//------------------------------// // 2. Monochrome // Story: Masks // by -Jules //------------------------------// A sudden burst of noise woke Monochrome with a start. Panicking, her eyes shot around the darkened room looking for the source of the disturbance. Finally, as her heart rate slowed, she traced the cacophony to the phone lying on the floor. Sighing, she got up from her desk and walked over to it. Guess last night took more out of me than I thought, she thought, realizing she had passed out in her office instead of the adjoining bedroom. She reached out with her magic and levitated the phone to her ear, pressing the answer button with her cheek. "Hello?”          "Monochrome, I have a job for you," the stallion’s voice came from the other end. He was whispering.          The mare frowned. "Who is this?"          "It's Silk." The voice sounded surprised.          "Oh. Okay, what do you need?"          "Last night I was attacked, and –"          "You want me to figure out who did it. On it." Monochrome needed to hurry, she was probably late for breakfast as it was. "It'll just be the usual –"          "No;" Silk cut her off, "I need you to figure out who intervened. She was wearing a mask and a sweatshirt, so I don't even know what race she was. Someone had to see her, she was using hooks to swing all around town."          "You want me to track down a Vigilante, with nothing more than she had some hooks? This is going to cost extra."          "Fine, whatever it takes, I just – Rose! What are you doing!?" a yelp came from the background. "Rose! Put that – Monochrome, I trust your judgement. I have to go."          "What was –" The line went dead. Fine, I need to get going anyways.          Monochrome trotted into her bedroom and into the connected bathroom. She glanced at the mirror and her dishevelled reflection glared back. Levitating a brush to straighten her white mane, she used a hoof to flatten any rough patches on her light gray coat. She exhaled to smell her own breath and was only slightly surprised to still smell whatever she'd been drinking last night. She poured a cup of mouthwash and took in the rest of her appearance. Her yellow eyes had bags under them but there was nothing she could do about that now, and the dark gray streak in her mane was ragged. She spat the liquid into the sink and made for the door, grabbing her saddlebags on the way.          She paused at the front door to her office, examining the room. The office consisted of nothing more than her desk sitting some distance from the door, a dozen filing cabinets placed against the walls, and a corkboard with information regarding her current case pinned to it. Everything was in shades of gray, including the corkboard. Even the photographs on the board were in black and white. She liked it that way. She trotted to the door and put her hoof on the door knob reading the letters stencilled on the glass from behind. "MONOCHROME SUNSET, INVESTIGATOR INTO ALL MATTERS BOTH PUBLIC AND PRIVATE" written in block capitals above a stylised image of a sun sinking below the horizon, her cutie mark. Using her magic, she quickly picked up her watch, black hat, and dark grey trench-coat  before steeling herself for the Manehattan morning cold.          Squinting into the light as she opened the door and emerged onto the street, she turned and began to trot towards the cafe she'd be meeting the girls at. Hopefully my appearance won't worry them, she thought as the cafe came into view. Seeing her friends had already found their usual table, she quickly made her way to the outdoor seating area and dropped into the empty chair.          She took the moment to examine her friends. Film Reel, the earth pony with a beige coat and perpetually dishevelled orange mane held her gaze from under her black fedora, marking her as a member of the press. She looked tired, but comfortable in her dark windbreaker. Dead Line, the sky-blue pegasus, looked out from under her sea-green mane with excited eyes.          "Sorry I'm late," Monochrome began. "I had a long night."          "It's fine, Chrome. I was a bit late too," Film started to say. "But wait until -" “Chrome! You will not believe what Film got on camera last night!” Dead Line interrupted, beaming widely. Film Reel rolled her eyes at her friend before continuing, “Line, I thought we were waiting until the paper got here to show her.” The pegasus looked down sheepishly, “Sorry, this is all just so exciting.” “Show me what? What did you catch on camera?” Monochrome asked confusedly. Film sighed. “Well, I guess we’ll tell you while we wait for the delivery. Last night I was out photographing the crowds and decided what I really needed was a shot from up on the roof of one of the apartment buildings. So, after a brief climb, I was on the fire escape of an older apartment building trying to get a picture of the crowd, when I heard a stallion screaming. So, naturally I looked over. Take a look at these.” The photographer reached into her jacket’s pocket and placed several photographs on the table. Monochrome’s eyes widened as she studied the pictures. The first and most prominent was a picture of a mare in a gray sweatsuit, boots on all four