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CONTINUATION...
This also JUST happened to be the same day that Brewster/Linda Blair, who had (by now) worked many a sleazy job to have enough cash for a decent fake I.D., arrived to get a drivers permit for her new personae....seeing as the old one was wanted for multiple murders.
Naturally, Mee-Chan/Brandon Lee (R.I.P., dude....we all miss you!) was also there as well because, to put it bluntly, he was ALSO there that night!
Both were wearing their new "disguises" to match their fake I.D.'s.
Maim/Raye Hollit, Rebecca/Rhona Mitra, Lisa/Halle Berry, Jerimiah/Peter Fonda and Bobby-Q/Wesley Snipes had no problems with their I.D.'s or Permits....Catherine/Christina Ricci, despite being wanted for questioning, turned herself in and underwent considerable scrutiny by the Peaceforcers.
In the end, she simply said she had no knowledge of North & Brewsters actions on the night in question and that while the three of them HAD picked up a hitchhiker (Rebecca), they had parted company shortly after they reached KC-1 and had not seen or heard from her since.
Likewise in the case of Mee-Chan and Beulla....they left that morning, nothing out of the ordinary....then the city nearly blew up.
Next thing she did (when possible) was contact the Authorities and found out about the incident from them.
Even more suprising was the speed and efficiency of the lawyer who arrived (not moments later) with an attitude like King Kong, nerves of steel and enough paperwork to choke a Blue Whale.
Catherine was instructed not to speak and was leaving the station without charge in under 2 minutes.
It was almost unheard of for a Barrister to treat City Judges in such a manner and while it filled the Cadet Ranks with smiles and jokes, Judge Stella Ironwood/Cynthia Rothrock was not pleased at all.
The idea that it was just the two of them suited Brewster just fine.
She was having trouble facing the others after detoxing and Knowledge was one of the few who didn't ask any questions or seem to pass any judgements over what she had done.
(Afterall, she had only killed the others in the first place because she had been trying to kill him!)
She couldn't understand how he forgave her but aside from Lisa, no one else seemed to give a d@mn about her anymore.
All he77 breaks loose when the buildings security chief (who ALWAYS loiters to unsuccessfully flirt with an office clerk and instead has her accept his tacky overtures in an aggressive and desperate fashion) takes notice of the arsenal carried by the largest of The Murphy's in the line up.
As fate would have it, in addition to Brewster and Knowledge....Judge Booker is ALSO in attendance but on his day off and in his civies....currently taking a lot of heat for Stormfronts ability to elude the Peaceforcers with possible charges of criminal negligence contected to it for which he must appear before a review board. He is presently at the Reg Palace Admin to have his board appearance "validated".
(Translation: He's almost fired!)
After a tense stand-off between the guards and the Murphy's, Booker manages to de-escalate the situation and it almost looks as if the Murphy's will escape with their prize but an employee triggers the building "terror alarm" and the entire complexe goes into complete lockdown, trapping the desperate killers with the players, innocents citizens and employees.
North: "Brewster....I'm really starting to f'king hate that car of yours."
It was this simple remark, uttered in frustration, that ultimately tipped off Judge Booker to the pairs disguises moments before the firefight broke out.
Allow me to elaborate on something before I continue....
Most GURPS firefights are blindingly fast (one second turns) and utterly deadly (the average rifled bullet at TL9 can kill you five-times over on a typical hit) but THIS one stood out because NOBODY seemed to be able to hit ANYTHING!
With six Murphy's (250 points each and armed to the teeth) against one (75 point) security guard and his "Boss" (100 points or so).
Add to the mix Booker (now at 300 points) and Brewster with Mee-Chan (somewhere between 400-500 points about then) with their ridiculously huge sidearms of choice and you have an instant recipe for "collateral damage".
The problem....simple....over 25 civilians could be caught in the ensuing crossfire....it would be an absolute massacre!
Oooooohhhhh, it was "tense" for a few moments lemme tell ya!
TO BE CONTINUED...
-Peace-
CONTINUATION...
Eventually, Greg couldn't keep it in his pants and the Murphy's started to light the place up like the Fouth of July....it was pretty brutal....unprecedented actually!
The fire eventually slowed to a trickle and the smoke began to clear as the entire group, both Murphy's, Booker, Brewster, Knowledge and William Allan (the security chief) had expended all their ammo and aside from a few winged bystanders caught in the exchange and William's partner....despite a complete lack of regard for innocent life....despite the fact that (easily) well over 200 rounds were expended by EACH combatant over a 2-minute period (with a 1 freakin second at a time turn rate!)....and nobody hit (seriously wounded) a single BLOODY thing!!!
The confusion on the gamers faces at the table was priceless....this had LITERALLY never happened before.
Sure, they had run out of ammo over the course of an adventure....but not all of it in one single engagement.
(TRUST me...in GURPS that's REALLY difficult for a single combat as few people have the patience to play out 120 one second turns!!! Even most die-hard GURPS enthusiasts will tell you that's ridiculously f'king extreme.)
The smoke was so thick you could hardly see the person standing beside you and when it cleared, everyone was STILL standing.
Ultimately, there was only ONE magazine left....but Booker and William (in addition to two Murphy's) ALL had weapons that could use it....so it was a bit of an awkward moment when Will tossed the clip but Booker fumbled it equidistant between the two opposed factions.
Mike: "S#@t."
(Greg does his best "Mocking-Bully" impersonation from the Simpsons)
GM: "Point."
(Greg does his best "Mocking-Bully" impersonation from the Simpsons)
GM: "Enough."
This was where the combat got interesting as until the clip could be loaded and a round chambered, the winner would be the side who pummeled the other into submission and the Murphy's had a two man advantage!
Using the "stun point" system adapted from 3e GURPS Supers, this was a LONG fight.
People REALLY had the crap stomped outta them but it was pretty much even most of the way.
Ultimately, the alarm was mysteriously cancelled by a seventh "previously unseen" Murphy and with the cancellation came an end to the security lockdown.
Even though on the verge of losing to the Murphy's, the "Family" retreats rather than remain to harrass the players.
Without proper security in place and the city still in turmoil from the Monster Boomer, the chances of the Murphy's escape seems certain.
Especially so when Booker, Knowledge and Brewster emerge to give chase in time to watch the fleeing culprits take turns strafing Bookers Cruiser as they escape.
Convincing Booker that he and Brewster are the best chance he had of of catching them, they all jump into Beulla's Boat and give chase to the Murphy Gang, using Bookers influence to get permission to go in pursuit of the blockade runners into the Badlands.
In their absence, Judge Ironwood tries to piece together the incident at the Reg Palace Admin and is so consumed by jealousy that she tries to work an angle that Judge Booker is dirty and is IN on the caper itself.
To further complicate matters....a meddling reporter by the name of Andrew Halloran/Eddie Murphy seems obsessed with Stormfront and uncovering who they are.
His current brainstorm comes to him when he see footage of the Reg Palace Admin stand-off.
In a sequence of footage, a Murphy grabs a nearby hostage (Dana Nielson) and demands that an "unknown" assailant stand forth and reveal himself. Moments later, Knowledge steps forth from the mist and fastdraws a shot directly into the mans weapon arm, spinning him like a top and sending the weapon flying as the hostage falls from his grasp.
Andrew is POSITIVE he had seen this identical manuver before but when he finally reviews footage of the Aims Darktread Race Finals, he has his confirmation.
Knowledge North seems to not only fit the description but has executed the identical manuver against Erica Gunn when she aimed at Crying Wolf/Krista Allen during his assassination attempt at the finals.
It wasn't exactly the smoking gun he was looking for but being a veteran journalist, Halloran KNEW he was onto something big.
What was the "Hero of Craig's Creek" (arguably one of the most "volatile" men in the nation) doing in KC-1?
The Murphy's lead the unlikely trio through the south sector badlands and out beyond even the jurisdiction of the M.F.P.
"Where the wild ones roam..."
TO BE CONTINUED...
-Peace-
CONTINUATION...
Through cannibal biker hordes, terrible weather and untold hardship, the three finally track the group to an abandoned airfield almost 150 miles south of KC-1.
Even more shocking is the unlikely sound of the Stormfront surveillance transmitter beginning to ping on "The Boats" GPS that indicates the transport with the "blue containers" may indeed be at that VERY airfield.
While Knowledge distracts Booker, Beulla signals the Team and alerts them to their discovery of the lost A.S.P. shipment.
She advises that they somehow get their collective @$$es and to that location as fast as they can unless they want to find 3 more corpses.
After Mee-Chans rather cryptic final message and the subsequent lack of contact thereafter, Doctor Vivian Hoo/Lucy Liu was concerned for The Jumpers welfare.
Without his knowledge (Ah-heheh) she had an aerial combat transport constructed for Stormfront.
She was positive that he could find use for it.
Hoo ALSO knew that having customized the Skycarrier for her personal use meant that no one other than she would able to fly it.
Vivian arrived in KC-1 earlier the night before and her entrance came as more than just a suprise to the Stormfront members.
It was only due to Vivians dedication and contributions that the team was able to answer the call when Brewster sent her plea for assistance.
Before the Stormfront could arrive, the Murphy drivers all took their positions in the convoy and left the airfield with their precious cargo.
She tried to alert The Jumper and The Judge but discovered they had both been captured by A.S.P. Operatives.
Brewster decides to let the convoy slip away while she focuses on rescuing the men.
Stevenson is alerted to the capture of two individuals....one of whom was reported to have been armed with a Bowie Knife and a Tomahawk.
(You can imagine his reaction!)
It was one He77 of a reunion to say the least.
Not only that but Gary discovers that Catherine indeed had a sister and now he parades the Religex-stunted Kirstie Calaveri/Thora Birch on his arm everywhere he goes.
He didn't recognize "Liam" as the Stevenson he knew but realizes the truth of his words soon enough.
Gary didn't even care that he held a Judge hostage, even one as "famous" as Booker....Mee-Chan was the pot o' gold at the end of the rainbow and everything else paled in comparison.
His suffering would be legendary.
(Legendary?....Not really....more like brief, VERY brief)
Still, Gary said he had important business to attend to but assured him that he would return to focus all his attention upon him.
Stevenson then instructed him be left for the duration in one of their interrogation/torture rooms along with his Judge friend....just so they could imagine all that might be coming to them when he returned.
(Yes...breaks EVERY evil overlord rule there is with this guy no matter HOW bad he wants to kill him...essentially just a variation of the "escaping while the villian monologues" theme!)
Phil: "No, Mister Bond...I expect you to die."
GM: "You get a point for THAT one!"
Greg: "WTF!?!"
Gary had a team of Commandos who had undergone treatments with a "diluted" super-soldier serum that were showing promise.
He entrusted his missions success to them and the Murphy's....who were STILL believed to number six I might add.
Booker had always wondered if all the tales about Knowledge being some kind of "war hero" were true or not.
He didn't have to wait long for his answer.
In an unprecedented display, The Jumper disables and kills four guards who attacked him simultaneously without taking injury.
(In GURPS...THAT'S a signifigant feat!)
TO BE CONTINUED...
-Peace-
CONTINUATION...
Freeing Booker, the two begin to withdraw when Knowledge suggests that they'll never have a better chance to see into the mind of their enemy.
Booker is convinced and after capturing two Commandos, the pair steal their armor and equipment in a bid to inflitrate further into Stevenson's hidden stronghold.
