I don't own these characters.
4: Challenge
Callie was not sure whose office they were in or whose chair Felina claimed for them, but she was thankful for Felina holding her. She was certain Felina's arms were the only things keeping her from crumbling to the floor and literally falling apart. She could not believe Lieutenant Commander Steele had pictures of her and Felina. They had been way too careless.
"It's all right, kitten." Felina's voice was soft as she ran hand through Callie's hair and kissed her forehead. "Talk to me, kitten. Don't bury it. Talk to me."
The words tapped into Callie and it felt like each sound helped bring dead nerves back to life. "How… How could he? How dare he photograph us!" Callie snarled.
"He's a sleaze."
"He took… he took something so beautiful and turned it into something so ugly…" Callie made a fist. She should have punched him when she had a chance! She should have let Felina tear him apart!
"It's all right…" Felina said.
A charge went down Callie's spine and she was on her feet. She glared at Felina. "How is it all right? Do you know what he's going to do with those pictures now that you and Feral told him off?" she screeched, hands balled into tight fists.
"I know, kitten." Her voice was so damn calm.
"Don't call me that!" Now was not the time for affection when that was the thing that got them in trouble in the first place. "We're going to lose our jobs no matter what! We'll never get hired anywhere ever again. No one — and I mean no one — will trust us to do anything!" Callie screamed and she began to pace. A steady, small tapping sound echoed through the room as she moved, her heels slapping the tiles, each sound dancing on her raw nerves.
She needed to think. There had to be a way to save her career, her reputation, and make sure she still had a future. There had to be a way for them to make it out of this okay. She ran her hands through her hair and she could not come up with anything beyond the fact that they were fucked! No matter what, Steele could and would ruin them.
"So, what do you want to do?" Felina inquired. Her voice was still calm, but it seemed a little flat. "There's a simple way out of this for you."
Callie's heart filled with hope and she turned to Felina. "There is?" she asked, feeling like there was hearts in her eyes. She needed to know how they could get out of this now!
Felina looked away, but her eyes seemed blank. "You simply tell them you invited me over for dinner, still pushing you're so grateful that I saved you life, and once I was inside your house, I forced you into this. While no one's first thought is ever 'lioness' once the idea is there and they look at me, it'll all fall into line."
"Lina!" Callie gasped. "You don't really think I'd do that, do you?"
"This saves you, Callie." Felina looked at her with big, shining eyes. "This saves everything you've built and it saves everything you'll do in the future. You're destined for great things, kitten. I'd never begrudge you those things or take them away from you. You're an amazing she-kat and I know you're going to change the world. I've gone as far as I can, but you have miles to go."
"Are you insane!" Callie fell to Felina's side and cupped Felina's face with both hands. "You listen to me. I'm not going to throw you under the bus, okay? I gave myself to you and that meant something to me. You're my everything right now. I would love to walk away from this and everything be fine, but not at the cost of you. We're mates, right?" It was not like she went around bending her back for every kat who bedded her.
Felina swallowed hard and managed a nod. "Mates…"
"Yes, mates. You think I bring beer to any kat in just a shirt?" Callie teased a bit.
Felina's mouth twitched, like a smile was just there under the surface. This made Callie feel a bit better. They were still screwed, most definitely, but she would not allow Felina to be stupid and valiant. It was sweet, but stupid.
"You're not falling on your sword for me, solider. You're destined for great things, too, you know? Okay?" Callie looked Felina square in the eye.
"Then what're we going to do?" Felina asked. She could think of all sorts of combat strategies, but she was not sure what to do in this instance. They had lost, even though they won.
Sighing, Callie shook her head. "I don't know. I need to think."
"Me, too."
Callie ran her hand through her hair. "I need to get back to work. It's probably the last day." There was plenty she needed to get to before she was locked out of her office.
"Can Mayor Manx really afford to fire you? Don't you know too much?" Felina asked.
A small snort escaped Callie. "He's not going to risk something like this costing him his reelection. He's determined to die King of Megakat City and I'm sure many wealthy and morally bankrupt kats want it that way as well. Unless his Chief of Staff can come up with something, I'm out and I doubt he's going to save me. He's not very fond of me."
