FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Act 4: Racing Out of Debt

I paced back and forth in my apartment, having told Bernie of my current Lackey job. It was painstakingly obvious that I was worried about Marci being harmed with Impersonal's collection being due the next day.

"I don't see why ya can't warn her," Bernie shrugged. "Maybe she won't work tomorrow? We don't know her schedule, Laney boy."

"Well, I need to figure that out," I sighed. "I'm going down there and telling her what's going on, Bernie. Can I count on you to actually listen and stay here?" Bernie scoffed and rolled his eyes at me. "As if I wouldn't listen," he said. "You insult me, Laney boy. You really do."

I rolled my eyes and grabbed the keys to the Hoover Bike and headed down to the garage. I hopped onto it and revved the engine before heading out and onto the road, trying to recognize the landmarks to get to Impersonal. I think felt a bit silly forgetting about the GPS in the Hoover Bike as I was perhaps too caught up in thinking that Marci may be hurt if the Impersonal owners didn't pay up on their due date. I noticed a couple of black hovercars at the store when I arrived, raising an eyebrow. The Crimson Gavel wasn't supposed to pick up the payment until the next day. I walked inside and then blinked, noticing Marci was being held at gunpoint by to unrecognizable individuals. I apparently had just walked into a robbery. A large masked fellow turned and pointed his gun at me, gasping.

"Don't move!" he ordered. "We ain't here to kill. We just want the money."

I complied, holding my hands up slowly as I walked inside and into a small corner. "You know, the Crimson Gavel is protecting this place," I said.

"We don't care, you mook," the large one snapped. "We just want the money."

"Didn't you hear me or are you stupid?" I asked. "The Crimson Gavel is gonna come after you if you take off with their cash."

"Shut up!" the other masked fellow, whom was short and skinny, shouted, striking me hard with the back of his Plasma Rifle.

I fell onto the ground a bit hard from the sudden impact from the force behind the other man's blow with his rifle. I groaned and coughed a bit, making sure I wasn't bleeding. When they turned their backs to count the money, I looked at Marci as I grabbed my weapon and slowly stood up. I made sure it was gradual as a sudden jump up would have spooked them much more than rising up slowly. I then slammed the bottom of my Plasma Pistol into the back of the skinny one's head and then aimed at the fat one. With the skinny man out of the way, the large one tried to grab my arm and pulled it behind my back. I quickly countered it as if it was a fancy dance number and kicked him square in the groin, grabbing his own pistol and aimed both at him.

"Put the money back and get the hell out of here," I ordered.

The large one groaned and threw the bag of cash at me and then fled the seed as fast as his body weight allowed him. The skinnier one got up and ran as well, though I had to trip him in order to get the other bag back. I sighed and grabbed it before pushing him out of the store and closing the door immediately behind them.

"Whoa," Marci said with a look of shock, apparently not expecting me to be able to fight off a couple of amateur robbers. "Thank you, Mr. Silverbane."

"So you do remember customer names," I chuckled. "You're welcome, though I wasn't lying about the Crimson Gavel part. I did them a favor, I'd think."

"Oh, yeah, the Crimson Gavel," Marci sighed. "I don't even know why we need their protection here. My boss never explains why he pays them instead of the Cryptic Guard. They're bad guys, right? Why wouldn't the Cryptic Guard protect us if the Crimson Gavel tried to pull some stunt?"

"I'm not too clear on it either," I said, sighing and handed her the bags. "Just put this back. I know of their pick up dates for their payments though. I advise you to call in sick tomorrow if your boss's debt is owed to them. If he can't, or rather won't, pay up, I think you'd rather not be in the middle of a bloodbath."

Marci tilted her head at me, staring at me a bit curiously. "Are you with either of them? The Guard or the Gavel?" she asked.

I was judging by the stare that my answer perhaps would affect the small acquaintanceship I had acquired with her.

"I'm with the Crimson Gavel, but I don't like seeing the innocent get hurt when they don't have to be," I said.

Marci's cute stare suddenly intensified with a bit of rage. She just nodded silently and went back to counting the money that I had just kept Impersonal from losing. I waited around for a few more minutes in total silence before looking around and sighing.

"Just heed my warning," I said. "Don't come in tomorrow. Let the owner deal with the Gavel."

"The owner happens to be my father," she suddenly snapped at me. "I am not letting him face the Gavel alone. I never have. They'll get their money. I want you to leave though."

