"Seriously, I think you're being a bit paranoid."

"No way. This is K-Tech! K-TECH! They absolutely have their own ways of tracking digital signals."

"If that's the case, we should dump the car at the next stop, then."

"We should." Vlad said emphatically.

Shaggy heard Maya scoff as his eyes cracked open. His back and arm were sore, but otherwise he was fine. He also had the taste of french fries still in his mouth from their drive-in stop a few hours ago. Licking his lips and swallowing heavily, Shaggy's brain caught up with the conversation that was going on.

"It pains me to say it, but I agree with the pale champion of cell-block D. We need to dump this car and any electronics we have on us."

"It probably won't make a difference." Levy yawned from his shoulder. "They'll have us on satellite. If they care enough to check."

"My guess there is that they'll be too busy answering to the army. That was a few fucking platoons' worth of robots out there," Vlad said from beside Shaggy.

Shaggy tried to remember how many of the tall black robots there had been. But his mind was still foggy. "That's a lot of hardware to just throw around."

"And why in a village in the middle of nowhere?" Maya huffed.

"I told you! It was a proof-of-concept test for the bots. So that K-Tech could prove their effectiveness in the field."

"They have huge testing facilities for that. Even if what they were doing was something nefarious, they control where the test takes place."

"Maybe that's why they didn't do it in the standard testing facility." Shaggy proposed. "If K-Tech controls everything about the test, how can the buyers trust the test?"

"So the village was a just the experimental portion of the test?"

Shaggy shrugged, pushing Levy's head slightly off his shoulder. His wife groaned in resignation but sat up straight as Shaggy said.

"It hardly matters. If they come for us, then they come for us. But I trust we have fulfilled our end of the deal?"

Maya looked a little taken aback at his words, but the others were all watching for her answer.

"You're not going to investigate further?" Maya asked.

"Why?" said Shaggy

"Hell no." said Vlad.

"Are there anymore fries?" Levy asked Cekrass in the front seat.

Maya almost glared across Levy's lap at Shaggy as a half container of fries was passed back. Ignoring the smell, Shaggy stared back at the heroic gunslinger.

"Maya, we're Villains. Remember? Why get involved with K-Tech when we don't have to? They probably already have it out for me as it is?"

Vlad blinked in confusion. "Why just you? They could be after all of us."

"Because my group has robbed K-Tech deliveries before. So I'm probably on some hit list somewhere for sure."

Vlad looked aggrieved, but Maya snorted.

"Not hardly. K-Tech gets hit daily now. Players are always attacking their convoys around Austin. The HLO is even extending a protection contract soon. So I hear anyway."

"Ha!" Vlad said in Shaggy's ear.

But the smell of fries, even cold, was too much for Shaggy now. He reached over to grab some from Levy, only to get his hand smacked. His wife's cheeks were slightly full as she glared at him dangerously. The message was clear: get your own damn fries. Sighing to himself, Shaggy looked toward the front seat only to see Stanley and Cekrass looking apologetic. Maya watched the interplay with little mirth as she asked.

"So that's it? Big corporate mystery and you're just going to let it run by? Aren't you people playing a game? There's fat loot, levels, and skills out there!"

"It's an MMO." Levy said around a mouthful of food. "Those things are everywhere and we don't have to run at a giant corporation to find them."

Maya shook her head as she looked around the car. "Seriously, how did y'all get so powerful playing it so safe?"

"Again, we're villains. Playing it safe kind of comes with the territory."

"Yeah!" Vlad said, sticking his chin out. "We play it safe until it's time to not play it safe."

Shaggy glared at his friends as the over-actor held the pose he was making. Looking back at Maya, he shrugged.

"He's kind of right. Shock and awe are kind of our thing. We hit hard, take what we want, and leave."

"Shit. Well, I can't investigate on my own. What the fuck am I going to do?"

"You probably can't investigate at all." Levy said.

"Yeah, you just went on the lam with some high-profile gangsters. At best, you're going to be a vigilante." Vlad cackled.

"Boss?" Stanley interrupted from the front seat. "We're coming up on Brady. Do we turn off and steal us another car?"

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Shaggy stretched his arms in front of him and nodded his head. At the very least, they needed to swap out cars. This one was probably already reported stolen, and they were only halfway to home. Depending on how dedicated the police of Brady were, they might have to change cars once more. Maya sighed loudly, drawing everyone's attention again.

"Maybe we should split off here. It'll be much harder to hide in Austin, anyway."

Shaggy gave a half-shrug and nod, but Levy shook her head. "I don't know. It would be better if you let the heat die down first."

"And there's no better place for that than in Under-Town." Vlad added.

Shaggy couldn't really argue with either of them. But he doubted the straight-laced woman would fare well in Under-Town. Then again, they got the occasional vigilante down there. Some hopped up Player or NPC bringing vengeance/justice/terror to the denizens of the underground city. If they teamed her up with the lizards, she might last a week or two. He was about to say as much when a thought sparked in his brain. Looking over the middle seat into the back, he spotted the black pieces of a K-Tech robot.

"Vlad, if you were truly worried about K-Tech tracking us, why didn't you bring up all that?" Shaggy said, pointing a finger over his shoulder.

Vlad's eyes went wide, and he shared a look with Maya. "That's what we were arguing about in the first place! I think we should dump it."

"But I argued it was good loot and we could probably sell and split it." Maya said.

"You're both wrong." Levy giggled. "It's a present for the lab guys back home. Just imagine the secrets they could pull."

"Leading K-Tech right down to our home. Yeah, that's a great idea." Vlad rolled his eyes at Levy.