Not only do the pair uncover a "planning room" that displays a schematic for the breadth and scope of his vision, but also reveals that this is only one of at ten bases scattered across North America and one of 30 world-wide!
If what he is seeing isn't an exageration, this is much bigger than anyone could possibly imagine.
Booker is floored by the revelations uncovered there by the pair and he begins to believe Knowledges accounts of the effects of Religex and how IT and not Brewster was responsible for the murders at the hotel.
He however has no such defence against the killing of Grover even though all security footage of the altercation clearly show the brute to have been armed and "looking for trouble" according to witnesses.
Brewster however had blatantly tried to kill Knowledge....of this there was no doubt....so why was he clearly working with her here and in the DMV?
Why did Knowledge still trust her?
Knowing that either the destruction of the airfield base or the interception of the airship attack will spark an immediate responce from the other hostile element, he decided upon a simultaneous dual assault.
Only Booker and Mee-Chan had seen the A.S.P. Commandos faces who would carry out the attack so it would be up to them to get to the Airship while the Team neutralized the airfield.
The Judge still didn't suspect that Knowledge was part of Stormfront at that time but he had come to respect The Jumpers abillities.
It wasn't until the pair has become ambushed by a squad of A.S.P. Commandos that Knowledge began to respect Booker's skills.
They worked quite well together but a natural distrust remained between the two that was difficult to overcome, despite everything they had been through.
Thanks to Brewster, they are able to escape the base and race towards the Airship Platform indicated on the master map they had seen.
While this took place, Hoo's new Skycarrier brought the entire team and their Motoroids (now four of them!) at N.O.E. levels and awaited the green light to deliver their strike package.
Upon reaching the Airship Terminus, another disturbing discovery was made.
In additon to the six A.S,P. Operatives on the flight, Catherine's sister would NOW be included among them!
Just as Knowledge was about to grab the errant Kirstie, he found himself alone and surrounded by Murphy's in the middle of the terminus.
Mee-Chan has come a long way from the 50 point (15 year) old high school student he started as.
Now (then) a 410+ point 25 year old and despite having his points spread the f'k out all OVER the place, he still proves to be more than a match for the mele-minded Murphy's when fought one on one.
Tired of all the foreplay, the Murphy's eventually cheat and break out the heavy artillary....the terminus subsequently degrades in to a desperate free for all.
Fortunately, Mee-Chan's pugilist distraction was sufficient for Booker to get local airship security into place to minimize destruction and loss of life during the Murphy's inevitable outburst.
Just as fortunate is the idea that the groups streak of bad rolling also comes to an end....the rematch doesn't have anywhere near the same volume of misdirected fire.
The Murphy's find themsleves being quickly overhwelmed by Booker's reinforcements while Knowledge & Brewster manage to slip passed them in the chaos and board the airship just as it was about to perform an emergency departure.
Unforunately Mee-Chan's sidearm is completely unusable on a blimp and even the discharge from the smallest calibre of weapon carries with it the threat of instant death for all aboard the airship.
The A.S.P. fanatics will ultimately not care about this when weighed against the possibility of failure....they wouldn't go quietly and they wouldn't surrender.
Splitting up, the pair is able to identify the locations of the nerve gas as well as Kirstie.
Along the way, three of the six A.S.P. Operatives suffer horrible agonizing deaths before the remaining Assets get anxious and decide to act.
Just when it seems Brewster and Mee-Chan manage to neutralize the last three Assets, another suprise is revealed....Kirstie is ALWAYS on Garys Arm and HE is on the flight to ensure it all goes off without a hitch!
TO BE CONTINUED...
-Peace-
CONTINUATION...
Holding Catherines sister as a hostage, Gary manages to get Mee-Chan to back down and even relinquish his weapon.
Gary: "Would you just LOOK at the size of this thing! WHAT were you THINKING?! ON A F'KIN' BALLOON AND THIS IS WHAT YOU BRING?!? I thought you people were smarter than that, HA-HAAHAAH!!"
Not to be outdone, Mee-Chan pulled out his Bowie...
North: "You remember THIS fella don't cha?"
(Gary turned white)
Brewster made the save at the last second ("Remember ME!?!") preventing Gary from shooting Mee-Chan with his own gun (thus likely killing them all) while Mee-Chan kept Kirstie from shooting Brewster.
It was CLOSE!
In the end, Brewster was about to throw The Pastor from the blimp (as it hovered over KC-1) but she overcame her demons and somehow found the strength to toss Gary back to Mee-Chan.
Knowledge would not be quite so lenient.
Booker would want Gary alive....the Prime Suspect in Mutant-Boomer Caper who, if turned over, could clear Stormfronts name.
His death would result in permanant imprisonment for Brewster and Knowledge not to mention boosting Stormfront to "public enemy number two"....right after the Anarchist Relief Front!
It wasn't specified that he be in any other condition aside from "alive" and thusly, it was left to his discretion.
As you could expect....Knowledge scalped him.
He then he vowed should Gary ever change his face again, he would hunt him down and peel every inch of skin off his body with his Bowie.
Once done, he remarked that it felt like something was still missing.
North: "Oh, I remember now...."
North took Bookers back-up pistol out of the Judges belt and shot Gary in the leg.
North: "He's all yours."
It was deemed that due to his dilligence in the apprehension of Gary Stevenson, that all charges against Knowledge for the death of Grover be dropped.
After Brody's "disappearance", it all seemed to go away anyhow.
Brewster was found not-guilty by means of chemical inducement....a charge becoming all too frequent in the wake of the Religex scandal.
It may have cleared her name but did nothing to clear her conscience.
Their "full pardons" were made under the sole stipulation that they immediately leave KC-1 Megacity and never return.
The detection of their I.D.'s from this point on will mean an immediate reinstatement of full federal charges and consequences thereof to be commenced at the moment of violation.
After the last Airship Caper, a "cyberpunk" band inspired by Stormfront (who had survived the ordeal) begin to climb the KC-1 popcharts despite negative Establishment PR. Their manager, a one-time pop idol herself, was also on the airship that fateful afternoon and says it was the day that changed her life.
Despite R.N.C. and Federalist efforts, not only was news of the flaw in all Boomer control chips leaked (with thanks to the A.R.F.) but neither could they conseal the existance of a group of clandestine powered armor clad vigillantes who seemed to stand against them.
During the groups stay in KC-1, Booker would rise from Street Judge to Overseer for his dedication and unwavering loyalty.
He would never offically discover the identity of the team but towards the end knew full well of Knowledge and Brewsters involvement with Stormfront.
To his credit, he never revealed their affiliation and even prevented Judge Ironwood from uncovering the truth as well.
The Booker-Ironwood jurisdictional feud (over the bungled captures of Stormfront) still continues to this day.
TO BE CONTINUED...
-Peace-
CONTINUATION...
It's been said that almost every Judge currently serving in the KC-1 Peaceforcers (at the time of The Stormfronts departure) owes their life, in one way or another, to the group.
By month four, most serving Judges (65%) refused to open fire upon the team if they were encountered in the field.
Despite the Peaceforcer mandate to capture Stormfront at all costs, the officers themselves usually found unusual anomalies, situational irregularities or sited obscure regulations as reasons not to engage the team.
On the few times it couldn't be avoided (such as direct orders from R.N.C. or a Federalist mandate being overseen by a representative), the Judges reknown accuracy would suffer an "unexplained" drop.
By month six it was out of the Peaceforcers hands entirely as the newly formed KC-1 Advanced Police Division was formed to specifically combat the rising Rogue threat.
- Billy Adamson/Jon Bon Jovi was one of the first Judges to resign and join the ADP's ranks and at the time, was regarded as a serious P.R. blow to the Peaceforcers. He would remain close friends with Judge Booker/Cuba Gooding Jr.
TO BE CONTINUED...
-Peace-
CONTINUATION...
Other notable NPC's who appeared during the course of the adventure:
- Benton Holmes: (Rene Auberjonois) IT Guy at the Reg Palace Admin. Would quit his day job after the incident to head up an Immersive Games Division expiramenting with cutting edge A.I.'s and state-of-the-art V.R. for EA Games International. Recieved both help and encouragement from Mee-Chan and Catherine....insists that they participate in all his future "beta tests".
- Dana Nielson: (Ann Jillian from It's a Living) Receptionist at the Reg Palace Admin. After endless rebuffed advances, finally gives in and goes out with Security Chief Allan. Considering she was one of the most fortunate bystanders in the huge shoot-out "that didn't hit anything at all" she has emerged from the crisis a changed person. Still attends PTSD sessions with William Allen.
- Harvey Carnahan: ("The Goose" from Mad Max I) Pilot for the Judges Air Police element. Frequently assigned to heavy chopper duty during combat deployments. Was shotdown during the rampage of the the Fusion Boomer, only one of his crew to survive the landing. Became good friends with Billy Adamson and eventually followed him to AD Police. Currently pilots Hornet Persuit Aerodynes and holds the rank of Lieutenant.
- Brax Milton: (A crusty Leif Garret....hehe-heheh) R.N.C. Executive. One of the individuals Gary Stevenson is so cheesed at. Eventually becomes a puppet for growing The A.S.P. Organization. Specifically, he oversees recruitment and training for all future A.S.P. Commandos from the ranks of an elite world reknown mercenary organization named "Interfist". Rumors say that when the C.I.A. wanted to staff the Piotr Arumov for their false flag attack that would spark WWIII, they shopped at Interfist!
- Claude Bordelon: (Gerard Depardieu) R.N.C. Liason to the Federalist Council. Unwitting zealot and "cat's paw" of Gary Stevenson. Was finally beginning to suspect the Mad Scientists connection with A.S.P. and the Rogue Boomer outbreaks but ill health and concerns for the safety of his family prevent him from intervening in The Black Asp's "master" plan.
- Jenny Stokes: (pre-boob job Soleil Moon-Frye) Daughter of an Oklahoma Corperate CEO allied with Brax Milton on the FOS Pipeline deal that fell through when the latest Civil War ended. Suspects her father is under A.S.P. influence. Responsible for making Lisa realize just how much she cares for Jerimiah but still hasn't forgiven Lisa for knocking her out.
- Maxeen: (Essentially rock band "Vixen" on a good hair day!) Still climbing the charts long after Stormfront left the KC-1 Megacity. Uses Andrew Hallorans soundbytes on Stormfront in their music. Bobby-Q has a monstrous crush on the bands drummer. The Band always reserves tickets for them at shows but they have never been claimed or used yet. Unoffically, Erica has been to every performance while in KC-1 with Mee-chan running a close second. Brewster only attended once and was recognized shortly after she arrived but THAT'S a whole OTHER story!
- Doric Lewis: (Jamie Lee Curtis) Discovered the band Maxeen in the airship during the near catastrophe over KC-1. Was returning home after yet another failed bid to kick start her dead career.Had just purchased a gun to kill herself with and was on her way home to do it when a chance encounter with Knowledge turned her life around. Managed to get her pistol to Mee-Chan at a crucial point in a struggle with an A.S.P. Commando during the flight. When commenting later, Knowledge was heard to have said: "If anybody was a hero today, it was the woman who tossed me her pistol....she's the only reason we're not all dead!".
- Annette Murphy (Catherine Bach) Sole surviving member of the entire Murphy Clan. Has sworn vengence upon Knowledge and Booker for the deaths of her kin. Suprise of suprises that she is busted out of stir by none other than Stevenson himself, not with legions of soldiers at his side but disguised as a Fed with a few scraps of official looking paper....
