NotBetty's driving was erratic and of the rumpy-bumpy variety, but she adapted and refined her technique with a speed that surprised even Nine.  By the time she had gone a quarter of a mile she had her speed fairly smoothed out and the vehicle's movement in control.  A car passed the group's, going in the opposite direction.  NotBetty watched the driver as he passed and then afterwards leaned back a little in her seat and drove one-handed, exactly as the other driver had been doing.

An unannounced sudden hard left turn threw everybody in the car to their right.  Nine bounced around in the front passenger seat, while those in the rear either crushed against each other or up against the right-hand side of the vehicle.  The various vocalized protests mainly ended in questions, which NotBetty answered by excitedly pointing ahead of them.

The road she was now on led sharply downhill, giving the group some distance and perspective.  What looked to be a main road lay before them at the bottom of the hill maybe a third of a mile away.  All around it were large structures with garish signs of every color, giant illuminated things that proclaimed unfamiliar words such as "Foodtown", "Getty", and "Domino's".  One low red and yellow building with many windows looked to perhaps be an outpost of this land's possible ruler, but the large posters of round sandwiches made "Burger King" appear more like a chef than a head of state.

But the road wasn't where NotBetty was pointing.  Beyond the intersection of the road they were on with this larger avenue, their road continued on for perhaps yet another third of a mile before ending at a shoreline.  The waters beyond were blue and twisted with tiny wind-created wrinkles.

As the vehicle approached the intersection, NotBetty copied the other vehicles and stopped.  The cross traffic was heavy and moving quickly.  Perhaps these other drivers were afraid to try to cross? 

There was a red lighted signal suspended above the intersection on wires.  Just as NotBetty was preparing to move around the others and go, she noticed the cross traffic slow and then stop.  Then the light changed green, and now it was her road that was moving.  She moved their vehicle along with the others, noting how everyone stuck to their lane, and crossed the main road heading for the water.

There were buildings all right up next to each other now, lining both sides of the street.  The gaudy signs were smaller, and many of them weren't of the lighted variety.  Lots of people walked along either side of the street apparently going about their business, which was incomprehensible.  All of the group except NotBetty noted the distinct lack of a military presence everywhere.  It was a strange feeling, but nobody could tell why.

Halfway between the intersection and the water they passed what must have been the headquarters of the paramilitary officers they had left at the house.  There were several vehicles with identical markings to those they had left back there, and a slew of communications gear mounted on the roof of the low, flat building, along with a very tall tower bristling with antennae of various kinds.

At the end of the street there was a large paved surface to one side where many ground vehicles like theirs, of all different colors and shapes, were parked.  Nearby was a large marina with what must have been dozens of small water craft.  There was also a dock where one very large ship emblazoned with the words "Seastreak" was floating.  Perhaps a dozen people were standing around on that dock, waiting for something.

NotBetty drove her vehicle into the parking lot, between two cars, jumped harshly over a curb and onto some grass and made a beeline for the water.  Just as Al was leaning forward to try and stop her before they all ended up taking a swim, NotBetty braked hard and stopped a few feet shy of a several-foot drop into the water.

NotBetty was clapping and smiling broadly, and finally she opened her door and got out to jump about like a cheerleader and point out across the deep-looking sea.

It took a moment for the group to focus on the distance.  When they did, they saw sitting out at the horizon a city.  It was vast, and though nobody had a memory of any city in their past, the sheer magnitude of the size and scope of the city across the sea was breathtaking to all of them.  The buildings were gigantous, of a size that none of them had ever seen, or such was the feeling it engendered in each of them.

"Big."  Not Betty said with reverence in her voice.  Her arms stretced wide as she tried to fit the cityscape in between them. 

"Big. Big.  We go?"  She asked excitedly, sparing a look towards the others but obviously focusing on the Asian.

