Author's Notes: There was once a big blue lamp which lied in my father's study. It was a beautiful lamp, with its cobalt reflection demanding the room's attention. One day, when air was chilled and sky gripping, I conjured up my ability to touch the forbidden piece of furniture, against my mother's advisory. As my fingers drew near the shade which shaded secrets, I felt the strain in my…

Didn't come for that story? Well good. You knew your intentions when you clicked on this one, just as I knew my intentions while writing it.

Not really, I still don't know what I'm doing.

~X~X~X~X~X~

Tyler stepped out of the vehicle, judging by the faint scent in the air, some dangerous chemicals were being messed with not too far away. The parking lot was rather empty, even though it looked big enough to fit a couple dreadnoughts if needed.

The facility building itself was somewhat small; it was large enough to house offices for a couple hundred people, but far too small to store anything with a significant payload. From what the detectives knew, there were supposed to be at least 200 employees working at the facility, not including the government mandated security which was supposed to guard the warehouses.

The military got their weapons straight from the factory, so during wartime it was under constant watch. But now there was hardly a security camera to watch them or any visible guards outside. In fact, the entire place looked abandoned.

"A bit small, don't you think?" Walter commented. "I thought this was supposed to be able to supply the army in case of another Aparoid encounter. I remember it was built to sustain enough weapons to defend the entire Lylat if needed. Now look at it; nothing more than a couple warehouses."

"Most of the facility is housed underground. It maximizes space while minimizing vulnerability." The lupine answered using his basic knowledge of weapons storage. "But that still doesn't explain why the massive parking lot is completely empty. We should've had trouble finding a space."

"Think they're on vacation too?" Walter said as he also exited the multi terrain transport.

"Maybe the systems are now automated and have no more need for manual interaction. That would explain the apparent emptiness. "

Walter shook his head. "No, I remember in the army they had a rule never to let systems transport unstable projectiles in detachment."

"Ah yes, I remember the S.T.U.P.I.D rule." Detective Tyler remembered. "Although in Explosive Ordinance Disposal, transporting unstable projectiles with detached systems is pretty much all you do."

The two neared the looming doors of the factory entrance. The metal gates were surprisingly welcoming considering the other methods to getting inside consisted of a lot more fifteen foot fence and razor wire.

"You said something about this being an Aparoid response center?" Tyler asked, curious as to how much his partner really knew.

"Yeah, part of my job in the army was assessing and preparing against threats posed by Condition 1 enemies, that is, enemies who have the capability to cause immense system wide devastation. It was either that, or enter some dead end program to teach Cernians how to fly."

"I wonder what good would ever come out of something like that. All I ever did was work with EOD to disrupt the weapons capabilities of rogue factions. Of course I'm supposed to speak about what I did on Finchina, but what I can say is that it involved a lot of freezing." Tyler knew to withhold his work on that frozen planet. He wasn't allowed to speak about anything by order

"So, you think you would've been able to defuse it if you had the chance?" Walter asked before they proceeded past the door. He expected 'Know-it-all O'Donnell' would be able to whip out an answer with ease, or invent one.

"That was a small scale military grade smart bomb. Bombs like that can't be diffused unless you use its prevention switch. It's much safer to just blow it up in a controlled environment without anyone nearby. That is if you don't have an experienced explosive technician and a pressure releaser to disassemble it."

Walter's face grew much more intrigued; it was inevitable of course, he had to bring up a hypothetical situation. "So if I… somehow had one strapped onto me, how would you…"

"An experienced bomb squad captain would have to decide how to operate in such a situation." Tyler answered, avoiding any attempt to tie a personal connection to the question.

"It sounds like you've been reading up on some military training manuals."

Detective Tyler gave an assured gesture. "I have, it's good to increase your knowledge threshold so you can be ready for any situation."

"Good, now I can get some of the credit when you save the city from a thermonuclear weapon."

The two detectives laughed as Walter opened the door. Inside, it was impossible to tell the place manufactured weapons if not for the Phoenix Corporation Logo above the front desk. The room was surprisingly empty, and the only sign of life was a lone simian manning a computer terminal.

"Suspicious much?" Walter noted when he saw the monkey wearing a covered visor. "Isn't it illegal to have one of those when in a secure military facility?"

"Not if it's used for medical reasons." Tyler answered. "But I hear some pirates use visual enhancement systems for enemy targeting."

"Then we better be careful here." Walter replied, making sure he had easy access to his sidearm.

As the two detectives moved further past the long walkway, they noticed that the secretary wasn't wearing any sort of uniform but instead simple street clothes. Something was definitely amiss.

"Hey idiots, we're closed." The secretary said without even looking up. After he got the idea the two weren't changing their direction anytime soon, he got up from his seat and slammed his hands on the table. "Didn't you hear? We're not open, now scram!"

"Professional service brought to you by the Phoenix Corporation." Walter mimicked in a slogan like fashion.

Tyler took out his badge and I.D. and showed it to the disgruntled secretary. "I'm Detective Tyler O'Donnell, C.C.P.D., I'm looking into the recent murder of Vixy McCloud, and we believe the murder weapon came from one of your facilities."

