Graveyard Shift [Dated]

[Kroll]

November 31st. Late Evening

Since curfew ended six hours ago, the streets of Manehatten's Eastern Residential District had become virtually empty, save for the occasional patrol, and the quiet wind that blew through the alleyways. Atop the roof of one of the many buildings in this dilapidated area was a small encampment of sorts: food and water cannisters sat in a small stack beside a crossbow and a few quivers of bolts, while a small fire burned under a tin kettle full of hot apple cider near two neatly-tucked bed rolls. At the far edge of the roof. sat a row of mason jars that served a purpose far more sinister than their creator originally intended.

Amidst this impromptu encampent sat the griffon known as Kroll, his eyes seemingly glued to a phoropter-like device that was strapped around his face. For the last several hours, he and his associate Aella had been observing a group of guerrillas that had been suspected of running a racketeering business in the district's pub and brothel area. After taking a sharp sip of his cider and jotting down a few notes in a logbook, Kroll adjusted a few of the dials and lenses on his headset, scanning the buildings and streets below for any sign of the suspects.

[Aella]

Aella lay on the roof, covering her white coat in a blanket to hide from airborne patrols. It did little to reduce the chill that had crept into the air, the cold wind piercing straight through her. She looked over to her handler, silently staring at the street the Guerellas were known to frequent.

Kroll had proved far kinder than she had been taught to expect from her handlers and masters. He genuinely seemed to care about her beyond her immediate usefullness. Aella hoped that she would not dissapoint him again.

The griffoness shook her head, driving away the troublesome train of thought and resumed the one mandated by the mission. Namely: Where the hell are these guerellas so that we arrest or kill them, and go back to a nice warm cell?

[Kroll]

Kroll lifted his headset up onto his forehead for a moment, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he let out a sigh. He looked over at his associate, jerking his head over at the kettle behind him. "There's plenty of cider left, so you're more than welcome to have some if you're cold." he said as he slid the headset back down over his eyes, adjusting the dials to get a clearer view of the streets below. "Going to have to stay wide awake in case any trouble arises."

[Aella]

Aella nodded, pouring a measure of the warmed cider into a mug and taking a sip.

'How many are we expecting again?' she whispered, toying with the ribbon wrapped around the head of her polearm.

[Kroll]

Kroll sighed, shaking his head as he lifted his headset up again, facing Aella. "Well, there's the problem. I'm not sure how many guerrillas we could be dealing with here; our lead wasn't too clear on that." He paused, taking a drink from his mug.

"But if they've been doing it for as long as our source says, then I'd say we'd be up against a squad's worth at minimum; any number smaller wouldn't be effective, any larger, and Aeolus or someone else would've noticed if a platoon's-worth of guerrillas was bringing home a paycheck fatter than everyone else's..."

[Aella]

Aella nodded, returning to staring fixedly at the street for their targets.

'I hope they get here soon sir...miserable night to be out here'

[Kroll]

The captain chuckled, taking another drink from his mug. "As do I, Aella. As do I. But they will show up on their own accord, I'm afraid; for now, all we can do is wait."

Kroll looked down at his pocketwatch before leaning over the roof's ledge, looking at the buildings across the street. We've been up here for hours, he thought to himself. where could they possibly be at this hour?

[Tisis Antony]

The skylight's door opened suddenly. Out spun five griffons in varying states of panic pursued by what appeared to be an extremely irate kitchen chef brandishing a flat iron cooking knife in his teeth. They scattered as he chased them about the rooftop and jeered when they realized that he could follow them no further.

In a motion of his jaw he heaved the knife at the nearest Griffon, clocking him in the head with its handle and sending him sprawling to the streets below. The rest scattered to the winds as he produced from his chef's coat, a startling array of cookery including pans, knives, and mallets. He huffed there for a few moments before returning to the door and slamming it behind him.

The collapsed figure of the griffon he had clonked flopped about on the ground, as if uncertain of its state of unconsciousness. Just as it seemed to come to a rest, out were thrown two bloodied griffons from the front door, sprawling onto the pavement. They had been punched, plucked, and smacked about and collapsed atop the poor griffon from the rooftop. The two burly earth ponies who had carried them out looked scraggly but menacing, suspiciously well dressed for this neck of the woods.

