Eclipse nods as the detective goes to work. "Agreed."

The bartender looks Spider over. "Yeah, why?"

Spider smiles amiably, seemingly relaxed. "I just have some business to discuss with him. It won't take too much of his time, but he'll be glad he saw me."

The bartender pauses for a minute, then shrugs. "Alright then, what can I do for ya? Oh, the name is Ricks", he says as he extends his hand in greeting.

Spider chuckles and shakes the proferred hand. "Name's Spider. I know your time is valuable, but I only need a few minutes of it. I need to talk to Johnny Five, guy used to DJ here until very recently. Do you happen to still have some contact information for him? I'd be grateful if you could help me to find him."

Inwardly, Spider prepares himself for the negotiations, although he won't get too uptight about it if the initial offer isn't out of line - he would rather expedite things than haggle over paying, say, 20 Nuyen instead of 30.

Eclipse leans back against the wall next to Flare.

"You been doing this long?" His awkward attempt at camaraderie sheds light on exactly how long he has been doing it.

Ricks leans in close and lowers his voice so he isn't overheard. "Maybe, depends on how badly you want it. How does 250 sound for an address?"

Spider nods. "Sounds reasonable. Your time's valuable, just like mine is. Hopefully a bit of your time will wind up saving some of my time." He discreetly slots Ricks the credit, then waits patiently as the bartender writes down an address for him, handing him the folded slip of paper. With another nod, Spider eases away from the bar and glides back over to the group.

"Got an address, and as luck would have it, it's also in Tacoma. Which means we have time to check it out before we crash that party."

Flare's fingers twitch lightly, and somewhat regretfully against the sleek metal of the Predator as she returns it to its holster. There was always such a major let-down after an aborted adrenaline rush. Breathing slowly and deeply, she spares only a brief glance at the other elf before turning her outward attention back to her surroundings.

"Not this lost 'n' found drek. Most of my paycheck lately comes from makin' sure suits don't go missin' ... or get dead in the first place."

Flare unconsciously shifts slightly to the left to maintain line-of-sight with both Spider and the bartender before casting another glance at Eclipse. A small smile taints her innocent expression as she raises an inquiring eyebrow.

"What about you?"

Eclipse is saved from answering by Spider's timely return, and subsequent announcement.

"Sounds like a plan!"

Eclipse's mouth hovered on the edge of open when Spider interupted.

"Good, it's getting late now so we should head down there. Do we want to split up? Or tackle one at a time?"

Spider shakes his head. "No, I don't think we need to split up at this point. The party's later, so we can all check out the address first, then head to the party afterwards. We can split up at the party, if we need to do some mingling and dirt-digging, but we should still watch each other's backs. We haven't ruled out foul play yet, so we could run into some nastier types of people."

"Excellent, so lets hit this guys apartment and see what we can find."

The team makes their way outside, getting a few looks as they move through the throng of dancers. Mostly people just keep their distance from Eclipse. Spider and Cipher jump into the van, while Flare follows on her bike and Eclipse in his Dynamit. The night holds a chill in it, but the skies are clear for the first time in a long while.

Heading down the I-5 into Tacoma, Flare spots a foursome of trolls following the team on Vikings. They are wearing leathers with large chromed spikes lining the sholders.

The drive was relaxing for Eclipse. The advanced technology of the day allowed for a completely quiet cabin. He took advantage of that by listening to a subdued rendition of Bachs most famous pieces.

As the group leaves the Neoworld, Flare nods her thanks to Big Horny, who is still working the door.

The city seemed very quiet after the pounding electronica from the club. She felt a little let down as she mounts her bike, like a part of herself was left behind when she left. It wasn't even that good of a nightspot, but the atmosphere had gotten under her skin none-the-less.

Shaking off any small regrets, the elf powers up the Scorpion and pulls out behind the other vehicles as they start off towards Tacoma.

Catching the glint of chrome in the mirror, Flare notes a group of four trolls that seem to be on their tail. Taking a closer look, she tries to make out just which gang they belong to, hoping the spikes adorning their clothing and the sinking feeling in her gut aren't omens of things to come. A run-in with the Spikes was the last thing they needed right now.

Aww.. DREK! That was the only thought that ran through Flare's mind as she realized that it was, in fact, a group of Spikes coming her way. One of the trolls spots Flare looking his way, he smiles at her and reaches into his jacket for his weapon, while the others with him follow his lead.

"Shizer," Eclipse says into the radio.

Using one hand he pulls his Pistol out and lays it in his lap. He then maneuvers the car so that the trolls are behind him. Once they are lined up in his rereview he slams on the breaks!

Her attention split between the road ahead and the menacing image of the group of Spikes growing larger in her mirrors, Flare reaches her left hand into her jacket and withdraws a matte black Predator.

Her eyes drift forward from the mirror just in time to see the fender of the white Saab swinging in from the side. Snarling a few choice but unheard obscenities in Eclipse's direction, Flare swerves the big Harley sharply away from the Dynamit, struggling to keep her grip on the pistol while maintaining control of the Scorpion.

