In his office, overlooking the city, Arthur Winchester had poured himself some brandy when the elevator doors opened and Spike Mike stepped out with his Vice President and his Sergeant at Arms. Arthur didn't even turn from the window as he observed the city.
"It pains me, at times, you know?" He asked. "I look out at all this, and all I see is boundless potential. So much waste, so many things that could..."
"You done?" Spike Mike asked. Arthur turned around, glaring at him.
"I just want to see the resources of this city used to their fullest." He said to him. "This world is full of backwards people who just drag their heels..."
"Do I look like the kind of guy that gives a shit about this stuff?" Spike Mike said to him, accepting the folder from his Sergeant at Arms. "Save the manifesto. As long as I can have a cold beer and gas up my Harley, I'm a happy man."
"Is that it?" Arthur asked. Spike Mike just nodded.
"Everything." He told him. "And the broad was sent a message too, just like we promised."
Arthur went to take the file, but Spike Mike pulled it away.
"I didn't get where I did by just handing stuff over. I don't think you did either." Spike Mike told him. "I have what we promised, but I don't see Eli anywhere."
"I'll get him..."
"Then go get him!" He replied. Arthur just pursed his lips impatiently, wringing his hands. He was not someone who took kindly to being told no.
"There are a lot of moving parts here!" He informed him. "It's not like he's in county lockup. My lawyers told me that Grid Battleforce claimed jurisdiction."
"Don't you own that?" Spike Mike asked him.
"I can't exactly open the doors and let you walk in!" He protested.
"Look, we made a deal. We've done our part, now we expect you to do yours." Spike Mike replied. "Otherwise, we might find someone who wants this a little more than you do."
"I'm working on it!" Arthur snapped. Spike Mike went to a soft, leather couch and flopped down into it, pulling out a cigar. He lit it up, flicking the match across the room.
"Work faster." Spike Mike told him. Arthur got his phone out and dialled.
In the Cyber Dimension, Blaze, Roxy and Scrozzle had been summoned before Evox. The virus was furious about their latest failure. The plan seemed to be working; they were close, so close he could almost feel himself gaining control of a body that would allow him to take back control of this world. They were all kneeling before him as he thrashed around, his body still glitching, his source code struggling to reform him after being violently expelled from Steel's body.
"FAILURES! I am surrounded by FAILURES!" Evox screamed.
"But Master, everything was working perfectly! The Rangers..."
"Your machine was a FAILURE!" Evox yelled at him. Even now, his ego would not allow him to even contemplate that there was any failure on his part. He had been uploading into Steel, he felt himself starting to enter his systems, working on his electronic mind, and yet something inside him pushed back with a power far greater than he could possibly have expected. Evox had infected many systems, broken through numerous security systems, but with Steel, he just couldn't quite get himself fortified inside and displace him. No, he couldn't have failed, he was too strong. It had to be Scrozzle's machine that didn't have the power to force him through. "You will fix it..."
"But Master...the Cyber Gate has been destroyed!" Scrozzle whimpered, showing him some footage from the warehouse. "The feedback must have blown it up! Grid Battleforce have transferred the pieces to an unknown location, there's nothing left!"
"FOOLS!" Evox yelled, glitching so severely that he almost left existence altogether. He realised he needed to ease the strain on his data. "I must regroup. I leave YOU to find a way to correct your mistakes!"
With that, he disappeared back inside the super computer. They all got up, at which Scrozzle looked to the avatars.
"Well, I think it's clear where the..."
"Oh, don't even try it!" Roxy warned him.
"Yeah, this was your show. We were just bit-part players." Blaze pointed out. "You were the lead on this. Just take your responsibility with a little dignity."
With that, they both turned and walked away. As they left, Blaze turned and marched off one way, while Roxy went another. Scrozzle just headed for his workshop.
"I can't fail another master." He grumbled. "I need to think of something and fast!"
In Grid Battleforce headquarters, Commander Shaw was directing the search for Eli. They'd put out the APB, hoping that they would get at least some sight of him before anything got too out of hand. Eli had escaped from custody, he had to know that by now people would be looking for him, and it wasn't looking like he had much intention of surrendering peacefully.
"This city has one of the most comprehensive surveillance systems in the world, what could be taking so long?" Zoey grumbled. Commander Shaw just looked to her.
"It there's one thing I've learned about the Reeves family, it's that they're resourceful." She told the Yellow Ranger.
