The Big Race

GM: Mirage
Players: Blindside, Pulse, Sterling, Adam, Dumah, Krissy, Janie, Baron, Aviv, Growler, Annie, Jag, Tailpipe, Selene
Synopsis: A big race for all the cash!
Date: March 27 2070


The Big Race

The Set Up

Race day. Blindside got the call earlier in the day so spent the last few hours tuning Gladius. Her engine is roaring to full power now, screaming its energy as Blindside bends over the hood. The car's in the back of Scabbard as they roll down the road, for the area they expect the starting line to be in. They don't know in specific, but it never hurts… "Hey Sterling, you got a line on who's doing the booking for this?"

Standing by with tools, Sterling toys with her cap and shakes her head. "I was setting Lil' Stevie's leg after the accident, but he didn't know. Some of the guys at the shop said they think that the usual suspects are doing some of the numbers action, maybe one of the Families and maybe some of the Koreans. Also, Finger Malone may have his hand in it for one of the gangs, but …. I think he mighta gotten arrested yesterday."

Blindside reaches in to the bowels of the growling engine, stroking the fuel feed. The car nearly roars off the trailer, but the chocks on the wheels hold it in place.

"Duncan, that tickles." Purrs the sexy black mustang.

"Yeah, just wait till we're racing." Says the rigger.

"I… can't wait… until you're inside me, Duncan." responds the car, in its sex-kitten-cum-phonesex operator voice.

Bambi, standing nearer to Sterling, clenches her teeth. "I hate that bitch."

Robot anger and robot envy are somehow even stranger than robot love. Sterling nods quietly to Bambi, making sure to keep an eye on the larger and stronger woman. "Maybe .. hmmm." The small woman fiddles with the power ratchet and looks over the car, then finishes, "She probably just means driving?" Sterling's voice tinges with hope and she offers Bambi a smile.

"Well -DUH-." Says Bambi then. "Duncan's not a freak or anything."

There is no good answer for that. Sterling wisely gets out the diagnostic tools and prepares to hand them off as they make sure the race car is good to go.

Pauly's been looking for just something like this for -ages-. Time to spread his wings, show Denver what he can do. He heard a few things down at the garage the other day, made a few calls… and then he's rolling up into the place, rolling down his window and whistling at Sterling. "Hey sexy," he calls. "Ain't seen you in a week or two." He eyes Bambi. "You're working for the bside now?"

Blindside calls out from under the hood… "Anyway, seen if you can find the oddsmaker and lay down 20 large on me to win." He looks over to the fuel mixture read, then adds a few motes more oxygen. "Mutt! JEff! Check the NOS Tanks. Give me a reading!"

The Discoball headed anthro-drone starts running for the back of the car, but the speaker-headed one grabs it, then slings around it, wherein both now struggle to climb over each other to check the NOS levels.

Nodding to Blindside, Sterling is in the process of looking for the oddsmaker when Pauly spots her. She offers a quick wave and a laugh, nodding. "Oh yes, I carry tools around for him and stuff, when I am not doing all my other work! How have you been? I hear that you've been keeping in the news and stuff?!" The permanently happy dwarven woman toys with a wrench on her waist, watching a purple sports car zoom by.

Bambi eyes Pulse. "I don't work for no-one BUT my man!"

Pulse says "Not bad," he says, climbing out, making up a crew-of-one, pulling some tools out the boot and going around to adjust things. "And yeah, keeping in the news. Tonight? Tonight I have -fun-." He winks at Bambi. "And no worries, sexy. I'd never try to take you away from… *snicker* Duncan *snicker*."

He kneels by his car, double checking his own nos tanks. "Probably going to get my ass handed to me, but I just want to drive."

"ALL FULL!" shouts the speaker headed anthro drone. The discoball one breaks in to a complex pop-and-lock dance number that ends with a high kick and a crotch grab.

"Good." Says Blindside, coming around the car to nod to Pulse. Apparently they WERNT driving, but actually were stopped somewhere. Thats okay. Apply some whiteout, and poof! It's a truck stop!

"Nothing wrong with having fun!" Sterling nods and says, "I'm off to see the oddsmaker, can I take anything over there for you? That way you don't have to stop working and getting ready?" The gene-modded dwarf looks around as more and more drivers and squads arrive and start rushing about.

Pulse shakes his head. "Nah," he says. "I make it a point never to bet on anything I'm in. People get uppity." He rubs some grease off on his fancy pants,and looks at the Blindside. "So. Duncan. We meet again. Must thou alwayst be mine enemy…st?"

"Ok!" With that, Sterling is off at a quick trot, looking for the crowd of bookies and number-runners and their ever present security, the sort of people who don't smile unless something BAD is happening to someone. She keeps track, though, of whom she is passing and what they are racing. All information is important in these races.

Pulse glances around. "Waiting for my copilot to show up…" he murmurs.

Blindside's blazing neon-laced eyes shift to a perplexed shade of puce, matched by the hair. "Uh." Says the rigger, moving back closer to his car as Bambi steps closer. "Uh…" He doesn't seem sure how to respond to that. He glances to Bambi, then over to Scabbard, the bigrig, the back to Pulse. "He that is thy friend indeed, He will help thee in thy need: If thou sorrow, he will weep; If thou wake, he cannot sleep: Thus of every grief in heart, He with thee does bear a part. These are certain signs to know, Faithful friend from flattering foe.

Blindside delivers that in perfect Iambic beat, it should be noted.

Adam shows up a while later— having his pocsoc in one hand and is reading something off of it as he walks up to Pulse. A wire is connected to the device up to a pair of glasses that he then slips on and pockets the pocsoc.

Pulse blinks back at Blindside. "So… you're my friend?" He asks. "Awesome! Can I borrow some high-octane gas, just to top my tank off?"

He gives the dwarf a friendly pop on the top of the head (would be the shoulder, but he doesn't want to bend over). "Say, that's a cute little piece of sum'fin you got working for you. Bambi jealous yet? Are you riding that little sparkplug? Careful, she looks like she's a wildcat."

He waves at Adam as he arrives.

Dumah sets himself up a lawn chair. Waay, waaay downline on the course. He looks over the lip of the building, pops open a beer, and hops on the Shadowland nodes real quick to see who's taking bets and who's the favorite.

Blindside looks trapped. Scared, a little confused. He nods then. "Sure… uh.. you're my buddy. But… like… this is a race, man… srsbizznus." He exhales then, wishing he had someone to get the mafia greaseball off him… "BUt… yeah.. um… I can… like… yeah… Talk to Sterling… she can get you a few gallons."

Sterling places some bets with the bookies and makes some payments, nodding cheerily as she works things out. That task done, she'll start back towards Blindside's rig, pausing only to make comments to a few of the other crews.

Pulse shakes his head. "Don't worry about it, man, I'll be fine. Just seein' if you -would-, you know? It's the mark of a true friend. I'm sorry I called your mother names." He gives the blindside another polite bop, and walks over towards his car… then pauses, looking over his shoulder. "Oh, by the way. I called some people. Let them know… if I blow up today, or anything happens to me while i'm in my car? The axe is going to come down -hard- on the mother fucker who stole my car a while back. Cause clearly it was sabotage."

Blindside just about shits himself.

Adam looks over to Pulse and nods his head a bit as he goes through the pre-game socializing. For himself, he finds a nice wall to lean against and finish reading up on that which he was reading up on.

Calling out as she approaches, "Someone stole your car?" Sterling shakes her head and bounces to Blindside, patting the side of the semi familiarly, "I hear that is going on a lot. Cars coming up missing and stuff. Last night, someone stole three white limos out of the parking deck near the Broadmoor, can you believe it?" She laughs a little bell-like laugh, reseating her cap and looking around.

"By the by, B-Syde, the Yang Zhi car club is down the way. They have that green and white piece of crap out."

Blindside ah hahs! Sterlings here! He moves over closer to her. "See that he gets… uh… 3 gallons of like…. well.. whatever you give him, make sure he thinks its high octane. So long as it smells like a trolls ass, he'll think its Jetfuel."

A rather nasty looking vehicle pulls up into the area, rolling to a halt in the area where all the racers are. Out of it steps Krissy, wearing nicer clothes than she usually does, and with less piercings than usual. The car looks like something out of a simflick. It's vaguely the shape of a sedan but… only if you squint ant tilt your head. It's currently patterned with urban camo colors.

Blindside then peeks past Sterling, to see the YZCC and their little two stroke piece of shit. "No challenge." He mutters.

