Returning home from military service, a high-ranking military soldier is soon caught in the crosshairs of an attempted assassination where he is the target. He and his assigned bodyguards later fight back. This is my end of a trade with BabyDriver on ToyHouse!

Protection Service

Thunder has just returned home from active duty, feeling relaxed, though he is in relatively high spirits. He has just come home from a successful military campaign against an evil faction, so the wolf is in good morale. That didn't mean he came out of it a free spirit.

Being a Sergeant Major, Thunder's a high-ranking soldier in the army, which has drawn praise, criticism, and attention. These left him unaffected since he prefers to handle things in his own way, but still by the book to keep himself professional.

Due to his national attention and rank, Thunder has been the victim of a few assassination attempts, all of which ended in failure. Though he didn't think anything of it, a sudden nagging feeling welled up in the back of his mind which prompted him to request a bodyguard for protection, which was exclusively granted. So not only does Thunder have protection, he also has someone to talk to, confide in, or just travel together.

~~~~~

Sitting behind the wheel of his Chevrolet Corvette (C7) Stingray, Thunder is on his way home. Trailing him from about a car's length away is a red Ferrari 599 GTO. Such a vehicle like this is to attract more attention, being more valuable than a C7. Driving the 599 GTO is a red haired timber wolf with gray fur, his ice blue eyes relaxed while on his client.

Master Sergeant Anthony Le Moyne had been selected to represent and escort Thunder around, thus becoming his bodyguard. At first, the muscular timber wolf was initially excited at the chance and jumped to it. But he began to wonder if there would be more soldiers joining him. He didn't have to wait for long though.

Keeping his eyes between his rearview mirror and the C7 ahead of him, Anthony notices a flash of yellow lights behind him, which turns out to be a dark red Ferrari 250 GTO, which is positioned a similar length behind him. And emerging to the right of the GTO is a red Ferrari 512TR. So not only does Anthony have backup in case things get rough, but this means that Thunder has a team of bodyguards to protect him.

The scene is calm for now where everything is quiet and everyone is enjoying a peaceful drive. Yet all isn't exactly peaceful since both Thunder and his bodyguards have to keep alert at all times. Little do they realize that things will soon escalate.

After crossing over onto a diagonal street after an intersection, Thunder trails his eyes down to his GPS and notices a beacon-like signal emitting from one of the roads. At first, the Sergeant Major thinks nothing of it, so he brushes it off and ignores it. However, his ears perk up to the sound of a 8.4L Twin-Turbocharged V10, followed by a medium gray metallic Spania GTA Spano racing past him at high speed.

Thinking nothing of it still, Thunder radioes to his boys, "Men, you can stand down. There is nothing to worry about here."

Anthony sarcastically replies, "Everything is peaceful here, guys… until a hiding spot is detected. Sir, we detected an ambush point, so you should probably turn around, like now!"

Anthony warns Thunder of the danger a bit too late. The sound of a 5.9L Quad-Turbocharged V12 roars in the air along with screeching tires in the background. What follows next is the faint sound of gunshots being exchanged.

When Thunder slams on his brakes upon hearing the exchange of gunfire among the chaos, he throws his car in reverse right as he sees the Spano shoot out an alleyway ahead with a purple Ford GT90 Concept on its tail.

Before Anthony and his team can tell Thunder to run, the Sergeant Major attempts a quick J-turn, only to slide all over the place and recover before racing away down the road he was traveling on. With their situation compromised, the bodyguards have no choice but to protect Thunder at all costs.

A high-priority situation ensues along Markham Highway with Thunder and his bodyguards racing down the road. However, more backup is nearby, shown by a green beacon-like signal emitting from his GPS. But with that backup comes more enemies.

Seeing the information on his GPS, Thunder complains, "Dammit, already?! I just got here!" Quickly, he formulates a plan into action to keep his attackers away from him while also making sure his bodyguards are safe. "Alright, Le Moyne? Do you read me?"

"Yes, sir!" Anthony responds, "Loud and clear! What are your orders, sir?"

"Sergeant, split up the team and sweep the area! I'm gonna have a little fun during our little drive." Thunder smirked, laying out the groundwork for his plan.

Anthony objects to his superior's claim, reasoning with him, "Sir, with all due respect, we can't let you out of our sight. We're in this together. We're in this because we're obligated, not because of a pay grade."

"Well Sergeant, at least you have the guts to admit this to a higher-up. Most soldiers would have cowered or quit." Leaving Anthony to the situation, Thunder bids him a temporary farewell while racing away, putting him in control. "Alright Sergeant, you're in control of your team here."

Having been put in charge of the situation, the timber wolf assumes control of the situation. "Alright boys, we have a two-way situation here! Cazzanti, Gilmar, you two stay with Thunder! Blackstone, you're with me! Let's take out the trash!"

(BGM: Fight - Junkie XL [Need For Speed High Stakes OST])

A pair of affirmatives come from the two operatives while they attempt to catch up to the C7; the 250 GTO and the 512TR break away to race after Thunder while the 599 GTO and the GTA Spano are left to deal with the attackers. Afterwards, Anthony addresses the guys personally, proceeding to send a rundown of the plan.

"Okay, here's what we're gonna do! Luigi, Johnny, you guys will stay with Thunder and keep any bogies you see at bay. Gavin and I will find a safehouse! Once we find one, you guys escort Thunder there, but make sure no one sees or follows you. Got it?" Anthony commanded.

The scene switches to Thunder briefly analyzing his GPS to inspect his location and pick up any surrounding units. Immediately, three more green dots appear on his GPS, which brings him further relief. The more backup, the better.

Thunder swings a left turn, putting his C7 Stingray into a sliding drift while noticing a dark red Ferrari 250 GTO overtaking him in the process. Recognizing the driver, Thunder comments, "Captain Luigi Cazzanti, is it? Are you sure your old beater can keep up?"

