A Server for Sly - RPLOG

Participants

• Fenris
• Flynn
• Magnus
• Nena
• Richard

Date

5/1/2020

Log

The posting was vague. A few, select people recieved a comms alert that there was an opportunity to stick it to Zephyr, do a service for Tanuki, and maybe get a little extra on the side. Other than that, only a GPS location and a time were given. At that particular place and time, a raccoon dressed like Sly Cooper from the old video game is lounging on a rock off to the side of the highway, right at the edge of the bubble, leading out into the wasteland. He is tossing a question mark shaped cane in the air and catching it while he waits for a bite.

"Smells like trouble again." Magnus huffs under his breath as he nears the meeting point, his head kept low and his eyes on a swivel, the fox having intercepted the message through his underworld contacts, run some investigating and struck a few deals to keep his pelt clean once all was said and done. Yes, he was in the police force now, but in his line of work it was good to stay informed. The fox arrives out of uniform, a confident look on his face, his holdout weapons hidden, his armor mostly concealed by the black jacket and loose slacks he wore over it. Once he arrives at the meeting point, he casts a glance up and shoots the raccoon a faint smile. "Funny, I didn't know we were headed to a cosplay convention. Whenever Tanuki's involved I always suspect a certain chubby friend of mine has a finger in it. So what is it?" the fox asks, his piercing gaze peering right through the suave ne-er do well. "What's the heist all about? And how can you be sure you won't have Zephyrian Spec Ops sacking your mercenaries to take their stolen goods back? How do you know there won't be one among them, waiting for the perfect moment to double-cross you? This all feels very sloppy to me..."

The clatter of tracks announces the next arrival, who seems to be under the impression that stealth is optional for this mission. The mutant in question could be described as one of those treaded machines from the future scenes in the Terminator movies, but thoroughly tacticool'd. Machine-guns mounted on its arms and a canon slung over its shoulder interrupt its armored silhouette: A metal-plated humanoid torso mounted on what seems to be a 1 to 1 scale replica of a tank hull. It grinds to a halt several meters away from the first two to arrive. "Destination reached. Romeo 1-1 awaiting orders. The superior on-site will identify themself prior to any acceptance of commands," it monotones. Its comms identification is blank, but anyone who cares to highlight the text where the name should be would find that it's named 'Richard,' and has simply changed the text of their name to a transparent font.

"Zephyr buys its loyalties...and bought loyalty is cheap, no matter how much you pay. Means that you just gotta outpay them to ensure loyalty...can you do that, ringtail?" It sounds suddenly, a dark feline peeking up over the rock, leaning in over the raccoon's head. His scarf was up, and he was dressed for stealth...though more likely for night. He even catches the cane witout missing a beat, looking it over for a moment. "Heck, could be ringtail here is Zephyr himself and fishing for trouble makers." Flynn chuckles.

Though not Zephyr aligned, Nena's belligerent days were largely behind her. Yet, the tigress has come anyway, hood tugged up, hands in her pockets, and cigarette between her lips. "Yo." She looks between the assembly and sizes up the tankman. "That's pretty cool. I prefer mecha style, but pretty cool." She pauses to reach out and give Magnus a pat on the head.

The raccon smirks at the newly arrived operatives, then frowns when his stick does not land back in his hand. "Clever," he says, grinning at Flynn, "We can definitely use that." He turns back to the others and gives a placaring wave to Magnus. "Costumes give people something to look at," he says, "A good way to stay incognito. You can call me Mister Cooper." He waves down toward the road. "In a little under an hour, an unmarked convoy full of stolen goodies will be coming down that road," he explains, "All acquired by Zephyr Co. through its usual means of bullying, extortion, theft and occasionally murder. Some salvage, some scientific equipment, some samples, lots of things. I am interested in exactly one of them. My client, the Great Leaf, Lord Tanuki his very self, wants the contents of a box marked MNS-12. You are welcome to anything else your sticky little fingers can carry away."

