A/N: Here is my homage to comic books and superheroes - Jori style. You'll notice each update will have an issue number, so each chapter will feel like a comic. And just like with comics, you have to wait to read the next issue.
Most of our favorite characters are present but this is a completely alternate universe.
Please leave reviews and tell me what you think. Enjoy.
Kinopolis.
A city to rival all cities.
The night compliments it so well.
All of the twinkling lights make the sprawling urban area oddly beautiful. The artificial illumination accentuates the purple and green from the smog, transforming an environmental eyesore into something Van Gogh would've painted over a mountain town.
That was Kinopolis in a nutshell.
It was something to admire and yet had an ugliness to it.
Like all major cities, Kinopolis was no stranger to crime. From the petty theft of a purse snatcher stalking the blue-haired women on their way home from bingo to the organized crime that has half the people on the payroll and the other half living in fear.
But there were good people out there. There was still hope.
Beck Oliver and Andre Harris, officers of the Kinopolis PD, were such men. And they vowed to protect their town from the dangerous and corrupt.
They were parked across the street from an abandoned warehouse downtown. They had been there for six hours.
Det. Harris rubbed his eyes as he shook his head, trying to stay awake.
Checking his watch, he nudged his sleeping partner whose head was leaning against the driver side window.
"Wake up, man" he told him.
Det. Oliver's eyes snapped open just to close again as he let out a big yawn.
"Sorry," he groaned. "It's been two hours already?"
"Yes," Harris replied. "Now you stand watch while I close my eyes for a bit."
Oliver slumped forward, reaching for his cup of coffee he left sitting on the dashboard. He sighed as his hand didn't detect the slightest of heat from the paper cup. But he had to drink it regardless if he needed to wake up. Oliver winced as he pulled off the plastic lid and swallowed the ice cold coffee quickly. Despite his best efforts, he managed to taste it substantially on the way down.
"Ugh," he said.
"That's nasty," Harris said. "But whatever works." He then rolled over onto his side, facing the window.
It helped that he was tired enough to fall asleep but the darkness didn't hurt either. For the stakeout they had to park strategically. This warehouse district had street lamps that were spaced about 30 feet apart from one another. That made finding a dim spot difficult but where they sat was the dead end of a side street. There were plenty of bushes to conceal much of the squad car and behind them was a high fence where there was a series of train tracks on the other side. Above them was an overpass that led to the outer reaches of the city, where the airport lied.
It was a dead end in every sense. So being backed into this dark spot, they need only concern for what was in front of them.
Oliver took out his binoculars and looked straight ahead, focusing on the fenced-in area across the street that crossed the one they were on. They were far enough away from the action that binoculars were necessary to have a duke of an idea of what's going on. They could've parked a little closer but detection was too risky.
Unbeknownst to the officers parked below, there was yet another pair of eyes surveying the same area.
The silent observer had also caught wind of the hijacking of a Big Box Mart truck. This trailer destined for the superstore has everything from DVD's and video games to car stereos and televisions. Lots of sought-after items that will make a splash in the black market.
But the watcher, along with the cops, know that no money is exchanging hands here tonight. If they're right; this is where the hot items get distributed among some local pawnshops that are far from honest. They forge the paperwork to give the illusion of ownership, so they have no qualms about acquiring stolen goods. Much of the stuff from that stolen truck will go to the display cases but the less flashy items will go straight to their legitimate eBay accounts. Selling the latest Hollywood movie at a competitive sale price for a factory-sealed copy; they'll move very quickly.
Brown eyes narrowed at the sight of a white tractor trailer pulling into the fenced-in area. Other than the sound of all that tonnage rolling over the gravel, the behemoth hardly made a sound.
They're trying their best to be quiet.
"Andre!" Oliver shout-whispered.
He looked over and saw his partner was fast asleep. Oliver shook his friend's shoulder. He woke up alright; eyes wide open with his hands clutching the ceiling of the car like that cat who gets spooked by the yapping dog in those Looney Tunes cartoons.
"What?! What happened?"
Oliver lowered his binoculars, looking contrite.
"Sorry, but I think its going down right now."
"What?" he exclaimed. "Let me see."
He handed over the binoculars to Harris and did his best to focus the lens. Indeed the truck was backed into a loading dock. Then about half a dozen sketchy-looking guys appear to begin quickly unloading the trailer with forklifts.
"Damn it!" Harris said. "I was hoping this would be unloaded by hand. But with everything palletized, they can have this truck unloaded in no time."
Oliver took out his camera with a telephoto lens to document the unloading of the stolen trailer. He also snaps pictures of the driver hopping out of the driver seat and handing a clip board to a well-dressed man. That had to be the shipping manifest, which has the breakdown of every last thing on that truck. Now they can take inventory of what they have and how much so they know what they want to do to maximize their money and minimize time.
If done right, nearly everything will be gone before the police could track down a single item in their investigation.
Then a few seconds later, the boys witnessed a body being dragged from the passenger side to one of the warehouse service doors. That had to be the original driver before the hijacking. Not sure if he was dead or just unconscious, but they had enough evidence to support foul play. There was reasonable doubt that this was an illegal operation until they saw that body.
Harris grabbed his CB radio and pushed down the button to talk.
"All units, all units; we have a Code 12, Section 4, Paragraph 12-36 down at Livingston St. Please respond."
The radio blared "Copy that, officer. Sending backup to Livingston."
"Do you think he's still alive?" Oliver asked Harris.
"Not for sure from here," he replied. "I hope he's just knocked out."
"But what if they kill him? Like right then and there?"
Harris had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. It wasn't an improbable notion. Guys like these will do anything to cover their tracks.
Oliver points to the fenced building in front of them. "If he dies there goes our only witness."
