Ep 2 - The Fast and the Furious (closed)

[Deleted]

Setting: Some larger town in Nevada/Utah border
Time: Day two of Episode two
Characters: Sarita and Miko, borrowing Jack for responsible presence

"Are you sure you're going to stay right here, Miko?" Jack frowned at the female. Already he was losing her attention as she stared at the music store across the street. What was with this girl and her wandering focus?

"Yeah, yeah. I told you, I told Bulk, I even left a stick it note on Red's desk, that I was going to be fine right here in this music store. It's like you don't trust me!" On cue, Miko crossed her arms and gave Jack her best idea of a sympathy inducing frown. Good news was, Jack didn't have any sympathy for her.

"I don't trust you. Neither does anyone else except for Bulk. God knows why," Jack muttered to himself and rubbed a hand through his short hair. "Look, mom trusted us to not get into any trouble while here. She paid for the bus tickets herself."

"Dude, this place is like an hour away from town. She didn't pay that much. I'll pay her back myself..." Miko quirked an eyebrow and Jack wanted, for a second, to snatch it off of her thick skull.

"Not the point! We're to not get into trouble and just do what we told them we were going to do." Jack gestured to a little corner store where adorable little curios sat in the window display. If Miko hadn't been staring at him, she would have missed the darkening of his cheeks. Oooh, so that's what he was doing. Going to actually try and get something for that red haired girl in town. What was her name again?

"Dude, that's what I've been trying to tell you! I'm here for a new guitar. That's it. I don't have some ulterior motive, no scheme to sneak off, no plot. I just want a guitar since mine was...smashed." Miko slumped and rubbed one of her arms while looking away. Ever since the tunnel incident, she'd acted a bit more somber especially with the loss of her instrument.

I didn't even think she liked it that much, she hardly played it, Jack thought while watching her. The frown of his melted away into thoughtful unease. Maybe the guitar had meant more to her than he'd thought.

"Fine, I'm going to go in there and then to that coffee shop. You going to join me in an hour?" He seemed wary but open to finally letting Miko loose on her own. Miko hated to break it to him, but the last time she'd looked for a guitar, it had taken her nearly three hours to decide. Not that she was about to tell him.

"I got this! I'll even buy you lunch." She gave him a thumb's up and waited until he at last gave a wary nod and turned to head for the curio shop. After he'd disappeared into the breakable depths that she didn't dare go near, Miko turned on her heel and headed for the music shop.

She hadn't been lying at all. She really was here for another guitar. Her mother had been upset when she'd learned she'd broken her last one. Her father had taken her to pick out the instrument and it had been a great day for just the two of them. Miko didn't have the heart to tell him she'd broken the happy memory. Instead she'd begged her mom for money to get a replacement. One that looked just like the last one.

Unfortunately, music stores weren't exactly endemic to small town America. Back in town she could find acoustics aplenty but not many electric A frames. Raf managed to track a store down that was relatively close by but they'd needed permission to travel an hour by bus. Which, surprisingly, hadn't been that hard. Either the adults were extra distracted these days or they were starting to trust the teens to look out for themselves. Or maybe they just trusted Jack. Probably that one.

Either way, Miko was happy to be free of someone looking over her shoulder and dictating her decisions for one day. She even got to get a new guitar. And while it was more sad, than anything, she was at least trying not to hurt her dad's feelings.

She crossed the street and stepped onto the curb just as the door to the music shop burst open far harder than normal. She nearly took a step back but realized that she was on the edge of the sidewalk and footing wasn't the best. Two people, possibly younger men by the build of their body, were fleeing from the shop, with stocking caps over their faces. She'd never actually seen someone try and rob a store like that and her first impulse was to flip open her phone to take a picture because really. This was just weird.

The click of the camera alerted the second person and they turned to look at Miko with a sharp, "Hey!" Ah, so it was a girl under that mask! Interesting. What wasn't so interesting was the person lunging forward to grab the phone. Miko's fingers tightened on the slim metal case but between a hearty shove from the girl assailant and the curb edge causing her feet to slide out from under her, she lost her grip. With a small warble, she toppled off of the sidewalk and into the street (thankfully less busy than normal) as the two would-be robbers fled down the street.

