Two weeks passed before Feral contacted her for a meet at his home. She sighed in relief when her lover called her by their comm unit to pass the message. She'd been on pins and needles waiting to talk with them about her intentions to run for Mayor. Continuing to keep it a secret from Jake had been really difficult as she wanted to tell someone but didn't dare. Too much was at stake.
Before getting the call, she continued to work as if everything was normal and didn't let on she knew anything was amiss, playing the semi-dumb blonde some people thought she was. And regularly, without fail, she checked for bugs whenever she left her office for more than fifteen minutes.
It wasn't surprising to her to find at least two to three of the things a day. She destroyed the most obvious ones and left the more hidden ones alone, not bothering to shut them off as she had decided to never deal with sensitive information in her office at all, choosing to go into the mayor's little used conference room instead.
The day to day work must be boring them to tears, she smirked to herself.
Now that things were moving again, she couldn't wait to get leave work. So after tossing the last report needing typing into her secretary's basket, she hurried out and drove home to change. Taking a different car, specifically left for her to use to go to Feral's home and parked only three slots from her own, she was soon on the road.
The traffic was heavy with commuters on this late Friday, trying to get home themselves to get a jump on the weekend, so the trip took longer than she liked, especially since she had to use back roads to hide her destination from watchers. Finally, she arrived at the hidden home of Feral and Furlong. She pulled up beside Feral's hummer and Chance's new half-ton pickup truck in their super size garage, in a space left for her. At the front was parked Jake's cyclotron indicating he was here ahead of her. The door that had silently opened upon her arrival now quietly closed, shutting her in.
She stepped out of the little compact she'd driven and walked toward the door leading inside. It opened before she reached it.
"Hi love," Jake said warmly, wrapping an arm around her waist and taking her briefcase from her as he led her into the house. She hugged him back and smiled.
As always, as she stepped over the threshold, she felt like she'd come home. It just felt so comfy and peaceful here. She'd fallen in love with their home and envied the pair the treasure they'd found. Perhaps she'd be lucky enough to find one similar to this in the same area when she was ready to leave the city behind.
Feral came out of the kitchen carrying a tray with hot sandwiches, Chance following behind carrying another tray with filled glasses of milk.
As Jake escorted her into the warm and inviting living room she stared around at all the lovely touches the two males had brought to the space. The furniture was comfortable and in earth tones, the walls held beautiful framed images of peaceful scenes of nature, large potted plants dotted the area, wrought iron floor lamps gave the space an ambient glow and the finishing touch, was a huge fireplace facing the couch set up with a flat screen TV above the mantle.
That made her smirk in amusement. Typical, she thought. Males and their toys. Walking around the beautiful cherry wood coffee table, she and Jake sat down on the over stuffed love seat.
After setting down their trays next to a bowl of chips and stack of paper plates on the coffee table, Chance and Feral sat across from her on a six foot couch that had thick dark blue throw pillows at each end. The tabby took up a relaxed lounging position, leaning close to his mate so their hips touched.
"I didn't think you'd had time to get a bite so we whipped up this quick supper," Feral explained with a smile then picked up a paper plate and began serving himself. He dipped a paw into the chip bowl to drop some on his plate, grabbed up a glass and sat back.
"For two males, you two are soo domestic," She laughed, serving herself, Jake following suit.
"I consider that a compliment," Chance chuckled, ridiculously pleased with her comment. He dropped two sandwiches on his plate and a pawful of chips, setting it down before grabbing a milk then settled back against the cushions.
"So what do you have for me, Ulysses?" She asked snuggling close to Jake before taking a bite of her chicken sandwich which was delicious. Someone knew how to cook around here and she wasn't so sure it was Chance.
"Good news," Feral said immediately, beaming with pleasure. He set his plate down and picked up a folder that lay on the end of the table. He handed it over to her. She quickly wiped her paws on a napkin then leaned forward and took it, opening it in her lap and reading the contents while he briefed her.
"Looks like our luck is holding. An alumni of the Enforcer Academy staff I met when I attended there, retired a few years ago to make his fortune in real estate. When I put out feelers for property and only said it was for a new training facility, he got wind of it and contacted me immediately. I was floored when he offered one of his properties to the Enforcers. He said he had wanted to give back to the place that had been his career and home for so long and this was the perfect opportunity to do that."
