CHAPTER 7

Okay everypony, I can tell you that this chapter is gonna be looooong. I can also promise that you get to see Drake at his best in this chapter. Lastly, I can promise that after this chapter, everything's gonna change. That said, I'm happy to have had as many views as I have had. I would really like more input from my readers, but it is what it is. I hope you all enjoy the chapter.

Dash and I strolled into the EBI headquarters building after we had gotten some breakfast. I was eager to solve this case and try to get rid of at least one of my current headaches. We took the stairs to the second floor, and soon located the office Shackleford had taken us to the day before. I gave Dash a glance before I opened the door and strode confidently into the room. Sure enough, Deputy Director Dragnet was sitting at his desk. When he looked up and spotted us, I swear that his face lost some of its color, and his eyes widened a bit.

"Morning Deputy Director." I greeted solemnly. "I believe you have some papers for us."

"Y...yes..." He stammered, sliding a small stack of paperwork toward me. "That's all of it...I swear. Now please do me a kindness detective, and get the Hell out of my office!"

"Something wrong, sir?" I asked innocently.

"Frankly...I don't know...who you two work for...but...I was supposed to be promoted next month...now get out. Please."

"Thank you for your cooperation sir." I replied, taking the papers and walking out of the office.

"What the hay did Celestia say to him?" Dash asked as we walked out of the building. I grinned as I slid the papers into my right saddlebag.

"I don't know, and I don't think I want to know. I'm just glad we're on her good side though." I replied. "Alright, let's have a good old fashioned sit down and go over some of this stuff." We walked to a small park and sat in an ornate white gazebo, where I pulled the papers out of my bag and began to leaf through them. It was mainly operational information, facts about what agents were assigned to the diamond case, photos and descriptions of evidence and lists of potential suspects. I looked over the later somewhat in depth. It surprised me that the EBI had a list of ponies that were actually tied to jewel theft and international smuggling rings, but the only arrests that had been made were the two ponies Dash and I had apprehended. I saw some names and affiliations that I did not recognize. There was of course some gangs and militant groups like The Blackhoof Party and the Maretanian Liberation Front, but there was also groups I knew little about, like The Mountain Militia and CRISIS.

"Looks like the Bureau thought this case might be pretty deep themselves. Either that, or they were trying to cover all their bases by investigation all the usual suspects." I commented.

"Anything that helps you out though?" Dash asked.

"Heh. Look at all these organizations that the EBI was looking into. Militias, terrorist cells, anarchist groups. Why would they think there was a link between militant extremists and some diamond thieves?"

"I dunno."

"Maybe because there was."

"You think that 'cause of the attack on the EBI agents, right?" Dash inquired.

"Heh. You'll make a great detective someday, my love." I smiled. "Yeah. That was an orchestrated ambush done by professionals. No run-of-the-mill thieves could have pulled that off. Somepony wanted the diamonds to stay hidden for the time being."

"How do you know that?"

"Because no jeweler is gonna take a bunch of uncut diamonds from a strange pony. There's laws about that kinda stuff, and if some pawnbroker or jewelry maker bought a bag of blood diamonds, they know it would be their flank if they got caught." I explained.

"Oh."

"So...the thieves, or whoever they are wanted to make sure the diamonds sat out and weren't found...and they were either working with some militant outfit, or hired a bunch of first-rate mercenaries to make sure that happened."

"But how did they know the EBI agents were carrying the diamonds?"

"One of two ways..." I answered. "First possibility...They had somepony watching the whole time the exchange between Back Alley and Shady Deals was taking place, and followed at a distance, observing everything that went on from a position of concealment. They saw the EBI agents taking charge of those diamonds and communicated to their comrades, who set up an ambush. The second possibility is that there was somepony on the inside, maybe even in the EBI who set the entire thing up. They wanted their two delivery guys to take the fall, then used their contacts in a position of authority to make sure the jewels got to exactly where they wanted."

"That's...pretty intense..." Dashie commented.

"Yup. Still don't know which one it is though." I said. "But I have a good idea where the diamonds are."

"Really? Where?"

"Right here in Canterlot. The agents were hit a couple miles from this little burg. Why? Why not anywhere else along the road? Nope, the bad ponies are here. The attackers probably took the diamonds and ran as fast as they could to Canterlot, to some hidey-hole they had set up."

"So how are we gonna find them?" Dash asked.

"Hm. I have an idea on that." I said. "Birds of a feather flock together."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Heheh. Trust me...there's not that many crooks in Canterlot, and I'm sure most of 'em know the other ones. Just gotta find me a regular baddie and lean on him till he cracks."

