Metro City Under Siege - Streets of Rage ~ Sidecar

Description: Jiro and Megumi tracked down the nuke from it's location of a building and it got transported off into a humvee. So they called Shingo to give them a ride. Sakura, Daigo, and Karin came in the mix as well. They are chasing after Rolento's humvee with the nuke, but they get a showdown while they're at it. The reenactment of MGS3's bonus stage. Suggested song: MGS3 - Escape from the Fortress ~ Sidecar



Things are not going well in Metro City for Rolento, yet that is old news. Ever since the failed assault on the police district, Rolento's grip has been slacking in a measured manner. Small pieces of the city are falling away every day, reclaimed by the civilians and police no longer confined in their corner. But this has been accepted as an irrefutable fact. The primary goals were mostly achieved, even if a certain secondary one is more difficult. Jiro and Megumi would manage to find through eyewitness accounts that a large military transport truck took something from the site of the nuke on the same day that the scientist was released. Since then, it has apparently been driving aimlessly around the city, under an escort of four humvee's. The sightings of this are remarkably rare, apparently stopping in a new location for a couple days at a time. It is rarely under the air blanket, or even near the pockets.
But luck finally falls on the aspiring hero's side.
The escorted truck is simply going through downtown, at a rather high rate of speed. Given Rolento put a 'No Driving' curfew on a few days earlier, it causes some turned heads. The humvee's ram parked vehicles aside with heavy grills, and some pedestrians are almost too slow in skittering away. Not really a common sight, but hurried nonetheless. They might have their nuke...

Who's driving? Shingo's driving! HOW CAN THIS BE?! Very easily apparently. Nevermind that the eighteen year old doesn't even have a license. He's driving. A car? No no no. Of course not. That would be too simple. Shingo likes a challenge. He's driving sixteen thousand-four hundred pounds of armored vehicle. Those who were present at the habour when it was assaulted by three teenaged schoolgirls would know this vehicle very well. It's none other than that Alpine Armoring Inc. Pitbull(tm) SWAT tuck.

With the assistance of his friendly neighbourhood psion and that guy from Gedo, Jiro, the young man from Taiyo has done his best navigating the streets of Metro City in pursuit of the alledged location of that fearsome nuke that Rolento has had hanging over the heads of the citizens of this fair city.

They're close. He can feel it. And despite that this could go horribly awry, he has a huge smile/grin brighter than any headlights. Why? Because he's driving a freakin' SWAT truck. Awesome. What's even more awesome is that he's got two young women in the cab with him. Lucky~! Or it would be if he was thinking about such things since that it is his girlfriend and his good friend, Megumi. Oh yeah, there's other people here too. But he thinks they're on the roof of the moving vehicle. Talk about dangerous. The nice thing about this truck is that there's a hatch that leads to and from the interior. This is what Shingo uses to give a quick shout out to his peoples up top, "You guys good up there?" A smirks over to Sakura and Megumi for whatever reason.

Harbor patrol was making Sakura stir-crazy. Yes, it was a vital part of the movement to save Metro City. Yes, it was necessary to have -someone- there in case stuff went down. But... it's also necessary to have someone watching out for incidentals. Y'know... because all it would take is one RPG to take the vehicle down -- and as far as this war effort is concerned, eliminating the nuke is top priority.
Which is why Sakura's arm is hanging out the right window, her palm at the ready as she scans the streets, forward and back, as their SWAT truck gains on the escorts. "Hrm... parking laws are -vicious- here in America!" she comments, as she sees the Hummers brushing vehicles aside. Smirking back to Shingo for a moment, she waits until they're just a bit closer, looking back to make sure there's no cover fire... and then shoves her hand forward. "Hadouken!" she cries, a burst of blue flame erupting from her hand and rocketing out towards the wheels of the rearmost humvee. She's aiming to disable, not destroy here... just to keep the vehicles from continuing their escort duties!

It must be some sort of test of faith for Karin that she has consented to this insanity. Not the fight on the roof, per se. She's an expert at that stay balanced on a rolling log sort of deal. No... she's letting Shingo drive. But Sakura and Ryu both said, if you want to master your inner power, you need to make leaps of faith. Well, she's letting Shingo drive on perhaps the most important mission the Metro Defenders have ever undertaken, so if the amount of risk can be correlated to the amount of power, you can expect Karin to be busting out her own Shinkuu Hadouken this fight.
"Fine so far," she yells over the wind down into the cab. Kneeling, the blonde keeps position between Jiro and Daigo, staying crouched to the roof for now to avoid being... well, blown off the roof like a twig. "I don't see any guards other than those humvees, though!" And that... is worrisome. You just know Duo Lon is going to leap off a lamppost onto the truck bed like Tuxedo Mask any second now.

Megumi is also riding in the interior. Shingo's question gets a rather quiet response, even though it wasn't directed to her. "I feel like I should be up there helping, but...if something does happen, I use up a lot of room just moving everywhere...ugh." Sakura apparently has the right idea, and Megumi reaches one hand out the same window, over Sakura's shoulder. Hadouken is joined by small sparkling red ball, one she tries to 'detonate' close to one of the lower parts of the same vehicle Sakura's targeted.

One of the people on top of the heavy vehicle is none other than the Stray Dog. After giving the lead towards the group, the Stray Dog is busy crouching low on top of the vehicle. He has decided to dress rather different. Instead of the new attire or the usual attire, his look is more militistic. Black and blue camoflauge paint are marked along his face. And he's wearing a headband.
He's wearing a more militistic vest with knives and stuff along in the pockets. Black cargo pants and combat boots. He got it from Acacia's hidden store. The young man grunts as he holds onto a knife.
"Bleh.... I feel like we're reenacting Metal Gear Solid 3 for some reason...." Jiro's a gamer. Bite him. Either way, the youth is on the right side of the vehicle. "...Let's get that nuke and punk Rolento's sorry ass."