[Deleted]

They were swiftly followed by a third robber staggering out of the shop, swinging his arms drunkenly as he tried to keep his footing. He was promptly knocked over by a blur in a khaki shirt and black skirt, oaths in Spanish screeched from beneath a tangle of black braids. Despite the still-skinny arms that the tackler had, there was the solid sound of knuckle against cheek as she tried to punch the man's face in, the robber too dazed to fight back.

Over half a dozen hits later — as well as some very questionable choices in language — the furious woman stood up. Panting, staring down at her groaning, would-be mugger with eyes wide and teeth bared, she let out a snort and wiped her face. A wad of spit hit the bastard square between the eyes, the woman muttering something under her breath as she adjusted her hair. Brushing her braids away from her eyes, revealing a shiner starting to form around the right, the woman did a double-take when she saw a fallen girl. The pink hair-dye and bun/braid combo was unmistakable.

"Miko?"

Sarita McCoy immediately ran/limped over to the young rockstar-to-be, extending her hand to try and help Miko up. She looked down the street, scowling heatedly at the fleeing robbers, and then back at the girl. If Sarita's grip was accepted, the other musician would feel a vice-like clamping-down on her hand or arm; Miko would be pulled to her feet in less than a second.

"Miko, hun, are you okay?"

[Deleted]

Road rash and a bruised tush forgotten, Miko stared at the confrontation in front of her with wide eyes. Holy crap! How often was she witness to an actual beat down? ......that Bulk wasn't involved in? Cool! Also, kind of painful looking. She took mental notes as she watched. Noted: block any right crosses coming from someone. Those looked painful.

She was already pushing herself up from the road when the woman offered aid. Further surprise through Miko for a loop. What the crap were the odds of meeting the same woman again? The teen stared at the woman as she was helped to her feet.

"Sarita? You ok? You need some ice on that eye or something. That's gonna bruise!" Cringing, she rubbed her hands and followed Sarita's glare to the direction of the fleeing pursuers. Jerks. They just shoved her and took her ph-

SLAG. SO MUCH SLAG.

"I got to get my phone back!!" Miko looked more like they'd taken her first born child and not a simple, easily replaced phone. Without waiting for something to stop her, like common sense, the teen lunged after the fleeing thieves at a dead run. She couldn't lose them! If they looked in the phone at the images...well, she didn't want to think about that.

[Deleted]

"Sarita? You ok? You need some ice on that eye or something. That's gonna bruise!"

"Just a little bump," Sarita said, her accent thickening just a tad in the moment. "My guitar case hit me in the eye when I raised it to block. Happens all the time."

That is, she had her clumsier moments with her guitar case...not that she could use it to clock someone over the head. And that she didn't usually do so. (Maybe.)

"I got to get my phone back!!"

"Your what?!" said Sarita, an angry shock running through her voice. Oh, so the fuckers hadn't been content enough to try and hold up a store clerk on her first day, but then threaten Sarita, demand the woman hand over a day's worth of busking money, and steal a little girl's phone? "Oh heellll no they didn't — HEY!"

The girl had taken off after the thieves in a dead run. She was a quick little thing, too — watching Miko sprint was kind of like watching a pissed-off lioness chase after a pack of hyenas on a nature documentary. This time, however, the little lion cub had the big bad mama lion right on her heels, after a quick detour in the other direction and a pop of a car door.

Less than a minute later, an engine revved viciously, tires screeched in a sudden burst of speed, and Sarita's beat-up Sedan was keeping pace with Miko.

"You'll get tired on foot!" the woman called out through her open window. "Stop and get in! Just point and I'll drive!"

