TRIALS OF MOTHERHOOD, III
Chapter 3: The Hunt for the Kittens
"Okay, let's get out of here. We need to find a place for them to put that chopper and a rooftop sounds like the perfect thing." Mac said as he led the way through the building they were in to another exit. Looking outside carefully for enforcer patrols, Mac signaled Molly the coast was clear and they quickly ran down the street a short distance.
Spotting what he was looking for, Mac turned down an alleyway and stopped. "Gimme those kits Molly and you pull down that fire ladder. Looking up Molly saw the ladder just over her head.
Without a word, she handed over the now quiet kittens to Mac then reached up and pulled down the ladder. She quickly ran up them followed by Mac, their metal feet making a loud clattering noise. In very little time, they were on the roof, hunching down to keep any patrol from seeing them.
In the field where Dark Kat's ship was resting, enforcers were swarming around it collecting the prisoners and Dark Kat himself. The evil genius was infuriated at being caught so easily. Feral walked up to the huge criminal.
"If anything happens to my kittens because of your cohorts, I'll see you dead!" He hissed, fury so raw it made his voice shake then he stalked away toward an arriving chopper.
Dark Kat blinked at the Commander's retreating back in surprise. He'd never seen Feral this incensed. 'A mother's fury fit the Commander's emotions right now,' Dark Kat thought with a shiver. He hoped the Metallikats didn't do anything stupid for his sake.
Felina landed the chopper not far away from Dark Kat's ship. She left it running and jumped down from it. Her uncle quickly took her place in the pilot's seat. She could see he was barely able to contain his terror for his kits and his fury at his helplessness. She reached in and squeezed his arm a moment in comfort. He nodded then gestured to back off. She quickly trotted away then watched as he climbed back into the sky to hover and wait for contact from the metal pair.
She prayed the Metallikats didn't do anything to the kittens, her uncle and Shere may never get over it.
On the rooftop...
"Okay, let's see if the Commander is ready for us." Mac said as he engaged his radio. "Feral! You out there!" He barked.
"I'm here and waiting with the chopper as you asked." Feral said tightly.
"Right, where are you located this minute?" Mac asked.
"Hovering over the field two blocks from the building you took my kittens from." He snapped.
"Perfect. Fly a straight path to the east and you'll see us on a roof top. I suggest you take it slow so you don't overfly us." Mac instructed. "See you in a few minutes."
Without responding Feral turned the chopper in the indicated direction and slowly moved forward keeping his eyes on the roof tops below him.
High above...
"He's on the move Razor. Have you got him on the X-ray device?" T-Bone asked anxiously.
"Not yet...yeah...there he is...okay buddy...go east slowly." Razor said keeping his eyes glued to his monitor.
"Right!" T-Bone said tightly moving the jet forward as slow as he could.
Feral flew only five minutes before he spotted Mac and Molly standing on a wide roof top. Moving to the far side of the roof he landed but left it running. He jumped out and hurried over to the pair.
"Hold it right there, Commander!" Mac ordered as the kittens shrieked at their mother.
Swallowing hard, Feral looked his kittens over, except for being dirty and frightened, they appeared to be alright. Raising his eyes to the Metallikats his eyes reflected his barely leashed fury and anxious need to grab his kittens.
"You just stay right there until we get to the chopper." Molly warned as she moved to the chopper keeping a tight hold on the kittens.
Feral watched helplessly, his paws clenching to the point of pain, as the Metallikats walked quickly to the waiting chopper. He cried in anguish and ran toward it when the two metal kats jumped into the chopper and took off without leaving the kittens.
High above...
"Oh God, poor Feral. Those bastards took off with the kittens and he's screaming in anger. They've turned south T-Bone at a good clip, let's up the speed but be careful not to overshoot them." Razor said cautiously, his voice tight with barely restrained anger.
"You just tell me where they are buddy, I'll keep us on their tails." T-Bone said grimly. Though they knew this had been a possibility, it still hurt to be right. Gods! He was soo sorry for Feral. He swore they would get the Commander's kittens back in one piece.
Aboard the escaping chopper...
"You got any idea where you're going?" Molly asked as she looked around to ensure no enforcers were following them.
"Yeah, we're going to Dark Kat's hideout of course." Mac snorted.
Molly just grunted and placed the kittens on the floor near her seat. "Stay put and shut up!" She warned them.
The kittens nodded jerkily and wrapped their arms around each other to try and comfort themselves.
The ride was over twenty minutes long and the kittens were exhausted when the chopper flew into a dark hole then landed. Molly picked them up again and jumped down. The Metallikats walked into a cavernous space that accommodated the chopper easily. They were headed to another archway, around them a chittering sound echoed, getting louder as they reached the entryway. Inside was some kind of well lit work area and everywhere there were creeplings that were doing chores.
A few of them came flying up to the Metallikats and chittered angrily.
"Don't know what you're saying but your boss was captured by the enforcers. We're hiding here for a little while, you go on doing what you're doing. I'm sure Dark Kat isn't going to be in jail very long." Mac told them dismissively.
