Seek and you shall find....uh....something?

[David B.]

David nodded and followed, feet crunching the rubble beneath them as they ran onward. He was worried- both about the bikers and about where they were headed. He had no intention of joining any gang, and hoped things wouldn't lead to that. He didn't want tension.

He glanced back at youichi and August, who were sprinting with them. He could hear the roar of the bikes along each side, and when he turned his head, he could see through the storm the army riding along the roads beside them. He shouted at Delilah, his voice lost in the storm, but if she heard anything at all, he would be pointing off to the side street, indicating their predicament.

[Delilah A. Black]

Delilah didn't have to see David to know what he was shouting about. The sheer urgency of the moment had caught her in it's thrall: she was reacting solely on instinct with almost no thoughts to cloud her judgment, save for one:

We all might die unless I do something.

When David had told his two compatriots to defer to her orders back in the file storage, she had instantly accepted responsibility for the safety of everyone involved. It was the same if it had been just Delilah, Heather and Nigel that day, as if they were all one and the same. The fact that David had lent Delilah his trust in such a serious situation compounded that fact. He had entrusted to Delilah the safety of himself, Youichi and August: if everything else went to hell, the priority was getting David and his team out as fast as possible.

She knew Heather and Nigel felt the same way: that was how she trained them. But they still needed an example to follow.

Two of the bikes pulled out of the side alley as the group ran past, aiming to careen into the six and run them down. Her instincts and readiness at an all time high, she leapt into the air.

Delilah would land a drop kick onto the first biker's face, sending him flying backwards off the bike, her boots meeting his face with a sick crunch. She landed on both feet beside the bike, snagging it by the handles before it could drive off out of control. She pivoted on her foot, rapidly spinning the bike around her while keeping a full grasp on the throttle, and hurtling it at the second driver who was just coming out of the chute. There was a loud 'crash' as the bikes collided, and they promptly burst into flame, both being run on diesel fuel. Screaming immediately followed from the second driver as he was quickly engulfed by the fire.

She didn't dwell on it: the immediate threat had been eliminated and now that passage was blocked by the wreckage of the two cars and the fire. Without skipping a beat, she broke into a run again, her mental clock ticking away as the roar of the dirt-bikes grew louder and louder all around them.

“I'm almost at pick-up, where are you?!”

“We're still twenty seconds out, KEEP DRIVING.”

“What?! Delilah, you're not--”[/i]

“CAIN DRIVE RIGHT PAST US.”

“That's—“

“JUST DO IT.”

Delilah took the long string of curses that spewed from Cain in a fountain of frustration as his acquiescence and pressed on, headed for a t-intersection. The pick-up. So close....

Behind them, the roar of the dirt-bikes was deafening. The gang was upon them, close to over taking them. It would only be moments before--

A squeal of tires heralded the van that pealed out of the left corner at a speed no Hyundai H1 Panel Van should be traveling at. Unable to slow down, the van roared past the six, narrowly missing each of them as it careened into the group of people on dirt-bikes just behind them.

The carnage that followed was chaotic: bikes and people alike were thrown into the air by the force of the van's collision with the group as it made a u-turn through the destruction it had caused and back to David and Delilah's group. Blood spattered across the front of the van, and a front wheel of one of the bikes was trapped beneath the fender.

Delilah whipped open the side door in the van and ushered everyone inside before jumping in as well, slamming the door shut behind her, and they were off, leaving the gang that owned this territory with far fewer numbers than it had started with. The van was equipped with eight seats along the walls of the van, clearly modified and designed for rapid pick-up or drop off. Plenty of room for everyone. Nigel sidled into the passenger seat beside Cain and Heather scrambled for the far back of the van, dry heaving from the exertion of running.

Cain turned in his seat to glower at Delilah as he put the van in gear, his face pale and his mohawk askew. “YOU PSYCHOTIC BITCH, I COULD HAVE KILLED YOU”

“DRIVE.” She snapped back, jabbing a finger at the road. Despite what she had just made one of her men do, she was filled with relief. As the van jostled and rattled as it made it's way back up the streets, Delilah sat back finally in her seat and let out a long exhale. Finally, she turned her head to look at Cain in the rearview mirror. “ETA to safe house?”