- D.B. Only (Greg the RPG Machine) Only arrives in town as the blockade lifts (and the team is literally driving the out of the city right beside him) so the curiously "solo" D.B. is preparing to leave empty-handed when he should be contacted by a familiar voice. The same one that had hired him to take out Mee-Chan at the race finals with Maim, Masha and The Tank. After his recent "falling out" with Mastiff Moulin (with so many fail attempts at killing Knowledge under his belt) D.B. is most sympathetic to Gary's plight."
(Greg is now begging the GM to be A.S.P.'s "Stormshadow" but the truth is he's more like "Zartan"!)
TO BE CONTINUED....
-Peace-
CONTINUATION...
Flash of Steel: (The teams first "paying" job!)
This jaunt would see the group return to LA-1, California.
Had Knowledge not used an assumed identity, it's doubtful he would have been permitted to enter the state.
(Adventures in Babysitting compared to Stormfront's normal fare, real light stuff....not even any Boomers in it but not all their missions featured Boomers. Some had Ninjas! Well, not THIS one but SOME of them did!)
Greg: "STOP TEASING ME!!!"
GM: "Sorry..."
World reknown director Harrison Mondelli has a dilemma. His latest studio blockbusters solo print of his new epic tale has been stolen and his offices vandalized.
With its impending release only months away and pre-release campaigns in full-swing, it holds all the earmarks of a billion dollar catastrophe in the making.
His Problem....Harrison needs his film returned discretely before the studio finds out its missing and he has less than 30 days to do it.
His Solution....Harrison taps eccentric billionaire oil tycoon/weapons developer Jack C Halpern (portrayed by Ross "I'm in, Wait I'm out, No, I'm in again, Oops my bad, I'm out" Perrot) and asks for a solid.
His Responce....Jack visits Knowledge, Maim, Catherine, Lisa (with The Mayhem) and Rebecca in the hopes of convincing them to take the job:
Jack: "C'MON NOW...I't'll be FUN! JUST like a sleep-over...we're talking; SUNSHINE, PALM TREES & BIG DINEROS! Wha'ja say cowboy!?!"
Maim: "That's what he said LAST time and correct me if I'm wrong but....isn't the pacific ocean still ON FIRE after our last job there?"
North: "When she's right...she's RIGHT."
(Lisa & Becca both react despondantly at the prospect of their first genuine paying job being turned down...but more importantly, ANOTHER chance to use the Motoslaves!)
Cathy: "Here ya go...
North: "What's this?"
Cathy: "This? THIS is the ammended Kansas City weapons/ammunition & repair bill for the Skycarrier, Hard Suits, Motoslaves, J-Type, Mayhem aaaannnnd Brewster's car."
North: "California, huh?"
Jack: "Pack sunscreen."
(Lisa & Becca high-five each other)
After sifting through all the available evidence of the crime, the team uncovered a promising lead that took them into the seedier side of LA-1 gang politics.
In an effort to make money and frame their rivals, a latin gang (Las Culebras Feroces) had stolen the movie for their bosses and framed Los Cruzados.
These two gangs held neighboring C.T.'s and had warred with each other longer than anyone could remember.
The reasons no longer mattered....it had become an issue of pride and perpetuated an endless cycle of blood and violence, each side vowing to destroy the other.
No matter what they tried, each side was pretty much evenly matched and except from a few drive-by ambushes, a stalemate ensued in the conflict and the open fighting began to slow.
Tano Santiago/John Leguizamo was the leader of Las Culebras Feroces.
Riva Cruzado/Michelle Rodriguez....well, you can just guess which side she fought for.
Phil: "And if Michelle Rodriguez were a woman, I'd f'k her...THERE, I SAID IT!"
GM: "Aheh-heheh."
Mike: "Point?"
GM: "I'd give ya TWO if I could."
Greg: "F'K!!!"
TO BE CONTINUED....
-Peace-
CONTINUATION...
The truth of the matter was that Tano actually had the hots for Riva (having ONCE been a Cruzado himself) but was never able to articulate himself properly.
The result was a on-going ten year gang war that has claimed untold lives through the cycle of murder, addiction and the profits made from both.
But Tano still had an ace up his sleeve.
Soon it would be Riva & Los Cruzados who would be put on the defensive.
Footage of the robbery was leaked with "evidence" of Cruzado complicity.
Along with the footage came a reward notice for 100K USD for any evidence leading to the capture (dead or alive) of any Los Cruzados member.
Every two-bit wannabe with a pea shooter hit the streets looking to bag a Cruzado....and they might have succeeded were it not for Knowledge's intervention.
Riva's little cousin (only 14) had been returning from a friend's (after curfew) when she was jumped by a group of Lowzone Boys, looking to find her sister.
The girl fled but was chased and caught by a swarm of motorcycle mounted miscreants.
Serious bodily harm might have taken place were it not for Mee-Chan's unexpected arrival....in his J-Type battlemover!
The fifteen bikers displayed no fear and tried to get the better of the J-Suit but ultimately nothing they did had any visible effect upon the battlemover.
North, on the otherhand, reduced every bike that rode against him to burning pieces....their riders slamming hard onto gravel & asphalt or sent flying into nearby buildings.
Mee-Chan refrained from using weapons against them at first.
Most of them were still boys, but one of their riders unwittingly triggers a 50 calibre machine gun burst at Knowledge.
The beaten zone landed nowhere near him but he was more concerned for the life girl who cowered behind him.
To bring the altercation to a close, he retracted his arm mounted twin six-packs and turned the offending bike into confetti but refrains from killing the rider, though he showed he easily could have.
North then retracted every weapon system on "Jackie" and simultaneously targeted every biker present.
They quickly routed.
A J-Type can look pretty intimidating to the uninitiated but Karla Cruz had no fear of the hulking armored trooper.
Correctly and quickly, she deduced that there was a reason the J-Suit hadn't moved since she had approached it...
Karla: "What do you want?"
North: "I would like to speak to your sister if I could."
Karla: "Mister...EVERYBODY wants to meet my sister."
The J-Suit dimmed it's exterior running lights by 60%:
North: "I think I deserve special consideration."
Karla: "You're in Stormfront, aren't you? I've read about you."
North: "If I were REALLY in Stormfront, what would I be doing here?"
Karla: "Only THEY use suits like that."
North: "This?....I just got this. It was buy one, get one free."
(The girl laughed at his comment but he hadn't actually lied)
Carnale: "You're a REAL funny guy..."
Karla's "surrogate" family had arrived in a procession of low-riders and they weren't too pleased with the plethora of burning bikes on the bario streets.
TO BE CONTINUED....
-Peace-
CONTINUATION...
After explaining the true of the situation to Carnale, Knowledge was taken to see Riva Cruzado.
The sight of the J-Suit on the bed of a pick-up low-rider in a "jumping" contest while stopped at a set of traffic lights must have been quite a sight to see on the LA-1 streets.
Eventually he was able to meet with Riva and after dispencing with the pleasantries, immediately showed her the damning evidence.
A photgraph of one of the culprits, an unknown gang member fleeing the offices, but clearly flying Cruzados colors.
That was until the Cruzado who stood beside Riva, (Carnale again) who was in the middle of doing a tattoo on the gang leader pointed out the fakes on the guy in the photo must have cost him a fortune.
He then asked the next question which came to mind in light of this new damning evidence.
Who would want to frame Los Cruzados?
If the tattoos were fake then there also stood good chance something else in the photo would also be fake but it wasn't until little Karla spoke up that another clue emerged.
She recognized the man in the photo because he was an extra on a latin soap she used to watch who had even starred in his own series five years ago. The leather vest he had on in the picture failed to conseal partially exposed tattoo that the girl was not only able to describe to minute detail, but even produced an picture from his webpage that confirmed it.
"If that girl is EVER looking for a job....you let us KNOW."
He turned the bulky J-Suit to depart but before he could leave her bario residence, Riva stopped him and asked if he had really meant what he said about her sister.
"When you're that good, the jobs find you."
Riva: "What do you look like under there?"
No one else was around and so North decided to break with protocol, stepped forward (to her suprise) and then slowly opened the helmet canopy on his suit to reveal his face.
It was immediately apparent that he hadn't slept in quite some time.
There was hardness in his gaze but hidden in that was also caring that The Jumper had never found a way to disguise in all his years on Earth-6.
Ask him a thousand times, he still couldn't explain why he did it.
Despite exposing his face he couldn't bring himself to smile.
She made a feeble attempt to put herself into his direct line of sight but eventually whispered: "I KNOW that look."
The Gang Leader gave him a peck on the cheek:
Riva: "That is for my sister...."
She stood back but after a moment of thought returned and laid some serious sugar on The Jumper.
Riva: "Catch ya later "Rocket Man"."
Phil: "SCORE...giggity!"
GM: "Point."
Greg: "WTF!?!"
Mike: "Crunch, munch, chomp, gulp!"
All The Jumper could think was: Takes off the helmet, WTF was THAT about....am I a complete noob or what?....(OMFG, is this High School again?)....D@mnit, she was STUPID hot....they OBVIOUSLY never designed these suits with a chubby in mind-
TO BE CONTINUED....
-Peace-
CONTINUATION...
The girls meeting with Tano Santiago does and doesn't go as well as Knowledges meeting with Riva.
Catherine has now easily established herself as our groups "Nene". She's combat ineffective and mostly excels at getting in the way but every now and then, she shines like a star.
Maim has seemingly fallen into the role of our "Priss". The largest member of the team and while not considered to be the most dangerous of the gals, she is hands down the "coldest" killer in their ranks. She is the least trusted member of the team.
Lisa has replaced Brewster as the teams "Linna". The Jekyl and Hyde of the group. One moment her compliments and accent are as sweet as syrup, then without warning, she becomes a ruthless calculating hunter....capable of cruelty that make even Maim cringe. Once she has laid down the law, no one questions it.
Rebecca is firmly entrenched in the "Sylia" position. Without equal amongst the Stormfront, she is without question their most dangerous member. It is her expertise with the sword that convinces Knowledge to insist that all members be proficient in its use and that the Ion Sword be included on all Hard Suit variants. Oddly enough, she is the 2nd least trusted member of the team.
Brewster is still currently in "Limbo". She has lost her confidence but is convinced by the girls that they need her help on this job if they are to pull it off. Is quite jealous of the fact that Lisa is seemingly filling her role better than she could.
Yes, it's true....they located Tano Santiago with little difficulty.
Yes, it's also true....they managed to gain an audience with him without resorting to using Hard Suits (like Knowledges shameful display with Riva) but what ISN'T easy for group five beautiful women?
Okay....he WASN'T in the best of moods when he discovered the topic up for discussion....
27 Gang Members ambushed the girls as Tano smugly looked on.
Maim, Becca, Brewster and Lisa took out 27 of the 50 targets at short to point-blank range in a span of 12-15 seconds while Catherine screamed and cowered.
To be fair, Cathy DID manage to hit SOMEONE in the foot but it didn't count....not because they wore assault boots and the round didn't penetrate but because she had shot Maim.
The gals had depopulated the gangs ranks by 1/6th in the blink of an eye and they didn't even need to reload!
The remaining 23 gang bangers chose not to continue the combat and half fled into the bario as fast as they could while the remaining cowered out of the line of fire.
Tano just about s#@t himself but there was nothing he could do.
He tried to save face as best he could in front of the few gang members that remained but Maim put a stop to that noise right proper.
