Chapter 7: Smoke

"So we have 20 ounces of plastic explosive…"

The Operative getting out of his truck idly stated while looking at a clipboard. His compatriot scoffed, hopping the bed gate of the vehicle and unlocking it's bolts.

"Ounces? The fuck are you using the metric system for? Unlike you, we have no clue what that imperialistic shit means."

"Fine. For the mission we were assigned… 1.25 pounds of C4." He replied, putting the clipboard down on a crate in the back.

The second groaned. "So, we were assigned a piss-all amount of explosives to attack a base with. What the fuck are the HU's thinking?"

The first shrugged, uncovering a crate that held the small amount of C4. "Not my call. Victor said this was all we needed. He's bringing something with him from what I understand."

The second jumped down from the back onto the snow covered sand, pulling a magazine from his belt and looking inside it.

"Victor is leading this? Alright, forget I said anything. I don't want him to verbally lash me to death with his 'unique accent', or whatever he calls it."

"Ye mean ta say ye been questionin' me orders, Havel?"

The second jumped in fright while the first smirked, connecting the wires into the neat package of explosives. Victor had been there the whole time.

"N-no… Just…" Havel stuttered.

"Ye wanna make the place go boom, huh? Well tough shit. We gotta make dis quiet and sneaky like. For a while, at least."

Victor hefted his suppressed SCAR-H and rested it on his shoulder. Flicking a lighter open with his off-hand, he reignited his quarter smoked cigar. The first Operative lifted the crate from the back of the truck and placed it in the sand next to his own backpack.

"Figured that from the equipment." He stood, attaching a silencer to his 92FS. "Four man team with silenced equipment, and one of these new-fangled EMP detonators from R&D. What's so important about this place that we have to EMP the whole thing?"

Victor jabbed his thumb back towards his own jeep behind him.

"Two reasons. The first is privit. The second, techie 'ere from out North can explain."

Sitting on the jeep's spare tire was a thin man, donned in a black bodysuit with a kevlar torso cover and combat boots. Ruffled short brown hair and pale skin were his prominent features, although his rather slim green tinted glasses seemed somewhat unique. He drew deeply from the cigarette in his mouth, and turned to the group.

"I am not sure how much you all know. But apparently, one of the fabled 'Energy Scientists' is here conducting trials to improve upon the project you have already seen."

He discarded the butt into the snow and got up, drawing a L33T sword with a jagged shark tooth formation sharpened into the backside of the blade. "It should be unsaid, but capturing an E-Scientist will prove very valuable to the Antithesis as a whole, whether the East splits or not."

The first Operative, who now donned a metal vest black with the name 'Steven' haphazardly carved into the plating, froze. He looked up at the techie.

"An E Scientist? Out here? You're not just giving us some story to make us hyped, are you?"

Havel on the other hand, paused from sorting out his armor. He raised an eyebrow.

"The fuck are you two on about?"

Steven shook his head and waved him off. "Doesn't matter. Long story short, just know he's breaking the laws of physics and more moral codes than you can count with the Agency."

Victor nodded. Unlike the others, he wore no armor, carrying his silenced rifle and a Bowie knife as a backup.

"Best ye don' know. Reality o' the situation seems less terrifyin' that way."

The techie grabbed a blast helmet from the back of the truck, as well as an Agency Engineer's mask that had the HUD glass knocked out.

Steven loaded a magazine into his silenced pistol, and donned a hooded trench coat over his metal vest, hiding the armor and his body for the most part.

Havel not only carried the C4 and EMP in the backpack, but also equipped himself in a full body suit of padded metal armor and a full metal helmet with a riot-styled faceplate. He armed himself with a silenced MK 48 and a Desert Eagle Special with extended magazine.

Steven looked to the young techie who was lighting up another cigarette, unnerving him a little. "What's your name, kid?"

"Hanz. Hanz Soloschmitz," he replied, saying his last name as if it were an average occurring name.

Steven rolled his obscured eyes. "Great. Another kid who chose a stupidly complicated name. And he smokes. Fuckin cursed."

Victor led the approach to the fence with the others in tow. The weather had been a bit too intense for the weak chainlinks as they had snapped right off the frame from the weight of the snow. As the team approached, they kept scanning for any sign of movement.

Reaching the side of the base, Hanz ran his hand along the concrete wall. He stopped, nodding to a paint-chipped portion.

