After talking with Sarita, Chance was a bit more relaxed about what Nakela had done. He knew they were right in that he just didn't understand supernatural creatures, and he was actually glad that Jake was almost cured of the vampire's influence. Regardless of how. Anyway, it was obvious that the shifter did care for him. The rest of the day actually passed fairly smoothly. Sarita confirmed that Jake still had a small amount of the vampire's blood in him, so it was decided that Nakela would stay. They figured that if Ange was planning anything, she would have already acted, but it was better for at least one of the shifters to remain at the garage just in case. Sawgrass was off who-knows-where as usual, and Sarita returned to her Den Relm to prepare for the Cleansing Rite.

It was almost sundown when the alarm went off. Nakela jumped, having never heard it before and not knowing what it meant. Both kats quickly got up and ran to the com. Jake got there first.

"Yes, Miss Briggs?"

There was a slight pause.

"Razor! Oh thank heavens you're okay! Guys, you're not going to believe this, but the Metallikats are back!"

Chance groaned.

"Oh not again. Where are they? And are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I can see them at the bank a block away. They ran their hovercraft right through the wall! The Enforcers are on their way, but..."

"Got it. We're on our way!"

Nakela watched the pair run quickly down to the hangar. She knew that this was 'normal' for them, as much as battling vampires, evil spirits, and corrupt Bete were for her and Sar. Still, she worried about them, as she did any time her friends went into battle. Especially Sarita.

It didn't take long for the black fighter jet to reach the bank Callie mentioned. Sure enough, they saw the Metallikat Express where it had smashed through the wall, surrounded by Enforcer patrol cars. T-Bone looked down on the scene as they flew past.

"Haven't they learned by now that the Metallikats' hovercraft can squash those cars of theirs?"

Razor laughed softly.

"Apparently not. But let's make sure that doesn't happen. Arming tarpedos!"

T-Bone brought the jet back around and Razor aimed, then launched the tarpedos. The two missiles impacted the hovercraft, splattering both it and the wall with sticky tar.

"Bingo! That oughta keep them in one place!"

"Yeah, now let's go down and kick some Metallikat tails!"

The jet landed on the neighboring roof. The two kats quickly grabbed their crossbow guns that launched the exploding mini-missiles, and ran to the edge of the roof. T-Bone fired, blasting a hole in the side of the bank building, then they both jumped across. The Metallikats had already blasted through the safe, but were now in a shootout with the Enforcers through the partially tarred up hole. Both kats aimed their weapons, and T-Bone yelled out.

"Hey bucket-butts! Don't you two ever learn?"

They both fired. The Metallikats jumped out of the way, but the explosions still threw them both several yards. Molly got up and fired back at the SWAT Kats.

"It ain't gonna be so easy this time, you pests!"

Mac fired his weapon at the wall, blasting a hole in the back of the building.

"Yeah! Come and get us!"

"With pleasure you tin-can creeps!"

T-Bone and Razor repelled quickly down to the floor below as the Metallikats ran out through the hole. As soon as they hit the ground, the kats ran quickly after the metal thugs, finding that they had blown another hole in the neighboring building and gone into it. It was an office building that was under renovation, with no power. The sun had set and it was very dark. T-Bone looked around in the darkness.

"Aw crud!"

They could then hear Mac and Molly laughing somewhere ahead in the darkness. Mac called out.

"What's a matter! You SWAT Kats scared of the dark?"

There was just enough light coming through the windows from the street lamps outside for the kats to see where they were going. They gave their eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness, then Razor responded to the taunt.

"You're the ones who should be running scared!"

Cautiously, T-Bone and Razor made their way into the dark building. They knew that the Metallikats could see them with their optic sensors, and they were both completely tensed, ready for anything. Razor saw the faint red glow just in time.

"Watch it!"

He jumped forward, throwing both him and T-Bone out of the way of the laser blast only a bare instant before it hit the wall behind where they had been. As soon as they hit the ground, both kats rolled onto their sides and fired in the direction the laser fire had come from. The explosion lit up the room briefly and they could see Mac diving for cover, then run into an adjacent doorway. Another laser hit the floor just an inch from T-Bone's head and he turned, seeing Molly flee up the stairs a short distance away.

