War In The Dark

by Lyraah

Act II: Plans for Action

War In The Dark

*** Plans for Action ***

***

---

"You've grown out of your uniform and coat already?" Violet asked, somewhere between vexation and annoyance.

"The tailor doesn't measure in inches, mam."

"Did your buttons once fell off when you're on patrol? You look like you're gonna wet yourself."

Minuette strutted into the department, placing a file on a desk, "Who's wet themselves? Let me have a look." She went over to the officers and received the measuring tape from Violet. Minuette stretched the tape around the officer and tightened it around his waist.

The officer sucked in a deep breath and straightened his posture.

Minuette removed the tape and said, "That's... fine. It should fit you perfectly, if not, feel free to punch me in the face."

"Thanks captain!" He beamed and gave a respectful bow.

"You're welcome." Minuette turned to look at the young mare, who was pulling the tape with intent. "You should know my size."

"Yeah, I do." Violet promptly put down the tape.

Minuette trotted over to the pegasus behind her desk and leaned against the divider. "Lightning Bolt, you'll come with me. We need to go over the case on that stallion who lives just downtown, he'd been avoiding his fines since last month."

"You arrested him last week!" The pegasus cried in dismay.

"Oh, I did?" Minuette rubbed her cheek, trying hard to recall. That stallion was indeed a pain in the flank to deal with. "Nevermind then."

She cantered over to the main billboard, "Alright everypony! Let's clean up this place, it's so dusty!" Minuette clopped her hooves together, trying to get her team's attention.

"We cleaned up last week, mam." Lightning Bolt replied.

"Who asked you to do that?" Minuette asked in displeasure.

"You did." Lightning Bolt answered innocently.

Minuette stared at the pegasus and realized that she did order a cleanup a week before. She said nothing. At this very moment, the telephone started ringing.

Violet picked up the phone. "Hello, this is Violet from CEIB. Hmm...? Really? I've already told you before, Florence took a day off today and won't be back till tomorrow. I'll tell her to clean up when she's back. Yes... I know-"

"Hey, Violet. I'll do it, what's wrong?" Minuette went over to Violet, eager to hear the issue.

Violet hung up and sighed, "There's an odd senile dude who lives opposite the block. He apparently took a shit in the corridor and wants somepony to clean it up."

Lightning Bolt furled her brows in disgust.

"Lightning Bolt, you'll go." Minuette waved dismissively and cantered into her office. Violet shrugged and gave a comical smirk. Lightning Bolt glared at her and flew over to Raindrops behind the brown desk.

"We'll go together, okay?" She pleaded.

Minuette took a seat behind her own desk and fumbled around her files littering the expanse of the massive desk. "The belt that I ordered last week, is it here yet?" She yelled.

"It's in the storeroom!" Violet hollered back.

"Hm." Minuette gave a grunt of acknowledgment and buried herself in the files.

---

"Minuette, Equestrian Special Forces, CIEB." Amethyst leaned back on her armchair, scrutinizing the photographs pinned onto the board she had created. She had been studying this particular mare in the police force. She had pictures of her from the heist several days ago, including several from the press conferences. She also had pictures from the interviews after the drug bust a few months back.

Amethyst had been eyeing her for a long time, for on this very same day, her plans will be put to fruition. And that mare will aid her in that endeavour.

A small smirk pulled from the side of her face as Amethyst muttered to herself, "We'll meet again very soon."

With that, she got up and pulled a dufflebag from the sofa. Putting on her shades, Amethyst fleetly trotted out of her apartment door.

---

"Would you like anything else?" The barkeep asked, wiping a glass with a piece of cloth.

"No thank you." Amethyst replied, setting her glass down on the counter. "Here, I'll take the tab for that mare in three." She said, slapping down a few more bits than her usual. Turning, Amethyst took a quick glance at her and got up from her seat. She trotted close beside the mare before pushing the door out of the bar, the duffle bag strapped to her torso.

"Miss!" Minuette quickly stuffed her file into her saddlebag before calling out to the barmare.

"What's up, detective?" She drifted over to her side, with a few empty glass floating beside her.

