Feral drove to Megakat Park, parked at the main entrance and got out of his hummer. Walking briskly, he made for a less used section of the huge park. At this time of day, there were few people around to see him.
Both he and Callie had agreed to meet outside her office to prevent anyone from overhearing them. The park lay between both their offices so it made sense to meet there.
Though he trusted Jake's security systems, which the tom had thoroughly infused into every cranny of Callie's office, they weren't designed to halt the constant interruptions or stop his honor, the Mayor, from overhearing them so her office was out and so was his for the same reasons.
A few minutes walk brought him to a quiet area thick with azaleas and lilac bushes. Laying within one circle of the bushes was a small, private space that held a pretty gazebo made of wrought iron. Beneath it was a circle of cement and a single decorative stone bench for sitting and enjoying the peace of nature. Once past the bushes, no one could see them easily so they could talk with some expectation of privacy from the curious bystanders and news hounds that would be wondering why the Chief Enforcer and Deputy Mayor were meeting privately like this.
"Glad it's such a nice day," he said, by way of greeting, his voice low as he reached her side and took a seat next to her.
"Yes it is and thank you for getting me out of the office to enjoy it," she said with a smile. "So what did you need to see me about, Ulysses that required such secrecy?"
"Remember those odd visitors we had about two years ago ... called themselves the Loonatics?"
She blinked in surprise at the mention of their alien visitors but nodded her head slowly. "Yes, I remember. Kinda hard to forget them."
Feral rolled his eyes. "They were that. Anyway, when we finished up our training session in Jake's fancy danger room the other day, Chance happened to drop the fact the Loonatics mentioned they had a far superior method of training. Their system, invented by Tech, allows them to actually experience what it's like to fight crime in any kind of situation and conditions but in a totally protected environment," he explained.
She blinked at him in confusion. "What kind of system could possibly do all that? And it starting to sound as if it's cost would be astonomical."
Feral sighed. "Well there's the rub...it will definitely be extremely costly. It's main components are: a mega-sized computer, a football-sized facility to act as the training chamber, which means it will have to be in a heavily fortified building with high tech security, and, finally, a power plant of its own to run it."
Callie gaped at him. "How the heck did they manage to afford something like that?"
Feral snorted. "According to Chance, the Loonatics were completely supported and funded by their own government. That chamber was in the basement of their very own ten story headquarters."
Shaking her head in disbelief, Callie said, "Wow! Lucky them but you know already nothing like that can possibly be set up here on our ridiculously, minuscule budget. And just why would this system need such a huge facility and require so much power?"
"Amazingly enough all that supports an incredibly advanced holographic computer system."
"A what?"
"You do know what holograms are, right?"
"Uhm...yes...I remember the museum having some holographic displays..." she admitted, hesitantly.
"It's the same principle except on a much, much larger scale," Feral told her. "According to Jake, the software is so advanced that anyone within it's field thinks they are in the real world, fighting real enemies."
Looking more animated than she had seen him lately, she had to smile at the image that flashed in her mind of a kitten with a new toy, as he excitedly explained what the new system could do.
"What's really cool about it, is it can be programmed for any situation you can possibly think of, from urban crime to omega battle scenarios. And what makes it perfect is no fatalities. Being able to train under those conditions would give my Enforcers real paws on experience and eliminate most of the errors made in the field that kill so many besides cut training time in half."
"It sounds like pure science fiction," Callie said, her brow furrowed with skepticism.
"Well for us it is but not for the Loonatics who are most definitely far more advanced technologically than us. And we are most fortunate they are also very generous. They graciously left the designs and copy of the software. Apparently, Tech and Jake got on very well as they fixed the Loonatic's space ship so felt confident that Jake would have no problem understanding such a futuristic system and be able to set it up, maintain it and utilize it."
Callie was totally floored. "Wow! We finally get a break and all because of a weird group of friendly aliens."
Feral was grinning from ear to ear. "Yeah, isn't great! Oh, and we also have to fund the building of a second, much smaller facility too, don't forget."
"Ahh, yes, the second one being for our guys, huh?" Callie murmured, not expecting an answer and very elated by this great news. Her mind embracing what all this would mean to the city's defenses. However, there was still one major obstacle which she'd already mentioned...funding.
"So how did you expect us to fund it?" She asked.
"That's what I hoped meeting you would accomplish. I figured we could put our heads and contacts together to come up with a plan. I'd like to get moving on this as fast as possible."
