Red Hot Pursuit [Sarge]

[KI3T]

Date: February 1st, 2025 // Time: 7:00 pm // Location: Fresno, California

KITT was having the day with Cira before they returned to the Autobot base in time for Valentine's Day. Cira had achieved a lot of training the last few couple of weeks after the action stirred up in January. First they'd encountered aliens called Cybertronians, and were now contracted with one of the two factions known as Autobots merely out of discovering that KARR was yet again revived by the Decepticons. Cira's Autobot friend Jazz had helped them get acquainted. Then not even a week later they encountered some of the Freelancers, and Carolina tried to infiltrate the Autobot base just within days of KITT starting to work there.

They had returned to the Satellite Surveillance Center (SSC) somewhere in Nevada for a short break and check up while Cira was out flying. And while out flying, the C130 had stopped near FLAG's Mansion in California. Now they were spending the evening together and were miles away from their little undercover base. Cira was out getting some Parkour time as well at the Tempest Freerunning Academy. Sure, they were doing their job as liaison all right. She had heard of Maddie meeting a Spanish Speaking robot named Lopez as well, so both she and KITT decided maybe they better do some investigating to see if they could find more of the Troopers or Freelancers, and she knew three had also already been recruited to the Autobots. Maybe if they found more they could recruit them to the Autobot cause as well, or maybe even get them to partner with FLAG too!

Their minds were astray with their own reflections on the recent events as they drove to a random fast food station of Cira's choice: SONIC. Cira was jamming away to a rock group called Dream Theater. Though KITT found it a tad bit annoying and wasn't going to stop her, she was tapping to the beats on KITT's steering wheel habitually.

Finally: a stop at Sonic. KITT could hear her stomach rumbling like an earthquake on the way there. "Lemonade slushie, and two foot long chilly cheese dog combos please!" Cira's appetite was enormous for a woman her size, and the server that walked out to give them their meal a few minutes later raised their eyebrow when they noticed it was just Cira in the seat of a very nice Mustang. She paid up then ate a majority of her food before driving away once the cheese dogs were completely consumed. The rest would be easier to eat while driving. The Lemonade slush in one hand, plus the sodas and fries to snack on. Cira was usually very clean when eating so KITT wouldn't complain much. His windows dark, she could eat hands free of the steering wheel while driving.

Needless to say, car and driver were expecting it to be a typical day.

[Sarge]

The roar of the Warthog rent the air, Sarge’s foot practically burying the pedal into the floor while blasting a catchy polka tune over the radio. His other foot tapped to the music as he sat back comfortably in the seat and raced up the road without a care in the world. Sarge looked off to the side for a few minutes before looking ahead just in time to see he was racing up behind someone. He blared the horn at them and then ripped the Warthog into the oncoming lane, forcing another car to drive into the ditch as he raced past the first one. Sarge bellowed with laughter as he passed the car in the ditch. “Didn’t expect THAT did ya? Next time stay off the road or I’ll use my shotgun to end the problem PERMANENTLY!” He swung the vehicle back into the right lane and raced along for a while.

He looked up ahead to see another car and he groaned. “Horse pucky! Why do these jackasses keep hogging the road!” he grumbled to himself. It wasn’t long until he was right up behind the person and slowly crept up before lightly bumping the rear of the vehicle in front of him. “Get off the road dipshit! I’m on a mission! A mission of VITAL importance!” The vehicle swiftly pulled over to the side of the road to allow Sarge to race passed. Again Sarge was bellowing with laughter. “Sweet mashed potatoes! I love this Chupa-thingy!”

[KI3T]

{"And what mission is that that is so pressing? Late for a movie?"} KITT thought in irritability. Goodness, humans were so inconsiderate these days -- KITT and Cira noticed the Warthog. It wasn't Agent New York Driving it, that was for sure, she would have recognized him, and so would have KITT. KITT and Cira had befriended York and his AI the previous month. It seemed they had evidently run into a simulation trooper Cira was staring at in the rear view mirror at the man yelling at them. And here they were in the one of the faster lanes moving at a decent speed.