She grabbed him by his expensive bling (knowing he wouldn't squirm or risk damaging it) only to clutch the gangbanger by the cojones and brought him over to Catherine (who was still crying from the firefight) and made him appologize to her.
(Twice, the first one didn't sound sincere enough according to Miss Calaveri)
Erica closed with mighty squeeze and allowed him to fall at her feet in a near delirious state.
When Santiago came to (and discovered it HADN'T all been a terrible nightmare) he spilled all he knew about the "actor" in the picture that was used to frame the Cruzados.
He even admitted the Cruzados colors in the photo used to be his from when he was with the gang.
He began to giggle as he mentioned it would be shame since the actor in question wouldn't be alive much longer.
Maim was about to get up again to aggressively move upon Tano.
(I could have SWORN the moment he saw Erica stand up, he began to whimper like a little girl!)
Beulla intercepted the Biker this time and and told her...
Brewster: "Why should YOU have all the fun...I got this one-"
She then turned to one of Tano's thugs who had been carrying a tonfa, presumably from an LA M.F.P. Officer, and told him to fork it over.
He did so hesitantly and Brewster returned with the weapon and motioned for Santiago to get to his feet...
Brewster: "Girls, this is one they taught me when I was back in the State Troopers...."
She then firmly wedges the tonfa securely against Tano's nads, which makes him jolt as if from a seat that was too cold...
Brewster: "This way, you can ensure they never have children but you don't leave a mark...."
Tano: "Okay, okay, okay, OKAYYYY....I get the POINT, but it's not MY soldiers doing the hitting! It's this o-OTHER guy....his name is P-penfield....(Tano then spits at the mentioning of his name)....HE'S the penga you want!!"
Rebecca: "I think he's telling the truth."
Maim: "How can you be so sure?"
Brewster: "Because it ain't raining and he's in a puddle."
Cathy: "Eeewwwwwwww!"
TO BE CONTINUED....
-Peace-
CONTINUATION...
Lisa: "This has been fun girls but I really think we should be saying good night..."
The arrival of several pick-ups and SUV's full of Tano's soldiers may have had something to do with it.
The only person at the time who was within range of the actor's residence when the call went out was Bobby-Q.
He had taken the opportunity of dusting off his Hemicuda replicar Deuler for the trip to LA and had chosen to ride as Scout on this outing.
Jeremiah's constant complaining about Lisa and Knowledge may have had something to do with it.
All BBQ knew was what the actor looked like, his address, that he was crucial to the teams ongoing investigation and that someone(s) would be trying to kill shortly if he wasn't already dead.
Piece of cake!
As this was going on, The Electric Mayhem, Brewster's Boat, Maim's Hog and Rebecca's Interceptor all converged on the target location as fast as they could, hoping to avert disaster.
Bobby arrived and saw the suspects car was still in it's assigned parking spot so he pulled up the street a ways and exited the vehicle with a black leather trenchcoat on (in 90 degree heat) to conseal the arsenal he carried on his person.
The experienced road warrior paused for a moment near the stairs that lead to the actor's apartment.
As he pretended to tie his shoelace, he noticed a a rather fancy looking van pull up into the loading zone.
He would have paid it no mind but a building employee immediately stepped off the curb and warned the driver that he couldn't park there.
There was no reply from the vans occupants.
At this exact moment, Roman Stark (one-time star of the action series "Road Renegade" now turned unwitting lackey) emerged from his unit and began to make his way down the stairs.
BBQ saw the target and knew the sound of the van's armored panel door sliding open wasn't a good sign.
Without looking, he spun and began to empty his shotgun at the van....striking the two thugs who had emerged to man a twin 50 calibre machine gun they had mounted to a fishing seat with a swivel mount.
After emtpying his shotgun he began to sprint for Roman who had simply frozen there like a deer caught in the headlights.
No sooner had the two thugs bodies fallen than two more emerged to take their place.
BBQ had barely knocked Mister Stark down when the pair of heavy machine guns began to light up.
They tore the lobby of the apartment complexe to pieces....over 150 rounds were fired per gun before they ran out of ammo and were forced to withdraw, chased away by suppressing fire from the approaching "Boat".
This began a daring chase across multiple LA-1 C.T.'s as Brewster, Maim, Becca and Mee-Chan (riding shotgun with Beulla) hunted down the Penfield Hitvan before cornering it....in Los Cruzados Territory.
The fight was actually pretty much a stalemate....the van (constantly being chased) had its most powerful weapons front-mounted but had enough armor that all the player could do was hope to eventually wear down its ablative plating to the point where they could do real damage to the vehicle or its combatants.
By the time it had been cornered in the bario they had pretty much accomplished just that.
Mee-Chan even had that "solo" moment when he emerged from the Boat and told Maim and Becca:
"I got this one."
TO BE CONTINUED....
-Peace-
CONTINUATION...
Walking down the street alone he approached the now smoking Van and gave them an ultimatum: Surrender now and MAYBE they wouldn't be killed.
This amused the assassins who pointed out that he (and the others) were now in the direct firing arc of the Penfield Vans biggest weapons (that hadn't fired yet once all game) and that if HE didn't surrender post-haste, they would all be turned into a piles of hamburger.
Knowledge pointed out it wouldn't be their group thats doing any of the slaughtering that night as he pointed out the twenty or so Los Cruzados vehicles that they had unwittingly strayed into the middle of.
The crowning achievement occured when the assassins realized they had also admitted to being in on the caper to frame The Cruzados.
Once the gravity of their situation began to set in, they unconditionally surrendered without a single shot being fired....for all the good it did them.
All seemed like it was going to be a happy Hollywood ending.
Or was it?
Roman did indeed still have the stolen copy of "Flash of Steel" but he had left it with his sole accomplise in the caper...his girlfriend and ALSO a struggling actress, Holly Stocking.
She had helped him vandalize the office and was the only other person that Roman trusted enough to include.
He promised after "The Job" he would take her away as he once said he would.
Stark even convinced her that stealing the film would be like acting in a scene....it would be no different except once they had completed it, they would be insanely rich.
She agreed and the print was hidden at her place.
Stark unfortunately had no clue as to who it was who had originally hired them.
To the desperate actor, it was just another voice on the end of a phone.
(The Penfield Hitmen also sang to a similar tune before they went "missing".)
When asked if he had a recording of it, Roman acknowledged he had a broken answering machine that sometimes records even when he answers in time and checked it for any signs of the mystery mans voice.
He was successful but when he asked Knowledge what he was going to do with it, The Jumper replied:
"Show it to an expert."
Mee-Chan had been making quite a habit of returning to Cruzado's territory, so much that the team had begun to take notice of his frequent visits.
Don't think that Riva didn't notice this as well.
She was genuinely facinated (and understandably concerned) when he told her he had a problem that only Karla could help him with.
Riva wished to hear more.
He told her that he suspected someone in the studio itself, quite possibly someone very rich and powerful might be involved in the frame up and he knew no one else that could identify the names and obscure details of celebrities (old & new) than Karla.
Knowledge admitted it was a longshot but was willing to try anything.
Riva agreed to grant him an audience but only if she could ask him three questions in return.
Knowledge told her she could ask anything she wished.
"Are you Stormfront?" was her first question.
"Stormfront is an idea, I'm just a soldier" came the reply.
"why are you helping us?" was her second question.
"I don't like seeing anybody get hosed...we're also getting paid an obcene amount of money and if Karla's info is good, I'll see she gets some of it" came the reply.
(THAT one seriously weakened Riva's resolve)
"What's your third question?"
"You got a woman?" asked Riva.
"Yes" came the reply.
"She make you happy?"
"That's four" came the reply.
Greg: "YOU STUPID IDIOT...WHAT TH' F'K ARE YOU DOING...NOBODY DOES THAT DO YOU UNDERSTAND, NOBODY!?!"
Phil: "Shuush, my turn."
Greg: "WHY AREN'T YOU BANGING HER!?!"
Phil: "SHUUSH!"
She halted her advances: "Figures."
(He tried not to breath a sigh of relief at the decision he didn't have to make!)
TO BE CONTINUED....
-Peace-
CONTINUATION...
Riva straightened up and began to back away from him.
For a moment he began to fear he had insulted her and that she would have him thrown out.
Riva: "Wait there....I'll get her."
And with that disappeared into her home through a wall of her soldiers, most of whom he recognized from the Penfield Ambush the evening before.
The bravest of them began to strut over towards The Jumper as he waited.
His brothers began to take notice and were curious as to what would result from the exchange.
Lupe: "Homes....lil' Sister says you got one HE77 of a sweet ride."
His friends all begin to giggle, having seen it the first night he brought Karla home.
Knowledge smiles (trying not to gloat although really WANTING to):
North: "It gets me around."
Chogo: "What does she take, Homes?"
Mee-Chan checked to make sure no one (EVERYONE) was listening and said...
North: "Liquid hydrogen base, my own "special recipe". She can reach speeds of almost 300mph if I get the feul mixtures right."
The group begins to "lean into" the conversation:
Carnale: "You could outrun any P.D. bird with that kinda speed."
Knowledge tried not to beam like a proud father.
North: "I have, many times...."
Lupe: "Dude....that Kansas City s#@t....was that s#@t for real?"
North: "As real as it gets, sir....as real as it gets."
Karla finally arrived after two beers had gone by.
Afterall, it's homework first....save the world second!
The two of them went aside as he explained his dilemna to her.
She agreed to listen to the clip no matter how messed up it sounded.
To his astonishment (more like exactly what he figured would happen) the girl had not only identified the voice within a few words but had a name and address to go with it.
A studio mogul by the name of Vector Talbot, but to his Hollywood associates he was known simply as Penfield, taken from the lead character in his most successful movie to date.
Regarded by his contemporaries as a uncreative boor who is as much a tyrant on the set as he is with his movie budgets, he had fallen upon hard times in the last few years with a string of bombs under his belt to highlight his failures.
A recent bid to revive his stature with the big wigs turned south when Flash of Steel was given the green light.
So, now we have "motive".
Mee-Chan was blown away by the amount of information the little girl knew and how flawlessly she interfaced with technology to produce the facts behind her statements.
He shook her hand (still speechless) and smiled as he began to depart:
North: "Do you want cash, precious metals or a cashier's check?"
Karla: "CASH PLEASE!!!"
TO BE CONTINUED....
-Peace-
CONTINUATION...
He waved good bye to the assembled crew and made his way out to Brewster in the Boat but paused by the gate as he was "ambushed" by Riva.
North lingered by her after reaching into his pocket and produced three cards.
One from Halpern Security Concepts, one from Calaveri Concepts and one that simply had a laminated lightning bolt superimposed over a cloud with a flat black background.
"If-she-EVER needs a job...."
Riva goes to whisper in his ear but Beulla leans on the horn and ruins the moment:
"You'd better get going."
He does so without delay.
The Grand National began to cruise out of the Hood and neither of the two had said a word for moment until Beulla could no longer resist:
Brewster: "Looked like Lil'Miss Hot Tamales has taken a shine to ya?"
North: "Uh-huh........thanks for honking when you did-"
Brewster: "Yeah, well it looked like you needed a good honking."
North: "Hmm."
A brief uncomfortable silence ensues.
Brewster: "LOOK, It's NONE of my business....I'm not involved in this and I don't wanna know....but understand that if you hurt Catherine, I'll turn you into a "missing persons" file."
North: "Like that would be any worse than what Catherine would do to me if she were to find out."
