A solo reunion for one of the team members turns into a trap and rescue mission for the Mooncrest mercenary team. Will their escape be successful?

Missing Zebra - Lost and Found

At the Mooncrest safehouse, everything is going well. Caelus is still away on business matters, leaving his wife, Cycnus, to run the fort. For the time being, everyone is doing their own thing - Enzo and Amon are watching TV while Cloudy and Rory are engrossed in different arcade cabinet games. Seely, however, has left to catch up on a solo assignment he did for the team. Speaking of…

~~~~~

Across town in Rockport City, Seely is rolling along in the Rosewood neighborhood of Rockport, driving his purple Renault Clio V6. En route to meet a potential client, the zebra has his sights set on a potential reunion and job offer. The client, a renowned police chief, has agreed to meet Seely at the Rosewood Police Department near Highway 99. Though Seely is anticipating his meetup, he pulls over to call the team back at their safehouse across town to inform them of his status.

“Hey, Seely here! Are you guys there? I’m about to make a drop with a familiar client. We should be getting a new job soon.” The zebra stated as a heads-up.

“Seely, that's you? Oh great!” Answering the other end is Cycnus, who is excited at first but then there is silence. Before the zebra can further inquire, Cycnus cautions the zebra, “Seely, be careful. Cops are all too happy to abuse their power, and after the pursuits we’ve seen in other districts, we’re no better. Just… *sigh* …just inform us if something goes south and we'll be on our way.”

“Will do, Cycnus! Make sure everyone is on standby in case of emergency.” Seely advised cautiously.

The zebra and the lioness end the call and Seely pulls off again, heading towards the police station. After pulling into a curb spot on the highway next to the police station, Seely climbs out of his car and immediately senses something is off. Sighting the contact car, the zebra slowly ambles his way over to speak with the contact, taking in the car as an unmarked Chevrolet Corvette C6.R - off to the side are several police cars, and he can already make out several figures inside. This disturbs Seely even more upon seeing the multiple police cars. In this case, he has wandered straight into a shark tank.

Playing it casual, Seely waltzes up to the left driver side of the Corvette C6.R and gently knocks on the window to get the client’s attention. The window is rolled down to reveal a buff black wolf behind the wheel, a broad, yet cunning grin on his face.

Police Chief Clive Bennett is one of the many top cops in the area. An influential figure, Bennett has achieved his fair share of arrests and commitments. However, there are some circulating rumors spreading about his engagement in corruption, racketeering, and grifting. Now the black wolf is face to face with his contact from long ago and is about to put his police powers to good use… whatever that may be.

“Ah, Seely! To what do I owe the pleasure of this meeting? It certainly has been a while since we last met and I want to thank you and your associates for gifting me this special ride.” Bennett began his usual starter, praising and acknowledging Seely and his team for their efforts. However, the zebra just nods silently at Bennett's flattery, not even showing a hint of emotion while remaining serious. Upon noticing the sudden flash in demeanor from his eyes, Seely immediately grows apprehensive.

Soon, several officers begin exiting from various police vehicles while Bennett instantly makes his parting speech, “However, there are consequences that come with certain actions - I will not allow that to slide. Seely, you and your team are dangerous, you especially, which is why you all must be taken off the streets. Officers, arrest him!!!”

(🎵 Pursuit Theme #3 - Need For Speed Unbound OST)

“Oh god…!” The alarmed zebra immediately flees from the scene while multiple cops give chase on foot. But they were too far away to even catch the zebra. But they do make it to his car.

Seely just manages to hop back into his purple Renault and don his seatbelt before quickly locking the doors and firing up the 3.0L V6. The zebra guns his hatchback in reverse to make a quick getaway before whipping a quick J-turn and racing off down Highway 99. At the same time, he calls his team back in a panic and exclaims, “It's a trap! They're after me! Help!!!”

When Cycnus answers the phone, she grows alarmed at Seely’s panicked screaming. The lioness quickly snaps to attention and turns commanding once she informs Seely of assistance being en route to his location. After hanging up from the brief S.O.S, Cycnus orders the team to move out. Along the way, she contacts Seely back and informs him that they're on the way. “Help is on the way, Seely! Hang in there!”

After reaching their garage, everyone peels off in their respective vehicles - Cycnus in her Chevrolet Corvette (C6) Z06, Enzo in his Pagani Zonda F, Amon in his Porsche Carrera GT, Cloudy in her BMW M3 GTR, and Rory in her Chevrolet Corvette C6.R. Together, the crew members race to Seely’s rescue in hopes of catching up to the zebra and ensuring his escape.

