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Post by Lunapocalypse on Jun 16, 2010 2:55:12 GMT -5
Ash had followed Gen as she went to collect the electronics Thomas had requested. Rather than breaking and entering the cruiser it seemed more realistic to simply use the keys they likely had on their person. That, and obtaining the plug for the immobilizer mean she wouldn't need to break anything to get the car started.
Rain had picked up further, winds gusted in and pushed the sheets of water over the slick parade. Ash held no love for the cruiser which had been under the agents control, she popped the door open and fired it up in near spite of the vehicle feeling as if she should have been a little more mind breaking to both of the intruders. The urge rose to plunge the cruiser into the nearest wall... but it was vital to Thomas' skirmish. It would live for now.
Into the warehouse, up onto the Gyro-CAD's operating lift. Her fingers dug into the steering wheel once turning it over. Being alone in the cruiser, Ash felt assaulted with emotions; anger, helplessness, morbid sorrow. For a moment she'd almost fallen apart in the stress of depression. The want to locate her sister, liberate Nicola; blackmail; relied on to keep a community together. Worst of all, it made the physical affliction rise inside her; her FoV turning red, body seizing up, nausea.
A part of the Muse wanted to fall to pieces; but a remnant of what sanity remained made it clear this wasn't a suitable moment to do that. Colour washed back in and fresh air filled her nostrils. Ash finally let go of the steering wheel, 'Much too close...' she popped open the door, she had to get away from the momentary solitude; the rain had been good, matting her fringe to her forehead covering the sweat.
Gen returned with the electronics... or, everything, "I didn't have a fricking clue what you were looking for, so I looted whatever looked black or whatever had cables sticking out of it. Specifically their radios..." she held up the box with a line running out of it leading to an ear piece, "Only grabbed one 'cause the other severed along with the last guys head," she looked accusingly to Ash who stepped down from the Gyro-CAD, wiping her brow.
"Cruiser's ready," she mumbled to Gen, "Do your best. Or worst. Or whatever," she stood behind Thomas as he tapped away at his lappy, waiting for results in particular, but mostly just waiting to be given something else to do.
The Stunt-girl stepped over to the terminal and fumbled through the displays. The Gunslinger was taken aback as steam seemed to whistle from her ears and she held back a scream, then Goosfraba'd it out in controlled breathing, speaking to herself, "It's alright Genevieve... You know you have your UI saved personally... just relax," seconds later the roadrunner applied requirements, booted the sequence, and Violet was on her way. Laminate was carried out from the shelves and lasered to perfection matching the windows of the cruiser.
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Post by .name//Technomancer on Jun 16, 2010 5:00:57 GMT -5
"Sweet, cool... Uh... I can work with this."
/./The small pile of electronics were shuffled next to Thomas, the mention of one missing earpiece none too worrying for him. It played into the plan, somewhat. Earlier, Thomas queried the Net for Derrick , in a particular way in case he was watching. He feigned a datasweep: the equivalent of a massive nationwide download of all data in any net-worthy area. Every computer with specific parameters, severs, or emergency response databanks were located, and simply leeched. The government would need such info for whatever malicious purpose, and because of this, it was easy to simply say they were scanning the Western region of America. Every query with the word "Derrick", "Oak", "Oke", "Okelahoma", or similar type-matches were pulled. Known aliases were included in the response. An interesting deluge found it's way to Thomas.
During the datasweep, Thomas stopped Metal Wave's reskinning, halting the process just nanoseconds before the blue stuff started flying. She was, as anyone would guess, ****ed. Technomancer didn't even bother attempting to start her up; it would only result in her exploding, or simply blowing all of her new mods apart. Instead, Thomas opted to tilt the CAD downward, allowing Metal Wave to roll off in neutral. He would use the same method to put her back on the lift. The cruiser was a fake, as fake as can be: the frame wasn't made to ram a wooden fence, let alone another car... It had regular looking Ford Crown Victoria rims, meaning this wasn't even a trim-level Vic, it was just stock... And to top it all off, as the tint flew on, Thomas saw a hint of the stock motor from under the front bumper. They didn't do a very good job at playing cops.
