Blanking the Slate

Serris · **Reply #740 on:** November 03, 2018, 02:23:04 AM

Just before Kintoki was knocked unconscious, Kranz had reported that the backup battery bank was on fire. Áder was busy trying to put out the fire. He had called for some additional guards to help extinguish the creeping, bluish flame. Thankfully, the battery shed was concrete so there wasn't much risk of the fire spreading. But even so, they wanted to minimize the damage. To make matters worse, the ionic liquid electrolyte was an excellent solvent and dissolved firefighting foams. Water was the most effective but for obvious reasons, it was not a good choice around live electrical equipment. That left sand and dirt, which was currently being heaped on the fire.

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Soren and Anne entered through the open back door. Thankfully, the little bits of sunlight filtering in from the windows let him see how ornate the kitchen was. It was a classic Old World style kitchen with wood and granite making up the majority of the counters. The dining table that served as the centerpiece was a sleek glass and chrome construct that oozed modernity. "Shit," Soren muttered. "This guy's loaded."

"Yeah," Anne said, her ears swiveled around as she tried to pick up any sounds. Her ears suddenly pricked up as she heard footsteps. "Soren! Get a weapon!"

The Human quickly snatched a large filet knife from the knife block and kept it by his side.

Pterano · **Reply #741 on:** November 03, 2018, 02:23:49 PM

As the room was stormed after the scuffle within, Tony moved in, scanning around with his rifle at the ready before lowering it, and then looked to Flora. "Hey... you ready to get out of here?" he asked, grinning, keeping his rifle only slightly lowered, but still at a ready position. "We're here to retrieve you. Emilena's behind me, Soren and Anne are somewhere downstairs... this is Awe... our newest member. I think I met you awhile back; Tony. Tony Stracci." he offered his name, still looking about just in case, but confident Emilena could protect their backs.

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #742 on:** November 04, 2018, 06:59:53 AM

Flora relaxed when she saw Tony; she remembered him from outside the strip club, plus he knew the names of her old teammates. "Flora Hapsburg. Though I guess you probably already know who I am." She dropped the lamp. "Yeah, let's fucking bail," she muttered, glancing one final time at Kintoki, who unbeknownst to her was still emulating a coma patient as well as he could.

Emilena had just staggered to her feet when Flora reached the bottom of the stairs and cursed in surprise at how much blood the vixen was covered in. "It's okay!" Emilena assured, leaning against the wall for support. "Most of it is theirs. Just...come on." Shaking her head to clear her vision, she limped back towards the backdoor to leave the same way she and Tony had entered.

Pterano · **Reply #743 on:** November 04, 2018, 11:56:40 AM

"Yep... kind of remember you." The ferret nodded, allowing her to pass by him before backing out of the room, rifle still at the ready in case some freak was hiding in the closet or something (he'd seen enough horror movies to know, plus, he now had to watch everyone's back as the positions had been reversed). Backpedaling out of the room, he began to head down the stairs, keeping a close eye on everything in case someone decided to come barreling out one of those doors to his left or right.

As they reached the ground floor, Tony glanced briefly behind him. "You OK?" he asked Emilena, noticing the gratuitous amount of blood she was covered in, and hoped most or all of that was not her own. As he heard stomping footsteps to his left, Tony swiveled the rifle and fired, his energy beam lancing through a surprised guard as he froze on the spot, dropping his gun with a clatter before he too fell to the ground. Checking the charge on his rifle, Tony sighed as he was relieved to see it still held 70% battery life, the green bar emitting a healthy glow and bathing his face in a slight aura.

"Clear back here! Let's go!" he called to the front, ready to make a dash for the Duesenberg as soon as they were outside.

Nick22 · **Reply #744 on:** November 04, 2018, 02:41:10 PM

Have you guys got Flora?' Marita said through her communicator " if so, get her in the car and lets get out of here.'

f-22 "raptor" ace · **Reply #745 on:** November 04, 2018, 10:01:52 PM

"We're on our way out with her now." Awe replied. Awe raced out of the room placing the unconscious guard sprawled in the hallway so anyone chasing them would trip over him.