"That is a stroke of luck!" Callie exclaimed, thrilled.
"Oh, definitely, and the best part of it all is he's willing to deed it directly to the Enforcer's Financial Department, free and clear. All we'd have to do is keep up the property taxes and insurance," he added, grinning broadly.
"Oh, Ulysses, that's absolutely wonderful!"
"I'm really psyched about this and am happy to announce the deal should be closed by the end of the week then if we get the funding, we'll be able to construct the danger room or as we're calling it now, The Enforcer Training Module, within a couple of months. Our lucky streak continued when I was incredibly successful in attracting one of the best contractor's I know to do the job and he's free to start immediately. Considering how many repair and building projects are being done around the city right now, that's nothing short of a miracle." He had a smug look on his face.
He has a right to be proud and that puts us way ahead of schedule, Callie thought, pleased. "I'll say. That means I can now make appointments with our prospective investors on Monday. Things are moving ahead really well. So, where is this building you've lucked into?"
"That's the even better news! It's less than a block from our headquarters with thick brick walls and a strong, cement walled basement to hold the power plant we need. I went and looked it over but I want Jake to take a look at the electrical system because that is going to be the most difficult part to get upgraded."
"I'd be happy to go over it. Oh, and I went to see Professor Hackle about a self sufficient solar powered generator I thought up that should supply the power necessary to run the mega-computer off the grid so no city power will be necessary. He thought it was doable. So if you agree, we'll set about designing the generator so it can be built and installed during the remod of your new building," Jake said, dropping his good news into the conversation.
Feral's eyes widened in pleased surprise. "Solar, huh? And saving on our electric bill at the same time ... that's great news and one more hurdle accomplished toward getting this off the ground."
"And a big plus in eyes of the public as well. Way to go Jake! Anything that doesn't dig into the taxpayer's pockets is a good thing and will make my bid for mayor that much stronger than my opponents," Callie casually dropped her bomb on them.
"What?" Jake gasped. All three simply gaped at her in shocked surprise, nearly choking on their food.
"Are you serious?" Feral finally managed to say.
"You really want to do this, Callie?" Chance asked, nearly the same time.
"Yes, I am. With Manx's ratings dropping rapidly and no one knowing who the dark horse is, the city has to have an honest person willing to take the reins. And I'm the only one qualified. However, I thought I'd discuss it with you three before throwing my name into the ring," Callie said seriously. "And there's one other reason..." she turned to Feral. "Ulysses, when Jake and I discussed the new training simulator a couple of weeks ago, I told him I suspected the dark horse was connected with the crime wave."
Feral frowned. "What makes you think that?"
She explained all the things that were going on at city hall at the moment and how the timing of this crime wave was too coincidental. "Jake has wired my office thoroughly and I'm careful to check for bugs regularly. We've found some so we know I'm under surveillance and I can now tell you the bugs have multiplied."
Jake gave her a concerned look. "You never told me that."
"You have enough to do, my love, and it wouldn't' have mattered if you knew. I left all but a few functioning and did all my sensitive business out of the office. I didn't want you to worry and I was waiting for this meeting to give you what I've found or suspect since then," She soothed him. "All the evidence makes me more than certain that something more than a simple race is going on here. I believe the other candidate is nothing more than a Trojan Horse for some mob boss and the increased surveillance on me seems to support the idea that criminals have definitely infiltrated, rather thoroughly, city hall," she finished then waited for their reaction.
Scowling, Feral growled, "You make a very strong case, Callie. I'll put two of my teams on this, cyper and black ops, immediately and see what we can find out. Going with the premise that the crime wave is a political ploy to gain the Katizen's votes, we'll focus our attentions on the crime bosses to find out which of them might be trying to muscle into the Mayor's seat so they can run their illegal operations with the facade of legitimacy. Of course, if they do manage to get their Trojan Horse elected, you, me, and the city prosecutor will certainly be booted out. Hmm...perhaps we should give our possible replacements a more thorough background check as well ... they certainly have a lot to gain if we're kicked out," Feral mused, thoughtfully. "Also, I'll have to check and see if security background checks have been done and when the last one was completed."