What's more, they were poor robbers././
"So, this is what I got on your "Brass" Derrick Oke," /./He started off, with the tint slowly being heated onto the windows././ "For a while, this guy was a "legitimate" Casino head-cheese kinda jackoff. He owned the Luxor, the Four Seasons, Tropicana... Couple smaller joints, but a few larger on the Strip. He also held off-track betting bars, sports betting... If there was a racket he could get a hold of, he'd strangle it and never let go. Back in '03, he was convicted of fraudulent weapons handling, which makes sense, felony tax evasion, and attempting to bribe an officer of the law. Before the trials began, that officer," /./He pointed at his screen, sighing as he continued to read the various police reports as they came in, highlighting the important jazz,/./ "One Deputy Phillip Ronald Moriarty, was found dead a few days later in the Mojave by hikers. Moreso, three bullets retrieved from his body matched weapons discharge from weapons used by other officers, and one to a weapon registered to... Anyone wanna take a wild guess? No? Derrick. All the charges were dismissed when a lack of evidence could be presented, and even if a small bit could be mustered, something went awry, and he was handed a mistrial. He was notorious for paying cops behind bars to do his work while he was in the house, having officers enter his casinos and act as "Head Honcho Of The Day" during the trials. He's got cash, but he's the only one who can access it, obviously. So the only reason the cops kept him around, or at least this is logic talking here, when the corpses started walking, was to keep getting paid. He probably killed all of the officers, or recruited them, found him a pack of mercs, and kept New Vegas safe from the Dead Rising in a feigned attempt to control a major city. Man has power. So he'll try to abuse it to get all of what he wants."
"The nickname is lost on me," /./He shrugged, not knowing what to make of the "Brass" bit././ "But this is the kinda guy that just wants power. Not in the way we seek power, no... He wants to control En-Vee for himself. Not to benefit anything or anyone but his own selfish desires. A waste of resources. It's not safe keeping those mercs around either, so I hate to say this Ash, but we may have to do a full-on sweep and take anything that moves down. If we leave one, he may go rally a bunch of Raiders with promises of riches in the Desert. My guess is, he's staying at the Luxor. There's no roof to land on, so no chance of an aerial invasion, four-direction vantage... Lots of rooms, and close to the edge of The Strip. A getaway would be easy. Blueprints are still queued, since it's a "high-risk" structure... But if we ensure he can't escape, we can make this work. The elevators probably have backup power, so I'll have to shut them off manually in the basement, which we'll hit when we enter... And honestly, I can't think of any other requirements for this. Anyone have suggestions, or questions?" /./He popped a brow, looking to the girls, trying to find by their posture or body language any instability or concern././
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Post by Lunapocalypse on Jun 16, 2010 7:24:21 GMT -5
"I'm concerned about civilian casualties," Ash turned to Thomas, "If we fired up this carrier attack, we'd need it to be authentic and it'd have to get everyone out of the Luxor... but that's another problem," she mulled, "Oke would probably also be evacuated, either that, or huddle to defend in which case civvies would still be inside the casino," she rubbed her hurting head, "Yeah, ah," the ability to think 'escape'-ing, "Escape routes, as you said, something we need to focus on mostly. All forms of air lift need to remain grounded-" Ash pointed to the ceiling, "Tonight's storm should help take care of that," arm returned to neutral position, "The elevators, as you said, keep them shut off so the garage is inaccessible. Send the fake distress to the police first, have them begin creating a quarantine around the casino. We'll need to be in before then, but it means no third group can hop in with transport and zip out any other exit with Brass,"
The Muse breathed deeply, setting up big stings weren't in her forte; that stuff was usually left up to someone else. Effectively she just wanted to go in and kill everything; this proved much more difficult than previous occasions, plotting was mandatory, "I'm cool with wiping out Velocity, I'd that in mind from the beginning; dip the scourge in a vat of dolphins and close the lid might give the people a couple weeks of peace. I need them separated from civilians though before I start shooting. If you can figure out an answer for that then the rest of this operation is peachy,"
Violet pinged a completed tint up, Gen went to close her down for the evening, "Cruiser's ready," she jollied, "We can-," she'd caught the Muse in the middle of a thought train.
"I could always bring in a real carrier, unleash it among the mercs-"
"No way!" Gen growled, "You remember what happened last time we tried that. Carriers are too dynamic! It's just as much a threat to El-Vee as Brass is," she flung the keys in Ash's direction.
