//------------------------------// // 49: Slam the slammer right in the face. // Story: Honor the Dead // by BinaryTroll //------------------------------// Honor the Dead by BinaryTroll Pre-read/Edited by Honored Service Chapter 49:“Slam the slammer right in the face.” -------------- Holding cells are boring. This is a true, science fact, proven by yours truly in several double blind studies. That's a lie, since I was both the only test subject and the only observer, so this is 100% my bias. Whatever. You sit in an empty room with an uncomfortable bench and nothing to do. That is literally it. If you can make that interesting, I feel sorry that you ever have to. They don't even have enough space for a proper bed. It was almost nostalgic, and not in a good way. It reminded me of two things that I hated: The cell that I was kept in after I was kidnapped and sitting in the jeep as we drove across seemingly endless plains. It was the worst of both worlds. I stood up and started pacing in an attempt to let off energy. It worked for all of ten seconds. I sat down again and sighed. “Fucking hell.” Time passed. It felt like hours but it was probably only ten minutes or so. The door opened and admitted Stacy, who had a massive black eye. “Come on, Shyvanna wants to talk to you.” She wrinkled her nose. “God knows why, but we haven't been able to get anything out of her except gobbledygook. Whatever you gave her messed her up bad.” Her hand twitched. “I hope you're proud of yourself.” I stood up and followed her outside. The police station was pretty small: just four holding cells, a reception, and a few other rooms that I couldn't see inside of. Stacy led me inside a small room with a table and chairs. Jeff stood in the corner, arms folded. Shyvanna looked up from the table as we walked in and said “Hello.” I sat down opposite her and rubbed my handcuffs. “Hey, how're you doing?” She was wearing a simple shirt and leggings. “I'm not really sure. These two humans have explained that you were arrested, and they gave me clothes. Asides from that, I have no idea what's going on.” “Alright then.” I ran my hand through my hair and groaned. “Re-cap, what has happened so far?” “From when?” She asked. “Since just before you became human.” Jeff raised an eyebrow at that. She gave me an abridged version of what had happened since we came through the portal. “And then I was put in here. Neither of the officers believed me, so I just kept asking to speak to you. Eventually they gave in.” I tapped my chin slowly. “Okay. That's all correct. I've been arrested, primarily for the possession of illegal weaponry, since it's pretty obvious that I wasn't trying to rape you now.” I sighed. “Kinda wish I made it look like I was taking you hostage so I wouldn't have to deal with this crap. Hindsight is twenty/twenty I guess.” She hummed in agreement. “So what happens now?” “I try and find a way of sorting out this mess.” I said, shrugging. “Failing that, I break the door down and run off.” I swear Jeff's eyebrows were attempting to escape into orbit. “So what do I do?” Shyv asked. “The officers have told me that they can take me home, but I don't really think they can take me back to Equestria.” “Yeah, they're still operating under the assumption that nothing supernatural is going on here.” I replied. “For now, take Melody and tell her to send an email to Dan with my location. He should be able to take you somewhere safe.” I looked over at Stacy. “Can you give my iPod to Shyv? Feel free to run drug tests or whatever, you won't find anything. Weird as it sounds, all that insane sounding crap is one hundred percent true. Also, I need to call my lawyer so we can get this shit sorted.” “You are the single most perplexing person I've ever had the misfortune to meet.” She muttered. I stood up as Stacy left the room with a snort of disgust and tried to smile reassuringly. “Just follow these two and you should be fine.” “I hate the word 'should'.” Shyv grumbled. So do I. “Well, I hate being stuck in a cell. You should have it a lot better than I do. Be happy for even the chance at that.” “You're right.” She looked down at her feet. “Sorry.” I turned towards the door and, accompanied by Jeff, left the room without another word. I was sure she could handle herself fine, human body or no. Jeff escorted me to a rather old looking phone, with a cord no less, and said, “You have ten minutes.” I sighed and picked up the phone, banging my cuffs loudly against the wall as I did so. “You know, this would be a lot easier without these lovely metal bracelets.” I commented, looking pointedly at Jeff. He stared at me flatly. I rolled my eyes and punched in a number. After a few rings, I was greeted with the lovely sound of Cameron's voice. “Hello, you've reached Cameron of Bonfire Shipping. How may I help you today?” I smiled slightly at the name of our fake company. “Hey Cam, it's been