"And here I thought the idea of thievery is to be as inconspicuous as possible while doing it. Clearly the mafiosos of Fairhaven have a lot to learn." Magnus rolls his eyes and tucks his hands into his pockets, pulling out what appeared to be a pair of heavily reinforced binoculars. He surveys the area and starts thinking. "You paint Zephyr as some sort of vile scoundrels, raccoon. What are you then? Robin Hood? Stealing from the rich and giving to the needy?" he then lowers the specs and gives Cooper a sideways glance. "The needy being your patron. One has to wonder if ransacking a supply caravan is what Tanuki would want of his followers. But hell, what do I know?" He then mutters something incomprehensible under his breath. "M.N.S. 12 huh. That wouldn't stand for Mini Nanite Server, would it?" he squints a little. As the others arrive, he'd take Nena's hand and pull her in against himself, giving the tigress a quick squeeze and boop on the nose with his own. "Heya gorgeous." He winks, and addresses the feline that'd crept out of their hidey hole. "And me without my handcuffs..." Or was he? "Here." he offers the binoculars to the feline. "I'm thinking find a shady spot to set up an ambush, maybe lay down a trap on the beaten path, find a bottleneck to choke and wall them in. If they're carrying what I think they're carrying, odds are they'll have it heavily guarded. We'll want to hit them before they realize what's going on. Use the chaos to take control, I'm not too big on murder either, so let's try to avoid that." He would bob his head towards Richard, wondering if he was to be their main artillery for the day. Damn, that's a hell of a body.

R 1-1 glances at the cat and tigress as they arrive. Fixing its optics on the latter, it states. "Approval registered. Recommendations will be noted in after-action report log." Its sight lingers on the cigarette in her mouth. "Your tobacco product will compromise scent discipline. Suggest extinguishing to reduce risk of detection." Its unblinking attention returns to the initial pair of people it encountered. Specifically, on the raccoon. "Superior registered. Targets registered. Objective registered. Request rules of engagement and orders." As Magnus monologues on what may be in the manifest of MNS-12, it states, "...conjecture registered." Inside that metal head of his, Richard wonders if he's going to get himself in the shit for this. He was expecting to PROTECT a convoy. Then again, if Zephyr's doing some shady shit, they need to be held accountable. Not like there's any real oversight in this day and age. Start shit, get hit. Time will tell who's getting hit. Hopefully not him.

Flynn arches a brow "Hmpf, I usually make it a rule to not work for religious fanatics...but the share sounds good." He looks the cane over, spinning it a few times in his hand. His ears perks as Magnus tries to decipher the acronym. "Convoy, huh? We're a bit close to their goal to do something fancy...poking holes in their gas tank or the like and then waiting is a no go." The feline glances towards Richard. "Though...a nice distraction may just work..." He muses. "Get everyone out looking or fighting...sneak up on the truck, hijack it and drive off." He gestures as he speaks. "If the truck is old military, it might not even need a key..."

"Don't go arresting me now, it'd look bad for my reputation," Nena says with a wink, giving the fox a brief hug around the shoulders. "I've got something for you later, by the way. Didn't bring it with me though, of course." She takes the offered binoculars and takes a brief peek, before Richard's words catch her ears. "Ehhh? Yeah, I guess." With a sigh, she plucks the thing from her lips, extinguishes it, and tucks it away in a pocket for later. "Anyway, yeah, I share his thoughts on it," she agrees with the fox. "Let's not go killing anyone. Leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I'm not much of a thinker though, more of a muscle. I'll follow a plan and apply my strengths as needed."

"I have not said anything that was not true," Cooper says, "And I never claimed to be anything but a contractor. I'm not even really much of a thief. I did say this was a costume." The masked raccoon lounges on his rock. "If it is any balm to your soul, officer, the object in question is already stolen, and we are far outside of any kind of legal jurisdiction here in the wasteland. You have a couple of options." He points down the road a ways to where the very obvious line of the bubble is visible. "You can try to engage before they hit the bubble and most of their equipment and abilities are limited, or wait until they get inside the bubble where an accidental casualty is nearly impossible. Either way, no deaths. Nobody wants that."

The fennec didn't like this one bit. Not one itty bitty bit at all. He squints intensely at their 'contractor, then sighs quietly and retrieves his binoculars. "Let's get this over with and re-steal what Zephyr apparently stole." By the tone in his voice he was not buying this, yet he was playing along it seems. But why? "Forget stealing the rest of the shipment though, you bunch of thugs are gonna have to settle getting your payment from me. I'll cap off the value of that caravan's knick knacks in creds and add a fifth on top. Keep your hands clean that way, let me deal with the "already stolen" goods. Take anything that isn't yours and you're coming down to the precinct with me." He lays down the conditions. His finger then points towards the raccoon. "As for the nanite server, you can have that. Just make sure you disappear off the face of the damn planet with it, capiche?"