Before returning inside, one of the two paused at the specials chalkboard and fixed an error with the edge of his sleeve and a nub of chalk on the ground. He then returned to the doorway and closed it behind him.

The various griffons that had departed via rooftop had flown off in a pack, and where currently about four or five buildings down, contemplating returning for their comrades on the ground.

[Kroll]

Kroll watched the ensuing chaos unfold on the rooftop across the way, mildly surprised that one pony was able to chase of an entire group of guerrillas in such a fashion. As the small group began to fly down the street, the captain looked down at the bloodied griffons on the ground, surprised by their injuries. He sat back down, jotting down notes in his logbook before looking over at Aella with a small smile.

"Well, looks like you got your wish, Aella." he paused, looking over at the unconscious bodies on the street. "Let's wait until it's clear, and then we can make our way down to check things out, okay?"

[Aella]

Aella nodded, pulling her polearm into a ready position just in case.

[Tisis Antony]

The assembled Guerrilla mob had came to a rest on top of their building. Several minutes passed before they figured it safe, and went down to acquire their comrades. They tried to fly off with them in tow, but realized the dead weight was too much and just carried them off on foot.

The first snow of winter started to drift in slowly, tiny white motes of cold touching the damp rooftop. A sudden chill filled the air.

[Kroll]

After watching the guerrillas touch down and carry away their comrades, Kroll looked over at Aella as he took off his headset and slid it into a pouch on his vest. "Alright, let's wait for them to get a little further away before we make our move..." After finishing the last of his cider, the captain stood up and walked over to his crossbow and started loading it with the bolts he brought along.

He looked up at Aella again, pointing the blunted cork head of a crossbow bolt towards her. "Remember, we don't want anything lethal here; defend yourself when need be, but try not to kill anything, understood?."

[Aella]

Aella nodded, making a mental note to only hit the Guerellas with the flat of her polearm. She pulled off her blanket and spread her wings, staying low against the roof to avoid being seen. She could not afford a failure here, not after her defeat at the hooves of the strange blue pegasus.

"Ready sir" She whispered.

[Kroll]

Kroll nodded as he slung his crossbow over his chest. "Alright, let's do this." after standing up stretching a little, he jumped over the side of the roof, stretching his wings out to slow his descent into the alleyway below.

[Aella]

Aella slipped over the edge of the roof and silently glided down to the ground. She sneaked along the allet towards the rogue guerellas, taking cover behind stores and barrels left lying around.

[Kroll]

Kroll followed quietly after Aella, keeping a claw on his crossbow in case the guerrillas they were stalking decided to turn around for some reason. He stopped at the doorway of the building the griffons had been thrown out of, looking down at the blood on the ground, picking up a feather and looking it over before focusing his attention on the door to the residence.

Looking back over at his associate, Kroll motioned for Aella to come over to his location. "Perhaps it would be wiser to get more information before we attempt anything..." he whispered discretely as he jerked his head towards the door of the residence.

[Aella]

Aella nodded

"So, we are to follow them for a while longer sir?"

[Kroll]

Kroll looked at the guerrillas, then at the door to the residence they were thrown out of. "Hrm...we can follow them for a little while longer, but we'll have to go back to this building later. I want to talk to the residents about this ordeal..."

[Aella]

"I think it is the guerellas who suffered the ordeal in this case sir" Aella said with a smirk.

She began to sneak after the guerellas, slipping from cover to cover as they proceeded down the street.

[Kroll]

Kroll smirked at Aella's statement, following after her, moving from cover to cover. "Fair enough...let's not try to end up like them, shall we?"

[Tisis Antony]

The Guerrillas plodded on, seemingly oblivious to the events around them. They tread past homeless and passerby's without turning an eye, though one of the group was rather edgy. He levied his Gemini about at random passerby's. They scattered when he did so on the general, but some just shot him looks of hatred and kept on with their business.