awhile.” “Edward?” He asked, sounding rather confused. “What the hell?” “Yeah, it's me. I have a bit of a problem. Namely, I'm calling from a police station.” He groaned. “You got caught again. Where are you? And speaking of where, where the fuck have you been?” “Didn't Dan tell you? Joel and I went of on an adventure to the magical land of Equestria.” I said lightly. He laughed in a manner so fake it made me wince. “That's really not funny. You've been missing for over half a year.” “Over half a year?” I asked. “It's only been like, two or three months.” “Take that number and multiply it by three. You'll be a bit closer.” He sighed. “Whatever, we can talk about later. For right now, where are you?” I hummed. “I'm not really sure. A police station somewhere in Brisbane. Near Tarragindi? Pretty small place.” “Brisbane?” He choked out. “You're in Australia?” “Uh, yeah. Don't ask how, it's a long story I barely understand.” I heard him tapping his fingers on something in agitation. “Okay. Alright. I dunno what I can do from over here.” “Getting me a decent lawyer would be great.” I laughed. “Good luck with that. A gunship also works.” “You know we don't own one. Storing Dan's plane is enough as is.” He muttered something under his breath before continuing. “Do you have any idea how much it costs to maintain one of those damn things? Let alone two.” “Yeah yeah, spare me the lecture.” I said, cutting him off. “I only have ten minutes to sort this out.” “Closer to eight now.” Jeff interjected. “Eight, whatever.” I waved a hand in his general direction and ended up smacking myself in the face with the other. “Did I mention these cuffs are annoying?” “Alright. Dan might be able to do something, although he's out right now.” Cameron mused. “I got Shyv to send him an email, so hopefully he gets that. Thing is, he's probably going to have his hands full, so is there anything else?” Cam sighed. “Well, if you were here I'd just bribe the cops and let you out the easy way, but I doubt that's going to work.” “Huzzah for having a decent justice system.” I said dryly. “Hey, it's the people, not the laws.” He replied defensively. I sighed. “Doesn't matter, I'm not getting out that way.” “I got nothing then.” He muttered dejectedly. “So basically, I have no lawyer, no way of bribing or otherwise cheating my way out, and three days to get Shyv back through the portal, and Joel on this side if possible as well.” “Portal?” “As I said, long fucking story.” I sighed in frustration. “I miss technicolor ponies, at least they didn't have guns.” “Basically, yes. I'm sorry, but I'm too far away to really do anything.” “Fucking fantastic.” I growled, gritting my teeth and knuckling my forehead. “I guess I'll just have to rely on Dan to come up with something.” “So you're screwed?” Cameron asked rhetorically. I grimaced. “Yup.” With yet another sigh, I slammed the phone back in its slot. “Well that was productive.” I said to myself. “I'm ready to fucking die now.” “In case you forgot, this is Australia. We don't apply the death sentence.” Jeff replied flatly. “Yes.” I began, a crazy grin breaking out on my face. “That is indeed where we are. Thank you for your help.” My eyesight started to go fuzzy. “THAT INFORMATION IS SO FUCKING USEFUL!” I screamed at him. I lashed out with both hands, wrapping the chain around his throat and pinning him to the wall. I put my face right next to his and whispered very quietly, “Now if you don't mind, I'm going to leave.” A few more seconds without air knocked him out cold. I carefully unwrapped the hand cuffs and placed his body between me and the door, just as Stacy burst in, gun drawn. “Don't shoot.” I said slowly, rifling through Jeff's pockets in search of keys. “I got things to do. So I'd rather you don't try to stop me. But I guess that is in your job description.” I found the keys and unlocked the cuffs. Stacy looked rather stunned. “How did you-” I waved a hand. “Pissing me off is a bad idea. That's all you need to know.” I hauled Jeff up and held him like a shield. “Put the gun on the ground and put your cuffs on.” She slowly placed her pistol on the ground and kicked it away. I inched forward and grabbed it with my spare hand. Stacy knelt down, placed her cuffs over her wrists and snapped them shut. I dropped Jeff and sighed. My heart was beating at about a million beats per second. I took a few deep breaths to calm down and walked over to check Stacy's cuffs. In an instant, she was on her feet and lashing out with a kick. It caught me in the chest, sending me flying backwards. I threw my hands out over my head and turned it into a backwards handspring. “Christ, that was a good hit.” I said appreciatively, one hand instinctively going to the place struck. “I think you almost broke a rib.” She unclipped the unlocked cuffs and let them drop to the floor with a clang. “How the hell did you recover from that?” She asked, entering a boxing