Carmino

Dew understood good and well what was going on, she pulled one Pea's ponchos from Oza's backpack and draped it over her back. Pea did like wise, but she didn't really know what was going on. Oza kept walking along, completely absorbed in the cities lights and sounds. The cop turned them round a corner where traffic was lighter. He looked at Pea and Dew, now fully clothed. The two mares, dragon and officer had made it over to an older looking part of town.

The brick buildings had cracks amongst the dirty looking windows. Most of the fire escapes were rusty to a point were they looked more like nasty traps than a way to safety. The crowd in this part looked shabbier than on the street next to the train station. In the city night only a few street lamps' bulbs were alight, making an ominous scattered light along the street. The crowd across the street seemed to be moving around something on the sidewalk.

"Well...er...," the cop coughed lightly as his face's blush died down," I'll let you ladies off with a warning, but don't go running around town like that, one of you might get hurt..." his voice trailed off. He stared at the other end of the street. Pea was the first to realize what he was looking at...the Minotaur from the train station!

The mobster had a wide brimmed hat that covered his eyes. The brute seemed half asleep. He leaned his bulky mass on the side of a cafe, but  he was aware of what was going on. The cop gulped and began to sweat. The mobster moved slightly, then itched his nose. He shifted the cello case's weight on his solders. He seemed to be waiting for something. The cop pulled out his walkie talkie with a shaky hoof.

"Officer Silver Shell to base..." he said quietly to the device.

"Yes, what is it?" a famine voice crackled on the device.

Officer Shell trembled slightly as he spoke into the Walkie Talkie," Stonewall Steve is on 64th street," He shifted a hoof to his gun," Send all available units now...he's up to something..."

The voice agreed and Silver looked over to the mares and the dragon. He looked desperate. The crowd was beginning to dissipate all along the street so much it was practically empty. The lone street light flickered a ominous yellow glow. A dozen ponies in baggy clothing with heavy necklaces came down the street and stopped a few yards from Steve. Some of them were Stallions, most of them were zebras and a few griffins.

Dew hid behind a dumpster and motioned Pea to follow. Oza tried his best to hide behind it as well. Pea's heart was racing as the three hid from the stranger. She felt a hot breath on her shoulder. She saw that it was Oza's. He had a blank stare on his face, as if trying to remember something. Dew raised her eyebrows as she whispered over to him;

"Oza, you need to be quieter...he'll hear us," Oza still stared into nothing," Oza!" Dew said softly as she bumped his side.

The dragon shivered and looked back at the mares," Deja vu...", he said.

Silver shifted his hooves nervously waiting for backup to arrive. The gang shouted and cursed at Steve. The Minotaur remained in silence. One of the stallions pulled out a shiny object in his hoof which he called his '38.

"Hey there," said the gun toting stallion," I'm talking to you big guy!"

Steve didn't move. He kept leaning against the building.

"You Borgota fellas can't be over in dis side of town. This is our territory!"

Another, a zebra, cocked his head to the side as he spoke up," Are we gonna 'hafta do sumptin about dis guy?"

Still nothing.

Silver silently moved back as the gang all pulled out their guns. Steve finally stopped leaning. He placed his cello case where he planted himself. He took off his hat and slicked his hair back before putting it back on. He raised his chin up as he folded his arms. Behind the dumpster Pea half-caught a glare from his small yellow eyes. The street was silent for almost a minuet save for the stray newspaper or buzz of the street lamps.

"Alright," said the minotaur, breaking the blood-chilling silence," Which one of you kids from the gutter is gonna shoot me first?"

A griffon stood to his shaky back legs. The gang stared at  wide eyed. Steve simply chuckled to himself. The griffon aimed his hand gun at the mobster with an uneasy arm. Silver by this point was nowhere to be seen, neither was the back up.

"Look kid," Steve sighed," You're not even old enough to out 'an buy booze...what are you doing out here?"

The griffon smirked as he cocked his gun,"I didn't chose da hood...the hood chose me!" His gun's blast echoed off the dirty brick walls and as soon as it started it was over.

A small patch of blood swelled on Steve's chest. He raised a beefy hand to the wound and shock his head as he laughed to himself. The gang on he other hand, were whooping and cheering the shooter.

"Kid," said Steve, the mobster seemed to be in no pain,"...you know how much time it takes to get a blood stain out of a nice suit like this?"

The gang seeing that Steve could in fact bleed now only taunted him at their safe distance. Dew pointed out that Steve was opening the cello case, the gang didn't. The massive mobster stood to his full height and swung the point of the cello's contents in the gang's direction.  It was a long gun with a disk in the middle. Steve pulled the trigger.

The street was filled with sound again.  This time it was louder, each shot sounded like a thunderous chop of an ax on flesh. Dew covered her ears as she shut her eyes from the spectacle. Pea saw a cold, heartless glare in Steve's eyes as his face was lit up by his gun's muzzle flash.

Pea and her friends sat dumbfounded behind the dumpster. Steve put the deadly tool back in it case and pulled out a comb. The gun's shots still echoed slightly and amongst the shredded thugs, the griffon sat clenching his arm. As the street grew quiet once again, Steve's heavy hoof-steps could be heard. The griffon tried his best to get up, to get away from the angry bull. He was about to spread his wings and fly away, but he wasn't so lucky.

"Kid... just where do you think you're going?," said the mobster. His voice seemed to freeze the very air it touched. He sighed with half delight as he grabbed his victim by the neck. The griffon made a few strangled, gurgling  squawks. Steve loosened his grip slightly so the feathery thug could breath...slightly. The Street was quiet again, save the griffon's struggles.

"I'm looking for someone," said Steve," have you seen Sponge anywhere in this part of town?"

"Don't you read the news?" the griffon choked," Sponge is dead! The cops have been looking since yesterday!"

Steve narrowed his eyes. The griffon suddenly realized that the mobster didn't want to hear that. He sighed,"Sorry to trouble you then kid..." the mobster said.

Dew and Pea almost jumped when they heard the sudden snap. Steve's apology was the last thing that griffon ever heard. They heard some sort of shuffling and saw that Steve was stuffing the dead gangsters into bags. He lined them all up on the side of the road and took out a clipboard from his cello case. He was mumbling to himself as he scrawled something on the board's paper. He put it back in his cello case and pulled out a cigar.

He lit it as he walked off. Oza, Pea and Dew sat in shocked silence.  The three travelers sat in the quiet night, blinking and trying to recover. Almost a quarter hour later some officers came by with some sort of wagon. Silver Shell was among them. He piled the body bags onto the cart and a tall, dull orange Pegasus in a rather clean uniform walked up beside him.

"Silver," The Pegasus said, "I know what the Borgota has done to your family, but calling out an entire S.W.A.T team for Stonewall?"

Silver seemed ashamed as he hoisted the last bag on the cart. He cleared his throat as he turned his head to the tall winged horse," Sorry Chief...I-I know that, they keep the streets clean...but-" The police chief stomped at him.

"But nothing!" The chief cooled down as he continued," Steel was a damn good cop, but he knew as well as the rest of us that he went to far!"

"Did Amber know?!" Silver's eyes blocked back tears," Did she Chief?" At this the Pegasus, as well the rest of the officers hung their heads in remorse as the went back to their regular duties. The Chief spread his wings and soared into the city's skyline.

Dew and Pea were still behind the dumpster, Oza passed out before the police arrived. Dew looked panicked as she huddled next to Oza and Pea. Gravel wasn't sure how to take what was going on...what the minotaur did was cruel and heartless, yet the Chief of Police was permitting ,or even praising his actions? Just what kind of town was this?