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Description
A slick black car sliced across the night-lit streets of a New York City suburb. The entire area was on high alert and the roads were ominously empty. All of the famously bright buildings and billboards sat quiet in the dark.

"Just shut the hell up and drive!"

"You shoot like a girl!"

"You are a girl!"

"Hang on!"

The car's tires screeched in protest as it swerved around another tight corner. Stark light burst from it's busted rear window as a pistol sent several bullets racing towards a pack of pursuing SUVs.

"Liz! Slow it down please." The passenger shouted.

The driver remained breathless for a moment and focused.

"Three. Two.... One......" She whispered. The air chilled. The world shifted down a gear and time sped a little slower. Mark wielded his weapon with more ease. God, that never get's old. He couldn't move as fast, but he could analyze his sights with great control. Three flashes, three flat tires. A slow motion wreck followed, cars sliding this way and that crashing into various buildings, one even tilted up on it's side. Damn, out of bullets. There's still too many of them. He reached over and taped Liz on the shoulder, she released her hold on time.

"Burr, thanks sis. Move over I'm driving."

His turn. I love this part.

"Three....... Two..... One." It all started within his heart, it always did. A simple, stable beat gave way to the furious tempo of the pouring rain. Then a twitch, a violent vibration, spread throughout his body. The world sped up. It wasn't safe to go over 120mph in town, pity. He transitioned the clutch, it shifted from gear to gear without resistance. Lights blurred by, and in a mere of seconds (or at least it felt like seconds) they were free of the city and traveling in the deep country. We're clear now. Mark applied the breaks on time. Lights blurred back to their respective positions. The roar of engine died to a purr. Finally the racing thump of his heart tapered down to it's normal pace. He took a look around and saw Lizy sleeping in the back seats. They were somewhere in the middle of Kentucky. Pink dawn was breaking on the horizon. This was one of the few times he liked slowing down, enjoy the moment. But he was drained.

"Hey Liz wake up. You're gonna need to drive for a bit."

"Hmm? Okay, scoot over. Wow, bro you need to shave." After the short burst of power he was now sprouting unkempt facial hair. It looked like it had been neglected for years.

"Really, was it that long? How much older did I get?"

"19? No, you're probably late 18 right now."

"Damn, I'll need about a week to recover. Oh boy," he yawned. Damned accelerated aging. I 'm drained. "Keep us out of trouble 'k? I need to hit the sack for a bit." He pulled over to the side of the road and pulled his way into the back seat. His sister took the wheel and the car hummed to life. The vibrations of the engine were uniform and small, comforting in a rhythmic way. Fatigue wrapped itself around him and gave a warm, numbing hug goodnight.

* * * * *

"Those little shits!" Dent Striger's furry got the best of him. "I take them in when they have nowhere to turn and what do they do? What do they DO!?! They go and blow the whole FUCKING operation and bugger off! They're so fucking dead. Jason!"

Jason Ritalin lurched forward at once, best not to doddle when the boss's in a bad mood.

"Yes Mr. Striger?"

"Find them! Destroy them! Bring me their heads on a spit!"

"Yes sir!"

Striger was finally calming down but by the look in his eyes this was not an anger he was willing to let go of. "Jason. Do not fail me, too often your operations end with little or no success. If you fail, it will be the last time you fail anything. Understood?"

Shit! Okay, okay calm down Jason. I can handle this. It's just a pair of stupid twerps right? "Yes sir. Consider it done."

* * * * *

" 'Ey Joey?"

"Yeah boss?"

"Close up shop tonight will you? I'm headed home for the weekend."

"Sure thing boss." The bells on the door jingled as it swung shut. Asshole, you always leave early. Run your own damn gas station. You don't pay me enough to spit on the floor. Oops looky here. The cash-register popped open. No harm counting the money right? Just make sure nobody took nothin'. Sly as a fox Joey, real smooth like. Damn, there's over 700 here. Sucker. The bells rang again. Shit! Don't be the boss. Don't be the boss. A young man walked up to the counter. Dang, this dude needs ta shave.

"Can I help you?"

"Um yeah, I need two hot dogs and 40 in gas."

"Sure thing that'll be 44.79. Cash or credit?"

"Cash." He handed over a trio of twenties.

