Chapter 14: Threats on all Fronts
While the pair of scientists worked feverishly in their lab to pin down the culprit, Aras paced anxiously beside his mate's hospital bed. Ulysses was resting comfortably at the moment but he wasn't out of danger. To halt his premature labor, Dr. Snow had put the pregnant tom on strict bed rest and IV drip with medications to relax the uterus.
The drugs themselves came with their own risks but it was felt it was necessary to keep the kitten in the womb a little longer. So far Feral was tolerating the medication but it was too early to know if that would continue to be true. If he didn't have an adverse reaction then it was hoped it would stop the contractions.
An ultrasound showed the kitten to be healthy and in no distress but it also showed it wasn't big enough to be born weighing only an estimated three pounds and test results proved its lungs were still too immature so it was imperative that labor be stopped.
Feral had been drifting in and out of consciousness for some time until his blood pressure had finally been leveled off with meds but the drugs for halting contractions could cause his pressure to rise again so he was being closely monitored.
When he'd been installed in his room, he was alert enough to be told what he faced. Uly's face had blanched with fear and concern. Aras held his paw tightly as he spoke soothingly to his worried mate when the doctor had left them alone again.
"Easy love. Our kitten is fine as long as it remains where it is for a little longer and that's what Dr. Snow is trying to do. The drug and staying still is required for you to succeed in giving birth to a healthy kitten. I know how much you hate the idea of being bed ridden but it's necessary."
Feral closed his eyes and groaned in frustration. "One step forward, two steps backward, damn it," he growled unhappily.
"Unfortunately, very true my love," Aras sighed in commiseration.
They were silent for a long moment and Feral was nearly drifting off when he roused himself enough to ask, "exactly what happened in the training area, Aras?"
His mate briefed him on the accident with the climbing rope and holding ring coming free.
"Accident, heh?" Feral snorted skeptically.
Aras eyes rolled, totally agreeing with his mate, as he answered, "Yeah that's what I thought too. The lab guys are chasing a lead as we speak. We have no doubt our disgruntled agent is responsible, we just have to find out who it is."
"Meanwhile, I'm a perfect target, stuck here in bed with no way to escape," Feral growled in concern.
Aras shook his head, his expression grim but determined. "You are under heavy guard at all times Ulysses. Nothing is going to come near you but those who have been cleared for your care."
Feral relaxed only a little. He knew even the best security could fail but Aras had done all he could and that would have to be good enough.
Elsewhere in the complex, the disgruntled female agent causing the trouble, paced her office like a furious tiger. 'How can one Kat be so lucky?' She snarled to herself, knowing her office was wired. 'He's well guarded now in the medical wing and I can do nothing until that kitten is born. I will just have to be patient.' Giving a last huff of frustration, she took a deep breath to settle herself then returned to her desk and the work awaiting her.
Days pass and Feral's condition improved, the contractions had ceased some hours after they had started and the doctor felt it was safe to take him off the medications but he wouldn't budge on one proviso...Feral would stay in bed for the last eight weeks of his pregnancy.
"What the hell am I going to do in bed for nearly two months," he railed at his mate.
"I have a solution to that, my love. Here..." Aras smiled warmly as he produced a laptop from behind his back. "I received permission to allow you to connect with your command. The signal is heavily encrypted to protect this facility but it will allow you to get back to work."
Feral blinked in amazement as Aras placed the laptop on a rolling table and angled it enough for his mate to use from his bed.
Eagerly opening the screen and typing in his code, Feral was grinning happily as he waited for his program to open. He looked gratefully over at his mate and said, "You know me far too well, Aras."
"Yes, I do, my love. Have a good day 'at work' and I'll see you for lunch later," his mate said with a grin, leaning down to give Uly a quick kiss.
Feral grinned even broader as his office program opened. "Thanks. See you later," he said distractedly as he began to dig into his files.
By the look of the information on the screen, Aras knew Uly would be busy for hours. Pleased with his solution for keeping his mate happy, he left the room, paused to check with security before heading for his own office.
In the science lab, Dandy and Garret were zeroing in on their target. They had narrowed down the suspects and were now eliminating them one by one. It was a long and tedious process but one that was necessary if they didn't want to accuse the wrong person.
