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Post by Lunapocalypse on Jun 30, 2011 11:26:44 GMT -5
"Ja-hesus!" Nic exclaimed, leaning out the window, "I didn't say the whole bloody truck!" she snickered, her original speculation being the semi wouldn't fit properly. The Nomad's special drop off ramps didn't cater for trucks at least; Curse would fit, but in a scramble it probably wouldn't fit being stuck behind a big black box like that but he managed it well, "Whatever," she rolled up inside after Lucas, stopping three quarters over a designated spot. The rear ramp raised up automatically.
After locking Curse in for the ride Nicola started up toward the nose of the Nomad. Lucky's truck had taken up a ton of straps, neither of the drivers wanted a vehicle that size to to start rolling about in turbulence, "Make yourself at home. I'll just get this thing in the air," the traveling gypsy said to the driver as she passed him. Her hand touched the bonnet of Ramses, her Dodge Challenger, as she passed that too, mumbling, "Hey, girl," under her breath at the same time.
Two flights of stair eventually landed her in the cockpit. Nicola wasn't a pilot, not like her sister, Ashleigh. The Nomad was a different deal; unlike The Shop it was like a home away from home, a mobile one at that. Unlike most airborne vehicles the Nomad harbored state of the art autopilot technology, not to mention a bit of inertial dampening to feel like you're on solid ground even while banking. With the fuel on hand it could stay in the air for a week straight. Only a couple of commands and the fiery haired girl would have it in the air carrying them toward Arizona.
With a bit of a rattle the aircraft eventually made it to the sky, heading for the clouds. Lucky was probably going to ask questions, Nic thought this to herself as she leaned on the controls looking out of the window; she wouldn't give him answers, at least not the correct ones anyway. Maybe he would figure being 'lucky' enough as it is to hitch a ride the guy would keep his nose out of her business.
Odds were: he was going to end up getting caught in it more than Nicola could comprehend.
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Post by KR0R1C on Jun 30, 2011 14:33:22 GMT -5
Lucas made it to the rear in time to see that Nicola had already locked her ride in place and was heading toward the front. "Make yourself at home. I'll just get this thing in the air." He looked around the cargo bay then nodded his head. "Alright." He headed up to the truck's cabin and climbed back in. He knew he'd need to ditch the truck once they landed again. Bringing the whole thing in wasn't part of the plan. He just made it work in the case more infected caught on to their location back at the airport. He collected a few of his things from inside the cab. Then made his way back to the trailer.
He climbed up into a side door on the trailer. The lights were still on from earlier and he found himself in an opening space he used for storage. Tool boxes, and various machines where bolted to the walls. Next to the door was a cooler, Lucky gladly popped it opened it and extracted a Corona. He spun off the lid and took a swig of the golden liquid. He was now prepared to get to work.
He started by checking each personal mobile tool box in each car. Making sure that each had all the tools specified for each. He then double checked the air in his tires and the spares. Once he was satisfied that each car had what it needed he moved on to removing anything he needed from the truck such as the fabricated metal ram on the front of it. He made his way up to the front again and began to disassemble it. Once done he collected it all and laid it in the back seat of Deity. He then hooked up the ManO'War's hitch so that he would be able to unload the Corvette when the time came. Satisfied that he had all the hardware he needed he tossed his duffle bag into the back of ManO'War and grabbed two Corona's befor leaving the trailer.
He made his way up to the cockpit where he found Nic. He sat in the passenger seat and looked out the front window. "Almost didn't even know we took off. Helluva plane! Want a Corona?" He extended the ale toward her, a small offering of thanks for the ride.
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Post by Lunapocalypse on Jul 1, 2011 8:41:03 GMT -5
Waving the bottle of booze away with her hand, "Sorry. I'm lousy at holding my alcohol. F*cks with my performance anyway," it never took much to get Nicola tipsy, accidents tended to happen after that so she preferred to remain as sober as possible, "And yeah-" she patted the controls, "She's good to me. Takes me places. Don't touch anything though-" she went serious, "Could drop right outta the sky. I've got all the calibrations right where I want'em," an uncomfortable smile painted on her face from the negative thought, "It's fully automated, so we don't need to stick up here. I gotta do some work on my car anyway."
Taking her leave of absence from the controls, Nic headed back downstairs, "You can tell me about your rides too. All driver's've got a story behind their cars. Just hearing about'em nearly beats the teeth out of free-to-air television," she couldn't count how many times on one hand she had been amazed at the tales behind a drivers car; some people were religious about it, while others were near dangerously sentimental.
"Oh yeah, next floor up is Personnel. Need a place to relax or get recreational, head there. Plenty'o'rooms too let," she wasn't kidding; the plane had been built to sustain up to a twenty people. Nic wasn't that far off knocking down walls and turning the place into an ice hockey rink.