"Plant the C4 here. Behind this should be the armory, with the generator just off to the left."

"How do you know that?" Steven asked, his breath turning to huffs of condensation rivaling that of Hanz's cigarette smoke.

Hanz tapped his glasses, "Part of my Experiment years. The glasses give me instantaneous layouts of stored building schematics, guns, even the parts of machinery. Hence, why I work in R&D and as my outpost's mechanic up North."

Steven nodded, slightly satisfied that he got a full answer for once. Havel went over and set up the explosives, while Steven prepared the detonator. Havel stepped back, as Hanz stood by Victor, who gave him the EMP trigger.

Steven flicked the lock off the C4 detonator. "Everyone ready?"

Hanz drew his sword, while Havel cocked back the 48. Readying his pistol in his other hand, Steven triggered the C4.

A large hole blasted the side of the building. The four dashed through the debris and smoke, finding the armory mainly empty of both staff and weaponry. Not wasting any time, Havel busted down the generator room door off to the side, letting Hanz take the EMP out of the pack and locking it to the facility's fuse box.

Ditching the pack, Havel bolted out of the room. Hanz nodded to Victor, who in turn set off the EMP. The grid box nearby exploded from the overcharge.

"Caution. Hostile forces are infiltrating the facility. This is not a-"

The automated alert voice cut out with the power, as dull red emergency lights lit the walls. Havel was already engaging the panicking Grunts in the hallway outside the armory. Suppressed bullets tore through them like bloodsoaked tissue paper.

Steven looked around the armory in disbelief. "Why are they so under-equipped?"

With the firefight in the hallway ended, Victor replied in the silence as he checked his rifle. "They were betray'd from the inside. The cheeky shet has been under stockin de place for past four days."

"Inside job? Who's the one who organized it?"

"Ye been out East for what? Tree years?" Victor laughed heartily, flicking the spent magazine away and reloading his SCAR. "Ye should know by now, don't ask questions."

Steven glared as Victor went past him into the generator room, taking off his own pack.

"And here I thought being a Recon meant asking questions," Steven huffed, picking up the M16.

"If you planned to meet up in the offices, we'll need to go upstairs. The stairs are through that door," Hanz explained, exiting the generator room and checking the Beretta he picked up. "Watch yourselves. The cafeteria is supposed to be a hardpoint. All routes lead to it. Expect their new heavy units to be out in force."

"Aye. The new GOL3M units. Deyr big an' brutish, but dumb as a sack o' rocks."

It hadn't taken long to get to Derek's office, although a few wrong turns in the dim light had made it tedious. Arriving at a wooden door, Derek fumbled for his key, giving DJ the Deagle.

An Agent had arrived to them, saluting the doctor. "Sir. Sinig has been evacuated, I have been sent to assist in your evacuation."

"That will not be needed, Agent. Return to Sinig, I will be quite fine."

"But sir-"

DJ leveled the Deagle with the Agent's head, making him freeze for a moment.

"Headicus Explodicus."

The Agent had gone for his own pistol, only to have his head blown clean open from the large caliber round. Derek sighed.

"Damn it. It's going to take ages to get the blood off…"

DJ pocketed the Deagle and licked the blood splatter off his hand. Finally finding the key, Derek twisted it in the lock. The metal bars in the door unlocked with a heavy CLUNK.

The ascent up the stairs was quiet, as the base fell into disarray with no power and no communications. The quartet could only assume the few Soldats and other Engineers had been pulled back to the labs with proper weapons to defend the research.

Finding their way into the cafeteria, Grunts wielding low-caliber pistols fired at them. Havel shrugged off the rounds hitting his armor, mowing down the Grunts hiding behind the tables. The greyshirts were no match for his heavy weapondry.

Victor flanked Havel and entered the kitchen, flinging his knife into the cook's face before the chef could fire at him. Steven picked up one of the tacos, earning a scowl from Hanz.

"Can you not stuff your face while we're on a high-risk mission?"

Steven flipped him the bird as he swallowed the mexican mouth party, making Hanz roll his eyes and go over to the other side door. "Coast is clear. Looks like they didn't deploy the bigger units after all."

Steven was munching down his second taco when Victor and Havel came out. He froze, looking at them both. Victor sighed.

"Oh what the hell, why not?"

