Terminus Part I: The Journey There (Draft)

Chapter 13: To Jail or Not To Jail

They continued to talk about it as they made their way to the court house. Milangelo and Cameron had reached James, and were talking about what Cameron had experienced. James corroborated this with Bob's theory that the Rough-House Gang were attempting to artificially raise tensions, and the new revelation that 'Bob' was being framed for the murder.

Within the next hour, the jury shuffled in. From the outset, it was obvious that with members like this, a mistrial might be a likely outcome. The jury consisted of: Gumboot, Isaac, Jonah, Coelacanth, Mortadella, Guitarfish, Persimmon, John Glory, Diesel, Condor, Officer Cerulean, and Officer Crimson. Some of the members had personal knowledge of the victims and, or those being prosecuted, some were members of gangs, and two were policemen. However, the truth would not show itself immediately, and the trial began as intended.

Salvador sat in his chair in Correspondence Cave. He was aware of the trial, and slowly a smile spread across his face.

"That's our cue. I must return to the prison at once!"

Salvador and his prison mates began their breakout plan. The five of them had pledged to become full-time members of the Martyrs Gang, Dan, Umbrella, Willis, Grim, and Fortitude.

"Compared to you guys my name sounds really lame," said Dan, as they all got in position.

"It's good to see you again, boss," said Grim.

Fortitude activated two-strength, and bent the bars of the cell. A guard noticed and yelled at them. Several guards then pulled out their tasers and prepared to fight. Salvador stepped out of the cell and before the guards could do anything about it, he proclaimed, "Five-strength! Waves of Passion!" Moving his arms in and out, up and down, he sent a shockwave that immobilised all the guards within a forty metre radius.

"That's the kind of power that monsters have. Do you have a bounty, Salvador?" asked Willis.

"I am the Martyr, Salvador. I have a bounty of forty-nine million onits. If this intimidates you or changes your loyalties, feel free to speak up," answered Salvador.

"We're all with you, sir," said Grim.

"As proof, I request that you all take the pledge."

"The saviours of Kings will take their place, all glory to the martyrs," they all chanted.

As they continued their escape, the Judge arrived at the court. "Okay, who is responsible for choosing the jury?" she asked.

"A civilian by the name of German Wallace, sir," said a man.

"What?" she exclaimed, surprised.

Barracuda was laughing hard, and rather evilly. He had just heard about Salvador's breakout.

"Sir, why did you choose such a bad jury? You could have put 'Bob' away for real, and pinned Killifish's crime on someone else," said Piranha.

"You never look at the big picture, my friend. The trial was merely a distraction. Something to tempt Salvador into leaving the comfort of prison. Hedges' hunt for the parasite, and Salvador's undermining of the legal system will force both of them to confront each other. The original murder was just a front, designed to sow the seeds of mistrust!" he explained.

Bob explained his theory to the judge, who shook her head lamely and sighed. "This was a shit-show. Who would go out of their way to undermine the legal system like this?"

Officer Crimson stood up, grinning.

"Do you have something you want to say, Officer Crimson?"

"Yes, I do. But please, call me Redfish."

"Did 'Bob' really kill Judge Perkins?" asked Dan, as the six escapees ran through the town, attempting to lose those who were in pursuit.

"Bob would never kill a colleague whom he considered to be on his side, to think otherwise is to show complete naivety," assured Salvador.

As they ran, Hedges discovered that Salvador had broken out of prison. "I knew that bastard could have escaped at any time he wanted. But he had the audacity to sit there and to try fool his opponents," said Hedges.

"Do you think he knows about us searching for the parasite?" asked Swingarm.

"If he does, then I guess we both have reasons to be angry with each other. At this point, a gang war is inevitable."

Crock, Karnilla, and Patricia arrived at the court house to the Judge shocked at Officer Crimson's actions.

"Am I to understand that you are a member of the Rough House Gang?" she asked.

"Yes, and this farce was a ruse: as we speak, Salvador is fleeing from police officers after breaking out of prison!"

"How do you know all of this?"

"Because it is all according to Barracuda's plan!" said Officer Cerulean.

"Officer Cerulean? Are you involved in this as well?"

"Please, call me Bluefish."

"Well, what did we miss?" asked Crock.

"Who the hell are you people?" the Judge screamed.

"They're with me," said James calmly.

"And who are you?" she asked.

"A detective we found asking Bob questions," said Bluefish.

"Why is there a detective here, and who are his friends?"

"We've identified him as the rogue detective with a bounty of forty million..." began Redfish.

"Shit, this won't end well," said James.

"I've got you, James," said Crock. He assumed a fighting stance, closed his eyes, opened them, and exclaimed the word 'somnia', all in the space of seconds. Everyone froze, and soon everyone who wasn't a member of the Detective Pirates was sound asleep.

"You've got some explaining to do, Crock," said Milangelo.

"Ha, not in your lifetime," he replied.

"He can explain himself later," said James. "Let's get out of here right now. I think we could benefit from coming up with a proper plan."

Meanwhile, Barracuda was talking with Zander, Grouper, and Flagtail. "How's our timeline looking?" he asked the trio.

"Redfish and Bluefish have come out of hiding. Also, according to security camera footage in the court house, the detective may be some sort of rogue. When one of his friends arrived, he did something that made many people fall asleep," explained Flagtail.

"What do you mean, 'many'?"

"I mean, after he did it, there were only five others still awake, including the detective."

"He used 'somnia'? What kind of friend does he have?"

Disco walked in. "Sorry to interrupt, but I just got word that Salvador has managed to ditch the authorities in pursuit, and Hedges has mobilised the Motorcycle Gang. I think that war you wanted is about to happen. Holes in my jeans!"

Barracuda gave a wide smile, and as he did, it was as Disco had described. The Martyrs had joined up with Salvador and his cell mates, and the Motorcycle Gang had headed out for the town square. This happened to be where the Martyrs were headed as well. It was quarter past two p.m., and they would meet at the square in approximately forty-five minutes.

Beardfish sat in a corner of the Rough Warehouse, reading the newspaper. He was up to today's Fish Foresight.

13 October: Today's Fish Foresight

The swordfish are territorial today. They are frenzied and tend to fight any perceived threat. This behaviour arises during periods of great conflict. In this writer's opinion, Barracuda is the one true gang leader, and today's war will prove that.

"Escolar's been getting a bit crazy lately," said Beardfish.