Shaggy watched his wife scoff and raise her hands. Purple magic swirled around her fingers and she uttered something under her breath. Something unseen past between all of them as Levy finished her spell and threw it in the back seat. The robotic limbs lit up with a bright purple glow before it settled and vanished. The magic flickered over the chest piece for a bit, and Levy's face scrunched up slightly. But the flickering stopped and Levy relaxed.

"See. Now we have nothing to worry about."

"Really?" Vlad asked dubiously.

"Yep. Any mechanical or magical trackers placed on those things are currently being masked. Once we get it underground, things should be safe."

"Should?" Shaggy asked.

Levy met his eye and he could see that she was uncertain. But not to an alarming degree. Maybe 80/20 by the look in her eyes. Shaggy nodded at their unspoken conversation and sat back. If the broken robot brought problems, they'd deal with it. Maya watched them for a bit before the car slowed.

They had entered Brady and were driving down the main street now. Gas stations and food marts were coming up the road. Shaggy instructed Stanley to park at a large grocery store toward the back of the parking lot. The teen pulled them into a spot that was empty and the six of them piled out, their eyes open for a new car. Shaggy's eyes immediately scanned upward for signs of drones. But nothing was on the horizon.

Cekrass pulled the robot bits from the SUV's trunk and followed behind Levy. Vlad blurred into his mist form again and zoomed across the parking lot. Meanwhile, Maya was chewing her lip and looking around. Shaggy grunted to get the gunslinger's attention and, when he had it, said.

"It's your choice, but Under-Town is probably your safest bet. Mostly because we don't get a lot of drone traffic."

"I'm not too eager to walk around a city full of Villains, Shaggy."

"Hey, your people are down there, too. Not a lot of them. But they try."

"Bless their hearts, they do." Levy grinned wickedly.

Shaggy gave his wife a smile, but still addressed the hero in their midst. "And we know people who can probably help. Some do-gooders that can't turn a blind eye to corporate nonsense."

"You are a terrible bad guy, you know that?" Maya said, staring at Shaggy.

"Hey! Just cause were bad guys, doesn't mean we have to be assholes."

Shaggy's words were followed by Vlad reappearing at their sides, a smug grin on his face. He immediately smelled blood coming from the vampire's hands, and there was a speck of red on Vlad's shoes.

"There's a douchebag in a bright red Hummer two rows over."

"He's in the hummer?" Levy asked. "Is he still alive?"

Vlad grinned and shrugged his shoulders. "The asshat had a 'Your theater kid is a fairy' bumper sticker on his car."

"So he's dead or probably dying." Shaggy sighed as he waved for Cekrass and Stanley to find the car. They could probably track it from the scent of blood.

Vlad hurried off to help them anyway, and Shaggy shared a look with Levy. His wife merely giggled again as they followed the others. Maya is right behind them. From behind, Shaggy heard Maya ask.

"Not assholes, huh?"

Shaggy didn't even turn around. "As you can tell, Vlad takes the theater very seriously."

Maya said nothing more as the three of them hurried toward the vehicle. It stood out like a giant apple amongst the other cars. Its bright red paint job shining brightly in the setting sun. The stench of blood was stronger now, and Shaggy could see a small trail it leading to the hummer's backseat.

"You're getting rid of the body, Vlad. Your problem, your clean-up."

The vampire said nothing as Cekrass held the back door open. Vlad swept into the backseat like a ghost and came out with a massive alien over his shoulder. Shaggy could hear the alien NPC's heart stopping as Vlad blurred away. Off in the direction of their old ride. Which probably wasn't a bad idea.

Levy waved her hands, and a magical breeze filled the air. The smell of death and blood was flushed out of the backseat as Cekrass got into the driver's seat. Levy lifted herself up into the back before pausing halfway through the back door.

"Oh, Lord," she said, her voice echoing from inside.

"What?"

"Well, at least we know he was a Texan."

Levy moved slightly to the side to give them all a peek at the back seat. Maya snorted as Shaggy just shook his head. He wondered if Vlad had even stopped to look when he tossed the alien into his own car. The hummer's back seat held a half dozen boxes. Some held small silver packets marked MRE, while others held small caliber weapons. Everything from revolvers to energy pistols.

"Fucking Christmas came early." Maya chuckled as she dove into the vehicle.

Levy scoffed. "Not really, dear. It all looks pretty mundane. The guy was probably a prepper, or maybe a vigilante is his own right."

Maya stopped looking over the weapons in the car and turned to Levy. "You mean he could've been a good guy?"

Shaggy looked around the interior of the car as he hopped up to join them. As he did, his eyes fell upon another box and he winced. A bright red conical hood was in a box, along with a bright red robe. Next to it were printed out pamphlets taking about the Anti-Human League. He held one of the off-white pamphlets up for Maya to see.

"I wouldn't go that far."

"Really?" Levy asked. "Space racists?"

"Racists are easy game fodder. People love to kill them and they don't feel bad about it." Maya shrugged, going back to her box of weapons.

Shaggy settled on the large back seat as Vlad appeared at the door. Stanley got in the front seat while the vampire joined the others in the back. Once everyone was situated, Cekrass started the car, and the windows shook as dubstep boomed out of the car's speakers. Cekrass quickly turned down the music, but the damage had been done. Shaggy, Levy, Maya, and Vlad were all looking at each other with disgusted looks.

"Oh yeah, fuck this guy," Vlad said.

"I don't know if I want these weapons now." Maya groaned.

"Please, just get us out of here." Levy added.

Cekrass pulled the large Hummer out of the parking spot and toward the road. As they went, Vlad opened the back door and Shaggy tossed the Anti-Human box out the door. Levy shot a fireball at the flying cardboard box and burned it to cinders as they left. Cekrass got them pointed toward Austin again and the six of them settled in for another long ride.

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.