Comet looked around at the chaotic mess that used to be the living room of her home. Boxes, trash bags full of clothes, and other things were spread out all across the room.
The house was from her grandmother. She lived here for her whole life, from childhood to adulthood. It’s in good shape for a three-bedroom house and in the outskirts of District 3.
Comet’s grandmother gave her this house when she went into Assisted living a few months ago. Comet felt bed taking her home after she left, but her grandmother assured her that this was something she wanted to do and she knew Comet needed this home more than she did.
It took two weeks for her to move everything in from the apartment that she used to live in. It could have been less if she had accepted the help her coworkers offered when she told.
Comet denied it for two reasons. The first was because without a doubt moving sucks. Especially in and out of apartments. Moving heavy things is bad enough, but moving heavy things up and down a flight of stairs makes it five times worse. Then the whole process starts all over again. She didn’t want them to go through that on their day off. The second was because of Star. She’d overheard him and Storm talking one day about how he moved a whole couch through his window.
Comet didn’t know if this was true or not, but Star’s antics were well known and Comet wasn’t going to take that risk of something being damaged whether it was going to be her apartment or her stuff. She liked Star just not to the point where he’ll handle her stuff.
Comet carefully walked around the things she hadn’t unpacked yet. There was still so much that she needed to do. From the furniture to the kitchen appliances, Comet didn’t know where to start. The only room in the house that isn’t a mess is the bedroom. That was the first place that was cleared and organized.
On her way to the garage, Comet passed by a few pictures. They were the first thing she put up when she moved in for the first time. The photos were from Comet’s childhood not that they were many to begin with.
Her favorite was the one with her grandmother when she was in the softball. Her grandmother was her favorite person out of everyone in her family. She was the only one who stuck by Comet during her rebel phase. Her parents didn’t care due to her younger sister.
Comet did what almost every teenager does during their rebel stage. She lied, sneaking out on a nightly basis, skipping classes, talking back to teachers, and getting into multiple fights. The only thing she hadn’t done was get in trouble with the police.
The phase ended after a near-death experience when she was out late one night. At that moment, Comet turned over a new leaf and changed. Her parents were slow to gain their trust in her back. Comet understood why, she doesn’t hold that against them to this day.
Comet’s thoughts were interrupted by her phone ringing in her pocket.
Comet answered the phone without checking the caller ID. “What now?”
"Thanks for swinging by and picking me up," Comet thanked Clover. "I'd take the train to the station or took one of our cars, but there was a delay at the station."
"No problem,” Clover replied. “I needed to stop by the office anyway. How's the move going?"
"Pretty well," Comet sighed. "I got everything in their areas, but I still haven’t unpacked them yet. Haven’t had time."
"If you want I could help." Clover offered.
"If you don’t mind,” Comet said. “The reason why I didn’t take anyone’s help was that I thought it would be a hassle."
“If it was going to be a hassle then none of us would have offered in the first place.” Clover pointed out. “Don’t be afraid to ask for help now and then Comet.
"That would be a big help. Switching topics, what's the assignment?" Comet asked.
"We're going to Kings Hill for a robbery," Clover answered.
Comet’s eyes widen. "Kings Hill? In District 1?"
"That’s right," Clover confirmed. "District 1.”
Kings Hill is one of the wealthy neighborhoods in the city. Pretty much all of District 1 is high-end from the homes and the business in that area.
Crime there is the lowest in the whole city. There are police precincts there as well as the headquarters of public safety for the entire city.
District 1 has a high police and security presence at the boards and within the distance. Besides downtown on the weekends and special events, district 1 has the most police presence in the whole city.
"Why is a special task force like us being called to District 1 for a robbery anyway?" Comet asked.
"From what Night told me something of very high value was stolen last night. They want it back ASAP. Star is waiting for us there. Everyone else is checking the area.
The location was a few miles into District 1. A small crowd gathered outside staring at the scene. Crime doesn't happen here as much, so it made sense a crowd would gather around to see this.
After parking Comet and Clover meet up with Star.
"Nice of you to join us," Star said when Comet and Clover arrived. "You missed the fun."
"What kind of fun?" Comet asked.
"Some guy was losing his crap at the head guard of the lot when he said what was stolen here last night."
"And what was exactly stolen?" Clover asked.
"A Tesla cybertruck."
"Cybertruck?" Clover asked. “What the heck is that?”
"A very expensive version of a pickup truck,” Comet replied.
"Look that's what the guy said not me," Star reminded. "Anyway come on, I need to catch you guys up."
