Disclaimer: The SWAT Kats are owned by Hanna Barbera and the Tremblay Brothers. I own the OCs.
Here we go again. This chapter shows how much of a tight knit group Katerina and her subordinates are.
MisaRae, you mean the world to me. You gave me the strength I needed to write this as well as Sophie's story. I never would have been able to do this without you.
That night after Tina and Katerina put Gwendlyn to bed, Katerina assembled her comrades and Tina in the living room.
Since asking for help was something completely new to her, it scared her, thinking that she was showing weakness to her subordinates. She simply sat on the left side of their couch with her paws folded in her lap, her legs tucked tightly under her, and her tail, moving ever so slightly.
Tina sat next to her, placed her paws on top of Katerina's and as she looked into her fiancée's eyes, she pleaded, "What's wrong Kat? You are not acting like yourself at all. Please tell me what I can do."
Elizaveta listened to Tina and watched her commander like a hawk, waiting for her to respond to her mate's question. However, Katerina didn't respond as Elizaveta was hoping. Katerina actually tried to burry herself into the couch further than she was before. "Commander, this is not the confident she-cat we know and trust with out lives. I don't know what is troubling you, but your comrades stand by you, waiting for your orders."
Katerina lightly smiled back at her second in command before turning her focus to the arm rest. She whispered, "I need help."
"What was that commander?" Galina asked.
"I need help Galina, I'm becoming the she-cat I thought was dead and I don't want her to come back," Katerina responded, resting her head against the armrest.
As Tina gently laid her left paw on Katerina's left shoulder, Katerina continued, "Ever since we adopted Gwendlyn and this mess with the Black Diamonds started, I've been finding myself, slipping back into the roll of Turmoil. I've changed, I've found the love of my life, I have a family and an extended family I can rely on for anything, and I now have a daughter, which was something I thought I would never have. None of which I would have obtained if I stayed as Turmoil. I love my new life and I want to continue living this way without having Turmoil, waiting to take over."
Tina hugged Katerina from behind, rested her head against Katerina's back, and said, "I'll help you through this, I never knew Turmoil and I don't want to know her either. I want the she-cat I fell in love with at first sight, the she-cat whom I adopted a daughter with, and the she-cat I want to marry and spend my life with. I'll do what I have to do to keep her and nothing is going to stand in my way!"
Inna left her spot against the wall and fell to her knees in front of the two of them. "Commander, when I first joined your squadron, I was a little girl. You and Elizaveta made me what I am today. I'm proud to not only serve under your command, but to be able to call you friend as well."
Nadia and Esfir both got up from their seats and joined Inna. Then Esfir said, "My comrade speaks the truth. Despite all of us being an elite fighting force, we have all grown close to another. I can't think of another who I would rather serve. Personally, I like this new you better."
"Esfir is right commander, back when you were known as Turmoil, we all feared you. Now, we have come to respect you and have grown quite close to your family. You can talk to any of us at any time you wish. We are here for you commander."
Katerina lifted her head from the armrest and faced her crew. She wiped a single tear from her left eye with the knuckle of her left index finger, then said, "Thank you all. You have no idea how much it means to me to have your support." She lifted her body back into a sitting position, took hold of Tina's paws, then said, "It's late, we all should get to bed."
Everyone turned in for the night and as Katerina slipped into her nightgown and Tina slipped under the covers, Tina said, "Kat, that was brave of you to ask for help. I'm proud of you."
Katerina finished buttoning up her nightgown as she walked over to her side of the bed, pulled back the covers, and slid in. She kissed Tina, then said, "Even with everyone's support, I still don't feel comfortable in my own fur Tina." Katerina laid her head on Tina's right shoulder, then said, "I'm scared that she will take over." She started sobbing out of fear for her life. Through those sobs, she said, "Then everything I've worked so hard for will be gone. You, Gwendlyn, SWAT, everything! I hate her Tina! Why is she sticking her nose back in my life?"
Tina wrapped her arms around her mate and said, "I don't know Kat but we will figure this out. You are stronger now than when you were Turmoil. You and I will fight this."
"I don't know if I'm strong enough to resist her Tina, she keeps getting stronger every time, I don't know if I have the will to fight her," Katerina said.
Tina pushed her off of her shoulder and said, "Kat, look at me."
Katerina opened her eyes and peered into Tina's, waiting for Tina to accuse her of being weak.
"You can and you will fight her! I'll be right by your side every step of the way. I'm not going to let her take over and destroy our home! Tomorrow morning after we drop off Gwendlyn at school, we are going to talk to Felina. Maybe she can speak with her aunt and have her meet with you again," Tina said.
A small smile crossed Katerina's face as she thought of possibly talking to Dr. Feral again. "Thank you Tina."
"You're welcome, my love," Tina responded. "Let's get some sleep."
