Chapter 13
"Sabotage?" Lea asked as she'd overheard what the white tiger had said as she made her way to them. Panthro was helping Li-en keep it together as they followed Pumyra and Tygra down to the Med Bay, behind the gurney that Cavan was laying on. The two had been through so much and the group could not imagine what they did to deserve it.
"Oh yeah. This jack not only snapped in half but the bolts that were on the base sheared off. Only way that happens is if somebody filed things off and sawed things off," Ben-Gali pointed to tool marks that were visible when the pieces were held up close.
"Who would want to hurt Cavan? She's pregnant for cripes sake!" Lion-O was visibly upset and it was for good reason. As if it wasn't bad enough that they had Mutants breathing down their necks, now someone here tried to hurt one of their own.
"She might not have been the original target, sir," one of the mechanics, a liger by the name of Gol, spoke up.
"Oh?" Lion-O asked.
"I grabbed that jack off of the ThunderTank shelf myself sir. One of the ThunderClaw jacks were missing and I knew that the ThunderTank jacks would work fine so I grabbed one. This is my fault sir," Gol hung his head.
"This is not your fault. Whoever planned this didn't realize that there was a jack missing," Ben-Gali told him. He knew the liger and he knew that he did fantastic work. Never complained and never called in sick.
"And perhaps they were intending for Panthro to get hurt. Still I want all the security footage from the hangar sent to my office. I want ThunderGuard in the Med Bay to keep an eye on Cavan and I want them to follow Panthro around too. Send in the safety investigation team with extra ThunderGuard backup. I want every tool in the shop examined," Lion-O issued his orders.
"On it," Ben-Gali nodded.
"Lea, Cheetara, with me please," the lion said. As they headed for the exit, Lion-O stopped to reassure Gol and promise him that he had nothing to worry about. The liger thanked his King profusely and then ran off to help Ben-Gali.
"What are you thinking?" Lea asked once they were out into the hallway.
"That only a Mutant would want to sabotage equipment. Slow down our efforts to fight a war of their making. Which means one of the Cats in the hangar is taking money from the enemy," he said.
"Who would do that?" Cheetara wondered. Completely at a loss as to why anyone but a Mutant would think it was a good thing if the Mutants won.
"Let's hope the security tape will help," the lion said.
"The three of us don't need to look at the tape. Is there some way I can be doing something to help?" Lea offered as they entered Lion-O's office. He locked the door and turned to his half-sister.
"You can stay right here where you'll be safe. For all we know you could have been the target. How many times would you help Panthro fix something in the shop?" He hated to play protector as both Lea and Cheetara could more than handle themselves but he didn't want to take any chances.
"Quite often but are you saying that you don't think I can handle myself?" She asked.
"I know you can but I want to get married and I want you to be there. The three of us are going to get the opportunity to create a new family. I'm not going to let those Mutants stop us," he told her. Cheetara smiled at him and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.
"You're adorable but I would shred anybody who got in my way," the cheetah smirked.
"I know. I'm just trying to be cautious. Anyway, let's get down to business," he smiled slightly and pulled the video up on his screen and then over to the projector. This was going to take a while considering they didn't know when to look.
Meanwhile in the Med Bay, Cavan woke up to find herself connected to all sorts of machines. Li-en was all smiles when he noticed she was awake.
"Wha' 'appened?" She asked; her speech impaired.
"Oh somebody has a concussion," Tygra announced.
"What about the baby?" The liger asked.
"I'm not seeing anything that would indicate trouble. Still I want to keep her overnight to make sure everything is all right," he admitted.
"I'll stay with her," Li-en said as he took Cavan's hand in his. She gave it a squeeze grateful that she was still amongst the living.
"Good. Now, if you'll excuse me," Tygra smiled and pulled Panthro out of the room so the two could have a few moments of privacy before the ThunderGuard assumed their watch.
"There is something you didn't tell them isn't there?" Panthro cocked an eyebrow at his friend.
"She's not yet showing so technically she could still be on duty but I want her off duty for the rest of the pregnancy. Given her age and the fact that this is her first, I want to be careful, especially after what just happened," the tiger explained.
"I'll see what I can do about it. You leave it to me," the panther winked.
"Good. Now you hold Pumyra down while I force her to tell me why it looks like she hasn't slept in a week and why she's only been picking at her meals," Tygra enlisted his friend's help.
"You got it," Panthro nodded.
To Be Continued…