Chapter 6: Threat
"Quick guys, listen up!" Chance said as he turned up the volume to the police radio.
Sensing his urgency, Kitty turned on another police radio that was connected to the computer.
All of a sudden, a voice they recognised as Darkat's came on.
"Commander Feral, if you're listening out there, I just want to tell you that I have your precious niece," Darkat said mockingly.
A series of static then, Feral's voice came through.
"Who are you? How do I know that this isn't one of those bluffs?"
"Bluff?" Darkat asked haughtyly, "You want prove? It's going to cost you more..."
"Give me the damn prove!" Feral exploded.
"Herr Doktor, get the hostage!" Darkat commanded as Feral and the Swat Kats waited patiently. After a couple of minutes, Darkat came back on. "You want your prove? Well, ignorant fool, here's your costly prove!"
There was a sound of the microphone being passed to another. Then, a frantic voice came on.
"Uncle!" cried Felina in fury, "Trust the Swat Kats! They are..."
Felina never got to finish her sentence as someone had cut her off by knocking her out. The Swat Kats could clearly hear the sound of the crash as Felina hit the floor. Chance winced at the thought of the blow.
The microphone shifted again and Darkat came back on.
"Now are you convinced, Commander?" he asked. "The ransom will be set at three point five million dollars in hard cash. I also want the prototype of the newly completed computer chip in the Jaguar Facility. And please, don't act as if I don't know what I'm talking about. Your niece's life is at stake."
"All right," said the Commander reluctantly after a couple of seconds, "Where do you want to collect the money and chip?"
Darkat laughed at the thought of victory. "At the train station in the district of Pumadime. There's only one so you can't miss it. Now listen carefully because I will tell you this only once:
"I want the money and the chip in a black suitcase near the entrance of the last carriage of the southbound train. One of my servants will collect it; don't worry, when you see it, you'll know it's the one you're looking for. If I don't have it in five minutes starting from now, you'll have to erase Felina's existence in the record books. Any questions? Nope, so I'll leave you to your business. Oh and a word of advice: time's a-wasting!"
At that point, Darkat cut off the communications link with the police. Back at the hanger, the Swat Kats were hard at work.
"Kitty did you get a fix on the source of the transmission?" Chance asked as he flicked the radio off.
Kitty nodded as she continued typing furiously away. "The transmission was weak so I've only got the area around it."
Glancing over her shoulder, Jake gasped as he instantly recognised the area. "That's the forest! Darkat couldn't have set up a base in the forest. We would have seen it when we were out looking for Felina."
"Not in the forest, Jake," said Kitty as she transferred the information to the Turbokat's computer, "but under the forest."
Standing up, Kitty allowed Jake to run upstairs to collect their masks, helmet and glovatricks.
"How do you intend to fly over to the forest without being shot down by the Enforcers?" Kitty asked Chance as Jake raced back down to the hanger.
"Yeah, Chance, there's no way we could fly over the city without getting spotted by an Enforcer," said Jake tossing Kitty her equipment.
"Well, Felina said something about trusting us, didn't she?" Chance questioned as he swiped off the wax polishers from the wing. "Let's just pray her uncle will heed her advice."
"That's reassuring," replied Jake sarcastically. "But I've got a better plan."
With that, Jake ran back up the stairs again, his footfalls pounding throughout the house. Back in the hanger, Hacker tied on her mask and slipped her helmet on. She leapt gracefully into her seat and continued to type furiously on the computer trying hard to get a precise location.
"What the hell is wrong with Razor? Can't he see that we are in a hurry?" demanded T-bone.
"Huh?" asked Hacker as she glanced up from her work. Her face etched with annoyance.
"Nothing! I...I said nothing," T-bone replied waving his hands innocently in the air.
Sighing, Hacker turned her attention to the computer, as T-bone climbed into his seat. Once in his seat, T-bone flicked on a series of buttons, which got the engines whirling.
Flexing his fingers into his gloves, he called out, "Razor! Get your tail moving!"
Seconds later, Razor raced down the flight of stairs and jumped into his seat. Pressing a small red button, the canopy swished close.
"All right, I'm in! Step on it T-bone!" Razor cried.
T-bone shoved the throttle forward as the engine burst to life. The Turbokat roared as T-bone steered it up the sloped runway. Ahead of them, the hanger doors slide open noiselessly and the Swat Kats were on their way to Pumadime, or what was left of it anyway.
