A/N: Sorry this took so long to get posted. I was out of commission with a nasty stomach bug. Hope you like it.
Chapter 15
The day passed slowly as the ThunderCats helped with whatever they could. Mwende's call to the Russians earlier in the morning had not resulted in any captures and regrettably the Russian biosphere was already emptied and the ships had headed to New Thundera. Kostoff promised that the investigation would continue and hopefully the perpetrators would be caught before arriving on the ThunderCats' home planet. Mwende and Lion-O had been in contact as often as they could with the Russian President but still as dinner drew near there was no word. The first Russian ship would be landing on New Thundera inside of three hours. Wisely, the Asian communities had been sent to Third Earth to hopefully avoid any more conflict.
"No word yet Sir?" Pali asked as Lion-O exited Mwende's office.
"I'm afraid not. We're probably asking too much anyway given the tiny time frame," the lion sighed.
"Probably so. Should I place a call to Mandora and tell her the situation?" The reptile wanted to know.
"Yes please. Send her my regards and ask if the Evil Chasers have any idea on how to help. I probably should have had you call her yesterday but things being what they were…" Lion-O trailed off.
"Not to worry Sir. I'm on it," Pali smiled and then headed into Mwende's office as the President was leaving.
"Well I guess all we can do now is wait," the man shook his head, obviously frustrated.
"I suppose so. In the meantime, we should probably brief everyone on the status of the evacuations and how the doctors' work is coming along," Lion-O suggested.
"Excellent idea. I'll have them head to the break room," Mwende said and he quickly picked up the wall phone and made the announcement.
Fifteen minutes later, when the rest of the ThunderCats and the doctors arrived, the President of Mars brought everyone up to speed. Pali added that the Evil Chasers were now brought in on what was going on and were assembling a team that would be there was quickly as they could. The doctors then spoke up, noting that the absence of any more quakes was a good thing but that readings were still coming in from sensors all over the planet and they were closely monitoring things.
"I'd say we're on track to have everyone off the planet but us in about a day and a half," Mwende then said.
"That's good. Hopefully while everyone is off the planet, we can monitor conditions and see if anything pops up regarding the quakes. This way there will be no unseen forces changing the planet's natural balance while we collect our data," Doctor Centi spoke up.
"Agreed. The sooner we find out if Mars will sustain life the better," Lion-O nodded.
"Yes. That way we can start the process of creating new biospheres in stable zones of the planet for the Asian population," Mwende agreed.
"What do you intend to do with those that started this in the first place?" Cheetara asked.
"I have no idea. While we can't speak to whether or not they intended to harm the whole planet, I can't see letting them off anytime soon," the President said.
"Perhaps we should leave the punishment to Mandora when she arrives," Pali suggested.
"It would certainly fit inside her jurisdiction," Panthro nodded.
"That it would. Something I will have to talk to the Council about first," Mwende told them.
"Understandable," Lion-O said. Before anyone else could speak up, the phone on the wall rang and Mwende quickly answered it. Whoever was on the phone call spoke in a language that no one at the table understood so they waited for a full explanation from the President when he got off the line.
"The security forces have broken our suspects. Seems they didn't like the prospect of being left behind with no escape off the planet," Mwende smirked slightly.
"Ah motivation," Lion-O chuckled.
"So what did they say?" Panthro was curious.
"They don't have a line up the chain of command but they say they were working with a Doctor Rostov. Does that name ring any bells?" Mwende looked at Sven and Ali.
"I can remember that name but from some time ago, certainly not someone up on latest events," Sven frowned. Ali was a little more helpful.
"I know the man. He taught at the university I attended. There is no way he would be involved in something like this," the middle-eastern doctor said.
"Well maybe he had no choice. Some of the men we arrested work for the Russian Mob," Mwende heaved a sigh, delivering more news that had come from the phone call.
"Mob?" Cheetara raised an eyebrow.
"A criminal organization that involves itself with money laundering, murder, and other illicit activities," Pali filled in. The cheetah nodded and everyone turned their attention back to Mwende.
"Ok so why would this Mob care if the Asians were making life difficult for the Russian military?" Ben-Gali asked.
"That my friend is the million dollar question," the President frowned.
To Be Continued…