I fell on my front smack dab in front of a burning building, it was such a great way to enter this new simulation. -rolls eyes in exaggeration- "Well, that was different. Now, where am I..." I muttered as I pushed myself up from the ground and stood up.
"Come in President. Can you hear me?" Kinzie's voice sounded in the air again, I sighed in relief before responding.
"Oh, I hear ya, all right. Only, HOW am I hearing you? Considering I don't have a phone?" I asked, and as much as I knew, that was actually a fairly decent question that I didn't have the answer too.
"I just patched myself into your simulation and am projecting my voice through the audio system. You should be able to hear me from anywhere. And you don't have to yell." She explained.
"Okay, cause you chattering in my skull isn't annoying. Kinzie, I'm unarmed. How about getting me out." I asked, I doubted it would be that simple, but I had to try.
"I can't do that until I back trace the signal to your physical body. Until then, you're stuck there so you might want to go buy a gun." she replied.
"Great, retail therapy at Friendly Fire." I uttered sarcastically. I ran onto the street and jumped into the nearest car and started it up. It seems people leave their keys in the cars in this simulation. "Where's the nearest store again?" I really had no clue, so it was an honest question.
Kinzie sighed. "Set your GPS from the map in your Hub. It's like a digital information pad. You know, like those mobile devices kids have these days." Kinzie informed.
"Awesome, can I update my status on it?" I had to throw in a stupid question or people might get hip to the idea that I'm not as dumb as I act.
"No." She replied. 'I didn't think so.'
I accessed the Hub like she told me to and brought up the map, then selected the nearest Friendly Fire, and backed out. Now my GPS was showing me the directions I started in the direction they were telling me to go. As I drove I switched the channel to GenX, to listen to some decent music. That channel always reminds me of Shaundi, seeing as it made me remember when I saved her from her psycho ex Veteran Child who happened to be the Dj for that station. This was of course before we lost Gat, and Gat lost Aisha. As I was driving I had to ask. "You are getting me out of here right?"
"Eventually. I'm still trying to figure out the Zin systems. Basic hacks like hooking into the audio system isn't hard. Trying to disconnect you and find your body, well that's a different matter entirely." I frowned at that bit of knowledge. Their tech was more advanced than I originally would have given them credit for, but that was mainly because of the manner in which my people and I were taken.
"And getting me into some decent clothes, isn't a 'basic hack'?" I asked incredulously.
"On my list of priorities, that doesn't even make the top five hundred." I nodded with pursed lips. 'I'll remember that when you're stuck in a simulation and I have to break you out.'
"If you were wearing this, you'd make this a priority." I remarked.
"If I was wearing that, I'd be asking you to shoot me in the head." She smartly replied back.
"Touche..."
I continued driving to my predetermined destination. I drove through red lights, and honestly tried not to hit anyone. It was kind of sad, but I was missing basic human interaction, and the knowledge that this was just a simulation was making me kind of depressed. "Do you think the entire White House was leveled?" I asked, in hopes of maybe getting a small bit of positivity from her.
"I don't know, Maybe, Why?" She asked. 'Well that wasn't a definite yes, so maybe it wasn't all gone.'
"I was thinking we should get Ultor to rebuild it. Maybe have it sealed up if there's an attack. Maybe transform into a giant tank..." Now I was just being ridiculous, but in hindsight imagining the White House becoming a giant tank was kind of funny.
"Are you serious?" Apparently not everyone thought it was funny.
"Could use some more stripper poles in the bedrooms, too." I added. Everything is better with stripper poles, right?
"More? You already had 'some' stripper poles?" She inquired.
"It was my first executive order." I chuckled.
"Wow..." She sounded like she wasn't sure if she should be amazed at my creativity, or my stupidity. Though to be fair, even people who have to wear stuffy suits deserve to let loose and relax sometimes. And better to be in the White House where there is less likely a chance of a tabloid getting a hold of the information, than going out in public and having the paparazzi taking pictures and posting it all over the internet. See, I think.
I continued driving and as I came to the end of the road I noticed a giant red dome in the center of the area the road divided and went around. "What's that big dome supposed to be?" I asked genuinely curious.
"Hmm, not sure. I'll have to look into that." she replied in an intrigued manner.
"Place is crawling with Zimmy's goons." I said.
"It's Zinyak boss."
"Whatever, I'm still going to call him Zimmy."
"Anyways, from what I can see a lots been taken over by the Zin's. There's alien technology everywhere." She sounded in awh, which made me smirk and shake my head.
"You're enjoying this aren't you." It was a statement not a question.
"Just a little." She sounded a little shy when admitting that, kind of cute really.
I continued driving. I passed through several more red lights, made a few turns and gave up on not running into anyone as they seemed to run into the middle of the road when I was driving. Eventually I made it to Friendly Fire though, and sighed in relief. I could finally arm myself who knows what bullshit Zimmy would throw at me next.
"Out of curiosity. Is Zimmy seriously going to let me buy weapons here? I mean it seems doubtful." I questioned.