"I'll like to pay for my drink." Minuette said cheerfully, fumbling her pockets for her bits.

"Somepony has already paid for you, mam." She added.

"Who is it?"

"No idea. But she left a note." The barmare placed a round slip of paper on the table, which had nothing but a number on it: nine.

Minuette furrowed her brows as she took a closer look at the note. Nothing special, just a number. She could not figure anything from that.

"Where?"

"She was sitting on the counter before, but she left."

Minuette glanced over to the counter, then back at the note. How odd, Minuette thought to herself. It could've just been anypony, knowing that she had admirers before. She could have just told her.

"Thank you." Minuette nodded in trepidation and the barmare went back to her work.

Nine.

Nine? Why the number nine? Minuette spent a good five minutes staring at the single digit on the note before shoving it into her coat pocket. It could've just been a seat number.

---

Amethyst pushed the swiveling doors aside and entered the lobby of an office building. It was a typical building in the middle of the financial district, but Amethyst had a plan all thought out. She knew exactly how to execute it, there would be no mistakes. Amethyst entered the elevator and pushed the button.

The elevator took her up to the maintenance level, somewhere on the tenth floor. Amethyst quickly shuffled to a washroom and took a glance around. There were metal cabinets and lockers. It was more of a changing room than a toilet.

She leaned against the translucent glass at the end of the room and tapped on it. Hollow. Amethyst thought to herself. She floated out a chisel and proceeded to scrape two diagonal incisions across each other, leaving two faint markings on the glass.

When she was done, Amethyst walked out of the changing room and went back to the elevator. This time, she got out on the twentieth floor, into a bustling corridor filled with office workers going about their jobs. Amethyst shoved herself past several of them and made her way into the offices of a financial company.

She ambled over to the receptionist. "How may I help you?" The mare behind the counter greeted with a warm smile.

Amethyst browsed the offices for a moment before answering, "I have an appointment with Miss Daisy."

"Ah yes, she's waiting for you in her office." The receptionist checked the appointment list and pointed towards the glass-walled office.

"Thank you." Amethyst flicked her tail to the side and trotted towards the office.

Daisy was busy behind her computer, rapidly tapping at the keyboard while frowning at the monitor. Her expression lightened as Amethyst came into her office.

Amethyst made herself comfortable on a chair and squinted at the manager.

"Did you bring the files?" Daisy leaned forward and rested her elbows on the desk.

"It's all in here." Amethyst pushed a red file towards the manager, leaning back after she did so.

"Thank you." Daisy gave a little smile and received the file, "It won't take long, unless there's a problem, of course." She proceed to flip through the folder.

Daisy deadpanned when she saw what was inside. It wasn't the files needed for the business, it was more of a joke. Inside the folder were several Mare-do-well comic books, the latest edition too.

Daisy chuckled and put down the file. "Mam, is this some kind of joke?" She presented the comics to Amethyst, who was still reclining on the seat. She wasn't laughing, or smiling for that matter.

"You're laughing at me?" Amethyst said, unamused. Daisy shook her head, still trying to control her laughter.

Amethyst pulled out her pistol and directed it on the manager, whose expression changed rather drastically after peering into the bore of the gun. Some of the workers outside screamed when they caught sight of their manager being held at gunpoint.

Amethyst opened the officer door, "Go on, all of you are dismissed for the day." She raised her voice, gun still trained on Daisy, who froze behind the desk. The ponies immediately dropped whatever they're doing and galloped for the exit.

When the offices emptied out, Amethyst beckoned the manager to get out into the main department.

Out in the corridor, the fleeing ponies were crying out for help while frantically cramming into the elevator. They wanted to get out before they get dragged into a potential murder.

"She's got a gun! Help!" One old pony squealed out to the other oblivious ponies.

"Lock up." Amethyst swiveled her pistol between the manager and the exit. She wanted all the time she could buy for herself, and she wouldn't want any interference to what she was about to do next.

Daisy complied without question, desperately trying to shove the key into the lock as quickly as she could with her hooves.

"The safe. Open it." Amethyst ordered, her eyes glinting behind her shades. She pointed the pistol at Daisy and gestured her towards the safe in her office.