"Look sir, with all due respect, Sergeant Le Moyne tasked me and Captain Gilmar with overseeing your safety! So this isn't a matter of keeping up with you or not, it's a matter of keeping you safe!" Luigi responds in a condescending tone.

Thunder snorted while smirking at the brown doberman, "Well, don't leave me out of the fight; we're all in this together!"

The sound of spike strips being deployed and crashing noises occur in the background. Thunder shoots a brief glance into his rearview mirror to see the red 512TR fighting off what appears to be a light purple Ford GT90 Concept; also in his vision, Thunder makes out a purple Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R spinning out from hitting a spike strip.

"Seems like we have company again, boys. You know what to do!" After saying this, Thunder activates a Turbo Boost to rocket off ahead of his men, leaving the two bodyguards to fight off the attackers.

Captain Johnny Gilmar is an orange Labrador Retriever and a soldier of high rank in his own right, though he is in a different unit. Like Anthony, Luigi, and Gavin, Johnny stepped up to the assignment to join.

Johnny warns, "Sir, aren't you overstepping your boundaries here?! We can't let you out of our sight and range! You're moving out of range of protocol here!" The Labrador also activates a Turbo Boost of his own to stay with the C7, leaving Luigi alone in his 250 GTO to deal with the attackers. More banging and crashing noises are heard in the background behind Johnny during the Turbo Boost duration.

Although Luigi's Ferrari 250 GTO is the least durable, he makes up for his car's weakness with more powerful pursuit tech. This is demonstrated after the light purple GT90 is shoved forward by a Shockwave from the 512TR.

Activating an EMP, Luigi locks into the GT90 to blast it off the road. Unfortunately, his 250 GTO is no match for the American concept car. It is too fast, leaving Luigi in the dust. That doesn't mean the GT90 is superior in handling curves well.

*DING!*

EMP MISSED

"Dammit, I'm way too slow!" Luigi complains in frustration. To combat the fleeing concept, Luigi activates a Jammer to disable the enemy systems while keeping a close eye on his location. Meanwhile, Anthony's voice comes through the transmission on a heads-up alert.

"Okay, Gavin and I found a safehouse; it should be marked on your Satnav systems! Remember, do not let anyone see or follow you!" Anthony reports to the team.

"Right!" Luigi responds affirmatively.

"Read you loud and clear, boss!" Johnny is inching closer to the C7 to stay with Thunder during the escort and protection service. He hasn't seen Luigi yet. While Luigi's Ferrari 250 GTO is the slowest in terms of acceleration, it doesn't beat out the Captain's drive to stay with his team or his unit.

After checking Thunder's location, Luigi could see a red Chevron incoming from the right, indicating an approaching attacking vehicle. Flooring the pedal, Luigi attempts to make it past his top speed of 198 mph while activating an ESF. He is going to try and intercept this new assailant.

"CHARGE!!!" With his Turbo Boost active, Luigi charges down the highway at top speed and slams on his brakes, power sliding his 250 GTO onto a new street while careening into the incoming attacking vehicle at the same time, which turns out to be a green Italdesign Nazca C2.

*CRASH!*

Slamming into the Nazca C2, Luigi reels from the collision with a brief loss of momentum and speed while the C2 slams into the side of a building, crumpling completely on impact.

"Hahaha!!! That's one down, more to go!" Luigi fistpumps the air in celebration upon wiping out the attacker. But he is still a few car lengths behind Thunder and Johnny. Still, the doberman driver is still feeling a sense of accomplishment in just doing his part alone.

Meanwhile, Thunder and Johnny zoom down the highway, approaching a red light intersection with Luigi still far behind. After a brief focus on the GPS, Thunder takes notice of a green beacon-like signal emitting from the far left to his position.

Right as Thunder swings left onto the red light intersection to merge onto the next highway, a black Lamborghini Diablo VT appears, racing ahead of the 512TR. Johnny notices the Diablo VT and proceeds to back off a bit, recognizing both the car and driver. The rest of the journey is spent at high speed racing towards the location and once everyone arrives, Anthony and Gavin are standing on guard outside to let Thunder in.

"Has everything gone well?" Anthony checks in with Thunder. "No one saw you guys, right?"

Thunder shakes his head in denial, reporting, "Nah, nothing was behind us, although we did pick up one more protector."

(BGM: Attract #2 - The Need For Speed OST)

The scissor doors to the black Lamborghini Diablo VT open up and out steps a yellow Labrador Retriever, his blue eyes holding a relaxed energy to them while he is dressed in casual clothes for the time being, consisting of a heather gray short-sleeved T-shirt and medium blue cargo pants held up by a black leather belt.

Upon seeing the yellow Labrador, Thunder immediately recognizes him. His face dawning in recognizing, Thunder greets the Labrador with a slight smirk. "Ah, Sergeant Pavel Higgins; nice to see you here too. I trust you've been well?"

While Pavel performs a brief salute before Thunder, the Labrador relaxes while affirming, "Sergeant Major, sir! Things have been going well with me and my family. I had a feeling this sort of thing was gonna happen. Can't be too careful nowadays."

"Sergeant, how did you even get wind of this? You're off-duty!" Anthony demanded in a surprised tone. Pavel remains calm while all eyes fall on him for an explanation. Unaffected and calm, the Labrador relates, "My brother, Thomas, had gone through the same thing and I noticed something similar with this; not only that, but I also have a built-in GPS in my car that shows everyone's locations. It's all color-coded."

Gavin is the next to speak, blinking at the yellow Labrador in question. "Well, you're armed aren't you? The more helpful we get, the better."

Pavel doesn't respond verbally, but he twists his hips to the side to reveal the partial end of a handgun of his own that he bought, a Glock 19L, tucked away in the holster. This is enough to satisfy the bodyguards where Anthony accepts the Labrador into the team. "Okay Sergeant, you can join us. But make sure you're alert at all times. Anything can go wrong." While Anthony turns to leave, he tosses something to Pavel, which he catches with an open-handed grip where the dog joins them. "Trust me, been there, done that."