He picked up a taco with one hand and carried his SCAR in the other. Havel shook his head and moved on, checking angles at the door with his machete drawn.

"Decent food at least," Victor remarked to himself after finishing his taco. Brushing his hand clean of taco shell dust, he turned to Hanz. "Where's the office at?"

Hanz pointed to the door across from them. "Through there and up a floor. Then, left down the hallway followed by a right. Door's at the end of the hallway."

"Glad we got a museum tour guide around," Steven said.

Scanning the room, DJ noted the attention to civilian comforts as compared to the rest of the facility.

Actual carpet was a shocker.

"So… one for the luxuries huh?"

"Well, Beth always believed our line of work deserved some relaxation at times. She was one for extras in life after all." Derek ran his hand across the bookshelf, until he stopped at a familiar book that was more worn than the others.

Behavioral Neuroscience.

Pulling the book out, a loud click could be heard. Pulling further brought out an entire shelf lined with weapons. While it wasn't quite the Western Division's armory, it was decently stocked. A set of four Deagles, two .44 magnum revolvers, and a Benelli M3.

With enough ammo to supply a last stand for a solid three days.

"Nice little collection you have here," DJ remarked, walking over and looking at the neat display.

"I used to collect coins. Being in the AAHW forced me to 'change' up." He chuckled at his own pun as he retrieved one of the revolvers. "So, I started collecting guns. This is what's left of my original set from the first time this base was here."

DJ picked up the shotgun, noting that it felt far heavier than it should reasonably. "How many shells can you fit in this thing?"

Putting two boxes of flechette shells on the desk, Derek paused for a moment to remember. "32 in total. I had it enhanced to hold more so it wasn't as reliant on constant reloads."

DJ bit his lip, looking down at the shotgun in disbelief. "32 rounds? In a Benelli M3?"

"Yeah, fascinating what you can do with Energy when you make a magazine designed like a pocket dimension. Of course, it'll close if it runs out and go back to being a normal shotgun. Fickle thing dimensional tears." Derek nonchalantly explained, loading one of the two revolvers.

Hearing a distinctive rhythm like knock on the door, Derek nodded for DJ to get the door. "Should be the squad sent here from that knock."

Sure enough, DJ opened the door to reveal the four-man squad, letting them enter before locking the door behind them.

Derek turned to face the new arrivals. "Heavens above, is that you Victor? Didn't think you could get any older."

Victor shook his head, a slight smirk gracing his weathered face. "Aye, it be me. Ye don't look so young yeself ye know."

DJ went and leaned back against the desk. Hanz looked at Derek curiously.

"So you're the Scientist. Who's this mutated project of yours?"

Victor cleared his throat. "Hanz. Don' ye recognize the lad?"

DJ raised an eyebrow. "Hanz? Pale skin, used to wear nothing but bodysuit and trenchcoat tech nerd?"

Hanz narrowed his eyes at DJ. "How in the…"

"You may have forgotten about me. But given I had to put up with your bullshit for months on end back at the Outpost, I remember you perfectly. On the ground, complaining about a dislocated shoulder."

Hanz tsked and glared at DJ, "Oh. It's you."

Holstering the revolver, Derek raised an eyebrow. "What exactly happened between you two?"

DJ sighed, looking to the roof tiredly. "Hanz here had beef with me because one of his squadmates was used in the early stages of Project X. He apparently had a thing for this particular female squadmate of his."

Derek frowned, opening a folder on his desk and looking through. He snapped his fingers. "Ah yes! Subject X4." He closed the folder and turned back to the group sighing. "Poor girl. She exploded after being subjected to the BN. It was after that I realized we used too much Methylone in the mix."

DJ grimaced, "You actually kept a file on this shit?"

"Of course. What kind of scientist would I be if I didn't catalog the failures?"

Hanz's body tensed up as he looked at Derek with a thousand yard stare. "Wait, you're-"

"Yes. I am Derek Jameson. Also known in the IE Scientist division as 'The Reaper'. Although back then I held the title of 'The Author'. You should have known me already at first sight, H-61. I personally attended every experiment."

Hanz reflexively started to draw his sword, only to have Victor intervene.

"Not the time lad."

Derek closed the file and put it in a bag that was bursting with other folders. "Now we just have to get out of here."

DJ smirked, looking over his new toy, hefting the weighty beast with ease. "Easy. The staff are a bunch of pushovers."

