capeandcowllogs | Move any mother that gets in my way

Entry tags:

Move any mother that gets in my way

WHO: Jack Bauer and OPEN
WHERE: Manhattan expressway
WHEN: The following takes place between 12 AM and 1 AM. Events occur in real time.
WARNINGS: Possible violence.
SUMMARY: Car chase!
FORMAT: Paragraph to start, then quicklog, one thread.

All units, be advised high-speed pursuit in progress...

Jack had decided that the only good thing about this situation was the timing. This late at night, there were almost no hapless motorists on the road in danger of being smashed to pieces by the out-of-control tanker truck barrelling towards the heart of Manhattan. The problem was that if that fully-loaded truck crashed and blew, it wouldn't matter how late it was- an awful lot of buildings would be instantly ablaze. And the way this lunatic was driving, a crash was imminent.

He'd been on his way home from the station when the report came in over the radio. A truck stolen at knifepoint while at a stop, filled to the brim with fuel. The driver had described the thief as a white male with a shaved head, wearing torn jeans and a brown jacket. Judging from his behaviour, he was probably under the influence of drugs.

Its sirens howling, the engine of Jack's SUV whined as he pushed the car to the limit to keep up with the steadily-accelerating truck. Yelling to his radio, he quickly set up a rough plan. Native police officers were directed to back off the truck and establish a perimeter around the chase, while ambulance and fire response were put on alert should the worst occur. ImPort officers and any available superheroes would handle the real challenge: how to stop this thing without making it crash and burn.

Then the situation became even more critical. A terse radio transmission from dispatch told Jack that judging by its route, the truck was getting closer and closer to City Hall.

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[Seras was of course on patrol when the call came in. Thankfully tonight she was in a car instead of on foot. Flipping on her siren she speed along the road and grabbed the radio.]

Captain Bauer, I'm en route to a building along his route. I can try to take out some of his tires, maybe it will slow him down enough for us to stop him.

Edited 2011-04-17 03:21 (UTC)

[Right now Jack was grateful he was wearing a CTU-style comlink on his head- it left both his hands free to grip the wheel as he tried to keep pace with the truck and talk to Seras at the same time.]

Get in position but do not, repeat, do not fire without my authorization! We can not risk a crash. The same goes for everyone else, do not engage until we are sure we can stop this thing clean!

[Seras pulled up in front of her destination, grabbing her rifle and the handheld radio before replying to Jack.]

Understood, sir. I'm at the building now, heading to the roof.

[Jack was quickly calculating how good Seras was versus the likelihood of the thief swerving and crashing if his tires suddenly blew out. It didn't look good, but they had no other options right now]

Let me know when you're in position and have a shot.

Roger, sir.

[After a few minutes Seras had made her way onto the roof and was setting up her rifle.]

In position sir, waiting on the target.

[By the time Seras was in position, Mikoto had slammed a coin into one of the tires, resulting in a loss of speed but also some dangerous swerving. If the drugged-up thief overturned the truck, the expressway would become an inferno.]

Seras, do you see the tire that's been blown out? I need you to take out the tire on the opposite side from that one, repeat, the opposite side.

[Hopefully having a tire out on each side would stabilize the truck while slowing it down more]

I see it, sir. Firing!

[Seras leaned over the edge the roof and focused on her third eye, aiming the bullet to go exactly where Jack had requested it. She squeezes the trigger and there's a loud report, followed by the sound of metal grinding on asphalt as the tire blows out.]

Got it, sir!

Good shooting Seras!

[But the damn thing was still rolling, taking a hard right turn after Mikoto splashed it which threatened to take it out of Seras' line of sight]

Damn! Seras, I need you to relocate!

Yes, sir!

[Running down the stairs would take too long, that didn't leave Seras a lot of options. So she decided to something very brave, but also possibly quite stupid. Actually, it was most definitely stupid, but it was the only way she was going to keep up. Grabbing her rifle she ran across the roof to the next building and jumped. She barely made it, her rifle clattered onto the new buildings roof and she was forced to hang on and scramble her way onto the roof.]