Brewster began to smile (for the first time in a while): "She's not that good a shot."
North: "She hit Maim, didn't she?"
Brewster: "That was an accident."
North: "I have it on good authority that it WASN'T."
Brewster: "NOOOOO!?! I TAKE IT ALL BACK....MAYBE THERE IS A GOD!!!"
North: "Said something about being "too blonde" I think-"
Brewster: "We HAVE to tell Maim!"
North nearly choked: "ARE YOU CRAZY!?!"
Brewster: "Fine, I HAVE to tell Maim...this is JUST too good-"
The Jumper drew a deep breath and collected his thoughts:
North: "Now, Brewster....I am glad to see you're feeling better and I am relieved more than words can say to have you back with us on this OP. It's also fantastic that you've even seemed to have recovered your sence of humor (you had us all worried there for a while) but YOU-CAN-NOT tell Maim that Catherine DELIBERATELY shot-her-in-the-foot..."
Brewster: "WHY THE F'K NOT!?!"
North: "Well, for starters, Erica-will-kill-her....not bruise, not stun, not bleed, not knock the f'k out but K-I-L-L her as in: "stain on asphalt" and I desperately DON'T want that to happen."
Brewster: "She MIGHT miss....Cathy's pretty short-"
Knowledge held up his finger and wagged it at her as he repeated over and over again (as if chastizing a dog for peeing on the rug): "No!"
Brewster: "Erica will probably just find out about this anyway?"
North: "She'd f'king BETTER not!"
Brewster: "One of these days she WILL and on THAT day....I WANNA BE THE ONE TO TELL HER!!!"
North: "But why?"
Brewster: "Maim wants Paris, Lisa wants to ruin YOUR life....but I only wanna ruin MAIM'S...is it REALLY asking for SO much?"
North: "You SHOT at me...isn't that enough?"
He could see it was still a bit too soon to be joking about their firefight at the Hotel as her sudden silence indicated.
North: "Oh, fine....have it YOUR way....but ONLY if she going to find out anyway..."
Brewster: "YEA!!"
North: "...you helping the process along DOESN'T count!!"
Brewster: "F'k, f'k...deal."
North: "You frighten me sometimes Brewster..."
TO BE CONTINUED....
-Peace-
CONTINUATION...
Stormfront finally caught up to Vector in his home, a multi-billion dollar Beverly Hills mansion although "fortress" would have been a more appropriate description.
The Movie Mogul had become worried after he lost contact with his assassins and had barricaded himself in his home.
The grounds held state-of-the-art sensors, advanced intruder countermeasures and a large staff of well-trained, heavily armed bodyguards. The best protection that a man of his wealth and influence could afford.
Any normal person would have to be insane to consider storming such a place.
Well, Stormfront is hardly normal.
Penfield was crying like a lil' b@#$h with a skinned knee within minutes of the opening shots being fired.
The players had actually done quite well and had already neutralized half of the security staff before giving away their presence to the others.
"One-sided" as a decription of the combat would be bit of an understatement.
Not a single guard on premises had a weapon capable of penetrating a Hard Suit, and so it went.
Vector confessed to organizing the entire caper as a vendetta against Mondelli and once Holly Stocking produced the original print, things started to revert to the normal level on insanity for Hollyweird.
Harrison was so pleased to get his movie back that he not only chose to drop all charges against Roman Stark and Holly Stocking but made Roman a feature actor in a new Road Renegade revival for the small screen.
He also married Holly Sampson and now she appears in every movie he releases.
Stormfront was paid a ludicrous sum of money for the recovery of the film and Knowledge was sure to cut young Karla in for an equal share.
(Her split came to 2 million USD and took Knowledge two trips to carry it all into her house)
Mondelli was so impressed with The Stormfront that he decided to make his new blockbuster about the group and their trials in KC-1.
As ever, the androgynous Aqua Sueve lead up the cast (against Mee-chan's expressed wishes) and portrayed him in the motion picture and the eventual sequels.
They would be considered Mondelli's finest works.
All Harrison Mondelli productions are musicals!
Greg: "ARE YOU F'KING KIDDING ME!?!"
TO BE CONTINUED....
-Peace-
CONTINUATION...
Notable NPC's who distinguished themselves in the course of this adventure were:
- Roman Stark: (Mickey Rourke) The success of his new series helps to dull the loss of his girlfriend Holly Stocking. Would eventually sell the rights to his story that would be made into a Quentin Tarantino-esque crime drama movie about the events of the Flash of Steel caper. Would eventually relocate to Poseidon to kick start his sagging career in yet a third installment of the Road Renegade series, only this time with Landmates. Suffers terrible pain from a botched cosmetic surgery.
- Holly Stocking: (Christina Applegate) Marries Harrison Mondelli and goes on to have a lengthy and lucrative movie career thanks to her husband. Lands the roll of the "Pink Vigilante" in the Stormfront movie. (YEA, CATHY IS FINALLY A BLONDE!!!) Would be the only female in the cast to recieve an Oscar for her work in the series. Catherine won't let anyone live it down.
- Aqua Sueve: (Marilyn Manson) Decides to give up the mystique behind the gimick of his unknown sexual orientation to play the lead roll in the Stormfront movie. Many emo-boys were crushed at discovering he was actually a man. Still one of the most powerful and influential stars in The Biz....he still works exclusively with Mondelli like Hanks with Spielberg.
- Tano Santiago (John Leguizamo) Gives up the "thug life" as instructed by the gals and the one-time leader of LA-1's most violent and bloody hispanic gangs turns into a spokesman for promoting intergang peace & cooperation. A change of heart that makes Riva Cruz see him in a different light for the first time....
- Riva Cruz(ado) (Michelle Rodriguez) With Tano's departure, Los Cruzados become the largest most powerful gang in South Central. As undisputed Queen she endorses Tano's new outreach program and manages to maintain truces at her borders despite her new "softer" leadership approach. It isn't very popular amongst her allies but it DOES save many lives.
- Karla Cruz(ado) (Retconned to Alexa Vega) Her Photographic Memory and cognitive skills gets her noticed by the Stormfront administration. Knowledge suggests an internship with Gi-San for Karla but doesn't elaborate what that exactly means. Riva realizing this is an opportunity for her sister to escape the life of crime that has befallen her family encourages her to pursue it, if it's what she truely wants. What do YOU think she said?
- Carnale (Charlie Cheen a-la-Ferris Beuller's Day Off) Talks Knowledge into letting him give "Jackie" (the J-type) a new paint job. Except for the "hot wheels flames" The Jumper likes the new color scheme so much he keeps it....the end result looking not so different from the way Mackie Stinray's battlemover appeared in BGC Episode 8: Scoop Chase. In an odd twist of fate, he does a tattoo for Maim and Maim does the cr@p out of him, WINNING!!!
Stormfront also agreed to finally choose "code" names for the members of the group. Maim absolutely hated the idea and fought against "campy" names longer than any of the others on the team. When Halloran began to refer to them in the press as Stormfront she became livid. North couldn't tell her it had originally been his idea.
Main would finally become known as "Tempest".
Lisa would adopt the name "Vortex".
Cathy had chosen the name "Torrent".
Rebecca settled upon "Cyclone".
While Mee-Chan would be known as "Nimbus".
The Motoslaves were all named after the specific make and model, being designated as either a "Hurricane", "Typhoon" or "Tsunami" (as in the case of the giant MSX-01).
TO BE CONTINUED....
-Peace-
CONTINUATION...
The Florida Independance-500: (And one shall fall....)
The group is hired by the most unlikely of people.
Portney Lee Baker makes his long-awaited return to the game and has a proposition for the team that they just couldn't refuse but more was going on behind the scenes than even Portney could possibly suspect.
By now Stormfront had deployed in the Hard Suits on over 75 combat sorties in a three-year period....their most recent stint of work keeping them busy in The Lone Star State.
Work had become a bit scarce.
R.N.C. and the Federalists had a nationwide manhunt in effect for any knowledge on the names or whereabout of any Stormfront members.
All federal agencies had a standing "shoot-on-sight" order in effect and unlike the Judges of KC-1, they didn't share a sence of unspoken kinship.
Money wasn't a concern for the most part at the time as profits from the G.U.N.H.E.D. Project had been starting to trickle in for years but it was usually only enough to cover operating costs and repairs for the organization.
The gals on the otherhand had no such obligations....the money they made was their own and some of them were also starting to recieve their shares in the G.U.N.H.E.D. deal as well.
Maim blew most of her wealth on bikes, partying and expensive repairs to the Hard Suits and Motoslaves. She had gotten into the habit of competition with the other "Alpha's" of the team and her equipment frequently sported more damage than most. Damage she was libel for!
Cathy was already filthy rich and anything she was paid was a pitance compared to her companies monthly profits and her corperate "Diamond Card".
Lisa would have normally put her money into upkeeping The Mayhem but since becoming exclusive transporters for the team, Mee-Chan always footed the bill for any repairs or upgrades and always insisted The Mayhem be at peak performance levels at all times. This suited Lisa just fine but the girl DOES have some expensive tastes!
Rebecca seemed to spend the least out of all the team members. Outside of "immediate family", the Paladin didn't know anybody and never went anywhere. She would spend all her time training....perfecting her craft. She would become the greatest Hard Suit warrior who ever lived.
Brewster likewise lead a relatively spartan existance despite that she had the means at her disposal to live quite well if she chose to. Gradually she began to regain her confidence and as confrontations with A.S.P. started to rise, the urge to satisfy herself on vengence took hold of her and before long all she could think about was catching and squashing Stevenson like a bug.In otherwords, she began to act like her old self again.
The team met clandestinely with Portney in Waycross at The Lizard's Lounge on the outskirts of town.
It had been over a decade since he had left but nothing seemed to have changed since his departure all those years back. Still a snapshot of its former glory,frozen in time.
When their little convoy rolled into town, it commanded quite a bit of attention.
A brand new Electric Mayhem with Command Trailer, Brewster's Boat, Maim's Hog, Rebecca's Superbike Interceptor, Bobby Q's Hemicuda, Stone in his Bronco 4x4 and Cathy in her custom Calaveri Concepts converti-car Pantera.
Sally O'Shea, Lisa Devereaux and Hammerdown manned The Mayhem and each vehicle (except for Maim's hog which was a classic in pristine state) was a top of the line custom built Road Deuler, optimized for combat.
The procession was flagged to a halt on the outskirts of Waycross by one of the local M.F.P. Pursuit Cruisers.
Knowledge was already envisioning in just how many ways the next sixty seconds could go horribly wrong but with Maim, the options were limitless.
So it's with relief that he hears a familiar female voice call out:
Daisy: "Hey MISTER, What's the surest way to a life of crime?"
North & Daisy: "JOIN THE WAYCROSS P.D.!!!"
Daisy Lee runs forth and jumps on North causing him to groan under the weight of the sudden mounting...
North: "Woouuuff, girl, have you put on weight?"
Daisy: "Bite your tongue, it's this F'KIN' vest and this D@MN rifle...just LOOK what that stupid thing has done to my nails...."
Catherine began to grow aggitated at the Officers apparent familiarity with Knowledge.
Lisa: "Is there any woman in the panhandle you're NOT on a first name basis with?"
Cathy: "I only know the name that's gonna be written on his tombstone...."
Having overheard Miss Calaveri's comments, Becca and Maim discreetly give each other high fives at their teammates sudden distress.
