The Watchwomen

Chapter 9 (Act I): A.I. On A Rampage

We last read Chapter 8, in which The Viper goes to one of the Mercury Heights Correctional Facility's cell blocks to interrogate four members of the Diamond Legion concerning their most recent attack on the city, while her ally Commissioner Marvin goes to the storage hangar to check on the Legion's pink SUVs—which the MHPD had taken into police custody following said attack—for more potential clues on how to take the movement down. While The Viper succeeds in obtaining a marginal amount of information from the assassins, the Commissioner gets himself trapped inside one of the two pink SUVs, which then activates its A.I., turns on its autopilot system, and begins automatically maneuvering to its last known destination, causing immense havoc within the correctional facility courtyard in the process before bursting out of the gates, much to The Viper's surprise.

However, Commissioner Marvin's contact arrives with a black Toyota Camry just in the nick of time, ordering The Viper to get into it so that the duo can chase the rogue pink SUV down. The chapter ended with The Viper and the Commissioner's contact bolting out of the correctional facility inside the Toyota Camry, bent on stopping the pink SUV and saving Commissioner Marvin.

This time, we witness a particularly pulse-pounding car chase unfold.....

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Both The Viper and the Commissioner's contact sped after the A.I.-driven pink SUV in the contact's black Toyota Camry, with the contact gradually applying more and more pressure to the gas pedal so as to maintain a consistent amount of distance between it and the target vehicle.

Both the SUV and the Camry zoomed away from the Mercury Heights Correctional Facility, eventually leaving the estate entirely. The pink SUV then took a ramp on the right side of the road, and merged onto a freeway which took them over the city itself.....with the Camry still in hot pursuit.

"Come on, you stupid thing....." Commissioner Marvin grumbled as he began fiddling randomly with the buttons and switches on the pink SUV's control console, struggling to get it to stop and pushing aside his feelings of nausea for the time being. "Stop this car!"

But it was as if the A.I. wasn't even responding to the Commissioner's presence. Instead, it turned its attention to a different matter.

"Rear cameras detect an unknown third-party vehicle attempting to simulate our pathing," the feminine A.I. voice notified. "Scenario indicates a chase. Activating measures to neutralize pursuers."

The Commissioner's face fell. "What?! No!"

The coverings of the SUV's rear brake lights pulled themselves upwards, revealing hidden missile racks embedded within the fixture. The A.I. then activated said missile racks, firing rockets at an alarming speed towards the Camry and forcing the Commissioner's contact to weave the car between the resulting explosions.

"That thing's armed?!" the contact cried incredulously. "What the.....?!"

"Yeah, it looks like it!" The Viper called, desperately trying to be heard over the sound of both vehicles' engines and the SUV's missiles. Then, she thought of something. "I have an idea! Sir, try to get us a little closer!"

"What?!"

"Just trust me!"

The contact rolled his eyes. "I hope you know what you're doing!"

The pink SUV then fired two more missiles from its brake light covering outlets, with the contact being forced to swerve the Camry abruptly to the left and then to the right. Then, it fired a third missile at the Camry head-on, making the contact brake the car instead so the missile would land in front of its path instead of right on top of it.