Going Hog Wild
Road Pig drove the rig right up the curb and spun the wheel hard so that the cab and trailer slid right up against the front side of the FTC building. Zanya shot out the glass, and Buzzer kicked open the side door of the trailer. Zanzibar kicked his sled into gear and zoomed in right ahead of Buzzer, Torch, and Ripper. Road Pig, meanwhile, turned off the truck and followed the others inside.
"Zartan," said Gnawgahyde.
"If it isn't important I don't want to hear it," said Zartan in return.
"Well, then you definitely want to hear it," said Gnawgahyde. "Three police cruisers are on their way."
"Lights on?"
"Yup."
"Definitely for us?"
"Sure looks that way. What do you want me to do?"
"If they prove to be for us, stall them," said Zartan. "Any way you choose to." Then he turned to Zanya and Zandar.
"No alarm was sounded, Brother," said Zandar.
"Maybe someone phoned in Road Pig's driving," suggested Zanya.
Zartan's chest plate burned and he turned to face the large Dreadnok.
"What?" asked Road Pig incredulously.
"If you are the cause of this distress," threatened Zartan. "Then you will be in distress."
"Father," scolded Zanya. "Blocking the front glass wall with the rig was your idea. Road Pig was just following your instructions."
Zartan flashed an angry glare at his daughter then turned back to face Road Pig. "Keep your eyes open for trouble, but do not act without permission first," he told him. Then he turned and walked away with Zandar.
Road Pig beamed with joy and picked up Zanya in a great big bear hug. Zanya smiled at his obvious thanks. When he was done, he set her down and went back to tend to the rig.
Gnawgahyde watched the police cruisers and readied his rifle. The lead cruiser began to slow to a halt as it got closer to Road Pig's rig. It spun to a stop as did the second cruiser. Gnawgahyde leveled his rifle and took three shots at the driver of the third cruiser. His shots all hit home, killing the driver. He smiled as the last cruiser collided with the two already stopped ones and flipped over and forward, igniting a fireball as it did. Gnawgahyde peered through his scope to look for survivors. There was only one, barely crawling to try and get free of the chaos. He smiled and put two rounds into the policeman's back. Then he scanned the area for more survivors, but found none. "The three police cruisers have been eliminated," he said over his headset.
"Good work," said Zartan. "Stay in position and inform me of any more intruders."
"Will do," said Gnawgahyde.
Monkeywrench blew a bubble with his gum and offered a piece to Thrasher. "Exciting, isn't it?" he asked Thrasher. "I hope they leave something for us."
"We'll 'ave plenty," said Thrasher.
"I hope that the new attachments work," says Monkeywrench.
"They better," says Thrasher.
Inside, the others were going room-by-room, floor-by-floor, taking out anyone they could find who wasn't another Dreadnok. When they were done, they headed up to the main laboratory floor to get at what they had come for.
"It's almost over now," said Zartan. "Easy money."
To be continued…