The endless traffic of the city roared down the streets and avenues, brightly lit shopping buildings looking down upon the crowded roads. Police cars roam around, keeping a sharp vigil for any criminals. Radio chatter from the police fills the airwaves... some of them. Like a layer of grease, the City's criminal underworld also had a thriving network of communication. E-mails zipped through cyberspace, detailing meet ups, hand offs, and other illicit activities. Other, more rudimentary methods existed, lie a note pinned to a body.
It was another day at the office for Marcus Crawford. The dispatch officer chewed a bagel while observing his section of the overview screen. Hundreds of little pings denoted reports of activity, bigger pings equating to bigger problems. The young hedgehog tapped out commands on his workstation and spoke over the comms system to active patrol cars. He checked his daily orders book before switching stations. "This is Officer Crawford to all available units in grid 5-8, there's been a break in at a house on 48th street. Any available units, please respond."
OOC: Begin! I'll get a character sheet up on my officer in a little bit.
Connie the ferret chuckled quietly as he stuffed the valuables into his satchel.
He normally didn't do houses, but he'd seen the animals that lived here and imminently knew that they were rich.
And he was right!
Slinking back out the window, he quietly shut it and wiped his paws.
Score.
The ferret flashed a grin and raced across the yard to his car, hopping in.
"Ten kilometers an hour, touché old lady." Kat muttered to herself as she watched a familiar blue truck trundle slowly by on a thirty-five exit. The mouse officer had positioned herself on the edge of a highway off-ramp entering into the Downtown of Mossflower City. In one paw she held a radar and with the other she gripped the gas grip, revving her motorbike's engine rhythmically to keep it alive. She was hidden from view of anybeast exiting into the lower city, but with a clear line of sight. It served as a perfect way to catch animals who didn't transition from highway speeds to ramp speeds in time. Only regular drivers such as the old shrew that drove past now knew about this spot, and the possible officer that lay in waiting, but it didn't seem like it'd be that kind of day.
"This is Officer Crawford to all available units in grid 5-8, there's been a break in at a house on 48th street. Any available units, please respond."
She was close enough to 48th if she cut across the grass median, which she could do on her bike. Kat could be there in no time, she might even catch the burglar as they were leaving. Grabbing her radio Kat held down the button, blanking out the radio chatter that came through her earpiece. "Sierra-One to dispatch, I'm on rout to break-in. ETA two minutes." Clicking her radar and radio back into their proper places Kat jerked the bike around, revving the engine up. She'd leave the siren off for now, she was close enough to not need it.
OOC: Oops.
BIC:
"Copy that Sierra-One. The break in triggered the house alarm, neighbors calling in are saying the resident of the house is on vacation."
Marcus made a note of the break-in on the logbook for the sector. Hopefully Kat was successful, something this done well would net a lot of praise.
Grass and mud sprayed out from under the high-powered wheels as the police motorcycle tore through the median. Within moments Kat was back on the tarmac and speeding past houses and cars at breakneck speed. It took less then a two minutes before she was turning onto 48th street, not slowing down for a second.
"Dispatch, Marcus I see the perp," she blinked in surprise. There was the criminal, an adult ferret burglarizing a house in broad daylight, loading up his car like he didn't have a care in the world. "This idiot wants to get arrested." She declared, not realizing her radio was still on.
Connie's expensive red sports car tore out of the driveway as soon as he heard sirens.
With one paw on the steering wheel and the other on the bag of stolen money, his driving was sloppy and panicked.
He released the wheel for one moment to reach for his pistol and then stepped on the gas pedal, speeding through a red light like there was no tomorrow.
"Dratted cops!" He yowled, nearly causing an accident as he swerved around an oncoming car. "Snitty cloudbrains!"
"This is Moore; I want one of you on that perp's tail, whoever's closest radio in. Everybeast else, try and block up the intersection between 48th and Abbey Road. We can lure them right into a roadblock, and still be back home in time for coffee. Let's move, officers."
The otter flicked on her car's GPS, switching the vehicle into 1st gear and pulling out from the precinct carpark. Grinning at the long, open road to her left, the otter slammed one footpaw on the gas pedal, and the other on the clutch, speeding towards the intersection.
Switching channels the hedgehog started talking to Moore. "Officer, there is a motorcycle patrol officer already in pursuit. I advise you be ready for any shortcuts taken by the burglar, satellite imaging tells us they are in a sports car and that means any road is an option for them. You're looking for a red vehicle, license plate to be determined shortly. Standby for further information."