hooves, a ski mask, and a large ballcap falling from the side of a building, with another pony on her back. The mare was throwing what appeared to be a grappling hook attached to her foreleg. The next picture was from above as the pair swung through an arc stories above the street, and the final was from behind as the two flew off towards an alley. “Film, these are… outstanding. They’re all framed and focused perfectly, and she must have been a fast-moving target.” They almost look like they were set up beforehand, Monochrome added silently. “Well that is my special talent,” Film replied beaming and showing off the roll of film adorning her flank. “Wait, you said you wanted to wait until the paper got here, are you saying you already got these published?” Monochrome asked incredulously. “Yep!” Dead Line was bouncing again. “I was out with a few friends but Film called me as soon as she had the pictures, so we called the paper and told them we had just found something important that we could get done for the mornings paper and be at least an issue ahead of any other paper!” The pegasus took a deep breath in to continue, “So we worked on it almost all night and got it in just in time!” “You got an entire article done in just a few hours?” Monochrome stared in wonder at the journalist. She knew her friend was good, but that was amazing. Dead Line’s smile got even wider. “I was already down near the museum, so we got there as fast as possible to take a look at the Vigilante exhibit and used a lot of that, the editor loved it!” I’ll need to check that out myself. Maybe it has something I can use to find this masked mare. “Do you have any idea who it was behind the mask or where they were going?” Both of her friends’ smiles faltered. Film spoke up, “No, I wasn’t in a good position to follow her, and she swung around a corner, so I lost her.” Monochrome nodded, “That’s a shame, I was just hired to find her.” Dead Line frowned, “Really? By who?” “One of the ponies who saw her rescue that stallion from the roof,” Monochrome lied. Stupid, why would you tell them you were hired for that? “Makes sense,” Film Reel replied. “I figured I wasn’t the only pony who saw them falling. Also good to know that what I thought was a gunshot actually was, now at least the articles isn’t a string of us guessing what was happening.” Monochrome was on the verge of asking them to help her track down any information on the mare when a waiter walked over to the table, signifying the cafe had finally opened for business. Monochrome decided it would be better to keep this job between her and the client, and ordered her usual breakfast: an omelette with sunflower, a cup of coffee, and a  cinnamon roll. She asked her friends about work, and they asked about hers. She’d been following up on a warehouse break-in a week ago that the cops had said didn’t have enough evidence to work with. She wasn’t willing to admit it, but she barely had enough to tie it to one of Manehattan’s many gangs. The nature of the stolen goods led her to suspect the griffon gang known as the Ironclads, but beyond that she had nothing for her client. Dead Line told them that her next article was going to be a large piece on several of the city’s gangs and how far their influence spread. Both of her friends volunteered to help her get pictures and evidence for the piece before she even asked, and Monochrome urged her to publish under a pseudonym for her safety. Eventually their meal came to an end and they said their goodbyes, as they all had other engagements for the afternoon and needed to prepare. Film went back to her crowd photography to prepare for another article, Dead Line went to the library to begin her research, and Monochrome went to the warehouse to investigate her case. Hours later, Monochrome found herself sitting alone outside another restaurant. She reclined in her chair with a newspaper in hoof, looking as innocent as possible while pretending to eat her food and read Dead Line’s article on Vigilantes. In reality she was watching the warehouse down the street. Monochrome was waiting for the thief to reappear. Both she and her employer expected another break-in tonight. It had been nearly two weeks since anything went missing, which either meant it would happen soon, or it was over. Monochrome knew nothing like this ever ended in Manehattan. Not without a serious change. And so Monochrome found herself sitting in front of the Labyrinth Bar and Grill, a place she detested. She knew plenty of criminals frequented the cafe to talk business in a place no one would risk making a scene. For the same reasons they liked it, she hated it. It was too exposed for her liking. She couldn't cover her back and watch the building at the same time, and that made her nervous. The Minotaur bartender who glared at her until she ordered more than a cup of coffee didn't ease her nerves either. The P.I. cast another glance down the street at the warehouse and saw once again that nothing had changed. She sighed. It’s almost midnight. Looks like nothing’s happening tonight, maybe we’ll be luckier in a few days. Monochrome called out to one of the nearby waiters for her check and folded the still unread newspaper next