"Oh, now that's a nasty thought!" Callie grimaced. "I'm afraid we'll find out that criminals have infiltrated every position within our government and if they have, it's our fault. We've been soo focused on the omegas we failed to notice the smaller fry sneaking their way into important government seats right under our noses," Callie growled, realizing this could be bigger than she first imagined.
Shaking his head in disgust, Feral growled angrily, "Kat's alive! You're right! Background checks could have been neglected. I'll have to look into it ASAP. If that's where the failure began then your scenario may be all too true and we'll have the devil's own finding and weeding out all the criminals that slipped in."
Callie groaned. "That just made me realize that if our suspicions are right, cleaning house will mean finding good people to replace all those open slots. It will be sheer chaos and in an election year no less. What a nightmare!"
"Now let's not get ahead of ourselves, Callie," Jake cautioned. "Though we have ample reason to believe our fears maybe true, getting upset and worried before it's been verified is wasted energy. Let's see what Ulysses finds out then go from there."
"He's right. I'll go in tomorrow and get the search done. With it being a weekend, computers won't be bogged down and we should get our answers very quickly then make a plan of attack on how we'll deal with it and the fall out," Feral said, more calmly. "I'm annoyed that this may have been overlooked as you say because our attentions were on the omega. It makes sense the mob bosses would see this as golden opportunity," he said sourly. "As a first step, give me a list of those you suspect, Callie and I'll add any others we uncover in our computer search tomorrow."
While he'd been talking, Chance had quietly gotten up from his seat and disappeared a moment, returning with a pad and pen, handing them to his mate then reseating himself.
"Thank you, love." Feral began writing notes furiously then looked to Callie attentively when he'd finished. She rattled off a list of important names within the city council as well as some of their assistants and he added that to what he'd already written.
He closed his notebook and set it on the table, a troubled look on his face. "Well this trumped our good luck," he sighed, unhappily. He glanced over at Jake, "I'm glad you're already doing what you can to make Callie safe, Jake. It was a smart, preemptive step toward giving her extra security when she announces her bid for Mayor. I take it you've already made her car impervious to tampering as well?"
"Oh yeah," Jake said, nodding grimly. "And I finished her apartment this afternoon. I can keep a watch on her at the hangar with ease now."
"This just sucks!" Chance suddenly blurted out, his arms crossed over his chest and his expression sour. "We finally get rid of most of the omegas but while we're congratulating ourselves for a job well done, the normal criminals are thumbing their noses at us for being blind to their sneak attack against the heart of the city. We just can't seem to catch a break."
"Well, you didn't want to be out of work did you, buddy?" Jake snorted. "Don't worry, I've been rather busy building weapons never seen before on our world from the plans Tech left me that will help us and the Enforcers rout these fools rather handily," Jake told them, looking quite smug.
"Really? Wow, that's cool. They had some really kick ass stuff," Chance perked up, looking a bit happier about their prospects.
Feral frowned, confused. "Okay, what weapons are you talking about here? Is this beyond what you and Hackle already did for us?"
"Oh, yeah, definitely. Some of it really out of this world," Jake continued, smiling proudly as he listed his new inventions. "Besides the Glu-Gun you already know about and that I've miniaturized to be the size of your laser pistols, there's also this cool special protective suit called a Nano Bionic Armor. It will provide every one of the Enforcers with something far stronger than their present body armor and is designed to withstand a lot of what they will encounter in the field. What's even better about this armor is it's got built in weaponry straight from the Loonatic's world. All of it designed to disable the bad guys without killing them. Even better news, both items are cheap to make and easy to maintain. Make sure you get the schematics on both from me before we part. And, if you can stand more good news, Hackle helped me (with the aid of his robots) to make enough suits and guns to equip your present force with about a 1000 extra for good measure."
Feral's mouth hung open until his mate reached over and closed it. "You'll catch flies, love," Chance said, amused.
"Kat's alive! You're incredible! I can't thank you enough for this," Feral finally managed to say, grinning from ear to ear.