"I'm right on his tail," the mouse yelled into her radio as she switched her sirens to code three. "He's rabbiting down 48th, I can keep up with this one, he can't seem to drive properly. Oh, yeah its a male ferret, standard coloring from what I could tell, possibly armed. He's in a red sports vehicle, a unique make by the looks of it." Gripping her handlebars Kat sped up until she was alongside the speeding car. Flashing Connie a quick grin she smacked his side mirror in so he couldn't look into his left blind stop. Slowing down she rode the sport car's left side, keeping just out of view. It might not be protocol, but there were no senior officers here to witness the act.
Connie bit his lip in agitation, rolling down the window. He poked his head out, wind ruffling up his fur.
"I have a gun!" He exclaimed.
"Give up or I'll shoot, and ya don't want that!"
"Uh, confirm he has a gun." Kat told Macus and all the other officers listening to her radio. Raising her voice the mouse officer shouted back at the ferret over the roar of both vehicles. "I bet my gun is bigger! You ought to pull over ferret, your charges are going up by the second. Look, that's another stop sign you just ran!"
Glaring fiercely at the cop, Connie went back to driving.
If he could only lead her out of the way...
The ferret fumbled for his phone and turned it on, hurriedly dialing his family on speaker.
"Tony, there's a cop tailin' me! Get the gang and camp out on Matthias Drive, and be ready!"
Revving up his engine, the ferret pulled back on the steering wheel and cut a sharp turn into a lane that led to a forested area.
He chuckled smartly, not glancing back at the cop once.
Kat pursued doggedly, keeping just inside the ferret's blind spot. They sped past the intersection of 48th and Abbey Rd where the cut off was supposed to be, apparently the other officers had been too slow. Growling Kat spat into her radio, calling out the new locations.
"We're past the C.O.P heading south on Dreary, through the suburbs and on towards the outer park. Where's that backup Moore?" There wasn't much that Kat could do to stop the speeding car on her motorcycle, all she could do was keep up. She knew that her bike could easily keep up in the city, but if they hit open road the car could easily outpace her. Gritting her teeth in wild excitement Kat zoomed on, looking for an opportunity to bring the pursuit to a stunning conclusion.
And...they passed the last house.
Connie grinned as he tore towards the forest.
It was straight ahead now, and who cares if he wasn't supposed to drive through there? Trespassing on private property meant nothing to him.
OOC: We could have Kat fall into the trap and get captured.
IC:
The ride suddenly got a whole lot more bumpy. Kat was jostled all over as her bike's suspension, built for highways and backstreets, was suddenly pressed to the maximum. Unable to maintain her speed Kat began to fall behind, every inch lost bringing her farther back.
"You're not getting away that easy." She yowled, revering her engine on to new heights. The cycle rumbled in protest but kept up with the car, barely.
OOC-
That would be awesome.
IC-
"Really? I'm not?" Connie teased, whipping the vehicle around suddenly and tearing down the street to the left.
Matthias Drive was right there, he could see the front of his cousin's motorcycle sticking out from behind the bushes...
Back on the road Kat caught up easily, not noticing anything amiss, besides the speeding red sports car she was currently chasing. Preforming a quick wheelie the mouse cop grinned wickedly. "You should have stayed on the grass ferret!"
Katrina sighed and wiped her brow. She finally had gotten off her shift. She had worked at Esmeralda's Wardrobe and Spa for almost four years now, but the long days working as the assistant-manager were tough, especially when the manager took advantage of her hard work and slacked off.
"I'm clocking out!" She called over her shoulder as she punched her code into a front counter register. She got a snore from manager in the back as a response. Lazy squirrel.
Grabbing her purse and coat, she headed out the door and walked to the elevator, heels clicking on the tiles. Normally, working on the 5th floor of a tower mall didn't bother her, but today she dreaded the fact that Esmeralda's was so high up, as a certain otter eyed her the whole way down the elevator. Perve.
Quickly exiting the mall, she stepped out onto Matthias Drive. She noticed that a group of people on motorcycles across the street that looked like... oh, what's his name... that perp Connie's lot. She looked down the street as the noise from a familiar red sports car caught her attention. She also noticed the cop chasing him at high speeds. She reached into the bottom of her purse and attached the silencer to the front of her sub-machine gun, but kept it in her purse. What the devil had he gotten himself into now?
Almost...almost...
Connie passed the area where his allies were lying in wait and watched and they pulled out and blocked the street before Kat could follow him.
A large truck pulled in to the thin path they had come down, and the mouse was surrounded.
