Callie walked into her office feeling like she was walking toward a precipice. Today her life would change dramatically and she wasn't ashamed to admit she was terrified. To settle herself, she checked over her work on her desk, sorting it by what had to be done immediately from that which could wait a while.
She sat down and quickly took care of the more urgent work then briefed the Mayor on the day's events before the tom could leave for the golf course.
"The SWAT Kats are going to take care of Dark Kat's hideout and those scorpions in the Megakat Mine today. I'm going ahead with the genetic upgrade so won't be available most of the day, as far as I know. We received the preliminary report from the museum archivist which I have no time right now to review so thought you might like to look it over," she said, handing over the lengthy report.
Manx gave it a baleful eye then looked up at Callie. "I don't think its necessary for me to review that. I'm sure he's done an excellent job with it," he said flatly then gave her a concerned look. Are you sure you want to do this dangerous thing Callie?"
"No, but I really don't have a choice when all is said and done. So, I'm going to do this and receive the training and that will be it," she said, trying to put on a brave and positive front for the cowardly mayor.
"I still think its not a good idea but it is your choice. I hope you don't regret it," Manx said unhappily.
She sighed but didn't respond to that negative comment. Shrugging, she took back the report and placed it in a locked drawer of her desk. Staring at the phone for a long moment, she finally squared her shoulders and called Kam's number.
"I've been waiting for your call, Ms. Briggs. The Captain informed me this morning that they would do the procedure upon your positive response. Dare I hope that means we can proceed this morning?" He asked politely.
"It does indeed, Lieutenant. I've cleared what needed done at my desk and am as ready to go as I can be," Callie told him, less than enthusiastically.
Hearing that note of uncertainty in her voice, Kam said gently, "I know this is scary, Ms. Briggs, but I intend to stay by your side the entire time. I'm assuming your friend, Dr. Sinian is going to be there too?"
"Yes, she is and I'll notify her to be ready for pickup once we hang up," Callie acknowledged.
"Perfect! Then I will be at city hall within ten minutes to pick you up. Just tell the doctor to be at the rear of the museum for her pickup," Kam told her briskly.
"Understood. See you soon," Callie said then hung the phone then dialed Abi's number and warned her Kam would be at city hall within fifteen minutes then the rear of the museum next. Abi acknowledged the message and said she'd be waiting along with Tara.
Putting the phone down, Callie dragged out her purse, pulled it over her arm, paused to think then changed her mind and unlocked her desk to take out the report, tucking it in her purse...she just might have time to read it. Relocking her desk, she hurried from her office to the clock tower stairs that lead to the roof.
Once there, she waited nervously and was startled when a sudden, brisk breeze pressed her against the roof door. The Arcanian's shuttle came down nearly soundlessly, landing with ease on the small landing pad.
The engines didn't shut off but the door in the side slid open and Lt. Kam stood smiling at her. Sighing, she walked firmly up to the shuttle door and was helped aboard. He settled her in one of the passenger seats then took his own again, sending the shuttle skyward once more.
Only minutes later, they arrived at the museum, setting down at the back of it. Dr. Sinian and Tara waited, each holding briefcases that held the data they'd need. Tara walked the doctor to the shuttle, they boarded and Tara settled Abi across the aisle from Callie, gave them both a warm smile then took her seat at the comm console.
"Contact the Woton, Tara. Notify the Captain we are on our way," Kam ordered as he piloted the shuttle upward off the roof then angled their flight path to head out to space while Tara did as instructed.
As Callie was heading to space to meet her new destiny, Feral was sitting down at his desk and going over the very concise and thorough report. He made some notes as he went through it and by the time he'd drank more than two cups of coffee, his eyes were tired and his mind was on overload.
'Kat's Alive! So much missed! I find it so hard to believe we just overlooked it all!' He groaned, rubbing his face and feeling a headache coming on. And, as he had told his mate, he found hints of graf throughout but nothing concrete but he knew it was there.
He paused rubbing his temples to stare at the far wall as the reason for that information to be missing could be deliberate by a certain someone. He got up suddenly from his seat and went to the elevator. It was hard to stand still as he waited for the car to take him to the third floor where a temporary office had been set up for the archivist.
There was a possibility Albert had gone back to the museum since he had more or less finished the report he was assigned to do but Feral was lucky. Albert was bent over an old document, reading and making notes.
"Mr. Benler...I need to speak with you," Feral began without preamble the moment he reached the archivist's desk.
"Oh, Commander Feral...I could have come to you, sir," Albert blurted in surprise as he jumped to his feet but sat again when the big tom shook his head and took a chair, placing it next to the desk and leaning close.
"I just finished your report. It's very thorough!"
"Uh...thank you, sir."
"And that is what has me surprised and confused. For someone who is so meticulous and thorough, you would deliberately be vague about certain facts concerning a certain individual's less than legal behavior."
Albert went pale. Swallowing hard, he nervously stared down at his desk for a long moment while the huge, dangerous and powerful tom continued to stare at him without speaking...waiting him out.
Taking a deep breath, he turned in his seat and reached for his briefcase, bringing it up and setting it on the desk. He worked the combination lock a moment then opened it. He stared at the document within then pulled it out and held it while closing his case.
He looked into the Commander's patiently waiting and piercing eyes. "I didn't know who to trust this with sir. I was going to discreetly check around for someone who could deal with this potentially dangerous data. It's obvious to me now that you are that person as you seemed to have been aware of what I left out which leads me to believe the only thing holding you back from taking action was lack of evidence," Albert said gravely, then handed the document over to Feral.