Daisy trotted briskly and rushed to open the metal box. It unlocked with a click shortly after, revealing several stacks of notes among other important ledgers and files. There was also a suspicious looking pouch amidst the cash.

"You can rest for now. Hooves behind your back, on the ground." Amethyst commanded. Daisy did as she was told and curled up on the floor. Amethyst bound her hooves and legs with plastic strips and left her in the office.

She stepped out into the main department, gazing at the ventilation grates on the ceiling. Amethyst promptly shoved the books and files off a small table and pulled it under one particular grate. She climbed onto the table and reached for the grates.

Somewhere in the lobby, the ponies were still screaming about a gunmare in their offices. They were all yelling at the security guard to do something. Some of them called the police while others ran out of the building.

Amethyst crawled into the vents, a flashlight hovering just beside her face. She removed her shades and proceeded to crawl through the dark tunnel. She pawed through the vent and turned a corner. Amethyst knew where she was going, and she knew exactly what she had in mind.

After crawling through the more dusty passages, she peered down into one of the grates. Amethyst could see more ponies evacuating the building, they were galloping and hollering at the top of their lungs.

She pressed on, delving deeper down the corner. Amethyst peered down another grate, "Bingo." She muttered to herself. Down the room below, was a vault of some sort with a three key combination lock. That's where the treasure will be kept, and she needed to keep track of it. No, she wasn't going to break into the vault. More rather, she had plans in the long run. This was merely the preparation stage.

Amethyst got out her tools and began her work.

Down on the first floor, the first police unit had arrived. Chief Lyra was first on scene, with a group of officers tailing behind her.

"From what the workers told us, there is only one suspect and one hostage." An officer explained as Lyra walked past the first reception counter. "She is armed and the manager is being held in the finances department."

After pondering for a brief moment, Lyra said, "Call in the special forces."

"Yes, mam." The officer turned to leave, but Lyra stopped him.

Her face was hesitant and she hated to admit, but Lyra knew it would be for the better. "Call in the negotiator."

"Affirmative."

Lyra knew it was going to be a long day, again.

In the finances department, Amethyst was long done with her work. She lowered herself onto the table and swiftly put back the grate. Amethyst positioned the table to where it was previously, and neatly set the books and files that she shoved off back as it were.

She went over to the safe and opened the black pouch. Amethyst wet her lips as soon as she saw what was inside; filled to the brim with sparkling diamonds. It was cut perfectly. She pocketed the pouch.

Amethyst floated the stacks of money from the safe and pushed them into the manager's coat pockets. Daisy looked at her captor, confused as to what she was doing. Amethyst did not take the notes for herself.

She went ahead and cut the straps binding Daisy. "Get up, it's almost done." Amethyst pulled her up onto her hooves and shoved her out into the office area.

Somewhere outside, a voice could be heard. Amethyst perked up her ears and pushed the managed towards the exit.

"Hey, please calm down! I am the negotiator and I'm here to help!" A merry voice called out from outside. "I'm unarmed, so rest assured."

A mare appeared in front of her and the manager, separated by only a glass door. She was wearing a black suit and her hair was a crazy brown ruffled style.

When the negotiator saw Amethyst, she raised her hoof. "The building is surrounded by the police, there's no escape. Just let her go, alright?"

"What are you doing here?" Amethyst asked, keeping her hostage a close distance from her.

"I'm here to listen to your needs." The mare answered, her smile beaming wider.

"You're here to listen? Open up." Amethyst pressed her pistol against Daisy, who knelt down immediately to unlock the door. "What's your name?"

"I'm Crovia."

"Miss Crovia, I'm not too fond of your voice. Please get somepony else to talk." Amethyst pushed her hostage out of the door. Crovia stepped back, keeping her distance from the two ponies.

Further down the corridor, Lyra and a huge group of enforcers stood their ground, weapons at the ready. Amethyst took one look past her shades and shook her pistol to the side. "Go on, tell them to leave."

"Okay, hold o-"

"Now." Amethyst ordered.

Crovia hastily retreated to Lyra's side. "You heard her, she won't talk to me."