The approached a modern building, recently restored and restructured. It was one of the several hospitals scattered across Manehattan, but it had the griffonic touch of architecture with massive open balconies having been installed to allow flying visitors. The hobbled into it's doors which were shut behind them by the door attendant.

[Aella]

Aella paused behind a hovel across from the hospital, peeking around the side as their quarry entered the hospita. She looked over to Kroll.

"What do we do now sir?"

[Kroll]

Kroll stared at the hospital quietly as he watched the Guerrillas slip inside. "Some suspicions would probably be raised if I asked to see them, so how about we do this: I'll go back to the building they were thrown out of, see if I can't get some answers from the residents. While I'm doing that, you can go in and see if you can't find out anything from our injured friends. You'll need to be discreet; we don't need any trouble or any messes that Feliks could find out about."

The captain looked at Aella inquisitively, seeming to be looking for an honest answer than a yes-man reply. "Does that sound fair to you?"

[Aella]

Aella nodded, eyeing up several possible entrances, glad that her handler had taught her some of the tricks of the trade.

"I can do that sir" she said, shaking the tension out of her muscles.

[Kroll]

Kroll smiles a little, patting Aella on the shoulder. "Great to hear. I'll meet back up with you when I'm done with the Equestrians." with a final nod, the captain got up from his spot slung his crossbow over his vest, and began walking back to the building they had been observing all those hours ago.

[Aella]

Aella spread her wings and fluttered up to a balcony, ducking behind the doorframe as a nurse walked past. She peeked out of cover and listened, hoping to hear some clue as to the whereabouts of her quarry.

[Tisis Antony]

(((I am moving Aella's Hospital Adventures to this thread: HERE)))

Kroll approached the building that had held the brief tiff that had sent the Guerrillas scrambling. It was tall for Manehattan standards, stout, brick and well taken care of. Whereas most other buildings on this street looked dour and dilapidated, this one stood out as being an eminent example of pre-occupation Manehattanite architecture. Though the coming nighttime had sent ponies scrambling indoors for the curfew, the lights shining from the postered windows of the building served as indicators that it was still active on the insides.

The front doors had been bolted shut and a wrought iron barred grate chained shut kept one from reaching the door. A single pony, perhaps evading curfew sat at a bench puffing at a cigarette.

[Kroll]

As Kroll neared the building he and Aella had been observing, he noticed a single stallion sitting on a bench near the structure. As he got closer, the captain realized that the door to the building had been shut for the night, and the chained fence would make entry much more difficult than expected....maybe this Equestrian would be willing to help if asked nicely...

After clearing his throat and putting on a smile that would put a crocodile to shame, Kroll approached the stallion, trying to emulate a friendly disposition. "Goodevening and hello! Lovely night, is it not...?"

He trailed off for a moment, looking at the faint bloodstains on the ground from the injured guerrillas before refocusing his attention on the stallion. "Quite the mess have we here, no? Would you happen to know of where it was from, perhaps?"

[Tisis Antony]

The blood had drained from the stallions face by the sudden confrontation. "Uh- yeah, uh there was a robbery or somethin'. The owners were mugged by some uh... you know, uh, griffons."

"Yeah uh, but see, I live here- this is my residence. I ain't breakin' curfew so if that's why you're here, I got papers."

[Kroll]

Kroll laughs in a quiet, cheery tone while shaking his head. "Oh no, you misinterpret! The robbery is what I am here for! It is of my interest, you see. I would like to very much speak to the owners within the building they are inside of...may I?"

[Tisis Antony]

The pony slowly raised an eyebrow, then asked for a moment to see something. He opened up the lock and went inside. Several minutes passed and he returned back through the door. "Uh, yeah, sure, come on in. They said you could do that, I mean. Come in, I mean."

He turned away from the door and stood by awkwardly. He had been told to close the door after Kroll had entered.

[Kroll]

Kroll beamed as the stallion opened the door for him. "Wonderful! Thank you." he said with a slight bow as he stepped into the doorway of the building. He was relieved at how willingly he was granted access to the building, but at the same time, he couldn't help but feel that maybe it was a little too easy. Though he was optimistic in the stallion's cooperation, the captain kept his guard up.

