Kaleb and Abby stayed with Gort as Two Gun left to deal with the police. Already Kaleb could hear the sounds of the sirens in the distance. Abby was still glaring daggers at Gort, and Kaleb had to drag her gaze away from the alien to hold a conversation.
“So who are these people, Abs?”
The short woman sighed as she finally looked away from Gort. “Small time gangers who call themselves The Shadows.”
“That explains the hoods and capes. But does their equipment normally deter high-grade laser fire?”
Abby’s eyes grew wide before she glared back at Gort. The alien was still collapsed into a pile of unconscious gangsters. He looked like he wanted to be anywhere else than where he was. Especially with Abby looming over him with her arms shifting into long blades. Kaleb held the shorter woman back as he addressed Gort.
“Where did your crew get the capes?”
“Hey! Fuck you, lizard. I don’t- HURK,”
Abby slammed a fist into Gort’s face again and raised it back for another go. But Gort quickly raised his covered arms and protected his head.
“We got a new supplier!”
Kaleb rolled his eyes at the obviousness of that answer and spun his finger in a circle. Trying to get the alien to go on.
“I don’t know who he is! Some guy just showed up with a load of tech to pass around for reasonable prices. Shit’s quality too.”
“And you ain’t got a name or nothing?” Abby asked, skeptical.
“No! He shows up in his van, sells you the shit, and then drives off again.”
“What’s he look like?”
“I don’t know. He wears a mask and one of the capes. All we ever hear is his voice when he’s selling you stuff. Honest!”
Abby had raised her fist to smack the idiot around some more, but Kaleb intervened. The sirens were right on top of them now. The last thing they needed was for the cops to see them beating a prisoner. Instead, Kaleb moved her away from the pile of bodies and toward the side door. As soon as they heard the front entrance open and Two Gun leading the cops downstairs, they took positions by the side door and waited. The idea was to make the police think they were guarding the door.
What followed was a bureaucratic nightmare that Kaleb thought would never end. Their jurisdiction was checked and then re-checked, their contracts were brought up, their equipment questioned, the property damage was inspected. Even with the cloudy bouncer not wanting to charge them for the chaos, the cops were making the whole endeavor difficult. At least Kaleb thought so.
As they waited, Abby seemed to become more calm. She continued to glare at the unconscious members of the Shadows as they were dragged out of the building. The cops carefully documented the injuries of each gangster, pointedly asking if any of them wanted to press charges. Kaleb seethed as a few of the smug cops grinned at him. But he kept his cool as the cops went about their business.
Thankfully, Two Gun kept up a running commentary on what had happened and why they were there. Gort corroborated the story and was soon stashed in the back of a police car and whisked away. The tedium finally ended when the cops finally left the place. Leaving dire warnings to the bar’s owner of what happens to places not protected by the HLO. Kaleb almost lost it at that point, but Abby was calm enough now to cut him off. She and Two Gun saw the police blowhards out before they came back and sat down at a table.
Kaleb joined the pair and finally asked. “What’s the play?”
“The police have it now. It’s no longer up to us.” Two Gun said simply.
“What about the mystery arms seller?”
“I want to go back and check with Farrah about that.” Abby said. “She runs the drones, and she is bound to have seen something.”
“I’ll get started on combing through the footage.” Farrah’s voice echoed in their ears. “You three need to head a few blocks over. Some knuckleheads are trying to run away with an ATM.”
Kaleb rolled his eyes. “Great super-strong idiots with too much time on their hands.”
“Nope.” Farrah explained. “Dumb bastards are using a truck and a winch to lift the thing out of the wall.”
Kaleb shook his head as he and the others left the bar. Abby shared a few quick words with Nimbus before they left. Kaleb jogged back down the road to his own car as Abby and Two Gun rushed to theirs. Kaleb heard the telltale signs of drones in the air as he started his car.
“I almost forgot y’all came in two cars.” Farrah said over their comms. “In that case, Professor, you can handle a break in up the street at a bodega. Two Gun and Abby can take the ATM theft.”
“Oh, come on! I could handle the theft.”
“Never said you couldn’t, but the ATM team is bigger, so it needs more people. The bodega was robbed by two aliens. I have them on the drones now.”
Kaleb grunted as he threw his car into gear and headed northward on the street. He was still connected to Two Gun and Abby, so he could hear the two planning to take the ATM crew.
“I’ll disable the truck and winch, and then we take the team.” Two Gun was saying.
“Can you drive and shoot that accurately?” Abby asked.
“Also, when you take the winch, that ATM is going to go flying. I’d stop the truck first and deal with the thugs. Then once everything is stopped, detach the winch.” Kaleb said.
“Not a bad idea, Professor. Any idea how to slow the car down without too much collateral damage?”
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“Pit maneuver?”
“A sedan versus a tow truck with a heavy winch? Not likely.”
“If it’s a rear-wheel truck, he can blast out the back tires. The thing will fish-tail, but it’ll get them to stop.”
“And if they flip?” Abby asked.
Kaleb shrugged and wanted to say that they were criminals anyway, but he spotted his targets. A yellow alien with a bulbous head and tentacles for arms was running down the sidewalk. Right beside them was their partner, a red-skinned alien with enormous arms and spindly little legs. They were both carrying plastic bags full of credits that were spilling on the sidewalk as they ran. Kaleb sighed as he watched the two amateurs make their way down the street.
“One second, Abs.” Kaleb said before rolling down his window and slowing his car down.
