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| - Log Title: A Deal Gone Bad Characters: Cuffs, Kilroy, Major Bludd Location: Mexico/Central America, North America Date: August 18, 2008 TP: Non-TP In a run-down warehouse near the United States border, A group of men are gathered around a group of large crates, animatedly discussing something. A slight, balding man slaps his hand down on the central crate. "...and I guarantee their quality. You can take a look at them, if you'd like." Cuffs is sitting outside said building. He had actually gone there to catch a nap, his newly polished black form gleaming in the midafternoon sun, the Transformer's sigils covered up to keep undercover as he naps. Major Bludd, in civilian clothes and a light brown duster, steps up to the crate. "Of /course/ I want to see them," he growls in irritation. He signals to a pair of muscle-bound men behind him. The balding man smiles weakly and removes the lid from the crate, stepping back from it. One thug lifts the nose of one of the missiles within the crate while the other produces a tool to remove its nose cone. "No," Bludd says, holding out a hand. "I want to look at one further down." The thugs, shrugging, begin unloading the crate, laying the missiles on top of another crate. A small alarm blinks inside Cuffs' mind as he stirrs awake, his systematic scans detecting weapons nearby. The car doesnt move, though he does tense up, now doing a fuller sweep of the area. The balding man frowns at the intense inspection of his wares. "They're all the same," he huffs. "If they are, and they're all good, then we're fine," Bludd replies with a smile. "No worries." The thugs reach the middle of the crate, and Bludd signals them to stop. "That's good. Open up one from there." One of the men again produces the tool and begins to remove the missile's nose cone. Cuffs hums softly at that and rolls down the street, but instantly stops as he sees someone at the door, smoking... someone just watching no doubt while pretending to be on break. The car remains quiet once more as he scans again, becoming more and more worried. Quietly, a radio signal goes out.... Kilroy drives his humvee to a nearby overhang. He's been told about the exchange, and wishes to observe it unseen. The cyborg takes a set of binnoculars out of a pouch and focuses on the exchange. It seems he's not a moment too soon. "You think I'd cheat you?" The balding man's face reddens and he steps around the crate to confront Bludd. "These are quality weapons," he insists. "I'm not some lousy two-bit runner!" Bludd holds up a hand. "Relax, mate," he says, staring down his nose at the man. "In this biz, y'have t'make sure. Ain't nothin' you don't already know, yeah?" He narrows his eyes, his stance shifting almost imperceptibly. "An' if they aren't, I won't be a happy camper." The other man swallows. "Yes," he mumbles, "yes of course." Cuffs remains seated, al ittle fidgety where the car remained near the side fire escape. The amount of explosives was not a good thing at all, even for a transformer, but what could he do on his own? Attacking was right out.. Satisfied with his inspection, Bludd instructs the men to replace the weapons in the crate. He turns to pick up a briefcase from the floor behind him. "Looks good," he says, resting the case on the top of one of the closed crates. "I'll take the lot, at the price we agreed upon." He opens the case toward the little man, who nods once and accepts it, closing it again. "Odd t'be on this side of the deal," Bludd mutters to himself. "Right," he calls to the thugs as they finish closing up the crate, "let's get this stuff loaded and get outta here." He hooks a thumb toward a battered pickup truck sitting just inside the warehouse door. Kilroy decides now is the time to move in. "I'm afraid, I'll have to say otherwise." the southern accented Cyborg states. "US Army. Hands up where I can see em, boys.." Cuffs grins mentally and remains ready as he watches this, ready to transform on a moment's notice to assist kilroy, as the mechanoid WAS on his own.. The balding man's eyebrows nearly fly off his head at the sight of the cyborg. He stutters incomprehensibly. Bludd turns on his heel to glare at Kilroy. "You've got no jurisidiction here," he growls, waving at the thugs to lift the first crate into the truck. Kilroy chuckles. "Actually, I do." He pulls out a badge. "Mexico backs