To say that the interest the four had in Nick's home was satisfied after the Cage showed them around would be putting it mildly. Like every actor's house they had visited, the place held as much memorabilia as you could think of from the actor's long line of movies. He even decided to give Logan his Ghost Rider jacket with its inner pocket signed, as Logan enjoyed the comic character and his portrayal of him. "I'd have even given you the first issue of Ghost Rider if I still had it, but I sold my collection back in '02," Nick said, making Akane curse while mumbling about missed opportunities, then she raised a brow before pulling out her phone.
"Hey Nick, do you know who you sold them to?" Akane asked, earning a quizzical look from the man.
"Yeah," he answered.
"Great, could I get that information? I'm feeling a little explorative," Akane said as they had six years to kill, and grabbing that could be a nice start to an easter egg hunt. Actually, now that she thought about it, Akane started to see their road trip in more detail. Details that involved collecting some rather amazing memorabilia on a grander scale than just movie memorabilia or expensive shit. This was the apocalypse, which meant anywhere was fair game. Museums, the Pentagon, the royal palace in the UK, the Taj Mahal, the pyramids, Italy, Japan, etc., all were up for grabs, and the little woman smiled as she looked at her husband.
"What?" Logan asked as Nick had left to grab said information from his office.
"Just really glad you made sure we learned how to fly," She said as she smiled back at her phone. Logan cocked his head while his wife giggled to herself before looking over to Leah. The native woman shrugged before pulling out her own phone and taking a picture with the dinosaur skull Nick said he had outbid Leo for, before walking away to go and look at more of Nick's stuff. He then looked over at Nora, who had taken the Ghost Rider jacket and worn it over her thin red plaid jacket. She had ignored the conversation as she posed in a mirror Cage had set up to do exactly what she was doing.
"I pull off leather well, don't I?" She asked the air more than anyone actually present. Logan rolled his eyes as he just wanted to go look at the guns at this point.
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After Cage gave Akane the information, he led them to a large shed in the backyard of the mansion. Opening it caused an automatic trigger of the shed's lights and revealed rows and rows of military-issued firearms from the current year to past favorites. Walking into the rows of guns, Cage adopted a smile and posture of what was his character in Lord of War, as he waved a hand at the firearms. "The American M4 Carbine, the Russian special AK-74M, of course, you can't go wrong with the Beretta M9 or the Makarov PM. And from our friends across the pond, the SA80 (L85A2). I also have, of course, the classics of the past with the M16, AK-47, 1911, etc."
Whistling Akane gazed at the assortment of modern death dealers and nodded her head. "Got to be honest, this is a real pantie dropper right here," she said while picking up an M4 and sliding back the charging handle to load an imaginary round. "Clean and maintained as well."
"Of course," Cage said while he let the four roam his collection of guns. "I really grew to respect firearms after my role and take these out to a range a friend of mine owns to fire off a round or two." Logan nodded as he walked by the assortment of weapons before stopping at the sleek and powerful Barrett M82. With a smile, he ran a hand down the barrel before grabbing a 50. caliber round off the table next to it. Leah grabbed a Benelli M4 (M1014) from a rack and shouldered it, feeling comfortable with the weight and length. Nora, not really one for ranged combat as she was trained in swords and chi, picked up an M240 light machine gun to look at something before putting it down and walking over to Leah to watch as she added an attachment to the weapon she picked up. After grabbing what they wanted and leaving for the next house, Cage wished them well and hoped they'd stop by with friends before they left the city.
"Man, what a neat guy," Akane said as she drove the group to the next house on their checklist. They all nodded while watching the zombie-filled streets, just enjoying the sights of blood-filled Hollywood. "So, what's next? Tom Cruise's place, maybe see what the city hall has if the zombies aren't too-" Akane paused while swerving out of the way of another Humvee as it barreled past "-Fuckers!" Everyone watched as the ride zoomed forward before breaking and drifting left at the intersection. As it disappeared from their view, Akane smiled evilly as her hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, made a decision, and gunned their own engine to follow along. Logan and Leah instinctively braced after sharing a look, while Nora seemed intrigued as they all were pressed into their seats.
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~Kickstart My Heart-Motley Crue~
Both cars roared down the road as Akane kicked on the CD she pulled from one of the cars they ransacked down the road before meeting Nora. The vehicle ahead must have picked up that they were being tailed as it pulled a sharp yet well-made drift during an intersection, bashing a few dead who were in the middle eating someone. Akane licked her canines as she pulled a similar move, shredding the dazed dead with her fast-spinning back wheels. She made the turn and kept up as soon as they were jerking left and right down the Hollywood road, missing wrecked cars with each twist of the wheel. Akane was slowly gaining as the lead vehicle pushed itself to speed up on such a clogged road. In a desperate attempt, the driver saw a flatbed semi truck carrying a ton of steel pipes at the next intersection, which was strapped down with only one clamp instead of five, likely due to the panic of the outbreak in the city.
