FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"They're right behind us," Taura said, facing the rear and staring out the window at the four approaching SUVs. She gripped her gun tighter to steady her shaking hands. "Coming up fast."

A man in armor and a helmet leaned out of the lead car's passenger-side window and aimed an assault rifle at the back of Jack's hearse.

Taura sucked in a quick breath, flopped onto her back, and threw her arms across her face a split-second before a hail of bullets peppered the back of the car. The window exploded and showered her with tiny pieces of glass.

Jack cursed and looked into the rearview mirror. "Taura!"

"I'm okay." She brushed the glass off, sat up, and pointed her gun at the SUV. The guy with the rifle ducked back inside. Taura growled softly and held her fire. They were surrounded by midafternoon traffic and pedestrians who could be hit by a stray shot, and the SUV very likely had armor plating and bullet-resistant windows. Even with her armor's targeting-assistance software, she didn't want to risk innocent bystanders being hit by a ricochet.

"Gotta get to an uninhabited area," Corona muttered.

"Trying," Jack grumbled.

A dozen more bullets drilled into the back of his car. He swerved into the oncoming lane and barely missed a freight van before swerving back.

Winslow moaned and gripped the back of Corona's seat.

"Who the hell are those guys?" Jack snarled.

"Private military contractors, I'd guess. You'd think they'd give a damn about hitting innocent civilians, though."

"Could be more of the cyber-zombies," Taura said.

"Oh, fantastic." A bullet tore the rearview mirror off and Jack flinched. More bullets ripped into a nearby minivan and it veered into his path. He hit the brakes as it crossed in front of him. He shifted down and punched it. In the corner of his eye, the van got T-boned by a truck in the oncoming lane.

Winslow squeezed his eyes shut and whimpered.

"Bastards," Taura growled. Her huge muscles tensed up and she raised her gun, but hesitated again.

"Machiko," Jack said into his helmet mic, "we're gonna need ambulances and--"

"We're on it. Mickey and Hoshi are monitoring traffic cameras at your location; they saw what just happened. Fire department and ambulances are en route."

"Thanks." He spun the wheel to the left, sending the hearse through the next intersection and almost crushing the front end of a station wagon under its huge tires. "I think we're coming to a clear area."

"I'm giving them something else to shoot at." Corona threw the passenger-side door open and climbed onto the roof.

Jack gaped at her. "What the hell? Corrie!"

"Just get 'em into a place where it's safe to return fire!" She spread her wings, caught the wind, and launched.

Taura caught a glimpse of Corona gliding overhead before returning her attention to their pursuers.

"Oh, shit," Jack muttered. He whipped the car around another turn, slowing just enough to prevent it from rolling, and punched it again. "We're almost there."

Taura nodded, braced her hooves on either side of the door, and aimed out the shattered window.

Jack turned another corner and a few seconds later Taura saw the houses growing more run-down and spaced farther apart. She scanned for heat signatures and found only a few small animals here and there.

Good enough. She lined up a shot on the windshield, directly in front of the driver, and squeezed the trigger. The twelve-millimeter round cracked the glass, but didn't penetrate.

The crosshairs in her HUD moved as she shifted her aim and fired again. This time, the bullet punched through the window and into the driver's face. The body slumped over and the SUV veered off to the right and plowed into a rusted-out station wagon parked on the curb.

Her stomach churned at the thought of having taken a life, but she did her best to shove her feelings aside and target the next car. They're trying to kill us. We do what we have to do.

The remaining three SUVs surged ahead, as if their drivers were enraged at what had just happened. A man in a black jumpsuit leaned out the passenger-side window and aimed his rifle.

A metal ring flashed down from above and took the guy's head off. Corona's chakram, Taura realized a split-second later. She continued firing at the vehicle, finally managing to put a bullet through the driver's-side front tire.

The SUV lurched to the right and skidded. Taura unloaded the rest of her clip and blew out the other front tire. The vehicle slammed over the curb and rolled. Taura let out a long, relieved sigh.

Then she gasped and leaned forward.

The driver and another man climbed out of the vehicle. Both wore identical black jumpsuits instead of armor. The last time she'd seen someone dressed like that....

"It's the cyber-zombies, alright." She groaned as she watched them walk over to another parked car and open its doors. "Oh, shit, they're stealing someone's car!"