I looked puzzled. I was wondering what the hell I did to make her suddenly angry with me. Perhaps she didn't want to believe I was with the Gavel? It seemed that way.

"I said go," she said, raising her voice a bit.

I jumped at that, then nodded and opened the door. I looked back at her and sighed.

"You wouldn't understand why I'm dealing with them," I said. "If you stay here tomorrow, there's a chance you might be dead if your father can't pay them." I then left the store, heading back to my Hoover Bike.

I rested on the bike for a few moments. I was about a block away from Impersonal now, wondering what was going through Marci's mind for her to snap at me so suddenly. It wasn't like we were best friends. We were just barely acquaintances. I adjusted one of the mirrors before something caught my eye. I looked back and saw a large Cryptic Van speeding toward my location.

"Dammit," I grumbled. "They must have spotted me." I then revved the engine of my Hoover Bike and sped forward. I had to swerve at first due to the narrow openings the traffic made, but I soon made it onto the larger streets.

The Cryptic Van was in pursuit of me now, having entered Flight Mode instead of Hovering Mode. It flew above the traffic, pinpointing my location through its GPS and firing grapple guns at me. They were hoping to grab me and take me back to the Baron, it seemed. I continued to swerve, avoiding each attempt at grappling my coat. I tried to blind fire my pistol a few times to no avail, missing each shot. I continued down the road, soon making a sharp turn that surprised the driver. Even in Flight Mode, he couldn't turn fast enough to fully keep up. I then began to take more sharp turns, going from left turns to right turns and a few times even going in a quick square. All of the turning seemed to be confusing the driver until I was behind the Cryptic Van, with a clear shot. I aimed for the tank as I passed under it, shooting at it several times before hitting it once and causing it to begin to leak fuel onto the ground below. I chuckled and headed in a straight line now. In Flight Mode, the fuel decreasing was significantly more noticeable as it used a lot of horse power to fly the large hover car. I could hear the obscene language through the intercom on top of the van.

"Goddammit, Silverbane," Azinoth's voice echoed throughout the alleyways. "We're going to get you, in the name of the Baron and Queen! In the name of Mortion, we will capture you, you treasonous dog!"

I drove and looked back, jokingly sticking my tongue out at the van, and then headed down the side streets to get back to the apartment to meet up with Bernie.

I parked the Hoover Bike within the anti-theft parking space outside of the apartments as it was free for once. I headed into the building, grabbing some of the mail that had already come in the PO Box on the first floor. I looked the papers over, raising an eyebrow. They seemed to be documents of some kind, though they weren't labeled with a return address. Just my own. I headed up the stairs, planning on just relaxing for now and trying to hang out with Bernie. Though as I neared my apartment, I noticed the door was slightly ajar and I did hear Bernie talking a bit quickly, as if frightened. I reached into my holster and wrapped my fingers around my pistol, then pulled it out as I slowly opened the door to listen in at first.

:"I-I told ya, Mac," Bernie gulped. "I ain't got squat right now. I'm workin' somethin' out with a new buddy of mine though. I just need to convince him I'm a good helper. Maybe if he gets some more Tin for his work, he'll be willin' to share if I help out."

"I'm through waiting for your empty promises to pay off your debt, rodent," Mac humphed. I then heard a cock of a gun.

Before I could think clearly, I slammed the door open and dashed toward the big male Lunga. I managed to slam the back of my pistol into his head, causing him to lose balance and drop his weapon, then fall onto his back. I then grabbed his gun and pointed it along with my Plasma Pistol at him.

"What are you here for exactly?" I asked. "Besides trying to kill Bernie for some debt that he owes."

"Ha, kid, this idiot has owed this debt for about two years now," Mac chuckled, his hands in the air now as he sat up. "I was getting' tired of waitin' and always tellin' me he's got my money and then findin' out his plans always failed."

"Get up," I ordered. "Bernie's my roommate now and if he has a debt that needs to be paid, then you can take it up with me. Though if you try this again, the Crimson Gavel might have something to say about deadbeats wanting to kill someone they clearly don't trust."

"The Crimson Gavel?" he blinked, his tone changing into more of a frightened one now. "The idiot befriended one of their freaks? As far as I'm concerned, sir, his debt doesn't matter anymore. Just let me go."

