"Aw crud, not dinosaurs again!" Feral groaned in disgust. "Line the tanks up and fire at them as soon as they get within a block of your position." He barked at his enforcers as he hovered above them in his chopper. Felina was at the controls and the SWAT Kats were somewhere behind him fighting Pastmaster.
"At least they aren't the big ones Uncle." Felina said grimly holding their position.
"Thankful for small favors." He muttered as he watched the critters progress toward his line of tanks.
Felina was grateful that her uncle seemed to be calmer of late. She had been growing concerned when he would explode easily over every minor thing until recently. She didn't know why the change occurred but was happy it had. Everyone was more relaxed and in control now that their Commander was calmer and in a steadier temper.
The tanks opened fire a few minutes later. Feral noted that their accuracy had improved from recent retraining sessions. All the small dinosaurs were killed. Sighing in relief, Feral could now turn his attention back to the Pastmaster.
"Turn us around, Felina. I want to see what the Pastmaster is doing!" Feral ordered.
"Right away Uncle!" She responded as she expertly spun the chopper around.
The Pastmaster was playing tag with the SWAT Kats. T-Bone was successfully keeping away from the watch's magical bursts while Razor tried missile after missile attempting to knock the dead sorcerer from his perch atop the clock tower. What didn't make it easier were the gargoyles guarding the Pastmaster. Their stone-like bodies absorbed most of the stuff Razor was firing and, of course, it didn't help that they'd promised Callie not to damage the clock tower if they could help it.
Feral had an idea. While the SWAT Kats were distracting the vile little gnome, he might be able to take him out or maybe just his watch. "Hold us steady, Felina. I'm going to try and take out the watch."
"Good idea Uncle." Felina said holding the chopper in place.
Feral set his targeting scope and waited for just the right moment to fire his laser cannon. Tense minutes later he got his chance. Squeezing the trigger, he sent a burst right for Pastmaster's paw.
It hit on target sending the watch hurtling out of the sorcerer's paw and down the front of city hall to the sidewalk below.
"Nooooo..." Pastmaster screamed furiously.
"Wow! That was a great shot from Feral." T-Bone said swinging the Turbokat back to the clock tower. "Take him out Razor!" He shouted.
"Already have him in my sights, T-Bone." Razor said and fired a net missile. It struck true and wrapped Pastmaster up in a second. Razor sent a spray of screamers hoping to shatter the gargoyles and sent up a whoop when it succeeded.
"Way to go, buddy. Guess that wraps it up though I think we better wait and make sure the enforcer's get that creep first." T-Bone said with a growl and kept the jet in VTOL mode close to the clock tower.
"Yeah, we don't want him getting away though there isn't anywhere he can go to hide since his watch is gone. Wonder if it broke?" Razor mused.
"Hell, after a fall like that it should!" T-Bone snorted.
"It's magical T-Bone so who knows how strong it is." Razor reminded him. He just grunted in agreement and kept his eyes on their prisoner. He switched his radio frequency while he waited, "Great shot, Commander!" T-Bone said to Feral. "We're going to stay here and watch Pastmaster until you get your enforcers up there to take custody." He told him.
"Roger! My enforcers are already on their way, should be there in a few minutes." Feral grunted acknowledgment.
"Hey, Feral! Anyone find the watch and is it intact?" T-Bone asked curiously.
"I've just been informed it was found surprisingly in one piece and still ticking. We'll have to put it in a secure lock up so Pastmaster doesn't get his paws on it again." Feral said.
Enforcers appeared on the balcony of the clock tower while they were talking. T-Bone sighed in relief. "Hey, Commander your troops have Pastmaster. We'll be leaving now." He told Feral and took the jet off VTOL and headed them for home.
"That went well, buddy. Hardly any property damage this time. Callie should be pleased." Razor said happily.
"Yeah, about time we got the upper hand for once." T-Bone agreed as he guided the jet into its underground hangar.
"That's because this time the enforcers were working with us instead of at cross purposes. Which is pretty amazing really. Feral seems to have calmed down a lot recently. I wonder why?" Razor mused as they climbed out of the jet and walked across the hangar floor for their lockers.
"Yeah he has!" T-Bone said noncommitedly, ignoring his partner's question. He knew why but had never told Razor about his new relationship with the Chief Enforcer. Ever since the first time they had sex, he'd found he really enjoyed being with Feral. They had been seeing each other at least three times a week. They still had not had intercourse but their interaction was totally satisfying and T-Bone did not want to push it yet.
Smiling inwardly, he thought about when they actually would pass that milestone and he got hot just thinking about it. Pushing that thought aside quickly before Razor noticed his growing erection, he quickly changed his clothes for returning to work in the garage above them.
They both climbed up the ladder and went to work.
It was after five o'clock when they finally saw the last car drive out of the garage and out the gate. Chance locked up the gate and Jake did the paperwork. Tired but satisfied with the day's work, they ordered pizza and locked up the garage.
