Chapters Chase opened the glass double doors of the Manehattan Police Station. For twenty years, he's dedicated his whole life to nothing but 'to serve and protect' the civilian population. When he first joined the force, he swore to make the city safe for everypony. But after a few years, he realized just how young, stupid and naive he was back then. Crime was never going to stop. So long as it was the easiest way to get rich quick, ponies everywhere are always going to turn to it. So he decided to modify his goal to be a bit more realistic: to just do whatever he can to help.
He cantered through the maze of hallways and rooms to his own private office. The door had his name printed on it but after years of pony abuse, some of it was peeling off. The interior was much worse for wear but Chase learned not to complain. Sure it was small, cramped and dusty but it was better than sharing the whole room with ten other loud and sweaty police officers. The police department always had problems with funding. The mayor loved to pretend that the city is all under total control but everypony really knows how bad it is.
Chase hung his dirty brown coat and fedora on the old coat rack beside the door. He slumped down on his office chair and leaned back. He wasn't feeling like working today. He could tell it would be one of those boring days. The ones where nothing would happen and all he had to do the whole day was boring mountains of paperwork. He absolutely loathed working behind a desk which was one of the reasons why he declined many a promotion.
I think a little drink is vital to start the day.
Chase opened one of the drawers of his wooden desk and took out a small bottle of whiskey along with a stained shot glass. He poured some into the glass and toasting to nopony in particular, he drank the whole cup. Suddenly, there was a sharp rap on the door. Panicking, Chase closed the bottle of whiskey and threw it and the shot glass into the bottom drawer.
"Uh... door's open!" shouted Chase as he kicked the drawer shut. He wiped his mouth and wiped his hooves on his white undershirt as the door opened a crack.
A familiar face poked his head in.
"Chief! What can I do for you?!" exclaimed Chase. "Come on in. Sorry about the uh... state of this room."
The Police Chief smiled, clearly glad to see an old friend. He stepped into the room, gently closing the door behind him.
"Hey, how's my star detective?" teased the Chief. Chase rose from his chair and went around his desk to shake the Chief's hoof. They both laughed as they slapped each other on the back. The Chief had greying hair and a neat beard with a stout body. The effects of spending months behind a desk. Chase and the Chief went way back. They were good friends and respected each other.
"Doin' absolutely fine, Chief. So uh... what are you here for? Have a special case for me or something?"
"Not exactly, Chase. I need you to meet me in my office around five o'clock later in the evening."
"Uh... can I ask what for?"
"You'll find out soon enough. Anyways, I gotta rush. There's a press release I gotta get to. Catch you later."
"Hey, you still owe me that beer!"
"Hah, how about the weekend? Me and some of the old 'veterans' are meeting up for a good ol' round of drinking at the Plumed Peacock around seven at night. Be there?"
"A chance to hang out with the 'legends'? You bet your boots I'll be there!"
"Alright, see you later!"
The door of the office closed and the room fell silent once more. Chase sat back down on his rickety office chair.
Meet him in his office? For what? What's so important he couldn't tell me right then and there?
For the rest of the evening, Chase couldn't take his mind off the Chief's strange request. As he finished filling paperwork after paperwork, his mind went wild with guesses.
Am I getting fired? Why? Was it my drinking habit? Nah, the Chief wouldn't fire me for a petty matter like that. He knows that I drink a little on the job and he lets it slide cos' we go way back. Is it a special case he wants me to work on? Then why can't he just give me the case files right then and there? Could I be getting 'forcibly retired'? Maybe I'm too old for this job to be of any use to anyone anymore. Could I finally be getting replaced by another cop? One that's more tech-savvy and 'modernized'?
As the clock slowly made it's way to the 5 o'clock mark, Chase was absolutely nerve wracked. He didn't like being kept in the dark. As the clock ticked to five, Chase grabbed his coat and hat and trotted to the Chief's office. He stood outside the Chief's door. He took a few deep breaths.
This might be it. The end of the line. I knew this day would come but I didn't think it'd be this soon.
He put his hoof on the doorknob, inhaled deeply, and turned it.
"Chief? I'm here and..."
Chase stopped dead in his tracks. There was somepony else sitting on one of the chairs in front of the Chief's desk. A pegasus. He looked young and fresh.
Must be a new guy. His uniform is way too clean.
"Chase, glad you could make it!" exclaimed the Chief as he stood up from his seat behind his desk. Chase and the Chief both shook hooves before turning their attention to the newcomer. The rookie cop had stood up and offered his hoof to Chase but Chase ignored him.
"Who is this, exactly?" questioned Chase. The rookie put his hoof down, clearly feeling awkward at having been declined a hoofshake.
