Chapter Twelve
"Talking"
'Thoughts'
Over on the west side of the city, the Megakat Steel Mill had shut down for the day. All the machines for making steel were now silent and the thousands of workers, all departed for their homes. All that was left were the small security force located in a little building just outside the main factory doors.
At the moment, security was a bit lax as the guards were now sound asleep thanks to a fast acting sleep gas having been pumped into the ventilation system. The intruders had slipped over the fence and into the plant without tripping any alarms. Now that the guards were asleep, one of them hurried back to the gate and jimmied it open so a van could drive in, then closed the gate so no one passing would think anything was wrong.
The one who opened the gate climbed aboard the van and rode with the others up to the factory doors and parked. While Raina and Karel remained on watch, the rest went into the factory.
Urabe quickly ran to the huge boiler that melted metals down into liquid and started up the machine. It would take only about a half hour for the boiler to reach the proper temperature since it had only been shut off less than two hours before.
The team waited patiently and when the gauges indicated the correct temp had been reached, Urabe let Kazuma know. He and Antonio when out to the van and collected the bodies of Mac and Molly Mange and carried them to the boiler.
"Bring them here, guys." Urabe said indicating a huge hopper that carried scrap upward to the boiler.
The orange and the silver Saharas males heaved the metal bodies into the hopper as ordered then stepped back so Urabe could activate the machine. They watched as the Metallikats were heaved upward then dumped unceremoniously into the boiling metal that would melt them down.
It would take only fifteen minutes for the pair of robots to be melted down so they waited.
"Well that takes care of those two. Who's next on our list?" Antonio asked watching the boiler with Karel standing beside him.
Urabe glanced over at Karel questioningly. Her arms were crossed over her chest as she stood close to the boiler and monitored the gauges.
Answering her unspoken question, Karel gave his report. "Haven't got a lead on Dark Kat, too many rumors to sift through yet to have a solid location. As for Dr. Viper, no luck finding him either, only in his case, it's due to the vastness of the swamp that's causing us problems, " his tone indicated disappointment on their lack of progress pinning down the worst omegas.
"What about Turmoil?" Kazuma asked remembering the foreign she-kat from some days earlier.
"Now there we got lucky, she plans to escape four days from now."
"That soon? She's taking a huge chance and I wouldn't have thought her forces could have gotten a plan together that quickly," Raina mused surprised.
"I'm sure she hasn't a choice. Apparently, the Katary Police are coming in a few days to take custody of her and she doesn't want to be handed over," Karel told her. He'd managed to acquire the information from an off duty guard after a few rounds of beer at a local hangout.
"Katary? Isn't that the dictatorship-run country that's been waging war on its neighbors for decades?" Raina asked.
"That's the one."
"Huh...but why doesn't she want to go home? I would have thought they'd welcome her, being she is one of the most brilliant leaders and talented pilot they have," Raina asked, confused. However, the looks she saw her companions trade told her she was missing some vital information and had a sinking feeling it wasn't good.
"Raina, Katary used to be at war but has finally shown some sense and is seeking peace. Unfortunately, Turmoil's attacks on other countries for plunder is upsetting those efforts. So they are very keen on getting their paws on her to punish publicly to prove to their hoped for allies they are serious about seeking peace as well as preventing Turmoil from restarting the war all over again," Urabe explained patiently.
Raina's eyebrows rose as she absorbed this information. "Oh...I see...so her being handed over is really important."
"Exactly, which is why I plan on us being there when she escapes and taking her into our own paws and handing her over to her countrykats with the proviso they insure she never returns to Megakat City."
"But why don't we just insure she doesn't escape and let the enforcers transfer her legally?" Raina asked.
Urabe shook her head. "The enforcers will not turn her over due to her crimes being against Megakat City. Jurisdictional quarreling will snarl things up and she'll still manage to get away, so its just much easier for us to get a hold of her ourselves and hand her over personally. This way we'll be certain she'll receive the punishment she deserves and never returns here."
"Just what kind of punishment would they subject her to?" Raina asked innocently. Only grim silence greeted her question which was answer enough.