[Tisis Antony]

The stallion shut the door as Kroll entered the foyer, and began leading him up the stairs. The building was in good repair for the neighborhood, but was far from fancy, having the appearance of an old, but clean apartment block, tarnished railings and frayed rugs alike. The lights that dangled overhead were connected by loose bits of wire that had been tied up to nails, and loosely connected to switches on the ground level. As  you went up, the glare from the dangling lights intensified and one was made to shield their eyes until they moved up past the light.

The stairs circled, slowly, in a square fashion, and remarkably the pony seemed to take to the stair's just fine. A griffon could and probably should just fly up to the next levels, but the pony had begun walking up and seemed to expect Kroll to do the same.

"If you uh, don't mind me asking, what did you say you were here for again?"

[Kroll]

Kroll paused for a moment before replying. "Well, as I said before previously, I was informed of a robbery that transpired on this property, as you told me yourself. I just wanted to ask a few questions about the Guerrillas who were here a few moments ago and I'll be on my way..."

[Tisis Antony]

The earth pony nodded at Krolls response, and continued up the stairs. They reached a landing, and he lead Kroll through a locked door. In sharp contrast to the outside, the room they entered was an ornately decorated chamber. The smell of good food flooded the room, and an old record player was singing away tunes of bygone times. A grizzly buffalo in an fine suit was stationed at the record player, and rose to attention when Kroll and the Earth Pony entered the room. He waddled over to Kroll, and began patting his sides down for weapons...

[Kroll]

Kroll stiffened and backed away when the buffalo began patting him down. "Ah, that shouldn't be necessary." he said as he nodded down at the custom crossbow slung over his armored vest. "This is my weapon right here, which I am certified allowed, and required to carry. It is something I cannot part with, I'm afraid, not only by personal desire, but by regulation as well."

[Tisis Antony]

"You'll need to speak more clearly guy, can't really understand through all 'at accent." The buffalo took hold of the crossbow and began pulling at the strap, trying to remove it. "Aaaaaaaah," he vocalized with no distinct emotion or intent to the noise. "Aaaaaaah it won't come off-"

The earth pony looked with an awkward expression, his hoof raised in a hesitant position. He wanted to help, but didn't want to imply that the Buffalo was stupid for not being able to remove the strap. Finally, the Buffalo waddled off to look for some sheers. "You had best find somewhere to stow that or he's going to confiscate that. They 'aint gonna let anyone in no ways with any crossbow."

[Kroll]

Kroll sighed at the buffalo's attempts to remove the crossbow from his vest, waiting until it walked away to unload the fixed magazine and slide the safety on before removing the crossbow from his vest, setting it down near the doorway. He looked to the earth pony expectantly. "If this will make your...boss feel greater comfort, I will leave my weapon here in the doorway. However, I expect it to be here and untouched when I am done. Fair terms?"

[Tisis Antony]

"Oh man, he's right, you're really going to need to work on that accent. And no, you can't touch the ferns. Follow me."

The earth pony led Kroll into the apartment to a set of stairs, past the buffalo who was still rooting around in drawers for some sheers. The stairs were well carpeted, and snagged on the rough pads of Kroll's lion-paws. They arrived in a well furnished loft, complete with a kitchen and a massive table lined with all manner of affluent earth pony. They all silenced at their meals as Kroll walked in, and all eyes locked in on him.

[Kroll]

Cleared his throat, looking around at the room's many inhabitants, shifting slightly before opening his beak to address the dinner party. "Erm, good evenings to each of you, Equestrians. I apologize for my intrusion, but I was informed of an unpleasant ordeal involving members of the Guerrilla that transpired in this property of which we are occupying. I have been sent to investigate the happenings of this past event, would all of you kindly cooperate in my objective?"

[Tisis Antony]

"Son you're going to wanna speak up if you wanna get anywhere in life. Now wazzat? Now if you're trying to sell us something you're gonna to have to be alot better at that pitch of yours sonny 'cause the last griffon who tried to sell me wing restorative fell flat when he realized I was an earth pony farmer 'aint got a wing to count on see here, and really now-"

The Earth pony kept rattling on at the end of the table, and the gazes of the collective dinner party had shifted to him in confusion. A smaller earth pony, young in complexion and dapper in appearance, rose quietly from the table and approached Kroll. "I'm sorry for this, he's really old. Please follow me in here. We had already prepared the insurance information so I have the quotes and testimonies all written down in here."

