Co-Op Story. (Subjects of Change)

Tales of the Interstate

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Redline Fox
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Co-Op Story. (Subjects of Change)

Post by Redline Fox »

January 19th, 1978

Written by RLF

Redline Fox growled as he struggled to remove the bloody body of Keymaster out of the duel .30 calibre turret. Steam rose out of the dead vig's wounds, mingling with the heat of the turret's gun barrels. Whether or not he was dead did not matter much to Redline Fox at the moment, he'd be sure to check if the current situation did not prove fatal for himself as well. He could hear the buzzing of struggling aircraft engines somewhere in the dark, but his attention could focus easier on the Ransom Twister and pair of Glen Bushmasters circling back for another attack. Grasping the controls of the turret with his bare hands, Redline could feel the heat of the gun muzzles, warming his hands against the chill of the night. He fired off a volley of snapshots at the circling cars, trying to quickly become accustomed to the targeting calibration..



Meanwhile, Sir Gallium was firing wildly into the general direction of where he thought the aircraft had gone. The fact that it was taking them so long to make a return pass meant they must have been either very slow or cumbersome...hopefully both.

Waves of kick back jarred Redline's body as he swung the turret low and fired at one of the clumsy Bushmasters, rounds found their mark but the distance was to great for them to penetrate the armour. Instinctively, he ducked as he saw the fiery con-trails of rockets heading in his direction.

Roof-mounted racks of rockets from the Bushmasters hammered the complex, RLF could feel the foundation shuttering underneath him, the rest of the rockets sailed over head.

"Shoot at the fucking cars you idiot!" Redline Fox yelled

"No! The airplanes killed him...I...can't see them though where are they! It?s over man! Game over!"

Gritting his teeth Redline Fox realized that his less then competent counterpart would prove nothing more then a distraction for the attacker?s bullets.

"English where the hell are you!?"

Hearing a clunking drone approaching Redline Fox's attention swivelled in the direction of the sound along with the turret. The sight of a pale grey bi-plane was unexpected but did not waver his resolve. Both barrel's fired in unison as Fox took aim at the bi-plane which fired back as it flew directly at him. Hot cartridges hit Redline in the face and bullets chewed into the roof on both sides of him as he continued to follow the aircraft as it flew directly over his head. Warm air whooshed down on him, but the aircraft was obviously under powered. With it's tail showing, Fox continued firing on it until a puff of white smoke burst out of the airframe.

A rocket exploded against the side of building, knocking Redline off his feet. Brilliant hues of orange and white came with the concussion, which momentarily overloaded his senses.

"Damn it English, stop wanken off and help me out here!" RLF yelled as he regained his feet and regained control on the turret the aircraft has retreated, for the moment, but the three automobiles where doing more damage to the structure.

He yelled to the other gunner, "Fire on that Ransom Twister! He's the leader!"

"How do you know..."

"Do it before I turn this turret on you!"

Four .30 calibre barrels took aim and unleashed a storm of high velocity wasp stings. Though under powered the sheer amount of ammunition that could be unleashed at once was enough to blow out the Twister's windows. The car managed to turn away though and the Bushmasters formed up on either side until they were out of firing range.

"Bastards..." The building groaned, as its structure was barely left standing. The ca-chunk of a damaged aircraft engine could be heard off in the distance.

Whiffs of smoke rose out of the muzzles and RLF leaned on the heavy piece of equipment catching his breath. The attackers must have been doing the same. It was clear the clumsy aircraft was meant to take out the turrets while the cars pounded the structure. So far, it had been successful. One dead vig, if you could call him that and another one that seemed ready to bolt if he wasn?t frozen with fear to the turret. Pouncer was inside the building and if it came crashing down...he wasn?t sure if her reinforced chassis would sustain that much weight. He also wasn?t where Ace English was. A stray shot could have went through the building and killed him...the 30 calibre turrets couldn?t keep the attackers at bay much longer. However in the center of the roof, an artillery cannon left over from the Korean war was mounted. But RLF had never attempted to fire the thing. Someone had modified it to fire home made high explosive shells that had a small self-propellant system attached to them. Probably some crazed Niterace ballistics scientist or whatever came up with this brilliant idea, but he did have time to further contemplate the weapon?s design origin. All he knew is that if English had figured out to fire it, then so could he.
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Post by Redline Fox »

Written by Ace English

The first thing he realized was that he'd passed out again. The second thing was that the building was coming under heavy fire. Struggling to his feet, Ace staggered and half fell towards a blind covered window. Peering through the plastic shades, he could make out two Bushmasters and another, larger car, that he couldn't quite place the model of. Fucking hell, he cursed silently.

