Disclaimer: The SWAT Kats are owned by Hanna Barbera and the Tremblay Brothers. I own the OCs.
I have been slacking off with the disclaimers and thanking my co-author. If anyone from HB is reading this, sorry about that.
I just handed over a fifteen page chapter to my co-author for editing, I hope she doesn't want to hurt ne for that. I'm glad you answered my PM years ago MisaRae.
Lisa and Felicia waited in Lisa's studio for the owner of C. C. Enterprises to arrive. They were both dressed in business suits and had their hair done up in tight buns.
"I don't understand," Felicia said, "My master has paid the rent on the space by the first of the month without fail for years. Then just as he transfers ownership to me, and you sign the least for this place, we get a pair of letters asking to meet with the building's owner? I hope he is not going to ask for an increase in rent."
"I hope not either, Felicia," Lisa said as she put her left paw on Felicia's shoulder. "I just started getting students, and I can't afford a rate hike."
Felicia looked around the once vacant tap studio and noticed how well the place cleaned up. Mark and Lisa had put their hearts and souls into making the studio spotless and setting it up exactly how Lisa wanted it. Felicia then said, "Both you and Mark have worked very hard getting this place ready. I still can't believe the amount of work you two have done in two weeks."
Lisa smiled at her friend, then said, "He is a sweetheart, Felicia. I'm so lucky that he loves me. He came here during the day, worked until three, then went in for his shift at the Enforcers. For the past two weeks straight, that has been his life. One night he came home after his shift, didn't even want a late dinner, and fell into bed. I tried to wake him up to at least take his uniform off so he could sleep more comfortably, but I could not even move him. I swear, he's packed on several more pounds of muscle, which I didn't think was possible!."
"Speaking of putting on weight, what did the OB say?" Felicia asked.
Lisa put her right paw over her uterus, then answered, "The kitten is healthy and will be born in about six and a half months." She looked Felicia in the eyes, then said, "I still remember the look on Mark's face when I told him he was going to be a father. I thought he was going to pass out, but then, tears of joy filled his eyes as he lifted me up and spun me around.. Mark is going to love being a father. I can't wait to see him holding our kitten for the first time."
Felicia noticed a long, black limousine pull up in front of the dance studio and park. She then said, "Well, looks like it's time to face the music. Shall we go and greet him?"
Lisa took a breath before she said, "Might as well get this over with. Let's go." They both left the studio and stood out in front, waiting for whoever it was to get out of the limo.
Alice got out of the driver's seat and quickly walked around the front of the limo to the rear passenger's door. She then noticed that Lisa and Felicia were wearing business suits. She let out a giggle before she went over to them and asked, "Why are you two dressed so seriously?"
Lisa hugged Alice before she pulled back and noticed that Alice was not wearing slacks, but her leggings again. Lisa then asked, "What happened to the slacks that Jake asked you to wear when you are driving him around?"
"I'm not working for Jake today, Lisa. My client said I could wear what I wanted, so I decided to wear my old uniform," Alice said. "These leggings feel like I am wearing nothing at all, and I like it."
Both Lisa and Felicia laughed right along with Alice for a minute, before Alice said, "You will like my client. She is very nice, funny, and has a big heart." She turned on her heel, the soles of her boots striking the pavement as she made her way back over to the car to open the door for her client. She then extended her right arm into the car to assist her client in getting out.
A long, shapely leg extended out of the limo, and a pink high-heeled pump hit the sidewalk. That was followed by a head of long, flowing blonde hair, a body dressed in a form-fitting pink business suit, and finally, the other equally shapely leg. She stepped away from the limo's door so Alice could close it before she turned around to face Lisa and Felicia.
They both were shocked to see Callista wearing one of Callie's power suits. Although, they both had to admit, she looked good in a short skirt.
"Well, ladies, are you going to invite me in so I can see what you have done to my building?" Callista asked.
"Your building?" both Felicia and Lisa asked simultaneously.
