After finding the Headquarters for the Silver Guardians, the Rangers walked inside the building and were in awe by what they saw. Noah had filled them in on some of the details of what the Silver Guardians were on their way over, but the way he had explained it, the Rangers were expecting something along the lines of an average police station office building fusion.
Instead, what they stumbled into was a highly upgraded technologically advanced law enforcement center. The only part of the building that didn't seem to rely on high end technology was the receptionist at the front. Aside from her, everything seemed to work just like a machine.
Noah's eyes were wide as he looked around. He couldn't believe what he was seeing and made his way over to the computer by the reception desk. He touched the screen to activate it and followed the instructions. Rebecca followed him and frowned deeply when she had no idea what he was doing.
"You can automatically submit a complaint," Noah told her. "I'm not actually writing one up, but you put in the time, the details and it'll transfer it to the department best suited to help you. This is amazing!"
"Not if you're blind, it's not," Rebecca shook her head. "Touch screens are useless for me."
Noah took her hand and placed it on the wall just next to the screen. Rebecca tilted her head.
"Bumps?"
"Braille," Noah said. "If you're going to be blind, you should learn to read it. It'll help you out."
"What does it say?"
"I don't read it, but," Noah glanced at the sign just below the Braille and right above a button, "push here for assistance. If it's written for you, it's probably for you."
"Can I push it?" Rebecca didn't wait for an answer though and pressed the button. She jumped when the computer started speaking.
"Please speak your complaint and the appropriate officer will be with you shortly to discuss the best course of action."
"Whoa! It talks!" Rebecca turned to Noah with a smile, "Okay, I like that. Though I would rather deal with people."
"I love this," Noah shook his head. "This is my dream. Everything's automated; everything works like a well oiled machine. It's just so efficient it's brilliant."
"We don't know how efficient it is yet," Troy said as he walked over. "But this place is pretty impressive."
By the reception, Gia took the lead and walked up to the lady working the desk. She put down the business card Wes had given her and told the woman she wanted to see him.
"I'm sorry, but Mr. Collins is very busy. Unless this is an emergency..."
"He told us to stop by," Gia said. "We've got a problem and we need his help."
"Unfortunately, miss, we've got an entire city to look after and we don't have the time or resources for Mr. Collins to waste his time with little..."
"Linda, that's alright," Wes said as he stepped out of the elevator. "Eric and I invited them. Come on, everyone. Let's head up to my office."
The Rangers shuffled into the elevator with Wes. It was a little crowded, likely because the elevator was never really expected to carry so many people, a stroller, and a growing tiger at one time, but they made it up. When they stepped into Wes' office, the awe didn't wear off.
"This is like Noah's dream room," Jake commented as he looked around. "Dude, you seriously work here?"
"I could die here," Noah whispered. He didn't know what to look at first. The computer, the control panel on the wall or any of the multiple decors that made the room look like something from the future.
Wes chuckled as he nodded, "I kind of like the future vibe," he said. "It's homey, I guess you can say."
"Looks like something straight out of the Jetsons," Emma said. "Man, Jordan's going to be so jealous when he finds out."
"Ooh, take pictures then," Gia nudged her. Emma rolled her eyes.
"You promise not to rub this in his face."
"No."
"I... never mind," Emma sighed. She looked to Wes as she held up her camera, "Um, do you mind? My fiancé wants to be a cop and would love to see this."
"It's like right out of a crime show," Jake said. He turned to Wes, "Seriously, how can you afford all this?"
"I can," Wes said with a little laugh. He sat down at his desk and turned his computer screen so the Rangers could all see what he was working on. "I hope you don't mind, but after our little run in at lunch I couldn't help but do a little digging on each of you."
"Digging?" Troy asked and the Rangers all grew nervous. Outside of Harwood, it wasn't really common knowledge that he and his friends had faked their deaths but a quick internet search was likely all it would take for the reports and newspaper articles to come up. The only thing that kept the Rangers from being over the top worried was that they already knew Wes was a former Ranger.
"From security footage at the restaurant, I got your pictures and ran each of your faces through the facial recognition software. Now, I don't mean to scare any of you, but I've found something... interesting."
The Rangers looked around at each other. They knew Wes was a former Ranger, but he didn't know they were the current team and likely had no reason to believe it.
"Um... can we explain?"
"Cases usually go a lot faster when we're telling the truth," Wes nodded his head. "Though, can I assume you've kept up the tradition of colour coordinating your wardrobe with your spandex or are you the first guys to really mix it up?"
"Huh?" the Rangers all asked. Wes chuckled.
"Relax, you guys. I was curious about the deaths, the Princess Emma, and the fact that you guys are looking for a robot, so I called Tommy for a favour. He explained everything. Don't worry. Eric and I are only too happy to help."
"Help with what?" Eric asked as he stepped out of the elevator. In his hands, he had a box of a dozen donuts. He walked over to the second desk in the room, sat down, and then took a donut for himself. He glanced at the Rangers, but Gia specifically. "I just can't shake you, can I?"
"Not today," Gia answered. She turned back to Wes, but not before she saw Jake eyeing the donuts hungrily. She smacked him in the stomach, "You're not going to fit in your spandex after today, you know."
