Cinch,
After Sierra leaves, you head down to the market, grab some borax for Lether, and look for June to get the rest of his order. Balls tells you that "Vinegar" packed up shop and bought passage to Depot. He mentions that she just missed the blockade, then jokes that you didn't.
With your work done here, I'm guessing you want to get back out on the road, right? Sure enough, there are still three trucks with a big fuggin' turret sitting at the end of the road. A few football fields of road to build up speed, but that's also open ground for them to take aim, which isn't good. A few bikes out there, too. Trouble with a capital T.
You could just... pay the toll and head through.
What do you do?
Comments
Pay the toll? I've been looking forward to running this thing all morning. My heart's already pumping and I have an idea which way I'm going to play it... they know me. Know my ride... might hesitate to fire on me. Wouldn't that be nice?
I stand near my car, check-listing in my head that I've got what needs getting and plotting my best course for the Depot and June. For a moment I glance upwards at where Sierra and I spent this morning... shake it out of my head and concentrate on the blockade.
Time for thinking is over. Prison within a prison? Not me.
"Fugg it... let's do this," I tighten my driving cloves, notice a bit of dried blood I hadn't managed to get out from my nails as I grip the wheel, glance back to make sure my cargo's secure... take one last look at the Irons, seal the windows with a satisfying "whrrrrr-pshh" and engine-on.
Goggles down and I smoke the tires for a couple seconds and spin the nose out towards the desert. Some of them doubtless know who I am and I flash my lights to indicate, as I do, that I'm not lookin' for a fight.
"Come on, just open 'er up, people," I quietly hope they just let me through... but part of me hopes they don't.
Guess what, Cinch? The response from the blockage is that the dozen gangers facing down the road now hustle around to face you. You spot one of Ziggy's people, a lieutenant or whatever named Preen, and he hops on a dirt bike to ride towards you.
The big threat, the turret, it's mounted in a truck bed, a big Ford F-850. Right this second, that turret is unmanned, but a chubby fugger is running up to climb onto the hood of the truck so he can get behind it.
They're going to ask for their toll, Cinch. What do you do?
Nobody at the gun? Dirt bike ain't stopping me. Sorry Preen.
I pour on the speed, speed is what's getting me through before that gun can bring to bear. The engine roars and that feel of acceleration hits me in the back and this is living!
"Whooo!" I cry out and narrow my eyes... not going to run the man down, but Preen'll get a face full of my smoke to remember me by.
While chubby is trying to get up to that turret and everyone else is hopping on bikes and grabbing guns, let's see you Act Under Fire to get through this roadblock.
Also, Cinch, are you heading straight through the middle, or trying a fancy move around the edge (which is a very tight squeeze)?
Straight through. Speed's gonna get me there and they'll be shooting at dust.
Acting under fire: +2Cool
(Rolled: 2d6+2. Rolls: 4, 3. Total: 9)
You shove your foot to the floor and the cruiser throws you back in your seat as she kicks into gear. The heavy shielding and kinetic barriers protect the front of her as you punch through the space between two of the trucks. Both trucks scoot aside on their knobby tires and the one on the right tips over and slams onto its side. Gunfire erupts from both sides, but you're almost through my the time they draw a bead.
As a parting shot, chubby finally gets the machine guns engaged, and sprays a few hundred rounds at you (that's 3-Harm coming at the car. With its 2-Armor plus Daredevil, that's 0 V-Harm. Roll the Harm move. If you get a hit, a bullet blew through to hit you).
Harm move +0
(Rolled: 2d6. Rolls: 4, 3. Total: 7)
The bulletproofing on the rear window holds, but just barely. A couple tiny cracks form near the driver's side corner. It's enough to make you flinch, Stazie (because "enough to make you flinch, Cinch" sounds bad). You nearly slip off the road, and when you turn to recover, one of the pieces of borax drops into the floorboard in the back. White dust puffs up, and it smells strong. Will take some time to air out.
You're gone, though. The bikes tries to mount up a chase, but you're off like the wind and leave them in your dust. You are just that good.
End Scene
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