CHAPTER 12
First off, I wanna say...whoever the guest is who keeps commenting on the cavalry aspect of Drake's saga...you know your stuff. You are the only person on here who got the Lefaucheux reference, and possibly one out of a million folks who would. PM me sometime. You MUST be a military historian or a cavalry reenactor, and I'd be happy to converse with you.
Next, the story will probably be over in the next three chapters. Just a warning. But fear not...volume 5 is a really good read, and many of you will enjoy it, I'm sure. The story picks up now, so I'll shut up and let you read it. Please send me reviews. I own my OC, and Budder owns hers, that's about it.
Dash and I walked the streets of Canterlot, on our way to our appointment with Mister Gray. I was miserable. We had left Budder alone in the Hotel room with instructions to keep the door locked and to not answer for anyone. I had left a dagger with her, and hoped with all I had that my little sister would not have to use it. This case had become darker than I had imagined. Could it be that there was some vast conspiracy going on? Who all was actually involved in the diamond operation? It was a quatrefoil problem that plagued me now. I was worried about my sister, I had this meeting which I knew was doomed to end badly, Dash and I were being followed, and I did not know who to even trust anymore. I mentally went through the situation as I perceived it.
Obviously, this Mister Gray was a high-level criminal, with international dealings. That is how he had met this General Kareem Uvwheat, who undoubtedly had become a general by killing his way to the top. They had made a deal in which millions in Maretanian Blood Diamonds had been sent with Gray and his private army to ensure that Equestria would be blamed for the heist. This Gray had hired well-trained commandos to protect the diamonds and make damned sure that they stayed hidden. The mercenaries were probably either a terrorist cell, a militia, or a rogue faction of the Equestrian Military. The scary thought was that it was possible that there were ponies in Equestrian government and in the military playing into all of this. Maybe somepony wanted a coup.
"We're gonna have to watch ourselves." I muttered to Dash. "I have a feeling this could get bad."
"I know." My marefriend replied in a low voice. "I got your back, Drake. Just like always."
"Heh. And I got yours. We gotta try and come back from this one. I think if I got myself killed, my sister would kill me."
"I wouldn't blame her..." Dash replied. "You make sure you win, Drake. I don't care how many ponies we gotta take on. You win." I nodded, reading into what she said. Those words became a psychological tributary, feeding into the river of what I had already been feeling. I had a family now, ponies who needed me. I'd only known what this was like for a few months now. Having Rainbow Dash there the last eight months had changed my life completely. I had never had that kind of companionship before. I had never had somepony in my life who needed me, whom I needed. I was still getting used to it, and all of a sudden, I had a little filly to take care of too. It had never been like this before...not even with Spring Shower. I shook my head, forcing myself out of my thoughts, and back to reality. You can't get too caught up in your personal life in a moment like this. It could get you killed. We had a job to do.
Up ahead, we saw the warehouse that was to be our destination. I gave Dashie a small smile and nodded. She returned a confident grin, and we began to climb the steps to the second-floor door of the building. It was midnight. It was time. With a moment's hesitation over, I knocked on the door. There was no answer. I gave Dashie a worried look and knocked again. Again, there was no answer. I slid my right hoof underneath my trench coat and felt the handle of the bowie knife I had strapped to my belt. My hoof went to the doorknob, and I turned it slowly and pushed open the door.
The room inside was empty. There was no sign of Mr. Gray or his militant cadre. No sign of the diamonds. I felt uneasy almost immediately. I quickly pulled the bowie knife and held it in an underhand grip as I threw open the door to the rest of the warehouse. There was nopony inside the large open area. Only the sound of silence as the light of a full moon dimly lit the warehouse floor through the tall windows. We crept down the stairs and silently cleared every nook and cranny before trudging back up halfway on the stairs. I sighed, and sat back against the wall.
"We missed 'em, Dashie..." I whispered. I tapped the blade of my knife against the concrete steps rhythmically. "They knew. Somehow...once again, the bastards were one step ahead of us again. They knew we were coming, and they left. And now there's gonna be the devil to pay..."
"Drake..." Dash whispered softly, sitting beside me.