[Deleted]

Oh thank my stars. I didn't really want to run on foot. Miko already had a pang in her side from where she'd taken off too fast without stretching or warming up. It always seemed like a great idea in the movies but in practice, sprinting after someone kind of sucked. She skidded to a halt and leaped for the open window on the passenger side, legs leading the way. Somehow she managed not to bang her shin on the metal frame or to spill herself out of the window.

"They went that way!" She leaned out of the window and pointed in the direction she'd seen the burglars flee in. The excitement of the moment made her bounce in place like an excited poodle. "Can't believe they took my phone! It's old as crap! Why even take it?!"

Then again, if she hadn't taken their picture....

[Deleted]

Sarita opened her mouth to tell Miko to use the door, but the girl was through the window in a second. That works, thought the singer, giving a Miko a shrug before turning her vision back to the street.

Thunk!

SCREEEEEEEE!

Speed limits were quickly given the middle finger as Sarita stomped on the gas. The Sedan roared like a tiger down the street, people jumping out of the way as Sarita soared around a corner. Her glare was calm but smouldering, tranquil fury expressed only by the wrinkle of her nose and pull of her lip. The thieves happened to look behind them, and took off like little gazelles as Sarita ran through a stop.

"They can sell it at a pawn shop or on the street," Sarita remarked calmly, dodging around a dump truck in the street to get into another lane. A few horns honked at her, and she was tempted to response with a certain gesture. The want to move as quickly as possible and not piss off a potential cop stopped her from indulging herself. "Barring that, parts. Circuit boards have gold in them, I think, and if you melt down enough of them, you can extract the metals and hawk them at cash-for-gold places. Tell me where you seem them go, okay?"

[Deleted]

Miko for sure wasn't worried about the state of her phone. Of course she liked the object. It was the nearest and dearest object that she owned. But it was what was on the phone that bothered her. She had tons of pics of the Autobots. Sure, she shouldn't keep them on there, but who honestly expected to get robbed in broad daylight?!

Worrying over her lower lip, she sat forward in the seat, straining against the seatbelt. If she'd had the mind to enjoy it, she'd really be getting a kick out of the chase. Like how they were pissing through every traffic law known to man. Now if only they could drive up on a curb, they'd really hit the quota for action flick type of stuff. But she was too busy worrying over losing site of the punks.

Luckily, the two were fast but they had limited options. The street was fairly busy with shops side by side and no open alleyways that could let them scamper away to freedom. They either had to stick to their forward direction or duck inside a place. Given their questionable get up, it wasn't likely that they'd stop to take solace. Unfortunately, the street ended and they took the sharp turn down the road at a dead run. Much harder to corner in a moving car.

"Take a right up ahead!"

[Deleted]

Soundtrack: Transformers 2007 - Unreleased Scores - Police Brutality (0:39)

The Sedan gunned forward. Sarita swerved around a beat-up Beetle and a freshly-repainted Mustang, skidding to the side as she made the turn. Black tire marks raked across the asphalt from the force of the car's momentum, the busker either not noticing or uncaring that she had nearly slammed into a mailbox and a trash receptacle. Pulling away from the curb only just a little bit, Sarita kept her eyes forward, spotting the black-clad figures of the robbers amidst the colourful wear of the crowd.

Amateurs. If they wanted to blend in, they shouldn't have worn such a stereotypically tacky get-up. No, they should have grabbed the goods, booked it, found a spot to hide a car in and ditch the license plates if they could. Any coats they were wearing should've either been stashed somewhere or thrown away completely, preferably somewhere where no one would look. Police might have checked the nearby dumpsters, so they would at least have to drive several blocks to get rid of their clothes. Church bins were also a possible place to rid themselves of their disguises, burying the incriminating clothes deep at the bottom.

Sarita gave an unimpressed, "Hmph," as she eased on the gas a little more, still driving dangerously close to the curb. She swerved away from a couple of parked cars before pulling up to it again, slowing down only slightly. The thieves were in her sights, but she turned her head and looked around, trying to give the impression she had lost them. For extra credibility, she made a disgusted face, smacking the centre of her wheel with a curse in Spanish.