Pulse tends to his car, whistling as he works. He pulls his -own- fuel out of his trunk, filling her up, puts it back. There's a big grin on his face as he hauls a rag out, wiping off a little bit of a splotch from the spoiler. "Hey Adam?" He calls. "You ever seen a car this fine?"

Gas for Pulse! Sterling chuckles at Blindside's condemnation of the YZCC and goes to retrieve several gallons of high quality gas for the boxer with the help of the drones, wheeling it over carefully. She calls out as she approaches, "Gas Delivery! Careful, this stuff will set your eyebrows on fire at twenty paces and make you sterile at 10!" She laughs at that, stepping back and dismissing the drone assistants. "I'll let you heft it, you have the muscles for it."

Pulse grins at Sterling. "Thanks, angeleyes," he says, "I can use a bit of a top-off,I guess. I just wanted to see if your boss would -do- it." He winks, checking the air in his tires and walking around to get the gas, topping it off. "Yeah, car got stolen almost a year ago. Funny thing is, thief actually came in and admitted it to me. Still not convinced it wasn't a plot to blow up once I exceed <x>, you know? It's why I'm glad Blindside's here. He's my buddy. Said so himself." He grins at Sterling. "And I know he'd take horrible revenge on anyone sabotaging me, just like my friends and family would."

Adam looks over to where Pulse asked about a 'car this fine' and replies, "Yes." He runs a finger along the side of the rim of his glasses as he looks at some of the other cars here.

Sterling hmms and nods to what Pulse says, "Well, I don't think anyone would do that anyway. I mean, some of these guys," and with that she points towards a few of the car clubs, especially the Dark Matter with their shark-front car, "would do things like spike your tires or steal your car, but .. out and out blow up a car? That is just beyond the code. That's weak, to win like that." She shrugs and says, "Real racers win with skill!"

Blindside slides in to Gladius now, closing the door. The windows auto tint, turning as dark as obsidian. The car powers up, the V-12 engine hiding under the hood roaring to life, dominating the audio senses of those nearby for a moment… before the roar settles down to a growl.

Dumah checks his watch. They should be starting… any minute now. And they'll be a bit before they get to his neck of the woods. He keeps an eye on the Matrix channel, watching. Everybody knows that the good part of the race will be when they get to the Warrens and start letting loose with guns.

Pulse nods. "I agree," he says. "It's about skill. But the person that might be blowing up my car… it might have nothing to do with the race." He grins at Sterling. "You really are beautiful. Wish Blindside good luck for me."

He looks up towards Adam. "If you're riding along, hop in. I've decided… no mask. Better for my rep this way." He winks and hops into the driver's seat, slowly powering the sleek machine up. It's engine comes to life, a saucy purr. He strokes the steering wheel. "Yeah baby. We're gonna do it."

Blushing, Sterling laughs it off and sketches a little bow, "I will go and send him your luck! YOU be careful and try not to get blowed up. That wouldn't be good for anything at all!" The little woman moves off with surprising speed back to Blindside's trailer, casting looks around at the other cars.

Blindside rolls down the window, to talk to Sterling. "I sent Bambi with Cerberus to the warrens. She'll hold there until I get closer. If I am running ahead, I'll switch cars to Cerberus for the Warrens run. She's not as fast, but she's far better for hostile situations."

Adam looks over towards Pulse— then the car— then Pulse— then says "With the rules— can't say there is much point in it. I'll be watching and ready to patch you up if end up in a fiery wreckage. Maybe get some good footage."

Krissy rolls her eyes when she's told once again no rigging, and she heads back to get into her car.

Pulse pauses, unrolling the other window. "Yeah? Well… that's about right, then. Just make sure no one tries to blow me up from the astral, all right? It would be a nasty trick."

Nodding quickly, Sterling says, "I'll grab a car and head to meet up then with Bambi?"

Blindside nods to Sterling. "Take Scabbard. He's good to roll." He then rolls Gladius to the starting line. NOS: Online Smoke: Online. Oil: Online. Sensors: Online.

"Lets do this baby." The undercarriage lighting sparks to life, a hot neon-blue glow spreading under the car, while the Photovoltic paint switches on. Gladius comes to life, blue flames rippling and moving across her hood and fenders.

Gladius's external speakers come to life… "AND NOW PRESENTING! THE MASTER OF THE DRIFT, THE TERROR OF THE TRACK, THE SCREAMEN DEAMON FROM DETROIT, BLINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNDSIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDE!!!!!"

Sterling takes off at a run towards the rig, climbing in quickly and getting ready to head off to the rendezvous point. The dwarven woman laughs as she sits behind the wheel of the giant vehicle and asks, not tells it, "Let's go meet up with Bambi, shall we?!"

In its deep, baritone voice not unlike Optimus Prime, Scabbard says… "Rolling out."

The back hatch hydro lifts in to position, and like that, the rig is moving off to follow Cerberus.

An young ork with nothing more than a shit-eating grin and a well-loved 'dirt bike' rolls onto the scene and conspicuously close to the starting line. No helmet. Nothing more than some beat up workman's style canvas jacket. What the -fuck- is this guy on.

Pulse licks his lips. No speakers, no flames, just the quiet purr of his engine, waiting for the starting figure… the sensors powering up and illuminating the other vehicles in his HUD. He grins, adjusting his stick, getting ready… his thumb hovering just over the nos button… "Let's ride," he murmurs. "And show them what the -other- Lucianno can do."

Blindside brings the HUD up. His hands grip the steering wheel. He's not been -driving- in some time. Actual driving. "Oh yeah baby. Lets do this. LETS DO THIS! LETS FUCKEN DO THIS! DEEEEEEEEEEEETROIIIIIIIIIT ROLLEN STEEL BABY!"

"Duncan, you have not taken your drugs." Comments the car.

"Don't need em. Don't fucken NEED EM LETS GO LETS GO LETS GO LETS GO!"

Reeeemmmbembembembem bembem .. Jag rev's the throttle on his offroader. With his teeth tightly gritted, he pointedly ignores the seething metal mass that surrounds him. Where's the wimmin at?!

Bopping along down the road, Sterling watches both the external feed of the races (all secret races have them), as well as the diagnostics from Duncan's car. She hmms the theme from Convoy as they barrel down the road, Scabbard cunningly disguised as a standard truck for safety's sake.

Pulse activates his radio, hailing Blindside.
Commlink-Pulse> Pulse says, "Hey Bside? Your fly's unzipped."

Commlink-BSyde> Blindside says, "Hey Pulse, those pants make you look fat."

«Plot» Mirage says, "And the flag comes down, everyone roll cars or whatever!"

Arriving with another spectator in a blue Jackrabbit, Aviv gets out of the passenger side and leans against the door. He shifts a little trying to get comfortable before pulling out his pocsec. He presses a few buttons trying to find a feed of the race to stream.

Krissy's own car roars into life, the vehicle rattling as it prepares to drive. Inside, she's stuck a plug in the datajack port, but she's watching the sensors.

Nearly dead center in the mass of vehicles, the young ork's bike sputters and nearly dies as he almost floods it. He doesn't even seem to notice - he's just kinda rockin' back and forth, with that grit-teeth I'ma go fast Daddy look on his face.

And they are off!

«Plot» Mirage says, "Bside gets a major boost and is in the lead, followed by krissy who's tires are squeeling, and Pulse who's just slightly behind Krissy. At the start, is Jag, who fucked his clutch and has to restart his bike."

Gladius takes the line smooth as silk. Her tires chirp once then catch traction, carefully moderated power applied to the drive train through proper clutching. Blindside's right hand works the manual transmission like magic, sliding between gears to keep the power on the tires constant. He hears the whine of Krissy's NOS and chuckles. Across the radio, he calls: "Too soon girl. Gotta have traction before more speed is helpful." Gladius roars in to an early lead, but any racer knows, the starting line ain't shit. It's the finish line that matters.

The Yang Zhi Car Club blurs off the line, downshifting their green and yellow sports coup, a modified Honda with an engine that sounds like a rice burner on steroids. Down the line, the car modded to look like a shark jerks out, smoke pouring off their tires as the try to get an early lead.

Cheers and leers, boos and tossed garbage rain down as the racers take off and leave thousands of nuyen in spent rubber and a choking cloud of smoke behind as the race begins. While many follow the race via their various terms and secs and vid screens, others jump into rides and trucks and bikes, heading to the next point in the race. Gotta stay ahead of the police!