"You are just full of surprises," Callie chuckled, leaning toward Jake, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
"Ahh, you'll make me blush," Jake laughed, embarrassed but proud. "But there is one more thing they gave me. It's a super sensitive and very tiny microbot hearing device. It can be programmed to go anywhere you want, to infiltrate without being detected. The only reason its not being used for Callie or you, is I was having a few problems with its programming but those are fixed and I'm in the process of making them now. I have only four of them at the moment."
"Wow! Those could revolutionize the way we spy on criminals. The only catch is getting it approved so it will be allowed in court but beyond that it's applications are phenomenal," Feral breathed, amazed and pleased.
"It also will be a nightmare," Callie warned. They stared at her in surprise. "Oh, don't get me wrong, it will save lives, catch criminals and such but it will also create a privacy issue that will have the public up in arms. They won't like knowing they can be spied on so easily. And can you imagine how much the spy business would flourish if that thing ever go into their paws?"
Jake's shoulders slumped in chagrin. "I never really thought that far yet..."
"But I know you would have love, however, I needed to remind everyone of the danger. That doesn't mean I don't advocate their use, just wanted you to realize its possible threat as well and that they don't get into too many paws," Callie soothed him, hating to crush his enthusiasm. It was a great idea but it had far more serious consequences than anything else he had done so far.
"Sigh...she's right. We'll have to keep that particular device secret and on a need to know basis. Perhaps it might be a good idea to keep it among ourselves..." Feral said, thoughtfully.
Jake nodded his head. "You're right. It will be like our weapons that I haven't let anyone copy. Good idea, Ulysses."
"Okay, now that's settled, let's get back to the original subject...about me running for mayor..." Callie said.
"You really are serious about this?" Feral asked.
"I never intended to take center seat but, like I said, there's simply no one else to do it. We will need stability, especially after we're forced to clean house. Depending on how many have infiltrated, our government will be a mess for quite a while."
"I know. By the way, I'm going to need funding for the overtime this is going to require," Feral reminded her. this."
Callie sighed and closed her eyes. "Yes, I'll see what I can do." She gave him a wane smile. "I'm afraid of what you'll find out tomorrow."
"Believe me, so am I," Feral muttered, unhappily. Shaking his head, he sighed as well. "Okay, you have my vote. I'm sure beefing up my Enforcers and showing off what we can do against the new crime wave will help your campaign immensely."
"Yes, that's one of my key campaign points that and the training program and cleaning out city hall of corruption."
"With that kind of show and tell, you should be a shoe-in, Callie," Chance said encouragingly.
"My thoughts exactly and thanks for all your support. It's going to be a really bumpy road once I announce my candidacy so I'm glad to have such high powered support behind me. So all I need to do to get this all rolling is to get our investors on our side and funding the project," Callie summed up.
"But don't announce until that's done and we're well on our way to building it, Callie," Feral warned.
Callie nodded. "I know. I also will need a campaign officer and a personal assistant. So until I get those, the funding for the training system, the report on how bad our infiltration problem is, who the dark horse is, and finally, who is pulling the strings behind the crime wave...mum is the word. But I can't hold off too long or I won't have time to run a decent campaign," she reminded him.
"Don't worry, part of that will begin immediately and as soon as the funding is in place, everything will get started just as quickly," Feral assured her. "I don't know about Mr. Young but I'm fairly certain Professor Hackle will jump on board without too much convincing. If we get everything we plan completed, you could very well win by a landslide."
"I'll be adding to the fund raising efforts with my earnings from the sell of my inventions, which isn't chicken feed," Jake jumped in.
"And I'll do my part to see that you stay safe, Callie," Chance said, getting in his own two cents.
"That's wonderful you two," Callie smiled warmly at them.
Silence fell for some minutes as everyone absorbed all the information just discussed. Callie nibbled at her neglected sandwich while Jake munched on some chips with a far away look in his eyes. Chance sighed and grabbed another sandwich and ate some of it, his eyes staring out at the gathering gloom of evening through their large picture window.
Feral suddenly cleared his throat, getting everyone's attention again. "I think now is the time to inform the two of you of something I just finished the paperwork on today."
