Rocky shook out his left hand, checking that his arm still worked.
Grabbing someone at that speed had been pushing it. The violent drag had sent pain through his shoulder. For a moment, he'd thought his cyberarm might tear loose.
Fortunately, he'd injected a stimulant at the outset. Its effects were already easing the pain.
Behind him, the Maelstrom gang members recovered from their shock. Realizing they'd been attacked, they erupted in fury and rushed for their vehicles.
But Rocky had left them a present on his way through.
Two round grenades lay where the bike had passed. Red lights flashed. Then they detonated, the blasts flipping two nearby cars and dropping several gang members to the pavement.
"Fuck! I'm gonna kill that bastard!"
"Kill him!"
Those outside the blasts screamed and scrambled into their vehicles. Engines started, throttles opened, and they tore after Rocky.
He heard the engines roaring behind him and looked back. Maelstrom was in pursuit, with two motorcycles leading the pack.
As they gained on him, Rocky smiled and took out a cylindrical grenade.
He released the safety. Its casing extended, and little tongues of flame spurted from both ends, hinting at the heat packed inside.
He tossed it into the pursuers' path. The grenade burst on contact with the road, laying a straight wall of fire across it.
A second followed. Two blazing barriers spat flame into the air, pouring out ferocious heat.
The pursuers in front drove straight into them before they could react. After passing through both walls, a car's tires melted. It barely rolled any farther before losing its ability to pursue.
One motorcyclist fared worse. Everything flammable on him ignited the instant he struck the fire. His burning bike went out of control, throwing man and machine onto the road in a long, scraping slide.
His Pain Editor kept him from screaming. The motorcycle exploding beside him made sure he never would.
All of it came courtesy of the grenades from the mod Rocky had just installed.
[Apex Legends Grenade Pack]
[Contains the three basic grenade types from Apex Legends.]
[Frag Grenade: A conventional grenade. Its powerful blast scatters fragments that can quickly clear a battlefield and inflict heavy damage on unprotected flesh.]
[Thermite Grenade: Contains an intensely hot incendiary compound. Upon detonation, it jets out of both ends, forming a wall of fire across the ground. An excellent choice for blocking enemies or burning them alive.]
[Arc Star: Its distinctive throwing-star design provides strong penetration and allows it to stick to targets. Once embedded, a powerful electrical shock impairs the target's movement. The ensuing electrical explosion deals heavy damage to armor and electronic equipment.]
[Price adjustments: World adjustment -10%; Bundle discount -20%.]
[Item Mod: 1,050 eddies per set.]
[Crafting Table Recipe Expansion: 28,000 eddies.]
[Technology Expansion: 35,000 eddies.]
Rocky had spent about two thousand eddies on two sets of the item mod specifically to deal with these gang members.
After two frag grenades and two walls of thermite, only one car and one motorcycle were still chasing them.
"Rebecca! Your turn!"
"Got it!"
She'd been waiting for that. Watching him wipe out Maelstrom with grenade after grenade had left her stunned at how recklessly aggressive he could be. It also made her itch to join in.
The surviving motorcyclist was directly behind them. Keeping herself steady while finding an angle to shoot was awkward.
So she let go of Rocky, lifted her legs, and wrapped them around his waist. Crossing her calves in front of him to anchor herself, she leaned all the way backward, raised her pistol, and fired at the upside-down target.
Her aim was excellent. The rider hadn't imagined anyone would shoot at him like that. Before he could respond, bullets riddled his head.
Rocky glanced down. Her legs were locked tightly around him, her calves pressed snugly against his body. Their shortness probably helped. Someone with longer legs might have had trouble pulling it off.
Well, this is exciting.
Her grip tightened, and she used her legs to haul herself upright.
"Car's armored! I can't get through!"
After killing the motorcyclist, she'd turned her fire on the last car. Her pistol couldn't penetrate its bulletproof glass.
Rocky checked the mirror. The car was getting closer.
"Rebecca, you any good at darts? Take these. Hit the safety in the middle and stick them with one!"
He handed her his two remaining Arc Stars.
She stared at the strange throwing stars in her hands.
"What?"
The wind tore past them. Rocky raised his voice.
"The safety! In the middle! Throw the stars at them!"
Rebecca didn't understand why a dart would work on a car her bullets couldn't penetrate. But she trusted him enough to try.
She leaned backward again and pressed an Arc Star's safety. Pale blue arcs crept over its surface.
She hurled it at the Maelstrom car. It traced a blue curve through the air and buried itself easily in the armored windshield.
The occupants had barely registered the blue glow before an electrical blast erupted.
The Arc Star excelled at breaking armor. It shattered the windshield, blasting glass into the cabin. The car lurched out of control.
Then a second Arc Star swept through the open windshield and embedded itself inside.