"Those things are starting to piss me off." Jack hit another left turn almost fast enough to flip the car over. Winslow moaned again.

"They're in a red sports car," Taura said. "Gaining fast. So are the other two SUVs." She spoke into her helmet mic. "Corona, keep away from the crashed SUV. The body inside it could blow any moment."

"Got it," Corona replied. "I hope no one is within range."

"Me, too," Taura said softly, almost whispering. Her muscles tensed up as the red car surged toward her. "Jack, they're almost--"

"Taura," Jack yelled, "get up here and hold onto something!"

"What are you doing?"

"Hurry! I've got an idea." He waited for her to take the passenger seat, then he hit the brakes and wrenched the steering wheel to the left. The car skidded and shot into an alley.

He jammed his feet down on the brakes and the car slid to a stop three car lengths into the alley.

"What the hell're you doing?" Winslow moaned.

"Hang on."

Taura braced her hands against the dashboard.

The red hotrod screeched around the corner and into the alley--and slid right under the hearse's left rear tire. Jack grinned, shoved the gear shift into reverse, and backed over the hotrod's hood. The two men bailed out just as the windshield shattered under the huge tire. They immediately charged, one on either side of his car.

Jack shifted back into first and popped the clutch before either of them could reach the doors and yank them open.

Taura glanced over her shoulder in time to see both men raise their guns and start blazing away again. She flinched as more bullets peppered the back of the hearse.

"Those fuckers are fast." Jack grimaced and shifted up. "I was hoping I'd squish 'em before they could get out."

Taura caught a glimpse of Corona gliding over the alley as the two pursuers ran after the hearse. Taura put her crosshairs on the nearer one's head and squeezed the trigger. Her shot punched through his left eye and ripped the back of his head off.

He staggered, but remained on his feet and continued the chase.

Taura shuddered and lined up another shot.

In the distance, a pair of sharp thumps shook the ground--the zombies she and Corona had taken out, exploding and taking all the physical evidence with them.

Another SUV skidded into the alley and smashed the hotrod aside.

Corona dropped down behind the second zombie and tackled him. Taura's heart tried to jump into her throat.

Jack glanced into the rearview mirror, gasped, and stomped on the brakes.

Corona lifted her opponent, spun, and threw him into the SUV's path. He cracked the windshield and the vehicle swerved into the side of the building on the right.

A third SUV appeared at the end of the alley.

The damaged zombie turned to face Corona.

Jack hit the release on his seatbelt and threw himself out of the car. He ran full-speed toward Corona and the zombies, and Taura followed, overtaking him easily and tackling one of the zombies as it approached Corona.

Corrie whipped her katana out and held it in her right hand while gripping her pistol in her left. She blasted a round into her zombie's head, taking the rest of it off, and her muzzle dropped open when it continued marching straight at her. She pumped four more rounds into its chest and it finally collapsed.

Taura emptied her clip into another zombie and let out a shuddering moan when it didn't fall. She backed up and shoved a fresh clip in.

A third zombie got within Corona's reach and she swung her blade into its neck. The blade sliced clean through--until it struck the alloy-reinforced spine and stopped dead. She fired a bullet into its left eye socket, braced her foot on its chest, and pulled her sword out.

Jack punched a half-dozen shots through the one advancing on Taura, turned as it fell to its knees, and drilled the one Corrie had just tried to decapitate. "Get back to the car! I'm gonna try something."

"Not without you," both of them said.

"I'll be right behind you." He pulled a grenade from his belt. "Hurry!"

They glanced at each other and backed away slowly, keeping their guns aimed at the remaining zombies.

"Whatever you're gonna do," Corona muttered, and Jack pulled the pin before she could finish.

He chucked the grenade under the SUV that had plowed into the building and turned to face them.

"Go!"

They bolted back to the hearse. Taura glanced over her shoulder just as the grenade ripped the SUV apart and blew what was left of it into the air. The concussion knocked the zombies off their feet and slammed Taura into the back of the car. She shook her head quickly and pulled the back door open.

Jack climbed in and gripped the steering wheel. Corona squeezed into the shotgun seat and turned to look out the rear window.

"I'm not sure if that high-pitched whine is the zombies' self-destruct or just my ears ringing from the explosion," Taura muttered as she pulled the door shut.

