While Jake got busy moving into his new bungalow and Chance continued his search for the perfect home, an evil antagonist was making some elaborate plans of his own that included a certain Chief Enforcer.
Feral sighed and rubbed his lower back. He was now seven months pregnant and due in about another four weeks. He was standing in the center of a large space and listening to the drone of a party planner as he explained what he had envisioned for the upcoming Military Leader's Conference.
The dark tom wished for the third time, that Felina was taking care of this instead of him but she had a duty to perform that had been scheduled months ago that not even he wanted to reschedule. So here he was listening as this fool blathered on about place settings and decorations.
It was an hour later when Feral finally managed to escape the clutches of the party planner. The hotel had already been booked for the visitors and he'd made sure vehicles were going to be on hand for their use. An itinerary had been completed and Felina had put them into the information packets made up for each of the guests and had sent them off in the mail yesterday.
Grateful that most all the arrangements were done, he made his weary way out of the rented hall and went through the elaborate gardens at the rear of the building to avoid anyone seeing him. He was tired of all the odd looks he was getting of late. His belly looked like he'd swallowed a small beach ball. His coat no longer buttoned. He felt awkward, clumsy, miserable and looking forward to going home to take a nap that he didn't see the figures stalking him silently until it was too late.
Strong arms grabbed him from behind and on all sides. The one holding him from behind had placed a paw with a chloroform cloth in it over his mouth and nose. Feral struggled not to breath but in his present condition it was impossible and he succumbed swiftly, sagging into the arms that kept him from falling to the ground.
"Be careful, handle him gently. He's fragile cargo and I'll slit the throat of anyone who damages him." A dark voice warned. Shivering at the threat, his minions handled Feral as if he was precious porcelain as they whisked him away into a large, black van.
Hours later when he awoke, he felt a little better despite it having been a drugged sleep. He was laying on a soft bed. From his prone position, Feral slowly took in his surroundings. He was in a cell, if the probably locked door and no windows were any indication, but the bed was large and comfortable. In one corner was a porta potty and in the other was a fresh water dispenser with cup. Someone obviously wanted him to be comfortable but confined.
He slowly rose which instantly activated his bladder and he was scrambling for the potty. Sighing in relief a few minutes later, he went to the water dispenser and poured himself a cup. His mouth was very dry from the chloroform. He took his cup back to the bed and sat down.
'Why does this keep happening to me?' Feral grumbled to himself as he waited for someone to come talk to him.
Elsewhere in the hideaway...
Dark Kat was studying the offers he'd received. He chuckled at the delicious irony. He would finally be able to get revenge on the Chief Enforcer and also make a profit by doing it...perfect.
He'd heard an interesting rumor recently while trying to purchase some munitions about a certain angry Marjipoor of Landyar who'd found a rare treasure in Megakat City and was forced to give it up. Curious, Dark Kat had an agent of his check out the story. His agent returned with the tale of a male hermaphrodite who was capable of breeding. There were numerous parties that would pay large amounts for such an individual. The Marjipoor had given his word that no one in his country would try to obtain this male but that left his neighbors to bargain with.
Dark Kat put out a notice that he could obtain this prize and would be willing to auction him off to the highest bidder. He'd received over thirty offers. He was ecstatic and the successful kidnaping of the prize was the finishing touch. All he had to do now was notify the winner, collect his money and deliver the male, namely Commander Feral. The buyers didn't even care that he was already pregnant.
Grinning happily to himself, Dark Kat secured the offers in a locked box then went to see how his temporary 'guest' was doing.
Feral tensed as he heard the door being unlocked and was shocked to see Dark Kat walk in with a few ninjas behind him.
"And how is my pregnant guest doing? Are you comfortable?" The evil kat said pleasantly.
"What the heck do you want with me?" Feral sputtered.
"Why, Commander, you are a valuable commodity one that I have just sold to the highest bidder." Dark Kat chuckled darkly.
Feral paled and dropped his cup, "You what?"
"Get the Commander a new cup and bring him some food. We wouldn't want him to become ill before he's handed over to his new owner." The huge kat told a ninja as he looked at Feral in amusement.
"You can't do that! It's slavery!" Feral said sharply his heart hammering in fear.
"Oh yes I can and I have. You are finally going to be out of my way and I actually will make a profit off of you. It has been a truly wonderful day. Get some rest Commander. You have a long trip ahead of you tomorrow." Dark Kat ordered his evil laugh floating behind him as he turned and walked back out the door.
Feral sat in shock as he heard the door being locked again. "Aw crud, not again!" He moaned putting his head in his paws.
Later that evening...
After an hour of discreet inquiries, Chance was pacing the garage in agitation. His partner was just arriving from getting a part for a vehicle. Jake locked the gate and walked into the garage and stopped in surprise at the sight of his upset partner.
Seeing Jake, Chance shouted, "No one has seen him since late this afternoon!"
Blinking, Jake asked carefully, "Uh seen who...Feral?"
"Yes! He's missing! He was last seen at the Manx Meeting Hall at around three p.m. and no one has seen him since." The tabby said anxiously. "It was hard enough trying to find out anything without giving away who was asking. I even had Callie check for me through channels and she called Felina. No one has seen him. Felina has a search party out looking for him now." Chance looked at his partner in despair. "He hasn't activated his signaler either." He finished miserably.
"God! I'm sorry Chance. Look the only suggestion I can come up with is for us to do a sweep with our x-ray machine starting from where he was last seen and moving outward." Jake said moving toward their hangar trapdoor.
"But that could take hours and still not find him?" Chance objected as he followed his partner.
"Can you think of anything else we can do or do you want to just sit here and wait to see if Felina comes up with anything?" Jake said as he changed clothes.