Felina frowned. "Of course."
Callie gave her a brief kiss. "We'll think of something. For now, we can press on like everything is fine. We're two intelligent kats. We'll think of something."
Of course, Callie was not sure what they could possibly think of. Steele had them over a barrel. But, it was more because he did not think his scheme through.
Felina looked like she wanted to say something, but she did not. Instead, she pulled Callie down to her and they cuddled close for a while, nothing but a squeak from the chair echoing through the room to accompany them. Callie kissed Felina's cheeks and then her lips before sliding off of her lap.
Felina and Callie split without a word between them. Walking through Enforcer Headquarters, Callie could tell Steele had not revealed their secret yet. It was the usual playful teasing and rude stares. Returning to City Hall, everything seemed fine. Still, Callie knew she had to brace herself for the worst.
So, in her office, papers rustled as books were yanked off of the bookcase and the noise echoed through the small room. She pulled out files she had been saving for when she left and whatever other files she thought might be useful. While she had no plans to blackmail the mayor or anyone else in City Hall, she wanted some proof of the dirty dealings happening behind the scenes. Who knew when or why she might need them, but it was better to have and not need than to need and not have.
She also wanted some projects Manx or others in the office had buried. There were so many good things that could have been done that Manx or someone else had cast to the wayside because there was no way for them to make money from it or they had not been properly bribed. Once she had all of those things, she shoved them into her briefcase and then felt lost. This has been my life for so long…
Maybe it had been her life for too long. Or maybe she had just allowed it to be too much of her life. How did this become so much of her? She was not sure.
For a long moment, Callie stared at her desk from her bookshelf. It certainly was not the biggest desk in the building, just like her office was not the largest. But, unlike tomkats, size did not matter to her. What did matter was that this was all about to be snatched from her just because she had fallen in love with an amazing she-kat. If any kat had landed Felina, he would get high-fived for taming the sky by every other male kat on the planet while she would be condemned for it.
"I can't believe this. I can't believe this is how I'm going to leave this office," Callie muttered to herself. While she had not been fired yet, she knew it was only a matter of time. She was not so well-liked around the office. Many people did not think she deserved the job or thought they could do better or just felt like a she-kat did not belong in politics. Whatever.
Callie looked around her office, falling into her chair at her desk. Her office was not impressive and she suspected this was not the true deputy mayor office. When she first accepted the job, a term and a half ago, she had not cared. Now, though, she thought about how undervalued she was here. Still, this was supposed to be a stepping stone, even though she had always feared it was a place to make her go away.
"I guess I shouldn't worry about this now…" Callie muttered. There was too much to do. But, maybe, just maybe, they had made her go away.
-8-8-8-8-
Felina barely made it to her desk before Commander Feral called her into his office. She was not surprised by this and went up to his office. It was like entering a fortress for some reason. Maybe just because of the type of kat her uncle was. He stood in front massive windows that acted as his back wall. His back was to her, sunrays cutting by him as he cast a large shadow across his dark desk.
"You called?" Felina inquired, standing by the desk at attention even though he had not bothered to turn to her.
"Do you have any idea how disappointed I am in you?" Feral grumbled in a low tone.
"Sir?"
Feral turned and glared at her. "How could you do this? You had a bright future and you threw it all away! You threw away your entire life! You threw away the deputy mayor's entire life. Did you force her into it? Is she scared to even come forward?" he demanded.
Reeling back, Felina blinked. "You think… you think I forced Callie to do that?" While she suggested Callie use that excuse, it was an affront to her because her uncle — really, the only family she had left — thought she was capable of such terror. What the hell did he think of her?
"Why else would Deputy Mayor Briggs debase herself in such a way? I know you have this sickness, Felina, but to throw everything away?" he bellowed.
For a moment, she felt like his words echoed thanks to the enormity of the office and it made her dizzy. It bounced in her bones and buzzed along her nerves. Her lungs shut down and her whole body felt deprived of everything it needed to survive.