"Yes, my building," Callista said as she slightly bent her right knee. "I own a rather large chunk of property around here."
"How's that even possible?" Felicia asked. "A large LLC owns most of the buildings in the area, not a single she-cat."
Callista strode over to them, put her paws on their shoulders, then said, "What do you think the C. C. in C. C. Enterprises stands for? It stands for Callista Catlow. Let's go inside, girls, and I will explain everything to you as we look around."
After they entered the dance studio, Callista was instantly impressed with what Lisa had accomplished with the space. She looked up at where a dropped ceiling had once hung to see an ornately decorated ceiling that had been hidden beneath the ceiling tiles. Instead of fluorescent light fixtures to illuminate the studio, Lisa had decided to use LED up lighting to warm up the studio. Callista shifted her gaze to the floor, and noticed they had put a brand new finish on the old wooden flooring, making it gleam as though it were brand new. As her heels clicked on the wooden floor, Callista felt it rebound beneath her feet and felt the urge to start dancing. She bent her right knee to lift her right foot behind her, removed her shoe, and repeated the same with the other foot. She wiggled her nose to turn on the stereo and had it start playing an old jazz tune that she knew she could dance to. Callista started moving in time with the music that came from the speakers.
Both Felicia and Lisa watched in awe as Callista glided across the floor. She didn't seem to have a care in the world as she let the music move her body.
Felicia leaned over to Lisa, then said, "She is almost as graceful out there as you are, Lisa."
Lisa could not deny that Callista was a very good dancer. She watched as her friend had fun, just dancing away as she moved with the music.
The song ended and Callista turned to the other two females standing idly by the entrance to the studio. She and said, "This will not do at all. You two are standing there like statues, instead of joining me and having fun." She then walked over to them, grabbed their paws in hers, and dragged them out to the center of the dance floor. Callista waved her paw in the air to start the music playing again. Except this time, a disco beat started playing from the speakers and the lights started cycling in color with the beat of the music. "Get it in gear, girls. We are going to dance the rest of the afternoon away!"
They all started dancing to the music blaring from the speakers that Mark had mounted in several places on the wall, as well as a couple of hidden subwoofers that shook the floor with each hit of the kick drum.
Alice was leaning against the limo, examining her claws, and starting to wonder what was taking Callista so long. She left the limo and peered into the dance studio to see Callista dancing right along with Felicia and Lisa. All three of them were smiling, bumping their hips together, and waving their arms in the air. Alice reached into the pocket of her coat, pushed a button on the key fob for the car, locking the doors, then went inside. As soon as she entered, the music hit her ears and she could feel the bass against her feet as it made the floor vibrate. She tried to yell over the loud music, "Hey! If this was going to be a dance party, why didn't you invite me?"
Felicia barely heard her over the music and went to Alice without stopping swaying in time with the music blaring from the speakers. She grasped Alice's paws and gently guided her to the rest of the group.
Alice soon felt the music in the core of her body and started moving in time with the beat. She fell in time with Lisa and started to dance with her.
Lisa watched intently as Alice's body moved in synch with hers. It was almost like she was dancing with Mark when they went to the clubs they frequented. Her paws found Alice's shoulders and sub-consciously pulled Alice to her.
Alice wasn't exactly sure what was happening at the moment. All she knew was she was enjoying her time with her new friends.
The song ended too quickly for anyone's liking, and all four of the females were trying to catch their breath after dancing their hearts out.
Felicia then said, "Let me get a few cold drinks from upstairs. I have water and cold milk. What does everyone want?"
Callista answered through a few pants, "I'll take water, please."
"Same here," Lisa replied.
"Water is perfectly fine," Alice said.
"I'll be right back," Felicia said before she left the studio and headed back to the apartment above.
Alice lifted her head to Lisa, then asked, "I know you love being an Enforcer and helping others, but you dance so divinely. How come you are not dancing professionally, Lisa?"
Lisa was still panting when Alice asked her question. She took another breath, then answered, "I did dance professionally for a while, Alice. Right up until Mark asked me to marry him."
