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> Part 1
> Part 2
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> Adventures in Parodyverse - End of the Reign Part 3
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> The meeting room at the Paradopolis Police station was filled to capacity with nervous officers, shift supervisors, and detectives.  Commissioner Graham hadn’t arrived yet - the only thing they knew was that it was an urgent emergency meeting and mandatory.  Only officers on call were excused, and they were to be briefed immediately by their shift supervisors after the meeting.
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> The mood was a mixture of boredom and restlessness.  There were few conversations, but lots of shuffling, checking voicemail, making notes, and reading.  Finally, Commissioner Graham arrived and silence fell over the room.
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> “We’ve been asked for help by the GMY Police,”  Graham quickly summarized.  He frowned at the scoffs and laughter scattered through the room.  “Yeah, I know, they haven’t exactly been friendly and cooperative with us--”
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> “They’re pretty corrupt too,”  Vicky Cameron pointed out.
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> “Vicky, we don’t say that here.”  Graham quickly scolded her.  “Cops are a brotherhood of sorts.  While we don’t get along with the GMY cops, they’re still cops.  We put our lives on the line to help them and maybe they’ll do the same for us someday.”
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> “Yah, right.”  Vicky mocked.
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> That was probably why the next words out of Graham’s mouth were, “Cameron, Burns, you’re going to lead one squad of four officers.  SWAT will accompany you.”
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> Jack nearly fell out of his chair and then glared at Vicky.  “Don, what are we leading exactly?”
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> “There’s a gang in control of the Police station in GMY.  Perhaps you’ve heard of them...the Zoot Suit Gang.”
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> “They’re like...legends of the streets.”  Vicky pointed out.  “Why would they do something like that?”
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> Graham ignored the question at first.  “They haven’t harmed anyone.  They simply disarmed the officers and sent them away.  One of the officers had a typed letter that said, and I quote: ‘GMY has become too corrupt since the removal of that fatso known as the Lychpin’.”
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> “This has to be a distraction,”  Jack noted.  He looked at Vicky, who was nodding in agreement.
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> “Yah,”  she confirmed.  “They wouldn’t just like, corner themselves in a building and wait for SWAT to show.”
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> Don nodded too.  “That’s why all of you will wait outside the building until we can figure out how to get some kind of confirmation that it’s not a trap.  SWAT will bring a bomb squad unit and a bomb disarming robot.”
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> “What about the Lair Legion?”  Jack asked.
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> “Mayor Klein still refuses to allow them to operate in GMY.”  Don replied.  “Inviting them along will only strain relations between GMY and Paradopolis further.”
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> Vicky was nodding along and smirking during that part.  “The Zoots are really clever,”  she said.
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> “You think they’re planning a heist?”  Don asked her.
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> “Nah.”  She shook her head.  “Power grab mostly.  I bet when we get there the building will be empty.  It’s pure Akiko Masamune style.  Show what you can do, but not that you can do it.  The GMY cops will be so scared of the Zoots they’ll be squeezing every business for protection money and no one will do shit about it.”
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> Don paced back and forth for a moment, thinking.  Finally he said, “Vicky’s probably right.  For safety’s sake, though, we’ll still send in a substantial force and be cautious.  Could be the Zoots might want to scare us as well as GMY.  We have to cover all the bases.  Meeting adjourned, get going.”
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> With that, Jack rose first and then Vicky.  The room became noisy as everyone stood and started filing out.
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> “I’ve never gone with SWAT before,”  Vicky said.
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> Jack smirked.  “You’ll like it.  They’re more professional than the usual cops here.”
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> “Nice.”  Vicky nodded and smiled.  “Let’s roll.”
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>
> ---
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> Gothametropolis York was a long trip from Paradopolis.  It would have been longer if Vicky hadn’t offered to drive.  She took one of the unmarked police units, and had Jack in the passenger seat and two uniformed officers in the back.
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> She insisted on driving the entire way at high speed with the emergency lights hidden in the back window and just behind the windshield flashing.  It prevented the long drive from being even longer and from becoming too boring.  Behind them was a van marked PPD SWAT, following Vicky’s leads with flashing emergency lights.
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> By the time they arrived at the GMY police station it was nearly dusk.  The station was surrounded by police officers from substations nearby.
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> Vicky pulled her car right onto the sidewalk in front of the police station, and the SWAT van behind her followed suit.  “Let’s show GMY how it’s done,”  she said, partly to Jack and partly over the radio to SWAT behind her.
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> “What are you doing, Vicky?”  Jack asked, sounding a little panicked.  He was too late.
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> “Let’s go in!”  Vicky announced over the radio.
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> Jack leapt out of the car just as SWAT left the van quickly, rifles in hand, and burst into the police station.  He fidgeted nervously until he saw Vicky walk past him and toward the door.  “Wait...Vicky--”  he called after her.
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> “I told you, nobody’s in there.”  she said as she went ahead through the door.