our hunt for known terrorists against International targets. That would be you, Bludd and your friends are guilty by association. Unless your consolate talks to mine, its my duty as an American soldier and as a GI Joe to bring you back for trial." Cuffs remains seated where he was, now focused on Kilroy, his hood laser quietly charged, though his engine remaiend off... ready to assist the GI Joe if necessary. Major Bludd smiles slowly. "What, jus' you?" He chuckles. "Cheeky Joes. So full o' themselves." The thugs, casting furtive glances at Kilroy, place the crate into the back of the truck, then look between the cyborg and Bludd in silent question. Bludd inclines his head slightly toward Kilroy and the two men charge the cyborg in an attempt to knock him down. Kilroy pauses. "Yep. Just me and myself. When they bring the cyborg out, generally that measn they want to make sure no one gets in the crossfire. Now. Are you going to come quietly or are we going to have to do things the hard way?" He notices the thugs coming at him and tries to knock them to the ground. "Hard way, then.." While the thugs occupy Kilroy, Bludd moves to the side of the still-stunned seller. "Think our deal is off," he says, taking the briefcase from the man's limp grasp. He heads for the rear of the building, intent on escaping from the Joe cyborg. Cuffs could not detect the peoplereally, but saw one blip moving towards his side of the building now. He watches, pretending still to be just a car sitting there. A damn nice car. Kilroy arghs as he's knocked down. He uses his own body weighe against hte thugs, trying to clothesline one while holding the other down. "Squirmy, aintcha?" He looks to see if he can find Bludd in the confusion. Major Bludd dashes through the warehouse and through a door at the back of the building. He rounds the side of the building and spies the Lincoln parked there. He grins. Stealing the seller's car wasn't in his original plans, but when opportunity presents... "Nothin' personal, mate," he chuckles to himself, "but I need a ride outta here." Cuffs is quite startled as his unlocked door is opened. Too shocked to do anything he just lets Bludd in, perhaps stunned at the audacity or sheer nuts of Bludds' actions. Kilroy is still distracted by his thugs. He tries to hold them in place. "Now where did that Cobra get to...?" The thugs, surprised at the sheer strength of the cyborg, nevertheless try to beat him into submission. Bludd slides behind the wheel of the Lincoln and is not entirely surprised to find the keys in the ignition. "Some people are so trusting," he grins, turning the key. Cuffs lets out a soft squeak of shock at the sudden turning on of his engine, when he did not expect it, but the sound was half muffled by the purr of his fantastic engine under the hood, all systems go. He remains quiet now, perhaps half frightened by Bludd's actions. Kilroy remains completely distracted, beating the thugs a bit more. He tries to keep them down. At least he'll be bringing two in tonight. Major Bludd frowns at the odd engine noise, but puts the car in gear anyway. He circles the back of the warehouse, gunning the engine and grinning at the seller, who opens the back door just as the Lincoln goes by. "Cheers, mate!" he calls as he goes by, heading for the highway. Kilroy hears the Lilncoln pass by and curses. He disengages from his fight. "Allright. The race is on." He runs to his HumVee and starts the engine. Time to pursue! Cuffs is becoming more alarmed at this as he was taken out by the road, the Cobra man having full control over the Autobot pretty much. The engine was smooth - very smooth and the car responded instantly, beginning to speed up without effort Major Bludd pulls out onto the highway. "Man must make some good money," he ponders aloud, "t'have a car like this. Pity I had t'leave 'im with the Joe." He laughs, giving the car some gas and opening up the throttle a little. Kilroy takes the HumVee as fast as its engine will allow, trying to catch up to the Lincoln. "Allright, Bludd. Just you and me now.." He says softly. "No pressure." Sure -- a newer addition to the Joes after one of the big heads of Cobra. No pressure on him. "I would appreciate it if you at least let ME do the driving," the car finally states, sounding a little shaken, the wheel stiffening up some. "And in all reality, I should stop right now and lock all my doors after