Chapter 7
“All right everypony, this is the plan.” Shining looked around the room at the ponies and griffons crowding the small room aboard the ship. He started passing out assignments.
“Stormfeather, could you please accompany Mag to the police station and see if you can get any more information out of Anchor or Gilgamesh?”
The griffon nodded. “I think that would be wise.” He and Mag left.
Shining went on. “Dim, Ace, Pikop and Puppy, I want you to talk to Báistí and figure out what there is to know about this pegasus neighbor to Gaston. After that, go track him down. Keep an eye peeled now that we know what Gaston looks like.”
Turning to the rest, Shining said, “Airborne and Flash, keep an eye on Anchor’s place just in case anyone suspicious shows up. Cyrus and Skydancer, go back to the casino. Soft and Rough, come with me to speak to the mayor. Báistí, if you could please accompany us?”
“I will.” The female griffon nodded. “I might think of a few things to say to him myself.”
The team separated and each member went about their assigned tasks. Shining and his group headed for the courthouse.
It was the late afternoon when they arrived, the sun slanting through the tall windows of the public building. There had been significant progress with the case so far in the day, and Shining hoped to close it off with something even more significant.
The mayor was in his office when the three ponies and their griffon escort came in. Talking on the way over, it had been decided that subtlety wasn’t particularly important, especially since they knew exactly what they wanted to ask Gudgeon about.
The mayor looked up from a few documents laid on his broad desk and smiled. “Good afternoon. How is your case going?”
“Pretty well,” Shining admitted truthfully. “We were hoping you could answer a few of our questions, though.”
“Of course.” Gudgeon folded his talons in front of him. “What do you need?”
“What do you know about Gaston?”
Gudgeon didn’t move, but his eyes widened. “He’s a pirate.”
“Why didn’t you tell us that when we first met?” asked Soft. “Or the fact that you sold him a plot of land up north?”
Gudgeon stuttered. “I don’t know a lot about him.”
“You are aware of the archives we have downstairs,” Báistí said. “Just mentioning his name would have helped.”
“And do you have any idea how suspicious it looks that you knew but didn’t tell us?” Rough put in.
Gudgeon’s eyes swept back and forth across the group of them. “Yes, I understand how it appears. The citizens of Port Talon may not be victims of pirates, but the accusation that I was involved with criminals like that would be disastrous to my reelection campaign.”
While Shining, as a Prince, wasn’t subject to elections, he did understand public opinion. That didn’t sway his sympathies any, however.
“Now that it’s out in the open, why don’t you tell us about how you know Gaston?” Shining suggested.
Gudgeon swallowed hard. “Well, I first met him when he bought some sails from me. This was back before I was mayor. He also bought that piece of land. I passed by there the other day and I can’t see that he’s done anything with it besides putting up that small shed.”
“That’s it?”
“More or less. I didn’t know he was a pirate until I started to hear rumors about some of the griffons he hung around with. We weren’t doing a lot of business together, and when I got into politics, I made sure to tone down my business interests.”
“Mr. Mayor, please tell me that there isn’t anything else you aren't saying,” said Báistí. “From what I’ve seen, these Royal Guards are very good at finding things.”
“I…could tell you a few of the names I heard.” Gudgeon shrugged. “I never met any pirates other than Gaston, though.”
Soft pulled out her notebook and took down a list of names as Gudgeon recited them. Abernathy, Gregory, Happy, Hookbeak, and Pat.
Even if Shining had the authority to do so, he couldn’t really charge Gudgeon with anything. Also, it seemed wise to stay on his good side for as long as they would be in the city. He forced a smile and said, “I understand your concerns about publicity, but remember that my team can’t vote here so don’t worry about that with us. Please get in touch if anything else comes up.”
They went downstairs to the archive. Báistí managed to convince the custodian to keep the doors open long enough for the Guards to pick through the dusty papers and volumes for the names they had been given.
Hookbeak could be crossed off, of course. All relevant information on him had already been searched for. Going over the rest of the list produced mixed results. Abernathy had an address. There was nothing for Happy, so perhaps it was a nickname. Gregory had a hospital bill that interestingly listed treatment for a shoulder injury. Pat could have been short for Patrick, Patricia, or Pattycakes.
“So many variations in names,” Shining commented, shaking his head. The Guards had concluded their search and were heading back to the ship.