A bunch of tools were procured from a nearby workbench, welding torch among other things. Nicola carried them over to where Curse rested, stepping into a small square border of yellow and black hazard lines on the floor. The mini lift descended revealing a hollow area below where the car sat, hitting a switch down below opened the floor panel to see up her skirt. It was almost like a reverse hydraulic lift, perfect for smuggling things too.
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Post by KR0R1C on Jul 1, 2011 12:59:35 GMT -5
Lucky sat in the seat examining the controls which seemed to be operating themselves. He sat upright planning to act like he was going to fly the plane when Nic spoke up. "Dont touch anything though," he responded as if slightly shocked. "-could drop right outta the sky. Ive got all the calibrations right where I want'em. Its fully automated, so we dont need to stick up here. I gotta do some work on my car anyway." They both decided to leave the cockpit, and relocate back down into the cargo bay. Lucas watched; intrigued as she dropped the floor to begin working on the black car. Ensuring he didnt envade her space he laid on the metal floor just outside the yellow and black lines. If he turned his head he could see under the car and just catch the top of her face.
Deciding to take her up on his offer to tell her about his car he gladly obliged. "Well the Mitsubishi was actually the first car I owned. Had a Jeep Cherokee before that. It was also the first car I started moddin'. A friend and I started a car group in highschool. He had a Mitsubishi Eclipse, me with that Lancer Ralliart. He ended up joining the military and I havent heard of him since. But when the infection finally broke into my home town a few members of our group escaped the city with me. I slowly built it up along our trips.
"Upgraded components. Battery, spark plugs, rotors, brakes, brake and clutch lines, higher tension hoses, and heat wrap, better fluids. After all the basic maintenance things got taken care of and upgraged I actually started moving in on performance things. Started with a modified long ram intake. Moved on to a light weight under drive pulley. Had a machinest port and polish the intake, and exhaust manifold along with the heads. Upgraded the pistons and crank for better compression and response, bored the throttle body for larger intake. Thats when I took out the back seats and a lot of unneeded clutter. On the strip I was pulling 11 second quarter miles, it was a bad little beast.
"It was then I realized that I needed better suspension and control. Added Tein S-Tech shocks and struts. Moved on to customizing a front and rear tie-bar. Added some strength to the stock strut bar. Then another custom job on the rear strut tower's by adding a bar there as well. Had to gut the trunk to get to the towers ended up taking in a few more welds for strenght. When I did that it gave me the idea to add a roll cage in the cabin.
"But it wasnt until we setup shop in Phoenix that some real high rollers set in. I needed a little more 'Umph!' to hold my title. I rounded up a 16g turbo system did some custom piping found a GReddy intercooler, Turbonetics Wastegate and Blowoff valve, and added a few PSI Tuning gauges and a turbo timer. After goin' through all the tuning and putting it through the paces I was able to slam in about 475 horses at the wheels, and about 460 torque.
"By that time I needed a new seat to hold me in place the little monster was throwin' me everywhere. Tossed in a couple Bride buckets, with racing belts and I was plenty rooted down. Thats when I did the few body mods. Evo 8 hood, Evo 8 wing, Evo 8 Enkei wheels, Toyo Tires, FX fenders with the vents. Had a friend of mine paint it all white with the black racing stripe, and the black stripes out the sides. Blacked out the windows, plates, and lights. As a finishing touch tossed in a couple tanks of nitrous and called her complete. Couldnt have asked for a better ride. She's been through hell with me."
It was then that Lucky realized his inner gearhead had shown through brightly, and he felt as though he had been talking too much. "Um... I probably rambled a bit too much. What about your rides? This WRX looks pretty new."
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Post by Lunapocalypse on Jul 2, 2011 14:22:48 GMT -5
Comfort zones were few and far in between for the little racer chick; even behind the wheel she still felt at a loss of will. But this - working under her ride, listening to Lucas yammer on about the history of his Ralliart - it reminded her of times before all the misfortune; in the garage fixing a dodgy taxi with a counterpart while laughing at the Indian cab driver's naivety at knowing zilch about autos. 'It feels a bit bubbly under the lid' he'd say. What the hell would bubbly mean?
The one sided conversation made things move a little more quickly, too. It felt like it had taken no time at all for Nic to wrap up the patch job when Lucky finished detailing the Lancer's life. He commented on his own rambling, something she had to agree with, before the Vice asked of her own ride.
"Yeah," the redhead replied at his analysis of Curse's age, "Wrexy's a 2011 model," Nic put her hand to the underside of the Impreza feeling a little sentimental about things, "So's the Challenger. Both young'uns," a sigh escaped her lips while reflecting on their age, "I've had her only for a couple of weeks. Still adjusting. Once I get her back home and on the gyro-CAD I'll be able to start making the girl sing."
