Chapter Fifteen
"Talking"
'Thoughts'
Thunderstorms came rolling into Megakat City, darkening the sky with thick clouds and smothering the once bright, sunny day, late that afternoon. Strong winds made the sea waves crash against the docks on shore as well as the rocky escarpment surrounding the small island where Alkatraz Prison resided. Lightning flashes lit the dark cell blocks followed by the angry rumble of thunder that echoed within the dismal cells as the storm passed overhead.
In one cell in particular, a tough yet pretty she-kat with copper colored fur and short blond hair sat on her bunk staring at the wall across from her while counting down the minutes until her rescue from this terrible place. The storm was timely. The loud thunder added to the clamor of the alarms that her escape would set off and would cause confusion. Throw in the yelling of the other prisoners and cursing of the guards and escape was nearly guaranteed. She smiled in anticipation.
Her ears flicked forward at the sound of the clicking of heels walking toward her cell. She turned her head and waited. Within moments, a pair of female guards appeared and stared in at her.
She recognized the first guard. Zoey White was on her secret payroll, recruited early on in Turmoil's incarceration. She and two others were part of this escape plot. Beside her was a stranger. This female had dark brown fur and short black hair, a medium build and height.
The prisoner felt a chill race down her spine as something in those golden eyes, that stared at her dispassionately, set off alarm bells within her. Something was off about her.
"Who is she?" the prisoner demanded, turning to look at the guard she knew.
"Bridget Hicks...she's new," White grunted, then gestured for Hicks to move aside so she could get closer to the cell. The prisoner, however, made no move to leave the bed, her stare fixed on the other guard worriedly, though it didn't show on her face.
Frowning, White tried to reassure her without giving herself away. "Come on, Turmoil, warden wants to see you. Paws up front, you know the drill."
Turmoil hesitated a moment longer but decided to take a chance, they couldn't do anything more to her anyway. She got to her feet and walked to the cell door. Placing her paws in a small opening big enough for her paws to go through together, she held them out, fingers laced. White brought out a pair of handcuffs and put them around Turmoil's wrists. When her paws were cuffed, Turmoil stepped back and waited.
White then unlocked the cell door using a key from a big ring of them she carried. Stepping close to the prisoner, she leaned close and whispered, "Be alert. Hicks knows nothing but I'll take care of her. Remember the plan."
Turmoil didn't react as White pulled her out of the cell, averting her gaze from the guard that made her uncomfortable. Once in the corridor, Hicks took her other arm and they began to walk down the corridor, their footsteps echoing adding to the noise of the storm. Prisoners along the way made snide comments and jeered at Turmoil as she passed.
They were halfway down the corridor and about to reach the secured door at the end of this cell block when a boom, louder than the thunder, shook the building. The two guards leading Turmoil paused, frowning then black smoke poured into the corridor and alarms began to wail.
Prisoners shrieked in fear and anger, shouting to be let out. More booms rang out letting them know explosives were being used somewhere nearby. What should have happened next were the guards taking the prisoner back to her cell then finding out what was going on.
However, this was exactly the moment White had been waiting for. She yanked Turmoil's body downward while bringing up a taser she'd hidden in her shirt and pointing it at Hicks, attempting to knock her fellow guard out before she could react to the sudden attack.
But Hicks reacted with unheard of speed. Matching White's pull down movement of the prisoner, she sent Turmoil to her knees then came up with a lightning swing of her hand connecting with White's wrist, sending the taser flying and breaking the guard's wrist. As White howled in pain, Hicks followed up her move with a swift kick to White's chest, sending the female against the corridor wall hard enough to knock the wind out of her.
The whole time, Hicks never let go of Turmoil's arm. The prisoner tried to pull free and when that didn't work, attempted to shove the guard off balance with her head. With another of those lightning moves, Hicks released the prisoner's arm and stepped out of the way of Turmoil's headbutt, allowing the prisoner's forward motion to carry Turmoil into the nearby wall, hitting it with her face.. Stunned, Turmoil slid down the wall, ending up on the floor, dazed.
