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Chapter 16

Transporter

Runefield Asylum - Entrance

2:55 PM

Mick pulled up to the entrance of Runefield Asylum in his Audi, glancing at his watch and waiting patiently as the minutes ticked by. He pressed a button on the dashboard, and a touchscreen popped out of the dash on the right side of the instrument cluster, revealing the hidden Transporter computer that Xen had installed in the car. The computer could display various things, from engine performance information, to road maps, and could even keep track of law enforcement units, showing them on the display via the private data line. Also, the computer could put the car into three separate modes: A Normal/Cruise mode, which would set the car into a standard, quiet, and unassuming configuration. The other two modes were listed as "Pursuit" and "Escape."

The Pursuit mode would put the car into a sporty setup, tweaking the engine's settings to give it more horsepower and torque. It would also stiffen the suspension and reinforce the front end of the car with a special generated integrity reinforcement field, which could also be manually activated, that would enable the Audi to ram and pit opposing vehicles with little to no damage, as well as tracking a selected target via sensors that were installed in the interior mirror that could scan and read other cars around the Audi in a thirty-foot radius.

The Escape Mode was the most powerful, and coup de gras of the three options. This mode would completely unlock the engine's potential, jacking up the settings to the limit in the name of pure performance, as well as opening a set of bypass valves in the intake manifold and exhaust system that literally ended up straight-piping the car, allowing it to breathe in and out extremely high volumes of air for the combustion process. The mode also tweaked the air suspension's settings, stiffening the ride up, and increasing the steering and handling response, as well as lowering the car by a full eight centimeters to give it a lower center of gravity, which contributed to better grip and handling. The display on the dash would also show all hostile targets that would need to be evaded, even if they were law enforcement.

Mick looked over the computer's display, examining the car's status, as well as glancing at the buttons on the screen that managed the three mode options.

"Something on your mind, Mick?" Xen asked, his voice going through the car's speakers as his face popped up on the primary screen in the center console of the dashboard, wearing a headset. Xen was back at the beach house, managing the data feed from his computer. After Mick had told him about this job, he agreed to help him on this one as an operator.

"I'm just wondering how I ended up so lucky as to end up driving this fine-tuned machine." Mick answered, grinning as he pressed the button again, and the transporter display retracted. "Sometimes, I feel I don't deserve you, Xen."

Xen laughed playfully. "Sometimes, I think the same thing about you, Mi Angel Oscuro." The platinum-maned lion said, blowing a kiss at Mick through the feed. Mick just grinned. Then, he noticed someone walking out of the building from the corner of his eye. It was the tan-furred lion from the coffee shop, his client. He was walking down the asylum's stairs, going towards the car in a causal way, dressed in a different outfit from before.

"Here he comes." Mick said, notifying Xen.

He watched the lion step over to the passenger side of the car. The lion opened the door, and got in the front seat, taking off his sunglasses.

"Nice hair." Mick said, complimenting the lion on his new topknot.

"I always wanted to try different styles with my mane." The lion said, shrugging his shoulders.

"So, where are the packages?" Mick asked with a raised eyebrow.

The lion carefully pulled down the passenger visor, looking over himself in the mirror. "They're on their way."

"O-kay..." Mick sighed, settling into the driver's seat. A few moments later, an alarm sounded from the Asylum. Mick then turned to face the asylum's entrance, getting ready to ask his client if he knew what that was. Before he could get the words out, he saw two individuals storm out the lobby doors and down the asylum's steps on full steam, roughly the same build and height as the lion! One was a unicorn, the other a tiger. The unicorn was carrying a limp fox in his arms, obviously in poor condition! Both ran up to the car, swiftly opening the doors to the backseat and piling in while Mick looked at them with intense suspicion and disdain.

"We got him, Galen." The unicorn said to the lion, catching his breath as he handed the fox over to the tiger, who quickly buckled the fox into the center seat. "We've got master, but he's in very bad shape. We need to get him back to the villa, pronto!"

"Don't' worry, Uniko. We'll get him fixed up when we're back. Did anyone give chase, Zhal?" Galen asked, turning to the tiger.

Zhal shook his head. "We incapacitated all the nurses, doctors, and security in the building. The only thing we will have to worry about is external security and police."

Galen buckled his seatbelt. "All right, we're set. Let's go."

Mick, however, didn't budge. He made no indication that he was going to start driving, looking at Galen with a leer.

