Operation: Pacifica, Samhain, Cyberpyro, and San Francisco by Fleet Commander Samhain, DE, aka BlackBlood the Feral(NYAR!) Elektra hummed silently along the freeway, en route to Castro Gardens. Unfamiliar with the local terrain, Samhain relaxed and let Elektra do the driving. ... The pair of friends visited quietly as they sat at the end of a long bar, munching Cheeseburgers and keeping their eyes open as they did so. They didn't want a repeat performance of what happened with Owsen in the canyon. As they were finishing off their burgers, Samhain noted a pair of ladies in one corner. The odd pair of twins(?) was watching them intently. "CP, don't look too closely, but I think we have a pair of tails. I don't mean like J's, either. There, in the corner." CyberPyro casually scanned the room, easily picking up on who Samhain was talking about. Sure enough, there was a pair of women in one corner of the bar eyeing them strangely. They were dressed similarly enough that it was impossible to tell if they were twins or just a rather bizarre part of the local scenery. "Ditz-dykes?" asked CP as he noticed the two were the onlyquestionably heterosexual women in the restaurant, "didn't even think they existed ... spongin?" "Dunno, hard to tell in here, but definitely odd. Let's check it out. Think you can play dumb tourist for a bit?" CyberPyro shook his head. "Oh, why do I let you talk me into these things..." Before he could further object, Samhain was looked directly at the two and smiled warmly. That was all the invitation it took, and the pair came over to join them, taking the 2 stools nearest them. "Hi!" said the first. "Hi!" said the second. "Umm, Hi," responded CP. "Hi... we're kinda new around here... what do you do for fun?" "We like..." "...to dance!" "I think I'm gonna hurl," commented CP under his breath. Samhain felt the same way, but continued the ploy anyway. "I have a great stereo in my car... wanna go out and hear it?" "Sure!" "Sure!" CP was already on his way out the door. ... "You guys, like, wanna do a group thing?" asked schizo number one. Samhain reached into the V-1 and started Enigma echoing through the alley where it was hidden. "Group thing? Umm, we're gay." CP looked at Samhain and grinned widely, then put his arm around his waist. "Yeah. Lovers, even." "ewwwww!" they both chimed as Samhain kissed CP on the cheek and smiled for added effect. "And what is that bad music? Play some, like, Barney." That was all the cue they needed. They both reached through the back window as Elektra opened it, grabbed their respective swords, and lopped the heads cleanly from the schizo-twins' necks. "Like, gag me with a Claymore," mimicked CyberPyro. "Like, Yeah, fersure..." followed Samhain as he got out a rag to wipe off their blades. "Hey, since when are you gay?" CP questioned. "Me? Ever since I got tired of playing your STRAIGHT MAN!" punned Samhain, ducking into the car and raising the window even before he heard the groan behind him. ... Elektra was again cruising the freeway. CyberPyro was still fuming about the scene with the demon twins. "Sam, never EVER do that again. I'll cut *your* head off *first* next time you do that, ok?" Samhain couldn't stop laughing. "Oh c'mon, CP! We just did the entire human race a favor, and you're po'd?!?!?" "I hate to break in on your lovers' quarrel," came Elektra's amused voice, "but we have some friends that have been following us for a while now." Samhain and CyberPyro both checked the mirrors. "No friends of mine," commented Samhain. "Mine either," came CP's immediate response. "Well then, if you'll excuse the pun, I'm afraid you're about to get a crash course from Samhain's School of Offensive Driving. Elektra--give me maximum defensive screens, minimum perimeter. CP... hang on tight." Samhain slowed just enough for their pursuers to catch up to just a couple car lengths. "Here we go!" he exclaimed as he slammed his feet down on the pedals and yanked the wheel to the side. The V-1 immediately spun to its left in a blazingly fast bootleg-turn style hook. As it did so, the purple Ford Festiva in the left lane caught the back end. An electric blue flash matching the color of the V-1's paint marked the point of impact with the shields. The Festiva, smashed exactly in the right front wheel, lost control and spun off into a concrete barrier where it then met with the front of a FedEx truck and promptly disappeared into thin sheets of metal foil, the FedEx driver not even noticing that something had hit him. Meanwhile, the V-1's back end spun back around in the opposite direction. The second pursuit vehicle, also a purple Festiva, zipped past in the right lane as the V-1 slowed in the process of the turn. Once facing the proper direction to match the flow of traffic again, Samhain whipped the wheel back and tromped the pedal to resume his original course. He then slipped over into the lane directly behind the second Festiva, carefully matching its speed. Elektra automatically engaged the heavy Lasers concealed below and behind the doors and opened fire. The gatling- gun style barrels extended from their storage position and spun madly, spraying the Festiva with a more than lethal dose of high-intensity radiation. The Festiva's fuel tank cooked off in a brilliant plume of flame and debris directly in front of them. As they raced forward into the expanding ball of flames, a tire bounced off the shields in front of the windshield with a crackling of blue. They shot through the center of the explosion, wraith-like fingers of flame and debris attempting to cling to the sides of the car and soon disappearing into the distance behind them. The CD player didn't even skip. "Hoo-ahh!" cheered Samhain in his best Colonel Slade voice. "Back to cruise mode, Elektra. I don't think they'll bother us again tonight..." "Not bad, Sam," commented CP. Not bad at all..." ----------- "Samhain, Cyberpyro, and San Francisco" Copyright 1996 David R. Hibbs