what you just did. You need a good reason to have me NOT." Major Bludd is startled into utter speechlessness for several moments. This is a scene out of some bizarre science fiction/horror movie. Cars don't talk! Hands still on the wheel, he looks around for some kind of audio device hidden under the steering column or perhaps in the stereo somewhere. Cuffs states, "That doesn't help much you know." The wheel starts to move on its own, keeping them on the road. The gas petal pushes back against Bludd's foot, trying to ease off as the Autobot reaffirms control stiffly. "Release the wheel and pedals now." Kilroy drives up right behind the car. He gets a radio transmission and responds. "Oh, right, you're the car? Hold him still. I'll be right over." It's his first encounter with a Cybertronian. "Oh man.. this outta be interesting." Major Bludd swears quietly as a reflex, automatically fighting against the car's attempts to control its movements. "This is bloody crazy," he mutters. He looks into the rearview mirror and sees Kilroy in his Humvee. He tries to push the accelerator down. Cuffs grunts and fights back as the car starts to swerve dangerously side to side, the accelerator pedal stubbornly refusing to go down, although its design makes it sink a little closer. "Release me NOW, human!" he snaps loudly, both internally and externally. Kilroy tries to move to the Lincoln's side, matching speed. "Hey want me to shoot out your tires?" he calls. "Your passanger givn' you some trouble?" Major Bludd turns his head to sneer out the driver's side window at Kilroy. He leans over to the passenger's seat, and gathers up the briefcase. He opens the passenger's side door and, gathering the briefcase to his chest, hurls himself out the door, curling his body to minimise the damage he's going to incur when he impacts the roadside. Cuffs is speaking ot Kilraoy when Bludd does that, and the Autobot yelps in alarm... swerving sideways to avoid accidentally running over Bludd, and very nearly sideswiping Kilroy's Humvee in the process. He locks his brakes, skidding to a halt as the long Lincoln fishtails back and forth wildly. Kilroy smiles at Major Bludd as he sneers at him. He stops his HumVee when Major bludd jumps, ready to pursue on foot. "You're not gettin'a way that.. woah!" He rolls to the side as the Lincoln almost barrels atop him. Curled into a ball, Bludd bounces off the macadam and tumbles into the grass along the side of the road. He rolls to his feet and takes off in the direction of a nearby grocery store, several hundred yards away. The small parking lot is busy this time of day, and Bludd heads for the driveway where the lot connects to the highway, the briefcase tucked under his arm like a football. "After him!" Cuffs states, remaining in car form as he closes his door, rolling as best he could after Bludd. Then he stops. "I'll go around to the other side." As he zips along quickly. Kilroy nods to the car. "Right!" the cyborg tries to keep up on foot, running head-first for Bludd. "Fourth down, 20 seconds on the clock.." he murmurs. A scruffy young man in an Arizona Cardinals jersey gives a cry of alarm as Bludd runs up beside his beat-up old Chevelle and points a 9 mm handgun in his face. "Out," Bludd says simply, opening the car door. The young man puts up his hands and scrambles out, stumbling to the pavement and crawling away on his hands and knees. Cuffs rolls alongoutside the parking lot, trying to figure out where Bludd was going as best he could from road-angle Kilroy growls. "You're not getting away that easy." He lunges for the car, trying to get there about the same time Bludd does. "You're not one to give up easy are ya?" Major Bludd hops into the little Chevelle and guns the engine with the door still open, heedless of the hapless young man he's just carjacked or of Kilroy. Kilroy tries to grab the door and pull himself into the car. "Now enough car hopping out of you. We're gonna slow down and get that briefcase of yours, at least." Without pretense or any sort of smartass backchat, Bludd presses his left knee against the steering wheel and swings his right fist at Kilroy's face. Kilroy tries to move his face out of the way but is a bit too late. He tries to grab that foot and swing it down. "Now, you better get both feet on the pedal or the brake or we're gonna have an accident.." Major Bludd grabs the steering wheel with both hands