~~~~~

After assembling inside of their safehouse, Thunder and his team began holding a meeting to discuss their latest plan of operation, and that is cleaning out the four local gangs ruling the city. There are four different crews that roam their territories, all of them highly dangerous. But little do they realize that trouble will be coming for them very soon…

"Sir, are you for certain that this needs to be done? You just came back and you're already throwing yourself into more danger!" After the briefing, Anthony isn't the least bit happy about the situation. Instead, the timber wolf felt that he and his team should be protecting Thunder while he is home, not working together on another crazy assignment.

Before the Sergeant Major can even respond, he is tackled out of his seat by Gavin while Luigi and Johnny fire on a passing purple Ford GT90. But then there is gunfire coming from Pavel's location where he screams over the headset, "Ambush!!! We need to jet!!!"

"Ambush?! But how?!" Anthony growls out through the gunfire.

"They must have tracked our location! Someone's got a tracking bug on one of our vehicles!" Pavel informs further, "Or they could've just used a manual way to track us all down!"

"That's outrageous! No one could have been that desperate to track down a single target!" Gavin objects heatedly. He keeps himself planted on top of Thunder, shielding the wolf from any gunfire that can crash through the windows. However, the only gunfire is on Pavel's end, followed by the sound of multiple engines approaching. The yellow Labrador radioes, "Guys, we could be in real trouble here! I need some help, like now!!!"

Unaware to the group, a blue Ford Falcon XA GTHO Phase IV casually drives by the shattered windows of the safehouse. Luigi notices the Falcon and gets ready to fire at it, aiming his shotgun at the car until he hears Pavel's backup request. The blue car disappears and seconds later, the car is thrown in reverse with the 5.8L Cleveland V8 roaring. Then the car swings around while still on high revs until it stops at the curb at the safehouse. Following this is a pair of explosions and then, dead silence.

"What in the world was all of that?!" Pavel's loud shout catches the attention of a black / tan German Shepherd exiting out of the Ford Falcon. But before anyone can investigate, the new arrival rushes to the trunk of his car. However, the German Shepherd is spotted; Thunder notices him and calls out, "You there! Freeze or I will shoot!"

Immediately, the new arrival raises his hands up; a calm expression is on his face. He remains silent to prevent giving away his location even more but when Luigi and Gavin see the German Shepherd, the doberman is ready to fire, but Gavin lowers his weapon arm. Recognizing the new arrival, Gavin turns to the squad and extends his palm out to stop them from firing.

Amid the stony silence, the team regroups, keeping a close proximity to Thunder to surround him. Before Gavin can further speak, Anthony observes the German Shepherd making a twisting motion with his hand at eye level and then pointing up at an abandoned building to the left of the group. What follows is an alarmed shout in realization, followed by more chaos.

"SNIPER!!!" While Anthony grabs Thunder and throws him out of the line of direct fire, the timber wolf ends up placing himself directly in the line of sight, taking a shot to the back and collapsing, screaming from the burning sensation coursing throughout his back. In return, Thunder whips out his pistol and aims upward, oblivious to Johnny and Pavel returning fire. But Thunder ends up landing the killing blow, watching the enemy sniper keel forward and drop from a high floor, splattering to the pavement below with the sniper rifle clattering onto the asphalt and breaking apart on impact.

