War In The Dark
*** Heist ***
***
Manehatten, a city caught huddled between the dense forests and the curdling cold waves of the Marelantic Ocean. A humble and ever-changing city stands tall in this region of Equestria. The thin lazy clouds dot the immense blue sky, casting translucent shadows on the towering skyscrapers that loomed over the avenues and city squares. A city with numerous personalities, ponies from all walks of life reside here.
Somewhere in downtown Manehatten, the heart of the city, the authorities had received news of a bank heist underway.
The loud blaring sound of sirens reverberated through the district. Several patrol vehicles rolled through the streets as ponies going about their usual day looked on with great curiosity. For during this exact moment, they knew something big was going down.
Manehatten has the reputation for being controlled by the big Mafia families, although crime rates were lower than what other cities in Equestria have to say for themselves. The better side of the Mafia resides here, and everypony is contented with life in this bustling city. Crime and violence was an all time low. It was rare to see more than three patrol cars rushing to a certain location with sirens and lights flashing.
The patrol cars skidded to a slow halt as the police tape was lifted from the side of the district. The whole strip of the financial district was cordoned off with blue and white tape. A whole mob of passers-by and onlookers stopped to have a gander at the situation. They were controlled by a couple police officers armed with shotguns.
Three police cars and a mobile control unit was already on scene, their lights still flashing wildly. In one of the unmarked vehicles that arrived at the scene later, a young mare steps out of the door as several officers rushed to receive her.
"Mam, the suspects are still in the bank with several hostages. The chief is waiting for you in the mobile control unit." One of the officer called out and pointed towards the enforcer. The mare merely nodded and cantered into the control unit, the officers hurried after her.
"Chief Lyra, good day." She clambered onto the seat and greeted the unicorn beside her. "How's the situation looking?"
"Suspects have shot out the surveillance cameras, we can't see what's going on inside." The chief started, glancing towards the building. The officers had been instructed to stay away until further instructions. "The number of suspects or hostages remains a mystery."
"Has the negotiations gone underway?"
"Yes. About ten minutes ago." Lyra said and looked at the blue unicorn beside her, unable to fathom what was she getting at.
"What? It was you who conducted the negotiation?" Minuette sat up from her comfortable position, her face somewhere between shock and disbelief. "You must've said that your name was Lyra Heartstrings from the Central Equestrian Investigations Bureau, and that you'll give them three minutes to surrender. Right?"
Lyra gaped at the unicorn and nonchalantly nodded, avoiding Minuette's eye.
Minuette slapped her own forehead. "Let's just listen to the tape." She sighed and shook her head. The officer on the recording device clicked the machine and it whirred to life.
"Who's this?" A gruff voice rang out.
"I am Lyra Heartstrings from the Central Equestrian Investigations Bureau-"
"You're the negotiator?" The same voice grunted.
"Looks like he's wearing a mask." Minuette commented, turning the the chief, who was sulking away.
"I'm the one in charge of this case. You have been utterly surrounded and I will not repeat again. You have three minutes to drop your weapons and surrender the hostages!" Lyra's voice rattled from the recorder.
Minuette forced herself not to punch the door, and just shook her head even more intensely.
"Careful of what you say to me. These words of yours can kill a hostage."
Some screams could be heard from the background as a feminine voice gasped. The suspect must have grabbed a hostage, Minuette thought to herself, squinting her eyes as though visualizing the scene mentally. Lyra just shirked and listened on.
"Go on! Tell her your name and your position here!" The suspect yelled as the female voice cried out.
"M- May Velvet. Re- receptionist! Help! Hel-"
"What do you want?" Lyra asked in exasperation, her voice had given her fear away.
"Disperse the snipers from the roofs! Push the cops further down the block and prepare a bulletproof vehicle with a full tank!" The suspect ordered. "I want it in half an hour!"
"Why didn't you ask for a helicopter instead?" Lyra inquired.
Minuette eyes almost popped out from their sockets. She stomped the floor of the command unit and shook her seat. "Why would you even say that!?" She hissed, anger seething from her teeth.
"You said it! Get us a helicopter!" The suspect sniffed deeply. "And make it quick, don't try to stall!" He roared.
Lyra said nothing, just looking between the convulsing mare beside her and the recorder. She wasn't angry or embarrassed, just staring blankly into space.
"Wait! I didn't really mean-"
The recording ended there.
"Hold on." Minuette leaned foward and held down the reverse button on the recording device. It whirred and made a rapid swirling noise, like somepony's voice being fast-forwarded.
Click, click.
"You said it! Get us a helicopter!" *sniff sniff* "And make it quick, don-"
"Hang on..." Minuette reversed the tape again. Lyra said nothing, just staring at the blue unicorn, really confused as of what she was trying to work out.
Click, click.
"You said it! Get us a helicopter!" *sniff sniff* "And make it qui-"
"Let's go, c'mon." Minuette pulled the door and landed on the road. The chief scrambled out after her, trying to keep up.
