The first thing Hadrian did when he left Feral's apartment was head for a rendezvous with a contact of his. Using the GPS in his rental car, he found the coffee house located in the waterfront district fairly easily.
He parked, went in and took a table at the back of the room in a secluded corner and waited. After drinking most of his second cup of fairly decent coffee, a figure walked in, looked around, made eye contact with him then casually walked to where Hadrian sat.
A waitress bustled up, was given a coffee and pastry order then hustled off to fill it. The figure eyed the handsome golden Bengal mix with a jaundiced look as he took a seat across from him.
"So, haven't seen nor heard from you in several years. What brings you to this benighted city? Vacationing?" He asked, sarcasm dripping from his hoarse voice.
Hadrian studied the fellow across from him. The male was lean, fur colored a dark orange with black stripes, eyes yellow-green, face bland with no identifying features and dressed in black jeans, tan polo shirt with a black windbreaker and feet shod by a pair of white with black trim tennis shoes.
"Not exactly. Why I'm here is none of your business. What I need is your particular expertise at convincing a couple of individual's to leave this city," he said coolly.
The male narrowed his eyes but said nothing until the waitress, who had just appeared, finished setting out his coffee and pastry then hurried off again. He fussed with his coffee...adding cream and sugar, tasting it then adding more cream before being satisfied with it only then returning his attention to Hadrian.
"A removal job, eh? So who got on your hit list?"
"The two and their associates won't be an easy job to coerce nor get rid of and you'll be getting assistance accomplishing it because of that as well as a bonus...," Hadrian began before being cut off.
His guest scowled and hissed in a low, deadly voice, "I work with only my own crew! You know that! No outsiders welcome!"
"When you hear the targets, you might want to reconsider," Hadrian said smoothly, undisturbed by the others show of anger.
Snorting in derision, the male took a large bite of his pastry and a sip of coffee while giving Hadrian a look of disbelief.
"I want you to find a way to make Dark Kat and Dr. Viper leave this city...permanently," Hadrian said, dropping the bomb casually.
The male spit out his half-eaten pastry, face going shocked and pale. Swallowing hard, he hurriedly grabbed his coffee and drank nearly half of it before speaking again.
"Are you mental? Those aren't your average joe blows you want disposed of. Those guys are heavy league nut cases with creatures at their command that are everyone's worst nightmare," he spat in shocked disbelief.
"I'm fully aware of that, which is why I said you would be getting some high powered help to do the job thoroughly and completely. Secrecy is not wanted here, though. The enforcers need to know the pair are out of the city permanently or they will stay on constant alert and I don't want that," Hadrian said firmly, sipping his own coffee calmly.
Shaking his head and eyeing the Bengal balefully, the male growled, "what you ask is out of my league. Find yourself another lackey."
"So, you'd rather your reputation be tarnished then? No one will hire you after this refusal because I'll make sure all know what a coward you are," Hadrian said coldly.
The male smiled thinly and stood up then leaned over the table so his face was closer to the Bengal's. "Do it then! I'm not afraid of you or your threat. I'm good enough to get all the work I can handle no matter what you say about me. No one in my 'field' is crazy or stupid enough to take on such a mission. I take jobs that are guaranteed to make me money and still let's me come out alive. Good luck! You're going to need it!"
Having made it clear he wasn't interested, the male stalked out of the coffee shop. Hadrian scowled in annoyance. The male steaming away, was his more reliable contact, his next choice was just plain insane which was why he hadn't wanted to use him, however, it looked like he wouldn't have a choice. He pulled his cell out and searched for a less used number. Calling it, he wasn't surprised to find the person not answering his cell, so left his number for a call back.
Sighing in disgust, he laid some money on the table and quickly left. There was other work he had to do now which entailed a trip to the library then a local criminal dive finishing with a visit to a geeks hang out and, in a few hours, his best friend would be arriving at the airport.
While his lover was checking out the seedier underside of the city, Feral was reading over the latest reports from his special ops teams. He sighed and threw the last report on his desk with disgust. Nothing! They had found nothing! It was like Dark Kat had managed to vanish without a trace and there was still no confirmation that Hard Drive and Viper were with him.
He got up from his seat and stepped down from his pedestal desk to look out the huge windows of his office to the flight line below. Leaning against the glass, he frowned unhappily, worry riding his shoulders as he tried to think of what other actions he could take that might drive Dark Kat out of hiding but was coming up empty.
Stretching his back and shoulders, he returned to his desk and dug into his other work, letting his subconscious deal with the problem for a while.
Elsewhere in the city...
Hard Drive stormed into his room and, after setting his meager security system, threw himself onto his bed and tried to rest but his mind was whirling with anger and fear.
