Spectrum's Head Office, Cloudsdale Headquarters, 11:54 am, September 28th
Unlike Canterlot, Union's Cloudsdale office was quite the change, aside from the bunches of roses still decorating the room. The room was only big enough to accommodate three ponies comfortably. Union behind the desk and a couple others in the two chairs in front of it. Next to his desk was a filing cabinet and several books on business on a small bookshelf in the corner of the work space. It wasn't where the unicorn was used to.
He found working in Cloudsdale to be very annoying. Being the breed that he was, he found it tedious to perform a spell to prevent himself from falling through the clouds of the sky city. Even then, Jack needed assistance travelling from cloud block to cloud block. But despite the drawbacks, he was still the president of Spectrum, and in full command of Phase 3. Living with his current situation was something he simply had accept, or else he would most certainly meet a most different kind of situation.
The door opened to the office and in came Union being followed by his secretary, holding the clipboard in her wing and using her teeth to guide the quill while the Trottingham local rambled on. "Miss Dewpoint, I want you to get a hold of our accountant and have him write up this month's financial statements, and remind him to double check the numbers. Next, I need you to get through to the Weather Factories and tell them we'll be filing our forms in a little later due to a certain mishap involving disorganization of important documents. Then, I want you to key that form I dropped on your desk and make it out to Fancy Pants. Also, if you come across any misspellings in my draft, please correct them. Finally, you can get me my coffee thank you very much. Three cream, one sugar. Did you get all that?"
"Mmmhmm!" she muffled, taking down every last detail of her boss's orders. She spit the quill onto the clipboard and pointed at the desk. "Oh, and before I forget, somepony stopped by this morning and asked me to drop that dossier off on your desk. He said it was of the up-most importance."
No. 4 made his way around the desk and sat down in his chair to rip off the top of the envelope with his teeth. The unicorn used his magic to dump the letter into his hooves. Then from the inside pocket of his grey blazer, Union withdrew a pair of reading glasses and put them on to read the small print. As he skimmed down through the letter, he muttered words every now and again to keep his pace. "It's from the Equestrian Government Service Association. Looks like our permit has been granted."
His secretary tilted her head confused. "Permit for what, Mr. Jack?"
Forgetting that she was there, the charming unicorn expressed a petty laugh. "I'm afraid that information is available to executives only, Miss Dewpoint. That'll be all. Be sure to close the door entirely, on your way out. I'll need absolute silence to get through this week's reports."
"Yes, Sir!"
Shortly after leaving the room, Union jumped into a hasty motion and opened one of the drawers to his desk. He pulled out a length of parchment and dipped the dry quill on his desk into its inkwell and began writing, shifting his eyes back and forth between the opened letter and his own.
Number 1
I am pleased to report that your permit to examine the mountainside has been approved. I received the letter of confirmation this morning and knowing that you have been waiting over a year for this, I figured you'd want to be notified at once. I have enclosed the approval letter and will also inform you that I have arrived in Cloudsdale. Also, the second phase of the operation has been a success and following the completion of this letter, Phase 3 will be underway.
No. 4
After signing his numerical status, Union rolled up the scroll and tucked the government letter inside. With focus and concentration, Jack held the letter above his horn with his magic and enchanted it with a magical spark, causing it to burst and dissolve into sparkling embers cascading throughout the room. And very soon, it was gone. Using his spell, the unicorn had sent the message to his superior with a sly grin on his face. "Now...Back to work."
Union Jack placed his glasses on the desk then got up to open the filing cabinet. Out of the top drawer, he flicked through an array of folders until he came across the desired document. It was enclosed around a red folder which stood out among the rest which were white. He clenched it in his teeth and sat back down. In a matter of seconds, he dispersed every piece of paper inside and unfolded a set of schematics, spreading all of the folder's contents around the desk. No. 4 put his glasses back on to read the small font in the heavily detailed print of the main dossier.