Shaking her head, Felina was able to regain her wits. And then, the buzz in her nerves burned. Fire stoked in her belly and it felt like lightning shot down her spine as she glared at her uncle.
"Are you really this stupid?" Felina punched her fist against the desk. Pens in a cup rattled and her knuckles stung, but the desk remained in tact. Bastard. "I would never force anyone to do that! What the hell is wrong with you? You've known me better than most for years and you still think I'm some monster?"
In this moment, she was happy Callie shut her down on offering up that lie. People would only think it validated all of their stupid thoughts about lions and lionesses. She was not some monster. She just liked females. What the hell was wrong with that? She would never take anything from someone. In fact, she had spent her entire life protecting people and this was what she was getting from the uncle who knew that, knew her? What the hell would people think who did not know her or know any lions?
"I think you have problems and you let those problems lead you astray," he replied.
"I don't have to take this shit," she declared.
He actually balked. "How do you think this is going to affect your job when it all blows up and we all know it will. Steele is going to go public with those pictures and it'll all be out there. What then? Do you think anyone here will take you seriously?" he barked, throwing his hand out.
She pointed to the door. "I think those kats know me." Well, a few of them anyway. But, it did not matter. "I'm not backing down, not from Steele and not from you. So, if you're waiting for my resignation, you'll be waiting a long fucking time. If you want to fire me, I promise you this won't be the last you see of me. I'll file a discrimination lawsuit and, yeah, I know it won't go anywhere, but at least it'll call attention to this extremely fucked department and I will never shut up about it," Felina proclaimed.
Felina looked her uncle dead in his eyes and did not waver. If he wanted a fight, she would dig in and fight. Maybe she would lose, but there was no more backseat. There was no more hiding or lying. This was who she was. She was tired of the lies surrounding being a lioness and she was tired of getting the short end of the stick because she was a she-kat. If Callie was going to endure Hell and stick it out with her, then she would beat back the Hell as much as she could.
"You're on administrative leave starting now," Feral stated.
"I'll fight it," Felina countered and then she stormed out. To Hell with all of this. She made sure to slam his door as hard as she could.
She did not bother to return to her desk. She did not keep anything worthwhile in her desk. She was tempted to go check on Callie, but her mate was good at taking care of herself and she was strong. She did not want to crowd Callie or treat her like some helpless kitten. Callie would call her when she was ready to talk about everything. So, instead, Felina marched to her favorite pub, sending a text on her way.
"You're here kinda early, eh, Lieutenant?" the bartender, Devon, asked with a smile. She was cute she-kat with piercings all in her arms and face. She wore a tight, black tank top and torn up jeans, eye candy for any kats who wandered up to the bar.
"It's been that sort of day," Felina sighed. "Just gimme a beer and keep 'em coming."
"Day drinking has never been a good look, Sergeant," a gruff voice called for the doorway.
Felina turned to find Katarina marching into the pub. "You made it here fast." Felina smiled a bit, even though she was annoyed that Katarina addressed her by her lower rank, the one she left the air force with.
"Your text seemed a little…" Katarina paused, eying the ceiling for a moment, trying to find a word that apparently would not come. Instead, she shrugged her broad shoulders and sat next to Felina. "How about we take a table? I haven't eaten and I really like the fish here."
"You like the fish anywhere," Felina teased.
Katarina gave her a lopsided, carefree grin. They moved to a table by the wall and ordered two baskets of fish and chips, along with beer. For a while, they just eyed each other.
"You look good for someone who got shot three times, but then again, you're also the one who walked away from a plane crash without a scratch on her, so I'm not surprised. You haven't been around for a long time, though. When Mara said she saw you, we asked when she started believing in ghosts," Katarina pointed out.
Subconsciously, Felina scratched at one of her bullet wounds. "I can't… I can't face the pride yet."
Katarina rolled her ice blue eyes. "Penelope said she saw you at The Leo not too long ago."
"I was there with my girlfriend."
Katarina nodded a bit, but she frowned. "A girlfriend now?"