Almost on instinct, he lurched to the car bay where his Palomino was parked up. As he stumbled and fell through the inner bay door, he realized there was no way he could drive a car in his state, much less fight in one. Plan B would have to do, he hoped it would be enough. Reaching into the passenger side of the Palomino, he retrieved the large canvas rucksack.

Fumbling clumsily with the buckles, his fingers trembling from the lack of sugar in his bloodstream, he tipped out the sundry camping items, and retrieved the oiled cloth package. From it, he withdrew the Enfield L42A1 sniper rifle, and a pair of magazines.

Adrenaline kept him from collapsing or feeling the wind chill as he crouch ran from the side door out into the darkness. Spying a likely looking spot on a small rise, he dropped into place prone under a bush, scanning the flat ground in front of the building, observing the strobing flash of hostile weapon fire as he loaded the first magazine into the rifle.

Settling the rifle against his shoulder, he braced against the hard packed earth, trying to minimize the shakes as he placed his left eye to the sight and waited.

For what seemed like agonizing minutes, but was probably agonizing seconds, Ace could do nothing but track the vehicles as they circled, attacked, and circled. A fierce high speed shower of .30 calibre slugs spewed from a turret on the building roof, mashing the reinforced glass of the largest car and showering the driver with ricochet sparks as the lead skidded off the armoured hood.

It wasn't much of a chance, but it was a chance nonetheless. Ace prioritized the windowless auto and began following its motion through the scope, leading slightly, trying to get a feel for its direction and speed. When he felt he had settled into the rhythm of the target, he squeezed the trigger gently. The rifle kicked into his shoulder as the NATO 7.62 round sped towards the target at approximately 800 metres per second.

The lack of any obvious consequence told him he had missed. Swearing under his breath, he slid the bolt- an awkward maneuver for a southpaw, but one he had practiced often enough to be fluid.

Six more shots, six more misses. That left three and the second magazine, though any continuity would be lost with a change in mag.

At least the creepers hadn't caught sight of him- in the darkness, and with the firefight focused around the building, he was pretty much invisible to the other combatants.

Focusing once more on the larger car, he tracked its movement, waiting for the opportunity. A volley of firerites spewed from one of the smaller vehicles, hammering into the wall of the building, and illuminating the area in front for a brief moment.

A brief moment was all that was required, and Ace fired his eighth shot. The sudden swerve of the car told him he had hit the target, though the wound was apparently not fatal. Hopefully it would hinder the creeper's driving enough for one of the other guys to deal with him better.

He fired off the last two rounds from the magazine to rattle the driver, and smiled as the car veered again, the driver no doubt now concerned about the unexpected attack.

Changing magazines, Ace was about to start tracking the Bushmasters when he realized that the droning sound was coming from a biplane in the sky above. By focusing so much on the horizontal plane, he had not paid enough attention to the third dimension.
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Post by Redline Fox »

Written by RLF

Redline fired off another snapshot at the Ransom Twister, the Ransom suddenly jerked to its right and out of his gun sights. Unsure if the driver was planning something at first, he waited a moment before training the turret on the Ransom again. Sir Gallium fired at the Bushmasters with limited success until his ammunition suddenly ran out. Redline could hear the triggers clicking as Gallium continued attempting to fire his empty guns.

If he had the time to throw insults out, RLF would have. Two loud cracks echoed against the building wall and the Ransom swerved twice in response. Realizing what was going on RLF attempted to call out.

"AE!?" Another volley of rockets flew past and he wasn?t sure if his voice traveled over the sound. "Gallium you idiot! Get over here! I need time to setup the..." suddenly the paka-clunk of the bi-plane could be heard incoming, RLF dove away from the turret and wedged himself as close to the edge of the roof as he could without falling off. Gunfire ricocheted off the turret, if had stayed in place he would have been ripped to shreds. Regaining his feet he ran over to check if the gun was still functional.

"Gallium get your ass over here and cover me"

In response Gallium simply stared dumbly. In a rage Redline ran over to the man and grabbed him by the back of the neck.

"Get over here!"

He dragged Gallium to the .30 cal turret and forced him to take the controls.