Riding on TOP of a SWAT truck. Who's idea was that, anyway? Daigo Kazama, along for the ride as muscle to help keep things...smooth, is mostly able to keep his balance on top of the speeding vehicle. It's uneasy footing, but there just apparently wasn't any better way to work it. Besides, they may need to do something else crazy, like jump to another truck. They can't be in the truck to jump to another truck, right?

Whatever the reasons, Daigo's up top with Karin and Jiro, keeping his grumbles to himself, and both feet firmly planted on top of the truck's roof. Slightly crouched, to keep his balance during the turns, he merely casts his one-eyed gaze on the other vehicle coming up, sparing Jiro a little grunt before answering Shingo's question.

"Everything's fine up here, let's get this over with. The sooner we can get off this truck, the better."

COMBATSYS: Rolento has started a fight here on the left meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Rolento          0/-------/-------|


COMBATSYS: Jiro has joined the fight here on the right meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Rolento          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0             Jiro


COMBATSYS: Karin has joined the fight here on the right meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Rolento          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Karin
                                  >  //////////////////////////////]
                                 |-------\-------\0             Jiro


COMBATSYS: Daigo has joined the fight here on the right meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Rolento          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Karin
                                  >  //////////////////////////////]
                                 |-------\-------\0            Daigo
                                  >  //////////////////////////////]
                                 |-------\-------\0             Jiro


Somewhere on that lonely highway, there is a Hizoku waiting in the rafters. Rolento'd radioed him ahead of time, told him to get set up on the highway, because there would likely be some intervention with the nuclear transport. So here he was, perched on a lamppost. Watching the road, and growing increasingly bored. Not much could be determined about the figure atop the lamp-post... not only was it dark, nobody was around. So, we'll cut the crap and move to the actual pose.

Duo Lon's eyes narrow as he looks over the interstate, the cars in the distance. A bit of confusion on the ninja's face as he sees... well, more then one car. "...Didn't he have just the one?" Duo looks over the paper in his hand. Tumbleweed, roadkill... a slender hand drags a pen across the square "Humvee" inhabits. And Duo looks back up at the approaching cars... a bright flare of blue, a feminine scream. A hand drags the pen across the square "Hadouken" inhabits. "...That girl's here." A red ball, an explosion. "Psychic Energy" is crossed off. "And the other one." At about this time... it's action-time. The cars come within jumping range, and Duo lurches into action.

A shadowy figure stands as both humvees fly by beneath that lamp-post, slender, with billowing garments flapping in the wind. Or whatever. A sheet of paper, and a fancy, heavy pen are thrown at Karin and Daigo respectively... the former reading "Road Bingo", the latter reading, "American Cancer Society: Please Donate!" Following this, of course, is a stylistic leap, Duo Lon's slender form spinning, twisting, ninjaing the shit out of acrobatics, ponytail whipping around him in a fashion that totally befits any bishy villain. He lands, in a crouch, on the back of the Good Guys' humvee. Silent. But Karin and Daigo'd probably know he was around.

COMBATSYS: Duolon has joined the fight here on the left meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Rolento          0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Karin
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Duolon           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Daigo
                                  >  //////////////////////////////]
                                 |-------\-------\0             Jiro


This is truly not an unexpected occurance. Yet it was about the best that Rolento could manage, given the original hidden location was compromised. Even in the dead of night it would be impossible to move the nuke without leaving a trail, unless he lugged it around on his shoulders. Babysitting a nuclear ordinance was not truly the job that the commando wished to have for the ensuing span of time, merely sitting in the passenger seat of the large green vehicle while coordinating with the radio. His attempt to shatter the power grid failed. The starving failed. Everything has failed. His worst-case scenarios did not quite dip this far into the negatives. And now, people are firing at a humvee. The Hadouken impacts a wheel, causing the vehicle to swerve. The second explosion drives it off the road, impacting a building with a horrific crash and plume of black smoke. So much for being gentle.
There is no hatch in the top of the truck. But Rolento makes one. His foot kicks through the top of the truck's cab, metal warping around the leather footwear, before Rolento squirms out and perches on the top. He got a few minor nicks, yet nothing even slightly serious. "So. This is my final gamble, is it?" he calls over the wind, not seeming upset. The truck starts to drive faster, the Humvee's falling backwards and attempting to interpose between it. People lean out with assault rifles and fire on the truck, bullets ricocheting off somewhat uselessly. The tires as well don't flatten, an aggravating facet. It will probably distract enough to keep Sakura and Megumi from interfering too much, though.
Rolento leaps deftly, landing on the hood of one of the humvee's. It swerves under his sudden weight, baton twirling before he then leaps a second time. Arcing through the air, he yanks back his arm and lands on the truck while swinging downwards in an attempt to hit Karin dead in the head. He takes a moment to wonder what the hell they are thinking. Three people on the roof, who are only able to use physical attacks, while those with projectiles are inside? What were they going to do, drive next to the truck and punch it? Whatever! He will deal with them, but good!

Holy flying berets, Hadoukengirl! It's raining cranky military veterans! Shingo actually leans forward in his seat to get a better view of the humvee hopping Rolento as the militia leader leaps from moving vehicle to moving vehicle to the top of the youth's prized truck. Shingo doing his best to follow Rolento with his eyes peering out the windshield until the loud thud of boots landing on metal roof are heard. The boy does his best not to swerve the vehicle. Unlike the humvees, he has his friends on topside to worry about. Or else he would be making some crazy turns to throw Rolento off. Yes, Rolento. Since Duolon is supposedly a ninja and thusly wouldn't make a noticeable sound when he landed to go after Karin and Daigo.

