CHAPTER 13
As promised everypony, I'm back with chapter 13. I hope you all enjoy this one. I know you can't wait to see what happens, so I won't keep you. Please read and review.
The mercenaries were long gone, and the EBI agents had lost the trail. I knew that fact didn't really mean much. I could pick up a trail on a sidewalk in a rainstorm at night. Dash and I followed the path the foal-nappers had taken across the small courtyard outside the hotel. It was easy to find their hoofprints in the soft dirt of the flower bed by the road. From there, the prints stopped. I looked around. They had obviously taken a carriage or wagon. I had to keep tracking. My sister needed me, and I was gonna find her, no matter what. Alright Drake...stop worrying and put those damned tracking skills to use. Get inside your adversaries' heads. They got in a wagon. We're on a street. They could have only gone one of two ways. To the left would have taken them toward the castle and the government buildings of Canterlot. To the right would take them toward the business section of town.
"Let's go." I stated, going to the right. There was no way a group of armed mercenaries would take a hostage into the government sector of town. We hurried down the street with me trying to deduce where they could be heading. With a hostage, they would want to go somewhere private and secluded, so their presence wouldn't be noticed, and my sister couldn't summon help. We stopped at a street corner. Something didn't add up. They needed a place to regroup. Where could a platoon of mercs meet up where they could stash the diamonds, their weapons, a hostage, and still be unseen?
"Drake?" Dash inquired.
"They're not in the business district." I said. But I have an idea..." I looked around, and saw a newspaper kiosk on the corner. "Hey! Hey mister!" I called out. The newspaper vendor looked up. "You see a carriage go through here a few minutes ago? Had a couple ponies in black and a tan foal with 'em?"
"I thinks so, yeah." The stallion replied. "Those guys come through here likes they's goin to a fiah. Turned and went down that-a-way." He pointed down the street that intersected the one we'd come down.
"Thank ya." I nodded, and we took off at a dead gallop down the new street. I had an idea that the ponies who had taken my sister were heading back toward the industrial side of town. Not to their old warehouse, of course, but these guys were easy for me to read. They were military-trained. In any military operation, you always have a bug-out plan. You always have to have a secondary fall-back location just in case your plan goes to Hell. They no doubt had another building in the area, and had it prepped in case of something like this. Now to do the math. They had at least twenty soldiers. They had a bunch of stolen diamonds. They needed food and supplies. They needed...
"Transportation!" I exclaimed, stopping abruptly. "They need a way to move the diamonds, the mercs and their supplies. "They're gonna want at least two wagons, probably covered jobs...freight wagons!"
"There was a lot full of freight wagons just down the road from that warehouse we were at!" Dash added.
"Yup." I nodded. "They're gonna move the diamonds out of country soon, I guarantee it. They want my sister as leverage so we don't try to pursue them."
"What are we gonna do?" Dash asked.
"Pursue them." I said through clenched teeth. I wiped a lock of black mane from my sweat-covered forehead. "I'm gonna find those militia bastards, get Budder back, and rip that Mister Gray's face off." I remembered a store nearby that I had seen when Dash and I had walked to the warehouse. Soon, I found the business. It was an army surplus store, with a mannequin in the window, wearing a suit of armor. "Wait here." I said. "I gotta pick up a few things." I pulled the bag of bits from my belt and walked into the store.
"Can I help you, sir?" The proprietor greeted as I entered. I gave the small store a quick once-over.
"Yeah. You got black and gray camo sticks?"
"Sure thing."
"Gimme one. And a pair of field glasses. Get those for me, and I'm gonna shop around a bit." As the owner retrieved the items I requested, I grabbed a duffel bag, and began to pull necessary items from the shelves. Two canteens, a length of rope, a kukri knife, a pound of black powder and a roll of fuse. I lay all of this on the counter, and the owner of the surplus store looked at me curiously.
"What do you need with all this stuff?" He asked, eyeing my purchases. I pulled my military ID and flipped it open.