and raises his leg to try to kick Kilroy in the chest in an attempt to get him out of the vehicle. He turns the wheel to steer the car out onto the highway, heedless of any traffic that might be oncoming. Kilroy is kicked dead on. He tries to distract Bludd enough to grab the wheel, taking the kick to his face with a grunt. "Oh no. We're not gonna die in a flaming car wreck today.." (a free second attack) The little Chevelle careers out onto the highway amid blaring horns and screeching tires as other drivers try to get out of the way. "Then get ... OUT!" Bludd tries to drive his left elbow into Kilroy's throat. Kilroy remains oddly calm. He ducks the elbow quickly, bringing his arm around to try to clothesline Bludd. "Sure 'nuff" He says, trying to grasp on to Major Bludd's arm and pull him out of the car physically. "But you're coming with me." Major Bludd deflects Kilroy's arm with his own, glancing momentarily out the windshield and making a haphazard steering adjustment with his right hand. He shifts in the driver's seat and tries to push Kilroy out of the car with his foot again. "Dammit, you're gonna get us both killed!" Kilroy is hit HARD into the door. He manages to hold on. He coughs slightly. "Not.. unless you stop the car now.." He says as he takes a second hit. He brings both fists together, trying to bring them to Major Bludd's right shoulder. At least that's a distraction. Major Bludd grunts, his grip on the wheel loosening for a moment as the cyborg strikes his shoulder. "Bloody Joe," Bludd grinds out, releasing the steering wheel and bracing himself against the floor of the car with his feet as he imitates Kilroy's double-fisted swing, aiming for the cyborg's face. The black form of a Lincoln suddenly pulls up alongside the vehicle, then transforms as Cuffs rises out of it, his hands reaching down to try and simply GRAB Bludds' car midrun. Kilroy takes a hit to the head, shaking it slightly to try to clear it. He seems to be slowing down. "Going down.. but you're going with me" He tries to punch back, spitting blood already. Maybe he's not as tough as he looks. Major Bludd grins with satisfaction as he connects with the cyborg's face. He grabs the wheel and jerks his head aside to avoid the return attack. "You're finished, Joe," he sneers. "Give it up --" He stops midsentence as the black Lincoln draws up alongside and transforms. The car is lifted off the road, its engine surging as it leaves the road surface. Bludd makes one more attempt to eject Kilroy from the car, reaching across to open the driver's side door and shove the cyborg out. Kilroy is thrown from the car pretty quickly! He tries to roll into a ball to take the brunt of the throw as he hits concrete. "Ugh. Allright. Let's hope you're on my side," he says, watching the Cybertronian with the Chevelle. Cuffs pauses as Kilroy tumbles out, holding the car aloft. He frowns a little as he puts the car down, but a hand kept it pinned on the hood, pushing it down. "I think if you want to escape, you will have to do so on foot," he notes to the Cobra warningly, not happy at all. "Suits me fine," says Bludd, plucking up the briefcase again and clambering out the passenger's side door. He draws his sidearm from his coat pocket. "But I think I'll take out the competition, if you don't mind." He aims the gun at Kilroy and fires. Cuffs cries out in protest, hand coming down QUICKLY... not to splat either one, but to come down as a wall to prevent any further fire from striking Kilroy. "That was just low! Get the slag out of here now!" he growls. Major Bludd snorts, a grin spreading across his face. "Sure," he shrugs, replacing the sidearm in his jacket. He starts walking along the highway. "But if he comes after me again," he adds, pointing at Kilroy, "I'm gonna shoot him." Kilroy takes a shot to his right shoulder and grunts. "Allright. I can see when I'm outmatched. Get out of here." he snarls. "If I see you again in these parts, you're dead." Cuffs states "I'm sure the sentiment would be returned. Get out of here beore I change my mind," he states, the car released now as he looks back down to Kilroy again in concern. "Do you want me to call an ambulance?" Major Bludd stalks off down the highway. After he gets a fair distance from the Autobot and the Joe, he thumbs for a ride. Difficult to stop a car with his gun on a highway.
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