He entered a doorway right off of the dining room which led into an old but well stocked private library. He sontered towards a desk, and picked a small pamphlet of papers. "So what is it that you said you needed?"

[Kroll]

Kroll furrowed his brow in thought at the younger pony's question. "I..." he paused for a moment, trying to think of a way to make his question straight forward. "I have no knowledge of any insurance that is needed in this area...I came here to investigate a violent disturbance that involved members of the Guerrillas; I saw a group of them chased off the roof of this estate by an Equestrian with an alarmingly large assortment of cutlery, seemingly for the sole purpose of bludgeoning, and I have reason to believe that they had attempted to engage in something illegal and against regulations. If you could tell me what they were wanting from you, I will be able to help prevent their nuisances, if there are any to behold."

[Tisis Antony]

The pony dropped his papers and his face went flush. "You're telling me that those were Guerillas? Are we going to get held liable for this? Shit... we thought they were just more street thugs trying to shake change from us. Uhmm, well allright. They were here about six, seven hours ago, just messing around in the stairwell, when we asked them what they wanted. They said they had dinner reservations or somethin' stupid, and we thought we'd oblige them just to see if they'd buy something."

"We took em on up to the big restr'aunt we got upstairs and they ordered food and stuff, then tried to stiff us on the bill. What's more, they tried to shake us down for some cash, so we had none of that, I mean, there was what, only like, six, seven of them, we just ran em up and out the rooftop exit and that was the end of that. That explain anything? I mean, we've seen em around before, but they aint tried nothin' like this before."

[Kroll]

The captain nodded slowly. "Indeed it does. The Guerrillas you met have been rather troublesome in this area, it seems. From what you've said, it may seem that they've been trying to run some manner of insurance front to acquire more money...my associate is working on tracking them down at the moment, and I can assure you that they will not be causing you any further troubles, sir. On their behalf, as well as that of our forces, I do apologize for the ordeal in its entirety."

[Tisis Antony]

"Well then, is that all you'd need? I can probably help. Show you around the property?"

[Kroll]

Kroll paused. "Well, if and when charges are pressed against this squad, we'll probably need some of the members of your household to testify, but other than that, we should be fine...I suppose a quick look about wouldn't hurt..."

[Tisis Antony]

The pony nodded, and lead Kroll from the room, allowing Kroll to retrieve his weapon on the way out the apartment. The pony lead Kroll up to the next story, to a pair of double doors where a small chalk-board menu had been situated. He lead Kroll inside to a well furnished, if rather plain restaurant dining room. Little generic checkerboard clothes covered everything and the place wreaked of garlic and pasta.

In the middle of the room, a pair of tables had been upturned and the plates and ruined china were broken up all over the floor. Apparantly someone had been stabbed with a fork, because a small puddle of blood had congealed on the floor around the fork. A trail of upturned furniture, talon marks, and bloody feathers led to the left and up the a small confined set of stairs.

"This here is the dining room, but some of the fighting took place in the kitchen, if you'd care to look."

[Kroll]

Kroll looked around the area, inspecting the talon markings and spots of blood and feathers littered about the place. "Seems like you and your family did quite the number on them...all in self defense, I hope?"

[Tisis Antony]

The pony nodded. "Yeah, the table flipping was all them. They tried to use cutlery against us, had forks and knives right of the tables. But on busy days we got something like twenty strong working the kitchens alone, not counting the guys we got out front for this kind of thing, so really, it didn't seem to have been a well thought out maneuver."

He opened the door to the kitchens, which we're being cleaned up by a crew of two janitors. They tilted their heads when he opened the door.

[Kroll]

Kroll nodded at the two janitors, looking around. "Well, once again, I apologize for their actions. Once they're apprehended they will answer to the troubles they've caused you and your family...I must say, this entire estate is quite impressive...and the fact that it's been upkept and maintained in your family's possession even more so..."

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