The Diego Diaries: Hoosegow (dd6 563)
-0-At the jail house now …
"I was a big deal on Cybertron, I will have you know," a tall good looking and very expensive appearing mech said as he weaved slightly in place beside a huge mechanism who held him up gently by the arm.
"Is that so?" Sun asked with a grin.
"I was."
"What were ya?" Jack asked as he leaned against the doorjamb at Jail-Intake. There were several other high tones ahead of the one that Sun had glommed during a short but very exciting hoo-haw at the Tower In The Sky in Iacon …
They walked in called by the bartender about a fight that was making its way toward a full on brawl shortly. Springer and several of the trainee cops along with all six of the kids with them who were told to stay by the door and watch were making their way forward followed by a very amused Sun, Lissie, Steiner, Hardie and Jack. The place was nicely filled with Christmas Surprise diners several of whom had called for help should this turn into something terrible.
Standing at the end of the bar nearby, five or six high tones as the locals in Iacon called the ones who were troublemakers were having a conversation with a pair of very long suffering but basically good natured behemoths. They looked like heavy duty equipment which they would turn out to be. They were smirking at the group who were standing around them drunk off their asses as they taunted the pair into what apparently they hoped would be a fight.
Springer, Drift, Hardie, Sun, Jack, Hercy, Lissie, Steiner, Kup, Lon and a delighted Bezel walked forward to stand around the group out of the way so Springer could 'work his magic'. Or so goaded Drift as they reached the bar. Springer smirked at him, then turned to the situation. "What's the beef here?"
Thee of the mechs were standing with their arms crossed and frowns on their faces. Two were leaning on the bar smirking at the behemoths. One was doing 'the narrative', waving his arms as he berated the pair. He turned to Springer. "Who are you?" he demanded.
"Well, I'm Springer, God of the Hunt. I'm here to mediate a nice solution so that all these good folks out here," he said turning to nod at the fascinated-repelled-scared-amused-worshipful-expectant crowd in the room, "can have a nice Christmas Surprise Eve dinner. You don't want Santa Prime to bring you coal for this do you?"
"I am Andorian." The Narrator stared at Springer like he should know that, the fragger.
Springer nodded. "Well, I'm Springer. The runt there is Hercy of Helex, that's Bezel and Lon, Kup is the one with the smoking habit, that's Lissie and her brother, Steiner, my great aunt and uncle and these are my brand new appas, Ironhide and Blackjack the Elder. That one is my Appa Hardie. The whole family wanted to come to the dance."
"You didn't mention me," Drift said with a grin.
"Oh, right. This is Drift, my ball and chain."
Sun who was filled with mirth over the infants nodded to the drunk and his friends. "You boys don't want to dance do ya? I like to dance. How about a dance?" he said, then grabbed the mech with the mouth by the arm. Dragging him to the dance floor nearby, he gripped the mech's servo tightly. Leaning in, he grinned. "We can go nicely or we can go in pieces. What's the word, infant?"
Grimacing slightly, the mech frowned upward at Sun. "You have no right to lay your big mitts on me. I'm Andorian of Iacon. My family owned Corporal Industries and Sera Airways."
"Owned is the word. I don't think they exist anymore, Andorian." Sun grinned, then spun around with Andorian exhibiting an hitherto for unknown ability to dance well. "How about you and me dancing our way to the door and then we can decide whether to arrest you or not?"
Andorian spinning swiftly staggered back, then frowned at Sun. "I'm not going anywhere with you, fragger."
"But you have to if I say so," Sun said as he advanced on Andorian. "I'm from Praxus. Read the tats, infant."
Andorian stepped backward but complied. He looked sharply at Sun. "You're Elite and exempt."
"That's right. How about coming with me? If I tell you to, you have to go. Right?"
Andorian stared at him, then crossed his arms over his chest in irritation. "Fraggers. How can you turn your back on your caste? What's the matter with you?"
"Yeah," Jack said from the bar where he was leaning to watch with amusement. "What's the matter with you?"
"I have no idea," Sun said with a chuckle. "Well?"
"Frag you," Andorian said as he walked toward the bar. He looked at Springer who obviously wasn't Praxian Elite, then swung. It connected.
Hard.
Springer caught off guard staggered, then righted swiftly. He leaped on the slagger and they went down with a crash. Everyone in the room stood, not to run but to see better the unexpectedly entertaining show that had begun before them.
Springer who landed on top of Andorian punched his face and that mech saw stars. That's when the others with Andorian decided to help him.