R 1-1 interjects, "Unit is not structurally viable outside of nanite field. suggest engagement within nanite field." It also states, "Unit is of militaristic appearance. This may grant credence to establishment of checkpoint facility." It coldly observes the spat between Magnus and 'Mr. Cooper,' only stating after the fact, "Items other than objective and identified sub-objectives are irrelevant. Requesting orders and rules of engagement. Requesting destination for object Mike November Sierra one two upon retrieval." Okay, so he's *probably* not going to end up with blood on his hands if things go well. If. Side note: Magnus throws really cool parties for a cop.

Flynn glances between Nena, Cooper and Magnus "Hand-cuffs? Officer?" The feline blinks a little, then looks at Magnus. Even with his mouth covered, one could almost feel the smug grin under it. "You went cop? Ha!" He seems to find that endlessly amusing. "Don't lie to yourself, you're not cop material, kid. You're scoundrel through and through. And I mean that as a compliment." The feline tosses the cane back to Cooper. "No deaths suits me fine. It's unproffesional otherwise." Stretching, he shrugs at the fennec's suggestion of not taking anything else. "Spoilsport...but if you keep your end of the bairgain, alright. Saves me using a fence as a middleman." He leans against the rock, folding his arms. "As for what you guys prefer in regards to in or out of bubble...that's your decision, I work just as well, in or out. Though... if tin man over there works best in bubble...then we go for that. I still say we go for a distraction and nab what we're after when their heads are turned. And I still say we nab the entire truck...the thing we're looking for might be all the way in the back of it...and we won't have time to search. We can always leave it for them to find the rest afterwards."

"I'm not much of a thief, so no arguments here. I just came because it sounded interesting." Nena thumbs her glasses, then lifts her arms above her head and stretches out. "And hey, Magnus has a good heart, you know? Once a thug, not always a thug. I also work in or out of the bubble just fine, so inside works with me. It means it'll be safer for all of us, I imagine. Though if we're only going to be taking the one thing, then, perhaps we can just grab it and go. Sneakily or otherwise."

"Really, officer," the raccoon says, raising his hands in surrender, and coincidentally catching his cane, "No need to be that way! I am certainly capable of paying for services rendered. Nothing in that convoy is rightfully Zephyr property, but I am not here to start a fight. And I assure you, that once I get what I am here for, you will never see me again." The raccoon indicate the stone his is sitting on. "Just get the box back here to me," he says, "I will take it from here." He waves his stick toward the road. "I only suggest you get a move on," he says, "That courier will be here shortly and I would really rather sieze this opportunity than try to get it from Zephyr headquarters later."

The fennec swings his hand and presses his finger into Flynn's nose. "Least I use my thieving past to help people now. All you're interested in is helping yourself, kitten." Seems he didn't appreciate being called a kid. He casts a glance over his team and nods. "Then let's play to all our strengths. Head into the signal covered areas, find a good ambush point. I don't care who those goods belong to, all I know is it isn't us. I'd rather the expenses come out of my pocket in case we're robbing some poor schlops blind. It not being Zephyr, even if it IS true, isn't good enough." The fennec casts a glance towards Cooper and huffs. "Keep your money, you wanna do some good with it, take a hint from your patron and give back to those that need it. I don't like the idea of giving the supernaturals access to the only upper hand we have, our technology, but I'm just one guy. Even if I bust this effort six more will probably pop up in the coming months and defeat the trouble I'll go through." He swings his hand and shakes his head. "I swear Fenris, if that's you..." The fennec turns back around and heads towards the nanite server covered area of the local terrain, surveying the grounds for what could be a good ambush point.

R 1-1 reports, "Call sign 'tin man' rejected. Romeo 1-1 will provide rules of engagement and orders if none are given. Suggestion based upon current known factors: convoy's expected vector of approach is one-three-five, crossing bridge from southeast. The bridge is a natural choke point. Deploying at either end of the bridge after convoy is on bridge will hinder target movement." It falls silent, then says, "Suggestion complete. Awaiting orders and rules of engagement." It's only a *suggestion.* Hopefully that will look better than 'masterminded an ambush' if he gets caught.

Flynn chuckles a little. "You don't know what I do with my free time. I might be a true Robin Hood for all you know." He jokes but follows Magnus, looking for a good ambush spot, "So...Juliet nil-nil and stripey are distraction, I sneak up and take what we're looking for, which team are you on, kid?" He glances to Magnus. "The bridge might work...I just need a spot where I can hide and sneak in on the truck from."

