Chapter 6: in plain sight
Downtown New Townsville was once again a scene of unprecedented violence. Minutes ago, the city center rocked with a horrendous explosion, sending plumes of smoke up into the sky. Pandemonium ensued as panicked citizens ran for their lives. Meanwhile the city's stock exchange was in grave danger. A great gaping hole lay where the main entrance used to be. Inside Arturo, Grubber, and Big Billy - members of the notorious Gangreen gang had come bursting into the main trading floor, shooting hot lead into the ceiling and terrorized everyone inside. They herded the occupants to one side, brandishing their new submachine guns,and threatening to shoot should anyone disobey. Behind them came Ace and Snake, carrying a backpack and dragging the chairman in at gunpoint.
"This is a stock exchange," the man protested, "There's no money you can steal."
Ace snorted. "Really? Then what are you people doing here?"
Snake shoved the poor man into an office chair and smashed his head upon one of the trading desk, knocking him out cold. He pilfered the old man's ID tag and plugged it into the computer. Then Ace pulled out laptop from his bag and began hacking into the trading system.
"What the hell are we doing here, Ace?" Snake sighed tiredly. "That bitch give us shit for all we've done for her. She's working us to the ground! "
Ace laughed mirthlessly. "I made a deal with the devil," he said, "Our families need feeding and there's no other place for work."
Snake hissed. "I still don't like it, Boss! We barely get anything at all. Is there no other place?"
"Of course there's not!" Ace snapped, "Do you think I don't understand how fucked we are? This city hardly gives us the time of day!"
He stood up and laid a hand on Snake's shoulder. "I swear to you we'll get out of this. And then, no monster will ever have to hide their identity again."
Upstairs, Chouji Kurusu, the security guard on duty that day, sat in his dark office, nervously watching the events unfold on his monitors. What should've been a normal Weekend had devolved into such a fiasco. On any other day, there would have been more guards on duty, and he could have risked a direct confrontation. Alas, he was alone and could do little more than put the hostages into harm's way. Sighing with resignation, he reached for the telephone
Meanwhile, high above the streets a helecopter appeared, hovering over the carnage. It's right side door opened and three figures leapt out onto the rooftop, rolling head over heals to cushion their landing. They raced towards the rooftop access, and bent down low so as to not be detected.
"We're in position and it doesn't seem to be guarded," said one of three: a blonde haired boy with light blue eyes. He was speaking into a large watch-like device strapped onto his wrist with a thick black band. Its dial was black and grey, and in its center there was a polished blue dome emblazoned with a great yellow "R".
At the moment, its upper half was open like a clamshell, and a feminine voice could be heard speaking, "Excellent! Get to the security room. It should be on the second floor."
"Right a way, Sensei!"
Quietly, the trio picked the lock open and slipped inside. They crept downstairs and through a darkened hallway to the doors of the security room.
"...Hello? Yes they are still here!... No I haven't I got a clue what they're doing! What does that have to do with anything!" Chouji was still on the phone, shouting at some uncooperative dispatcher. He never noticed the door behind him opened a crack or a slender red pipe, less than a centimeter wide, peek inside.
"...Anyway, we have many hostages in danger, and who knows how much time is left before they escape! Just get over here as quick as you c-ack!"
Chouji jerked to a sudden stinging pain. His hand shot up to his neck and pulled out a tiny glowing red needle. Seconds later, the strange object shattered and scattered into nothingness.
"What the...huh?" Was the last thing he said before a sudden drowsiness took over. His head hit the desk with a soft thud and he knew no more.
...
"Excellent work, Brick. Your 'Spicy Sleep' was a success!" Said the Blonde-haired boy as he entered the little room.
"Hee hee hee, works every time," laughed his red headed friend, rubbing a finger beneath his nose. Behind him came their last companion: a boy with black hair pulled back into a pony tail and partially obscuring his rich green eyes. He lifted his wrist and opened a device strapped to his wrist. It was similar to Boomer's but green instead of blue.
"The room's secure, Sensei," he spoke into it, "The guard's asleep for now."
"Good," a voice spoke from the watch-like device, "Proceed to Phase two, and then wait for further instructions."
There was some beeping and the transmission terminated. The boy in green closed his device. He approached the security desk and replaced the telephone receiver onto its stand.
"Alright, enough fooling around guys. Let's get the job done before he wakes up."
"Cheeky Butch! I'm the leader around here," said Brick, pouting, "For attempting to usurp me, I'll let you have the first watch!"