"Obviously she isn't my first," Nic switched her attention to a metal cabinet pulling out a small trolley and wheeling it to the front under the motor, "For my 18th my Uncle gave me a rose red, 2000 R34 Skyline. Loved her to bits, she took me everywhere," there weren't exactly any way to be subtle about the next part, "She was cr-" Nic's lip twitched. She was happy to have Lucky listening, yet sorrowed having to think about it, "She was crushed. Nothing but scrap once the deed was done. Wouldn't even recognize the make or model afterward."
It felt good getting it off her chest. Nicola hadn't bothered telling anyone else before now knowing they wouldn't understand where she was coming from. Lucky, on the other hand, would have the ability to sympathize, "So I had to get something else," the mechanic went to work at unscrewing the sump plug letting jet black oil leak out and fall into the container she positioned beneath it.
"Her name's Curse, by the way," Nic added, looking at Lucas without turning her head, "The butch up front is Ramses. They're happy to have some company with them for once."
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Post by KR0R1C on Jul 6, 2011 13:24:10 GMT -5
Lucky listened closely to Nic as she spoke about her former ride. He could fill his buzz starting to sink in as he started into his 3rd Corona. When she started talking about the Skyline he listened closely as his ride 'ManO'War' was also a Skyline. When she stumbled ou th words crushed his heart went out to here. "Damn. That sucks. Im so sorry." She finished introducing her new rides; Curse and Ramses. The names seemed appropriate for them. Thats when he figured he'd show her his secret project.
"Hey! Come 'ere I wanna show ya somethin'!" He got to his feet and made his way to his truck. He opened the side door and got inside, turning to hold the door for her. His grandmother installed the courtesy of a gentleman in him long ago. "You'll end up seeing this later but I havent shown anyone yet and this seems like the cooler way to do it." He was about to show her his project Corvette. She wouldnt have seen it before because of the separators. Whenever she got in she would first see the mini garage he had built in. Then the smooth, sharp, almost lady-like flat-gray curves of the 69 Corvette Stingray. "You've already met my others, this is The King. Got him a few years ago, on my way to Chicago. Found out my uncle had passed an' this was left for me. It doesn't run right now. But when it does..." He paused the long time daydream made him too excited. "Let's just say that it's gunna be a monster."
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Post by Lunapocalypse on Jul 8, 2011 12:47:08 GMT -5
Placing a hand on the tail of the Stingray while lost in astonishment at the fine vehicle, "King?" Nicola remarked in exclamation at the man after hearing of the muscle's name. It most certainly were of royalty, however the auburn girl never looked at a car as anything else than female all her life. The Stingray were a Queen among mortals; even without ignition Nic still felt its force. Lucky had a proud and loyal ride on his hands, how much he understood that was uncertain to the girl.
"I can help," she said suddenly after finally finishing her conversation with the car, "When we land... In Vegas," Nicola tried to explain herself while working to contain her joviality, "We can take her down to the Shop and load'er into the Gryo-CAD. Name any part you want and I'll supply it."
The Stingray was more than a ride. She was a weapon, a destructive force carrying the flame of a phoenix like a vanguard. With help from Nicola Lucas would be able to ressurrect it to its original potential, "Obviously it's a ways away from Arizona so it's up to you. The invitation is open either way. Can't guarantee I'll be in town when you do finally swing by, though."
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Post by KR0R1C on Jul 12, 2011 7:52:46 GMT -5
"Well I got nothin' but time so that'd be really awesome!" He was over joyed to have a place to work on his project car. In his mind the light at the end of this project's tunnel suddenly became much brighter. He lingered for a moment looking over The King and thinking about what all he'd do once he got to Nic's shop. He hoped her place was as stocked as his mind was imagining it to be.
Suddenly his stomach fluttered a bit, the plane was dropping in altitude. "So we must be getting pretty close to our destination huh? You have us set straight for Vegas or are we stoppin' somewhere in between?" He spoke as he turned and headed back out of the trailer. Landing in the cargo bay Lucky could see out the windows into the dark. The only thing he could make out was the bright glow of the moon.
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Post by Lunapocalypse on Jul 15, 2011 10:04:48 GMT -5
It had been such a subtle change in gravity that Nic had missed it. Lucas must have truly been tuned into his environment to catch the altered pitch, "No way. We can't be there by now-" she looked up at the ceiling as if seeing through the roof trying to figure out what might have caused the plane to alternate.
Another banking move detailed that something were certainly wrong. Nicola hopped out of the trailer joining Lucky at the window to look outside; as soon as she saw nothing the redhead gunned her way out of the cargo bay heading for the cockpit. Already halfway up the stairs she could hear the beeping of warning signs.