"Crud! We're going to have to split up."

Razor nodded as he got quickly back to his feet.

"Right. I'll go up, you got down."

"Got it. Be careful, buddy!"

"You too!"

The two kats turned ran in separate directions after the Metallikats. Razor moved quickly up the stairs, his crossbow aimed and ready as soon as he went through the doorway at the top. He was in a large hallway with glass doors on both sides. There was no sign of Molly. Carefully, every fiber of his being ready to react at the slightest provocation, he moved down the hallway, checking each door. While looking through the fourth door, he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. When he turned around, something grabbed him from behind. A strong hand restrained his right arm, claws digging in and forcing him to release his grip on the crossbow due to the pain. A second hand was over his mouth, preventing him from yelling out. Razor tried to struggle, but whatever was holding him was too strong. A soft, gentle voice whispered in his ear.

"Calm yourself Razor..."

Razor froze, more from shock than anything else. He knew that voice! Slowly, the hand moved away from his mouth as she loosened her grip on his arm with her other hand.

"Angelida...?"

His heart was racing and his breath quickened. Fear and desire both coursed through him. He had almost gotten rid of the vampire's blood in him, but not completely. Now she was here, standing just behind him. He couldn't move. He knew he should try to run, but his body refused to obey. He closed his eyes as the vampire ran her hands gently up his arms to his shoulders. He felt her lips on the back of his neck. He winced at the sharp pain as her fangs broke his skin, but it quickly faded as the sensation of the Kiss took over. He stood with his eyes closed, enjoying the pure ecstasy of the vampire's embrace as she fed. Less than a week ago, he couldn't understand how anyone could possibly want a vampire to drink from them. Now he did.

Ange gently pulled back, and licked the wound closed. She made certain there was no trace of blood left in the fur of his neck. She then walked around him, running her hand over his shoulder and she moved to stand in front of him. Leaning in, she kissed him deeply. Again she cut her tongue on her own fangs, but this time Razor knew what was coming. There was no resistance. He wanted it. He took her blood eagerly as they kissed. At length, the woman pulled her young-looking body away from the kat. She smiled as he opened his eyes.

"Now... you must not tell the others of this. They wouldn't understand. They would try to kill me for it. Sarita hates me. She may even try to kill you."

"I won't let her hurt you..."

"I know. But you must not let on of what has happened here. They can't know. Don't give yourself away, Razor. Don't give me away."

"I won't."

"Good. Now go. Don't worry about the Metallikats. They won't cause any more trouble tonight."

"How do you know?"

"Just trust me. Go."

He turned and headed back down the stairs. Ange stood silently as she watched him go. She then heard a voice behind her.

"Okay, now that was just disgusting."

The small human didn't even bother to so much as glance back over her shoulder.

"But it's effective. One more time, and he'll be completely under my control. You did your part well, Molly."

The robotic she-kat walked up behind the vampire.

"Yeah? Well just don't forget our deal! And what the heck are we gonna do about our ride! Those blasted SWAT Kats messed it up good, and the Enforcers are probably gonna have it impounded within the hour!"

"Don't worry about that. I've got my claws well into the Enforcer chain of command. And now that the Commander has met with his 'accident', my pawn is now in full charge.

"Accident? What accident?"

She smiled darkly and walked over to the nearest door, picking up the rifle hidden just inside. It was the sort used by military snipers.

"Where do you think I was while you two were luring the SWAT Kats in here?"

"You took out Feral?"

"Not an exact kill shot, but he'll be in the hospital for weeks. Of course... there's always a chance for 'complications'."

Back downstairs, Razor soon found T-Bone again. The larger kat looked over at his partner as he approached.

"You find Molly?"

"Sorry, pal. Looks like she got away."

"Yeah, so did Mac. I thought we had those two this time!"

"Same here. At least there wasn't a whole lot of damage done, and they no longer have their hovercraft."

"Yeah, at least there's that. Come on. Let's head home."