"Fine," Butch sniffed, rolling his eyes. He turned the blonde and said, "I'm counting on you, Boomer. Goodness knows what we'll do with this guy leading us."
He left; and Brick blew a raspberry after him. Boomer laughed.
"Alright, O wise leader, let's get started."
Taking his pack off his shoulders, he pulled out a laptop and connected it to the camera system. Brick spoke into his own com device, also similar to Boomer's and Butch's, only Red instead of Blue or green. "This is red leader," he said, "We're loaded up and - snicker- jacking off!"
He laughed. The voice groaned. "Please spare me your dirty mind you hentai, Brick. The phrase is 'Jacked in'." The voice went on. "You will stay until the girls arrive. Then head over to the pick-up point we discussed. I expect nothing less than perfection in this mission."
Brick saluted mockingly. "Ous!"
"Hai, Sensei!" Cried Boomer.
Back outside, the police swarmed into the area and blocked off all traffic. A police van pulled up, lights flashing and sirens wailing, and out jumped a gaunt plainclothes detective. His grim face, lined and thin, hid under a white fedora, and he went along huffing on a thick fag*.
"Everyone listen up!" He growled, puffing out thick smoke, "I want this area secured! No one gets in or out without my knowing about it. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes sir," said the officers, and they spread out the canvas the building entrance.
Some of the regular cops waded in amidst the crowd of onlookers and tried to escort them out of the quarantine. The rest, including SWAT, surrounded the Stock Exchange entrance, closing in with their sidearms drawn. One of them brought out a bullhorn and shouted into it. "This is the Police! Come out with your hands up!"
High above, Butch watched the police do their thing. Their voice echoed up the concrete canyon and he could could see their every movement. He crouched over the precipice and observed the going-ons via a pair of high-powered binoculars, and he relayed everything he saw through his little watch.
"The Cops are already here," he was saying, "They've set up road blocks all around the building."
"Good," said a voice, feminine but commanding, "It seems we have a hostage situation on our hands."
Butch shook his head. "No, this is a robbery," he said, "They have direct access to the trading desks. They could cripple the economy in an instant."
The voice sighed. "This is all so unusual. Why are the Gangreen Gang dabbling in something this high-profile? What could they possibly want?"
The rowdyruff boy shrugged and said, "Your guess is as mine, Sensei."
The voice grunted. "Truly, this is something we'll need to look into. Anyway, you've done a good job. Once the girls get there, I need you all to head over to the extraction point. I've sent you its coordinates."
A little screen blinked into life, and it revealed a map of the city with white lines on a blue field. A single pulsating red dot marked the destination, and a small white arrowhead indicated Butch's location and orientation. Suddenly, he heard the rooftop access opened again. He looked back to see Brick coming out with his hands comfortably behind his head. "What are you doing out here?" Butch asked, "aren't you suppose to be back inside helping Boomer?"
The redhead shrugged, "He can handle it. There's no need to worry."
He walked up next to Butch, placed a foot on the little wall and leaned over into the abyss. From his perch, he could see the dozen patrol cars down below, and their red and blue lights were flashing brightly in the shadowed streets.
"Has there been any developments on the street?" He asked Tora, who had lifted the binoculars to his eyes.
"Nothing much," replied the raven-haired boy, "Although it seems they're about to put up the barriers."
Sure enough the sound of hydraulic rams came echoing up urban canyon, and two rows of black steel plating could be seen lifting up from the pavement, impeding any traffic.
At that moment, a high-pitched whistling drew Butch's attention, and he lifted his binoculars up to see three familiar beams of light coming in from the distance.
"Here they come," Butch murmured.
Sure enough, the Powerpuff Girls appeared, descending down to the streets below. Upon touching the ground, Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup struck up their characteristic poses and cried out, "WE ARE THE FIGHTING LEGENDS OF SCIENCE! THE POWERPUFF GIRLS Z!"
"Just look at how they do such an entrance," said Brick jeering, "Call Boomer. It's time we leave this place."
Butch quietly stowed his binoculars into his bag, and contacted Boomer via his wristwatch-like device. Not long after, the Blonde Rowdyruff appeared with all his gear back in his pack. Brick grinned obnoxiously.
"Yosha! Ikusei, Mina!"
Together, the Rowdyruff Boys broke into a run, and they made their escape.
Meanwhile, down below...
"What's the situation, officer-osan?" Blossom asked as she and her friends approached the plain-clothes detective from before. The grim old man grunted and spat out his spent smoke and jammed another into his mouth. "This is police business. You brats have no place here," he said, rummaging in his pockets for his lighter.