While the bodyguards investigate the dead body, the new German Shepherd marches to meet them, taking out his insignia and displaying it to Thunder. He introduces himself, "I am First Lieutenant Thad Wolcott, here to assist, guys!"

"I thought I recognized you from somewhere." Pavel cautiously steps forward to meet Thad, keeping his carbine rifle clutched in his hands. He then questions Thad, "How did you find us?"

"I heard some loud commotion from my location, so I figured I'd check it out. Man, did I know what I was getting myself into." Thad sarcastically replied. He pockets his insignia and folds his arms across his chest, shuffling his pawfeet a bit. And like Pavel, Thad too is off-duty.

Incensed at the German Shepherd and his remark, Luigi begins to advance, but is stopped by Pavel, who shakes his head in disapproval. While the brown doberman exhales deeply to relax, Pavel welcomes Thad with open arms, literally. "Welcome to the crew; I thought I'd have recognized you too!"

"Sergeant Higgins, good to see you again; Captain Gilmar, Sergeant Le Moyne, how are you guys doing?" After greeting Pavel with a hug (the yellow Labrador embraces him), and separating, Thad gives a salute to the soldiers present. But Thunder quips, "You forgot me, haven't you, Wolcott?"

"If I hadn't tossed those grenades into the battlefield, you guys would have likely been in the process of becoming Swiss cheese sooner or later. Of course I haven't forgotten but haven't we met before?" Explaining himself with an eye roll, Thad watches Thunder come forward, flanked by his bodyguards. He doesn't appear too impressed with the German Shepherd. Instead, he demands, "Lieutenant, I trust that your car is highly durable? I want you to drive me to another safehouse."

This sudden request makes Thad apprehensive. Even the bodyguard soldiers stare at each other, not sure what to make of this. Before anyone can say anything, a red dot makes a sudden appearance on Thunder's chest, which immediately draws Luigi's attention.

Seeing the red dot, Luigi immediately throws the Sergeant Major to the ground, with a silent shot ringing out and striking the doberman in the chest! This time, everyone wastes no time in searching for the sniper while Thad retreats to his car.

Before anyone could object, a shotgun blast rings out, followed by shattering glass and a scream; a second enemy soldier plummets to the pavement where he dies instantly not only from a broken neck, but also being splattered onto the pavement. A second sniper rifle clatters to the ground, yet this one does not shatter on impact.

Thunder notices Thad clutching a Roxio 21" Stainless Steel combat shotgun, watching him intensely. But without looking at the wolf, the First Lieutenant orders, "Get out of here, guys! I'll hold these guys off; there could be more snipers above. I'll catch up with you all once I'm done! GO!!!!"

While ordering everyone to leave, Thunder follows suit, gathering up both Anthony and Luigi and barking, "Let's go boys! Let's jet out of here!"

"Owww, my back…!" Anthony whines in pain from the burning sensation coming from his back half. While being assisted by Johnny, the timber wolf asks, "How is the rest of the squadron? My back is killing me!"

"Well, Captain Cazzanti has been shot, but since everyone is wearing bulletproof vests, then I would say chances of recovery are very high. Now we need to get going and catch up!" While Johnny explains the situation, he and Anthony take note of a 6.2L LT1 V8, followed by a familiar silver C7 Stingray sliding out of the parking lot and racing off into the distance; that's Thunder, peeling away from the compromised location. Following him are Pavel and Gavin in their own separate vehicles, respectively.

"Will you two stop lollygagging around and move it?? We have a job to do!" Now Luigi himself has just gotten shot and now he is rushing past the two. Anthony stops him, noticing the bullet the dog is carrying in his fingers. "Whoa whoa whoa, Cazzanti, you just got shot by a sniper! How are you up and running again so fast?"

Before Luigi can explain, he notices a few more dead bodies on the ground, analyzing them. When he directs his sight towards Thad, the German Shepherd has just finished pumping his shotgun, complete with the sound of a casing clattering to the asphalt. Impressed, the doberman wonders, "How did you learn to track and destroy so well with a shotgun?"

"Years of marksmanship training pay off, and I told you guys to beat it. So far, there are no more left so we all can leave together." Thad reported with a grin. Following this, Luigi turns to Anthony and Johnny and mouths quietly to them, "I'll spill the details later."

"Ok– ngh!" While Anthony is responding to Luigi's information, the timber wolf flinches from a bullet being removed from the rear of his vest; it was embedded, though Johnny manages to turn his finger claws into pliers and remove it. It is another bullet from the same sniper that missed Thunder and tagged Anthony.

"You got metal plates in your armor too, I can see it." Johnny investigated.

"Well, everyone does, but we shouldn't waste any more time. Let's go!" While Anthony and Johnny begin making a beeline for their respective vehicles, Luigi turns to Thad and apologizes suddenly, "Hey, sorry for how I acted back there. I thought you were a hostile guy or something. So come and join the squad! Let's hope your car is durable."