Victor put his gloved hand on DJ's shoulder, smirking. "We aint fightin' our way out, lad. We be goin' through dat window." He pointed to the large windows behind them.

Derek nodded in confirmation. "I 'procured' a whole bunch of the new Flex Cord from the lab in advance. We can use it to rappel down the wall." Derek turned to his adoptive son smiling. "Well, we will. Your legs can handle the jump."

DJ did a double take. "Wait. Did I just hear that right?"

Derek shrugged, grabbing a black, thin rope from the desk. "You can jump from a story without damaging yourself, yes. Enough training and you could most likely jump the distance back up. Although, that would be somewhat unusual."

"Ye can discuss these things later. Hanz, make us an exit."

Drawing his sword, Hanz ran the tip of the blade up the window, scratching the glass. Slicing a large rectangle in the window, he put away his sword and pushed on the cut pane, making it fall out and land on the snow below without shattering.

"DJ!" Victor called, wrapping the cable tightly around his bowie knife, "Stab dis inta the wall above the window."

He handed the knife to DJ, who leaned out and drove the knife blade firmly into the concrete above the cut, pulling on the rope to check its safety. The knife didn't budge.

"Ok. Jump down and we will join you." Derek motioned for him to jump as he zipped up the file bag.

Looking out and down, DJ instinctively breathed in before attempting the jump. Heights always made him uncomfortable ever since the Holo-Chamber fight with Black Snake.

Taking the leap, he unintentionally flipped, but landed feet first. He bent his legs to absorb the inevitable impact, bracing himself for-

No impact whatsoever. Not even the usual groundshock one would expect. Turning back to look up at the office, he gave an obligatory thumbs up as he moved back from the window.

Back up in the office, Steven scoffed. "Show off."

Derek was the first to descend, making it down quickly. His rush to get down made him lose his grip, but thankfully it was only a meter off the ground. Steven followed suit, albeit far more controlled than the doctor. Hanz followed behind him, easily sliding down the rope thanks to his lightweight bodysuit.

Havel hesitated before going next. He attempted a rappel but as a result of the smooth cord, he lost his grip and fell off, landing on the pane of glass back-first. Steven helped him up, laughing as Havel rubbed his sore back, his armor having taken the brunt of the fall.

Victor was the last to descend, having gone back to grab the other revolver. The seasoned vet breezed through the climb like it was nothing. He motioned for DJ to come over once he landed.

"Giv' it a yank, lad."

Exerting some of his power, DJ pulled on the cable hard, dislodging a chunk of the concrete with the knife and sending Havel and Steven into a panicked rush away from the wall. Hanz flinched slightly as the concrete slab hit the snowy ground with a deep THUD. Gripping the hilt, DJ pulled the knife from the slab and returned it to Victor.

He unwrapped the cable from the knife and handed it to Derek, before putting the knife away and patting DJ on the shoulder. "Cheers lad."

"Wow. Subtle." Havel remarked, lifting his visor after recovering from his scramble to safety.

DJ scoffed and looked the fellow heavy up and down. "About as subtle as that fall of yours. If you're what the East has to offer for infiltration, my competition's looking pretty weak."

Havel glowered at DJ, stirring a chuckle from the now unhooded Steven.

"Wow Havel, I've never seen you show so much emotion before," Steven said. "It's almost like you're human."

"Fuck you. I'm more human than that freak."

Havel started walking back, following the footsteps of Hanz, who had already started the return trek.

"Bet you aren't as big as I am though." DJ grinned, following Steven.

Havel frowned. "Are you trying to hit on me or something?"

"Not even in your dreams, bud," DJ replied.

Derek and Victor seemed to be taking their time at the back of the group, chatting.

Steven shook his head at the sight of the two men conversing. "Take's a nutcase to speak to one, I suppose…"

Crossing under the fence and returning to the vehicles, Havel dumped his armor and machine gun in the back of the truck he arrived in. Then, he dashed off to the side. .

"Where are you going, Havel?" Steven asked.

"For a piss!" Havel yelled back, still maintaining his run.

Meanwhile, Hanz had removed the majority of his equipment, leaving only the bodysuit and his glasses on as he searched for his smokes. Victor grabbed and activated a PDA out of his jeep, changing the mission status from "N/A" to "SUCCESS" on the screen.