For the time being he has to keep his eyes on the road while the trio of fighters on the roof take care of the main opposition. Sakura and Megumi are dealing with the humvees well enough so he really doesn't have much to worry about. Besides for dodging any debris falling off the hummers from being blasted with energy attacks. He can't really accelerate past till they're taken care of. "Oh, this is going to be...fun." Shingo deadpans cheerfully. Don't ask how he manages to do that.

"Eeesh... okay, that was freaky!" Sakura calls over her shoulder to Megumi -- mainly because she'd just been scared to all heck by that leaning over deal. "Megumi, why don't you-- Oh, never mind, I got it." It was getting too crowded up here, and given the choice of Megumi leaning over =her= shoulder, or Sakura leaning over =Shingo's= ... well.
Sakura squirms out of the passenger seat, warning as she slips behind Shingo's seat, leaning over his shoulder. "S'cuse me, sweetie..." she cautions, just before sticking her hand out the driver's side window. She jerks it -back- awfully quick as the bullets ricochet off the armor, but she pushes her hand back out afterwards. "Persistent lil' buggers, ain't they?" she quips.
Oh noes, it's that freaky ninja dude and Rolento? Sakura snaps her hand up once she spots him, but remembers to stay on target and all that. She's got to stick to the mission profile! And that means taking care of the doubled-up humvees keeping them so far from the truck in the lead. "Okay, keep it steady, Shingo..." she warns, extending both hands as she takes aim... and then unleashes another wave of blue flame at the tire of the leftmost Hummer, hoping to take it out in similar fashion as the first. And with that, well, the assault riflemen firing at her too. "Hadouken!"

COMBATSYS: Rolento successfully hits Karin with Mekong Delta.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Rolento          0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0            Karin
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Duolon           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Daigo
                                  >  //////////////////////////////]
                                 |-------\-------\0             Jiro


COMBATSYS: Karin slows Thrown Object from Duolon with Thrown Object.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Rolento          0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0            Karin
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Duolon           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Daigo
                                  >  //////////////////////////////]
                                 |-------\-------\0             Jiro


Jiro drops Pose Order: Rolento -> Shingo -> Sakura -> Megumi -> Karin -> Jiro -> Daigo -> Duolon.

Well, it's just a day of surprises all around, isn't it? Karin espies the truck and braces herself to get ready... unfortunately that doesn't seem to including bracing herself perfectly for Rolento's attack, the incoming staff whack giving her a good one right across the shoulder. Ow. Undaunted, the blonde uses this to her advantage, snagging a stray... something or other, grenade, knife, whatever off Rolento's belt and hurling it at... whatever Duo threw that she's too lazy to to scroll back and see. Unfortunately, matching velocities from a moving vehicle is not something Karin has exactly mastered, and so she veers... whatever it was that got thrown off course a little bit. However, she still gets hit. Or stuck or something, who knows. What we do know is that she's already at less than 60% health, so that pretty much says it all.

See, Karin and Daigo aren't the only ones who figured someone was around. Because when Jiro is seeing the heavy pen and the sheet of paper fly towards his partners, Jiro's tightening his fists. "Oh how lovely." He snarls angrily.
He looks over towards Rolento as he is aiming to focus his attention towards the truck. The rest can handle Duo Lon, he has plans to deal with the truck. They have to stop that vehicle. It has the nuke... and he's not going to strike at the truck.
With several blades escaping from the youth's hands, he's aiming to throw the knives straight at the humvee's tires, and even a few more at the edges.
Hey Rolento. Jiro's been packing some knives. He's going to use what ammunition he has to screw over the vehicle.
His attention focuses on Rolento. "Hi asshole." His hands erupt into violet flames, before the purple tinted flames form itself into a pair of blades that are half a feet long. He hisses out, "Remember me?" He snarls, lunging forward to swing both of his arms out at Rolento, letting the blades slash across the air to rake against the man's chest.

COMBATSYS: Duolon successfully hits Daigo with Thrown Object.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Rolento          0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0            Karin
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Duolon           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Daigo
                                  >  ///////////////////////////// ]
                                 |-------\-------\0             Jiro


They say the pen is mightier than the sword. You know why? Because, see, you can chuck a pen at someone's eye, and kill them quicker than you can throw a sword. Pens are harder to see, too, especially in the dark. Thus, Daigo is caught totally and utterly unawares, and penned in the arm. Duolon throws hard. Must be the ninja training.

"GAH!" the Gedo Boss shouts, looking at where the pen is sticking out of his arm. "What the...YOU!" For Daigo now catches sight of the sneakyninja that's come up on top of the SWAT truck. Right along with Rolento on the other side. Party time? You bet. As much as Daigo would love to settle the score with Rolento, he has a grudge to finish with Duo first.

It's not going to be easy though. Daigo can't get any good swing-momentium on top of a speeding truck. He'll have to take things lightly. Dai takes a single step towards the back part of the truck top, and attempts to greet Duolon with a very simple, sharp left jab. "HI!"

COMBATSYS: Duolon dodges Daigo's Jab Punch.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Rolento          0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0            Karin
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Duolon           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Daigo
                                  >  ///////////////////////////// ]
                                 |-------\-------\0             Jiro


"HELLO, BIGGIE!" Yeah... Duo was in a silly mood. The ninja falls backwards in his dodge, off the end of Shingo's truck. A quick, well, Ninja Teleport, and the Hizoku is back on the truck, practically falling over backwards. A quick bout of fancy footwork gains Duo his pride, and he finds himself in the middle of the three Good Guys. A look around identifies Daigo, Karin, and Jiro. Clearly, Duo was in a pickle. What would he do? There were a few options, but Mr. Lon went for the best one.

