Live Wire

23:20

As they walked towards the ship through the ruined city...

-"Jesus, they really fucked this place up," Maeve said in awe as she looked around.

-"I think I’ll call him Twinkle Toes," Max added without even listening.

-"What now?"

-"The kid. I’ll call him Twinkle Toes."

-"Why?"

-"He looks the part, doesn’t he?"

-"How do you know it’s a boy?"

-"Honestly, I have no clue. I’m too afraid to check. I keep shaking him, hoping to see him pee or something."

-"Jesus, that’s even worse than just looking."

-"Good point."

As the kid grabbed his headphones hanging from his neck...

-"Oh, he’s a little thief."

-"Yeah, she’ll fit right in."

…

As they stood over the railing, looking down below, they only saw a hanging cable with a single piece of sheet metal connected to the end.

-'I think we're gonna need a new boat,' said Max.

-'God damn it, everything we had was there. If we ever stood a chance to do this, it was with that ship.'

-'Look on the bright side.'

-'Which is,' she said as she turned toward him,

-'We get to steal a new one.'
And a devilish smile arose on both their faces.

…

-"What do you mean you have nothing?"An annoyed expression rising on her face.

As the chubby salesman proceeded to explain.

-"Simple, everything was either bought, stolen, or destroyed during the attack, or—" and this is my favorite part—"taken by the government," he said before adding in a slightly louder tone, "WHICH I AM COMPLETELY FINE WITH AND EVEN ENCOURAGE. I simply LOVE helping MY COUNTRY," as he looked around.

Tossing his head over his shoulder constantly.
"Now get lost — you smell like trouble."

-"You've got to have something."Maeve persisted.

-"I’ve got a torpedo you can tie yourself to, so I don’t have to look at you anymore."

Unamused, her sinister expression slightly hidden behind her dark brown hair.

As the man nervously scratched his neck, he slightly chuckled. "Not the funny type, eh? Hahaha…

-"Look, the only thing I’ve got is an old van, and you can’t sail in that, can you? …You’re all out of luck, kid… Sorry."

-"So, what now?"Max popped up with the kid on his shoulder, pulling and molding his spiky blonde hair.

-This was the third dealership we'd been to, and we didn't see a single boat….

-"So, we hit the bar and cry."

She looked annoyed at him and asked, "You know how to drive a van?"

-"Sure, why are you asking?"

-"Don't get your pretty little head wrapped around that.Just Call the Coast Guard. Tell them there's a fat Mexican talking shit about the government at the docks and make sure you sound as white and privileged as possible. Got it?"

...

As two army men approached the store, the seller was in shock.

-"We have information regarding your intent to dismantle the government, sir," shouted one of them.

-"Please come with us, or we will be forced to use excessive force," added the second man.

The seller gulped as he started to sweat.

-"What's it gonna be, easy or fun, sir?" he said, smiling and reaching for his holstered gun laying his hand on top.

The man stuttered, his posture slouched as if he were trying to shrink

-"There must have been some mistake. I am a law-abiding citizen. There's just no way—who told you?"

-"Someone with a much higher credit score than yours," added the first man.

-"I think he might be choosing the fun option, Frank," side the second.

His fear-struck eyes widened.

-"No no no, I was just… wondering."

-"Is he refusing arrest, Don?"

-"Oh, I believe he is."

The two men, boasting malevolent smiles, closed in, the seller shaking like branches in the wind as they stepped closer, the air thick with tension.

A hard yell stopped them in their steps.

"Hey, asshole, I heard that pigs smell bad, but I never thought you reeked this much,"
as a bucket of salt water splashed on them both.

Soaked, they turned toward Max with frustration in their eyes. Both grabbed their guns, ready to shoot, as their automated helmets started constructing around their faces.

"Now, twinkle toes!" he yelled toward the kid, who sat behind the wheel of the van. As he turned the ignition, an electrical current shot through the exposed jumper cables in a puddle, leading straight to the soldiers.

Shocking them in place, they stopped, locked in stone, unable to move.

-"What the—?" both yelled in shock.

-"SCIENCE BITCH!" Max yelled as he kicked one straight in the chest with his rubber boots.

-"Actually, it's a full system reboot, a failsafe built in," added Maeve as she slammed one over the head with a wrench.

Knocking them both out cold

-"Now, we just need to pry 'em open and voila—mostly new military suits."

-"Are you two mad? You could have gotten me killed!" said the man in frustration.

Completely unfazed, Maeve gave him the "Look" as she said, "Max..."

A devilish smile spread across his face, he threw the bucket on the ground and started cracking his knuckles.

-"If you didn't get it by now, we are robbing you,… which means taking by force."

-"Shit."

-"Shit indeed, my friend."