stance and bouncing lightly on her toes. I shrugged and pointed the gun at her. “I do things like that. Now, for real this time. Cuff yourself and let me go.” She grinned and sprinted forward. I pulled the trigger. It clicked. “You don't load your fucking guns?” I asked in amazement, just before Stacy threw a fist at my face. I narrowly blocked and jumped backwards just in time to dodge the follow up kick. I was ready for the next one, this time using my short stature to duck underneath and move forwards to launch a quick knee into her gut. She doubled over in pain, allowing my hand to shoot forward and wrap around her throat. I used the momentum of my arm rushing out to follow up with the rest of my body, lifting her off her feet. She didn't stay there for long, as I stepped forward and slammed her back into the floor, where she lay, gasping for breath. I quickly grabbed cuffs and secured her hands behind her back, making sure they were properly locked this time. I stepped back and took a deep breath. “Why do you insist on making my life difficult?” “You know, I've watched a lot of movies.” Stacy said in an oddly conversational tone. “The first ones to die when some supernatural being shows up in the city are the cops.” I raised an eyebrow. “So I only have one thing to say: Don't underestimate the police force you piece of shit.” She spat. I cocked my head and stared at her. There was a snapping sound from behind me and I ducked as a taser line flew over my head. I looked back at Jeff, who was pulling out a radio and calling for the SERT, aka the Special Emergency Response Team. I dived for him and grabbed his gun out of the holster before he could, knocking the taser out of his hand in the process. “God fucking damn it Jeff!” I yelled, pointing the gun at his head. “Drop the damn radio!” I heard an “Affirmative” just before it hit the ground. Jeff raised his hands and I slapped his cuffs on them, checking the locks. That done, I ran outside and found Shyv, who was holding Melody. “Hey, change of plans! We're leaving!” I said frantically. “Start running. I'll find you after I grab my weapons.” “What? What happened?” “Explain later, run now!” I pushed her away and ran back inside. The weapons would probably be in the evidence room or equivalent. I waved the gun in the two cops general direction, who had both stood up and were trying to unlock their cuffs. “Stay down!” There was only one door, besides the holding cells, that I hadn't been through, so I put the gun to the lock and shot it open. Right in front of me, arranged neatly on a small white table, were my weapons. Well, most of them. My coat was encased in a long plastic bag and hung up on the far wall, next to a small bag containing my ballistic knife. The contents of the pockets were next it. I grabbed the combat knife from the table and cut the bag open. After grabbing my beautiful coat and pulling it on, I stuffed all the other bags in my pockets and sheathed the combat knife under my arm. With a contented sigh, I slung my FAMAS onto my back and reverently picked up the sister knives, spinning them around my fingers. “It's good to be back.” I said with a grin, grabbing the hilts of both knives and sprinting out of the room. I blew past the pair of cops again, shouting; “it's a good thing I'm in a hurry, or you'd both end up dead!” I didn't hear the reply for the wind whistling in my ears. I took off in the direction I had told Shyvanna to go, knives still clutched in my hands. I part of my mind noted that I probably looked quite mad, running around in a coat from a video game, holding two massive knives with reference to a show about fun loving ponies painted on them, all the while grinning from ear to ear. Then again, that was nothing new. I caught up to Shyvanna in no time, namely because she wasn't running. Turning side on to stop myself faster, I skidded to a halt just in front of her. “Uh, remember running? We kinda need to do that.” I said, beckoning her with a hand. “Maybe you forgot, but I got this body a few fucking hours ago!” She retorted, Melody still clutched in her hand. “I only just got the hang of walking on two legs.” “You can swear like a human.” I grumbled. “But you can't run like one. Whatever. Give me back Melody for a sec, I'm going to grab a car.” She handed me Melody, who was blissfully silent. “What do I do?” I looked around quickly. “Hide, those bushes should suffice. It wont take me long.” I pocketed Melody before running back to the police station. There was a patrol car in the driveway, which I smashed the window of using Celestia's D-guard. As the alarm blared, I sheathed the knives and drew out Melody. “Hope you know how to hotwire a car, cause I'm a little rusty.” I said, opening the door and getting into the driver's seat. “Why would you assume I could?” She asked, annoyed. I used the combat knife to lever open some bits and pieces on the dashboard. “Because