Dasiy: "STONE?!....OMG, is that YOU hiding in there?!"
She then runs up and hugs the towering Indian Scout, showering him with kisses.
Catherine: "She's like a communicable disease...I want to stick needles in her."
TO BE CONTINUED....
-Peace-
CONTINUATION...
Brewster reminded her ever so subtley that Daisy (however informal) IS the law around here and that it would be best for all to just let the Deputy do as she pleased.
As she finally takes her leave of Stone to examine the rest of Knowledges friends, the Scout soundlessly gestures with a mimicked "groan" to Knowledge that Daisy HAS indeed put on some weight.
After walking only a few steps, Daisy stops and clears her throat.
Knowledge looks to Stone who shrugs in responce.
Daisy clear her throat once more a little louder and holds out her hand as if to grasp the arm of someone who SHOULD be standing beside her right now, but isn't.
The Jumper motions to Stone to join her but the mute Scout simply puts a look on his face as if to sarcastically imply: "Are you serious?. GET-OVER-THERE!!!"
Mee-Chan sighs and assumes the role as her "companion" for the duration of her inspection.
She walks passed Bobby-Q's Hemi and smiles at the Classic Deuler.
Daisy Lee pauses momentarily by Maim as the biker displays absolute contempt for Daisy as evidenced in her stare, prompting the Deputy to whisper:
Daisy: "I don't like her."
North: "That's alright, we don't like her either..."
Maim slides her sunglasses back up again but flips Mee-Chan "The Bird" in the process.
North: "...see what I mean?"
Daisy Lee nods as they proceed until finally reaching Cathy's Pantera.
Daisy: "Now, THIS one is a beauty....I ALWAYS wanted a car like this....think I could go for a spin in it?"
Knowing full well of the s#@tstorm he was probably going to catch over "Driving Miss Daisy" he quickly commented:
North: "That's probably not a good idea....we're on a tight schedule."
Daisy: "Yeah, Portney told me all about it....I just wanted to have a look for myself."
The Deputy paused by The Electric Mayhem.
Daisy: "Do I need to look in there?"
North: "Very funny."
Daisy: "What's it carrying?"
Jeremiah: "Porn, mostly."
Daisy giggled and let everyone off with "just a warning":
"If you don't join me for a drink before you leave Waycross...the next time I see ya, I'm just gonna have to lock y'all up in my cell and throw away the key!"
Catherine spits between clenched teeth:
"Awe f'k it, I'm shootin' her..."
TO BE CONTINUED....
-Peace-
CONTINUATION...
Arriving at the Lizard's Lounge parking lot shortly thereafter, the team was relieved to climb out of the saddle after such a long drive.
They were greeted by Robert James who lead the group into his apartment over the club where Portney had been waiting for them.
Bobby James was an instigator by nature. whenever an arguement broke out between the Baker Brothers, he was always somewhere nearby.
Knowledge didn't recall much about Robert James Lee but what he remembered, he didn't particularly miss.
The reasons for Portney's unusual level of secrecy would soon be revealed to the Stormfront and the shocking revelation would change the group forever.
Pleasantries were exchanged between fellow veteran Swords and Portney, who was himself, also a member at one-time.
Formal introductions were made between Portney Lee and the rest who had never heard of him before though few in the room hadn't heard of The Battle of Waycross.
The Sheriffs normally light-hearted demeanor (that he was famous for) had been clouded over by a look that Knowldege had only see Portney wear in their darkest moments of the Civil War.
He knew something big was about to drop.
"It's Leision....he's finally surfaced."
Devereaux took Knowledges hand in a show of solidarity...
Lisa: "We BURY the f'ker this time."
Rebecca: "Who's Leision?"
Portney: "Funny YOU of all people should ask that....since it was YOU who warned me about him in the FIRST place."
This statement made everyone in Bobby James' little cruddy apartment do a double take on Rebecca but only the veteran Swords slid their hands towards their weapons as the others traded sheepish looks.
All but Knowledge who (unlike the others) took a step towards her upon hearing the news.
Rebecca was flabberghasted at the outlandish claim.
Mee-Chan turned to his one-time best friend and partner...
North: "No....I don't know what you've heard but you're WRONG about this Portney....Becca's never been away from the crew in all her time with us....it WASN'T her."
The Errant Knight was relieved to hear him say that (without her having to protest her innocence, never TRUELY feeling as if she were a part of the team) but she had definitely heard enough of anything Portney had to say and was JUST about to take offense at The Sheriffs words.
Questioning her loyalty to her new found "Lord" was inexcusable in her eyes but before she could "act a fool, was prevented from action by the sound of her own voice, yet she did not speak.
Kitane: "Well, not EXACTLY you..."
You could have heard a pin drop as everyone in attendance turned around in complete shock to see ANOTHER Rebecca!
Dressed like a corperate executive but the look, stance and the gleam in her eyes.
There was no doubt, it DEFINITELY was Rebecca Ayers.
TO BE CONTINUED....
-Peace-
CONTINUATION...
So it didn't come as much of a shock when Rebecca Number Two then admitted that there was indeed a THIRD Rebecca....and as fate would have it, the original host for the cloned pair that even now, stared into each others eyes at that very moment.
The original had previously been the duly-elected Governor of Florida and one-time Mayor of Los Disneys-One, most advanced city in America for a wee bit longer...
A Coups D'Etats took place being innitiated by none other than your friend and mine....Bartholomew Leision, still convinced fanatically that Florida is the key to fragmenting the solidarity of the Republic.
During his plans to overthrow Governor Kitane, Bart became obcessed with her beauty (Rhona Mitra IS pretty freakin' hot!) and soon his plans didn't just include ousting her, but "pocessing" as well.
His plan succeeds and he becomes Defacto-Governor-For-Life of Florida; Bartholomew Leision the Third and his FIRST act is to imprison the ex-governor and ultimately subject her to mental conditioning.
The sort that will not only bend her to the will of Leision for his own warped pleasures but more importantly, result in Ex-Governor Rebecca Kitaine giving up the Nuke codes she has memorized for the States intermediate stockpiles.
Leision uncovered that two clones of the Governor existed at the LD-1 Gold Cross clone facillites in case of medical emergencies and it was then that he went over the deep end.
Bart was so head over heels for Rebecca....ANY Rebecca that he didn't care WHICH one said "yes" to him as long as ONE of them did!
He had both uploaded with the latest available Brain Tap on Ex-Governor Kitaine and had them both revived.
It was during this proceedure that fate intervened in the form of a "terrorist attack" upon the facility being perpetrated by anti-Leision supporters called the Florida Liberation Front.
The operation goes horribly off mission resulting in the deaths of most of the squad that strike the facility but both the Rebecca clones escape in the confusion....improperly uploaded and still in a concussion-like daze.
The situation grows even worse when the two clones become separated in a firefight.
Kitane escaped with the F.L.F. members....the Rebecca that became a Paladin was thought to be dead and was therefore forgotten about.
Rebecca (the "freedom fighter") continued on with the F.L.F. in the wake of her clone sister's "apparent death", spurred on by the death of her "batchmate" and the possible release of her "host", Rebecca the "Patriot" continued to resist the dictatorial fist of Leision.
Unfortunately, she had joined the losing side.
The LD-1 security forces were the right hand of Bartholomew Leision.
They were better equipped than the Judges of KC-1 and had the disposition of war-crazed, body count obcessed psychopaths.
No laws existed there to protect the people from the "watchmen" and so anti-tank grade weaponry was frequently used to qwell dissent among the populace at the slightest of provocations.
After the Louisiana debacle, Bart had become UBER-paranoid and shortly thereafter, virtually sealed off the state, walling himself up in the fortress city of LD-1, surrounded by legions of his loyal troops.
(Nice score there Bart!)
TO BE CONTINUED....
-Peace-
CONTINUATION...
The F.L.F. are on the edge of being choked out of existance and the future is looking grim for Florida when news footage of Rebecca the Knight at KC-1 reaches Rebecca the Patriot in LD-1.
Bart is so paranoid now, he doesn't even trust his own troops.
Nothing gets into or out of the state without the LD-1 Sec-Force putting its grimey digits all up in their stinky holes....and you thought the TSA was bad?
Then it is discovered that individuals involved with the failed FOS Pipeline deal are ALSO huge race fans.
Bartholomew decides to invite them to Florida where he can rekindle the deal and agrees to host the Bi-annual Panhandle Invitational Deathrace, The Florida-500....except in THIS case, 500 doesn't refer to the amount of miles or laps driven but instead, refers to the maximum amount of roadkills that can be scored by single truck team during the course of the race!
These race vehicles will be the ONLY ones allowed to cross Florida borders or the LD-1 arcology security perimetre (which marks the races finish line) without being accosted or scrutinized by the Sec-Force.
Rebecca the Patriot wants to hire Rebecca the Knight (and the rest of the team) to smuggle in their Hard Suits and Motoslaves and help her to stage a rescue of Rebecca the Governor before Leision breaks her will and acquires the weapon launch codes.
(How's THAT for a mouthful!)
The fact that Rebecca was nearly killed in the excution of Stevenson's plan, an admitted one-time accomplise of Leision, was PURELY coinsedental.
Portney was so moved by her story that he did his best to expodite a family reunion between the two Rebecca's and has even pledged his gun (and Southern Comfort) to the F.L.F. cause.
Rebecca finally had the missing background she could never quite remember after being attacked by the Rogue that fateful day.
Everything began to make sence, at least for her.
Everyone ELSE was confused as s#@t!
All Knowledge knew was that he couldn't let Leision get his hands on those launch codes, if nothing else.
Still, as was customary, the group took the job to a vote.
The final result amongst the girls was: (2) for doing the job, (1) against....Maim, and one abstention....Catherine.
Portney had indeed found his "crew".
The objective was simple.
Escort a single Rig and Trailer through some of the worst territory an all of the south that touched on nearly every state in the Gulf Area and the winner would be the first truck team to reach LD-1 with their cargo intact.
The race already had its four main truck teams but Rebecca the Patriot assured them the inclusion of one more wouldn't arouse suspicion from Leision when the group is entirely comprised of ladies like those in Stormfront.
Lisa and Hammerdown would drive The "modified" Mayhem.
Bobby and Stone and would use his Hemi Deuler as a Scout.
Mee-Chan and Portney would do the same in his Dodge Charger Deuler.
Brewster and Sally would take her "Boat"....Beulla wouldn't drive anything else.
The rest of the girls would also take up scouting positions but on motorcycles.
(Anyone who has ever played Car Wars will attest to just how COMPLETELY insane using motorcycles for a long distance deathrace with NO class limitations can be!!!)
It would push their driving and gunnery skills to the limits and beyond and once the race had been concluded, they would make contact with the F.L.F. (under the cover of the post-race festivities) and the REAL wetwork could begin.
This would be the groups greatest caper yet and its conculsion could change the course of Republics history.
Regardless of it seeming like a suicide mission, this time, Leision was going down!
TO BE CONTINUED.....
-Peace-
CONTINUATION...
"Leison for Life!"
The political slogan from his days in the Louisiana legislature that had become a rallying cry for the financial malfeasance and facistic policies now synonomous with Bartholomew's administrations.
After he had assumed control of Bayou State, he became "Dictator-for-Life" Leision.
Now, he would finally have to "fight for his life".