The assassin's eyes fall upon Jiro's headbanded mug, and at his side, well, his right hand stiffened into a knife. Which is pretty standard for his attacking style. But Kasagi had it coming, of course. 'Sides, Duo needed to take some of the heat off of Rolento.

A spin to the right bring's Duo's hand up and around, whistling down at a 45 degree angle. Straight into Jiro's skull. Would he let himself be slapped again? Or would Duo eat a Backlash?

COMBATSYS: Jiro successfully hits Rolento with Odious Fang.

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Rolento          0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0            Karin
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Duolon           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Daigo
                                  >  ///////////////////////////// ]
                                 |-------\-------\0             Jiro


The commentary from Jiro causes Rolento to shift his attention towards the young boy. Both arcs of energy snap out, and there simply wasn't enough room to snap backwards without collapsing in an anticlimatic manner to the streets. The wounds erupt over his jacket, exposing his chest with... rather thin red lines. He actually doesn't even flinch at the assault, instead blinking his eyes lazily at the young fighter. "You are supposed to be did. El Gado must be losing his touch." He then abruptly moves forward, reaching out his left hand and trying to grab Jiro by the hair. He will then place the baton behind the man's head, and /slam/ him into the roof of the truck. If this works, Sakura and Shingo might notice an imprint of Jiro's face suddenly imprint into the metal. In other words, it might hurt a rather large amount. He has Rolento's attention; Which is never a good thing now is it?
The second hadouken towards the humvee misses, blasting a crator in the street. However, she does strike the side of the humvee, causing it to swerve before regaining control. The assault rifle clatters into the street though. Somewhat more difficult is that a person completely leans out the window from each Humvee. They are all holding portable rocket launchers; Which they fire towards the truck, heedless of Duo Lon and Rolento. These are powerful enough to go through the armor, so with any luck Shingo can squirt around and keep a grip on the handle...

In any under circumstance Shingo would very much welcome the small body of his girlfriend coming across to lean over him. Just...not when he's driving and there's people smashing other people's faces into the roof of his truck. Or at least attempting to. "Oh man, those dents are never going to come out..." Stop stomping so hard on the roof people! Dents are the least of his worries though, aren't they? He's got bullets rebounding off the protective armament of the truck as the enemy attempts to lace Sakura and Megumi full of hollow points. So he's glad when the shooting finally stops. Not so glad when rockets are being fired at his precious truck. And on top of that...there's a big ass crater to dodge. WTF.

Shingo has no other choice. Time for some fancy driving. "Hang on tight guys! This is going to get bumpy!" Now it's time for his 10 years of professional driving to finally pay off. Psst psst psst. Huh? What do you mean he doesn't have that many years of experience? Aw crud. Shingo jerks the steering wheel to the left. Tires screech and the whole vehicle jolts. Everyone in the cab is tossed on him. Gotta maintain control. Hopefully everyone on top is skilled enough to make sure they don't fall off. If not? They're kinda screwed. Since the truck does switch lanes into oncoming traffic to evade the rockets. Good thing there is none!

Sakura's a bit ticked to know she only got a glancing blow instead of a successful hit, but them's the breaks. Not that she minds standing right behind Shingo or anything. When those rockets come flying in though? Sakura grits her teeth, holding on to the seatback with her right hand, leaning out the window with her other. It'll take seriously impeccable timing to blast the rocket out of mid-air, but that's what the hyperactive schoolgirl is here for! "Hadouken!" Hopefully, Megumi has the other side covered -- and even more hopefully, the fight upstairs won't be disturbing her aim this time!

It's probably a good thing that Jiro just got Rolento's attention, as it gives Karin more than .5 seconds to force herself up from a crouch and start taking stock. She zooms in on her mental radar and starts making an inventory. Rolento: Bastard. Had her bodyguards killed. Has a nuke. Tyrant. And then we have Duo Lon: Long hair. Lipstick. Dodgy-ass ninja. Uses weird voodoo. Pulled her hair once.
Well, that settles that.
By the time he's finished making his attack on Jiro, Duo will find a smiling Karin right inside his guard. "I was so hoping you'd show up today," she says sweetly, before ramming two quick palm strikes right at his chest, not taking the trademark step. "Thanks." And then? She simply flip-kicks, soccer bicycle kick style, upward. Apparently she's adapted well to fighting with 0 room to move.

COMBATSYS: Duolon successfully hits Jiro with Jab Punch.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Rolento          0/-------/-----==|===----\-------\0            Karin
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Duolon           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Daigo
                                  >  //////////////////////////    ]
                                 |==-----\-------\0             Jiro


COMBATSYS: Jiro fails to counter Colonel Carrier from Rolento with Backlash.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Rolento          0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0            Karin
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Duolon           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Daigo
                                  >  //////////////////            ]
                                 |=======\-------\0             Jiro


After slicing Rolento against the chest, Jiro growls, "It'll take more than just your bitch's tactics to kill me." He hisses, then he is turning his attention towards the incoming fist, "What the..." WHAM! The fist strikes Jiro across the face, which sends him reeling towards Rolento's grab towards the head. He is attempting to grab at the arm, but he is slammed straight towards the ground hard.
Ow. That possibly busted a wound open. "Ughhh..." He's on the ground for now.

"Damnit..." Daigo mutters, watching his fist fly over the head of the intended target, and that same target slip right past him to start pounding on his friends. "I wasn't through with you yet!" ...Of course, Karin's already there, trying to get a good few hits in on the ninja, but that doesn't stop Daigo from trying to tag-team the sneak. Turnabout and all that, right? A quick left jab, and a right snap towards the back of Duo Lon's head ought to suffice to contribute to the pain. Assuming Daigo can keep his footing...