White struggled to get to her feet again and was relieved to see a male guard suddenly appear through the black smoke, thinking help had arrived, but seconds later, she was rudely surprised to learn he was here to help Hicks and didn't seemed surprised nor concerned about the smoke swirling around them or of the two females on the floor as he made for Hick's side.
Hicks rumbled a... "Do you have the evidence on her?"... as she moved to Turmoil's side while reaching into a pocket of her uniform where she brought out a small spray bottle.
"Yes..." the other guard responded, "...and damage was kept to a minimum."
"Good, and the rest?"
"Those involved in the escape attempt have been captured and secured, waiting to be handed over to the Enforcers."
Hicks nodded, a satisfied look on her face.
Turmoil was just regaining her senses when Hicks leaned close and sprayed her face with whatever was in the bottle. The prisoner was so surprised, she unintentionally inhaled and coughed a bit before blinking sleepily then succumbing to what was most likely sleeping gas.
Satisfied, Hicks tossed the bottle to the male who caught it easily and sprayed White's face. The female guard tried to hold her breath but it did her no good and soon, she too, was unconscious. Hicks picked up Turmoil and, without effort, tossed her over a shoulder while the male did the same with White then they made off down the hall.
Chaos still gripped the prison as the two with their burdens hurried through the various secured doors with the help of a pass key the male had. No one halted them as they seemed to be heading for the infirmary. But that wasn't their destination even though they kept in that direction until the very last moment then turned away and went through the kitchen area instead. More smoke filled the cafeteria and kitchen prep area keeping the guards confused and running about.
The pair hurried through the area making for the loading docks of the kitchen where they received supplies from the mainland. Outside the secured doors, a short roadway lead down to a dock that could barely be seen through the sheets of rain as it bobbed in the storm tossed bay.
A big female wearing a guard uniform was waiting for them just inside the exterior door. As soon as they reached her, she took Turmoil from Hicks. "I've got her, Raina. Be sure to tell the other guards Turmoil has escaped and White here was double crossed. I'll take Turmoil down to the dock where Kazuma should be waiting. Finish up the mission and hightail it out of here."
"Don't worry, Urabe, Antonio and I know what to do," Raina assured her.
Urabe nodded, settled Turmoil's weight on her shoulder and headed for the door. Raina got there first and shoved it open against the fierce wind to allow her leader to leave. Rain water sprayed, soaking them all before Raina released the door which shut hard.
While Urabe fought against the rain and headed down to the dock and the ship waiting for her, Raina and Antonio, with his burden, headed for their other team mate. They still weren't halted by anyone as they made for the solitary confinement cells down a hall not far from the intake area of the prison.
Once through the double security doors that guarded this area, it was quieter here. In a cell only two steps into the cell block, Karel waited. He stood guarding a cell that held the other instigators of the escape attempt who were unconscious.
"No problems?" Karel asked.
"Nope, we're good. Here's the tape." She pulled out the evidence tape and handed it over to Karel who nodded, pulled out some duct tape from a pocket and attached the tape to the wall behind him. He put the duct tape away then pulled out a key to open the cell so Antonio could lay his prisoner down, joining her fellow conspirators in the cell.
"And Turmoil?" he asked as he locked the cell again when Antonio stepped back out.
"Urabe is taking her to the docks as we speak."
"Excellent. I removed all the sound bombs we didn't need too," Karel added.
"What of the real bombs the conspirator's had set up?" Raina asked.
"Deactivated and destroyed," Antonio confirmed.
Karel said with a tight smile, "Excellent, our job is nearly done...one more thing to do and we can get out of here."
The three left the cell block and hurried toward the main area where the warden was trying to regain order. Karel walked forward and told the story of Turmoil's escape and White and the two other guards part in it as well as how another group had apparently double-crossed them and took the prisoner and vanished. Now furious, the warden ordered a massive search to be conducted and during the scramble of the guards to follow his orders, the three outsiders quietly slipped away.
