Chapter 13
Debate or Confession
Storm checked outside, nobody seemed to be in sight. Jet browsed through every file on the computer. He found something surprising. It was the news reports detailing the shooting Nazo failed to prevent.
He examined the newsletters and watched numerous clips. It showed Tom Steves' motivation behind SWAT. He wanted a freedom fighters type of organisation with the willpower of the government. He was for to resign due to mediocre cooperation. Jim Chrissy is the CFO of SWAT, who was sacked for discrimination. There was evidence which revealed a scheme to kill Nazo.
Nazo and Anthony found the Babylon Rogues. For a minute it looked like those birds will become computer nerds. Their investigation with what's happening at the moment caught their attention. They weren't part of the evil plan or a bogus undercover task. They were just thieves, who focus on artefacts, not Intel.
Nazo saw the photo of Tom Steves. His haunting memory hit him hard. Anthony watched the hedgehog gain fear.
"You have to see this," said Jet.
He played a new clip which showed amateur footage of what happened in the house. There was a CCTV camera in the house. It was installed just to catch thieves.
"How long til your son comes home?" asked Chrissy.
"Not for another 3 hours," answered Steves.
Steves' wife went outside to a nearby payphone. She called the police, making it an anonymous call. Steves and Chrissy tore up almost every room except for the boy's bedroom. Once the police car parked, the first phase just got started.
A bullet breaking a window was just enough to call for backup. It didn't take long for them to arrive along with Nazo.
Steves pretended to lose his mind. Chrissy spotted the chief outside arguing with the komodo dragon about hiring snipers. He managed to spot one going into position on the south side of the house. He informed Steves which made him toss his gun. He fired four shots just before the sniper could peek into the scope.
The police chief walked over to the door, trying to take the matter into his own hands. He saw Chrissy holding the gun, he knew him right from the light blonde hair.
"Jim?" he said in a surprised manner.
Chrissy took a shot at the police chief. Steves felt some of the glass falling onto his head.
"The chief knows who you are?" the wife asked.
"I used to be his partner in the force. I quit and collaborated with you to create SWAT." Chrissy knew that the plan will fail if the chief identified them. Killing him was the only option he came up with.
Steves sat near the window while Jim Chrissy discussed with him on what the next part of the plan is. Steves' wife was finishing applying makeup on her face.
"Nazo will come to us and we will use his powers to revive SWAT," informed Chrissy.
"Trying to make him a WMD will backfire. Not to mention too powerful for SWAT," hesitated Steves.
The wife wasn't the kind of person who must choose a side. She only became part of the plan in hopes in getting a position in SWAT. It was unclear why she wanted to be in SWAT, most of the news reports suggest it was for the increase in salary. She couldn't resist the amount of money she'll get paid for.
"You should think about the effects if you use Nazo," suggested the wife. "It could hurt the financial gain."
Steves continued to cry in the mouthpiece, Chrissy peeked in the window. He watched Nazo speaking with Phil Peters, the komodo dragon and Rouge. It was going smoothly, he was leaning on the right side so he won't be spotted. The wife sneaked on the floor. She sat near Chrissy, she wanted to see what's happening. "If you have second thoughts let me know."
The young boy watched the whole conversation. He skipped school and head for home early. He knew nothing about the scheme. Chrissy, Steves and the wife weren't paying attention to him. They were caught up in capturing the hedgehog. He opened the door, standing there, like he was watching an animal in the zoo. He was too distracted by what they're doing rather than what they're saying.
Steves covered the mouthpiece. It was like he heard his wife's sentence being spoken. "I have one, Chrissy, do you know what his powers are?"
"Aside from having the same power from the all the Chaos Emeralds combined, he has the skills of Sonic, Shadow and Silver combined." Chrissy tossed Steves a folder containing the three hedgehogs' dossiers.
Steves read every word on every piece of paper. He doesn't know anything about Chrissy plans. All he told was that capturing Nazo was the top priority. He knew that Chrissy can be unpredictable with coming up with a plan. He remembered the plan where they had to bust the drug ringers in the apartment Scourge grew up in. Chrissy called it off, because Bunnie Rabbot beat them to the punch.
Steves heard Nazo talking and resumed the charade. Although no one outside can hear what they're saying, and the only way to know was to contact them via telephone, what happened inside was a different story than what the press original intended. Chrissy can see Nazo walking towards the house.
"When we have him, we'll drain all of his energy," informed Steves.
"You should know that Jim and I have been given a cut," informed the wife.
Lace Steves couldn't believe that this person would want Nazo's powers. Not just for destroying the competition, but to kill the hedgehog for unknown reasons. She buttoned her shirt with a reply. "Bernard McOulen."
Steves heard a door opening, he pulled the trigger, only to find who he killed startled him, Chrissy and the wife. His son's stomach was bleeding blood and the young boy lied on the floor losing the will to live. With no turning back, he shot Chrissy and his wife. The last image before getting shot was Nazo. He had no remorse.
Nazo doesn't believe everything that's been explained in that clip. It's wasn't the fact he had superpowers, he already knew that. It was the idea by Bernard McOulen to use his power for "preventing evil". His quills glowed brighter, then his body started to glow. The power McOulen was searching for has emerged.
The Babylon Rogues found something more valuable than a rock. A gifted hedgehog no human or mobian can imagine. They don't the same thing McOulen is after. They don't hunt for living treasure. They only search for treasure that's been kept away for centuries.
"Nazo?" Anthony asked.
"Keep the guns, I don't want them anymore," Nazo answered with a livid voice.