"We're the Powerpuff Girls," said Bubbles, "We-"
"I know what you are! Wretched brats think they can do anything. Bah!" He snapped, lighting up. "Begone! We don't need any of your help!"
"Who are you calling brats, old geezer!" Buttercup lunged forward, only to be held back by her two friends. The old cop cackled harshly and blew a puff of smoke into her face.
"You better keep your bitch on a tighter leash." He turned his back on them. "We wouldn't want any...accidents to happen to her."
The green puff snarled and pulled against her restraints. "COME BACK HERE AND TELL THAT TO MY FACE, OLD MAN!"
The plain-clothed only laughed his raspy laugh and waved them off.
"Jerk!" Blossom muttered. Her raven-haired friend stopped struggling and settled for glaring at the detective's retreating back. If only she could burn a hole in the back of his head with just her eyes...
"Hey look!"
Bubbles's cry roused Buttercup's attention; she and Blossom turned to see where their friend was pointing.
High above the urban canyon, three distinct figures could be seen leaping over the gap between the stock exchange and the building nearby. Catching the ledge on the other side, they clung on like geckos and shifted along the wall.
Buttercup watched, amazed. "Whoa! look at 'em go!"
Blossom squinted. "Isn't that Brick?"
"And Boomer!" Bubbles exclaimed
"And Butch! What on Earth are /they/ doing here!"
They watched the boys scale the building, haul themselves up to the roof and disappear from view. No one else seemed to notice; they were too busy with the standoff.
"Come on! We can't let them escape! They're connected to this incident I just know it!" Blossom jumped into the air. And raced after the retreating shadows.
"But what about the Gangreen Gang?" Buttercup asked, following Blossom up through the sky.
"The police will deal with them. Besides, it's not like we can do much," said the leader, "Come on Bubbles, let's hurry!"
The Blonde Powerpuff hesitated, and then chased after them. And so, the trio left the police to fate and went after their targets of interests. Little would they know of the chain of events to come.
Back inside stock exchange, nothing much had changed as Snake paced back and forth watching for any sign of trouble from the hostages. Meanwhile, Ace continued to monitor while his computer drilled through the trading system's firewall.
"How long is that gonna take?" Asked Snake, "We've already been here for hours."
"It's only been eight minutes, don't exaggerate," Ace retorted,"And according to the boss, it should be done any moment now."
"Impossible!" Cried the chairman, now fully awake, "This place is protected by the best security system money can buy. There's no way you could break in so quickly."
Suddenly, the computer started chiming excitedly and a flashing green dialogue box popped up.
Ace grinned."This says I just did."
Sitting back down, he pulled out a document and proceeded to make the necessary transactions.
"Go get the others," Ace muttered to Snake, "We're getting out of here!"
Snake grunted, and went to relay the instructions.
"Everybody get up!"
The Gangreen gang sprayed a few rounds of ammunition into the ceiling, scaring the hostages into complying.
As the rest of the gang herded out the civilians, Ace sent an email and then stowed his computer away.
Back outside, everybody were still tensed as they waited for the Gang's exit. The sudden sound of gunfire startled everyone outside, and cops huddled behind their patrol cars, watching restlessly. Who knows how many they just harmed.
Suddenly, An officer cried out loud, "Someone's coming out!" And sure enough, the hostages emerged, trickling out of the building. Slowly, that trickle of became a flood, and more and more came pouring out. Yet, there was no sign of the gang anywhere.
"Standby..."
Suddenly, there came the sound if revving engines and five motocross bikes came bursting out of the Gangreen Gang plowed through the crowd, snagging up random people to act as human shields.
"HOLD YOUR FIRE! They have hostages!"
Ace raced ahead, holding a screaming woman captive. Behind them followed Snake, Grubber, and Big Billy, each with hostages of their own to ward off the cops. Little Arturo sat behind Grubber, holding on to a random gang made their escape, easily riding over the barriers and evading the police, who remained trapped behind those giant slabs of metal. As soon as they were clear, the gang quickly discarded their hostages and raced away at full speed.
A few miles away, a silver-grey sedan sat idling in a deserted parking lot. Inside, a shadowy figure chuckled as she received an encrypted message. Things were proceeding as planned.
A/N: Whew! This chapter was a monster to complete, mainly because of its importance to the plot, as well as certain events in my own life interfering with my work. But it's done now... And thank Goodness!
*before anyone starts flaming I should inform you that I'm not insulting people with homosexual orientation. The word "fag" here means cigarette, and I have no intention of offending the LGBT community.