But what Rebecca the Patriot hadn't told anyone or even Portney for that matter (a man she was now beginning to have feelings for) was that the assault to rescue Governor Kitiane was in itself, just another ruse....a single uniting moment for when the few remaining F.L.F. members will stage a final desperate push to retake LD-1 from the corperatists while Stormfront distracts the bulk of the LD-1 Sec-Force, knowing if LD-1 falls (symbol of the tyranny that oppresses them), the rest of Florida will rise up.
(That b@#$h!)
It's a desperate gamble on The Super-Patriot's part but the F.L.F. will not last much longer with numbers falling so quickly to the omni-present Sec-Force.
What's worse is that now she has not only employed Stormfront as an unwitting "decoy" but will use them to trigger a mass insurrection while the nation watches.
Rebecca the Patriot should've stop worrying about what Bartholomew Leision would do if they failed and STARTED thinking about what Stormfront would do to her if they actually succeeded!
The words "decoy" were far more appropriate than intended, for in the plan, the Hard Suits and Motoslaves would only draw the Sec-Force off while The Super-Patriot would lead Stone, Brewster, Portney and Sally through the sewers with the assistance of Gi-San's latest fumblings to rescue Governor Kitaine.
A smaller-than-normal motorcycle (almost identical to a Cyclone M.O.S.P.E.D.A. from the Robotech series except the only thing this one could transform into was a smaller cube like structure with the wheels folded flush upon the ends for easy transport) that was unarmed but was well-armored, very durable, fast and exceeded performance specs on a variety of difficult terrains. They had been given the project name: "Dust Devils" by Gi-San (since most of their testing was carried out in the Texas Outback) but Maim didn't have to protest much for everyone to see how was a stupid the name was....so they just called them "The Toy Bikes" instead.
These would be used for the ACTUAL strike team to navigate the undertunnels of the older amusement park that LD-1 was built off of.
All of that was still weeks away from happening and for the meantime, The Super-Patriot focused on getting The Mayhem ready for the "Reindeer Games".
The Florida-500 was officially classified as an "open deathrace".
This meant that each team would not only have to worry about opposing teams but just about any ol' Tom, Dick or Harry who happened to be on the road at the time and wanted to be an @$$hole.
Every vehicle encountered therefore MUST be considered as a potential threat.
It also meant that the teams only had to abide by a "weigh in" that didn't consist of the actual mass of the vehicles involved but instead was a total of the cash value expended by the team.
The "weight limit" for the FLA-500 was normally set at 250K USD but Leision himself managed to get the limit increased to an even million, coinsedently the events tag line:
"The Million Dollar Race"
The prize money was also an even 1 million in petro-dollars instead of USD....at that time, hovering at 6 to 1 for rate of exchange.
Stormfront would not be required to win but simply to finish.
At no point could they use the Hard Suits or Motoslaves along the way for just like all A.A.D.A. sanctioned events, its completely televised to a nauseating extent from EVERY possible angle.
This wouldn't prevent the other teams from doing their best to claim the prize for the pride of their region.
Normally, the race only represented the Republics four main regions: East Coast, West Coast, Midwest and The South. The Desert Autonomous Region was only a front to mask an unprecedented C.I.A./Covert Ops land grab that only initiated with the secession of The Free Oil States, who were themselves also not represented.
That would all change as The Mayhem would be the first FOS entry in the history of the FLA-500 to participate.
Sending shock waves through the industry & fans, patriotic fervor began to build over the entry of secessionists into a Republic race.
It was working out better than The Super-Patriot could have hoped.
TO BE CONTINUED.....
-Peace-
CONTINUATION...
The Free Oil States on the otherhand were elated at The Electric Mayhem's inclusion on the race roster.
Many of the fans had heard of the Electric Mayhem from its previous (equally famous) owner: Doctor Teeth, Route-66 Admin and SYSOP God.
Texas (for one) went absolutely apes#@t when the news of this finally broke.
The odds however were betting on them to lose.
Representing the East Coast was a scary sort of a lady by the name of Ava Dame.
(Vintage Betty Page....humina-humina!)
She was (in addition to being a favorite Route-66 pin-up girl) an accomplished driver and ruthless combatant with a reputaion for breaking as many heads as she has hearts.
Not only does Lisa know the woman personally but she ABSOLUTELY HATES HER GUTS.
Hatred that complete and unrelenting on Lisa's part can only mean one thing....it must've been over a man!
Ava particularly took offense to FOS representation at the race and made every effort to make it known whenever she could.
From the West Side comes a cutie of a little tanned surfer beauty named Cissy Adisson (Fall Guy-era Markie Post).
Was personally inspired by the Electric Mayhem when growing up to become a member of The Brotherhood.
Hobbies include; writing to inmates who are violent rehabillitaing sex-offenders and exhibitionism.
Turns-Ons: 20mm chainguns like the pair on the front of her (a-ahem!) rig and kittens.
Turn Offs: Cloudy days, macho men and "day-glo" kittens (just because you CAN do a thing, doesn't always follow that it SHOULD be done!).
Her easy-going, laid back demeanor easily overlooked any secessionist rhetoric that surrounded the racers and crews.
The Midwest was represented by none other than Gus's wife, Tamara Foley (Wonder Woman-era Linda Carter).
The Stormfront had not made her acquintance as the blockade of KC-1 prevented her timely return but she had heard all about Jewel's new friends and was dying to hear all about her latest exploits.
Without question the most genuinely friendly and helpful driver of the four Republic regions.
There would be no "monkey shines" between Stormfront and Tamara's crew throughout the duration of the race.
Needless to say, Tamara quickly dismissed any talk of secession-bias but her stance lost her approval with many fans.
The South....phoooo...(the south)...where to begin...
Well, their lead driver was a woman by the name of Lola Devoir (A younger Paula Adbul).
No two ways about it, the woman was a cold-hearted snake!
Nearly disqualfied over a shoot out in a local bar the night before the race (that left eight dead and fifteen wounded in its wake), she was the odds-on favorite to eliminate another truck team (if not two).
She was very anti-social with respect to race press and her animosity with the journalists won her great appeal with the fans.
This held especially true when she hospitalized two of them at the pre-race interviews for inquiring about her personal views on sucessionist participation in the event.
The Free Oil States were (of course) represented by "you-know-who".
The team faced a lost of flak from the press for their unspoken political beliefs by participaing in a strictly Republic event.
Suprise of suprises that the lion's share of difficult to answer questions on the subject came from none other than Andrew Halloran!
Rebecca: "Doesn't that guy EVER give up?"
Maim: "Maybe we SHOULD shoot him?"
TO BE CONTINUED.....
-Peace-
CONTINUATION...
The group could tell he was onto them.
He hadn't identified Knowledge or Brewster as of yet but he zeroed his inquiries directly at Catherine like gattling gun and it was evident that she was beginning to lose her cool. Halloran would unwittingly undo the entire operation with a few barbed questions that Mee-Chan could tell were already on the way...
Y'see, Andrew had been pursuing Stormfront (he called his column for the KC-1 Herald: "Cloud Chasing") ever since they first appeared.
It became his obsession. Many times in the past he had come so close to proving their identies in KC-1 only to have it snatched from his grasp at the last moment.
He had staked his entire career and reputation on it. So it will come as no shock that when he was terminated from his paying job, he dedicated his life and remaining savings to proving to the world that he wasn't crazy.
(The harder he tried, the crazier he seemed)
For many years he had followed their progress across America but ALWAYS seemed to arrive just after all the fireworks had taken place.
He could he be more accurately acquaited to as "The Reporter from the Incredible Hulk", Mister McGee.
He was regarded as a laughing stock....completely discredited....almost reduced to squalor, but in his pocession were clues he had painstakingly collected over the years in his research of Stromfront.
While not enough to convict with in a court of law (owing to the obscure nature of some of the evidence) it would definitely be sufficient to rattle a group of powered armored vigillantes....if he so chose to.
Fortunately, before Andrew could "close for the kill" on the flustered Catherine, Stone casually walked up behind him and "convinced" him to leave quietly with hardly a gesture or percived disturbance.
Cathy whispers: "How does he ALWAYS do that?"
Portney: "Just be thankful he's on OUR side and keep smiling."
Andrew was certain if he resisted, he was going to get beaten.
One look at Stone's dimensions and his thoughts were:
"Badly...."
Well, you know what Eddie murphy is like when he's pretending to be scared while he does something ridiculous that convinces you that he's not?
Same thing.
Stone (of course) never said a word and instead, folded his arms and stood in front of the door, preventing him from leaving the tiny room the Cherokee had sequestered him in.
Fast Talk didn't work on Stone.
When that failed, Andrew tried Intimidation but that too, seemed to fall upon "deaf" ears.
Halloran became desperate and attempted Diplomacy upon the Scout.
Then he tried Diplomacy with Bribery thrown into the mix to pretty much the same results.
Finally....Andrew couldn't keep the tears from falling down his face, fearing he was REALLY going to be killed this time for what he knew.
Stone rolled his eyes in pity but Andrew was too busy feeling sorry for himself to notice the Indian's change of expression.
This is when Mee-Chan knocked on the door.
At first, Halloran didn't recognize him with his disguise on and (thinking he was wasn't with his abductor) tried to ever so delicately hint that he was serious trouble....eventually being so ridiculous as to try and point with his nose at Stone to indicate he was the source.
That is, until Knowledge stepped forward into the light and lowered his shades to Halloran.
TO BE CONTINUED.....
-Peace-
CONTINUATION...
Andrew: "A-are you going t-to....to....ki-kill me n-n-no-"
North: "Now?"
Andrew: "OH PLEASE, NO...I'LL BE GOOD, I SWEAR!!!!"
Mee-Chan slowly looked to Stone in disbelief as Halloran turned to mush before before their eyes.
North tried to keep a cool head but Stone merely shrugged at The Jumper as if to say:
"I dunno what to tell ya."
North realized, even as the man pleaded for his life before him, that Andrew would never stop.
The fact that he had managed to track the group to Florida was evidence enough that he was dangerous.
The fact that he hadn't relented after all these years was evidence enough that he would HAVE to be dealt with.
Further interference by him would put everyone's lives at risk in addition to starting a fourth world war.
He had to think fast.
North: "How would YOU like to have exclusive rights to Stormfronts story?"
Stones famous stoic expression finally displays "noticed" change as gawks at The Jumper as if he had just shot himself in the head: "Tell me Dear Lord that I did not JUST witness what I THINK I did?"
Andrew: "Wha ju talkin' 'bout Knowledge?"
GM: "Aheheh-hehe...pertinent Different Strokes reference...you get a point."
Greg: "Y'HERE THAT?! SUCK IT!!!"
North: "I want you to follow us around....get the REAL story....find out what makes us tick....it's GONNA come out anyways when we're eventually caught or killed. SOMEONE should get it right and I think that someone should be YOU."
Andrew: "Why me....w-why now?"
North: "Who outside of "immediate family", knows us better than you?"
Halloran cocks his head while rubbing his chin and ponders the point...
North: "We're probably ALL going to die ANYWAYS."
Halloran was speechless....not so much as Stone but still!
The Journalist spoke up as he noticed Mee-Chan impatiently checking his watch...
Andrew: "What if I say no?"
North: "You see THAT guy back there? Do you know what "tossing th' salad" is?"
Andrew: "I'LL-DO-IT."
North: "I had a feeling you might...."
TO BE CONTINUED.....
-Peace-
CONTINUATION...
Knowledge gestured Andy to sit down and gave him a cigarette.
Andrew replied he didn't smoke.
