I own nothing except a few characters and the plot.
STAR WARS REBELS
The New Spectres
Uncovering a Mole Part 2
NEW YORK
Captain Fanes released the four Spectres from their classes prior to lunch out of fear that a shootout would occur in the Mess Hall between them and Steven's group. The four sat on the Ghost along with Hera, R9, and BB-8 waiting for Jacen or whoever was supposed to pick them up.
"Spectre 7 to Ghost." Jacen called over the comm.
"Ghost." Hera replied.
"I'm running late to pick them up. Traffic is a nightmare by the arena. I just passed Empire and it's still a mess."
"Should I just load them into the Phantom and take them wherever they're supposed to go myself?"
"Darius has to work and the others go to Felth's office until he has Josh thrown out for being a smart aleck."
"Copy that 7." Hera said and turned to the teens.
"I'm going to guess that he would get lost on side streets." Darius said to Lucy who simply nodded.
"Last time, he tried to find his way around traffic on Flatbush. He listened to Josh and we ended up in East New York." She said.
"Into the Phantom. Jacen's stuck in traffic and won't be here for an hour or so. Tevin will probably have something to say about this, but Jacen has the minivan and Darius needs to get to his job." Hera told them as they got into the Phantom III, detached from the Ghost, and took off.
"Sir, there's a small ship about to land on the roof." A Navy Trooper said to Tevin.
"How small?" He asked.
"VCX Auxiliary Craft."
"Probably General Syndulla dropping the kids off. The only vans at The Field are cargo vans and one of the Prisoner Wagons." Tevin said and went to the roof. He got off the elevator as Hera landed the Phantom III.
"Where's Jacen?"
"Flatbush Avenue is closed between Linden and Nostrand. The Fire Department is all over one area there."
"Six-alarm blaze on one of the cross streets there. I have to get a radio installed in that minivan so whoever's doing the trip can hear about these things."
"I have to get Thirteen to his job and I'll tell Jacen to move onto his next job."
"He has to pick up Sylvia from her doctor and take her to wherever she wants to go for her lunch. After he picks up her after-lunch snack. Don't ask, I'm sorry I did ask Marcus all those years ago. If Captain Fanes intends to have them released early until this latest First Order matter is disposed of, I'm going to find someone else to pick them up or have the minivan left down there. I got a call from the FAA about this unscheduled flight. I told them that it was Remnant business making it a military flight and hung up on them." Hera grinned as she got back into the Phantom III and took off with Darius. Josh opened his mouth to say something, but stopped after Tevin glared at him.
"Joshua, before you flap your jaws. Consider what part of the building this is."
"I was gonna ask you if you heard anything about Darius' Master." Josh said as the four humans and two droids entered the elevator.
"Why don't you find out. Master Kenobi wants to talk to you anyway. Something about your Jedi Trials." Tevin said.
"They haven't seen Darius with a Lightsaber yet. Nice surprise for Steven and his two bozos when Darius reveals it." Noah said.
"They still don't know that we know what they didn't want us to know about them." Lucy added.
"I talked to Tommy Doyle about having Jamal and Nick hold off on arresting them for murder until we have all the evidence we need and Major Hochster wants Darius and Jamal tailed for some reason. I stopped listening after he said he would surround their neighborhoods with a ring of steel."
"Which means you missed the part about anyone who doesn't belong there will be shot and re-shot. That was Major Hochstetter's thing with his rings of steel." Noah said as they got off the elevator.
"Lucy, Noah, in the kitchen. There's a pizza in there. Josh, go see Master Kenobi. Lucy, make sure you save some of that pizza for Josh." Tevin told them. Meanwhile, Hera landed the Phantom III near where Darius worked and walked with him after sealing it up. Lamar Clarkson was surprised to see Hera.
"Who's this? Did General Felth hire you a new driver?" He asked.
"Hera Syndulla. My son is lost in Brooklyn somewhere."
"Lamar Clarkson. Ezra Bridger mentioned you once or twice. Some Remnant guy was here about ten minutes ago screaming and yelling at me about what I don't know. Then he threatened to put a ring of steel around this neighborhood and shoot people who don't belong here. What is that?" Lamar said as he noticed the Lightsaber that hung off Darius' belt.
