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TC's back with #6!

Book him Dano! Uh…I mean Ciarain!

My Names Flatfoot and I am a Zone Cop.
I carry a badge, and fly a Stock Hawker. My partner Ciarain and I are staking out a two-bit ‘modder’ and rookie killer named TC. We got word that TC was selling ‘Snakeable’ mods to rookies with an accomplice. While it wasn’t against the zone law to sell the mods, he was taking the life savings of those same Rook’s and living it up. We needed to bring him in for questioning so we could get the two of them. So we walked up to his apartment complex and knocked on his door but no one was home. "He must be out modding or rookie killing, we’ll have to wait for him." I said.

"Three hours and still no TC." Ciarain said, "We might as well head off for a quick lunch. But as luck would have it, just as we sat down to a cold burger and warm Coke, we spotted TC coming up the stairs to his Penthouse apartment. It was the top floor on a 5-story building.

"Yeah, that’s him." Whispered Ciarain, "Look he’s all dressed in black and wearing Italian Rookie Kilting shoes." Without delay, Ciarain and I grabbed him quickly wrestling him to the ground. Ciarain was getting ready to cuff him when TC said…

"Hey, knock off the ruff stuff Flatty, you and your "Bozo" don't got nothin’ on me, I'm clean, I tell ya. Now what’s this all about?"
"Oh yeah?" I retorted. "Search him Ciarain." As he did, he found nine wallets, twenty-one credit cards, a .45 automatic, three clips, and a key chain rabbit’s foot with a key attached to what looked like a ‘Rookie Kilter’ machine!

"Okay TC, we know all about it, better come clean," I said as I was holding the key up to the light as to show the little inscription "To TC with love" on one side and a picture of a snake on the other.
"Hmmm, don’t look like you’ll be needing that rabbit’s foot where you’re headed." I said with a half grin on my face.

"I tell ya copper, I'm clean." Then TC pulled loose and did the back step that looked like Michael Jackson doing the moonwalk.
"We know you're holding out on us TC, and we aim to get the truth." I exclaimed.

"You don’t got nothin’ on me Copper." retorted TC again!
"Oh Yeah? How about this? Kilting rookies in a No-Kilting Zone without a license, using Mods, and associating with less than desirable characters! Not to mention taking all those poor Rook’s hard earned money selling them that …that….trash you call airplanes." I replied in a firm voice depicting the gentle nature of the Zone Police! "AND I bet if we look hard, we can find some more too!"
"Hey, ask PG_Capt_Vlad," said TC in a slightly sarcastic voice. "He’ll vouch for me! I haven't been within 10 miles of the Zone this month Copper. You just ask Vlad, he’s honest and tells the truth! I didn't do it! I only sell quality merchandise!"

TC wasn’t budging, so we decided to try and bluff him into confessing.
"YEP and we got witnesses and screen shots too TC." I said with the confidence of a 30-year veteran Zone Cop. Then I pulled the file folder out of my trench coat and slapped it up on the banister. I sure glad TC can’t look inside; it was Ciarain and my donut vouchers for last week. "I need to get these to the station Ciarain". I said.
"What witnesses and screen shots?" asked TC, running his finger around the collar of his black Rookie Kilting suit so he could swallow a large lump in his throat. His voice was a little shaky now, so it was working.

"PG_Capt_Vlad is our witness." I said calmly all the while watching TC squirming around and nervously looking from one side to the other.
"PG Capt Vlad!" exclaimed TC, "That guy is a liar! You can't trust him, he’ll say anything he can to make a buck."
We had him on the run now; all we needed is a little more persuasion.

"Make it easy on yourself TC, come clean or I will have Ciarain here do some ‘interrogating’ and he’s not as nice as I am." I said as I shifted my eyes and looked in Ciarain’s direction.
Ciarain thumped his fist into his other palm a few times and we both watched, then TC turned green as the "vapor" coming off his socks.