"Mark made you give up dancing!?" Alice asked. "Wait until I get my claws on him! I'll tear him to shreds!"
"Whoa, Alice, you have it all wrong," Lisa said as she put her paws on Alice's shoulders. "The day Mark asked me to marry him, I found out I have a degenerative bone disease that makes my bones brittle. The short story is, I was on stage performing when I came down wrong on my leg. I broke my tibia that night. Mark ran up on stage, cuddled me in those big arms of his, and asked me to marry him, right in front of the entire audience. I was so happy and sad at the same time. Happy because I was going to marry the tom I had fallen madly I love with, and sad because my dancing career was over."
Alice listened to Lisa's story as a tear left her right eye. She then said, "I'm sorry that you had to stop doing what you love, and for thinking that Mark forced you to give up your dream."
"It's alright, Alice," Lisa said. "Now I have a new dream: making this dance studio the best it can be."
"That is one of the reasons I came here today, Lisa," Callista said. "I am going to wait until Felicia returns before I say what I need to, though."
Lisa couldn't help but be a little nervous not knowing why Callista had called this meeting. She sincerely hoped that whatever it was wouldn't jeopardize her newest dream.
Felicia quickly returned, carrying a gallon cooler of cold water in her left paw, and four colorful plastic cups in her right. She set the contents of her paws on a counter to the right of the dance floor and started pouring the cold water into the cups. As soon as she was done, she took two of the filled cups in each of her paws and brought them over to the girls. "Sorry, it took longer than I thought to break up the ice into chunks that would fit inside of the cooler. I still can't believe Master Yoso still has ice delivered in block form," she said as she handed out the cups to her guests.
Callista took a cup from Felicia and brought it to her red lips. She took a sip and almost moaned as the cold liquid glided over her tongue. She then said, "Thank you, Felicia. That was very refreshing."
Felicia finished handing out the cups to the rest of the females before she took a sip herself. "Master Yoso has the water delivered from some spring a few hundred miles north of here. I do have to admit, the water tastes so fresh and clean. Not like what flows from the tap here in the city."
Callista took another sip before she turned her head to face Felicia and Lisa. She moved a stray hair away from her face, then said, "Now that we are all here, we can get started."
Lisa took Felicia's paw in hers and grasped it tightly.
Felicia gave Lisa's paw a reassuring squeeze and waited with bated breath for Callista to continue.
Callista felt the unwarranted apprehension building in her friends, so she put on a friendly smile before she said, "As you both are now well aware, I own this building, as well as most of the Downtown area. Recently, my company has received several requests to re-develop this area in order to make it more business friendly. I looked over those proposals personally, and discovered that not only would re-developing this area be quite lucrative for my company, it would attract several businesses to the city."
Both Felicia and Lisa tightened their grips on each other's paws in preparation for their dreams becoming a nightmare.
Callista narrowed her eyes and stared at the two friends before she said, "However, every one of their plans called for tearing down the park, as well as evicting the families that have lived in the area for generations. I could not allow that to occur. This neighborhood is full of families that need places for their kittens to be nurtured and experience various cultures, as well as the arts in various forms. So, what I am proposing is for you both to let the kittens of families in need become your students for a severely reduced rate in exchange for a large subsidy from C. C. Enterprises which will be of equal or greater value to the monthly payments on both spaces."
Felicia and Lisa simultaneously looked at each other before turning back to face Callista. Lisa then asked, "Why would you do that, Callista, when you even said that re-developing the area would be very lucrative for your company? Surely your board of directors is going to have a fit when they find out you made this offer."
"My board of directors know very well why I started this company, Lisa, and it was not to line my pockets with money, either. I started C. C. Enterprises to help me not only manage the properties I own, but also as an anonymous charity that helps out all over the city. Just recently, we gave ten million dollars to the Kitten's Cancer ward at MegaKat General. After I visited the ward and entertained the kittens admitted to the ward, I quickly determined that they needed help, and they were going to get it! Through my associates, I quietly had the money transferred into the fund," Callista said before she giggled like a kitten herself and continued, "I'm sure the accounting department is having a fit trying to figure out where that money came from, since there will be no trace of the money transfer from my account into theirs."
