It was possible that Kimmy had been suckered by the thought recording just like I had. Of course, it was still possible that she was in on it. The Ponyville Shade office didn’t have anypony on the payroll who was qualified to examine the magic behind the recording, but I was told that they had a local guy who occasionally contracted with them.
We met up at Settee’s house. Forest, Water Drop and I were there. We’d had to sneak in covertly. The neighbors were probably getting jumpy with all the strange ponies around.
The expert showed up. He was a skinny grey unicorn who looked like he didn’t smile much.
“Hello Forest,” he said. “I didn’t know you were around.”
I looked between the two of them. “I didn’t think you’d ever worked in Ponyville before,” I said to Forest.
“I haven’t. She indicated the unicorn. “Granite here travels a lot. We’ve crossed paths several times.”
Granite turned away without glancing at me. He conferred briefly with Water Drop before going to work. He laid some magic-making objects out on the floor and arranged them. It looked more zebra than unicorn. As we watched, he walked around the room for several minutes touching various things before returning to his items on the floor.
“How long is this going to take?” I asked Forest, perhaps a little too loudly.
Granite’s head come up. “Fuck you. I’m here to do what you can’t, so if you don’t have anything helpful to say, then shut up.”
I was about to reply, when Forest pulled me into the kitchen.
“Are all witches bitches?” I muttered.
“Granite’s got an attitude, but he usually produces results. He’ll find something for us,” Forest assured me. We sat down at the table and waited. She hummed a little to pass the time.
Several minutes later, I heard the door open and close and then Water Drop came into the room.
“Granite didn’t find anything related to your neighbor,” he said to me. Forest and I had collected a few of Kimmy’s things to give to Granite so he could figure out if she was involved.
“There could have been some kind of cover spell to mask her involvement,” I said.
“Could be, but he didn’t find anything in that regard, either. For now, we’re going to tentatively cross her off our list of suspects. Oh, and Granite deactivated the thought loop you were picking up.”
That put us back to zilch.
As I approached my apartment’s front door later, I stopped and went back to Kimmy’s door. It was closed, but the frame was still splintered so it couldn’t be secure. I knocked.
The peephole went dark and then she opened the door.
“Hey Harv. Sorry, but this isn’t a good time.”
“What’s wrong?” I felt a little guilty that I already knew. I was also nervous that she might discover my involvement.
She pointed to the broken door frame. “Somepony broke in, but they didn’t take very much, just a few random things I had lying around.”
“That’s weird.”
“You want to know what’s really weird? I used my circle to track them down, and they were at that place that you found earlier today.”
I felt a lot more guilty and a lot more nervous. “Really? Do you know who it was?”
She shook her head. “No. Besides, it was just some junk that they took. I didn’t want to go looking for whoever took it. They might be dangerous.”
“That’s probably good thinking.”
She nodded. “Anyway, I called building maintenance and they should have a new door for me by tomorrow.”
“That’s good.” We both stood there for several seconds in silence until I couldn’t stand the awkwardness anymore and said goodnight.
I felt guilty as hell for not only breaking in, but lying to her face about it. I also felt guilty about being so fearful that I would get caught.
Police we were not, and we couldn’t exactly go around getting a warrant to obtain evidence every time we suspected somepony of a misdeed. Still, I told myself, it was for the better since Kimmy was no longer suspected of involvement with Settee.
I slept fitfully, expecting everything from a vengeful Settee to a vengeful Kimmy to come crashing into my apartment. I worried about White Feather too, although I told myself that if she wanted me dead, it would probably be over before I could do anything about it.
In the morning, the bushwoolie mail carrier was back, this time with four armed escorts. Admittedly, their tiny blades were about the size of those little sword-shaped cocktail picks, but it was probably better than nothing.
I thanked the mail carrier and asked how he was doing. He gave me a rude gesture and left with his bodyguards.
I read the mail. Water Drop had been successful in getting national headquarters in Canterlot to acknowledge that we had a problem, but other than logistical support, nothing was being done yet. I liked that “yet” on the end. It implied that we might actually get help, albeit eventually.
The other news was slightly more promising. A stallion had tentatively been identified as the leader of the Street Angels. More information was to follow.
I spent the rest of the day processing the data that had arrived in the mail. That evening, I got a call from Water Drop.
“Pick up Song and come meet with me. I’ve got a job for you two.”
He hung up before I could ask what was going on, so I got my keys and did as ordered.
“We think we’ve found where the Street Angels are headquartered,” Water Drop said to Forest and me from across a picnic table in the park. “The two of you are the best pair of agents we have, so we’re sending you.”
“Just us?” I asked.
“Also, no guns. We’re not trying to make them feel threatened.”