Chance and Jake eyed him in confusion.
"As of today, you both are reinstated into the Enforcers, with your original rank and pay." The pair gaped at him as he continued. "However, you will not be returning to your former jobs. You will work directly under me and will still be assigned to the salvage yard...on paper. In reality, you'll function as a covert ops team, assigned jobs that are both sensitive and dangerous. But right now your first job will be to protect Callie. Though I'll have a black ops team investigating the city government and watching for trouble, your only job will be Callie. You're very good at being where you shouldn't be and not being seen and no one will suspect you're her bodyguards."
"That's...that's incredible! You never let on you were going to do something like that!" Chance finally managed to say.
"Are you sure this is a good idea, Feral?" Jake said, not as happy as his partner.
"Yes. I've thought long and hard about this and feel strongly that your talents are being wasted. Your skills as the SWAT Kats will now come in useful in your new jobs. You can still be the vigilantes if you want to but you will now have the support of the Enforcers behind you when you return to the fold. My officers that remember you won't be happy but they'll have to accept it and you. Gradually, as you prove yourselves worthy in their eyes, they should come around.
"You're going to get a lot of complaints and accusations of favoritism, Ulysses. And it won't be a picnic for us either," Jake warned.
"I know and I'm prepared for it. It will fade eventually, Jake. I just want you to have something to fall back on if or when your secret is exposed. I'm looking at a future with you retiring from the Enforcers after a career well done. Is that too much to ask?" Feral focused his concern on Jake, the one least happy about all this.
Chance was blown away. "Wow, you really have thought this all out and I'm totally psyched about getting back into uniform." Turning to his partner, he asked, "Well, what do you think, Jake?"
The red furred tom rubbed his chin, deep in thought then slowly nodded. "It's a shock to me, I won't deny that and, no, it's not too much to ask, Ulysses. If you'd sprung this on me early in our career I would have told you go to hell, but now older and attached, I can see the benefit of returning to the fold, as it were. Okay, you have a deal. We're Enforcers again."
"I almost can't believe it," Chance said, nearly bouncing on his seat with happiness.
"Believe it!" Feral said, kissing his mate soundly. "Oh, and before I forget, I sent a report to you on the damages and what was stolen by that crime spree, Callie. It was far greater than anyone thought it would be and the amount stolen was higher than hoped. That doesn't make us look good right now."
Callie shook her head. "The first salvo of the war and they've gained the upper paw already but we'll win the next one."
"That's the spirit. I'll keep you apprised on what my teams discover as soon as possible," Feral told her.
"Thanks."
"You two are welcome to stay the night as it's late. We do have a guest room and it is the weekend tomorrow," Feral offered.
Callie glanced at Jake who just grinned at her. She blushed but nodded. "I'd like that, thank you."
"Good! Let's clean up and hit the hay," Chance said, getting up and stretching before beginning to collect their dishes.
Jake and Callie got up as well and pitched into helping the mated pair clean up then Jake led Callie to the guest room he used when he stayed over.
As he prepared for bed, Feral's mind was on the task he set himself for tomorrow. His presence would be unexpected but that was an advantage as it would also evade any watchers he might have on him. Discovering such a hole in his security management of the city made him angry at himself. He should have been keeping better tabs on this area. Though Callie had given him only the names of the ones she suspected of criminal ties, he decided it would be wise to do a background check on everyone working at city hall rather than just the newbies.
The probe would have to be done very discretely so as not to warn their prey the Enforcers were on to them until they were ready to close the trap on the guilty. To ensure those arrested didn't slip out of their paws from any technicalities, he would enlist the aid of the city prosecutor. The tom was scrupulously honest and unafraid of a fight but Feral didn't envy the guy this nightmare he was about to dump on him. However, if all went well, the tom would be assured of keeping his position under the new regime.
~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~
"Hmm, good morning handsome...why you awake so early?" Chance murmured sleepily when he felt his mate sit up.
"Want to get into the office to set up the ops for Callie, remember?" Feral reminded him, giving the tabby a quick kiss before shoving the covers off and getting out of bed.