As they were resting and eating their dinner, Jake brought up a plan he'd been working on but had never told his partner.
"Chance, we need to talk." Jake said quietly as he drank his milk.
Chance blinked at his partner in surprise and saw the serious look on his face. He flicked the TV off and gave his complete attention to Jake. "Okay, buddy. What's on your mind?" He asked as he reached for another piece of pizza.
"I've been making plans for our future that I haven't told you about. I didn't want to say anything until I had the first stage completed. I didn't want to get your hopes up too soon before everything panned out." Jake said quietly.
Chance looked at him in puzzlement, "What kind of plans?"
"I know I love being a SWAT Kat and the good we've done but I don't want to be working in a garage forever. I'd rather spend my time designing new jets and weapons full time and selling them. To that end, I went ahead and made some simple upgrades to the present style of fighter jets and sold the plans to some other countries. I would have preferred to have sold them here but they blacklisted me for reasons I still don't understand that apparently had nothing to do with me being put out of the enforcers so I don't feel guilty about selling them elsewhere. I made a great deal of money. I used the cash to buy a small island in Megakat Bay. What I want to do is build a SWAT Kat base there and close this one for good. The money I make allows me to buy top quality materials for our jet and weapons. No more second hand stuff for us. Our new base will give us a safer hideaway. I also made enough money to pay off our debt to Feral." Jake told his friend earnestly. He waited before going on to see how Chance was taking it so far.
Chance sat on the couch with his mouth hanging open in shocked surprise. He couldn't speak for several minutes after Jake had ceased speaking.
"Crud, Jake! How long have you been doing this?" He asked the first thing that came to mind as he tried to process the rest.
"Oh I've been thinking about it for years but I didn't finally put it into action until late last year." Jake said.
"I wished you'd told me but I guess I can understand. You always were one to keep things close to your chest. You're such a perfectionist." Chance sighed. "I feel bad in a way because I haven't contributed anything to this venture of yours. Just where do I fit in with this great plan of yours?" Chance asked a little angry and taken aback.
"I was hoping you would be happy!" Jake said carefully. "I wanted you to be able to continue as a SWAT Kat if you wanted to and, of course, I need you to help build our new home and base. I went ahead because I could do it discreetly and none of it come back on us. I sold my designs under Razor and that's why they sold so quickly no questions asked. I don't want you to feel bad about how I did it, Chance, all I want is for you to be able to pursue other things with your life. "
"Okay, I guess I can accept that you did this for both of us. I just don't want you to be the one paying for it all, it feels wrong. I'll do my part and, of course, I want to still be a SWAT Kat! I love it! It allows me to still fly. As for what I want to do with myself...well...I kinda like the thought of test driving motorcycles. Even though I'd prefer to be a test pilot, I know no one will give me my license back so this would be the next best thing." Chance said seriously.
"Hey, that sounds really great Chance!" Jake said relieved and pleased that his friend had been thinking of the future and had a viable goal in mind.
"So what's the rest of your plan?" Chance asked knowing there was more to it.
"Well, we have to build our new base as our first step to freedom. I'll take you to the island and lay out my plan to make it our base and our new home. Second, we should have an in town residence for those times when we want to have company or need to stay in town for something. The Turbokat can reach us in seconds by remote and we keep a set of cyclotrons parked there and a modest car for dates. Third, I've approached Professor Hackle about making us a medical robot. I've always worried about us receiving good medical care when we're too hurt to protect ourselves and keep our identities safe. I will build a small medical room in our hangar for its use. The Professor already has a prototype built and has it working in a small clinic to add practical experience to its extensive medical library in its brain. Hackle wanted it to be flexible enough to handle most emergencies. And fourth, only when everything is done, will I pay off our debt to Feral so that closing the garage will not happen the same time as our move. I'll ensure to close off the hidden hangar below the garage so that Burke and Murray can't find it. We will also find the old lady kat and Ms Briggs a new garage we trust to take care of them." Jake said summing up his plans.
"Wow! Jake you've put a lot of thought into this haven't you!" Chance said shaking his head in admiration and amazement. "It sounds fantastic. When do we start!" He said ready to make this major change in their lives as soon as possible.
Jake grinned, pleased and happy that Chance had accepted everything with only a little hesitation and annoyance. He knew his partner would be a little upset about the money, after all, he had his pride, but after thinking about it he came through for Jake and he was very relieved. "We can start immediately. How about we go to the island this weekend?" Jake suggested.
"Perfect! I can hardly wait!" Chance enthused. Smiling happily they both cleaned up their mess and went to bed. Chance had only one reservation about the plan that he didn't mention to Razor. All the work involved in building their new base would cut into his time with Feral. He would have to work something out with his lover so Ulysses wouldn't feel distressed by his frequent absences. He sighed as he climbed into bed, well that was a problem for another day.