"Quick guys, listen up!" Chance said as he turned up the volume to the police radio.
Sensing his urgency, Kitty turned on another police radio that was connected to the computer.
All of a sudden, a voice they recognised as Darkat's came on.
"Commander Feral, if you're listening out there, I just want to tell you that I have your precious niece," Darkat said mockingly.
A series of static then, Feral's voice came through.
"Who are you? How do I know that this isn't one of those bluffs?"
"Bluff?" Darkat asked haughtyly, "You want prove? It's going to cost you more..."
"Give me the damn prove!" Feral exploded.
"Herr Doktor, get the hostage!" Darkat commanded as Feral and the Swat Kats waited patiently. After a couple of minutes, Darkat came back on. "You want your prove? Well, ignorant fool, here's your costly prove!"
There was a sound of the microphone being passed to another. Then, a frantic voice came on.
"Uncle!" cried Felina in fury, "Trust the Swat Kats! They are..."
Felina never got to finish her sentence as someone had cut her off by knocking her out. The Swat Kats could clearly hear the sound of the crash as Felina hit the floor. Chance winced at the thought of the blow.
The microphone shifted again and Darkat came back on.
"Now are you convinced, Commander?" he asked. "The ransom will be set at three point five million dollars in hard cash. I also want the prototype of the newly completed computer chip in the Jaguar Facility. And please, don't act as if I don't know what I'm talking about. Your niece's life is at stake."
"All right," said the Commander reluctantly after a couple of seconds, "Where do you want to collect the money and chip?"
Darkat laughed at the thought of victory. "At the train station in the district of Pumadime. There's only one so you can't miss it. Now listen carefully because I will tell you this only once:
"I want the money and the chip in a black suitcase near the entrance of the last carriage of the southbound train. One of my servants will collect it; don't worry, when you see it, you'll know it's the one you're looking for. If I don't have it in five minutes starting from now, you'll have to erase Felina's existence in the record books. Any questions? Nope, so I'll leave you to your business. Oh and a word of advice: time's a-wasting!"
At that point, Darkat cut off the communications link with the police. Back at the hanger, the Swat Kats were hard at work.
"Kitty did you get a fix on the source of the transmission?" Chance asked as he flicked the radio off.
Kitty nodded as she continued typing furiously away. "The transmission was weak so I've only got the area around it."
Glancing over her shoulder, Jake gasped as he instantly recognised the area. "That's the forest! Darkat couldn't have set up a base in the forest. We would have seen it when we were out looking for Felina."
"Not in the forest, Jake," said Kitty as she transferred the information to the Turbokat's computer, "but under the forest."
Standing up, Kitty allowed Jake to run upstairs to collect their masks, helmet and glovatricks.
"How do you intend to fly over to the forest without being shot down by the Enforcers?" Kitty asked Chance as Jake raced back down to the hanger.
"Yeah, Chance, there's no way we could fly over the city without getting spotted by an Enforcer," said Jake tossing Kitty her equipment.
"Well, Felina said something about trusting us, didn't she?" Chance questioned as he swiped off the wax polishers from the wing. "Let's just pray her uncle will heed her advice."
"That's reassuring," replied Jake sarcastically. "But I've got a better plan."
With that, Jake ran back up the stairs again, his footfalls pounding throughout the house. Back in the hanger, Hacker tied on her mask and slipped her helmet on. She leapt gracefully into her seat and continued to type furiously on the computer trying hard to get a precise location.
"What the hell is wrong with Razor? Can't he see that we are in a hurry?" demanded T-bone.
"Huh?" asked Hacker as she glanced up from her work. Her face etched with annoyance.
"Nothing! I...I said nothing," T-bone replied waving his hands innocently in the air.
Sighing, Hacker turned her attention to the computer, as T-bone climbed into his seat. Once in his seat, T-bone flicked on a series of buttons, which got the engines whirling.
Flexing his fingers into his gloves, he called out, "Razor! Get your tail moving!"
Seconds later, Razor raced down the flight of stairs and jumped into his seat. Pressing a small red button, the canopy swished close.
"All right, I'm in! Step on it T-bone!" Razor cried.
T-bone shoved the throttle forward as the engine burst to life. The Turbokat roared as T-bone steered it up the sloped runway. Ahead of them, the hanger doors slide open noiselessly and the Swat Kats were on their way to Pumadime, or what was left of it anyway.