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #746 on:** November 05, 2018, 01:23:23 AM

Emilena grimaced. "We'll talk about it later," she replied to Tony, touching the new hole in her cheek and wincing.

Flora suddenly tripped over Awe, sprinting for the backdoor. "Gogogo!" she hissed urgently. "Roomba!"

Emilena ducked outside, and Flora quickly followed, but the Roomba didn't even enter the room. "We're okay," Flora breathed as its robotic whirring faded down the hallway. "Sorry, false alarm. Guess it's headed for the kitchen."

Emilena nodded. "Awe, tell Marita to recall everyone. Let's blow this joint." Flora helped her climb awkwardly over the hedge. Neither of them knew the Roomba was headed for the room where Soren and Anne was...

f-22 "raptor" ace · **Reply #747 on:** November 05, 2018, 01:56:39 AM

"Marita, we're getting out of here. Regroup with us and get everyone over here now!" Awe shouted urgently into the radio.

Nick22 · **Reply #748 on:** November 05, 2018, 11:27:20 AM

I'm in the dusenburg' Marita said ' just finishing downloading the data from the safehouse security system. theres a lot, and it looks like the location of Brennans headquarters is on there as well. I'll need to plug the coordinates into a mapping grid, but we can do that once we are in a safe and secure location.

Tony, can we crash at your place for a bit? we need time to rest recover and Debrief Flora. also she needs to call Bailey, let him know thats shes safe and sound, and that he can get off my back about the matter' Marita said. Just get in the car, and lets floor it out of here. Nice work everyone"
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Biamca reached the checkout line and paid for her meal. the roomba turning around and following her as she headed out the door.

Pterano · **Reply #749 on:** November 05, 2018, 03:39:28 PM

"I don't mind! Nobody else is using my house but me!" Tony radioed back, barreling out the back of the house and leaping over the fence, performing a clumsy roll as he sprang back up to his foot paws and began charging across the intervening lawn and into the street, running diagonally across the pavement, listening to his shoes slap-slap-slap the asphalt as he moved.

Reaching the Duesenberg, he threw the driver's side door open, piled in, and pulled out the starter knob, listening to the straight-eight turn over and roar into life as he gave the throttle a little gas to get the engine going. As he looked around, he did a quick head count, and slapped the wheel. "Shit!" he uttered. "Are Soren and Anne all right? Anybody see them?" he asked, whipping out his Glock as he scanned the street in front of the house. He kept the car idling, not releasing the parking brake or shifting into gear yet, as they didn't quite have everyone.

Serris · **Reply #750 on:** November 05, 2018, 10:07:47 PM

The noise was a butler who had gotten up early to prepare the kitchen for a dinner party. As he entered the kitchen, Soren leapt out from behind the pantry door and held his knife to the man's throat. The man started to scream, but Soren gently drew the knife across his neck, leaving a thin red line.

"W...what do you want?" the man stammered out.

"Nothing. You never saw us." He then turned to Anne. The Shetland Pony mare grabbed the man and shoved him into the pantry. She forced the door shut and tied the knobs together with an apron hanging from it.

It was then that the squat "Roomba" guard rolled into the kitchen. "Run!" Anne exclaimed. It came not a moment too soon as several plates exploded as it fired at the duo. Soren swept his arm and knocked over a glass jar of flour, hoping it would obscure their escape somewhat. He wasted no time in following Anne out the back door.

"Damn, looks like they got the fire under control," Soren said as a bullet from the guards who were previously fighting the fire nicked his cheek. He sprinted towards the front yard where he knew the rest of the crew were located.

Anne sent a message out to Marita and the others.

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #751 on:** November 05, 2018, 10:46:44 PM

The flour did the job; the Roomba's sensors were blocked, its treads got clogged and it swiveled back and forth blindly as its targets escaped.