The creeplings looked at each other unhappily but flew off to return to their work.
"I never liked those things, gives me the creeps." Molly said irritably.
"Guess that's why they're called creeplings!" Mac snorted in amusement.
"Haha, you're a riot. Where are we going to put these kits and what are we going to do with them?" Molly asked shaking the pair in question a little.
"They're our insurance. As long as we have them, Feral doesn't dare try and find us." Mac said smugly.
"Oh yeah! Well whose going to feed them eh? Whose going to take care of them? They are kittens and they'll die if we don't take care of them properly. I don't know nothing about caring for kittens, do you?" Molly said sarcastically.
"Ah come on Molly, how hard can it be. Just put them into one of those cells Dark Kat has, give em some food and they should be alright." Mac said in disgust.
"Oh sure and then they die from the cold in the cells or from fear." Molly said scathingly.
"Well what do you want me to do, Molly. You tell me!" Mac snapped irritably.
"Ah shut up! I'll think of something, I always do anyway." Molly said in annoyance as she headed to another doorway with the kittens. She went down a rock corridor lit only by strings of electric lights. She paused by a door, putting the kittens down, she opened it and shoved them in. "I'll be right back." She snapped then closed the door on them.
A single lightbulb shone down on them. The room was completely empty.
"What do we do?" Kiara sniffed clinging to her brother tightly.
"I..I..I don't know! Mommy will find us!" He said hopefully. Kiara just nodded and shivered against Gaspar.
Some minutes later, Molly returned. She dropped a large carton on the floor, out of it she pulled a large bucket and placed in a far corner with toilet paper then she pulled out another box that she turned upside down to make a table. The next thing she removed from the big carton was some paper cups, a bottle of milk that she poured out into the cups, and sandwiches. She placed these on the makeshift table.
"There that should hold you two. That bucket is your potty. That big box has a blanket and pillow, that's your bed. Now eat up and go to bed and no noise from either of you." Molly instructed them before opening the door and leaving them alone.
Staring at the door for long minutes, the kittens were afraid to move but hunger finally won out and they hesitantly went to the food. It was peanut butter sandwiches, Gaspar didn't care for that but was too hungry to turn it down. They both ate quickly and finished the milk. Staring at the bucket uncertainly, they turned to the bigger box. With a little help from her brother, Kiara managed to crawl in with Gaspar following. Soon the warmth of the blanket and their full bellies dragged them into exhausted slumber.
Not far away...
"Well now we know where Dark Kat had been hiding out at." T-Bone said heavily. "What do we do next, Razor? We obviously can't just go blasting in."
"You're right there. Hmm...I'd say we should just carefully sneak in and check things out but it occurs to me we should go get Feral. These are his kittens and if I was him I'd want to be here getting them out." Razor said with decisiveness.
Sighing, T-Bone said, "You're absolutely right, buddy. He's probably going crazy with worry right now." Without further words, T-Bone turned the Turbokat back to the city, throwing on all engines to return quicker.
Reaching the outskirts, Razor used his radio, "Attention Commander Feral, this is the SWAT Kats, do you read me?"
"Feral here! What do you two want?" Feral snapped his anxiety showing in his voice.
"We don't want to be overheard on the comm. Where are you now and we will come to you?" Razor asked urgently.
"I'm still at the site where Dark Kat's ship is at." Feral answered heavily.
"We'll be there in minutes." Razor said closing the connection.
Barely five minutes later, T-Bone was lowering the jet close to where Feral and a group of enforcer's were standing. They jumped out of the cockpit and ran to Feral.
"We know where Mac and Molly took your kittens. We came to pick you up and take you there. It's Dark Kat's hideout so we know there are probably creeplings about." T-Bone said rapidly before Feral could say anything.
Feral's look was one of relief and worry. "You didn't go in did you?" He asked urgently.
"No! We need to use stealth to slip into that huge place. It's a mountain cave. I'd say take only a few enforcers with you and let's get going." Razor said quickly.
"Yes! Good idea! Felina, Sergeant, you and you and you." Feral said turning and pointing at several of his officers. "Check your ammo and reload if you need to, quickly." He ordered doing the same.
When everyone was ready they followed the SWAT Kats back to their jet. Razor lowered the ramp and everyone got on board. Within minutes they were airborne and speeding back the way they'd come. T-Bone landed the jet just west of some scraggly trees in the area to hide it. They quickly off loaded and moved as quietly as they could toward the mountain entrance.
Dusk was only an hour away, when they snuck into the main entryway. Everyone was tense and alert, so much so that when a creepling sprang up suddenly from just inside, T-Bone snatched it and broke its neck in one swift motion. Laying its body out of sight, they continued on grimly.
Feral was actually grateful the pair of vigilantes had used their own judgement to track Mac and Molly. He could not have asked for their assistance but the fact that they had done so on their own and had been able to find his kittens without being seen was a relief to him. Now if only they could find Kiara and Gaspar quickly. His heart was hammering with fear as they crept further inside using the shadows to hide themselves. They saw another entryway across the cavern and headed that way.