"Sorry, I'm just... still hungry," Jake pat his stomach and then tried to subtly glance at the donuts again. Eric caught him though and smirked.
"Oh, these?" he pointed to the box. "There's a shop just across the street that sells them. A dozen for ten bucks. You should check it out."
"Eric," Wes shook his head. Eric frowned.
"Hey, I picked them up."
"You're not eating a dozen donuts by yourself."
"Fine," Eric pushed the box forward on his desk, "Help yourself."
Jake smiled and reached for the chocolate donut. Eric shook his head.
"Not that one."
Jake reached for another donut.
"Or that one."
Jake went for another.
"That's my wife's favourite."
"Just take one," Wes assured Jake. "Eric's just being a hard ass. Today's not one of his better days."
"My day started with this kid dressing up her pet cat and telling me she believed the newbie Rangers are actually a competent team."
"I said great team," Gia stated. Eric shook his head.
"Don't push it. Then I get to work and find out we've got nothing to do all day. Then you drag me out to that shit hole for lunch, where I run into the kitty dresser again."
"You know, I have a name."
"We all do," Eric shrugged her off. Gia knew he was just doing it to bug her. He seemed to thrive off it. But she was determined to get the last laugh. So, while Eric continued to rant about how he had hoped for a more exciting day, Gia unclipped Tiger from her leash and gave her a little nod.
"Just don't hurt him."
Tiger, excited to finally get the chance to run around, was more than happy to do as she was told. She darted across the room and with a loud roar leapt up on Eric's desk and then pounced on him. She knocked him backwards and landed on his chest, teeth bared and growling menacingly.
"What the hell?" Eric cried as he held his hands up. "What kind of freakish cat do you own? I'm pretty damn sure this is illegal."
"It is," Gia nodded. She walked over, lifted Tiger from Eric and then clipped the leash back on. Assuming it was safe for her cub, she took the hat off, exposing Tiger's black and orange striped fur so the men could get a better look.
"A tiger?" Wes asked. Eric shook his head.
"You can't have a tiger! And you certainly can't bring one in here!"
"I can do whatever I want," Gia said, smirking slightly because she knew she had somewhat irritated Eric with Tiger's surprise attack. "I have the tiger."
"Gia's our captain," Rebecca said to Wes. So far, she got the sense he was the friendlier one of the two Silver Guardians. "And whereas most pirate captains have pet parrots, ours has a pet tiger."
"Impressive," Wes nodded his head. "Just, be sure she doesn't hurt anyone and I think we can let this one slide. Besides, I think we've got something more important to worry about."
"What's that?" Rebecca asked and then slapped her hand to her forehead, "Oh, right. Tensou's missing."
Wes nodded his head, "So, we're all Rangers here. We don't need cover stories. Let's just be honest about what happened."
"Uh, see, that's still not exactly easy," Troy said with a little shake of his head. "Tensou's always on the Sky Ship. He's never left. He's never had to. But this morning, we woke up and he was gone."
"Our ship was caught in the middle of a pretty big storm," Orion explained. "It knocked out our power, and we were waiting for Tensou to fix it, but this morning everything was still out and only Tensou knows how to get it back on."
"Not to mention, without power, we can't figure out what happened to him, where he went, or even at what time he left the ship," Noah said. "And without power, our ship didn't stay anchored over Harwood like it's supposed to. It drifted here. Tensou could be anywhere by now."
"Well, we can search the city," Wes said. "We can't go beyond, but if it's to help out the current team of Rangers, it's the least we can do. Eric, why don't you..."
"Already on it," Eric said. He got up, put his chair back upright and then started to type away at his computer. In just a few moments the Rangers heard a ding and Eric turned the computer around, "Is this who you're looking for? Wall-E 2.0?"
"That's him," Orion confirmed when he saw the picture. Eric inhaled sharply through his teeth and shook his head. He turned to Wes.
"Fresno Bob."
"Who?" Troy asked. Wes, on his computer, pulled up the details on the man named Fresno Bob.
"He's been a huge problem in Silver Hills for a few years now. He'll do anything to make a quick buck. Lie, cheat, steal; you name it, he'll do it."
"What does a criminal like that want with Tensou?" Troy asked. Gia shook her head.
"More like how did Tensou end up with this guy?"
"Your little robot friend is screwed," Eric said. He closed down all his files, leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on his desk. "We've been trying to get Fresno Bob for years now. So far, we've got nothing."
"He's the best in the business," Wes nodded his head. "If we're going to get your friend back, we're really going to have to step up our game."
"Wes," Eric leaned forward slightly and looked his partner in the eye, "We can't get past Fresno Bob. No one can. He knows all our men. I wouldn't even be surprised if some of his guys were working here."
"None of his men work here," Wes assured him. Eric shook his head.
"Hey, you do the background checks. I'm just saying, if you were to send someone in, even undercover, Fresno Bob would sniff him out."
"We can't just give up on Tensou," Rebecca said. "He's our little robot. Our friend. He's always there when we need him."