Free for all.
-0-Watching nearby
Six kids watched with incredulity as their team was jumped by the half a dozen high tones. Two giant mechanisms, the focal point of the entire thing took their drinks and stepped back with Jack who joined them. One of them glanced at him. "You're not going to help?"
"And deprive them of a learning experience?" Jack asked with a grin.
The three had a belly laugh together.
It was brisk and surprisingly brutal before the cops got the upper hand and slapped them all in cuffs. The kids watching huddled by the door, moving only when the slaggers were dragged out to the mezzanine. They watched the big mechs and Lissie walk past with their groggy bundles, a sense of awe coming over them at the excitement and spectacle. Jessine in her sense of wonder walked to Lissie to stand beside her. Lissie grinned and added a project to her personal list.
Sun and Jack paused beside them as Springer walked back to speak to the kids as the mechs gathered up the debris. Drift walked past to speak to the bartenders, three of which would be witnesses at their trial. Others sent their digits to Drift as he spoke to them, diners from around the room as he concluded the altercation for the record.
"Are you kids alright?" Springer asked.
"Commander … he PUNCHED YOUR FACE!" Coros said with astonishment.
"Well, he's drunk and I was sucker punched. Ordinarily, he wouldn't have got the jump on me. So ...," Springer said as the mechs around him razzed him good off line. He glared at the group with a slight frown, then turned back to the kids. "Things like this happen in this kind of work. Not often but it does. You might want to think about that if you want to do this kind of work."
"I HAVE! THIS IS THE GREATEST!" Jessine said with almost too much happiness. She turned to Lissie and hugged her tightly. "YOU WERE AMAZING! SEE! FEMMES CAN DO ANYTHING THE MECHS DO!"
Lizzie laughed. "You got THAT right!"
There wasn't a mech in their group who didn't agree.
The youngling mechs nodded. "ME, TOO!"
Springer snickered, then glanced toward Drift who grinned. "Well, that was interesting. Most run from fights."
"Fights shouldn't happen but when they do the Watch has to protect the people," Pulley said earnestly. "It's our job."
They noted the 'our' with grins. Then Jack nodded in agreement. "That is our job, infants. You're learning really well. You obeyed beautifully when you were told to wait here. Things like this are learned with training and practice."
"We want to learn, Abba," OD said as he looked at the mechs worshipfully.
"All of us do," Coros said as he nodded his helm.
"You are," Drift said with a chuckle. "Now you can see how we book them."
They walked outside where a police van was loading them up. They would ride to the jail in the Courthouse and book the slaggers themselves, letting the kids see how the end of an arrest came to pass without a brawl, body slamming and fisticuffs THIS TIME. It would be a very jolly jog back to Cultural Center Road.
-0-AT THE JAIL HOUSE NOW!
They were asked, the high tones for their digits and details, giving them grudgingly after Jack ordered them as a Praxian Elite could do. The jail had the ability to scan a mech for them but this was a point to be made to the arrestees that the caste ship had sailed, hit a reef miles from shore and sank with no survivors. If you want to live by the rules of the System, Jack reminded them, then you have to obey all of them. They walked to their cells grudgingly. When they disappeared into the corridor beyond, the big mechs turned to the kids. They were standing in a group watching everything with eagle optics.
Drift grinned. "Is there anything you need explained?"
"I sort of want to see the screen there," Jessine said as she pointed to the Intake Officer, a big mech named Jolo.
"You're in luck," Springer said with a grin. "Jolo runs the entire system. He doesn't have to do a shift on duty but he does because he's a glutton for punishment."
Jolo laughed. "How can I know how good this works without doing a tour now and again? Come here, infants. Let me show you how this works."
They smiled, then walked up to crowd the area behind him. As he began to show them how it all worked, it was good that they did. It was then that two police vans arrived with a set of really, REALLY drunk mechs. A big mech walked in, then glanced at Springer. "Chief, we have a level 3 frag up here. Hands on deck?"
Springer and Jolo glanced at him, then the kids. "In the corridor, infants," Springer said.
"We won't see the thing," OD said. "Can we go into that cell and watch?" The others nodded hopefully.
"I'm going to regret this, right? Am I right?" Springer asked as his will melted before their sweet hopefulness.
"Probably," Drift said as he walked to the cell nearby. "Get in and stand back by the wall. This could get gnarly," he said as the kids flooded out and ran inside. "By the way, don't tell your genitors. They might shoot us."