As soon as the race starts up, Krissy hits the nitro button and puts her foot to the pedal, wheels spinning on the spot for an instant before the heavy vehicle begins to move.

Pulse's a little slow on the start, but his car's built just for this sort of thing- all the way from the manufacturer. He gets a good blast out of the starting position, his engine roaring and tires squealing. He hangs on to Krissy's metaphorical ass despite her nitros… and as his sensors play the information coming from all sources, he laughs. His own thumb plays over the nitro button, but… not yet. No, not yet.

He addresses the Radio. "Not bad, Bside-rizzle. Let me know when you think you could outrun my grandma."

Jag's beat up Offroader sputters and dies. All around him, the clusterfuck of vehicles surges forward and around, spitting rubber, dust, dirt, gravel, and who knows what else. Turning back to whatever crowd is near the starting line, the ork winks, rises up on the bike and drops his weight suddenly - kicking the bike to sudden re-life with a well needed dose of tough love. Out of his jacket he pulls some retro eyepro and slips them over his head. It's an exercise in 'a bit too late', though. The dust and smoke have done their damage, but the ork doesn't even seem phased. He pops a wild wheelie and zips out into the warrens. At this rate the kid'll be lucky to make it to the next block, much less the next checkpoint.

Not everyone gets to be a hero. Once bright red car looks like a winner, the driver geared up like Racer X or his clone. He slams the accelerator down and pops NOS and is rewarded with a sound not unlike a small bomb going off. Pistons blow through the hood of the vehicle and rain down across the area, his car going no where.

Several other cars jerk off the line, with two Mustang variants slamming into each other and stalling out, knocked out of the race. Other cars take the rear, even behind Jag on his cycle.

[Matrix] Pro-Decker Bookies says, "And they are off! Bside is in the lead, as the expected winner should be. Krissy is a bit back in second, with Pulse riding her ass at third. The dark horse of the race, Jag, is way in the back. Actually, he flooded the engine, and hasn't crossed the start line yet!"
[Matrix] «<Nacht»> Johnny says, "OOC(IS there a trix-feed? Like from a drone or street cams?)"
[Matrix] Mirage says, "(ooc: There be lots of them. Security cameras, a few drones, traffic cams… even a satellite feed. This thing is being hosted by deckers.)"
[Matrix] «<Nacht»> Johnny says, "(Checken! Thanks)"
[Matrix] «<Nacht»> Johnny says, "Goddamn, did you see those two mustangs on Camera#120? They just ran RIGHT in to each other. Fucken morons!"
[Matrix] «Fat Bastard» Baron says, "It only takes money to get a nice car, brains not required"
[Matrix] «<Nacht»> Johnny says, "True enough."

Commlink-Silver> Sterling says, "Go B-Syde!"
Commlink-BSyde> Blindside says, "I'm GOING!"

«Plot» Mirage says, "Turn is up ahead, a quarter mile off the start. We gonna roll for the turn, or roll to find alternate routes when pulse gets back."

From the rear of the starting line comes another roar, the sound of an overly large unmuffled engine rattling windows as a trike comes racing down the street on the line behind the racing vehicles. On said trike rides a Troll, apparently screaming but unheard over the ear pounding thunder of her ride, pale flesh covered in little more than dirty leather pants and a worn combat vest. A late entry, maybe?

The Turn!

Blindside gets up to speed on the road he's on, taking a quick moment from the shifter to play his little halfer hands over the sensor HUD. Traffic relay data and his own personal knowledge merge as he selects a -new- route for his race. Just when the race course seems to suggest a left turn, Gladius One powerdrifts, sliding and going RIGHT.

Commlink-BSyde> Blindside says, "Follow the leader!"


Follow the leader? Oh, this won't work well. Several of those towards the back get confused on which way to go. One car loses a fender and several others will clip curbs, one takes out a matrix kiosk, and one guy in a stolen runabout hits a sidewalk sandwich vendor.

[Matrix] «<Nacht»> Johnny says, "Where's the halfer going?"
[Matrix] Pro-Decker Bookies says, "So up ahead, bside turns right. No fucking idea."
[Matrix] Pro-Decker Bookies says, "Looks like pulse is taking the suggested route"

Pulse is already punching up the autonav as he hits the streets, but the deckers seem to have it set up… and as Blindside swerves away from the course, Pulse hits the brake hard and powerslides into a turn in the opposite direction. His tires squeal, but the boxer handles it like an expert, quickly shifting gears and shooting away!

"Somehow, Duncan, I don't think I'd like hanging out behind you too long." Another move and he's gone, his car tearing up the pavement like a champ.

"Besides. Champions never follow."

Commlink-BSyde> Blindside says, "That explains why you're not a champion anymore."

[Matrix] Pro-Decker Bookies says, "Krissy blew her tires out with NOS! Oh man. That changes things."

Blindside realizes, the moment after he says that, he's gonna die.

[Matrix] «<Nacht»> Johnny says, "FRAG! I had 15k on her!"
[Matrix] «<Nacht»> Johnny says, "Goddamn it!"
[Matrix] «Fat Bastard» Baron says, "I put 30 down on the one going off in the other direction"
[Matrix] «Eastwood 3:16» Janie says, "Sucks to be you tonight, Nacht."
[Matrix] Pro-Decker Bookies says, "What the fuck is this shit? the biker just pulled a pistol"
[Matrix] «<Nacht»> Johnny says, "Oh. Party Foul!"
[Matrix] Pro-Decker Bookies says, "He's… Shooting the building?"
[Matrix] Pro-Decker Bookies says, "Oh shit, he's going INTO THE BUILDING."
[Matrix] «Eastwood 3:16» Janie says, "… He'll have to shoot bigger guns than that to get through the wall on the other side…"
[Matrix] «<Nacht»> Johnny says, "Children, look. It's Darwin. He's in action."
[Matrix] Dumah says, "Maybe he'll get lucky and ram a door."
[Matrix] GOOMBA KassGM says, "Tonight you die Lucciano!"

Cars break left, break right. What the fuck is this turning shit? Pulling a hand cannon out of his jacket, the wild-eyed ork levels it to his front and rips off a shot into a set of large glass doors in the building straight ahead. With a guttural howl, he ducks his head low, kicks the bike up a gear and blast through the shattering glass doors into the building.

[Matrix] «Eastwood 3:16» Janie says, "… Uh oh. Who invited the mob?"
[Matrix] «<Nacht»> Johnny says, "Do they need an invite?"
[Matrix] Pro-Decker Bookies says, "That's what he's doin, he's shooting the glass out a door."
[Matrix] Numb says, "The mob don't exist. They said so when I asked the mob boss."
[Matrix] « EarthMage » Annie says, "No-one expects the Italian organization!"
[Matrix] GOOMBA KassGM says, "Fuck alla ya! This got nothing to do with yous all!"
[Matrix] « EarthMage » Annie says, "Or maybe that was the Spanish Inquisition. Ah well…it works."
[Matrix] «Eastwood 3:16» Janie says, "I got money riding on this race, Goomba. You screw up my bet, don't expect me not to take it personally."

The Camera's following BSyde take a moment to reorient, deckers caught somewhat off guard, but having protocols in place should it happen. Blindside roars down a narrow side street, drifting around the corner and then shooting up into an empty warehouse. He engages NOS for a half second then roars up a ramp to the second level. Turning down the main line of the Warehouse, he guns the engine to full power.

"Duncan, I do not advise this." Says Gladius.

"NO GUTS, NO GLORY!" Says Blindside, as the sports car bursts through the glass window and soars across the drainage ditch between the warehouse and the parking garage on the other side of the drainage ditch. A few moments later, he's back on the city streets, heading for the check point.

«Plot» Blindside says, " I did rather, just jump between two buildigns all dukes of Hazzard style."
«Plot» Mirage says, "Alright, In the lead now is Bsyde, who scratches the shit out of his ride on a really tight alley but is skipping a section of track for it. Behind him is the fucking dirt bike and the Pulse, neck and neck. Bside passes the first checkpoint and is now on a straight."

[Matrix] GOOMBA KassGM says, "Yah, well, we gotta do what we gotta do, Eastwood. Business is business."

«Plot» Mirage says, "There will be another turn, then the straight for you guys." (bsyde is a section ahead)"

[Matrix] «<Nacht»> Johnny says, "Anyone hurts the pulse while he's racing, and I swear to god, I'll fuck your wife and your kids will have blue eyes."
[Matrix] GOOMBA KassGM says, "…. wut?"