Three of the four bikers deftly manage to manuver around the braking car, but one isn't quite as fortunate. He slams head on into the back of the Saab and pitches over the handle bars, his head crashing through the rear window. Eclipse fights the steering wheel as the car slides around from the impact, but manages to keep the car under control. Glancing in the rear veiw mirror, he sees that the troll is doing his best to hang on to the now empty window frame, but the blood trickling from his forehead where it slammed through the window makes it clear he isn't in the best shape.

Barely managing to keep the big bike beneath her, Flare recovers from the near miss with the Saab. She risks a glance in the mirror, then instantly cranks the accelerator to pull ahead of the car, hoping to be able to keep it between herself and the remaining Spikes.

The troll gang's reputation for toughness and tenacity was well-earned, as Flare knew from personal experience. As she maneuvers the Scorpion past the white Saab, the elf doesn't hesitate to snap off a quick shot at the struggling ganger now hanging out of the rear window of Eclipse's car.

As the bullet slams into the side of the ganger hanging from Eclipse's car, it is clear that the troll has seen his end. The round rolls the troll off the car, where he is run over by one of his own gangers. The ganger who ran him over quickly looses control of his own bike and it lays down on him, pinning him under it as he slides down the freeway.

The two remaining trolls are only angered more that the elves seem to be getting the best of them. One swings wide, taking a shot at Flare's bike. The round is a dead hit and Flare's bike sputters under her and threatens to crash. The other pulls around to the drivers side of Eclipse's car and fires a shotgun slug through the window at him.

Eclipse ducks down as the shotgun blast rains broken glass down over his back, but thats better than slugs tearing through his chest. At the same time, he hears a loud thunk sound from in front of him and looks up to see Flare clinging to his hood while her bike tumbles down the highway behind him.

"Motherfragger ..."

Flare hadn't even pulled past the Saab before the Scorpion started failing rapidly beneath her. At the bike's present speed, any ensuing crash was sure not going to be what anyone but a masochist would consider pleasant. Taking barely a moment to consider her options, the elf then leaps from the saddle of the dying chopper towards the white car still racing along slightly behind her left shoulder.

Her Armor and dermal implants helped to shield Flare from the worst of the impact as she slammed against the speeding car. She had hoped to make a grasp for the roof, but fell a little short, landing sprawled across the hood of the Dynamit. She quickly flails her right hand towards the windscreen in search of a handhold, her left busy trying to maintain a grip on the matte black Predator, which had been knocked precariously loose during the landing.

Eclipse barely poked his head up from the shotgun blast when the girl made the leap. The car bucked sharply as the weight impacted on the front suspension. Eclipse dropped his Pistol in the passenger seat. He flashed a tight smile at the girl as he hit the open button on the sunroof.

"If you wanted a lift," he said out the shattered window, "you could have asked."

Seeing the Troll bikers Cipher shifts out of Captain's Chair mode, his electric van's systems replacing his own senses, as his body goes limp in the seat next to Spider.

He speaks to the mentalist through the van's intercomm, "You got any way of violently messing with those Trolls minds?"

Spider nods reflexively, even as he replies verbally.

"Yes, if you can get me within sight of one of them, I can stun him with a mind blast. If you can't, I could still create a thought form to psykokinetically mess with their bikes. The mind blast would be quicker, though."

"Check."

A moment later the van is around to the side of one of the gangers, the one who just blew out Eclipse's window.

"I have you now..." murmurs Spider. Then, his face twists into a grimace of intense concentration as he channels his energy into a mind blast, directed at the ganger.

The ganger next to Eclipse's window grabs at the sides of his head and lets out a terrifying scream. Blood begins to ooze out of his nose and his eyes roll back. A moment later the bike wobbles and quickly lays down on its side, sending its passenger sliding.

The white Saab started to slow down cutting out some of the wind sheer and giving Flare a little more stability to climb up into the now open Sunroof.

He grabbed his Colt and layed it in his lap so she could sit in the passenger seat.

Managing to grab a hold of the front of the car near the windscreen, Flare pulls herself up and gains her balance on the hood. She spots the ganger behind as he slacks off his pursuit, and instantly, almost instinctively begins to to raise the pistol in her left hand.

Then she notices the opening sunroof, and scrambles forward to slide in. As she clambers through the small window, she shouts to Eclipse.

"Turn around! Don't let him get away." Flare lowers her voice as she slips into the passenger seat. "It'll never end if he lives to get back to the other Spikes. He's guaranteed to have an ID on your Saab here."

Pausing briefly, Flare glances around the luxurious interior of the Dynamit. "Nice car, by the way."

The elf draws another pistol from under her dark green longcoat and ejects the clip of gel rounds, exchanging it for one loaded with Double-X from her pocket. Flare glances at the other elf as she chambers a round.