“Let me get this straight,” I said. “They’ve been trying to kill any Shade they can, and you want the two of us to go in there unarmed?”
“I said before, you’re the best. Neither of you have been working here long, but between mind reading and tail kicking, the two of you have proven yourselves.”
I sighed. It was wrong of me to be arguing with the boss in the first place, but what he had to say made sense. Forest and I probably were the most qualified. That didn’t make me feel any better, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
Water Drop told us where to find the Street Angels. He asked us to leave our weapons with him. I checked to see if we were out of public view and then took my jacket off, removing my shoulder holster and gun.
Forest took off her pistol belt and also drew out several knives that I didn’t know she had. We left the pile of stuff with Water Drop and got going.
As we drove, Forest guessed what I was thinking.
“Cheer up,” she said. “At least if they kill you, it will be quick.”
The building wasn’t much to look at on the outside. There was a stallion lounging on the front steps when we pulled up.
“We want to see the boss,” I told him. He glanced at us and decided that we weren’t cops, although between the young-looking Forest, me in a business suit, and the ugly truck, I could see his confusion in trying to figure out exactly who we were.
“Go in,” he said.
In the hallway just inside the door was a big minotaur. He rested his hands on a submachine gun hanging on a strap in front of his muscular chest. We repeated our request to him.
He disappeared into a room for a moment and I caught a little of the conversation. They still had no idea who we might be, but they figured two ponies couldn’t be very dangerous and decided to let us in, for a laugh if nothing else.
Inside the room was a desk with a stallion sitting behind it. There were two other ponies standing behind him, armed with submachine guns. On the desk was a cordless telephone, several stacks of cash, and a few small packages filled with white crystals.
There were two more ponies, again with guns, standing to either side of the door who frisked us when we came in. “Watch it,” said Forest, but let the patdown finish.
“Who are you?” said the stallion at the desk. This would be Bob, who Water Drop had told us about. Sounded like a fake name to me, but I wasn’t here to check his ID.
“I’m Harvest Peach. This is my assistant, Ms. Song. We’re here about your boys trying to kill us,” I said.
“That’s not what I asked,” said Bob.
“You want to know who we are?” I told him the address of the Shade office.
He nodded. “I’ve been wondering when I was going to get a response out of you. I figured it shouldn’t take more than a few hits.”
“That’s just it,” I said. “Do you have any idea how widespread our business is? Do you have any idea what it is?”
“I was told ice. You’ve got some kind of high tech way to produce it.” He thought we were making methamphetamine on a high-class industrial scale.
I laughed at him. “Drugs? You think we’d bother with that? Tiny operations like yours have no idea where the real money is.”
That touched a nerve. He leaned forward. “You still haven’t really told me who you are.”
“We import,” I said. “Anything. Mostly it’s hardware. The Chineighese are always willing to sell, and when the Hooviet Union broke up all their stuff went on the market. We’ve got small arms all the way up to missile systems.”
“That’s not what I was told,” said Bob.
“Look mister, I feel sorry for you. You might think you’re bringing in big money, but my paycheck last year will get me anything I want. Hell, I even thought about buying into the Canterlot Wondercolts. Are you a hoofball fan?”
Bob apparently was not. He stared at me.
“What I’m saying here is that you aren’t big enough to worry about. I want your boss.”
“What are you talking about? I’m the boss.”
“Then where are you getting your information? Who told you we were cutting into your product?”
“It’s a contract. We’ve got a guy.”
“Where can we find him?”
Bob shook his head. “This has gone on long enough. You two rolled up in that crap truck outside, and you haven’t said anything that I’ve believed so far. You’re two psychos who thought you could just walk in here and shoot your mouth off, right?”
I couldn’t think of a response quick enough, so I gestured to Forest and said, “This is our head of security. She’ll tell you what you need to know.”
Forest nodded, playing along. “Did you notice how your ponies started dying once we figured out what was going on? Did you really think we’d have all those weapons and not use them? What makes you think that we’d come in here without the firepower to back up what we’re saying?”
“I haven’t seen it,” said Bob. “I’ll bet nopony even knows you’re here.”
Just then, the phone on his desk rang. Bob looked at it and then picked it up. He listened, surprise coming to his face. He looked at me. “It’s for you.”
I tried to keep my own surprise off my face. I took the phone. “Hello?”
“Harvest, what are you doing in that den of sin? Didn’t I raise you better than that?”
“Right.”
“Get out of there right now! Make sure to call me back.”
“I will.” I gave the phone back.
