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"So, you know a little bit more then you let on," Rizzo said, "Rack and pinion it is, five speed manual transmision, but I'm pretty sure the engine and steering systems are worthless cept for a few parts in the transmission case. I want to get the hub caps off the back tires for starters, I had just replaced the ignition mechanism before the accident and I'd like to recover that. Then I want to see if I can recover anything still of use from the transmission. Oh, we're also taking all the locks out of the doors, I have a locksmith buddy who pays decently for em'"

Rizzo grabbed a set of car jacks and a box of tools, going outside and expecting Stephanie to follow. In the lot across fro them the garage there were two rows of vehicles in various states of disrepair. The one they were going for was a 1985 Toyata Camry with a front end that had been smashed to not quite half its former length. All the glass was broken as well.

"Driver was high," Rizzo said, "Hit a wall at 85mph, killed instantly."

While she took the caps off and Rizzo pulled the locks out of the doors, Gil returned from whatever he was doing. He went in shop for a few minutes, then came back outside, standing at the door.

"Hey, Rizzo, I need to discuss something with privately," he yelled.

"I see you're almost finished with the caps," Rizzo said, throwing her the keys to the wreck, "He had a spare tire in the back, get that out and wait here, this shouldn't take too long."

No sooner was Rizzo in the garage than a boy who looked about twelve years old came running up to the lot and spotted her. He had a terrible gash across his forehead and a bloodied nose.

"Hey lady," he said, "I need help fast, my mom fell over into a sewer opening and I don't know what to do. Please follow me, you have to help her."

The child ran off as spoke not giving her chance to catch him. He was a fast little bugger, and he did seem nervous, scared, and a little paniced.

The boy led her through a convoluted labyrinth of back alleys, taking her almost a little further than an entire block away from the garage. But there was no sewer opening at the final destination, and the boy kept running. two men were leaning against the walls of the alley, acting as if they were just killing time. The boy ran past them, and kept going without daring to stop. He had done as was told out of fear. A tall man, 6ft'7in tall, with blood shot eyes lifted a thick lead pipe with his left hand and smacked it against his right. Another man with a mechanical right arm ending in a metal pincer joined him to forbid her from following the child any further.

Behind her there was a light swish of air as what looked like an older teenage boy landed behind her, cutting off her escape from the alley. A switch blade clicked as the knife inside the handle was released.

"Heard you're the b**** shacking up with the old man at the garage," the boy said, "We're gonna teach you a little lesson about cutting in on other people's turf."

They attacked after the teenager had finished speaking, something about her told them to get moving quick. The teenage boy rushed in from behind with the knife, jabbing for the small as the tall one moved in with the lead pipe, holding it like a baseball bat and aiming for her forhead. The man with the mechanical arm kept his distance, shifted a chamber in his forearm, and let the pincers open wide, revealing a small hole at the end of his arm as he took aim for her neck.

Though street thugs, they were no common street thugs. These, pathetic guys, had some twisted surprises up their sleeves, and were by no means to be taken lightly. How Gil had came to associate with them so well, that would be a matter of inquiry if they could be dealt with first.

The teenager smiled coyly as she took his wrist, this one had moves. It would be hard to tell the difference, especially for an Aekea outsider, but the teenagers skin was a high quality synthetic brand. She would no more than take his wrist then he would make a fist and send it slamming into the wall with force surpasing the limit of the human body. If she held on, she sould go slamming into alley wall herself the herself at surprising speed, and all this would happen in a mere fraction of a second.

The man put up his left hand, allowing the first shot to bust a hole through palm and lodge into his right shoulder. The other bullet lodged into his forearm, sending a great deal of clear hydralic fluid running down the limb.

"Scram," the "so-called" boy yelled as the shots struck his arm.

It was like an order, the synthetic human disapearing into the labyrinth behind her. The others would be gone soon too, but not without leaving her a little going away present.

Once she had gone airborne, the man with the prosthetic arm made his move. The mechanism of his arm was a pin gun that sprayed pins the size of sewing needles, hurling them out like a pin machine gun with an incredible rate and trajectory. A spray of pins, every one of them laced with LSD, would rain at her from below, flying with their points towards her. They would go traight through soft tissue and lodge deeply into bone. The worst part was, he could keep sustained fire up for over two minutes without jamming or running low on ammo.

Under the cover of this fire, the man with the lead pipe would bust his rear out of the alley. Then the other would back away, firing pins until he rounded the corner out of the alley.

Rizzo would be waiting for her when she got back, he had finished jacking up the old toyota and was already underneith it with a blowtorch to take out the gearbox. Since she was pretty much unharmed and had no noticeable wounds he didn't think anything was wrong besides the fact that she left.

"Hey, where'd you go?" he asked, somewhat put out by the fact that she didn't even get the tire out of the trunk.

"He wanted me to look at a carberator he said he was having trouble with,"Rizzo said, "I don't know why he called me in there for that, he knows that kind of stuff. Probably just wanted me to do the work for him. Why don't you go in and help him, God knows if he'll ever get anything done today otherwise."