“Pattycakes is likely a pony,” Báistí replied. “Griffons tend to have names that are merely names.”
“I’ve noticed some interesting trends,” Shining noted. “A lot of ‘Gs’.”
Báistí nodded in agreement. “It’s a traditional thing, and each clan has their own convention, but more and more parents are starting to move away from that. We’re even starting to get a few pony-like names.”
“I was hoping it might be something that could help us identify potential suspects. Like in Equestria if we were looking for pirates we’d start with those that had nautical or weaponry names.”
“Isn’t that profiling?” Báistí asked.
“Call it what you want if it works. Coming here to the Griffon Kingdom has thrown a lot of our usual methods out of whack.”
They got back to the ship and debriefed with the rest of the team. Several interesting things had been brought to light.
Mag read from his notes. “Stormfeather and I interrogated Anchor and Gilgamesh separately. Other than unwittingly corroborating each other’s stories, we didn’t gain much. Gilgamesh seems to have gone against Gaston’s orders to sell the corn instead of stockpiling it. The pirates apparently hold quite a bit of corn, and Gilgamesh seemed to think the fifty bushels he nicked weren’t going to be noticed. Then again, every griffon we’ve talked to seemed to think he was an idiot.”
Next up was the team of Dim, Ace, Pikop and Puppy. Dim had a small folder filled with information she had obtained, although she stuck to just the highlights. “The pegasus stallion we observed yesterday is named Stormwren. I have his physical description: about the size and shape of Captain Armor with a steel grey body, black mane, and a winged shield cutie mark. He’s not very nice and honestly a little paranoid. He seems to be a weapons dealer and inventor. His shop is at the corner of K Street and Beaked Boulevard. I think he knows what is inside the shed, but he wouldn’t admit to having any dealings with Gaston. We did learn that he’s an Equestrian native who moved here for business purposes.”
“He’d probably be a challenge in a fight,” Ace added. “The way he moved was a signal, but also the fact that he’s a little off-kilter.”
Airborne and Flash returned from stalking Anchor’s house with nothing to report. Soft ran through the new names that had been gathered from Mayor Gudgeon and added their possible addresses to the map. Mag dutifully collected all the data and entered it into the evidence log.
It was getting late, and Shining decided that the team had performed excellently that day. He told them to knock off and they would regroup in the morning to act on all the evidence gathered.
Shining went out on the deck as Báistí and Stormfeather headed for the gangplank. He walked between them. “I want to thank you both for the help you’ve given us. The case is making good headway.”
Stormfeather nodded. “If this keeps up, I shouldn’t have any problem convincing the Chief to give you another officer or two.”
“And I’m just getting started,” said Báistí. “Please don’t take this the wrong way, but I’ve always wanted to do something like law enforcement. With no regular instance of exciting mysteries to be solve, however, I turned to more mundane civil service. I’ll do whatever I can to help.”
Shining chuckled. “I appreciate your enthusiasm. Your knowledge of the city has been a great help.”
The three of them had covered a few blocks. The night was falling and the street traffic was getting thinner, with only a few griffons still around. Shining was just thinking of saying his goodbyes and heading back to the ship when Flash suddenly appeared. “Hey Captain Armor…oh, you’re busy.”
The interruption didn’t put Flash in Shining’s good graces. He was just turning to irritably address the junior Guard when two griffons dropped from the darkening sky to land in front of the group. One of them bore a distinctive scar on his shoulder.
“I heard you all are sticking your noses where they don’t belong,” he said.
“And you are?” Stormfeather asked, puffing himself up. His badge glinted in the dim glow of the streetlights.
“Gregory,” Shining provided with an educated guess.
The griffon he addressed looked slightly taken aback, but quickly recovered. “Not like it matters. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll turn around and go home, pony.”
“Not until I’ve got what I came here for,” Shining replied. “Now, if you would be so kind as to answer a few questions, that might be sooner rather than later.”
Gregory snorted with mirth and one set of talons fingered the hilt of a knife he wore strapped to his leg. “Is that so? You certainly can't make me.”
“Oh, but perhaps I can,” said Stormfeather, pulling out a set of manacles. “Down at the station.”
“That’s one set of cuffs and two of us,” Gregory said, gesturing at his companion.
Shining’s horn started to glow. “It’s not a problem.”