The real culprit thought she had been very clever and wasn't too worried about being discovered as she carried on with her duties. However, a chance encounter near the lab allowed her to overhear a pair of lab personnel say the, so called, 'dynamic duo' were suspected of conducting an internal investigation for their leader, Saberforth. No one knew exactly why nor who they were searching for but she had a bad feeling she did.
Furious and afraid, she returned to her office to get some privacy while she planned how she would get rid of her rival in such a way as to throw suspicion on others. It was obvious now, that Saberforth suspected someone in house for being responsible for the attacks on their Aras' mate.
Her plans would have to change and drastically. Waiting was no longer an option. She already had some vague ideas but now she needed to spend the next few hours seeing which of her plans were the most viable.
Though it might make her visible to the pair hunting her, she felt she had no choice. Using the cover of doing research for a mission she was supposed to go on in a month, she began checking certain things around the complex, including a trip to the medical wing but not where Feral was being kept.
By later that day, she had finalized one plan in particular and it required she act before night fell. She noted the time, it was just past four in the afternoon, time to get moving. Picking up some reports she needed processed, she headed off to set her plan in action.
Feral felt satisfied and no longer bored as he shut down his laptop for the day. He'd managed to clear dozens of reports, be a part of a planned meeting, and even spoke with Ms. Briggs by live messenger.
Ms. Briggs told him the city had been uncommonly lucky to have evaded any serious clashes with the omegas of late. The only ones that caused trouble recently were Hard Drive and some mob clashes, both easily handled by the SWAT Kats and enforcers, respectively. He was greatly relieved but knew that peaceful streak couldn't last too much longer.
He was in a great mood when Aras arrived to share dinner with him.
"You look pleased and happy, my love," Aras said warmly, as he leaned down and kissed his mate.
"I am, thank you. I got a great deal of work done and even got the chance to get an update from Ms. Briggs," Feral said.
"Really? And what did Ms. Briggs have to say,"Aras asked amiably as he took a seat beside his mate's bed and started to eat his meal a nurse had brought in.
"Megakat City has been uncommonly quiet. Hard to say why...I'm almost concerned it is the quiet before a huge omega storm but that's just me and past experience," Feral said drolly.
"You might be considered paranoid, my love, but you've far too much experience with these thugs not to suspect something. Let's just hope for some continuing good luck that it will stay quiet for a bit longer," Aras said with jaded optimism. He had no doubt Uly was right but there was nothing either of them could do about it right now.
As they talked and ate their dinner, things were busy on the floor as shift change brought, meals and evening meds. A nurse bustled into Feral's room just as they had finished their food. She smiled at them both as she came to the dark tom's side with a blood pressure cuff around her neck and his medical chart in her paws.
"Good evening, Commander. How are you feeling today?" She asked as she put the cuff on his arm.
"Very well, thanks."
"Wonderful...stay still a moment..." she said warmly as she took his blood pressure. "Excellent...right where we want to see it. Any cramping or other discomforts?"
"No, I feel fine, if a little stiff from staying in bed," Feral said, with an annoyed snort.
She smiled in sympathy as she made notations on his chart. "Yes, I know. The only exercise you are allowed is stretching arms and legs several times a day and carefully rolling from side to side to keep limber but absolutely no getting to your feet," she told him firmly.
"I know," Feral sighed in resignation.
She gave him a gentle pat on the arm and left the room.
Aras was about to say something when all the power in the room went out, plunging the room into darkness. Both froze and went still. They could hear voices raised in consternation outside the door and a voice shouting instruction.
"Stay still Uly, I'm going to move your bed further away from the door," Aras said tightly as he moved carefully in the dark.
Feral wanted to object but there really wasn't anything he could do so stayed silent while his mate tried to ensure his safety. Aras leaned down at each corner of the bed and released the brakes. When he released the last one, he went around the bed until he was on the side facing the door.
Slowly, he began to push the bed sideways toward the far wall. He kept moving until the bed hit the wall with a small bump. Once he had made sure his mate was as far from the door as he could get him, he pulled out a tiny flashlight from his pocket and began to move the chair, tables, and medical equipment in the room to form a makeshift barrier between his mate's bed and the door to the hall. He grabbed the trays their food came on, dumped the contents on the floor before the door then went to Ulysses' side.
