Back at Base
At Enforcer Headquarters, the patrol car, covered in dust from a shortcut across a field, pulled into the parking lot. There seemed to be no-one about, just ranks of patrol vehicles, transport buses and tanks.
The three troopers stepped out of their car, and made their way towards the door into the main building.
"Where do you think you're going?" came a voice from a nearby stairwell.
They all jumped, not having noticed anyone. From the gloom of the stairs, a figure emerged into the light. For a moment, they thought it was Feral, but they all breathed a sigh of relief when Lieutenant Commander Steele stepped into the light.
"Come with me, NOW!" he barked at them. Unquestioningly, they followed him down the stairs into a basement level. Once they were safely inside and had shut the door, Steele turned on them.
"You bloody morons! You inept idiots! Have you any idea the trouble you've caused me! Look!" Steele barked at them, before turning on a small TV mounted on the wall. The TV crackled to life, a picture of Ann Gora coming into focus.
"And our top story today, two prisoners being transferred from Enforcer Headquarters to the Maximum Security Prison are claiming to have been brutally assaulted by Enforcer troopers. Enforcer Commander Ulysses Feral has strenuously denied these allegations, but one of the prisoners who spoke to us just hours ago has since been taken under Enforcer escort to what has been described as a 'secure hospital'. The other prisoner has not been found, but is believed to be in a critical condition somewhere in the Megakat Metropolitan Area. Citizens are warned to be on their guard..." Steele muted the TV and rounded on the three troopers.
"Fortunately, we have a fix on the other prisoner, and the 'secure hospital' is a waste ground outside the city. We are back on track, but no thanks to YOU!" Steele shouted.
"But sir, we did as you instructed. How could we know Mutagen 786 wouldn't kick in fast enough?" protested the lead trooper.
"Its irrelevant now, everything is now going according to plan. Do you have the sample?"
"Yeah, its right here." The leader drew a canister of a red substance, suspiciously like blood, from his pocket and handed it to Steele.
"And you took care of the other child?" Steele asked.
"Err, yeah, you don't have to worry about either of them any more" was the trooper's uncertain reply.
"Good. They contain the anti-mutagen, that meddler Xenon had them genetically modified. When this becomes a pandemic, I want to be the only one holding the cure. Now go, and don't disappoint me again. I have ways and means, you know. Ways and means."
The three troopers left hurriedly, wanting to get as far away from Steele as possible, before he could utilise his 'ways and means'.
"What did you tell him that for?" hissed one of the troopers, as soon as they were out of earshot.
"What, are you suggesting that I tell him we lost the kitten? After we made the news? Are you insane? No, we will deal with that little runt. I've got a friend over in the chopper squadron commander; I'll get him to help us find it. The kid's still tracked, remember."
They walked together into the main building, before parting ways...
---
Later that day, the leader of the Patrol Squad headed up to the roof level pilots lounge. Generally, Enforcers didn't leave their group stations, so he drew a few stares as he walked through the pilots' area to their control centre. He headed through a door into the chopper dispatch centre where his friend worked.
The walls were lined with banks of computers, and a giant flat-panel monitor dominated the main wall. Little helicopter logos moved slowly across it, indicating where the hundreds of patrolling choppers were. Several technicians were busy servicing a large computer that sat in the corner emitting irritated bleeping noises.
The trooper ignored the techies, who seemed to infest Enforcer Headquarters now that they had had the new IT system installed, and looked for his mate at the workstations. He wasn't hard to find, they'd known each other since the academy even though they were in different areas of Enforcer operations.
"Before you think of trying to make me jump, be aware that I do have CCTV on this screen" the leader's mate said, as he approached quietly from behind, indeed in an effort to scare him. "What do you want; I'm busy here, in case you haven't noticed."
"We need to talk, somewhere private" the trooper said. Sighing, his mate led him out onto a balcony overlooking the rooftop runway.
"So, what is it you want? You never come up here unless you want something, so spit it out" his mate asked.
"I need something retrieved, Luke, without Steele knowing" the trooper said, in hushed tones.
"Don't ask much do you..." Luke replied, sarcastically. "What are we going to need for this... Retrieval?"
"A full chopper squadron, tank force, all the local patrol vehicles and sharp-shooters. The works" the trooper responded.
"So this thing we're retrieving, it can get away of its own volition can it?" Luke asked.
"It can with help, which I think it will have" the trooper replied.
"So, you think you can retrieve the vessel without my knowing?" a voice said from behind them. They spun around in surprise to find Steele standing behind them.
"Sir, I, err, I didn't... How did you know...?" stuttered the trooper.
"He's not the only one who can use the CCTV. Just see to it that the vessel gets retrieved. My friends at Puma-Dyne have decided they want its entire contents" Steele said before walking off back into the building.
"How did I just get away with that?" the trooper wondered aloud.
"He's been in a good mood since lunchtime, he got a visit from some suits in a Puma-Dyne limo. They must have said something he liked" his friend replied, before following Steele inside to make the arrangements.