He scanned the parchment, underlining several times with his quill when he passed something that stood out to him. When he had finally finished, he read the note to himself aloud, assuring himself that he did not miss anything vital to his mission. "It is by order of Number 1 that Phase 3 of Canterlot Crisis be supervised and totally controlled by Union Jack, No. 4 with Nimble Stratus being second in command if need be. All Cloudsdale operatives are to report to them of any and all issues created. Be aware that the package has been received as of September 25th and is to be handled with the greatest of care. The purpose of this phase is to assemble the project using the strict guidelines provided then wait on Hurricane agents No. 7 and 12 to carry out Phase 4 (Delivery of the project). Anypony seen not taking this objective seriously will be killed for security reasons, so think before acting. As a side-note to security, however, be on the look out for two mares: One clad in purple, rogue attire. The other, a brown pegasus equipped with a pith-helmet. Orders are to eliminate the threats at ANY cost...Any cost whatsoever."
Manehatten City Penitentiary, 1:12 pm, September 28th
What a long morning, and the day was only half over. Just hours ago, they were just outside of Canterlot. Now, they were in the heart of Manehatten. A city that never slept, the home of corruption and opportunity. A land where anypony could make it big, or hit rock bottom. A city where a risk-taker like Daring could consider a decent place to live. But that was the least of her concerns. All morning, she and Mare-Do-Well had discussed their plan of attack. They had some information to run on but not enough to take the bull by the horns. A lot of the answers were still in the dark.
Among their discussion however, Daring suggested they simply inform the Guard of Union's plans, but Mare-Do-Well answered back almost certainly that a drastic measure like that could put the entire city at risk. Who knows whether this bomb or not was ready. The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well told the adventuress that a crisis such as this would have to be approached delicately, yet quickly. Besides, the caped crusader sought the Royal Guard to be too thick headed to listen to reason. Her and Daring's well planned strategy would surely be replaced by a hostile assault on Spectrum. An assault of which could trigger H.U.R.R.I.C.A.N.E.'s anger. Until they knew whether this bomb was a go or not, they had to be cautious.
To shed some more light on the matter, Mare-Do-Well decided to pay a visit to an old friend of her's. She figured it was the only pony they could rely on at this point. But though she would of liked to accompany her ally inside the prison, Mare-Do-Well didn't have the clearance to enter unlike Daring did. So instead she remained in her stagecoach while the archaeologist played the interrogator.
Daring was no longer wearing her usual attire. This time she was concealed underneath a long brown trench coat, with a small messenger bag slung over her neck. She walked through the halls of the jailhouse with two guards following close behind her. At times she would have to wait for them to unlock certain doors for her. There was even one door that lead into a massive cell block with imprisoned stallions harassing the young mare with unwanted complements and suggestive expressions that Daring simply returned with a nervous smile. But deep down, she couldn't blame them. It must of been years since they seen the light of day, or a mare for that matter.
Shortly after leaving the large crowd of criminals, it suddenly hit her. "Did I just show sympathy to a criminal?" She pondered.
The entire penitentiary was giving her the creeps. All of the low-life scum eyeballing her with nothing short of evil intentions. But luckily she didn't have to walk through another cell block. Instead the next doorway lead into the Maximum Security Department. The sector of the building stationed for the most wanted. Each of these prisoners had an individual cell, monitored by the mandatory four guards that came with the prisoner. It was a limited life, but it wasn't like each of them didn't deserved it.
Nearly all of the convicted felons were murderers, pointed out by the short synopsis clipped to each passing door. Despite being accompanied by the guards and knowing that guards were stationed to each criminal, Daring Do still felt a little uneasy being among a group of killers and she had a cold shiver because of it. But when she looked ahead of herself and seen that they were soon going to exit another hallway, that weight lifted.
The next destination was her last. At the end of this hall was the interrogation room, where Daring was to meet with possibly her next big lead. One of the guards galloped up ahead and took a key from his saddlebag, unlocking the door. He opened the door for the mare and other two guards to walk through, but Daring turned around and held back one of them. "I think one is fine. Thank you though."
"If you say so, lady. We'll be right here. Hey Stretch, if the bum starts giving you any lip, let us know. We'll straighten the creep out."
Stretch was one of the guards, and a tall one at that. Decked in the usual standard golden armor, it looked like his suit was readjusted more than once or twice. But he certainly was a sight for sore eyes around this sort of place.
