At War's End 18: Scrutiny (Part 2)

"I have no such... attachments to anyone in this team," interrupted Commander Pharisee. "Your judgment is hindered, Rex, leaving you blind to the truth."

"He's right," agreed Detective Bogart. "It's a necessary precaution when it comes to these investigations to be willing to distrust anyone, even those that you think you can trust with your life."

Rex grimaced as he remembered what he saw in the portal operations room. Although Pharisee and Bogart demanded to know what he told Amanda, he barely even knew them, and could not bring himself to admit the truth yet. "I am sure that you are right," muttered Rex, "and that no one is above suspicion when we are hunting for a mole. But remember... I am the only living witness to this mole, and I am certain that he-"

"You admitted that you could have been mistaken about 'his' gender," corrected Bogart.

Rex swallowed. "Well, I do have an idea... an untested hypothesis that probably holds no water and thus I shall withhold said hypothesis until I have more substantial proof-"

"Even if it continues to put your girlfriend at risk of arrest?" Pharisee raised an eyebrow.

"It's not like that!" snapped Rex. "I saw Agent Spy's head explode because someone made the mistake of thinking that he was the mole! I'm not going to put any innocent lives at risk by reenacting the Salem Witch Trials with some McCarthyism thrown in! I... I have an idea, but the only way we can get it to work is if he makes an Accidental Public Confession."

"We've already had one of those," frowned Pharisee. "From what Detective Bogart has told me, your girlfriend admitted to owning the very knife used to kill Sniper."

"But Amanda could not have killed Sniper!" insisted Rex.

"How do you know?" inquired Bogart. "Does she have an alibi?"

"Indeed," nodded Rex. "At the approximate time of Sniper's murder, Amanda was looking for Gun."

 Bogart and Pharisee traded glances with confused expressions, so Rex rolled his eyes. "Some Dino Attack agent who had no imagination when he came up with his codename."

"Were you with her as she was looking for... Gun?" queried Bogart.

"No," Rex shook his head.

"She was alone?" Bogart raised an eyebrow. When Rex did not reply, he continued: "Then how do you know that was what she was really doing? Look, Rex, this alibi isn't as vacuum-proof as you would like it to be, and there is mounting substantial evidence pointing to Amanda as the murderer. We may have to take her in until such a time that her innocence can be proven, not approximated."

"Over my dead body," Rex gritted his teeth.

Pharisee cocked his gun. "I can do that."

As Rex shot Pharisee a dark glare, Bogart cleared his throat. "You know, Rex, all you have to do to clear Amanda's name is just stick with her at all times to prove that she has an actual alibi. That being said, why is she in the backroom by herself?"

Rex gestured towards the wheelchair sitting next to the couch. "She's faster and quieter alone than she is with me. We're looking for agents Pyro and Demoman, hoping to protect them from the mole, assuming that the mole's pattern is killing off the entire Second Headquarters Squad. She went into the backroom to look for Pyro or Demoman, since Elite Agent Adventure told us that he last saw them in here. We both agreed that, if she were to encounter the mole as he tried to attack either of them, she could save them if she weren't hindered by me."

"I see," Pharisee nodded. "Detective Bogart, come with me." With that, they turned away from Rex and strode over towards the door to the backroom.

Rex paled. "What are you doing?" He struggled to look over his shoulder at the two men as they opened the door. He couldn't believe his eyes; they were taking advantage of the fact that he was crippled so that he could not stop them as they arrested Amanda. "Get back here! As an elite agent, that's an order!"

"I'm Head of Internal Affairs," shrugged Pharisee, "and Bogart here isn't even working for the team. You have no authority over us, and your orders mean nothing."

"MegaBloks!" shouted Rex, seething with fury. His heart pounded madly in his chest, but Rex ignored the drumming as Heroic Safe Mode took over. He reached for his wheelchair, but fell off the couch and onto the floor. Not even bothering with the wheelchair anymore, he crawled with his arms over to the backroom like some sort of vicious wild animal.

Pharisee had already opened the door by the time Rex reached them. He rammed his elbow into Bogart's knee and grabbed the pants leg of Pharisee. As Pharisee tried to kick Rex off, Bogart lost his balance and fell into the head of internal affairs, causing the three of them to pile atop one another in one chaotic jumble.

Rex, at the bottom of the pile, gritted his teeth and tried without success to shake Bogart and Pharisee off of his body. "This ends now!" he declared, although his voice sounded like a wheeze due to the weight on his back. "I've put up with enough Mutant T-Rex dung throughout this entire apocalypse, and the last thing I need is more pointless fighting inside Dino Attack Headquarters!"

