The Hunter and the Hunted

by Marezinger Z

Chapter 7

The Hunter and the Hunted

Chapter 7:

Sunday was busy for Hunter. He spent the morning checking the equipment he planned to set up around Equestria Land; ensuring charged batteries, functioning relay to his phone and clear readings. Come the afternoon, he headed into town and rented a car under an assumed name, loading the trunk with the four bags worth of equipment once he got it back to his home base. Having taken the girl’s numbers, he checked in with Pinkie and Fluttershy to make sure they were ready for the night’s activity. Once he received confirmation from the pair, he let them know that he would pick them up around seven. He retrieved Fluttershy first, her brother giving him a suspicious look from the living room window as she got into the car.

“What’s up with man bun?” He asked as she slid into the passenger seat.

“Oh, he’s just being a protective brother.” She giggled.

“Is that so.” Hunter smiled. “Can I borrow you for sec?”

“What?” Fluttershy blushed as Hunter put his arm around her and pulled her close. He leaned forward, making sure to match eyes with Zephyr as he waved and pulled off.

“Sorry.” Hunter released her as they left sight of the house. “Just wanted to give him something to lose sleep over.”

Fluttershy laughed. “Hey, if you drive then why do you take the bus to school?” She asked as she settled back in her seat.

“The fewer things people can tie me to the better.” He explained as he lowered his window, the fresh night air filling the car. “All part of the cover. I just rented this for the night because I wasn’t too thrilled about the idea of lugging this stuff by foot.”

“You certainly have to take a lot of things into consideration.”

“You learn as you go.” He shrugged. “There isn’t exactly a manual on how to do my job. My first few missions I did all kinds of things I’d slap myself for if I did them now.”

Fluttershy smiled as she watched the houses roll by. “It’s weird to hear you talk about this so casually. It all seems so incredible to the rest of us.”

“Well, to be honest it’s nice to have someone to talk about it with.” He admitted. “Getting my cover blown wasn’t on the top of my to-do list, but I can’t say I feel too bad about it.” After about fifteen minutes he pulled up in front of Pinkie’s house. He honked the horn and they waited patiently.

“Hello!” Pinkie’s head popped up in his window causing them both to jump.

“Jesus Christ.” Hunter eyed her.

“Ha ha, didn’t even see me did you?” She asked as she began climbing into his window and onto his lap.

“What are you…?” He pressed himself against the seat as she washed over him and slipped into the back. “Wow.” He said through a sharp breath.

“Just practicing my spy skills.” Pinky sat on the edge of the back seat and leaned forward.

Hunter glanced down and saw that she was wearing a skin tight, black jump suit. “That’s a good look on you.”

“Thanks.” She said with a sly grin. “This isn’t my first rodeo you know. I helped Rainbow Dash spy on the Crystal Prep team during the friendship games.”

“I thought she said you almost got the two of you caught about ten times and then you ran away when they saw you.” Fluttershy said, recalling Rainbow Dash’s description of the events.

“Pssh.” Pinkie scoffed. “She always exaggerates that story.”

“My boss would kill me if he could see me now.” Hunter smiled to himself as he started for the theme park.

When they arrived at the park grounds, Hunter pulled into the farthest spot of the rear lot. He popped the trunk and hopped out to retrieve the gear.

“Wow.” Fluttershy looked around. “So quiet, it’s kind of eerie.”

“Nothing here now that wasn’t here in the daytime.” Hunter said as he pulled the bags from the trunk.

“Except maybe a giant, magic eating monster.” Pinkie clarified.

“Duly noted.” Hunter closed the trunk. “Now, let me show you what we’re working with.” He sat on the back of the car as they gathered around him, putting his foot on the first bag. “These are motion sensors, they detect movement based on pre-programmed parameters that I've entered. I set them high because I don’t need my phone going off every time a mouse runs by. They need to be placed close to the ground, hidden from view but with a clear shot at the major travel paths through the park. The top of their casings are lined with a bed of stainless steel points that have been laser cut to less than a millimeter in thickness; they can be attached to almost any surface with the exception of glass and stone.” He put his foot on the second bag. “These are thermal sensors, they detect the heat signature of anything moving past them. Pretty self-explanatory but they need to be placed at medium height off the ground.” He tapped his foot on the third and fourth bags. “These are the cameras, they send live feed to my phone twenty-four hours a day. These are custom models that recharge themselves off of a solar battery to maintain long term use in the field. They need to be placed high, not only to give me a better vantage but so they can recharge themselves over the day.” He put his foot back on the ground. “With me so far?” He glanced between the girls.

“Um… yeah.” Fluttershy nodded, albeit unsurely and Pinkie wiggled her hand in the air suggesting a cursory understanding.

“Good enough.” Hunter nodded. “Horse Whisperer, I’m putting you in charge of the cameras.” He looked to Fluttershy. “This area is filled with rats, bats and other furry friends you can get to help you place them in the best positions.”

“Okay.” She nodded.

“Pixy Stick, I’m trusting you with the motion sensors.”

“You can count on me.” Pinkie assured.

“Here, put these on.” He pulled two watches from his pocket and handed them out.

“Ooh, they match perfectly.” Pinkie held the black watch against her outfit.

“Fashion sense aside, we’ll need these to sync up once we get started.” He noted. “Put these on too.” He handed each of them a pair of disposable gloves. “No finger prints, be mindful of your hair at all times as well.” He instructed. “If you cut yourself or anything let me know, leaving blood behind is a big no-no.” He thumbed towards the park. “Alright, let’s get moving and see what’s what.” They took up the bags and headed for the rear of the park which was barricaded by a high, block wall. Hunter led them to a locked, staff gate and knelt before it. “This is a path that leads between two of the rides, used mainly as a quick exit for employees.” He informed as he pulled a multi tool, lock pick out of his pocket and dealt with the simple padlock. Passing through, they stepped out into the main grounds and huddled together inside of a gift kiosk.