Galen turned to face Mick, noticing his expression. "Come on, foxy! Let's go!" He repeated, his tone more commanding.

Mick held up a fist, motioning to the back of the car with his thumb. "What the hell is this?!" He demanded. "You've changed the deal! Rule # 1: Never change the deal!"

Galen looked at Mick with a glare, growling in irritation. "I haven't changed the deal." He said flatly. "These are my three handsome packages: Uniko, Zhal, and Master Egad. All of them total up to 859 Kilograms, and are live, as agreed."

Mick was not intimidated. "No, this is not what we agreed upon at all! I don't do jobs like this, and there is something you are not telling me. I'm cancelling the deal, everybody out-"

"Nobody is getting out the car, asshat!" Uniko barked, shoving a laser revolver against the side of Mick's head without warning. "Now shut up and drive!"

Mick sighed in irritation, unphased by the weapon. "Ponyboy, do you think this is the first time I've had a gun planted against my head?"

"No, but this will be the first time someone uses it, you little punk." Uniko countered, pulling back the pin.

Mick rolled his eyes. "Oh, wow. Such a charmer." He finished the jab with a sarcastic glance at Galen.

Zhal, who was looking out through the car's windows sounded an alarm. "Shit! Galen, the rest of hospital security is here, and they have a cop with them!"

Galen took a quick glance through the car's rear window. True enough, four security guards were approaching the car, accompanied by a peace officer. Uniko quickly holstered his revolver.

"Quit stalling, just show him the feed already!" Zhal hissed.

Mick glanced over at Galen, who had retrieved a smart phone from one his vest pockets. He swiped a few inputs on the screen with his finger, then turned it toward Mick's face, giving him a clear view.

Mick's eyes widened in horror as he let out a sudden gasp! On the screen, his father sat in a room in handcuffs, his head in his hands. Behind him was a bulky, muscular rat, and he held a sawed-off dual-barrel scatter beam laser to his head! The energy equivalent of a twelve-gauge filled with buckshot!

"Oh, why am I not surprised?" He heard Symon gripe over the phone's speaker. "It seems no matter what I do, my good deeds never go unpunished..."

"Holy Shit..." Mick turned his attention to Galen. "My father, how did you-"

He was interrupted by a rapid tapping on the glass of his window. Mick glanced out of the corner of his eye. The peace officer, a lady raccoon, stood outside the door, rapping on the window with a finger. "Misior! License and Registration!"

Mick then turned his attention back to Galen, frozen in fear as his mind raced.

"Mick! Mick what's going on?!" Xen barked. "What the hell is going on?! I just lost control of the date feed!"

"That's because I've taken it over." Another voice said, as a new face popped up next to Xen's on the dashboard's multimedia screen. It was a white fennec, also wearing a headset. "So, don't get any ideas, lover boy."

Mick heard the officer continue to rap on the window. "Misior! Misior, are you deaf?!" The officer barked, her irritation rising.

"Well, what's it going to be, Mick Daniels?" Galen said, his glare unchanged.

"Everybody out of the car!" The officer demanded. "Misior, open the door! Everybody out the car!"

Mick had no choice. He pressed the button on the dashboard, popping out the transporter computer again. Mick swiftly tapped the "E" button on the screen, activating Escape Mode! A loading bar popped up on the screen, filling up quickly as the car lowered itself, the computer overriding the stock engine settings, and activating the bypass valves in the intake and exhaust! Everyone heard the tone of the engine instantly change and amplify, as well as noticing the car's lowered ride height.

The bar filled up as the computer locked in the settings for the engine and suspension. Three words flashed on the screen, as well as a synthesized, feminine computer voice speaking the words out loud: "Escape mode engaged."

Mick then took the flappy-paddle shift lever into one hand, putting the semi-automatic, twelve-speed transmission into gear, gripping the steering wheel with the other.

"Seatbelts! Now!" Mick shouted, looking straight ahead with a steeled, determined expression.

Uniko and Zhal quickly buckled in, knowing that Mick now meant business. They had barely fastened their seatbelts when Mick stamped his foot down on the accelerator, all four of the car's tires spinning as the four-wheel drive Audi peeled out!

The Audi sped through the parking lot, Mick sliding the car out the exit, and onto the road, as they were pursued by hospital security, as well as the peace officer in her patrol cruiser, calling for backup!