There stood Amanda. Her back was turned towards the brawl, and her eyes were focused upon the dartboard hanging on the wall in front of her. As Bogart and Pharisee stood, one of them addressed her by name, and she responded, but did not look away from the dartboard. "I'm sorry to report that neither Pyro nor Demoman are here," she murmured. "I apologize, Rex, for not returning sooner... but I needed some alone time to think."

"Think about what?" inquired Bogart.

"About how Angel Eyes and Maria found my knife in Sniper's back. And about the accusations Trigger has made against me. And about all the rumors that I have heard. And... oh, Bogart, please put out that cigarette. Smoking is not allowed in Dino Attack Headquarters."

Rex then saw that Amanda's knife was planted in the center of the dartboard: a perfect bull's eye. As he crawled slowly towards her, Rex could see thin streaks of water on her cheeks, which indicated that she had been crying. She was far better about showing it in public than Kate Bishop or Pterisa, but Rex knew that Amanda was every bit as troubled as they were, and the sight of her in pain caused Rex's heart to ache.

Pharisee stepped towards her. "Ms. Remous, you are under-"

As though on cue, an Egyptian standard agent rushed up into the room and looked down upon Rex. “Elite Agent Rex!” he gasped. “You have to come quickly! Pyro and Demoman have gone absolutely mad!”

Amanda turned around, and Rex's eyebrows raised. “Lead the way, agent…” Rex began, trailing off when he realized that he had never met this particular agent.

“Anubis,” the agent quickly introduced himself.

Amanda grabbed her knife off the dartboard and sheathed it. Then, she carried Rex back into the rec room, put him down in his wheelchair, and began to follow Anubis. Although they didn't say anything, Rex could tell that Bogart and Pharisee were following them.

Then, Anubis led Rex and Amanda to a room which appeared to be on fire. They were hit by a wave of heat, and once Rex adjusted to the new atmosphere, he could see through the flames and, in the far corner of the room, recognized Pyro. Pyro, appearing unaffected by the fire in his flame-retardant suit, brandished his flamethrower and kept shouting something made incomprehensible by his balaclava and helmet.

“Pyro!” shouted Rex over the roar of flames. “What is the meaning of this?”

Pyro pointed his flamethrower menacingly at Rex and again shouted the incomprehensible message: “Spmm chmmmk!”

“Someone needs to keep an eye on Pyro and make sure he doesn’t do too much damage,” muttered Rex, “to the base or to himself. Where is Demoman?”

Anubis led Rex and Amanda to another room. Rex’s eyes widened in shock, for the room was filled with explosives. In the far corner sat Demoman, one hand gripping a detonator, the other holding an empty bottle.Demoman sneered upon seeing the agents enter the room and laughed. “If any ah yehs thinks yehr… comin’ an comin’ to… ach, yeh remember? I don’t! I do not, would not, could not… ah train up yehr grass…”

Rex held his hands up, attempting to convey that he intended no threat. “Demoman,” he spoke quietly and slowly, “please put the detonator down and-”

“Ah, Ronald, yehr ah great pal, like ah bo’le ah rum…” Demoman attempted to drink from his empty bottle. “An if any ah yehs so much as muscles ah twitch wards meh, one lil push… an KABLOOEY!” He waved the detonator over his head, laughing and hiccupping as he did so. “Ain’t no way yehr ge’in meh like yeh got Ronald… they gonna glue yeh back togethah… in MEGABLOKLAND!”

“Ronald?” repeated Rex.

“Ronald E. Army,” whispered Amanda. “He was good friends with Demoman… I guess Demoman did not take his death well.”

“This is not good at all,” frowned Rex. “Pyro and Demoman might be trying to defend themselves from Spe… from the killer, but in doing so they are endangering themselves and others. We need to find a way to stop them.”

“Rex! Amanda!” called a familiar voice. Rex, Amanda, Anubis, Pharisee, and Bogart turned to see Ata approach them. “Specs wishes to see you two in private, in his office,” he reported, “as soon as possible.”

-------

Amanda and Rex were rather shocked as a man in his late 30's approached them armed with a shotgun. He cocked it rather menacingly as he aimed it towards the former.

"Hello Silencia," Montoya said. His hands were trembling slightly, but he was doing his best to hide it. He may have been a nice guy underneath, but he knew how to at least make himself look nasty when necessary. "You remember me?"

Silencia simply shook her head. Montoya reached for his pack of cigarettes and, taking one hand of his gun, slowly started to place one in his mouth. He used the free arm to light it before holding the pack in front of her. "Cigarette?" He asked calmly. Silencia simply shook her head.

Montoya cocked his shotgun once more. "I got a little message for you," he said. "From myself, Orange, Scorsese, Keaton, Deniro, Verbal, Sciess... and everyone else you killed; znap you?"