to her plate. She paid with exact change, turned up the collar of her coat, and walked out onto the street. Monochrome began the journey to her car, a block and a half away. As she was passing the warehouse across the street something caught her eye. A truck was pulling around the corner towards the loading bay. I didn’t think there were any shipments in or out tonight, she thought. She knew better than to simply charge in. Either these were legitimate workers and wouldn’t want to be bothered by a crazy detective this late at night, or they were dangerous criminals who really wouldn’t want to be bothered by a crazy detective this late at night. Monochrome kept walking as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened and calmly pulled her cell phone from its pocket. She pulled up the owner of the warehouse on speed dial and pressed the phone to the side of her head as she ducked into the nearby parking garage. She had to call twice before the mare on the other end finally picked up. “Monochrome, do you have any idea what time it is?” the angry voice came from the other end. “Yes I do, you have me on a stakeout remember?” Monochrome grumbled. At least I’m on retainer here, and not paid by the hours she thinks I work. “Oh, right. So I’m assuming you have something then?” “Are there any shipments in or out scheduled for tonight, boss?” “Um… no, no there shouldn’t be. Why?” “Oh, just a hunch. You know me.” Monochrome hung up before her employer could respond. She didn’t need to know there might be armed griffons inside the warehouse right now. Monochrome put her phone away and checked that both her gun and knife were resting against her ribs inside her jacket. Hopefully these won’t be necessary, but I’d rather have them and not need them than need them and not have them, she thought as she walked back out of the garage. She cut across the street between the two buildings next to the warehouse, looking for a way in that wasn’t the front doors or the currently occupied loading area. Eventually she settled on the fire escape of the three-story building next door to the warehouse. Climbing quickly to the roof, she stayed low as she stole over to the other side to check if the alley below was clear. Seeing no signs of life, she searched for a point of entry that wouldn’t require smashing a window,. Soon enough she spotted a balcony on the second story. Monochrome took careful aim and launched herself from the roof. Rolling as silently as possible on impact, she crouched low and scanned her surroundings. Hearing no change she carefully tried the door. It was locked. Monochrome swore. I knew I should have asked for that master key. Weighing her options, Monochrome drew her knife and placed it between the door and the frame. Oh boy is she going to be pissed about this. Maybe I can blame the robbers. Monochrome applied force and felt the deadbolt break from the wall under her blade. The door glided open noiselessly, revealing a shadowy network of catwalks reaching between platforms lining the walls. Creeping to the edge of the plywood flooring, Monochrome peered down onto the main floor. She watched as a stallion in a hard hat and vest opened the large roller doors of the loading area and guided the truck as it backed its doors to the entrance. She saw the stallion flick a light switch to illuminate the center of the floor. Monochrome held her breath as the stallion opened the back doors on the truck and four griffons stepped out. She slowly used her magic to pull her cell phone out and point the camera at the intruders. She flicked the switch to video and hoped they would say something confirming them to be Ironclads. Unfortunately the Manehattan Police Department wouldn’t take the fact they were each carrying the Ironclads’ signature gray and black camouflage revolving rifles as evidence. She watched the stallion speak with one of the griffons, he had a large brown body and golden feathers on his head, they seemed to reach an agreement and the stallion walked further into the warehouse while the griffons spread out and looked around. Monochrome held her breath as a small white griffon scanned the second floor through his rifle’s sights. Luckily her habit of wearing gray allowed her to blend with the shadows. The white griffon reported that all was clear. Monochrome slowly let her breath out. The stallion came back with a piece of paper and showed it to the brown griffon he spoke with before, who seemed to be in charge. After a hushed conversation, the griffon gestured towards the truck, and a fifth griffon and two unicorns climbed out from inside the container. The two unicorns moved with an air of confidence, even if they did look wary of the armed griffons. The fifth griffon was shorter than most of the other griffons and had a squatter, rounder head with a flatter face and large round eyes. They must have brought the owl to keep lookout, Chrome thought. Oh wait, the best place for her to keep lookout is up here. Crap. Chrome watched in fear as the owl griffon flew up to one of the platforms on the other side of the room and began to look around. She held her breath as the griffon scanned the shadows. She barely dared to let it out when she