Considering that subject closed, Urabe gave further orders. "So here's what I want...Karel will continue to search for signs of Dark Kat and Viper with help from Antonio. Raina, Kazuma and I will keep an eye on Turmoil. I'll try to gain access to her rescue group in order to get closer to her with Raina as my backup. Kazuma will be the one to insure Turmoil is handed over to her own people when we've gotten our paws on her. Tonight though, Kazuma and I plan on a little visit with the deputy mayor."
With her orders given, she turned to monitor the gauges again. The boiler had completed its work and with a sigh of relief, she shut it down. "Time to go."
They locked up behind them, re-engaging the security cameras and leaving no trace of their presence as they quickly left, picking up the rest of their team along the way. They paused at the guard building insured the guards were in positions that would appear they simply fell asleep at their desks, used a counteractive to the gas, then hurried out.
They got back into the van and headed out the gate, pausing long enough to restore the lock then they were gone into the night.
~0~0~0~0~0~0~
At the Megakat Salvage Yard, the SWAT Kats had flown their jet into the hidden Megawar II Bunker beneath the yard. Stopping precisely over the lift, T-Bone cut the engines and pressed the button on his console to signal it to rise. Within minutes they were carried aloft to the main floor of the hangar.
T-Bone shot the canopy open and the two leaped down to the floor, the tabby grunting in pain when his feet hit the floor from the punishment he'd received at the paws of the pair strangers.
Razor was no better. "Argh, crud does my body hurt," He complained, rubbing his back with his fingers to try and ease the tension and pain. "Just who were those guys? They're not normal that's for sure."
"You got that right, buddy. How's your nose?" T-Bone asked worried the she-kat had broken it, what with all that blood gushing out.
"It's stopped bleeding and its not broken. I got the feeling she could have done much worse to my face but she was holding back," Razor observed as he pulled his helmet then mask off, "What about you?"
"Like someone just handed me a can of whip ass, that's what. What I can't get out of my head was what that golden eye warrior said." T-Bone said unnerved by that parting message, pulling his own helmet and mask off then rubbing his sweaty head.
"Yeah I know, though I don't know what he meant by: 'To set everything right again'. And to say we're part of the problem just bites me but what's worse is them knowing exactly who we are. That's just scary," Jake said uneasily.
"Not just us, Jake. Callie, Manx and Feral too," Chance growled then thought of something that made him smile suddenly. "Wonder what they've got on Feral."
Jake angrily hissed at his partner. "Forget about Feral! We need to warn Callie. If they know about us then they may very well know everything about Callie as well."
"So? She hasn't done anything wrong and ..."
Jake shaking his head made Chance stop and eye him in concern. "Technically, Chance, she's broken the law by consorting with us at all. We're vigilantes according to the laws of this city, laws she's bound to obey and hasn't from the beginning. She's flagrantly protected us against Feral, the legitimate authority, publicly. Trust me, buddy, she's looking at jail time for what she's done if they really want to bring her up on charges for misusing her authority as deputy mayor. This is a very serious situation."
"Damn! But what can we do? We have no clue who those guys were nor how to find them." Chance asked heading for their lockers to change.
"I'm calling Callie right now. All we can do is warn her so she's prepared for them then try to figure something out to deal with all this. I just hope it's not the end of the SWAT Kats." Jake said grimly.
"Crud, I hope not or Megakat City will be in even worse trouble." His partner said watching as Jake headed for their special phone to place his call.
It was only a matter of minutes before Callie answered his signal to her. Apparently, she was safely alone to speak with him. "Ms. Briggs, Razor here."
"Razor! What happen to you guys earlier?" Callie asked instantly.
"We ran into a little trouble before we could go after the Metallikats which is why they managed to get away from us." Jake responded.
"But they didn't get away!" She was stunned to learn they'd been held up by something else. She didn't get a chance to ask as Razor was angry and demanding an answer.
"What are you talking about? We saw them get away." Jake frantically gestured at Chance to come close. His partner hurried to his side and leaned close to listen in.
"The Enforcers caught up with their car some miles away from the bank but Mac and Molly weren't in it nor were there any clues or trace as to where they'd vanished to as there were no footprints."
"That just means they left on foot, Ms. Briggs..." Chance interjected but was interrupted by Callie.
"No...they left the money too!"
"Say what?"
