With Saipia and Erica still on vacation, the rest of the Angels were glad to see James return from being ill. However, as James arrived back at the station, she noticed the nasty looks the humans gave her and that Saipia's Dodge Challenger police cruiser was missing. Unfortunately, they quickly learned that someone had not only stolen the car, but drove it off a cliff. However, they're pretty sure it was Mayor Ashley who committed the crime and are waiting on fingerprint and body recognition software to confirm it. While they were waiting, Saipia called to send them to an old friend of hers who happened to be a detective, working on gathering information on Sebastian. He expressed his concerns with Sebastian's recent activities including his delve into a Genoid sex slave ring and the hiring of The Pride, now known as the Coalition. However, Sebastian is flaunting his power around recklessly, and everyone has taken notice. But, since he's powerful and crazy, Detective Rex and James both agreed to let Saipia herself handle him.
Saipia and Erica had thoroughly enjoyed their vacation, but both women were glad to be back in Hollywood. When they arrived, they arrived at their new home and to the scent of a home cooked meal they had both smelled for miles. "I'm lucky to have a sibling who knows how to cook a great steak. I mean, I'm sure they'll be some raw bits, but, she really does a great job," Saipia commented a few blocks away from their new house.
"Yeah..." Saipia said, glaring out the window of her truck while her friend drove.
"Hey, you alright, over there?" Saipia asked.
Erica had something on her mind. An issue which she had been dwelling over for the entire time she had been on vacation. And, although she had reached a decision, she was afraid to tell the wolf. Even though she thought of Saipia as a sister and knew at least some of her secrets, there was still a lot about her the leopard didn't know. With a sigh, Erica turned her head towards the white canine and forced a smile. "Yeah. Just tired, I guess." Erica savored the warm, understanding smile Saipia gave her in response. The spotted feline took in Saipia's form for a moment. Saipia had insisted on wearing her favorite bikini home. Probably more to intise her than anything else. "You look good, you know."
"Geeze, Erica, you haven't even had dinner yet, and you're already thinking of dessert, huh?" Saipia teased.
The women shared a laugh. "It's not like I can help it with you dressed like that. If my mother knew half the things about you that I do, she'd probably tell me you're a bad influence and keep me from seeing you."
"Oh, I wouldn't doubt that. I am a bad influence. However, you, my dear friend, are a good influence. That is why I'm so insistent on keeping you close," Saipia agreed.
The scent from the approaching house was getting stronger and stronger and it was reminding both women that they hadn't eaten in a while. "Crap. You know, you could have left out my bag of snacks. It's a three hour ride from the ship to the house," commented Erica.
"Oh, but the hunger will make the food that much better. But, don't fret, 'cause we are home," Saipia said as she finally pulled to a stop in front of a large steal gate on the human side of the city.
"Hey, you finally found a house closer to the station, huh? But, don't you think this is a tad excessive?" asked the leopard.
"Nope. I've been looking for a bigger house, anyway. I could use the extra room. Besides, you'll be joining us. This place even has it's own garage so you can work on your muscle cars," insisted the wolf as the metal gates slowly slid open.
"Great. Speaking of, did you make the arrangements to get my projects shipped over here?" Eric asked as Saipia pulled the truck towards the large garage attached to the house.
As the garage doors opened they revealed a slew of restored classic cars as well as a couple of rusted hunks that had yet to be touched. "Holy crap, Sai. These are all the cars I've ever worked on. What the hell did you do, track them down and buy them?" Erica asked.
Saipia smiled at her friend and gave her a loving kiss on the cheek. "No. I bought them straight from the source. I'm actually surprised you haven't figured that out by now."
"But..." Erica started as she thought over all her sales. "Damn, you sneaky little bitch. And you've done a great job in keeping them maintained."
The wolf nodded as the two exited the truck. "And I got you a couple brand new projects. A couple that I wouldn't mind adding to my collection."
Erica smiled as she walked over to the rusted metal. The shapes were foreign to Erica and she would have to do research to even start on them. But, she did recognize the badge on the grills. "Studebakers?" she asked.