"Distraction?" Nena slips a hand under her hood to rub at an ear. "Hm, what kind of distraction should I be providing? I assume you don't want me to just start swinging when we see them. I'm not sure I know the language well enough to pull off some kind of military vibe. But I will try to do... Something. Maybe be really persistent in trying to converse, unless there's an idea."

There is a bridge, that Robo-Richard has pointed out, but there is also a place nearer the edge of the bubble where the road dips down between two high, rocky walls. Both will leave the incoming truck blocked in a little, but the ravine has the added bonus of limited visibility. It is up to the group how they proceed. And if they plan to disguise themselves or lay traps.

Fenris spends 2 common mechanical salvage to: Caltrops

The fennec examines their given options, then reaches into his backpack and rummages around in it, seemingly having put a mental block on Flynn and his kid teasing. Magnus pulls out what appears to be some metal bits. Screws and nails and generally just tiny sharp bits of metal, perhaps part of a maintainance kit he had. "Well if they're on foot, these will be a sudden surprise, and if they're in a vehicle, these might pop a tire or two... If they are driving something, and they get a blown out tire, some passers-by could stand in masqerading as good samaritans looking to assist. Even if they don't buy it, we'll have made them put on the breaks. Unless they're driving a tank or something. Then again..." he looks towards Richard and notes. "We have a tank. Hell, you're a roadblock all on your own there metal man. What's stopping you from just running them off the road?" he offers, before crossing his arms and getting to the point. "We doing the bridge of the outcropping. I'd rather we do the bridge. Don't want anyone falling off the edge. That means one of us too."

The fennec examines their given options, then reaches into his backpack and rummages around in it, seemingly having put a mental block on Flynn and his kid teasing. Magnus pulls out what appears to be some metal bits. Screws and nails and generally just tiny sharp bits of metal, perhaps part of a maintainance kit he had. "Well if they're on foot, these will be a sudden surprise, and if they're in a vehicle, these might pop a tire or two... If they are driving something, and they get a blown out tire, some passers-by could stand in masqerading as good samaritans looking to assist. Even if they don't buy it, we'll have made them put on the breaks. Unless they're driving a tank or something. Then again..." he looks towards Richard and notes. "We have a tank. Hell, you're a roadblock all on your own there metal man. What's stopping you from just running them off the road?" he offers, before crossing his arms and getting to the point. "We doing the bridge of the canyon? I'd rather we do the canyon. Don't want anyone falling off the edge. That means one of us too." ((Edited an oopsie.))

R 1-1 glares impassively at Flynn. "Call sign 'Juliet nil-nil' is invalid." It also observes the valley the truck should end up driving through. "Demolitions of rock face may cause similar effect to spike strip. No orders received. Strategy to follow: force truck to halt within valley. This unit will stand by to prevent escape at near end of choke point. Other units are to attempt to stop vehicle by any means necessary. Romeo 1-1 will act as a last resort/base of fire. Weapons tight, do not engage until convoy personnel are confirmed hostile." With all the authority of an automaton, it waits to see whether its proposed plan is accepted. In either case, it starts rolling towards the end of the canyon to find a position that can't be seen from the road, but is still reasonably close in case it needs to throw itself into the path of a speeding vehicle. As it moves, it rotates on its chassis and says to Magnus, "Call sign 'metal man' rejected. Call signs are to be assigned through proper channels. Please desist from nicknaming this unit for clarity of communications." 'Fuck me, we're actually doing this. Maybe I won't even need to show my face? I hope not.' Those thoughts and many others bounce about in Richard's brain-pan. Here we go...

Flynn seems to like the rocky walls as an ambush spot. "The place over there will work. We'll have the high ground, it'll be out of view, and we can hide." He then smiles at Nena "You figure something out...so long there is no killing, you may make love or war as you wish. Or anything in between. Heck, you can try to old 'roadkill insurance fraud' thing." The feline glances to Magnus's improvised caltrops. "So, I take you're against taking the whole truck? How heavy is this box or server or thingamagig? But...it might indeed work." He rubs his chin a little. "A land slide, huh?" He glances to Richard. "We could go real old style, block the road with some rocks, sneak in while they remove the rocks. Trouble is if they try to drive around it. But...I bet War Machine over the could stop them if that should happen."