The two ponies continued on ahead and the door shut behind them soon after. The lighting in the room was pretty dull. Like any other interrogation room, it was dank. The walls were concrete and the props given were nothing more than a table, two chairs and sole light bulb fixated overhead, and another source of lighting provided by a narrow barred window. Wide enough to see through but too short for somepony to gaze the stars during the night if he or she wished to. It was the perfect room to match a criminal's mind. Cold, dark, barred shut, and reluctantly to the good guys, built strong.
Finally Daring took notice of the stallion sitting in one of the chairs. It looked like he had been waiting a while, tapping his hoof on the ground impatiently as he puffed on the cigar in his mouth, his solid eyes staring up at the adventuress. He said nothing as she removed her long coat, giving it to the guard to hang on the door.
When she turned around, Daring finally locked eyes with the seemingly amused Rusty Anchor. A criminal, imprisoned after living the life of a fugitive, and a very rich pony. But all the bits he had couldn't help him now. The most wanted smuggler in the world was behind bars at last. But despite his possible lifelong sentence on the horizon, he wore his grin proudly, flexed his muscles, and chewed the tobacco from the cigar between his teeth as if he were kicking back in some tavern.
His blue coat and inmate uniform was stained with mud. And by the looks of his crusty mane, it looked like he was just pulled from the rock pile. It was almost like he was enjoying it all. Daring's eyebrow raised, wondering just why he appeared to be comfortable. Finally she pulled out her chair and sat across from the brute, pulling his file out of the bag and opening it in front of him. She glanced through the briefing and read it aloud to him. "Rusty Anchor...No. 30073-288. Detained for over an alleged 2000 accounts of illegal smuggling in the last eighteen years. You were discovered and arrested in the early morning hours of the 19th of this month. You had a hearing just two days ago and your official trial begins in November of next year. Hmm, I'm impressed, you've pleaded guilty. Also, it says here that-"
"Listen, Daring Do, why don't you cut the formal nonsense and tell me what you want?" Anchor asked abruptly, snickering in his thick city accent.
Then it struck her mind that she had encountered this stallion before. Though it was only once, it seemed that Ol' Rusty really never forgot a face, like his peers had said. Especially one that left such an impression. "So you do remember me."
He winked. "I never forget a face. Daring Do, infamous raider of lost relics, reckless trespasser of the tombs, and profound disturber of the dead."
"I'm just an archaeologist, why can't you low-lives get that through your head?" She retorted, showing a bit of teeth. "If anything, you and all the other adversaries I've faced over the years fit that description. Everything I collect is donated. I do it for adventure and the adrenaline rush. The way it should be."
With careless wave of his hoof, Rusty disregarded the subject. "Whatever. So what brings the Great Daring Do to Manehatten Penitentiary?"
The adventuress rolled her eyes and reached in her messenger bag to retrieve a notebook and quill. "Let's try to keep this visit short, shall we? I need some information and you're the only one I that can help me. So-"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You need help from me?" Anchor interrupted again, almost spitting the cigar out of his mouth. "What about?"
She sighed. "The Hierarchy of the United Ranked Revolutionaries In Chaos, Atrocity, Nationalism, and Extortion. Sound familiar?"
"Hey I already told these Royal Guard knuckleheads that I ain't openin' up to anypony. Especially you, Daring Do."
"Watch it, Anchor." Stretch warned from the door.
"This is a totally secure room." Daring assured. "Anything said will be strictly confidential between you and me. With what info we were able to use only got us so far, and we need more to continue. You're the only pony who can help us expose these Hurricane agents."
With an uninterested yawn, Rusty took a long puff of his smoke and blew it in the face of the archaeologist which brought on a look of repulsion. "Do you have any idea what they'd do to me if they found out? I'd probably end up the rest of my life singing soprano if you know what I mean. And if not that, dead."
"If you help us out, I can assure that the Guard will make it their top priority to protect you."
"You'll have to do better than that." He returned with a chuckle. "I wasn't born yesterday, y'know. What's really in it for me?"
Daring sighed. She knew getting this stallion to budge wasn't coming along easily. "The greater good of Equestria, that's what you're getting."
"Pfft! Greater good? This coming from the Royal Guard who's had a tag on my head for the past twenty years? No dice, lady. I ain't talkin'!"
"Rusty, please. Could you show a little compassion?"
"Not unless the price is right."
"You're not making this easy on me."
"I was supposed to?"