…

As Maeve tightened things together using her newly found multi-tool from the garage, a monkey wrench-looking device infamous for destroying the entirety of the old world's tool industry, it was designed to be the one necessary tool for every handyman or household, which it became, having virtually everything in one place. It could screw, tighten, solder—whatever one could need. Spreading like wildfire, it was labeled as the only tool ever needed, which essentially killed every other tool, leading to mass production.
The only flaw was that it was virtually indestructible, which unfortunately led to the maker’s bankruptcy. Since no one ever needed more than one, and its initial large sales led to a flooding of the market, its low price and high production cost completely obliterated the company.
It was so old, it could be considered a relic if it weren’t for the fact that everybody still had one.

- "I think it's done "a winded voice cried out as she crawled out from beneath the van.A metal spray can landed an inch from her face, startling her.."What are you doing!"

-“Making it cooler” as he backed up to admire his work,

She got up, not quite sure what she was looking at—something barely resembling a drawing, with the other names written below hers, misspelled.

-"Yeah… it’s great," with a little glimmer of excitement.

-"I KNOW, RIGHT? And check this out," as he dragged out two leather jackets—one completely scribbled with the same luminescent color like the van, and the other a light brown color."

-"I acquired these from this guy not far from here."

-"You mean you stole them?"

-"Isn’t that what acquired means?"

-"Totally…

-They’ll look so sick over the suits. Yours I kept well clean so it’s kinda lame, but oh boy mine is awesome," he posed for a moment."Maybe we get one for the kid?"

She chuckled for a moment before suiting up.

The exo-military suit fit like a glove to whoever wore it, made out of partially regenerative Kevlar capable of taking a significant hit. The suit also enhanced the wearer's physical abilities.

She plopped her arms through the sleeves of the jacket., admiring it for a moment as it felt a better fit than the suit itself, forcing a smile on her face.

-"You really think it's gonna work?"

She panned her view at the contraption—a van stripped of most of its parts, with a makeshift rudder made out of a spare door, laying on two giant torpedoes, surrounded by empty barrels and tires to help with the buoyancy. It was equivalent to strapping a can to a rocket and calling it a spaceship.

-"I have no idea... You sure you can sail it …or drive it, I guess?"

-"It's a van with two giant torpedoes glued to it—how hard can it be? What are we gonna do about Twinkle Toes, though?"

-"Hmmm, maybe on one, two, three, we just.. gun it."

As they looked toward the kid, amused by the tired man pulling at his hair and mustache.

-"Can't we take him with us? You know, he might be lucky."

-"We only got two suits—how on Earth is he gonna survive the G-force?"

-"He can take it."

-"It's 850 km/h. He can't just take it, and the van can barely take it."

-"What if we stick him in, like, a box or something?"

As Maeve's eyes brightened, she said, "Yoo Emanuel, you got like a fridge or something?"

As the kid ripped the tape off his face, taking a bit of facial hair with it.

He yelled, "You've got to be insane! You're gonna blow this place into to smithereens by using that thing!"

-"We took the heads off, no boom boom on it now, the fridge."

Utterly revolted by the sheer lack of concern, he answered:

-"There's one in the back, a freezer."

They locked it in place and placed something resembling a child-sized seat. Max, hooked with excitement, said: "This must be the best idea we've had yet!"

Maeve responded with anxiety in her voice, "We're going to get this kid killed."

As they turned toward the child, Maeve got on one knee, trying to comfort him. "I have no clue if you can understand me, but this is your decision. You don't need to do anything you don't want. Got it?"

Max, completely ecstatic. "Come on, we've only got like 21, 20 hours before we melt."

-"I think he needs a moment to decide if he wants to go on a suicide mission,"

They bickered on as the kid climbed inside the freezer.

-"Let's gooo, Twinkle Toes."

-"I really didn't want child murder on my rep sheet... shit, but here goes nothing, I guess."

Setting the timer on the multi-tool for 20 hours.

Strapped in and ready, the rustbucket barely held together, the crane moving it over the hatch as it slowly opened

-"This is it." Uneased, while they swung back and forth.

-"DO IT!"

She slammed the detach button, dropping the vehicle toward the water, splashing and sinking on impact

-"Wait for it," Staring at the windows, cracks slowly forming, water filling through the badly sealed holes, almost completely submerged, the rustbucket wept as the metal buckled and bent for a moment, until it slowly started to rise, bringing it up to sea level.

-"KICK IT!" Maeve yelled.

-"Oh, you got it," he turned on the ignition, starting the giant torpedoes, the sheer force setting them in place, launching across the ocean at an alarming speed,skidding over the waves.

As a voice echoed through the open hatch, “ANYBODY GONNA UNTIE ME!?”