Chapter 2
Ten Igaroids. Two Rangers; one of whom was unable to transform. Long odds, but that's part of the job.
"Crap!" Brendan fought off the aliens as best he could. Even with a transformed DekaBreak dishing out lefts, rights, and whatever else his Brace Throttle could throw at them, they were outnumbered.
"This is NOT what I signed up for." Brendan heaved an Igaroid toward the others, hoping to buy a few seconds. "A little help here." He shouted into his license. "We're out manned…. Dammit!" He quickly ducked a hail of fire from an Igamagnum, and swore some more.
"Emergency, Dekaranger!"
Small wonders…
The trio, already in full S.W.A.T. mode, burst on the scene and the odds quickly evened up. While still dodging the occasional blast, Brendan quickly scooted around the firefight and into the construction area. Since he was of almost no use in combat, he might as well use his other skills to gather any information he could. He was willing to gamble that there was more to this than just a late-night raid for extra two-by-fours and sheet metal.
He took images of everything: the half-full truck, the dock doors with their telltale blast marks. The more he looked around, the more it looked like a typical B&E, but the motive was as clear as mud.
"If this was New Tech, I'd know exactly what the plan was…"
But this wasn't New Tech City. This was Japan, halfway around the world in both geography and motivations.
Brendan shook his head, and continued to gather info. He'd log it all in when he got back to the Dekabase. He was only aware that the fight was over when his heightened senses made him realize that there were people behind him.
"You know, it's not a good idea to sneak up on an S.P.D. undercover officer." He said, tucking his license into his pocket. "We tend to be a little trigger happy."
He could feel someone staring holes through the back of his head. He had a good idea who, but more animosity from DekaBlue was near the bottom of his list of things he cared about just then.
He rode back in silence with Tetsu, who seemed to know that talking wasn't a good idea.
"I'll debrief the others." Tetsu stated
Miyake nodded. He had a call to make, and a tech person to ream.
He first went to talk to Swan. She was awake and at her desk.
"So…"
"Let me see the license." She said, half-asleep but fully formal.
Brendan shrugged, tossing it over.
She looked at him for a moment, and then at the license, and then rolled her eyes. She mouthed something that wouldn't pass censors in either country.
"What'd you do wrong?"
Swan turned and looked over her glasses at him. "When you tried to transform, you used the Dekaranger call, right?"
"Yeah." Brendan replied "Obviously. You reprogrammed it for your tech, right?"
She shook her head. "I didn't change the vocal call out. I assumed you wouldn't know the new call."
"You mean…"
"Use your old call." She threw it back to him and grumbled something about how she wanted to get back to sleep.
Muttering a few choice words, Brendan left and walked in the direction of the Dekaroom. He could hear a very lively discussion when he was still at the other end of the corridor. He figured it was just the briefing until he started being able to make out individual voices.
"Boss, he can't even transform correctly. He's not a professional and should not be here." Hoji's voice was the most distinct.
"That's what you said about Ban." Sen-chan interjected "Things worked out between the two of you…"
"That's different."
"Nonsense." Tetsu interrupted "You have to give him a chance."
"He needs to be transferred." Hoji pounded the edge of Kruger's desk.
Kruger growled. "He is an important part of our team right now and nothing will change that. Either accept it or maybe YOU need a change of scenery."
"How about I save you the trouble?" Brendan stormed in.
Hoji turned suddenly. Everyone else looked back and forth between the pair. Even Kruger seemed to anticipate something going down.
His SPD jacket hastily thrown down, Brendan went right up to Hoji and grabbed him by his uniform.
"I've only been here a couple days, but I can tell when someone doesn't want me around." He said, pulling Hoji close. Their noses were now only an inch apart. "Everyone else seems to understand why I'm here except you."
Hoji sneered.
"I am one of the best undercover agents on this planet, regardless of what anyone, including you," He growled right in Hoji's face. "any of you," He turned slightly to look at everyone else in the room. "or my former boss thinks."
"Stand down, both of you!" Kruger barked "This is exactly what I did not want to happen. Hoji, your actions are totally unprofessional, but you have been with Earth branch longer than the others. For the sake of unity, I will defer to your request."
Hoji smirked.
"I will talk to Numa-O and see what can be done about transferring Bren somewhere he feels he CAN work."
"Perfect." Hoji whispered
"Fine with me too." Brendan hissed. "Until patrol, I'll be my quarters. I assume DekaBreak has briefed you on last night's surveillance."
Before he could receive an answer, he grabbed his jacket and was at the door. "By the way… SPD Emergency!" He transformed right in front of them.