you do that sort of thing. Can you or can't you?” “Well, I can...” “I'm sensing a 'but'.” I sighed, looking at the wires I had exposed. “It means I have to take direct control of the vehicle.” I placed her on the dash. “Go for it, just don't get me killed.” “Alright, I need you to slice the back of my case in half.” She said, all business. “Be careful not to damage anything though.” I drew out Luna, because she was the sharpest of my knives, and carefully cut the plastic right down the middle. “How's that?” “It'll do. Place me on the dash, face down.” I did so. And shit got real. The casing opened up, as though on hinges, and a bunch of wires whipped out, embedding themselves in the electronics I had exposed. They tightened and drew Melody upright, as a diagram of the car's systems flashed up on her screen. Indigo light flooded through all the other lights, eventually spilling out and running outward from Melody in a circuit like pattern. The engine started, and Melody's avatar appeared. “All systems nominal. We are ready to ride.” The avatar flicked her hair. “Impressed?” One wonders how an ear to ear grin can widen further. “This is incredible! How did you do this?” “To put it as simple as possible so you might glean an inkling of understanding: magic.” I rolled my eyes. “Come on then, let's go get Shyv.” The car rumbled and reversed suddenly, making me almost hit my head on the wheel. “And remember you have human passengers who actually feel pain please.” It didn't take long to find Shyvanna, who was hiding as I had told her to. “Do cars always do this?” She asked, warily eyeing the blue circuit-like lights that were slowly creeping along as she sat down in the passenger seat. “Just Melody infused ones.” I replied, sitting down in the driver's seat next to her. “Oh, and any time you want to get the fuck outta dodge Melody, that'd be great.” “Not with that attitude.” I dragged my nails down my face, leaving several red scrapes. “Either that, or I wreck this car and leave you offline.” The clutch vaporised into a cyan, glowing mist, along with the pedals and wheel. “Well we can't have that, can we?” I rolled my eyes and started fiddling with the radio, tuning into the local police channel. “Can we go now?” “Don't forget your seatbelts!” She said gleefully as the seatbelts shot out, quickly and effectively restraining both me and Shyvanna. “Because we're going super sonic!” “Beg your pardon?” Sometimes, you have those moments of total clarity, where you come to a realization about yourself, followed by the certainty of your own demise. Yeah, this was one of those. “WHAT THE FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-” Back in Equestria Sometimes, you have those moments of total clarity, where you come to a realization about yourself, followed by the certainty of your own demise. Yeah, this was one of those. Celestia slammed down into the clearing, her face like thunder. “HONORED SERVICE YOU PIECE OF SHIT!” Her voice was like thunder too... I cowered with Vi in the bushes, deciding the best course of action was probably not to talk to the immortal superbeing who currently looked like they wanted an excuse to vaporize someone. “I'm going to turn invisible now.” I whispered to Vi, moving as little as possible so as to not attract any attention. “Since I don't really want to get killed.” “I one-hundred percent agree.” She replied, turning into a small, rodent-like animal with a quick burst of green flame. I calmed myself and emptied all thoughts and distractions from my head; not an easy thing to do when what practically amounts to a god is screaming their lungs out in anger only a few meters away. Nevertheless, I managed to do so. Somehow. I slowly creeped into the forest, wincing every time I broke a stick underfoot, or brushed past some leaves. Fortunately for me, Celestia was far too busy burning down the forest behind us to really notice. Once I reached a distance the I deemed sufficiently far, I broke out into a sprint, dropping the invisibility in favor of wonderful strobing lights. After blasting through the forest at top speed for a full minute, I finally slowed myself to a halt, resting my hands on my knees and gasping for breath. About a second later, something black, green and very, very fast crashed through the tree beside me, turning it into a hail of splinters. Vi picked herself up, buzzed her wings twice and grinned at me. “Sorry about that.” “Since when could you turn yourself into a cannon ball?” I asked, shivering at the sight of the destroyed tree. “Since always. It's another form of changeling magic that all grunts learn at some point. Heir to the throne or not, I was a combatant and thus expected to throw myself into the fray like everypony else. Very useful for traveling quickly as well.” She rubbed the back of her neck and then stared at her hoof. I cocked my head curiously. “So why don't you use it