"Yup. I remember, as a kid. Maybe a kid in another lifetime, but I remember that my mother or someone used to have a Studebaker. Ever since, I've been a big fan of the company. And would absolutely love to have a few. I've actually got a few more on the way, but for now, you've got a 1937 Studebaker J5 Coupe Express Pickup and a 1953 Studebaker Commander Regal Sedan. I think I'll let you decide on the final colors. The paint booth should be done by then. But, I must insist on white wall tires," explained the she wolf.
"Damn. You're really taking advantage of having a mechanic living in the same house as you, huh?" Erica commented with a slightly scolding smile.
"No. I was planning on asking you to do this for me anyway. But, I figured, since you're living with me now, I can give you a better facility and maybe even pitch in on parts. Hell, maybe I'll even help you out a little. Oh, and I've got all the information on all the vehicles all lined up. Now, let's say we go eat and get some sleep. Tomorrow, we can unpack and get back to work," countered Saipia.
"So, I take it you're a little more at ease with your car getting stolen then everyone thinks, huh?" questioned Erica as the two headed inside.
"Yeah. Granted, I'm still very pissed about that. But, it's just a machine. Nothing to lose sleep over," agreed the wolf.
Saipai was very excited to be back at work. The smile on her face and the joyful, unconscious wag of her tail informed everyone of this. "Well, look who it is. Our fearless leader, back again," greeted Jimmy with a warm smile.
Erica was close behind the now blue wolf, sharing the pleasant smile. She was also quite happy to be back. "Hope you boys didn't cause James too much trouble," she commented.
"You kidding? My brothers were far worse than these boys," replied the maned wolf as she stepped from Saipia's office.
"Don't I know it," Saipia agreed. "Hey, you guys arrest Ashley yet?"
"Nope. Despite all your security systems confirming she's the one that stole and destroyed your car, Ashley herself decided to bail on us. We can't find her anywhere. Probably, she got tipped off that we were after her," replied Jim.
"Ah. That's alright. We can get her when she comes back. I'll have someone keep an eye on her office and her house. Granted, theft and destruction of government property won't get her a length spell in jail, but it's a start. Maybe, by the time she returns, I can dig up some more stuff on her. In the mean time, we should focus on Sebastian and his lovely group of cyborgs," Saipia replied.
James smiled. "You've been reading my reports."
"And Jimmy's. I'm surprised The Coalition hasn't made themselves known before now. It's almost like they were waiting for something," commented Erica.
Saipia just smiled and nodded, her arms pleasantly folding together, just under her breasts. "It is, isn't. Jimmy, think you can figure out where those lions are hiding? I doubt they've been as quiet as we think they've been. With all the chaos around the local government, it's hard to get information and crime reports like we used to."
"What are you scheming?" Erica wondered, reading the look on her friend's face like a book.
"You'll find out soon enough," Saipia said.
Jimmy quietly tapped away at his keyboard. While everyone else stood around quietly. After a moment, Saipia simply tapped Erica on her shoulder and motioned with a single finger for the leopard to follow her. The two entered Saipia's office and Erica instinctively shut the door, causing Saipia to smile. "Good. Only a solid month around me and you're already picking up on my cues."
"Oh, I was picking up on your cues within a week. You know how observant I am," Erica replied as she took a seat in one of the big leather chairs that adorned the office.
"Yes. You wanted to be a profiler. And, granted, your knowledge as a biologist and skills as a mechanic are great. You're role as my little recon agent is by far the most valuable. It lets you use your power of observation in gathering intel. Speaking of, did you take a look at the scan of the car?" Saipia asked as she sat down behind her large oak desk.
Erica nodded, her tail gently wagging behind her. "Of course. Ashley did indeed steal the car, but I don't think she's the one who drove it off the cliff. She wouldn't be that stupid. She would have just made it disappear. If I had to guess, I would say Sebastian decided to intercede in Ashley's scheme."