I...I made it, sir. Relocating now.

Edited 2011-04-19 01:43 (UTC)

Copy that!

[Meanwhile Jack was making a hard left in response to Hans' directions; hopefully it wouldn't take the chase out of Seras' view]

[Unfortunately it did take the target out of her sight.]

Bugger!

[Seras ran for the roof access door, kicking it in and scrambling down the stairs, shouting "Police, Police!" the whole way. Once outside she threw her rifle into the passenger seat of the patrol car and took off, trying to catch up to the pursuit.]

---Kyaa...! Ugh---

----Nan da yo?!

DAMN IT! All units, I think I just saw a civilian get hit-

[Ordinarily he wouldn't stop: hundreds of lives could depend on stopping that truck, and one person couldn't take priority over that. But even at this time of night, at this distance, at this speed, he can tell the body that just went rolling away from the truck is someone young. Emotion takes over and he reacts without thinking. Tires squeal as he jams on the brakes.

By the time he sees Mikoto getting up unharmed, the SUV is already screeching to a halt beside her. He swears, then rolls down the window anyway- it looks like she's an Import, which means she might be able to help.]

Are you all right?

Ano...

[Oh great and now there's a language barrier to deal with too. Jack leans out the window and talks quickly into his comm, painfully aware that the truck is getting further and further away with each second he's here.]

That truck's been stolen, it's loaded with fuel and we need to stop it without causing a crash. Can you help?

...Hai.

[Jack suddenly realizes that he recognizes this girl, from a video post on the network. But there's no time for that now- he opens the passenger door for her and floors the accelerator the second she'd inside.]

Do what you can, I'm going to try to catch up to him!

[The SUV roars through the intersection, accelerating as it tries to close the gap between it and the truck]

Edited 2011-04-18 23:59 (UTC)

[Jack's first reaction is that for this girl to climb onto the roof is suicide at the speeds they're going, but they're running out of time and for all he knows her power is to not falling off cars. He hits a button, and the SUV fills with roaring wind as the sunroof slides open.]

Do it, do it now!

Wakarimashita!

...Yosh...!

Good shot!

[Jack calls in sniper support from Seras, and then another tire blows out on the opposite side of the truck. It slows down a bit more, and the swerving is lessened as well. But the driver's getting desperate now, and begins to drift back and forth across the lanes, menacing civilian traffic with the sheer bulk of his vehicle as he tries to make himself a harder target.]

Futatabi...

Hora!

Hold on!

[The SUV leaps forward, charging towards the larger vehicle. Jack guides it forward at a precise angle until its front bumper barely strikes the rear of the truck with a glancing blow- a glancing blow that still shakes the car hard enough to violently throw Jack forward. Tires squeal as he fights with the wheel, regaining control.

Nudged by the impact, the truck rolls onto a new course, one not headed right for City Hall. But it's still not stopping...]

Oh, crap.

[Jack struggles to keep the SUV on track as it jolts and rattles its way into the construction zone. With two blown tires, he can only imagine how difficult it is to keep the truck from crashing and burning. This calls for desperate action, and he yells up into the sunroof]

Hold on and keep your head down, I'm going to call in air support!

H-hai!

Edited 2011-04-20 03:59 (UTC)

[Once the Messerschmit completes its strafing and they're through the flying wreckage, Jack takes a moment to congratulate Hans on his flying then looks back up towards the roof.]

You okay?

Eh...

He was, blessedly, up calibrating his instruments and engaging in some night-flying. It'd been far too long since he had done so, and it was damn well time to get back in practice.

He'd taken up the Me109G tonight. It handled like a brick compared to the Schwalbe, but he was trying to conserve the jet fuel, which he was sure was costing the department like the devil.

He banked lower as the dispatch came in, and he called over the radio. He had mapped the city in his head with all the dedication of a monk at his translations. It was not long before he was overhead.