Lyra shoved her aside and stepped forward. She was having none of this. "My name is Lyra Heartstrings from the Central Equestrian Investigations Bureau-"

"C'mon, run off." Amethyst interrupted. She pulled her hostage into the emergency exit.

"I'm in charge of this case. You can talk to me."

"Move along. Unless you want me to kill her, get me another negotiator." Amethyst finalized her decision and nudged her captive up the stairs. Lyra just stood there, blinking.

"Up the stairs, move it." Amethyst trotted behind Daisy as she frantically clopped up the staircase. There was no need to restrain her, there wasn't anywhere she could run anyway.

---

Back on the ground floor...

"The suspect has the hostage up on the roof. Take three teams of snipers up on the nearby buildings. I want to know the exact position of both of them." Lyra commanded a team of special forces as they just arrived on scene.

"Yes mam!" The captain of the team saluted and hurriedly cantered towards the exit. Lyra nodded and hastily galloped up the stairs, a group of officers followed her.

Meanwhile, a certain blue unicorn sauntered into the building, escorted by two officers.

"Captain!" The captain of the ESF greeted her ardently.

"Captain? We're in different departments now. Carry on with your work, gentleponies." Minuette said with a bright smile on her face.

"Yes mam!" The team brushed past her and out of the building.

"Where's the culprit?" Minuette asked her officer.

"Oh, both suspect and hostage are on the roof-"

"Of course they both are. Which way?" Minuette cut her off, pointing to the lifts.

"Over there."

Minuette and her officers strided towards the elevator, which was blocked by several other police officers.

She tapped on the buttons.

"Mam, the crime scene is being sealed. The elevators are off limits." The young officer guarding the lift held out her hoof.

"Of course I know that. Do you know many floors this building has?" Minuette asked, gazing at the buttons.

"Twenty eight, mam."

"It would take me eight minutes to gallop up twenty eight floors, if anything happens during this eight minutes, should I hold you responsible? Or rather, do you want to be held responsible?" Minuette chided succinctly.

"But mam-" The officer held out a hoof to block the lift entrance, "If you stay here, I won't be held responsible. If you take the lift, I'll be held responsible."

Minuette stared at the officer, blinking. "I'm not wasting my time here, somepony settle her please. Look here, I have lives to save, do you understand?"

"Please have the initiative to do the right thing, not just follow orders blindly." Minuette continued, tapping the buttons furiously. The officer stood at the door of the lift, speechless.

"Did you lock the elevator?" Minuette said in annoyance after her assault on the buttons had no effect on the elevator.

"No."

"Do you have the key?"

"No."

"Are you holding on to the button?"

"Um, no?"

Minuette threw her head up in a fit of rage, "You're blocking the sensor, you idiot! Move back!" The officer looked at her hooves and backed off.

"Sorry."

"What a joke." Minuette shook her head. Sure enough, the lift door slid shut after the officer retreated a few metres back. The elevator swiftly shot upwards.

Minuette alighted on the last floor; that's as far as the lift would take her. She cantered down the corridor and into the emergency exit.

"Chief Lyra is already here, mam." The officer held the emergency exit door open as Minuette went up the stairs.

"Give me the transceiver." She said, holding out her hoof. The officer adhered and passed it to her. Minuette cantered up the stairs, where several officers and members of the ESF was already backed up against the wall. The door leading to the roof was right there.

"Where's chief Lyra?" Minuette glanced about after searching for the mint pony had proved futile.

"There." An officer pointed down the stairs. Minuette turned her head to look.

"Who called for me?" An exhausted Lyra limped up the flight of stairs, panting and sweating through her coat.

Minuette gaped at her in amusement, "You do know that there's an elevator, right?"

"Funny."

"And why have you called the ESF for such a small case? Do they have nothing better to do?"

"That felon doesn't wish to speak to Crovia, so we had to call for a switch." Lyra huffed and leaned against the wall, out of breath.

Minuette went over to the door and peered out of the small glass circle, her transceiver floating close beside her.

"That mare must be trying to stall." Lyra added.

"Did you talk to her?" Minuette scowled at the chief, who was still trying to get her bearings.

"Yeah, not much though."