Back at the Model J, Flora couldn't help but whistle in appreciation when they reached the ride. "Damn, you traveled in style," she complimented as someone inside opened the door to let them in. Emilena grunted as Flora ungraciously shoved her rear end through the car door to make room for herself. "There's Soren, let's book it!" she shouted, covering her head as the Hungarian guard and his buddy fired at the car. "This old car was built with protection around the engine right? I don't wanna explode..."

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Kintoki staggered to his feet, clutching his broken nose. Stomping to the bathroom, he assessed the damage in the mirror and whimpered as he saw his nose bent out of shape. Taking a deep breath, he tweaked it back into place with a painful wince. Washing his face off and grabbing a towel to stem the bleeding, he retrieved his helmet from the bedroom floor and paced quickly down the stairs to see whether his men were able to stop the rescue party from getting away.

Nick22 · **Reply #752 on:** November 06, 2018, 12:07:42 AM

Hello' flora' Marita said, moving over so Flora could grab a seat" Good to see you're still in one piece.' She said as she finished downloading the data from the security systems. " They didnt rough you up, did they?"
_
Hi Flora " Marie said from the back seat " Glad you seem to be ok. Having to serve as a decoy isnt fun, but better than having to break into a heavily guarded house. Not my strong suit. I ended up grabbing a pair of garden shears as a weapon. Just in case Poison Ivy decides to drop by, or something " marie shrugged.

f-22 "raptor" ace · **Reply #753 on:** November 06, 2018, 12:22:43 AM

"Let's hope Soren and anne show up soon." Awe remarked. "They will be on us in a hurry when their power comes back on."

Nick22 · **Reply #754 on:** November 06, 2018, 12:30:26 AM

We have 5 minutes before that happens " marota said. " she turned as an blurb popped up on her computer " they're on their way. Should be out in less than a minurte. have the car ready to go" Marota typed a response message and sent it to Anne ' Have Flora. get in the back seat if you can. we're moning out as soon as ytou get in Marita"

Pterano · **Reply #755 on:** November 06, 2018, 12:46:23 AM

As Soren and Anne moved out of the house, Tony covered them, firing to their sides with his Glock as the two guards opened up behind them. "Yep! Modified it! Most of my cars are bulletproof... had them rebuilt to withstand problems like this one!" the ferret exclaimed, squeezing off another round as he dropped the guard standing next to the Hungarian, the fellow spinning about like a top before hitting the ground.

As human and pony filed into the vehicle, Tony smiled at Flora's compliment. "Yep! Only way to travel! Best of the best of the 1930s! OK... let's get the hell out of here!" he threw the car into gear, released the brake and off they went, Tony almost immediately shifting into second so he could floor it. Moving the big lever first into neutral, then second, the car was off and roaring along, the ferret firing off a few more rounds from his Glock at the Hungarian as he took off down the street. "We aren't sticking around here! Marita I believe suggested we head back to my place to regroup... provided that's OK with everyone else." he spoke up, wincing as a couple of bullets glanced off the Duesenberg's side but otherwise did no damage.

"Heh... love these modifications." he muttered, shaking his head and whipping the big car around the corner and down onto another street that led out of the development, and eventually, back toward the highway. "I'm surprised they had such a force at that place!" he commented, shaking his head again and gripping the wheel. "Was like a goddamned fortress." He glanced in the rearview mirror just to make sure they weren't being followed, but didn't see anything initially. Beginning to relax a little, he focused more on the drive, as driving tended to settle his nerves. "Everyone all right back there?" he asked, turning left and heading onto an on ramp for the freeway. Circling on the ramp about 180°, the big car was soon zooming down the highway at good speed, Tony keeping it around 75 mph for now, though the car could easily do more than that.

f-22 "raptor" ace · **Reply #756 on:** November 06, 2018, 12:52:20 AM

"Your place sounds good to me tony." Awe replied. "Mine would be far too small for all of us."

