..:ALL'S FAIR IN LOVE AND CRIME:..

Bowman and Berry were thronged together in the backseat of the getaway car, with Gaspar and Sean in the middle of the extremely tight fit. There was more space in the front, but the air inside the vehicle was so thick it made it difficult to breathe easily regardless of placement. The Bear was squeezed into the front passenger seat, with his attention firmly on the road. The driver would occasionally look at his boss, squirming every time he glanced at the man. The ride was quiet and tense, making each minute that slogged by feel more like an hour. Feeling unsure about what to do, Sean stared at his feet, almost as if he had accepted his fate. The captive was secretly fuming at the man that sat beside him, internally cursing at him for getting into this mess of a situation. Gaspar, on the other hand, was more stubborn, as he continued to fight with the ropes that bounded his hands as his wrists became red and sore from the scratchy material. With each fidgit, the barrel of Berry's gun sunk further into Gaspar's girth.

"Would you cut that out already?" The younger of the two gangsters hoarsely whispered. Every time Gaspar moved, Berry was slightly shoved towards the car door, which caused him discomfort, alongside getting increasingly tired of the constant squirming.

The idle threat caught Bowman's attention, and then he looked at his partner. "Be careful with your weapon," he said as his pale green eyes met where Berry's gun was positioned. "You don't want to be liable for creating a mess." He advised plainly, as if he was providing cooking tips rather than advice on preventing an accidental homicide.

Berry glared in response. "You're not sitting next to a fat guy," he defensively hissed. "I can barely breathe here." He then pushed Gaspar to give himself some wiggle room as he leaned closer to his employer. "How much longer is this going to take?"

The Bear quickly turned his head in his direction and yelled, "Quit complaining, kid, unless you want to end up like those two bozos you're sitting with."

Both Gaspar and Sean raised their heads in surprise when they heard his voice, with both men panicking about what their captor meant by that vague statement. The driver of the vehicle trembled madly at the loudness of the Bear's exclaimation, with his large eyes now glued to the road in fear of making his boss angry. Berry became silent following his words, with the hired hand slumping back into his tight fit, not before he shot a look of mental exhaustion at his partner. While Bowman acknowledged his subtle expression about the situation, he merely looked away afterward, preferring to have a neutral persona about it all.

Suddenly, the Bear looked out at the mirror that was the closest to where he was positioned. All the men that were in the back seat noticed his change of demeanor. "Is something wrong, boss?" asked Berry, who was the only one that was brazen enough to ask the question.

The leader was quiet as he leaned closer to the mirror to get a better look. It was a cop car that wasn't running its sirens, but the criminal sensed that it was following them -- it was too close for comfort. "There are some cops behind us," he growled. "I thought they would be tied up at that lousy club." He then looked at the driver, "Go faster." He barked.

The quiet man hesitated, with him sputtering as he struggled to provide a response. The Bear looked at him with a mad glint in his eyes. "That was an order, not a request!" he yelled. The driver cringed, and then managed to meekly reply, "This is an old car, sir," he said as his anxious orbs met the Bear's annoyed gaze. "It might not be capable of reaching the speeds that it used to..."

"What are you talking about?" The brute replied sharply. "This is a MK II -- one of the fastest cars on the planet, regardless of age. Floor it!"

The Bear then eyed Bowman through the front mirror, in which the two exchanged knowing looks. Without a moment's delay, the crook rolled down the window and managed to lean the upper half of his slender body through the small opening. The group of three in the police car noticed this immediately, all with varying responses, but Didi's was the loudest.

"Is anyone else seeing what I'm seeing?" She exclaimed as she lunged out of her seat, grabbing the metal partition once more.

Bowman brought out his pistol, and with an almost mechanical level of precision, shot at the front right tire of their assailers' car. The bullet pierced the rubber, which made Zenigata swerve the vehicle in surprise. "Damn it!" He growled, viewing the situation as confirmation that the riot at the Moura Encantada was an attack.

Barnes clutched his hands on the dashboard to prevent being jostled, as the inspector was experiencing difficulty driving the now-damaged car. Barnes' eyes furrowed in determination as he watched the criminals begin to speed away, with him reaching for the gun he kept in his belt's holster. He rolled down the window, with the wind catching Zenigata's attention immeditately. His attention wavered as he struggled to pay attention to both the criminals in front of him and whatever his partner was attempting. "What are you doing?" He asked, his tone irascible yet distracted.

"We can't let them get away!" Barnes yelled in return, as he was failing to repeat their aggressor's slick movements.

Zenigata grabbed the tail of the man's light-grey suit jacket, and began to tug at it in an attempt to stop this suddenly wreckless cop. Feeling a bump in the road, the inspector turned his attention back to his driving, and found himself accidentally directing the vehicle straight to a fire hydrant. He slammed his foot against the brake, which only made the car skid faster towards the object. In the blink of an eye, they crashed, making the vehicle stop with a jolt. Water poured out of the hydrant, hitting Barnes directly on the face. Without delay, Inspector Zenigata ran out of the car to follow the criminals, but slowly stopped as he watched them fade away into the distance. He paused to catch his breath, then dejectedly turned back to face the now-smashed cop car. He saw Didi hand a flustered Barnes a spare rag before shifting her attention onto the tire.

