Prologue

It had been a typical night. DJ walked quietly home, a little alcohol still swirling around inside of him, but nothing that he hadn't handled before. He was only a couple blocks outside of Woodland Valley, but 2:00 AM wasn't the best time of day to be prancing around Chinatown.

There was a sound to his left. He glanced towards it, but there was nothing there.

You're spooking yourself, DJ. Just get back to Woodland and everything's gonna be fine. Parker won't even know you were gone.

Parker had told him on countless occasions not to leave Woodland after dark, but, even though the teen respected his leader, he always wanted to make it to the show. Her show.

It had been a rare, daytime occurance the first time he'd seen her, two weeks ago. Kleopatra. Even the name was exotic. Watching her dance was like trying to capture the erratic and unpredictable movements of a flame as it engulfed its prey. More than once he'd complimented her, yet those were silent words, shared from his heart.

He knew that she was far out of his league. Yet, the hormones raged and he had the fake ID to get into the bar, and because he never really caused any trouble, no one had every questioned him.

She had been amazing tonight. He'd come early, and enjoyed himself thoroughly. However, it hadn't been his night. As had happened just about every other night that DJ had attended, it was yet another lucky badger who got a chance in the back to become "better acquanited" with the long-legged knockout.

Sighing, DJ continued walking. There was another sound to his right. He turned again, but again there was nothing. He closed his eyes and told him everything was fine. There was nothing to worry about here. He was only a block from Woodland. But as he turned forward, he ran right into a hulking figure, with a ski mask pulled over his head.

No words were said. Only a push backwards and two arms gripped his shoulders. Augh! There was a punch to his gut, followed by another, and another. DJ fell to the ground, and started to crawl away. An unseen hand grabbed a fistful of his hair, and the first man brought up a knee into the teenager's face. DJ crashed into a dumpster, and fell unconsious. He didn't see the moving truck he was tossed into. And he saw nothing as the doors were shut hastily behind him.


Flashes of light and chattering voices saturated everything as Keith Royals entered the conference room. Security had assured him that every member of the press had been screened and searched, and that there were no dangers in the building. Every room, every hallway, and every custodial closet had been looked over with a fine-tooth comb, and only then had the Mayor of Rockport City given consent to enter.

News conferences... Royals knew that this was necessary, and that the city council wanted him here, but what for? They were going forward with the plan whether he announced it or not, but Royals knew that public image was important to the public. He walked to the podium.

"Fellow citizens of Rockport City," he began. The cameras continued to flash, and microphones were held high. "As you know, our city has been desecrated by crime waves and gang wars for the past two years, resulting in an increase in drug use, and a fear for the lives of many of us and our children.

"In an effort to strike back at this plague, the city council and myself have approved a new initiative designed to promote public safety. Security cameras will be placed throughout the city in an effort to enact faster response to committed crimes by our fine police forces, and areas of the city will be partitioned with large gates in an effort to curb escape routes so that police can more easily track down perpetrators.

Please let me assure you that these methods are being utilized solely for the purpose of promoting public safety, and are not designed to infringe upon your privacy in any way. As your elected mayor and public servant, I urge to to help us take back Rockport City from the crime and fear that has swept it."

The questions were many, but Mayor Royals satisfied their queries with a deft hand. He called on another, but was growing tired of having to explain these details.

"Mayor Royals," began the short brunette.

"Yes?"

"Alexis Walsh from Channel 5. I was wondering, if these gates are being placed in the areas you propose, how are police going to be able to respond quickly enough to crimes in Woodland and North Ridge when so many of the common routes and alleys are being blockaded?"

"We have considered this," replied Royals. Let me assure you that we are doing the best we can to eliminate any problems from the final plans."

The shiny black dress shoes, the neatly pressed Khaki pants, the expensive baby blue button up shirt all seemed somehow uncomfortable being worn around the lean muscular body of Tommy Finn. The outfit seemed even more uncomfortable on top of Tommy's bike.

Her name was Dagny. She was the latest model in Suzuki's V-Strom series. At least, she had been when they 'purchased' her. Her innards had been completely modified, and her body had been painted with a flat matte black finish. The kind of paint that makes your fingernails hurt just looking at it. Tommy dressed her up, by littering the paint with stickers. The bike had a look of organized clutter, as if every sticker had been carefully placed to appear that it had not been carefully placed. Underglow lights the color of flame, glowed from under the front and rear wheel wells onto the road. Etched into the after market exhaust pipe was the logo of The Devil's Crew.

The gel in Tommy's neat, brown hair fought against the wind as he road across the Thyme River. His dirt colored sunglasses hid the mischievous look in his eye. He was on his way to City hall. He had heard that there was to be a press conference.

Armed with a phony press pass, a digital camera, a note pad, and clothes to match the occasion, Tommy had no trouble entering the crowded conference room. He took off his sunglasses and worked his way to the middle.

"Fellow citizens of Rockport City,"

Tommy wanted to flush the mayor’s words down the toilet, but he listened as the mayor carefully dodged around the real plan. when he finished a young repoter standing next to Tommy had a question.

"Mayor Royals," she started.

"Yes?"

"Alexis Walsh from Channel 5. I was wondering, if these gates are being placed in the areas you propose, how are police going to be able to respond quickly enough to crimes in Woodland and North Ridge when so many of the common routes and alleys are being blockaded?"

The police aren't going to respond at all... Tommy shook his head. It was true that Tommy and his family, especially his family, had been involved in a lot of very shady ordeals, they were pirates, but they had never done anything to compare to the evil of this plan. The Mayor was issuing a death sentence on everybody who lived in these neighborhoods. These gates were not intended to block escape routes. These were not gates at all. They were cages. You would think that someone in the underworld would be happy to hear such news. On the contrary, it was the police that kept the dumb ones from doing anything stupid. The police were no trouble for Tommy and The Devil’s Crew because they knew how to get around the police. Without the police, the underworld of Rockport was going to become a very ugly place.

"We have considered this," replied Royals. "Let me assure you that we are doing the best we can to eliminate any problems from the final plans."

"Keith!" Tommy would not give him the honor of any title. Royals looked at him, surprised to have been addressed by his first name. "Tommy Finn, channel 666" Tommy heard a few gasps, and watched the guards perk up and take a few steps in. Tommy was safe here. His name had never been caught, or even accused of doing anything illegal. Any witnesses had been bought. The police had nothing on him here. Tommy snapped a picture of the mayor as a mix of fear and anger spread across his face. Tommy laughed inwardly at how ominous his name had become. The mayor glanced to his body guard to make sure he was ready. He was.

"I'm sorry" said the mayor with exaggerated calm. "I can take no more questions." he shot a glare that would've killed anybody who cared, but quickly covered it with a smile and began waving to the cameras as he stepped down from the podium.

"We're so sorry," started the public affairs rep. "The mayor has um... another appointment to keep. Thank you all for coming."

Tommy shook his head, and walked out.