seemed satisfied and looked down at the proceedings below. Monochrome saw the unicorns follow the stallion in the vest down an aisle between the crates stacked below and come back a few minutes later levitating three very large crates each. Celestia, they must be powerful. I don’t think I could lift a single one of those, let alone three. She watched and kept recording as the unicorns set the crates down and the brown griffon used his talons to pry one open. Monochrome stifled a gasp at the contents. She said they were just taking the metal to build guns. Monochrome was no weapons manufacturer, but she could see from her hiding place that the rifles in the crate did not need to be built. The brown griffon looked to the stallion and spoke, “Good. As long as they’re all here, and the cops stay out of this, Razor Talon will see you get paid.” Monochrome fought the urge to cheer. Razor Talon was the head of the Ironclads, and all the evidence she needed. Monochrome realized she wouldn’t be able to sneak away while the owl was on watch, so she decided to simply remain recording until the Ironclads had left and she was safe to make her get away. The stallion spoke, “Don’t worry about that, Viktor. The mare who owns this place doesn’t even know the crates are full of weapons. She thinks it’s whatever’s written on the box. Steel sheets this time.” Well, at least she didn’t know the Ironclads were stealing actual weaponry, Monochrome thought. But they’ve only been doing this for a while, and that’s a lot of guns to risk. They’re not normally reckless. Something big must be coming. That thought worried her. Anything that can make the Ironclads take unnecessary risks could be disastrous for anyone nearby. The two unicorns waited silently for Viktor to reseal the crate before effortlessly lifting them from the ground and placing them inside the truck. The unicorns then climbed inside, followed by the griffons on the ground. Monochrome pressed the button to end the recording, and immediately regretted it. The click the button produced was barely audible to her, but she knew the owl would hear it. Frozen in place she watched through the corner of her eye as the owl’s head snapped towards her. She stared for several seconds before slowly drawing her rifle. Monochrome weighed her options as the owl signalled to Viktor to wait. As she began to stalk across the catwalk separating their platforms, Monochrome made her decision. Jumping backwards and reaching into her coat with a hoof she found the grip of her pistol. The owl started in surprise and began to move her rifle to her shoulder. Monochrome let loose a burst of light from her horn directly towards the large eyes of the griffon as she landed on three hooves. Taking aim, she let loose two shots at the griffon, one clipping the talon she held the rifle in. Monochrome heard the owl screech in pain but didn’t look, she had already turned towards Viktor, who was trying to bring his rifle around. Firing off two more shots, Monochrome turned and bolted for the exterior door. The loud clanging of talons on metal told her the owl was in pursuit. Monochrome didn’t have time to open the door, and opted to barrel through it instead, knocking it off its hinges. She rolled her shoulder as she exited onto the balcony. If that’s not broken, it’s going to be sore in the morning. The roof she had used before was no longer an option, since it was an entire story above her head. Frantically turning around, Monochrome saw the owl charging through the open doorway at her and reacted instinctively. Dropping to the floor and rolling to her side, she let the griffon fly past her and into the railing of the balcony. Monochrome came up on her front legs and let out a vicious kick with her back legs, feeling her hooves make solid contact with the owl’s side. The combined force of the griffon’s charge and Monochrome’s kick proved too much for the railing, and it buckled. The griffon fell with a screech to the alley below. Monochrome planted her hooves beneath her once again and ran along the balcony. I wonder if she died, Monochrome thought, hearing nothing from the griffon below. It was only two floors, so probably not. Maybe some broken bones. Or a lot of broken bones. Hollow bones probably break easier. Monochrome reached the edge of the balcony and lept. She was coming down near the front of the warehouse and aimed for a small car parked in front. The roof buckled and dented under her weight but held. She rolled off into the parking lot as the alarm began to sound. To whoever’s car this is, I’m so sorry. Unless you just sold weapons to the Ironclads, then I wish I’d hit faster. Monochrome took her bearings and bolted out across the street towards the parking garage she had visited earlier. Her car wasn’t here, but there were enough back doors that she could lose them in the city nearby. Monochrome ran through the garage and out into the winding alleys, slowly doubling around to reach the decrepit diner she had parked her car at. Sure she had lost whatever pursuers she might have had, she checked the footage on her phone again. I’ll definitely get a bonus for this, she thought as she patted her pockets for her keys and started the car.