Felina sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. She figured she might as well go through the whole tale. Katarina was one of her oldest friends and it was not like she would not find out eventually. So, Felina told the story. In between the anecdote, their food came and they ate. At the end, Katarina nibbled the side of her mouth; an old nervous habit of hers.
"Fuck. You don't mess around when you get into shit," Katarina said, running a hand through her short chocolate hair.
"Trust me, this wasn't the plan when I first moved to save Callie's life. But, that doesn't matter to me. I want to figure out how to make this work where Callie's life isn't ruined. Is there a way to make this work out where her life isn't ruined?" Felina rubbed her forehead to the point she worried she might have a bald spot.
"You two are in a mess, but I think it's awesome that you're standing your ground. You got this, Sergeant. I've never met a more capable kat… well, except maybe the Captain. You definitely need to see her. She'll help arrange legal stuff for you to start fighting the discrimination," Katarina replied.
Felina nodded. Actually, she needed to see a couple of Captains. The one Katarina spoke of was their Captain from the air force. She was a take charge she-kat, a lioness, and very protective of all of the females who served under her in the air force. She still worked with the air force, but mostly taking care of veterans. But, she also wanted to talk to Captain Lidon. She was certain he would help.
"What do you think Callie will do?" Katarina inquired.
A long sigh escaped Felina. "I don't know. She wanted time to think and she's tough as hell. I don't see her backing down or anything like that."
"So, she'll come out of this okay? Stay with you and everything?"
Felina nodded. "Yeah." She was certain of that.
"Then don't worry about it. You're tough, too. Plus, you got me on your side to balance out the fact that you're ugly." Katarina flashed a brilliant grin.
Felina laughed. "You're horrible."
"Yeah, but still way more handsome than you are." Katarina put her hand under her chin to pose. "We can get Devon to confirm."
Felina waved Katarina off, but this was why she called Katarina. Katarina made her feel more at ease with the situation and more like she would make it through. She hoped Callie had someone like this on her side, too.
-8-8-8-8-
Callie was not sure how she made it through work or home. But, once she was inside of her condo, she hurriedly closed all of her blinds. She did not want anyone to see inside, to violate her privacy anymore. Then, she secured the papers she took from work in one of the many hiding places around her condo.
With that out of the way, she poured herself some cream and then holed up in her bedroom. Felina called her, but she did not answer. She was not ready to speak with Felina. After all, she did not have any answers for their predicament.
In fact, Callie just wanted to curl up in bed and never leave. This was going to be the end of her when it all hit the fan and she did not see how to dodge this. While the pictures were not the best, it was still clearly her atop Lieutenant Feral. Sighing, she chugged her cream and went for more.
She could always claim the photos were not real. But, Steele could just as easily have the photos examined, which would only show they were real, thus legitimize anything he said. The best she might be able to do was just accept the photos and play it off like it was no big deal. No matter what, though, she would lose her job. So, she might as well have something to drink. She just made sure she did not drink too much because she did not want to end up with a hangover.
When she woke up in the morning, she had to take a shower. Dressing in her best suit, she decided she would not let this get to her. She would face this with all of the dignity she had. So, she faced the day, going to City Hall to find she had not been fired yet. Nothing seemed to be out of order… until that afternoon anyway.
Manx burst into her room with several members of his staff behind him. They were all shouting, talking over each other, so Callie had no idea what the commotion was over. Then, they started shoving their phones in her face. The pictures had broke… at least in the office. She was not sure if they had hit the streets yet, but eventually they would, especially since most of these people disliked her enough to use them against her. Steele, idiot that he was, might have overplayed his hand here in the sense that someone else might steal his story from him.
"Are you trying to ruin me?" Manx hollered, wiping his forehead of sweat. He turned red and blue. She had never seen him like this before.
"This has nothing to do with you and someone's obviously out to get me," Callie snapped.
"If these pictures get out, your scandal becomes Manx's scandal and he has reelection to worry about," the Chief of Staff, Manul, hissed. He was a short kat, with a belly that put Manx's to shame. His short, stubby ears just made his head look big, which made sense considering his ego.