"That sounds good to me. I don't feel like falling. And I'm not one for making love with strangers, but I'll come up with something, sure. I prefer thinking on the spot anyway." Nena brushes off her sleeves and exhales. "Well, with that I guess I'm ready. I'll decide what to do and how to help when I see the situation!"

The fennec looks through his binoculars towards the direction of the incoming caravan. His eyes widen once he spots the vehicle approaching from the distance, lowering his binoc and turning to the team. "They're coming. We've not much time. Lotta dust being kicked up so I'd wager we're dealing with a motor vehicle there. If you're gonna put your plans into action, now's the time." He looks down at the improvised caltrops in his hand and shakes his head. "Nevermind the spikes. We don't have spare tires to use in case we do want to take the truck. Metal- I mean Romeo 1-1, set up a blockade. roll some rocks down, stand in the way, doesn't matter. You're the biggest one among us." He then turns towards Nena and adds. "Nena, you have a tongue and a lot of strength to you, when they stop to a halt, approach them and try to squeeze them for information. See if we've been hoodwinked, if we have, I trust you'll let us know." He nods, then turns towards Flynn. "You know how to hide. When Nena has their attention, get in there. Try to get into the trunk or the back or wherever the storage compartment of the vehicle is. See what we're dealing with, sniff around and make sure we're not in for a fight. If we are, steal their weapons if you can. I'll join in and help with that once it all comes together. All clear?" Magnus asks, and puts his binoculars away. "We're out of time! Get moving!"

R 1-1 isn't even going to bother asking Flynn to stop with the name calling any more. Time's wasting. It tries to get a rockfall to happen using its massive metallic mitts, but only manages to get a few stones to fall onto the road that the driver would easily avoid if they're paying attention. "Unit requires assistance with field engineering task. This rockfall is inadequate to stop-" Out of nowhere, a boulder falls down beside it, smashing a pile of debris across the road that would wreck the undercarriage of anything short of a monster truck. It elevates its gaze to see what the heck caused that to happen. "Cancel request for assistance," it says, with a hint of synthetic shame in its voice as it retreats to its out-of-sight ambush post. Is it possible for a ten meter tall genderless death machine to feel emasculated?

Flynn nods as the plan finally seems to get going. "Alright, bosskid." He throws a joking salute and slinks off to hide somewhere nearby, where he can see what is going on. Now he'd play the waiting game, it was up to the others to create an opening he could exploit.

"I've got you covered," says Nena as she dusts her hands off and rolls her shoulders. "If I am not one for planning or caution, I have to be able to handle my own in other ways, right?" She leans against the boulder to wait. A distraction indeed. It was called for, and she would provide. They caravan would hopefully not be proceeding through this blockade, and the best way to start off amicably was to be seen from a distance, she figured, rather than as a surprise.

The well placed rock fall did not come a moment too soon! The dust does not have time to settle before a moderately sized military transport vehicle turns the bend in the road and descends into the little canyon.

The truck slows and stops about ten feet shy of the fallen rocks. It is an old vehicle, probably salvaged, and definitely not Zephyr issue. The back is covered in canvas, stretched taut over a framework of metal bars. Along with the truck a pair of noisy motorcycles pull up.

"Damn," one of the cyclists swears, removing his helmet to reveal a human male with rugged features, "No getting through this." He turns and shouts at whoever is driving the truck. "Back it up! We'll have to go over land a little ways! We gotta get the cargo to the Z today. They pay way better when the goods are fresh." He finally seems to notice Nena leaning against the boulder on the road and frowns. His hand moving slowly toward a holster on his bike. "What are you doing so far from the city, Kitty cat?" he asks.

The fennec meanwhile is a shadow in the dust, he keeps his posture low and a keen eye on the situation, eyes dancing over the various details in the caravan that they'd halted. This... vehicle. This wasn't one of Zephyr's, yet these people spoke of delivery to them. Random scavvies from the wasteland perhaps? Hired mercs that'd robbed a settlement? The fox knew they had a nanite server with them, so what gives? How did they obtain it? Was there a village now missing its bubble? Was there anything left of that village? His features darken as the thought that these disgusting thugs may have well wiped out a peaceful settlement out there fills him with a seething wrath, but he didn't know the full story yet. If his suspicions were realized however, he'd have several punks to haul off to the cells. Nevermind their weapons, he'd faced worse before, and he'd do it again. He raises his hand and gestures for Flynn to approach. "Swipe their weapons while they're distracted. They have a spare on their bikes, see if you can do anything about that. They have holdout weapons on their leg holsters too, but those are the smaller problem." he instructs, then gestures towards R-1-1 to stand ready. He gestures with his hand for the giant mech to keep low to the ground so as to not give himself away, and stay still in waiting for the main confrontation.