"What is this place? A car lot?" Clover asked.
"Something like that," Star answered. "We didn't get an official answer from the owner. From what I've seen this is a service center for high-end vehicles. There's fuel pumps, a car wash, and a garage for all the cars."
"Where was the truck stolen?" Comet asked.
"Right over there," Star pointed to a medium-sized car garage. "That’s where the truck was."
Looking around the area, Comet noticed the gates around the property, keypads or card readers on the doors, and cameras pretty much everywhere you turned. Security was tight. Somebody or something had to be seen.”
"So, if we got all the information we need why was I told to come here instead of the office?" Clover asked.
Star smiled. “It was a long weekend. I missed you guys.”
"We have nothing?" Storm asked.
"Afride so," Buck confirmed. "All the cameras from the lot were jammed inside the yard and outside too."
"There were at least 12 guards on duty last night. How did they not stop it let alone see anyone?"
"Here’s the funny thing," Comet begins. "They were all in the break room watching the football game that was on that night. By the time they figured out what was happening, the doors were locked and couldn't be opened."
"They were locked inside the building and couldn't get out?" Buck asked. "I don't know if that's funny or scary."
"The door can only be opened by a keyfob, from the outside, " Clover added. "A keyfob that they all have. Inside it can just be pushed open with no lock."
"The gates were opened remotely, the security guards couldn't get out of their break room because the keyfob lock malfunctioned and all cameras around the lot were jammed so we can't see anything." Buck listed out. "Inside job anyone?"
"Could be an electronic error," Phantom suggested. It happens.”
"A one-of-a-kind truck that doesn't exist was the only one taken, right when the whole security system went down," Clover explained. "I'm with Buck this had to be an inside job."
"Do we have anything from the building cameras beside the lot?" Storm asked.
"I was only able to get a few angles from the other buildings, but it looks like a semi-truck was used to take the truck. It was inside a trailer about to be shipped that morning." Star explained. "They load it in there to keep it from being seen from the streets."
The situation was both annoying and strange. The equipment going out and the guards didn't have any useful information, but it was strange that it all went out at the same time.
Buck could be right. This had to be an inside job or a very well-planned heist, but why only steal the truck? There were many other things there worth just as much.
Then Storm remembered the conversation with the lot owner before leaving. He explained in great detail on the vehicle and why it was so important. The truck parts in the engine along with the truck itself are priceless. Maybe that’s why it was targeted.
"The better question is where the truck is," Phantom followed up. "It couldn't have gotten far even if it's inside a semi-truck trailer. Doesn't District 1 have license plate readers?"
Star sighed. "Tried that. Found the truck, but the LP is for a compact car, not a semi-truck. It exited the District going southwest and got off on Tileway.
"That means they took the I-3 highway and got off somewhere in District 2," Storm said. "It's the best we got. Let's head out there."
The I-3 highway is one of two highways in the city. It's the city's perimeter, stretching around to all the districts in the city making a complete circle.
"Star said it got off on Tileway right?" Clover asked. "There's nothing over there besides a few businesses and office buildings. That trailer is going to be out of place.”
"Never underestimate criminals Clover," Comet reminded. "Some are smarter than you think. Others not so much.”
"Well, I'm more curious about this Cybertruck thing they stole. What's so special about it?"
"It's supposed to be unlike any truck on the road right now. They've been talking about it for years and it's been delayed for one reason or another."
"A pickup truck being electric is special?"
"Electric, a tough body, exoskeleton design, all-wheel drive, high acceleration," Comet explained. "The list goes on. I think it's supposed to be self-driven too. Like those electric cars downtown.”
"That seems way over the top,” Clover said. “Who would buy something like that?"
"Millionaires," Comet replied bluntly. “The other car brands they make are trash as well. The truck won’t be any better.”
Clover muttered something before she turned her attention back to the laptop on her lap. "I wonder if this tracker in the trailer is accurate."
"It better be. If that truck is the only one in existence that would be a major loss."
After turning on Tileway nothing seemed out of place till the tracker started to pick up.
"We must be near," Clover said looking around. "Tracker is picking up."
The area they entered is a large urban-like street that's taken up by numerous warehouses used for shipping and receiving. For years this area was known as the warehouse district, it's located near the highway and railroad, so transportation in and out of the city is easy and quick.
Over the years a few warehouses were abandoned due to the company's closing or moving to another location. Many are still being used only a few are unoccupied.
Driving around Comet noticed most of the warehouses weren't abandoned like she thought they were. Most of them looked to be new.