Things suddenly started to happen very quickly. Gregory jerked to the side and made a grab for a female griffon who was just passing by. His movement put Shining’s aim off, and the bolt of magic he fired instead hit the other pirate.
“Stop! Don’t move!” threatened Gregory, taking a few steps back and away from the stunned body of his cohort. He dragged his hostage with him, talons clamped around her shoulders as her back legs kicked. Gregory’s knife was out of its sheath and uncomfortably close to her throat.
“Let her go!” Stormfeather ordered. “You’re not going to get away with this!”
The hostage screamed and tried to twist free. Gregory jerked, and in trying to keep control the blade of the knife sliced across her neck.
She dropped to the ground, blood spurting from the wound. Gregory leaped into the air and took off like a shot, the other pirate shaking off the stunning spell and also attempting to flee.
Stormfeather tackled the slower pirate. “Go after Gregory right now or you’ll lose him!”
“No!” shrieked Báistí. “This griffon needs help! She’ll surely die otherwise!”
Flash’s eyes were wide but he stood his ground, ready to follow any order. “Captain, what are we going to do?”
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Send Flash and Stormfeather after Gregory, and Shining and Baisti can care for the victim. (Have Stormfeather bash the other pirate's head in first, he can get treated for his concussion later.) Shining TK is hopefully good enough to pinch off the artery enough to stop her from bleeding out, if the wound's not too deep. Even if Flash can't capture Greg, if he can keep on him long enough it might give them an area of the city to mark their next lead.
Assuming they can capture Gregory, then Soft needs to interrogate him. I think someone needs to pay Abernathy a visit, because I think that name sounds suspicious.
Dealing with Stormwren will require a more subtle touch. If Gregory can't be caught (or if Shining just wants to make him stew) then Soft and someone else should talk to Stormwren.
Patricia seems to be more closely located than either of the other two Pat's mentioned. She should be interviewed first, to be ruled out or included as a suspect.
memestorage.com/_nw/21/17762961.jpg
Anyways, definitely going to have to go with 3522194 on this situation.
Gotta go with this approach>>3522194 we can't leave a innocent victim to die.
Well, I could, yes, ditto what has been said already... if needed, Stormfeather in a situation like this I could see bend a few rules to capture this pirate scum... he just injured a civilian, I think the law could be bent a little to capture a villain like this.
Question, would Stormfeather have a whistle to call to other cops, if so.... he could use the whistle, call his friends on the beat currently. Have them take the pirate into custody. While sending Flash and the Council Lady after the pirate... Shinning as an officer in the Equestrian Royal Guard has to have had first aide training for wounds... so have him stay with the wounded.
Once things are under control, Stormfeather should go after and join the chase. But that is my own opinion. Or my personal take on what should be done at the moment.
3522194>>3522319>>3522418>>3522415 So you want Stormfeather to abandon the criminal he's holding to go after Gregory?
3522443 Not abandon, necessarily. Knock unconscious, yes, and then go after Gregory. Shining should be able to do something with his magic, even if he just force-slows the victim's heart so her blood's not gushing like crazy, and Baístí would hopefully know how to get to the hospital the quickest, and either lead Shining there or bring medics, whichever's easiest/quickest.
Flash should go after Gregory as well, if only as a watch-and-learn so he is prepared next time he has to perform an aerial takedown against a griffin.
They have a suspect in custody, the location of Gregory's house, and he's just assaulted a griffon civilian.
Let him go, do everything to save the civilian and just talk to the police chief afterwards. Getting a warrant for his arrest, probably the whole griffon police force told to keep a lookout for him, and maybe a few more griffon officers assigned to help directly is worth more than catching him right this second, especially when there's a decent chance he'll be caught at his own house anyway when it's raided.
There's too much risk in dividing effort between saving the griffon and catching Gregory, and I don't see a big gain for it. Either they're risking the civilian dying, or they're risking sending a single flier after Gregory, or they're risking knocking the other griffon unconscious being enough to keep him down until the fliers chasing Gregory return (knocking someone unconscious is a lot more difficult than usually made out in stories anyway, and much more likely to cause long-term damage as well - I don't think it's actually appropriate police procedure in any case).
On the other hand, if the second griffon could be immobilised by, say, cuffing him to a lamp post, go for it, then send Flash and Stormfeather after Gregory.
At least we have more time than mere seconds to think through this. Right?