"Well, you went from homicidal maniac to groveling monkey in five seconds," I said, rolling my eyes. "Get out of here and I'm keeping your gun." I then walked behind him and helped him up. I kept the guns pointed at him as I escorted him to the door and then used my boot to shove him out. I closed the door and locked it, sighing.

"Wow, uh, thanks, Laney boy!" Bernie chuckled and hopped onto the couch.

I just looked at him with a bit of disappointment mixed with anger.

"How many more of these debt collectors are there?" I asked, grabbing the remote before he could so he couldn't turn the television on in order to attempt to dodge the question.

"Not a lot," he admitted. "Maybe four."

"Four!?" I said in surprise. "Bernie, what the hell do you do with this money?" "Normal stuff," he said. "Gamble, pay for hot chicks to take me out, go to the bar and a couple of times I've tried Hovercopter Racing."

I sighed and covered my face with my palm, not believing I had supposedly befriended such a deadbeat.

"Look, I know you want to help," I said. "I heard what you were trying to tell Big Mac there. Though I'm not going to bring you for any kind of aid if I'm going to keep seeing surprise guests here. I'll be tempted to kick you out as well. Are any of the others guys tied with the Crimson Gavel at all?"

"Just the Hovercopter Racing founder," Bernie said with a nervous laugh.

My eye twitched a bit now, though I did still want to help him out of all of this debt. I didn't know why, but I wouldn't feel right telling him that he was on his own.

"Fine, tell me what's up with the Hovercopter Racing crap," I said with a small sigh.

"Well, I kind of cheated him out of some Tin," Bernie laughed nervously. "Not intentionally though. I told 'em I thought this racer would win as he had won the last few races, but then I found out someone paid him a bribe to purposely lose so it didn't seem like it was a fixed business. The founder wasn't too excited when he lost and refused to believe that a bribe would make a racer purposely lose. So now he's sent goon after goon to my old place, searchin' for me. I dunno what he'd do though. Maybe stick my head on a pike? Seems like the kind of guy that would do that."

"Well, that'll be one thing that isn't easily solved with my charm," I said, rolling my eyes. "I haven't been called in to do any favors yet, so I suppose this will work. Are you sure this Hovercopter Racing Circuit is tied to the Crimson Gavel?"

"Oh, I'm sure," he nodded. "It's underground and everything and last time I checked the Crimson Gavel had reigns over anything underground from here to Jaden."

"Well, you better hope that I can get some of this debt down otherwise I won't be able to protect you from any of the Gavel families if they decide to fully come after you," I said, getting up. "Come on, we're going to the Carrion Speedway. I figured the Hovercopter Racing Circuit may be around there."

"How'd ya know?" he asked, hopping onto his feet and stretched.

"I took a wild guess," I said. "It's where the Hoverbike races are held. At least Hoverbike Racing is legal, Bernie. These Hovercopter races usually have stolen or illegally piloted Hovercopters from who knows where. Maybe Czech technology, but that's impossible given that province and Mortion are sealed off from communication."

"Spare me the history lesson for now," Bernie scoffed. "We ain't got time for that."

"Fine, fine," I shrugged, heading out of the apartment and down the stairs. Bernie was quick to follow, hopping onto my Hoverbike as soon as he was close enough.

I hopped onto it myself and started it up, then looked around, plotting the quickest route to the Carrion Speedway. The straight shot freeway path seemed like it would be too obvious to take, as perhaps the Cryptic Guard had it, well, guarded. I switched the Hoverbike from Hover Mode into Flight Mode and stepped on the gas. Within Flight Mode, programmed streets weren't an issue as it would count as an aircraft, switching to the pre-determined flight path zones designated by the Aviation Committee of Tonoko. Hopefully, the Cryptic Guard wasn't smart enough to check the Aviation Grid, as my Hoverbike perhaps would show up there. Flying North, Bernie and I made record time getting to the Carrion Speedway due to very little people risked using Flight Mode. It was another scare tactic of the Baron - and the Queen - to claim Flight Mode was untested, but still made available in public Hoverbike units. I, however, don't believe them personally so I checked it out myself. It works pretty much as intended, with a couple of hiccups.

We landed in the back parking lot, wanting to be as blended in as possible. I hopped off of the Hoverbike, making sure my road goggles stayed on my eyes to slightly disguise my face. I looked around, seeing quite a few racers that looked nervous and confident. There wasn't a scheduled Hoverbike race for today, but they seemed to try pretty hard to make it seem like it was a harmless Hoverbike race.