"I don't know. Do you remember how to shop for yourself or did being President make you too good for that?" Kinzie replied with a slight bite to her tone. 'Okay, guess I pissed her off. Wonder what I did...'
I walked into Friendly Fire and proceeded to buy an SMG and a Heavy Pistol. I upgraded both of them fully on tier 1. Once I was done I walked back out of the shop and Kinzie resumed speaking to me, this time with less of an attitude.
"Hope you got something useful, cause the cops are swarming your location."
"Oh, good. It's time to remind them of the Second Amendment." I smirked and made sure I had my newly bought pistol at the ready.
"Zinyak's running this place, I don't think the Constitution holds any weight in this world." She just had to throw in some more logic, didn't she.
"It's Zimmy as far as I'm concerned. Also whatever, I'm going to kick some ass." I replied, ducking behind cars as I neared the cops that were firing at me. It was fun going around and shooting all of them. I really had to get more money though, the pistol fired and reloaded too slowly. If I was going to be raising hell for Ol Zimmy Boy then I needed my guns to be in top working order. "And now what? I just keep my head down until you can pull me out of here?" I asked when the cops were dead."
"Not yet, there's a Zin patrol close to you that'll need to be cleared out before that happens. That is, If the President is up for killing a few more aliens." I smiled, she posed it so it would cater to my pride as a gang leader, as well as the President since these bozos did attack The White House and Earth. She didn't need too, but she didn't know that yet.
"Actually Miss Press Secretary, that's your best suggestion since I got here..."
"What can I say, I'm good at my job." She was proud of that, that was obvious.
"If you were that good, I'd be out of here." I had to get a dig in somewhere, even though I knew she was trying her best.
"True." However, she did just agree with me...Are we sure Earth is still standing?
I shook my head and began heading towards the marker on my map for the Zin guys I needed to kill. As I walked across the street and got into the car I had stolen when I landed in this place, I wondered where I could stop to get out of these god awful clothes. I didn't have much, but at least the cops dropped some money when they died. I drove along for a bit and ended up driving past a building that then made me throw the car into reverse to make sure I wasn't seeing things. My lovely chain of stores Planet Saint's was replaced by this douche-bags store called Planet Zin's...Oh hell no. I walked in and managed to grab the cheapest light blue tank top, and dark blue cargo pants that I could find. I didn't lie the asshole ripping off my brand, but I could at least appreciate the fact that I was now out of that god awful Poodle-Skirt. -shudders- It will haunt my nightmares.
I went back outside after paying, ditching the other outfit, and got back in the car to continue to my destination. I turned back on the radio and "This is how we do it" By Montell Jordan came on. I nodded my head along to the song, it was really catchy, to be fair when I first heard it I thought it was one of the members from NSYNC singing it. No bad mouthing NSYNC, I happen to like those guys, they had good music. Granted the one guy couldn't dance for shit and was too stiff, but it still wasn't half bad.
I drove for a couple of blocks before pulling off in front of a house and grabbing my pistol. I then got out of the car and proceeded to point my weapon at one of Zimmy's goons. "Hey, assholes. Looking for me?" I hollered to get their attention.
"Just kill them and leave already." Kinzie griped, ruining my fun. I grumbled as I continued to shoot the idiots in the head or chest area while ducking behind the side of the building next to me in order to avoid their fire from their guns. It looks like their guns fire lasers, oh joy. I was minorly disappointed in how few of them there were around the area, but I digress.
"Okay, gotta get out of the spotlight now." I was going to ask where I could go when Kinzie beat me to it.
"Use my warehouse, it's not far." She replied to my unasked question. However I wanted to be a smartass.
"Couldn't I just stay in a hotel, or something instead?"
"What's wrong with my inner sanctum?" I raised my eyebrows, because really? You couldn't not know what was wrong with the 'Inner Sanctum' of Kinzie, unless you were Kinzie herself apparently.
"Nothing, Nothing. Not a thing." 'Oh yeah cause that's convincing, who are you trying to convince, her or yourself?'
I put away my gun in my waistband and went to poke around the dead goons bodies in-case they dropped some cash or ammo. When I didn't find any I returned to the car, got in, started it up and took off to Kinzie's warehouse of fun. It was surprisingly just a few blocks away from my current location, which made getting there a breeze. Now, who wonders if the inside is like it was on Earth, or a normal warehouse courtesy of Zimmy? I pondered as I brought the car up to the garage door, the door opened and I drove inside and parked the car. I got out and looked around and sighed, she wasn't going to take this well.
"Hate to tell you this Kinzie, but your stuffs all gone."
"What?!... Dammit! Zinyak removed all signs of the Saints from the simulation. That means..."
'Oh shit...' "We don't have ANY safe houses here."
"Right."
"Sooo, how do I fix that?" 'Please tell me It involves killing off some more of Zimmy's goons?'
"Hmmm. Not sure yet. Though any help you can give me on gathering information on the systems simulation would be useful. I'll leave any tasks I have for you in the Quest section of your Hub."
"Check. Anything else?"
"Just hang in there. I promise I'll find a way to get you out."
"Do it, and I'll rename the internet after you." 'Probably not lying, its depressing being in here.'