Trying to ignore the people who were watching them from across the transport repository, Tom sighed. Yes, it was big. Huge, in fact. It was probable that, unless there was some sort of tagging or identification methodology at work, they could lose themselves in a place that size. All save Nine, of course. It had been apparent from Tom's vantage point in the uniformed men's transport that the people of this place were not prepared to deal with someone like Nine. That being said, he mused, what did it mean that himself and the others found nothing unusual there? Was it a symptom of their condition? Should they too be astounded at the ape's ability to speak? 

So many questions without answers, with the only things they could be sure of being continued ignorance and eventual pursuit. He scowled as he watched the bizarre twin waving her arms around. Drawing attention to themselves in any way shape or form from now on would only hasten their eventual recapture. He'd seen the number of official looking transports outside that building they'd gone past. Noticed the number of communications towers and arrays atop it; it wasn't hard to add one and one and come up with "caught". Staying together would increase the likelihood of capture. However splitting up could spell doom for them all. He didn't like a couple of his companions, didn't trust a couple more, and was even beginning to get leery of the ape. The possibility existed that the damn creature had engineered this whole thing, after all. The knowledge Nine displayed around technology. The apes understanding of biologics. It could all fit together if you wanted it too.

And that was the thing: any number of scenarios could be true. After all, each of them were capable of something the others were not, and so far they'd encountered no one else who could do what they did either. It would be natural for someone with Al's strength, or the Asian's swiftness, or the stranger of the twins mirror ability to end up in some sort of enforcement or military role, wouldn't it? And Betty's mental power - what did that make her? Could she have done this, and caused them all to forget? Was it a game? 

He wanted to leave. Wanted to just start walking, blend in, find the answers slowly and carefully. After all, he actually could be in four places at once. That was a massive benefit when it came to surviellance, one that he shouldn't be ignoring. Then again, so was Ghost's ability. And Al's hearing. And the apes cognitive and deductive ability. It was almost like they'd each been given exactly what tools were required to figure out their current dilemma. But why? 

He thought of the sword, and his scowl deepened. He wanted to carry it with him. It felt right to have it as his side. But doing so would be like hanging a huge flashing light over his head saying 'danger! different!'. Overhead, birds wheeled and called to one another, grey and white W's against the blue of the sky. Indifferent to their plight. Free. Tom rubbed at his bald scalp, took a deep breath, and said "What now?" 

"We go Big. Big?"  The quiet twin's hands had finally dropped to her side and now she was showing keen interest in the body of water in front of them.  She bent over and ran her hands along the ground until she found a suitable rock to throw into it, the first two rocks had been too pretty and were deposited into her bag.

Ghost sat crouched, one hand idly trailing in the dirt in front of him as he stared out over the water. His thoughts were mirroring Tom's in many different ways.

"We should go there," he said without preamble. "A city of that size will give us a better chance to hide, find information, and plan our next move."

Tom nodded. "But," he said, gaze fixed on the distant towers. "do we go together, or split up? Valid arguments could be made for either option. And there's him," Tom said, looking back towards Nine. "He'll have to stay hidden somehow." His gaze then moved to the random twin. "And her... enthusiasm... will draw attention." He looked back towards the city again. "I suspect descriptions of us will soon be making their rounds to even more of the authorities of this place. Not to mention that our original captors organization will no doubt be aware their first attempts did not succeed." A breeze smelling of salt and a slight chemical tang ruffled his shirt.

Not Betty had a benign smile upon her face as the others spoke. The occasional loud sound would make her wince or cover her ears, but she continued to adapt, and rarely reacted to the same stray noise more than once.

"We continue to be hunted." Tom continued, "The question now is, how elusive can we be as prey?" 

"If we split up, we are easier to capture.  They can pick us off one by one."  Al started pacing, listening to the myriad conversations going on around him.  If there were this many this far from the city, how bad would this be when they reached it?  "If we stay together, we are easier to track.  The men who attacked us first and those who came later were not from the same organisation."  Speaking the thoughts aloud helped him visualize things.  