"That guy's crazy! He wants a helicopter? There's no point in talking him out of it." Lyra cried, cantering after Minuette.
Minuette stopped and turned towards Lyra. "I think that he's very collected, a professional." She continued her way towards the entrance of the bank, where several officers had already positioned themselves with their weapons ready.
"Hey, when you're inside. Please turn on your transceiver, I'd like to hear everything." Lyra stated, pointing to Minuette's transceiver, which was strapped to her coat.
Not like you could help anyway. Minuette thought to herself. "Alright, but do not interrupt." She trotted off towards the building, leaving the chief to glare at her. Lyra watched the unicorn carefully as she ambled further from her and closer to the building. She positioned herself behind a patrol vehicle, with the transceiver floating close to her ear.
The other officers peered on, their eyes trailing the blue mare as she stopped herself beside the entrance of the bank.
Minuette froze, leaving the other officers in question. Lyra rose from her cover and put the transceiver to her mouth. "What's wrong?"
Minuette put hers up, "Nothing. Just daydreaming."
Lyra shook the transceiver in a fit of annoyance and gave a irate grunt as Minuette cantered into the building and out of sight.
---
Minuette trotted into the main bank as the sliding doors swiveled to the side.
Before the suspects could say anything, Minuette explained the situation. "My name is Minuette from the CEIB. There are traffic lights and buildings outside and a helicopter could not possibly be perched there. I could arrange a vehicle for your escape, but I need to know if the hostages are safe."
"Get out! If we don't see the helicopter in five minutes, I'll kill the hostages." A stallion wearing a mask and black apparel pointed his gun at the hostages, who were cowering on the floor. An occasional whimper and shuffling could be heard from them. The hostages were sprawled on the floor, afraid that their sudden movements may alert the suspects.
Minuette was unfazed, "I'm here to help. My job is to help you settle this peacefully. And, I'm not armed." She stretched out her coat to reveal the inner pockets, and true enough, there were no weapons.
Minuette quickly scanned the entirety of the bank. She could see that there were at least twenty hostages and two suspects. The one who had a gun pointing at her was evidently the mastermind. Another suspect huddled behind a hostage, his gun pressed against his meat shield.
"Get out!" The suspect yelled and pulled the trigger.
BAM!
The bullet splintered off the marble floor, inches from Minuette. But she did not flinch. Somewhere out on the road, the officers perked up their ears as the gunshot rang out.
"Oi! Mallory! You've already killed one hostage!" The other masked suspect shrieked.
"How many times must I tell you? Don't tell them our names! You know what? If it's not for your cowardly brother, we'll be out of here a long time ago! So shut the hell up!" The hostages let out a scream as they trembled in fear.
Minuette knew she had to improvise. She knew that the suspects will not yield unless they got what they wanted. A helicopter and safe passage out. Ridiculous. There was a hostage directly in front of her, she was bleeding and was still breathing, miraculously. The part about already having killed a hostage was a sign of poor insight, Minuette gathered as much.
"Look here, mate. Why not I take the injured mare outside. She needs immediate medical attention or she will die." She knelt down beside the unconscious mare and checked her pulse. She was indeed still hanging on, barely.
"No one's going anywhere!" Mallory was final about that.
"If any of the hostages were to potentially die, this would be more serious. This wouldn't just be any robbery, it will be murder. During that kind of situation, the police won't compromise. 'They've killed someone, surely they won't let them go.' They wouldn't care how many hostages you've got, they won't let you off."
"Shut up!"
Minuette turned to the suspect kneeling behind a hostage. "You don't look like the kind of pony who would kill another. Surrender and you could testify in court. Don't be naive, you're getting taken advantaged of. Even should the judge give you a five year sentence, I assure you'll be released on parole in two."
The two suspects exchanged glances.
"If another round is fired, the special forces will storm the place. Then, prepare to beg to Celestia that they'll spare you." Minuette gave a wary gaze. "And besides, they can hear every word I say." She raised the transceiver into the air.
"Time's up! If you don't leave this instant I'll shoot her!" He pulled a worker off her hooves and trained his pistol on her head. She let out a yelp for help and tried not to cry. "You'll be the cause of her death!"
Minuette let out a sigh and her horn glowed gently. She had been trained to conceal her magical envelope for this exact purpose. The world around her faded away as she focused her magic. The world was outlined in strands of tiny lines, akin to a blueprint. She had to buy herself some time. And her perceptive filter would allow that.
Contrarily to what others may believe, she can't really slow down time. All she could do is merely speed up the distention field around her, and that would make it look as if the world around her was crawling at a snail's pace. The process was draining, but it allowed her to see things that most ponies can't.
Minuette let her magical envelope diffuse into the air. The suspects haven't a clue of what she did. From what she gathered in the duration of her time spell, Minuette managed to hear a silent clicking amidst the bunch of hostages lying on the floor. She could also sense a sharp frequency emitting from the same group, similar to a phone or another transceiver.
Minuette shut off her own transceiver surreptitiously and slotted it in her belt.