They had been hailed. The Nomad had been programmed to operate on a landing facade lowering its altitude. Nicola flicked a switch on the controls and surely enough a message had been sent through from a neighboring aircraft, [Drop yourself to 2000 metres and prepare to be escorted to the nearest landing pad] it repeated itself numerous times, two F-18's shot past the cockpit view just as soon as the muse heard it for a second time.
"F*ck," they had been discovered. Sure, the Nomad could keep itself hidden; invisibility was something else entirely. Seems it had rolled snake eyes.
"I'd ask you to get one of your cars ready, but they're in the back of a truck," Nicola started as she double timed down the stairs, "You're gonna need to trust me on this one. Passenger curse, we'll be leaving the plane for a bit," while saying this she opened a cabinet off to one side pulling out a massive satchel.
Rather strikingly along side it were a rocket launcher. Nic carried the satchel over shoulder and the launcher under arm, "AT-4 Heat. Anything generating over 500 kelvin begs its attention, and those jets are sure to be burning enough fuel to make that much fire," the redhead candidly handed the launcher to Lucky, "Two birds, two shots. We'll see how Lucky you really are."
Four wires came out of the different corners of the satchel, place on top of Curse's roof. They were pulled down and attached to strategic areas of the car and tested to make sure they were secure. Granted 700Kg falling at 300 feet per second couldn't exactly be simulated with a simple tug on the string, the tuner chick had some beefed up confidence, "S'do this. Get in."
Sullying the fact the car weren't entirely on its support plate, the WRX would simply have to make do dropping on and angle rather than level with the horizon. Hitting the buttons of a remote the cabin area pressurized and the panel the car were parked on started lowering at the front. Stress pressed against the E-brake as heavy wind force pressed against the Mitsubishi, the land below could be seen with accountable lights of whatever sources signalling some sort of life. A jet screamed past .
"They want the person in the plane, not the plane itself. Your rides will be fine," Nicola said in assurance to the now passenger driver, "You're more likely to lose them if we follow their directions," he hand went down to the E-brake handle, "Don't worry, I do this all the time," she released it letting Curse roll off the platform and into thin air. A blast of wind kept her level as she left the Nomad and began to fall.
Across the windshield popped up a HUD with numerous readings sliding across it. Most notably were their altitude, secondly being the location of the F-18's. It didn't take long before a red light began to flash with the universal lock-on sign, "Hold your sh*t together."
From the ground a weary traveler and his daughter looked to the sky, the after burn of the jets well heard, "What's that noise, dad?" the little one asked with her fingers in her ears.
"Dunno darl," he couldn't see a thing in all the darkness. Even with a clear sky and the full moon whatever were over head remained unseen. It was uncanny for military jets to be flying over these parts of the states. He squinted at a few ebony specks which seemed out of place, spotting the flare of something shooting forth from it.
The speck ahead of it suddenly lit up, dozens of lights blasting forth, "Fireworks!" the little girl danced up and down.
"I don't think those are fireworks," the father said in a dream of curiousity as the flares from before suddenly spiraled out of control and exploded.
Nicola gritted her teeth as the chaff detonated both missiles. Albeit out of the damage of the explosion its blast still rocked Curse. She kept one hand on the dash and the other on the roof keeping herself from flailing about. Just as she opened her eyes the lock-on light flashed again, "Take two!"
A missile could be clearly seen going off course in front of the windshield and exploding a hundred odd metres out. They would have enough chaff to last them until they reached the ground, that were a definate. So long as Lucky didn't turn his pants brown Nic would be riding happy after touchdown.
Altitude went past 600 metres and the chute activated, unfolding from the satchel and fanning out at the sky. It was a proper parasail chute meaning they maintained a forwards momentum rather than running straight down. The device pitched itself to turn for a main road.
Inertia had burned off well enough for the landing to feel smooth. Nicola flared Curse's engine, already in fourth gear and quickly shifted to fifth after the chute disconnected from the car; the road welcomed them peacefully, "Right'oh, Luke. Your turn. Use the display on the side of the launcher to find where the jets are. Wait for it to get within 1000 metres, then let loose," Nicola explained as she coastered around a bend.
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Post by KR0R1C on Jul 18, 2011 15:18:49 GMT -5
Something was obviously wrong. After Nic looked out the window, Lucas followed her up the stairs taking two at a time. They appeared in the cockpit only to catch the hails coming through the speakers. Lucky stepped up to the front window to get a view, hoping to see something in the night sky. That’s when two F-18s blasted past the cockpit. Nicola cursed.
”Those where military planes, what’s going on?” He was thoroughly confused, and becoming more baffled by the second.