Cira rolled down the window and flipped him off when she realized it wasn't York driving the strange looking armored jeep. The two had seen the other car roll off the ditch in KITT's rear view mirrors. {"Well that's definitely NOT York."} for one, York's voice wasn't near that annoying, and secondly, his armor wasn't red. It was pretty easy for them to figure out who this guy was now that they had two of the Simulation Toopers ready to sign up for the new organization Cira was going to call NEST. "Eh bite me, Red Team guy. Good job KITT, back up into his face, see how he likes some Mustang Butt!" Cira muttered as she noticed KITT breaking suddenly. KITT could take the impact without a scratch. It was possible that the Warthog might not given the speeds they were moving at.

[Sarge]

A scowl creased Sarge’s brow as the car ahead of him didn’t give, this did not please him in the least. He had places to be, people to kill or horribly mutilate! Then a hand came out of the driver window and flipped him the bird; Sarge gripped the wheel tightly and ringed his hands on it. “Now THAT was just uncalled for! What kinda jackass flips a guy off when he’s trying to run them off the road to get by on important business?”

It was a surprise when Sarge smashed into the rear of the car, the force causing him to headbutt the steering wheel, blurting the horn for a moment. Sarge shook his head and blinked haphazardly as he looked about trying to regain his senses. “What in Sam Hell?” He looked intently at the car in front of him and was a bit surprised to see it unharmed. “Now that’s a Mustang!” Then his eyes moved to the front of his Warthog. It wasn’t a great deal, but the hood had been peeled back by the collision. “You front-stabbing mucklicker!”

Sarge swung the Warthog into the oncoming lane and punched the gas further, slowly pulling up beside the mustang. When he could, he glanced to the side to see who the driver was. At the sight of her he pointed at her. “I’m going to break that pretty toy of your’s missy! Then I’m gonna break you! Then I’m gonna break those pieces and break those pieces of the pieces! Then I’m gonna shove them in a blender and dice them up into a fine paste! Then spread that paste over a pizza and eat it!”

[KI3T]

"This MUSTANG will trump that jeep, foo! It ain't no ordinary pretty Mustang! Try ramming it, I dare ya, it'll get squished like a moldy pancake! Yer blood and oil is da syrup!! Glad you think its *belch* pretty!" Cira shouted, before taking a sip at the slushy and staring him down with wide eyes. She then belched loudly since she had just finished a majority of her meal. KITT 'kept his mouth shut', thinking that her response was a bit unnecessary, but then again, Cira was Cira. Cira had decided to not indicate she recognized the Warthog."Excuse me!"

Cira put the drink down and shifted gears, revving KITT's engine. A low, throaty growl erupted from under KITT's hood. Just what would this one think of KITT if he started talking? KITT and Cira both enjoyed messing with people like this. Many often did double takes when they saw the twin pacing scanners at the front. Cira plundered KITT forward, establishing some space between them.

[Sarge]

“I bleed for no pancakes!” Sarge shook his fist at the women just shortly before she pulled ahead of him. He grabbed the wheel with both hands at this point and again rung them, “This lady is in for it now!” He tried to push the Warthog further, and for a moment it started catching up, but only for a moment. It wasn’t long until Sarge was sucking dust and exhaust. A surge of rage filled Sarge as he thought about his options. Before smiling.

He took a hand off the wheel and reached between the seats and picked up his shotgun, then swapping it rather clumsily to his other hand. In the process he ran another poor soul off the road before he pulled the Warthog back into the right lane. “Rock! Paper! Shotgun!” He fired off towards the mustang, withdrawing his gun into the confines of the vehicle, awkwardly turning the shotgun inward in order to pump it in the crook of his arm. After a few moments of working at it, he finally heard the reassuring sound.

[KI3T]

Cira checked the lanes to either side of her to make sure they were clear. "KITT, on guard, I got this. Attack Mode." Cira swiveled the AI vehicle around completely as he transformed, his forward speed now matched in reverse. The bumpers were mere inches apart. It was a random move, but she was being provoked, and that was usually a bad thing."Transformation complete." KITT replied from within the interior. Right before Sarge's eyes, KITT transformed just as suddenly as he had spun around. With police LED lights atop the roof and going off loudly included, gattling guns rose from the hood of the vehicle on either side of the silver hood scoops, but did not fire.


She spoke externally through KITT. "I highly recommend ya don't fire again unless you and yer Warthog wanna dance with death."

