"What's it about?" Ranma felt something stir in the back of his
mind, old instincts coming to life as AKANE relayed the report. His grip on
the wheel tightened, blood rushing thorugh his veins as familiar feelings
seized him.
"Ranma, you okay?"
"How far?"
"We can be there in ten minutes," AKANE replied, "but the nearest
police units won't get there for at least fifteen. Ranma?"
Ranma ignored her as he stomped on the gas, sending the car hurtling
forward into the growing night. He reached for the dash on instinct,
surprised to find something missing, though he couldn't recall what.
"What are you doing?!"
"You were built to fight crime, right?"
"Yeah, but not street crime! That's something for local cops!"
"And they ain't gonna get there in time," Ranma growled, veering the
car into the far right lane scant meters before passing the off ramp. "That
means it's up to us!"
====================================
"FUCKING MORON!" Bill screamed, the sawed-off double barrel roaring
in his hands. The clerk's head vanished in a spray of blood and brain
matter, the pellets of twelve-gague buckshot ripping through the flimsy
shelves of condoms and such behind him. "GET THE FUCKIN' MONEY!"
Jim, clad in the same black mask as he, reached into the open cash
drawer and grabbed fistfuls of whatever cash he could. Stuffing it into a
small bag, he managed to empty out the register in record time.
"GET MOVIN'!" Bill screamed, charging out the door with Jim in tow.
The streets were still mostly quiet, decaying houses darkened as those
inside tried to ignore the world outside their front doors.
The two charged across the cracked concrete to the waiting car, a
lime green '78 Dodge Charger. It was stolen, of course, from an elderly
couple back in Tennessee who had stopped at the wrong place and the wrong time.
The jumped in, the engine turning to life with an unhealthy roar.
Bill slammed the car into Drive, the tires squealing for a moment before the
car lurched forward.
=========================================
"DAMN! Too late." Ranma wasn't surprised. The source of the silent
alarm was the liquor store before which he had parked AKANE. He didn't have
to go in, the absence of a clerk in the windows explanation enough. He'd
seen these before, but for the life of him couldn't recall when or where.
"Hey, those tire marks over there are fresh," AKANE said. "Looks
like they were made a few minutes ago. I'll bet that's the way they went!"
"How...?"
"Don't ask, Ranma," AKANE said in exasperation, "I just know, okay?
"Okay," he replied, pushing aside his confusion and admiration.
"Let's nail those bastards!"
==========================================
"How much?" Bill asked as the Charger sped down the highway.
"Don't know yet," Jim replied, wondering just what that knocking
sound from the engine meant. "I'm still countin'."
"Well, hurry up! We gotta ditch this car, man." Jim resumed countng,
Bill keeping the gas pedal floored as they made their escape. "Hey, what the
hell?"
"What, man?"
"There's a car comin' up behind us," Bill said, paranoia slipping
into his voice. "Fast!"
"Cops?"
"Dunno, don't see no blue lights."
"Maybe it's just some punk with a fast car," Jim said, not really
wanting to tell Bill they'd just killed a man for a lousy seventy-five dollars.
"In that case," Bill said with a dangerous sneer, "it's gonna be our
next ride!"
=======================================
"That's them," Ranma snarled, anger coursing through his tense body.
"They're going fast enough," AKANE said. "According to my scans,
their engine's in pretty bad shape. It won't hold out much longer,
especially under that kind of abuse."
"Well, I ain't gonna wait for their car to crap out," Ranma said,
"I'm gonna stop 'em here and now!"
A flash of light followed by a thunderous roar came from the car
ahead, followed a millisecond later by a spark on AKANE's hood. Another
flash and thunderclap rang out, a spark shooting off the front glass.
"Those bastards are shooting up my paint!" AKANE shouted angrily,
"why those little..."
//Bulletproof,\\ Ranma thought in admiration, //not too shabby!\\ "I
gotta stop 'em before they get to a residential area."
"There's a button on the console labelled 'G'," AKANE said.
"Yeah, got it."
"When I tell you, push it."
"Hey, I'm drivin' here!"
"Just push the damn button, willya!"
"Okay, okay," Ranma said, keeping AKANE a few meters behind the Charger.
===========================================
"What the hell?" Jim stared stupidly at his gun, a KTW .44 Magnum.
One of the most powerful handguns ever made, it should have shredded that
car's hood and windshield. Instead, he just saw the rounds spark off
harmlessly. Puzzlement giving way quickly to frustration, he emptied the
remaining rounds at the pursuing car, the bullets bouncing off the black
metal as if they were just BB's.
He ducked back inside, scrambling thorugh his coat for another six
rounds. Bill was shouting something, Jim too stunned to really hear. That
car had just taken six Magnum rounds without even slowing down. Any other
car would hae had a demolished engine and dead driver, but that thing just
kept on comin'!
The car lurched to a stop, Jim's head slamming into the glovebox
with violent force. He leaned back, moaning and massaging his forehead while
Bill screamed curses and continued to gun the engine despite the growing
knocking sound.
============================================
"Hey, a grappling hook!" Ranma slammed on the brakes, AKANE's wheels
locking as the shudder ripped through her body.