Comet came to a stop at a fence that separated them from another row of warehouses. These looked pretty old and rundown. Many tents were up around them and people were sleeping outside.
"Dead ahead," Clover confirmed. "Our one-of-a-kind cybertruck is somewhere in there."
"It's in there?" Comet asked. "Then it's being sold for parts. That place hasn't changed."
"You've been there before?"
"When I was with HTR we used to raid this place twice a week," Comet explained. "It's a homeless camp for families. An organization bought it out and changed the warehouses into small, but nice apartments. It was a pretty decent place at first.”
"What happened?" Clover asked.
"A group of lowlives decided to set up shop here after the organization went under and the state took it over. They gave drugs to recovering addicts and brought junkies with them. Multiple 9-1-1 calls from citizens here who wanted us to do something, so we patrolled it daily.”
"Why did it stop?"
"They cleaned up their act, but we all know they just lay low for a while before starting back up again. We had no proof that there still operating in there."
Clover turned her attention back to the yard. The fence seemed like a wall separating them. Similar to the road that separated the neighborhoods in District 6. "We'll what do we do?"
"We should back off," Comet suggested. "They know an unmarked unit from a mile away. We’ll spook the whole place if we go inside."
Before heading back to the office Comet stopped at a small grocery store to get something to drink when the temperature decided to rise to 90.
On the way out, a security guard grabbed a girl by her shirt stopping her from leaving.
"You're not leaving till the cops get here." He growled.
"Let me go you creep!" She shouted. "I didn't take anything!"
"Then let me see your bag."
"I told you no," She shouted again and tried to pull away. "You always do this."
"Because you always come in here and leave with nothing. Now hand it over!"
The guard grabbed the girl's bag before he could do anything Comet grabbed the bag from him.
"Calm down supercop," Comet said. "Let her go."
"Who the hell are..."
Comet showed her badge. "Before you ask, I'm a cop. Now why are you getting rough with a girl half your age?"
The guard sputtered before answering. "Sh.. She's been here multiple times a week and never buys anything. I know she’s stealing?”
Comet rolled her eyes. She hated security guards like this. They think they are real cops, and most of them always cause trouble like now.
"How do you know she's taken anything today?" Comet asked.
"Her bag, check it now."
Comet looked at the girl. She looked no older than seventeen. The hoodie she was wearing was from Canterlot High, one of the high schools in the city.
Comet opened the bag. Inside was a laptop, a few papers, and two 3.00 dollar sandwiches.
"Nothing is in here that the store has,” Comet finally said. “Let her go and if you don't I'll arrest you for assault and harassment."
The guard let the girl go, “Don’t come back here with the backpack.” He stormed off.
Comet gave the girl her bag. "Stay out of trouble."
Comet started to walk out of the store when the girl spoke up.
"Thank you." She called out.
Still walking out the store not wanting to keep Clover waiting Comet replied by giving her a thumbs up.
"The warehouse camp huh?" Storm asked. "I thought that place was cleaned up."
"Not clean enough if they're boosting cars," Buck commented. "Are you sure that's where the tracker leads?"
"Yeah, we're sure," Clover confirmed. "We circled the area a few times. The tracker kept pointing towards the warehouse camp. Where exactly we don’t know.”
"You were right to back off," Star said. "The narcotics unit believes there's an unstable method lab somewhere in there.”
"Ok. So we have a possible idea of where the truck is. The real question is how do we get it back without causing a scene?" Comet asked.
"Someone on the inside would be ideal," Night suggested. "The only thing is we don't know anyone we can trust. One of us has to go in. We should wait till tomorrow."
"Are you sure?" Phantom asked. "That truck could be in pieces or at a completely different location by the morning."
"Don't worry the tracker will pick it up if it moves," Clover assured. "As for the truck they're not getting through that locks on the trailer. The jaws of life the firefighters use would have a tough time getting through that armor."
"Now the only thing we don't know is how they easily got in and out of the car lot." Night said.
"I can answer that," Star said raising his hand. "Turns out the system was hacked."
"Hacked?" Storm asked
"Yup. The cameras, gates, and doors. They were all operated by someone outside the yard. This caused the gates to open, the cameras to lag and the keyfob to malfunction trapping the guards in the breakroom." Star explained.
"The hacker did all of this, but didn't disable the tracker in the trailer?" Phantom asked.
"Maybe they don't know," Night guessed. "Either way we have an advantage. Let’s not lose it by wasting time.”
For the past two days, the team worked around the clock to find a way to get the semi-truck out of the homeless camp without raising alarm.