The Jumper then gave Halloran a VERY quick breakdown of what the group was hoping to do and that (as per his part) he was going to be right beside them every step of the way, documenting it all.
Upon realizing what he had just unwittingly signed onto, an unpaid extreme-combat correspondant in an open deathrace, let alone one with the potential of becoming an international incident, the reporter almost threw up on himself.
Mee-Chan patted him on the back...
North: "That's it...just let it out, you'll feel better....OH, do you OWN a gun?"
Andrew nodded.
North: "Is it ON you?"
Andrew cringed (looking at Stone) and hesitantly nodded his head again, making ever the slightest of moans as he did.
North: "I don't believe you."
Halloran then lifed his shirt slightly to reveal the snub revolver tucked neatly into his pants waistband.
North: "Why did you use it when you were alone?"
Andrew: "THAT guy...r-r-REALLY f'kin' scary!"
North: "That's why I like him....THAT and he can't play poker for s#@t!"
Although unnoticed by anyone there, Stone made a "HEY, WTF!?!" face.
Andrew began to finally relax so just to mess with his head, Knowledge added:
North: "What are you laughing at?....That's not funny."
The Journalist almost turns pale as he locks eyes on the seemingly emotionless Indian Scout behind Mee-Chan.
North: "I'm JUST f'kin' with ya...." The Jumper added, pointing a finger at the Journalist "....but don't EVER look him directly in the eyes."
Andrew quickly began to look at his feet.
North: "Packs your bags, sir....meet me at the Racers Lounge in an hour....I'll introduce you to the girls."
Andrew: "Girls?"
North: "Don't even THINK of it, they'll f'kin' kill ya."
Halloran's smile leaves as quickly as it appeared...
Andrew: "You gotta light?"
The Jumper lit his cigarette and patted him on the back as he tried to choke the smoke down...
North: "For what it's worth....welcome abord."
Andrew caught his breath and then waved Mee-Chan down before he left the room with Stone...
Andrew: "Why a cigarette?"
North: "What, you want a blindfold with that too?"
The reply didn't fill Halloran with optimism he was hoping for and he chucked the smoke once he was certain they had left.
TO BE CONTINUED.....
-Peace-
CONTINUATION...
The girls had been concerned over Knowledges behavior ever since recieving news about Leision from Portney....but involving Andrew Halloran, a man who had vowed to destroy them....who had collaberated with Judge Ironwood to frame Booker and implicate The Brotherhood....would NOW be traveling in their midst, detailing their EVERY action?
They seriously began to think Mee-Chan had finally snapped.
It would take quite some time before Andy would prove his worth to the team, but until then, he was usually treated with a mild annoyance or with palpable disdain but never approached Erica or Brewster unless accompanying Knowledge.
As far as the race was concerned, NOBODY wanted to have Halloran in their vehicle.
It took considerable coaxing before Portney finally agreed to let Andy ride in "The General"....and yes, he WAS a big "Dukes" fan.
It was harder to convince him to change the Confederate colors on his car to the teams agreed upon "primer" black.
It was the closest to acting like a baby that Portney had ever been in front of the Knowledge.
He even insisted that should he should be killed during the race or operation that his share be used to restore "southern glory" to his car so he can be properly buried in it.
The races "weight limit" wasn't the only rule to have been altered for the occasion.
In honor of the "regime change", this years race would have no rules save the 500 point roadkill limit that the event was famous for.
Aside from that...ANYTHING goes.
It was hoped that the A.A.D.A. restriction removals would make the event far bloodier than usual for both racers and random participants.
The lethality of the already infamously deadly FLA-500 had somehow kicked up a notch.
The treachery of Lola and Ava would occur so flagrantly in the opening days of the race that few dirty tricks worked upon the other racers after that.
Most would be uncovered before serious harm was caused but the ploys would prove effective in slowing down their opponents.
Direct inter-team fighting didn't occur between trucks but between the scout teams that escorted them at distances removed enough to minimize any threat to their teams rig.
Hotshots, professionals and combat driving aces with something to prove from all across the A.A.D.A. and B.L.U.D. turned out (amongst others) to try their luck at being the ones who knocked a team out of the FLA-500 race.
Assaults upon the teams were relentless but just as many fans arrived on the race grid with the intention of supporting their favorite teams against those who would seek to stop them, creating large mobile armys that would form at random around the trucks as they progressed throught the various states, doing battle for the honor of their region.
(Once more....another Autodeul first for the game....players, PLEASE take a bow!)
The combats are as elaborate as they are savage.
On more than one occasion, The Mayhem comes to the aid of Tamara Foley's "Kellogs" team when supporters from their region dwindle upon an isolated stretch of road.
They are beset by Lola's supporters but the arrival of "Team Alamo" manages to even the odds and Miss Devoirs intent to eliminate the Midwest must be put on hold.
Rebecca the Paladin begins to emerge throughout the myriad of endless road deuls that pepper the spectacle as the deadliest racer (by kill count) of the entire race.
This is never more evidenced than when she manages to single handedly lure Lola Devoirs rig to its doom on a collapsed section of roadway with only a lightly armed motorcycle. Considered to be one of the biggest upsets of the entire race, most of Lola's scouting team doesn't survive the journey to LD-1.
During the race, The Super-Patriot takes the time to enlighten the team as to the true state of affairs in the Sunshine State.
LD-1 may be the most advanced city in America and Florida may be regarded as the most prosperous of the southern union states but it has done so at a terrible price.
70% of Floridians live below the circa: 2038 poverty line....despite the outward appearance given to attract business, the state is on the brink of ruin.
Even LD-1 had a staggering 60% poverty level but most of them are kept outside "The Magic Kingdon" which is reserved only for the cream of society.
She states that unless Leision is stopped and the cycle of hatred broken (coupled with an end to corperate greed) that there will be no way for Floridians to heal, live and be proud.
(Portney is finding himself falling in love with her)
Cissy's truck is unfortunately also eliminated from the race when her team is attacked and mostly wiped out by (wait for it....wait for it....) A LARGE WARDOG RAIDING PARTY!!! The destruction of Cissy's rig would mark the one time in the entire race that ALL the teams cooperated to help avenge fellow team mate.
(All but Lola, she was done like a drumstick by then)
TO BE CONTINUED.....
-Peace-
CONTINUATION...
Cissy was lucky enough to have survived along with four of her team's twelve-man crew but The West Coast would have to wait another two years to have a chance at Florida gold.
As the race drew to a close, Ava, Tamara and Lisa were pretty much neck and neck as they crossed the Florida state line.
Although The Mayhem had "unofficially" been trying to let Tamara to win the race, her rig "unexpectedly" develops engine difficulties and not long after and was unable to keep up with the remaining two teams.
Victem of a dirty trick commited by someone who was already dead by their own hand.
Tamara would finish the race in third place but her "parting gift" to Jewel would switch the odds back in The Mayhems favor...
Lisa cheated like a b@#$h.
Lisa lied like a dog.
Lisa drove like a professional.
Lisa shot like a natural but in the end...Ava crossed the finish line half a tractor length ahead of The Mayhem.
And Lisa was completely p1ssed right-the-f'k-off!
She had to be restrained by BOTH Maim and Brewster.
(You'd think Maim to have been enough!)
She made quite a stir (egged on by her adversary) and Lisa had nearly gotten the team disqualified when a shocking discovery was made.
Tamara had managed to steal Ava's cargo out of her rig and replace it with empty containers on the evening her vehicle had been "fatally" sabotaged by Lola.
Since the beer palate was not in the back of the trailer (no one knew what they were really carrying in the first place) the winner became the truck that DID have its cargo intact.
The Electric Mayhem had won the Florida-500.
THIS WAS A CATASTROPHE!!!
As a runner-up they would have been relatively free to disappear and do what was needed after a few initial photo ops, but as the winners, they would be expected to attend EVERY function, shake every hand, kiss every @$$.
It was nightmare!
The only people who were happy about it being Lisa (for obvious reasons) as well as Bobby-Q and Catherine.
(The only two smart enough to bet on themselves to win!)
When they annouced Ava's disqualification, Miss Devereaux had her "Tom Cruise walking-on-the-couch" moment for all the nation to see.
Texas absolutely lost its collective sh1t.
More rounds were probably fired into the air in joy that night than were fired in anger at Federalist forces the last time they tried to make Texas "sit down and shut up".
They even released a commemorative stamp to mark the occasion despite the fact that snail mail was almost extinct.
It featured Lisa in the middle of her victory dance as she pointed her finger in Ava's face.
(There was considerable dispute over it at first but it was ultimately decided to leave Ava's face off the stamp entirely!)
TO BE CONTINUED.....
-Peace-
CONTINUATION...
Rebecca the Paladin's superb combat driving had also attracted some very unwanted attention.
Bartholomew was facinated by the "masked" riders skills and simply HAD to meet the deadliest racer of the event up close and personal.
This alone had the potential of taking the entire OP south.
One GOOD thing that had been unforseen was that the winning vehicle gets taken directly into Leision's personal "Magic Kingdom" Arcology complexe (built over the remains of EPCOT) to be put on display in the lobby of his palace for all his guests.
It would make bypassing much of the previously known security measures a needless gesture in addition to allowing the strike team to begin its operations within the palace security perimetre, even though the "Dust Devils" would still be required to effect their escape.
The Super-Patriots plan was reaching critical mass and the time for revolution was almost upon the peoples of Florida but who would emerge victorious was anybodies guess.
Strange that it was Andrew who first took notice of Rebecca the Patriots sudden change in disposition upon reaching LD-1.
She played it off as a feeling akin to "returning to the scene of a violent crime" but assured everyone (and particularly her clone) that it would pass.
On a few occasions it was close as Rebecca the Paladin is deflected from Leision's attention at the last moment and then at another point, it becomes Rebecca the Patriots turn to be rescued from the brink of discovery.
Eventually the team begins to notice a "nervousness" about the room of assembled guests.
Apparently rumors of F.L.F. "reprisals" have been reported for corperate participation in the glorification of human slaughter and vehicular carnage.
Many of those in attendance fear they might actually strike the palace but Bart assures them that an entire army couldn't breech his defences.
GM: "Y'hear that lads....we are now an ARMY!"
Phil adds: "An unpaid army...."
(Mike high fives him for the obsure Krull references)
(The GM agrees with Mike and Phil gets the point....even though the F.L.F. has already agreed to cover the teams 20 million USD fee plus "hazard pay" depending upon the outcome....it was STILL funnier than s#@t. He even did the correct accent an' everything!)
Greg: "Meh, stupid f'kin' movie."
GM: "Greg loses a point for being a complete f'king retard."
Greg: "WTF?....SCREW YOU!!!"
GM: "Greg loses another point for talking back to the GM when he's supposed to be listening...."
(Phil and Mike begin to crack up.)
It takes a little while but eventually a holographic skirt is projected around the Mayhems trailer.
Underneath it lies the maintenance hatch to the security tunnels.
Using access codes stolen by The F.L.F., the strike team will be able to carry out its mission on time once the green light has been given.
Fortunately for the strike team (when lowered by their ends) the Dust Devils DO actually manage to fit into the tunnels below.
Rebecca the Super-Patriot is now VERY anxious.
She hopes that she is able to coordinate the F.L.F. attack to begin AFTER she has entered into the security tunnels and moved out under radio silence.
Andrew has once more been very senitive to the situation and points the "odd" behavior out to her clone.
TO BE CONTINUED.....
-Peace-