"That officer would be Major Hochster and this is my ancestor's Lightsaber which an FBI guy in Chi-Town says belongs to me now. Good thing it wasn't kept in the family, it probably would have been sold for crack money." Darius said.
"Ezra told me about Master Windu too."
"I gotta go get my ship's auxiliary craft out of here before it gets stolen." Hera told them and started to leave.
"Take care." Lamar called.
"See you tomorrow." Darius added. Once Hera was back at the Phantom III, she contacted Lucy knowing that she was more likely to relay the message to Tevin.
"Spectre 2 to Spectre 11."
"I'm here."
"Lucy, tell your dad that a Major Hochster threatened Lamar Clarkson with a ring of steel among other things."
"I will and Noah already mentioned the other part of that ring of steel business. Josh is with Master Kenobi if you're looking for him."
"Thank you. Spectre 2 out."
That evening, Darius began making his way home when he saw Steven along with Billy and Paulie.
"Blast him." Steven shouted as the three pulled their blasters and began firing at Darius who ducked the bolts which struck a number of trash cans. After a minute of this, Steven told his friends to stop firing.
"Hey Steve, wanna know a secret?" Darius called out. The three First Order agents looked at each other and then at Darius confused until he pulled an object out of his pocket and pressed a button revealing a purple blade.
"Focus your fire on the Jedi." Steven said and began firing only to find his shots deflected by Darius. Billy and Paulie soon joined in until Darius Force-pushed them down the street.
"I am one with The Force and The Force is with me." Darius muttered to himself as he deflected blaster bolts. Billy and Paulie soon rushed in only to be disarmed along with Steven as Darius used The Force to pull the blasters out of their hands and slice them into pieces before knocking Steven and his friends to the ground. Darius felt his heart pumping as Remnant vehicles arrived and Stormtroopers got out including Landon and Sergeant Garronly.
"You okay? I heard Jedi fighting with armed subjects and thought Ezra."Landon said to Darius who switched off the Lightsaber and released the Force-hold he had been using to keep his three latest would-be assailants from escaping.
"Let's go. Assume the position." Garronly said to the three as another truck pulled up. Out stepped Major Hochster and his Death Troopers.
"What is this man doing here?" The Major asked Landon as he pointed at Darius.
"Victim again comes to mind." Landon replied.
"Who are you?"
"Captain McKnight. You must be Major Hochster of the RSB."
"Who are these three?"
"First Order agents who are all under arrest."
"I want them unarrested and handed over to me now!"
"Over General Felth's dead body." Darius chimed in causing Garronly to snicker under his helmet and Hochster to glare at Darius.
"What is this man doing here?" Hochster asked Landon through clenched teeth.
"Waiting for someone to take his statement and further instructions. Sergeant, get Darius started on his statement. Preferably in my car."
"Yes, Sir."
"Do you have a bottle of water in your car? My heart's still going from all that." Darius asked Landon which earned another glare from Hochster.
"WHAT IS THIS MAN DOING HERE?!" Hochster shouted at Landon who turned to Garronly.
"Get the thingy out of your Medkit and check his pulse and stuff. Hopefully, you're just hyped from all of this. Garronly, see if you have cold water in your truck too. If not, get one from the bodega. After that, contact General Felth and tell him that Darius is unhurt, three people are in custody, and do I hand them over to RSB no matter how loud the man they sent here screams at me."
"Yes, Sir." Garronly said and led Darius to Landon's car.
"You are completely ignoring me why?"
"I'm following SOP. Which is secure suspects, collect evidence, take witness statements, and then file all the proper reports."
"Captain, I am giving you a direct order to hand those people over to me for full interrogations to be conducted as I see fit. If you do not, you will be arrested, court-martialed for insubordination, and likely executed." Hochster said smugly as Tevin and Lucy arrived.
"Major, what happened here and handling the prisoners are my problems. The First Order is your problem."
"DO NOT TELL ME WHAT IS REMNANT SECURITY BUSINESS!" Hochster shouted.
"You wanna hold down the shouting. People around here are probably trying to sleep or just don't need to hear you screaming." Tevin said.
"Hi." Lucy said.