"Callista, although what you did is noble, it shouldn't go unrecognized, either," Felicia said. "C. C. Enterprises should be given a parade for all of the donations it has made over the years. Why won't you accept some of the credit?"
Callista walked over to Felicia. She looked directly into her eyes, then answered, "C. C. Enterprises does not need to be thrust into the spotlight, Felicia. Even though we have nothing to hide, we donate where needed as quietly as possible. Fiscally, we are a very large company, which some other firm would love to try and take over. Myself and the members of the board, who I have hand-picked, are not going to that to happen. I pay my employees very well to keep silent about what occurs behind closed doors, and to keep the properties I own at my standards without fail."
As Alice shook her head in disbelief, she asked, "How could you possibly own so much property, Callista? I see signs that say 'Owned by C. C. Enterprises' all over the city. That would make you one of the wealthiest she-cats in the hemisphere."
Callista knew there should not be any secrets between friends and family. She turned to Alice and asked, "How much do you know about the queen that used to rule this area many years ago?"
Alice thought about it for a brief minute as she recalled the history lessons she had been taught. She responded, "I remember that she was a very compassionate queen, who was respected and loved by everyone in her kingdom. I also remember that she never married and died a lonely she-cat."
"Well, you have part of it right," Callista said. "I was a very compassionate queen. I adored my subjects, and they respected me in return. Now, as far as me dying a lonely she-cat, that is not true, as you can plainly see."
"What?" Alice asked. "You are no older than what, thirty five? There is no way you are the queen!"
"Alice, I am slightly over five-hundred years old," Callista stated.
"That can't be possible!" Alice yelled. "Like I said earlier, you don't look a day over thirty-five."
"Trust me, Alice," Callista said as she rested her weight on her right leg, jutting her hip out. But as she tried to move, she found her movements were severely restricted. She looked down at the offending garment, then asked, "How do she-cats wear these things? I admit, the skirt shows off my legs and hips very nicely, but the material doesn't allow me to move the way I want. Now, what was I saying?" Callista asked herself. "Oh yeah, now I remember. Alice, I may appear young, but I am truly over five centuries old. As for how? The answer is simple. I am a sorceress, and my magic keeps me young."
Alice started shaking her head in disbelief. She stopped moving her head and looked directly into Callista's eyes, then said, "Hold the phone, are you saying that you are so young and attractive because of magic?
"Yes," Callista replied. "My magic makes me age at a 20th the rate of a normal cat. Now as far as my looks, my granddaughter must have inherited my genes. Callie could be my identical twin, with the exception of this tiny birth mark on my left cheek and her myopic eyes."
Alice thought about what Callista had said, and still could not, and still could not believe what she had heard. Her eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms over her chest, then said, she then said, "There is no way any of this magic business can be true. It sounds like one of the fairy tales I read to my nieces in order to get them to fall asleep when they stay over."
Callista huffed, then asked, "Why is it so difficult for anyone to understand that magic and sorcery exist in today's world?"
"I don't know," Alice said. "Maybe because it's the 21st century, and what you said sounds like crazy talk."
Callista strode over to Alice and stopped just a few inches away from her. She peered down into Alice's eyes, then said, "When you were a kitten, you dreamed of being able to fly. Why did you give up on your dream?"
Alice's eyes widened as she was stunned by Callista's response. She then nervously asked, "How did you know about that? I never told anyone about my dreams."
Callista put a comforting paw on Alice's shoulder, then said, "You and your parents used to live in the building next to the one I live in now. You were so young, and your dreams so vivid, I was clearly able to see them as they played in your head. Alice, when you were little, you used to come over to my shop and let me read to you, just like I did to the kittens of my kingdom. However, the kittens knew of my abilities, so I was able to literally bring the stories to life right in front of their young eyes."
