The hovercar took of with a start as Mark gunned the throttle, throwing them back into their seats as the engines revved. Yoshiko's car, very easily spotted with its cute decals, wasn't too far off yet, weaving in between vehicles in the skylanes. "Traffic is fairly modest up ahead, with enough room to maneuver. A fact that the driver of our target is making sure to exploit." the AI replied to Victoria. "I have also taken the liberty of interlinking communications between our vehicles. We will all be able to hear each other." he simply stated. "It appears that the car Yoshiko is in is not networked at all, and is mist likely driven manually. I cannot take control of it. However, I have taken the liberty of doing so with yours Lucien. Feel free to take the wheel if you see fit."

*****

Shinji had taken to the third car, alone, and tailed after the group. He couldn't help but be wracked by guilt. He mixed the drinks after all, and he was the sober one! And then he suddenly took a hand off his steering wheel to honk at them in anger.

"Oi, Wassup wit' me, dis ain't my fault, they's da morons who wasn't lookin afta' her!"

*****

Kelly's heart was racing now, pounding away in his chest and sending searing adrenaline through his veins. The haze of alcohol was still there, but it was just starting to be burned away. The Test Team Leader was in the back, and managed to look past Mark and Victoria at the decorated car they pursued. It was like being in a dream; long trails of neon light were left in wakes as they rushed by, with Sami constantly smiling at him as she nimbly jinked and juked about through traffic. And something twisted in his gut. "Guys, something's not right."

The Ita-car they chased suddenly turned on a dime to round a corner; everyone was suddenly tossed about as their cars twisted about to follow, their seatbelts forgotten.

Vicki was not very happy. Even though she sat up fron she would be happy to get an airbike. With that she could get to Yoshiko easily. Or wich an shuttle. "Mark step on it!" she shouted at driver. "I believe I am sober enough to jumpo from car to car. Ged coudl you open doors of both ours and Yoshikos cars for me?" She asked then.

"Aw, hell!" Mark rocked in his seat, snatching with one hand the seat belt as he was uncomfortably reminded of its presence (or lack thereof). "This shit better not get any more outta hand."

"Smoke!" He called to Viki, "You'd better not fall out of this here car and bust your ass on that ground, cuz I'm not gettin' out of this thing with a squeegee to get your pancaked-ass off the damn ground, baby."

Mark didn't actually think she couldn't make the jump, but rather he agreed with Kelley. Something wasn't right on this ride, and he was more interested in figuring out where the colorful racer was headed with Yoshiko than making a daring rescue. There was no way someone so inebriated could drive so efficiently, so he reasoned that it was a set-up of sorts. He pondered with possibilities in his head, hands automatically cutting the steering wheel hard to swerve around traffic. His eyes darted across the lanes faster than the car as he scanned for openings in the crowd. Soon, the chase was on again, like it had been years before. The only time he'd ever committed a crime.

Anxiety gave way to a familial air as the memory of the chase eased his mind. "I can do this." He told himself. "Last time I was in a big van, now I'm in a car. Compared to that, this ain't a thing."

"Ged, that ain't helpin'! I thought youse Origin shit 'ad a secret backdoor in e'erythin' 'er somesuch!" Lucien yelled in reply as he tailed the Nekoranger clad hovercar in an AI-assisted chase.

Feeling powerless as to what to do, he eventually came to be between Yoshiko's car and the car Viki and Mark were piloting, providing a sort of stepping stone, "Can't ya just do wot those bespectacled blokes do 'n "Hack into all of the firewalls, all of them!" 'er somesuch like that?!"

He then looked to either side. On one side, the very drunk ex-Nekovalkyrja on a deadly bender, on the other, the rest of the crew, just as terrified as he was.

"I'm afraid not. As I've already explained, this car has disconnected from the network completely!" the AI spoke, a faint hint of worry coloring the voice. "It's impossible to access it if it's network adapter is turned off you see." he went on sarcastically in a change of beat.

"Damn, I can't see Yoshiko at all with that car's tinted window!" Kelly grumbled. He continued to eyeball the car though. "How the hell is she driving like this when she's drunk enough to pass out?" The Nepleslian asked incredulously as the car accelerated and swerved around a large liquid transport to keep a distance.

"I'm not entirely certain myself. Though, I must say; either she is a gifted pilot, or, she's not the one driving." Ged replied. At that, Yoshiko's car suddenly took a tight right turn and rounded the corner, vanishing from view. As the others followed suit, their vision was suddenly filled with an oncoming hovercar; the world suddenly felt light as the comforting pull of gravity ceased, and they all fell.

The cars dove down to avoid the oncoming traffic, anyone without a seat belt briefly floating midair before the seat came back up to 'catch' them. "Phew. A close call." Ged spoke, briefly controlling the cars to keep them safe. One car after another rushed at them as they went down a one way sky-lane, their cars dodging in and out as they entered a large tunnel against traffic. Kelly glanced at the speedometer; 147 MPH. At this point, he only had one thing to say.

"Oh shit."

"Gutt piloting Ged," Viki responded to Ai as she looked forward. It was clearly not possible for Yoshiko to drive like that, not in the state she was. Someone else had to pilot it, there was even possibility someone was already inside. Windows were not see-through after all. There was also oneo ther thing. Viki being adrenaline freak enjoyed the drive a lot. "Hey Ged, could we move even faster? I bet you can pull it off right?"