"Uh-huh..." Dashie answered.

"Alright...we gotta go to my old stomping ground. The other side of the tracks, you know? Start kicking over rocks and see what turns up." I paused, remembering the letter from Princess Luna in my saddlebag. "And uh...I guess I can drop off my...credentials at the orphanage on the way..."

After ten minutes of walking through Canterlot, I once again found myself at the huge orphanage. I pulled the letter from my saddlebag, and walked into the building. I still felt nervous, and on top of that was a surreal feeling about this whole situation. Just a couple days ago, I had no family besides Dashie. Now, I was adopting a sister I didn't even know I had. I took a deep breath and opened the door to the office. The same secretary I had spoken to the day before was behind the counter, and she looked up as I entered.

"Oh...were you the stallion who was here yesterday?" She asked.

"Yes ma'am." I replied. "You said to come back with paperwork...and I have."

"Oh, good. May I see it, please?" She asked. I first pulled out my military identification and handed it to her. "Oh, you're a soldier? An officer. That's impressive, sir."

"I'm a lieutenant detective in the Military Police Division." I added.

"Hm. Do you have any other paperwork?" She asked. I pulled the letter from Princess Luna that she had included with her personal correspondence to me, and handed it to the secretary.

"I have this, ma'am." I replied as she began reading. "You said a sworn affidavit from somepony in government would..."

"This is a letter from Princess Luna!" The mare exclaimed, getting the attention of the other two secretaries in the office. "I would say that this is a valid statement, sir!" She looked up at me. "You know the princess?"

"Well, I know both of the princesses, actually. I work for Princess Celestia. I've only corresponded with princess Luna...recently."

"Well!" The mare replied. "On researching your sister's file...I should have no doubts about your family's ties with high offices...it's just a rare thing that we get somepony in here who is of your...station."

"My station's got nothing to do with it." I remarked. "I'm just a detective in the army, and I guess I've made a few friends in the course of my duties. I just want to adopt my sister and get her out of here. That's more important to me than...who I know, ma'am." I paused, thinking about what I'd just said. Maybe I did feel that way after all. I had never had a real family before, and the words had just rolled out without my even thinking about them.

"Yes, well...alright, sir. I will put you on file. As soon as I prove the authenticity of this letter, as well as you identity, you can come back and sign all of the necessary paperwork. After that, the adoption process will be complete for you. Since this may be a letter from a princess, we're going to get to work on this at once. Come back tomorrow morning."

"Understood." I said. In the back of my mind, I was a little put off that they had to prove the authenticity of Princess Luna's letter and my ID. Ponies practically dumped their children off at a place like this, allowed them to become the unknown and unwanted caste in this city. Why was it so important that they go through all of this trouble? Who wanted to steal a foal in a town where wealthy ponies tossed their own offspring away just because of appearances? I felt myself questioning my own emotions again. Why did I feel this way? I'd never met my own sister. I didn't know anything about her, but still, I was becoming angry. Why? Was it because somewhere inside, I didn't like the fact that this orphanage was treating her like their property that had to be deeded over, when she rightfully belonged with me? I walked out of the office and breathed a heavy sigh. If I was questioning that as a motive for my feelings, that meant I was thinking it. I walked out of the building, and nuzzled Dashie before turning back to the orphanage.

"Tomorrow, lil' sis." I muttered. I walked away, with Dash close behind.

We continued our trek, walking along the row of small houses, watching as the scenery became plainer and more spartan. We were now in the poorest section of Canterlot. We turned at a street corner, and walked past several houses built like barracks. In fact, that's what this neighborhood was, housing for the hundreds of Royal Guards in service of the princesses. Without even realizing what I was doing, I walked down a street that became all to familiar to me. I stopped abruptly, causing Dash to bump into me.

"What is it, Drake?" She asked. I was staring at the front of one of the nondescript houses. I felt a surge of emotion...memories leaping into my mind like flames taking hold on old kindling.

"Home, Dash..." I whispered back. "It's...it's my old home..."

"Drake..."

"It's...this whole trip's been..." I began, but for the first time, there was no puns. There was no smart remarks or jokes or parables. Nothing would come out. I was looking at a door I had walked through countless thousands of times growing up. A house where I had learned to walk, to read...where I had learned to soldier. All that I am and all I would ever be...my roots were there, in that simple little stucco house.

"Drake?"

"I'm coming back here, Dash. I have to...one more time. But not now." With that, I started walking again.