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> Jack raced after her...and just as she said, the police station was completely deserted.  “How did you know...?”
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> Vicky folded her arms and smiled.  “The lights were all on in the building like it was just kind of abandoned.  If the Zoots were hiding in here they’d have turned off the lights so we can’t see them moving around.”  She suddenly wrinkled her nose and looked around.  “What’s that smell?  It’s like someone left a stove on or something.”
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> “I wouldn’t say this place is completely empty.”  Jack called to her as he opened the door to one of the offices.  A SWAT officer followed him, but quickly recoiled and raced for the restroom.
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> Vicky entered the office confidently, only seeming superficially disturbed by the severely burned uniformed officer slumped in the chair.  It looked like he and the chair both had been doused in gasoline and set on fire and then put out with a foam fire extinguisher.  She put on rubber gloves and then quickly covered her face with her jacket to filter out the smell.
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> “See something?”  Jack asked.  Being a veteran, smells like that didn’t even faze him.
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> “Yah,”  she replied softly through the fabric.  She reached for a legal pad sitting on the desk.  On it was a hastily handwritten confession.  She picked it up and read it quickly.  “Oh my god,”  she whispered loudly.  “Dude, this burned guy is an attempted murderer.”
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> Jack took the paper pad and read aloud.  “She just followed her boyfriend,”  he read.  “Jessie something...she didn’t know the shit he was into, she probably followed him because she thought he was cheating on her or something.  But the Lynchpin’s guy said no witnesses, so we had to burn her with the place--”
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> “The Zoots didn’t do this!”  Vicky noted, suddenly forgetting about covering her mouth and nose.  “Oh my god...it practically says so right in the confession.”
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> “You’re right.”  Jack nodded slowly.  “Whoever this officer was into bad stuff with preferred burning witnesses.  And he’s a witness, a loose end that was never tied up.”
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> “Whoever it is, the Zoots have him now,”  Vicky pointed out.  “I guess there’s no point to finding them and trying to get information right now.”  She looked at Jack hopefully and added, “But at least we almost have an old case solved.”
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> “I think I know where he is,”  a soft voice supplied, getting the attention of both Vicky and Jack.  It was the Psychic Samurai.
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> “How did you get in here?”  Jack asked.
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> Chiaki didn’t bother to answer.  Instead, she continued on with the original topic.  “I’m sure Akiko has some business with him as well as a few others.  The chaos the Lynchpin left when arrested is beginning to resolve.”
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> “Is this case related to Al B Harper and Yuki Shiro?”  Vicky asked.
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> There was no answer to that either.  Chiaki simply replied, “Imagine the lives you might ruin with such information.”  She bowed apologetically to each of them and turned to leave quietly.
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> “She’s right, you know,”  Jack noted bitterly.
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> Vicky let out a frustrated sigh.  “Yah, maybe.  Seems like everyone who’s anywhere near the Lair Legion has secrets we can’t uncover.  It totally sucks.”
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> Jack laughed and put a hand on Vicky’s shoulder to lead her back outside.  “Good practice, Vicky.  Someday you’ll have to drop cases related to rich people or politicians, only they won’t be so nice about it.  At least Chiaki helps us from time to time.”
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> “Yah, I guess the tradeoff isn’t bad.”  She shrugged and followed Jack.  “Chiaki is nice at least.”
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> When they arrived outside, the Psychic Samurai was waiting for them, casually leaning against their police car.  She looked like she had something to tell them.
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> “What’s up?”  Vicky asked.
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> Chiaki looked toward the blonde slowly but didn’t move otherwise.  “Would you like to know?”
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> “Know what?”  Jack asked.
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> “You asked if the case was related to Al B Harper and Yuki Shiro,”  Chiaki replied.
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> Vicky cheered up suddenly.  “Yah, I’d love to know.”
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> Without speaking a word, Chiaki climbed into the back seat of the police car and shut the door.  Jack and Vicky took the hint and got into the two front seats.
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> “Akiko and the Zoot Suit Gang revealed this information to you because while Yuki doesn’t know it, Akiko wants this case solved.  Her would be murderer has been on the loose for some time...it’s a matter of eventuality before he also discovers the link between Jessie Moore and Yuki Shiro.  Once he does he’ll stop at nothing to make sure she’s dead this time.”
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> Vicky nodded slowly.  “You’re telling us this because you want us to bust his ass before he finds out.”
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> “Exactly.”  Chiaki nodded slowly.  “Akiko and I are no longer speaking.  Therefore I must figure out her motives on my own and stay ahead of everyone.”
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> “Looks like we have a case again, Vicky,”  Jack noted.
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> TO BE CONTINUED?
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> -- Story written and copyrighted (C) 2007 by Jason Froikin, and may not be 
> --    reprinted without permission.  
> -- Yuki Shiro designed by Jason Froikin, based on designs by Masamune Shirow
> --  Liu Xi Xian and the Psychic Samurai are original design by Jason Froikin
> --  Lara Night is an original creation by Jason Froikin
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