"How did they know?!" I called in the empty warehouse.
"Maybe they tracked us..." My marefriend suggested.
"I can't see it..." I groaned. "How can I believe they were able to follow us all the way to the hotel, and then figure out that we posed enough danger to their operation that they had to run? Shit...they knew, Dashie...they found out that there were gonna get hit tonight. Otherwise they'd have just waited on us and killed us both right here." I let my head fall back against the wall. "A tip." I muttered.
"What?"
"I guaran-damn-tee that the same pony who told them the agents had the diamonds told them we were detectives." I said. "Oh...backup has arrived."
"Huh?" Dash asked. I closed my eyes just before a blast of unicorn magic created a blinding flash of light that would have stunned anypony in the room. The doors to the warehouse were thrown open, and EBI agents stormed in, replete in their tactical vests and helmets. The first ponies in the formations were armed with crossbows, the rest with batons. They secured the floor, and moved up the stairs. I sat lazily on the steps and waved them by as they passed. Soon entered Special Agent Shackleford, who for some reason was wearing his sunglasses at 12:15 at night. He spotted us on the stairs and joined us with a curious look.
"I assume this is the location you spoke of in your letter." Shackleford said, unamused. "So where are the smugglers, Drake?"
"It was a double-cross..." I answered. "They knew we were coming, and they left."
"How?" Shackleford demanded. "How do they keep knowing what we're doing?!"
"Because somepony keeps telling them." I replied matter-of-factly.
"Who are we looking for?"
"Well, this one stallion who calls himself Mister Gray. He's the ringleader here. He had about twenty mercenaries with him.
"Did you see..."
"No." I cut him off. "But you see those three weapons cases? There's a 200 gallon water tank down there too, along with a mostly-empty pallet of rations. They have an army, and they have plenty of weapons." I sighed. "We have to find the mole. Dammit, they knew where I was staying, Rusty...oh...shit." I suddenly realized that they may try to hit the hotel. Budder. "I gotta get back to the hotel. Stay here and secure the warehouse and look for clues. If I send for you, you better come packing."
"Yes...absolutely." Shackleford nodded. "Oh, Drake?"
"What? I gotta go."
"Then come this way. I took the liberty of bringing you something from your house." The EBI special agent said, leading us down the stairs and out the door.
"How the Hell did you get into my house?" I demanded.
"Didn't know where you kept your spare key, so I had one of my agents use a window." Shackleford replied. We reached a Black Maria, and the agent opened the back door and reached in. He pulled out a familiar weapon...my dragoon saber. He handed it to me. "Thought you might need this. You cavalryponies don't plan ahead very well, Drake." I took the sword and scoffed, a slight smile on my face.
"Naw, Rusty...we think on our hooves." I shot back, buckling the sabre belt on. I threw off my disguise. "Come on, Dashie, we gotta get to the hotel." With that, we broke into a jog down the street.
"Wait...Lieutenant Drake?" Shackleford called after us. "What hotel? What's wrong?"
We approached the Mareiot, but I had already decided that we weren't going to use the front door. I led Rainbow Dash around to the side, where we found a door marked 'Employees Only'. I pushed open the door, and we swiftly entered, making our way through the laundry room, to another door that let out into the lobby, near where the hall to the first floor block of rooms began. I cracked open the door and peered out. Sure enough, in the lobby, just by the front door was a stallion in a black tactical jumpsuit, sitting in an armchair, covertly watching the door. Nearer to us was a dark brown mare in sunglasses, pretending to read a newspaper. The way she kept casting glances toward the stallion and to the entrance to the hall told me she was interested in more than just the classifieds.
"Alright Dashie, my love..." I said. "The ol' one-two-skadoo. You take the girl, I'll get the guy."
"Why do I always have to get the girl?" Dash whispered, rolling her eyes.
"'Cause you already apprehended a good stallion." I shot back with a grin. "Alright. I'm gonna walk right past the Valkyrie here. She's paying attention to the hall. I think I can get close enough to Bumbly Joe over there to get the jump on him. See if you can't take out the mare quietly, and I'll buffalo him. Got it?"