"Here, love, use these as a shield," he told his mate tightly.
Feral sighed at the flimsiness of the trays but it was better than nothing as he took the trays and held them along his body from head to mid body as best as he could. Meanwhile Aras' had pulled his weapon and was now standing near Uly's head, facing toward the door. Now all they could do was wait.
Just before the power went out, Dandy and Garret had finally identified their suspect. With data in paws, they hurried from their lab and made their way to Saberforth's office. They were permitted entry the minute they had shown up at the secretary's desk.
She nodded at them gravely as she released the door for them. They quickly piled into Saberforth's office. Dandy spoke first.
"Sir, its Tanith Jarwick."
Saberforth frowned at him in consternation. Jarwick was one of his top agents. For her to do something like this was just so out of character.
"Where is she now?" He demanded reaching for his intercom.
"In her office, at least when we checked before coming here, sir," Dandy responded instantly.
Saberforth tried to reach the agent but there was no response. He sent out an alarm just as the power went out.
"Crap! She's making her move, sir!" Garrett shouted.
Emergency lights came on in their leader's office. In the weird half light, Saberforth could be seen doing something to a portion of his desk. A section of it slid away and a screen rose up with an accompanying phone and keypad.
Saberforth picked up the phone as his fingers rapidly tapped out a code on the keypad below the raised screen.
"Rickens! Code Alpha One Nine! Activate now!" He ordered briskly to someone on the line then hung up the phone and turned his attention to the screen.
Dandy and Garret crowded behind their boss so they could watch in fascination. The tiny screen showed them the medical wing in infrared. They could see people fumbling around in the dark as the emergency lights were not working in this section.
"There she is!" Dandy said suddenly pointing to someone in the upper part of the screen.
"I see her," Saberforth said calmly. He seemed unmoved by the drama unfolding before them.
On the screen they could see Agent Jarwick moving quickly toward Commander Feral's room. She avoided running into people by staying next to the wall and wearing special infrared goggles. The camera watched her as she opened Feral's door and slipped inside where she immediately slipped on something on the floor.
Cursing but reacting as any well trained agent could, she rolled away from the slickness on the floor to avoid the shot aimed at her by Aras who had seen her with his flashlight. She stayed in a crouched position and lunged toward the tom she could easily see through her goggles.
They met partway in a confusing blitz of paws and body blows. Jarwick was trying to knock Aras out quickly and not harm him while attempting to get a shot at the male on the bed. However, she never reckoned with Aras' fierce desire to protect his mate.
The fight turned into a brawl on the floor as Aras kept his opponent away from his mate and closer to the door. Hissing angrily to herself, Jarwick pulled a syringe from her pocket and tried to inject Aras just as the door behind her was flung open and two powerful toms rushed forward to grab her by her arm and yank her away from her target.
She screamed in fury as they disarmed her. Moments later the power returned. Her face was ugly with hatred and anger as Aras got to his feet and went to his mate's side. He stared at her in confusion and anger.
"Why Tanith?" He demanded of her.
"You should have been mine. I've been with you on countless missions for years and we've shared good times together until he came into the picture. How could you take that male over me?" She hissed furiously.
"Tanith, there was nothing but friendship between us. I've known Ulysses since I was very young and loved him from that moment on. I took him as my mate years ago but didn't stay near for his safety. There has never been anyone else but him for me," Aras said firmly, shaking his head at the loss of an agent over something like this.
She screamed inarticulately at him as she was dragged away. Aras sighed then turned to his mate, taking the trays away and leaning down to hug him.
"I'm sorry, Aras. It's hard to see someone self destruct like that. I take it she had been a good agent before this?" Feral asked softly.
"Yes. I would have trusted her with my life once. I just don't understand why she thought there was something more between us," Aras said sadly.
"I'm afraid I've never truly understood females even if I'm at least half one myself. It's just a mindset I've never grasped," his mate sighed and shrugged.
"I hate to say it, but I'm very glad the only thing you possess that's female is your genitals and your ability to carry a kitten. Your mindset is very much male, for which I'm eternally grateful," Aras said with a wane chuckle.
Feral snorted in amusement as he added, "Amen to that!"