"Now let's get movin'!"

A wicked grin spreads across Eclipses face, "buckle up," he says with a nod. The elf spins the wheel had to the left and pulls the e-break.

The remaining biker hits the breaks and slides the rear end around like a pro, then takes off into oncoming traffic. He quickly makes his way to the shoulder and opens the throttle. In an instant, Flare yanks herself up and into the sunroof, sliding into the Saab. The next instant, the Saab is in a 180 spin and the tires squeel as it too heads into oncoming traffic. Lucky for all, traffic is light tonight.

The case continues.

Eclips puts teh car inteh 'emergency lane' and floors it. The white sports car houwls through the night.

"It used to be a lot quietter," he says casually to Flare as he shifts gears, "but I decided 'what the hell', fresh air will do me some good, right?"

Pushing the Saab to its limits, Eclipse brings the car to within 10 meters of the ganger.

As Eclipse maneuvers the Saab to catch the speeding bike, Flare replaces the newly loaded gun under her left armpit, then turns her attention to the other Predator in her lap. When the elf pulls the car within sight of the fleeing Spike ganger, she hits the button to unlock her seatbelt, quickly gathers her legs underneath her in a crouch on the padded passenger seat, then stands, popping her upper body through the still open sunroof.

The heavy black pistol now nestles against the induction pad in her right hand, and the comforting warmth of her implanted Smartlink system makes the weapon feel like an extension of her own body. Taking her time, Flare lines up her shot at the troll, a grim smile etched across her features despite the wind whipping at her face.

The first shot catches the ganger high on his shoulder and before you have time to see how much damage it did, the second shot catches him right in the back of the head, blowing a softball size hole in it.

After the troll falls off the bike Eclipse lets off the gas letting the weight of the car slow it down.


"Ok Flare where is your bike?"

Flare drops back into the passenger seat, not even trying to hide the small satisfied smile she wears.

"I seem to have misplaced it back there somewhere. I don't think there'll be too much left of it, but I really would like to salvage some of the gear, though."

The blond elf looks over at Eclipse as he puts the Dynamit through another u-turn, this one not quite as dramatic as the last.

"Nice drivin', by the way." She pauses and waits for the other elf to respond, which he does with a nod. "Oh, and thanks for pickin' me up. It can sometimes really be a pain to hitch a ride on the freeway."

Eclipse spots Flare's bike about a quarter mile up the road. Its obviously trashed, as it lays in the second lane, a small stream of smoke rising from its engine.

He lets the Saab idle to a halt as close to the bike as possible.

"Hey, when ever you want a ride just jump on over," he says with a laugh.

He leaves the car on as the two go about collecting what is salvageble on the broken bike.

"I think you and I are going to not make a whole lot of money on this one."

Both Flare and Eclipse snap their heads up as red and blue flashing lights can be seen about a mile or so down the road.

"Frag"

Carefully trying to avoid touching the heated metal of the smoking engine, Flare quickly pulls open the seat compartment of the bag to retrieve the satchel stashed within.

Barely out of the car when Flare has retrieved her bag Eclipse slides back in and wheels the car around.

With the car facing the correct way Eclipse yells out the driver side shattered window, "companies coming."

Bag in hand, Flare sprints back to the waiting Saab. As she slides back into the passenger seat, she casts a quick glance in the direction of the flashing lights, noticing with some concern how much closer they are than just a few seconds ago. Eclipse already had the car in gear, and begins pulling away as soon as she is in, even before the door is closed.

"So, this has been fun so far. Where do you think the others got to?"

"If you think this is fun, you should have dinner with sometime. Running from the star and shooting gangers is just an appetizer."

Eclipse went silent for a moment as he concentrated on accelerating away from the crime scene. He glanced in his rear view mirror a few times to make sure that the coast was clear.

"Ok I think were safe, do you have either of their phone numbers?"

Flare's hands and eyes were busy, first taking stock of the contents of the salvaged bag, then checking her matched pair of black Predators and reloading their clips. As she works, she casts the occasional glance at Eclipse as he puts the Saab through it's paces, already somewhat impressed with the elf despite her usual reservations.

When he asks her about the others' phone numbers, Flare just shrugs.

"Don't look at me. I thought you were on that. How about trying that radio you were using before?"

"Right. Will do."

Kicking the transmitter on Eclipse sent out a message using his transducer to convert thoughts into sounds.

Hey Cipher, Eclipse here, were about two mikes from where we were and closing quickly, whats your ten?

"That put's you about three miles behind us, I slowed down when you went after the last biker, you catch him?"

Yeah he's street pizza. I tell you man, were down on this run already. We may need to ask for more when were done.

Eclipse chucled aloud at his street pizza coment.

"Uh, checked in with them," he said to cover his minute embaresment. "their 3 klicks ahead of us. So lets catch up."

Going to accelerate to catch up.


Eclipse pushed down on the gass and got the sleek car up to 90 to close the distance.