"Oh, it is, alright! I'll wait for you guys!" Thad remarks while bidding the doberman a temporary farewell; he rushes back to his XA Falcon while Luigi rushes for his own car.

~~~~~

"Okay people, give me a sitrep. Is the rest of the squad coming?" Thunder requested a full report of the current situation they're in now. Captain Gavin Blackstone and Sergeant Pavel Higgins are with him, now in a new interior room located just off a divided street.

Like the last safehouse, this new location has windows too, but for safety reasons, a full surveillance system was installed to alert occupants of looming threats. This is a multi-camera setup that is monitored from inside the safehouse.

Seated inside of the tan room, Thunder rests his hands on the polished mahogany table before him, addressing his bodyguards. From his left, Gavin informs, "We're waiting for the rest of the squad to arrive; chances are two of them will keep a lookout. But after Sergeant Le Moyne and Captain Cazzanti were shot, we're down a couple of men."

Pavel speaks up next, mentioning, "Everyone, even myself included, has a bulletproof vest on with plating. Even if they were tagged, the impact will be less damaging."

"Either way, we still have some work to do here." Thunder slaps a case file onto the table, displaying the information to both of them. Pavel is the first to take a look at the information and he becomes alarmed instantly!

"The Black Skulls?! Sir, are you crazy?! With all due respect, this isn't a suicide mission! You just got home and you're still itching to fight? Do you even know what you're getting yourself into?!" The Labrador complains.

Disregarding the complaint, Thunder assures the yellow Labrador, "I've done my research, and they're like any other local gang out here; drugs, gun-running, racketeering, smuggling, you name it. Even the cartels are on par with these guys."

"Which is why each gang has their own allies and enemies. But they wouldn't suspect a military raid on their stash. I say we destroy one of their caches to send a message." Thunder brainstorms while in thought.

Gavin chimes in, "We all need to be ready. But there's no telling what will go down. These guys have a mixture of classic and modern vehicles in their arsenal, so there's no telling how dangerous they will be."

Pavel exhales sharply through his nose. Shaking his head, he hated to go through with the wolf's plan. Reluctantly, he requests, "Sir, what exactly are you planning out?"

"We go directly into their territory and go on a smashing spree, like smashing through their stuff. Then if anyone chases us, we'll target them too."

"I hate to say this quite bluntly, sir, but with all due respect, that is the dumbest plan I've ever heard in my entire military career." Standing in the doorway with his arms folded, Anthony appears relaxed, leaning against the doorway. While his tail is wagging softly, he doesn't agree to Thunder's plan.

Throwing his hands up, Thunder demands, "Enlighten me, Sergeant. Do you have any better ideas?"

"I would go with an undercover drug deal or sting operation. You lure them to you with a prospect or promising reward and we move in to arrest them together." Anthony suggests matter-of-factly. This idea seemed to impress Thunder to the point where a light bulb turns on in his head.

"These guys want Thunder dead at all costs, so an undercover deal or sting operation won't work. That's completely out of the question." Johnny protested, clearly not buying the plan. Tossing this out the window, the orange lab surmises, "A nighttime stroll and a disguise should work, or one of us can substitute to become the undercover buyer."

Both Anthony and Thunder consider this for a moment. Everyone is in agreement with it, so what else is left? Now the team just needs a volunteer to scout out the land. But who?

"I'll go!" Everyone turns their heads to see Luigi standing next to Anthony in the door, having shot his hand up. The black-haired doberman declares, "I'll take this one for the team! I'll handle this!"

In return, Anthony reviews, "You sure you can handle luring a bunch of goons out of their territory? Is your vehicle durable enough?"

That is enough to deflate the doberman entirely. But then there comes another shout from their new arrival, "I'll go then! If you guys can cover me, then we should be able to make a swift getaway for Thunder!"

"Hmph, I'm going with you!" Luigi grabs Thad and squeezes him tightly, much to the amusement of his colleagues. They all begin laughing while Thunder just shakes his head, amused. The red furred Sergeant Major then settles the score, "Alright, it's settled then! Wolcott, Cazzanti, you two head out at night time to start things off. Gilmar, Higgins, you two are to be on standby in case things get heated."

"What about me and Captain Blackstone?" Anthony whines in complaint. He didn't like being left out.

"Both of you are staying with me in case of another drive-by assassination. Gotta keep some sort of protection in here." Thunder relates, earning a smile from Gavin.

~~~~~

Nighttime rolls around with the city being bathed completely in white lights. Though traffic is very light at this time, it doesn't stop the plan from going into motion. Separated two car lengths apart, Thad and Luigi roll by in the background, with the XA Ford Falcon in front and the 250 GTO behind it. Even though they're going to Black Skull territory, the job alone is making both of them nervous, Thad especially. The black / tan German Shepherd shakily grips the wheel while looking uneasy, trying to keep a lookout while on high alert. Luigi is also nervous; to relax the tension, the doberman attempts a conversation with his comrade.

"So Wolcott, what led you to go into the modeling trade? Good looks? Charm? What?" Luigi began, unaware of the trouble they're about to face. The two vehicles pass by an alleyway during the drive, which houses a bunch of mysterious goons.

A dry laugh comes from Thad who remarks jokingly, "If I was to take off my shirt right now, blood would immediately squirt from your nose. What about you, Cap'n? You can just call me by my first name; no hard feelings or anything."