We soon came to the truly downtrodden part of Canterlot, a small neighborhood by the south wall. I had finally reached the area I was looking for. All of the common thugs and criminals in the city were congregated here. If we were going to find any leads, we had to find a thief. If we were gonna find a thief, it would be in this neighborhood. I looked down at a muddy puddle on the road. It was time to put on a show. With a devious grin, I dipped my forehooves into the muck, and smeared a little on my face, rubbing it in good to look like I hadn't bathed in a couple days. I messed up my mane, even worse than it already was. From my saddlebag, I pulled a white handkerchief, and tied it around my right foreleg.

"Dash, mess yourself up." I stated. She looked at me questioningly. "Think about where we are, what kind of ponies live here. Make yourself look like shit. From here on out, we ain't detectives. We're just a couple of vagabonds out to do some crime. Heheh."

"Ooo, gotcha. We're going undercover!" Dash replied in a loud whisper. She smeared dirt on her face and neck, and messed up her mane. I handed her a white handkerchief, which she tied around her head.

"Perfect." I said. "Oh...a little cologne..." I muttered. I pulled my flask from my bag and opened it. I took a sip, enough bourbon to make my breath smell like alcohol, then splashed a little on me. "Now we can do this."

We walked down the street, looking for anypony who looked like a criminal. It wasn't that difficult. We passed by a small group of stallions sitting on a porch drinking. They eyed us suspiciously as we passed. We passed two rough-looking stallions just inside an alleyway, who seemed to be dickering or arguing over a gold necklace. This is what I'd been looking for. We approached the duo, who stopped talking, and glowered at us as we approached.

"What's up?" One of the stallions, a dark red pony with a scar on his cheek greeted. "You lost?"

"Naw, I'm right where I wanna be, man." I replied. "We're wantin' to buy some gold, and I saw your swag there. Thought you could hook us up."

"Well I think you should keep movin'." The other pony, a brown stallion with a messy black mane replied.

"Hm..." I hummed. "Wasn't talkin' to ya. Talkin' to your friend here."

"And what if I told ya I didn't know where to get gold?" The red stallion asked. "What if I said this here necklace fell off a wagon?"

"Then I'd wanna know what wagon so I could get me one too." I answered. "That'd look good on my ladyfriend here."

"Rack off." The brown stallion remarked. I ignored him, and continued to give the more rational pony my attention.

"How'd we know you ain't a cop?" The red stallion pressed.

"Heh. If I was a cop buddy, I wouldn't beat your buddy here black and blue, would I?" I said with a slight chuckle. The brown stallion began to move toward me threateningly.

"You ain't got the..." He began, but was interrupted by me landing a solid blow under his jaw that sent him staggering back a few steps. The stallion seized a length of pipe and came at me again. I stepped toward him quickly, and blocked the pony's right foreleg with my left, rendering his weapon useless, before headbutting him. I twisted his right arm, causing the stallion to drop the pipe. I sent three powerful punches into his face, released him, then turned and bucked him further back into the alley where he collided with a garbage can. He stood woozily, and was about to begin another ill-advised attack when the other pony spoke up.

"Back off." The red stallion said to his compatriot. "If I were you man, I wouldn't screw with this hondo." He motioned toward me. "So chief, what was it you were lookin' for? Red Line's got the connections. Booze, boobs, booms and bling, I'm the pony you talk to."

"Alright." I nodded. "Thought you'd be the dude I needed to see." I looked around, as if I were afraid of somepony listening in. "I been looking for some gold, and maybe some diamonds. Need a good supply."

"What you need with so much gold and shit?" Red Line asked.

"I got me a bit of trouble with the po-po, and I need to turn some bits into somethin' a little less...trackable, know what I'm sayin'?"

"I hear ya." Red Line answered suspiciously. "What kinda trouble you in that you need that kinda...volume?"

"Ah, my...employer done went and screwed me over in a job." I explained. "Supposed to be clean, but I ended up with a bag of bits that's gonna look bad if I get caught holdin' em. I'm lookin' to turn 'em into gems and jewelry, then me and my mare gonna get gone fast. Ain't sayin' where." I looked around again. "You the stallion I need to talk to or not?"

"Yeah, yeah...I can help ya out, for a commission, know what I'm sayin'?"

"Yep." I said, reaching slowly into my saddlebag, and pulling out my bag of bits. I dumped twenty out in my hoof, and slipped the bag back into my saddlebag. "This a start, man? More where this came from."

"Daaamn. Hondo set up like Rock Feller!" Red Line grinned. He picked up a brown paper bag nearby and dumped the bits inside, then tucked it into the belt around his waist. "You two come with me. I'll set you up with The Jeweler." I processed this a moment. A fencer.

