COLONIAL RANGERS:
         T.N.O.



Chapter 1


The man approaching Danni was relatively short compared to most. The street lights were bad in this part of town and she could not make out his face but, then again, Danni really did not have too. His tan windbreaker, his dark pants, and the simple button up shirt that was only half way tucked in was a dead giveaway. So was the man's demeanor. His head was bent slightly forward as he walked through the rain and his body language screamed, "mad at the world!"

Danni only smiled when he got close enough so that she could make out his face. He had a scowl on it and this did not concern her in the least. Norm was almost always doing that. Daniealla snickered and told him, "you took your time getting here. I hope you got me some burgers too."

Norm Scoggins remained serious even if the young girl seemed anything but. He stepped under the overhang to get out of the drizzle that was currently falling out of the night sky and he told her, "I thought about not coming down here at all, girl." At this point, Norm gave a close look at what the young girl had on. Her skirt almost deserved the title of belt. Her boots came up over her knees and whatever she had on under her jacket was beyond his description. Norm motioned to her and said, "what's with the get up? Do you think you're out here popping John's or something?" Norm rubbed the hair on his chin and then said, "for that matter, aren't you supposed to be back at the station tonight? As I recall you had the duty."

Danni just rolled her eyes, "oh god Norm. Now you're starting to sound just like Barbara."

"You know," Norm told her easy enough, "just because Barbara is a pain in the ass, most of the time, don't mean she's always wrong." Now Norm gestured to where they were standing, "and whatever we are doing down here, if a Wehrmacht patrol comes by and they happen to see us, they might not be too happy about it. This is their turf."

Danni waived it off, "no it's not. They might have authority over the airport but, this isn't Riggins Field. This is in the city and we have as much jurisdiction as they do here."

That made Norm slide his phone out of his coat and take a look at it, "speaking of the airport, I have to be there in four hours. I had hoped to get some sleep before then." He looked back at her as he slid the phone back in his jacket, "and as for the rest of that bullshit, young lady, you damn well know the Germans don't like anybody poking their nose in their business. Every warehouse on this street is contracted out to freight companies, that means the airport, and that means as far as the Germans are concerned, it's their turf."

Suddenly the girls enthusiasm evaporated as she became much more subdued and even serious, "you know they'll never do anything."

"Whatever it is Danni," Norm replied right back in a steady and even tone, "they're probably the ones behind it. So our best play here is for you to go back to the station and do what it is you're supposed to be doing and I go home and get some sleep." As an afterthought Norm added, "and I'd suggest you put some clothes on while you're at it."

Her enthusiasm came right back, "look Norm. I made a contact at Feu Rouge tonight. I scored…" he tried to chastise her for even going to that place but she cut him off before he could get to far along, "no listen. This guy was sweating buckets. He said something major was moving through the Arch."

Norm just grumbled to himself and rubbed at his chin. Finally he decided to ask her, "and did he find you or did you find him?"

Now the young girl back pedaled, "well, um…"

Norm sighed in frustration, "you know if they come to you it's always junk. He played you Danni. Now how much did it cost you? Maybe we can go back down there and ring it out of him."

"No Norm," now it was Danni's turn to be frustrated, "you don't get it. He didn't come to me, well not exactly. It was Sally Henchersfield. You remember her? I went to high school with her and…"

"So Sally calls you at work and you decide to go off to a club and…"

"NO," now the girl was becoming down right adamant. "It wasn't anything like that. My CI asked her for help and…"

This story was not getting any better, "here's another tip Danni. Anybody that's desperate enough to ask that girl for help, don't know enough to be worth wasting your time on. Now if…" The sound of an approaching vehicle stopped Norm in mid thought. Without hesitation he grabbed his young colleague and pulled her into the nearest shadows. He was just positive that an armored German patrol vehicle was going to be turning the corner any second now. He had visions of taking a beating at the hands of heavily armed "peacekeepers" who would not be too happy seeing the Colonial Agents poking around their drug business. If Danni's tip turned out to be anything that was most likely what it was. Given what Norman knew of that Sally girl, it was better than even money.

It was something of a surprise to Norman when he saw the vehicle that did appear. It was a truck and not just any truck at that. It was white and had an Interstellar Customs logo displayed prominently on the side. Norm checked the time on his phone again. Danni saw him and knew exactly what he was thinking, "they're closed right now. So do you believe me?"