Dark Kat had sent him out on a reconnaissance mission yesterday. The evil tom wanted to know how Feral was hiding his kitten. His temper got more and more hot as his plans continued to be thwarted and all because no one had been able to detect where the Chief Enforcer's kitten was being hidden while he was away.
Not daring to disobey, Hard Drive did as instructed and shadowed the Commander the whole, boring, 24 hour period but to his disbelief and disgust, the canny enforcer never left his apartment with the kitten nor returned home with it. Where the hell was he keeping it and how did it get out of the apartment every day?
As instructed, he had managed to slip into the apartment by passing a very sophisticated security system that nearly fried him. Once inside, he searched every where for the kitten but found no sign of it. He learned it was a female from a framed picture sitting on the desk in the living room but he never passed that information to Dark Kat. He didn't care about its sex anyway. His search didn't turn up any clue as to how the kitten was disappearing each day.
He returned to tell Dark Kat what he'd found and the powerful tom had smacked him into a wall in retribution for the lack of information the techno thief had brought him.
"You will have to find a way to remain in that apartment until you actually witness where he's taking it!" He ordered coldly.
Wiping blood off his mouth from his busted lip, Hard Drive got to his feet and nodded but said nothing and got out of the room quickly.
Dark Kat expected him to slip in tonight and roost there all night, well no way was he going to do that. He'd reached the end of his rope...he wanted out...now! He hadn't come up with any real good plan but since Dark Kat wanted him to invade Feral's place, he would oblige him but not the way the evil tom wanted.
Megakat International Airport...
Hadrian waited eagerly for his best friend to disembark from his recently arrived flight. The rest of his afternoon had been very productive and he couldn't wait to relay his findings to Tafari.
Down the gangway came his best friend, a huge smile on his face. They hugged tightly when he reached Hadrian then the two of them headed for the car park.
"How was your trip, Tafari?"
"Smooth as silk. How are things here?" Tafari asked as they reached Hadrian's rental car.
"I've got a lot to tell you," Hadrian said as he climbed into the passenger seat after opening the doors.
Tafari tossed his small amount of luggage on the back seat and slid into the passenger side of the car.
"I'm all ears."
On the drive to his friend's hotel, Hadrian briefed him on the research he'd done.
Tafari frowned, "too bad your contact backed out but truly I can't blame him. My own research has told me these two omegas are truly dangerous. Even I'm not certain I have the resources to take them out either. Truthfully, my friend, Commander Feral's had the most experience and luck taking these two on. He simply knows this enemy far too well and I can't discount those two vigilantes either. According to my friends in the business, it's the combination of the two fighting styles that has seen this city still standing."
"I was afraid you'd say that. My research has pointed unequivocally to that as well. So where does that leave us in trying to head off Dark Kat's plans to steal my daughter?" Hadrian asked, unhappily.
"I don't know...I need to soak up everything about this city, your new mate, and the SWAT Kats before I can come up with a viable plan that has a certainty of success," Tafari said slowly.
Hadrian could only sigh at that. They fell silent, each thinking deeply about this situation as Hadrian drove to the hotel.
Unknown to Hadrian, his friend, Tafari, and Feral, Hard Drive had made his decision which would solve their problem within days.
Since Dark Kat wanted him inside Feral's apartment, Hard Drive would oblige him. Collecting his meager belongings and hiding them in a backpack, he slipped from the house under the watchful eyes of Dark Kat's ninja security and those damnable creeplings.
His surge suit was in its usual case which told security he was out on a mission so his personal backpack was not searched and he wasn't hassled as he left the hideout.
Slipping away from the old mansion on foot, it took Hard Drive more than an hour to reach the edge of the city proper. There he took a city bus that deposited him near the block Feral's apartment was located. As he had over the past few months, he approached the place cautiously, going around back to enter through the residence only door. As he had many times before, he used a burglary tool to gain access then slipped in and headed up the stairs to the top floor.
He went past Feral's floor to the roof. Cautiously peering about, he slipped out the door, putting his surge suit carrier in the doorway to keep it open while he looked about for a good place to stash the rest of his belongings. A maintenance tower for the air conditioning offered him a small ledge within to hide his backpack securely. Retracing his steps, he was soon outside Feral's apartment and slipping inside, carefully bypassing the security system.
Looking around the quiet apartment, he sighed and slipped on his surge suit. Looking around carefully, he found an out of the way corner in the hall closet to hide the case. Thus ready, he went to the kitchen to scrounge something to eat, being thorough about cleaning up after himself then went to the living room to watch some TV. The residents were not expected home for at least another two hours so he felt safe enough relaxing for now.
Two hours later as he heard the clock on the wall chime the hour, Hard Drive flicked off the TV, put the controllers exactly where he had found them then zapped himself into the nearby table lamp he knew Feral had a habit of turning on when he settled into his recliner for the evening.