Minuette threw her head back in distress and yelled, "Why do you have such a big mouth?" Minuette pressed her horn against the door with a pained look on her face.

Lyra lost it then and there, "Do you expect me to keep quiet when we're face to face then?" She shouted.

"Never mind that." Minuette hooked her hoof onto the handle and pushed herself onto the roof. She trotted cautiously out of the door and into the open.

Amethyst was sitting on her haunches behind a pillar, using Daisy as her shield. Amethyst gave her hostage a light tap that made her jump a little, and moved into sight.

"I've been waiting for quite some time." She said, tilting her shades slightly.

"Don't worry about it, I got into a traffic jam." Minuette answered, stepping forward ever-so-slightly. "Um, it's not really practical having to shout. Can I get a little closer?" She hooted. "I promise I'm not armed."

Amethyst gave her a little wave with her pistol, signally approval with her request. Minuette heaved a sigh of relieve and went closer. Just then, the transceiver buzzed alive.

"This is team one reporting, we're in position." Minuette gazed over to the distant buildings, where several teams are expected to take up positions.

"Team two reporting! We're already waiting."

"Team one reporting, the suspect is hiding behind a pillar, we've got no clear sight on her, over."

"Team two reporting, suspect's using the hostage as a shield, no clear sight, over."

Minuette trotted daringly, until she was at least five metres from the two ponies. "I'm Minuette from CEIB, is there anything I can do to help?" She repeated the usual dribble. "I believe you know very well what you want. Some ponies want money, others want a car or maybe a chance to see their loved ones. Do you have a marefriend?"

"That's fine. I don't want any of those." Amethyst replied, eyeing the building directly behind Minuette. She knew that a team of snipers was to be positioned there, and Minuette was blocking them from their line of sight.

Minuette knew what she was looking at, and surreptitiously cocked her head to the side.

"Stop." Amethyst warned. Minuette nodded and complied, shifting her head to its original posture.

"Team three reporting, we can't get a clear line of sight, Madam Minuette is obstructing our sights, over."

Amethyst gave a little smile and brushed her mane to the side, her purple eyes piercing through her shades, "Isn't that clever?" She remarked.

"Yeah, it is. How do I address you?" Minuette asked politely.

"All you have to do is check."

"What do you want?" Minuette questioned, her patience was running out slowly, but she couldn't help but admire her composure.

"Not much, I just wanna play a game with you. A game of three days." Amethyst licked her lips.

"Shit, that's when an idiot comes across another idiot." Lyra muttered under her breath. She was still leaning against the wall with her transceiver pressed against her face.

"You go through all this trouble, just to play a game with me?" Minuette was unconvinced, but she was willing to listen to what the mysterious mare had to say. "Whatever's the case, the hostage is innocent, let her go. I can take her place."

Amethyst didn't say anything. Pulling the trigger, she fired a shot at the manager, who collapsed onto the ground lifelessly.

Everypony sprung into action at once. Amethyst vaulted over a vent and ran into the cover of the cooling units and vents. Lyra commanded the special forces to storm the roof. Minuette gave chase immediately, running after the the unicorn. Lyra was trembling, but she followed the ESF onto the roof as they advanced.

Once Minuette turned the corner into a maintenance section, Amethyst was standing beside a ventilation grate. She had a detonator of some sort floating in front of her. Minuette froze, exchanging gazes between the device and the unicorn.

The special forces unit, including Lyra, moved in but stopped to a halt behind Minuette, who gave them a quick glance before focusing her attention on Amethyst once more. Lyra almost fell when she saw the detonator.

"Hold it. This detonator activates on pressure. If I drop this, the bomb will explode." She was emphatic on the word 'will'. "Chief Lyra, look below you."

Lyra stepped back and peered into the wire grates below her hooves. To her horror, there were not just one, but at least four pieces of explosives strapped onto the foundations. Lyra gulped and inspected Minuette's face, which was flat and expressionless.

Minuette looked back at the unicorn, her mind racing as of what she was going to do next. The bomb may be a fake, she could be just playing a game. Yes, that's right. The risk was too much but she had to try, even if it meant blowing up everypony on this roof.