[Deleted]

Miko was quiet, intent on watching the little thieves as they scurried away. She didn't want to lose sight of them. If they got away with her phone, she wasn't sure how she was going to explain that one to the Bots back at the base. They would be so mad! She had to get it back!

"So what do we do now? We can't chase them in the car forever. They're going to find a small spot to squeeze into and then we're toast. Ugh! I was so stupid to lose the phone! Why did I take that picture?!" Miko stomped her foot in the car, inwardly cursing her rash actions. Why couldn't she think before she acted?

"Should we get the cops? Do we even have time?"

[Deleted]

Sarita stared ahead, silent. Her fingers flexed on the wheel, nails digging into the leather like claws. Then —

NYROOOOOM!

Sarita slammed on the gas, the car lurching forward and screaming up beside the thieves. They bolted and started to run, only for the busker to open her car door, unclip and rip off her seatbelt, and roar like an enraged tigress. She sprinted down a gap between buildings in quick, bolting strides, the slowest of the thieves only steps ahead of her. Eyes blazing with fury, teeth clenched and hands reaching forward, she would take a flying leap as if long-jumping in track. Her arms went wide, then attempt to swing back around and wrap around one of the thieves' upper chest/neck like a snake, curled-up legs punching forward with a kick.

If everything went as planned, she would tackle the thief and have her arms around his neck, pulling back to start choking off whatever bastard she tackled. And, if successful, and with zero fucks given as to how insane she might sound, Sarita bellowed, "HOLD YOUR SHIT BEFORE I BREAK THIS FUCKING NECK!!"

[Deleted]

Miko reflected, while wheezing for air, that this is why one wore a seatbelt. Or she'd have been on the hood of the car, by the time Sarita tackled the man. Judging by the sound of the caterwauls, the young man was barely out of high school or a budding soprano singer in the making. Miko would have joined in on the menacing, but she couldn't quite get her breath back and it felt like her chest was gonna bruise where the strap had tightened across her slender frame.

Cool! She could brag to Jack later!

Breath finally reigned under control, Miko unsnapped the seatbelt and flung it off of her. As she scrambled out of the car, she spotted a discarded plint of wood that wouldn't do any real damage in a fight but it was better than her fists. As she scrambled to Sarita and the downed idiot, she just happened to spot the other thief reaching for the woman's back. The teen wasn't sure what the other person intended, but given that they'd just robbed a store and stole her phone, she didn't think the person was going to offer a massage.

"Hold it!" Miko raised the small board menacingly like a bat and waggled it. "You don't want to do that! You already held up a place for like what? Fifty bucks? Give me back my phone and give it up! You got caught this time!"

This close, Miko got a good look at the sullen face of another female, probably several years older than her. The other female must have felt that Miko wasn't bluffing with the make-shift weapon, or she was already fed up with how the day went. Because, slowly and with a great amount of rancor, she fished the phone out of her pocket and flung it towards the car. The impact made Miko wince and turn, looking to make sure it didn't fall into a gutter or something. The minute her back was turned, the thief turned tail and fled down the alley as fast as her legs would catch her, leaving her accomplice to Sarita's tender mercies.

[Deleted]

"Hold it!" Miko raised the small board menacingly like a bat and waggled it. "You don't want to do that! You already held up a place for like what? Fifty bucks? Give me back my phone and give it up! You got caught this time!"

Sarita's mouth turned up at one corner, flashing Miko a quick grin. The girl's fierceness was much appreciated, and between Sarita's display and the teenager's aggression, the thieves' morale was broken. The boy she'd caught was screaming his head off, begging for mercy and sounding close to what a wailing baby would. Sarita refused to relax her grip on him, tightening her arms against his bulging Adam's apple.

She highly doubted he'd be throwing her off any soon. That left his two accomplices, including the bitch that was high-tailing it after throwing back the stolen phone. To Miko, Sarita sharply barked, "Miko, follow her, NOW! She still has the goods from the store — stop at the curb if she runs faster than you!"