COMBATSYS: Duolon dodges Karin's Guren Ken.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Rolento          0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0            Karin
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Duolon           0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0            Daigo
                                  >  //////////////////            ]
                                 |=======\-------\0             Jiro


COMBATSYS: Daigo successfully hits Duolon with 1-2 Smash.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Rolento          0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0            Karin
[     \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Duolon           0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0            Daigo
                                  >  //////////////////            ]
                                 |=======\-------\0             Jiro


Well. Ow. Duo is sent sailing forward after slapping Jiro in the back of the head, a double-punch combo sending the slender man so far forward that Karin's Guren-Ken simply obliterates the space he used to be standing. Duo falls to his knees some 5 feet forward, growling something about large men and hamfists. Of course, afterwards, he moves to a standing position quickly enough, and defaults to his Big Guy killer. That is... he steps back, glares at Daigo(ninja piercing eyes!), and kicks forward, the foot coming up five feet short, but the burst of dark energies from beneath Daigo headed straight for the big man's knees.

Well, Rolento appears to have gone through that entire ordeal without being hit a single time. This is a somewhat interesting circumstance, yet assuredly not one that he is going to complain about. The idea of using a grenade crosses his mind. But it would destroy the truck and send everyone flying; Maybe as a last resort. He reaches down, in an attempt to grasp Jiro by the scruff of the neck. And then lift him into a gentle hug, baton snapping in front of his neck. The intent is to strangle the lad rather heartlessly, trying to crush his neck and lift him off the ground. No commentary at the time being. Let the others get distracted by Duo Lon... He will take out the trash.

Good to know that no one was sent flying through the air with the greatest of ease from Shingo doing his best to make sure the SWAT vehicle stays intact as possible. The fighting upstairs totally not helping things. Drive drive drive. This is all Shingo can do for now. Drive and dodge rockets. It'd be nice if someone would get rid of those pesky things.

Success! The rockets are blasted out of the sky by Megumi's and Sakura's covering fire, causing Sakura to clench her fist and throw it into the air! While they're reloading, Sakura gives a nod to Megumi, patting Shingo on the shoulder. "Doin' a great job, sweetie, keep it up!" Of course... there's a need to get those humvees off the road still. If at first you don't succeed, try again! "Hadouken!" Once more for the tires!

Frowning at Duo's rather incredible ability to dodge without having anywhere to move, Karin sets her jaw. Must... kill... ninja. And if you want to take down a ninja, you need to do something fairly drastic and gutsy. Why? Because they're irritatingly quick and usually just walking up and smacking the hell out of them doesn't work. Unless you're, you know. Daigo. So what does she do? Gripping the top equipment rails, she actually appears to be going for a brachiating kick right to the back of Duo Lon's head.
...or what she could actually do is swing down along the side of the truck and then back UP again, into the air, intending to simply land on Rolento's back and carry him right into the van's roof with all the force she can muster.

COMBATSYS: Jiro endures Rolento's Medium Throw.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Rolento          0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0            Karin
[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Duolon           0/-------/----===|==-----\-------\0            Daigo
                                  >  ///////////                   ]
                                 |=======\====---\1             Jiro


Okay, this isn't good. The man is lifting him by the neck. He is grasped into a gentle hug. Or rather, the baton is to the front of the neck. Jiro doesn't have too much of a choice but to accept the stranglization. However, it doesn't mean that he will enjoy it.
So instead, the chi erupts along his hands once more. His eyes narrow viciously, coughing up blood until the chi blades erupt against his hands once more. So he's aiming to draw his blades out towards Rolento's gut by positioning the fist to a focus, just aiming to impale the taller man.
It's his attempt to get Rolento to let go.

COMBATSYS: Daigo just-defends Duolon's Genmu Kyaku Uchikiba!

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Rolento          0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0            Karin
[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////// ]
Duolon           0/-------/---====|==-----\-------\0            Daigo
                                  >  //////////                    ]
                                 |=======\====---\1             Jiro


Energy eruptions from underneath? On a truck? Impossible! Improbable! But not unblockable. Daigo remembers this sneaky-ninja trick, very well indeed. With nowhere to exactly avoid the damage, Daigo instead charges through it, advancing all five steps at once with his fists swinging wildly. Three punches, each laced with chi, the first two to cut right through Duo Lon's energy wave.

The third, to try cracking the ninja upside the head!

COMBATSYS: Daigo successfully hits Duolon with Phoenix Fist.

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Rolento          0/-------/--=====|===----\-------\0            Karin
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Duolon           0/-------/=======|====---\-------\0            Daigo
                                  >  //////////                    ]
                                 |=======\====---\1             Jiro


So he wanted to play around with Duo. Punch him a few times. Make his head hurt and feel fuzzy. Duo could deal with that. Seriously. Bring it or something. The ninja gapes as his energy-thing is just... plowed through, and his eyes go wide. That wasn't part of the bargain! Duo tries to duck, or fall, or something... and gets caught full on in the chest by Daigo's firey fist. Duo had such a clear image of Ash shaking his head in disappointment it wasn't funny. Of course. Duo doesn't go sprawling this time, rather, he falls to his knees, back to the edge of the truck. And explodes in more of that Grey Death Aura. Daigo better move or something.