"The information you're keeping from us could mean the difference between life and death."
"Like I care! In this dog-eat-dog world, it's survival of the fittest. Physically and economically."
"It doesn't mean anything to you that over a million ponies could be innocently killed?"
"If I didn't care for the last eighteen years, what makes you think I care now? Just cause I'm barred up here with you and that flathoof up there?"
Daring had had enough of this stupid bickering. It was obviously getting no where with this guy's ego. Finally she stood up and slammed her hooves on the table. "Listen here, you walking smoke stack! I did not travel all this way from Canterlot just to have you puff in my face and suck your teeth at me. Now, I want answers and I want them this instant!"
Just as quickly as the argument had started, it was silenced just as fast. Anchor sat there with his cigar hanging limply between his lips, and Daring Do, breathing deeply and staring the criminal down with her magenta eyes hotter than the flames of Tartarus themselves. "Now I'll ask you again...What do you know about H.U.R.R.I.C.A.N.E.?"
She was able to regain her composure and ask in a much calmer state. But that didn't subdue the stallion's stubbornness. He simply kicked back in his seat again and puffed away on his smoke. "I told you. When the price is right."
"Fine." She sighed, letting her hooves droop and her body slide back into her seat. "What do you think is a reasonable compromise? And before you even consider it, amnesty is out of the question."
A wide grin suddenly spread over the lips of the jailbird. He took one more intake of the cigar then laid it in the ashtray to idol. Leaning back in his seat, Rusty began to twiddle his forehooves. "I don't want much. Nothing special at all. I'm willing to serve my sentence, just so long as I can live it in my own, standard jail cell. None of this "maximum security" horseshit. I want to be transferred to a regular prison."
The adventuress thought about it. Could she trust a criminal? Especially one that has had eighteen years of experience in the art of deceit and lies. He could simply be luring her into his possible escape plan. That is, if he had even thought of one yet. What harm could it do? Even so, the Royal Guard wasn't about to let this one get away in particular. Besides, ponies say the Manehatten Penitentiary has the highest success rate among the security of inmates. What could go wrong? After that moment to think about, she turned around in her seat to face the guard. "Is it possible to arrange that?"
Stretch was startled by the query. "Oh, Well uhh. I don't see why not. It shouldn't be that difficult to smooth it over with the warden."
"Well it looks like we have a deal then." She smirked, swinging back to Rusty who seemed very pleased with the agreement. "Now, can we?"
With a celebratory drag, he set the cigar between his teeth and nodded. "You got it. Ask away, but you're sure I'll be safe?"
Daring nodded back and smiled. "You have my word, nothing will leave this room." Being able to finally start the interview, Daring grasped the quill in her teeth and prepared to take notes. "How long have you been involved with this group?"
"Hmm, Not very long." He answered, scratching his head. "I've worked with them for a year. They paid me in cash for the most part. Up until the last time when there was a little financial disagreement..."
His paused was met with gritted teeth. Daring quickly noted the word cashand printed a question mark next to it. "Disagreement you say?"
His eyes said it all. He was betrayed, conned, taken for granted. As his view glazed over at Daring, he took another deep inhale from the cigar which was getting shorter by the minute. "I wasn't involved with this group formally. They simply hired me to smuggle a package across several countries. After I nearly risk hoof and tail trying to get them this package, I'm ripped-off for eleven million bits that should have been mine!"
"How did it all start?" She asked, racing his answers with the quill.
Following another whistle of smoke from his nose, he scoffed. "A dirty, double-crossin', suit-wearin' shyster! That's how! If I ever get that Union Jack within my reach, I swear I'll wring his little-"
"Union Jack?" The adventuress cut in hastily. "Now we're getting somewhere! What happened between you and him?"
Knowing it was going to be a long story, the muscular Rusty took a long puff then laid the cigar in the ashtray. He sat back and became interested with the ceiling light all of a sudden. "I say it was the first weekend of July when I first got the telegram asking to meet him in Dodge Junction. Damn that was a long trip. You know how long it takes to go from one side of Equestria to the other? Anyway, we met in some cheap tavern with smoke clouding up every corner of the saloon. Me and my sidekick sat down at the Bar and waited until this green pegasus walked up and tapped me on the shoulder. He had a pretty good figure, too. His mane was about mid-length, I suppose. An average looking stallion except he was just as fit as me, perhaps even stronger. He never talked very much, though. Heck, he never said a thing that entire night!"