…
He only powered down after he'd returned to his room and lay down, waiting for the adrenaline rush to disperse. Once his body stopped shaking, he used his license to make a call back to his old HQ.
"Commander Tate's office, please."
He drummed his remaining fingers against his knee while he waited for his call to be connected.
"SPD. Commander Tate speaking…"
"Hey, Sky. It's Brendan."
A noticeable pause.
"I guess you didn't expect to hear from me so soon, eh?" Brendan chuckled
"To be honest, I didn't think I'd ever hear from you again." Tate answered, while pushing a button on his desk to close his office door.
"After what you did to me, could you blame me?" Brendan replied
"You left me no choice." Sky replied
"You could've moved me to another squad instead of another city."
"I hated to lose you, but my hands were tied. Bridge went over my head." Sky answered "Of all the people to fall in love with…"
"Let's not re-hash that." Brendan answered "So I guess asking to come back is out of the question?"
"Unless Bridge suddenly retires, then you're stuck over there."
"Shit… not what I wanted to hear." Brendan sighed
"It's that bad." Sky said, more as a statement than an inquiry.
"Megalopolis isn't what it's cracked up to be."
"Hm?"
"I got people I have to work with who don't want me around, a tech department that almost got me killed, your boss' doppelganger as my current boss... should I continue?"
"I get your point, but unfortunately I can't do anything for you from here." Sky answered
"Oh well. I think my new boss is gonna try to help me out. I was just wondering if there was a chance."
"Brendan, listen. You're a great guy, an excellent officer, but you do have an attitude problem." Sky answered "I'll talk to your new boss and see if we can find some way to accommodate you. What's his name?"
Brendan snickered. "Kruger."
"I'm trying to help you, Miyake. Now is not the time for joking around."
"I wish I was. It must be a common name on Sirius. I swear. Check the Earth Branch database if you don't believe me."
"The scary thing is I do believe you. A liar, you are not." Sky replied
Over the line, Brendan could hear Sky typing while they spoke. Maybe checking the classified ads, he thought.
"There. I've set up an appointment with Numa-O. Try not to be too much of a jerk until we sort this out, okay?"
"Yes, sir." Brendan said, relieved that he still had one person on his side.
"Tate out."
As soon as he ended the call, Brendan felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him. He wanted nothing more than to sleep. Hours, days, weeks, or even longer sounded real good right them. He stripped down and climbed into bed and was out within minutes.
He awoke from a really weird series of dreams to a gnawing in his stomach. He always awoke hungry, and it was even worse if he'd dreamed of anything related to food.
No indications of messages on his phone, so he quickly dressed in his uniform and left his room. Everyone seemed to be going about their daily business, and it was very easy to leave the Dekabase without a whole lot of questions being asked. That was one thing that was different from the SPD headquarters: security was tight, but it wasn't as stifling as he'd been used to. He didn't have to fill out a fifty-page (so it seemed) questionnaire just to go out for something to eat.
He walked quickly through the streets of Megalopolis, trying not to think too hard about the events of earlier, and also trying to remember where this all-you-can-eat sushi and sake bar was that he'd passed on the way back to the base.
Eventually, he found the place. Brendan walked in, and felt really out of place in his uniform. This looked like your basic blue-collar bar, complete with a lot of what might be called 'rough trade' back home. He wondered how many of them were human, and how many were actually aliens. A few heads turned when he entered, but meh.
If the hostess was surprised to see him, she didn't show it either. She simply showed him to a table in a back corner (his request) and brought him a menu.
"No need. Just a bottle of your strongest sake and I'll start with the 50 piece platter."
She bowed and left to place his order. While he waited, he scanned the bar for any signs that someone there might have something to do with the events of the previous day. No one stood out.
"Too much to hope for."
It was ten or fifteen minutes before the waitress returned with his entire order.
"Here you are, sir. There are two gentlemen who just arrived who'd like to know if they can join you." She pointed to the entrance.
Brendan looked where she pointed. Tetsu and Sen-chan were waiting. They waved when they saw that they had his attention.
"I guess." He said, without any enthusiasm. So much for a quiet evening before patrol.
They were waved over.
"How'd you find me?" He asked before either DekaGreen or DekaBreak could speak.
"He had an epiphany." Tetsu pointed to the other.
"Whatever that means." Brendan said, gruffly, his mouth full of sushi. "Is this a social call or do you need something?"
"May we sit, Aibo?"
"It's still a free country." Brendan reached for another piece and his sake cup at the same time.