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #757 on:** November 06, 2018, 01:35:36 AM

Flora wasn't sure why she should be in the backseat, but acquiescently climbed over the middle seats, apologizing to Axel. "Ummm...hi," she said to Marita and Marie awkwardly, the ones currently filling both jump seats. She hadn't seen these two since the incident at the bar, and for reasons she didn't know she had a much more favorable view of them. "Uhhh...sorry for how I treated you two before," she said quietly, keeping their conversation quiet enough for just the three of them. "I'm...glad to see you both. Where's Rose?"

Emilena lay her head tiredly against the window, exhaling with relief as the guards gave up attempting to shoot the wheels out. "That could have gone worse..." she muttered.

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"Intruders gone, sir," the accented voice of Mátyás Áder, the Hungarian guard, came filtered through Kintoki's radio. "With hostage. No casualties on their side, far as I can see."

Kintoki took a deep breath. "You did good," he reported back, expanding his channel to radio every guard, living or dead. "All units, report to the surveillance room in the basement. Do not pursue suspects, I repeat, do NOT pursue."

He killed the radio and opened his computer. Checking the security system, he noted that the Purifier team's hacker had downloaded the data packet just as planned. Operation was a success, he reported to Coxon on their private instant-messaging system. They've got Flora and the location of Brennan HQ. He hesitated, then added: They have a red Duesenberg Model J and a couple of unexpected teammates. I'll be writing up and sending you itemized descriptions as soon as I've interviewed and sorted out the surviving guards. Good luck, sir.

Kintoki heard the safehouse door slam shut above him, and a low humming indicated the yard's self-cleaning system was disposing of any outside evidence of the firefights that just occurred. Kintoki knew he'd have to speak to the neighbors and compensate them for any damage to their houses and lawnwork, but he had a more immediate matter to attend to. His remaining guards (and families of the deceased) were entitled to enough money to retire overnight, the agreed-upon compensation for engaging in firefights with targets they weren't allowed to harm. He had a lot of paperwork ahead of him...

f-22 "raptor" ace · **Reply #758 on:** November 07, 2018, 12:07:40 AM

Awe took the time to make a silent prayer for the guard he'd killed. "What's our next move?" Awe asked.

Pterano · **Reply #759 on:** November 07, 2018, 01:15:44 AM

Tony spent the time on the highway maneuvering the Duesenberg around other cars, passing them when he felt they were moving too slowly, and keeping up a steady pace, the big straight-eight giving out its distinctive throaty whine as he drove along. The old gas-burner's noise helped calm him after the infiltration and firefight... never a dull moment with this group... and those firefights were always fights for his life.

But those thoughts faded as he focused on the drive, and the feel of the car moving around him. The engine block was one of the biggest of all time, even by modern standards. Super cars rarely got out of the 200 cubic inch range... his Duesey sported a 420 cubic inch engine. Pumping out 265 horsepower (320 for the supercharged models), it was a beast in its day, and more than adequate now. It made him smile, and settle back into the very comfortable seat, exhaling a little as he guided the car north and east, to where his manor was located.

"Well... regroup at my place." the ferret responded to Awe, looking over to him briefly. "And asses the data we gathered... find our next target..." he commented, keeping his body reposed against the seat. "And yeah... could've been worse... fortunate it wasn't." he agreed with Emilena. "Didn't lose anyone either... so that's good." Tapping his claw a bit on the wheel, Tony frowned at a slow car ahead of him. The Duesenberg moved with authority as he merged lanes and blew by the slower car. "Hate that bullshit." he muttered. "Drivers that can't keep up with traffic." Shaking his head, the ferret appreciated his Model J for its raw power, having nudged it into third for the cruise back to the house. Taking the exit, he eased the car up the winding drive to his large home on the hills above the city, and then down the ramp and into his mammoth underground garage. As the lights automatically kicked on at the car's entrance, they illuminated gleaming painted vintage cars of all sorts and shapes, lined up in two wide rows down the long garage.

As he slowed to a halt, then backed the car up into its slot, he turned the key, killing the engine as he set the brake. "OK... everybody out! End of the line! Elevator is off to your left... it'll take you up into the main house." He explained, sliding out now and beginning to make his way over to the elevator doors at the far end.