R 1-1 sees the fennec's signal and stays put. It waits, silent and motionless. Nothing sounds like it's gone tits up just yet, but as they say, no plan survives first contact with the enemy. Better pessimistinc and prepared than optimistic and oblivous. Richard holds out hope that he won't be a necessary part of this plan.

Flynn saw his opportunity, with the roadblock and Nena drawing all the attention. He moved in, fast too, clearly all too used to sneaking around. Suddenly, the holstered weapons were gone, in the possession of the feline. That was priority one, the next was to check on the cargo. He'd peek into the back of it, see if he could find the crate, or perhaps something else of interest...and perhaps see who was driving as well.

"I was hoping to get the road clear before you got here, but it seems like I was a little slow," Nena observes the motion of the man's hands, and lifts her own. "I came here to make sure the path was clear of obstructions, people and otherwise, for your delivery. But, you can see that there's an obstruction. Kind of heavy and big for one person, you know?" She blatantly lies. "The other route has sightings of thugs, this is still the safest way through, if you want to help me clear it."

The man with his helmet off, apparently the leader holds up a hand to his men, and swings off his bike. "I think we can handle some thugs," he says, his hand resting on his holstered pistol, "Who sent you out here to make sure the road was clear?" The man looks around suspiciously. Flynn has no trouble slipping into the back of the truck. A little bit of twine is all that holds the back canvas flap secure. Inside is a collection of assorted salvage. Some crates, a few small machines and parts, and four large animal cages, still definitely too small for the humanoid canine mutants held inside. Two are larger males, one a magnificent collie with a recently bloodied nose, and the other a hefty bulldog. One cage holds a cramped pair of rottweiler women trying to calm the inhabitants of the last cage, a quartet of children of various canine breeds.

The fennec squints heavily as he sees Flynn slip into the truck. He didn't trust that feline one bit. Casting R-1-1 a gesture to be ready, he murmurs just loud enough that their metallic guardian hears. "If you hear gunfire, intervene." With that, Magnus curls up into a ball and ever-so quietly rolls down towards their blockade, before slipping behind the truck, and catching Flynn in action. The feline was there with all the goodies, so Magnus casts him an evil look, and silently gestures that he was watching him. Seeing how the feline had disarmed them however, he peeks over the edge of the truck, and listens in on what was happening with Nena. Who were these thugs? He needed answers...

R 1-1 is a decent distance away and can just barely make out Magnus's command, but that was its plan anyway. Gun ready. MGs ready. All zeroed to battlesight distance on a human-sized target. The convoy guards are taking a suspicious tone with Nena. Let's hope her excuses hold up, or this is going to be a messy ambush.

Flynn frowns, his brow furrowing. He holds a finger up in front of his lips, urging them to be quiet. He glances over the cages, the crates, then out, as if thinking. Finally, he exits the truck again, instead heading out...blinking a little as Magnus suddenly was there. He gestures Magnus closer, then just lifts the tarp out of the way so Magnus could see the cages, pointing to the one with children and giving the fennec a concerned look. The feline then points to Magnus before pointing to the driver of the truck. Next, he points to himself, and then makes a steering wheel motion, giving Magnus an inquisitive look to see if he got it. Only then does he climb out of the truck, and sneaks towards the passenger door of the truck, trying to get a small look.

Nena takes a gruff tone of her own, hoping to match wavelengths, as it were. "Does it matter? Someone wanted to make sure whatever you're carrying made it to its destination in one piece, and they paid me to make sure it did. That's the extent of my knowledge, and the extent of my care. I came out here, I get the money either way. Do you want to help me move these rocks or not, and take the risk of running around?"

The biker frowns at Nena, but then nods. "Yeah, fine," he growls. He turns and waves at his men. "Get your lazy asses out here!" he shouts, "The faster we get these rocks moved, the faster we get paid!" He looks back at Nena. "You got a CAT or something? We're not moving these things by hand." Meanwhile, the other cyclist has removed his helmet and dismounted his bike. The driver and passenger are also getting out. "Think there's a big iron bar in the back, boss. You want it?" the driver calls as he steps out of the old truck.