"Goin' hunting." I replied grimly. I stuffed all of the items, including the binoculars and the camo paint stick into the bag, and tossed the bag of bits on the counter. I knew I had overpayed, but at this point, I didn't give a damn and a half. I exited the store, and met Dash on the sidewalk. "'Kay, we're ready now." I jogged on, with Rainbow Dash close behind. When we were two blocks from the warehouse with the carts and wagons in front, I halted. "Alright." I muttered. "Recon. Let's get on top of the roof across from the warehouse, and see what we can see. We need a plan, and it'd better be a good one." We climbed the ladder at the back of the building across the road from the suspect warehouse. On the roof, I took out the camo stick, and painted my face with black and gray. I tossed it to Dashie, who followed suit, applying the grease paint to her face and neck. I crept to the edge, and lay down. I pulled the camo net from the duffel bag and threw it over me. I drew out the field glasses and motioned for Dash to join me. Together, we lay on the lip of the roof, staring out at the warehouse.
"What's the plan then?" Dash whispered.
"Observe. I wanna make sure they're in there." I whispered back. "If they are, I'm gonna go in tonight and get Budder. If there's anything left for Rusty to clean up, it means I didn't do a good enough job."
"Geez, Drake..." Dash commented. She'd never seen this side of me before. I was beyond angry. They took my little sister. In doing, the smugglers had backed me into a corner.
"This ain't no heist anymore." I muttered. "They got my sister, Dashie...it's a war. And if they want a war, I'll give it to them."
"Just be careful, okay?" Dash pleaded.
"I'm getting Budder out of there. That's for sure." I replied. "Heh. Look...there's one of the asshats now." One of the mercenaries was walking around the building, probably a guard on his rounds. Through my field glasses, I could see that it was a dark green stallion wearing a black tactical jacket and black cap. He had sunglasses on his face, and was carrying a large knife strapped to his side. I scanned all of the windows. I saw no sign of a sentry posted in any of the windows. Their mistake.
We kept up our surveillance until nightfall. They had two guards making rounds on the outside of the warehouse, and I had their schedule down probably better than the mercenaries themselves. It was almost time to put my plan into motion. I poked a hole in the top of the canister of explosive black powder, and inserted a five inch length of fuse. The massive, boomerang-shaped kukri knife went onto the back of my saber belt, giving me my beloved sabre, my bowie knife, and the huge kukri to work with.
"Alright Dashie, my love..." I whispered. "We move. We take out the guards outside, then you stand watch outside by those crates. Stay hidden, and take down anypony who happens by. I'm gonna sneak in, and find Budder. Once I do, I'm gonna get her out, causing as much damage as possible. Grab her when she's on the outside. If I don't make it out, you get her to Celestia, and tell her what happened. Get Shackleford and the EBI down here. Got it?"
"I got it...but Drake..." Dash whispered. "Don't say you ain't coming back. This isn't some suicide mission, you know? We need you. I don't care what you have to do in there, but you're coming out with your sister. You gotta make it out, you got that?" I looked into my marefriend's eyes a silent moment, and nodded.
"I'll try. I promise." I said. I let out a sigh. "Alright. Gimme a kiss." Dashie leaned in, and we shared a deep, passionate kiss before our mission. "Let's go."
We moved silently to the lot beside the warehouse, keeping to the shadows. Once we had reached the fence, we stopped for a moment, hiding behind a stack of barrels to let the patrol walk by. We started to move again, when an unexpected event occurred that struck home the dark nature of the smugglers' operation. A wagon pulled to a halt outside of the warehouse gate, and the two sentries immediately moved to greet the newcomer. Dash and I watched curiously as two zebras stepped from the vehicle. The duo were large, strongly-built stallions, and I deduced they were some of General Uvwheat's soldiers. The zebras were escorted to the warehouse, and led inside. Soon, another carriage approached. We watched a light brown stallion climb out. Again, the guards greeted the newcomer, who to my surprise was all too familiar.
"Recognize that stallion?" I whispered to Dash. She shook her head 'no'. "That's the damned secretary or whatever that was at the back of Deputy Director Dragnet's office both times we were there. Now we know how Gray knew who we were." The guards escorted the traitorous EBI agent into the warehouse the same as they had the zebras. Once things had quieted down, we crept under the fence, and moved to the stack of crates next to the side wall of the warehouse. I motioned for Dash to get down behind the crates, and I pulled my sabre, crouching down in the shadows.