"I'm not talkin without my lawyer." TC snapped!
"Who's your lawyer?" I asked. I knew we had him now; it was just a matter of time.
"Icky Inline!" said TC
"You're outta luck TC, we caught Icky last week. Seems he was selling Snake’s mods to rooks too. As a matter of fact, he said you and Vlad are in on it." I said with a laugh. It was working now, and we almost had him.
"Drat." Said TC under his breath. It wasn’t loud, but Ciarain and I both heard him.
"We know you are holding out TC. You’ve got some of Snakes Mods in here somewhere, and we know you’ve been selling them to rooks, now 'fess up TC!" I said. I could see beads of sweat rolling down TC’s face now as Ciarain slowly moved to get behind TC.
"Hey yo! Cool it copper, I…I…I haven't done Snakies for 6 months, I'm off them, I swear. And I never sold them to Rooks neither. I haven’t been to CFS1 for so long I can’t remember the last time! And…I don’t know anyone by the name of Vlad either!" TC said trying to confuse us. He was looking at how far the ground is from where he’s standing.

"Well what about CFS2? Have you been there in the last six weeks?" I drilled.
"Heck no Flatty, that’s the high-class joint, and they don't care for the likes of a expert class shooter like me." TC responded.
"Where were you on the evening of December 19th 2000? And no lies either, we have proof remember." I warned.

"I was modding I tell ya! Yep, I was modding in my Kilter Builter Maker Factory. I don’t know anything about selling any rooks any of Snake’s planes." and TC took off his little Italian Kilting Genuine imitation leather cap and scrunched it around with his shaking hands until it was a little roll of leather twisted and knarled like the character lines on TC’s face.

"Lies TC, all lies. We got you dead to rights. Better help him remember Ciarain, he’s getting amnesia again. This is the last time I’m asking, now you better tell us TC or I’m turning my back on you, and you must be crazy to think I would help you after this!" I insisted, and hoping he would "spill" his guts.
"Yeah, I’m Crazy. I'm Crazy about kilting Rookies! Plumb crazy!" TC said with a look in eye that said he REALLY was crazy! That's when he did it!

Over the railing he went screaming like his he was being chased by a Rook wanting his money back, and into the pool he went with a splash getting his Italian Rookie Kilting shoes soaked.
Ciarain and I ran down the stairs hoping to catch the Modder salesmen before he got away. But as we got to the last stairwell, we had seen him disappear around the corner of the far atrium. We ran as fast as we could, we knew where he was going. He was headed to the hanger, and we had to catch him before he reached the planes.

We followed the wet footprints straight to the hanger and low and behold, their sat TC sopping wet in the seat of his Rookie Kilter Mod. His head was hanging low and he slowly tilted his head up to look at the both of us who by now were out of breath and said, "You got my keys Flatty!"

Ciarain grabbed TC by his wet suit, and started pulling him out of the cockpit when TC started talking…
"No, wait, you can't do this to me! I am an American citizen, my ex-wife's loser, my cat's meow, my telephone's ring, WHY, I’m every Rookie's worst nightmare!

I am 47 years old, my life is halfway over, probably a lot more over if I don't get them loan sharks paid off. Have mercy Copper, Rookie Kiltin's a disease. It's made me crazy! Take mercy on this poor old Kilter, won't ya Copper?" Can’t you tell by the plane I was in? I mean look at it! Why Vlad and me would be really unhappy if you found all those fake contracts in his Snakey plane over there…and ….uh….never mind."

TC shut up like someone had stuck a ball in his mouth. Ciarain walked over to the plane and found all the contracts that TC and Vlad had stashed. As he looked around, he noticed the seat was out of place too.

"Well now, what do we have here TC? Seems as if you’ve been holding out on us. Hmmm, let open this suit case and have a peek shall we?" said Ciarain.

"NO NO…don’t..DOH!" was all TC could say before the suitcase was open. There it was, the mother load. "I knew it! Look here, pictures, money and all! Well now TC, all we need now is the whereabouts of Vlad." I said.
"Well, I'll go quietly then. But you'll never convict me Copper, those screen shots, money and contracts are forgeries! Just ask Vlad, he doesn’t lie!" TC insisted.
" I intent too TC, now get movin !" I barked.
"Okay okay but knock off the ruff stuff. And just one more thing, could I have my lucky rabbit’s foot back?" ask TC.
Geez, Book him Dano, uh…I mean Ciarain.

-- PGTigercat