Calamitous (Kaylor)

5

"No," Arsyn comforted her. "She's just...fragile at the moment. Don't let her get to you. I'll go talk to her about getting back in the field soon. I'm sure we'll all feel better once we've got something to focus on."

"So we're just going to forget that she doesn't think she can trust us anymore?" Chucker asked, frustrated. "She hasn't done a thing in months, and she thinks she has the right to abuse us like this? Is that the type of leader we want?"

"I'll talk to her. We'll figure this out," Arsyn soothed. "And don't worry. If it gets to the point where I think she's unfit to lead, I'll be sure to do something about it." Chucker nodded and stepped back. The other girls exchanged glances, some of them looking a little angry like Chucker, and some of them looking very uncomfortable with the conversation.

Arsyn cast a warning glare over the group as she turned to leave. "No one says anything about this to her, got it? I'm here to keep her in check, and if she knows that we're watching her more closely, she'll take it as an attack on her character. The results would not be pretty." The other girls nodded, and Arsyn stalked out to find Catastrophe.

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"Kloss! Do you have any news on why they were in that building?" the commissioner called out to Karlie as she sat slumped over her desk. Karlie startled and sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"Uh, yes, actually," she said. "But I'm not sure what to make of it." She pushed a stack of papers toward the man and began to rattle off some information she had learned. "That building is owned by Echo Corporation. They're known for developing and testing highly advanced, top-secret military products for the government."

"Weapons," the commissioner said. "So they want the blueprints to something, or the thing itself, so they can claim it for themselves, I suppose?"

"That's what I would expect," Karlie answered. "But..."

"But?"

"I don't know. Catastrophe doesn't seem to be the type to go for something on this scale. Thievery? Sure. Murder-for-hire? Not good, but could be worse. Stealing secret, dangerous government technology? I think it's a bit much. What would they even need it for?"

"Maybe we'll hear from our friend the informant again before too long. They could clear it up," the commissioner said hopefully. "Anyway, good work, Kloss."

Less than ten minutes later the phone in the front office rang. Most people had gone for lunch break, and Karlie was closest to it, so she picked it up. "Hello?"

"Hi," the person on the other end said. It was a woman, and Karlie was sure she'd heard her voice before, but couldn't put a name or face to it. "Is this the detective department of the police station?"

"Yes," Karlie said. "Detective Kloss here, at your service. What can I help you with?"

"What can I help you with?" the other person said.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I'm your informant. I'm sure you have some questions." Hearing this, Karlie froze. This is the informant? And she's offering ME information? Don't mess this up, Kloss.

"Why don't you just tell me what you feel like saying, and we'll go from there?"

The informant was silent for a moment, but then she began to speak. "There's a big job happening soon. Maybe tomorrow night, maybe next week, who knows. You know the Echo Corp building we struck recently? That was just the beginning. Catastrophe didn't get what she wanted there, so she's going for the big one."

"You mean the headquarters?" Karlie gasped. "That's practically a suicide mission. Security is insanely tight."

"Don't underestimate her," the other woman said. "Have you figured out what she's after?"

"Some sort of weapon, maybe?" Karlie asked.

"Possibly. She hasn't told me exactly what herself. Just that it will be in a marked briefcase."

"But that could be just about anything," Karlie said to herself. She couldn't have the Echo Corp move everything out just to prevent the gang from finding one unspecified briefcase. And since she didn't know exactly when it was going to happen, she couldn't have them go on lockdown. But she would let them know something was up - maybe they could tighten security?

"Is there anything else interesting you'd like to tell me?" she asked. The informant seemed to hesitate for a moment, before her voice crackled over the line again.

"Catastrophe is starting to lose her grip on leadership. The group's loyalties are shifting and whether they will obey her as they did before is uncertain."

Now that's interesting. Maybe they'll be easier to defeat. "Okay, thank you. Will you let me know when you're going to launch the assault?"

"I will do my best. Catastrophe knows someone is tipping you off, and she's paranoid of it happening again. She hasn't even told those closest to her when it's going to happen, and I'm guessing it will come as a surprise."

"Please try. I don't want her to slip through my fingers again," Karlie said. The unknown woman chuckled darkly in response.

"Don't worry. She won't."