Do didn't have to acknowledge anything to know that the description fit Nimble Stratus to a tee. She suddenly remembered how hard it was to fight with the brute and was reminded of the slight bump to her head, still present from the encounter. "So this pony brought me over to meet with this guy, Jack. He seemed smooth. Flowin' blonde mane, flashy suit and a nice looking rose. He introduced himself along with a couple other executive stiffs. He told me about their plan, the hierarchy, and of course, the package and how much I was getting for the job. After that night, I spent the next nine months transporting a near six-hundred pound crate from Moscolt across multiple borders and a damn ocean, just to end up in a Manehatten warehouse where that deceitful Union Jack takes the package and makes way with my rightfully own eleven mill in his briefcase. I mean all of it happened so fast. The negotiating was going good until this masked mare swooped down from the roof window and crashed the entire deal. Little did I know while all Tartarus was breaking loose, Jack was sneaking out the backdoor. Well, I wasn't about to let months of hard work fall down the drain. So me and this mare, who apparently was after the same guy, chased this bum down in his stagecoach. I galloped as hard as I could, giving the girl enough space to make it to the next coach. After that, all I could see was hooves flying and voices hollering..."
Although Daring was aware of the entire scenario that happened that night, she still had act as if she didn't know. After all, Rusty Anchor may have not opened up to her if he knew she was indeed working for the mysterious mare. She completed her next paragraph of notes and noticed that the blue stallion had stopped talking. He looked away from her and began staring blankly into space, uttering curses underneath his breath. The sandstone pegasus was perplexed over his sudden silence. "Why'd you stop?"
"Because that's when she turned me in." Ol' Rusty answered angrily. He looked the mare in the eyes and Daring could see the hate radiating off him. "The bitch knocked me out and tied me up outside the Royal Guard Headquarters. Nine days later, here I am! Eleven million bits short and wearing this ugly orange jumpsuit!"
"Can we stay on topic, please? What was in the package?"
At last he took the last drag of the smoke and doubted it in the ashtray while he stood. "This package was nothing like I ever smuggled before..."
Rusty began pacing around the room, studying the ground. "In the past, I've done away with jewels, drugs, animals, immigrants, wine, everything you could put your hoof on, except this."
"Well?" Daring asked, stretching the word curiously. "Go on."
The criminal stopped at the window, taking a deep breath before turning back around. "Are you familiar with parasprites, Daring?"
The word rang in her mind and brought her eyes to widen. "Parasprites? But what would Union Jack want with parasprites?"
Rusty Anchor shook his head and leaned back against the wall. "No clue, all I know is that the crate contained vials of parasprite spores. Your guess is as good as mine."
But one thing didn't make sense to the mare. If the package was indeed parasprite spores, then what was the meaning of the explosive depicted in Mare-Do-Well's research? She decided to poke at her interest further more. "Was there anything else you wanted to add on?"
He wondered his mind for a moment and tried to think of anything else he was missing, but eventually shrugged. "Nope, that's all from what I was given. Although, there is one thing you should know about the leadership of these agents you call them."
"That would help a lot." She answered matter-of-factly, taking a moment to quickly skim through her notes. "What's that?"
"Well let's just say, if you thought Union Jack was corrupt, then you haven't met with their leader."
The mare looked up at him with an intriguing stare. "You've met him...or her?"
"He is a stallion. A stallion with the power and money to kill anypony he wishes, even me. The chairman behind H.U.R.R.I.C.A.N.E., the boss, the administrator, the-"
"Number 1?" She impeded.
Rusty nodded. "Exactly. I'd take great caution if I were you. I don't know what they plan to use the parasprites for, but I can tell you that Prince Blueblood is--" He paused.
Again, the archaeologist lit up with eagerness. "Yes! What were you going to say about the Prince? ...Hello? ...Anchor?"
Suddenly Rusty Anchor was petrified. He appeared stiff, and his facial expression had gone faint. Stretch walked over to him with concern. "Hey, Anchor. The lady's talking to ya."