"I'm only kidding. Sheesh," Ash snatched the jangling pile of metal, "Get your sh*t together Thomas, we're starting this now. Anything else you need to do can happen along the way," black and white cruiser rolling down off of the Gyro-CAD, Ash at helm; for the first time in 48 hours Thomas would be the one riding shotgun. Genevieve went to open the warehouse door; it was standard op that she remained at HQ while Ash or anyone else did their thing, "So it's pretty obvious," she spoke once Thomas hopped in, "There's going to be bullets... probably lots of them. If you don't want to be involved any further after we get in, I'll understand. All I ask is you get me to this big c*nt and save Vegas... then we can get on with our lives,"
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Post by .name//Technomancer on Jun 18, 2010 20:34:59 GMT -5
"Civilians... Urgh.... Right... We don't want a bunch of flesh shields running around. Much less, witnesses. We won't be exactly inconspicuous. Even with the lights off. As for the Cops, we'll be underground, in The Luxor's loading docks, and preparing for our first strike before the fuzz even know anything's happening. I see us, or rather, you, taking the dude at the gate down, parking away from the actual loading bay, sending the signal, then storming before anyone's the wiser. This way, the civvies hear gunfire, and think there's distress. The best way to stay hidden is amongst chaos."
/./He saw this as an IRL hack. Staying out of sight meant keeping out in the open, among the turmoil. The only difference was the fact that the lights would be out. And while yes, this planning was necessary, it was suddenly becoming complicated. Thomas had counted on scrambling wireless signals within the Luxor, effectively severing communication. But groundlines would probably be used to report... Report... Wait..././ "Oh... Oooo, I got it, I got it..." /./An idea took hold of Thomas, an obsessive look overtaking his facial features. The smile gripped his lips. A perfect plan. His eyes still locked on the ASUS, he gathered himself, the electrical items Gen brought him, and for safety measures, the Decoy from the desktop. Ash telling him to load up and prepare for mobilizing reminded him to grab the Kriss Gen had gifted to him. He would mention later for Ash to hit the other garage with all of his crap in it before they head for the Luxor. He was, in the meantime, plotting still, ever plotting. His mind was ablaze in sequential zeros and ones. The only reason he was able to walk in a straight line to the cruiser was by peripheral vision. Cables and cords from the various devices wove 'round his fingers, left arm supporting the laptop on the journey across the garage bay. He rounded the cruiser's back; the lack of any actual police cruiser tags, or incorrect tags, shown painfully. It was a surprise that they got as far as they did. One doorclick later, and Thomas was riding shotgun for once.
Ash had the right mindset. She was completely ready to tear this Derrick f**k a new a**hole.Thomas, on the other hand, had come down from his Technomancer high considerably. In his usual demeanor, he pointed to the main bay warehouse, mentioning he'll need his new baby for the heist. It only took three or four seconds. Ash just stopped at the bay door, Thomas jumped out, opened the case, grabbed the Yasminkov 8000 K, and set back for the cruiser. Before the day was over, blood would be spilt on his behalf. It was a weird thing to think: Five months ago, killing someone in the way he was going to tonight would have weighed heavily on his person. Yet, the goons would have slit his throat or stabbed him in the back if they snuck up on him in the garage. The kind of turnaround Ash spoke of. Weirder yet, his first human life taken would be at cause of a firearm. Another occurrence he never saw coming. He figured it would always be Gungnir././
"Alright, I'm ready for this... Uh, so..." /./He clacked a few keys, pulling up every spec of the Luxor as he possibly could on a single screen././ We're going to be entering from the south-east docking bay. The gate only has one goon guarding it. Every square inch of this complex has eyes on it, as you have probably already guessed... So when we get close enough, I'll pull up past video feeds, and replace the current ones with the oldies. Nobody will be the wiser. When we get in far enough, I'll turn them back, and make it seem like the bodies laying on the ground are Zacks. Cops'll flip when they think corpses got into El-Vee from anywhere, so they'll be in a rush to get the Joe Buttf**ks outta there." /./Every few seconds, Thomas turned his copper hues back to the stormy road before them, not wanting to succumb to motion sickness while not watching movement. Thomas was fine when he was driving. But when not in control, he needs to watch the world whiz by././ "In the meantime, and this is something I've put heavy consideration into, I am technically going to be using my ASUS as my primary weapon. I'll watch your back and s*** Ash, but I need to keep the cameras off of us while we're running around, otherwise the goons could catch us with our dicks in our hands. Everything will go perfect if I can keep my s*** glued to I.R.I.S. here. Other than that, as long as you follow my guidance through the building, we may even be in there fast enough to wipe Mr. Oke off the map and be out before the cops get too high into the building. And this is the biggest question I have for you..." /./Thomas pulled Ash' eyes away from the road for just a moment, pointing at a .png of a blueprint. A massive door. No name, nothing but an address matching the Luxor's, and a pre-determined algorithm for the holders of the key././ "Do you wanna tap that, or... Uh... Do we wanna stick to our original plan? If we can infiltrate the dock and be inside before the goons realize their boys aren't checking in, we can be standing in front of this f**k in a matter of six minutes. In ten, we can have our pockets, hands, and asses full of cash, and keep moving on. Sure, it'll mean more weight to lug, but we would kinda get paid to take out Velocity... by Velocity..."