Okay, so the pictures haven't gotten out yet. Good. Not that Callie knew what she could do about it. Maybe she would at least be able to make it home before Ann Gora and every other reporter in the city was camped outside her house.
"His reelection is two years away. This will have blown over by then," she pointed out. Well, she hoped that was the case.
"He doesn't need your scandal," Manul growled. He spent too much time covering up Manx's own scandals and while it remained unsaid, it was definitely implied.
"Pack your things and get as far away from this office as you can, Miss Briggs," Manx ordered, a hand on his toupee, possibly trying to keep it from falling off. He was sweating more than usual. There were actual stains in his suit jacket.
"You're firing me?" Callie inquired. She never thought Manx would say it himself. She had been certain Manul would have taken the pleasure.
"He doesn't have a choice!" Manul stated.
Callie knew Manul had probably convinced Manx to let her go as soon as the pictures showed up. She knew would be fired, but alone, it would have taken Mayor Manx longer to come to the decision, he would not have brought a crowd, and he definitely would have had someone else do his dirty work. Manx did not have a grudge against her. He understood she was good at her job and he liked having her around to do everything he was supposed to. With her around, he did not even have to pretend to know what he was doing, just handing most work off to her.
"You have to get out of here, Miss Briggs. This is huge and it's going to snowball," Manx told her with wide, worried eyes. He reached out and touched her shoulder, as if he was trying to comfort her.
He would know about scandal. He somehow managed to beat every single one he was involved in and bury all the others, so she thought she needed to take his concern to heart. He was not trying to push her out, but spare her whatever the hell was coming.
"Leave everything," Manul commanded.
"It was a pleasure," Callie said to Mayor Manx. It had been something, but she learned a lot from Manx and he respected her to a degree, not as much he respected the kats around her, but enough to keep her on. He liked her enough to touch her even after seeing proof she was a lioness.
"Good luck, Miss Briggs," Manx replied.
Callie just shook her head. Grabbing her bag, she rushed out her office without looking back. She made it to her car unmolested, but then was greeted by another terrible sight. Former Lieutenant Commander Steele was leaning against her car, his arms folded against his chest and a smug smirk on his stupid face. She wanted to slap it off his face.
"No box of stuff? They didn't even give you a chance to pack up your office. I guess Feral's a better boss than Manx," Steele commented.
"What do you want, Steele?" Callie glared him down. "I'm in a bit of a hurry."
"I think you'll make time for me," Steele commented with another smirk.
"What the hell else could you possibly want from me?"
"Well, money would be a good start or the next place those pictures go will be is every newsroom and newspaper in the colony," he declared.
Callie had to laugh at him. "You really are an idiot and you're so damn bad at this." Did he really think those photos were not in every newsroom and newspaper at this point?
He scowled. "What the hell are you laughing at and who are you to call me an idiot?"
"Because you're an idiot. Do you really think you have leverage anymore? Those pictures are out there." She threw a hand up for him to understand she meant out in the world.
Steele smirked. "Not all of them. I only spent a couple to your colleagues. I can sell the rest."
"Then sell the rest! I'm not paying you one thin cent!" No matter what, she was ruined, as was Felina. No sense in sending herself to the poor house while she was at it.
He blinked, not expecting that she guessed. "But… you do realize some of these are quite racy. My private eye didn't just take that one night. I had him follow you for weeks."
Callie rolled her eyes. She did not believe that. Weeks would have meant that private investigator followed them to a club and would have been extorting hundreds of lions and lionesses, some Callie and Felina knew. But, no one said anything. In fact, it was quiet as far as she knew.
"Steele, you're not very good at this and I have other places to be," she stated, shoving past him to get into her car. She locked the doors as soon as she was inside.
Sighing, she was not even sure what to do or where to go. Starting the car, the first thing she knew she needed to do was warn Felina, so she made the call. She also backed the car up, getting Steele to move his dumb ass out of the way. She sped off.
"Hey, kitten," Felina said.
"The pictures are out," Callie blurted out.
"Damn. Okay, not an issue."
"Yes, it is!" What the hell did Felina mean "not an issue"? It was a major issue that had her heart racing and stomach twisted. "Where are you? I'm sure there are reporters camped out at your apartment by now."