“I’d ask you to get one of your cars ready, but they’re in the back of a truck.” She launched herself down the stairs, and Lucas followed holding the rails, and supporting his weight with his arms while practically sliding down the rails. “You’re gonna need to trust me on this one. Passenger Curse, we’ll be leaving the plane for a bit.” She opened a panel on the hull of the plane and pulled out a package. Lucky was still trying to catch up.
”What do you mean, ’leave the plane’?” He was handed something but his mind was spinning.
He didn’t want to leave his cars. Why would military jets be on them? Was someone really putting such interest into catching Nic that they would go that far? Stop! He mentally shut himself up. It didn’t matter, none of it mattered. He would trust what she said, she hadn’t led him wrong so far. She seemed to know what she was doing and was very prepared. So he would just have to go along for the ride. He just then took notice to the object he was handed.
“AT-4 Heat. Anything generating over 500 kelvin begs its attention, and those jets are sure to be burning enough fuel to make that much fire. Two birds, two shots. We’ll see how Lucky you really are.” Nic then quickly strapped down a satchel to the top of her car. While she did so Lucky made his way to the passenger side of the little black STi. Looking over the top once at his partner before getting in, “S’do this. Get it.” He responded with a nod and, ”Ain’t gotta tell me twice.”
He popped open the door and slid down into the bucket seat taking care to not bump the rocket launcher against anything. He closed the door behind him just as Nic brought the little monster to life. That’s when the floor below the Subaru vanished and wind could be heard rushing everywhere around it. Peeking out his window Lucky saw speckles of a town or some sort of collective below them. Then the F-18 ripped through the air below them. Lucas mentally prepared himself for the drop and his mind instinctively guided his eyes to the truck that held his precious cars.
“They want the person in the plane, not the plane itself. Your rides will be fine. You’re more likely to lose them if we follow their directions. Don’t worry, I do this all the time.” Nicola spoke her words at the perfect moment, almost as if she knew what Lucky was thinking. ”Must’ve really ****ed somebody off huh?” He commented with a smirk, if only to shove away the feeling of tension growing in his diaphragm. That’s the exact moment the driver let go of the E-brake. They fell out of the plane and plummeted through the black sky.
Lucas pulled himself together fighting the G-forces for control of his body. He held tightly with one hand to the rocket launcher, and the other to the classically dubbed (but very appropriately named) ‘Oh Sh*t Handle’. The next thing he realized was the now glowing wind shield. A HUD had projected itself onto the glass and was displaying all sorts of information. He watched the numbers fall as they dropped in altitude and it was even locked onto the F-18’s. {b]”What the heck is-“[/b] He was cut off as a flashing light lite up the display. “Hold your sh*t together!”
The WRX was soon rocked by an explosion. Lucas thought they had been hit at first, but the fact that he wasn’t dead made him look around. Glittering chaff filled the air, his life had been spared. “Take two!” Lucky didn’t even have time to think. He held tight and another explosion shook them again. By this point any fear, or confusion had left him. He was getting ****ed off. He began looking over the launcher and figuring out its mechanisms so he would know what to do when the time came.
The parachute popped and glided them to a surprisingly gentle landing. From there Nic took over and pulled away like she’d done that drop hundreds of times before. “Right’oh, Luke. Your turn. Use the display on the side of the launcher to find where the jets are. Wait for them to get within 1000 meters, then let loose.” She took a corner and as she did Lucky prepared himself. He undid his seat belt and the one on his jeans and hooked them together before reconnecting them. He wanted to stay stable for the shots, he was going to pay those guys back one way or another.
He rolled down the window and pulled himself out onto the ledge. He planted one foot in the seat and hooked the toe of his other boot under the front of it. Now firmly positioned in the window of Curse he pulled forth the launcher, which he had already primed and readied. He rested it on his right shoulder and flipped the display open with his left thumb. A night vision screen clearly displayed the dark sky, and the jets tailing them.
Locked on to the heat signatures of each the gunner selected the closer of the two as his target. The launcher beeped when it was locked on and the f-18 quickly approached into the 900 meter range. Perfect. With a pull of the trigger the gun belched forth a rocket like a bat out of hell. At the approaching speed the pilot of the f-18 didn’t stand a chance. He pulled back hard on his controls but all he did was display the belly of the jet wide open to the rocket.
KABOOM!
”WAAA-HOOO!!! One down!” Yelled Lucky into the rushing winds, letting his inner redneck show just a little. He proceeded to be sure the weapon was reloaded. The second hornet came rushing in at full speed, it blasted through the thick smoke of its fallen comrade. It then proceeded to fire down at them with its 20mm Vulcan nose mounted gatling gun. It made mulch of the road behind them and sent concrete shrapnel flying everywhere. Lucas hugged the roof of the car, praying that the Lady could maneuver them out of harm’s way until it passed over. He closed his eyes and could feel the bullets fly around him and he felt the tiny explosions of concrete pepper himself and the side of the car.