Saipia nodded. "Good. But, we'll never prove he had anything to do with it."
"Well, if you ask me, which I'm guessing you are, I wouldn't worry about it too much. He's not brave enough to face you himself. However, this Coalition I would worry about. You did kill Isan's sister, and I wouldn't be surprised if they've got something personal planned for you," said Erica.
Saipia smiled at the last piece of information. She had been dwelling on a couple decisions of her own, and had also reached her conclusions. "Yes. Well, they usually do. But, that is why I want to meet with them before something crazy happens. And, my dear friend, you are going to come with me."
"Wait a minute, you want to actually try and sit down and talk with a murderous group of lions and you want me to join you?" the cat clarified.
"Yes, ma'am. And don't worry, We won't be the only one's there," Saipia replied.
Just then there was a knock on the door. "Smells like we've got a customer," Erica commented.
"Come on in, Bruce," Saipia called with a smile.
Instantly, the door to the office opened and a well dressed water buffalo stepped in and gave Erica a long and questioning look before looking towards Saipia. "Alright, Erica, it would look like, Mr. Bruce, here, has some personal information for me. I'll talk to you in a little bit."
Kammy stared out the window of the large high-rise building that was Sebastian's hideout. Her cousins were gathered around a large TV behind her playing a video game. On the other side of the room, close to the door was a large desk and behind that sat Kammy's sister, Isan. The normally thong clad lionesses were currently fully dressed in jeans and t-shirts. Whenever they weren't around Sebastian, that is what they wore. The boys never wore their shirts anyway, and all three looked quite intimidating when they wanted to. But, as they played their video games, they were much less intimidating.
Kammy's tail wagged pleasantly, while her sister worked on some paperwork. "Saipia's back in town, you know."
"That's good. Maybe we can pay her a visit and pay her back for killing you," Isan commented.
Kammy nodded. "Maybe. Although, I say we let her live until she rids us of Sebastian."
Even the boys laughed a that. "I agree with you on that one," replied Avron, the biggest and oldest of the males.
"That dude's an hypocritical bastard. He says he hates Genoids, and yet, he all but rapes you two. Making you dress in nothing but a thong is just creepy," Zimi, the smallest of the lions added.
"Right. But, I can guarantee you I'll kill the guy if he actually does try to rape one of them," agreed Titran.
"Mmmm..." replied Isan. "That's probably why he hasn't touched us. He's too afraid of death."
"Yeah. But I can tell you, one thing. I am through strutting around naked for that sicko," commented Kammy as she turned around.
Isan nodded, still working on her paperwork. "I'm with you on that one. If you want, I could always cut him up and we could have him for dinner."
Everyone laughed at that. "You didn't kill that one guy, did you?" Avron asked.
"Hell no. I've only had human once and it wasn't that great. The meat I sent the mafia guy was just normal pork and beef. The message was pure BS, though," the oldest of the group replied.
It was at that moment that Sebastian walked opened the door and entered the room. The lions knew he was close, as they could smell his stench. The joyful expressions on their faces, vanished when they saw their current employer. "Why are you ladies wearing clothes?" was his immediate question.
"Because we want to. If you have a problem with that, I'd be happy to see you try and make us take them off," Isan said flatly.
Sebastian just glared uneasily at the lioness and the other felines in the room. They all gave him a deadly glare. "Whatever. However, I do have a couple guests coming and I want to you girls to be by my side."
Isan shook her head. "Sorry. But, Saipia's back in town. We're going to pay her a visit."
"You're lack of obedience to me is most distressing. Don't think I can't make you're life a living hell," Sebastian commented.
The room was silent for a moment as Isan slowly got to her feet and appraoched the human. "You seem to forget what we're capable of, Sebastian. Don't you think for a moment that the rest of us won't just kill you if you hurt one of us. And besides, living with your stench everyday is probably a good indication what hell is like."