"He's in my car. Garronly's with him."Landon told Lucy who ran off to check on Darius.
"General, may I ask why you brought your daughter along?" Hochster asked Tevin in a lowered voice.
"She insisted on coming and I was not in the mood to say no to her or argue the point with her. She gets it from her mother."
"Who gets custody of these three? Me or him?" Landon asked Tevin and led him and Hochster over to where his Stormtroopers and Hochster's Death Troopers had Steven, Billy, and Paulie sitting in handcuffs.
"He attacked us." Steven said.
"You might want to exercise your right to remain silent because this is way more then painting graffiti on your school. Captain, make sure these three are read their rights. The charges are two counts of murder, one count of attempted murder, and anything else that can be thought of between here and our office. Major, you will be allowed to question them as soon as they are booked into our facilities. But, I'm going to watch."
"Yes, Sir." Landon said.
"As you wish, General." Hochster added.
"Captain, a moment please." Tevin said to Landon.
"Am I in trouble? He said he was going to have me court-martialed and all that other stuff Noah talks about all the time."
"You're not in trouble as far as I know. When I read your report, I'll have a better idea of what went on between you and him. But, the Major is a lot of hot air and you notice how his demeanor changed when he heard my voice. I won a shouting match with him recently. As for Darius Carpenter, I'll take him back to my place tonight. He'll be safer there then surrounded by one of the Major's rings of steel where a poor take-out delivery man is likely to get shot for doing his job. Also, send a car to check on his grandparents too. Myers has a funny feeling about this whole thing."
"Yes, Sir." Landon said as Tevin went over to Landon's car and read over the statement Darius gave Garronly.
"Looks good. Kids, in the truck." Tevin said to Darius and Lucy.
"What's going on out there?" Kelly Felth asked as Tevin walked into the house with Lucy and Darius behind him.
"RSB thinking they can shout and scream their way into getting what they want."
"If that Ape disrupts dinner in this house one more time. I am going to have him court-martialed, shot, and assigned to Sylvia Duty for the rest of his career."
"Give him Kid Duty. Every time he sees me, he starts screaming at 200 decibels or louder demanding to know why I'm anywhere he is even when I was there first. Either way, Jacen Syndulla will thank you." Darius told her.
"Why is he here?"
"Because the other option involved Hochster putting his entire neighborhood on Lockdown and possibly having anyone who left their home shot on sight." Lucy said with a hint of contempt in her voice. Kelly let it go knowing Lucy's contempt was not for her, but for Hochster and his so-called ring of steel.
"Landon arrested the kid that Intelligence said was on the First Order payroll and his two new pals after they got into a skirmish with Darius. Search incident to arrest revealed that they had his home and work addresses. I have to call Tyler and tell him that they go in Supermax with SAM restrictions. This is now a full blown investigation. I have to go tell Myers about what happened." Tevin said and left the house. Kelly looked at Darius.
"Did you at least eat something before all hell broke loose?" She asked.
"Not really."
"You and Lucy can eat together since she ran out on her dinner after her father who will be joining you two when he gets back."
"Mom, I think it's covered under one of those rules."
"How many of these rules exist?" Darius asked.
"No idea. They're not written down anywhere in the office that I know of. The list is probably in the Myers' basement somewhere."
"The contents of Michael's basement are classified and I am sure that not even Major Hochster would be allowed down there." Tevin told them as he walked back in.
"What did he say? By the way, here's your dinner. You can eat with them." Kelly said.
"He said Abernathy has no rights as far as he's concerned, but he'll talk to the President before proceeding further." Tevin told the three as the phone rang.
"That better not be Darnell."
"It shouldn't be. Erica's on-call." Tevin said as Kelly answered the phone.
"Hello. He's having dinner because he ran out of here while I was standing over a stove. What's going on? We don't know how many more are out there and what info they have. There is no need for that. He can leave his troopers there, but no ring of steel, no having food deliveries shot on sight, and no shouting or screaming unless he wants to be hit over the head with a frying pan or worse. Bye Landon." Kelly said and hung up the phone.
"My grandparents okay?" Darius asked.
"Yeah. We're leaving our troops in the area overnight." Kelly replied as Josh, Noah, and BB-8 came in.