Just then, the door opened and some men in suits arrived, one of them carrying a briefcase. She got up from her chair, looking outraged.
"This is a restricted area!" She stated. "Who let you in here?"
"The man that owns a significant share of it." The man with the briefcase said, handing over a card. "Daniel McMillan..."
"A lawyer?" She asked as she saw the card. "What's the meaning of this?"
"Mr Winchester heard that you've taken custody of a man that was caught breaking into the recycling plant." Daniel told her. She just nodded.
"That is correct." She told him, holding up a hand as Zoey was about to interject. Zoey didn't know why she didn't just tell them that Eli wasn't there. He handed over a document.
"Mr Winchester is committed to rehabilitation. He doesn't see any value in pursuing a prosecution." Daniel told her. "He's dropping all charges against Mr Reeves..."
"He's dropping the charges?" She asked. Zoey again moved to interject, but a look from Commander Shaw was all it took to keep her quiet. It was clear that she wanted to know why they suddenly no longer wanted to prosecute Eli.
"Yes, his instructions are that he is to be released immediately." Daniel told her. "As long as he turns over anything he may have procured from the site, we're happy to send him on his way with a warning."
Now it made sense. They didn't care about Eli at all, only the documents he might have had with him. They had already discredited the story Muriel had run on him, if they took those documents too, then they could effectively bury everything. She took a deep breath.
"He didn't have anything on him." She lied outright. "And I'm afraid Mr Reeves is going nowhere."
Zoey looked confused. The lawyer wanted him released, and now Commander Shaw had lied to him and indicated he was still on the base! The lawyer looked to her.
"My client is most insistent." He told her. "Release the prisoner."
"I'm afraid it's not that simple." Commander Shaw told him. "He's not been the most co-operative prisoner."
"But the charges are being dropped!" Daniel laughed. "There's no reason to hold him..."
"He has committed other offences while he was incarcerated, and we're pursuing them." She told him.
"What offences?" He asked her.
"He has assaulted members of my staff, myself included." She told him. Zoey looked to her in alarm. The bruises on her face were pretty hard to miss. She was saying Eli had done that?
"Release the prisoner!" He told her. "Otherwise my client may well have to reconsider how things are run here!"
"Your client is free to do whatever he wants." Commander Shaw told her. "I'm filing the charges. I will not tolerate assaults against my staff by anyone, no matter how 'insistent' your client is!"
"Are you really sure you want to do this?" Daniel asked her. Commander Shaw looked to the security staff.
"Escort these men the hell off my base." She told them. As they were being led away, Daniel turned back pointing at her.
"You're going to regret this!" He warned her. As they were taken away, Zoey went to her.
"Commander Shaw, why didn't you tell them Eli's not here?" She asked her. Commander Shaw just sighed and looked to her.
"Zoey, what do you know about your brother's time in the military?" She asked her. Zoey just looked to her confused. She gestured around the room. "Clear the room, now! Send in the Rangers!"
As everyone else left, Zoey suddenly felt very nervous. Commander Shaw put a hand on her shoulder.
"Zoey, this only makes me believe that we're not the only ones looking for your brother." She told her. "You already know that his club was behind the attack on your mother."
"Yeah?" She asked. "They have some beef with him..."
"What I'm about to tell you can't go beyond this room." She interrupted her. "I believe they wanted your brother released so that his club could find him. I believe his life is in danger."
In another area of the city, Eli was in the parking lot behind a convenience store, sitting on his bike, keeping an eye out as he waited. It had taken a while for him to put out feelers in the city, but once he knew that it had Blue Crew connections, it made things a little easier. The Bastards had dealt with them enough over the years, selling them weapons in order to take advantage of their distribution network that he had some idea how they operated. A little asking around and he got a phone number.
A dark blue sedan rolled into the parking lot, parking up nearby. Two men in brightly coloured leather jackets and denims got out. Eli checked each way, before walking up to them.
"You got the hardware?" Eli asked him.
"Just what you asked for." The man said, opening the trunk of his car. There was a case inside, which Eli opened. "Glock, suppresser and three clips. No serial numbers, no papers, no trail."
"Good." Eli replied. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to take it on credit."
"Credit?" He laughed. "What do you think this is? Some kind of charity?"
"I think I know my club's been keeping your boys in hardware now for years." Eli told him. "I was hoping for a little bit of courtesy."