"Don't fucking fire at anything but the airplane! Keep your eyes up or I'll shoot you myself I swear too the gods!"
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Post by Redline Fox »

Written by Ace English

Shit, Ace cursed to himself- he was doing that a lot right now. He knew he couldn't realistically take on the whirlybird- it was nigh impossible to get the right elevation on the rifle at this range to target anything so far above ground. The only option would be to sit up, but he couldn't imagine getting any kind of accuracy in his condition without the ground to brace against. Hoping the guys on the roof could deal with the plane, he tracked one of the bushmasters. Without a clear shot at the cabin, he decided to go for the radiator instead. The armour on the front of the vehicle would make that difficult, but Bushmasters had generous wheel arches to allow for their off-road applications. If he could get a shot into one of the front wheel wells at the right moment- and the right angle, there was a good chance the internal frame wouldn't be armoured as heavily as the exterior- if at all. Willing himself to be patient, he continued to pace the vehicle with the scope of his rifle, and waited.
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Post by Redline Fox »

Written by RLF

After making it clear that if Gallium wasted any more ammunition with wild shots Fox would use him as a shield on the next pass, Gallium waited nervously for the aircraft to make another pass. Meanwhile, Redline ran towards the artillery cannon, he could sense Ace English was down on the ground attempting to keep the cars busy, but if he was using a infantry gun, he couldn?t expect him to destroy a car...AE was a good shot though and Fox had to trust in the Brit's skills.

The bi-plane was circling the complex like a moldy hawk waiting for the right opportunity. It took a minute for him to remember the basic procedure that AE had used to fire the launcher. First he had to remove the safety pin from the shell chamber. As he did so the weapon's fat, stubby barrel gently swung from a 30 degree angle to a horizontal rest. Fox tested the weight of the ammunition shells before picking it up, it was rather heavy and he took great care as he kicked open the ammunition chamber. Loading it required pulling back on a packing lever, so that shell would slide back against a piston, that then drove the shell forward into the barrel.

As he did so he heard the aircraft buzzing close and took cover under the weapon as it pelted the roof with bullets. Gallium returned fire and missed completely.

"Screw this!" He yelled, "I'm not dying for you or anyone! I'm getting the fuck out of here." Gallium sprinted across the roof towards the access door, as he lifted the door a sharp pain suddenly seared through his arm. Shocked he grabbed it and realized he was bleeding.

His frightened eyes caught Redline in their peripheral. Fox was aiming his 9mm and was ready to fire another shot.

Fox growled, "Choices...Stay out of the way, or get back on that turret. You are not leaving."

Gallium froze in place and wet himself.

"Useless..." Fox spat as he put his gun down.
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Post by Redline Fox »

Written by Ace English

It was when the bushmaster's radiator blew that Ace knew Lady Luck had shone on him that day. The lucky shot must have struck a water or oil line. Sure enough the screech of escaping steam was followed by the lurching scrape of wheels locked up as the engine seized. The creeper had enough sense to put in the clutch and allow the bushmaster to retreat at a coast before it lost all momentum. Maybe out of reasonable sight range of the guys on the turret, but still within the effective range of the Enfield.

Ignoring the other cars, he focused solely on the view through the scope. He waited patiently, finger resting only slightly on the trigger, as the stricken vehicle coasted to a standstill some 500 yards from the house.

Seconds ticked past agonisingly slowly, as he held his focus on the stationary vehicle. In the periphery of his hearing, the sounds of the battle continued, threatening to break his almost trance like state, but he held his gaze.

Sure enough, the door of the Bushmaster swung open, with an accompanying gout of acrid smoke pouring out of the interior, as the creeper staggered out, coughing and retching, his assault rifle slung over a shoulder as he held his hands on his thighs to steady himself. His third deep breath proved to be his last, as the 7.62mm round bored a hole through the top of his skull and painted the Bushmaster with bone and brains.

"Never get out of the car, dickhead," Ace muttered to himself. It was at that point he realised he should have heeded the same advice...
Last edited by Redline Fox on Mon Feb 13, 2006 5:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Redline Fox
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Post by Redline Fox »

Written by RLF

A series of red lights flashed in RLF?s frustrated eyes. Apparently the targeting system used some kind of electronic triangulation device, as the words TRIANGULARTION GRID MALFUNCTION flashing across the screen suggested. Unfamiliarity with the malfunctioning weapon was not aiding Redline Fox's attempt to fire it manually. The bi-plane suddenly came puttering in, Fox aimed his 9mm at the aircraft and began firing at it with little effect. Standing exposed was reckless on his part, bits of chewed up roof struck him in the face and he dropped to the ground in sudden shock. He held his hands over his eyes with the incredible fear that he had been blinded.