The driver shouted something to a passenger in the back seat, who quickly rolled down their window. They shoved themselves out of the car, their long black hair obscuring their face, but the body told the four it was a woman. They were holding an AR-15 and fired to knock loose the straps of the semi. They missed in the first few shots, but proved decent enough to hit the small target while on the move with the fifth. "Impressive," Akane said as the strap popped loose, sending the multiple pipes down to the ground as a dangerous hazard for their fast-moving Humvee. The lead Humvee was close enough to drift right to avoid the threat, taking off. Seeing the blocked spot, Akane flicked her eyes to the right side, seeing each building alleyway too small, until she found one big enough.
Grabbing the emergency brake and thanking the movie trope gods for being in a semi-action movie, she pulled it while jerking the wheel as hard as she could to the right. This causes an abrupt screech of tire rubber dragging on the asphalt and sends the delightful smell of burnt rubber for the adrenaline junky behind the wheel to enjoy. It also caused a sharp drift and pull on the Humvee that started to tip it off the right-sided wheels. "We're gonna roll!" Logan said, while Leah looked ready to puke. Nora was laughing like she was on a rollercoaster.
"Nope, not in this movie," Akane said with a giggle as she let the slowly tipping car drag forward on its left wheels enough to line up with the alleyway. Immediately, she let loose the emergency brake and hit the gas while activating the Four Wheel Drive option for the car, causing the two wheels on the ground to pull them forward and reset their moment just enough for the weight to drop the other two wheels back on the ground. This made them barely forward as all four wheels pulled the heavy vehicle down the alley, both Mirrors just barely fitting before breaching and cutting a sharp left, which thankfully just made them bash the side of the brick wall on the other side of the street. It also splattered a dead that was on the sidewalk in a hibernative state.
When the Humvee pulled forward, as Akane never took her foot off the gas fully, the smashed corpse was dragged on the wall, causing a blood and flesh mural of zombies to coat it. Now, on the new road, they spotted the lead Humvee drive past on the same street they last saw it turn down, making Akane drift right behind them as she met the intersection and gunned it once again. Logan, still locked in so he didn't get jostled, followed the path they were taking and concluded. "They look like they're heading to the hills like us," he shouted over the rock music. Akane smiled as the Humvee noticed they were back, and both backseat windows rolled down again. The same black haired woman and now a black skinned woman with shorter hair were hanging out with another AR-15 pointed at their car.
"Wait, is that-Ugh!" Leah started to say before Akane hit the brakes at the next intersection and pulled left to avoid the gunfire. She then hit the gas as a few shots smashed into the side doors of Leah and Nora, taking off down the road.
"Logan, directions," Akane said as her husband pulled out his new assault rifle and looked down the road.
"Right next light," He said, bracing as his wife drifted the turn. "Straight the next two, then left and right." Again, Akane gunned the gas, pulling the four fast down the blood-soaked road, a few dead smashing against the Humvee's grill. Nora watched her window as they passed the two intersections, seeing the Humvee keeping pace with them. Then, with a few drifts, one left, and the other right, Logan knifed his hand down. "Straight shot for three, and then right." Akane pressed the pedal harder as the Vehicle grew faster and faster, before she hit the brakes and twisted after the third light, causing more smoke to pull from the abused tires. Still, she lined up the road once again and punched it for the last time. Leah looked green but pulled her own assault rifle, while Nora smiled as she put a hand on her mare's leg. When they made it to the first intersection, Logan checked his gun's chamber, while Leah pulled out a dog bag and finally barfed. When they made it to the second, Akane braked the car with both her feet and the emergency brake, making each safely strap in as everyone was forced forward by the loss of momentum so fast.
Still, they stopped perfectly at the intersection, each getting out, two with looks of motion sickness, the other with a smile. They all still fired at each dead nearby before running up to two nearby cars and braking in and putting them into neutral and rolling them to block the fast-approaching Humvee. When the cars were in place, the four aimed at the now slowing down Humvee, as its one road to what Logan assumed was its home base was blocked by four gun-wielding strangers. Eventually, it came to a stop, and the road grew quiet as the four waited for those in the car to come out. Eventually, four doors opened up, and out walked a fucking red carpet group.
Michelle Rodriguez, Angelina Jolie, Rihanna, and, strangely enough, Anna Faris all rushed out with matching AR-15s, pointing at the cineplex group. They were in full military chic like dress, and sporting a somewhat grizzled look, one would get after two months of surviving in a city filled with the dead. "The fucks your problem!" Michelle said as she aimed at Akane, who aimed right back with her superior firearm.
The evilly grinning short stack shrugged as she aimed down the sights. "I was seeing the sights, and when I saw your car barreling down the road, well, how could I refuse the fun of a chase in the city of stars? Though now that I have you four..." the smaller woman dropped her gun a bit with an honest look, "Think I could get your autographs?"