~0~0~0~0~0~0~
Urabe squinted against the rain as she stood in the alcove that protected the loading dock from the weather. She was checking to see if the area was clear of guards leading down to the boat dock then glanced up to see the barely visible camera high on the wall.
After locating the bombs outside the prison the conspirators had set to distract the guards, Kazuma had slipped in, pretending to be just one of the guards and had infiltrated the security room, disabling the cameras. Meanwhile, Karel had gone off to collect two of the conspirators while Antonio disabled the bomb and destroyed it inside the prison then went to help Raina with the third conspirator and grab Turmoil. Things had gone like clockwork and all she had to do was hand off Turmoil to Kazuma.
The only problem was this darn rain and the dim light which made seeing anything outside a real trial. Sighing, she plunged into the pouring water and was instantly soaked to the fur. The boat dock was huge and, thankfully, covered. There were equipment and lots of crates along it where she could hide. She ran until she was just under the roof. Though the rain still blew in at least it wasn't pouring down on her now.
Stepping behind some crates, she looked around anxiously. Kazuma should have already been here waiting for her but there was no sign of him. There were several boats, big cruiser types and gunboats strung along the dock but the boat they'd come here in was empty...no Kazuma.
"Damn it, Kazuma! Where the hell are you?" she muttered, becoming more concerned as precious minutes passed. With her burden, she began to hurry down the dock.
They had a limited window of time before the Enforcers got through the storm and arrived to complicate things and they needed to be gone. Not only that, but Kazuma had a deadline to meet the ones taking Turmoil from them. They were unlikely to wait long if he were late getting to the rendezvous spot.
The sound of the pounding rain on the roof over her head caused her to nearly miss the sound of released air coming from behind her. However, her faster than normal reflexes allowed her drop her burden and leap away just in time to avoid being napped by two nets that came flying toward her. They hit the dock harmlessly though one did end up covering Turmoil's sleeping body.
Hissing under her breath, Urabe whirled and saw two figures that made her blood boil, especially the sight of the smaller one.
"Where is my partner?" she snarled, preparing to leap down on them if necessary.
"Don't worry, the big guy's just taking a nice little nap right now," T-Bone drawled, pleased at his success in seeing the male that had humiliated him before, going down under the effects of a seriously boosted sleeping grenade that Razor had developed to handle these guys.
'Shit!' Urabe cursed mentally. Without Kazuma, there was no one else to take Turmoil out to meet the Katwan Empire Police that had come to take custody of Turmoil and return her to her own country. Their window had just gotten even tighter to meet them in international waters.
Since these two fools were approaching her from the prison, they must have surprised Kazuma heading for the dock and taken him out. This was so not good right now. She had sorely underestimated the pair and Kazuma had paid the price.
"Let me guess, you overheard what was happening on the Enforcer band and decided to come and see if you could stick your noses in problems that don't involve you," Urabe sarcastically growled, forcing her anger back, reminding herself to remain calm. She couldn't afford to be distracted now.
"Good guess and since we've managed to interfere so well, you can now hand over Turmoil and place yours in the air," Razor ordered her, keeping his glovatrix firmly pointed at her.
Urabe snorted, her eyes glowing with derision as she ignored the order and swiftly shook a small black ball from her sleeve to her palm and tossed it hard on the ground. It immediately spewed forth a fog of black gas sending T-Bone and Razor into a fit of coughing and backing away quickly.
The golden eyed warrior quickly snatched up her prisoner and slung the body over her shoulder again then ran down the dock, putting distance between herself and the SWAT Kats and taking refuge again behind some crates, nearly to her goal of the boat some twenty more feet ahead of her. She laid Turmoil on a crate for safekeeping and to free her arms if she had to fight. again among the containers on the dock. Peering out from her hiding place she saw the SWAT Kats had recovered and were now searching for her. Persistent buggers, she growled to herself. Raising her right paw, she depressed the comm link in her ear.
"Raina, Antonio, Karel can any of you hear me?"
"Antonio here. What's wrong?" Antonio responded.
"It's those damn SWAT Kats. They showed up and knocked Kazuma out."