With that, Montoya's trembling finger started to pull on the trigger...

-------

After teaming up with Commander Vinyaya and Hotwire, Zach and Minerva started their running of the hallway quickly (as quickly as they could when one of their group was missing a leg). It wasn't long until they found a group of agents standing outside a room. The only ones Zach recognized were Rex and Claw. And one seemed on the verge of shooting Claw with a shotgun.

"Hey!" Zach yelled. "What in Blue Bricks are you doing?!" The man paused, glancing up at the approaching agents. This distracted gave Rex enough time to ram his wheelchair forcefully into the man's side, knocking him to the floor. Zach, Minerva, Vinyaya, and Hotwire quickly converged on him, surrounding him and pointing their weapons at him.

"What was that?" Hotwire snapped.

"She's Silencia Venomosa," the man muttered, clutching his side in pain. Beside Zach, Minerva flinched and glanced at Claw.

"So?" Zach snapped. "Unless we are on a policy of 'shoot suspects on sight', you have no right to blow out Claw's brain, even if she's Venomosa. Whatever happened to "innocent before proven guilty'?"

"What are you talking about? I know fully well she is guilty of what she did." the man said calmly, climbing to his feet slowly.

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Vinyaya said. "We're talking about the mole."

"What mole?" The man seemed clueless.

"I don't think he's a part of the team," Hotwire muttered. A large man burst past Hotwire and Vinyaya and gripped the attempted murderer arms tightly. A man who looked like an old detective picked up the murderer's shotgun calmly.

"Alright, so what's going on...whoa." Zach said as he turned around. He was looking inside a room filled to the brim with explosives. "What is..."

"Demoman," Rex said. "He's have...a bit of a breakdown. So is Pyro."

"Where's Pyro?" Minerva asked.

"Burning up another room with his flamethrower," Claw said quietly, still staring at the man that had attempted to kill her.

Vinyaya facepalmed irritably. "Great," she muttered as she peeked into the explosive-filled room and saw Demoman sitting in a corner.

"Excuse me," a man appearing to be a communications expert said, tapping Rex on the shoulder. "Specs still needs you and Claw. From the sounds of it, it’s important."

Rex faced clearly showed anxiety. He glanced back into the room. "What about Demoman and Pyro?"

"We'll take care of them," Hotwire interjected. "Me, Vinyaya, him-" he gestured to an Egyptian agent. "-Fabello, and Zach." Rex's eyebrows perked up at the mention of Zach's name.

"Zach?" Rex looked at Zach and seemed to recognize him. "Weren't you a-"

"-Stromling?" Zach finished. "Indeed. Thanks to a couple of friends, that is no longer the case." Rex nodded, then he, Claw, and the communications agent left. Zach turned to group of agents.

"So, how are we going to deal with these two?" 

-------

The rest of the movie went by rather predictably and with quite a bit of cheesy entertainment. "Dino Cop" as the character liked calling himself, used various skills and tricks of a T-Rex to (literally) take a bite out of the crime (Joike: "'I one-uped you, McGruff!'") emerging in the city after the earthquake. Stepping on getaway cars (Andrew: "And not crushing the criminals in the process! That takes skill!"), intimidating most crooks just by showing up (Pterisa: "So does his stare make the crooks forget they have guns?"), and somehow being able to "go undercover" by shrinking to the size of a hatchling (Laxus: "Oh, ho, ho, it's magic! You know...").

Then there was some weird, contrived business about a corrupt corporate executive using some stolen devices to cause the earthquake that started the whole mess to gain profit (Andrew: "It's all computers! I don't have to explain it!"), which ended up seeming like a tacked on plotline to somehow to make the movie viable for a franchise, likely due to the many leftover plotlines, such as the end of the film being Johnny Thunder finding a tomb in Peru with another flask of dinosaur DNA (Laxus: "'Pippin, I do believe this is the start of a beautiful franchise.'")

"More like the start of a bad case of Sequelitis," said Joike as the end credits began to roll.

"Oh, the joy of cheesy movies," said Andrew as he stretched his arms, having gotten a little cramped from sitting so long. He turned to Pterisa. "Now what do you make of that experience?"

"It was... quite unique. But definitely fun."

"Good to hear. When you have a sense of humor, it becomes very easy to interact with others."

"Wise words there, my friend," said Laxus, looking at the table full of empty pizza boxes, soda cans, and an empty popcorn bowl. "Let's get some of this food stuff cleaned up and return that bowl to the kitchen. Then we should try to see what's been happening. Maybe Semick is back already."

"Betcha that mole everyone's talking about’s been active," said Joike as he picked up one of the boxes. "Not a good thing to be losing people, but hopefully the more this guy does, the easier it becomes to catch him."