Soon, the first sentry walked past. I kept my eye on him. It was the second guard, a yellow earth pony stallion in black tactical clothing. He carried a short sword, and I wasn't about to even give him a chance to draw the weapon. As he passed underneath the crate I crouched upon, I jumped down, bringing the blade of my weapon down on the back of his neck in a powerful cut. Mortally wounded, he fell to the ground. I finished him with a thrust into his chest. I knew the other sentry would be coming from the opposite direction in a few moments, so I hurried to the corner of the warehouse and waited. As soon as he rounded the corner, I jumped to the side, squaring myself away in front of him. Before he could react at all, I sliced out with my sabre, cutting his throat cleanly, an almost instant kill. I wiped the my sword's curved blade on the mercenary's jacket and slid it back into its sheath before dragging the pony over to the body of his comrade, out of sight to anypony who happened to be out front. I nodded to Dash, and climbed upon the crates toward a small open window.
I peered inside, and noticing that a stack of crates obscured the window from the floor of the warehouse, I slid inside, landing on a metal catwalk. I pulled my kukri knife, knowing that a sword was next to useless in such tight quarters, and moved along the walkway. I heard hoofsteps, and halted beside a corner formed by the back wall and several of the large wooden boxes. I spun the kukri around into an underhoof grip, and as one of the hired thugs came around the corner, I plunged the large blade into his chest. He let out a gasp, and I grabbed him in a deadly hug, shoving the blade in deeper. I felt him go limp, and drew the knife out. I continued on.
I soon heard voices on the other side of the crates, and climbed up on the boxes to get a look at the scene on the warehouse floor. Peeking through a gap in two crates, I saw Mister gray, with six of his goons behind him, talking to the zebras and the crooked EBI agent. I perked up my ears to hear what they were saying.
"Yes, gentlemen...all of the diamonds are safe." Gray was saying to the zebras. "I have held up my end of the bargain, and now, we can mobilize at once, and finish the deal. A boat is standing by that will take the diamonds home. The resulting military actions between Maretania and Equestria will free up the General to accomplish his goals of gaining absolute power in the region. I'm sure this pleases you...and your commander." Gray smiled.
"The General is pleased." One of the zebra replied in a thick accent. "And you will receive your...compensation...one you have reached the General's country."
"You hear that?" Gray said aloud to his soldiers. "Soon as we get the diamonds back to the General, we'll be able to buy our way into any country we want!" The mercenaries cheered. "The amount, gentlemen...I trust General Uvwheat has the money in hoof?"
"Yes, Mister Gray..." The other zebra replied. "Fifteen million in gold. That was our agreement, yes?"
"Yes, indeed." Gray returned. I thought on that. Fifteen million was more than the diamonds were worth. Gray wasn't selling the diamonds back to the General. I remembered the conversation between Back Alley and Shady Deals. This wasn't a simple smuggling operation or a theft. Gray wasn't making money from trading the diamonds. He was getting paid for babysitting them. This wasn't about a heist. It was about a war.
"I've kept up my end of the agreement too." The EBI agent chimed in. "I've kept you up-to-date on everything the EBI was doing, and even got you the names of those two Army detectives that were snooping around." Mr. Gray and the mercenaries stared at the agent a moment. "Where is my reward, Mister Gray?"
"Oh yes, can't forget about you." Gray said, walking up to the traitor. "If I remember now...I promised you that you'd be famous, and never have to worry about working again, right?"
"That's right...and you said you'd make sure I wouldn't get caught too. I'd like to cash in now."
"Alright. I'm as good as my word." Gray smiled, putting his left hoof over the EBI agent's shoulder. I watched as the crime boss quickly pulled a switchblade and thrust it into the agent's corrupt heart. He pulled the knife free, and let the pony fall to the floor, writhing in agony until his body lay still in a puddle of blood. "Heh. Now, you'll be famous. You saw all this going down, and tried to stop us singlehoofed." Gray said to the corpse. "You'll be a hero...oh, and you'll never have to worry about getting caught now...and neither will we." He took out a handkerchief and wiped the blade of his knife before folding it and putting it back into the pocket of his leather jacket.
