbed the keys. He mashed the 'lock' button rather than stretching to hit the console on the door. "I can handle it," he mocked.
Chance checked the door. It was unlocked, but he wasn't sure if he'd locked it in his rush to follow Jake to the hospital or not. Still, he exercised caution as he slipped into the garage, picking up a tire iron and reaching for the light switch. His ears flattened at the sight of scattered tools and parts. "This is gonna be hell to clean up," he muttered. As soon as he cleared the shop, Chance checked the office. The filing cabinet was moved and open and invoices had been removed. He let out a relieved smile though when he noticed that the shelf on the wall behind the desk wasn't pulled out. Of course, that was because it was attached to the wall. But it meant that it was unlikely they'd realized there was anything behind it. "Good job, Jake." He commended the teen for doing such a good job of making sure no one else could get in. Then he checked the office for bugs. He didn't want anyone listening in or watching if they did go downstairs. Finally, Chance left the office and went upstairs into their humble home. There were less dark corners for anyone to hide in up there, but he still remained guarded. Kitchen cabinets were open and things had been set on the table. Furniture had been moved in the living room, and all the shelves with DVDs and books on them were emptied, the previous contents littering the floor. Even the bathroom appeared to have been gone through. Chance shook his head and then proceeded to check Jake's room. His tail swished angrily and his ears fell backwards as he took in the mess. They'd been extra thorough. The teen's bed was completely disheveled, the mattress halfway on the floor and the sheets ripped off. All of his drawers were either open or pulled out and dumped on the floor. His schoolbag was ripped open and the closet was open was well, most of his clothes thrown out onto the fallen mattress. Chance's feet crunched on something and he looked down. There was glass all over the floor. He found the window to be broken. "Good thing he started keeping his own laptop downstairs with the rest of them," he thought. Finally, Chance checked his own room, finding significantly less devastation.
Jake shifted uncomfortably in the seat and strained to see out the glass and into the windows. All he was able to see, though, was Chance's silhouette walking by every few moments. He sighed loudly and let his head thunk against the headrest. "This blows!" He shouted to the silent vehicle. Finally, Chance came back out and signaled for him to get out of the car. Jake happily, if not a bit slowly, obliged.
"What's the damage?" Jake asked, fumbling with the crutch he'd been given to help him stay off the leg.
"We've got a lot of cleaning up to do. And your room's more of a disaster area than usual." Chance looked grim as he locked the garage behind him. "I think we need to..." He was cut off as the alarm blared loudly.
Jake strained to figure out the one-sided conversation with the deputy mayor, but it was useless. Chance hurried back. "Stay down in the hangar til I get back."
"What?" Jake looked at his guardian with disbelief. "Chance, I'm starving. And this place is a mess."
"Grab something and get down there." Chance warned. "It's the only place they didn't get into. What if they come back thinking, now that they got in once, they can do it again, and pick you off like a sitting duck?"
"I'm hardly a sitting duck." Jake glared.
"I don't have time to argue." Chance growled. "Go grab you a bag of chips or something and don't leave the hangar until I get back."
Jake gripped the crutch so tightly, his knuckles popped. He watched Chance go with a mutinous look before going upstairs to find some food. He dawdled around a bit, checking out the damage first. "Aw," he pouted as he realized that, aside from the fact that his room was now the same chilly temperature it was outside, his poster of two she-kats kissing hidden on the inside of his closet door was shredded. "It's not enough that you dumped my underwear drawer right in the middle of the floor, but you had to take the two most beautiful she-kats in the world and rip them to pieces?" He spoke to the empty room. Sighing loudly, he left his bedroom, grabbed a bag of chips, the six pack of cola and a piece of fried chicken Rita had dropped off the day before. "Grab a bag of chips," he mocked. "Seriously? I skipped breakfast to get shot and spend all day in the friggin' hospital." Jake stomped downstairs and went into the hangar. 'T-Bone' was already gone. "Might as well figure out a way to amp up security and try to find out what they were looking for."
T-Bone didn't miss the heated glare he got as soon as he jumped out of the cockpit.
"For the record," Jake shouted across the hangar as T-Bone went to remove his vigilante disguise. "Nobody came or went since you left."
"Good." Chance shouted back. "Let's keep it that way."
"I'm working on it." Jake gestured to a tangled mess of wires and circuit boards. "Retinal scan or fingerprint reader?"
Chance made a face. "Why not both?"
"Okay." Jake shrugged. "And I know what they're looking for, and I think I might have a lead on who they are."
"Hit me." Chance asked, pulling a chair over with his foot and dropping into it. Jake looked at him thoughtfully for a moment before flicking the metal tab off one of the now empty cans at him. "Thanks. Now tell me what you've got." Chance glared.