"WE WON'T COMMANDER!" Jessine said with absolute joy. "THANK YOU! HOW CAN WE LEARN IF WE CAN'T SEE THINGS?!"
"How, indeed. I fully expect to see the inside of my optics in a few seconds myself." Springer grinned at the kids. "No matter what happens, stay inside." He glanced at the big mech waiting. "Are they clean of arms and weapons?"
"They are. We deep scanned them," he said.
"Very well," Springer said as he looked at the kids fretfully. They were standing against the back wall, some of them holding each others servos as they watched expectantly. "Oh frag. Don't tell my ada," Springer said as he turned to walk to the door.
Everyone followed him, composing and sending messages to Springer's ada as they did.
Because cops.
Outside, it was cold, the light towers gave a lot of slightly orangish light in the light dusty breeze and it was clear of anyone and anything that could break easily. The department learned early on to park their vehicles in the parking lot across the tarmac. The vehicles, two of them were making noises as the mechs inside bellowed their discontent to the universe.
As they did, Ratchet got a butt load of texts, sobered up, made up a lie and stepped out to race to the jailhouse to see what the hell was going on. He did so without lights and siren.
"How many?" Springer asked as the mechs gathered around, all of his from inside the jailhouse, some getting down from horses grounded nearby and the three who were guarding these slaggers to jail. The two drivers worked in the Watch motor pool and though they could defend themselves and carried tazers and other weapons, they weren't delegated to fight. So they stood to one side and hoped that their vehicles would make it through the coming moments.
"We have four of them. They're a family, three of them, and one is a friend. Sort of. They grew up together and when they get drunk they remember something, the same thing always, disagree, then get into a fight. They're huge. Strong as battle shuttles. Should we call out a battalion for back up?" the big mech, Mik asked. He was grinning but he wasn't joking.
Springer stared at him, then the others, then the truck filled with monkey noises, the door nearby, the truck, his fists balling and unballing at the end of his arms, Drift's smirk …
-0-Inside
"This is going to be violent, Jessie. If you want you can stand behind me," Pulley said to someone he was muy sweet on.
Jessine glanced up at him, then grinned. "If you want, you can stand behind me."
The kids all laughed including Pulley.
"You've been hanging around Maxi haven't you?" Pulley asked as he squeezed her servo.
"She's awesome," Jessine said with a grin as at that moment a door could be heard swinging open and loud ungodly caterwauling began in earnest outside. It almost took their breath away.
In front of them, long tazing poles in servos, two mechs braced themselves for when the mob would barrel in. Jolo stood calmly at the intake desk, all the breakables including the computers lowered into the desk itself for protection. Jolo always listened to his officers and that design flaw was corrected after the last Man Mountain Dean came in and showered his purple mountains majesty all over the room. He grinned. "Here we go, infants. Stay against the wall."
They did.
-0-Outside in a broiling ball of molten rage and high grade
The door opened and when it did three big mechs barreled forward, launching them off the benches inside toward the door. Springer and Drift who were braced and backed by Sun and Jack, then Hardie and Steiner set themselves and when the mechs forward momentum hit them four went flying from the impact. Springer and Drift gripped one and rolled away. Another who on impact freed his wrists gripped Sun around the waist and began to bull doze his way forward. The other shouldered Jack, Hardie and Steiner and sent them flying into Hercy and Kup who were braced behind them. The 'three wall impediment plan' worked about as well as could be expected, that is, not at all.
Lon and Bezel ran forward with tazers and stuck the first two mechs who were getting ready to fight or run, whichever their muddled minds could decide upon in the middle of their molten rage. It didn't slow them nor did it stop them. It did piss them off. They turned on Lon and Bez, picked them up and tossed them over the top of the van where they disappeared from view.
Roaring with impotent rage, they ran forward toward the horses who were watching with wild looking optics nearby. Leaping up on them, they spurred the beasts who promptly began to buck furiously as the others swirled in a group, maddened by the unexpected turn of events.
"THEY HAVE THE HORSES!" someone yelled as everyone who wasn't being pummeled into dust turned to look.
At that moment, the other van tipped over from the mech inside beating his way out and the door fell open. The biggest mech most of them had ever seen Godzilla-ed his way out and roared the roar of the damned.
-0-TBC 1-6-19 this was modified and edited. :D
For some reason, the man mountain dean line makes me laugh out loud. :D:D:D
Longer today. It's -9 degrees, my everything is frozen but I'm working on the next part. Hopefully, I will get it posted tonight. HUGS!