The guy thought about it for a moment, before closing up the case and locking it, handing it to Eli.
"Wait until we're out of the parking lot before ditching the case." He said. "You better not pull this shit again. That piece ain't cheap!"
"It's very much appreciated." Eli replied, watching as they got back into their car and drove away. He pulled the gun, the suppressor and the clips out of the case. He put one clip into the pistol, before putting it in his denims and headed to his Harley, before pulling away.
In the car, the two men had stopped a little way down the street. One of them pulled out his cell phone and dialled.
"Spike? That nomad you're looking for?" He asked. "He contacted me looking for a piece just like you asked. Corner of Flores and Lynn."
"Thanks for the information." Spike Mike replied, hanging up. He looked to Arthur, who just shrugged.
"Looks like he's been cut loose." Arthur told them.
"No thanks to your guys." Spike Mike told him. "You get the file once I have Eli at my feet with a hole in his skull and not a second sooner."
In the Cyber Dimension, Roxy was heading to one of her favourite locations. It gave her a little privacy while the others were busy with their various schemes. Blaze had disappeared, while Scrozzle was in his workshop, working on trying to figure out a new scheme to try and get back in Evox's good graces.
She had a look around, making sure she hadn't been followed, before crouching by some rocks.
"It's such a shame about your Cyber Gate Scrozzie, such a sad loss." She said as she reached into a hollow in the rock face, pulling out the Neural Aligner and looking to it with a smile. "But, at least I got the bit I need!"
Back at Grid Battleforce headquarters, the search for Eli was ongoing. They were getting numerous reports and sightings, but by the time a team got there, they found nothing. Nate was sitting by her side, his heart breaking to see her going through this. He knew there was history between her and Eli, but it was clear that she still cared for him and didn't want to see him in danger. Her hands were shaking in her lap, and even despite the worry in his gut how she would take it, he couldn't help reaching out and taking her hands.
She saw him take her hands, and his warm, soft grip soothed her somewhat. She still could only think of all the horrible things that could happen to him. She looked to him, seeing him looking at her sympathetically, and she was glad he was there. Joanne looked up from a computer.
"Commander, there's something on the police scanner!" She told them. "Gunfire and an explosion have just been reported at Winchester Towers!"
"Contact local PD, tell them to pull back! Tell them it's a military matter!" She told them, getting to her feet.
"You don't think...?"
"If my brother's involved, I wouldn't put it past him." Zoey said regretfully. "Commander...?"
"You don't even need to ask!" She replied. "Go!"
With that, the Rangers all got up and ran out of the room, heading for the transport garage. When they got down there, every troop Grid Battleforce had that wasn't needed on the base was arming up and getting into vehicles. The Rangers all got into one vehicle, Ravi behind the wheel.
"Step on it Ravi." Devon told him, at which they sped out of the garage.
At the foot of the tower, Eli arrived, speeding onto the sidewalk out front of the building. He'd heard a blast and some gunfire a couple of streets away. When he got there, he found the ground floor with almost every window blown apart, broken glass scattered everywhere. Some concrete was scorched and there was still some smoke billowing out.
"What in the Hell?" He asked. He pulled out his Glock, screwing the suppressor onto the end, abandoning his bike and running up to the door. He was hoping to at least try and do this quietly. Once he'd heard that the club were behind the attack on his mom, it all fell into place. If she was investigating Winchester, the odds were anything she had on him would be brought here. Presuming it hadn't already been destroyed, it would be in his office. Unfortunately, it looked like someone else had already attacked the building.
He got to a pillar, pressing his back against it, glancing around. It was hard to see, all but the emergency lighting was out, and there was still some smoke hanging in the air. He headed in, rushing from cover to cover. Inside, he could see an incredible scene. Winchester had his own security, virtually his own private army, but as he got inside, he found people lying all around. Whoever had attacked them had come through them like a hurricane. There were bullet holes all around the walls, but tellingly none on the people lying on the floor. The bullet holes hadn't come from whoever attacked them, it was defensive fire. Pretty desperate defensive fire by the looks of things, like they couldn't see or keep track of whoever had attacked them.
He ran to the other end of the lobby, finding the stairs. The building was tall, the tallest in the city, but he knew that using the elevators was tactical suicide. He found the door, before kicking it open and heading inside. He quickly swept the bottom of the stairwell and up the stairs, before beginning to climb.
A little way from him, Blaze watched him starting to go up and smiled.