"Besides the most unnecessary amount of pain I have ever felt?" Jake complained rhetorically. "Pumadyne."
"Pumadyne?" Chance gave him an unsure look.
"Well, not the company as a whole." Jake rolled his eyes. "More specifically, Dr. Reynold Thomas Felino."
"Felino... why does that sound familiar?" Chance furrowed his brow in thought.
"Hmm well... I dunno." Jake gave him a sarcastic look. "It certainly couldn't be my good friend Jason's father."
Chance's jaw dropped. "Aw you're kidding me. So you've got Steele's baby sister and the son of Pumadyne's CEO."
"Affirmative." Jake sighed. "But I've got some leverage on Jason."
"That being?" Chance gave the teen a curious look.
Jake looked thoughtful for a moment. "His parents would flip shit if they found out he was gay."
Chance almost choked.
"That's besides the point." Jake straightened as best he could with one foot stretched across a crate. "Good ol' dad was working on some pretty impressive artificial intelligence. With all the malfunctions Pumadyne has with their robotics, it's easy to see why they'd want it. Especially if they had a paw in designing it."
"So your dad was using their designs?" Chance tried to look surprised.
"Not entirely." Jake frowned. "He was fixing their designs. According to everything I've seen so far, Felino found them to be flawed so he scrapped 'em. When my dad recovered them and worked the bugs out, Felino wanted back on board, citing that they were his. Apparently it went to court. My dad won the rights to use them as they were never patented. Felino decided that, if he couldn't get his cut legally, he was going to get it illegally." He pushed one of the laptops over to Chance. "Note the dates on the patents."
"1998 through 2000." Chance sighed. "Right when all the problems started."
"Yep." Jake sighed. "Felino works like a mob boss. You have something he wants and you don't give it to him, he cuts off your fingers until you don't have paws to hold onto it anymore."
"But he doesn't have any leverage with you so he's gonna try to just scare you into giving up the goods." Chance shook his head.
"Yep." Jake nodded his head. "Now the question is, if he knew who it was, why didn't he just turn him in?"
"Maybe there's a plot twist we're missing here." Chance asked.
"Maybe." Jake yawned.
"Ready for bed?" Chance smirked.
"It's holiday break." Jake looked defiant. "You're still gonna make me be in bed by ten?"
Chance didn't reply. He simply stood up and headed for the steps. "Bring that trash up on your way."
"Seriously?" Jake huffed.
A couple of strong pain pills and Jake was out cold and in the tabby's large comfortable bed. Chance draped an extra blanket over him before getting to work cleaning the place up. He'd just dug out the broom when the house phone rang. "Hello?" He said quietly, picking it up on the first ring. "Hey Callie." A grin lit up his face. Then he frowned. "You apartment building got smashed?" He looked around the mess of his own place. "If you don't mind helping clean up. Someone broke in today and everything's a mess." It was a short phone call, and Chance double timed his clean up efforts the moment it was over.
Jake's head felt like it was stuffed with cotton and his mouth was so dry it hurt. He painfully and clumsily slid out of bed, stumbling towards the door without his crutch. "Shit..." he hissed as his coordination was inhibited. He used the wall to steady his short walk to the bathroom where he stared at the sink in a fog, wondering how he was supposed to drink the water when there wasn't a cup. Jake considered drinking from the faucet before he decided to just hobble his way to the kitchen. It wasn't until he was limping back through that he noticed Chance on the couch... naked... with Callie's legs wrapped around him. The glass slipped from his grasp, crashing to the floor, shattering loudly and drawing out a startled gasp from the couple. He forcefully looked away from Callie's perky, bouncing breasts.
"Jake, what the hell are you doing up?" Chance growled, covering himself with his discarded shirt.
"I was... uh..." Jake squeezed his eyes shut even harder. "I was thirsty and.. I swear Chance I didn't even hear you guys." He recognized the shuffling sound of getting dressed and cautiously peeked one eye open, relieved to find Chance no longer naked and somewhat disappointed that he didn't get to see more of Callie. He shook himself when he realized he was staring at her. "I'm just gonna... I'm going back to bed."
Jake carefully moved around the broken glass, using the wall as he went. Behind him, he could hear Callie saying that maybe she should leave and then Chance asking where she was going to go and telling her not to worry about it, to stay there for the night. Jake shook his head and limped back into Chance's room, pausing to note how his room was mostly cleaned up and there was plastic over the broken window. He eased himself up onto the bed and slid beneath the covers, then he willed the thought of Callie's naked body out of his head, thinking of anything that might disgust him more than turn him on. After all, he was sleeping in someone else's bed. Dutifully, Chance knocked on the door before Jake was able to drift off.