"Hmm, let's see, I went into the modeling business too because I felt I had the criteria to accomplish the role; smooth looks, good physical appearance, all that stuff." Luigi relates casually in thought. The doberman trails his eyes to his rearview mirror, catching sight of a glimmering pair of ominous headlights.

(BGM: Techno - Aaeeyyaaeeyyaa [The Need For Speed OST])

"Ah? What is that??" The scene switches to a brief cut of the mysterious blue-eyed vehicle, its bright LED blue tinted headlights casting an ominous flicker to its victims. A supercharger is heard with the car roaring off after the unsuspecting pair, leaving behind a blazing tail light trail; the car is soon revealed to be a black Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, camouflaged by the darkness.

"Luigi? Did something catch your eye?" Assuming they're still on the topic of the modeling business, Thad jokingly asserts that Luigi found something of interest; the German Shepherd is oblivious to how correct he is and how unaware he is of the impending danger.

Luigi punches his accelerator with his pawfoot in an attempt to match up to the speed of the incoming Charger, but it proves to be of no use due to the car heavily catching up from behind and slamming into the back of the 250 GTO in a hard collision.

*WHAM!*

"!!!" Luigi suddenly loses control of his car, briefly fishtailing and recovering. He alerts Thad via center console communication, "Thad, incoming bogey on your six!!!" But it's too late; Luigi watches the black muscle car smack into the rear of the Falcon, giving Thad a hard shove from behind!

*CRASH!*

Thad loses control, yet uses the momentum to slingshot his own muscle car onto a new street with Luigi and their attacker close behind. The German Shepherd immediately calls for backup via headset, "Everyone, this is First Lieutenant Thad Wolcott; Captain Cazzanti and I are being ambushed! We need help!!!"

Immediately, both Johnny and Pavel respond, rushing outside to their cars and hopping in; Johnny getting into his Ferrari 512TR and Pavel hopping into his Lamborghini Diablo VT. The two Labrador Retriever dogs race off to catch up and intercept their colleagues, hoping to reach them before more danger increases.

Inside the 512TR, Johnny grips his steering wheel in focus while racing down the road, keeping his purple eyes trained ahead of him and switching occasionally to the black Diablo VT to his left. During the catch-up process, Johnny contacts Thad via headset for a status update, "Lieutenant, this is Captain Gilmar, do you read me? What's the status of your situation with Cazzanti?"

The scene cuts to the chase with the blue Falcon racing by in the background, closely tailed by Luigi and two black Charger SRT Hellcat vehicles now. Thad barks in return, "We got two goons chasing us now! I can't shake em!"

Luigi adds as a warning, "No telling what these guys are carrying; guns, explosives, electronic weapons. If they start attacking us first, then we'll be done for!"

Pavel suggests a basic plan of attack, "Use your pursuit tech; that should slow them down if used wisely. We're trying to catch up as we speak, so hang in there, men!"

The scene returns to both Italian cars racing down the road at high speed, leaving two pairs of tail light trails blazing behind them, but a mysterious white car is also coming to meet them from behind, much to the oblivion of the two Labradors. However, the glimmering yellow pop-up headlights make their appearance known to the two, especially with Johnny, who alerts Pavel to the new arrival.

"Knh! Look alive, Sergeant! Bogey on our six! Looks like a white Testarossa!" Gritting his teeth, Johnny immediately mentions their new problem to Pavel, who also becomes aware of the situation.

Aware of the threat, Pavel comments, "Won't be long until more guys show up. At this rate, we may even have a whole posse on our tails. Let's hope Thad and Luigi are okay." Little does he know the incoming increase in difficulty of their situation.

Shooting by a diagonal alleyway, two new vehicles emerge to chase after the pair, their own pop-up headlights giving a dangerous glint. These two are revealed to be a red BMW M1 (E26) and a blue BMW 850 CSi (E31), both racing after the pair.

Back with the other two, Thad rams an attacking Hellcat out of the way with an ESF, throwing up a brief cloud of smoke with the enemy lights flickering. The vehicle loses control and Luigi ups the damage, punishing it with a Shockwave attack that makes it spin out.

*KA-BLAM!*

"One bogey down, one more to go!" Luigi glare's up at the remaining black SRT Hellcat, ready to fight when a new alarming call comes from Johnny, "We're being locked on over here, we need help now!"

The scene comes back to Pavel and Johnny, who are now being tailed by three different vehicles. Pavel, however, drops a Stun Mine from the rear of his car in hopes of deterring these new assailants, which doesn't work.

Johnny brakes and swerves to drop a pair of spike strips that will hopefully do the trick. These succeed in taking out the white Testarossa and the blue 850 CSi where both cars end up spinning out from hitting the spike strips. These two are out of the chase, with the M1 the only remaining car for now.

Fistpumping the air, Johnny proclaims in celebration, "Two in one go! One more remaining! Wolcott, Cazzanti, where are you guys??!"

"We're in the process of escaping right now; our attackers have been dealt with!" Thad responds via headset.

"Send us your location and we'll get there as fast as we can." Pavel requested. "We're already en route!"