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Post by Lunapocalypse on Jul 26, 2011 8:55:01 GMT -5
Watching the shadow pinnacles stretch across the desert, casted from great mesas and jagged rock formations as they snatched the first rays of light from the rising sun. Nicola could see the colours of her home just approaching from the horizon filling a hole in her heart; unfortunately it wasn't the direction they were headed, veering away from it and aiming for a remote piece of desert, "Alright. Take her down."
The Nomad had already finished its calculations. Technically the landing strip was too narrow for a plane of such a size to land appropriately; however there were no place on earth this eagle could safely deliver its passengers.
There had always been a bounce in the phoenix's walk when a landing was in order, especially when there was no beeping fasten seatbelts light to grind your ears on the descent, "2 minutes from sea level, Lucas," Nicola called to the driver as she walked down to the tail of the black semi trailer, "You'll need to roll your Ralliart and Skyline out to get to the King. There's a quaint hangar you can park them in so they aren't couped up in this place."
Watching out of the window as the land raced up to meet them. Nic spun the Wrxie's keys on her finger as she tracked random hollowed out bodies of derelict airplanes which took up most of the scrapyard. Her legs wobbled as the wheels finally hit dirt tarmac and they gradually slowed down, walking off to Curse.
The hangar bay's massive steel ramp creaked open, facing out to the rising sun. Curse purred alive and Nicola gently rolled her out of the bay, gunning it just before hitting the bottom of the ramp and spinning the tuner 180 taking off into the scrapyard.
It existed as her own, personal, little Gymkhana; powersliding through hollow fuselages and wall running a giant C5 Galaxy's cargo bay. It had been a while since her last folly making it far more exhilirating than being a perfectionista; not to mention the owner of the yard had moved much of the perished metal beasts leaving the outcome entirely up to Nic's reaction. Ascended knew she needed it after a long return.
Lucky would have been able to find her further down the strip, light hardly reflecting from Curse's paint as she came to a halt at the hangar. Nicola hopped out and hit a button to open the hydraulic doors, waiting to make sure Lucas had seen her before wheeling the Impala in to rest.
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Post by KR0R1C on Jul 26, 2011 10:00:06 GMT -5
Lucas was finally relieved to have landed the plane. Nothing like being back on the hard earth where he was in control of the moving hunks of metal. He had already opened the doors of his trailer and was ready to take off as soon as Nic pulled Curse out. She took off quick gunning it through the tight spaces of the littered airstrip. The only expression the driver could muster was a smile. He lowered the ramp to roll Deity out of the trailer. He rolled it off in neutral, and as soon as the front tires touched on the road way he turned the engine and the beast came to life.
The lamborgini designed Borla exhaust made the Lancer's growl deep and powerful, every touch of the gas transferred to a satisfying roar from the machine and when it took off in second gear it was obvious that the car was powerful. It tore down the flat air strip 0-80 in mere blinks of an eye. He dropped the gas, slammed the clutch, lightly tapped the brakes a couple times, then pulled the E-brake to send the car into a slide. He shifted up and began feathering the gas as the car slid under the wing of an old plane. He dumped the clutch and hammered on the gas again, this caused the misfire system to fire off an almost supersonic type sound that was music to Lucky's ears. The tires caught and took off like a rocket through the hull of another plane. A few similar turns later and he found himself rolling the car into Nic's garage.
He didn't waste much time getting back to the plane to retrieve ManO'War and King. He'd already had them linked up. The GT-R had enough extra power to easily pull the Corvette with a fabricated towing system. The pitch black Skyline had a very distinct feel when it started. Where Deity was made as an all around fast, agile, racing ride. ManO'War had been setup from the start to survive during the apocolypse. It's entire body screamed custom. Metal front bumpers served as both shield and spear, the entire body was reinforced and the windows covered for protection. Even with all the added protection and weaponry, Lucas had stayed very true to the nature of the supercar. Its purr was more subtle than that of Deity, but its depth and resonance reminded you that a demon lived under the hood. He rolled the two out of the plane and around a similar path back to the garage, he took his time this round keeping in mind he was towing the Stingray.