The woman crouched in order to get a better look at the puncture. She let out a surprised whistle before she spoke, "Wow, that was a once in a lifetime shot." She then noticed Zenigata approaching, adding, "I can run back to the garage and get a new tire, if need be." She then rose to her full, diminutive height.

The man frowned, "We're running out of time," he said gravely. Barnes looked at the small towel Didi handed to him, and after noticing how it was dappled with grease stains of varying intensities, he gave it back to the mechanic. "I agree," he responded, which surprised Zenigata greatly. "That was brazen of them to openly shoot like that. If they caused that mob, how much violence has this group caused in the past hour?"

The inspector rubbed his strong chin thoughtfully, "We don't know their hideout, or the distance it would take to walk..." His large eyes then met the gaze of the others. "Going back to the prescinct would take too much time, but we could get backup." added Barnes, with Zenigata replying, "They're likely all at the club to help us -- and a taxi's out of the question. I don't want another random civilian in this mess." His attention then shifted exclusively onto Didi.

The mechanic joined in on the conversation with an interesting observation: "Eh, with their car, I doubt they're going to make it that far." Both of the police looked at her curiously, with the younger of the two asking, "What do you mean?"

"There was some ashy smoke coming out of their tailpipe," she explained. "It's an old, old car, and that's a massive red flag for any antique like it. Any minute now, that engine's gonna quit on them, especially with the speed they're at."

Inspector Zenigata and Barnes exchanged unsure looks. The latter's attention lingered on his partner as an idea began to form. He then looked at Didi, "Can you excuse us for a moment?" The two distanced themselves from her to speak privately, in which the older cop apologized in a hushed voice, "I'm sorry that Didi's constantly interfering with this investigation. She... has a way of making herself known." He frowned, unsure of how to describe the woman's obstructing talents.

Barnes matched his tone, but his response shocked the inspector once again. "I like her," he said. "She's provided us with good insight regarding the car, and I want to follow her hunch. I've partially investigated this area before, and I have working knowledge of the crooks that occupy it."

Zenigata blinked puzzledly, scratching the back of his head as he listened. His partner spoke so confidently, so sure of himself... "Take the lead, then." He responded reluctantly.

Barnes then took a step back from the man and pointed behind himself to an adjacent street. "Come on everyone, we're going down Bellow Row."

Didi followed Barnes promptly, with the inspector taking a moment to observe the two before joining. What happened to that uptight cop he met a day ago, the one that ignored anyone he deemed below him? While he would readily admit he preferred this cooperative version of Barnes, the sudden shift perplexed him. He then wondered about Didi, the odd woman out regarding the small team. One of his thick eyebrows rose curiously as he pondered if the red-headed spitfire had charmed the man in some capacity. Regardless of his speculations, he put his faith in the duo's theories, claiming responsibility for whatever this night was about to offer.

As the group of three walked, Inspector Zenigata and Barnes became engrossed in conversation, yet another about the present case. Up to this point, the night had been a whirlwind of events, and it was still early in the evening. Barnes was hungry for specifics about what the inspector saw prior to the epic car chase. He answered as best as he could, putting emphasis on the fact that he observed guns being held by some of the men. Only three of them held weapons, along with three other men, noting that one was noticeably tall, even at the distance he was presently standing in.

Barnes' face darkened as he mulled over the details. "That sounds like Pauside Capasso."

Intrigued, Zenigata asked, "Is he someone you've dealt with before?"

"Unfortunately, no," Barnes answered with a frown. I looked into him during the beginning of my time on the Benvenuti case. He's a former hitman that transitioned into the gang business, and if rumors are correct, he's retained that taste for violence that came from his previous career. I've discussed his character with local detectives -- he's very good at what he does. Various inner gang or mob-connected deaths have been believed to be his work, but he hides his tracks well. He's an expert on vanishing."

The inspector faintly grimaced as his mind conjured up images of a man that worked exclusively for, if not craved, violence. Feeling he needed a small break, he reached into the pockets of his trenchcoat and grabbed a half-empty package of Shinsei cigarettes. He muttered as he placed the cigarette into his mouth, "He sounds like a boogeyman a mob boss would talk about to better control his goons."

The three found themselves on the outskirts of a neighborhood that neared the Atlantic Ocean. Fog filled the environment, making it more than a little difficult to explore the unfamiliar area. Luckily, the match that Zenigata used for his cigarette helped light up the area slightly, leading Didi to notice something off in the distance.The woman stopped, smacked her knees and then pointed ahead of them. "What did I tell you guys?"

She ran off into the fog, with the rest following shortly behind her. The group found the MK II parked awkwardly by the side of the road, suggesting that the stop was a sudden decision. Out of vile curiosity, Didi lifted the hood of the car, and was hit with an overwhelming explosion of exhaust smoke. Despite her being a seasoned professional regarding car upkeep, she even had to take a step back for some fresh air. The stench filled the area, masking the faint scent of the cigarette. Zenigata eyed his own smoke and decided to get rid of it, feeling a pang of guilt in his chest at everything his poor lungs were experiencing at that time.

Expressing no interest in the state of the vehicle, Barnes walked ahead. "If the car's there, where's the driver and the passengers?"

The nighttime fog began to let up, faintly clearing the hazy environment. The group of three espied an unusual location, one that stood out from what little the area had to offer. A pier extended into the quiet ocean, which was decorated with a plethora of old, abandoned attractions and decorations. A sense of dread began to engulf the small team, with each member experiencing the same thought: that can't be where they're hiding!