As they slept, someone was painting graffiti across the front of the house. Unbeknownst to the artist, he tripped a silent alarm.
The alarm woke up Elizaveta first. She threw the covers off of her, grabbed her Luger from the night stand and ran out of her room. As she ran down the hall, she banged on her subordinates' doors as she ran past them.
They all woke and as soon as they slipped robes on their bodies, they rushed out of their rooms and followed Elizaveta.
"Almost done," the tom said as he touched up his work. He was so focused on his work, he didn't hear the front door open, revealing Elizaveta with her Luger, cocked and ready to fire.
Elizaveta opened the front door, scanned the area to see what could have possibly caused the alarm to trip. And when she noticed the lone tom, painting something on the front of her Commander's house, she took it as a personal offense. She stepped out of the door and as silently as she could, she snuck up on the tom, and hit him on the base of the skull with the butt of her gun, knocking him out cold.
"Who's he and why is he unconscious?" Esfir asked as she slipped her gun into the waistband of her pajamas.
As Elizaveta put her weapon away in similar fashion, she answered, "This so-called tom, decided our Commander's home needed a coat of paint. Inna, take him into the kitchen and secure him to a chair. Galina, Nadia, cover this up so the Commander and Tina doesn't see this, then meet us in the kitchen for a little interrogation."
While Galina and Nadia covered the graffiti, the rest went into the kitchen and peered down at the poor fool who picked the wrong house to tag.
While Esfir filled a pot with cold water, Elizaveta opened a drawer and withdrew a razor sharp kitchen knife. She sat the knife down on the kitchen table.
Galina and Nadia made quick work of covering up the graffiti as Nadia asked her sister, "Why would he do such a thing?"
"I don't know dear sister, but we are going to find out very soon. Hopefully, he cooperates. I'd hate to have to tell the Commander she has to paint and put a new floor in," Galina answered as she tacked up a tarp.
Nadia finished up first and waited for her sister. The words 'Lesbian Bitch Cops' that were painted in red on the white shingles cut her to the core. To her, it didn't matter if her Commander fell in love with another she-cat. She actually fancied the fairer sex herself. She secretly has a crush on Esfir, but she had no idea if she told Esfir how she felt, if she would return her affections, or send her back home, after being dismissed.
Galina finished her job, turned to look at her sister, and noticed that Nadia had wrapped her arms around herself, like she was holding herself back from doing something, everyone would regret. Galina knew her sister, very well and also knew Nadia liked Esfir. She went over to her sister, wrapped her left arm around Nadia's shoulder, then asked, "You ok sister?"
"Niet Galina," she answered. "Why do I want to tear this tom's head off?"
"We care for the Commander and her family. I want to tear into this tom as well Nadia and if we were home, he would already be dead. But we are not, we have to do things the legal way, or at least stretch the law just enough. Come, we don't want to miss out on the fun, do we?"
As the two sisters entered the kitchen, they saw the tom, secured to a metal chair, still out cold.
"What's the plan Elizaveta?" Nadia asked.
"Simple, we wake him up, find out who he's working for, and go and pay them a little visit, that is if he listens and cooperates. I'd hate for things to get messy," Elizaveta answered before turning to Esfir who was holding the handle of the pot of water. "Do it!"
Esfir moved forward, pulled the pot back, and threw the water at the tom, soaking him.
He regained consciousness, shook the water from the fur on his face, then spat, "What the fu.."
But was instantly stopped by Esfir, slamming her left fist into his face, saying, "Silence! We ask the questions! You answer them! Da!?"
"You had better listen to her, if you know what's good for you," Inna said.
"Just who are you?" The tom asked after he spit out some blood from his mouth.
"Your worst nightmare, now why did you decide to deface this house?" Elizaveta asked.
"I don't have to say a thing to any of you!" He spat back in response.
Elizaveta went over to him, crouched down to his level and peered into his eyes with this stare that should invoke fear in most. "Yes you do, unless you want to play with Inna over there and believe me, she plays very well with those who don't listen."
"Go screw yourself lady! I ain't no snitch!" He responded.
As Elizaveta stood and stepped out of the way, she said, "Very well, Inna."
Inna stepped forward and stood in front of the tom. She then, put her right paw over his mouth and grabbed his left index finger with her left paw. Then with a simple flick of her wrist, she broke the bones into several pieces, causing a muffled cry of pain from the tom. "Care to talk now?" Inna asked as she removed her paw from his mouth.
"Wait until my boss gets word of what went down here! You will all be dead within the week!" He said.
Inna picked up the knife in her left paw, then said, "Guns are for wimps, da. I prefer a nice, sharp blade to work with. This one will do nicely, see how well it cuts?" She asked as she ran her right thumb down the blade, cutting it open and letting her blood coat the shiny metal. "Now talk, or I'll see how well this blade works on your skin as well."