"Alright here's your change and have a nice day." Sucker, you're 10 short on your change. Not that you checked. The bells rang again and Joey went back to counting how much money he could steal. What the hell? There's only 342 here. WHERE'S MY MONEY!!! Shit, what'll the boss think? I can't explain all that money. Oh shit, oh shit, that little punk musta stolen it. No, no that's not possible I watched him the whole time. He didn't set hand near the money. Shit, where'd it go!?!

* * * * *

Liz leaned back in the passenger seat. "You know, that wasn't very nice. He's probably going to get fired."

Mark shrugged behind the wheel. His stubble had receded a little and his face looked slightly younger. "So what? The guy was a thief himself. He was going to rip his boss off anyways."

'But did you need to steal 400 dollars Mark?" She whined. "I feel dirty."

"Hey, I gave him back 60. Besides, we need this money to get where we need to go. Unless you want to go back to work for Striger?"

"God no. Let's just try to get there cleanly from now on. I don't want to hurt people anymore." She leaned against the window, the expression of painful remembrance on her face. Mark focused on the road and sped a little faster. If only it was that easy. If only...

* * * * *

"Freeze!" Cash Nickals leveled his pistol at the two intruders.

"Easy. Put the gun down. We're here to surrender."

"Lies!" Screamed Cash. Shit, shit, shit. I know these two. They're two of Striger's best assassins. Shit, shit, shit! He looked down and his gun was gone. It now swung around the boy's finger he smiled at Cash.

"If we wanted to kill you would be alive now?" He disappeared and a voice whispered in Cash's ear. "How 'bout now?" Shit how'd he get behind me?

"N-n..n-PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!!!" Cash was on his knees now. "Please, mercy, mercy! I-I have a family- kids! Please, please, oh God please!" The little girl rushed at him, God this is it. I'm sorry so sorry I- and gave him a big hug.

"Jesus Mark you scared him half to death! It's okay, it's okay." Despite her comforts Cash was still babbling like an idiot. He was shocked shitless. This must be what a hug from death feels like.

"W-what do you want?"

Mark relaxed a little and put his arms behind his back. "Arrest us. We need to talk with Carlson."

Description
A slick black car sliced across the night-lit streets of a New York City suburb. The entire area was on high alert and the roads were ominously empty. All of the famously bright buildings and billboards sat quiet in the dark.

"Just shut the hell up and drive!"

"You shoot like a girl!"

"You are a girl!"

"Hang on!"

The car's tires screeched in protest as it swerved around another tight corner. Stark light burst from it's busted rear window as a pistol sent several bullets racing towards a pack of pursuing SUVs.

"Liz! Slow it down please." The passenger shouted.

The driver remained breathless for a moment and focused.

"Three. Two.... One......" She whispered. The air chilled. The world shifted down a gear and time sped a little slower. Mark wielded his weapon with more ease. God, that never get's old. He couldn't move as fast, but he could analyze his sights with great control. Three flashes, three flat tires. A slow motion wreck followed, cars sliding this way and that crashing into various buildings, one even tilted up on it's side. Damn, out of bullets. There's still too many of them. He reached over and taped Liz on the shoulder, she released her hold on time.

"Burr, thanks sis. Move over I'm driving."

His turn. I love this part.

"Three....... Two..... One." It all started within his heart, it always did. A simple, stable beat gave way to the furious tempo of the pouring rain. Then a twitch, a violent vibration, spread throughout his body. The world sped up. It wasn't safe to go over 120mph in town, pity. He transitioned the clutch, it shifted from gear to gear without resistance. Lights blurred by, and in a mere of seconds (or at least it felt like seconds) they were free of the city and traveling in the deep country. We're clear now. Mark applied the breaks on time. Lights blurred back to their respective positions. The roar of engine died to a purr. Finally the racing thump of his heart tapered down to it's normal pace. He took a look around and saw Lizy sleeping in the back seats. They were somewhere in the middle of Kentucky. Pink dawn was breaking on the horizon. This was one of the few times he liked slowing down, enjoy the moment. But he was drained.

"Hey Liz wake up. You're gonna need to drive for a bit."

"Hmm? Okay, scoot over. Wow, bro you need to shave." After the short burst of power he was now sprouting unkempt facial hair. It looked like it had been neglected for years.