"What? But how did they spot him? The path we plotted was no where near where they should have been flying to get here. You sure they knocked out Kazuma?"
"No, I only have their word he's down and since he isn't waiting for me that makes it fairly certain they did what they said. I've only managed to delay them minutes and they'll soon be on after me and Turmoil again. We're on the floating dock and could use some backup."
"Hurry, they've not found me yet but it won't be long," she hissed, continuing to monitor the pair's progress toward her.
"We're already on our way, be there in seconds," Antonio said then turned his head toward his partners who were hurrying by his side. "You hear?"
"Yes, good thing we're done here," Raina said, picking up her pace.
The three tore through the kitchen area and out the back door. Seeing no one in sight, they raced down the road to the dock.
~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~
Just three dock lines away from where Urabe was hiding, Razor was approaching the area, searching carefully. He and T-Bone had separated in hopes of finding her among all these crates. His mask was soaked making it difficult to see that well and it didn't help that the storm was making so much noise.
The two made sure they remained in radio contact seeing as how their opponents were super strong and very resourceful. So far he not found a trace of the female warrior and her burden.
It was just luck that he and T-Bone had been on patrol despite the foul weather and had heard the Enforcer alert. When they'd arrived, they'd circled the prison first and had spotted the big warrior skulking around near the dock. Razor had rappelled down onto the big warrior who hadn't heard them over the storm and immediately gassed him while T-Bone landed the jet on the only cleared space on the island then ran to join his partner.
"You found her yet Razor?" T-Bone asked over his helmet comm.
"No, not yet," Razor said, taking a moment to look into one of the ships "What about you?"
"Noth…Agh!"
"T-Bone?…T-Bone?"
That strangled cry and no answer to his calls told Razor that T-Bone had run into trouble. He was afraid the female warrior had managed to take down his partner so turned to run back where he'd left the tabby.
Urabe had heard the radio conversation and its abrupt end. She hoped that meant help had arrived finally. She held her position even though she was curious as to what actually happened to the tabby. She had to settle for having the cinnamon tom racing away from her as he had nearly reached her hiding place and she would have to battle him and for Raina's sake, she wanted to avoid that.
A sleepy groan made Urabe turn back to Turmoil who was recovering from the gas. Sighing a bit, she took out a small spray bottle like the one Raina used and sprayed her prisoner again to keep her sedated. Occupied with Turmoil, Urabe didn't see, hear or sense anyone coming up behind her, something that would have taken much stealth, cunning and skill to accomplish against a seasoned warrior such as herself.
So when a strong paw laid itself on her shoulder, Urabe was quick to whirl around, kicking the person's feet from under them then bringing a fist, ready to punch, to the person's face who had the temerity to sneak up on her.
"Chi-chan, it me!" Kazuma deep voice rang in Urabe's ears along with her nickname stopping her from sending her fist into his face.
"Kazuma, thank God." Urabe relaxed her body and stood back up, pulling him to his feet at the same time. "What happened to you? How the hell did those two get the drop on you anyway?"
Kazuma rocked a little unsteadily on his feet, still affected by the gas that was used on him. Luckily for him, he'd sensed them near and had time to hold his breath, only taking in a small amount that had made him drowsy but he pretended to be knocked out.
When the pair abandoned him, he got up and followed to see where they would go. When they found Urabe, he couldn't help her until she managed to get some distance between herself and them and when the pair split up. Only then was he able to sneak up and take the tabby down.
He had taken hold of the sandy tabby around the waist, hefted him into the air suddenly and slammed him down, head first against the dock rail itself. The SWAT Kat's helmet was the only thing keeping him from having his brains bashed in. As it was, the tom was knocked out. He dropped the tabby to the dock and went off in search of Urabe who had wisely hidden herself.
He had spotted her when he chose a route that took him along the very edge of the dock so he was hidden from the other SWAT Kat and came upon her from the rear where she was turned away tending to Turmoil. Without thinking about it, he touched her on the shoulder, not a terribly bright thing to do knowing her like he did.