There was fear visible in Sebastian's eyes. Although he worked hard to drive it into the hearts of Genoids, in truth, he was far more afraid of the ones he knew personally. The Coalition was only with out of sheer luck and they were hanging on by a thread. It was this reason that he let them pretty much do what they wanted. And it was only because the lions were pretty much broke that they even stuck around. The revolver that he pressed to Isan's stomach was returned by a hand around his throat and the rest of the Coalition jumping to their feet ready to rip him apart. "Don't make your life shorter than it already is. You maybe able to pull the trigger, but where it's aimed wouldn't kill me, but it would kill you," growled the lioness.
A quick scan of the room made Sebastian rethink his threat. Calmly, he lowered his weapon which caused Isan to slowly ease her grip on his throat. "You have a date with Saipia coming up. And I have to say, I am not entirely sure if there's anything we can do to stop it."
"You had better stop it. I don't want that bitch anywhere near me," the human male ordered.
Isan and the other lions laughed at his reaction. "Careful, Sebastian. I could smell the piss in your pants if the rest of you didn't stink so bad. I wouldn't be too afraid of her, if I were you. She's a cop. And a good one at that, from what I hear. It's doubtful she'll kill you unless you do something stupid. Now, I would suggest you get out of our site before you make us sick and we have to kill you just to put you out of our misery."
Without another word, the fat, balding man left the room. After a moment, Isan walked over to the small kitchen and washed her hands. "So, where should we meet our lovely blue hero?"
"Why not meet her at the Virtual Dojo. There we can fight, talk and have some fun and no one has to die for now," Isan suggested.
"Yeah. 'Cause that really sucked. I still can't believe she actually killed me," commented Kammy.
Virtual Dojo was the only publicly available hologram generator in the city. It was used for recreation and for training purposes. The building and projector were both owned by a martial arts trainer. It was successful because you could train anywhere, with it. You could even add holographic people in it to train with. Saipia used it quite often, despite the heft price tag on even a single hour. Now, however, she had Erica and the rest of the Angels with her as she prepared to meet with the Coalition.
As the officers eased to a stop in front of the flashing sign, Saipia heaved a deep sigh. "Alright. I don't have enough money for everyone to join me, so, Erica and I will go in. The rest of you will keep guard," she ordered.
"You think it'll take that long?" James asked.
The blue wolf smiled, her tail wagging happily. "I think Isan will want a little exercise. And I could use some, as well."
James and the other Angels smiled. "Just try not to have too much fun," Jack commented.
"Right. Anyways, Jack and James, why don't you stand guard at the door. Jimmy and Brian you can guard the van. Wouldn't want it disappearing, as well, would we?" said Saipia.
"No. It's a hell of a walk back to the station," Jimmy replied.
With a nod to the others, Saipia and Erica stepped out of the van and were quickly followed by James and Jack. The latter group stopped just outside the door while Saipia and Erica ventured inside. Inside the doors was a small waiting room with a front desk and a pair of changing rooms. Behind the desk, the actual dojo was clearly visible and it appeared to be in use. "Looks like Isan's already here," said Erica.
"Ah, Miss Jones, it's good to see you again," replied the old man behind the desk.
"Hey, Sensei. It would appear I'm expected. By the way, this is my friend and collegue, Erica. She'll be joining me. And don't worry, I can pay for both of us," Saipia greeted, a warm smile on her face.
"Actually, your lion friends paid for both of you, already," commented the dojo owner.
"Ah. Well, that was mighty nice of them. Anyways, I'll see you in a little bit," the commander waved as she and her captain headed towards the door to the dojo.
As the two officers entered in full uniform, they were instantly greeted by Isan and the other members of the Coalition. "You're actually late, my old friend," said Isan.
Saipia smiled. "Yeah. What can I say. It was hard to convince the chief that meeting with you instead of just arresting you was important."
The dojo was set to a jungle setting, which Saipia and Erica both found ironic, considering both wolves and leopards were far more familiar with jungles than lions were. Within the jungle, the laughs from the lions grew closer and closer until the five of them were finally visible.