"Hmm, yes I remember. Come back soon and we'll make love in the afternoon," his mate sighed, slipping back to sleep.
"Sounds like a song," Feral chuckled then disappeared into the bathroom.
When he came out, dressed casually, he went to the kitchen to get a bite. The house was quiet. Their guests were taking advantage of the wonderful silence of the forest that surrounded them and getting some much rest from the hectic pace of the city. He could hardly blame them and if it weren't for this important task, he'd still be cuddled next to his mate.
Grabbing some coffee and a pre-made egg sandwich they kept for quick breakfasts, he was soon out the door and heading into the city.
~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~
Arriving at Enforcer Headquarters some thirty minutes later, he opted to park in the general population lot to better hide his presence. He also decided to go in one of the side entrances and take a nearby elevator before anyone saw him. On his floor, all was quiet as it wasn't manned during the off hours except for his third in command, Major Simonton.
The lean tom with broad shoulders and deep red, short fur, was reading the evening blotter at the Commander's desk when he heard the door open. He jumped to his feet when he saw who it was.
"Sir! Is anything wrong?"
"Possibly. I won't know until you've look into it for me first. There's been a suspicion raised that a serious oversight has been made by this office," Feral grumbled.
The major's eyes narrowed in concern. "What oversight, sir?"
"I want you to check and see if background checks have been done, going about five years back, on all newly hired and/or elected governmental workers at city hall and get back to me on the results immediately," Feral ordered, not answering the major's question.
Not liking where the request was going, the Major hurriedly obeyed the order, leaving the office and commandeering the secretary's computer rather than go all the way to his own office. He chewed on a claw as he impatiently waited for the system to boot up. When it did, his fingers flew across the keyboard, retrieving the information requested.
Some thirty minutes later, he returned, face grim and unhappy, his paw holding a single sheet of paper.
While he had been occupied, the Commander had been on the phone summoning the teams he needed then began writing up the orders. He was just finishing when the major burst in.
"Sir, no background checks were done on the one hundred and sixty-four hires. I can't find any reason for it in the records except for the fact the officer responsible for doing them had been retired a year ago but wasn't replaced...no reason was given nor was it even noticed or reported the position hadn't been filled." He handed over the paper.
Feral wasn't happy to hear that which warned him the breach had extended to his own house as well. Glancing over the names, his brows pulled together in a frown. "Just what I what I feared. I need you to dig deeper without setting off an alert into why this happened, ASAP. Tell no one and don't allow anyone to see what you're doing, understood?"
Major Simonton's face was grim as he accepted the new orders. He was already on the same page as the Commander, their security had been breached. "Understood, sir."
"Use my computer as I won't be here much longer and will be going home once I complete one other task. Use my personal cell only to transmit your findings."
"Yes sir!" The major said, waiting for his superior to leave first before setting to work.
~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~
Taking the elevator, Feral went down to the strategy room located in the sub basement where security was tighter. Once he passed through the outer security door then through the inner security door where his ID was checked by a guard always posted there, he went into the conference room.
A small detachment of grim faced toms sat on one side of the conference table. They were dressed in black camos and were armed. Across from them sat a trio of office clad officers with bright inquisitive eyes that clearly wondered what was so important they would be included in what was looking like a mission. They were not normally involved in such things. Each group had been talking quietly to among themselves but ceased when their leader entered.
He eyed them all before speaking. These were the best he had and the most trusted. If they couldn't find what he was looking for it wasn't there to be found.
"There's been a serious breach of security within our ranks. Major Simonton is already tracking down one part of the problem. What was discovered was the failure of background checks being conducted on newly hired/elected government officials/employees at city hall going back four years. The officer in charge had retired but for reason's unknown, had not been replaced." Looks of dismay crossed the group's faces.
Feral pressed on. "This failure could have allowed the infiltration of criminals into the ranks of city government. It is suspected that one or more of the crime bosses may be planning a coup to take the Mayor's seat and have been salting the infrastructure with their own people for years." More gasps greeted that news.