Thinking quickly, I said, “See? We even planted listening bugs in this room ahead of time. We’ve got the weapons and the technology to crush you and your whole operation if we wanted to. Why don’t you tell us what we want to know before I have to call in a dozen ex-Royal Guards to kick your ass?”
After all that masterful lying, Bob actually gave us very little. He knew the name Settee and he gave us one location where he might be. Disappointing, but it was something.
I was on my cell phone as soon as we left the building. “Mom, how do you do that?”
“Do what?” she asked innocently.
“Look, someday we’re going to have a long talk about this. In the meantime, thanks a lot. Love you, mom.”
Forest and I drove back to the park with the information. Water Drop quickly organized a group of us to go investigate. Once again, it would be Forest and I going in.
The address turned out to be an upscale apartment building downtown. The place we were looking for was on the eighth floor.
Water Drop and four or five Shades took up positions in the hallway. I knocked on the door.
Settee opened it. He looked about like his picture, an older pegasus. He said, “Can I help you?”
“Tax services. Surprise audit.”
“What are you talking about?” He seemed more incredulous than worried. The fact that he didn’t seem concerned about a pair of unexpected ponies interrupting his illegal activity made me worried.
“It’s about your revenue from sports betting,” I said. “This could take a while. Can we come in?”
He looked at us warily, but stood back from the door.
“Right,” I said after he shut the door. “We’re also looking for any partners you might have, like psychics.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Settee said.
Forest grabbed him by the neck and got nose to nose with him. “Psychics. Predicting the future. Killing Shades to keep us out of your way.”
Something happened just then. It seemed like telekinesis – and a lot of it – despite the fact that Settee was a pegasus. There was a flash and Forest went flying across the room.
Hearing the crash, Water Drop and the other Shades threw open the door. Settee gestured with his hoof and the door slammed shut again, the lock clicking. He turned to look at me.
I was unarmed, and in way, way over my head. I did the only thing I could think of. I charged at him. He brushed me aside and I slammed into the wall a lot harder than I could have on my own.
As I lay there on the floor trying to figure out if my back was still in one piece, I realized something. As the two of us had come together, I’d felt the pressure of whatever it was he was doing. It was some kind of mental ability. Maybe Settee was some kind super psychic and could do it all; see gambling odds, perform non-horned unicorn-like tricks.
I got up slowly. At least I was better off than Forest. When I’d hit Settee and bounced off, it was just a glancing blow. She’d been practically knocked through one of the inside walls of the apartment.
I had the beginnings of an idea. With a little concentration, I could block out the thoughts in my head. I’d never tried making things go the other way, but there was no reason I couldn’t. Other than not knowing how, that is.
Settee looked at me, waiting for me to charge him again. The fact that it was exactly my plan probably should have been taken into consideration before I did it. Still, when I ran at Settee again, I tried as hard as I could to block out anything psychic. When I hit him, it felt like I ran into a solid wall, but this time I didn’t go flying. I’m not sure who was more surprised.
He readied another psychic punch, but this time I concentrated on reflecting it rather than blocking. The energy hit Settee and knocked him off his hooves—straight out the eighth floor window.
I ran over and stood among the shards of glass to look down. Settee’s wings flared but he was still tumbling and didn’t catch any air before hitting the pavement. The backup Shades were on the scene in a moment. It didn’t look like he would be a problem anymore.
I crossed the room and helped Forest get up. It looked like she’d broken a few studs when she’d hit the wall.
“I’ve never seen anything like that,” she said.
“Neither have I.”
We unlocked the door and let everypony else in to search the place for anything we could use. Someone found Settee’s records and we sent them back to the office. Some analyst would pick through them and find out exactly Settee had been planning.
The cleanup crew collected Settee and confirmed that he was dead. The last thing we wanted to do with this guy was take chances.
I sat with Forest as other Shades combed Settee’s place for anything of value. Out the window I could see the rooftops of Ponyville slowly growing shadows as the sun began to set.
“So,” said Forest. “How was your first week back in your hometown?”
I thought for a moment. “Better than I imagined.”
That evening, I went to see my mother. She invited me in and we sat in the living room around the coffee table while dinner finished cooking.
“How do you always know where I am, mom?” I asked.
“A mother always knows.”
“That’s pretty vague.”
“Harvest, you seem skeptical for somepony with abilities of his own.”
“You know about that?” I asked, surprised.
Of course I do, she thought. “How about that girl you brought with you last time. Would she like to date a mind reader? Mares love stallions that are good listeners.”
The kitchen timer went off. Mom got up and went to check the food.
I called after her, “Forest is a few hundred years old and changes into a wolf.”
“There isn’t anything wrong with that. You should have her over for dinner again.”
Not likely, I thought.
“What was that, dear?”
“Nothing, mom.”