"No! I can't just wait. You're right, it's better than doing nothing." Chance said grimly as he finished dressing and ran to the Turbokat.
They soared out into the darkening sky for the last known location of Commander Feral.
Meanwhile Feral gathered his wits about him. Food had been brought to him then he was left alone again. He reached into his shirt and was grateful to feel his signaler had not been taken. They probably thought it was just a necklace. He berated himself for not using it sooner but he'd been rather addled from the drug and Dark Kat's nasty surprise.
He knew T-Bone was probably beside himself in fear for him. He pressed the signaler and prayed he wasn't too far or too deep underground for it to be traced. All he could do now was wait and hope his mate found him soon.
"Razor, the signal, he's activated it!" T-Bone shouted excitedly.
"I hear it buddy. Just give me a little time to trace it." Razor said distractedly as he checked his instruments.
T-Bone had halted the jet in VTOL mode until Razor could get the signals location. It was a tense ten minutes before his partner finally crowed his success.
"Got it! Heading due north! Go slow so we don't overfly it T-Bone." Razor directed him.
"Right! Heading due north at mach one." T-Bone said as he piloted the jet toward his mate's signal.
It was another twenty minutes of careful grid searching before Razor was able to pin down the exact location of the signal. They were in an old military lab site at the base of the mountain range outside Megakat City. Staying high so they wouldn't be detected, Razor scanned for hostiles.
"We've got creeplings and ninjas, T-Bone." Razor said tightly.
"Dark Kat has him!" T-Bone said angrily. "What do we do now?" He asked tensely holding the jet above the hideaway.
"Hmm, better try stealth, buddy. Less chance of them escaping with Feral and a better chance of us finding him and getting him out safely." Razor said carefully.
"Right! I see a place we can land without being seen." T-Bone said as he took the jet to the other side of some woods about a mile from the hideaway.
Landing, they jumped out and began a fast run toward their destination. Ten minutes later they were studying the area surrounding the old lab. There didn't seem to be anyone around but creeplings could be anywhere in the trees nearby. Just to be on the safe side, they put on gas masks and sent rounds of odorless gas into the surrounding area and waited a few minutes. A handful of creeplings dropped from several trees unconscious.
Sighing in relief, Razor signaled T-Bone that it was safe to move on. They ran up to the lab building and carefully snuck in. They met no one at first as they moved down a dark hallway.
Using a handheld scanner, Razor directed them toward Feral's location. They found a set of stairs going down and a pair of ninjas. Catching them off guard they knocked them unconscious after a brief scuffle. They stuffed the pair into a nearby empty room then made their way slowly down the stairs. They didn't encounter anyone else by the time they found Feral's locked door.
Using his glovetrix, Razor popped the lock. Feral looked up in concern then relief when he saw his mate.
"T-Bone!" He breathed softly. "I knew you'd find me!"
T-Bone rushed forward and hugged his mate tightly. "Let's get you out of here!" He whispered.
Razor had stayed by the door watching for the enemy. He signaled them it was safe and they all moved out in a tight group for the stairs. Climbing quickly up, they froze when they were nearly at the top. Dark Kat's voice could be heard deeper in the building but the chittering of creeplings were much closer. T-Bone moved up and peered carefully around the corner then ducked back fast.
He hand signaled four creeplings coming down the corridor toward their location. Razor nodded and pushed past his partner and gently rolled a gas grenade toward the approaching enemy. There was a startled screech then silence. Looking out quickly, Razor saw the creeplings laying in the hall and no one else. Leading the way, he made for the hall they'd come through and out the door.
T-Bone helped Feral run the distance to the parked Turbokat. He pulled his breathless mate up onto the wing and into the cockpit then down into the cargo space. He cinched him into a seat, kissed him quickly, then climbed back up to his seat.
Within minutes, T-Bone had the Turbokat airborne and hovering over the building. Smiling grimly, Razor launched a gas missile into the roof of the building filling it with noxious fumes.
"Ms. Briggs?" T-Bone called Callie on their private communicator.
"Yes T-Bone?" She answered quickly.
"We found Feral! He's alright. He'd been captured by Dark Kat. Tell Felina she can come out here and pick Dark Kat up before the sleeping gas Razor used wears off. Have them wear gas masks. Razor will give you the coordinates." T-Bone told her in a grimly pleased voice.
"That's great news, T-Bone. I'll let Felina know right away. Good work guys. Tell Commander Feral that tomorrow will be soon enough for a report on what happened to him. Have a good night." Callie said very pleased with the outcome.
"We will, thanks Ms. Briggs and here's the coordinates." Razor said giving her a series of numbers.
"I've got it! Thanks Razor!" Callie acknowledged and signed off.
"Well, T-Bone where should we go from here, Feral's apartment or the island base?" Razor asked.
"I don't know. I think we'd better ask Uly what had happened to him then decide from that." T-Bone said. Turning on the cargo hold speaker he called Feral.
"Hey love, tell us what happened to you, it will help me decide where to go from here." The tabby asked his mate.
Cocking his head in confusion as to why it was a question of where to go, Feral decided to just tell T-Bone what he wanted to know and worry about location later. It took him about fifteen minutes to tell the whole story but at the end, T-Bone was burning with fury. Controlling himself, he told his mate they were going to see Medi. Feral protested but T-Bone cut him off.
"Ohh T-Bone, he's going to be pissed with you." Razor said shaking his head.
"Doesn't matter! I need him safe and the island is the safest place I know for tonight." T-Bone said through gritted teeth.
Razor wisely didn't say anymore. He could feel how furious his partner was, he'd be angry too if he known his mate was wanted that badly by other males but perhaps this rescue would send a message to those others of the risks of trying to take Commander Feral away from his mate. Hopefully it would be an effective deterrent. Razor hoped so for T-Bone's state of mind and Feral's safety.