"Whoa there. I don't wanna deal with some grandpa in a jewelry store. I gotta keep a low profile." I stated.

"Relax man...The Jeweler ain't on the straight. He's the mover of about all the heisted bling in this burg." Red Line explained. Perfect. That's just who I wanted to meet.

Two blocks down, we came to a door on a small, windowless building. Red Line rapped on the door in a strange code, tap-tap tap-tap taptaptap tap. A small window on the door slid open, and all I could make out was a dark blue eye staring out at us.

"Who is it?!" A gruff voice called from the other side of the door.

"Chill. It's Red Line. Got you a couple customers. They're cool."

"Hm. Gimme a minute." The voice replied. The small window slid shut hard. I looked back at Dashie and nodded with a small smile. A silent signal that she was doing well, and everything was good so far. The door finally opened to reveal a strongly-built, light gray stallion with dark blue eyes. He looked between the three of us a moment, then stepped aside. We walked into the building, and the stallion slammed the door. I looked around the room we were in. Old ratty sofas, check. Wire spool table, check. Random, obviously stolen junk everywhere, double check.

"So, this hondo and his lady are interested in some fine jewelry." Red Line explained. "They want some major volume in gold and gems...wanna turn a buch 'a hot bits into some bling, ain't that right?"

"That's it, man." I replied.

"What did you want anyway, I ain't got much." The gray stallion replied.

"You got gold?" I asked.

"What do ya think I do, run a burger joint?" The Jeweler replied.

"What I mean is, you got a mil's worth?" I asked seriously.

"I ain't runnin a damn gold mine, pal."

"Alright. Fair enough man..." I sighed. "Diamonds. I need a million in rocks, cold ones. I can trade 'em in once I get outta country."

"Nopony's got that kinda ice."

"Not what I heard. Seen in the paper that there was some shit about ten million in rocks stolen from the damn army or somethin'. We ain't from this town, but I figured if there's that kinda trade goin' on around here, somepony can get me a little million's worth of...something. Hell, I don't even care if they're hot or not. I ain't getting' caught with a million in dirty bits. I got better things to do with my life than sit in a cell somewhere."

"A million is a big order." The Jeweler said. "I dunno if I can fill it. I can get you twenty thousand in gold, and another thirty thousand in gems." I looked back at Dashie a moment, then turned back to the two criminals.

"Sorry for wastin' your time, guys." I said, a tinge of impatience in my voice. "I'll find somepony that can get what I need. Have a good 'um." With that, I started to leave.

"Hold on...hold on..." The Jeweler said. "Alright brother...I'll tell you what...I might know somepony who knows somepony who has a cousin who might know something about a ton of stolen diamonds. I ain't gonna be able to get 'em myself, but gimme until tomorrow night, and I might be able to hook you up with the ponies you need to talk to. That alright with you?"

"Guess that'll work." I said. "We'll be back here tomorrow night. Eight o'clock."

"See what I can do. No promises." The Jeweler nodded. Dash and I left the building, and walked back up the road. We didn't stop until we got to the working-class part of town. There, I led Dash quickly into a clothing store.

"We're getting close, ain't we?" Dash asked as we passed by the racks of clothes.

"I think we are." I replied. I grabbed a brown, fringed coat off of a rack, followed by a wide brimmed cowpony hat.

"What are you doing?" Dash implored.

"Well sweetie...you see that dress over there? The blue one?"

"Um...yeah..."

"Get it. And a hat. We gotta look different, and fast."

"Gotcha." Dash nodded. We shared a quick kiss, and went about rounding up some clothes. We paid, and put on our new outfits. By the time we walked out, using the back door to do so, I could have passed for a wealthy rancher, and Dash for my equally wealthy wife. We made our way back to our hotel room, and stayed there the rest of the evening, ordering dinner from the room. The young bellcolt from before brought our food up, and was equally as confused as he had been the night before when this time around, I handed him a four-bit tip dressed like a rich cowpony.

After dinner, and going over more of the paperwork I got from Dragnet, we extinguished the lanterns and crawled into bed. Cuddled up to me, Dashie fell fast asleep, no doubt worn out from all the walking we had done. I kissed her on the forehead and sighed. Staring up at the dark ceiling, I couldn't help but think. Tomorrow, I was getting a sister. And I still had a case to solve. Raising a foal or stopping a dangerous, international crime ring...I had to wonder which was gonna be the bigger challenge.

I will try to get the next chapter up tonight. I hope you all enjoyed reading this one. Please send me reviews, everypony.