The tom's eyes went wide as Inna fearlessly glided the blade across her digit, letting it sink in, then lifting it and pointing towards him. 'These she-cats mean business. I might not get out of here alive if I don't tell them what they want to know' ran through his mind.
"Now, now Inna. He's sort of cute," Galina said as she sauntered over to him and as she let the fingers gently caress his face. She then said, "I'd hate to see someone as cute as him, all diced up for feed." Galina stopped in front of him, faced him, and said, "And that is what's going to happen, if you don't start talking."
"And what about you?" He said as he motioned with his head to Nadia. "You haven't said anything yet or threatened me with bodily harm, so what's your deal?"
Nadia was preoccupied with watching Esfir. However, her anger at the tom didn't dissipate. "If it were up to me, you would already be dead. I hate you for your narrow mindedness."
He now knew where he stood. As far as they were concerned, he was there to give them information and if he didn't, they seemed to have no reservations about killing him. "I'll talk on one condition," he said.
"You are not in the position to be making any demands!" Esfir said. "Talk or die, those are your only choices."
"Bullshit!" He managed to get out before Inna slipped behind him and slapped the back of his head, real hard. Causing his head to snap forward.
"Spilling profanity was not one of the choices. Do you really want to die today?" Nadia asked.
"No! I want to get my little sister out of the Diamonds! That is why I tagged this house! Do you really think I wanted to paint those words on the front of the house that belongs to two Enforcer Sergeants? The leader told me if I did this little job, he would let my sister out of the gang. They use her for their amusement and treat her like garbage. I love my sister more than anything. But she and I live in a area where either you join a gang, go to jail, or if you are lucky enough, get an education, get the hell out of there and never look back."
Katerina stirred when the tom's yelling hit her ears. She rose from her slumber, slipped out of her bed, and on the way downstairs, she grabbed her robe and pulled it on her body.
"You seem smarter than the average thug, why didn't you get an education, take your sister, and get out?" Elizaveta asked.
"Daddy dearest is a drunk and mom skipped town years ago. We have nothing which doesn't give us much of a choice," he answered.
Katerina entered the kitchen and saw the tom. His index finger was swollen and colored black and his face didn't look good either. In her native language, she ordered, "All of you! To the Living room now!"
Her squadron instantly followed Katerina's orders, slipping past her icy stare.
As soon as they all retreated to the Living room, Katerina followed. She stood in the hallway, scanned the faces of her subordinates, then again in her native tongue, she asked, "What, exactly is going on here!?"
Her Second-In-Command stepped forward and stood in front if her, snapped to attention, then answered, "Commander, that tom defaced your home. As per your orders, we protected all those who enter this home."
"Elizaveta! True, my orders are as you stated. But they do not include torture! We are not back home where those methods are condoned! I'm an officer of the law! How do you think it will look if one of you were caught, dragging a dead body out on my home?"
"Commander! We only.." Elizaveta started to answer but she was stopped my Katerina saying, "You and the rest still are acting as if we are still outlaws! This stops now! I sat here earlier tonight, begging for help in keeping Turmoil dead and buried! But you five seem to want her back! I want each of you to make a decision! Either you are going to stand by my side, staying with me and my family and keeping them safe within the lines of the law! Or go home, knowing you have disgraced yourself!"
Elizaveta was the first to move to Katerina's right, turn to face the four under her and said, "I stand by my Commander until death."
Esfir and Inna were next to take their places to the right of Elizaveta and repeated exactly what she said, "I stand by my Commander until death."
The two sisters nodded to each other and stood in front of the rest. They both said, "We stand by our Commander until death."
"Very good ladies, now we handle this tom, my way is this understood, da?" Katerina asked.
All five answered, "Da."
The six nightwear clad she-cats re-entered the kitchen and Katerina went to stand in front of the tom while the other five stood behind her, leaning against the counter. "Here is what's going to occur, you are going to tell me who sent you to artistically decorate my house and where to find them."
"The Diamonds have a warehouse just outside of the city limits. That allows them to do what they do in the city, then slip out just as the heat starts coming on. Look, I know what I did was wrong and I'll pay for the damages, one way or another. But if you and your crew are going to bust in there and go after them, please take my sister with you," he pleaded.
"Inna, cut him free," Katerina ordered.
Inna started to come forward with a small knife in her right paw.
"Keep that crazy she-cat away from me!" He screamed as he tried to get away from her while tied to the chair.
Katerina turned her head to the right to face Inna and asked, "Exactly what did you do to him?"
"I was restrained with my techniques commander," Inna responded.
"Restrained? You broke my finger and threatened me with a kitchen knife!" He said.
Katerina shot Inna a very stern look before turning her gaze back on the tom and said, "For her, that was restrained. Galina, cut him free, then see what you can do for his finger."
Galina went over to the tom, crouched down, said, "Too bad, this won't hurt a bit." Then sliced the restraints with her razor sharp claws.
