//------------------------------// // 13: No Boom // Story: Loony // by totallynotabrony //------------------------------// As Arc and Roxy sat in the car, her phone rang.  She straightened up and gave Arc’s hoof a squeeze before answering. It was Granite.  “I investigated the thing your friend found outside the lab.  Sure enough, it’s got surveillance spells.  None of them are obvious enough to lead me to Smoke Screen right now, so I’m heading your way to see what I can do.” It was nice of him to help.  Roxy told him where they were and hung up. A few minutes passed as Arc and Roxy sat together in the darkness, leaning on each other.  Sirens could be heard in the distance, although emergency services would only be able to treat the wounded that Sisal’s raiding party had left in their wake.  As for the attackers themselves, chances were slim that any had escaped the watery wreck of their downed helicopter. Having been through helicopter training himself, an ordeal that involved being turned upside down in a metal box under water, Arc could imagine what it must have been like.  Deciding that he should probably think about something else, he searched for a new topic. “It’s nice to just sit here,” Arc said.  “Nothing happening at the moment.” “I never thought just having the opportunity for a few quiet minutes would feel so good.”  Roxy leaned closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder. “A vacation for our anniversary is sounding better and better,” Arc murmured. They didn’t get too much more time together, though.  It wasn’t long before Granite arrived, stopping his car facing theirs.  Arc and Roxy met him in the glare of headlights between the two cars.  Surprisingly, he wasn’t alone. “He wanted to come,” said Granite, tilting his head towards Carbon. “What are you doing here?” Roxy exclaimed. “Something wasn’t adding up,” Carbon said.  “I called you about the big piece of quartz I found and then this guy shows up asking about it.  I could only assume you’d sent him, but I still have no idea who he is.” “You gave him a ride here and he doesn’t even know you?” Roxy asked. Granite shrugged.  “He’s part diamond dog.  I figured you two were close.” “How did you know that?” Carbon demanded. “He’s what?” said Roxy, near-simultaneously. Arc asked, “What’s that got to do with anything?”  He frowned.  “Wait, how is that even possible?” Granite raised his eyebrows and looked back and forth between Roxy and Carbon.  “Well, damn.  You two have some talking to do.”  He turned to Arc.  “It’s magic.” Arc rolled his eyes.  “That’s it?” Granite gestured for everypony to get in the car.  “We’ll go over it later.  Right now we have a boat to catch.” After everypony was in, Granite headed towards the wharf.  Quietly to Carbon, Roxy said, “A diamond dog?” “It never came up in conversation,” muttered Carbon. There was more activity around the base as they got closer to the water.  The presence of a passenger car filled with unarmed ponies did not raise a lot of suspicion, but Granite had his investigator ID ready to show. There was a boat with security markings waiting by one of the piers.  Proficient and Harv were aboard, apparently having arrived with the boat. “Who’s this?” Proficient asked, indicating Carbon. “Dog,” said Arc helpfully. “Half,” corrected Carbon. Proficient and Harv nodded.  Apparently no further explanation was needed. Turning the boat, the group of them headed into the night.  The sounds of activity at the docks carried over the water, but out on the bay the noise was muted.  The outboard motor was louder. “Where are we going?” Carbon asked. “The seaponies flagged a boat they believe is holding a hostage and may be the operations center of the arms dealer that’s trying to blow up San Palomino because she hates baseball,” said Harv. Carbon’s mouth dropped open in uncertainty and not a little surprise.  Roxy said, “Yeah, we really should talk later.” Another few minutes brought them within sight of a large yacht anchored by itself.  A few lights were lit aboard.  The helipad at the stern was empty. Doria appeared on the surface of the water as Proficient throttled the boat back.  She waved to them and came over to the side.  “Hey, there you are.  I was expecting more guns, though.” Worried, Arc asked, “Are we going to need them?” “I thought that was implied,” said Doria, “this being a bad guy holdout and all.” “We’re much closer than the strike team,” Proficient said. “Well, it might not be a problem,” said Doria.  “I don’t think there are a lot of ponies aboard, although I did hear what sounded like a fight a little bit earlier.” “Well, let’s get this over with,” said Granite. Proficient maneuvered the boat closer to Sisal’s yacht, aiming for a boarding ladder at the stern.  Granite went up first, pausing on the helicopter pad for a quick look around before advancing to a door in the superstructure.  He stopped there, standing close to the wall, and gestured for the others. “I hope this thing doesn’t blow up, too,” muttered Harv as he climbed out of the boat.  Arc and Roxy glanced at each other and then went up the ladder.  