Daring and the guard were puzzled. Stretch tapped him on the shoulder then out of nowhere, he fell forward and collapsed to the floor, an arrow lodged in his upper back. They gasped and rushed to the body. But the injury was too deep, Rusty Anchor was dead. As Stretch checked him over, Daring disregarded and took her immediate interests to the window. She raised a hoof to her forehead and gazed into the alleyway, where she could she a black hooded figure galloping away. Without further delay, she tossed the notebook in her bag and flung it over her shoulder before leaping the table and bursting out the door, leaving the remaining guards in utter confusion.
Meanwhile, the Mysterious Mare-Do-Well had remained inside the stagecoach, conducting further research on their mission. She found the dossier she was reading to be very fascinating. Ever since she first laid eyes on it, Mare-Do-Well found the works of the gyrocopter interesting. She had been reading since they left Canterlot and she figured in her mind that she could fly one. It didn't look very hard. Besides, with the blueprints, she could eventually develop her own flying machine. But she wasn't given enough time to contemplate. Daring swung the door open and jumped in, almost yelling at the startled mare. "Start the engine, quick!"
The masked mare almost hit the roof. But without asking, she did just that. Mare-Do-Well nearly smashed the button on her console and the stagecoach took off with a jolt. Daring fell back onto the couch and pointed to left. "Turn left!"
With a flick of a switch, a steering wheel lifted from the dashboard, allowing the Mysterious Mare-Do-Well to take control of the vehicle. Now being able to catch her breath, she shot the excited pegasus a very disturbed frown. "And just WHAT was the meaning of that entrance!"
"Anchor is dead!" she called back a midst commotion of the runaway wagon. "Somepony shot him with an arrow while his back was against a window."
"Did you see who shot it?"
Daring shook her head disappointed. "Not exactly, but I did see him or her trying to escape...Take a right, now!"
The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well gazed up at her side-view camera and tilted her head. "But that leads into an alley!"
"Yes! That's where I seen him escape to!"
With an annoyed sigh, Mare-Do-Well gave the wheel a sharp turn and the stagecoach corralled into the alleyway, smashing trash cans, dumpsters, and stray pieces of furniture, anything that stood in the coach's way. Soon, they broke out into another street, littered with frightened ponies. They galloped from the rampaging wagon and took refuge in the nearest cover. Daring poked her head out of the window and looked all around the cluttered mess of frazzled ponies. But even that couldn't stop her from noticing the long black cape slithering its way down another alley.
"Down that way!" Daring screamed, pointing her hoof in the assailant's direction.
Mare-Do-Well evaded the fleeing citizens of Manehatten and steered the coach into another alley. Again, smashing any and all obstacles. "The insurance company is never going to believe this." Mare-Do-Well facehooved.
Meanwhile, the adventuress kept her eye on the cloaked foe. "Come back here!"
"Hey Daring, not for nothing but...What the HAY is going on here? What did you find out about the bomb?"
The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well was ignored. All Daring concerned herself with was getting on her apparel. Within fifteen seconds, she had on her olive-green shirt and the pith-helmet, ready for the worse. Mare-Do-Well was annoyed. "This must be how she felt when we first met." She said to herself.
Up ahead, Daring could see the end of the alley. But instead of breaking into another street, it lead to the backdoor of a building. To her expectations, the door was opened. "He must've went inside, come on!"
The stagecoach didn't even come to a stop before Daring was gone. She leaped out of the window and performed a tuck'n'roll to soften the impact. Mare-Do-Well however, slammed on the breaks and followed her hyped-up friend through the door of the large building. "Wait up!"
With the adrenaline rushing and her instincts on the edge, Daring galloped down the narrow halls of the facility and quickly came to a tall tower of stairs. Mare-Do-Well just barely managed to keep up, she still had no clue who they were chasing.
The excited archaeologist gazed up a few floors and noticed the black cape flickering through the air and spaces between the stairs. "He's up here! Come on, Mare-Do-Well!"
"I'm coming!" she painted heavily. Then suddenly she realized something. "Can't you just fly up there?"
The mare almost stumbled, dumbfounded. "I forgot I had these." With a slightly embarrassed laugh, the pegasus took flight and shot up past the numerous floors of the building which would have taken quite a while to climb. Mare-Do-Well however, took into a gallop to aid her friend with the assailant.