"Not to mention, we need all our systems back online before the Armada or Vrak decided to attack again. Without Tensou, we're practically sitting ducks."
"And you're trying to tell me your team of rainbow Pirates is seriously better than Time Force?" Eric scoffed as he turned to Gia. She leaned forward on his desk.
"What do I need to know about Fresno Bob?"
"Are you offering yourself?" Eric raised an eyebrow. Jake immediately grabbed Gia by the arm and pulled her back.
"Um, remember how, you know, you used to do stupid stuff all the time that scared us?"
"Yeah."
"Going undercover is a stupid thing. Gia, you have no idea what this Bob guy is like. One wrong move and..."
"He's a common criminal," Gia shrugged her shoulders. "I'm a Power Ranger. If anything goes wrong..."
"What about your habit of losing your morpher?"
"Wrist morphers," Eric smirked, showing the Megaforce Rangers his Quantum Morpher. He set it down on his desk. "Hard to lose these."
"You need one of these," Emma stated to Gia as she picked up the Quantum Morpher to get a better look. Gia, meanwhile, kept her attention on Jake.
"Someone needs to go after Tensou..."
"Fine, then we'll go undercover together."
Gia shook her head, "I want you and Emma on the outside. I want to be able to count on you two in case something does happen. I know you've got my back."
"Tigger over here might be able to pull off undercover work," Eric suggested as he pulled up the file he had on Fresno Bob. "Fresno Bob is the leader of what is known as the Scorpion Cartel. Right now, there aren't too many people working for him, but it looks like that's changing. He's picking up kids on the street, probably about your age, with nothing really going for them in life."
"Should I be insulted?" Gia turned to Eric. He shrugged his shoulders.
"Only if the shoe fits. But if you're as bad ass as owning a tiger might lead people to believe you are, Fresno Bob might just choose you himself as a candidate."
"Wait, he picks up troubled kids?" Rebecca asked and then slowly raised her hand, "Well, if Gia needs a partner..."
"No," Troy and Noah both shook their heads while Noah grabbed Rebecca's hand and lowered it.
"Guys, come on," Rebecca said. "You can't deny that if I had been living in Silver Hills like, a year ago, I would have been the perfect person for Fresno Bob to pick up. I can be the old me again. I..."
"This guy's a criminal, Rebecca," Troy grabbed her arms softly and looked at her. "If something goes wrong..."
"Gia and I are an awesome team," Rebecca insisted. "And you guys will have our backs here. We play the part until we find out where he's taken Tensou and what he wants with him and then bam, we get him back."
"And what if that doesn't work?" Noah asked. "Rebecca, one little slip and..."
"I won't slip up," Rebecca promised. "Come on, you guys. I can do it. We can do it."
"We have the surveillance," Wes assured the Rangers. "Of course, we don't have cameras in Fresno Bob's hideout, but we've got them everywhere else. We can rig you two with a camera and an earpiece and..."
"No, this doesn't ever go over well," Jake said. "Seriously, we're Rangers. We can just go in there and demand this asshole give us our Tensou back..."
"Jake, we're not about using unnecessary force," Troy reminded him. "Besides, without Tensou, we don't know how much power we have."
"Yeah, what if we power down in the middle of the city?" Emma asked. Jake turned to her with a look of shock on his face.
"You agree with this? You know what Gia's suggesting, right?"
"Someone's got to go in," Emma nodded her head. "And as much as I hate it, if someone's going to be able to blend in as a criminal, Gia and Rebecca fit the bill. They stand the best chance of getting in and out undetected."
"Besides, we'll be right here keeping an eye on them," Orion assured Jake. He put his arm around Jake's shoulders. "Fresno Bob doesn't know us either. Once everything's in place, we can be in the city."
"That is a good idea," Wes nodded. "Our officers can't blend in. But the seven of you can."
"So, who's watching the carnivore?" Eric asked as he pointed to Tiger. "You going to take him with you on this mission, because he sure as hell can't stay on the streets, and he's not staying here."
"Tiger's a girl," Gia answered. "And who says I'd even trust her with you?"
"We'll keep an eye on her," Wes promised Gia. Eric looked mildly annoyed but didn't say anything about it. "I can tell you all you need to know about Fresno Bob, but you're really going to have to pay attention. One slip up and our whole cover can be blown."
"We can do it, right Becca?" Gia turned to the younger girl with a smile. Rebecca nodded excitedly.
"Not that I want to go back to a life of bad decisions, but I have kind of missed the thrill," Rebecca said. "Should be awesome!"
"Awesome is not the word I want to hear," Troy dropped his head and sighed.
Meanwhile, over near Eric's desk, Tiger knew the two new men had been left in charge of her safety and wanted to get a better idea of who they were. One seemed quite friendly already, but the one she had pounced seemed to have a knack for pissing off her mistress. She wanted to be sure he wasn't a threat.
She approached him from under his desk and started to sniff his legs. Eric hadn't realized she was there and jumped, kicking her slightly by accidently. Tiger growled and without using her claws, swiped at his leg.
Eric looked under his desk and frowned when he saw the large cub.
"My Q-Rex could eat you for a snack."