Neither was going to prevent the other from going into danger alone. Proficient adjusted his tie as he stepped out of the boat.  Carbon, uninvolved up to this point, stood quietly on deck. “Hey, take me with you!” called Doria, waving from the water.  “I can help!” “Won’t you lose your tail if you dry out?” Arc asked. “A few minutes won’t hurt,” said Doria.  “Plus, it’s a boat, not the land.” “Yeah, but what are you going to do to the bad guys, flop at them?” said Granite. Doria huffed.  Granite said, “Look, if you want to see the boat, just give us a few minutes to clear it, all right?” Turning back to the door, Granite tipped his horn towards it.  The lock clicked and the door slammed open.  Granite went through, calling, “Come on!” Arc glanced at Roxy, raising his eyebrows inquiringly. “If you’re confident, go ahead,” Roxy said.  “I’m with you.” The two of them entered the door.  The interior was well-appointed, as one would expect from such a large yacht.  Carpet muffled their footsteps as the two of them moved forwards. The maze of passageways below deck were difficult to navigate with any sort of efficiency.    Arc and Roxy got turned around and had to double back, going down another set of stairs in a different direction. They entered what was apparently the galley.  It was dark, but the dim light from down the passageways at either end illuminated the stainless steel surfaces.  Arc noticed some water on the floor and paused to examine it.  It seemed like something wet had slid along the floor.   Roxy stepped around the island in the center of the room and opened a door, suddenly interrupting a confrontation that appeared to be some strange variant of a Mexicanter Standoff.   On one side was a furious looking sailor with soiled uniform and a military-issue Mareretta pistol.  On the other was an unfamiliar unicorn mare spitting curses in Hoviet and menacing Carbon and Doria with a gun of her own. Roxy’s entrance broke the moment and the mare holding two hostages swung her weapon to point at Roxy.  “Stop where you are!” It was a voice they knew.  She’d called them to taunt and deliver threats.  This could only be the illusive Sisal Twist. Roxy, when a gun was pointed at her, did stop.  However, only long enough for Arc in the darkened kitchen to grab a small cast iron skillet and cock his foreleg back. “Duck!” Roxy hit the deck a fraction of a second before the metal pan flew over her head on a collision course with Sisal’s face.  The unicorn slapped at the projectile with magic, the gun firing by reflex. The bullet went wild somewhere overhead.  With a split second to react, but knowing Arc was behind her, Roxy snapped her wings for thrust and shot towards the gun, grappling it away before Sisal could refocus her magic. And before she could even look to see where the gun had gone, Sisal was bowled over by the strength of an earth pony hoof slamming into her skull. Arc landed on top of her, following through.  “You tried to kill my wife,” he hissed through clenched teeth.  Sisal didn’t respond, her eyes still rolling. Roxy got up, glancing at the gun in her hoof.  She turned to the sailor, apparently Seabreeze, and offered it.  “Here, you probably know more about this than I do.” Seabreeze shot her a distrusting look, but accepted the gun.  Her eyes shifted to Arc, who had rolled Sisal over and brushed mane down into her eyes so she couldn’t see to use magic. “That was so cool!” cheered Doria, standing up on her tail and gesturing with her hooves. “We stumbled in here and got caught up in things,” Carbon admitted. “Is everypony okay?” Arc asked.  Sisal groaned.  Arc glanced at her.  “You don’t count.” “Mr. Arc,” said Seabreeze slowly, “why are you here and what’s going on?” Arc looked around at his wife, the injured Hoviet who had tried to kill them all, the confused sailor holding two guns, the half-dog genetic researcher, and the seapony who looked nothing like the stylized tattoo on Seabreeze’s foreleg.  He said, “I could tell you, but it’s going to sound really loony.” “What’s loony is that I let you live so long,” Sisal muttered into the floor. “Shut up,” said Arc and Roxy. Sisal began a low chuckle.  “Hey baseball fans, what time is it?” Arc got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.  He instinctively checked his watch, although that didn’t really tell him what she was talking about.   Sisal barked out a laugh.  “I said I was going to kill you!  Any last words?” Arc and Roxy shared glances.  She leaned against him, placing a wing over his withers. Seabreeze looked perplexed.  “What is she talking about?” There was a snort at the door and Granite shuffled in wearing a smug look.  “Was anypony here expecting a yacht-shattering kaboom?”  He casually dropped a pile of detonators on floor in front of Sisal's face. Her leer was replaced by rage. Harv and Prof entered the room, each dropping several more detonators onto the pile.  Granite asked, “Did we miss anything?” Harv looked intently at Sisal.  “No, we didn't,” he replied with a grin of his own. Proficient clapped his hooves.  “Well, that about wraps things up.”