"What's the rush?" She asked, frowning. Something on this scale would take time no matter how fast he wanted it.
"I don't know what's going on with this new wave of crime but I have a bad feeling it could be worse than anything Dark Kat or Viper ever did to us," Feral responded, his expression grim.
"You told me yourself that you had very few facts on this odd crime wave so why are you so certain this is a harbinger of something more threatening to the city?" She was surprised he was this tense about it. After all, it wasn't up to omega level that she could see.
Feral sighed and rubbed his neck, his expression unhappy and uncomfortable. "That's what has me unnerved...I don't have any real hard facts to back my suspicions. All I can tell you for certain is, I've been plagued by an unsettling premonition of danger that's been haunting my sleep for weeks now. You know I don't believe in such things but I simply can't shake it off or ignore it."
Her eyes widened in shocked surprise. She knew very well how he felt about magic, supernatural, and paranormal things, so to hear him confess to having such an unexplainable phenomenon happening to him sent a shiver of fear racing up her spine.
"Uh, for you to say something like that makes me truly uneasy, Ulysses. Perhaps it has something to do with your newly bonded status?"
He grimaced. "Oh please, I'm already feeling weird enough about this new problem without adding that too. However, I concede that, since little is known about soul bonding, you're not right about that. Honestly, I'd prefer not to have such things happen to me. I have enough on my plate without this sort of thing upsetting my equilibrium."
"You shouldn't think of it that way. It only makes you a better Commander as you now have a sort of built-in warning system."
"Oh sure, and what exactly am I preparing for?" He asked, exasperated. She shrugged. "See, that's why I don't like it. A nebulous feeling of danger just leaves me jumpy rather than giving me something solid to focus on."
"But you are doing something with the warning...trying to make your Enforcers better fighters so they can defend themselves and perhaps win against whatever it is you're sensing," she soothed, trying to make it more acceptable for him.
Feral rolled his eyes but had to smile at her logic. "Okay, you got me there and you're right...partly. It wasn't that which made me think of this but Chance's mention of it. I'm not certain if even that will help against whatever it is I'm feeling but at least it's doing something constructive. That's why getting the funding for this project is so important. I need my troops trained and ready for whatever is preparing to hit us next."
Callie smiled and shook her head. His mention of Chance made her realize just how things between them had changed dramatically since he had become mated and she had become a lover to the SWAT Kats. She would have never dreamed of having this kind of open and honest conversation with the old Feral she'd thought she'd known.
But the evidence was incontrovertible, as here they were bantering like old friends and discussing serious issues without snarling at each other. There was sincere trust between them now that hadn't been there before. What a difference her life had become of late. Sighing mentally, she shoved her musings aside and gave some serious thought to their new problem.
"I understand, Ulysses. You feel an urgency of time passing by so I'll heed your instincts and we'll move on this as fast as possible. And, you know what? I believe I do know someone who might be willing to stick their neck and funds out for something this wild and different, perhaps two someone's."
Feral perked up. "Oh...who are you thinking?"
"Believe it or not, Mr. Young." Feral gaped at her. She smirked and continued her reasoning so he wouldn't think her crazy. "Yes, despite the deals that keep falling through for him here, he hasn't stopped visiting and investing. And the reason I think he's doing that is he's fascinated by all the weirdness of our city. I think he actually gets some kind of vicarious thrill seeing and sometimes being a part of it otherwise, why the heck would he keep coming back? So, my thinking is, this just might be up his alley."
"Isn't that reaching a bit? I will admit that I can't think why he keeps coming back but really...thinking he's some kind of thrill seeker seems far fetched. Anyway, I've only heard of him being wrapped up in building golf courses, or buying buildings. Personally, I thought him stupid." Feral shook his head, skepticism glinting in his eyes.
"No, he's actually a very smart and canny business Kat and his portfolio is filled with his successes making him one of the wealthiest Kats in the world. But it's his hobby that makes me think he'll be interested in funding our project. He loves to invest in quirky ideas and inventions and because of that, he's been responsible for funding many of the incredible new advances that have come on the market of late. The Loonatics system would be right up his alley, I'm certain."
"Wow! Sounds like he's perfect alright." Feral was totally blown away and pleased to have learned of this interesting side to the Siamese investor. Their chances of seeing this project be built had just gone up. "That's one investor, so who's the other one you were thinking of?"