"I'm at the gym. I'll have a friend check out my place and your place. So, you don't go home. I'm going to text you an address. Meet me there," Felina ordered.
"Okay." Callie took a deep breath, wanting to calm herself down, but this seemed like so much. The world as she knew it was about to end.
-8-8-8-8-
"Oh, my god!" Callie cried, throwing herself into Felina's arms as she entered the apartment. She had gone to the address Felina texted her, but not before driving by her place. There were reporters lined up, on her lawn, and trying to see into her home. "It's a circus out there!"
"I told you just to come here, kitten." The reprimand was soft and Felina's embrace was strong, secure.
"I just had to see…"
Felina caressed her face. "It's all right. Gimme your phone."
Callie knew why that was. She had already taken to ignoring calls. She handed over her phone without a problem and Felina put it into the pocket of her sweat pants. Apparently, she had come here from the gym. Callie looked around.
"Whose apartment is this?" Callie asked. It reminded her of Felina's apartment in the sense that it was about the same size and decorated — or not decorated depending on who was asked — in the same manner.
"My friend Katarina. She's going to let us stay here for a while. She's also checking my place for me. I guess I can call her and tell her not to check your place since you went by."
Callie could only nod. Felina led her to the sofa and held her as she tried to process all of this. It was too much, though, and she ended up shaking in Felina's arms. It took her a long time to realize she was crying. Felina let her, petting her gently through the whole thing.
"You feel better, kitten?" Felina asked once the sobbing tapered off.
"This is a huge mess," Callie replied. "I got fired earlier," she whispered.
"And I'm on administrative leave, but I'm fighting it. You should fight for your job, too. We're not going to curl up on this sofa, right? We told Steele to stuff it for a reason, right?" Felina stated.
This was true. It was time to stand up for the right thing. She needed to stop being part of the problem and expose the fact that there was a problem. Hell, there were several problems. And she had evidence of many.
"I took files yesterday," Callie admitted.
Felina brushed Callie's hair out of her face. "I figured you would. You're the type to take a breath and then come back harder than before."
Callie smiled. "You think so?"
"I know so, Callie. I've seen you stare danger in the face and spit in its eye way too many times. This isn't going to be anything for you. So, like I said, take a breath and then tear them apart."
Callie nodded in agreement and then she actually fell asleep. When she came to, she was still in Felina's arms and Felina was speaking to someone. Glancing over to the arm chair, Callie saw a muscular she-kat. She was built like Felina and covered in grey fur.
"You awake, kitten?" Felina asked.
"Yeah," Callie answered.
"This is Katarina, a friend from the military and a member of my pride," Felina said.
"Charmed to meet you," Katarina said and she wiped her hand on her palm before extending it. It seemed like she was nervous.
"Thank you for letting us stay here," Callie replied and she shook Katarina's hand.
"I'm happy to provide the base of operation. So, I went to Felina's place and no one was there yet and I grabbed clothes and stuff for you both. It's amazing how it seemed like… well, your place, too. I mean, I've been to Felina's before and I could just see the touches of you there and, lemme say, it was a big improvement on the crap the Sergeant had around," Katarina remarked.
"Sergeant?" Callie echoed with a wrinkled forehead.
"I call her by the rank I know she earned, not the one her uncle handed her," Katarina remarked.
Callie flinched, finding that to be insulting. Felina had probably gone through more to earn her lieutenant rank than that sergeant rank.
"You're just jealous that I still outrank you, no matter what," Felina shot back with a smile.
"I actually call her that because I can benchpress her and she can't do anything about it," Katarina laughed.
Felina shrugged. "Wanna try that right now?"
Katarina laughed and waved it off. "I got pizza! So, we can eat and then figure out how this whole thing is going to work."
That sounded good. They could do like Felina said, take a breath, and then counterattack. Maybe she would be able to think of something by then. Maybe the world would stop spinning on a crazy tilt to the point of making her dizzy. If not, they might never be able to leave this apartment.
-8-8-8-8-
Next time: the end.