"Hopefully," said Andrew, picking up some of the cans and putting them back into their box for easy portage. "Eh, I don't like thinking about it, especially after such a nice time we had here."

"Well, as much as I guess we all want to think of good things," said Pterisa, "we have to accept that bad things will come again quickly."

"All too true," said Laxus. "But I say if we can still find something to poke a little fun at, and we still have hope, things can turn out okay in the end, no matter how bad it gets."

"Yeah..." said Joike. "But let's finish clean up here before we sound just as cheesy with our philosophy as that movie was, okay?"

*****

Bluetooth watched Semick walk into the base with concern.

He had heard everything about the Second Headquarters Squad over Semick's radio chat. It was horrifying, not just the team's deaths, but the fact that there was a murderous mole loose in the base now. Bluetooth himself was barely taking it in, but he could only imagine the stress and horror it must've put on Semick.

The Elite Agent had told him before how much he hated espionage, how he was disappointed to have to realized that some of the men he watched over and fought alongside with in the team actually plotted against him. With the Stromlings, it was one thing, as they were simply part of a force heckbent on destroying the universe. But to know that some of his men actually believed that Dr Rex's ideas were good ones, or at least lacked enough trust in Dino Attack to go and join the "winning side", was a devastating blow to Semick's faith in his comrades.

Bluetooth felt very sympathetic with him. Knowing that your best ally could be a traitor was never something pleasant to take in, and something told him that this case would be no exception. He could only hope that the team would be able to handle it well. 

--------

"So...which one of them do we take care of first?" asked the Egyptian agent, who had introduced himself as Anubis.

Hotwire was slightly overwhelmed by the whole situation, but, realizing that he was the highest-ranking agent in the group, did not let this become apparent and forced himself to think clearly. "Demoman's probably not quite as urgent, since he did say he wouldn't detonate those explosives as long as we stay away from him. But, left to his own devices, Pyro's likely to burn this whole building to the ground. And I think this place has been razed more than enough times over the course of the war. Too bad none of us are fireproof. Ideas?"

"I could get to him easily if I still had my armor," Vinyaya grumbled. 

--------

"We got to act fast," Angel Eyes said to Maria and Clint. "We got to find the last remnants of the Second Headquarters Squad."

"Yeah," replied Clint. "Who's left?"

"At this point," replied Angel Eyes. "There's you, me, Maria-"

"Do we count?" Maria asked.

"We helped out enough," replied Angel Eyes.

"Ya know," Maria said. "Whatever happened to that one guy, Firecracker, or whatever his name was."

"Good question," replied Angel Eyes. "At the moment we'd be-"

At that moment the three of them were suddenly knocked back when a large chunk of the wall was blown apart by a loud explosion. As the trio took a moment to come to their senses a man drove in on a motorcycle, crashing it into the opposite wall, before getting off and taking off his bandanna and goggles. Even in all the smoke, they recognized the face quickly.

"Firecracker?" Maria asked.

"Did I miss anything?" Firecracker asked.

"Just a couple of murders. Maybe you can blow up the mole."

"Who's the mole?" Firecracker asked.

"We don't know yet," replied Angel Eyes. He started to continue down the hallway. Practically right around the corner was a scene of commotion, or at least what appeared to be commotion before the agents were stunned by the loud noise. One tough-looking black man was busy holding one guy hostage, the rest of the group looked rather panicked.

"What's going on in here?" Angel Eyes asked sternly.

"It's Demoman and Pyro," replied another man. Firecracker slowly worked his way toward the one room and saw Demoman sitting there, surrounded by crates of explosives. Upon seeing it, he burst into laughter.

"Erik Paulson," Firecracker remarked excitedly, but without a slight hint of fear in his voice. "You've really outdone yourself now. Our superiors at Reliable Excavation Demolition would be proud."

At that moment, there was a certain amount of arguing. "Look," said a female voice. "I really don't think this is a good idea-"

"Hey man," replied another guy. "It's no problem. I'm gonna sol-" He cut himself off as he approached the scene of commotion, leaving everyone to stare at a man with ridiculously long hair, an extremely thick beard and what looked like pajamas. With him was a middle-aged woman.

"Dude," the woman said. "This is out of your league."

"She's right," replied Dude's companion, a middle-aged man with a buzz cut and a thin beard. "Znap it, let's go bowling."

"This isn't a znapping game, man," Dude shouted. "Walter, what's your problem."

"Oh but it is a game," replied Walter. "You said so yourself."

"Look," the woman said, trying to resolve it. "This isn't getting us anywhere."

"Sarah's right," replied Walter. "We shouldn't get involved in this mess."