The simian simply looked at the two detectives as if he was denying a crime. His shaking arms only reinforced the suspicion the detectives had on him. "Hey listen man, we don't use the weapons, we just make them. Now if you haven't noticed already we're clo-"

"Don't give me that sh*t." Tyler demanded, slicing his hands forward. "If that were true, you'd be home watching a news story about the murder we're investigating. No before I start using my authority to arrest you for withholding information, go tell your boss he needs to see us, because apparently you don't know how to treat guests."

"Ok ok, I'm going."The monkey sneered and walked into a door behind the desk. "Damn cops."

Now that they were alone, the detectives could compare observations.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Walter asked, leaning on a suspicion he'd been thinking about the moment they entered. In truth, they both knew what each other thought, he just needed an affirmation on what his partner thought about it.

"Yeah, that secretary sucks. With an attitude like that, there's no way he'd be able to get a job with Phoenix."

"Not only that, but he lied about the facility being closed. The only reason he'd do that is if…"

"Is if he doesn't want us to be here." Tyler finished. The wolf backed away and sat down on a symmetrically placed bench between two metal pillars. "I believe we might have the first lead in our case…" He quickly checked his watch. "27 minutes… don't worry; we won't break your record."

Walter laughed. "That technically wasn't police business, but even then, if you're going to steal my neighbor's TV, you better not come back to get the remote."

The detectives noticed that the door behind the welcoming desk had opened once more. This time, instead of a scrawny excuse for a secretary, out walked a, mild mannered rhinoceros dressed in a fine looking business suit.

"Well now, you two have sure made yourselves comfortable, haven't you?" The suited behemoth asked the two detectives. "I'm sure you have many questions to ask."

After looking at Walter straight in the eyes, Detective Tyler assumed conduction. "In fact, I would." He said, taking his badge out and following the scripted pattern once again. "Detective Tyler O'Donnell, C.C.P.D. I'm investigating the recent murder of Vixy McCloud, and I believe your facility contains information vital to bringing the murderer to justice."

The businessman took a deep breath as he thought up a reply. "This is… that's too bad… what happened? I'll allow you to speak with any worker you'd like if you want."

"There's no need for that yet sir." Walter chimed in. "We're looking for names, dates, sales, anything that will lead us to our culprit."

"I see, and that's where Phoenix falls into the scheme?"

"All of our evidence shows that a weapon manufactured by Phoenix was used in the murder. If we can track down where the bomb came from and who it went to, we'll have a solid case." Detective Tyler replied, giving his partner a nod to make sure they were on the same page.

The Rhinoceros grinned as he looked at the two detectives. "Very well, I'll take you to our records department." He said as he clumsily began to stumble into the doorway of a back room.

Tyler gave a signal to his feline comrade to come closer. He pulled him nearer by the jacket so he didn't have to raise his voice. "Stay here and make sure nothing funny's going on." He said as he looked behind him to see the angry secretary returning to his post. "Be ready to call for backup if we need it; I've got a bad feeling about this."

"What? What are you planning on doing?"

"I can't plan anything if I don't know what to expect."

Walter sighed. "Please don't go all 'Vigilant Gunslinger' on me like last time." He said, pausing to let his recent memory sink in. "I've seen enough death today."

The lupine detective smirked before giving a confident look. "Don't worry, I've been working at the range since then." He backed off of Walter to follow his target before the trail got cold. "I won't miss like last time…"

The panther stared back at his fleeting partner, not comforted in the slightest.

~X~X~X~X~X~

"Are you sure you're readings are positive?"

"I'm sure; these devices can detect the source of an explosion from miles away." Ulrich answered as he tinkered with the handheld machine.

The chief was still skeptical. He knew the benefits of increased funding included more reliable instruments, but he still didn't trust that Ulrich's hunch could be confirmed. "That may be true under certain conditions, but basing it on past occurrences can be difficult. If what you're saying is true…"

"We don't need to get the military involved…" Ulrich demanded, letting out a restrictive gesture towards the chief. "If the General gets word that a bunch of people out there have weapons he's supposed to control, chaos will ensue. You know how paranoid he is about 'those damn pirates' taking control."

"What the general doesn't realize is that these hooligans have no sense of direction. They're all hungry for their own power and will follow their leaders only until they betray them when they feel like it. Hopefully by next year we'll have a new general who's more tied to reality."

Ulrich became slightly removed from reviewing the readings. He backed away from the destroyed vehicle to send a full data report to the localized lab. "But chief, what if these pirates are more prepared than we thought? We've already discussed the possibility they may under control of military grade weapons, what's keeping them from using the weapons against us?"

"Let me ask you this, who is the most notorious criminal who could have the brains to organize anything?"

Ulrich thought carefully. "I… I guess Dr. Andross?"

"Right and General Pepper already exiled him that hellhole we call Venom."

Ulrich couldn't help but smile at the statement. "Yeah, even if he managed to survive a day, he's dead now. I hear they gave him a supply of oxygen before leaving him; that way he could spend his dying breaths thinking over the horrors what he did to our city."