Jack popped the clutch and the hearse screeched through the alley. "We're not waiting for 'em to start going off like popcorn."

Taura looked through the rear window as one of the zombies climbed over the wreckage of the SUV.

Seconds after Jack spoke, the first disabled zombie blew, shredding several others and sending them tumbling across the pavement.

A second one blew a hole in the building on the left.

Several more explosions shook the ground. Taura hadn't counted how many were still active when the first one had gone off, but all were within each other's blast radius. They had to be toast, by now.

Jack slowed to check for pedestrians and traffic before easing out of the alley and accelerating. Taura kept listening for sounds of pursuit, and finally allowed herself to relax. She sighed and slumped against the wall.

"You okay, girls?" Jack said softly.

"I'll be better when this is over," Corona muttered, "But yeah, I'm okay."

Taura took a deep breath and looked at her shaking hands. "I'll recover." She looked at Jack.

Corona put a hand on his shoulder.

He nodded. "I'm hanging in there, I guess." He patted her hand, met Taura's gaze in the mirror and smiled, and focused on the street ahead. "Let's get to the safe house before anything else goes wrong."

#

"Hey, kid," a soft voice said, and Otto stopped pacing and looked over his shoulder.

"Oh, hi, Ralphie," he muttered.

"Heard anything yet?" Ralphie looked around the waiting room and sank onto one of the sofas lining the wall.

"Shakira's still in surgery. Haven't heard anything about Rocky yet, but--"

The elevator doors at the far end of the waiting room parted and Rocky stepped out, looked around, and spotted her husband. The corners of her beak quirked slightly in an attempt to smile. She walked quickly over to him and put her arms around him.

"Hey!" Ralphie grinned. "The kids and I headed over here as soon as I got the message from Machiko. I was so worried!"

"I'll be okay. They said it was just a ricochet, so I got lucky. The bullet didn't get anywhere near anything vital." She waved a hand at her left breast. "If these had been smaller, though, things might've turned out differently." She let out a long breath. "If I ever complain about them being too big again, just remind me of how one of these gobs of fat may have saved my life."

"Sure." He smiled shakily and looked at the bandage on the side of her beak. "And this?"

"Got hit by some shrapnel. They patched it up, but I'm probably gonna have a scar." She shrugged. "I'm just glad I didn't end up with my head ripped off."

He shuddered and embraced her again. She rubbed his back.

"You should head back home. You still need to rest for a while longer."

"You should come with me. After what happened--"

"I need to get back into the action. There's a major op going on, and they need all the backup they can get."

"I'm pretty sure Machiko didn't tell you to jump right back in. You just got shot, after all."

"I'm fine. The pain meds are taking the edge off without making me loopy. There's some serious shit going down--I can't talk about it in a public place, but believe me, the team needs all hands on deck."

Otto shook his head, resumed pacing, and managed to tune them out. As much as he tried to block it out, the image of Shakira pressing her hand over her face and blood pouring out from under her palm wouldn't stop running through his mind.

He wasn't sure how much time passed while he paced, other horrific memories of the recent battle playing on an endless loop in his head. Eventually, he looked around and found himself alone; Rocky and Ralphie had left without a word.

Or maybe they had said something, and he'd been too distracted to hear them.

He sighed, plopped onto the nearest chair, leaned forward and braced his arms on his knees. He stared at the floor and wrung his hands.

Some time later, approaching footsteps caught his attention and he looked up. A man in surgical scrubs had just walked over to him.

"You're Otto?"

"Yeah. How's she doing?"

"Well, normally, I'd only discuss that with her family, but I received instructions from a Captain Ericson to answer any questions you have."

Thank you, Machiko! Otto smiled shakily. "Good. So, is Shakira gonna be okay?"

"She's out of surgery and should make a full recovery. There will be some scarring, however, and she lost her left eye."

"Wh...what?" The room almost started to spin around him. He leaned forward and braced his hands on his legs.

"Once she's regained enough strength, we can give her a cybernetic replacement, and the scars can be repaired easily enough. It's just a matter of waiting for her to recover enough. And, of course, whether or not she can afford the procedure."

Otto's eyes snapped toward him. Since this is all Argus Defense Systems' fault, they'll pay for whatever she needs. If the Foundation doesn't make it happen, I will. He kept it to himself. "Can she have visitors? I need to see her."

