The "Constabulary" that King Max was referring to was none other than the Royal Mobian Constabulary – RMC for short – the national military state police force of the Kingdom of Mobius. Under ordinary circumstances, its 60,480 sworn members patrolled the various highways and settlements of Mobius or used their investigative skills to solve various crimes that occurred throughout the country. However, they could also be deployed around the world in high-risk situations such as hostage crises, and that was what Lieutenant I Armand Homewood and his team were assigned for. Homewood was leading a convoy in his unmarked Catalina Blue 1975 Chevy Blazer 4x4. The rest of the convoy included two Cadillac Gage V-100 armored cars and an M813 cargo truck, all three painted in MERDC camo.

The convoy came to a stop outside the Biltwell Hotel in Downtown Emerald City, where Homewood – a gray eagle – got out of his Blazer, and twelve Constables dismounted from the back of the M813. Most had Uzi or MP5 submachine guns, but a couple had CAR-15 carbines, and four had Remington 700 sniper rifles. All the Constables were wearing the standard Deployment uniform of the RMC, each including a navy blue BDU, black leather combat boots, a black ballistic tactical vest, black ballistic elbow and knee pads, a black single-hole balaclava and an M17 gas mask, the last one not being required for the snipers. The people in the hotel got quite the surprise as Homewood and his Constables entered the hotel. After all, armed military personnel weren't a common sight here. Nevertheless, the receptionist – a magenta giraffe – kept her composure as Homewood and the Constables approached the front desk.

"Can I help you?" asked the receptionist.

Homewood flashed his wallet badge. "Lieutenant 1st Grade Armand Homewood, Royal Mobian Constabulary. We need to borrow one of your meeting rooms."

"Certainly. None of our meeting rooms are being used at the moment, so help yourselves."

"Thank you."

Homewood and the rest of the Constables proceeded to the largest meeting room they could possibly secure, where Homewood took off his gas mask and balaclava and laid out a bunch of planning materials on the table such as maps, diagrams and the like.

"OK, troops," said Homewood, "we've already gone over the basics of the situation, so it's time we set up our forward command post here and…"

"'Scuse me for bargin' in, dudes, but I got some important info for ya!"

As it turned out, Sonic's Hedgehog Sense had alerted him to the convoy, and he had covertly followed them in.

"Hey, what are you doing here!?" said Homewood. "This meeting room is for authorized personnel only!"

Sonic put one of his hands out, palm up. "Look, I dig the whole 'top secret' jazz, but lemme lay this on ya: I'm Sonic the Hedgehog, world's greatest hero, The Fastest…"

"I know who you are, but you just can't barge in! You're only a civilian!

"Only a civilian? Well, lemme give ya a nickel's worth of intel: I'm the only Mobian athlete to have escaped the terrorists' grasp! I'm here to help you cats take 'em down and save my friends!"

"We appreciate your offer, Sonic, but this is our mission. We can't have your blood on our hands!"

"Oh yeah? Need I remind ya that I know the Olympic Village by heart and that I can give ya the buzz on all the possible escape routes?"

Homewood looked into Sonic's emerald green eyes. On one hand, he was committed to doing his job, but on the other hand, the Blue Blur's smiling face was just too cute for many – if any – people to resist. Homewood sighed.

"All right…we accept your offer. Just stay out of our line of fire, OK?"

Sonic gave a thumbs up. "You got it, my man!"

"Now then, tell us what you know about the layout."

"Tell ya? Man, I can show ya better! Here…"

Sonic reached for the spines on the back of his head and pulled out a rolled-up floor plan of the Olympic Village that Tails had given him, which he unrolled on the table.

"OK, this floor plan should tell you cats everything ya need to know about the Olympic Village," said Sonic. "I can even point out where the terrorists got in."

With the floor plan of the Olympic Village fresh in their minds, the twelve Constables piled back into the M813, and one of the V-100s drove off to escort it. Meanwhile, Sonic – who had put on a Deployment uniform from his disguise bag – was covertly following the two rigs until they came to a stop on a side street a couple blocks away from the Olympic Village. While the Constables were taking up positions around the place without being seen, the Blue Blur entered the Dauntless Financial building, and after breaking into the service elevator, he took up a position on the rooftop and elected to observe the Olympic Village, using his watch communicator to listen in on the RMC's radio traffic. His Hedgehog Sense pointed out at least two terrorists on separate balconies, one of whom appeared to be carrying an RPG-7. A radio transmission from Constable I Steven Buchanan confirmed this:

"Command, this is Charlie One Three. Have a visual on two tangos on the balconies, over."

"Roger, Charlie One Three. Hold all fire until all tangos are at the airport. Command out."

In spite of this, Sonic had faith in the Constabulary and was willing to let them do much of the work, only stepping in if things got really desperate.

"Good morning, Sonic."

"What the…!?" Sonic swung around and got into a fighting stance, only to see Espio behind him, so he spread his hands out in confusion instead. "Espio, how'd ya know I was up here…and how'd ya know it was me?"

"Your scent is unmistakable, even in that Constabulary uniform."

Sonic shrugged. "Well, that serves me right for havin' chili dogs all the time. Now riddle me this: how'd ya escape from the terrorists?"

"You seem to forget that as a chameleon, I can camouflage myself from their presence."