*CLICK!*

A Stun Mine is heard deploying in the background. Planted firmly in the asphalt by the black Diablo, there is enough distance between the two sides to ensure an attempted successful hit. What comes next is a pair of spike strips afterwards, which the M1 swerves around afterwards… or tries to. The red M1 ends up hitting one of the spikes, spinning to a halt. With their three attackers out of the chase, Pavel and Johnny continue in their rendezvous to meet up with Thad and Luigi in hopes they are okay.

~~~~~

Thunder pulls up to a hideout of one of the enemy gangs, waiting in his C7 to begin the assault. He's been planning this one for a while, so now is the time to begin the assault. While waiting, he contacts Anthony via headset, "Sergeant Le Moyne, come in. Are you and Blackstone ready?"

"Pulling up behind you guys now." Anthony's Ferrari 599 GTO comes into view, pulling up next to Gavin's GTA Spano and behind Thunder's C7. Once Anthony gives a thumbs-up and radioes the all clear, Thunder proceeds to exit out of his C7.

Keeping a close eye on Thunder, Anthony contacts Gavin and orders him, "Stay close and watch for anything that may be a threat. Best we be ready than be fumbling at the last minute."

Acknowledging this, Gavin complies and steps out, carrying his carbine rifle while Anthony is standing next to his car, brandishing a machine gun; both men also have combat shotguns secured around their shoulders, ready to fire in case things get hairy. At the same time, they're accompanying Thunder on a raid on a gang hideout, only this time there will be no resistance coming from inside, but on the streets.

(BGM: Techno - Hideous [The Need For Speed OST])

While listening out for danger, a loud engine breaks the nighttime silence during Thunder's preparation. Anthony alerts his superior and his associate, "Something's coming, and fast! Gavin, you ready?"

"I hear it too. Sounds like a V12 of some kind." Gavin holds his rifle in a ready position, ready to fire. And before anything can be done, a white light shines on the trio, prompting Anthony to look over at the source to analyze what's coming. Immediately, he alerts Thunder, "Sergeant Major Thunder, something's coming quick! Get down!"

While Anthony is barking out his warning to his superior, the scene changes to show the incoming vehicle where the coarse rumbling of a modified 3.0L C30A V6 is heard, coupled with the evil glint of pop-up headlights; the car is revealed to be a dark blue Honda NSX (NA1), and it's approaching fast towards the trio! With it are a pair of muscle cars: a white Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 (C4) and a yellow Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (C5).

The anime scene returns to Anthony and Gavin pointing their weapons at the three charging vehicles, ready to shoot them to pieces. The timber wolf wasn't sure if this was gonna be another drive-by shooting or just a bunch of racers shooting by, but the Sergeant wasn't taking any chances. Neither is Captain Blackstone.

When Gavin makes out what appears to be a weapon inside of the NSX, he immediately begins shooting at the blue missile to stop it from reaching Thunder, but the two bodyguards are outnumbered two to three. However, Gavin's series of shots pepper the windshield of the NSX, killing the driver instantly which results in the dark blue sports car losing control. While a crashing noise is heard directly behind them, the pair attempt to take out the two Corvettes but are unable to do so while evading return fire.

Some shots were directed at Thunder, only striking his C7 and the surrounding wall, though one shot did tag Anthony's side; the timber wolf only recoils to the side in shock before righting himself and brushing it off… only to feel the burning aftereffects later while clutching his side and groaning in pain. "Not again!" He whined.

When Anthony sees the damage to his car, he complains, "Aww man! I just got this car repainted!!! Now look at it!!!"

Suddenly, Gavin grabs the wolf and shakes him roughly, "Keep your head on Sergeant! We have a life that is more important! Worry about your car later!"

"Not only that but we also have some new problems to extinguish. Hop to it and I'll join you!" Thunder can already hear the screeching tires in the distance and he immediately rushes back to his C7. After calming Anthony down, Gavin hops back into his GTA Spano while Anthony hops back into his damaged 599 GTO, ready for revenge.

Taking one last look at the damaged NSX, Anthony notices the halted NSX against a light pole and he mentally contemplates, 'Guess the car veered off-course and hit a light pole. Onwards to bigger business!'

The trio soon reverse and race off down the road to catch up to the fleeing suspects. While chasing after the remaining assailants, Anthony contacts the rest of the team. "Gilmar, Higgins, Wolcott, Cazzanti, you guys read me?"

"This is First Lieutenant Wolcott speaking; what's going on, Sergeant?" Thad is the one to respond to Anthony's call, wondering what the trouble is. What Anthony requests next calls the rest of the squad to attention.

"Got three new assailants that just attempted another drive-by assassination attempt on our Sergeant Major. Captain Blackstone and I took out one of them; two are remaining. I need everyone to move out and join in on the assault!" The timber wolf assesses.

"This is Captain Cazzanti; we're all moving out on the double; you should be able to make out our locations on your Satnav!" Luigi responds in return. This increases Anthony's confidence in receiving the support for the pursuit. Little do they know that another entity will be making a smashing entrance pretty soon.