The unknown location of the meth lap is one thing. How not to cause a panic is another. From a person down on their luck to someone who is completely unstable.
Everyone agrees that going loud is not ideal. Panic and chaos would start the second a squad car pulled in.
To have some peace of mind Star and Phantom volunteered to scout the yard and get information.
"Ok, so Phantom is here," Clover pointed to a white dot on the large outline of the warehouse camp. "He's confirmed that the trailer is still in there."
"Does he know if the cybertruck is still there?" Buck asked.
"No, He only saw the trailer. Storm, has Star found the meth lab?"
"Nothing concrete," Storm answered. "The meth heads and dealers do hang out in that area of the camp. It's near the back far from the entrance, roads, and pretty much everything else." Storm pointed to a block on the far Southeast side of the camp. "It's here."
Comet sighed. "Them being on completely different sides of the camp is a plus. Now our main mission is how to get it back."
The four continued to plan their next move till Night interrupted them.
"How's it going?" Night asked.
"We're trying to avoid an all-out brawl in a homeless camp," Storm answered. "It's not going well."
Night grunted. "We'll let me know how that goes. Comet a moment."
Thinking nothing of it, Comet followed Night out into the hall.
"Need something Night?" Comet asked.
"The front desk told me you have a visitor."
"Who?"
"I don't know some teenager. She's been here for a whole day now. Just see what she wants."
Getting visitors wasn’t unheard of. Many are witnesses with information, others are citizens with grievances for something or another.
Curious about who her visitor was, Comet went downstairs to the waiting area.
The officer at the front desk pointed to a girl sitting with her backpack. Comet recognized her. She is the girl from the store.
"What are you doing here?"
"I need your help." She said.
"Listen I can't help you again. I shouldn't have done that at the store and I'm busy with work so...
"I can help with the robbery," She blurred out. "The one that happened in District 1. With the trucks. I know who did it."
Comet stopped talking for a moment. "You know who did it?"
"Yeah," She said in a whisper. "I do."
Comet crossed her arms and stared at her. "Really?"
"Yeah I do," She repeated a bit more confident this time. "I can tell you who did it, where it is, what they're planning to do with it, and where to find the others."
Arms still crossed Comet said nothing. Comet could tell that she was telling the truth. Her emerald eyes stared back at her and she stood with confidence.
"But," She continued. "If I do help you and you get these guys, I want you to do something for me. A favor you know?"
Comet raised an eyebrow, "Excuse you?"
"A favor," She repeated. "I help you and you help me."
Comet pointed to the staircase that led to her office. "Let’s talk up there."
"She's the hacker?" Storm asked.
"I can't believe it either," Clover asked. "It's all there."
Comet had brought the girl to the interrogation room to talk. Within minutes the girl who revealed her name was Spark explained everything about the job and her part in it.
She lives in the warehouse camp with her family. For the past few months, a shady group just walked and strong-armed their way into a unit they used for themselves.
They tried to recruit Spark for the cybertruck job. At first, she denied it, but, they said the money from the job would be enough for her and her family to get some real food and clothes for the winter.
Reluctantly, Spark agreed. Spark hacked the emails to find the location of the cybertruck, along with the cameras, gates, doors, and everything else in the lot.
After the first half was done Spark never got her cut. The leader said that hers was nonexistent since they would stop harassing her family till the next one.
Spark was angry that they cheated her out, but she knew talking back would cause problems for everyone. So, as a last resort. She came to them.
"How does she know you, Comet?" Night asked. "She asked for you by name."
Comet sighed. "Turns out we met a few times. Remember when I said HTR used to raid that place weekly? Well, on one occasion I arrested a man who had an open warrant for assault. It was Spark's father, I didn't remember her, but she remembered me. It was quick and clean."
"Interesting," Buck said. "Most of been memorable if she remembers you Comet."
"Let’s get back on topic," Clover said. "We have a location, a list of suspects, and the ones who put them up to it. From what Spark said it's possible that now. They're moving the truck today."
Storm nodded. "Clover is right. Let's gear up and move out to the spot quickly."
Night formed a ragtag group of officers who were free to assist.
Spark returned to the camp. Comet didn't want her to, but Spark wanted to if she wasn't there when this whole thing went down they'd know she had a hand in it.
"Think this blitz thing is gonna work?" Comet asked.
"I hope so," Comet said watching the road. "If not then I hope Star knows how to stop a semi-truck."
"He does," Strom confirmed. "I just hope that we don't have to use it. It won't end well for either of us."