COMBATSYS: Karin successfully hits Rolento with Yashiro Kuzushi.
- Power hit! -

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Rolento          0/-------/=======|====---\-------\0            Karin
[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Duolon           1/----===/=======|====---\-------\0            Daigo
                                  >  //////////                    ]
                                 |=======\====---\1             Jiro


COMBATSYS: Rolento fails to interrupt Odious Fang from Jiro with Deadly Package.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////          ]
Rolento          0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0            Karin
[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Duolon           1/----===/=======|====---\-------\0            Daigo
                                  >  //////////                    ]
                                 |=======\=====--\1             Jiro


The incoming assault from Karin is noticed, but Rolento merely attempts to endure it. Karin manages to cling to the commando rather tenaciously, who yanks out a string of grenades and attempts to slap it on the hapless Stray Dog. Instead, he gets stabbed in the gut; The grenade bounces off and lands in the street, detonating a second later in a horrendous fashion. Slipping finally to the roof under Karin's impressive weight, Rolento then proceeds to writhe in a comical manner. "Get off me, civilian!"

Sakura keeps shooting Hadoukens at the humvees. Explodey!

Another Humvee explodes! Kaboom! Two left! OMG MORE ROCKETS

Wham! It's not weight, but rather momentum. Read a science book. In any event, when Rolento demands that Karin get off him, she rather cheerfully says, "Alright! If you insist." And then she's using Rolento's springy, high Reflex body as a springboard, looking to make aerial attack number two by launching herself at Duo Lon like a pinball, aiming her knees for the smell of his back and then simply seeking to tumble forward with him and drive his face right into the van roof. Apparently someone was watching Bushin Style's Greatest Hits this weekend.

While having Rolento under his bladed grasp, the Stray Dog is sprinting over towards the warrior. He takes a step forward, drawing his fist out to strike against Rolento's stomach. He lunges forward to draw his fist towards Rolento's stomach.
"I hate you."
He's not stopping there.

COMBATSYS: Daigo blocks Duolon's Shiryou Hatsu Seikin.

[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Rolento          0/-------/-======|====---\-------\0            Karin
[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Duolon           1/---====/=======|=====--\-------\0            Daigo
                                  >  //////////                    ]
                                 |==-----\-------\0             Jiro


COMBATSYS: Rolento interrupts Rhino Ravager from Jiro with Steel Rain.

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Rolento          0/-------/---====|====---\-------\0            Karin
[             \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Duolon           1/---====/=======|=====--\-------\0            Daigo
                                  >  ///                           ]
                                 |=======\-------\0             Jiro


Bamf? Death cloud explosion? Daigo remembers that, too, and gets to take an unsteady step back before too much of that cloud can get him. Before the high-speed chase blows it all away. He momentarily lost sight of Duo Lon...but Karin hadn't, leaving Daigo with a choice. Rolento? Or ninja-boy? The choice should be obvious. Rolento, ultimately, is the major threat. So if Karin can just keep the ninja busy for a little longer...Daigo's going to go help Jiro out, and offer a great hamfist knuckle sandwich to Rolento's face.

COMBATSYS: Karin successfully hits Duolon with Arakuma Inashi.
- Power hit! -

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Rolento          0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0            Karin
[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Duolon           2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=====--\-------\0            Daigo
                                  >  ///                           ]
                                 |=======\-------\0             Jiro


Oh christ. Duo Lon, who typically always rides people into the ground... has been ridden into the ground. And the moral of today's story is that Ninjas Always Have Bad Luck. Duo's been eating floor for what... five fights now? Crazy. Crazy. Anyway. The ninja does manage to get up, after delivering a swift(harmless) kick to Karin's side, and growls. "KAZAMA!" Another burst of that crazy ghosty energy, except this stuff is like, hardcore, where the other stuff was wuss. As a matter of fact, it's so hardcore that several tendrils of wraithlike energy ghost across the truck's roof, to attempt to break through Daigo's defenses and generally make him feel bad.

COMBATSYS: Rolento blocks Daigo's Jab Punch.

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Rolento          0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0            Karin
[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Duolon           0/-------/----===|=====--\-------\0            Daigo
                                  >  ///                           ]
                                 |=======\-------\0             Jiro


Rolento regains his bearings, and as Jiro comes at him with such lovely words, his response is immediate. He yanks out a handful of knives; And after the initial punch, Rolento skids backwards and hurls them all right into Jiro's chest. About twenty knives are now jutting out of him, in a manner that's probably quite obscene. He then snaps out his foot, attempting to kick the hapless kid off the truck to land in the street and out of the battle. Turning around, he literally slaps Daigo's attack aside before pulling out a grenade. "I believe these quarters are too close to pull the pin..." However, Rolento still tosses it into the air. He twirls his baton twice, before spinning in a double-handed shot. He cracks against the grenade -- which then flies towards Karin at startling speed, attempting to smack her in the head hard enough to shatter concrete. Rolento is dangerous with these weapons on multiple levels, you see.

Rolento doesn't throw a grenade. Eat that!

And simply like that Shingo cues up the Knight Rider themesong in his head for some strange reason known only to himself. He even pretends that his truck can talk to him. Just like KITT! All while dodging explodeys in the road and air.

Karin is totally safe from the non-existent grenade.

Apparently Shingo hit the 'missiles' button also, because Sakura's shouting out, "HADOOOOUKEN!" just about the same time as the music starts -- totally targeting those rockets that're headed straight for the Pit Bull. *thoom!*

Hopping around like a frog has been so much fun for Karin, she just doesn't want to stop. But out of the corner of her eye she sees Jiro go... well, maybe not 'down', but certainly 'slack'. So while she's not 100% confident in her ability to end this quickly, she is certainly going to do her damndest. Spinning on one heel she faces off with Duo... only to find Duo's back because he decided to lash out at Daigo. Well, that's fine with her... she goes again for the Guren Ken, focusing the blows with less speed but absolutely brutal intensity, finishing with the Hou Shou palm strike and praying that she can put Duo on the mat before Rolento gets his bearings back.