Commlink-BSyde> Blindside says, "YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE HAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!"

[Matrix] «<Nacht»> Johnny says, "Work it through… work it through… italians dont' have blue eyes… keep thinking…"
[Matrix] GOOMBA KassGM says, "God damned redneck! «LOGOFF»"
[Matrix] «<Nacht»> Johnny says, "Nacht: 192. Random Trolls: 0"

Still ducking through the streets, Pulse's ferrari is engaged in epic race-battle with the off-road bike. "Come on," he says. "Fucking tusker…" A blink in from his sensors and he curses. "FUCKING BLINDSIDE!" He shouts, and stops kidding around. He banks hard to the left, aiming to cut off the bike as he shoots around a turn, quickly working the shift again flipping the vehicle into overdrive. Now all he needs is a little bit of a straightaway and he can engage his own nitros….

[Matrix] «Eastwood 3:16» Janie says, "So much for the side show, back to the main event."

«Plot» Mirage says, "The biker is keeping up alright with the Pulse as he flies out a back window of the building, but is still a bit behind. Pulse is making corners pretty well, and Bsyde has a commanding lead"

The Yang Zhi Car Club's vehicle has a commanding lead on the rest of the chaff, blurring in a green/yellow blast after Pulse, Bsyde and the others. Behind them, cars are zooming down the road in a flurry of NOS and other enhancements, with everyone jocking for position on the turn.

[Matrix] Boxingfan Pulse says, ""Pauly's eyes are blue. And Beautiful. <3 <3 <3 <3 !!!!!!!"
[Matrix] «<Raven»> Selene says, "and he's a bastard :)"

On the straightaway now, Blindside checks the sensorfeed and selects his line. Pressing himself back in to the seat, he puts both hands on the wheels. "NOS, Three Second Burn!" he calls out. Gladius One does as asked, starting the flow of the explosive gas in to the chambers. The gas mixes with oxygen and fire, increasing compression and burn rate. The pistons push with greater force and speed, the camshaft turns faster, the transmission transfers the power to the wheels and the car's RPMS move in to the redline. Gritting his teeth, Blindside continues to maneuver the car in tight spaces, sliding between a pair of Americar's like they weren't even there.

«Plot» Pulse will be engaging his r5 nitros when he reaches the straightaway.

Blasting out the opposite side of the building's interior corridor, Jag lands close enough to read Pulse's lips as he yells something at him. Too bad that the young tusker doesn't understand English too well, much less read it. He grins tuskily, then jerks his bike left as Pulse tries to sideswipe him. A roaring laugh-howl erupts as he shoots off the road, hits a pile of crap a launches a sweet-ass tabletop over a long-abandoned dumpster. Not even believing it himself, he swings his bike back out into the street - a few lengths behind Pulse, for now, but he's having a grand old time.

[Matrix] «Eastwood 3:16» Janie says, "… Did the audio short out or was that a sonic boom?"

[Matrix] Pro-Decker Bookies says, "Looks like Blindside took a shortcut, he's past the first checkpoint and is on a straight away."

Sterling cheers in the privacy of the bigrig as she heads down the road, watching both the feed from the car and the race itself. She makes a few inputs and sends them to Bsyde regarding the diagnostics on the car, hmming and jotting down a few notes.

[Matrix] Dumah says, "Man, if they're shooting out windows now, what's it going to be like when they get to the warrens?"

[Matrix] «Eastwood 3:16» Janie says, "Well, the Demons sounded pretty enthusiastic about the chance to score some quality salvage scrap…"


Pulse's car, Brenna, slides into the straightaway… and as soon as Pauly's clear of the turns he grins, flips open the switch by his thumb… and then presses it.

It's a thing of beauty. The car shudders for just a moment, already moving at faster-than-rated speeds… and then it seems to explode forward, its tires squealing, it's engine roaring like a thing alive, the paint almost peeling off as the car rockets across the straightaway. "Come on, come on, baby, don't let me down…." Pauly murmurs, holding the car steady, getting as much distance as he can. "You're the best!"

Pauly flips his radio over to a broader band.

"HOO-AH!" He shouts. "I'm coming for you, motherfucker! I AM THE WIND!"

The young ork glances back beneath his right arm as he crouches down low and gives the offroader everything she's got. As cars all around him kick in boosts, nitro, and whatever else, he keeps his eyes on the prize regardless. He juts off and back onto the road, using his vehicle's small frame to his advantage. At least to avoid getting run down.


«Plot» Mirage says, "Jag is way back, without nitro on the straight, he's at a major disadvantage"

Back on course, a goodly distance ahead of the others, Blindside eyes the options. The RPM's are back in to the yellow, which is where they need to be. The HUD starts highlighting possible routes, with Blindside using verbal commands to discard them. He chooses the best solution. Cranking the wheel hard, hitting the front breaks while spinning the rear wheels, he drifts like a cloud around a corner and then roars through an underground parking structure, much to the dismay of the old man at the security both.

[Matrix] Pro-Decker Bookies says, "So it looks like Bside is taking more shortcuts"
[Matrix] Pro-Decker Bookies says, "That dirtbike is way back, no nitros hurts"
[Matrix] «<Raven»> Selene says, "that dwarf is crazy. Amusing, but frakkin' bug nutty crazy."

Commlink-BSyde> Blindside says, "Sterling, contact Gabriel, let him know I'm coming in ahead of the curve along Havana. I won't be switching cars, so Bambi, recover to Scabbard."

Commlink-Silver> Sterling says, "Ok boss, got it!"

Sterling starts making the calls from Scabbard, giving Gabriel the heads up and prepping to meet up with Bambi. The little dwarven woman bounces in the seat excitedly as other cars don't make it through the straightaway, with a few even ramming each other. It is a car eat car world out there.

«Plot» Mirage says, "Alright, more rolls. Straight away for Bsyde, you are in a residential area now. A nice residential area. Checkpoint 2 is just crossed. Pulse is making a choice, follow bsyde or don't. Jag is behind a ways, will get skipped this section."

Jag's Hyundai isn't built for speed, it really shouldn't even BE here today, but it got called in. It's quiet, and it can handle 'off the beaten path' pretty damn well, though. Laying it down low on it's side, the ork suddenly changes direction and zips into the parking garage that he saw the lead car drift into up ahead. As he passes the attendant, the amerind youth flashes him a a wicked thumbs up and looks quickly around for a security camera that he can flash his pearly whites to. He keeps it throttle open and follows the sound of the vehicle in front of him.

Pulse grits his teeth. No shortcuts coming up… and he can't keep this speed up off the road. Gotta play it straight… just gotta play it perfect. He adjusts again, leaving the nitros on as long as he dares, making sure to leave a little in the tank for the last stretch. He's cutting every corner he can, now, taking ramps over small rickshaws, powersliding under elephants, the whole nine yards. Crisp, precise moves, though: every risk is calculated. It's clear the man's been practicing, and isn't going to give up easily. His sensors feed him Blindside's manuevers, and, taking his hand off the wheel long enough to cross himself, he follows.

He shoots into the parking lot, taking advantage of his car's short profile and pristine handling as he dodges parked vehicles, his tires squeeling as he tries to get closer… still not being super crazy.

Yet.

Sliding in to a residential section, Gladius One shifts transponder codes, colors and licence plates. Blindside keeps the car moving at the top speed possible for the area, slaloming through the residential traffic. Smoke flies from the tires as the car tosses its weight around.

Commlink-BSyde> Blindside says, "Be advised the police are aware of the race at this point."

Commlink-Pulse> Pulse says, "well… fuck."

[Matrix] «Eastwood 3:16» Janie says, "Better finish fast, then."

At Bsyde's comment, Sterling checks the rear view mirrors and makes sure that Scabbard is doing the speed limit and that the active camo is set. Just another citizen, I swear. Nothing wrong here, officers.

[Matrix] Dumah says, "This could get /real/ interesting if the pigs follow these guys into the Warrens."
[Matrix] Pro-Decker Bookies says, "Looks like Knight is coming. We aren't going to intervene."

«Auto-Judge[]» Mirage (#5721) rolls 1:
4

«Auto-Judge[]» Pulse (#3231) rolls Car (Ferrari Spider GT) vs TN 3 for "top speed! HO-LEE Shit!":
1 1 2 3 4 = 2 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Pulse (#3231) rolls Car (Ferrari Spider GT) - 2 vs TN 3 for "top speed! HO-LEE Shit! kp 8/9":
3 3 3 = 3 Successes

Pulse hits the residential disctrict and hears Blindside's call… he swears, but at this point there's no choice in the matter. He came to WIN. His thumb hovers over the nitro button as he gets in line, and then… VOOOOOM! There's another roar from his engines as he struggles to catch up, dodging mailboxes and baby cats, caution thrown to the wind!