"What do you two want and why is BB-8 following you?" Tevin asked.
"Dad sent us over and BB-8 is programmed to follow us." Josh replied.
"We heard you guys had a cake and wanted some before Sylvia shows up and takes the whole thing." Noah added.
"This has nothing to do with me being here?" Darius asked.
"You didn't tell us he was here." Josh said to Lucy.
"You three don't eavesdrop on phone calls like one of our droids does."
"Where are our droids?" Tevin asked.
"Chris and Justin are tormenting 3PO and I think R2 is with them. R9's in the garage plugged into his charger."
"What did Master Kenobi want with you earlier?" Lucy asked Josh.
"I have my Trials during the summer and Ezra is going to be teaching Darius whatever he doesn't already know about The Force once a few things are figured out. Jacen has enough to do during the day as it is between driving us from school, driving Sylvia around, the Vican Run and all the other odd jobs."
"Why is Sylvia allowed to use one of our vehicles?" Kelly asked.
"Because she'll grow a tumor somewhere, develop a rash somewhere, or any other number of guilt tactics that worked on Joe. Besides, Hera said it gives Jacen something to do during the day when the Vican Run isn't on the schedule. Speaking of Jacen Syndulla, I'm gonna ask Michael if he wants to keep you four at the office all day or what until this latest First Order matter is cleared up even though those three are in custody." Tevin said.
"Steven and his pals are locked up? Bail Reform will probably have them out of jail with their goodie baskets by the morning." Noah told everyone.
"Last I knew, Bail Reform doesn't apply to what they're being charged with. Treason, two murders, an attempted murder, and who knows what else. They will never see the outside world again." Kelly explained.
"He'll squeal if he thinks it will help him at sentencing time." Lucy added.
The next morning, Steven was placed in an interrogation room. In the observation room, Darius watched himalong with Lucy and Tevin.
"What are we waiting for?" Darius asked.
"I got Major Hochster wrapped around my finger now. He knows he will not be able to intimidate me." Tevin replied as the Major walked into the observation room.
"Why are they here?" He asked.
"I asked them to be here."
"Bah." Hochster said and walked into the interrogation room. Steven looked at the Major confused.
"I am Major Hochster of the Remnant Security Bureau. You will tell me everything you know about the First Order."
"Yeah right." Steven sneered.
"The RSB can make things very uncomfortable for you. We have ways of making you talk. We have a special cell for people like you. It's not big enough to stand up in, and it is not big enough to lie down in. During the days, the temperature is 140 degrees, and at night, it is below freezing. Then, if you still won't talk, you will be starved and tortured until you do talk. The RSB considers you an enemy spy and you are subject to summary execution at the decree of the President or other person authorized to make that decision."
"Bite me."
"We already know you have a direct line to one Brendol Hux. The Israelis executed his son last year after he was captured by them during your failed invasion of the planet Lothal. We still have the transcript of that call. A call in which you are informed that an operation to extract you from this planet is not going to happen. What we want to know is who is The Leader? What is The Project? And what operation is being planned that makes them unable to collect you?" In the other room, Darius looked at Lucy and Tevin.
"I thought we knew all of that." He said.
"We know some of it. We want to know more." Tevin explained as a trooper brought him a folder. Tevin looked at it and walked into the interrogation room.
"Major, read this. More bad news for you. You are now on the hook for three murders."
"You can't prove anything." Steven said.
"I suspect the order to terminate your life is on its way to the President's desk right now unless we start feeling the spirit of cooperation real soon. Now tell us what we want to know and tell me what your problem with Darius Carpenter is. I've been told the entire story except for the motive behind that. When you went after him a couple of weeks ago, you went after my daughter too and I don't take kindly to that. You're just lucky I'm not a violent person by nature. Don't look at him, I outrank him." Tevin snapped at Steven who looked at Hochster.
"What's she doing with that thing anyway? Doesn't she know where he's been and who he's slept with?" Steven asked Tevin who responded by leaving the room giving Hochster one final order as he did.
"Major, put him in his cell before I feel like killing him myself." In the other room, Tevin simply threw his arms around Lucy and Darius in a group hug.
"You've become part of the family over the past year." Tevin told Darius as Hochster and his Death Troopers took Steven away.