Taela had that weightless feeling. You know, the one that you get when going downhill on a roller-coaster, or when your plane suddenly takes a dive due to turbulence. And then gravity returned like an ex-wife from hell, slamming the Neko back into her seat in the back of the hovercar.

"Seat-belt. . ." She mumbled, fumbling around for the strapped device. The effects of the alcohol were thinning, if only slightly, enough for her to finally be able comprehend her situation without thinking of a million things. And then she looked forward, out of the windshield. "No more alcohol for me. . . It looks like we're driving the wrong way to me, Lucien. Remind me not to take a taxi after drinking next time.

Little did she know that the cars coming at hers were not alcohol-induced apparitions.

"That's not a bad idea, Smoke." Mark replied to Viki. "Maybe Ged can release any safety features on this thing so I can push the pedal to the metal."

The former reporter turned slightly in his seat to glance at Kelly fro just a short moment. He was starting to catch on to the same thing Mark was. Mark started feeling a little less paranoid and a little more worried about the situation. His mind turned over on it.

"Ged," he asked, "Can you access a list of wireless frequencies around our vehicle? If so, would you be able to detect anything strange going into Yoshiko's vehicle? What if there's another AI piloting her car, like you do when whenever we have a near-miss? I know you said their network adaptor isn't turned on, but what if they're operating through a secondary router stored somewhere in the vehicle?"

Although he'd wanted to keep it hidden, Mark decided now was the time to pull out his SEP II from a deep breast pocket in his suit jacket. Hefting the weapon by its barrel, he handed it to Kelly handle-first. He kept his eyes on the road and said, "I don't know if this can help, but I brought it along, just in case."

Lucien was still balls-to-wall driving between Mark's car and Yoshiko's, letting out a constant stream of slurred Scottish profanities ranging from the benign "Shite!" to some words that were invented by Nepleslia solely to offend Yamataian ears as much as possible.

However, given the situation, he was entirely justified. Since he figured that Ged had most of the control of the car he was driving, he decided to roll down the window and look over to Yoshiko's car as best as he could.
"Y'know wot Taela?" Lucien snarked between profanities, "A taxi might be too much to ask if this is wot normal life is like for us!"

He then took his Origin 10mm Pistol sidearm from inside his jacket and wondered aloud, "If that were a regular car, I could shoot fer the tyres, but..." He grumbled, "I seriously doubt me bullets cud get through this 'ere Durandium. Ged, any suggestions fer those who follow the path 'o th' most lead?"

Bright, bright lights rushed at them. Horns. Lots and lots of horns screamed at them as they went. Shrieks of terror tore through the air and vanished as convertible hovercars flew by, swerving hard to dodge the cars flying down the tunnel in the wrong direction. "As we are now, we cannot increase speed due to the fact we are flying against traffic. This has played to our advantage as well, allowing us to keep up with Yoshiko's car." the AI replied to the Abwehran. The car started turning as the tunnel began to curve. "There are no connections that I can exploi - wait. " Ged stopped mid-sentence before speaking again. "Secure transmission detected...intercepted and saved to databanks. Decrypting."

"Ged, Mark and Lucien might be on to something. Can't we just shoot the thrusters out?" Kelly asked, reaching into his suit and pulling out a 10mm as well. However, he decided to pocket the weapon again, considering he was still a bit tipsy; it was one of his wiser decisions.

"Kelly, Mark, Lucien...we're traveling at over 150 miles per hour...against traffic going at 100 miles per hour." The AI simply pointed out.

"Oh. Well. We're lucky traffic through this tunnel is light this time of day." He remarked, surprised. Kelly decided on a whim to look out the window to the side, only to see nothing but colors blurring by. He gulped nervously, the fear eating away the alcohol in his veins and returning him to reality.

"Very. We can however, attempt to fire when the chase slows down to safer speeds. Ah!" The AI started with surprise. "I've finished...you will all want to hear this I believe." Ged spoke grimly, car jerking to the left, then right. A new voice suddenly burst over the sound systems of their cars.

" -one of their bitches right here with me, all nice and asleep. Just keep OriSec gummed up so they don't know what's happening and unable to respond." The harsh voice paused as the car in front of them jerked to the left to dodge a sedan. "damn it! If I didn't have to have both my hands on the wheel right now I'd take the girl and - the hell? Screw you Ori-Dogs!"

The transmission went dead. It was right then and their however, that Kelly's eyes gave off a flash as he clenched both his fists up in front of him. "FLOOR IT! KEEP UP THE PRESSURE!" Hey yelled with bright eyed fury, pointing wildly at the smiling Sami. "We gotta keep Yoshiko safe!"

"Overclocking vehicle hardware now. Blame Victoria for the engine bills if they burn out." Ged responded. "When firing, aim for the primary thrusters at the center of the vehicle, and not the side maneuvering thrusters." He suggested. "Though that car is enclosed, I am uncertain if the windows are bullet proof. And any civilians are most certainly not as well. Take caution." the AI warned them.

The end of the tunnel shown like a brilliant bright light, to which they all leaped at as the Ita-car tried to pull ahead. Their engines roared with a new thrum as vision seemed to blur. Everything went white as they charged, headfirst into the blazing unknown. And straight into suburbia. There were rows upon rows of homes, wholesome green lawns, and even the occasional dog running about. This was still Sector Nine though. Primary habitation.