“Attention, the two nimrods that robbed the bodega. Halt immediately and put your hands in the air. Please don’t make me-”
Kaleb was cut off as a blob of yellow slime slammed into the front of his car. The two thieves then ran even harder as Kaleb got control of his car. The red alien’s spindly little legs separated into multiple, needle-thin legs that skittered up a nearby wall. Meanwhile, their partner bounced down the sidewalk like a ball. They were both still heading the same direction, though, so once Kaleb had control of his car, he stepped on the gas to get ahead of them.
Coming to the next intersection, Kaleb stopped his car and drew his Sun Gun. He fired a blast into the air to keep the pedestrians away. But there weren’t that many on the street. The few rubberneckers he had were keeping back, though. Kaleb approached the sidewalk and pointed his weapon at the bouncy yellow alien. Their partner was still running along the rooftops with their many legs.
“Freeze!” Kaleb shouted, but the blob was still bouncing away, getting closer.
With a sigh, Kaleb opened fire and sent several yellow orbs of energy toward the alien. The yellow energy hit the alien and sent him careening into the pavement. A high-pitched cry of alarm drew Kaleb’s eyes to the roofs in time to see the red alien jump off the roof at him. They spread out their many legs and aimed them like spears at Kaleb’s face. He fired at his attackers twice, but only hit once before the needle-like legs of the alien got too close. Unbidden, Kaleb’s robotic arm jerked up and Shocky deployed itself. Several long red legs scrambled against his metal shield and a few scratched at his lab coat. But nothing broke through. The red alien’s assault ended abruptly as they hit Kaleb’s shield and fell to the street. Kaleb sent two blasts of energy into the alien and watched them seize up before passing out.
Kaleb bent over and picked up the red alien as he called it in to Farrah.
“Bodega thieves have been taken care of. What’s next?”
“Next is you wait for the police to do a pickup.” Farrah said sternly.
“Or I could go help Two Gun and Abby.”
“They’re fine, Professor. Protocol dictates that you wait with the perpetrators until the appropriate agency arrives. The PD has been notified and they are sending a car.”
“Meanwhile, how many other crimes are happening right now?”
“Not enough to warrant a disregard of protocol. Especially with the HLO still pulling shit. Stay with the punks, Professor.”
Kaleb grunted angrily and tossed the red alien down on top of their compatriot. The credits had skidded out across the sidewalk and Kaleb spent the next few minutes collecting the loose money. It wasn’t much, but Kaleb was sure the owner of the bodega would prefer to have it back. Farrah’s drones were constantly watching him and recording everything he was doing, so Kaleb ignored the urge to pocket a few credits. Loot was loot, but they needed to be squeaky clean.
It was a full thirty minutes before the police arrive. In that time, Two Gun and Abby had stopped the theft of the ATM and were also waiting for their own police intervention. Kaleb was just complaining about the slow-ass cops when they pulled up to the curb Kaleb was sitting on and got out of the car. Both officers were human, and they glared smugly at Kaleb as they got out, steaming coffee mugs in hand.
“Working hard there, Supe?”
Kaleb stood and stretched his arms as he returned their combined glare. “A team is only as fast as their slowest member.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” asked the other cop as they both approached the criminals.
“It means you don’t get to stop for coffee and donuts and then blame me for being slow.” Kaleb almost growled.
Both cops stopped next to the prone thieves and continued to glare at him. Kaleb could tell that they both wanted to say something. But they didn’t. Instead, the lead officer merely spit on the sidewalk and growled back at Kaleb.
“Why don’t you get out of here, Super. We’ve got it from here.”
“Sure thing, Cop.”
With that, Kaleb spun on his heel and walked over to his car. He had moved it closer while waiting it was barely a few feet away. As he got in, he used the mirrors to watch the two cops collect the thieves and the bags of credits. Supposedly, the pair would return the stolen credits to their owner. But Kaleb doubted it.
“Could you put a drone on them, Farrah?”
“We really don’t have time to engage in useless vendettas, professor. Especially ones that won’t pan out.”
“Alright, but if those credits don’t make it back to their owner…”
“Then we have evidence that shows you didn’t touch them. That’s all we can do. Now there’s a magical ward that is pushing people away from an alleyway. Jar-lock is in-route and you need to move to assist.”
Kaleb sighed and started his car. The day had started so well, with some skill advancements and a lovely conversation about robotics. Now he was out and chasing criminals for an ungrateful police department. He pulled his car away from the curb and had Farrah guide him to his next assignment.
When he arrived, Jar-lock was already handcuffing a teenager in red robes. Kaleb exited his car and asked some onlookers to step back. A few wanted to argue, but Kaleb’s armor and weapon made them think twice. As he approached, Jar-lock smiled up at him. The big mage removed his knee from the teenager’s back and lifted him bodily to his feet.
“Evening, Professor. The situation has been handled. Clarence here was just learning that if you want to commit murder, you shouldn’t cast a Keep-Out ward around the crime scene.”
“Is the victim okay?”
“Yeah, she’s a little shaken up. But she seems fine. I’ll request that the police have someone talk to her.”
“Good luck with that.” Kaleb muttered.
Jar-lock’s eyes squinted. “Always civil, Professor. Remember.”
“Yeah, yeah. I got it. You gonna wait for the cops?”
“Yeah, go on. It’s going to be a busy evening.”
Kaleb sighed and got back into his car. Calling into Farrah, he requested.
“Please give me something to punch.”
“There’s a turf war on Colfax and Halloway. Enhanced have been spotted in the fight, so Claire will meet you there.”
“Thank you!”
Kaleb peeled out of the street in a rush and hurried on to his next adventure of the evening.