"Y-yeah..." Jake curled onto his side as best he could, reaching to move the pillow he'd had under his leg.
Chance looked sheepish as he set a glass of water next to Jake. "Sorry about that."
Jake screwed up his face as he thought of a response. "What's she doing here this late?"
"Her apartment building got pretty banged up in what went down earlier." Chance sighed. "She was told she couldn't stay there until they checked to make sure it was still structurally sound."
"Oh." Jake cut his eyes towards the window. "So... um..."
"Her place should be okay tomorrow evening." Chance added.
"Right." Jake cringed a bit when Chance patted him on the arm.
"Really am sorry about that."
"It's... it's okay." Jake's voice cracked. "Just... uh... you know... next time..."
"Yeah." Chance scratched the back of his head, clearly embarrassed.
Jake cleared his throat. "So... I guess this means I don't have a chance with her, huh?"
Chance couldn't help the snort of laughter. "You could say that." He coughed to diminish the laughter. "Get some sleep."
"Yeah." Jake reached for the water. "Goodnight, Chance."
"G'night." Chance offered another sheepish smile before leaving the room.
Chance found Callie standing in the kitchen, gnawing on one of her usually perfectly manicured claws.
"That was awkward." Chance tried to chuckle.
"No kidding." She looked away. "Maybe next time we should just meet for lunch while he's at school."
"Next time," Chance gave her a light kiss on the nose. "His room won't be the temperature of the north pole and we can have the privacy of my room."
Callie blushed and smiled coyly. "Speaking of his room," she grew serious. "Chance, this is serious."
"I know." The tabby sighed. "I think we might have a lead on who is behind this. We're going to give some names to the Enforcers and see what they can do." He looked at the floor. It was all he could do not to gear up himself and hunt them down. But then he'd told Jake that wasn't the right thing to do. What kind of guardian would that make him? "I swear to you, Callie. If it wasn't for the responsibilities we have here, I'd just drag him off to another town and another school in the middle of nowhere."
"This junkyard's that big of a responsibility?" Callie blinked with surprise.
Chance's mouth hung open for a moment as he struggled to find a way to fix his slip up. "Uh... well... considering I have to work here until the damage we did to Enforcer headquarters is paid off... then, yeah. If we just leave, not only would I probably be incarcerated, kitten services gets Jake and then who's watching his back?"
Callie furrowed her brow in frustration. "That's a good point." She let out a loud breath. "He got shot, for crying out loud. Certainly Commander Feral would understand the danger staying here would put him in."
Chance's ears fell forward.
"There has to be something we can do." Callie said, prompting Chance to look up.
"We?" Chance glared. "Callie, you've got enough to worry about. Jake's my responsibility."
Jake leaned against the wall near the slightly open door and listened to their conversation. It was a small home with thin walls, and when he'd heard them talking about his situation, he became concerned.
"It's not just about responsibility," Callie scoffed.
"Yeah." Chance growled. "It is" He huffed loudly. "I shouldn't have even let you come over here. You're a pretty high profile target. Do you have any idea how much danger you could be in right now?"
"Any more danger than when the Pastmaster shows up wanting to marry me?" Callie rebuked.
"I'm serious." Chance glared.
"So am I."
Jake looked down at the floor, staring at his toes in the dark. Not only was he putting Chance's life in danger, he was putting Callie's in danger as well. And Suri's. And anyone that got close. He squeezed his eyes shut; a single thought occurred to him. "If I leave, then they're safe." Soundlessly, he slid out of the door and, keeping his back against the wall for support, limped into his frigid room. The cold took his mind off the burning pain in his leg and he made quick work getting dressed and figuring out a way to get out of there without being noticed.
Chance let out a long sigh. "Callie, I'd never forgive myself if something happened to you. And neither would Jake. He..." The sound of a motorcycle revving to life rumbled from the shop beneath them. "Shit!" Chance ran down the hall to his room and threw open the door to find his bed empty. He backtracked and looked in Jake's room. The plastic had been removed from the bottom to middle portion of the window and a grappling hook clung to the window sill.
"What is it?" Callie asked, fear sparkling in her eyes.
"Jake's gone." Chance ran passed her and down the stairs into the garage, finding one of the bay doors open and a motorcycle they'd brought in gone. He turned to find Callie on the stairs. "I think he heard us talking."
"Where do you think he would have gone?" Callie asked, already going back upstairs to get her keys.
"I have no idea." Chance followed her to get his own keys, his paws shaking with a mix of fury and fear. "But if anything happens to him, there's gonna be hell to pay."
Sorry this one took a while to get up. I had to go to a funeral two states away. Seems like there's always something going on.