Good thing he never reported his car unstolen, right?

«Auto-Judge[]» Jag (#6166) rolls Bike (Off-Road):
1 1 5 8 11
«Plot» Mirage says, "A turn, just before the warrens"

Alleys, buildings, underground lots. Wait, what was that on the trid in that house? Fuck. Jag has no clue where he is anymore, other than the fact that he better keep moving. He's losing ground, all the nice cars are waaaay up ahead. And something came over the box about cops. Up ahead it starts looking rugged - Good.

Blindside places a call to the police. "Officers! There's a man in a Ferrari screaming through my neighborhood! He's doing 120 if he's standing still! The license plate was… BR… OH LORD! ENNA!"

With that, he focuses on the warren of turns and twists that will bring him closer and closer to the warrens…

«Plot» Mirage says, "Base if you slow down, +2 if you don't,"
«OOC» Pulse says, "blindside going the recommended route, or something fancy?"

«Auto-Judge[]» Blindside (#2329) rolls Car (Mustang) vs TN 4 for "VROOOOOOOOOOOOOM":
3 3 4 4 4 4 5 10 16 = 7 Successes

«Auto-Judge[]» Pulse (#3231) rolls Car (Ferrari Spider GT) vs TN 3 for "slow down? NEVAR!":
1 4 5 8 11 = 4 Successes

«Auto-Judge[]» Jag (#6166) rolls Bike (Off-Road) vs TN 4 for "Hey, is that an abandoned lot? Waitwut, pothole?":
2 3 3 5 5 = 2 Successes

More conservative drivers would slow down. But Blindside doesn't. He selects his angles, cutting the corners and spooling up the engine for bursting to speed on the short straightaways. He taps the console, laying down spritzes of Oil on the road at key points… you know, those points drives coming through here at any kind of speed are gonna roll over.

Pulse Gets Oily

«Plot» Mirage says, "Alright, So bside takes recommended route. He's still far ahead. Pulse is a bit behind, and takes the turn… But there's OIL ON THE ROAD! BSIDE THAT CHEATER! And jag is cutting through the parking lot"

«OOC» Pulse says, "difficulty to avoid the oil?"
«Plot» Blindside says, " I'm not a cheater. I'm a strategic thinker."
«STAFF» Mirage says, "Handling +4"

«STAFF» Mirage says, "Handling +4"
«Auto-Judge[]» Pulse (#3231) rolls Car (Ferrari Spider GT) vs TN 7 for "HOLEE SHIT!":
2 3 3 4 5 = 0 Successes
«STAFF» Mirage says, "You didn't slow down."
«Auto-Judge[]» Pulse (#3231) rolls Car (Ferrari Spider GT) vs TN 7 for "HOLEE SHIT! kp 9/9":
2 4 4 4 5 = 0 Successes

[Matrix] «Eastwood 3:16» Janie says, "I hope Pauly's paid up with DocWagon."

«Plot» Mirage says, "Pulse goes flying into a building due to the oilslick. Your gonna need to roll to soak."

«Auto-Judge[]» Pulse (#3231) rolls Car (Ferrari Spider GT) vs TN 9 for "here goes nothing.":
1 2 2 4 5 = 0 Successes

«Auto-Judge[]» Pulse (#3231) rolls 3:
1 5 7
«Auto-Judge[]» Pulse (#3231) rolls Body vs TN 5 for "OW!":
2 2 3 4 4 9 11 = 2 Successes

«Auto-Judge[]» Pulse (#3231) has the Bioware Trauma Damper with the following information:
----> Bioware Item for Pulse (#3231) <-----
Item Name: Trauma Damper
Grade: NORMAL
Body Index: 0.36
Installed: Yes


«OOC» Pulse says, "light stun. :)"

«OOC» Blindside says, "L stun. Car takes 6 boxes of damage. Car will require 30% of total value to repair."
«STAFF» Mirage says, "He takes a light stun, and thar be cops"

Commlink-BSyde> Blindside says, "Sterling, When Pulse hits those corners, he's going to need you."
Commlink-Silver> Sterling says, "Huh? Ok, we'll head that way!"
Commlink-BSyde> Blindside says, "Thank you."

Sterling plots a course towards whereever the heck she is being sent, asking Scabbard to change mods again. 'ACME Moving Truck, We Carry 4 You!' will appear on the side along with a wacky picture of two guys carrying furniture. The dwarf watches the various screens worriedly.

There's Oil. Fuck. There's Oil… and then even as Pauly's taking the turn, he's skidding out of control, spinning once, spinning twice, spinning three times and SLAM! Into the side of the building! The expensive sports car crunches and cracks, powerful bits being broken and bent from the ultra-high speed collision. Smoke rises, and Pauly struggles to get out….

Remarkably, nearly unhurt. Gotta love those protective systems. "Mother -fuck-," he mutters.

Commlink-BSyde> Blindside says, "Pulse, stand by. You have assistance coming."
Commlink-Pulse> Pulse says, "roger. Good move, shortstack. I'll get you next time."

[Matrix] Pro-Decker Bookies says, "So blindside greased the corners in that turn"

Hauling ass through urban decay wasn't that far off from the back roads and trails that Jag spent most of his time on. He cuts his speed just enough to dip through an opening in the fence of a long abandoned parking lot. Opening the throttle back up, he crosses thelot as quickly as possible and shoots out the opposite side, across the street, and towards an alley leading into the warens. Where the hell -is- that tusker going?
He glances back, just barely catching the wreck out of the corner of his eye as he shoots into the alley.

Commlink-BSyde> Blindside says, "Rubbings Racing."

[Matrix] «<Nacht»> Johnny says, "CHEATER!"

[Matrix] Pro-Decker Bookies says, "Pulse takes the corners without slowing, goes flying into a building. Meanwhile, everyone else is way the hell back, closest person being the biker."

«Plot» Blindside says, " I am now confused as to the standings between me and Jag."
«Plot» Mirage says, "He's going to take 2 turns on the straight"
«Plot» Mirage says, "And a turn on the turn"
«Plot» Mirage says, "So he's 3 actions back"

Sterling covers her eyes as Scabbard navigates through the neighborhood, occasionally going over a curb. She sinks down in the seat and just waits for the ride to be over, wincing at every bump and possible collision.

[Matrix] Vixen says, "What ya expect from a grease monkey?"
[Matrix] Pro-Decker Bookies says, "Seems Blindside is sending his trailer to go pick pulse up like a gentleman, but it ALSO seems the cops are heading in. This could get dicey for everyone."
[Matrix] Dumah says, "Oh, we gotta have some video of this…"

Pulse staggers off the road, into some cover, and he shakily hits his speed dial. "Hey, Jimmy. Yeah, I know you're busy. I know you're real busy. But listen, I need a favor… seriously. Tell your people that the officers have already got the Ferrari. Tell them to pursue this green-yellow car. Yeah, they've got assault rifles in there. I've seen them. I think there may be black men in there, having kidnapped a white woman. Yes,I'm sure she's christian. Anyway, the police already are on the asshole in the Ferrari, tow truck's already here. Yeah, I know. Residential, right? Guy ran over my cat. Gonna punch him in the FACE."

He shakes a little. "Just take care of it, all right? I'll scratch your back."

[Matrix] «<Nacht»> Johnny says, "This should be interesting."
[Matrix] «<Raven»> Selene says, "someday.. I'm gonna make that bastard suffer for trying to get himself killed every 3 days."
[Matrix] Vixen says, "|Dun Dun Duuuun…"
[Matrix] «Aquis» Adam says, "Hey, its improvement. At least it isnt every 2 days."
[Matrix] « EarthMage » Annie says, "He's a guy…learn to live wit it, or learn to like boobs :p"
[Matrix] «Silk» Kassandra says, "So you are going to marry him?"
[Matrix] «<Nacht»> Johnny says, "Well there goes MY chances."
[Matrix] «Silk» Kassandra says, "To marry him??"
[Matrix] « EarthMage » Annie says, "I knew it."
[Matrix] «<Raven»> Selene laughs! "I didn't know you swung that way, Nacht!"
[Matrix] «<Nacht»> Johnny says, "Well, he is cute."
[Matrix] « EarthMage » Annie says, "He has blue eyes!"
[Matrix] «<Raven»> Selene says, "yes, he's almost prettier than me."
[Matrix] Vixen chokes on her coffee
[Matrix] «<Nacht»> Johnny says, "From behind, he's cuter."
[Matrix] «<Raven»> Selene says, "you think I haven't noticed? Man… nice ass."