The fennec blinks a few times and tries to understand what he was being told. The fact there were people here held captive was... concerning to say the least. He gestures for the captives to remain silent, then moves over towards the back of the driver's seat. Tracing over his teeth with his tongue, the fox grazes his teeth with one nail, covering it in some kind of strange, viscous liquid of a sickly purple color. His hand reaches out and strikes the victim in the neck, holding him still as his nail sinks into the flesh, delivering its payload directly into the bloodstream. In just a few moments of struggling, the driver is paralyzed from head to toe, and Magnus' hand removes itself from the person's throat. Drawing his blade, Magnus grazes his front row fangs with it too, coating the surface with the same icky liquid... he was getting ready for the shit show...

Flynn watched the driver twitch as he is poisoned, then moves in. He climbs in, and pulls roughly the driver into the passenger seat. As soon as he can, he slips into the driver's seat, and puts it into reverse gear. He glances back at the fennec. "Hold on. Might be a bit rough, I haven't driven in a decade." The feline grins, and then gives it a good deal of throttle, and then slips the clutch up, sending it into backwards movement with as much speed as he can. The bikes and riders were probably in his way....they wouldn't be for long.

Nena is either playing coy, or missing the point. Given her self-professed lack of experience with the language, quite possible the latter. "Yeah? I'm the cat," she answers the two as she moves to one side of the boulder, peeking towards the truck to see how the others were doing. "I'll do the heavy lifting, just help me guide it so it roll-flips straight. She only had to keep them distracted a little longer, she figured, and putting herself near the boulder this way made for quick cover should the need arise.

Flynn waits and watches the passenger move off to move the rocks, while Magnus takes care of the driver. As soon as he can, he slips into the front of the truck and into the driver's seat, and puts it into reverse gear. He whispers back to the caged mutants "Hold on. Might be a bit rough, I haven't driven in a decade." The feline grins, and then gives it a good deal of throttle, and then slips the clutch up, sending it into backwards movement with as much speed as he can. The bikes and riders were probably in his way....they wouldn't be for long.

The males in the back of the truck seem to be heavily sedated and in pretty rough shape, but the females give a fearful look at Magnus and Flynn, but continue to attend to the puppies. And there is the wild thing, they are CHILDREN! Without accelerated aging from nanites.

The driver, a large man with a swarthy, greek look to him falls, paralyzed, to the road, never even seeing the fox that got him.

The leader, and the other two turn as the truck roars to life and roars into gear, jerking hard into reverse and chugging back up the incline! "Stop them!" he roars, turning and pulling his pistol on Nena!

The thug who was in the passenger's side of the truck starts running toward the truck, yelling and struggling to pull a pistol from his belt, while the other biker runs to his bike, which has been knocked over by Flynn's wild escape. Finding his shotgun missing, he shouts and works to heave his bike back up so he can ride.

"What are you doing?!" Magnus asks as the truck starts to move. He steadies himself by grabbing onto the cages, and readies his revolver in case they had something or someone to fight off. "Where are you- oh... just drive!" Magnus dismisses it and leaves Flynn to do what he needed. If things went sour, he'd un-fuck it... it was his job to do so. Turning his attention to the captives, Magnus asks the obvious questions that'd been gnawing at him. "Who are you people? Why are you in those cages? Who put you there, and why?"

Shouting, squealing tires, and gunfire. That's R 1-1's cue. Enter the humongous humanoid tank, stage right. He skids to a stop side-on to the valley and begins to drink in the fire-hose of details before him. One on the ground. Neutrailized. Three foot-mobiles... One gun for each of them. Truck driver is non-hostile. "CEASE YOUR HOSTILITIES," it commands, leveling a weapon at each of the remaining targets. "YOU HAVE TEN SECONDS TO COMPLY."

Flynn glances back at Magnus. "I'm doing what I do best. Relocating things without asking the percieved owners. Today...it's getting caged people out of a firefight. Not what I expected when I got out of bed, but whatever." The feline keeps the truck going, backing and backing, trying to speed up. "Oh, and if you can do something to get the thugs off our tail, then please, feel free to do so."

Being shot at is usually a cue. The bang one of those things that sets off alarms in the head and sparks fire. With a twitch Nena avoids the shot just barely, and steps forward. In close quarters, the tiger trusted her hands more than any firearm, and with those hands she seeks to prevail. To grapple. To control the arm with the gun, and the body its attached to, to bring him low. That was her aim, anyway.