As the sound of his own heavy breathing calmed him down, Redline opened his eyes and looked at his feet. He could focus, except for the stars streaking in at the corners of his vision. Wiping the back of his hand against his brow produced a smear of grimy blood.

Recovering, Redline Fox wobbled a bit as he stood up to regain his bearings. He couldn?t hear the airplane, but that did not mean it would not be back. One of the Bushmasters had disappeared; other was leading the Ransom Twister at an angle towards the access road of the complex. Which meant they were planning on blasting right through the front door.

As the Bushmaster leapt forward to take point, Redline swung the grenade-launcher towards it.

"Come on you bastard thing, work! Why..." He banged the broken console with the butt of his 9mm, "...Won't.." The barrel oscillated as he struggled to manually aim it..." You...just...fucking work!" Redline Fox kicked the loading chamber in frustration, almost making himself fall forward. As he stumbled, his hand fell back against the side of the console and the audible click of a switch was followed by a massive BAOMM!. The entire building shook as fire erupted out of the barrel as the shell was given an extra push just before its self-propulsion kicked in. Redline fell flat on his ass while he watched the shell arched skyward. Underneath him he could feel the roof wobbling.

Spots swam in front of his eyes as he quickly regained his feet and ran towards the side of the building. A blazing orange white con-trail indicated the trajectory of the shell, which was obviously way off the mark. Its propellant quickly spent, the shell began arching down, well behind the advancing cars. Fox gasped in anticipation just before the shell hit the ground. About one hundred yards out the shell exploded, creating a massive fireball, a visible shockwave spread from the epicentre, the Ransom Twister and remaining Bushmaster swerved and jolted towards opposite sides of the building.

?Holy fucking christ!? RLF shouted as he dove for cover

A split second later the shockwave sent a wall of heated air over Redline Fox. Shielding himself with his arms, Fox realized that he had just done them a favour. The proximity of the shockwave shook the building's foundation out from under it and it was on the verge of collapse...

?Fucking Niterace!?
Redline Fox
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Post by Redline Fox »

Written by RLF

Redline's next thought was that Pouncer was still inside the complex. If the building came down, his car would be crushed. Then, a bit guiltily, he remember Ace English was still outside on the perimeter and might not know the walls where crumbling down. RLF began making a fox call, which was basically the loudest noise he could make, hoping that AE would hear the sound and realize what was about to happen.

"KON! KON! English! The building English! The building! Get to your car! KON!"
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Post by Redline Fox »

Written by Ace English

The explosion shocked Ace from his trance like state, pulling back from the sights, he had time to spit out another stream of foul language as he saw the Ransom swerve from its previous course and head directly for him. No gunfire came from the car, so he had to assume it was a reactive manouver in response to the mortar round, and that the driver wasn't aware of his position. No time to ponder the whys and wherefores, he discarded the rifle carelessly, and reached into his jacket for the trusty Colt 1911A1 he had carried almost since the day he arrived in the States.

Only one chance, while the car was heading straight for him- when he judged it close enough, he leapt from the ground, still running on pure adrenalin, levelled the gun at the shattered windshield of the Ransom, and pumped all seven rounds from the clip in quick succession into the darkness that he assumed contained the driver. He had just enough time to note the slowing of the car before it hit him. The last thing he saw as he bounced up over the hood, was the manic stare and rictus grin of the creeper in the driver's seat, laughing at some final, private joke, then it all went black.
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Post by Redline Fox »

Written by RLF

There wasn?t much time for Redline Fox to consider his actions. There was a ringing in his ears which added to the nausea he felt. Allowing instinct to over come him, he hastily grabbed Sir Gallium by the scruff of his neck and hauled him towards the edge of the building.

"Hey! Hey! What are you doing!? I want to know...what you?re doing!" Gallium wailed.

Redline pushed him off the roof, "Hit the soft rocks!"

As Gallium plummeted to the ground Redline Fox hauled himself over the edge just as the bi-plane was coming in for another pass, adding some more bullet holes in the ruined structure for good measure.

A cloud of dust billowed up as Fox hit the ground and rolled to his feet, managing to loose none of his momentum as he grabbed Gallium and continued dragging the uncooperative vig in the direction he wanted to go.
Redline Fox
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Post by Redline Fox »

Written by Ace English

This is strange, Ace mused, everything seems upside down. Fuck me I should stay off the drink. What the hell am I doing out here? This is no way to go camping. He struggled to rise, but his arms didn't seem to work. He chanced a look downwards, and started laughing. I wonder what that white thing is sticking through my trouser leg, he chuckled, God this is absurd! And then he passed out again.
Redline Fox
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Post by Redline Fox »

Written by RLF

Rounding the front of the building, Redline Fox tripped over the motionless body of Ace English.