"Did I miss something?" Asked a gruff voice from behind. Everyone turned around to see a tough-looking man with an eye patch, holding a gun, who seemed to be looking at the scene with some confusion.

-------

Minerva frowned as more people seemed to be joining the hallway. She turned to Vinyaya. "How could your armor help?"

"It's fire-proof to a degree," Vinyaya said, scowling at the new arrivals. "Heat resistance type stuff. With it, I could probably get close enough to Pyro and take him down."

"Don't you have a spare set of armor or something from your ship?" Minerva asked.

"No. Everything was destroyed when the Enforcer crashed. However," Vinyaya's mood darkened suddenly. Minerva flinched. "My only surviving ally from that voyage, Julius Kelp, happened to be killed while operating in Castle Cove. Presuming they brought the body back, I might be able to take his armor and get to Pyro."

"Excellent," Zach said. "Head over to the morgue and see if you can find it. We'll try to stop him from burning down the building." Vinyaya scowled fiercely at Zach before nodding and starting her sprint toward the morgue. Minerva rolled her eyes. Zach had been extremely insensitive toward Vinyaya, who was clearly unhappy that her Space Police ally had been killed. Minerva could associate with the stress of this situation, but it was still insensitive. I don't think those two will ever be friendly toward each other. Minerva thought. Beyond grudging respect.

"Alright, so while she does that, any ideas on what to do?" Hotwire asked.

"Some of the population has returned to the city, correct?" Zach asked. He looked toward Anubis, who nodded. "Call a Fire Department, presuming one has been reestablished. They can help us take down the blaze. I also suppose we could find some fire extinguishers and try to handle the fire in the meantime." 

--------

Rex and Amanda traded glances. They were now waiting at the door to Specs’s office. The last time they were here, it was the most secure room in Dino Attack Headquarters. Now, it seemed more intimidating than a XERRD fortress.

Grimly, Rex nodded to Amanda. Without knocking, she reached out and opened the door.

Specs sat at his desk, looking down at some paperwork and scratching his head. He raised his eyes as Rex and Amanda entered. Clearing his throat, Specs stood and muttered, “Rex, it was fairly obvious to me back in the hospital wing that you were lying.”

Rex coughed, and behind him Amanda understood the cue. “What is it that makes you so certain of this?” Rex raised an eyebrow.

“It was in your tone,” explained Specs. “You were clearly holding something back, and in doing so you were directly defying orders. You know very well who this traitor is, but you couldn’t bring yourself to say so in front of Frozeen and Greybeard. Perhaps now will be different.”

“You think I’m trying to protect the identity of the mole?” frowned Rex.

Specs cleared his throat. “I never said that. But, I believe you are hiding something important, hoping that you may protect someone’s reputation and even, perhaps, the team’s morale. We shall deal with this quietly and privately, Rex. No one will know. I am sorry, Rex, but what must be done must be done. Now tell me who the traitor is. That is an order.”

Rex’s mind raced. Specs’s order came as a threat, but Rex did not know how. If Rex tried to back out, that might give Specs some sort of perverted satisfaction… or move to more aggressive methods. If Rex openly admitted that he knew Specs’s true identity in front of Amanda, Specs could do whatever he wished to her to ensure that Rex remained the only witness, and Rex could not let that happen. What sort of sick sadistic pleasure was Specs finding from this ultimatum?

Stalling for time, Rex murmured, “Well, you see, Specs, your methods are most… err, concerning, you might say. This, I am afraid, puts me in a dilemma, an ultimatum, a point of no return, as some might call it. Converging such information and revealing it to all who stand in this room, even now, with only a few people to witness what happens in this room once said information is converged, I am afraid, puts us in a situation where you may think you may have dominant control, be the alpha male, the leader of the pack, and whatever you say goes and nobody questions it…”

Specs narrowed his eyes. “What are you talking about…?” Then, Specs felt something grab at his wrist. He tried to turn around but it was too late: his hands had been cuffed behind his back by Amanda Claw, who had slowly and silently slinked around Specs’s office to position herself behind his chair. “What is the meaning of this?” demanded Specs.

“I am sorry, Specs,” echoed Rex ironically, “but what must be done must be done.”

“I hoped I was wrong,” hissed Specs. “I prayed that it wouldn’t be either of you. But it is all too clear now, and I cannot ignore this deliberate act of betrayal, Rex. This pains me. Here we are, so close to the final battle against XERRD, and you endanger Dino Attack Team’s morale in a way that cannot be reversed!”

“I am not a fool,” declared Rex, “and I will not damage our team’s morale by revealing the truth. You may even be remembered as a great hero who mysteriously disappeared, Specs. But for now, I cannot allow you to act as XERRD’s mole any longer. Because of you, seven innocent agents lie dead, and two more have placed themselves and others in danger to protect themselves from you.”