"I was listening in on the police radio when Steele reported his findings upon discovering their car. Not only was the money still there but so was everything they'd stolen in their crime spree. Something is just not right about it all. Those two would never leave their spoils behind especially when they'd managed to escape so easily," Callie insisted.
Jake immediately placed a paw over the end of the phone and stared at his partner, eyes wide. "You don't think..."
"They said they were setting things right including taking us out of the picture. What if they meant anyone that threatened the safety of Megakat City..." Chance said slowly, unhappy with the conclusion he was drawing.
"They could be taking all the omegas out and leaving us out of the loop," Jake gritted out, not liking the scenario he was painting at all.
"Razor? T-Bone? Guys, you still there?" Callie's voice called out urgently when she could hear nothing from the suddenly silent heroes.
Jake uncovered the mike and said in grim tones, "Ms. Briggs...we have something to tell you that won't make you very happy..." He proceeded to bring her up to date on the strangers.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Inside a high rise condo as the sun was going down, Urabe and Kazuma were studying the decor with interest. The nicely appointed apartment was expensively decorated. The living room held a comfortable couch and two plush chairs across from it all in a soft cream, egg color. Sitting in the center of the grouping was a walnut coffee table with a beautiful flower arrangement on it. On the wall to their right was an entertainment center with all the usual electronics gear (TV, DVD, etc) and other electronics of an upscale brand.
"Got a homey feeling to it doesn't it?" Kazuma asked casually, staring at some soothing landscape paintings on the walls.
"Yeah, got some books here…mostly romance and…oh graphic novels," Urabe commented, studying a small bookshelf against another wall. She picked a book off the shelf and flipped through it. "I read this one already."
"What haven't you read?" Kazuma snorted, amused, as he strolled over to one of the comfortable chairs and sat down.
"What's wrong with enjoying a good book every now and then?" She asked archly, replacing the book. She glanced over at the clock mounted on the wall above the bookshelf. 'Hmm, Briggs is running late...could be the SWAT Kats warned her,' she mused, thoughtfully.
"Nothing wrong with it, but it makes it kind of hard to shop for someone, who will go unnamed, for their birthday or holidays when they have already gotten everything they might want already," Kazuma responded to her previously comment. He brought up his left paw to open his shirt while using his right to pull out a folder containing some documents and pictures.
Urabe sighed. "You say that about Amber, me and every other female you know."
"Why can't you or Amber just make me a list of things you want?" Kazuma asked.
"Because we want to be surprised."
"…I don't get it."
Urabe sighed again. It wasn't that Kazuma was bad at picking gifts, he just tended to make a mole hill out of nothing. Only when Amber would thank him with a kiss or promise of more later, would he calm down.
A click and the sound of a key in a lock sent the pair on alert. Kazuma remained where he was while Urabe moved to his side and casually sat on the arm of the chair, waiting.
The door to the apartment open slowly, creaking a bit, as a figure peered in first before entering and closing the door behind them.
Having been warned, Calico Briggs wasn't as shocked as she would have been seeing the pair of intruders in her living room. They were exactly as Razor had described them, all in black with only their eyes showing. A pair of golden ones gave her a narrow look of anger and resentment while the blue ones were filled with amusement.
'Well, Razor was right.' Callie thought. He had warned her one or both of the pair would most likely pay her a visit real soon, she just hadn't expected it would be tonight.
"By your lack of reaction, I will assume the SWAT Kats had given you a heads up about us," Kazuma drawled. He tossed a folder on the coffee table.
Callie nodded, cautiously. "Yes, and I would like to know..."
"Save it, Briggs. We know what you're going to say. The SWAT Kats are the only ones that can protect the city from the omegas and have saved it more times then we could possibly count, yada yada..." Urabe snorted, cutting off the deputy mayor's defense with a careless wave of her paw.
Callie straightened, affronted by the female's tone. "That's right! The Enforcers have tried and failed to stop the omegas. While the SWAT Kats do their best to save peoples lives by taking them out as fast as possible..."
"Oh shut up! The Enforcers may have difficulties in stopping the omegas due to antiquated equipment but they do manage to take care of the rest of the crime in the city that you and Manx fail to even worry about as you're far too concerned over the bigger fishes," Urabe said scathingly.
"And some little fishes can be far more dangerous than those big bad fishes." Kazuma interjected.