"Alright, so who's the guy that you owe money to?" I asked Bernie as we entered the Speedway's Pit Stop.

"Greg Sphinx," Bernie said, pointing over at a large insectoid man that seemed to be taking more bets and issuing a role call for the drivers.

I approached Greg, looking around and smiled at him.

"Hello there, I'm Lane Silverbane," I started, "and I'm working for the Crimson Gavel like you. I'm here on behalf of my friend, Bernie, here. He has a debt with you I wish to discuss paying off."

"You're pretty damn fancy talk for bein' part of the Gavel," Greg answered without looking back at me. "Yeah, I remember Bernie 'cause no one got a stupid name like that besides him. He owes me quite a bit of cash. Probably a kidney's worth of cash."

"A kidney?" I blinked. "Since when did the Crimson Gavel get into black market organ selling?"

"The Gavel ain't usually goin' that route, but if we're gonna expand, then why not put the deadbeats that owe us money to good use, huh?" he asked, letting out an evil chuckle.

"Well, I was thinking of performing a job or race or something that didn't involve killing Bernie to try and somewhat work of his debt," I said.

"Hmm, there's those options, too, but not nearly as satisfyin' to me," he shrugged. "Very well. Perhaps you can show me your skills in a Hovercopter. One of the boys is pretty much sittin' on the toilet all day, shittin' up a storm. Damn food poisoning. One of the best racers, too. Think ya can match him if ya take his place?"

"Well, I, uh.... Haven't ridden in a Hovercopter outside of practice sessions," I admitted. "I have been told I'm quite good, but...."

"Then it's settled," he interrupted, tossing me a helmet and a key. "Win this race and Bernie here won't be cut up to sell his organs and we'll figure out what else you can do."

I nodded, but in my mind I was thinking Bernie would be screwed. I didn't know how to pilot a Hovercopter at high speeds, as I even had trouble piloting the few training sessions I had at a low, flying school speed. I sighed and headed toward the nearby Hovercopter that was parked in a spot that was marked for this racer I was filling in for.

"Bernie, you do realize you need to run if I don't win this, right?" I asked my little Promus friend as he followed me to the Hovercopter.

"I had that planned already," Bernie said. "I'll be long gone if I see anyone but you finish the race first. If you don't win though, I wonder how else you'll get the debt down."

"It may be impossible if I don't win," I grumbled, climbing into the Hovercopter.

I started it up, gulping a bit as I still lacked faith in my own ability of piloting such a majestic aircraft. Well, majestic is a kind word. It was perhaps a shoddy piece of work - seemingly made from parts of Hoverbikes and perhaps older Hovercopters. It flew up as I was in Hover Mode at the moment. I slowly moved it toward the other Hovercopter racers, trying to study the control panel in front of me. There were buttons, buttons everywhere. I was already confused as I tried to figure out what certain icons meant. Though my general assumptions made me believe for some reason there were... weapons on this Hovercopter. Weapons? Why would weapons be needed in a race? It took my brain a few seconds to process the question before coming to the realization that this was an illegal event, meaning there perhaps were very little rules in how to win the race. I jumped slightly as I heard the announcer start a countdown and as it hit 1, I hit the acceleration and headed down the pre-determined course.

I rounded the first wide turn of the course, keeping a steady pacing. The numbers on my screen indicating my current placing and I was in 3rd. I could see a small projection of the course's "map" on the bottom left of my window, while my placing was on the right. On the map there were other dots, assuming to be my opponents. They were shaded a light red if they were nearby, orange if they were far. I saw one of the dots creep up on me from behind as I made the second wide turn. There was soon an alert, stating "Warning: Incoming Projectile" at the middle-top of the window. I managed to pull the Hovercopter up just enough for the said projectile to just graze the bottom of it; though it still took some damage, as a computerized voice suddenly emitted the phrase "Damage taken, 5%. Systems still stable", indicating a supposed vehicle health meter underneath where the warning had been.

I sighed and tried to keep my concentration on the pre-determined Hovercopter racing path. I narrowed my eyes, however, noticing I was creeping up to the second place Hovercopter. I smirked, thinking it was going to be like a normal, honorable passing into the 2nd position in the race. Oh, how I was wrong. Suddenly, the Hovercopter ahead of me had hatches open up on the sides, firing missiles toward me.