The jet finally passed over and arced up into the sky to prepare for another run. Lucky recomposed himself and prepared his next shot. He scanned the dark sky for the jet expecting it to come from in front or possibly behind again. Instinct told him to look up, and he was glad he did. The hornet was falling straight at them, its engine’s cut back to quiet its approach. The gunner raised the launcher ready to fire. Trouble was that weapon wouldn’t lock on, the target was still yet out of range, and was only picking up 350 kelvin since he eased up on his thrusters. He wanted to fire and pray that the weapon would hit but knowing the targeting system wasn’t operating and he would likely miss.
A moment later something flared on the wing. A rocket. The pilot was going to blow them sky high. Either panic or reflex took over Lucas’ trigger finger. But the weapon belched forth the second rocket. It wasn’t until after it had been fired that he got a glimpse of the display. The rocket flew forward and met with rocket the pilot was firing at the same time. The detonation of both ripped the wing from the F-18 and sent it into a burning spiral. Soon enough it crashed into the ground just off the road, a flaming ball of twisted charred metal.
Lucky crawled back in the window and settled back into his seat. His anger was now soothed and the adrenaline pumping through his veins kept him fairly chill. It was pretty awesome taking out the two jets. He looked over to Nic. ”So, before anymore fighter jets come breathin’ down our necks. What was that all about?” It didn't take long for his mind to return to something about her car. "And how the hell did you get that HUD to show up on your window?" He was obviously very interested in that part.
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Post by Lunapocalypse on Jul 20, 2011 2:48:20 GMT -5
"Some modern Japanese engineering," Nicola had nearly forgotten about the HUD herself, "A lot of cars manufactured now days have their speed, revs and every other dashboard info displayed on the windshield. I had mine tweaked to show a bit more than that," the redhead reached to the sound system, hitting a few buttons causing a GPS to pop up on the windshield, "We're in Utah. Not far from Nevada now. I'm guessing those black hooks knew I'd be on my way back and set up a no fly zone."
The map zoomed closer in on their positon, "See there? That's the landing strip we'll board at," there was slight depth of field as the icon for the Nomad hovered over their area. They couldn't see or hear it due to its altitude, but it was there.
"As for the jets. Well," Nic scrunched up her nose in resent of the fact, "Remember that blacklisting I told you about? Kinda found my way onto there. The military aren't too fond of me traveling around the states without a collar on my neck. Shooting down those F-18s probably didn't help, but it'll send'em a message to back off," she gripped the steering wheel and gritted her teeth to the point of almost barking, it had been in jest albeit the position she were in was still unsettling to a key, "Thanks for that, by the way. It's easier taking down air units like that with a second pair of hands than by yourself."
Winding through the trees, a dark seasonal forest; Curse was like a shadow, the road bending to her will as she traveled between realities. Burning engines could be heard overhead once the airstrip came into view, Nicola ferried themselves onto the strip traveling near top speed as the Nomad began to drop down in front of them.
Greatful Ashleigh had tought her how to barnswallow successfully. It had come in handy the last several years. Of course it was far easier entering the plane via its rear hatch than on a full collision course; with the right application of speed Nicola brought Curse up into the cargo bay of the plane stopping her before she rear ended Lucas' truck.
The rear door closed and the cabin pressurized, "That's a day in the life of Nicola," the Nomad took off once more, "I think we'll be fine the rest of the way to Vegas. They'll be too busy picking up their mess to search under these conditions."
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Post by KR0R1C on Jul 20, 2011 20:27:29 GMT -5
Lucky listened to everything Nic said as they rode. However he still felt like quite a badass for just taking out two Hornet fighter jets. The adrenaline almost made it uncomfortable for him to set still in the seat. After a couple minutes of fidgeting and scratching he decided to occupy himself by making a mental note of the HUD. He'd been stuck up in Chicago with a relatively small mod scene for the last several years, and suddenly felt extremely left out.
They rolled into an airport and the tuner chick pulled off a seamless snatch and go with her automated aerial ride. "That was pretty sick!" He now wanted to give it a shot, but figured it'd be a long time before he ever had the chance, if ever. "That's a day in the life of Nicola. I think we'll be fine the rest of the way to Vegas. They'll be too busy picking up their mess to search under these conditions." Lucas got out of his seat now again standing inside the Nomad. "Your prolly right!" He'd ditched the authorities many times in his life. But nothing like what they had just pulled off. His interest in this girl was growing by the second. The nice rides, convoy's hunting her, an automated plane, military jets chasing her, gauges straight out of a scifi movie, a parachute for a car, a rocket launcher. He'd pulled off some crazy stuff. But his made him feel like he was the star role in an upcoming James Bond flick.