"This, my friend, is Sharp Edge. He's fresh out of the Academy and has a bright future ahead of him. He's got a helluva track record too. Almost scored full at his marksmanship test and no disciplinary actions taken against him. He's also proven himself as a capable team member and trustworthy policecolt. He even broke your record in the shooting course, Chase."
"Oh, I'm not that great really," said the rookie, blushing a little.
"Yeah well, good for you. Anyway Chief, what has this got to do with me?"
"Well, this promising recruit needs an able and capable role model. Someone to take him under his or her wing."
Is he saying what I think he's saying?
"Chief... are you saying that he's gonna be MY partner?"
"Well, to put it bluntly. Yes."
"Ugh... Chief. We talked about this. You know I don't do partners. Uh... no offense filly."
"None taken. If you don't want me as your partner, I think that's absolutely fine!" assured the rookie.
"Uh, rookie, can you excuse us for a moment?" said the Chief. The rookie left the room with a puzzled look. As the door closed behind him, the Chief wasted no time explaining.
"Look Chase, I think he'll be good for you. He's young and bright. He'll be able to help you."
"Help me? I'm perfectly fine with my current situation Chief! I don't think I need any 'help'."
"Chase... listen. You're different. I don't know what happened. I remember when you were at the top of your game. I remembered when you were in the headlines every single day! 'Chase Powers Takes Down Criminal Kingpin!'. 'Detective Powers Determined To Save The City!'. 'Chase Chases Away Crime!'. Now look at you. You're a wreck. You need someone to set you straight. Do this... for me. For old times' sakes."
"I can't believe this..." said Chase as he paced back and forth. "You know what. Fine. But if he screws up on my watch, he's off. Then you can find some other pony for him to be partner with."
"Thank you, Chase. I promise you he'll be a good partner. Start out small with some small-time cases and work your way up from there," smiled the Chief.
Yeah yeah, whatever.
Chase walked out of the Chief's office. He scanned the hall for the rookie.
There he is. Flirting with the Chief's secretary no less.
Chase approached him.
"So, I was thinking, Friday night... maybe we could catch dinner or something... Ow ow ow!" yelped the rookie as Chase dragged him away by the ear.
"What was that for?" asked Sharp, freeing himself from Chase's grasp.
"Listen Casanova, contrary to popular belief, we are NOT partners. Let's make that clear. You and I are not, and never will be, partners. You are my 'backup'. Which means you stay far away from me unless I call you. Which will be never. Understand?"
"Okay okay, sheesh."
"Good, and since I am superior in rank, you have to follow my orders. Now, I want you to clean up my office. I don't want to see a single speck of dust when I come back in the morning. I'm gonna go home. See you later filly." snickered Chase as he left Sharp standing there in the hallway.
With any luck, he'll be begging the Chief for a transfer.
Chase trotted through the station again to his office. The station bustled with the usual activity. It was another day and Chase had almost forgotten about his new 'partner'. As he approached his office, he noticed something slightly different about the door.
Hey, my name looks newly printed on. That's... weird.
He turned the doorknob and stepped inside to a most surprising scene.
What the... my office... it's... clean.
In the corner of the room, dusting a filing cabinet with a feather duster was Sharp Edge.
"What did you..." asked Chase, still dumbfounded by the unexpected change.
"Oh hey 'partner', I didn't hear you come in! I'm just doing what you asked me to," said Sharp Edge, turning round to face the flabbergasted detective. "Care for some coffee?"
A steaming cup of fresh black coffee was delicately laid out on Chase's desk. His nose twitched at the strong aroma of freshly brewed coffee.
"All your paperwork is filed neatly and I took the liberty of cleaning out all the old useless junk you had in the drawers. When I first came in here, I thought I stepped into some ancient museum or something. You really need to get on with the times old colt. The junk you had in here seemed like it came out of an antique shop!"
Okay, this colt's up to something
"Okay," asked Chase, giving Sharp a knowing look. "What do you want?"
"Oh nothing! I think we just got off on the wrong hoof is all. I thought maybe we could start over!"
"When I said 'clean my office', I didn't actually mean it for real, you know."
"Oh, it was no trouble at all. Anyways, if you need me, my desk is right outside the door. Oh, and I got you plant." pointed out Sharp.
"Right..."
"Oh, and I think that maybe we could grab lunch together or something," suggest Sharp, standing outside the office door. "You know, get to know each other a little bit more. I mean, we are 'partners' after all..."
Chase slammed the door shut before he could finish.
"Or maybe not! That's fine too!" shouted out Sharp from outside.
That colt is gonna be a real headache.
Chase hung his coat and hat like usual before carefully laying back on his office chair. The chair felt even more comfortable than usual.
Huh, brand new chair. That colt can't possibly get the funds to refurbish my whole office. The Chief must be in on this too.