Feeling a bit like a novice and an idiot, he said, "Razor obviously sky dropped from their jet because I didn't hear him or the jet due to the cursed weather so he easily got the drop on me then gassed me. I pretended to be knocked out though the stuff has left me a bit wobbly."
Urabe frowned worriedly at him. "Do you think you can take Turmoil off my paws now? Or do you want to have Antonio do it?" she asked then changed her mind instantly and said, "Never mind, Antonio will take Turmoil. You stay here with me. I don't want you…"
"I can do it," he cut her off smoothly. "Just tell Antonio to stay by your side." He went to Turmoil and easily hefted her onto his shoulder. Giving Urabe a quick nod, he headed off down the dock to the boat at a quick trot. He had some time to make up.
Urabe had wanted to argue but, as usual, Kazuma had gone ahead as if she'd not said anything. Huffing a little at his pigheadedness, she knew he felt like he'd failed her and the team by letting the SWAT Kats get the better of him and, despite being not his best, insisted on completing the mission. They'd have to have a talk later about this.
Moving forward, she tapped her comm link again. "Antonio, have you come across either of the SWAT Kats?" Urabe asked now moving out to the main dock rail.
"Not yet, we just got here. Bring me up to date."
"Kazuma got T-Bone and he's knocked out somewhere on the dock but his partner is free and looking for him. Keep them busy till I catch up to you. Kazuma is on his way with Turmoil."
"Gotcha!"
Relieved her team was out of the prison and Kazuma was on his way, she hurried down the dock to find them and the SWAT Kats.
~0~0~0~0~0~
Kazuma huffed loudly as he arrived at the ship they were using for this mission. He leaped aboard, laid Turmoil on a seat then started the boat. He was soon zooming across the bay as fast as he dared. Checking his watch, he'd learned he was more than five minutes late for the rendezvous. He prayed the Katwan Empire Police were still waiting for him.
Pushing the boat to the limit, he hoped to cover the distance quicker though the ride was extremely rough and manage to send Turmoil to the floor, but it couldn't be helped.
Reaching the area where the meet was to take place, he slowed and began to search the horizon. There was nothing to see and for a moment the Saharas was afraid he'd been too late.
"Damn it!" He swore, slamming his fist against the wheel. This was all his fault! He had taken too long fighting the sleep gas affect which lost them valuable time. Their mission had failed all because the SWAT Kats had managed to take him out at a crucial time.
For a moment, feelings of humiliation and shame threatened to overwhelm him but suddenly his proximity alarm indicated someone was nearby. Afraid it might be the Enforcers, he quickly searched the bay around him but then the flag of the Katwan Empire suddenly appeared on the mast of a large ship that headed for him.
He stopped his engines and dropped anchor then waited for the ship to close in on his location. Relief washed over him. Soon Turmoil would be someone else's problem.
The big ship finally came along side and a bullhorn was used to speak with him as they docked close to the smaller boat.
"Do you have Turmoil?" A light brown colored tom wearing a dark red uniform, bellowed from the top deck.
"Yes!" Kazuma shouted then turned and picked up Turmoil from the floor of the boat, bride style, easily passing her over to a young officer who had jumped to a platform below the upper deck that bumped against Kazuma's boat. Despite the pitching and yawing of both boats, the transfer was made without incident.
"Thank you!" their leader shouted then ordered their boat back out to sea away from Kazuma. Glad to be done, he reached up to his comm link and flicked it on. "Urabe?"
"Here!"
"The pass has been completed. No problems."
"Good…one moment!" There was a silence then Urabe's voice came back, "Sorry about that, Razor's a real pawful. What the heck did you do to T-Bone?"
"Just a little payback for earlier."
Urabe sighed at that then briskly went on, "...with Turmoil gone we're done here. It's still chaos here so we're leaving while they are still preoccupied. Return to the docks. See you back at headquarters."
"Understood."
"And Kazuma…"
"Yes?"
"Great job. This couldn't have been successful without you."