"It'll be a while before she wakes up, but--"

"I'll wait as long as it takes. Where is she?"

The doctor led him through a series of doors and around several corners before waving a hand at a room on the left. Otto strode through and walked up to the only occupied bed. Shakira lay there with bandages covering her left eye socket and the side of her head. Her right eye remained closed and her chest rose and fell rhythmically. The heart monitor beeped softly, the only sound in the room.

He slid his hand under hers, held it gently, and rested his other hand on top of it.

"I'm here for you," he whispered. "No matter what."

He looked around, found a chair in the near corner, stuck his leg out and hooked his foot around one of its legs. He pulled it slowly to him and sat, keeping his hands around Shakira's, and waited.

#

"Not again," Jack snarled after a glance into the rearview mirror.

Taura turned to look out the rear window, but kept ready to duck back under what little cover the bullet-riddled door offered. Another pair of black SUVs had appeared, swerving through the traffic and gaining on her and Jack. Her heart pounded and her breathing quickened.

Winslow moaned and squeezed his eyes shut.

"How the hell are they tracking us?" Jack shifted down and the hearse lurched forward.

"I don't know." Taura adjusted her grip on her gun and tried to slow her breathing. "I scanned the car for tracking devices even though there's no way they could've planted one on it."

"So Winslow must've had one on him from the beginning."

"Makes sense."

"Oh, no." Winslow shook his head. "I know I don't have any bugs on me. I check my clothes for that regularly."

"Let's not take any chances." Jack glanced into the mirror, met Taura's gaze for a second, and shrugged. "Take his clothes off and toss 'em out the window."

"What?" Winslow snapped around to aim his suddenly wide eyes at jack. "Wait a minute!"

Over the comlink, Corona giggled, cut it off, cleared her throat, and tried to turn all-business. "I'll see what I can do about the goons while you're undressing him."

"You heard him." Taura scowled at Winslow. "Strip."

He muttered something and fumbled with his shirt buttons. As soon as he'd removed it, Taura grabbed it and threw it out the rear window.

Jack looked into the mirror again. "They're speeding up. Hurry!" He tightened his grip and his gloved hands dug into the rubber steering wheel cover.

Winslow pulled his undershirt off and handed it over. Taura flung it out the window and took a second to check the pursuers' location. Even closer, now.

The guy in the lead car's passenger seat leaned out the window, holding an object roughly the size of a football, with a tapered end.

"What the hell's that?" Jack twisted the wheel, shooting his car into the adjacent lane.

"Probably a drone. Maybe a floater camera or something to help them track us." Taura raised her gun and fine-tuned her aim until the crosshairs in her HUD centered on the man's head.

At that moment, Corona dived out of the sky and landed on the SUV's roof. Taura gasped and lowered her gun.

Corona drove her foot into the object, trying to dislodge it from the man's grip but failing. She kicked at him again--and he grabbed her ankle and pulled. She yelped and toppled over, falling forward and slamming down on the roof.

"Corrie!" Taura reached out, moving on reflex, even though there was nothing she could do.

"What?" Jack glanced over his shoulder and his face turned pale.

"I'm okay!" Corona pushed herself up, scrabbled for a handhold with her left hand and drew her pistol with her right.

A minivan passed the second SUV and pulled up alongside the one under Corona, its driver apparently oblivious to what was happening beside him. She growled and held her fire as the minivan edged slowly past.

The man in the passenger seat released the object. It rose up from his hands and zipped straight at Jack's hearse.

"Fuck!" Jack swerved back into the right-hand lane and accelerated.

Taura whipped her gun up and tried to target the drone.

"I've got it!" Corona shouted. Taura flicked her eyes to the right in time to see Corona open fire on the drone. Four bullets slammed into the floater and it exploded. Taura's visor reacted to the sudden flash of intense light and dimmed to protect her eyes. Shrapnel ripped out from the still-airborne wreckage and peppered nearby vehicles.

Wow. Bullets shouldn't have caused a blast like that. The thing must've been packed with explosives.

The SUV swerved and Corona lurched to the left. She flailed and managed to catch the edge of the open window.

"Damn it," she snarled. She pushed herself up, aimed at the vehicle's roof, and punched a half-dozen rounds straight down into the driver's seat.