"You hold up a random device and you expect me to believe that that's a real detonator?" Minuette placed her words carefully, but careful was something that she took for granted many a time.

"You don't think so? You can try me." Amethyst floated the device higher, her magically envelope faltering and flickering on purpose.

"Nah, you can let go." Minuette said. Lyra was about to pounce on her after hearing what she said, but she just shot daggers at the blue unicorn.

Amethyst did nothing, just a tiny smile crept up her face.

"C'mon, drop it then!"

"I believe her, don't drop that!" Lyra yelled over the two mares. Minuette turned to glower at her chief. Minuette looked like she was going to strangle her. Amethyst chuckled.

"The bomb is a fake." Minuette hissed.

"How would you know?" Lyra yapped back.

Minuette looked at the detonator again and back to the chief, giving her a excruciating expression. "Can you just trust me for once?"

"Why should I believe you and not her?" Lyra rebutted, her queasiness was evident in her tone. "If the bomb explodes, I'll have to take responsibility! If it doesn't blow up, that's none of my business!"

"As a member of the police force, shouldn't you be more brave when dealing with this kind of crap?" Minuette admonished.

"You wouldn't know if the bomb is real or not!"

Minuette rolled her eyes in frustration. But there was nothing she could do, it seems. She let out a theatrical sigh and shook her head. The sound of the grates popping off caught her attention once more.

Amethyst was still holding on to the detonator. She threw the cover off and said, "Don't move, there's not just two bombs. Don't hold me responsible if it blows."

"Stand your ground, everypony." Lyra threw out a directive.

"Well, I guess you can all watch as I escape." Amethyst threw herself into the shaft and disappeared. Minuette squeezed her eyes shut and punched herself in the face. The special forces rushed to check the vents.

Lyra was on her transceiver when Minuette trotted towards her, her face blank and unentertained by this whole situation.

"Control unit, please send a bomb disposal squad up the roof, over." Lyra mumbled into the device. Minuette peered over her shoulder, only to see a flustered manager pawing her way through the obstacles on the roof.

Minuette was furious and irked, she gesticulated wildly at Daisy, who was still alive. Her face was splashed by a paintball. Lyra turned to look at where her friend was pointing at.

"Would you look at that shit." Minuette left Lyra to gape at the manager and went prone to check the bomb.

"Help... I'm not dead yet." Daisy cried, feeling the surrounding with her hooves as she tripped blindly. Lyra was appalled, she could not believe her eyes. "Help, anypony?"

Minuette picked up a bomb with her magic and floated it up to Lyra's face, "What does this say?" Several officers were trying to get a glimpse too.

"What does what say?" Lyra asked in confusion, staring at the box which was supposed to be the thing that would blow you up. It was pretty convincing, with all the wires and digital interface and all, but alas it was a fake.

"Joe's cookies, you numbskull!" Minuette yelled and the officers scattered immediately, laughing under their breaths. Lyra quickly followed them, avoiding eye contact with the sullen unicorn.

Minuette pulled the chief by her bulletproof vest and pressed her face against her own. "Get somepony to find out where this vent leads! Or is that too hard for you?" She let out another irate puff of air.

Lyra put up her transceiver, "Get the management up here immediately, over!"

---

Amethyst bucked the wire plating off the ceiling and they clattered onto the floor below. She landed herself into the room and took a gander around. The room was filled with whirring machines with lights that flicker every now and then. Amethyst dropped herself onto the main level.

She delved deeper into the maintenance level. Further down the room, she could see the glass that she had incised before. Her careful calculations have proven worthwhile after all. Hovering a pipe beside her, she swung at the already fragile glass. It shattered instantly, leaving several sharp edges around the sides. Amethyst began clearing out the remaining shards until it was big enough for her to fit through without cutting herself.

Dropping the pipe, Amethyst emerged into the changing room once more. She quickly began picking away at the locks in one of the lockers, for she had hidden away a set of clothes a few days earlier. That would grant her a way out of this place.

Back on the roof...

"You actually let her go via that route." The head of the management department remarked.

"That's none of your business. I just want to know where that vent leads!" Lyra pressed. Minuette followed behind, her face was miles away.