"What?" The chief retorted. "I don't remember anything about giving him oxygen."

"Oh yeah, Venom's sort of… not very friendly to the eighth element. I believe its atmosphere contains somewhere around 0.07% Oxygen, not a very good thing if you plan on breathing while you're there."

"I hope the bastard died in almost every way possible." The chief said as he clenched his fist. "Many of my friends are no longer alive because of his mishap."

"He didn't do it on purpose; the crater he made downtown was due to an accident remember?"

The chief almost looked back at the lizard with utmost scorn, but he understood where he was coming from. "General Pepper explicitly told him to stop experimenting with those unstable materials. But instead, Dr. Andross had to conduct those experiments in the middle of the damn city instead of in the middle of nowhere."

"So what do you think about Phoenix having a weapons facility just miles outside the city?"

"That's different, with Phoenix we know what's going on inside their facility. And besides, whatever they make gets sent to their consumers; if they started abducting people for experiments, someone would find out."

"Maybe… but it does seem strange that our two crime solvers haven't reported in yet…"

~X~X~X~X~X~

Tyler felt welcomed by the new environment; however, he still knew to keep his wits about him. After passing through a large network of inert explosives, he was led into an area divided from the warehouse only by a door and a glass window. He'd seen some security patrolling the area on his way, but none of them were wearing uniforms, and none of them were guarding anywhere specific.

"It's much emptier than I was expecting Mr. Doles. You know there are rules requiring a minimum number of guards, if you don't meet those regulations…"

"I know about the regulations Detective, and I understand your concern. But today, many of our employees are not here because they are preparing for an important event." Mr. Doles turned his attention to a console resting on a mundane looking desk.

"Important event?" The detective asked curiously.

"Oh yes, Phoenix will be holding a presentation tomorrow night at the military convention. Such an event takes days of preparation, so many of our employees have temporarily moved elsewhere, which is why this facility is essentially closed."

"That explains a lot." Tyler was relieved to have lifted his suspicions that everyone in the whole city had ditched work because of the murder he was trying to solve. "Your secretary was less… elaborate in his explanation."

"Secre- Secretary?" Mr. Doles gave a laugh which made the detective's ears wish they weren't so sensitive. "No no, Dyanid's just a specialist we use for managing our stock, his charisma isn't very high-grade, but he's an important factor in supporting our logistics."

'Great,' Detective Tyler thought. 'Those are the people who have their hands on weapons before the military does.' Before the detective could ask where the real secretary could be found, Mr. Doles had pulled something up on the console.

"Ah, he we are Detective, a full list of sales information. If you use the filters, you can make it show only those who are not affiliated with the Cornerian Defense Force." Mr. Doles then swiftly left the room, looking almost eager to get out.

"Thanks… I guess…"

For the first time today, Tyler didn't have to worry about acting courteous, trying to keep his job, or trying to navigate through his desk with all that paperwork. All there was now was him and his mission.

The filter was the first thing. He needed to know who else Phoenix was dealing their weapons to. The military was very strict about managing their weapons. The penalty for stealing even a pulse grenade from your platoon could easily land you ten years.

Just a couple of mercenary groups, most of them very small, and not reaching numbers large enough to organize anything big.

The Swiftwings? No, they received contracts to attack pirate groups, not private citizens.

Hugh's Security Consultants? No, attacking wasn't their thing. Besides, they never even got close to Corneria.

The Star Fox team? Now that looked suspicious.

Just as Tyler was about to bring up the dossier, he was interrupted by his communicator. He sighed before accepting to receive his partner's message. "Yes Walter, what is it?"

"Hey buddy, guess who just called?"

"My lawyer?"

"No silly, Ulrich just called to say he has more information on the bomb."

"Go ahead…"

"He said that the bomb did indeed come from Phoenix, but there was something strange about the signature."

"What about it?"

"He said that the bomb had been modified, tampered with. To decrease any methods of possibly figuring out where it came from."

"So you're saying someone with a lot of intelligence had to work with this bomb?"

"Yeah, it modified by someone who oddly enough has had experience with this sort of thing to disassemble it and mess with its interior components. Do you have any leads yet?"

"Not yet, I just got to the information terminal after passing the skeleton crew on the lower levels. I'm looking at information about their small scale grade A smart bombs, doesn't seem to be too popular." Tyler said, reading the details from the screen.

"Ah, so you remembered it was grade A. I was actually about to remind you." Walter continued the ongoing inside joke about Tyler's somewhat selective memory.

Tyler didn't in fact remember the bomb type; he was just reading what he saw on the screen. "Actually, I didn't have to search for it myself. Mr. Doles made it easier for me by selecting the information about the grade A bomb, it was already here when I…" Tyler trailed off. His whole body snapped when he came to the realization.

"That fat bastard!"

~X~X~X~X~X~

Author's Notes: U like? If you do, please leave a review! I love it when I have to depend on the constant support of others to reinforce my own!

By the way, the story about the blue lamp? Boring. Don't bother.