After parking all his rides Lucky got out and started hunting down Nic in the garage.
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Post by Lunapocalypse on Jul 27, 2011 23:52:27 GMT -5
Having taken a seat on an already unfolded fold out chair just outside the hangar, Nic donned some aviators as she watched Lucky's circuit through the rally car gym. She had always gotten a rush watching circuit videos, and this was probably going to be as close to observing one as she would get, drinking in rays of sun for some vitamin-d at the same time.
After Deity had peeled into the hangar and Lucas ran off to pull his Skyline from the Nomad's cargo bay Nic stood up and went to tend to some goods which were stored in Curse's boot. The muffled growl of Man'O'War outside making her feel inexorably comfrotable as she picked up the hidden panel to reveal Curse's spare tire, dialing in its PSi on an air tube and making sure it and all the other tires were at their correct levels.
Lucas' unloading was marked complete as Nicola heard the Nissan's motor reverb against the metal hangar walls. Closing the boot and stepping out from around Curse, "You should get the truck out too while you're at it. Those bombay doors need to be freed up. I'll go and grab the tow from the junkyard," Nic tossed a rag to her workbench as she aimed for the rear hangar exit, "Nice drifts, by the way."
A rusted bar fence surrounded the junkyard, smaller in scale to the aeroplane graveyard. The muse unhitched the padlock and creaked open both gates, the flatbed seen not much further into the yard near a dug in trailer and shed. Nic always left the keys in the ignition figuring whoever wanted a ride would look for something less cumbersome, even after climbing over the razor wire fence.
Coastering the flatbed around to the front of the hangar, it reversed up to the entrance for the Stingray to climb up by its rear end. Nic jumped onto the bed and unstrung three mechanical pulleys to hoist it into the back, leading them down to the King and locking the hooks onto stable locations. She unlocked the tow from Man'O'War and activated the motor to slowly pull the sleak silver muscle up onto the bed.
Charging up the Impreza again, Nicola rolled her up onto the truck and secured both vehicles before retrieving the tarp to mask them both with.
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Post by KR0R1C on Jul 28, 2011 15:25:04 GMT -5
"Oh yea! It slipped my mind. I was ready to be back in my cars!" He laughed and ran back to the plane as Nic rounded up the flatbed truck. He hoped in the cab of the black behemoth and chugged it out of the plane. It was all he could do to not hit anything, and backing it out made him wonder how the world he got it in to begin with. Finally on the outside he eased his way through the aero-graveyard and found the hull of an old C-130 to hide it in. Maybe he'd be able to use it again if no one disassembled it before he got back.
By the time he made it back in the garage the lady had already loaded up and covered the rides. "Made short work o'that didn't ya? So are we both riding in the truck or are we running cargo and escort?"
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Post by Lunapocalypse on Jul 31, 2011 7:26:34 GMT -5
"We'd get way too much attention. Nobody give's a sh*t about some dingy truck hauling presuambly lousy cargo under a half strung tarp," the muse walked around the front of the cab, opening the door and stepping up, "Besides, just the two of us couldn't ride three cars back to the airstrip. Hop in," the door made a rattled slam shut, Nic tugging her seat belt over her shoulder.
Shaking throughout the ignition, the old flatbed rumbled to life; exhaust sputtered and the old mufflers sounded like an industrial lawn mower had just powered up. Jamming the shift stick into gear Nicola chugged them out of the hangar and onto the dirt tarmac, rolling toward the exit of the air strip. She thumbed a switch on the key chain causing a set of heavy gates to swing open.
Regardless how close they were to Vegas, the airfield was definitely no where near the designated safe area. It needed its own special protection from the bio-organic elements which plagued the desert. With a fence so high and lined with dragons teeth, little along the lines of general infected could shamble their way through to fly out. There weren't any significant activity to get the attention of mutants either, so it was a fairly well off place.
Long, empty roads with wide bends made driving easy. The redhead found she was able to just relax and look out at the dry blue sky. A couple of white clouds floated above, possibly signs of weather to come, "While we're on the trip you might as well compose a list of things you'll want for the Stingray, get as ready as possible to prep her up fer when we get there."