Feral took it and gave the archivist a thoughtful look. "You are a very smart fellow, Albert. I'm glad you are so very honest. Yes, I already had suspicions I was forced to sit on for years due to the omegas and lack of evidence. Now, with our world and city much safer its time to clean house," he said grimly. "And this document I hope will do just that."
"Oh, it will sir. I was able to find a very concrete paper trail. You'll be able to nail his tail and impeach him for what he's done to this city," Albert said, a look of righteous indignation glinting in his eyes.
The two shared a smile of grim satisfaction. Justice was finally coming to Megakat City's government. Giving Albert a pleased thump on the shoulder as he got up, Feral clutched the precious document in his paw and made to leave then paused.
"Oh, by the way, the SWAT Kats are taking care of Dark Kat's hideout and the scorpions today. I'll send the report by end of day verifying it. I agree about the monitoring of Dr. Greenbox but I'm really glad he's being watched by that lab as well. The Metallikats should be leashed but that is Ms. Briggs' decision and since she's agreed to go for genetic altering, we'll have to wait for that nasty problem to be resolved at a later date. There is one omega you failed to report on though."
Albert jerked his head up from the notes he was taking on the things Feral was briefing him on and stared at him in shock. "There was? But I went through every record and file I could find, sir!" He protested.
Feral held up his paw. "Yes, I'm certain you did and it's not your fault that you found nothing but you should have remembered it since it was too big an event to miss by anyone in the city. Turmoil!" He simply said. Albert gasped in angry annoyance.
"Oh dear! You are right, Commander. But why was there no file anywhere on her?"
The Commander grimaced as if he'd swallowed a lemon. "The same person you wrote up as being extremely incompetent and responsible for making the GemKat 6000 disappear for a bit as well as other important items that he never wrote up proper reports for," Feral growled in disgust.
Albert made a face as well. "Ahh, Lt. Commander Steele. I quite understand, sir. So could you tell me what has happened to the file on Turmoil?"
"Unfortunately, no! However, I can tell you what occurred, where she is at present, and what became of her crew and airship. Take this down..." Feral began to relay everything he knew about the case. It took him over twenty minutes to answer all Albert's pointed questions, having to halt to make some phone calls about the case as well, until they both were satisfied the case could be closed...provisionally as Turmoil was going to be extradited back to her own country within a week. The airship was in the salvage yard and her crew had been sent home after serving short sentences.
"Now, let's see what else was there..." Feral paused to think then said, "oh yes, the laser satellite is scheduled to be launched next Thursday and it has extra security for right now as Hackle doesn't have the robots ready yet. As for all the suggestions you made on the equipment, inventions, and vehicles that had failed to be purchased and/or manufactured for the enforcer's use..." Feral held up the document, "...resolution of this should see all those suggestions of yours see fruition at last. The enforcers will be a force to be reckoned with when they are finally properly armed and equipped with the latest technology."
"I'll be very happy to see that happen, Commander. And may I say, its about time."
"Yes, it certainly is," Feral grinned.
"Oh, by the way sir, you said Ms. Briggs is submitting to the procedure. I truly hope she will come through it alright. It's a lot to ask of her to run the city and be responsible for taking out the Pastmaster but I think she's strong enough to do the job," Albert said earnestly.
Feral sighed. "I wish I had your confidence. Oh, I know she's tough as nails and will do her best but the Pastmaster is formidable and she is very green with magic. But, I hope she succeeds too."
"With that last omega gone, do you think we'll see a golden age begin, sir?"
Blinking in surprise at the question, Feral paused in thought before answering. "You know, I think it very well could be. My mate mentioned that our fates have been sealed by powers that seemed to be running our lives. I found that hard to accept but I had to admit, too many things are happening to us and they are all good ones so, who knows, he could be right. I hope so for all our sakes."
"That's interesting to know, if a little unsettling, but I'm like you...I wouldn't want to think some supreme being is controlling who I am or will be. I'll leave that for the mystics. However, I do wish to congratulate you on being mated, sir. Fate was definitely kind to you," Albert said smiling warmly.
Feral grinned back. "Yes, I have to agree, I was very blessed. I love him very much and he's just over the moon for me."
"How wonderful for you. Are you excited about going into space with him?" Albert asked, excitement shining in his eyes.
"I don't know, a little I guess. I'll miss home but I'll be with my mate and that will be enough for me and apparently, I have a lot to learn that will keep me from being homesick," he said thoughtfully.
"Wish I could go," Albert said wistfully.
Feral's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Truly?"
"Oh yes! To see all those other worlds and document it for all to see would be an archivist's dream. I also pray our world government consents to having a port here for alien visitors. That would be fantastic for our world!"
Feral grinned warmly. "Yeah, I have to agree about that. I'll add my prayers to yours that they see how beneficial this would be for our world. Well, I'd better get back to my office. Thank you for all your hard work, Albert. You are a godsend. You do know you'll have to back up your facts up in court?"
"Yes sir, I know and I'm ready to do my duty, have no fear."
"Good. I'll be off then." Feral gave him another smile before leaving for his own office. He was in a buoyant mood as he made for the elevator. Finally, he could oust that pompous, cowardly, and glory hound from office at last. The day was definitely looking up!