more often?” She held up her hoof, showing me a small pile of shattered chitin and wood splinters. “Because it hurts. A lot. I haven't been feeling up to it lately either.” I picked up one of the splinters and poked the end. It instantly drew blood. “Ouch.” “Speaking of pain...” She grumbled, tossing away the rest of detritus. “Can you stop with the rainbow flashing? It's hurts to look at.” I took in a deep breath and purged everything from my mind. The strobing stopped. Vi sighed appreciatively. “Thank you.” “So what did you mean by 'not feeling up to it lately'?” I asked, leaning against the nearest intact tree. “You haven't seemed overly different as far as I can tell.” “Well, I am hypersensitive to the emotional states of those around me, so I'm pretty good at disguising how I feel.” I raised an eyebrow. “Even physically? You did say emotional states.” “Which are primarily conveyed through physical actions, are they not?” “Ugh.” I groaned. “Remind me to never be a changeling.” “Never be a changeling.” Vi said flatly. “Thank you. But back to my original question...” “Pretty simple answer. I wasn't feeling up to throwing myself at things at unnecessarily high speeds.” “Why?” “Common sense maybe?” She replied flatly. “The way you said it implied that you were once 'up to it'.” I pointed out. She sighed and sat down beside me. “Alright. My magic's been dying.” I looked at her in concern. “Dying?” She scrunched up her face, thinking. “Maybe dying isn't the most appropriate term. Weakening? Nah, that's not really right either. It's as strong as ever.” “Then what exactly is the problem?” I asked, confused. Vi rubbed her hoof on her face in a manner that would be similar to a human knuckling their forehead.“It's becoming more difficult to use?” I crossed my arms. “Are you asking me or telling me?” After a brief pause, she buzzed her wings and replied, “It's hard to explain, especially to someone who cannot use magic.” Considering recent events I'm not sure if that's entirely true of me. “Try anyway.” “Basically, my own reserves of magic seem to be harder to access. The closest I can think of to what it's like is the feeling of eating just after you've thrown up. Well, the other way round; outputing instead of inputing, but whatever.” “Right...” I sighed in frustration. “So is there any particular reason why it's like this?” The pause before her reply was just a bit too long. “Not that I know of.” “So is there any particular reason why you're lying?” She frowned. “Why do you think I'm lying?” “Call it a hunch.” She deliberated for a few seconds. “Fine. I have a few ideas as to why. Number one, my current diet. I've never eaten like this before.” “Subsisting mostly, if not entirely off friends?” She nodded. “Very few changelings have friends in other races. To my knowledge I'm one of the few who's ever done so. Moving on, my second idea is some sort of problem with my horn or other magical organs. I mean, I have been thrown about quite a bit in the last few months.” “Seems unlikely though.” I said, scratching my chin. “Shyv has been just as much, if not possibly more. Even if she is more robust than you, I doubt she would not be having problems with something similar.” “She seems relatively new to actual caster magic though, so she might not think much of it. Despite that, I agree. The symptoms are not similar to those who have a damaged horn from what I've heard.” I stood up straight and gestured for Vi to stand up with me. “I'll check if you want.” She raised an eyebrow at that, but stood up all the same. “Better safe than sorry I guess.” I ran my fingers over the flat sides and around the base. It felt solid, and made my hands tingle slightly. The point was very sharp, as were the edges. There were no chips or any other signs of damage, although Vi winced several times when I prodded it particularly hard. “Does that hurt?” “A little. It's a very sensitive area. Which is why generally used in intercourse.” She laughed mischievously as I practically jumped backwards. “Beg your pardon? “I'm joking. Mostly.” She gave me a fanged grin. “Has anybody ever told you have magic hands?” I shuddered. “Moving swiftly on. Did you have any other theories?” “I do. But first, I have question to ask.” I cocked my head in interest. “Shoot.” “What do you think of your suit?” Huh? “Where did that come from?” “My mouth.” She deadpanned. “In all seriousness though, why are you asking that now of all times?” “Well, it's been doing a bunch of strange things lately, hasn't it? And I never really asked you what you thought of it when I got it for you...” “Have I even thanked you?” I asked, searching my memory. She shrugged. “Don't remember.” “Well, just in case I haven't, thank you. To answer your question, it's wonderful. I didn't really think it'd be practical running around in a suit, no matter how much I've always wanted to. But whatever this is made out of is incredibly