Meanwhile, the Stray Dog is plugged with twenty knives along his body. He growls, bleeding all over as he is attempting to break out of the hold. Oh no, Jiro isn't going to fly off of the truck yet. Instead, the Stray Dog is staggering heavily, coughing up blood as he's bleeding. Badly.
THe reason why he isn't flying off? His right foot has a firm hold on the ground. "SEI...." The Stray Dog growls, attempting to throw in his -final- power at Rolento's chest, aiming to knock him out of the truck along with him. "DO!" He's lunging forward onward, trying to throw all of his might.
This is where the person on the radio receiver would be going: Stray Dog? ....Stray? ....STRAAAAAAAAYYYYYY!!!!!
... Or not.

COMBATSYS: Jiro can no longer fight.

[                      \\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Rolento          0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0            Karin
[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Duolon           0/-------/----===|=====--\-------\0            Daigo


COMBATSYS: Daigo endures Duolon's Hiden Genmu Onryouheki.

[                      \\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Rolento          0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0            Karin
[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Duolon           0/-------/----===|=======\-------\1            Daigo


Deflected, and called out, Daigo is forced to leave Rolento alone for a moment to defend himself from the coming assault of mystical, deadly energies that threaten to devour him. Unblockable? Perhaps. Daigo doesn't even try. His footing isn't good enough on top of a speeding truck to worry about things like dodging. So he does the unthinkable. Again. The elder Kazama takes it like a man. Painful energies swirl around him, weaken his limbs, and suck the breath from his lungs, yet Daigo remains standing when the cloud clears away. And his eyes are focused on Duo Lon. There's no scream of rage, or any of that nonsense, there's only Daigo attempting to stomp across the truck top, to attempt to grab Duo Lon by the face.

And release a flow of chi straight into the ninja. A single, sharp spike of purple chi, from the palm of his hand. With any luck, into Duo's face.

COMBATSYS: Duolon dodges Karin's Guren Ken.

[                      \\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Rolento          0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0            Karin
[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Duolon           0/-------/----===|=====--\-------\0            Daigo


COMBATSYS: Daigo successfully hits Duolon with Super Skull Aura.

[                      \\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Rolento          0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0            Karin
[                         \\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Duolon           0/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0            Daigo


COMBATSYS: Duolon can no longer fight.

[                      \\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Rolento          0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0            Karin
                                  >  /////////////////////         ]
                                 |=====--\-------\0            Daigo


COMBATSYS: Rolento dodges Jiro's Bull Fist.

[                      \\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Rolento          0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0            Karin
                                  >  /////////////////////         ]
                                 |=====--\-------\0            Daigo


There's no real apparent effort in the dodge of the punch. Rolento just shifts to the side, and attempts to push Jiro off the truck a second time with a swift jab to the stomach rather dismissively. "A good dog knows when to stay down!" Turning in time to witness Duo Lon get defeated, there's a somewhat exasperated sigh before the commando pulls out a rather large knife. This is twirled between his fingers, before launching it at Karin in an attempt to hopefully make sure she stays down for the time being. He then looks towards Daigo, with mild aggravation. "Do you wish to know something comical?" He actually sounds genuine about this. Reaching into his vest... He pulls out a sleek silver detonator, flicking it open with his thumb.

COMBATSYS: Karin dodges Duolon's Fuuka Tenshi Combo.

[                      \\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Rolento          0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0            Karin
                                  >  /////////////////////         ]
                                 |=====--\-------\0            Daigo


COMBATSYS: Karin dodges Rolento's Large Thrown Object.

[                      \\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Rolento          0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0            Karin
                                  >  /////////////////////         ]
                                 |=====--\-------\0            Daigo


Well, it's not like the blonde didn't *expect* Rolento and Duo to turn on her *immediately* after one of the two went down. Thus she's ready for everything that comes her way: she simply sidesteps Duo's last gasp combination with a minimum of effort, then turns to the other side to watch Rolento's knife go sailing by, probably to impale some poor bastard on the street. And then Karin levels her gaze at Rolento, happy to find Daigo none the worse for wear... a big improvement over last time. "It's over," she says. "Stop the convoy, give us the warhead. We won't pursue. Take what you've stolen and go." She's not attacking, but she's keeping a wary eye on Rolento too. "I'm being pretty generous. It's your decision."

COMBATSYS: Karin focuses on her next action.

[                      \\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Rolento          0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0            Karin
                                  >  /////////////////////         ]
                                 |=====--\-------\0            Daigo


Actually, Rolento pauses at that statement from Karin. Then lowers the detonator. "Deal."

Unfortunately, the Stray Dog misses the punch, and he is given a swift jab to the stomach. He's falling right out of the top roof, falling from the edge. ...He's heading straight towards the street. Hard.

With the ninja defeated, the Dog down, that only left the Commander to deal with. And Daigo was feeling juuuuuuuust fine to deal with him. In fact, he'd gotten up to the ol' ominous cracking of knuckles before the merc spoke up about comical situations, and Karin piped up with some diplomacy stuff.

It's when Rolento accepts, that Daigo blinks once in surprise. His good eye, trailing over to Karin. "...Excuse me? You think he's just going to hand us the nuke now? After all that crap?" Yes. He's a little confused. Maybe a little irate. He really /wanted/ to punch Rolento...

COMBATSYS: Daigo focuses on his next action.

[                      \\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Rolento          0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0            Karin
                                  >  /////////////////////         ]
                                 |=====--\-------\0            Daigo


Nope. Rolento tosses the detonator to the side, bouncing off the street. Let's hope a kid doesn't find it and push the button. One Humvee remains, swerving in a manic manner. However, Rolento then pulls out a radio and hisses into it. Immediately, both vehicles pull to the side of the street, and Rolento leaps off and lands in a crouch. "I am done with this damn city! I will not lose my entire army for a stubborn civilian populace! There is no longer political value in this assault! Mission failed!" He then grasps the tarp of the transport, tearing it off. Indeed, inside is housed the nuclear warhead. He leaps into the truck, grabs it, and hurls it into the street with a clatter. He then merely stands, glaring at the people present. "Yet this is not the end of my Utopia. It is only the beginning!"