"We'd just like to say that Hoji doesn't speak for all of us." Tetsu stated
Sen nodded. "We'd really like you to consider staying on."
"Between Blue and the boss, I don't think that is going to happen." Brendan answered, grabbing more of the food. "They both made their choices pretty clear."
"Kruger is pretty big on the whole team dynamics idea." Sen said, eyeing the plate of fish. Bren rolled his own eyes and gestured toward it in a 'go ahead' kind of motion. "He only wants what's best for the Dekarangers."
"It didn't seem like he wanted to give me much of chance after Hoji was finished bad-mouthing me."
Tetsu and Sen looked at each other.
"We can talk to Boss for you, if that will help. He will listen to us." Sen answered; Tetsu nodding in agreement.
"Look." Brendan interjected "I appreciate what you're trying to do, but let's face facts. You guys did a hell of a job before I came along and you'll probably do the same once I'm outta here. I called my old boss and between him and Kruger, it should be sooner rather than later. Let's make the period between those two events drama-free, okay?"
Tetsu and Sen looked at each other. Brendan's response was not what they were expecting.
"And right now, that means I am going to finish my sake and several more plates of this excellent sushi before it is time for us to go on our patrol. If you promise not to keep bothering me about my future as a Dekaranger, you're both welcome to join me."
Tetsu sat down immediately. After no time, Sen also sat.
They ate as much sushi as was legally allowed and drank just enough to still be able to go to work.
At the door, Sen split and returned to the Dekabase in Machine Bull. The other two drove to the rendez-vous point in Machine Husky.
"Any idea why we're patrolling the same area?" Brendan asked
Tetsu shrugged. "Orders."
"A bit odd, don'tcha think?"
"You crushed the Igaroids last night. Whoever is running this operation would be really stupid to raid the same spot twice."
"Alienizers are not really smart sometimes." Tetsu answered
"Sometimes? I've read a few of your case files. How about we take a detour and check out a few other spots?" Brendan asked when they stopped at the next red light.
Tetsu turned his head. "You sure?"
Brendan pointed to his watch. "We've got a few minutes before we have to relieve Hoji and Jasmine. What do we have to lose?"
Tetsu scratched his neck. "What if Kruger…?
"I'll take the rap if shit goes down. What's he gonna do, fire me twice?" Brendan called up a map on his license.
"If you say so." Tetsu sighed. He really didn't like Brendan's idea, but his logic was making sense.
"Hey, there's another rebuild less than two blocks from here." Brendan pointed to a dot on the screen, and then did something that completely shocked DekaBreak.
"Boss, it's Bren-san."
"Bren-san… what is going on? You're out of position."
"Tetsu and I are just checking out a possible Alienizer sighting. Tell Hoji and Jasmine we'll be there as soon as we clear the site." Brendan answered "Bren-san out."
Tetsu slammed on his brakes. "Okay, I can understand what you're thinking, but Dekarangers don't lie to their boss. Ever."
"I wouldn't call it lying. Just being a little discreet with the truth."
"Nonsense."
"Fine. You go watch the same boring piles of lumber and I'll check this place out. Maybe one of us will get lucky."
Before Tetsu could come up with another reason why this was also a bad idea, Brendan was out of the car and running down in street. In less than a minute, he was swallowed up by the darkness.
Tetsu slammed the wheel… and jumped out of the car, following Brendan into the night.
…
Deka, Deka, Deka, Deka, Dekaranger…
*Tetsu is standing outside the bathroom looking anxious, Umeko walks over, carrying her bath items*
Umeko: Is he still in there?
Tetsu: *tapping his foot* He's been in there for a long time. NONSENSE!
*Umeko goes to the door and listens, then knocks loudly*
"Let me in!"
*There is no answer, so she destroys the lock with her SP shooter.*
"I told you that I get first use of the bathtub after shift…"
*There are sounds of a scuffle, a splash, and what is probably three rubber ducks being assaulted. Bren-san flies though the doorway, and slams against the opposite wall, wearing only a towel and a copious amount of soap suds.*
*Tetsu instinctively covers his eyes.*
"At least can I have my clothes back?" *Brendan tries to open the door. It's somehow locked again.*
"My bath! Go!"
*Brendan's uniform is shoved into his chest, almost causing him to lose his towel, but his wet feet slip on the floor and he ends up on his butt.*
"Women!"
*Tetsu tries not to laugh.* "I warned you."
TBC:
Anyone know why an Alienizer would send ground troops to raid construction sites? And what of Brendan's future with the Dekarangers? Furthermore, when will this story justify the M rating? The answers to some of those questions coming soon.