The Ruse

Brief synopsis: Shillelagh concocts a plan to draw out the Cobra Commander and his forces. Working with Shennong Liu and the SPD, Shillelagh asks the head of Zymogenetics to release a bogus press release that they are sending a research team from Guangdong to bring a cure to the Ophidian Plague. The SPD provides some police escort for the Zymo convoy from Sea-Tac, and tries to clear the route of travel. The convoy doesn't have any scientists on board, just members of the Rod Squad, ready to jump out and punch faces.

The convoy is attacked while traveling across the Aurora Bridge, and discover that the Cobra Commander doesn't just have snakey mooks in his employ. The main car in the convoy is blasted off the bridge by a villain flying through the air, causing quite a bit of damage to the bridge in the process. The Rod Squad's efforts to beat down and capture the villains is hampered by their need to protect and rescue innocents caught in the crossfire. While the bad guys manage to escape, the only beneficial thing the team obtains from this debacle is that Cobra Commander tipped his hand for them a bit by bringing out some of his bigger guns. The Rod Squad also gets a bit of a black eye in the eyes of the media, as the damage to the bridge is going to cost a lot to fix, and some voices out there want to hint that the Rod Squad is to blame. And not, you know, the bad guys. Who actually did the damage. Because reasons.