//------------------------------// // Chapter 8 // Story: Expeditionary // by totallynotabrony //------------------------------// “Stormfeather, Flash, get after him!” Shining shouted. The police griffon was still struggling with the pirate who hadn’t managed to fly away. Grabbing a loose cobblestone, Stormfeather smashed his adversary over the head with it. Blood spurted and the pirate stopped moving. Flash followed close on Stormfeather’s tail as the two of them shot off in pursuit of Gregory. Shining lowered his head to the wounded griffon that Báistí was frantically trying to care for. The slice on the victim’s neck looked serious and was leaking a worrying amount of blood. The first priority was getting the flow staunched. Shining’s barrier spells were usually cast over a large area like a city, and he had to concentrate hard to apply a small one to the griffon’s neck. He carefully refined it, attempting to cover the nicked blood vessels as well as possible. “Here, take my radio,” he said to Báistí, looking up for just a moment. “Get the team here. Tell them the situation.” Báistí fumbled with the radio but managed to figure it out. Less than a minute later, the pegasus Guards were there. Airborne had his medical bag and wore a worried expression. Ace attempted an impassive expression. With directions from Báistí, they started to hurry towards the hospital, also dragging the captured and still comatose pirate along. Shining levitated the injured victim while Airborne hovered overhead, doing what he could. Other guards, having taken the time to don their equipment, had arrived by then and it was practically an armed column that finally moved through the doors of the emergency room. Shining hadn’t had to give the order but everypony already had it in their mind: they would see to it that there would be no more attacks on the Royal Guard tonight. Shining ordered the pegasus unit to get out and go to the aid of Flash and Stormfeather. He hadn’t remembered Flash carrying a radio, so it would be more difficult. Once the victim was in good care and the pirate under lockdown, Shining took the time to answer the questions the hospital staff had. Not surprisingly, there were a lot of them. Báistí quietly interceded, letting him off the hook. There was blood on Báistí’s white body, but she was handling herself well. She volunteered to stay, and Shining left a few Guards with her. He took Rough and marched to the police station. If the crime hadn’t been reported yet, they would see to it that the event got the attention it deserved. Fortunately, Stormfeather and Flash struggled in just as they arrived. Gregory was beaten and tied with what looked like clothes line. His limp form was being carried by the fresh Guards Shining had sent. Stormfeather’s plumage was out of place and he looked weary. Honestly, Shining considered, it was a wonder that the old Admiral had been able to keep up. Despite that, Flash looked worse. Little clumps of his mane had been pulled and there was a shallow knife gouge on his side. Between the two of them, however, Gregory had gotten what he deserved. The story was told to Shining by Airborne as Flash and Stormfeather made statements to the clerk on duty. Shining began to reconsider his opinion of Flash. Tonight, the young Guard had done exactly what was expected of his training, and demanded of him. It was quite late when everypony made it back to the ship. Shining checked at the hospital, seeing that his Guards had been relieved by Port Talon police to protect the injured griffon. Shining didn’t think she was in any danger – just a random victim – but it didn’t hurt to be sure. They were also there to watch the pirate. Shining grabbed what little sleep he could. In the morning, the team had a lot to discuss. Cyrus and Skydancer had gotten back from the casino late enough to be out of the loop for what had gone down. In bringing them up to speed, everypony got the chance for a better understanding of the situation. Flash had to retell his story a few times and show off his bandages. Shining kept quiet about his own involvement, at least until Báistí showed up. She was clearly exhausted, but had gotten cleaned up at some point. Shining gave her the coffee pot and she gratefully poured herself a cup. “You did a great service to the city and the kingdom, Captain Armor. I’m sure you saved that griffon’s life. Her name is Janey, by the way.” Shining nodded. “How is she?” “I’m not up on my medical terminology, but I understand that she’ll live.” Stormfeather came in just then. Despite the physical fatigue he had gone through, he had bounced back well. Shining noticed that he wasn’t wearing his badge. “I came to inform you that I’m being put under review,” he said somberly. “It’s standard procedure after all violent altercations. They’ll also likely want to investigate the pirate I hit over the head. I’m not worried about brutality charges, but if we’re to be a fair police force these questions must be asked anyway.” Shining nodded. “Will we get a replacement for you