"DAMN! They'd better not tear anything loose," AKANE exclaimed
dangerously as Ranma threw the shifter in Reverse. The sound of screaming
tires and the stench of burning rubber filled the air as smoke billowed from
AKANE's rear wheels. The two howling engines formed a dischordant harmony in
the night as the two cars struggled against each other, the cable connecting
them taut almost to breaking.
"Man, that thing sounds terrible," Ranma said to himself as AKANE
began to pull the Charger backward.
"Their engine will go in about another thirty seconds," AKANE said.
"Sounds like it's gonna throw a rod or launch a piston!" The struggle
continued until, almost thirty seconds later, the Charger's engine died.
After all the abuse the tired old scrapheap had finally given up the ghost,
going out with a horrible clunk.
Grinning ferally, Ranma placed AKANE back in Park, leaping out the
door and running to the other car.
"RANMA!" she shouted, "get back here! You're unarmed!" Ranma ignored
the warning, reaching the driver's door just as it opened. Not wasting a
second, he reached into the derelict's intereior, hands closing around a
denim vest. He yanked the driver out, landing a vicious blow to his solar
plexus before sending him into the grip of sleep with a shot to the temple.
Operating solely on instinct, Ranma ducked beneath the car a second
before the shot rang out. He rolled beneath the car, coming up behind the
passenger just as he began to move to the driver's side.
Quick as any cat, Ranma rose to his feet and landed a haymaker to
the back of the passenger's neck. The masked man hit the ground in a
crumpled heap, his gun clattering to the pavement. Ranma stood there for a
moment, allowing the exhilaration of combat to fill him as he stood over his
unconscious opponent.
"Ranma, get back here!" AKANE shouted, "the police are on their
way!" With a final look about, Ranma ran to AKANE's still-open door, leaping
in and slamming it shut just before she took off into the night.
"ARE YOU STUPID!?" she shouted, "you could've gotten yourself killed!"
"Gee, AKANE, sounds like you were worried."
"I was not!"
"Were too!"
"Was not! You're my driver, it's my job to look out for you!" Ranma
refrained from comment, wondering just how he had gotten in an argument with
a Trans Am in the first place.
"Call coming in," Akane said, "it's Nabiki." The small monitor in
the crook of the dash flickered to life, Nabiki's face appearing on the
glass. Ranma looked at her, noticing the slight puffiness around her eyes.
Was something wrong?
"So, Ranma," Nabiki said in a calm voice, "how do you like it?"
"Yeah, it's all right," he said, genuinely meaning it.
"So, I take it you'll join us?" Ranma paused for a moment, wondering
if he actualy should go along with William and drive AKANE. Nabiki continued
to stare at him from the screen, her eyes unreadable as she waited for an
answer.
"Yeah," Ranma said at length, "yeah, I think I will."
"Good, Mr. Knight will be glad to hear that," Nabiki replied,
tension in her words. "Return to headquarters, Nabiki out."
"She sounded worried," AKANE said softly, "I wonder what's wrong?"
"Don't know," Ranma replied, "how about you drive? I'm a little tired."
"All right."
========================================
"He what?! When?"
"Just a minute ago," the woman, whom Nabiki had called Kasumi,
replied. "Congestive heart failure." Ranma stood there in numb shock,
staring at the form of the late William Knight. He was still on his bed, a
sheet pulled up over his head. The man had sounded so forceful, so
determined, and now... just gone.
"Ranma." He turned to see Nabiki walking toward him, a white
envelope in her hand. Her posture was straight and formal, though her eyes
had a bloodshot look to them. "This is for you."
"What is it?"
"A message from Mr. Knight, written after you left with AKANE," she
said. With that, she strode briskly out of the room, turning left at the
door and vanishing into the halls.
"Mr. Knight was so happy when he heard," Kasumi said.
"Heard what?"
"That you would pilot AKANE. When it came, he had a smile on his
face." Kasumi nodded her head politely, leaving the room to escort the
coroners in. Ranma stared at the envelope for a moment before opening it.
========================================
"I can't believe he's gone," AKANE whispered as the two drove
through the seemingly never-ending night. "Just like that."
"Yeah, I know."
"Ranma, why do people die?"
"Wish I knew, AKANE." As they charted their course into the great
unknown, Ranma replayed William Knight's last message in his head.
"Ranma,
"I hope this letter finds you well. I know this may be my last
message to you, and that it will be nowhere near enough, but I will tell you
what I can.
"AKANE represents not only countless hours of hard work and
determination, but also hope. Inside AKANE is hope for the weak and
helpless, a chance for those who cannot fight for themselves. A promise of
justice.
"However, that promise is empty if she does not have a pilot.
Someone who can rise up to the challenge of protecting the innocent, and who
will use AKANE to her fullest potential to see justice done. I am convinced,
Ranma, that someone is you.
"I ask that, if you agree to be her pilot, you do exactly that. I
know it is a monumental undertaking, even with all of FLAG's resources, but
I am confident that you are up to the task.
"Finally, Ranma, remember this one last piece of advice. No matter
the odds, no matter the difficulties, remember that one man can make a
difference, but only if he is willing to stand up and try.
Sincerely,
William Knight"
Ranma and AKANE remained silent for a few moments, each lost in
their own thoughts. Finally, Ranma spoke.
"Let's go, AKANE. It's a big world out there, and we have our work
cut out for us."
"I'm with you, Ranma."
=============================================
Well, that's the revision. Comments? Questions? Love to hear them!
Jed