DJ had returned to his jeep behind the shrubs. After cleaning the snow off, he kicked it into life and parked it with the others. Spying Hanz lighting up a cigarette, he fished a can from the fridge behind him.

"Ah NevAlcohol," DJ sighed. "My only vice. Least the snow kept it cold when the fridge died."

"Hey! Are you drinking on the job?" Derek scolded.

DJ rolled his eyes, taking a seat on the bonnet of the jeep as he cracked the can open with his taloned thumb. "You seem to be forgetting that alcohol is filtered through my liver at least ten times faster than normal. A single can isn't gonna get me pissed. I wouldn't be surprised if I could outdrink everyone in the Antithesis twofold."

"He's got ye there. A drink won' kill the lad." Victor remarked, "Should take him out to some drinking games sometime. You'd make a pretty penny."

"Extortion, using my son," Derek shook his head, resting his forehead in his palm. "As if my crimes against humanity weren't enough..."

Victor headed over to Havel, patting him on the back. Havel gasped as he jolted.

"Victor!" Havel zipped up his fly. "Christ, you nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"If yer gonna have a stroke from that, yer gonna hate dis next paht, lad." He drew out a stylus pen from the PDA, double tapping a file marked: " "

"Next part?" Havel asked.

"Well, ye wannid ta see a boom, din'cha? Watch dis."

"They're gone sir." The Grunt sergeant responded over the radio.

"The hell do you mean they're gone?" Carson replied. "A team of operatives doesn't just attack a facility then vanish into thin air."

"We looked throughout the entire complex sir. There is no one here! The Warden just came back from his ordered route and came up with nothing."

Carson punted the snow and grunted in disapproval. Whoever it was planned and executed this wasn't a rookie team looking for graduation or a score. Grabbing the radio from his shoulder bag strap and changing the frequency, he contacted the other professor of the facility.

"Professor. Have you spotted anything?"

"Negative. They didn't come here for the projects. The lab is untouched."

He went and stood on a nearby rock to look at the cut window more clearly, sighing in relief.

"I've removed all the equipment out of the lab as well as the new set for the Twins. I'm relocating the project."

"Very well, professor. I'll send a Soldat escort with you. Over and out."

Carson pocketed the radio, as he did his PDA buzzed loudly. Fishing the device out of his satchel, he opened the video call. It was his assistant, Dann.

"How's the generator coming?" he asked. "Not too much damage, I hope. I could use some good news."

The assistant Engineer shook his head. "Well, prepare to be disappointed. There's no damage to the generator itself. They used an EMP or something to fry the whole system."

Dann moved his mask out of the way and wiped his forehead. "I don't think there are enough fuses in Nevada to replace all of the blown ones. If it were just the generator, it would be easy with how old it is…"

Dann jerked to look over to the side off screen. "Wait, what's that beeping? There's nothing here that beeps."

James frowned, "Dann what's going on?"

"Hold on, si-"

Dann's face fell.

"Oh balls."

A deafening explosion rocked the facility. The shockwave knocked Carson onto his rear, despite being on the other side of the facility. Before him, the ground floor's walls cracked and buckled. Gathering himself, Carson scrambled away from the building in the nick of time.

The wall broke open, momentarily revealing the level engulfed in white flames before collapsing in on itself. The first floor followed suit, crumpling under its own weight.

A burning sensation ran up James's arm. His sleeve was coated in the same white fire that was ravaging the facility.

Quickly shoving his arm in the snow to put it out, he observed the snow melting around his arm, as if the fires couldn't be touched. Opting to ditch the coat, he tossed it aside, watching it become engulfed.

Turning back to the burning ruin, the snow beside the facility had melted away, leaving blackened and glassed over sand in the fires' wake. With a shaky hand, Carson turned off the radio receiver, silencing the cries of pain and screams for help of the facilities personnel who couldn't escape the blazing inferno.

The group watched the facility detonate, then erupt in white flames, the spectacle eliciting a whistle from DJ.

"Well fuckadoodledo. There's even less of that left then there was left of the first BOT I faced."

Out of confusion, Victor frowned, to which Derek filled in the blank. "You appear to have also blown up the store room I used for the Energy Cells. Nothing else could produce that kind of flame with such intensity."

Havel grinned, muttering "Satisfactory," to himself as the building collapsed.

