The Houston Squadron

|| Volume 1, Chapter 4 || ''Gould and Steal''

The night was cold, and the wind was whistling. Edward Aster, owner of Aster Robotics, alongside his associate, Todd Wilson, was closing shop after another successful day. "Were all of our robots accounted for?" Edward asked, Todd nodding, holding a clipboard.
"Yes, sir! I also wiped down the counters, made sure the new security system was up and running, and made sure all the back doors were locked... Uh, you sure you don't want to hire a security guard for this place? We have the funds..." Todd explained, Edward chuckling. 
"I appreciate your concern for the company, but our security system should do just fine. Besides, we have connections. Who in the right mind would rob US?" Edward said proudly, Todd rolling his eyes. 
"Well, you sign my paycheck, so I'm financially obligated to agree. Good job, sir!" Todd congratulated, both of them heading for the exit.  
"Say, you've been doing an excellent job so far... Want to eat out with me? I'm heading for Chinese." Edward offered, Todd smiling.
"Really, sir? I'd be happy to!" He replied, as they both left, Todd locked the main entrance and the lights started turning off, one by one. 

Around three hours later, a radio was heard in the bushes a way's away from the Aster Robotics building. "Okay, it's been enough time. Get in there, you two." A voice on the radio demanded. 
"I don't know, boss... The guy that runs this place seems like bad news if you get on his bad side." A man responded, the other nodding in agreement.
"Do I pay you to disagree with me? No! You're PAID to do as I say, and I say break into this place and get those robots!" The voice replied most rudely.
"Y... You're not paying us for this, sir-" The man replied before the voice shouted,
"GET IN THERE, AND DO YOUR JOB." And with that, the two men started approaching the main entrance. "Wait, Bruce..." One man said to the other, the other turning to look at him.
"What is it, Jason?? We gotta hurry, or he's gonna get mad." Bruce replied. 
"Are we sure we can do this?? I mean, I'd rather go jobless than go to jail... What if that new group comes after us??" Jason said with a worried expression, wiping sweat from his forehead.
"That squad?? No no, don't worry. They only go after bad guys! We're okay!" Bruce replied, smiling and trying to encourage his friend.
"Yeah, but... Aren't WE bad guys right now...? For, you know... Breaking and entering...?" Jason asked, Bruce facepalming.
"Look, I get it, but if we don't do this, we're gonna get a lot worse than a pink slip. We'll be in and get out in no time, okay?" Bruce reassured his friend, who nodded reluctantly as they continued forward. 

They got to the main entrance. Bruce pulled out the device their boss had given them. "This thing is supposed to disable the ENTIRE security system?" Bruce asked aloud, Jason shrugging. 
"That's what the boss said, yeah. Test it out!" He replied, Bruce sighing, placing the device on the ground, and pressing the activation button. It started revving and shaking, and with a tiny blast of electromagnetic waves...! Bzzt! Suddenly, the doors automatically opened. "Hey! We did it! W-we did something!" Jason exclaimed quietly, before getting backhanded by a newcomer. 
"Keep your mouth shut, I don't intend on going to jail because of you two. The truck's by the garage entrance. Let's find those robots. And Jason, you go and find the security office, and get the cameras shut off." The man said, hands behind his back, wearing all black. Bruce followed the boss, and Jason went to find the security office. Around thirty minutes of searching the factory passes, and Jason joins the search for the robots. "Are those cameras disabled?" The man asked, Jason nodding nervously. "Perfect. Let's carry on, then." After searching the factory, finally, they found them... Around forty fairly humanoid, slander robots, in four columns, ten in each column. "Aster Robotics' Road Rollers... Alright, men. Let's load 'em up." The man demanded, the workers going to roll the robots out towards the garage. They were fairly heavy, but their boss didn't lift a finger. He is the boss, after all, and they're the workers, so it's only fair, right? About an hour passed and at last, the two workers finished loading the robots into the transport truck. The man approached them. "Excellent. Now, remember what I told you. We can't let the cops, or that stupid new group, in on this. And that means you keep. your mouths. shut. Understood?" The man said most threateningly, the two workers agreeing. 
"Of course, sir! Not a problem!" Bruce said.
"Our lips are sealed..." Jason agreed.
"Good. Now, let's go. We have to get these bots set up in our factory before morning, and... Blue's not really our color, so we'll be doing paintjobs as well." The man said, walking towards the driver's seat of the truck, the two workers climbing into the back with the robots.

The next morning... The sun was shining on a new, beautiful day in Houston. "And, that should, do it!" Aurora exclaimed happily, getting off the stepping stool and taking a few steps back. She had finally finished decorating her room. After the robbery they stopped last week, she figured she should make her room feel more like her. There were photos of family members on the drawer next to her bed. She had put curtains on the window overlooking the forest. On the wall, there was a few photos she had taken with Thomas over the years. And finally, she had finally set up a desk in front of the window, with her laptop, desk lamp, and Argile's guidebook that she had loaned to Aurora, should she ever need it. Her room finally felt a little more comfortable. Aurora walked out into the living area, and saw Barry across the room, setting a home phone of sorts up. "Hey, Barry. What're you working on there?" She asked, most curious. 
"Oh, hey, Aurora. This is the new squad hotline phone Thomas asked me to set up here. It's gonna let him call us directly from his office, that way he doesn't have to go all the way from there to here, so we can get on the next mission as soon as possible. Whaddya think?" Barry explained, Aurora smiling,
"Could be useful, if you do it right." She joked, Barry chuckling.
"Ah, well, we'll see. Just got a few wires left to connect." He replied, going back to his work. Aurora went to take a seat in the chair in front of the TV, and started watching the morning news. 

"Good morning, Houston! My name is Constantine Kathodos, and thank you for tuning into the HCN channel! Sad news this morning, people. It appears that at approximately 1:00 AM last night, a local robotics shop was robbed! We have a correspondent at the scene of the crime now, with the shop's owner. Tim, go ahead!" The news reporter explained, handing it off to her correspondent. "Thank you, Constantine! I am currently standing outside of Aster Robotics, where the owner, Edward Aster, has suffered a terrible robbery at the hands of an unknown criminal! Edward, would you care to tell us what happened?" Tim asked, giving the microphone to the man standing next to him. 
"Yes. Hello, my name is Edward Aster, and for the last year, I have been running this shop with my six workers. We're not terribly low on funds, but we can't afford an incident like this. We had around forty robots in this facility, and now they're all gone. I'm asking ANYONE who could help track down the criminal who did this. I want them brought to justice, NOW." Edward said most emotionally. 
"Don't worry, sir. I'm sure the police will handle it and track down the criminal and their assailants! You heard it here, folks. We've got a crime to solve. Back to you, Constantine!" Tim said, the screen going back to the previous reporter.
"Thank you, Tim. A very worrying situation for Edward, but I'm sure the police will get right on that. In other news, we're looking at very sunny days most of the week, but come Sunday, we may see some rain-" The reporter continued, as Aurora turned the TV off.