Blindside has a commanding lead as he enters the warrens, far away from everyone else. Knight Errant is making it's move, combing the residential area, as more and more racers drop from the race. More KE are heading to the scene, but they pull away and start heading towards the residential area as well.

More and more racers are forced to quit, until it's down to blindside and that slowass biker.

Meanwhile… those watching the satellite feed notice some unmarked black cars heading toward the crash site…
[Matrix] Pro-Decker Bookies says, "Wonder who those guys are."
[Matrix] « EarthMage » Annie says, "You do?"

Blindside continues to drive swiftly. Now in the Warrens, he's got no problems from the Cops, but the truck may be in trouble. Son of a bitch. "Why I gotta be such a nice guy?" He asks himself curiously.

"Because you want to be accepted by other meat people." Offers the car, helpfully.

"Great. Psychoanalysis by a V-12."

BUMP bounce! Sterling looks out from between her fingers. "Aha! We are close!" She keys the comms, "Hello Pulse! I hear you need a ride?" She peers into the darkness at the mess of a car, shaking her head. "Well, I guess we can get it in the back? Course, if the cops are close …"

[Matrix] «<Nacht»> Johnny says, "Goddamn it. Raven, Earthmage, get the pretty boy a message. Those are family vehicles heading his way."
[Matrix] «<Nacht»> Johnny says, "He needs to be gone."
[Matrix] «Silk» Kassandra says, "They DID say they were going to do something."

Pulse moves back into the car as sterling approaches. "Cops think you're a towtruck," he says. "Can you change your colour appropriately?" He gets up the engine as best as he can, wincing… trying to drive it into the back… "I'd say Bside and I are even for this. Hope to race him again."

[Matrix] « EarthMage » Annie says, "I will see what I can do."

"Scabbard, time to be a tow truck!" Sterling hops out to help get Pulse's vehicle into the back, turning her cap around and rolling up her sleeves, "Jeez, that looks bad. Well, with a few days and some luck, we can probably get her back as good as new!" The semi starts to shift paint scheme again, becoming Ronald's Tow and Dings! We Drag it in!

Jag tears through the warrens, his bike more than built for the rugged terrain. The sound of immediate pursuit (and competition) has faded into the night, oddly, and the young ork runs without lights - his natch eyesight more than able to handle the poor lighting. He hasn't seen any sign of the cops, other the the warnings that came out the 'box, but he keeps his eyes open just in case. If it came down to evading the fuzz, he knew that his specialized bike's sig would be more than soft enough in this maze of buildings and rubble to allow a clean getaway.

[Matrix] «<Raven»> Selene says, "FAMILY? what the hell?"
[Matrix] «<Nacht»> Johnny says, "<BLOWUP.JPG> - Standard throwaway vehicles here."
[Matrix] «Silk» Kassandra says, "Looks like they want to have a family bar-b-que."
[Matrix] «<Nacht»> Johnny says, "Just get him a message and get him out of there."
[Matrix] «<Nacht»> Johnny says, "I udnerstand theres been a falling out between the Lucciano boys recently."
[Matrix] «<Nacht»> Johnny says, "But not much more."
[Matrix] «<Raven»> Selene says, "Earthmage -are you on site there?"
[Matrix] « EarthMage » Annie says, "Affirmative, I am nearby."
[Matrix] «Silk» Kassandra says, "Let me know if you need anything. Ha. Ha. I am sure you have it in hand. <emoticon: smile>"
[Matrix] «Eastwood 3:16» Janie says, "I can be onside in two minutes if you need assistance, EM."
[Matrix] « EarthMage » Annie says, "I may need a peptalk occasionally. :)"
[Matrix] «Aquis» Adam says, "Same. Keeping an eye on 'em. He is tough— barely hurt. We could mask him as a hobo, make sure a photo op is ready for /that/."
[Matrix] «Fat Bastard» Baron says, "Damn, heaven and earth moving to save one crazy guy who ran the risk of driving an illegal race in the first place."
[Matrix] «<Nacht»> Johnny says, "Loyalty can'tbe bought, FB."

«Plot» Mirage says, "Alright, you start to corner in the warrens, and there is an explosion. Someone went out of their way to set up a bomb to remote detonate oilslicks of their own. Your car is covered in oil as you make a hard turn."

«Plot» Blindside says, " That would be Dumah's handy work."
«OOC» Blindside says, "Crash test? Any chance to avoid?"

[Matrix] «<Raven»> Selene says, "Damn.. I knew I should have been there. Headed that way as quick as I can."

«Plot» Mirage says, "So now you need to roll at offroad handling +6 to avoid, followed by crash test. Suckage."

«OOC» Blindside nods. I register my strenuous objection to this, as it must have been a HUGE bomb perfectly timed to hit one car, and move we forward.

«Auto-Judge[]» Blindside (#2329) rolls Car (Mustang) vs TN 8 for "Avoiding Bomb":
1 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 22 = 1 Success
«STAFF» Mirage says, "So noted."

[Matrix] «Aquis» Adam says, "Bring a six-pack if you're heading out."

«Auto-Judge[]» Blindside (#2329) rolls Car (Mustang) - 1 vs TN 8 for "Avoiding Bomb KP 8/12":
1 1 2 3 3 4 5 10 = 1 Success

«Plot» Mirage says, "You slide into a spin for a bit, but avoid any collisions."

[Matrix] «<Raven»> Selene says, "sure thing.. IPA OK?"

Dumah watches from his lawn chair in the Warrens as B-Side screams around that corner covered in oil. He seems… somehow disappointed. Ah, well. He continues watching as the cars run past.

«Auto-Judge[]» Blindside (#2329) rolls Car (Mustang) vs TN 5 for "Clearing the Tires":
1 1 2 2 2 3 5 10 13 = 3 Successes

[Matrix] «Aquis» Adam says, "Sounds good to me."

«Plot» Mirage says, "You clean the tires some"
«Plot» Mirage says, "But you notice.."
«Plot» Mirage says, "Lots of activity in the warrens. Gangs fighting gangs. Apparently eveyone is calling in favors, for different people, and they all started fighting over it. Kinda usual warrens shit, really."

Vixen watches the whole thing on her vid uplink from behind dark shades as she soaks in her hot tub. Ahhhh. Bubbles.

Warrens

Screaming down the warrens, the Mustang's soundsystem goes quiet, the undercarriage lighting flickering off and then the paint slides in to a drab color. Not exactly going to help when its still a sports car doing 90 miles an hour down a wasteland. Blindside takes a corner, then straightens out. Just a half second before he passes over, the sensors scream a warning, which Blindside heeds, cranking the wheel. That allows the bomb to go off about 10 feet to the side, rocking the car and splattering it with oil and dirt. The car careens for a moment, then the halfer regains control.

"DANGER, TRACTION COMPRISED. DAMAGE TO REAR RIGHT QUARTER PANEL. REAR RIGHT CAMERA OFFLINE. REAR RIGHT TAIL LIGHT NO LONGER OPERATIONAL" Intones Gladius One, to which Blindside only grunts. Minor damage, all told and nothing thats going to harm him, save the first bit.

Choosing an open-ish bit of road, Blindside cranks the vehicle to the right, then the left, hitting the gas. The feed will show the car seeming to fishtail in a fashion that defies physics, sending up gouts of smoke from the tires, as oil then rubber burns away. When the traction is restored, he hits the main road.

"Gabriel, thanks for being here man! I appreciate it!" he screams in to the commlink, using the Saints Frequency. "I owe your ass!"

Commlink-BSyde> Blindside says, "Heavy activity in the warrens. Someone just tried to kill me. Looks like the usual fun."

«Plot» Mirage says, "You regain traction after several fishtails, and take off down the road."

«Plot» Mirage says, "Jag, meanwhile is pulling past the crash site around when Pulse is getting out of the car"

«Plot» Jag would have probably offered him a ride to get him away from the cops, but that'd be too much to retcon. Seeing that the dude's okay - Jag'll give him a thumbs up and push on.