The moment the trio flies across an intersection, Gavin notices the taillights of one of the Corvettes when a sudden fireball erupts ahead of it, followed by severe crashing noises. "W-WHOA WHOA!!! Did anyone else see that!? Keep your distance, men!!!"

"Everyone be on guard!! We have a new character here!!" Anthony radioes to the group. The trio shoots by the wrecked C5, completely destroyed in a sudden T-bone attack. Anthony beholds the rear end of a new vehicle, which is revealed to be a second-generation Bentley Continental GT Convertible in Aquamarine body paint.

Before anyone can even inquire about the mysterious new arrival, the sound of an ESF is heard with a field of static electricity surrounding the car, but when the driver moves in to ram the C4 ZR1…

*KA-BLAM!*

… a sharp burst of energy shoots from the Corvette in a powerful Shockwave attack, knocking the heavier Bentley off-course. While the Bentley slides out of control, Gavin exclaims, "We got a live one! Everyone stay on guard!"

The brake lights to the Continental GT come on where the driver, a chocolate-eyed Russian Blue, struggles to regain control by countersteering, only to lose his speed in the process. He is nearly squashed by Anthony, who has to sharply dive inside to get out of the way and merge back to continue the pursuit. The chase continues with the Bentley driver pounding his accelerator upon regaining control of his car, racing to catch up.

Meanwhile, Thad is leading the charge to meet up with the pursuit, racing down another street in his Ford Falcon XY GTHO Phase IV. Closely tailing him are Pavel, Johnny, and Luigi. While en route, Pavel alerts the gang, "I see them! Their locations should be coming up soon!"

Seconds later, Thad slams on his brakes upon taking one glance to his GPS, seeing the situation incoming. Once he sees the C4, the German Shepherd swings his Falcon over to join the pursuit, leading the rest of the squad after the fleeing muscle car, though the target puts up a fight.

*CLICK!*

"OH!! Watch out!!!" Evading a Stun Mine attempt, Gavin keeps everyone on high alert, though the next few seconds will be a test of their mettle. Their screens go static gray following the Stun Mine attempt. There is a message in red letters, following the shutdown service:

[color=red]SYSTEMS JAMMED![/red]

"Crap! Now how are we gonna stop this guy?!" Anthony complains audibly. He bemoans the situation, unable to come up with a fast, effective plan.

Gavin reminds Anthony, "We do what we can, yet we keep our distance too."

Gavin bumps the C4 from behind in an attempt to knock the car off the road. Only this time, the fleeing target receives a sharp jolt forward in speed. While Gavin stays behind him, Luigi and Pavel move to box the target in, but are suddenly rocked out of the way by another Shockwave attack, causing the two to lose control!

*BLAM!*

Gavin experiences a jolt of his own, nearly smashing his head against his steering wheel. Unfortunately, he receives more than whiplash from the attack. The German Shepherd feels a sudden series of flops in his stomach and he begins to feel sick; he alerts the team, "I'm gonna have to pull over and sit this one out."

Pavel has a harder time regaining control of his Lamborghini Diablo VT due to the 4WD drivetrain, whereas Johnny straightens up and barks out, "Fall back and reconsider! Let's try something new!"

"Oh god, I don't believe this… this is the worst time to experience motion sickness." Thad whines in complaint from Gavin's removal. "Any ideas, guys?"

"I take charge of this one!" A Russian-laced voice comes over the headset following a familiar Bentley appearing from Thunder's left, which charges in and wallops the C4 from behind. However, the target veers away and fights back, pummeling the Bentley with an ESF in revenge. This results in a brief cloud of smoke being thrown up along with the British car being punted into oncoming traffic; a screeching cry can be heard through the headsets of the team, to which the Russian Blue later acknowledges, "I'm fine, just shaken! Get that guy, pronto!"

When the Bentley driver regains control, the weapon systems come back online. Pretty soon, everyone goes on the attack to destroy the C4 Corvette while Thunder simply uses an E.M.P to lock on. However, a Stun Mine is dropped directly in his path.

*CLICK!*

"!" Thunder quickly moves around the electrifying trap while keeping his lock-on active, watching the guards and the target. However, the EMP fails to operate due to an ESF counter! And then comes another Shockwave attack!

*KA-BLAM!*

Thad nearly spins out from being catapulted away whereas Luigi tries to stop and regain control… only to slam into a parked car and twirl to a complete stop. Johnny manages to regain control but Pavel ends up losing control and spinning out while the Bentley driver ends up on the sidewalk and back on the road. The target suddenly makes a brake check to turn around only to get decked in a T-bone collision by Thunder's C7, causing the runaway C4 to get wrecked in a massive crash.

Smoke billows from the wrecked, overturned C4 which explodes in a fireball seconds later, literally blowing everyone away. While everyone is taken aback, Thunder simply drives away, musing to himself, "Mission complete; back to business!"

~~~~~

Thunder belongs to BabyDriver from ToyHouse; Anthony Le Moyne, Gavin Blackstone, Johnny Gilmar, Luigi Cazzanti, Thad Wolcott, and Pavel Higgins belong to me!