"Why didn't I see that coming?" I asked myself, sounding a bit alarmed. I looked at the buttons before me, all around the steering console. I heard the missiles hit me, draining my Hoverbike's mechanical energy by 15% now. I found a button with a rounded icon, with a supposed fuse attached to it. I pressed it, rounding the next turn. I heard the gears move, opening a hatch like the other Hovercopter had. A bomb was then tossed toward it, exploding and doing a hefty bit of damage. I raised an eyebrow wondering why my window suddenly emulated the phrase "Critical Hit!", as if this was a video game.

I shook my head and sighed, continuing down the Hovercopter path, easily passing the now 3rd place Hovercopter. It seemed to be slower now, apparently actually taking a critical hit. Apparently the text that had appeared wasn't exaggerating. I didn't see a sign of the first place Hovercopter as of yet, but I knew I wasn't that far from it. A Flying Path Bridge was coming up, however, and it was emitting a sound similar to that of a railroad crossing, beginning to light up and generate a plasma barrier to ensure no accidents would occur between larger flying vehicles and smaller ones. I spotted an opening, however, which would be used for maintenance crafts. It was a long shot, but I began to head for the opening. Rapidly, I approached it, gulping as in the corner of my eye I saw a hulking military aircraft inching toward the crossroads. I knew it was rather close as the window in front of me flashed "Warning!" a few times, which partially obstructed my vision. It was a bit counterproductive, if you ask me. I raced through the small passage, damaging a bit of my Hovercraft in the process due to the opening being slightly smaller in width than I had anticipated. The damage meter now read the Hovercraft was at 75%. I didn't think that was too bad, as it was only 25% damage so far. I watched the water below me pass at quite a speed, wondering why this course was so planned out for an illegal event, minus the giant military aircraft perhaps delaying the others or making them crash.

I heard a chime as the window showed a blinking blip now, telling me I was closing in on the 1st place Hovercopter.I rounded the next turn, heading into Downtown. This wasn't going to be pretty. Downtown was pretty busy around this time of day and the Hovercopter path had me flying down close to the Hoverbike height. This meant that the Hovercopter was about level with any other Hovercar or Hoverbike, making vehicular accidents a strong possibility. I noticed the Hovercopter ahead of me, smirking a bit. It seemed like it was going at a slower pace, perhaps assuming it was just far ahead in the race. I tried to press harder on the acceleration, attempting to catch up to the aforementioned Hovercopter. It seemed to only work slightly as the driver seemed to have spotted me and accelerated as well. Weaving in and out of traffic and past a few buildings, I managed to get close enough to where the adrenaline within me was pumping fast enough that I somehow didn't actually realize that since I had never flown this contraption very well before, I'm suddenly moving like a professional. Perhaps challenges do that to some people.

Both myself and the rival Hovercopter racer turned out of Downtown within a few more minutes, flying higher in the air before landing back near the ground as we entered a heavily trafficked freeway known as the Cosmos Expressway. This is where I began to become a bit uneasy. Yes, I was still on the path my Hovercopter was allowed to follow, but this felt more like an intentional trap from the rival Hovercopter ahead of me. The weaving was making me a bit cautious, but I wasn't about to be bested and let Bernie end up nearly being killed for his debt. It seemed like this racer didn't use cheap weapons to gain the lead. They seemed to prefer using tactics to purposely make the other racer crash and damage the rival that way and adding the satisfaction of possibly eluding their rival. Well, two can play at that game.

I hit the acceleration again, but this time trying to push the power of the engine as I was still able to swerve and avoid crashing into oncoming Hovercar traffic. The lights were a bit blinding as the sun was nearly set, but I bet both my rival and I were blinding these poor bystanders, so it's perhaps necessary payback. I was speeding nose to nose with the Hovercopter now, grinning to myself as I thought this rival was actually a challenge. I could have forfeited some honorable racing by throwing a bomb at them, but I didn't want to. This felt more satisfying. It was straight on racing now, with turning in unison at the same time. Both Hovercrafts couldn't pass one another. It seemed to anger the other driver as suddenly, there was a loud crash and I temporarily swerved, losing a bit of control of the vehicle. I regained it fairly quick and narrowed my eyes as I looked out my driver window, narrowing my eyes behind my goggles. I then proceeded to smash my Hovercopter into the rival's Hovercopter, sending them into a swerving motion as they had done to me.