There was a plan forming as Al continued, but it was some way off.  "The second group.  They are going to be our most immediate concern.  They will be circulating our description, trying to find us for the mere act of resisting them and escaping.  Next time there will be more of them and they will be better prepared.  Nine?  Is there anything we retrieved from the house, the men there, that might help us keep ahead of them?  They had earpieces - were they communications devices like Mr Fox's telephone?"

"Motht likely." Nine replied thoughtfully. "As to how helpful they'll be I'm not sure. I'll need to take thtock of what we've gathered." 

"Mine."  Not Betty chimed in, as she remembered her pillow case full of loot.  Only the small purple bag remained in her possession, in her excitement she had left the larger bag in the car.  Now, she scurried back to the car, grinning in child like glee at the memory of her toys.  "Mine.  Mine.  Mine."  She continued to chant pleasantly as she retrieved them and returned to the group.  Unlike the others, her stress and concern seemed to extend no further than an assaulting noise, or her precious Asian getting beyond her line of sight.

Ghost smiled. He stood up and stretched. "I had her collect everything the men in suits had with them," he told the others as the normally-silent twin--She needs a name, he thought--returned.

"The men with uniforms we left alone," he continued. "No point in adding insult to injury. I do not believe them to be our primary threat, though they may indeed be our immediate concern. The men in suits, however, most likely work for or with this 'Black Knight' that Mr. Fox mentioned. They will continue to hunt us, I believe. I would prefer we return the favor at the earliest opportunity."

Nine nodded. "I agree. All roads lead to BlacKnight in the end." Nine thought about what little information they'd learned from Fox. "They have information we need, who we are, why we're here. It's all there, somewhere."

With a final triumphant, "Mine.", the pretty young woman knelt down and dumped the contents of the pillow case on the ground in front of her.  She then began matching things up, placing all of the fire arms next to one another, phones, ear pieces, wallets and badges.  All of the loose coins and jewelry were already in the purple bag that never left her wrist.

Not Betty watched worriedly as Nine picked up several of the earpieces and climbed back into the conveyance, trying to be circumspect. As he began his inspection of each one, trying to ascertain it's value and function, the peculiar twin checked over her inventory once again.

Tom watched the ape climb back into the vehicle, expression nuetral. "So. We all agree that Black Night, whatever it represents, is our most pressing concern." He waved a hand at the small pile that the strange twin had dumped on the ground. "That's a start, but we'll need currency to operate in something the size of the city across the water - and we don't have a lot of time to stand here debating our next course of action. So again I put it to the group - do we split up, agreeing to meet later at some point within the city to share observations, or do we stay together?" 

"Go BigBig?"  Not Betty chirped excitedly.

Nine looked up from his examination. "There is thrength in numbers. It may be leth conthpicuouth in thmaller groups, but we lack the knowledge to do tho efficiently. We'll altho need a different vehicle. Thoon." 

Understanding the gist of the conversation and some of the obstacles that concerned her companions, the quiet twin turned her attention back to her bag of loot.  "Mon...ey."  She explained, as she picked up one of the leather wallets that lay there.  She opened it up and spread it wide so that they could see the thin green paper bills that she was pointing at.

Ghost stood. "I have some of that, too." He reached into his pocket and withdrew the bills he'd appropriated from the house. "The question, of course, is how much currency we have. It may be a great deal or it may be next to nothing. We need to discover the market rates to determine how much currency we have, and how much we'll need."

"Oooh!"  Not Betty squealed happily as she relieved the Asian of his handful of cash.  "Mine."  She took it happily and squatted back down to play with her valuables.

ooc:  If ya don't mind.  *grin*  If you do, delete it or react to it, whichever ya prefer.

He looked around the group. "I am not one for working with others." He smiled thinly. "Not for any length of time, at any rate. My...instincts...lend themselves to more furtive activity, and that does not normally go hand-in-hand with large groups of disparate people. That being said, I believe we should stay together until we determine more about ourselves and our environment. Our skills and abilities have thus far worked in tandem. I see no reason to undermine what success we've enjoyed until we are better able to assess our situation."