“You cannot be serious,” Specs gritted his teeth. “You are accusing me of being the mole?”

“Don’t act as though you don’t know what I’m talking about!” snapped Rex. “You let me see you when you killed Soldier and Heavy so that I ma-”

“I am not the traitor, Rex!” Specs spoke with such authority and certainty, Rex almost believed him. Then, Specs was silent for a moment. At last, he murmured, “But why would you accuse me of being the mole in private if you wish to protect my reputation, might I inquire? It simply isn’t logical. I would think that, in doing this, you are attempting to damage my team’s morale.”

“Why would I do that?” blinked Rex. “I want to ensure that Dino Attack Team wins this war!”

“As do I,” murmured Specs. “But you, Rex… I fear you may have fallen victim to manipulation by XERRD’s true mole. It appears that neither of us is the mole, but I fear that the mole is standing in this room with us.”

Rex blinked in surprise. “What?” he whispered.

Specs turned over his shoulder to look at Amanda. “For a long time, I feared that your loyalties may have been bought by XERRD. After seeing how well you worked with the rest of the team, I began to dismiss my suspicions as paranoia, but unfortunately Digger recently told me that Agent Trigger accused you of being the mole, and private detective Bogart has collecting mounting evidence pointing to you as the killer. Still, I desperately tried to believe otherwise, but when I could see that Rex was holding something back in the hospital wing, I feared that he knew your secret and was trying to protect your reputation; I know you two have feelings for each other, and I feared the worst. And here you are, trying to arrest me.”

Over Specs’s shoulder, Amanda appeared surprised. She locked eyes with Rex, and Rex could see that she looked a little paler than usual. Evidently, Rex noted, Specs came much closer to discovering Amanda’s real secret than she felt comfortable with.

“You’re lying!” snapped Rex. “I’ve had enough with this, Specs. You’ve been playing enough mind games with me already, and you’re not going to make me fall for all those inane rumors!”

“Rex,” Specs narrowed his eyes. “You must listen to me. I do not know what you saw in that room, but I assure you that it was not me. At the time of Scout, Soldier, and Heavy’s deaths, I was calling Mrs. Rutherford on the phone to confirm one of my theories. I can prove this alibi; just speak to Shadow and Viper, for they were in the room with me. Claw, on the other hand, has no such alibi.”

“How dare you,” growled Rex. “You taunt me by revealing yourself as the mole, then expect me to believe that the person who I trust the most-”

“Even more than your own team leader?” Specs raised an eyebrow.

“Stop it!” snapped Amanda. In frustration, she threw her knife down upon Specs’s desk. Both Rex and Specs stared at her with wide eyes. Once again, Rex noticed the tears on her cheeks, which made her otherwise tranquil fury look heart-wrenching. “Just stop it, both of you! I’ve had enough of it today! The murders of the Second Headquarters Squad, the paranoia and suspicion of the mole hunt, and Trigger and Montoya out to kill me for the very life I’ve left behind!”

Rex opened his mouth to speak, in an effort to comfort her, but he was interrupted by the door knocking.

“MegaBloks,” muttered Specs. “Agent Claw, uncuff me at once. This conversation never happened, understand?”

Amanda quickly complied, but while Specs remained uncuffed, she escorted him to the door to ensure that he would not try to escape. Specs rubbed his wrists, then reached out and took hold of the doorknob. When Specs opened the door, he jumped back in surprise and knocked Amanda back.

Clenching his jaw, Specs glared at the person in the doorway. “This certainly answers some questions.”

Then, another Specs entered the office, wielding a pistol in one hand and a knife in the other. 

---------

Smoke clogged the halls of the basement levels of the headquarters. Smoke detectors blared in Pharisee’s ears and the heat scorched his eyes but he ignored his discomfort as he held Montoya to the wall.

The commander tossed Bogart the assailant’s shotgun before twisting the man’s arms behind his back and forcefully handcuffing him.

“Do you know who this guy is?” asked Bogart as he puffed on a cigarette. “I would certainly appreciate some context.”

Pharisee ripped the cigarette out of Bogart mouth and crushed it beneath his foot. “Now’s not the best time to be smoking detective, the basement’s burning up and I don’t want to start anymore fires.”

“Speaking of that,” said Bogart. “Don’t you think you should do something about the fire?”

“Commander Vinyaya and Hotwire have the blaze under control.” Said Pharisee. “That is not my duty now. My job is to deal with the violent like this man before you.”

He pulled Montoya away from the wall and dragged him down the hall. Montoya made little effort to struggle and instead resigned to his fate as if he believed he had it coming.