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Post by KR0R1C on Aug 11, 2011 8:26:21 GMT -5
Lucas slid down into the large bench seat of the hauler. The rising sun shown brightly over the flat near desert like landscape, and in response he manifested a pair of shades from a pocket and put them on. "While we're on the trip you might as well compose a list of things you'll want for the Stingray, get as ready as possible to prep her up fer when we get there." Lucky kicked a boot up on the dash and put his hand over his mouth pondering on several ideas he'd previously had but never been able to accomplish until now.
"Alright how's this? Port and polish the super charger blower, intake mani, head, and exhaust mani. That should give 'im as nice'ah respatory system I can think of. Then we lighten the drive pulley and flywheel. While we are in there we can update that ancient clutch system. Then to really get some life from it we can bore the combustion chambers, put some lighter forged aluminum pistons with some stronger arms to bump up the displacement."
He paused thinking over the things he said and making sure he wasnt forgetting anything. "That an' a good tune to the stand alone ECU; I had to ditch that ancient computer tha thing had runnin' in it. The drivetrain, LSD, axels, and brakes have already been done. Give 'im a good massage and he'll be ready to tear the roads apart."
Satisfied that all that work would solve the issues he was having in his own garage he relaxed and watched the road glide by. It wasnt long before the outskirts of a city could be seen on the horizon. He felt his blood race a little. The thought of getting what could possibly be one of the most powerful cars he has ever build finished soon excited him.
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Post by Lunapocalypse on Aug 17, 2011 7:16:11 GMT -5
Streets were void of life, a tumble weed even skittered along the footpath in the outskirt of town. Dust from the desert painted most of the walls describing just how unlived in the suburb had become, "Place is a little more ghosted than normal," she commented on the lack of activity, "I mean, it was never bustling. But it was never empty," she looked over her shoulder at a corner store which always had a pair of old men playing chess right outside, "Huh."
Nicola knew ahead of time that Vegas were not overrun, something had spooked the towns residents out of their homes. Regardless, no immediate law enforcement presence seemed to be in the area, so the tuner chick could not complain.
Once traffic began turning up she went ahead and relaxed. Puffing at her red hair that all was well. Something must have happened, and passed, which changed the place. A cleanup crew were visible picking up trash. As Nic overtook their street sweeper she noticed what lay on the ground. Bullet casings.
Even gangland happenings never spent that much brass in a fight. A full on conflict had swept through the City of Sin at some point, long past from the smells of things. No billowing smoke or a scent of decay lingered. Nic and Lucas had been Lucky enough to drop in at the end of the aftermath, "Don't fret too much. This place puts up with a lot of foul sh*t," the muse answered any fears her passenger might have while spinning the flat bed's massive steering wheel around a corner.
Thankfully the suburb her Shop resided in had a little more activity than its neighbors. If looters had the opportunity to break in, which was pretty difficult for the fort Nic had built in response to criminal behavior, a lot would have gone missing; and what they did not see value in, they trashed.
Colours represented gangs. They mingled surprisingly, "Our primary means of security are the local gangs. They stem the law enforcers around here and let us know whenever someone is snooping about," Nic casually held her hand up from her open window to say hi at a few who waved back, surprised to see the girl, "They're different families. The colours. Just because they represent their own thing doesn't mean they're always at each others throats."
Turning down the last road to their destination. Nicola hit a switch on Curse's keychain causing the furthermost garage door of a warhouse on their right to open up, "So long as you're a friend to the Shop, you're a friend to them. You've got to prove it first, but considering you're seen driving with me alls well. Most of the kids around here dig street racing, so they'd probably jump at the opportunity to chat about it if they ever bumped into you," she passed the garage, preparing to reverse the flatbed in.
It hid the contents of the warehouse for a moment longer before either of them could step out and marvel at the sight. Nicola went to close the garage door before catching up with Lucas, "Thoughts?" she asked minimalistically.
The warehouse stood huge with rows of shelving running all the way down to the back, each shelf almost met the roof and an industrial cart elevator hung around the area just to take you to the top. What stood out the most was the giant Star Gate-esque piece of equipment taking up the whole forward area of the Shop, "Meet the GyroCAD," Nicola waved her hand out at it.