Elsewhere in the city...
After spending more than an hour and a half with his best friend discussing everything they knew or had researched on Dark Kat and Viper, Hadrian bid Tafari a reluctant good night.
"My friend, there is no reason to be so downhearted. I've found worrying about what you can't alter or change is unproductive and produces only ulcers. We've done all we can at this moment and your mate has done all he can to protect your daughter. Tomorrow is another day and, who knows, fortune may smile on us yet. Go to your beloved and try not to obsess too much tonight," Tafari advised, warmly clapping his friend on the back.
"I hope you are right, my friend. I want this to be over and soon. I'm tired of it interfering with my wooing of Ulysses. The threat to our daughter puts all else on hold," Hadrian sighed in annoyance.
Tafari smirked and said in amusement, "ahh, someone sounds sexually frustrated."
Hadrian blushed hotly. "Uhm yeah, you could say that! I want him badly alright but promised to go slow however, it is so damn hard to keep that promise when all I want to do is lay with him and love him through the night. It's all I dream of," he admitted.
His friend laughed and shook his head. "You have it bad, Hadrian. You truly love this tom to absolute distraction and I am so pleased to see it. It's quite possible Ulysses is just as frustrated as you are if those kisses you told me about were steamy enough to set you both on fire. Perhaps you should just let things go on naturally rather than hold yourself back...he may thank you for it."
Hadrian sighed and gave a hopeful smile. "You really think so? Last time I was with him, the look in his eyes showed serious disappointment when I called a halt. Perhaps you're right. I've never felt such a rightness about anyone before like I do with him and I feel strongly that he reciprocates that feeling as well. I think I can say for certain, if it weren't for the danger we'd have already said to hell with waiting."
"Yes, there is that deterrent alright. Well, my friend we just have to solve that quickly, don't we? Like I said, perhaps tomorrow will see a resolution to the problem. So I'll see you tomorrow...say around breakfast...to attempt a solution to your problem."
"Sounds like a plan. Have a good night, my friend and see you in the morning," Hadrian sighed, taking his leave.
Feral had finished up a day of frustrating paperwork and a serious lack of leads on Dark Kat's whereabouts. With a grateful sigh, he stepped into his apartment and shed his coat and weapon.
He went into his bedroom to strip off his dirty clothes and slipped into something more comfortable. He glanced at the clock as he passed through the living room for the kitchen. Elora would be home soon and Hadrian should be arriving shortly. He had just enough time to put in a casserole he'd bought on his way home into the oven and fix the sides.
Within a half hour the apartment filled with the smells of something good cooking. In the lamp, Hard Drive watched Feral putter around doing simple domestic chores showing a side no one outside his home would be privy to. It made the criminal feel a little weird so he focused on the mystery of where Feral's little one was.
'Where the heck is he keeping her?' He wondered in frustration.
The ring of the doorbell drew his attention away. He watched in surprise as a strange male was let in by Feral. The mystery of who the male was would have made Hard Drive blink if he had a body to do it with as he observed the pair share a very steamy kiss.
'Well, what do you know! This must be the kitten's father,' he thought in surprise bemusement.
He was hit with an even greater surprise only a few minutes later when a third male arrived by way of the balcony sliding glass door. He hissed to himself in shock.
'A SWAT Kat! Feral actually trusted a SWAT Kat to protect his daughter? No wonder we couldn't figure out how he was doing it because none of us would have believed it!' He thought in stunned amazement as he watched the smaller of the vigilantes take a small kitten from a special carrier he had on his back.
Razor gave a brief report of how the kitten fared for the day then gave Feral a farewell, promising to be back in the morning then departing the way he had come in.
There was a look of such utter devotion and love on the Commander's face as he held his daughter, cooing and talking to her that Hard Drive felt like a peeping tom. He'd wished he had such a warm upbringing. Perhaps his life might not have ended as it had.
He watched with some embarrassment as Feral took a seat on his recliner and lifted his shirt, unsnapped a bra (now that looked really odd on the big tom's chest) then offered a rather fat nipple to his kitten. Feral sighed and caressed his daughter as she happily nursed. The tom, named Hadrian sat beside the Commander and looked adoringly down at his daughter.
It was a very happy, domestic scene that made his heart ache in a way it never had in his life. Now he was very glad he had refused to do Dark Kat's bidding. No way did he want to be responsible for destroying such love and happiness. Now all he had to do was tell Feral what Dark Kat was planning and help him prepare for the assault that was sure to come once that evil Kat learned of his defection.
He wouldn't jump out yet though...no way did he want to disturb the kitten's feeding. He would wait until the little one was abed and the pair before him had eaten. Time enough to ruin their evening much later.