“...four minutes unless we encounter more tangoes. I don't think I got 'em all.”

“Me either. I think we just kicked a hornets nest,” she uttered a breathless laugh, turning her face to look at David, smiling apologetically. “Thank you...for trusting me.”[/size]

[David B.]

The bikers.

From one direction came some, Delilah dropkicking intothe air. From the other direction came more- time seemed to slow down. Way, way down. He could see every droplet that fell. His breath came out in ragged, slow mists. Youichi was shouting something. August was moving to pull her out of the way. Delilahs feet had not yet connected with the first biker. Davids eyes, wide despite the storm, seemed to slowly shift to his hands. Here he was. An individual whose strength and prowess had once caused much turmoil. Who could reform an entire organization with a single word, or fist.

He felt so...weak, when compared to his old self. Almost powerless in the face of death for himself, his friends. His hand close into a fist. The first biker was almost on them, delilahs feet were an inch from contact. He closed his eyes slowly, taking a deep breath. He was going to die. He was going to die. He....felt a stirring. A crisp calm, and he knew what it was. An eye. Like a hurricane, building from the silent center out into a terror unleashed. His eyes would open, seeming no more than a blink. The normally calm blue hue seemed to glow inside his skull, his teeth clenching as a feeling he had not felt in years overwhelmed him.

He was going to die.

But not today.

He let out a roar of defiance as time seemed to kick back in, just as delilahs feet would connect with the biker. As the other adversaries pushed in from behind her, Davids fist would come down on the mans front tire, the rubber skinning his knuckles but causing the bike to front flip. He'd grab the man who was thrown forward, his bike now flying twenty feet into the air to explode against the building. The man, he would headbutt brutally, cracking his skull and knocking the man out. The next biker would get a crescent kick off his ride, his front teeth shattering. David took the bike and picked the fucker up off the ground, hurling it at an SUV as their van slammed into the bikers. His wild eyes returned to his present as he hurled himself aboard the vehicle, the bikers surprisingly stopping their persuit and turning back to their injured men.

David lay on the floor of the van, gasping in air as his knuckles bled. He heard Delilah talking to the driver, and then to him. He was flat on his back with his eyes closed, grinning.

"Thanks...thanks for proving it safe."

His trust.

It wasn't often he gave it out, if ever. He was glad that she had shown his faith justified.

[Delilah A. Black]

"Thanks...thanks for proving it safe."

"Any time." she shrugged, smiling sheepishly.She was only heaving slightly in spite of the hard running she had done. She had been training for this for so long, it was almost natural to her now. She found it odd that David was winded...he was stronger and tougher than she was by far. Curious...

She looked around the van now, smiling faintly. "Actually, all of you saved my ass a fair few times today. Thanks for that. I get to go home to my son and his dad tonight."

Ahead of her, Nigel frowned. "Why."

"Why what?"

"Why do stupid ass shit like this when it could get you killed?" he growled, his voice smooth with curiosity, though a hint of hostility came through in his words. "You're a First with a family. You suicidal or somethin'? Is your kid boring or what?"

Heather gasped in the corner and Cain curbed the van in surprise. He recovered quickly by swerving back onto the main road, avoiding crashing into a parked car. "Sorry, sorry..."

Delilah was silent for a moment, staring at the back Nigel's head intently. The shock of her little students wasn't surprising: the first time Delilah had given them a lesson, she had everyone fight her all at once. Nigel had been the only one who kept going back for seconds and thirds. His prejudice against women was the basis for that.

This time, instead of beating the insubordination out of him, she decided to talk it out.

" I'm not sure you'd be able t understand my motives. We're very different people, Nigel." she said slowly, adjusting herself in the seat. "'Once more into the fray, into the last good fight I'll ever know. Live and die on this day. Live and die on this day'."

Slowly, she pulled down the sleeve of her tank top and turned her back to show her tattoo, the same words she had just spoken scrawled in a typewriter font on her scar covered shoulder. "I got this tattoo after Oliver was hit by a car when he was two. I was so furious, I left my son lying in the street with a gash in his head while I beat the piss out of the driver. Talk about priorities.