"Really, was it that long? How much older did I get?"

"19? No, you're probably late 18 right now."

"Damn, I'll need about a week to recover. Oh boy," he yawned. Damned accelerated aging. I 'm drained. "Keep us out of trouble 'k? I need to hit the sack for a bit." He pulled over to the side of the road and pulled his way into the back seat. His sister took the wheel and the car hummed to life. The vibrations of the engine were uniform and small, comforting in a rhythmic way. Fatigue wrapped itself around him and gave a warm, numbing hug goodnight.

* * * * *

"Those little shits!" Dent Striger's furry got the best of him. "I take them in when they have nowhere to turn and what do they do? What do they DO!?! They go and blow the whole FUCKING operation and bugger off! They're so fucking dead. Jason!"

Jason Ritalin lurched forward at once, best not to doddle when the boss's in a bad mood.

"Yes Mr. Striger?"

"Find them! Destroy them! Bring me their heads on a spit!"

"Yes sir!"

Striger was finally calming down but by the look in his eyes this was not an anger he was willing to let go of. "Jason. Do not fail me, too often your operations end with little or no success. If you fail, it will be the last time you fail anything. Understood?"

Shit! Okay, okay calm down Jason. I can handle this. It's just a pair of stupid twerps right? "Yes sir. Consider it done."

* * * * *

" 'Ey Joey?"

"Yeah boss?"

"Close up shop tonight will you? I'm headed home for the weekend."

"Sure thing boss." The bells on the door jingled as it swung shut. Asshole, you always leave early. Run your own damn gas station. You don't pay me enough to spit on the floor. Oops looky here. The cash-register popped open. No harm counting the money right? Just make sure nobody took nothin'. Sly as a fox Joey, real smooth like. Damn, there's over 700 here. Sucker. The bells rang again. Shit! Don't be the boss. Don't be the boss. A young man walked up to the counter. Dang, this dude needs ta shave.

"Can I help you?"

"Um yeah, I need two hot dogs and 40 in gas."

"Sure thing that'll be 44.79. Cash or credit?"

"Cash." He handed over a trio of twenties.

"Alright here's your change and have a nice day." Sucker, you're 10 short on your change. Not that you checked. The bells rang again and Joey went back to counting how much money he could steal. What the hell? There's only 342 here. WHERE'S MY MONEY!!! Shit, what'll the boss think? I can't explain all that money. Oh shit, oh shit, that little punk musta stolen it. No, no that's not possible I watched him the whole time. He didn't set hand near the money. Shit, where'd it go!?!

* * * * *

Liz leaned back in the passenger seat. "You know, that wasn't very nice. He's probably going to get fired."

Mark shrugged behind the wheel. His stubble had receded a little and his face looked slightly younger. "So what? The guy was a thief himself. He was going to rip his boss off anyways."

'But did you need to steal 400 dollars Mark?" She whined. "I feel dirty."

"Hey, I gave him back 60. Besides, we need this money to get where we need to go. Unless you want to go back to work for Striger?"

"God no. Let's just try to get there cleanly from now on. I don't want to hurt people anymore." She leaned against the window, the expression of painful remembrance on her face. Mark focused on the road and sped a little faster. If only it was that easy. If only...

* * * * *

"Freeze!" Cash Nickals leveled his pistol at the two intruders.

"Easy. Put the gun down. We're here to surrender."

"Lies!" Screamed Cash. Shit, shit, shit. I know these two. They're two of Striger's best assassins. Shit, shit, shit! He looked down and his gun was gone. It now swung around the boy's finger he smiled at Cash.

"If we wanted to kill you would be alive now?" He disappeared and a voice whispered in Cash's ear. "How 'bout now?" Shit how'd he get behind me?

"N-n..n-PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!!!" Cash was on his knees now. "Please, mercy, mercy! I-I have a family- kids! Please, please, oh God please!" The little girl rushed at him, God this is it. I'm sorry so sorry I- and gave him a big hug.

"Jesus Mark you scared him half to death! It's okay, it's okay." Despite her comforts Cash was still babbling like an idiot. He was shocked shitless. This must be what a hug from death feels like.

"W-what do you want?"

Mark relaxed a little and put his arms behind his back. "Arrest us. We need to talk with Carlson."