The SUV drifted off toward the center lane. The guy on the passenger side pulled himself back in, grabbed the steering wheel, and wrenched it to the right. The SUV skidded and started to roll.

Corona leaped off, somersaulted through the air, and dropped into a three-point landing behind the vehicle. She skidded backward, carried by her momentum, and tumbled over, sliding across the pavement on her back.

"Ow!" She hunched forward and tried to whip her wings forward to keep them away from the ground. Finally, she stopped, pushed herself back to her feet, and shook her head. "Fuckin' hell."

The SUV rolled several times before stopping in the oncoming lane. A dozen vehicles swerved around it or braked to avoid a collision.

"Corona," Jack said through gritted teeth, almost groaning. "Get out of there before those things blow!"

Taura looked around and located the second SUV--barreling straight toward Corona. "Behind you!"

Corona turned and took a step back. "Oh, hell."

A man leaned out of the passenger window with another drone.

Taura glanced at Winslow. "Your pants! Hurry!"

He tugged his shoes off and unbuckled his pants. Taura grabbed the shoes and chucked them out the window.

The guy in the SUV launched the drone. It shot toward the hearse--then arced down and to the left, where the shoes had bounced to a stop. It plowed into the street and blew a huge crater into the pavement, sending debris spinning through the air. Nearby cars swerved wildly and several slammed into each other.

"Okay," Winslow mumbled, "guess I was wrong about the bug."

"We can't afford to assume that was the only one," Taura said. "Take the rest of your clothes off."

"Oh, for--"

"Now!" She sighed and turned to watch the SUV rushing toward Corona. Winslow tossed his socks at her and she flung them out the window.

The SUV continued bearing down on Corona, nearly on top of her by now.

She looked around, searching for something, and Taura realized she'd dropped her gun.

Corona bared her fangs, plucked her sword from her belt and extended the blade with a flick of her wrist. She stood in the vehicle's path and waited.

Taura gaped at her. "Corona, what the hell are you doing?"

"Just get Winslow out of here," Corona muttered. "I'll catch up with you in a minute."

She raised her sword and prepared to strike.

Jack gaped at her reflection in his mirror. He slid his hands along the steering wheel and shifted his position, preparing to wrench it to the left and spin his car around.

Corona lunged to the right, her movements turning into a blur as her body entered its combat state. Her sword arched through the air, sunlight flashed off its blade, and the front driver's-side tire exploded as the SUV shot past her. The blast of air staggered her, but she regained her balance quickly and turned to watch the vehicle spin out of control and start to roll over.

"Wow. If I hadn't been wearing this armor, that probably would've blown all my clothes off."

Jack sighed and let his right hand fall back to the gear shift.

The SUV flipped three more times and came to a stop in someone's front yard.

"Okay, Corona, get out of there before those things climb out of the car and--"

"I'm coming, Jack." She gave the partially crushed SUV one last look and bolted when one of the men inside pulled himself through the shattered windshield.

Something flicked Taura's shoulder and she snapped her head to the left. Winslow flinched and dropped the pants he'd been holding out to her. She sighed, grabbed them, and chucked them out the window.

In the corner of her eye, Winslow's face turned red as he pulled his boxers off, wadded them up, and pitched them through the window. Directly in front of Taura, Corona sprinted through the traffic until she'd reached the hearse. Taura grasped Corona's outstretched hand. Corrie took one last step and leaped, and Taura pulled her forward. Corona braced her left foot on the rear bumper and launched herself into the car. She landed on Taura and pinned her to the floor.

"Oof. Sorry, babe." Corrie scooted off her and helped her back into a sitting position.

"We clear?" Jack said

Taura and Corona faced the rear to scan for more pursuers. Corona gave Jack a thumbs-up and said, "I don't see any more of 'em."

"Good."

"Please tell me there's some close in the safe house." Winslow held his hands over his crotch and his face turned even brighter red.

Corona shrugged and laughed. "I have no idea."

"Swell." He pulled his knees up to his chest and hunched over. "Don't look at me!"

"I'm really trying not to." Jack shifted down and accelerated. "Let's drop this twerp off and get back to our mission."

#

"Okay," Jack said, "we're in position."

"Good," Machiko answered over the comlink. "Corona, Lefty's got something for you. She should be there any moment."

"Oh, a present? How thoughtful." Corona grinned and looked around. She spotted Lefty peeking out of the alley behind a nearby building. Corona nudged Jack's shoulder and led him and Taura to her.