COMBATSYS: Rolento takes no action.

[                      \\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Rolento          0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0            Karin
                                  >  /////////////////////         ]
                                 |=====--\-------\0            Daigo


Hold up. Did the humvees and the trasport truck just pull over to the side of the road suddenly? Shingo watches in astonishment as he zooms by. Sakura and Megumi have stopped their firing, hopefully and the boy immediately pulls over as well. There are no seatbelts on the roof so they better hang on tightly again. It's a good sign that there are no more sounds of battle. Guess that must mean they won. For now he remains in the cab just in case it's a trap. But when the nuke stays where it is without exploding and Rolento drives off, he blinks and wonders what just happened. So he shouts up. "Uh, I take it we won?"

Unlike Daigo, Karin doesn't look surprised. She was actually pretty good at the whole psychological tactics thing before she came to Metro; everything she's done here has simply honed that natural talent into an impressive ad hoc skill. "No," she mutters to Daigo, once Rolento leaps off the van and Shingo's brought it to a stop. "He means it. He's been bleeding the city dry of valuables and cash for days in preparation for the retreat. He got what he wanted, and it's unlikely we'll ever be able to get it back." And now her eyes narrow. "My inner Ayn Rand is cringing, but I think a few million in replaceable trinkets is well worth the price of Metro remaining whole and its citizens alive."
And then... oh, then she turns to Rolento. "Go. Just... go. I don't care about your utopia anymore. I don't mind idealists. In my line of work we rather need them to keep the wheels of innovation moving." A pause here, while the girl takes a deep breath to compose herself. "But the type who think their ideal justifies anything they do, I can't tolerate." She seems like she has more to say, and then she just... can't, and turns away.

"..." What a way to end the war. Daigo was expecting more of a fight. Not a half-surrender. Good for the city. Somehow, Daigo isn't satisfied. Not without one final poke at the idealist mercenary. "Utopia whatever. Just don't bring your soldier garbage around Southtown..." Yeah, Daigo's going to be sore about letting the madman go for a few days. But...it can't be helped now, can it.

"A few million?" Rolento sounds very amused, laughing loudly upon the back of the truck. The Humvee guns and begins to drive away of it's own accord, not seeming to want to risk further attacks. "You think I only got a few million?" His eyes are almost sparkling as if in some private joke. "I had one hundred million entering this war. And it is chump change to what I acquired. By the way..." Rolento reaches into the back of the truck. He abruptly pulls out a rocket launcher, whirling around and firing it towards the truck. It is remarkably fast, attempting to hit the front and detonate. It would not blow up the truck... But it would completely kill the engine. "The nuke was disarmed two days ago. Enjoy, civilians." Hurling the launcher aside, the transport then screams into high gear, beginning to rapidly drive away.

COMBATSYS: Shingo has joined the fight here on the right meter side.

[                      \\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Rolento          0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0            Karin
                                  >  //////////////////////////////]
                                 |-------\-------\0           Shingo
                                  >  /////////////////////         ]
                                 |=====--\-------\0            Daigo


COMBATSYS: Rolento successfully hits Shingo with Grenadier.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-

[                       \\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Rolento          0/-------/-======|=====--\-------\0            Karin
                                  >  ///////////////////////       ]
                                 |====---\-------\0           Shingo
                                  >  /////////////////////         ]
                                 |=====--\-------\0            Daigo


So it has come down to this? The heroes have the trigger and the nuke. Rolento is getting ready to leave. He's inside the cab with two females still. What could be better? For starters, Rolento -not- pointing the rocket launcher and firing at the truck. That would be a whole lot better than the alternative. Now he thought about diving through the windshield and knocking it away harmlessly. But, that's reinforced bulletproof glass. He isn't going to bust through it very easily. There's only one option. Kick in the hydraulics and jump the truck to the right. Shingo presses the button.

Nothing happens.

He repeatedly presses it some more, "I can't believe they didn't put the hydraulics in!" The rocket's getting close and closer. Sakura and Megumi have already exited and are a safe distance away. Shingo's eyes go wide as the rocket is right in his face about to impact. "Aw crud."

*KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

The tricked out hero ride Shingotruck is reduced to nothing more than a smouldering, twisted heap of burning metal and glass. For those of you at home worried about the fate of our hero? Never fear. He's not quite dead. His body was somehow thrown to safety from one of the secondary blasts. Which is very much apparent from the scorch marks over his skin and what's left of his clothing. His face black all over and he coughs. "Bastard. That was a nice truck too." Something told him to counter. But then he could've sworn he heard a voice say not to counter. Thanks a lot Karin.

Oh, haha, yeah. Like nobody saw the parting rocket coming, chump. Well, except Shingo whose obsession with the van and look where that got him. "He thinks he got the last laugh," Karin says quietly. "Because he walked away with a 9 decimal figure? Money isn't power. It's what you do with the money that counts." Speaking of which: out comes Domo-kun the satphone. Alas, for the final time. "Kanzuki here." She rattles off the location. "Have them sweep the harbor one more time, then wave the supply ships in and send a team to get this nuke off the streets and into a lab. I want to know where it came from. Also, get people into the utilities, STAT. Water and power need to be back on. We'll be back shortly."
She turns to go, collecting her friends on the way, when she thinks of one more thing to tell whatever aide she was talking to on that sat phone.
"Also... tell them we won."

Log created by Jiro, and last modified on 07:08:02 09/12/2005.