"All the vents here lead to the utility level and control room. Don't worry, she can't escape." The manager seem pretty confident.

"Let's just have a look at the blueprints." Minuette said and walked ahead of the two ponies.

Amethyst sauntered out of the changing room, donned in a neat officer's attire. The corridor was empty. She cantered down the utility level and pushed her way into the filthy emergency exit. The door creaked open as flakes of paint rained from the ceiling. The walls are in urgent need of repainting and rust was leaking from the edges of the metal doors.

There was an officer standing guard down the corridor, he took no notice at a fellow officer, but he did sense something was wrong. Amethyst trotted past the officer as he craned his neck, trying to get a better look at her face.

Unfortunately, he got a little too close and ended up with a strong buck on the side of his face. The officer fell onto the floor in a lifeless heap. Amethyst took one look back and continued into the utility stairs.

The officer got up as the door closed behind him. He wasn't really knocked out, he was just feigning it, and that buck to the face was painful! He thought as he cradled the afflicted wound gently.

After snapping himself from his daze, he quickly radioed for help.

---

"This is the golden moment, please stop spouting nonsense." Minuette said in an indignant tone as Lyra followed her down the stairs. "You said something that you shouldn't have said, something that is not what you should say, and something that is not for you to say. Now, she's gone. How are we going to get her now?"

"This building is swarmed with officers, how on Tartarus would she escape?"

"Simply just by disguising herself as one of our own. She could be out on the streets now, wagging her tail as she disappears into the crowd." Minuette continued, picking up her pace down the stairs.

"Are you shooting a film?" Lyra asked.

Somewhere on the fourth floor, a group of officers had gotten the news of a fellow officer being attacked by the suspect, and are now rushing up to the tenth floor to help.

"What's going on?" An officer on standby leaned against the wall as the team rushed upstairs.

"One of us was attacked, stay here! The suspect may be coming down any moment now!" One of them yelled as they hurried along. The officer on standby merely chuckled as the group disappeared up the stairs. Amethyst strolled down the stairs, having avoided detection; her disguised had not failed her.

Lyra's transceiver buzzed online again. "Chief, we're on the tenth storey, one of our ponies was attacked by a mare disguised as one of the officers, be on the lookout for suspicious characters, over."

"I'm coming over!" Lyra affirmed.

Minuette galloped downstairs immediately after she heard what happened, while Lyra bounded in the opposite direction. She stopped after realizing that Minuette had long disappeared below her.

"Hey! Tenth floor is up this way!" She shouted.

"I know that upstairs is the way up to the tenth floor! You go on! She may have long evaded the officers! I'll just head down and blah blah blah blah..." Minuette's voice was lost in the incessant ringing echo that reverberated throughout the shaft. "Then I'll blah blah blah if blah blah just go!"

"What the hell are you saying?" Lyra yelled down the stairs while making her way upwards.

---

Amethyst trashed her disguise into a trash bin and promptly put on her jacket. She was out of the building, and was trotting down the loading bay. Nopony knew that she was out yet, the officers in the building were still frantically trying to look for her.

Minuette ran out of the entrance with her transceiver floating beside her, she glanced both ways down the street. But the suspect was no where to be seen. "Loading area to the left, nothing to the right. Where would I go?" She muttered to herself, then turned to gallop towards the left side. But she stopped herself.

She will be long gone if she escapes via the loading bay. Minuette thought to herself, then turned towards the opposite direction.

Minuette skidded to a halt in the middle of the street. It was barren, nopony or car could be seen for miles. She was determined to catch up. If she could catch up. Where will she go? Maybe hail a taxi? A bus?

Minuette shook herself from her thoughts and continued down the street. At the other end, she peered down the road. This was a back area, so vehicles were scarce, except for a taxi parked a few metres from the actual taxi stand. This gave her an idea. Surely the owner of this taxi wouldn't mind. Of course he or she wouldn't mind. It'll be alright.

Minuette unlocked the vehicle from the inside and made herself comfortable. "Ooo... A cap. Perfect. That'll make me look like a legit taxi driver." All she had to do now was wait. Hopefully, the wind will blow in her favour.