I don't know my reasoning behind this, but send Stormfeather after Gregory, have Shining Armor hold down our captive, and send Baisti and Flash off to save our poor victim.
Greg's our absolute best lead at this instant, so sending our seasoned "power of arrest" after him would be optimal.
Holding onto the other guy should be easy enough with another stun spell or some kind of cage magic.
Our top priority however is helping the civilian. Sending Baisti (who knows where stuff is) and Flash (who, despite being a newbie is still a guard with guard training) to save the civilian, possibly by flying if it's truly necessary and won't make things worse. We'd probably need at least two to move the casualty.
I don't have any plans for AFTER this though, as there are too many uncertainties.
3522443 Flash may not have made a great impression on Shining, but he's still a Guard, so he should have decent combat skills. He's also got a radio and other pegasi to call as backup, if he remembers to use them. He can trail Greg while Stormfeather takes a few seconds to KO, cuff, or otherwise disable the other pirate. He's probably not going to be of any use with the victim, and no one else is available to track Gregory. Given that the featherbrain has just attempted to kill an unarmed, uninvolved civilian, I don't see him returning to his house (though I could be wrong, there's plenty of dumb criminals in the world).
Too bad princes don't become alicorns too, Shining Armor could really use some wings right now. We've got four units on scene to handle this, but like BlueNinja said, we've also got radio contact. As the medic, Airborne should be the first called in. He was with Flash Sentry earlier, so hopefully he's still close by.
Incidentally, Flash Sentry has a shield cutie mark, just like Shining Armor. Perhaps that could mean that he also has a knack for barrier spells. If that's the case, he could fly after Gregory and safely apprehend him with by imprisoning him in a force-field. Also, allowing Gregory to get away could result in another hostage crisis, so Flash should go after him right away.
Recycling the convenience of force-fields, Shining Armor could block the blood flow with an itty-bitty one. That should leave Stormfeather to keep a grip on Scar-face and cuff him. Lastly, Baisti can fly straight up to act as a beacon for Airborne to find them.
3523498
...Uh how is he supposed to do that? Pegasi can't cast spell so how is Flash supposed to cast a barrier spell?
3523700
Oh... well crap. I somehow forgot that little detail. I guess I can be forgiven for having alicorns on the mind, all things considered. (Like Tommorow!!!1one!!!1!)
New plan, Flash Sentry tails the guy from a safe distance, keeping everyone else posted on location by radio.
(Aside: It would be really funny if canon Flash Sentry turns out to be just like TNAB's, a clumsy yet adorable screw-up.)
3523716
And I can finally watch a premier on TV instead of youtubing it.
Well I was thinking about how he could pull off a shield. He uses a Pegasi's natural talent with clouds and wind make one.
3523737
Maybe, but all it takes is one good pegasus kick to get rid of clouds. Since he has the word "Sentry" in his name, it seems more likely to me that he's just really good at standing guard and staying attentive to his surroundings. Protecting, like a shield.
3523752
That works too, I kind of touched on that in the Twilestia collab. Did a prompt on him and pretty much said that he is a sentry, he watches all
Top priority has gotta be the civvie. Not only would letting them die alienate us from the locals, but their testamony is what can bring the griffon law enforcement raining down on these pirates. We're in for a hell of a lot of back-up, because now we can link the pirates to an attempted murder on griffon soil-- if that's not going to rile up the government and police, I don't know what is.
Gregory is heavily involved in the case and has shown up once on his own terms; chances are, there will be another time where he'll appear, and that will be a time he can be captured. Besides, having harmed a griffon citizen, it's now in the Griffon law enforcement system's interest to find and arrest him themselves, rather than leaving it to Shining's group.
Focus on getting the civilian proper medical attention (Báistí definitely, and either Flash or Shining), and have Stormfeather and one of the others (either Flash or Shining; whoever isn't focusing on the civilian) properly secure the other pirate that Stormfeather's just tackled, to be interrogated later.
Also, while I'm in favor of leaving Gregory for now, he will definitely need to be captured later. He's proven himself to be something of a threat, and would probably cause more than a bit of damage if left unchecked too long.
Long story short: I'd advise that we ignore Gregory now in favor of the civilian and the other pirate, but focus on capturing Gregory later.
Well whether that griffon lives or dies the pirates can now be considered a threat to Port Talon so that's good for a few things, right?