The plan is to rush the warehouse when the security around it is low. It's a basic plan, but it works.
Spark said most members will be gone for some reason or another. This was the best time, less hostile less problems.
Star and Phantom are still in the camp giving updates on the location and when it was time to move in.
On the signal, three unmarked vans along with three unmarked cars one of them with Comet, Clover, Buck, and Storm, will move in and surround the warehouse.
"When this happens I'll take point with Storm," Buck said. "Were the only ones that have a vest. You guys follow behind us."
"Of course," Comet replied. "The difference is that Phantom isn't upfront with his ballistic shield and neither is Star with his one-of-a-kind comments."
"I'm surprised Star hadn't blown his cover yet," Storm admitted. "He isn't the quiet type let alone being discreet for more than 5 minutes."
"Phantom told me Star wondered around the yard while they were there. He muttered to himself and asked strange questions to everyone," Buck answered. "So, everyone either avoids him or ignores him."
"That's the perfect cover if you think about it," Comet said. "Most people would avoid being around someone like that."
A van diagonal in the street flashed its lights 3 times. Buck did the same.
"Alright, we're moving in," Buck warned. "Get ready."
Two vans drove inside the camp Buck followed behind them. At the spot, everyone got out of their vehicles and rushed inside the warehouse.
True to the intel the semi-truck was where it was said. Everyone inside was quickly rounded up and brought outside.
Like predicted a crowd formed from a distance to watch. Some of them didn't care and carried on with what they were doing.
Comet was about to watch over the area with the others when she saw someone rush into the warehouse towards the truck.
Comet chased him, but he was already inside. Comet reached for her collapse baton to break open the window.
Before she could, the truck started and took off. Comet headed on the semi-truck's side mirror bar to stop herself from falling off.
Comet's eyes widened when the truck picked up speed. She heard people screaming and a few crashes, most likely the squad cars being side-swiped.
Comet gripped the bar tighter when the truck turned on the road.
Comet weighed her options. She could wait for the semi to slow down at a decent speed and either hop off or tuck and roll. Or she could smash open the window and pull this prick out.
Ahead Comet saw the entrance to I-3. That moment she knew what to do.
Comet set her sights on an open patch of grass. She bent down waiting for her chance. When she jumped Comet tucked herself into a ball before hitting the road.
As Comet rolled she felt the sizzling heat from the asphalt on her arms and legs. Soon she landed on the patch of grass that she was aiming for.
Comet stayed in the ball position when she stopped rolling. The soft grass brought little relief to her. At least, she was off the truck.
The sound of a car stopping abruptly, the tires screeching echoed through the field.
"COMET!"
"Well that was easy," Star said when everything was settled. "You know besides everyone almost getting run over by a 10,000 plus pound semi-truck."
"Star please," Comet sighed while rubbing her shoulder. "I don't want to hear it."
"You should go to the hospital," Clover recommended. "Nobody is completely unharmed when they jump off a moving vehicle."
"I'll be fine. I'll just take a few pills and I'll be better in the morning."
"You didn't move for a solid two minutes when we found you," Storm reminded. "I doubt you'll heal by the morning."
"All jocks aside we got another win. Besides the semi-getting away." Phantom said. "Why did they leave the trailer?"
Star plopped down in his chair. "Maybe it got too hot or they didn't think it was worth it anymore. Whatever it was, it made them abandon it altogether. Let's hope we find this guy."
"Don't bet on it," Buck said with his phone in hand. "Patrol found the semi-abandoned on the side of the road. He wasn’t in there."
"Great," Storm muttered. "A loose end."
"Phantom, do you think your theory is right about Arma shipping? " Star asked.
"Theory?" Clover asked.
Phantom rubbed his head. "Well, it's nothing concrete, but everything about this seemed pretty weird. From that yard being hacked to take one car in a very secure trailer instead of others that were out in the open and leave it here of all places. It's less than 10 miles from the location they took it from and just left it? Why would they go through all that trouble?"
"That guy who drove off left the trailer too, "Comet added. "Maybe they were going to switch semis and cover the trailer."
"That's a good guess," Storm admitted. "However, our part in this thing is over. Night doesn't want us to pursue this thing anymore. We have the cargo and no one was hurt so I don't see why we should continue it anymore."
Star stood up and starched. "If we're calling it a day then I'm heading out. When I was undercover a few guys told me about this shop that sells great chille and I'm going to be the judge of that."
"Hold on," Comet called out. "There's one more thing that we need to do before we can leave this alone."