Victor pocketed his PDA. "'Splain's the dramatic effect."

DJ crushed the can and tossed it aside, getting off the hood. "We best get going. An explosion like that is bound to attract some attention. The blast would have set off someone's geiger counter a state over."

"Aye, you're right lad." Victor turned around, looking at Hanz.

Hanz was just finished with his cigarette, putting out the butt in their jeeps ashtray. "We have further business here in Nevada before we head back." He nodded to Steven and Havel, who were already getting ready to go. "Those two on the other hand, are due to rendezvous with a South delivery for added security."

"Which leaves us heading straight to East HQ. What a drive all the way to New York state," DJ concluded, leaning against the side of his jeep as Derek got in the passenger seat.

"Oh don't worry, you'll live. You should be more concerned about what'll happen after you reach East." Hanz fished a keycard from his pocket DJ. "You'll need this to get in. Don't lose it. Or take any of my money."

"I'm not one to 'field procure' anything from allies. Tell you what." He pulled a NevAlcohol can from the fridge behind him. "I'll trade you my last beer, for one pack of smokes. We trade back whatever's left when you get back from your assignment. Deal?"

Hanz sighed and shrugged. "Sure. Why not? Might hold you to your word and see how good it is as a field test."

As per agreement, he fished the pack of cigarettes from his back pocket and handed them over with the key card, while DJ traded him the can. Hanz's expression went stern.

"Just don't go dying from them. I want my keycard back afterwards."

DJ let out a light chuckle. "Fair enough. Don't go drunk driving and I'll be able to give it back."

The two Experiments eyed each other up, before offering a handshake and getting in their respective vehicles. Victor walked past Derek, who had watched the scene carefully.

"Strange. I've never known Hanz t'be sociable before."

"Hard not to be sociable when you've got something of yours on the line. I'm none too excited about meeting your Eastern Division. It will be chains for me."

"Better than bein' executed. 'Specially with Hanne at the helm."

Derek shivered. "Right..."

"Well, don go dyin on us too early," Victor remarked, vaulting the driver's side door of his jeep as Steven and Havel took off down the southbound road.

DJ watched Hanz and Victor heading north. His and Derek's own road lead into the desert behind them. DJ put on his stolen black l33t shades as the sun began to rise.

"Well, as I have come to say, 'Over the edge. Over again.'"

Derek raised an eyebrow. "And that's supposed to mean what?"

"Supposed to mean once you're in, you can go even deeper, but never back out." DJ started up the jeep once more. "Can't I just be the wise mysterious one for once?"

"No. That's my job," Derek responded, looking to the smouldering remains of the facility.

DJ shoved the jeep into gear.

"Fucking killjoy…"

Carson remained seated on the rock where he once stood, watching the white flames of the facility endlessly burn away. The morning sun cast a harsh light on the chaotic mess.

Two matte black sedans pulled up to a stop behind him.

Out of one stepped Sinig. A younger man to Carson's surprise, but with what appeared to be many more years of age on his face. A silvery exoskeleton was attached to his left arm and leg, and seemed to be aiding its owner's movement.

Out of the other stepped three Soldats, who came to flank the young professor.

"It seems that we were sabotaged," Sinig began. "I reviewed the backup cameras after the power went out. Derek grew a conscience and escaped with his adoptive son, but not before getting the strike team to level the whole place."

Carson lifted his mask off, placing it down beside him as he rubbed his face. "What now, then?"

Sinig adjusted his coat around his exoskeleton. "I have to return to Facility Freda. His 'Project U' needs to be further studied with her resurrective powers."

"Your new order is to follow them wherever they have gone and eliminate Derek. X-13 will be far too difficult to eliminate with our current equipment, but we must deny the Antithesis an Energy scientist at all costs."

Carson nodded, accepting the orders. Sinig and the Soldats entered one sedan and sped away in the snow, leaving the other sedan with him. Redonning his mask, he opened the trunk to an AS VAL and a light armor vest greeting him.

Carson adjusted his shirt after equipping the armor. He picked up the rifle, depositing it in the passenger seat as he entered the sedan. As if to forcefully bury the memory, he took one last glance at the ruined facility.

"You better keep running Derek. 'Cause if you fall behind-"

He turned the ignition, bringing the vehicle to life before speeding off onto the desert trail.

"...You'll come to regret keeping me around."