The Diego Diaries: Hunter and Hunted (dd8 671)
=0=On the street outside the building where The Club was located
They gathered together blocking off both ends of the street. Marines were standing there redirecting traffic as the team worked out the plan. Together, the group led by Drift walked toward the big building where The Club was located. They entered, took the elevator to the proper floor, then stepped out, pausing to look around for anyone who might be in the hallway.
No one was there so they found the door, gathering on both sides.
Drift unsubbed a gadget, then rapped on the door. No one answered so he touched the gadget to the intricate keypad lock and entrance device whereupon it shorted out.
"I want that," Lon said with a grin as Drift pushed the door open.
"You can get them at Walmart," Drift said with a chuckle as he leaned in gingerly to look around. "Watch here. I want everyone in this place to show yourselves."
"What is the meaning of this?" an outraged voice was heard to say as the sound of peds standing and moving around filtered out.
"If any of you are armed I'd drop your weapons onto the floor. You won't like what follows if you don't," Drift said. It was silent, then Drift slipped halfway past the door. "We're coming in. We have a warrant." He entered, then the others followed including Ironhide.
Inside, a good fifteen to twenty mechs and femmes were standing where they'd sat moments before staring at the scene with incredulity and incomprehension.
"What is this, Claxxon?" a tall femme asked.
"This is a warrant," Drift said handing it to her. He turned toward Claxxon. "You're under arrest for the suspicion of arson, reckless endangerment, conspiring to create insurrection, defying a Primal Order and the Will of the People through the Convocation and malicious use of a dangerous and controlled substance. Put your servos up and allow us to search you without trouble. We will anyway and if you comply you don't get hurt." He glanced at the others. "Ascertain identities and check for weapons."
The big mechs nodded, then began to walk toward the others who in their stupor had frozen in place. They still were as the mechs reached them, then began to fulfill the order.
Claxxon who was stunned as well turned toward Drift. "You're arresting me?"
"The warrant gives me authority." He scanned Claxxon including his subspace with more questionable tech, then slapped cuffs on him. "You have the right to be silent. You have the right to have someone represent you during questioning. If you don't agree then whatever you say is public record and will be used in court. Do you understand?"
Claxxon stared at him, then the others. "Don't say a word." He nodded coldly.
Drift turned to Bezel. "Take him to the truck, Bez."
Bezel nodded, then led the mech out the door while the rest of them stared in astonishment.
One of them turned to Drift. "What the frag is this about?"
"Its about the arsons. I can't tell you more," he said. "You need to cooperate. When we get done here you'll have to wait for a few moments until we're clear that the other arrests are made. There's a dampening effect being used here," he said as Hercy raised his servo with a grin on his face. "You won't be able to alert anyone that this is happening until all the warrants are served."
"Warrants. On what evidence?" another mech asked.
"On reasonable and probable evidence, the nature of which I can't elaborate. Trust me. Prime isn't Sentinel. You aren't in our boat. We aren't turning your slag for us onto you in some kind of revenge plot. We go by the book. So cooperate and you can leave faster." Drift glanced at his mechs. "Get this done."
They did.
=0=At the Crystal Ball in Retriades
They left the arena locker room which was the mustering place for the take downs. Walking to the club nearby where the next arrests would be made led by Springer, they met security at the door for a chat. Clubs all over the colony would be alerted to the situation against possible unrest following the arrests as soon as the mission was concluded but since five of their quarry were inside, they asked security at the club to meet them at the door.
"What's up, boys? Came for a beer?" Charlie the head bouncer and full time beer barrel wrangler asked with a big grin. He and Springer went way back.
"CHUCK!" Springer said as they bumped fists. "We're here to do an arrest. Five of our targets are in there."
"Oh frag. Are they armed? We just got the place back to order. Did you know the mirrors are now bulletproofed? The ones that were shot up, not the TOO MANY OTHERS THAT WEREN'T," 'Chuck' replied.
Everyone snickered. Everyone knew what hard luck the club had with slaggers.
"We'll be gentle," Springer said as snickers rounded the group again. "We're going in, take them down and walk them out. They could be armed. They're good with guns and the like. I want you to clear the area when we get the jump on them. Okay?" Springer gave him his best smile.
Charlie gave him his best smile distorted to look demented. "Okay."
Huge laughter greeted that as Springer explained their plan. A runner from Charlie located the group at a table so they walked in together to make the bust.
=0=Inside
Cambel, Sever, Omni, Caret and Plano sat at a table in the back of a lounge, sprawling in chairs as they watched everyone around them. They were hardcore gangsters who loved being so and didn't really have interests in becoming anything else, though they all had day jobs. They were the muscle for their group at whatever place they ended up, either getting the upper hand at the location or laying down cover fire when they were run out of the place.
They liked and collected guns, carrying them on their person in spite of the law against it by non military or policing individuals, kept up their practice and weren't afraid to shoot anyone they felt they had to shoot. They were bad news all around, the product of entitlement and poor parental judgment.