“Don’t you intend to ask him some questions?” asked Bogart. “There are certainly some loose end’s I’d like to tie up. Why did he pull this gun out on agent Claw for example.”

“I believe that’s something that agent Claw would be able to answer.” Responded Pharisee. “Once I have brought this man to a place where he can no longer threaten the lives of agents I will meet Claw outside Spec’s office with a pair of handcuffs.”

“Perhaps the man had the right idea.” Offered Bogart. “He probably knew Amanda was the killer.”

“I do not condone vigilante justice, detective.” Said Pharisee. “Vigilantes are driven more by their personal vendetta then any true sense of right and wrong. The problem with the unit today is men who take the law into their own hands. Man does not have the right to choose who lives or dies Bogart, only the creator can do that.”

“Well then what’s your job?” smiled Bogart. The detective sensed some mild hypocrisy in the commander’s statement and wanted to pry further.

“I am a prophet.” Said Pharisee. “I provide a taste of the punishment that awaits if they did not reform their ways. I tenure and lead the lost souls to their ultimate reckoning. I am the sheriff; the builder is the judge.”

Bogart whistled slowly at the profoundness of Pharisee’s statement. “All you owe the public is a good performance.” chuckled the detective.

“I owe the public the right to live without fear. I do that by removing those who create it from the people’s midst.”

Pharisee and Bogart finally arrived at the prison complex on the other side of the headquarters. Most of the cells were empty with the exception of a single light coming from a cell in the center. Pharisee walked past it without so much as a glance and unlocked the door of the cell beside it.

“What did this guy do?” asked Bogart as he pointed to the blond haired occupant.

“He killed a man.” Muttered Pharisee darkly

Montoya was pushed inside the adjacent and the dour was slammed shut behind him. The commander ignored the regret in the man’s eyes as he turned to leave.

“Aren’t you going to ask him any questions?” asked Bogart.

Pharisee considered for a moment before rolling his eyes and turning back and pulling up a stool. “Give me your name.” He said bluntly

Montoya did not respond. His experience on the wrong side of the law had taught him it was best to remain silent.

Bogart coughed. “You know commander, this guy could provide some character evidence we need to convict agent Claw. Maybe he saw something.”

Pharisee shook his head. “You saw the files, we all know that agent Claw has the capacity to kill. His testimony won’t be much help because he has clear bias against her. Leave him for the time being. He knows that what he did is criminal and he needs time in solitude before he provides us with any sort of worthwhile information. You can talk to him as much as you want but I have bigger fish to fry.”

“What do you mean sir?” inquired Bogart.

Pharisee began to walk down the hall. “Right now Specs is alone with Claw and Rex. At this stage I didn’t trust either of them and I would not be surprised if they were conspiring together. I will not allow Specs to come to harm under my watch. It would pain me to put two good agents like them behind bars but if that is what I must do to preserve this team I will do what I must.”

“What’s you plain then?” called Bogart.

Pharisee turned around to look the detective in the eye. “I want to contain both of them for the time being. Whether Claw is the mole or not, her being impounded will keep everyone safer. This time I will not allow Rex to interferer. If he attacks me again he will share a cell with his girlfriend.”

“Putting two of the most respected agents behind bars might damage moral commander.” Said detective Bogart. “It might ruin your image.”

“I don’t care about my image detective.” Said Pharisee as he ascended the stairs. “I care about security.”

--------

Montoya slowly sat down on the small bed he had with him in his cell. Bogart took a moment to light a cigarette before turning toward him. He held out the pack, reaching through the bars. Montoya reluctantly got up and took a cigarette from his hand before Bogart lit it.

"You got a name?" Bogart asked. Montoya remained silent. He changed tactics. "What's your connection to Silencia? You're not even a member of this team and yet you went out of your way to get in here and kill her."

"What do you mean?" Montoya asked.

"You seemed completely oblivious to the mole situatio-"

"What mole?" Asked a voice from behind.

Bogart turned around to see an authoritative-looking man with a thick handlebar mustache.

"Who are you?" Bogart asked.

"Elite Agent French Fries," replied the man. "I oversaw LEGO City during the campaign on LEGO Island."

"Really?" Replied Bogart.

French Fries nodded. "That's why we made sure nothing happened."

"Except for that one guy who tried to bomb the whole town, and from what I heard a war in your own base."

"Bah," replied French Fries. "Nothing more than rumors made by people wanting to discredit the team."

"I see," replied Bogart. "And you're not aware of the fact that there's a mole running around here."

"What mole?" replied French Fries. "We don't have no moles. I think you'll find this is all just a great big fuss about nothing."

"Right," replied Bogart, somewhat frustrated by this man's apparent cluelessness.