"Your jobs will be to find out if this is true. First, the ops team will be doing the physical spying on our list of suspects, digging into their lives and seeing if there is any connection with any of the mob bosses. Piggy backing your efforts will be the Cyber Squad. You guys will be using the internet to do your digging and I want you to track any lead you can find to connect the suspects to someone we can pin as the leader of all this. The watch word is secrecy. No one must know you're investigating them nor can any of your co-workers know what you're doing. Ensure you guard your communications and leave no tracks behind you. What I fear is this could be a very large infiltration and it will take time to ferret out all the bad guys. I know it's a lot to lay on you but any larger a group would have been more difficult to hide and still get what we need."
"Don't worry, sir...we'll make like mice. No one will know we're there, I promise you," The captain of the black ops team assured him.
"You can count on us to be invisible and leave no tracks, Commander," The head of the Cyber Squad said, solemnly.
"I know ... that's why you were chosen. This is a real mess facing us so the sooner we find the culprits and take them out the sooner we get our city back. Also, I've made sure we've gotten funding for the overtime." Pleased and relieved looks greeted that but they would have done it anyway, the money just made it easier to give up a lot of their free time for this.
"I want it clearly understood that secrecy must be maintained. Do not pass the information over the computer, radio or phone. One of you will hand carry it to me and no one else so security can remain airtight. Remember, we may have a mole in our midst so everyone is suspect until they are found. The information you give me will be passed to the prosecutor whom I'll be briefing on this, Monday. When you've identified those you suspect of being involved in this mess, collect every shred of evidence you can find...dig deep. We don't want them managing to slip away due to a legal loophole or lack of proper procedure. We want to build an airtight case," He warned.
"I have other news that will impact upon your work. There are two others in our group who will be acting as bodyguards for Ms. Briggs. The two have been reinstated to the Enforcers with their former ranks and are directly under my command. One is my mate, Chance Furlong and the other, his partner Jake Clawson. I trust them implicitly to keep her safe. The reason they are doing guard duty is Ms. Briggs intends to announce her candidacy for Mayor." Surprise and consternation greeted his news. "No one is to know this information...no one...understand?" Heads nodded gravely at him. "We are on a tight time schedule. I need you to find what we need as fast as possible as Ms. Briggs can't hold off announcing her candidacy too long. Any questions?"
"There will be many who will resent the return of two disgraced Enforcers, sir," The leader of his black ops said, carefully.
Showing no sign of annoyance, Feral passed two sheets of paper toward the tom. "I know that very well, captain, but they have proved themselves to my satisfaction and will to the rest of you if you give them a chance. They will not be resuming their former positions. The pair are still a formidable team that have kept in shape and retained their skill levels. Besides which, Ms. Briggs knows and trusts them. It helps that she happens to be dating Clawson which gives him a plausible reason to be by her side. They have already been informed of their reinstatement and accepted their new duties. Their duties under me besides the bodyguard detail will be handling difficult and sensitive missions where stealth is required. What I've given you is the list of suspects and the other your orders. Any other objections?" Feral asked.
"How much time are we talking about here, sir?" The Cyber leader asked.
"No more than a month though we'll see by the end of that time if we have to extend that. Any other questions?"
Heads shook. Though the team looked rather dubious about accepting two disgraced Enforcers back in the fold, they knew better than to question the Commander further on the subject. Also the time constraint was going to be difficult. As for Ms. Briggs running for mayor ... that had been a pleasant surprise. Many Enforcers didn't care for her behavior toward the Commander (which admittedly had changed since the Commander mated) but they hated the mayor more.
"She'll make a perfect mayor, sir. Better than that pompous ass sitting there now," the captain dared to remark. Surprisingly, many of the others there also nodded their heads in agreement.
"I agree but you didn't hear me say that," Feral said with a tight grin. "One last warning, to protect their anonymity as they won't be wearing uniforms, do not speak to or interact with Furlong, Clawson or even Ms. Briggs."
"Understood, sir," The captain responded briskly. The geeks did the same.
"Good. You're dismissed."
The two teams stood and left the room quickly. Feral followed more slowly, running everything through his mind to insure he hadn't missed anything. By the time he quietly left headquarters the same way he'd come in, he was satisfied that he'd covered all avenues at the moment. Now it was time he went home and spent some quality time with his mate.