«Plot» Mirage says, "Taking it at full speed, or slowing down, Jag?"
«Plot» Jag says, "Avoiding the slick. Obvious from the wreck that something happened."
«Plot» Mirage says, "You'll get into the warrens as Blindside finishes the race"
«Plot» Mirage says, "Oddly, due to all the gangs fighting eachother, nobody is shooting at the racers."

[Matrix] «Eastwood 3:16» Janie says, "Racers, recommend you stay off Smoky Hill and Liverpool. Looks like the Saints and the Demons are having one of their periodical zoning debates from up here."

Jag cuts up and across a fragmented sidewalk as he rolls past the scene of Pulse's wreck. He rolls slow, taking the corner extra tight to avoid the slick and flashes the man a thumbs up as he extracts himself from the battered car. "Roll on, ese! Th'man ees comin'!" The bike revs up once it's clear of the wreck and the ork tears off into the night. There's absolutely no sign of the lead car anymore, but hopefully the trail of destruction will lead Jag in the direction of the finish.

[Matrix] «<Nacht»> Johnny says, "Oooh, I hope 'rezoned for light commercial' wins this time."

«Auto-Judge[]» Blindside (#2329) rolls Car (Mustang) vs TN 3 for "Vrooooomy":
1 1 2 3 3 3 3 4 22 = 6 Successes

[Matrix] «Eastwood 3:16» Janie says, "They're having a fire sale right now from the looks of it. Maybe it'll improve property values."

Blindside roars through the warrens now. Here and there, small arms fire ricochets off the hood of his car, leaving a smear of lead and a spark in its wake. Taking the turn in a hard power slide, the front end swings around to the new direction long before the car actually goes that direction. Hitting the gas after straightening up, Blindside heads for the finish.

«Plot» Mirage says, "At the finish line is a bunch of people watching, a few with cameras, and a guy with a big red bag."

«Auto-Judge[]» Blindside (#2329) rolls Car (Mustang) vs TN 2 for "Ye haw.":
1 2 4 4 5 5 5 10 11 = 8 Successes

[Matrix] «Fat Bastard» Baron says, "Well, looks like I made the right bet"
[Matrix] «<Raven»> Selene says, "I would have made the same bet.. if I were betting."
[Matrix] Pro-Decker Bookies says, "We had the odds like they were for good reason."

Finish Line

Coming out of the Warrens and on to the last stretch, the car's paint comes back online, the undercarriage lights come back online and the music starts back up. It's not as cool as it was, as the car is still covered in dirt and oil, but it's still pretty damned awesome as the Mustang roars across the finish line at full power.

Spinning the car, Blindside brings her to a stop by turning 180, so he's now rolling backwards, then spins the tires to bring it to a smokey, but epic stop in front of the man with the bag.

Rolling down the window, Blindside tosses a nod. "Sup?"

[Matrix] Dumah says, "Pretty good race, all told."

Dumah lets out a little disappointed sigh, then nearly jumps as his cellphone rings. Crap. He thought he had that sucker muted! He eyes, then plugs it into his head to chat via transducer.

The man with the red duffel bag tosses it in the window. "140k nuyen, all in UCAS dollars like they used to do it back in the day. Gratz on the win, we'll give you a call some time if we do this again" he says.

Meanwhile, the crowd goes wild, surrounding the vehicle trying to get a good look at their winner.

Oh No! Black Cars!

Vixen zooms her vidfeed to Pauly's location watching as the drama unfolds.

Pulse puts on his parking break. "Get us out of here!" He calls over the comm. "There are fucking cars piling up back there… but they're not cops. Any ideas?"

"Scabbard, get us outta here!" Sterling helps secure Pulse's broken car, moving swiftly to get the thing in place before they have to do any heavy maneuvering. Which isn't gonna be much, because they are in a big rig. "I have no idea! Maybe some fans wanting to be sure you are ok?"

Commlink-BSyde> Blindside says, "Bambi, move to assist Scabbard. I'm in route."

«OOC» Jag wonders if he can cover 5 miles before the rig catches up to Pulse's accident and loads the car?

Bambi nods, putting the pedal to the metal and screaming off towards its home carrier.

Commlink-Pulse> Pulse says, "If Raven's listening, I'm all right. Barely a scratch- and the car's salvageable."

[Matrix] «Eastwood 3:16» Janie says, "Either that or Goomba's pals want to finish up with Pauly now that the race is over. I recommend you don't wait to find out."

Pulse staggers out of the car, wincing as he sees how bad it looks. "Can we evade them?" He asks. "I didn't bring my shotgun. Excess weight." He puts up a hand to steady himself as he vehicle moves. "Anything I can do? I feel somewhat… useless here."

Sterling looks over Pulse critically, moving closer as she scans the man, a faint frown touching her features. "You look a little shocky, maybe a concussion too, possibly whiplash." She shakes her head and murmurs, "They can block the pain but not the biological side effects." She suggests, "Hang on and we'll see what we can do. Evasion is gonna be hard, but maybe we can move things into an area they feel less happy about shooting at us at, if that is what they want."

[Matrix] Vixen says, "You know, I'm starting to think that being well connected, famous and a decent fuck…not that I would know about that last one… are qualities one should avoid if you want to live a long life."
[Matrix] «<Nacht»> Johnny says, "Hey."
[Matrix] «Silk» Kassandra says, "Yes. I lament having all of those characteristics."
[Matrix] «<Nacht»> Johnny says, "I -am- listening here."
[Matrix] «<Raven»> A Raven says, "yeah, I would tend to agree. If your own family doesn't get you, your girl might."
[Matrix] «<Nacht»> Johnny says, "And I am all those things."

The thrill of the race quickly loses it's excitement as one by one every other competitor drops out, crashes, or fades away to avoid the K.E. pursuit. It'd certainly have nothing to do with his buzz wearing off. Jag offers a respectful wave as he passes the green and yellow car heading back into the warrens on his way to the finish. 2nd place. Hell. He didn't even expect to finish. The ork pulls a sweet endo across the finish and rolls to a stop, looking around at the crowd that's already begun to break up.

[Matrix] «Fat Bastard» Baron says, "Famous people shouldn't run in illegal races, just not safe."
[Matrix] Vixen says, "But it's ok for infamous ones?"

The black cars box the truck in before it can pick up speed. Windows roll down as the men inside the cars prepare to spray the truck with SMG fire!

«Plot» Mirage says, "So they are shooting the trailor up with AV ammo"
«Plot» Mirage says, "I'm not using standard AV rules."
«Plot» Blindside says, " As a note, Myrmidon is on voice command and will accept Sterlings Voice Commands."
«Plot» Mirage says, "They aren't aiming to blow away the truck."
«Plot» Mirage says, "They are trying to kill things inside."

Pulse rubs his head a little. "Yeah, probably. Shocky. Did I really just drive into a wall?" He wipes his face,now, a little bit of sweat, a little bit of blood… "Trying to…" he slips a little, almost falling off of his feet… then he hears the gunfire. "WHAT THE FUCK?" He shouts, suddenly surging to awareness again. He hits his comm.

Commlink-Pulse> Pulse says, "Aquis! Where the fuck are you? I need to get out of here!"

«Plot» Mirage says, "They can't see you, and are just emptying rounds into the trailor before driving off. Way I'm handling this is you'll roll a single die. You gonna soak half that many AV rounds, rounded down. It's reduced by the armor of the vehicle."

«Plot» Mirage says, "And personal armor, of course."
«OOC» Blindside says, "Scabbards armor: 5. Trailers body: 8"
«Auto-Judge[]» Pulse (#3231) rolls 1:
7

«OOC» Pulse says, "so 3 rounds."
«STAFF» Mirage says, "Sucky roll. Coulda been worse."
«Auto-Judge[]» Sterling (#9205) rolls 1 for "Bullets":
3

«Plot» Mirage says, "Alright, 4M damage."
«Auto-Judge[]» Pulse (#3231) rolls Body vs TN 4 for "bullet one":
1 2 4 4 5 5 5 = 5 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Pulse (#3231) rolls Body vs TN 4 for "bullet two":
1 2 4 4 4 5 5 = 5 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Pulse (#3231) rolls Body vs TN 4 for "bullet three":
1 1 2 4 5 11 15 = 4 Successes
«OOC» Blindside says, "No damage pulse )"
«STAFF» Mirage says, "And 1 4m soak from Sterling"

«Auto-Judge[]» Sterling (#9205) rolls Body vs TN 2 for "4M damage minus half personal body armour":
1 1 4 9 = 2 Successes

«Auto-Judge[]» Sterling (#9205) rolls Combat Pool: 9 vs TN 2 for "Wait! I am nimble and quick, verily":
1 1 1 1 1 3 3 4 4 = 4 Successes

Pulse leaps towards Sterling as the bullet fire opens up, trying to shield the pretty little thing with his body… bullets slam into him, firing through the truck, but Pauly's gambit works… nearly all of them hit the big boxer, not the dwarf. Thudthudthud, THAT's gonna leave a bruise!