"I got it as a reminder to curb my anger, to remember how important and precious life is. But life is nothing if all you're trying to do is survive. You must live, and in order to live, you must be able to dance with death.

"Every sunrise can be the last one you ever see. Every bullet could be the one. You can never escape the inevitable, and death is the most inevitable thing of all. Live like every moment is your last, like the reaper himself is already breathing down your neck. Because he is. If you're not ready for that truth, then you will never be able to really live.

"If you start doing everything like your life is truly hanging in the balance, it's wonderous what you can accomplish. I fight to preserve all life, not just my own or my son's, but yours, everyone's, even though we're all destined to die. But I can't help anyone unless I go out there and do it. Live like you are prepared to die, and you might understand what I'm getting at. Does that answer your question?"

Nigel turned his head to look out the window, silent.

Delilah shrugged again and looked over at David and his team, bowing her head. "I'm sorry you had to hear me preach just now. We should be arriving at our destination soon. Then we can lie low until we're sure that gang is done hunting for us. Sound good?"

[David B.]

It was a good thing nobody brought up why David was so tired. Discussing the intricacies of his illness was not something be was in the mood for. Youichi was watching him, warily, making sure he would be alright. David focused his thoughts, listening to what Delilah said with a small, closed lip smile. He agreed with her, whole heartedly.

It had been a longtime since he had thrown his all into a fight- back at the house, that was just a bit of fun, really. Out here, he knew he had to protect his friends, old and new. His body, however, was growing weaker, and soon he knew he would have trouble. A few short months still, however. Plus, once the doc came with his medicine...

He turned to look up at Delilah, propping himself on his elbows as his breathing slowed to normal.

"Awesome. Is this in Crow territory?"

Once she answered, he would nod a bit in understanding before making a simple statement of admiration.

"You seem...quite a bit stronger than when I last saw you."

[Delilah A. Black]

"Awesome. Is this Crows' territory?"

Delilah shook her head, "Just on the fringe. Most of our safe houses are outside Crows' territory for when we're on missions. It still gives us easy access to retreat to our territory when things get hairy while still technically being in the area. But it's just a hop and a skip away from that area."

"You seem...quite a bit stronger than when I last saw you."

Delilah's cheeks actually reddened at these words, accompanied by a demure smile. That was quite the compliment coming from the man who was Once Upon a Time, the Captain of PHS #259. She inclined her head to him, "Thank you. That really means something coming from you, you know."

The van came to a lurching stop and everyone was thrown forward a couple of feet. Cain looked in the back, still glaring at Delilah for making him RUN OVER FIFTEEN GUYS ON BIKES, but his face had softened somewhat. He sighed, "We're here."

Delilah opened the door to the van, revealing that they were actually near the coast line. A rusty metal shed attached to a blackened mechanics shop stood nearby, both covered in soot and the smell of the sea.

She hopped out, hand on her knife as she checked the area, but all was quiet. After opening the door to the shed and having a quick look around, she looked over her shoulder to nod behind her that the coast was here.

The room wasn't what one would call...homey. The room was pungent with the smell of decaying fish and the sea and there were hunks of rusted metal all over the room. But it was somewhat tidy and there was a first-aid cabinet in the corner of the room, so it would serve.

"Watch your step in here," she cautioned. "It would be a bad time to get tetanus."

Nigel and Heather would follow David, Youichi and August into the room, ensuring the door was secure as Cain drove a distance away to hide the van. He would enter the room moments later.

Delilah cross the room to the first aid kit and yanked it off the wall. Clearing a space on one of the tables, she put it down and cracked it open. She grinned: most of the product was untouched.

She looked up, "If you want to bandage your wounds, you can. We have more than enough here for everyone."

[David B.]

He paused, just inside.

"Actually, we should really try getting back....but, thanks. We owe you one for the pickup."

He'd walk over and offer his hand.

"No, seriously. You need something, you let me know."

And with that, he'd turn to walk out.

OOC((sorry for the hasty exit. Trying to close up some threads seeing as I won't be on much for a while. But I do want another thread soon!))