"Things Change" Part Four


Part Three is here.


The woman being held in the basement of Red's Wrecker Service was married to the owner of a chain of check cashing stores in Seedytown and Hell's Bathroom. The man was connected; as his businesses were used to launder money for one of Paradopilis's crimelords. The fact someone would take such a bold action spoke volumes as to the state of organized crime in the city. There was opportunity for those willing to take risks.

Artemis crouched behind an air conditioning unit and used her mask's enhanced senses to gather as much intel as she could. There was a sentry on the roof of the garage, and two more at attention inside. A fourth man sat with the prisoner downstairs, while the three who were off duty slept on cots in the breakroom.

"That's seven," Charlotte told her partner for the evening, "and from what I can tell they have some heavy ordnance."

Glory elaborated, "Yes. The man outside has a M82 Barrett Special Application Sniper Rifle with Raufoss Mk 12 anti-material ammunition, where the guards inside are carrying Franchi SPAS 15 twelve gauge shotguns with HK MP 7 Personal Defense Weapons. They also have kevlar vests, night vision goggles."

"Like I said: heavy ordnance," Artemis replied grumpily.

"I am also picking up constant radio chatter among the sentries. They are on high alert."

Whoever 'they' were. The Urban Archer wasn't expecting this caliber of opposition for what originally had seemed a low level power grab. Adding to the difficulty was the small amount of cover available if they attempted extraction by stealth. Unless Charlotte was willing to make the hard decision, something she had been trained to do all her life.

"All right, Scrappy, we'll do it your way," Artemis almost sneered at the Dog Dynamo.

"Very good. Give me fifty seven seconds, starting now," and then Glory disappeared in a grey blur.

Charlotte started counting.

*****

Glory tunneled up through the concrete floor of the basement, making sure to put herself between the hostage and the man guarding her. The violence of the collie's arrival set him back on his heels. The Pooch of Power slammed into the sentry with the force of a speeding car. Once he finished ricocheting off the wall Glory seized his arm in her powerful jaws and dragged him up the stairs.

The men on duty upstairs had time to level their weapons at Glory when she smashed through the door. Then, with a wrench of her neck, she hurled her prisoner into one cohort before pouncing on the other. The thug managed to scream and spray the plaster ceiling with a burst from his PDW.

Startled by the gunfire, the sniper on the roof bounced up from his blind momentarily, allowing Artemis a clear shot. The translucent black arrow was invisible in the dark, and punctured a hole clear through the target's shoulder. As he tried to lay prone a second missile shattered his PAGST helmet. The man fired wildly into Artemis's cover, blasting the heavy metal protusion into shrapnel. Charlotte fell backwards off the roof, but not before casting a third arrow in a high parabolic arc towards her attacker's position. Another round from the rifle tore away at the brick and mortar roof.

Artemis caught herself on a street lamp and swung to the ground. She still had cover, but without the higher ground she would be at a distinct disadvantage. Cautiously, the Urban Archer poked her head around the corner to look across the street.

The silouette of Glory, tail wagging triumphantly, stood on the roof. Artemis greeted the sight with a mixture of relief and pique:

"That'll do, mutt," she grunted as she bolted across the street to help with the clean up.

*****

While late night visits from squad cars and ambulances were nothing new in Seedytown, a significant crowd still gathered to watch the authorities take away what was left of the kidnappers and their victim. Glory noted with satisfaction that the latter left with the EMTs under her own power.

"I would have liked to spend some time alone with her, to see what she knew," Artemis noted as she joined the Pooch of Power in the back of the throng. She had changed into her street clothes, and carried what was left of her arsenal in a duffle bag slung across her broad shoulders.

"I am sorry," Glory said sympathetically, "Would you like me to use my security clearance to forward a copy of the police report to you? It will have her statement."

Charlotte wrinkled her nose, "Nah. I got a contact in the OCCB. What the police know, I know."

The young woman began to walk away with Glory on her trail, "That is very resourceful of you."

"Thanks," Charlotte relucantly replied. She tore the wrapper off the food she had brought and lobbed a hunk of it at the Canine Champion, which she snapped up.

"I love turkey jerky," Glory enthused in between mastication.

"S'alright," for a while the two chewed in silence before Artemis spoke what was on both their minds, "Scene was off: men armed better than Navy SEALs for a small time job like that."

"Yes."

Artemis shook her head, "The guy, the money cleaning guy, he's owned by Waddell."

Glory recognized the name, "Augustus Waddell? The Kiwi of Crime?"

"Yeah. Kiwi's pretty high up on the food chain, even moreso now that the Lynchpin is out of business, but he's not exactly flush with muscle. Relies on his Magna Town contacts for protection. I can see somebody, Menchwelt or the Copper Top Gang maybe, making a play. But where would they get that kind of firepower?"

"It is a mystery," the Dog Dynamo agreed, "one I am sure you will figure out."

"Hopefully. I fully expected some kind of gang war to fill the vaccuum, but if these skels are going to packing that kind of hardware, this is going to turn real ugly fast. Its times like this I wish I had more than just my bow and a winning disposition to do my job," she cast a sidelong glance at Glory.

The collie understood the accusation behind the stare, "I am sorry I was chosen to receive super powers over you."

"Are you? Really?" Charlotte chided, raising her eyebrow incredulously.

"Perhaps sorry is not the correct term," Glory admitted, "I enjoy what I am and what I can do; how I can help people."

"Who wouldn't? Going from drinking toilet water to leaping tall buildings in a single bound.... what I want to know is, why did Dom- Epitome, dump me? I did everything he asked, I trained, I studied. I absorbed every goddamn lesson he offered. And then he decided I wasn't good enough. That's what really pisses me off."

Glory could sense the rage and sadness in the girl in all of her senses. Her voice was taut to the point of breaking, her face worked into a bitter grimace, her scent ripe with fear, "I wish I could tell you why Dominic did that, but he never told me."

"Yeah," Artemis looked away, "Of course, now that he's forgotten everything about his past, he damn well can't tell anybody now."

"I know how Dominic lost his memories."

Charlotte spun back to look at Glory, who had stopped walking, "What?"

"I know. It was the Idiom. She built a device to erase his mind back to when he first got his powers," Glory confessed.

"Whu- but, how? I mean, how do you know? And why would she do something like that?" Artemis was stunned by the revelation.

"I deduced the Idiom's involvement on my own, but it was corroborated by an outside source with impeccable credentials," Glory loathed giving the Hooded Hood any form of praise, but it was an inescapable fact that the Master of Retcons did not lie, "As to why, I believe it was done to prevent Dominic from getting into conflict with the Lair Legion."

Charlotte rubbed her face in disbelief, "Who else knows about this?"

The Mutt of Might lowered her head, "No one. I have kept it a secret for over a year. I was afraid what might have happened once the truth was revealed. People could get hurt."

"That was wrong," Artemis said fiercely, "That was wrong not to tell and you know it."

"Yes," Glory cast a look up, "And now that I have told you I still don't know what to do."

The two people who owed what they were to Mr. Epitome considered one another, one uncertain, he other decidedly less so.

"We do the job," Artemis said resolutely, "Criminals are to be punished. We find the Idiom and make her pay."



Next: Fleabot gets stung, leading to the exchange of opinions among the women in Epitome's life... with spectacular results!