"I get your point but we need to wait for backup."
"If we wait it might be too late. We need to move in."
Before Harris could retort, the door across from him was opening and his partner exiting.
"Beck!" he exclaimed, trying not to be too loud. "Wait!"
His partner took no heed and proceeded to make his way across the street.
Harris grabbed his gun, checked to see it was loaded and quickly followed Oliver.
"Goddamnit" he muttered.
Oliver walked along the fence and found a damaged part which if he pulls on it a little, he can fit through it.
"Hey!" Harris shout whispered. "What the hell?"
"Sorry Andre" he replied. "But I can't stand just sitting around."
"I don't like it either," said Harris. "But this is crazy, going in alone."
Oliver just gives his partner a look and silently squeezes his way through the hole in the fence to the other side. He then looks at Harris through the metal links.
"I'm not alone. Am I?"
Harris gave him the glare of doom that he's been giving him for years. He loved his friend Beck like a brother but just like a brother, he can get you into situations. Hell, it was him who joined the academy after Andre did because he didn't like the idea of nobody he trusted having his buddy's back on the streets. Beck had no particular career aspirations so he decided why not be a cop? However, these last eight years were surprising to Andre. His usually laid back friend he knew since middle school took the job very seriously and had the potential to be a good cop.
But he still pissed Andre off when Beck would be his old impulsive self, ignoring that the stakes are higher than they used to be when they were kids.
"Sometimes I don't like you" Harris replied before coming through the fence and joining his friend on the other side of the fence.
Oliver smirked and slowly approached the loading dock, crouched down so he wasn't easy to see. Harris followed close by in kind.
"So what do we do?" Harris asked. "Or did you not think we'd get this far?"
Oliver snorted. "I have a plan. We cover both sides of the loading dock. If they run into the truck or the warehouse here they'll be sitting ducks..."
The loud clicking of a pair of shotguns derailed Oliver's train of thought.
"That sounds like a great plan" came a booming voice from behind them. "I've got a better one. Drop your guns and put your hands up."
Harris and Oliver turned around and saw two very tall and burly men holding 12 gauges at them. They collectively sigh as they relieve themselves of their firearms and stand up straight, arms raised.
"This may surprise you," one of the gunmen said. "But I actually don't have a problem with cops." His eyes temporarily looking at the badges hanging around their necks. Given their plain clothes, this was the only indicator they were police officers. "Hell, there's a few I like. So tell you what I'm gonna do. Instead of shooting you on your knees and with your backs turned, I'll let you die with some dignity and stare down the barrel of your demise."
Oliver looked at his partner, his best friend, mostly moving his eyes to keep his head still. Harris did likewise, showing he was just as terrified.
Then without warning, all of the lights around the warehouse area went dim.
A commotion on the loading dock draws the gunmen's attention just long enough to allow the two cops to grabs their weapons and vanish.
"Shit they're gone!" one of them said.
"Where did they go?" asked the other.
"I can't see, you idiot! Forget them, what the hell is going on up there?"
"Erving!" called in the other on the radio. "Get the emergency lights on NOW!"
Within seconds, bright white lights illuminated the area somewhat. By the time this happened, sounds of the scuffle died down.
The pair ran up to the docking area and were bemused by finding five unconscious guys in a pile, looking roughed up. Suddenly Harris and Oliver emerged from the truck of stolen goods.
"Freeze!" Oliver ordered. "Now you put your guns down!"
The two large men stared above the cops wide-eyed and obliged...kind of. They were in such bewilderment by what they were seeing, they dropped their shotguns onto the ground.
As Oliver kept him aim squarely at his would-be executioners from a few moments ago, Harris couldn't help but look up behind them to see what the goons were looking at. It was certainly nothing he would have expected in a million years.
Standing atop the truck was a figure about average height but not easy to tell. The person was dressed completely in black with dark purple accents around the costume, for lack of a better term. Uniform didn't register in Harris's head because he couldn't fathom somebody other than this lone nut wearing such an outfit. But it gets better. The mysterious stranger has a white dancer's mask that covered everything except the lower half of the face.
The stranger dove off the truck, lunging for the big guys. It all happened so fast but Harris could register two things. This guy was fast and it probably wasn't a guy at all. Despite the mask and the unrevealing clothing, he figured this person was female from the flowing brown hair and twirled around during the brawl. After subduing the one guy, the other already started running away. But Oliver shoots him in the back of the leg, sending him crashing down in pain.
"Nice shot, officer" said the masked woman. She looked to the distance, listening. The sound of sirens began to get more loud. "I think you and your friends can take it from here."
"Hang on!" exclaimed Harris as he pointed his gun at the woman. Meanwhile Oliver goes to handcuff the wounded goon. "Don't move!"
"You're not going to shoot me," she smiled.
"And what makes you think so?" Harris asked.
"Because I haven't made you feel endangered but I do look suspicious, don't I?"
"You okay?" asked Oliver upon returning. "Who are you?" he then asked the woman.
"Me?" she looked up at the sky. "You can call me..." she then looked back down at the two officers. "Lady Victory."
Oliver rolled his eyes and looked at his partner.
"And what kind of name is that?" asked Harris.
"The name of a friend," she replied. "But I'm afraid I can't stay."
"What?" Oliver asked.
Lady Victory stealthily throws a little shiny ball bearing that upon hitting the ground released a copious amount of dark grey smoke. The two cops coughed and brushed away the smoke screen as best they could but it was too late. Once the smoke began to settle and their vision of the scene improved; the masked woman was gone like a phantom.
"Okay," Harris coughed. "I'm glad you also saw this because I don't think anybody would believe me."
"Ditto."
A/N: Does "Code 12, Section 4, Paragraph 12-36" mean anything? PM me and I will show you.