Spike Speeder stepped out of the kibble and synth-food diner, back into the dark streets of the Sprawl. Of course the streets of the Sprawl were always dark, they had to be; it just wouldn't be the Sprawl without it. The crowds were as thick as they always were, but Spike was not amateur, and he knew enough to take advantage of the throngs of humanity in the streets. Slinking among the crowds and minding his own business, the most essential part of the Sprawl's local customs, the edgerunner seemed to disappear. Or at least he hoped he had. He kept an eye out for Morris and his boys, refusing to lower his guard once. When a pair of burly goons started pushing their way through the crowds, Spike learned that he wasn't half as invisible as he thought.
Spike tried to maintain his low profile as long as possible, hoping that the goons, who he recognized as part of Morris' crew. Getting a good look at the goons, Spike caught sight of the metallic red eyes and targeting plugs emerging from their wrists and going into their weapons. Probably budget samurai, nothing Spike hadn't seen from Wormwood Corporation before. A few excited shouts echoing over the dim of the crowd relieved Spike of that notion. When the goons went for their weapons, the crowd scattered like the roaches in the motel Spike had been living in. Having lost the element of concealment, Spike chose to go with his original plan; running like hell before the assassins could take him out. A swift dash later, Spike was cutting through the crowd like his favorite can opener program shredded encryption.
"One side, outta the way," he said to the pedestrians he scrambled past them. A screaming bullet tore through the air just behind Spike's skull. Despite the fact that this was becoming a dangerously common occurrence for the net jockey, the pedestrians seemed ready to panic. Naturally, even as he was retreating like the average wanna-be edgerunner from a real cop, Spike fought to retain his cool. Another bullet tore through the air, this one missing Spike by a good distance, but still not enough. He realized that he'd have no choice but to return fire.
Calvin scooped up a rock as he ran from Moe's friends. Privately he called these two Larry and Curly, but funny names didn't help him get away from the beating he knew they had in store for him. They had hurled a few rocks at him, but he managed to dodge all of them. He knew he needed something else other than his legs to escape these junior legbreakers, and set his (self proclaimed) brilliant mind to the task. His brilliant mind, however, wasn't working half as well as Spike Speeder's cyberware enhanced brain.
"They're tryin' to kiss me!" Calvin shouted, silently hoping that the accusation would provide some kinda distraction. Much to his dismay, a chorus of laughter was all his attempted distraction earned him. Anyone who believed his line was amused, and the rest who knew what Calvin was in for didn't bother to change their reactions.
"Crap, crap, crap," Calvin muttered as he continued to run. He passed by Susie with nothing more than a glance. Susie on the other hand, sighed heavily. She had seen this coming, she knew Calvin wouldn't have the common sense to stay inside during the excercise break, as the school called it. Still, she hoped he didn't get hurt too badly. But knowing Moe, she didn't count on too much.