Kazuma was silent a moment, his eyes closed then a smile flitted across his face and he opened his eyes to stare out at the gradually calming bay as the weather moved on and murmured, "Thanks, Chi-chan."
~0~0~0~0~0~
The sun's morning rays spilled down drying the signs of the heavy rains of yesterday. They shone brightly into the Commander's Office where Lt. Commander Steele was sitting going over the evening reports.
One in particular had caught his eye and as he read it again, anger filled him. Apparently, sometime late, yesterday afternoon, Turmoil had engineered an escape but somehow parties unknown had thwarted it but had still spirited her away albeit more likely against her will. No one had any idea who it was nor where Turmoil was any longer.
The first steps of the investigation had uncovered the fact that the guards who had conspired to help Turmoil escape had been on her payroll. Whoever had thwarted her plans had captured the three guards and left them locked in a cell with evidence on the escape plan. Despite her helpers getting caught, Turmoil still got away by whoever this other group was.
He scowled, tossing the report to his desk. He was willing to bet the SWAT Kats had something to do with this. They had been on the scene, after all. However, none of that mattered. Commander Feral was due back soon and he knew he would get an earful on how he'd managed to lose Turmoil. Adding to his fun was the call he'd be getting from the Katwan Empire Police asking the same question and he had no answers for either of them.
A knock on his door interrupted his gloomy thoughts.
"Come in."
A female enforcer he'd not seen before came marching in. His dark eyes narrowed as he watched her approach the desk.
"And who are you?" Steele asked, irritably.
"I'm Edelina Lloyd, sir," she said. She was of average height with white fur and dark gray points on her ears and tail and blue eyes with a hint of green in them.
"And why are you here?" Steele asked this time not even looking up.
"Sir, I have an updated report on the escape at Alkatraz from the warden," Edelina said handing over another report file to him.
Steele sighed heavily. "Just lay it on my desk. Have they finished checking all the security tapes?"
"Yes, sir. But there was nothing to see as they had been disabled at the beginning of the escape and none of the guards remember seeing anyone suspicious but they were more focused on the threat of a bomb being in the prison which turned out to be false and the black smoke making everything more chaotic."
"Great! Is there nothing anyone around here can do right? Did the guards that were in involved at least remember who had taken them out?"
"Just one but…"
"What is his or her name?" Steele asked, relieved there was something he could wring the information from to make things look right for him.
"Zoey White." Edelina said trying not to roll her eyes at Steele's unprofessional eagerness.
"Perfect! I want her brought here immediately for questioning!" he ordered briskly.
"But sir, she was already questioned and the only thing she was able to tell us was a guard by the name of Bridget Hicks was with her when Turmoil was taken. However, according to the employment records of the prison, there is no such person on the payroll. A further check into CODUS turned up nothing as well. Those questioned about her could not recall knowing her at all."
"What? Why wasn't I told of this?" Steele growled in angry surprise. "Is there an APB out on the description at least of this female?"
Edelina grit her teeth but answered civilly enough. "Yes sir, one was sent out immediately when she couldn't be identified. Her image has been sent to all police stations and patrols."
"Good. Then I want you to take this information to Lt. Feral and have her take charge of the investigation from now on. Find this female fast. Nothing else matters but finding her."
"What if we find other leads, sir?"
"I don't care. I want the focus on the hunt for this female...no other distractions until this lead has been exhausted," he ordered firmly.
"Yes sir. Is that all sir?" Edelina asked.
"No, dismissed."
She saluted smartly and left the office heading for Lt. Feral's. She wanted to get as far as she could from that fool. At least the investigation was going into paws they wanted them in. She smiled a little at that. Her real name was Aries and she was a Saharas. She'd been given the task of watching over Enforcer Headquarters with the specific job of keeping things moving smoothly despite the totally incompetent second in command.
Her smiled faded. She could now understand why Jimmu-san had asked Kazuma-san for a watcher. Steele was a terrible commander and the city would be in terrible straights if he were made permanent leader. She sighed as she caught an elevator, she had a feeling this was going to be a long mission.