Back in Rosewood, multiple State Patrol police cars are pursuing Seely. The State police cars consist mainly of Pontiac GTO and Ford Mustang GT cop cars, though there is also a mix of other vehicles - Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R, Chevrolet Corvette (C5) Z06, Porsche 911 Turbo (996), BMW M3 (E46), and BMW M5 (E39).

Seely just barely makes it past the Heritage Heights area when he narrowly avoids a spike strip roadblock meant for him. Squeezing by on the right, the zebra driver scrapes by, barely escaping alive.

:Suspect evaded the spikes! He's evaded the spikes! He's still on the run!:

Pushing further along Highway 99, Seely slows down to exit and drops a pair of spike strips of his own on the off-ramp leading to Stadium Boulevard. Coincidentally, this causes pursuing officers to take the wrong way ramp off of Highway 99 to catch up to Seely but a trap has already been placed there…

*STATIC!*

:10-33! Get Code 3 emergency crews over now!:

A large Stun Mine occupied the middle of the road prior to entering Stadium Boulevard from the wrong way ramp. This, along with the spike strips on the right way ramp, end up creating multiple pileups on both sides of the roadway. But some of them survive and manage to bypass the massive accident scene.

Continuing along Stadium Boulevard, Seely later careens along the smaller highway leading away from Highlander Stadium, crossing over to Campus Way in a counterclockwise direction of travel. During the chase, several State Patrol vehicles attempt to surround Seely - at least 6 of them overtake the zebra to attempt a rolling roadblock. But Seely keeps them at bay with a powerful Shockwave attack that sends the police cars scattering into opposite sides of the campus building.

*KA-BLAM!*

*STATIC!*

:We've got units down! Send E.M.S immediately!:

“Argh! I can't hold off all these pigs for long! Where are they??” Seely occasionally glares into his rearview mirror to observe the remaining police cars on his tail. The zebra can only do so much alone.

:Dispatch, we need more backup! Driver's giving us a lot of trouble!:

Frustrated and desperate, Seely attempts to contact his teammates once more, this time via headset. But he forgot one thing - his twitching right ear is a testament to him forgetting to apply his earpiece. The zebra grunts, “Dammit, of all days, this had to be the one… I can't keep calling Cycnus like this!”

The zebra driver eventually careens onto Highway 4 next to Forest Green Country Club with the remaining police cars on his tail. During the high-speed drive, Seely exclaims to himself, “Where are they!? It shouldn't take them that long to get to Rosewood from Palmont!”

Eventually, Seely doubles back onto Highway 99 after passing through Forest Green Country Club. By the time the zebra winds up in the Petersburg area, he is already winding his way through the twisty, mountainous curves of Highway 99 after shooting through the Petersburg Interchange. At the same time, the remaining members of the Mooncrest mercenary team emerge from a Burrows access road, right in the midst of other Rockport Police Department vehicles zooming past them on the Hollis Interchange to Highway 99. On Cycnus’ orders, they thrust themselves into the pursuit to catch up and save their zebra comrade. But along the way, they nearly end up as part of yet another pileup thanks to two new spike stripes dropped by Seely during his getaway. Cycnus and Cloudy just manage to evade the spikes and the wrecked police cars - Cloudy bashes one aside with her own red Chevrolet Corvette C6.R. Enzo and Amon bring up the rear.

(🎵 Pursuit Cooldown Theme #3 - NFS Unbound OST)

“Good, finally! They're no longer behind me!” Seely is able to finally grin upon destroying the rest of the remaining police vehicles with his spike strips. But when several pairs of dotted headlights appear in his rearview mirror, the zebra is about to panic when he recognizes one of the approaching cars as a familiar black Chevrolet Corvette (C6) Z06 with white racing stripes, along with a silver BMW M3 GTR (E46) close by.

After some more high speed on Highway 99, Seely makes a beeline for Hickley Field, only to smack into and instantly destroy a Pontiac GTO State Patrol Unit.

(🎵 Pursuit Theme #3 - Need For Speed: Unbound OST)

*CRASH!*

“Where’d he come from!? Where are all these cops coming from!?” Seely grunted in frustration.

Losing control of his Renault Clio V6, Seely almost wiped out after missing the huge metal barrier displaying the LED signage. And after cutting across the empty stadium grounds, the zebra driver winds up on Union Way leading back to the Rosewood College Campus. Here, a police roadblock appears up ahead with several State Patrol units blocking the road.