Chase stared at the cup of coffee. It's been months since he last drank coffee. He never quite acquired the taste for it. Picking up the cup, he threw its contents into the potted plant that sat right behind him on a small table.
Nothing beats good ol' whis...
Chase was horrified when he opened the drawer. It was empty. His private reserve was gone. Stolen.
Oh, that colt's gonna get it now.
Before Chase could storm out of his office, the phone on his desk rang. Chase picked the phone up almost immediately. It was usually a sign that something was happening that required his particular set of skills.
"Uh... office of Detective Chase Powers. How can I help ya?"
"Heya Chase, this is officer Tarmac. We have a uh... hostage situation down here on the jewelry store between 6th and Westwood. The colt holding up the store says he'll speak only to you."
Dang jewelry store was always getting robbed. It was almost a daily occurrence. Guess it was the owner's fault for setting up shop in such a slummy part of Manehattan.
"Alright, I'll be right there. Just tell him I'm coming."
Chase hung up the phone. Finally, after a day of backbreaking paperwork, he was finally gonna do some real police work. Chase opened the door to his office a crack and peeked out, scanning the room outside.
That dang colt's not out there. Must be taking a nap under his desk or something.
Chase stepped out and quietly closed the door behind him before nonchalantly walking towards the parking lot. Not ten steps out his office, a touch on his shoulder made him nearly jump out of his skin.
"Hey Chase! Where ya going?" asked Sharp.
Um... quick Chase, make an excuse!
"I was... uh... just going out... to get some uh... to get some... groceries! Yeah, that's it! Groceries," stuttered Chase, slowly backing away from the young colt.
"Groceries? But you're on duty silly. Why'd you need groceries for?"
That was the most stupid excuse ever Chase.
"I was uh... well you see... I'm terribly hungry and I thought I'd pop on down to the grocery store and grab myself a snack!"
"Well, can I come?"
"Uh no... that's alright. I'm sure your terribly busy doing... stuff."
"Oh, I can make do. Come on, I'll drive!"
Oh dear Chase, what have you gotten yourself into.
As they both exited the building, they got into one of the police cruisers. Clearly it was a newer model because Chase had never seen it before.
"Woah, this your's?"
"Oh yeah, this baby's mine. It's a prototype and I was selected as the sole tester. It's fast, dangerous and it has a sweet stereo built in," explained Sharp as he flicked the stereo switch on, blaring out loud hip hop music.
"Sweet Celestia, turn that off!"
"What? Can't hear you!" shouted Sharp as he revved the engine and drove out the parking lot in an instant. As Sharp nodded his head, appreciating the loud music while simultaneously avoiding high speed traffic, Chase could hardly believe that he was still alive. Suddenly, the car screeched to a halt in the middle of the road.
"Woah!" pointed Sharp. "Looks like a jewelry store robbery's going on over there!"
The car spun around in place and sped off in the direction of the store before coming to a halt alongside a group of police cars.
"I hope your stomach can wait Chase, we got some police work to get done!"
Oh brother...
They both got out of the car as an officer approached them.
"Chase! Glad you could make... who's this guy?" asked officer Tarmac.
"Well, fine day to you officer. My name is Sharp Edge. I'm Chase's 'partner'."
"Sharp, we went through this already, you're not my partner. Zip. End of story. You're here just to observe."
"Uh yeah, if you don't mind Chase, we have a hostage situation here and I'd really like to get back to lunch," interrupted the officer.
"Don't sweat it Chase, I got this all worked out. I passed my negotiating test."
"Oh no, don't you..."
Before Chase could stop the overeager rookie cop, Sharp had already grabbed a voice amplifier from one of the police cars.
"Hell... Hello? Is this thing on?" blared out Sharp's voice. "Okay uh... hi there mister criminal sir! How are you? I hope you're doing fine. My name is Sharp Edge. What's your name?"
"Screw you!" shouted a voice from inside the store.
"Well... that's a very nice name. Now listen Screw, what you're doing is wrong and I want you to let the hostage go and let us come in and arrest you."
Chase could hear the other officers on the scene shake their heads in embarrassment.
"Sharp, give me that!" interrupted Chase as he grabbed the voice amplifier from Sharp's hooves. "This is Detective Chase Powers, you wanted to speak to me?"
There was a short silence before the door to the jewelry store opened and out stepped a dirty unshaven earth pony with a gun held to a frightened and distraught mare.
"Detective Chase... remember me?" asked the hostage taker.
Well well well, if it isn't the old colt himself.
"Don Copacello! Haven't seen you in a long time! What are you doing holdin' up jewelry stores? I thought you were better than this!"
"Chase, I need to have a private word with you. You're the only person I trust in this whole town anymore." admitted the colt, releasing the mare and putting the gun on the floor.
Huh, what's going on here?