Alice tried her best to remember her kittenhood before she moved out of the city. However, she had been so young at the time; she really couldn't remember much from that period in her life. Although she vividly remembered her dream of being able to fly. That dream had felt so real to her, she could almost feel the wind flowing through her hair as she glided through the clouds. Alice finally said, "I sort of remember a kind she-cat who read to me when I was three. That was right before we moved out of the city, into the suburbs." Alice peered into Callista's eyes and asked, "That she-cat was you?"
"Yes, it was, Alice," Callista replied. "You loved coming over and hearing my stories of how the prince fell in love with the queen. Of course, all of those stories were true, since I took inspiration from my own life. Except for the part where the queen married the prince. That never happened. It was fun making up an alternate ending, though"
Alice hugged Callista with all her might, then said, "I missed you so much after we moved. I felt like I had lost a dear friend, if not an Aunt."
Callista returned her embrace, stroked her hair, and said, "I missed you, too, Alice. The day you moved away to your new home, I felt like I had lost a niece. I loved having you over as much as I loved being with my granddaughter. My only wish would have been for you two to have met when you were younger. You would have been friends with a bond that could not be broken." She pulled back just enough to look Alice in the face, then asked, "Would you like to live out that dream?"
"I can't do that, Callista," Alice answered. "I've grown up, and I know cats can't fly."
"Why not, Alice?" Callista asked before she wiggled the fingers of her right paw, and everyone in the room started floating in the air. "See, you can fly as well as everyone else in this room. Now, let's really get this dance party started!" Callista exclaimed before she pointed her left index finger at the stereo and willed it to start playing another fast-moving tune.
Alice, Felicia, and Lisa couldn't believe they were actually floating in mid-air. Then the music started playing again, and they all started to move to the beat of the music.
Felicia managed to drift her way over to Callista and grasped her shoulders with her paws. She asked, "How do you dance without having your feet on the floor?"
Callista tried to move her legs to show Felicia how to dance without gravity getting in the way of cutting loose, but her skirt prevented her from moving the way she wanted, yet again. She said, "This thing has to go, and I mean now!" Her left paw found the zipper that held the skirt tightly to her body and pulled it down. She removed the skirt and let it fall to the floor. "That's much better. I hope you don't mind if I dance in just my underwear?" she asked.
"Not at all," Lisa responded as she got used to dancing in mid-air. She bumped Alice with her left hip, sending her towards the wall as she said, "We are all she-cats here, so go right ahead."
Alice managed to stop herself from hitting the wall by moving her arms and legs. She floated her way over to Lisa and put her paws on her shoulders. Alice started moving her body in time with Lisa's.
Callista watched Alice and Lisa dance for a minute, then turned her focus to Felicia. She placed her paws on Felicia's hips, and said, "Just move with me and the music. Don't think about your feet not touching the floor. Just let go, Felicia."
Felicia closed her eyes and started to feel the music in her body. She felt the deep bass reverberating in her chest, and did as Callista suggested, letting go and moving her body to the beat. Her paws never left Callista's shoulders, while Callista's never left her hips.
"That's it, Felicia," Callista said. "You are a natural dancer. You should have been right onstage with Lisa."
Felicia lifted her arms high in the air and shook her hips and head as she said, "Thanks, Callista." She watched the way her friend moved in the air, and then said, "You dance real well, too."
All four friends danced the afternoon away, leaving all of their cares behind them. While outside, a lone, well-dressed older tom watched the dance studio from across the street. His eyes glowed behind a pair of sunglasses so he could see past the heavily tinted windows. He watched as Callista removed her skirt, leaving her long legs completely exposed and then let his eyes roam over her body as she danced in the air with her friends.
As Callista turned away from the window, he smirked, then said, "I didn't know you were an exhibitionist, my dear. You are making it very hard for me to keep my distance until we meet in a few months. Enjoy your time with your friends, Callista, because once you are mine, you are never going see any of them again, except maybe in a pine box."
End of Chapter