Connie stopped his car and dug his claws into the steering wheel, smirking evilly.
Kat was stuck.
Connie's cousin, a strong looking ferret, pointed a gun at the cop. The vermin around him laughed.
"Are you messin' with our kin, Copper?" He sneered.
Not noticing the trap until too late Kat sprang from her motorcycle reaching for her pistol as she started towards Connie. "Smart thing to do surrendering. You've got the right to an attorney, if you can't afford one, one will be-" She stopped mid-sentence, glancing at the big ferret behind her and realizing the rather obvious predicament she was in.
For the first time in a long time a note of true fear was struck in her heart.
"N-no, I mean, let's keep things cool now mates," she advised taking her paw slowly off her holstered pistol and raising them into the air. "This'll be an easy one year sentence for small crimes, a-and minor theft. You don't want to turn this into something bigger then it has to be right?"
Katrina bit her lip nervously. This was going downhill fast, and she didn't want to be involved if the cop got killed. Pulling the collar of her coat up, she started to walk down the road, away from the confrontation scene, hoping she hadn't been noticed.
Connie hopped out of his car and shut the door, sauntering up to his cousin.
His red eyes locked with Kat's and his paw was on his pistol.
He seemed to be in charge, as the other vermin stepped back and watched carefully.
"You're very hopeful, Cop...I'm not going anywhere."
There was loud snickering from the others.
"You know," he mused, getting closer to the mouse. "If you drop the charges and never mention this again, we'll be happy to let you go..."
Marcus's voice came from the radio. "Officer Fletcher, we've managed to ID the ferret and his vehicle. His record is far from clean, if you can apprehend him I suggest you do so."
Checking the sector map, Marcus tracked Moore's location. "Back up is on the way, Fletcher."
The hedgehog was puzzled as to why Kat's vehicle had stopped moving. But the suspect had also stopped, so he assumed that Kat was simply doing her job.
"Right, certainly. Ye all trundle off, and I'll forget this ever happened." Kat agreed knowing full well that this incident could hardly be forgotten, even if she wanted too. Threatening a cop in broad daylight was serious, and if criminals got away with this just once it'd be a disaster. Of course Kat wasn't going to mention that, she was far more invested into saving herself from being gunned down.
Her radio sounded, but she made no move to answer it, keeping her eyes fixated on Connie and his cousin. Her gaze flickered towards a female fox that was standing idly by watching. Either she was a part of this, or she was dumb enough to stick around, Kat made a mental note of her presence only for the vixen to pull up her collar and walk away.
Connie idly ran a claw around the barrel of his gun, glancing up ever so often to look at Kat.
A snicker rose in his throat.
"For some reason I don't believe you. Maybe it's best we kill you..."
A loud screech filled the air, somewhere behind Connie.
"Now, ah'm shore ya don't wanna do dat, sonny."
A huge falcon perched on a nearby powerline.
"Ah'm shore ah dat. Ya put a bullet in da coppah, an' ya make life a whooole lot hahdah fah us. All ah us. So whah don't ya lower dat gun o' yahs. She'll get hahs one day. Yah, one day soon."
A squirrel in a pinstriped suit stepped out of the alley, brandishing his tommy gun.
"'Ey, ferret! T'ings'll be a whole lot bettah fah all ah us if ya don't pull dat triggah. You kill a cop, yah make 'em crack down on crime. You do dat, dat interfere's wit' Mistah Falcone's business. An' ya know what happens ta beasts who mess wit Mistah Falcone, don't ya? The concrete goes 'round ya footpaws and we t'row ya in da rivah. Is dat what ya want? Nobeast has crossed Mistah Falcone an' lived ta tell th' tail afore. What makes ya think two petty thieves like yous is gonna be the first?"
The last creatures she ever expected to aid her, seemed to have come from nowhere to save her. Kat decided not to question the odd occurrence and simply nodded along with the narrative. "Yes, that's right you don't want to make business for Mr. Falcone difficult. So why don't we all stop pointing gun barrels at the copper, eh?"
Backup was coming, with some luck none of these criminals would be getting away.
The falcon continued to speak, not even bothering to look at Kat.
"An' you, missy. Yah gonna fahgit all about how ya sah me taday. Don't want ya stickin' ya snout where it don't belong, do we? Yah gonna tell all ya friends that these two filth crahlahs got away, or that ya got dem easily. Yah not gonna say anythin' about that gun, y'hear? The less ya friends know, the less likely they ah ta get 'urt."
Connie growled and shoved the gun in his coat pocket, glaring daggers at Falcone.