I silently moved away from the scene below. I had to find my sister. I glanced up. Like in all of these warehouses, there was office space on the second floor, above the warehouse floor. I moved quietly up the stairs until I came to the door. The frosted glass prevented me from seeing how many ponies were inside, but I assumed that since the criminals felt secure here, and Budder was just a foal, there wouldn't be more than one or two guards inside the office. I silently tried the doorknob to find it locked. I pulled my bowie knife and knocked on the door.
"Yeah?" A voice from inside asked.
"Yeah, Gray sent me up here. He needs me to grab some papers from in there. Open up!" The pony inside opened the door, and as soon as he realized he'd made a mistake, it was too late. My knife plunged into his neck, and as I slid it out, he fell to the floor, gasping for breath. I stepped over the dying badpony into the room. Another pony came out around the corner. Too far away to use my knife, I dropped the weapon and charged the guard, kicking him with my forehooves, all of my body weight behind the attack. He stumbled backwards and through the open window. Seconds later, I heard the dull thud of his body striking the lot below. I quickly searched the room for any more mercenaries. Just as I'd figured, there were none.
"Sis?" I called in a loud whisper. "Budder, are you in here?"
"Mmm!" A muffled voice cried from a closet. I opened the door to see my little sister tied to a chair, a handkerchief tied in her mouth as a gag. I quickly pulled my kukri and cut her ropes. Budder fell forward into my forelegs and tore the rag from her mouth.
"Bubby..." She sobbed into my shoulder. "I thought I was gonna die...they said...the pony in the black coat...he said he was gonna kill me and kill you and..."
"Shhhh..." I reassured her. "I'm here now...okay? We're gettin' out of here."
"There's a bunch of those army ponies..." My sister said fearfully.
"Oh, they're not army ponies. They're just mercenaries." I said back. Budder looked up at me and I smiled confidently.
"So you're...better...than them?" She asked. "Right?"
"I like to think so." I replied. "Now...we gotta get out of here, but it ain't gonna be easy. Those idiots down there are trying to start a war, and bubby has to stop them. You gotta do what I say, when I say it, okay?" She hugged me tightly.
"I trust you." She whispered.
"Alright...come on, Budder." I said. We made our way back through the office area, and I retrieved my bowie from off the floor on the way out. We paused at the top of the stairs, looking down into the warehouse below. The congregation of malefactors were still at their business, not bothering to look up at the landing. I untied the homemade bomb from my belt, and took the match I had secured to the can with a strip of tape. "Sis..." I whispered. I prepared to strike the match. "This is gonna be...loud."
"Big...boom?" She asked, her eyes growing wide in amazement."
"Yup." I agreed. Time for a show. "Hello boys!" I shouted, lighting the match. The group looked up. I lit the fuse, and tossed the bomb into the mass of criminals. "Huzzah for the cavalry!" I bellowed, shoving my sister to the landing and laying atop her to shield her. A massive explosion shook the building, and I was quickly on my hooves. I pulled my sister up, and led her down the stairs. A crossbow arrow whizzed past us and struck the wall just before we reached the safety of the crates. I pulled the Kukri as we hurried along the hall formed by the wall and the boxes. A mercenary jumped down from on top of the crates and crashed into me. I fell back against the wall. The thug tried to punch me, but I blocked his blow, only to get hit with his other hoof. The pony reared back to punch me again, but suddenly lurched sideways. My sister had bucked him hard in the ribs, and it gave me the opportunity I needed to deliver a punch into his face, and dive clear. I drew my sabre and thrust forward, my blade finding its mark.
"Thanks for the save, sis." I grinned. "Come on." We made it around the corner, but no further. We were stopped by two mercenaries holding crossbows on us. I sighed, and dropped my sabre. I looked back and Budder, and my sister gazed forlornly into my eyes. This had just gotten very, very bad.
Just when you thought everything was gonna be alright, Drake and Budder get captured. Bet you didn't see that coming. What did you all think about the conspiracy devised by the international criminals? Now what's going to happen? You'll find out soon enough. I'll try to have the next chapter up tonight, and wrap the story up tomorrow. Then, after a couple fun little short stories, I can begin on Volume 5. Until next time, thanks for reading, everypony. -Drake