"We got a bit till we end up in good ol' sin city. Wha kinda operation where you running down there anyway? You've really got some heat on you, and you obviously got the hook up!" He ended his line by opening his arms and looking around the plane as if taking it all in once again. "I mean damn! We did some crazy sh!t in Phoenix. Raiding convoys, stealing cars, racing, delivery jobs for different people. But the police aint on me near this, and I definitly aint got this level of resources." He looked her in the eyes, conveying his curiosity, but making it obvious he would understand if she didn't want to talk about it.
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Post by Lunapocalypse on Jul 21, 2011 11:08:21 GMT -5
Air around the cargo hold felt a little more honest than normal. Nicola had the truth bug, feeling as if she would be at zero loss after everything Tricell had put her through. The muse took a place on a stool at one of the work benches, one foot on a rung and the other on the ground in an le naturale look as she toyed with a screwdriver in her hand.
"The Shop is CAD garage. Vegas was never hit by any of the outbreaks which made business lucrative. Rich people wanted boss rides and they came to me with wheelbarrows full of thousand dollar bills for them," as she spoke she whipped the tool around through her body language in a reckless disregard for safety, "So I supplied, me and my team. Being such an undeground group as we were, the odd job on the side was something that didn't go by us untouched."
I can remember sorting through personal requests from black cats who didn't want their name publicised...
An over-hyperactive, short, blonde haired girl bounced into the seen flying over the couch with tablet in hand, "Gotcha new message from that guy calling himself Kingsly. Said he's leveled out a new exotic experience for 'You and Your Crew'," she bubbled about while tossing the tablet to her redheaded friend.
"Already?" the redhead asked while swiping through the information.
"Well, they say it's more of a request from their friend," she shrugged, "Talking to you through him."
"Word travels fast, I guess it was a good idea hitting that bounty offer up last month. Looks like we've got another pay day right around the corner," the redhead slapped the cover of the tablet shut and tossed it to the seat next to her, "Get Zero and Enigma in here. We're off to Mexico."
...Our reputation built up to the point where we were known in the underbelly of society as the people to get things done. Nothing could catch us once we were past 200 miles per hour.
"We were quickly blacklisted. But with all the negative element surrounding us we were to the point of untouchable. Well, almost invincible. There was one suckerpunch we'd never see coming," Nicola hopped off her stool tossing the driver to the bench, "A powerful group noticed our potential. You'd know them. Umbrella."
She went to rest against the ring frame of the window watching clowds slip pass in the night sky, "A group like mine, we were almost special forces. We had our own combat training, firearms, and our own special twist of skill being able to race and react to changes in a burning situation. As a motley crew we could all pitch in and pull through each ordeal."
Hence why Umbrella blackmailed us. Threatened to kill all of us if we didn't do as they asked. Said we'd be given our freedom after finishing some tasks for them, but that could have been a life time for all we knew...
"Damnit! I told you this was the wrong idea!" A pale girl with green stripes through her jet black hair kicked at the dirt, standing next to a trailer full of military munitions, "This was supposed to just be a race in Raccoon during a zombie apocalypse. Now look where we're at!"
The redhead leaned against her crimson car trying to push out the sudden headache, "I just didn't want to get you involved, Alicia. I thought maybe they would leave the rest of you alone," she looked to her crew of five racers, all trusting her, now all losing hope in her, "All we gotta do is get this crap out of Colorado and we're in the clear-"
"Sure," the mint haired girl bit back, "Ask the mamoth Corporation for the key after one little fiasco. We're going to be stuck in limbo doing their dirty work for f*ck knows how long."
Scraping the toe of her shoe through the dirt, the redhead sulked, "I just didn't want to get any of you kill."
...It continued for years. Umbrella had us raid military surplus and shift biological material across the United States. Gradually the group began to deteriorate in lost hope. Then the strangest thing happened.
"Umbrella never contacted us again," Nicola waved her hands out in aboslute astonishment at the fact, "We figured our freedom had been granted. Most of everyone left the racing crew. The infection was near cleaned up. I felt so relieved. I could go back to my life from before without worry."
She had taken slow steps over to Curse, putting a hand to her cold bonnet, "I pulled the throttle back a little on the high life, just working on some mod jobs and hanging out with the only friend who stuck with me in Vegas. It was slow, but after the lack of breaks while being hurtled at Mach 3 I really wasn't complaining about it," she went from a sigh to a deep gutteral rumble, "Couldn't count on it staying that way forever. A rude awakening one morning found my hands tied and mouth gagged."