"Yes," replied Bogart. "I got some business to attend to, why don't you go keep things in order elsewhere."

"Yes sir," replied French Fries, with a salute. He turned around and walked out of there.

"What's your connection to Venemosa?" Bogart said as he turned back toward Montoya.

Montoya took a moment, and sighed. "She tried to kill me," he said.

"Why?"

"We had a job," Montoya explained. "Me, her, and six other guys."

"What sort of job?" Asked Bogart.

"A heist," replied Montoya.

"So you're a criminal then?" Bogart asked.

"Was," Montoya tried to clarify. "After we were done I went straight."

"What happened?"

"We tried to perform the heist," Montoya explained. "I was the getaway driver, so I didn't see it. I just remember one guy running into the car and telling me she'd killed everyone else. After we got away we laid low for a while. This morning I got a phone call saying he'd sent a message from Dino Attack Headquarters that he found her. I wanted her to pay for everyone she killed so I came in. I just wanted to get in, kill her, and then go back home."

"What was his name?" Bogart asked.

"Schiess," replied Montoya.

Bogart looked at him in slight confusion. He hadn't heard of anyone with that name. "Thank you very much," Bogart said before he turned away. 

--------

Rex’s mind raced. He watched from his wheelchair as two Specs stared each other down. What he saw boggled his mind; while it answered some of his questions, it created a dozen more in their place.

“What is the meaning of this?” the first Specs narrowed his eyes.

“You’re not supposed to be here,” hissed the second Specs, pointing his blade at the first Specs. “You were supposed to be making arrangements with Frozeen to track the whereabouts of Dino Attack agents during the times of the murders.”

“We finished early,” sternly stated the first Specs. “And you’re not supposed to be here, either.”

“Clearly, not anymore,” agreed the second Specs, who pocketed his weapons, reached into his jacket, and pulled out a cigarette case.

“Stop him!” shouted Rex, but Amanda Claw was already on the move.

She darted around the first Specs and knocked into the second Specs, tackling him and subsequently pinning him against the doorway. Specs grappled with her and tried to grab at the emergency lighter on her belt, but Amanda responded with a clean uppercut. Specs crumpled to the floor, and Amanda kicked away the false cigarette. Specs tried to reach for it, but Amanda placed her foot on his arm and pressed a knife to his neck. He cursed under his breath.

At that moment, Pharisee arrived at the scene. He saw Amanda pressing her knife against Specs's neck, and Rex could make an educated guess about what ran through his mind. "Agent Claw!" he growled, cocking his gun. "Stop right there-"

"It's alright, Pharisee," spoke the Specs who was standing, who nodded to the head of internal affairs and waved his hand. "I believe we have found the mole."

As Pharisee's eyebrows raised upon looking at the two Specs in a single room, Rex sighed in relief. He glanced at the Specs lying on the floor, then back at the Specs who was standing. Once again, he felt a sense of admiration and trust in his team leader, which had felt throughout the entire Dino Attack... until it was threatened by the false Specs lying on the floor. It disgusted Rex, just thinking about how the mole disguised himself as the team leader to successfully shatter Rex's trust and morale.

“Let’s see who’s really under that mask,” declared Rex, eager to identify the true mole, killer, and traitor.

The first Specs strode over to where the second was pinned. The second glared with contempt, first at Amanda, then at the first Specs. The first bent down, grabbed the balaclava of the second, and yanked it off.

Rex’s eyes widened. “You?”

The mole smirked. “Come now, Rex. Remember why I joined the team? To leave my mark on history!”

"Stand back, Agent Claw," muttered Pharisee. Amanda did as she was told, and the head of internal affairs grabbed the mole. "Normally, we would lock you up in a dank cell for the rest of your pitiful life, but seeing as you're working for XERRD, you'll have useful information. It's time for an interrogation."

The mole shook his head as he was dragged off by Pharisee. "I shall only speak to him!" he declared, and then he pointed at Rex. "I will not say a single word to anyone else!"

As they watched Pharisee take away the mole, Rex, Amanda, and Specs traded glances. "He came far closer to tearing our team apart than Dr. Rex's greatest army of Mutant Dinos," frowned Specs. "By planting seeds of paranoia and distrust, he turned us against each other. Let this be a lesson to us to never let this happen again."

Rex sighed. While it came as a relief that Specs was not the mole and all the rumors about Amanda could finally be proven false, the identity of the mole still disturbed him. The mole was someone he thought was too innocent to be capable of infiltrating and murdering, but now he could see that, in a mole hunt, it truly was necessary to distrust anyone... even the seemingly-innocent, for no one would suspect them.

And who would have ever suspected the quiet and innocent communications expert Ata?