Glaring down at the boy, Sarita leaned down to his ear, a sneer crossing her lips. In a low, rolling growl that became an icy hiss, the singer asked, "Where's the money, puta?"

[Deleted]

As much as Miko would have loved to lay some righteous fury down on the fleeing thief, the phone came first! She couldn't afford to lose it again. She'd rather it be broken than to fall in another's hands. (But, if she had the right to pick, she never, ever, ever wanted it to break.)

The time it took her to retrieve the phone and start off after the robber was enough to give the fleeing female time to escape. As much as Miko strained to spot her in the mill of people, because they were definitely gathering a crowd of curious onlookers, she didn't see anything but strangers. The would be wrecker couldn't remember if there had been another person but they were long gone as well. In the distance the heralding flicker and whine of a police car echoed off of the cities buildings.

"Umm, Sarita, the cops are coming and I don't see the other ones. But we got that one, right?" Miko flung the stick to the side before a uniformed officer with something to prove didn't slap handcuffs on her. That's the last thing her parents needed to hear about.

[Deleted]

"Umm, Sarita, the cops are coming and I don't see the other ones. But we got that one, right?"

The singer perked up like a guard dog, eyes fixed towards where the robbers had come. One second was taken to process the sound, and then a second was taken to process what that sound meant.

"Oh, mierda."

Bolting upwards, Sarita released her grip on the boy, kicking him away with a firm blow to his behind. She ran towards Miko and lunged for her, attempting to grab the girl's upper arm. Sarita would then try to drag the teenager away with her, shoving her into the driver's seat (if successful) with a loud, "SCOOT OVER!" Should everything go to plan, Miko hopefully buckled in, Sarita would slam on the gas and tear away and around a corner; a car jerked out of her path.

The police could have the robber. Sarita could give less of a crap about him than she could about the weather, or the driver(s) that angrily honked behind her. The little bastard got whatever he deserved for trying to rob a store and a young girl.

//ooc// Timeskip?

[Deleted]

The response to the police was definitely one Miko didn't see coming. Before she could react, the woman had her in the car and was flooring it out of there while the young teen just stared in confusion and all wide eyed wonder. What the heck was that about?? But she wasn't going to complain. She'd been warned by Fowler that if she was detained by officials, he likely wouldn't be able to help her in the near future. Either he was looking out for her, or he was trying to hint that her life was leading to a criminal slant and that was just kind of insulting.

If anything, she was going to be a super hero.

Safely away from the cops and blending in with the traffic, Miko stopped gawking out the window and settled forward taking a moment to check her phone for damage. A few new scars but nothing too major. She was definitely going to have to ask Raf to help her lock the thing good with a password no one would guess. And maybe put in some location device to keep track of it. Ooh, or maybe a self destruct device! That would be cool!

“Hey, I'm kinda hungry...” she smirked at Sarita and gestured to the nearest local fast food joint. All that action earned them a milkshake, she was sure.

-authorized time skip!-

Jack was going to kill her. He was sure of it. He didn't even need the specifics. He just knew, oh he just knew, she was involved in whatever insanity that took place at the music shop. He'd watched, from across the street as a police cruiser had parked at the building. And he'd waited, and waited, and waited for her to call him. But nothing. Zilch. He almost called her but no, he wasn't doing the mom thing!

Getting no panicked call or seeing no ambulance, Jack was fairly certain that whatever madness she'd caught herself up in was probably less likely to leave bodily injury. He was, however, fully expecting a panicked call requesting help out of a stupid situation. Unfortunately, he was sort of disappointed when that didn't happen. He was just stepping out of the building and intending on heading for the shop when a car he didn't even know pulled up with Miko in it with a woman he wasn't familiar with.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Jack crossed the street and zeroed in on the wayward teen. “Miko!” He was at least satisfied to see her jump and a ferret quick look of guilt cross her face. Followed by that annoyingly sly 'I'm about to spin a wicked tale' look he knew so well. Ugh.