The crowd was thick in the room as they sipped their beer and watched the 'funny folk'. Chatting together as they considered what they'd do that evening, they noted but didn't feel threatened when a pair came in arms around each other, obviously drunk. They were heading for an empty table next to them. After a moment of staggering, laughing and fragging around, the pair sat heavily.
At the door another pair watched them, laughing at their antics before following. Hercy and Kup staggered in, then swayed before the pair who were Twin Twist and Sandstorm. "You two. We've been looking for ya all night. Your old ada here," Hercy said glancing upward at Kup who smirked down at him, "wants to have the key."
"What key, Atar?" Twin said with a chuckle.
"The house key, slaggers. We know ya have it. I'll shake you down myself if you don't give it up. Your old ma and I wanna frag," Hercy said to be ornery.
Twin and Sandstorm's gagging sounds were joined by the other five who watched them with some amusement and no sense of endangerment. Here was a family of drunks. Maybe the entertainment had arrived.
Hercy glanced at them, then grinned. "Even these slaggers think you're a load. Give me the key and we'll be on our way."
Twin stood and seemed to rummage around on his person. As he did he staggered into the kids' table. It bumped, then Sandstorm stood and with Hercy and Kup put guns to the helms of all of the five kids with Twin taking on two of the kids himself.
Everyone froze in place.
=0=At an apartment
A rap on the door brought someone who stared at the crowd outside with surprise.
"I'm Splice of the Watch. We have a warrant here for the arrest of Serrate of Andulus 4. Cooperate and all will go well," he said.
The individual who was shocked stepped back uncertainly as the door opened more. A tall mech was rising from a chair.
"Are you Serrate of Andulus 4?" Splice said as he walked in followed by the others.
The mech nodded. "What is this?"
"Your arrest for your part in the arsons," Splice said as he crossed the room to arrest the kid. He did it so fast there was no resistance.
=0=At another apartment
The arrest of Gentele had more struggle but the outcome was the same. He was alone in his apartment, a bachelor accommodation when they came and he was hauled out swiftly as the sappers went through the place. At every arrest that was so. Nothing would be found here, the same as everywhere else. It wasn't until they found the warehouse that they would hit the mother lode.
=0=Outside a restaurant in Pax
They waited as Pogo, his father Cymbal and friends ate dinner. When they exited they would be swarmed. But until then Cavalier and his boys would wait. A senior Watch detective, Cavalier was as blasé about the duty as someone who'd been a cop for his entire life. This was one more slagger to bag and that was it. Until then he would entertain the kids with him from the vast store of his colorful life's colorful tales.
=0=The Club
Prowl stood in the center of the big room watching as Forensics went over the place. A call to come to an office nearby drew him. He entered to find Timpani sitting back down at a computer station. "Did you find something interesting?"
"I found their newsletter, High Times," Timpani said. "I suppose you want the entire thing downloaded?"
"Just what fulfills the warrant, Tim," Prowl said as he looked over Tim's shoulder. "If its just a newsletter, no matter how repugnant, they aren't in trouble. If it details insurrection or discusses the arsons with detail only bombers would know, then yes."
Tim nodded. "Done deal, Prowl."
=0=Gathering at the Jail in the Courthouse at City 4, District 4
They drove the prisoners to the Courthouse in District 4, the newest one built to handle the case load of a population that just passed 600,000,000. The vans arrived and the perpetrators were walked stone-faced and silent into the jailer's room where data was given begrudgingly and written down with exquisite precision. They were then taken to isolation cells where they would stay until they were indicted over video link the following morning and pleas taken.
All of them had invoked already so they were given a list of willing lawyers from the Legal Guild who had agreed to handle high caste cases no matter how egregious for the good of the order. They would take that call and find representation before morning rolled around.
By the time it was 0200 in the morning, the ten indicted individuals would be in police custody, have representation and be out of the business of making mayhem for the duration. The teams that got them would be finishing up 'paperwork', hitting the pub of favor, The Copper Pig in Iacon or having an early meal at The Diner On the Corner in Iacon as well. It was over, the arrests, in minutes. The forensics would take longer but the warrants were executed without a shot being fired.
The weapons taken from the five kids, the only ones armed that night would number 18.
=0=Late that night
Ironhide tiptoed into the apartment, noting Ratchet snoring in his chair with the monitor muted. He grinned, then walked over to sit in his own. He shuttered his optics, slid into recharge and would stay there all night long. The morning would unfold with little kids sneaking around for cookies and getting caught red-handed.
It wasn't a good orn to be a criminal in this mech's colony.
=0=TBC 3-25-2023
ESL:
egregious (eee-gree-jusss): something that is beyond terrible, awful, not good at all
incredulity (in-creh-dool-ih-tee) with absolute surprise, with surprise so big and disbelief so big you just stand there staring