"Machiko reloaded this for you." Lefty pointed her cybernetic arm into the alley.

Corona walked around the corner and found the huge rifle she'd taken from a mech unit on a previous job, propped up against the wall. Beside it sat four clips of extra ammo.

"Aww, that was sweet of her." She picked up the enormous rifle, clipped it to her back, grabbed the extra magazines, and said into her helmet mic, "Thanks, Boss."

"Any time, Corona. You guys ready?"

"Other than a headache, I'm good to go," Jack said. "I'm itching to get this done. I've had just about enough of these assholes."

"So have we all."

"Are we going with our original plan?" Taura said.

Jack glared across the street at the Argus Defense Systems building. "We're going right in through the front door. Fuck it."

"Okay," Machiko said. "Boiler will go in through the roof and make some noise. If she makes enough, she'll be able to draw away a good portion of their security force."

"Oh," Boiler said, "you know me. I'll have at least half of 'em coming after me by the time you three reach the server room."

"Just try not to hurt any of them too badly unless they try to use lethal force. We can't assume they're not using any of their cyber-zombies, but they could also have a bunch of normal people who are working security there just because it's a job."

"I'll play nice until it's time to not play nice."

"Okay. Jack, Corona, Taura, it's your show from here. We'll provide support once you're back outside with the files."

"On it." Jack exchanged a quick look with both girls. "Okay, let's do this."

They waited for a wide enough gap in the traffic and marched across the street. Jack shoved the door open, held it for the girls, and stormed up to the front desk. The woman seated there hastily put her tablet face-down on the desk, stood, and stared nervously at them.

They held up their ID.

"Justice Foundation." Corona bared her sharp teeth and thumb-length fangs. "We need access to your servers."

"But--uh--I--um, you have a warrant for that, right?"

"We've been given some wiggle room due to the fact that employees of this company tried to kill us and a witness in an ongoing investigation."

"What? Look, there's got to be some sort of mistake. You're not going any farther without a warrant."

"Nope. No mistake. I'm afraid we'll have to ask you to step outside and speak to one of our fellow agents."

Jack spoke into his mic. "Machiko, we're sending the lady at the front desk out so she won't set off any alarms while we're on our way to the server room."

Machiko chuckled. "We heard. I'm sending Rocky to collect her."

"I'm not going anywhere." The woman reached over to a button on her desk. "If you don't leave now, I'm calling security."

"Wait a minute," Jack snapped, taking a step toward her.

Her finger jammed down on the button and she smirked at him. "I suggest you get the hell out of here, or our people are going to be all over you."

"How unfortunate for them." Taura stomped around the desk, grabbed the woman's wrist, and plucked a set of cuffs from her belt.

The woman screamed and tried to pull away. "Get your fucking hands off me!"

The door opened and Rocky burst through, now wearing her own set of armor. She rushed over to the others and held up her badge.

"Okay, we're bringing you in for obstruction of justice. Taura?"

Taura shoved her down onto the desk, pulled her arms into position, and slapped the cuffs on. "Here you go."

Rocky took the woman's arm and glanced over her shoulder as she turned toward the door. "Have fun, guys."

"Oh, yeah, this'll be a real hoot." Jack sighed, walked over to the elevator doors and pushed the button. The panel didn't light up. He frowned and pushed it again.

"Security has probably locked everyone out of the elevators." Taura walked around the desk and looked at the monitors. She pointed at one and said, "Yeah, there it is. They're all offline."

"Wonderful. That's what we get for trying to be reasonable. Next time, I'm skipping straight to the punch in the face."

Corona stood in front of the elevator and wedged her claws into the crack between the doors. The servos in her armor boosted her already inhuman strength and the doors began to open with a metallic grinding sound. Something behind them snapped--the locking mechanism, she guessed--and they suddenly sprang apart with enough force to jam them into their recesses.

"Sexy." Jack grinned and reached out to grab one of the elevator cables.

Corona grinned, fondled his ass, and jumped into the shaft. She caught one of the cables and began her descent. Jack followed, and Taura gave the lobby one last look before jumping in after him.

"Boiler's already gone into action," Machiko said.

"I almost feel sorry for the security guys." Corona giggled.

Taura sighed. "Okay, let's get this over with."