"It seems we've got you outnumbered. But, I don't think we've been introduced to your friend," said Avron.
"You've met Erica before. Now, however, she's my girlfriend," Saipia answered, looking lovingly at Erica who gave a sigh and quickly turned to her superior officer.
"Actually, I've been thinking about that, and I don't think I'm comfortable dating you. I mean, I love you and the sex is great, but I have no intention of ever marrying you and calling my girlfriend is just stressing me out. Makes me not want to let you out of my site," said the leopard.
"Are you really breaking up with me, now?" Saipia asked incredulously.
Erica shrugged. "It's not like anyone's trying to kill us."
Saipia just shook her head. "You and I are going to have a long talk after this."
"Seems like all your girlfriends dumb you, Sai," Kammy joked.
"Oh, ha ha, Kammy. Don't make me kill you again," Saipia spat. "Anyways, you're message said that you had some information for us."
"Yes, we do. But do you want to have some fun first?" asked Isan.
"Does it really matter?" Erica replied before Saipia could say anything.
Isan shrugged. "I guess not. You have no idea what it's like being employed by Sebastian. That guy's a massive creep and a hypocrite."
"Yeah, he makes the girls wear nothing but thongs, and the only reason why he doesn't do anything sexual to them is because he's deafly afraid of dying," added Titran.
"He's also incredibly afraid of you. We've technically been ordered to kill you on site. And you're little band of heroes," Zimi continued.
"But, we've had enough of him and his reign of stupidity. We're tired of strutting around naked for that bastard. And we would much rather see him dead. But, we're strongly apposed to doing anything illegal," Isan finished.
"Haven't you guys killed like ten people?" asked Erica.
Isan shook her head. "You'll have to let Saipia explain all that. But, we are washing our hands of Sebastian. Also, his hideout is the tallest building in the city."
"So, y0u're going to step aside and let us take care of him, huh?" Saipia said. "Well, that's great, but I don't have anything on him."
Isan and the others smiled and glanced at each other. "Oh, I think we can help with that. Now, however, let's play."
"Right. This should be fun. But, to make it fair, let's just do two on two, shall we?" Saipia suggested.
"Whatever. We're still going to kick your asses," said Kammy.
"Oh, but what you don't know is that I have nine siblings. Six of them are brothers, all older. One older sister and two younger sisters fill out the rest of my family. My brothers taught me quite a bit of fighting skills," said Erica as she quickly went into a fighting stance.
"Yeah. We grew up in a big family, too. All of our cousins and siblings in the same house," replied Isan as she and Kammy entered the small clearing.
"That maybe so. But every single one of my brothers studied a different style of fighting. From Tai Chi," here, Erica made some smooth, Tai Chi moves. "To plane old boxing," again, Erica acted out the style. "And, I'm a fast learner."
"Impressive. This should be more fun than I thought," said the older lioness.
It was a couple hours later when Saipia and Erica finally walked out of the Virtual Dojo. "You were really impressive in here, Erica. I do believe that is the first time I've ever seen you fight," commented the commander as James and Jack stood to their feet from their spots on the curb.
"Yeah. I think The Coalition was impressed, as well," Erica said with a smile. Neither of the two women seemed even remotely tired save the fact they were breathing a little heavier.
"So, what's going on? What'd they have to say?" James asked.
"Well, the Coalition is going to help us out a bit in catching Sebastian. They've grown tired of him and are eager to rid themselves of him. So, they're going to give us some incriminating information on him and on Ashley," replied Saipia.
"So, what do we do in the meantime?" questioned Jack.
Saipia paused justed outside the van to think about that. "There's someone I've got to see before we barge in and arrest Sebastian. Or Ashley, for that matter. Erica, I would love it if you joined me, for this, as well."
James smiled. "I know who you're going to see. But, let's get back to the precinct. I'm sure the chief will be waiting for a report."
With a brief glance in the direction of the Dojo and a sigh, Saipia was the first to climb into the police van while Erica climbed into the driver's seat.