[Sarge]

What was this lady doing? And how was she doing it? The car spun about to face him and he could see her clearly, bringing a smile to his face as he aimed the shotgun once more. {Big mistake Barbie}. He just slowly began to pull the trigger, savoring every moment until he heard strange noises coming from the mustang and he lowered his shotgun only slightly in his confusion. Mustangs didn’t make that noise. Cars didn’t make that noise.

He found himself slowly leaning out of his vehicle to get a wider look at the car as the lights appeared, and he nearly fell out as he leaned even further as the gatling guns popped out. “Where can I get one of those?” he muttered under his breath. He’d admit it, he wasn’t expecting this when he fired on the vehicle. The woman’s taunt, however, brought him out of his current state of mind and he sat back up again and withdrew his shotgun and set it aside and then looked at the Mustang, then back over his shoulder at the gunner seat, then back again and continued to look back and forth.

“Damn it! Where’s Simmons when I need him?” Sarge bellowed, “Hell I’d even settle for Grif right now, at least he might get shot!” He glared at the woman for a few moments before bringing his hand up before him and balling it into a fist before slowly sticking up his middle finger. He let his hand fall back down, “This is not a retreat! This is an advance towards future victory!” He started to pull over into the oncoming lane again in an attempt to pass.

[KI3T]

"Let's see about that! Turn around while I protect the drinks!" the soda and slushy had nearly made a mess the first time she spun KITT around. Cira intended to pursue the strange Warthog and its driver so she could attempt to talk to them about NEST. But apparently this man wanted a chase, and a chase he would surely get! She spun the AI vehicle around in reverse and then shifted gears just after she put KITT back in drive, tires burning rubber. She sipped on her large Pepsi to bring down the level of the fluid in its container in order to not make a mess before he started accelerating. "Better finish up those drinks." KITT said hopefully, really not wanting to have to deal with an interior clean up later. "Yeah I know, working on it."

KITT had a lot of tricks built into him, and they were prepared to use any number of them for this pursuit. Cira spoke through KITT again as she accelerated after Sarge down the temporarily clear path. "Ya know I actually wanted to talk to ya about something but now we've started off awkwardly! Guess the chat'll have ta wait!"

[Sarge]

Sarge sped past the mustang and continued his way up the road, decided to forget the lady and her death car. When he looked at the rear view mirror, he was made aware that wouldn’t be as easy as that. “Fine! You wanna piece of this Red? If I can face down a Freelancer I can face down Francine and her jalopy!” He continued on with the fast pace, sticking to the oncoming lane as he looked ahead to see a car coming his way. He blared the horn, he wasn’t about to be deterred. “Outta the way moron! I’ve got a hankerin’ for murder!” In the end, Sarge won the game of chicken as the car pulled over into the other lane, but not fast enough as the corner of the Warthog struck the car, bouncing it away and off the road. “Told you!” Sarge looked over his shoulder at the car and laughed.

When he looked ahead, he saw an oncoming semi-truck and trailer, “Great horny toads!” he swung the Warthog into the right lane again, coming right up behind another civilian car and crashing into the back of it, startling the driver to pull over. “God damn it! Why are there so many on the road? Can’t they see I’ve got some Buttercup behind me?”

[Kira Knight]

Cira swerved around the other side of the semi, accelerating to catch up to Sarge. The Mustang was close now, and the twin red scanners would be noticeable. "Let's see just how fast these things go against a real sports car!" The first time she'd raced with a Warthog was in her Toyota Tacoma. She was very adept to driving it in all types of terrain, but being what it was, it was not a supreme racing vehicle. KITT however, was just that. KITT had no need for Turbo Boost just yet, but maybe on a clear stretch they would - if there was one. For now, the scanners moved up to the rear of the Warthog as he pushed away two vehicles as they got near the front of the semi. KITT had to chuckle briefly at being a 'real sports car'. That wasn't the first time she'd said that one.