Knowing how the tom would react, Callie couldn't resist smirking in amusement as she announced, "Professor Hackle."
Feral stared blankly at her before exploding in disbelief. "What? That crazy inventor is only interested in his robots and is a pacifist to boot. Why would he even consider helping us?"
"Are you kidding? You knew he worked for Pumadyne as a weapon's designer, right?" Feral nodded. "And you also know why he left."
"Yeah, he hates war and anything to do with it which is why I don't think he'll help here as fighting crime is a war of kind only urban."
"Yes, you're right however, there is a basic difference between the two. The kind of war he was upset about were the senseless ones that killed millions for the sake of power. If we word this right, he'll realize this war is meant to keep people, both criminals and the innocent, safe from each other. The killing and destruction going on now would end. We have to get him to see it that way."
"Good luck with that, then," Feral said, still skeptical. "But why do you feel he'd be a good investor? We are talking a lot of money here."
"Are you kidding? He's worth billions. He might not build weapons now but he does still design and invent. His portfolio shows he's worth over eight billion." Feral's jaw dropped. She smiled and continued. "He's sold many of his more benign inventions all over the world and he's dabbled a bit in the stock market as well as invested in projects he feels has or will further the best interests of Kat kind. That's how he's so wealthy and how he's able to afford that lab complex of his and still indulge in his passion to make robots to help Kat kind.
"I hadn't really thought about how he was able to afford that place of his though I was aware he had to have had some kind of influx of money to be able to build robots and make that new stuff for us. That actually makes me realize it might not be so difficult to convince him after all."
"Why and what stuff is he making for you? This is the first I've heard of it."
"Oh...I thought Jake told you ... Uhm, well, apparently, he approached Jake as Razor and told him he was tired of seeing the constant violence and the loss of so many Enforcers that he decided to build us some new choppers, a few tanks, and some new weapons."
"What? When did he do this?" Callie asked, surprised.
"I only learned about it just before you got us into therapy."
Her eyebrows rose. "That's over three months ago...have you gotten what he built you?"
"Oh yes! We got all of it last month and we've been testing it. Some of it was used today and it did help in today's mess."
Callie shook her head. "I'm not happy to have not known about this." Feral winced and looked uncomfortable. She sighed and shrugged it off. At least she knew this would make her plea for funds easier. Feral was right about that.
"I'm very glad for you but please be sure to send me the report on exactly what he provided you, okay?" Feral nodded, sheepishly. He should have done it in the first place but had forgotten in the thrill of having new equipment at last.
"Okay, so you're right, it might not be that difficult to convince him. So I need to write up a proposal package for both. You want to handle one of them?"
"No thanks! That's your talent, Callie, not mine. But, I'll be happy to do the search for the building we need and find the contractors to do the job the moment you secure the funds. How's that?"
She rolled her eyes in amusement. "Oh sure, I shmooze while you do the easier work." He grinned toothily at her, not insulted at all.
"Excellent division of labor it sounds to me," He said innocently.
She laughed. "Yeah, you're right. So, what I need from you to sell this thing to them is the cost figures, the proposed building site, the location, who has ultimate ownership over this new system, whose responsibility it will be to run and monitor it...etc."
"That last part would be the Enforcer's, of course. You'll have to give me time on the building and contractor while the rest you need belongs to Jake. Since he was given this by an alien, I believe he has free and clear ownership. But you'll probably have to run that by a lawyer. The good news is, Jake will finally be recognized for the brilliant Kat he is. It also helps he's the only one who actually understands the system."
"Huh? I thought everyone knew how smart he was?"
"We knew he was intelligent when he was in the Enforcer but no one was aware that he was a genius at designing and building weapons. Apparently, before he became an Enforcer, he tried to get into Pumadyne and someone stole his entry inventions then they blackballed him from the industry. I tried to find out what was going on when he joined the Enforcers but was blocked by bureaucratic red tape and politics."
"That's so wrong! Too bad it was too long ago to get such an injustice corrected." Callie was indignant that such a thing had been done to her lover.
"I know, I felt the same way, so to get even, the day after I mated with Chance, I suggested Jake sell his ideas as Razor. He was shocked he hadn't thought of that himself. He told me there was a market for his inventions on line with people begging him to sell his stuff so he doesn't have to look far for buyers. Come to think of it, I hadn't heard what he's done about that since I mentioned it...hmm...guess I need to ask Chance."