Three seperate rings all aligned with each other while a dozen robotic arms stood standby at the sides. A ramp went up both ways for a car to embark the cradle, "Links extend from the inner most ring to keep the car in position along with a magnetic tether. Messes with the electronics but it's nothing we can't fix once it's back on the ground. Some gizmos from the outer rings work on finer detail while the arms handle heavy work," Nic crossed over to the controls, "Cuts down time, and it lets you get in to do any hinky bits you want to take care of by hand. Power severs from the equipment, so it's safe," she booted the monitor on the console, "While this sorts out the detail. The program is called Violet, although it's probably due for an update, you can work on whatever model in a 3D space before engaging the entire process. Give it a colour swap even. It's a no brainer for anyone who knows their way around a car. Just hope you're computer literate."
Pointing her finger at a side door of the warehouse, "Through there is the smaller tune up shop and car lifts. Further on is the lounge and kitchen; can is around there somewhere if you want to take a dump."
Nicola returned to Lucas' side, "I'm probably forgetting something but I think that covers most of it," she smiled before waving, "C'mon, let's get your royalty off of the truck,"
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Post by KR0R1C on Nov 30, 2011 0:11:21 GMT -5
Lucas' jaw went a bit slack went he saw the size of the shop. This was not at all what he had imagined in his mind. He gawked at the cars, lifts, elevators, and most importantly the gyroCAD. He'd been underground for far too long, tech like this didn't exist back when he started, everything was done by hand. His mind instantly started running around all the possibilities he now had at his finger tips. So deep in thought the tuner boy nearly missed the explanation of the rest of the facility. He caught back up just in time to hear about the break room, and bathroom. "I'm probably forgetting something but I think that covers most of it. C'mon let's get your royalty off the truck."
Lucky circled back around to the flat bed and took he cover off his flat gray monster. Hitting some controls just under the bed tilted it so that the car could easily be rolled off. He did so and let it come to a rest just at the entrance of the gyroCad. He pulled the hand brake out of habit even though it wasn't necissary on the flat concrete surface of the shop. When he got out of the car he made a quick look around. "Aint there no body else 'round here? I figured there'd be a whole team loungin' around." His stomach growled in response. He realized how long it'd been since he had a decent meal. "Mind if I check out that break room? I think I may need a refill." He's cheesy grim spread across his face.
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Post by Lunapocalypse on Dec 9, 2011 12:31:40 GMT -5
After Lucas' request Nic casual waved her hand letting him go ahead, smacking her forehead soon after while eyeballing the roof, "Knew I'd forget something," she started, "Considering my lengthy incarceration I'd raise stakes that the beer is flat," chuckling and shaking her head, "Plus most of us were UDL drinkers. We should probably get on a beer run some time."
Following close behind, Nic pointed Lucky in the right direction. Heading through a doorway placed them in the garage with four hydraulic lifts. Dried blood still caked on the fourth from a decapitated man masquerading as a police officer. Connected to the garage was a long corridor with half a dozen odd doors leading off. All the doors on the right hand side lead into the spacious lounge while the others contained small storage, the study and a downstairs bathroom.
The end of the hall opened up into an open kitchen with large observation windows looking out into a fairly dingy backyard, secluded from all the surrounding buildings. What looked like gymnastic equipment, or an obstacle course to be more accurate, occupied an area.
"We deal mostly in small, expensive sales," Nicola began answering Luc's earlier question, snatching a bar stool to sit down, "Never needed a large team. There could be a grand total of 3 people here sometimes. One person on the Gyro-CAD, another on repairs in the garage, the last lounging around doing nothing."
"It's like I said, though. All my team have left," the upset sounding girl clasped her hands in her lap, looking at her feet in guilt, "I could easily hold this place up on my own though. Heck, if you're looking for a spot of cash you're more than welcome to work. Plenty of rooms to let, too," it was going to feel empty around The Shop with so few people, Nicola had no problem letting Lucky stay free of charge.
"So yeah!" slapping her hand down on the bench top to break any opportunity for a lull, or allow Lucas to freely decline the offer, "Go ahead and rummage the fridge. Uh-" pausing mid stand up, "Don't leave it open for too long. I'd rather not stink out the whole place with whatever's gone off in there. Good luck finding something in code."
Nicola had returned to the front of the shop looking out the window of the front door, hands on her hips as she drank in the view looking towards the desert. She flipped the pinned up sign over, it now saying 'Open for business'. Regulars would know it meant someone was ready to fix their ride.
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Post by KR0R1C on Dec 9, 2011 15:55:27 GMT -5
Lucas took in the shop as they strolled through. Ever since he was young he had always paid close attention to where ever he was, and it always paid off in having a detailed mental image of his surroundings. Even when others were lost he was able to point himself in the right direction. It'd paid off many times over. Here he wasn't in any way feeling as if he would get lost, more an interest in the shop and its history.
