STH © SEGA

Sarah belongs to me, BlackPetals23. Alicia belongs to aliciathewolf45.

Enjoy!

Chapter Sixteen:

Kicked Out

The girls wandered around in the creek while Scourge sat at the fireplace. A car rolled up and an officer stepped out along with his partner. He was a dog, his partner was an armadillo.

"Sir," the dog stopped in front of him.

Scourge looked up, squinting from the sun. "Yes?"

"We need you and those girls," the dog motioned to the group in the creek before saying, "to come with us."

Scourge knew police officers. They might as well be his friends. Friends that could rarely catch him. There was one or two times when they got him cornered in an alley or too drunk to walk but Scourge knew never to get involved when it was something serious.

He didn't know if these officers were going to ask about the stolen chopper by his friends or the two vandalized cabins. Or both. There was only one thing to say to an officer though and Scourge definitely knew that—no matter how much he didn't want to say it.

He swallowed hard and nodded. "Yes, sir."

~~~.~~~

"You're…friends," the dog looked at some paper while talking to Scourge in private, "Stole a helicopter to save some lost Mobian."

"Mobians," Scourge corrected.

"Yes, we know. Only because they're still flying around."

"So what's wrong with that?"

"We've caught the killers and you're friends have saved a lost Mobian. They stole something in order to do so and if the owner of that chopper presses charges than I'm afraid you're going with them."

"What!?" Scourge folded his arms. "I didn't tell them to steal a helicopter! I told them we needed help only because you damn people wouldn't say no for once about a stupid rule for missing people. Doing that, you just wasted time."

"But we caught murderers."

"Wrong. My friends caught them; your buddies just rode in and acted like you did."

The dog stared at him. "I suppose you're right. You'll be taken in for questioning if the owner presses charges, then."

"Hmph," Scourge kept his gaze. "What about the girls?" he motioned to the group waiting while they talked to the armadillo one by one.

"Mr. Barker is willing to press charges against them. Your lost friends won't have girlfriends to be coming back to. They'll be shipped into jail one way or another."

"And if he doesn't?"

"Then they get off the hook."

"How is that?"

"Classified. Our police department runs things differently."

"I've noticed," Scourge glared at a leaf on the tree.

~~~.~~~

Amy stared at the armadillo. "We were drunk. That's all I have to say."

"That's all any of you have said. You haven't said anything else."

"No one told us to drink, no one told us to vandalize the cabins. We were drunk. Period. End of story. You can take us to jail now."

The armadillo nodded and wrote something down on his paper. "Don't worry. As long as Mr. Barker owns this place then you are, seeing as his only "heir" is Tim."

They walked back to the group of girls and told them the news. Cream wailed silently as possible but couldn't help it. Done with high school and already losing her title in the yearbook as 'most likely to succeed'. Right. Time to succeed in a cell with a roommate who was a snob. What was she ever going to say to her mother?

"Officer?" Blaze spoke up. "Can we wait until our friends are found...please?"

The armadillo seemed to hesitate before staring at his partner who nodded. Scourge wrapped his arm around Fiona's waist. She'd been let off the hook since she was passed out on the grass and wasn't there for the vandalism. The girls tried talking Sonia out but she was present and only tried talking them out of it, no action which didn't satisfy the police. Sonia would take that blame though and let her mother scold her through glass while she sat in orange.

The dog turned to his partner again after staring out at the distance. "Get the rescue chopper here."

"They are. The ambulance is on the way too, just in case."

They were taken out of their conversation by a slamming of a truck. Mr. Barker pointed accusingly at the girls. "YOU! Wrecked my cabins!"

Tim was behind him and watched the girls. Mr. Barker put his finger down only to put it back up. "I'll make sure you rot in prison for what you did!"

"Sir," Rouge started but Mr. Barker silenced her with a finger pointing again.

"Silence! You should be ashamed!" He turned to Cream. "So should you, young lady! And you!" he pointed at Amy then the rest of the girls, yelling for each one.

"Mr. Barker," the officer said. "I think they get it."

Mr. Barker huffed and puffed before calmly smiling at them. It was more of a sick smile than a nice one.

"Then that means I can get onto my other situation. Get. Out."

"What?" Rouge asked.

"Pack up and go to jail!" Mr. Barker barked. "Now! You're kicked out! Never come back!"

The girls hurried inside with the officers behind them plus Scourge to pack all their belongings. Mr. Barker glared at the shut door while Tim walked beside him.

"Sir?"

"What?" he growled at his partner.

Tim flinched but continued to say, "Don't you think you were too hard on them?"

Mr. Barker grabbed Tim's throat. "Are you in charge here? I don't think so."

Tim glared. "You aren't in charge of me. Plus ever since you heard these Mobians got lost in the mountain you've been on edge. What's the matter with you?"

Mr. Barker dropped him to the ground and walked back to his truck. "Nothing to your concern."