flexible, and all the usual shortcomings that would normally come from wearing something like this are almost irrelevant or neutralized somewhat by one of its other functions.” I tapped a finger on my chin in thought. “For example, it's pretty flashy, but for some reason it allows me to turn invisible. So whatever. Do you have any idea why it's capable of doing that?” She sniffed. “Maybe. I'm glad you like it though.” I grinned. “How could I not?” “Well, I know I have impeccable taste, but one must cover all their bases.” She said pompously, placing a hoof on her chest. “Whoops, remind me to never stroke your ego ever again.” I said, rolling my eyes. “Come on then, let's find our way home.” “We don't really have one.” “That's a depressing thought. Although technically not true.” “What do you mean?” I swept my hands in a wide, arcing gesture. “You are the queen of an entire hive. For all of twenty seconds, sure, but you know.” Vi frowned for several seconds, before exhaling loudly and saying, “You're right. I need to get back to my changelings. It's been fun adventuring and whatnot, but I can't run from responsibility forever.” I shrugged. “You can, it's just not usually the best idea.” “Don't take things so literally.” Waving my hand dismissively, I began to walk, picking a random direction. “So are you going to ditch me in this forest, with no idea how to get home?” Vi trotted up and fell into step beside me. “Of course not. You're still important to me, if only as a food source.” “Well, paradoxically, treating me as a food source would prevent me from being one.” I pointed out. “Depends how you treat your food sources. I like to treat mine quite... well.” She replied, making what I was about thirty percent sure was an innuendo. “Was the pause really necessary?” “Absolutely.” She said, a sensual grin confirming my previous suspicions. I decided to not pursue that particular conversation any further. “In regards to your subjects, how do you think they'll treat you after you get back? I mean, you were practically unanimously voted as queen and then you just up and leave on them to run off with some humans or whatever.” I said, intentionally making the question seem hostile. “That's one way of looking at it.” Vi said surprisingly calmly. “But the original reason I left was so I could make sensible judgments based on what I've actually seen of the world. A scouting mission, but much more effective because I'm seeing it with my own eyes.” “What about your friend who's currently in charge?” I asked. “Cae was it?” “Yes, what about her?” “Aren't you worried she'll screw up?” “I'm more worried that she won't, and they'll be no reason for me to even be there any more. Either way, she can teach me.” Vi buzzed her wings proudly. “It's division of labor, and I need to secure my kingdom's future first before I can start running it proper.” “Hmph.” I grunted in appreciation of her plan. “Wardo was right. You will make a good queen.” “I hope so, or you two ransacking the hive was for naught.” She grumbled. “I wouldn't exactly say we ransacked it.” I argued weakly. “We only killed two people. Changelings, whatever.” “What would a ransacking constitute to you then?” “Depends. Did I take Wards along?” Vi shrugged. “Sure, why not?” “At least three buildings on fire, one burnt to the ground, anything that isn't tied down looted and corpses as far as the eye can see.” I said nostalgically. “Corpses burning optional.” “Well. That was morbid.” She said sadly. “Yeah. He tends to leave a trail of destruction in his wake.” I sighed. “The guy doesn't really care for mercy. Or you know, general respect for human life.” “Any reason you think he's like that?” I flipped out one of my Glocks and spun it on my finger nervously. “He was always a bit cold, but after he got all the modifications and... other things happened, he could kill without hesitation, and even enjoyed it. Got some interesting world views too.” “What do you mean?” I gripped Glock and aimed it. The safety was on, but it still felt reassuring to have a weapon in hand. “First, a bit of back story. Earth, our home, is overpopulated. Too many people, not enough resources. To be more accurate, not enough resources for the greedy. So Edward just decided that human life is worthless. Or more, worth more when dead than living.” “That's depressing.” I scratched my temple with the the muzzle of my gun. “That's who he is.” “What about you then? How'd you end up where you are today?” Vi asked after a brief pause. Quite the question. “Long story, lots of stupid coincidences.” Vi looked up to the sun, barely visible through the leaves. “Well, we got a few days to kill before the wrecking crew come back. Let's go find somewhere comfortable and you can tell me all about it.” “The wrecking crew?” “The stupidly powerful ones who have no idea what restraint means.” I sighed good naturedly. “That's Wards and Shyv alright.”