Not long after she took off, Daring caught up with the hooded figure and tackled him between floors. They rolled and flipped over one another, sharing a few blows before the adventuress was shot with a magical fire spell. Do stumbled back, shielding her face from being singed by the embers while the revealed unicorn continued his escape. But she swiftly overcame her hesitance and tripped the assassin once more. This time she made more of an effort by attacking him from behind. She rode his back, trying to lock his neck in a vice grip. Desperate to get away, he thrashed back and forth, smashing his back against each wall, with Daring in between them.
Expressing a yelp of pain, he flipped the pegasus off his back, retaliating with his own neck lock. But Daring made use of her free hooves and elbowed him three times in the stomach. She uppercut him, knocking him against the wall then began choking him. "Who are you!" she yelled, trying to restrain him.
But her efforts would deem useless, the stallion had more than enough leverage to push her away and smack her across the face. He kicked her in the gut then shoved her away again, causing her to lose balance and stumble down a flight of stairs. She landed with a loud thump and knocked the wind out of herself. When she looked up, the assassin had his loaded crossbow pointed right at her. The unicorn cocked a smirk before resting his hoof against the trigger, he had her trapped. But just as he went to fire, a beam of stinging light struck his hoof, forcing him to let go with a painful holler. The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well had caught up and as she leaped from one floor to the next. She reached to the inside of her cloak and flung three throwing knifes at the villain but he had already made his escape, he was fleeing to the top floor then practically smashed the door open and bounded out on the roof.
"Need a hoof?" Mare-Do-Well winked.
For a moment, Daring simply sat there, bewildered that she just could have been skewered. She rubbed her heart. "Am I dead?"
With a sigh of annoyance, the hooded mare reached down and hauled the archaeologist to her hooves. "You've got a lot of explaining to do. Come on, he's getting away."
The girls soon followed suit, chasing Rusty's assassin to a dead end. They stepped outside into the powerful gales of the eastern city, tracking the small trail of blood to a quaking unicorn on the edge of the high-story building. He grasped onto a pole, turning around to face his foes with his back against the edge. Daring spread her wings to balance herself while the wind made Mare-Do-Well's cape flourish with the breeze. They nodded to each other then slowly took their steps toward the henchmen of H.U.R.R.I.C.A.N.E.. The masked guardian spoke up. "You're trapped! No where to run, and if I were you, I wouldn't even consider trying to jump. You're liable to break a bone or two from this high up."
The force of the wind blew his hood down, showing the deep orange coat of a defeated unicorn. "Just who do you girls think you are?" He retorted with a snarl. "Can't a guy perform a job without being harassed by a couple of cops?"
She chuckled with a smirk. "We're not cops."
"We're just a couple of everyday ponies trying to make a difference, one slime bag at a time." The adventuress remarked.
"Who are you two?" He demanded to know, gripping on for his life while the wind continued to freeze one side of his face.
The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well loved that question, it always gave her a chance to stroke her ego. She lit an aura of magic around her horn and slowly unsheathed another dagger from her cloak, revealing it to the assailant. "Don't worry, you'll get the point soon enough."
"Wait!" he hollered. "I'm warning you, you'll be sorry if you try to kill me..."
The mares shared a brief laugh then Daring rolled her eyes at him. "We'll take that chance. Say hello to Rusty for us."
Suddenly from the corner of his lips came small curve. "I warned you...STRIKE!"
Mare-Do-Well lunged in for the attack but was surprisingly apprehended by the hoof of a large stallion, clubbing her over the head with a chop. Daring turned her head to the sudden incident, leaping across the rooftop to deal with the sneaky pony. But his size would be too much for the persistent pegasus, being caught in mid-flight and battered in the skull for her failed assault.
The black-clad unicorn stepped down from the ledge and trot up to his assistant, with Daring hanging loosely over the muscular pony's shoulder while the Mysterious Mare-Do-Well lay unconscious at his hooves. He flicked the limp mare off of him and watched her land next to her ally. He grunted with satisfaction and waited on his superior's next call. The unicorn smiled deviously at the defenseless heroes then looked up at the tall brute. "Excellent, Hercules. Take them to him. He'll want to see this."
To be continued