Seely slows down for the roadblock when Cycnus shoots ahead of him in her black C6 Z06, using her heavier car to smash into the rear of one of the police cars, clearing a gap for Seely to pass through. Initially, Seely himself begins to wonder why the police aren't putting in any effort to catch him…

:Vehicle through! Vehicle through! They got around us!:

“If these guys are so bent on catching me, why aren't they trying??” The zebra wondered.

Coincidentally, two unmarked Pontiac GTO State Police cars are up ahead and they join the chase, attempting to stay with their target. However, Cycnus and Cloudy work together to keep them away from Seely. Once again, the zebra doubles back towards Forest Green Country Club.

:Advise we fall back and reconsider - these guys are dangerous.:

:You better keep your PC in pursuit or I’ll make sure you spend the rest of your career buying doughnuts.:

Everyone's blood runs cold upon hearing the familiar voice of Chief Bennett. Even Cycnus has chills creeping along her spine.

Before long, Seely is back on Highway 99 going in the opposite direction away from Forest Green Country Club and he effortlessly passes by a police roadblock with at least 5 vehicles blocking the road. Bennett and several other units begin tailing the purple Renault, unaware that he has just drawn the ire of the Mooncrest team.

:What kind of roadblock is that?! Come on people!!:

:These fools are making y’all into amateurs! Get in there and tear those cars apart!:

Suddenly, Seely careens off of Highway 99 and blazes south into Downtown Rosewood, slamming into the side of yet another unmarked Pontiac GTO State Patrol Unit at high-speed. This impact sends the police car toppling over into a rollover, disabling it almost instantly!

:Dispatch, we just lost a unit! And it looks like those guys are hurt!:

The sound of spike strips being deployed in the background is heard whereas more units begin joining the pursuit. Even Super State Units begin joining the chase - a Lamborghini Diablo VT 6.0 police car invites Seely into a head-on collision, which the zebra just narrowly escapes.

:All units, supervisor has escalated chase status to Condition 6. That is Condition 6. Federal authorities will be dropping in soon. They are still on standby.:

:Stay… stay on him. Aerial backup is on the way. We're gonna be overhead soon; yeah, there's no way this guy is gonna be getting away.:

The moment they blaze into Cascade Industrial Park, a police helicopter soon arrives to monitor the situation. However, this is no ordinary police helicopter - it is an attack chopper.

Cycnus is the first to sight the chopper and alert her team, “There's the chopper! We gotta take that thing down instantly!”

“Cycnus, there's no way we'll be able to take that thing down unless we blow up something that is able to reach it!” Comes Enzo's voiceover. “Our only other option is to hide underneath something where we won't be spotted!”

Rory bashes away an invading Porsche 911 Turbo (996) State Patrol Unit while catching up and staying with the rest of the team. She adds, “We usually improvise in taking out unwanted obstacles, so what makes this so different?”

The moment Rory speaks her mind is the moment that remnants of a bright blue sparkling flash are seen descending downward and disappearing.

:Looks like we have some major trouble. Yeah, Eagle-1 has definitely taken damage. We're returning to base.:

Amon streaks ahead of the group in his Porsche Carrera GT, informing the team of his update, “Hell yeah! Chopper is out of action! We should be in the clear from now on!”

Whilst staying close and protecting Seely, the zebra himself and his team end up in Downtown Rockport, eventually making their way onto Highway 201. But they somehow manage to lose the cops after exiting near Riverfront Stadium.

(🎵 Cooldown Theme #3 - NFS Unbound OST)

Driving onto the stadium grounds proves to be anything but ordinary, but it serves useful for providing a hiding spot for Seely while the rest of the team scatters to throw off suspicion.

:Cover units be advised - suspect was last seen headed east on Highway 201. All units in the vicinity are to establish a perimeter ahead of the suspect’s last known location. Advise when situation updates.:

Seely is left breathless from his little adrenaline rush during his run from the cops. And with his teammates scattering, this increases his chances of escaping, but also increases the possibility of them being separately spotted by the police.

Through the scattered police chatter coming in, Seely's evasion and cooldown are complete. However, they're not out of the woods yet. The zebra stays in his spot, drawing a breath while slowly making his way out of the stadium. All he can anticipate is a maximum police presence to restart the chaos, so he will have to be super careful. Little did Seely or anyone else anticipate a future storm brewing on the horizon, which will later call into question the sincerity and commitment of the Rockport and Palmont Police Departments as a whole.

~~~~~

Cycnus, Seely, Amon, Enzo, Rory, and Cloudy all belong to CrazyNuggets from ToyHouse!