Norm made sure their cover in the shadows was good enough. At the same time he kept his eyes glued too the truck. All the while he asked Danni, "what exactly did this CI say?"

"He said they were moving stuff in and out of this place here," Danni told him as she nodded to the warehouse wall next to them.

"What kind of stuff?"

"He wouldn't tell me everything," Danni replied as she joined Norm in watching the truck park by the loading docks. "He just said if we came down here we would find out."

Norm groaned as he pulled the pistol out of the small of his back, "this better not be drugs. If it is, I'm going to let the Germans kick your ass."

"I really don't think so Norm," Danni replied with a somewhat concerned tone. "The guy was scared out of his wits. All he really knew was the stuff they were moving was being kept in these little magnetic cylinders about the size of a large can you'd get at the grocery store."

That actually drew Norms attention away from the truck, "magnetic? You mean like industrial storage containers?"

Danni now produced her pistol and a badge. Norm wondered where in the hell she had hid those as he watched her clip the badge to her jacket. As she finished with it she said, "I have no clue. All I know is what he told me. OK?"

What she was describing sounded like ISC's and Norm knew they had all kinds of uses. Normally what you found in them were things and substances that were not very safe to be in direct contact with. The whole point of the magnetic field generated by the container was to the keep the contents from touching anything else including the container itself!

There were now several men down on the loading dock. One of them had just driven up with a fork lift full of crates. The others were carefully guiding him into the back of the truck. Norm was not really sure what was in the crates but, as his mind chewed on the situation, he was now figuring out how he could articulate the idea that he was watching some guys stealing a fork lift. It was the middle of the night, all these warehouses were closed, and the light was bad. He couldn't make out the logo on the side of the truck until he had already secured the scene. That would give him the opportunity to see what they were loading up. It would also cover his ass.

"You stay behind me," Norm told his young colleague. Before they walked out of the shadows he did have one last order, "and if on the chance we have to pop off, do not shoot in the direction of those crates."

Danni gulped, "um, why?"

In his usual, and somewhat authoritative tone, Norm replied, "if that's what you say it is, the last thing we want are bullets flying around them, clear?"

Danni only nodded before she gulped one last time. She simply followed Norm's lead after that. She kind of wondered if he had a better plan than just walking right up to these guys in the open. If he did then he was not showing it because that was exactly what he was doing. He did hold his pistol behind his back but, past that, he showed no other use of any kind of tactics.

When the first of the guys on the platform noticed him, Norm talked in a tone she had rarely heard him. He sounded happy and pleased! He told the three guys in the jumpsuits, "guys, have I got bargain for you tonight. You see this young prime specimen of the female persuasion behind me here? Well some big, strapping, working, fellows like you would surely be interested in what she has to offer, I know."

The plan did not go as Norm had envisioned. The three men on the platform had only waited to be joined by their buddy who had been in the back of the truck. They did not even give him a polite brush off. They did not even give him a rude one. Once they were all present, their hands went right for the small sub machineguns that they had strapped to their sides.

Norms right hand came out from behind him as he jumped for the nearest cover and he got off a few rounds before he hit the concrete and rolled into the nearby wall. He tried to get back up and fire a few more times but, he found himself covered in fine concrete dust as the bullets chewed up the top of the small wall. Norm heard some shouts, a truck engine firing up, and it was pulling away before he could get back up. He knew very little would come of this and he was pissed off enough to actually run after the truck as it sped off. He hoped he might put a few bullet holes in it before it vanished into the night. When his magazine ran dry he was still not sure if he actually did.

When Norm realized it was over he found himself standing in the middle of the road, with a light rain falling on him, and bouncing around like an epileptic. Then Norm yelled out at the memory of the truck, "ASS HOLES!"

He turned and stomped back to Danni. Only then did he see her laying in the parking lot. Norm broke into a sprint and even dropped his weapon without bothering to go back and get it. He landed on his rump next to the young girl. Her stomach looked like it might be ripped to shreds and a stream of blood was trickling out of her mouth. She was still breathing but it seemed to be very painful for her. Danni managed to form one word in a raspy exhale, "sorry."

Norm pulled her to his lap and began trying to feel past the pool of blood to take measure of her wound. He found himself almost passing out from his own irregular breathing. The only words he could get out of his own mouth were, "Danni Girl! Don't you do this!"

Norm barely even noticed the bright spot lights on his back or the thick German accent that shouted at him, "hands out, schnell!"