Betty was silently observing the conversation from a lounging position against the trunk of the car. "I'm with the group, it seems more practical."  In all reality Betty did not want to be out there alone without the strength of Ghost and Al.  Having to make eye contact with someone to control them was inconvenient.

"Then who's in charge?" Tom said, squinting into the breeze. He kept gazing out across the water as he spoke, his voice level and calm. "There needs to be a guiding voice if we stick together. We can't continue to approach things the way we have been." Now he looked at each of the others in turn. "So. Who calls it?" 

Betty raised one eyebrow at the old man's question and regarded each of the three men.  She shrugged her shoulders with a scowl, "Your call."  The princess relished her brief encounters with control but didn't care to take on the responsibility of leadership.  She was confident their minds would change easily enough at her whim.

A sigh escaped from Ghost, one that might have hinted at amusement. "Such a decision seems futile at this point in time as we don't yet know of what we might each be capable. Perhaps a clear leader will emerge as we learn about ourselves and our environment, but for now I do not see any advantage in narrowing our options."

"Options are good." Nine said evenly. "However, seeing as we're being hunted, leadership by committee isn't conducive to our freedom or survival." 

"Exactly," Tom said. "We can't stop and debate every time a call needs to be made. There needs to be a clear voice, and I don't particularly care who's it is." He looked at NotBetty, then quickly added "Except her, naturally." 

Nine turned to Al, tossing him one of the ear pieces. "To anthwer your question, yes these ear pieces are communications devithes. However, they are much more limited in scope than the one Mr. Fox carried. They are trantheivers, operating on a closed set of frequenthies, twelve in all. They may be utheful in keeping ahead of the BlacKnight forthes, if a unit is using thimiliar devices. However, I thuthpect they altho have a limited operational range. With time, tools and rethourthes I could thertainly upgrade them to be more utheful."

"You do it." Ghost stared at Tom. "You should take leadership." He nodded toward Nine. "He seems capable enough, but in this place his species works against him. My choices will be colored by individualism, whereas his," Ghost nodded toward Al. "Will be biased by his strength and resistance to harm. And as all of the authority figures we have seen thus far have been male, it would make sense to remove the women from the position." He shrugged; not an apology. "Of us all, it seems far more likely that you will keep us on track."

For a moment, Tom was surprised. It made sense, explained that way. It even felt right, for reasons he couldn't explain. "Alright," he said slowly. "Alright." He looked at them, then across the water. "Let's herd the driver back behind the console and find our way across to this city then."

The peculiar twin was crouched at their feet, obviously trusting her fate to those that chatted above her.  Instead she busied herself with picking up the items that she had scattered on the ground.  She looked at them thoroughly, and slowly replaced them into the bag, keeping only the wallets and money out.  Soon she had combed through the wallets, scanned the identification cards, notated the pictures and the fact that they matched.

She couldn't read, but with her high level of reasoning she deduced that the pictures went with the owners and might be needed for the other items to work.  While the others continued their discussion, she divvied up the paper bills as evenly as she could between the wallets.  Then after scanning the pictures again, she handed them to the men in her group that most resembled the identification cards.  There was a dark-skinned one for Al and one that wasn't quite bald for Tom.  The rest were so-so matches and of course, there were no females or orangutans.

Tom took the green paper and the small identity document from the annoying twin well enough, slipping it into the pocket of the shorts he was wearing. "Time to go," he said, gesturing towards the vehicle.

Nine watched the peculiar twin, fascinated. He had first thought she was mentally handicapped, her initial actions and reactions shortly after they had awakened had supported a theory of stunted mental developement. However, as time passed and her interactions and experiences grew she was developing quite rapidly. Her mimicry could account for some of her growth, but her deductive and reasoning skills were growing exponentially. He wondered idly how fast she would develope if subjected to an intensive education program.  He resolved to try to develope one for her as soon as he could.

A fully functioning mimic would be an invaluable addition to their group and would greatly assist them in discovering what had happened to them.