"Well I'm certainly going to ask when I see him next. I think it's great you thought of that. He deserves being recognized for what he's worth at last and he'll get it not only with his inventions but this fantastic training system. Wouldn't be surprised if they name it after him...his true name not his call sign... in this case. However, he does need to get it patented under the finder's rule so it will be restricted to him alone," Callie said thoughtfully.
"Knowing him, he's most likely has already done that, but we need to check to be sure. However, knowing how good he's at security, no one will be able to steal that program from him so it will truly be one of a kind and protected." Feral was very certain of that. "So, when you get the information you need for the proposals from your lover, be sure I get a copy of it as well, please."
"Oh, certainly," She said, making a mental note on it. "By the way, if Jake retains ownership of this new training system, won't that compromise things security-wise for you since he's a disgraced Enforcer?"
"You'd be right except I am already working to reinstate them both back into the Enforcers. They will be assigned directly under me and be known as my special ops agents for particularly sensitive problems. This will give them the freedom to do other things, like working on the project. I'm also going to restore Chance's pilot's license as I know Jake will want him to test pilot any new jets he might invent in the future as well as any emergency flying missions I might send him on." Feral smiled broadly, pleased by his solution to get the SWAT Kats working on the right side of the law again.
"However, my older Enforcers, won't be happy to see the two back, so to keep the peace, they will remain running the salvage yard when they are not working on the project or on a mission. This will allow them to have access to their hangar and parts for the Turbokat too."
"I like that idea. They deserve to have their reputations returned to them," Callie said, a pleased smile on her face.
"An added bonus is they will have their salary and rank restored so they can afford to do what they want to again and most likely close the garage giving them more free time. And, I have no doubt, with his increased income from his inventions, Jake will pay their debt off quickly, then chose to find a nicer place to live since Chance already has one himself. After all, I don't require them to live at the salvage yard just work there. "
"That would be nice or he could simply move in with me," she smirked.
"There's that," He grinned back. "Anyway, the main reason I wanted to do this is was since all the big hitters are mostly gone now, they may not be needed as much as the SWAT Kats so I felt they needed something to replace that void in their lives. Being in the Enforcers again will ease them into the mainstream of rank and file and allow their fellow Enforcer to get used to them being there so when they are eventually unmasked, they'll have an easier time being accepted into the fold again. However, I haven't finished my arrangements yet so please say nothing about it."
"I won't give it away, promise," She said, pleased by what he planned to do. "Oh, Ulysses, thank you for doing this. It's a wonderful idea and will do a lot to boost their spirits though I think it could put a bit more strain on having two identities."
"Yeah, there is that but having to run the garage and be vigilantes was already exhausting them. This won't be any different really except they will once more have a support system around them."
"That's certainly true and one of the main reasons I worry about them so much now. So, you plan on making them some kind of secret agents within the Enforcers then?"
"That's the idea. They've technically functioned as such for many years, now they'll just be legit though no one will know that except you and me."
"Actually, I think it will be more dangerous, but like you said, they'll have more of a support system in place than they do now. I know I can't get Jake to quit the hero business any less than you can with Chance so this is better than what they do presently. Alright, enough of that and it's getting late and I have to get back. You have your job and I have mine to do. Now we have to hope we can get this pulled together and accomplished fairly quickly," She said, all business again.
"I have a couple of possibilities to tap, already, so I wish us both luck in this endeavor." Feral rose from his seat, preparing to leave, pleased by the success of the meeting.
"You know, Ulysses, it's a shame we couldn't have collaborated this way years before. It would have saved us so many headaches and tension between us," Callie said wistfully as she rose to.
Feral just shrugged his shoulders. "Then we wouldn't be who we are now, Callie...seasoned by adversity." He smirked, tipped his head at her then left the gazebo ahead of her.
She shook her head and snorted but realized he was right. She waited about ten minutes before leaving herself so no one saw her following the Commander.
As she walked back to her car, her mind was working furiously on everything she needed to do when she got back to her desk. First she had to clear her backlog of usual work then, tonight at home, she would begin work on the funding proposals. At the office there was always the constant interruptions as well as higher risks to security.
Hmm, perhaps I better have Jake put his little toys around my home as well, she mused. She made a note to ask him to do that but right now, she felt her place was fairly secure right now. No one was watching that closely yet. At least, she hoped not.