Vixen cusses a bit as she watches the attack from her backyardigan. "Mother fucking cowards." She hops out of her hot tub and starts drying off with a fluffly towel.
«Auto-Judge[]» Mirage (#5721) rolls 3:
1 1 5

Baron is sitting in the warrens in his RV with his drone in the air, why he was waiting along the route, well, no one really knows, cause nothings happening now, he keeps his Bison in a circling pattern while he watches feeds on the matrix.

Bullets? Guns? Sterling yips loudly and falls backwards as Pulse leaps towards her, falling out of the path of the rounds even as a few slap into the large man. She curls into a ball instinctively, calling out loudly, "Myrmy! Stop those guys!"

Annie flickers across the intervening distance at astral speeds, a group of elementals trailing in her wake.

"MYRMIDON ONLINE!"

The drone's chaingun cycles up as it stomps to the side door…

«Plot» Mirage says, "Roll the initiaitves."
«Auto-Judge[]» Sterling (#9205) rolls Initiative with a result of 15.
«Auto-Judge[]» Blindside (#2329) rolls Initiative using a VCR rating 2 with a result of 26.
«Auto-Judge[]» Janie (#4136) rolls Initiative with a result of 17.
«Auto-Judge[]» Pulse (#3231) rolls Initiative with a modifier of -1 with a result of 25.
«Auto-Judge[]» Adam (#1093) rolls Initiative with a result of 11.
«Auto-Judge[]» Annie (#5398) rolls 1 for "+20 Astral + 12 Intelligence + 8 Initgrade.":
1

Blindside slides in to Myrmidon just as it powers up on the voice command. "BLINDSIDE IN THE HIZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZOUUUUUUUUUUUUSE BITCHES!"

«Plot» Mirage says, "WAit"
«Plot» Mirage says, "I said janie, meant Annie"
«OOC» Janie says, "Heh. Thought so."
«Plot» Mirage says, "Though anyone astrally is THERE."
«Plot» Blindside says, " On the downside, astral people can't do shit."
«OOC» Annie can make fire elementals manifest in SUV gas tanks.
«STAFF» Mirage says, "So whatcha gonna do, annie?"
«STAFF» Mirage says, "Procede with gastankofdooms?"
«OOC» Annie has 2 force 8 Fire Elementals, 2 force 6 fire elementals and 1 force 8 earth elemental present with her astrally. And yes. How many suv's present?
«OOC» Blindside says, "Complex action to order an elemental."
«OOC» Annie says, "There are four vehicles like that present *points*, each of you manifest in the yummy liquid center of a different one."
«STAFF» Mirage says, "Maybe 5?"
«STAFF» Mirage will go ahead and say 5.

«OOC: Long discussion about elementals here»

Jag looks around grouchily as everyone abandons the finish line. Coming down off of that shit was the worst part. He needed to get the fuck back to his stash. "What? No fuckin' runner-up prize? Not even the ugly chicks hang around? How mighty white of you." Jag rolls his bike around and heads off into parts unknown, headache from hell drilling into his temples.

Annie hovers above the scene in the astral plane, shaking her head sadly as the mob goons tear up B's paint job. "Fricasee Squadron, there are five vehicles like those present..", she indicates one of the attacking SUV's, "Each of you locate the yummy flammable liquid center of a different one below and manifest therein in full fiery glory. I want to see burning flaming flying body parts."

«Plot» Mirage says, "Alright, 4 of the 5 cars explode.

The four elementals giggle gleefully at the burning part, then flicker downward toward the SUV's pacing the Trailer. Their astral forms pass easily through the vehicles metallic physical shell, and they quickly locate the flammable chewy center that Annie mentioned. Their massive forms begin to materialize inside, and it doesn't take much for the fuel to ignite, prompting a massive fireball that quickly expands to encompass the vehicle and it's occupants.

Annie gets her flaming bodies, as gangsta's who somehow manage to survive the initial blast run about screaming and flailing their arms as the clinging fuel soaks and immolates their bodies. For a brief moment she wishes her element was fire, since that actually looks like a helluva fucking good time down there.

Vixen violently rips her shades from her eyes with a yowl as her vision fills with dramatic flares from the explosion. "AHHH!" She blinks a few times and screws her eyes shut still seeing the aftervision of big white blobs behind her eyes. "Frak! I'm BLIND!!!!"

And then the anti-vehicular ammo begins to cook off…

«STAFF» Mirage says, "The last SUV is gonna just try and drive away, I call open RP for now. If you want to blow it up, fine. If you want to let it go, also fine."

Myrmidon hits the side door, its gait getting noticeably smoother as Blindside takes control of its systems. The gun spools up. "YOU ARE IN VIOLATION OF DENVER SPEED ORDINANCE FOUR OH THREE NINE POINT FIVE SIX TWO. PULL OVER. PULL OVER. PULL OVER." A pause, and then the massive assault cannon chatters.

Pulse winces from all the explosions. Explosions make him afraid… he's got a history. "can we get out of here?" He asks Sterling.

"I think that is a great idea! Scabbard, we should be leaving before the big explosions get someone curious!" Sterling does not rise, however, staying low in case more shooting and blowing up happens.

Pulse stays low, too, providing Sterling cover from bullets. Yes. That's it. He's not hiding from the boom booms at all.

A Raven finally catches up to the truck with Pulse inside, an flies far overhead, following it wherever it goes.

Commlink-Mustang> Janie says, "… Looks like you're clear. Earthmage… convinced… the survivors to find someplace else to be. Better head out and have your bruises checked. I'm doing the same."

The truck lurches to action, the assault cannon chewing the last SUV to flinders as the walker drone lashes out with the massive gun.

"Scabbard, Rolling Out!"

Annie allows the final vehicle to depart, or at least does not attempt to destroy it herself Her fire elementals, after completing their incendiary orders, return to her.. Some may have taken some damage, but most likely not much thanks to their immunity to normal weapons power, and the largely fire-based nature of the resulting explosion. "My thanks brothers, you did well!", she compliments them glowingly, "Now return to your fair realms with my gratitude. The elementals grin once more, well pleased with being allowed to burn fleshy waterbags once more, and wink out of existence.

It takes a while, but eventually, Scabbards rear door drops down, even as your driving. Gladius drives right up in to the truck, catching a trip-wire and jerking to a stop.

Pulse stands up as the vehicle rolls, trying to figure out his balance. Hoping he isn't being delivered to -more- enemies.

Everyone wants to shoot him!

Blindside steps out of the car, by wiggling out the window. No room to really open the doors in the catch-sling. "What the FRAG! THERE ARE HOLES IN MY FUCKING TRUCK!"

Pulse shakily stares at the car in the sling. "There are holes in my CAR!" He shouts back. "And it's crumpled up like a piece of tinfoil!"

Blindside eyes the Ferarri where it sits in the forward shop area. "Drive American, bitch."

Pulse grunts. "It was a gift!" He says. "And I was doing -soooo- good!" He mutters. "Look at that! The plate is ruined! Selene's going to set me on -fire-. Who knows what she'll do to you! Maybe turn you into a TOAD!"

A Raven is still flying high above, following the big rig as it drives back home. Hell, she could probably fly ahead to the Mustang ranch and just wait.
.. and borrow some clothes from the strippers.

Bambi comes over to assist Blindside all the way out of the car. "Hey. You know?" A pause. "A FUCKING THANK YOU WOULD BE GOOD." He says, coming closer. "Look, yeah, I wiped you out. Thats -racing-. Me sending Scabbard and the crew to get you? Thats a -favor-."

Probably a good plan, unless you want Blindsides head in your snatch.

.. Oh, Bsyde — that's.. a wonderful visual!

Pulse turns from shouting to laughter. "One I appreciate," he says. "And I mean to repay, by not actually being mad at you. You won the race, right?" He asks. "Don't think anyone there could have caught you. Hell, I couldn't have."

Blindside grins then, giving a pair of thumbs. "Whats got two thumbs and a SACK FULL OF CASH?"

A pause.

He jerks the thumbs back to himself. "ME!"

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