//------------------------------// // Reprimands, Flashbacks, and Leads // Story: Consequences // by shallow15 //------------------------------// Tempest had decided to forego eating in her car for lunch, and was sitting at a table inside a Hey! Burger restaurant. She ate mechanically, her attention occupied by her investigation. The school would clearly be a problem, but there was nothing she could do about that right now. Therefore, it was time to look into some of her other leads. A call to Crystal Prep had yielded mixed results. While Principal Cadance was willing to meet, her schedule was booked until the following Monday. That caused the STORM agent to raise her eyebrows. School administrators were busy, yes, but after being stonewalled by Principal Celestia, a brush off from another was a little too coincidental for Tempest's liking. The other leads required her to locate people who didn't want to be found, required talking to either an unavailable or uncooperative principal, and someone who may or may not have been still employed at the mall movie theater. The mall. There was that girl at Nobody Loves Me who went quiet when I asked about the fight. She frowned as she remembered the encounter a few days previous. There was a good chance that the girl working the counter at the alternative clothing shop was also a CHS student. Legally, Principal Celelstia had no authority over her students off school grounds, which meant Tempest was free to question the girl as long as it wasn't at the school. Answers could be gotten that way. Save it for the weekend. More likely she's working during the day, and less likely she'll report the incident to Principal Celestia when Monday rolls around. She made a note to visit the mall again the next day. As she did, she spotted the one lead she hadn't done anything with yet: Camp Everfree. She looked at the clock on her screen and nodded to herself. I doubt I'll find any leads to find Adagio and her cronies until after sundown. I have some time to kill. A nice trip out to the forest could be worthwhile. Tempest cleaned up her trash and deposited it in the wastebasket before heading out to her car. She searched for the camp's address in the GPS app on her phone and drove out of the parking lot. It was about a ninety minute drive out to the lake where the camp stood. Tempest turned on her usual driving music. Early 80s punk blasted out of the speakers. She tapped her fingers along with the beat as she drove. After a few minutes, the music was interrupted by an incoming call. Tempest tapped the “answer” icon on the display in the dashboard. “Agent Shadow,” she said. She winced when the voice of Cosmos Stormking, the director of STORM, came bellowing out of the speakers. “Tempest! What's going on out there? Progress report, now!” Tempest stifled as sigh and spoke. “I've confirmed that three of the girls in the music video attend Canterlot High, sir. And one of them is definitely one of the girls who were at the mall rampage.” “Are they in custody?” The director's voice was harsh. “Sir, at the moment we don't have any hard evidence that they were involved. To arrest them now would – “ “I don't want your excuses, Tempest! I want whatever the hell is going on out there under control.” “Yes, sir, but right now, nothing is happening. And as much as I would like to – “ Tempest rolled her eyes. “ – arresting teenagers without knowing exactly what they have to do with all of this might be another PR problem. I don't really feel like repeating what happened out west last year.” There was a pause, and then the director spoke again, his voice cold and deadly. “How many times do I have to remind you, Agent? Your feelings don't matter here. You should remember the last time you let your feelings lead an investigation.” Tempest's jaw clenched and one hand left the steering wheel to rub her scarred eye under the shock of hair that flopped over it. She took a deep breath and let it out. “Yes, sir.” “Get on with it, Agent. And remember, you get me what I need, and I'll get you what you want.” “Yes, sir.” Tempest struggled to keep her resentment out of her voice. She put both hands on the wheel and squeezed. The Director's sneer was audible. “How long, Tempest?” “Give me five days, sir. I have some difficult leads to track down, but I know I can find them.” There was a moment of silence, then: “Fine. But if you don't have results by Wednesday, I'm going to take a deep... personal... interest this in case.” “I understand, sir.” “Results. Now. Or you're not getting anything from me. Ever.” “Yes, sir.” There was a beep as the call disconnected. The pounding beat and expressions of rage returned. Tempest drove in silence, her knuckles white on the steering wheel. She took a series of deep breaths, trying to calm the raging monologue in her head. It's not working. It's not working. Something calming. The ocean. The beach. The waves. The river. NOT THE RIVER! NO! Tempest let out a scream of frustration and pulled off the road. She got out of the car and paced around the car until her heart stopped racing and her breath slowed. Another deep breath, and she ran her hand through her hair before getting back in the car and on the road. She drove, her face carefully neutral, while she counted silently by fives in her head. Her phone rang again. Her hand approached the screen in the dashboard, but hesitated. She blinked and let out a quiet growl. She stabbed the “Answer” icon with her finger. “Agent Shadow,” she hissed. “Yes, Agent Shadow? This is Record Holder from Canterlot City Hospital. I'm returning your call?” Tempest let out her breath and relaxed. “Yes, Mr. Holder, excuse me. I'm looking for someone who may be a witness in an incident I'm investigating. I don't have a name, but she's a teenage girl with a serious injury that was admitted roughly about a week and a half ago?” “I'll be happy to help you with that, Agent Shadow. One second.” Tempest heard the clacking of keys. A few moments later, the clerk came back on the line. “Do you have any further details, Agent Shadow?” Tempest frowned. “Let me guess. There is no record of any teenage girl being admitted a week and a half ago with a serious injury.” “What? No,” said Record Holder. “We're a hospital, we get things like that all the time. But, there was a couple of odd cases that might be related.” “How so?” “Well, we had a paralysis case around then, but three days earlier we also had coma paitent who was admitted.” “Coma patient?” Tempest frowned. “What happened there?” “Well, that's the really weird thing. You'd have to talk to Dr. Cross for the details, but that particular patient was abducted the night the paralysis patient came in. In fact, both of them came in the same night of the abduction.” Tempest's eyes widened. “Were they together?” “Hmmmm.. yes! Along with a third patient with a broken arm. She was treated and released.” A broken arm. Tempest felt her lips curling up into a smile. The girl with the pink poofy hair she had seen with Rarity and the redhead had a cast on her arm. “I'm currently outside of town, Mr. Holder, but would it be possible for me to stop by this afternoon to talk to you about these cases? Around four o'clock?” “That would be fine. You can find me on the third floor. Just ask for me at the desk.” “Thank you so much, Mr. Holder. I will see you this afternoon.” “Happy to help, Agent Shadow. Goodbye.” “Goodbye.” Tempest ended the call, and the punk returned. Her smile turned into a grin. If the director wanted results, then results were exactly what he was going to get.