"Sure thing."
"Alright...aaaaannnnnd go." With that, I strolled confidently from the laundry room, with my back to the mare with the newspaper, keeping my gaze locked securely on the stallion in the chair. Just before I reached him, I heard a loud thump from behind me, followed by the crash of a random piece of furniture. So much for quiet. The stallion snapped up from the chair and turned to face me. I attempted to draw my saber, but the mercenary closed the gap and blocked my leg from pulling the sword completely from the sheath. He threw a punch with his right hoof, which I blocked with my left. He headbutted me, and I let myself fall back a couple paces to regroup. The stallion however, simply stepped with me, and I felt a blow to my jaw. I swung wide, but he blocked my punch. I dove low, underneath him, and threw him to the floor.
"Surrender..." I panted. Amazingly, the stallion leaped up to his hooves, and spun about, kicking me in the chest. I fell back, and he was atop me instantly. I got slugged in the face again, and finally seeing an opportunity, I reached down and drew my saber up as hard as I could, striking my attacker in the bottom of the chin with the pommel, stunning him long enough to work my sword out enough to start sending blows into him using the hoofguard like a set of brass knuckles. I kicked him off, and as he started to stand, I hit him hard across the face, sending him back down. He started to stand again, and I turned around and bucked him full-force in the head, knocking him out. I looked to see Dashie standing by the front desk, panting. Her mane was messed up, and she had a thin trickle of blood running out of her nose. At her hooves was the female commando, unconscious. Around her was a disaster zone of broken chairs and tables, and an overturned potted plant.
"You alright?" I asked, walking up to Dash. She wiped her nose and sighed.
"She wouldn't go down easy, man..." My marefriend explained. "So I had to hit her with a chair."
"It's the detectives!" A voice called. We looked to see something that made my stomach turn over. There were five commandos and the black stallion from Gray's office standing in the hall. Two of them had my sister held tightly.
"Bubbyyyy!" Budder cried out.
"Let her go!" I yelled. "It's me you want!"
"No, it's the foal." The stallion replied evilly. "You're gonna be awful sorry you fucked with the plan." I took a step toward the group. "Stop. That's close enough. Take another step, and your little filly here dies now." I watched as one of the ponies holding my sister pulled a switchblade and flicked it open, holding the knife to Budder's neck. "Extraction team, move!" He ordered. The two ponies with my sister, along with another of the mercenaries turned and made quickly for the door at the end of the hall. Dash and I now stood facing three ponies. "Assault team, move in!" The stallion bellowed. An additional three ponies in tactical gear materialized from the surroundings, and stood behind and in front of us. Correction...four ponies. Another joined the black stallion and his cadre from a nearby room. I looked around at the unbeatable force of violent bushwhackers that faced us, and said the only thing I could think of.
"Damn...did Mister Gray put in a special order to Bad Guys R Us?"
"Close his smart-ass mouth." The black stallion growled. I drew my saber as the mercenaries moved toward us. The first lunged at me with a sword. I parried the stroke and sliced his neck, using his body as a wall to spin about and thrust the blade of my sword into another of the ponies. I felt a hard blow on my head as another commando hit me with a baton. It was about to get bad when I heard something I thought I'd never be glad to hear.
"EBI! Everypony freeze!" The voice of Agent Shackleford called.
"EVAC! MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!" The leader of the commandos yelled. The ponies bolted down the hall, with half a dozen EBI agents after them. Shackleford trotted up to Dash and I.
"You looked like you may have needed backup, lieutenant." Shackleford commented.
"You saved the bad ponies from me yet again." I groused. "Come on, Dash...we gotta get Budder!" We galloped toward the front door of the hotel.
"Damn it all, Lieutenant! Who's Budder?!" Shackleford yelled. "And you're welcome!"
So the case takes a terrible turn as Budder is kidnapped by the smugglers. Any of you see that coming?Can Drake get her back before it's too late? What about the diamonds? What's gonna happen next? Stay tuned for the next chapter to find out. Chapter 13 will will be up tomorrow. I hope you all liked this chapter. Until next time, thanks for reading, everypony. Please review.