"Aaah what the fuck?" Redline said as he let go of Gallium and instructed him to go open the garage.

It took some more influence from his 9mm to get Sir Gallium to cooperate. There was no attempt made to make sure AE was still alive, RLF would have taken him regardless. He bent down and hauled Ace English over his shoulder, which taxed RLF's back. AE was a significantly larger build then Fox, whom was only 5'9 and 160lbs soaking wet, it took some effort to move him.

AE suddenly started chuckling, "Haha, fucken cheap trousers..." was all he said before falling silent again.

"Don't you die on me you limey bastard!" Fox said between laboured breaths.

Amazingly Sir Gallium had opened to door and was sitting behind the wheel of English's Palomino with the engine running. He and Fox locked eyes, as if he was in the midst of betrayal. A chill ran up Gallium's back and he quickly shook his head trying to show that he wasn?t going to steal the car.

Shoving AE into the passenger proved another complication as the seat was full of bags and car parts.

"Damn it, can't he keep this shit at home! And you Gallium can you handle this or not?"

"Yeah...yeah...I'm ok, I just got freaked out man, man I would'nt betray you guys I would'nt, I might be a pussy but I aint no traitor man...ok?"

"Whatever, just..."

A large chunk of formica came crashing down on the Palomino's boot and Redline slammed the passenger door shut.

"Go!"

Smoke poured out of the Phaedra's exhaust as the car vaulted out of the garage. Redline Fox fired his Picard Piranha to life with such haste that he did not even bother closing the door. As the car leapt forward, the door slammed shut against the garage door frame. Lights and plumbing came crashing down first, and then the roof imploded, sending a huge boiling cloud of dust into the night air.
Redline Fox
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Post by Redline Fox »

Written by Ace English

Gallium gripped the wheel like a hobo with a winning ticket, knuckles white with the strain as he struggled to control the fishtailing car. Clearing his head of the panic for a moment, he fished around behind the seat for something to pad out the seat. Snagging a woollen greatcoat, he stuffed it awkwardly behind his back. That done he could now reach the pedals more easily, though there was no chance of adjusting the racing harness. He figured if he crashed the car with Ace in it, Redline Fox would likely kill him anyway, so he turned his attention to driving.

Scanning the array of toggles and switches on the dashboard, he decided against looking for the headlights- for all he knew he'd be laying fire or else catapulting the car into a wall. A pair of thumb buttons on the end of coiled wires affixed to the steering wheel looked like good candidates for weapons, so he gave them a tentative squeeze.

Nothing.

Damn, there must be a master switch somewhere to power the weapon systems. Not that Gallium felt like engaging anyone in combat right now, but it would just have been reassuring to have some firepower to answer any threat. He wrinkled his nose at the smell of his own damp pants- panic and survival had taken precedence over his humiliation. He wondered if Ace was going to beat on him for stinking his car out, but glancing across, it seemed like the English guy was long past caring.

Abruptly, his passenger started singing, drunkenly,

"Wheear 'as ta bin sin ah saw thee,
On Ilkla Moor baht 'at?!
Wheear 'as ta bin sin ah saw thee?
Wheear 'as ta bin sin ah saw thee?
On Ilkla Moor baht 'at?! Where's that?!
On Ilkla Moor baht 'at?! Where's that?!
On Ilkla Moor baht 'at?! Where the ducks play football!"

Switching the CB to the usual channel, Gallium called out,
"Redline Fox, Redline Fox, this is Gallium, come on?"

The response was a bark filled with anger and static,
"What? Spit it out, man."

"It's English, I'm not sure he's gonna make it."

"Just get to rendezvous Delta, and get there fast."

"Okay, okay, I'm on my way."

"And Gallium..."

"Yes, Redline?"

"You even think of running out, and I'll hound you all the way to hell itself."

Gallium didn't waste time defending himself to the Fox; there would be time enough for that later, if he survived the night. The stacatto bark of machine gun fire reminded him that there were still creepers out here, as the remaining Bushmaster had swung back round for another attack. He couldn't see the plane, but the drone of the engine in the sky somewhere promised death from above at any moment.
Redline Fox
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Post by Redline Fox »

Written by Ace English

"Jesus H Christ on a fucking Scooter!" came the wail from the bed.

"Looks like the patient's awake."
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