"Elbe One to all units in pursuit. Am in visual contact and maintaining aerial circuit on target. Will report all bearing changes and obstructions, over."

Finally, some good news. Air support would make tracking and containing this situation a lot easier. "Copy that, Elbe One." Jack looked away from the road for an instant to glimpse the red plane flashing overhead, before refocusing on the pursuit.

"Understood. Elbe One, standing by to receive orders."

He kept up his vigil with relative ease. The 109 might be a bit sluggish under 30,000 feet, but it wasn't as if the suspect was being surreptitious.

"Vehicle likely to turn left next intersection - parked transports ahead will force the turn." And there was construction, probably clearly marked, to a right turn.

Jack made the left easily, hugging the corner to shave off a few precious feet between him and his quarry. That was progress- the two blown tires were really starting to take their toll. However, once the truck turned right and entered the construction zone things got difficult again. The number of obstacles in this area, combined with the thief's apparent disregard for his own life, made a crash almost certain unless drastic action was taken. Which left Jack with only one option.

"Elbe One, requesting close air support! Eliminate obstacles in front of the suspect's vehicle, clear a path!" Since this maniac wasn't bothering to avoid the things that would kill him, they would just have to destroy those things for him. The alternative to blasting the road construction was an inferno and dead civilians, which was no alternative at all.

They were almost definitely going to get sued for this.

"Elbe One, as ordered."

He had already begun a dive before the order was finished. And easier said than done. To get to anything like range, it required flying down between buildings - no mean task in a 109G. The area for the wingspan was enough, by a few feet on either side, but maneuvering would be difficult.

But if there is one thing he has more experience at than perhaps any other man living, it is raining down precise destruction from on high. The red plane flashes past the vehicle, and he begins to pick targets. The first is a bevy of road markers, metal and filled with water to hold them in place.

He squeezes down on the cannon trigger, sending a stream of 20mm fire into them. The smaller targets are the trouble. He slews from side to side as best he can, scything machine gun fire through the mostly wooden articles that would probably take the man's head clean off as he drove through them.

He shoots through the zone at low altitude, hoping the heavy wash from the propellor will clear some of the debris. Ah, the street turns slightly to the right ahead. An unfortunate thing given that that means there's now a building in the way. He hauls on the stick, standing the 109 on its wing, only barely managing the turn.

He scrambles for altitude, finally releasing a pent-up breath.

"Elbe One, hope that worked. Over."

Down below, Jack's SUV slams through the smoke and flying debris, bouncing through the destruction hot on the heels of the truck. For a heart-stopping moment Jack can't see anything- then they're clear, shooting out of the smoke and out of the construction zone, still behind the suspect. Behind them, scaffolding collapses in a cloud of dust.

"Fantastic shooting Elbe One, we're clear!" Jack shouts, feeling the thrill of a desperate play paying off. Against all odds, both he and the truck driver were still intact. "Good work, we're still on him!"

"Elbe One," he said, breathing a sigh of relief, "returning to reconnaissance position. Good hunting, ground."

He would land when it was over. See the results for himself. Enough of the freeway was blocked off by now he could have landed an American bomber on it.

[ While the madness was unfolding, the truck careening this way and that, emergency vehicles and snipers firing, the mayor himself was stepping out of city hall. He was calm, but his face was all resolve as each step he took moved him closer to the chaos.

There was a soft wind, but all that blew with it was the stench of burning tires, and over the noise of the squeals of tires and metal scraping against metal from the blown tires, were the sounds of machines. Each one whispered, or cried, or yelled. The loudest was the truck. ]

YOU.

[ He had the truck's attention now. ]

[The Mayor of the City was standing right out in the open with a runaway tanker truck barreling towards him and Jack's heart was in his throat. He knew Hundred was just one man, but it was Jack's duty to protect him, and the City couldn't lose its first Import Mayor- even if it was temporary.

But they couldn't lose City Hall and the people in it either, and everything else had failed. Following close behind the truck, Jack could only grit his teeth and watch the situation pass out of his hands and into the Mayor's.]