One of the female rottweilers just shakes her head and does her best to tend the children. The other looks at Magnus, trying not to be shaken into her friend. "Bad English," she says with a strong hispanic accent, "You speak Spanish?" she asks.

The man trying to right his bike sees both R 1-1 and his companion sprawled out on the ground, not moving and he slowly raises his hands and gets down on the ground. His eager friend chasing after the truck, which admittedly does not move particularly fast in reverse and uphill, finally draws his pistol and takes a wild shot, the bullet pinging off the road.

Nena handily takes down her opponent, catching his arms and executing a masterful Judo throw to slam him against the ground. He gasps and drops his weapon.

"Ah... no." the fennec shakes his head, then flits his ears as the gunshot sounds off. He leans out from the first open space he could find, the back of the truck, and aims his hand towards the one chasing after them. "May as well take you down, I get the feeling I'll be collecting you punks later." Magnus growls under his breath as he slings himself over the upper edge of the back door, and stands dexterously atop the truck. He aims and puts his hands together, firing off two thick streams of webbing towards their pursuer, hitting him in the legs to trip him up, then once more in the chest to further immobilize him. The fox stomps on the truck, hoping to get Flynn to slow down or stop now that they weren't being chased.

Three hostiles down, one compliant. One hostile remaining. R 1-1 elevates its cannon out of the way and trains one MG each on the two targets still standing. "YOU HAVE FIVE SECONDS-" Just then, Magnus does some comic book shit and takes the only one still trying to do their job down to the pavement. How long has Mags been able to do that? "Compliance achieved." All right! Two bullets fired, and none of them by Richard. Wonderful. He keeps one gun each on the man by the bike and the one plastered onto the road.

Flynn looks forward as the fennec stomps, and breathes a small sigh of relief as he sees the thug trip up, and lets the truck slow, getting a bit more distance from the thugs before finally letting it stop. Pulling the handbrake, he lets it idle. He then pokes his head out the side of the truck, he calls out to Magnus. "Good shot...please tell me that didn't come from where I'm thinking." Not waiting for an answer, he climbs into the back of the truck, getting to work on unlocking the cages...whether they needed keys or not.

Nena looks out at the others. They seemed to have it handled, so, she turns around and takes a seat atop the one she put on the ground. She wasn't carrying any restraints, so she figured she'd take the role, herself, after knocking the gun further away. She eyes the bike up, as well. Not near as tricked out as hers, but... It worked, so...

The locks are not difficult to break, and the dogs gratefully climb out, the women tending to the men's wounds while the children do their best to get in the way. It seems that none of the concious ones speak english. Perhaps Mister Cooper can deal with them. The truck does contain the crate he asked after, and if he gets that, he may as well get the problems that go with it.

The arrangements are made, and Magnus retrieves the captors into custody. "You dirtbags are going to the precinct to explain what you're doing caging children." He growls as he produces the very cuffs he claimed he hadn't brought, slamming them on the gour perps. All and all, the fox looked satisfied with the turnout.

Somewhere inside Romeo 1-1's skull, Richard realizes he has a golden opportunity. Magnus is arresting these fine fellows, so they're going back to Fairhaven... and back to their employers. Maybe there's a message they can take with them, and start a fire to light up some other shady shit. He thinks back to where he got this form: outside of a NORAD knockoff that's no doubt doing mad science to mutantkind. 'Romeo 1-1 puts a finger to the side of its head where an ear would be and declares digitally, "Theta Base, Romeo 1-1. Target vehicle secure. Returning to base. Local forces were useful, no casualties friend or foe. Returning to Theta Base with cargo, out." It's a lie. All of it. But sometimes the best way to catch a liar is with lies of your own. He just hopes planting this false flag does what he's hoping it will. Two birds, one stone and all that.

Flynn sits back on the crate, oddly enough not caring much about it in the moment, just watching the children. "I...haven't seen children in years." He pulls down his scarf and runs a hand over his face, trying to gather his thoughts. He just props up his head with an elbow on his knee for a moment, but soon shakes his head and climbs out of the truck, needing a breath of fresh air. "Let's...get the raccoon in here, so we can wrap this up."

Once Magnus starts rounding up the thugs, Nena goes to inspect the bike more up close, rubbing her chin. "... Well I assume they won't need it where they're going. Nobody will mind if I take this, right? In either case, minimal bloodshed, very nice. I am happy that it worked out so well."