Just how much damage would he cause before she could finally get him to stop and give her a chance to talk? It was a challenge she was willing to find out, but she knew Mike and Sarah wouldn't be happy about it if KITT seemed to believe she was responsible for provoking him. But Cira saw the pursuit as worth it, and it seemed Sarge was a violent driver to begin with so it wouldn't matter if she really was or wasn't provoking him to be so reckless. Since he'd acted so aggressively before approaching KITT's rear moment's earlier, she figured it wasn't part of provoking him, and KITT felt the same way though neither spoke of it. {"I'm already in pursuit, what with all the paper work of late, I could use some proper field work for a change! I see why Dad loves driving KITT. And Interceptor is just as fun!"} Though she liked the silver vehicle and its alternate modes, KITT was certainly just as interesting and shared many of the same abilities but different alternate modes, making them special in their own ways. All in all, Cira didn't think she could ever decide if she liked one AI vehicle over the other. {"I must say though, I do like the idea of having a motorcycle fer this chase. But I think we can do with out it."[/i]}[/color]

For now, Cira was simply following Sarge as annoyingly and persistently as she could possibly manage. KITT was silently baffled by how aggressive Sarge's driving etiquette was (for lack of a better word). But he said nothing about the chase, because he trusted Cira.

((posted on Cira's account because this is largely from her perspective.))

[Sarge]

Sarge smiled when the mustang disappeared behind the transport. {“Glad to be rid of that pile of-“} He nearly jumped when he saw the mustang pull in behind him after circumnavigating the transport. “Jumpin’ Jehosaphat!” He glared over his shoulder at the car before looking ahead at the road, it was a long stretch with only the one oncoming car before a wide curve. He’d have to use that car as a shield. Yeah, that’d work, through one jackass at another and he could make the curve and be long gone.

He nodded his assurance to himself and smiled, “You messed with the wrong shotgun-toting red missy!” His foot dug the pedal into the floor and he took off towards the oncoming care, playing a game of chicken with the poor soul. When they were close enough, Sarge grabbed his shotgun again and fired at the tires, blowing the left front tire and causing the oncoming car to swing about into the other lane. “Game set and-” he turned the Warthog to avoid the car, but realized he wouldn’t make it. “Damn it! This is all Grif’s fault!” Though he didn’t hit the car head on, he did strike it with the front corner of the Warthog, temporatily losing control and flying off the road towards a large grouping of rocks. “Great merciful toadstools!” he cried out as he swerved to avoid the first rock. “Helen of Troy’s breeches!” he swerved around another. “Bozo the Clown’s hairpiece!” And yet another rock avoided.

[Kira Knight]

Cira mentally facepalmed as she saw Sarge narrowly avoid several of the rocks after swerving off. Well, apparently they had to change course. She steered KITT off the road and swung an arc to the right surrounding the rocks in a wide turn, kicking up dust and grass. Maybe she could corner him - but she had a feeling it wouldn't be that easy. "This one is persistent." she muttered. By this time, the gattling guns had disappeared because she saw no reason to keep them out at this time, it was just a drag reducer. She sipped at her soda, munching on some ice as she let the Mustang slow down once she started getting ahead of Sarge in the arc.

"Whatcha gonna do now? Don't think you'll avoid me that way!"

[Sarge]

Sarge continued to swerve around rocks the whole way through to the point he wasn’t even sure which way he was going. “Giant Shiva’s sarsaparilla!” He cried out as he came around one rock and was headed straight for another. This time he couldn’t avoid it, not entirely, as the rear wheel bounced off of it just as he passed it, sending him into a spin that led him out from among the rocks. “Horatio’s sunglasses! This is worse than when I screwed up my last air drop!”

Finally the Warthog stopped spinning not far from the rocks and came very close to rolling over before falling back onto all four wheels. Sarge grabbed his shotgun and climbed out of the driver’s seat. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he began stumbling about from the dizziness. “C’mon Nancy! Bring it!”

[Kira Knight]

"Mah name ain't Nancy. It' Cira." Cira turned KITT to face the pile of rocks from the left. She got out and walked towards the stumbling red soldier, gently attempting to steady him by placing a hand on each shoulder to get him to stop moving. "Woah there." she hoped he wouldn't swing at her. "That race was fun n all and while I'd love ta do it again, I must say that since I've encountered you by sheer happenstance, I've met some others you know 'n I have a job offer."

Of course, Cira had no idea how this man was going to react, and given what she'd seen so far, she had to brace herself for all possibilities. ALL THE POSSIBILITIES.