Tricell spotted the exact same potential Umbrella had found, noticing its investment opportunity the dead Corporation had left behind. I'd been kidnapped, forcing my younger sister and her squad to work for the company...
One massive fist crashlanded into redhead's jaw; she could feel the bone fracture; several masked men sat in the van with her all holding their own weapons, a couple of muzzles pointed straight at her head. She could feel other bones in her body ache with bruises all over. A flash from a digital camera went off; probably the proof they would be sending to whoever cared.
The van went up an incline, daylight vanishing from the windshield up at the front seat replaced with artificial fluorescent light. The back doors swung open and the girl felt herself rised from where she sat to be flung at the hard metal floor of the plane, groaning from shooting pains.
A man stood over her, one who didn't wear a mask, "You're our prisoner. Any attempts at escape and you will be shot were it doesn't kill you. The more you try to evade capture and the more you will tempt us to murder those you care for," he picked her up by the hair, hauling to her feet and throwing the redhead into the arms of two henchmen, "Take her to the cell. She won't be seeing daylight for a while," he ordered before stepping down the ramp of the plane.
...Years passed, apparently. I'd given up counting the minutes after the dozenth surf torture I'd received. No one was going to save me, and I think Tricell realized that.
"Whoever they had doing their dirty work obviously wasn't interested anymore and took their leave of absence. Or they were dead," Nicola shrugged after a short thought over it, "So they decided to use me as the core. There were still ways to puppet people they hadn't tried yet. This plane is one of the few resources I'd been supplied with. So long as I finish jobs for them, they don't really care what I do," Nicola looked at her bosom, tapping her index finger at her chest, "And the tick-tick in here is what keeps the deal glued together."
Biting her lip and looking up at the dark truck which took up the majority of the cargo hold, "Getting the bane of the police off me wasn't something they'd considered though. Still on the Governments black list. Still getting dogged for doing all the bad sh*t I've committed in my past, and that's the friction you just witnessed in my occupation. It isn't much of a hassle so long as I keep myself hidden."
"So," the gearhead girl returned to her stool, "You're gonna have to tell me, Lucas, just how much lady luck you've got."
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Post by KR0R1C on Jul 25, 2011 9:20:09 GMT -5
Lucas sat listening and imagining her story. It sounded similar to his own. Only he didn't have the government breathing on him in a place like Phoenix, and they eyes of Umbrella and Tricell must have been attracted to the heat her group gave off only a state over in the infection free zone. He felt bad for Nic. Being kept on a leash like she was with Tricell and Umbrella had to be terrible. He drove because of the freedom it gave him. He couldnt imagine having that freedom taken away. He then responded to the lady's last comment after figuring out exactly what he'd ended up shifting into.
"Well they didn' start callin' me 'Lucky' yesterday. N' the name hasn't gone away yet." He looked around the plane trying to get a clue as to what they'd be doing when they landed. "So what are we gettin' into when we land? Im down to help, it's always better to have someone watching your back." He finished with a smile. He didn't have to be anywhere soon. The world being at its end kinda did that for you. And he'd learned long ago that anything you do in life should be done because you enjoy it. And he'd been having a pretty good time so far.
The only thing really bothering him was when she motioned to her chest and said 'tick-tick' he had a feeling she wasnt talking about her heart because it didn't really fit in the context. He somehow hoped that if his worst feeling was true, then maybe they could find a way to help her. He chose not to bring it up in conversation though. He figured if he had a bomb in his chest it'd be hard enough to mention it. Let alone talk about it to someone.
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Post by Lunapocalypse on Jul 26, 2011 7:42:41 GMT -5
"Mmwell. For the moment-" Nicola rested her elbow in her hand, cheek in her palm, "Setting up that Stingray so that you have some core muscle in your arsenal. We'll have to sneak it into dog town, though," the muse rubbed her chin in deepthought; standing up; a little fidgety.
"I have another truck at the scrapyard with a flatbed trailer we can move it in with. It'll have a white tarp draped over it," the redhead went on to explain why they had to be so secretive, albeit likely well obvious, "The law there love the smell of hard burned oil. It's an indicator they're a stones throw away from satisfyingly crunching a racer's ride into a hub cap. If we make too much noise it'll get their attention really easy," she bit her index finger, a bit worried. It was easy slipping one car into The Shop but two felt like things were going to be overcooked, "Should-be-fine. Should-be-fine."
A bank from the Nomad set things a sign off kilter letting Nicola know that they were lining up for their ten mile descent into Nevada, "Huh, looks like we're gonna be there just before sunrise. See harbingers emerge from the Mojave wasteland," she made her way toward the cockpit, "I'll get read to gear the Nomad in for landing, you setup whatever you need in the truck so we can unload as soon as we touchdown," she disappeared up the narrow staircase.
[Entering Nevada airspace.]
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