The tom tried his best to get some feeling back into his paws, but his broken finger made him scream in agony again.
"Someone get him some ice for his finger," Katerina ordered.
Esfir moved from her spot at the counter, went over to the set of drawers by the sink, pulled open the second one, and pulled out a large plastic back. She then opened the freezer and emptied an Ice Tray into the bag, walked back to the tom, and not-so-gently dropping it on his finger.
"Fuck! That hurts!" He yelled.
"Silence you scum!" Esfir ordered. "You'll wake the rest of the house."
"Esfir!" Katerina growled.
"My apologies commander, I let my anger; slip," Esfir said with a smile.
"You six would do real well in the military as interrogators," he said as the cold seeped into his paw.
"We are already in a Para-Military already, consisting of all she-cats and we fight better than our male counterparts do. Da ladies?" Galina asked.
"Da Galina," They responded.
Galina inspected his finger. The breaks appeared to be clean from what she could tell without an X-Ray. "Would you like me to try and set your finger?" She asked the tom.
"And if you don't?" He asked in return.
"It might not be able to be reset, if we wait too long," she answered.
"Why do I have a feeling, this is going to hurt like a bitch," he said as he turned away from his paw.
Galina worked quickly and pulled his finger, spreading the bones out and wrapping the finger, nice and tight with a dish towel.
He screamed in agony as she worked. And when she finished, she said, "You screamed like a newborn baby, Da."
He turned to face her, and noticed, Galina was quite attractive. He smiled at her though the pain, and said, "Sorry, but your bedside manner has a little bit to be desired. Although, you would make a very cute nurse."
Galina was always busy, working with Elizaveta and Esfir that she never had time to date, or even think about entering a relationship. And now, there was this tom who she and her comrades threatened making a obvious pass at her. "Do you have a death wish?" She asked.
"I just might. If I had someone worth dying for, Galina," he answered.
Galina stoked the fur on his cheek again and asked, "You obviously know my name, what's yours?"
"I'm Tyrone, would you mind if I took you out, on a date after I get out of the hospital that is," he asked.
"I'm flattered, but would you want to go out with someone who might easily mame you, if you say or do the wrong thing? I'm quite possessive of what's mine," Galina said with her tail swishing back and forth, giving him a very good look at the fluffy appendage.
Tyrone got a very good look at her tail. 'Damn does she have a fine body and a sharp whit. Where has she been all my life?' He asked himself. "I'll simply have to keep myself in check and on my toes at all times when I'm with you."
"Then it's a date, I get home around 5 to 5:30, Friday would be best," Galina said.
"That would suit me well, I'll pick you up here at 5:30 on Friday," Tyrone said. "How am I going to explain my finger and face to the doctors?" He asked as he stood, supporting his left paw.
"Tell them you had a very unfortunate incident with a door," Elizaveta said.
"Commander, you are just going to let him go?" Nadia asked in astonishment.
"Niet, I have changed, but I am not as they say, gullible," Katerina answered. She grabbed Tyrone by the collar of his t-shirt and seethed, "You owe me and my family. If things are not as you say, I'll have the Enforcers as well as the Local and State Police take down your gang with prejudice. That includes you, your sister, and everyone you may care about! Do I make myself understood, da?"
Tyrone gulped as he peered into Katerina's determined face. A feeling of dread washed over him the longer he looked into Katerina's eyes and knew she meant business. "I understand."
She let him go, lightly slapped him on the cheek as she said, "Good boy." Then continued, asking, "What occurred here did not happen. As my Second-in-Command mentioned, you had a very unfortunate incident with a door. If word slips out about us, Nadia will be more than happy to make sure you are silenced, forever, da?" She lightly shuddered as she said her last words, knowing she sounded like Turmoil. But she needed to strike fear into Tyrone, and that was the only way she know how to accomplish it.
"Oh, I'd love to make sure he stays quite, permanently," Nadia responded, flexing her paws into fists.
Katerina sneered at Nadia who shot her a look back, questioning her since she threatened Tyrone as well.
Katerina blew her off and focused her intense gaze at Tyrone, then said, "This is your one pass with us. If your little gang comes back here, we will not show the same.. what's the word.. consideration."
Tyrone understood exactly what Katerina was telling him. He knew she and her friends were not ones to recant on their promises. "I understand completely. I'll make sure to pass along your message to the leader."
He started to walk towards the door to the kitchen, but before he left, Inna said, "Make sure he understands, I will show no mercy if someone shows up here again or tries to contact our little sister!"
"I'll be sure to let him know," Tyrone said as he left.
They all heard the front door close, then Nadia faced her sister and asked, "You are letting him take you out on a date?"
"Why not?" Galina responded. "Did you see his tail? I wouldn't mind trying to tame that."
End of Chapter.