“What now?” Fluttershy asked.

“We need to find out the guard’s rotation.” Hunter whispered. “They’re walking the park as we speak but I don’t know where they are exactly, we need to wait for them to pass so I can figure how long it’s taking them to make a round and how far apart they are from each other.

“Whoa.” Pinkie said as she absorbed his analysis. “You’re really good at this stuff.”

“Well I have to have at least one redeeming quality.” He smiled.

As they waited, one of the guards passed by and the other followed twenty minutes after. As the second one moved along, they sat for about fifty minutes before the first one returned.

“Okay, that’s the rotation.” Hunter said as he peeked out to ensure he was gone.

“So we’ve got twenty minutes after the first and fifty minutes after the second.” Fluttershy concluded.

“Right.” Hunter checked his watch. “Sync up your timers for twenty and let’s get started.”

The girls did so and they moved out. Pinkie bounded, crawled and slithered along the ground to set up a series of motion sensors in the area they were in. Fluttershy found some helpful rats and an owl to help her place cameras in the highest spots she could find. Hunter found optimal but camouflaged spots for the thermal sensors, making sure to keep an eye on his two apprentice agents. Hiding between guard sweeps, they went through the major areas of the park until they had worked their way back to where they'd started. Quickly moving back through the employee exit, Hunter reset the padlock and the trio headed back towards the car.

“We did it.” Pinkie quietly cheered. “We rock.”

“That was pretty thrilling.” Fluttershy admitted.

“You did well.” Hunter checked his watch, seeing that it was nearly one in the morning. “That would have taken me all night to do alone. Thanks for the help.”

“Anytime.” Pinkie gave him a thumb up.

“So what do we do now?” Fluttershy asked.

“Like it or not, we play the waiting game.” Hunter answered. “I’ll keep an eye on the feeds and readouts until I get a hit. Once it shows, I'll let you know and we move in and do what needs to be done.” As they came to the car, Hunter put the empty bags in the trunk while the girls got in. He jumped in the driver’s seat and fired up the engine.

“Now, the most important part of field work.” Hunter twisted around in his seat. “The final check.” He shifted his eyes between the two of them. “Did you erase the texts I sent you?”

“No.” Fluttershy shook her head.

“Go ahead and do that now.” He advised. “You never want to leave a trail that someone could use to trace your job back to you.”

“Oh, good idea.” Pinkie said as they deleted the messages from their phones.

“And always return your equipment.” He eyed the watches he gave them. “Ditch the gloves too, I’ll burn them.”

“Right.” Fluttershy nodded and they handed the watches and gloves over.

“Congratulations on your first, successful mission.” He said with a sincere pride. “Looks like you two have some agent in you after all.” Fluttershy and Pinkie high fived as Hunter headed out of the lot to get them home.

Monday morning saw the reopening of the school and also Hunter’s return from suspension. Hunter sighed as he got off the bus and started for the main building. He saw Flash and the other boys talking near the entrance and offered them a wave as he approached.

“Well, well, well.” He smirked. “If it isn’t my favorite boy band, Guys Wide Shut.”

“Hunter.” Flash looked at him with a bit of surprise. “Sandalwood told us what happened. Sorry you got the worst of it.”

“It’s okay.” He nodded. “They’re right, I went overboard in that situation.”

“How, unexpectedly self-aware of you.” Micro Chips noted.

“Ha, yeah.” Hunter looked them over. “Listen, the last few days have been pretty… eventful; put a lot of things into perspective.” He smiled. “I know I was hard on you guys; and I know that you damn sure didn’t have to give me the time of day much less try to be nice. I’m sorry.”

They looked at each other in complete shock. “Uh, no problem.” Flash said slowly.

Sandalwood smiled and held his fist out. “Glad to see you found your flow, dude. Everything's cool.”

“Thanks, Natural Fibers.” Hunter bumped him back.

“Same here.” Bulk nodded. “I knew you’d find your way out of that shell.”

Hunter held his hand out to Micro Chips. “How about it, Micro Transaction?” Hunter asked. “We cool?”

He took Hunter’s hand, shaking his head with sigh. “Yeah.”

“Alright.” Sandalwood nodded. “Good way to start the day.”

“So does this mean you’re going to be nice to everyone now?” Flash asked.

“Well… nicer.” Hunter shrugged. “I’m still going to be me.” He promised. “But hey, who knows, after awhile we might be tighter than Bulk’s shirt.” He patted his shoulder. “See in class, Hair Gel.”

As Hunter went in they shared bemused looks. “Well, it’s a start.” Flash admitted.

Hunter walked the halls and saw Principal Celestia hanging flyers on the bulletin board. She noticed him and ceased her work to call him over. “Hunter, I hope you used your time away wisely.” She said sternly but with genuine concern.

“I did.” He nodded. “Made a few friends too.”

“Well, that’s good to hear.” The news brought a relieved smile to her lips.

“I’m sorry I’ve been such a pain in the… butt.” He censored himself. “Won’t happen again, not too much anyway.”

Celestia was amazed at the change in him. “I’m glad, welcome back Hunter.” She smiled warmly.

Hunter nodded and continued down the hall, a part of him actually looking forward to seeing how the rest of the day would play out.

Comments

[FolkloreBrony]

“Oh, he’s just being a big brother.” She giggled.

Uhhhh, he's younger than her? Or did you do that on purpose?

[FolkloreBrony]

Hunter held his hand out to Micro Chips. “How about it, Micro Transaction?” Hunter asked. “We cool?”

Micro-Transaction

I'm appalled. I'm disgusted.

I'm triggered.