"Oh no, I'd never want ta make you mad...never...."
Without saying another word he turned tail and bullied his way through the crowd and back up to his car.
Slamming the door shut, he backed up and drove off.
"Gooood..."
The falcon flew off into the alley, disappearing from sight.
Letting out an audible sigh Kat watched the last of the criminals flee the scene even as the sound of sirens filled her ears. The mouse half heartedly considered drawing her pistol and firing off a shot, but she saw no need, instead opting to speak over the radio.
"This is Sierra-One, I've had a confrontation with the suspects, lots of suspects, assistance requested immediately." Hooking the radio back onto her shoulder Kat walked over to her bike collecting her report book and pen. This one was going to take a lot of explaining.
Moore grabbed her radio.
"Affirmative, Sierra-One. I'm coming down the road now. Be there in less than a minute. Where're the perps headed, over?"
Connie, having broken speed limits and weaved around traffic, had eventually arrived at his large estate. Lines of irritation creased the ferret's brown-furred face, but he was glad he had escaped with everything he took.
He locked the doors and set the bags out on his sofa, about to sort them out when he realized he was hungry.
Casually, he flipped on his television and padded into the kitchen, yawning.
Rounding a corner at the end of the block, Katrina slipped out of sight. She pulled her phone out of her purse and, still walking quickly down the alley, sent a few shady numbers the info about what was going on, and warned them to keep their heads down. Connie would probably get some angry questions or worse, but she was willing to throw him under the bus. He deserved it; threatening a cop so blatantly was idiotic. She muttered a curse.
Arriving at her motorcycle parked on the next street over, she hopped on and revved the engine to life. Even over the motorcycle, she heard the screech of a large predatory bird in the next street, where the showdown was taking place. She cursed again. What the devil was going on over there? She considered going back to see if she could do anything, but before she made a decision, she heard the roar of Connie's car racing away. The perp must have gotten away. She decided that she would pay him a visit and chew him out. Tires squealing, she sped off from the parking spot in the direction of Connie's mansion.
Radioing in again, Marcus watched the red blip speed into the mansion. "Sierra-One, remain at your position until Officer Moore arrives. I'm conferring with my superiors as to the course of action."
"Confirm dispatch, confirm Sergeant Moore, I'm staying here. Be advised all suspects are armed and dangerous... And they all got away." Scribbling down descriptions of everyone and all the names she heard, Kat leaned against her motorcycle listening to the sounds of sirens grow closer.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Root's phone vibrated shortly, signaling the ermine to a new text message. Lowering his cigar the stoat checked the screen, smirking at the message there. One of his hired goons had heard from someone else that Connie and Falcone had, had a run in with an officer on Matthias Drive.
It was of little concern, Connie and Falcone were rivals of his. If they thought so little of their operations security to show themselves as white collar thugs outright, it was all the better for him. Cops and criminals killing each other meant less work for him to do, and potentially shattered his opponents in the field of control.
"Miz May would ye be so kind as to cancel my meeting, I'm heading oot." Deftly collecting his coat and hat Root Gurborn exited his office, descending into the Downtown area.
Connie popped a frozen dinner in the microwave and loitered while it was cooking.
He put his phone on speaker mode.
"Hey, Ma."
"Huh? Conn, is that you?"
His mother had a thick voice.
Smirking deeply, he glanced at the microwave. "Of course it's me, who else? Anyway, Ma, the cousins an' I had a little run in with a cop and Falcone. I'm gonna need a different car if I don't wanna seem suspicious..."
The ferret on the other end could be heard grumbling and muttering foreign curses, all jumbled up.
"I'm busy," she snapped at last, "Stop by tomorrow, yeah?"
"Yeah."
Beep.
He clicked off the phone.
Scylla tossed the severed head aside and sighed. This was the third one she'd killed and eaten this month, and it seemed that there were always more of them. Nevertheless, she'd have to plant the head somewhere they'd find it, and the corrupt idiots would hopefully learn their lessons. Before that, however, she had a phone call to make.
"Good day, Connie." Scylla said, "How are you, after your little run in with the police?"
"Who's this?!" Connie snapped, starting as the microwave went off.
"How'd you know..."
"Don't worry about little things like that," She said, carefully keeping her voice level, "I have a little offer for you, that, if you accept, will make you the richest beast in town. Are you interested?"
"I don't make random offers," Connie growled.
"Let's meet in person."
OOC: Yeah
OOC-
Mhm...
OOC: I'm good.
OOC-
*Cough*!