Amethyst emerged from the dark alleyways, she spotted a cab by the side of the road, waiting for potential customers. She sensed nothing wrong, and proceeded to enter the back seat of the taxi. Amethyst shut the door after her and heaved a contented sigh. She took one look back to make sure nopony was following.

"Where in Manehatten, miss?" The driver rasped, coughing with a little squeak.

"Just by the harbour, thank you." Amethyst sat back and stretched her limbs. The taxi rode off, turning into a busy city square. The taxi seemed to turn deeper and deeper into the city. Amethyst noticed. This wasn't the way to the harbour. Amethyst studied the driver, although she should not make out her face, she recognized the blue and white mane of a familiar pony. As the cab turned the corner from an apartment block, Amethyst covertly unzipped her jacket and reached in to pull out a gun. This time, it was a real pistol, not the paintball gun she had used.

"Where are you going?" Amethyst asked, setting the pistol on the seat.

"To the nearest police station, miss." The driver replied, casting her a gaze from the rear view mirror. Amethyst smiled, and pulled a suppressor from her pockets. She screwed the long tube onto the barrel and leaned on the front seats.

"Minuette, right?" Amethyst asked. "Alone?"

"Just me is enough."

"You don't have a weapon." Amethyst stated. "Aren't you afraid that I might kill you?"

Minuette turned to the purple unicorn, "If you shoot me now, the car will flip."

"Yeah, that's dangerous." Amethyst nodded. Then her tone changed into a whisper, "If you manage to take me to the police station, you win the game." She smirked, then continued to roll the windows down. Minuette smiled, for she was confident that she had no escape now. Amethyst rested her gun on the window, pointing into the streets.

Minuette noticed what Amethyst was trying to do and turned a worried eye onto the streets outside. There was a massive crowd of ponies on the streets, all waiting to cross the busy road. If Amethyst fires, she will most likely hit some unlucky pony. She did not know what to do.

A muffled gunshot rang out, making Minuette jump and training her eyes towards the pavements again. Somewhere out there, a cardboard box that an innocent delivery pony was carrying explodes into a shower of foam and paper.

"I'm not always that accurate." Amethyst said, shifting herself to the window on the other side of the vehicle. She rolled down the window and took aim.

Another metallic crack sounded as a filly's balloon popped out of existence. Minuette wanted to stop her, but she was powerless. She could use her magic, but focusing on two things is harder than it sounds.

Amethyst fired another shot, this time, sparking off a lamppost.

Amethyst floated her weapon out of the moving taxi and positioned it so that it points forwards. Minuette glanced over to her window and sure enough, the pistol was just hovering there, waiting to be fired. Amethyst rested a hoof on Minuette's shoulder.

She whispered, "I'll count to three, then I'll shoot." Amethyst closed her eyes, her horn still glowing brilliantly. Minuette was sweating, she focused on the road, her mind reeling. There was a pedestrian-crossing in front. And ponies were just crossing it.

"One."

Minuette stiffened when Amethyst pressed her hoof down on her shoulder.

"Two."

She hesitated.

"Three."

"No!" Minuette yelled, slamming her hoof on the brakes. The silenced pistol went off, punching through the shutters of a truck. Minuette regained her composure as the taxi stopped abruptly. She peered down the road, making sure nopony got hurt. The ponies crossing the road had no idea what just happened, and nopony seemed to be injured.

Minuette heaved a sigh of relieve before turning to face Amethyst.

She was gone. The door was wide open and there wasn't any trace of the purple mare in the streets outside. Minuette let out a irritated grunt and leaned back in defeat. It was too much for her.

The culprit had fled, for now. But Minuette was more determined than ever to bring her in.

The next time, she wasn't just going to let her go so easily. Amethyst was cunning, and Minuette knew that she had underestimated her foe. There was more to this mare, and she wanted to pursue her. Where could she start? Minuette sat in the taxi, more driven to know more about this mysterious unicorn.

Author's Note:

There are reasons why I chose Amethyst Star to be the so-called 'villain'. More to incite question on her motives, which will be revealed or never at all. Lyra is still a clueless one and how she managed to become the chief remains a mystery.