"Should we start causing trouble?" Kate asked between breaths as they ran into another mall circuit. Anna smirked in reply. They darted into a shoe store. Only two of the 'Cons had been able to track them. Barricade and a Vehicon. Kate grabbed a box with a pair of high heels in it, and tossed one to Anna to use as a weapon.

The girls took aim and threw them as soon as the 'Cons rounded the corner of the aisle they were in. Barricade took it to the stomach, so he was shocked but not hurt. Kate had taken a gamble with hers and she threw it lower. The 'Con buckled when it hit him. The girls pushed past them, knocking the holoforms to the ground. They high fived as they ran back out.

The other two caught sight of them immediately and began chasing them. The two girls then ran into a clothing store, and the 'Cons mindlessly followed them. The girls shared a glance, nodded, and split up. Anna went left, grabbing a sweater as she walked toward the back and waited for one of them to find her. When he did, she wrapped it around him, trying his arms down. She knotted it and gave him a mocking salute as she strolled away while he struggled.

Kate grabbed a purse and used it to clobber the hapless trooper while he attempted to protect his face from the brutal assault. She dropped the purse, grabbed him by the shoulders, kneed him in the gut, then ran past him as he collapsed, holding his midsection while he recovered from the attack.

The two met up at the front. "What'd you do?" Kate asked.

"Tired his arms down with a sweater. You?" Anna answered, tilting her head toward her friend when asking the question.

"Kicked his aft. Poor sucker never knew what hit him," she replied.

"You mean, won't admit what hit him," Anna said with a smirk. The two laughed and actually strolled out. Their confident attitude didn't last long, as Barricade and Faceless #1 had already found their way back out. The girls ran once more, looking for another place to ambush their pursuers. Kate spotted an escalator off in the distance and pointed to it.

Anna nodded and they put on a burst of speed, getting there long before the 'Cons - which now included the recently recovered Faceless #2 and #3 - did. They ran up the escalator, pushing past shoppers and apologizing. Anna spotted a scarf shop and waited till the 'Cons could see her before waving and running in. Kate had no choice but to follow. Not that she didn't want to, if the lopsided grin on Anna's face was any clue about what she was planning.

They got inside, and Anna grabbed a scarf. She waited till they came in to tackle Barricade, wrapping the scarf around his neck and trying to choke him. He struggled, and she kneed him in the back. Kate distracted one of them, swept his feet out from under him - which sent him sailing into Faceless #2 - #1? Whatever - and she smacked the remaining one in the nose.

Meanwhile, Anna's clever plan didn't go as well as she hoped. Barricade got a grip on the scarf, yanking it from her hands and throwing her off balance. He pulled his side arm - came with the uniform, lucky bastard - and fired. Anna ducked the shot and kicked the gun from his hands before landing a solid punch to the side of his face while praying the shot didn't hit Kate.

The girls looked at each other and ran out, leaning the shopkeeper in hysterics. God, people here were so dramatic. On the other hand, however, Anna was a little bit shaky after that whole mess. "We got too cocky," she said, thinking aloud.

"Agreed," Kate replied. They began looking for some kind of escape and found it in a set of stairs. They ran for the door, and the angry shouts behind them gave them a burst of speed. Kate arrived there first, throwing the door open long enough for Anna to get through, then slamming it closed. They leaned against it, holding it closed against the 'Cons outside, who were attempting to force their way in.

"Lock it!" Anna shouted, spurring another, much stronger, slam against the door, which they were barely keeping shut as it was.

"There isn't one!" Kate shouted back. "Who the heck builds a door without a lock?!"

"Move!" Anna pressed her hand against the door, and used her powers - she was a Vitae, meaning she had earth powers, which were extremely useful at the moment - to meld the metal. "Run." she ordered. The two girls began climbing the stairs as fast as they could, the loud clangs of the 'Cons throwing themselves against the door fueling them.

The loud, metallic thud of the door breaking open, followed by heavy footsteps, only served to make them go faster. Anna looked down and saw they were three floors above the 'Cons, but the 'Cons were hauling aft and closing the distance with alarming speed. Kate grabbed her arm and began dragging her.

The two got to the roof and looked around. "Fire escape!" Anna shouted before booking it to the rusty metal structure on the other side of the building. Kate was right behind her, knowing the fact that they didn't have anything with which to booby trap the stairs would make things easier for their pursuers to find them and take them down or out.

Anna had started climbing down just as the door was thrown open. Barricade's angry snarl was visible, even from across the roof. "Hurry up!" Kate shouted to her friend, eager to get out of the line of fire of that gun, which Barricade was pulling out his holster again. Kate began climbing down as he fired his first shot.

Anna was scrambling down the old metal structure, running down the narrow steps and jumping down the last few, making the whole thing shake and creak. Kate followed her friend as close as was practical, leaving a couple stairs or a platform between the two so she could move without stopping.

The 'Cons got to the fire escape and began climbing down, not giving a moment's thought to the structural integrity of the narrow, rusty thing. The whole shook and creaked as the Vehicons clambered down as fast as they could, with Barricade bringing up the rear and looking over the edge, waiting for a shot.

The girls got to the bottom ladder, climbed down, and Kate tried her best to kick as many rungs out as possible in order to hamper the speed of the 'Cons who would come down after them. They hit the pavement and began to run again, dodging Barricade's gunshots.

Eventually, Barricade gave up the foot chase, and went back to car form, leaving the girls with only three men to dodge, for now. They ran around a corner, and almost smack into someone else.