[ Most men would be afraid. Mitchell felt that familiar balls to the concrete feeling, but he shrugged it off. He wasn't feeling that vertigo of launching with his oft malfunctioning rocketpack, but was instead standing there. Hands in his pockets.

Actually, he felt just a little badass. He stood there and stared it down. ]

MR. BAUER, I WOULD RECOMMEND STOPPING RIGHT NOW.

[ He said this loud, practically shouting it, while still staying in place. It forced Jack's SUV to stop dead in it's tracks, and then he turned his intense eyes on the truck. ]

STOP. NOW.

[ And lo. The truck skidded to a sudden halt. ]

Edited 2011-04-20 00:57 (UTC)

[Jack was flabbergasted, first when his SUV simply lurched to a stop seemingly of its own accord, and then when the seemingly unstoppable juggernaut that he, a jet fighter, a vampire, and a superhero had chased halfway across Manhattan, simply stopped rolling at the command of a politician.

But it wasn't over yet- the equally-flabbergasted thief leaped out of his stolen vehicle, teeth bared, eyes wide under the influence of whatever he was on. Jack jumped out of his car and ran towards him, drawing his weapon.]

POLICE! SHOW ME YOUR HANDS!

[The suspect's response was to reach into his jacket and pull out an intimidatingly large steak knife. Jack had now officially had it with this man's crap. He yelled a warning, which was ignored. As the thief raised the knife over his head, Jack aimed his weapon, squinted down the sight, and shot the blade out of his hand with a single shot. It landed in two pieces at the suspect's feet. He looked down at it, then looked back up at Jack just as he ran forward and pistol-whipped him in the face hard enough to drop him to the ground.

Now it was over.]

Edited 2011-04-20 01:23 (UTC)

[Seras roared up in her patrol car and came to a screeching halt. Grabbing her rifle she got out, slide over the hood and covered the criminal.]

Are you alright, sir?

...Warewarega katta no?

Subarashii!

[Jack steps away, panting. What a night.]

I'm fine, Seras. Cuff this guy, will you?

[He turns to Mikoto and the Mayor]

Everyone else okay?

[ Mitch was only half paying attention to the cleanup. Barely paying attention to the drugged out asshole who'd come very close to taking out City Hall. Shit, he should be more worried, but all he could hear were machines. They were uncharacteristically loud, each one a siren's call in his ears, calling, crying. Their master was here. They'd known 100 was in the city, but so rarely did he do something this big. They cried for direction, something to move their meaningless lives from serving humans to a purpose. Guns begged to be shot, cars begging to run full tilt with their owners in the cars. Shut it all down, they cried. Bring the heralds. Jack's words cut through it, and he shook his head. ]

Yeah, just fine. Do you need me to give a statement?

[ Christ, right now what he needed was a joint. Shut it all out. Retreat. ]

Yeah, eventually, but I'm sure you have more important things to do right now.

[Now that the situation is contained, the awe of what the Mayor did begins to sink in. Jack looks at Hundred with new eyes.]

Sir, how did you do that?

[ He doesn't want to answer. It wasn't a secret, sure. Plenty of people knew he could speak to machines, but it still left him naked and vulnerable when he came out and said it. ]

I can talk to machines, and they talk back.

...You mean it's your power?

[Jack responds by putting it in terms he can better understand. Although that does explain all the yelling.]

Yes. It's my power.

[ He taps the left side of his face, a fingernail tracing along the familiar etchings, circuitry that the plastic surgery couldn't hide. ]

This is part of it.

[Jack steps closer. He's noticed that detail before, but never examined it, never realized its significance. But now isn't the time.]

I see. Well, it's lucky for all of us that you had that power today, Mister Mayor. [He looks over his shoulder at the mess the chase has left behind them, starting with the shot-up stolen truck.] I'm sorry things went this far.

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Move any mother that gets in my way

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Thread now open to all for the wrap-up

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