soon?” “I’ll insist on it.” Stormfeather nodded to him and left. Despite what had happened the previous evening, there was still work to be done. The first priority was Gregory. He was firmly locked up downtown. “Mag, take your staff to interrogate Gregory and obtain permission to enter his house. That might be difficult without Stormfeather’s help, but I trust you to get it arranged. Puppy, go with them.” Mag nodded. He and the three others made the short walk to the police station. Shining remembered the long list of names that they had obtained the day before. With that, and their locations, in mind, he ordered, “Skydancer, Ace, go across the river and look into Patrick and Pattycakes. Also visit Stormwren and see if he’s decided to say anything new.” The two pegasi flew off. Shining considered his other forces carefully. “Pikop, Rough, I want you to head north to check into Abernathy and Patricia. Actually, Patricia’s place is way up there where the radios get bad. I’ll go with you.” Báistí left the ship with Shining and his two guards, but yawned and said she was going to catch a nap. The three ponies headed into the city, swinging by the police station to check into the situation there. “They did let Soft speak with Gregory,” Mag informed them. “As for everything else, I think I can get it to work out, but it’s slow going.” Shining, Rough, and Pikop went on to Abernathy’s house. They observed covertly for a few minutes, but it didn’t seem like he was home. Making the long walk to the far north of the city, they came across Patricia’s house. She was home, and the three Guards took care to make sure they weren’t noticed. Patricia had a few callers while they observed. She seemed to know some of the visitors better than others. Some stayed inside her house for just seconds. Others hung around for up to half an hour. Shining didn’t remember anything about a private business in Patricia’s records. It would have been nice to have an arresting officer with them to confront her. After enough observation to gather some notes, the Guards departed. It was a long trek back to the ship. A second stop at Abernathy’s didn’t reveal anything new. At least some progress could be reported when they returned. Skydancer and Ace presented their findings. “Patrick is ancient as well as blind,” Ace said. “An unlikely choice as a pirate. Pattycakes is an earth pony baker. Stormwren didn’t tell us anything.” “From what he did say, I believe he knows or has heard of Gregory,” Skydancer added. “He didn’t try very hard to tactfully avoid our questions, though. Towards the end he started pounding steel on his anvil and straight up ignored us.” It was the intel ponies who brought in the biggest prize of the day. They came back looking tired – even more so after the long night before – but their efforts had paid off. “I spent several hours with Gregory,” Soft reported. “I managed to get everything from him I think is relevant to the case.” “First off, there are three Lieutenants under Hookbeak. Gregory is one of them. Despite that, he himself has never actually seen Hookbeak. He does know that Hookbeak lives on the east side of the river.” Consulting her notes, Soft went on. “The other two Lieutenants are Gaston, who we knew about, and Ganymede. Ganymede is apparently a completely brown griffon. Gaston always handled the meetings, and Gregory didn’t know where he or Ganymede lived. Honestly, this kind of compartmentalization is quite impressive on Hookbeak’s part.” “Did Gregory know anything about the corn?” Shining asked. “No, he handled the enforcement,” Soft explained. “I’m guessing that means Gaston handles the business.” “What about other names?” “I tried with the ones we got yesterday from the mayor. Abernathy is a low-level recruit. Happy is a nickname for Gregory himself. Pat – Patricia – is the wench.” Shining raised his eyebrows. “What does that involve?” “Being a pirate wench, I suppose.” Soft shrugged. “Gregory told me the griffon with him last night is named Yong. A police officer said that he’s still being held at the hospital.” Dim stepped up. “We didn’t find much at Gregory’s place, but there was a notebook he kept with some of his exploits. It includes some pirate expeditions. Confirming what we heard earlier, corn was often taken.” Shining frowned, still pondering why the pirates were so intent on that particular product. At least the rest of the picture was becoming much more clear. One third of Hookbeak’s junior leadership was now in prison, and they had names and descriptions for the rest. He paused for a moment, considering everything he knew. There were quite a few interrogations, or reinterrogations to perform. They were still waiting on another police officer to be assigned, but hopefully that would come soon. There was also the casino, and deciding whether it was still worth investigation effort. Not to mention the possibility that the pirates could decide to take revenge for the arrest of a hothead like Gregory with further escalation. Still, Shining knew what needed to be done.