"Celestia damned it! What did I tell her!?" Lyra yelled as the line on her transceiver went dead with a constant buzzing. She adjusted the frequency but could not catch it.
"Mallory! Don't do it!"
"Stop calling my name!"
"If you insist on killing the hostages, you should kill me instead!" Minuette yelled out in a condescending tone. She meant to aggravate the two quarreling suspects, hoping that her instincts had not failed her.
"You'll doom us all!" The meeker robber stood up from his position behind a hostage and faced his friend.
"You'll actually listen to a cop?"
"If you hurt that hostage, prepare to die!" Minuette chided and marched towards the two suspects. All her professionalism was gone now, for all she wanted to do was to just talk and let the situation take care of itself.
"Shut up, you scumbag!"
"Mallory, you are one selfish bastard!" Minuette continued trotting towards the enraged criminal, who was jerking his hostage dangerously. "You'll rather pull your accomplice down to die with you!"
"You'll be the one that dies first!" Mallory threatened.
"If you dare, come on then!" Minuette challenged further.
BAM! BAM!
A stallion in a suit sprung out from the clustered group of hostages. He fired two shots at the robber with his revolver. Mallory barely had time to react when the gun fired again.
BAM! BAM!
Lyra quickly galloped over the the side of the bank entrance together with a team of special forces as soon as she heard the gunshots.
Back in the bank, the hostages began to run for their lives, screaming and yelling as they scrambled for the exits. Several tripped over but quickly crawled onto their hooves.
Minuette turned on her transceiver, "Hostages are coming out, I repeat, hostages are making their way out!"
"About time you called!" Lyra shrieked into the transceiver as several officers rushed to receive the hostages. They all galloped out as fast as their legs could carry. The hostages were scared out of their wits and they can't wait to get out.
Police officers rushed to get the traumatized ponies out of the scene.
"Mam, I am detective Lance from the southern division. I'm off duty today." The stallion in the suit floated his identification out of his pocket. He shook his head and sniffed deeply.
Minuette slowly raised her head to look at the detective. It took a while, but she finally gathered the pieces together. It all made sense now.
"Well... This is a bother." Lance commented, limping slightly and taking another wet suck through his nose.
"Down with a cold?" Minuette asked acquiescently.
"Yeah, yeah. I'll make my way out." Lance trotted slowly towards the door.
"Hold up." Minuette gestured him to stay and scampered over to the fallen suspect. He didn't get a chance, and that made her angry. Lance evidently had this all planned out, but he failed to cover up his tracks, and he will pay for what he had done. Minuette thought to herself. She knelt down beside the fallen robber and began whispering to him.
Lance knew that something was off. He was certain that his cover had been blown, and he did not like the chances of another mare meddling with his only chance of escape.
"The one on the line was you." It was more of a statement than a question, but Minuette was confident of her deduction.
Lance did not say anything, he raised his gun to aim at Minuette, who was glaring at him.
"You want to silence me. Or him." She stated again. Lance pulled the hammer of his revolver. Minuette tugged at the collar of the fallen robber, "But you're too dumb to realize that he had not said anything to me. Dead ponies can't talk, silly." Minuette got up onto her hooves and brushed the dust off her coat.
"You'll have a lot of explaining to do if you shoot me with your gun, c'mon, you can't escape. Let's go." Minuette said and trotted past the detective and towards the exit. Lance hesitated and stood rooted to the spot. He watched as the mare ran out of the bank.
"This is Lyra speaking, what the hell is going on?" Lyra spoke into the transceiver as Minuette rushed over to her side, backed up against the wall of the building. "Why did you turn off comms?" Lyra asked, determined to get an answer.
"I almost died!" Minuette cried out and Lyra immediately shut herself up. "There are three suspects inside, two of them were shot by a fellow detective. The detective is the main culprit."
"What are you saying?" Lyra looked up in astonishment. Minuette facehooved.
BAM!
A gunshot rang out as the officers flinched instinctively.
"What happened?" Lyra spat.
Minuette rolled her eyes, "Suicide." She stated, then trotted off as though nothing happened. Lyra kept her gaze at the unicorn as she went off.
"You'll need to write a report!" Lyra yelled and followed the officers into the bank.
Minuette let out a long sigh and set her transceiver on the roof of her car. She caught sight of a vendor selling some light snacks and quickly cantered to get something to eat. The mare behind the counter was dumbstruck at the whole situation, but she was well enough to sell a customer some snacks.
Minuette munched on her daisy sandwich as she peered into the crowd of bystanders behind the police line. "That was dramatic." She said to herself and took another bite.
But unbeknownst to Minuette, there was a mysterious stallion behind the line, and he was taking pictures. Not at the crime scene, but at her.
It wasn't long before she saw what he was doing. Minuette took another bite and nodded in approval. She didn't mind somepony taking photos of her eating, but that was weird. The old stallion smiled and also nodded.
Minuette pondered about what happened, but after interrupting her own thoughts for a moment, she just shrugged and carried on with her meal.