Sonic rubbed the back of his head. "Right. Anyways, now that we're yappin', we gotta agree on some sort of plan here."

"Please, do tell me yours first."

"Personally, I was thinkin' of hangin' back and lettin' the Constabulary do most of the grunt work…that is, unless things get real heavy."

"While I too have faith in the Constabulary's performance, I have a vested interest not only in preserving the lives of our friends, but making sure that the men and women involved in carrying out this rescue operation can return to their loved ones once their shifts conclude. Besides, I went to Acorn International Airport earlier and spotted some suspicious-looking humans in the terminal."

"And how do ya know they'll be goin' there?"

"I've heard about how people like this operate. If my estimations are correct, this seems like a very likely destination for them and their hostages. Besides, it also offers service to Nakagrad, the Roseinian capital."

"Hey man, if the terrorists are goin' to the airport, then by all means go ahead and ice anybody in the terminal who makes ya feel funny! Meanwhile, I'm gonna hop the fence, take the runway and charge into whatever plane the terrorists are gonna put our friends in, know what I'm sayin'?"

"While I will let you go along with your end of the plan, I must insist on checking out the runway to confirm what plane our friends and the terrorists will be boarding."

Sonic gave a thumbs up. "OK, fair enough! Let's do it to it, then! Here, you'll need one of these, too…"

Sonic attempted to hand a General Electric MPR portable radio to Espio, but the latter turned him down:

"Thank you, but I have a smartphone on me, and I still have your contact information."

Sonic put the radio back on his belt. "If ya say so."

"Now, if you have nothing else to say, I must head for the airport. Itte kimasu."

Espio jumped off of the building and headed for the airport, while Sonic continued to observe the Olympic Village. For a time, nothing of note happened. Then, Homewood chimed in with another transmission:

"All teams, this is Command. Two city buses have been commissioned and are heading to the village to pick up the tangos and the hostages. Do not, I say again, DO NOT attempt to sneak onboard the buses. A helo has been dispatched to track them. Command out."

Some time after Homewood's transmission, Sonic saw two GM New Look buses of the Emerald City Transit Authority pull up to the Olympic Village.

Meanwhile, in the Olympic Village, the rest of Team Mobius was doing their best to compose themselves in spite of their situation. One of the terrorists on the balconies had come in to inform Karl of the buses' arrival:

"Karl, avtobusi zind zdes'!"

"All right, listen up:" said Karl. "You will proceed out of the Olympic Village, and nine of you will get onto each bus! Once again, if you fail to comply with us, we will not hesitate to shoot!" He pointed his AKS-74U at Amy. "Pink, you and the bat carry the echidna out!"

"Why?" asked Amy.

"Do not question me again! Do as you are told!"

"R-right!"

Meanwhile, Mario and Peach were in their room when Mario got a call on his phone.

"Hello?" said Mario.

"Mario, it's Sonic."

"Sonic! What's-a going on?"

"Look, Espio, the Constabulary and I got a plan. You and the rest of those Mushroom Kingdom cats just sit tight. I don't want none of ya gettin' shot, ya dig?"

"I understand."

"Good. Check ya later!"

Sonic hung up.

"Mario, what did Sonic want?" asked Peach.

"He-a said we should-a sit-a tight," replied Mario. "He-a has a plan."

"But shouldn't we stop those terrorists before anyone gets shot?"

"Don't-a worry, Peach! I-a trust Sonic's judgment!"

Peach nodded. Though she felt it more prudent to gather the rest of the Mushroom Kingdom athletes to help out, if Mario had faith in Sonic, then she figured it would behoove her to let the Blue Blur enact his plan. Besides, there was also the possibility that she, Mario or her other fellow athletes could get shot, too.

Shortly after the call, Sonic saw the terrorists and the rest of his friends getting on the buses. As much as it pained him to see his friends being held hostage, the Blue Blur hanged tough, knowing that if him, Espio and the RMC put their minds to it, then they'd succeed. Along with this, he heard the unmistakable rotor sound of a UH-1 Huey.

"Command, this is Helo 5. Have a visual on the buses now, over."

"Roger, Helo 5," said Homewood. "All teams, prepare to follow the buses to the airport, but do not, I say again, DO NOT engage unless go order is given. Command out."

Thus, the Constables piled back into the M813, and as the buses drove off, the truck and the armored car attempted to reacquire them.

"All teams, this is Helo 5. Suspects are proceeding eastbound on McCord Street. Squeeze in a little, over."

"Helo 5, this is Zone Armor 4-Baker-Charlie. Zone Truck 4-Delta-Tango and I are speeding up now, over."

"Roger. Helo 5 out."

While the armored car and 5-ton truck were following the buses, Sonic – who'd jumped off the Dauntless Financial Building – was following the RMC, hoping not to be seen by them or the terrorists. Various people took notice of Sonic, but he didn't care. As far as he figured, anyone who was filming him probably wouldn't alert the terrorists because he didn't count on any of them jacking around and watching YouTube or another streaming service while they were supposed to be guarding their hostages.

"Zone Armor 4-Baker-Charlie and Zone Truck 4-Delta-Tango, this is Helo 5. You're at a good distance now. Hold that speed. Suspects are proceeding northbound on Ohshima Ave. Helo 5 out."

Criticism is gold. Negativity and nitpicking are pyrite.