When they found themselves in the kitchen he paused near a counter as Nicola began to speak. As usual he listened closely to his host. She piqued his curiosity, gear head girls were always few and far between in the motor world, and after the outbreaks they became even fewer. Finding Nicola was almost like finding the proverbial needle in the hay stack. After she offered him a home in the shop anyone paying attention to Lucky would have noticed his jaw slacken a bit in preparation to respond. But he was cut off by the lady's hands clapping against the table top. She finished her piece and headed for the front of the shop.
Lucas pulled open the fridge and snatched a couple colas sitting near the top of the shelves. Then rummaged the cabinets for a moment. He lucked out and found a few bags of ramen noodles which he threw onto the stove to cook. As they heated he too wandered back to the store front. He knew the feeling Nicola was going through. Being part of a team; a pack, then suddenly being the only one left created a hollow feeling. Its a feeling he coped with as well, and he knew bringing it up wouldn't be the best move. "I really appreciate the offer to stay. I think I'll take you up on that. This place is nice, an' I wouldn't mind helpin' do a bit a work either. Been a while since I worked on somethin' that ain't mine." He handed her one of the colas he picked up earlier. "It's not a beer this time," he said with a grin. "I threw on some ramen too. I dont think they go bad so I figured I'd chance it. Made some extra if you want any." She looked like she wanted to be alone, afterall from what he'd heard it sounded like it'd been a while since she was home.
Lucky returned to the gyroCAD and fiddled with the controls trying to wrap his mind around the programming needed to operate it. Although advanced it sorta felt natural for the tuner, the system was very user friendly. Anyone who knew how to fix cars by hand would find the system easy to operate. Pleased that he would be able to handle all the things he wanted to do to the King very quickly and nearly autonomously, he returned to the kitchen. He found himself just in time to take the noodles off the stove and split them into two bowls. He pulled up another bar stool and began slurping his down.
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Post by Lunapocalypse on Dec 13, 2011 0:59:28 GMT -5
Condensation already built up around the tin by the time Nicola got around to opening the can of soft drink. She had given a simple nod of gratitude for the service when Lucas brought it around, hearing the answer she wanted to her offer. Fitting the cold rim between her lips and taking a swig made her feel all-the-more better. Nic then put the can to her head forgetting how poorly ventilated the garage were without the roller doors up, subsequently the humidity rose inside. Stepping over her stool to take a seat, the little mechanic took a reflective look at her noodle bowl, "This brings back memories," she took the liberty to comment before twirling a forkload and consuming it. In the Shop's early days all they could afford were ramen, even in their financial success later on, still all they had time for were ramen. The countless times Nic had bought meat, fruit and vegetables only for them to perish were guilty ones. The high pitched sound of a TV turning on filled the air, Nicola swivled around resting against the bench top to watch, "We'll have to go through the warehouse and check all the parts and material, make sure they're in decent order," she poked her fork toward the ceiling, "There's a leak which we used to check now and again. No doubt some of the catalogue has been rusted, or otherwise," it was fortunate the place had not been robbed Eyes drooped a little after eats, dropping the bowl on the bench with a satisfied stomach. Nic yawned, "Schedule it for tomorrow, though," feeling lethargic after the food, rubbing her eyes, "Thanks for the feed, maestro. I'm gonna crash. Wake me if the police show up or anything like that," Nicola left the kitchen behind, favoring the lounge instead and throwing herself on the couch. One bad habit which refused to die. __________________________________________________ Refraction of light bounced off the x12 optical binoculars, their holder adjusting its focus while scanning the factor further down the street from his position atop a building a block away. He let them hang from his neck, sitting down cross legged on the heated concrete, "Is the goat back in her nest?" a faint voice came over and upright radio leaning against the brick barrier. "Yes, sir. Plus one," the binocular man replied after hittng TTP. His PDA chimed when some important imformation came through for him. "Plus one?" the man responded in confusion. "A Caucasian male, mid twenties entered the Shop with her. Looks to be of the same profession," After he finished shooting off details the rooftop door opened, another man stepping into the baking sun held onto bags of take away, "What do you want us to do with him?""Nothing. It's up to her whether she wants to drag someone else into her own problem, regardless what she has told him. Pack up and leave town. We won't require any help from her for now," the connection quickly cut after the order. The peeping tom picked up his equipment, gabbing one of the bags of food from his partner and both left the rooftop.
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