The retaliating smash into my Hovercraft was quick and expected. I regained control much quicker this time and smashed into the rival yet again. It was damaging both of our vehicles, but it was fun. However, the next smash was incredibly quick and much harder than before. Was the rival actually getting angry that I was fighting back? Perhaps most of the time when someone's smashed by him, they spin out and one-shot-KO their Hovercopter? Well, not my Hovercopter. I retalizated with a faster, harder smash of my own. I heard a screech as I inched ahead before I knew the Hovercopter was now behind me and trying to desperately catch up. I was now in 1st place and the finish line was close by, according to the window of the Hovercopter. I thought I was in the clear, having pulled ahead and all. Then "Incoming Projectile" appeared on my screen again.

With a loud boom, a bomb had hit my Hovercopter, sending the health bar to just before 25% remaining. I was slowed now, perhaps as slow as the Hovercopter that I had crashed by using my own bomb. I followed the rival, whom was back in first, the best I could before hitting the bomb button again. It targeted the rival but at the last moment just as the bomb was going to hit, the rival managed to protect itself with a shield, nullifying the blast by 80% according to the "Critical Hit" text, along with telling me how much it had absorbed. I growled a bit now and grit my teeth, noticing a few more buttons, I selected the one with an explanation point on it. Suddenly, the tip of the Hovercopter opened slowly, revealing a small triangular-shaped object. It began to warm up as the rival was becoming a spec in the distance. Then, without much warning, there was a sudden blast of red light ahead of me. It seemed to rapidly approach the rival. Within a few more seconds, there was a loud "KA BOOM!".

I managed to catch up to the Hovercopter rival, who was now wobbling and moving slowly, a bit slower than my Hovercopter. I did gain a devilish grin, suddenly swerving and smashing into the rival, sending them into a nearby pole and officially totaling their Hovercopter. It felt like a small, but sweet victory. I then had no problem heading toward the finish line, crossing it in first place, though the only Hovercopter racer that hadn't been damaged crossed it right after me. The driver seemed rather agitated about that, blaming the course being delayed by the crossroads being blocked off. I just chuckled and climbed out of the damaged Hovercopter.

I stretched as I was approached by Bernie who, because he was a small fellow compared to me, hugged my leg in excitement.

"Laney boy!" he cheered. "Ya won! Ya really won!"

"That he did, kid," Greg chimed in. "I guess ya won, so this dirtbag's debt ain't so bad now. I did make a pretty penny by bettin' on you just now. And I'll take your winnings as a down payment for perhaps most of this dirtbag's debt, too."

"Most of it?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Probably one or two more jobs will let me forget about this dirtbag as long as he doesn't come back and bet unless he's got the money to back his bets up. Now, if you excuse me for now, gentleman, I gotta check on the actual racer. Hey, Marty! Ya still shittin' a Pawcasso in there!?"

I shook my head and sighed, looking at Bernie. "Well, there you go, one less debt that's not very lethal," I said. "Now, come on, I have to go check in with Vinchi. He's probably wondering where I am."

"Yeah, yeah," Bernie nodded. "Let's go already. Oh and Laney boy, thanks."

"No problem, Bernie," I chuckled. "To be honest, that was kind of fun, but I'm not doing it again unless I have to." I then ran over to my Hoverbike with Bernie following me.

We were about to get on and leave before we noticed a group of unknown thugs were entering the area of the Hovercopter races, suddenly going for Greg.

"What's that about?" I asked Bernie.

"They look like a small gang, Laney boy," Bernie said. "Jeez, I thought you was educated. I think they're called the Deep Six and they try to take over turf all around here. They're one of the few places that seem to not be afraid of the Gavel."

"Oh?" I chuckled. "Well, maybe I can make a good impression on the Gavel if I drive these idiots away from something they own."

"Couldn't hurt, but, uh, Lane...." Bernie said, gulping.

"What?" I asked as I climbed back off of my Hoverbike.

"I'll be watchin' from over here, where there are witnesses on the industrial side of the street." He then ran over to the buildings he had pointed at.

I shrugged and kept my goggles on and made sure my Plasma Pistol was ready to be drawn. I then headed toward the gang and Greg, biting my lower lip. This would be my first time trying to intimidate people and I didn't feel good about it.