Don Copacello walked towards the detective, hooves outstretched. As Chase put the hoofcuffs on the criminal mastermind, the Don smirked.
Must be the last thing he thought he'd ever do. Something weird is going on here.
The dim lights of the interrogation room was turned on and the Don was sat down. He didn't look too worried or anything and judging by his clothing and smell, the Don had been living rough for the past couple of days. Chase sat down opposite the Don while Sharp chose to pace around the room, keeping a careful eye on the Don.
The Don was a pegasus and as per police protocol, his wings were tied to prevent escape. He had a balding brown mane and was dressed sloppily in what looked like the remnants of a tuxedo.
"Okay Don Copa- whatever. Start talking!" demanded Sharp, banging his hooves on the table.
"Haha!" laughed the Don. "Where'd ya get this guy Chase? This colt's been watchin' too many crime dramas on TV."
"You don't talk like that to an officer of the law, criminal scum!" spat Sharp.
"Oh boy, this keeps gettin' better and better don't it!" chuckled Copacello.
"Sharp, zip your mouth," whispered Chase, getting a huge headache.
"You're lucky Chase here is more forgiving than I am cos' if he wasn't here, they'd be scraping your brains off of the floor!"
"Whoa Chase, he's good," snickered Don, still not convinced. "Anyways Chase, let's get down to business."
"I'm listening."
"Can you guess why a rich and successful leader of one of the most powerful families in Manehattan is robbing a jewelry store all by himself?"
"I dunno, you tell me," Chase folded his arms.
"Because everything I own... is gone. The cars, the mansions, the businesses, the money, the territory, my colts... poof," explained the Don, making an exploding motion with his hooves.
"Just like that? All in an instant?"
"Just like that."
"Well too bad Copacello, kingdoms rise and fall. I guess your time had come."
"Maybe. But there's something off about the pony who kicked me off my throne."
"Yeah? And what's that?"
"He was a unicorn. Came out of nowhere one day and asked to join the family. Within a month, almost all my colts was on his side. Then in the night, he struck. He and his colts assaulted my mansion and what few trusted bodyguards I still had didn't stand a chance. He beat me up and threw me down the mansion steps. Said I wasn't even worth killing. That I was weak and that my criminal empire belonged to him now."
"What's so weird about that? That happens all the time. You should've been more careful."
"I just found out a few days ago Chase. This unicorn's been goin' all around Manehattan takin' over gangs! He's becomin' too powerful. Even the Commission's under his control."
Well, that can't be good. The only thing keeping Manehattan from spiraling into chaos was that the gangs often fought amongst each other. Kept each other weak and in check. If all the gangs are united, that could mean trouble. Big trouble.
"What's his name? If I'm ever gonna stop this guy, I'm gonna need a lead here Copacello."
"Nopony knows, Chase. He just goes by the name of Shadow."
"Why come to me though? Why not just tell the Chief?"
"Cos' if there's ever somepony I can trust, it would be the colts I fought. We understand each other."
"Alright Copacello, I'll look into this. But I ain't making promises."
"Nopony's supposed to get that much power Chase. Even I understand that. This 'Shadow' needs to be stopped or this whole city will be razed to the ground."
Chase motioned to Sharp, who had been silently listening to the conversation from the corner of the room. He nodded and led the Don out of the room. Chase sat silently on the chair, thinking hard about the conversation that had just transpired.
After a few minutes, Chase exited the room to meet with Sharp.
"What was that?" asked Chase.
"What was what?"
"That!"
"I don't..."
"The interrogation! Don Copacello was right, you've been watching far too many crime shows. Either that or the Academy changed the interrogation techniques sometime ago. Just please... don't act angry... it just... doesn't work for you."
"Okay, I'll be the good cop and you'll be the bad cop."
"Uh... no. How about you be the silent cop that doesn't say anything and I'll be the cop that talks to the suspect. Okay?"
"But come on! All you've ever done is do everything yourself! You gotta let me help! You gotta let me do something!"
"No!" shouted Chase, maybe a little too loudly. "You mess everything up! Back at the jewelry store: if I wasn't there, the hostage would've probably been dead. It was pure luck that it was Don Copacello who 'wanted' to get captured. What if it was a random robber desperate for a way out!? This is why I don't do partners! They're never good for anything!"
It was as if the whole station suddenly went quiet. Sharp stared down at the floor and shifted his hooves a little. It looked as if he was gonna bolt any second. Chase looked around him. The whole department had stopped what they were doing and were listening intently on the conversation. Chase felt a little embarrassed at the whole fiasco. The rookie started to back away from Chase before turning round and galloping off.
The whole department was still staring slack-jawed.
"This ain't a free show! Get back to work!" barked out Chase, clearly annoyed.
Chase had had enough. He just wanted to get home.
