The idea was simple.

Speak to the city heads and seek their buy in for the event. Easy.

...Except we tried ALL the cities.

▫●○●▫

Delaware City, Delaware

You can't understand how long a road is until you walk it yourself. Well, in Gavin and I's case, run it.

Diplomacy had failed, caution had failed, and now the two men were sprinting down Clinton Street towards Battery Park. The plan was to find a boat, however between the pizza place Tyler called HQ and the Delaware river was about a half mile of Durden infested sidewalks. Their operation was huge, around 3,000 individuals worked out of Delaware, so when the sound of gunfire started ricocheting through the streets, they began to swarm.

Jack moved with haste between the bystanders, though one in every five or six that he passed were drawing a firearm and giving chase, too. He was still in smart attire, though had to abandon the jacket at an early stage to allow access to his weapon. He now ran in a vest jacket and suspenders. The pair were swift, however the clapping of expensive heels drew unwanted attention to their plight.

Of course, they were never going to persuade the Durdens to join the nationwide event they were planning to hold, that was just to cover. The real target was the contents of their safe to supplement the prize pot. This currently took the form of the brown bags, one a piece between Gavin and Jack, slung over their shoulders.

Jack shot Gavin a wry grin, clearly enjoying the rush. A moment of carelessness saw him take a last second dive over an apple stand, triggering a calamitous cascade of fruit onto the dry road. Ahead, they were fortunate enough to spot another button man, his attention captured by the approaching scene. He soon had a weapon in hand, however Mezzo had already prepared his shot. That was until an apple found purchase on the sole of his next step.

Gavin hissed under his breath as he ran. He was in decent shape, but they'd been running for quite a while, so he was audibly breathing between each word.

"So fucking many". 

Gavin had his brown bag slung over his left shoulder and a new pistol in his right hand. He was laughing as they dodged through the crowd; if you were going to die, you might as well have some fun. He saw one Durden sneakily line up a shot on Jack; Gavin slammed him with his money sack as he ran by, returning it to his shoulder as they turned a corner. 

As Jack took a spill over a fruit stand, a couple of their pursuers tripped over the fruit filling the road. Unfortunately, Jack did as well- so focused on lining up a shot that he'd stepped on an apple and lost his balance. 

Gavin stepped in front of Jack and shielded him, while also aiming a shot at the button man that Jack was originally gunning for. It was rushed- his first thought was to protect Jack- but as Gavin squeezed the trigger three times, he saw at least one of the shots hit his target. Spinning behind him, he shot above the heads of the crowd, sending a panicked mob back in the direction of their pursuers. By this time, Jack was on his feet and moving again.

The Delaware River was in sight in front of them. Gavin could only guess that there'd be an assortment of boats there, as they could follow the road north towards the bridge over Dragon Creek. 

As he ran, Gavin felt the cumulative whiskeys and cigarettes of the past several months catching up with him. He was still moving fast. But for the first time, he didn't feel immortal. Hopefully they were close to an exit. Gavin had been around the water most of his early life in Newfoundland, but most of it was spent hunting in the woods, not sailing. Thank God Jack Mezzo knew how to drive a boat.

Wait.

"Jack! You know how to drive a boat, right?!"

Apple juice hindered his step, but couldn't keep Jack down. Rising up from the ground, he found himself face to face with some goomba. With almost little hesitation, he brought the butt of his pistol to meet the mans chin. Teeth clattered into the street swiftly followed by splatters of blood. Mezzo forced the stunned Durden from his path and continued on. 

"Like a motorcar, right?"

Gavin's concerned look left him a little unsure, however they had little other option. The harbour began to crawl toward the pair, as gunfire and frustrated cries roared past them. Pedestrians were hurtled to the ground as they increased their sprint, Jack made an effort to knock the women and children to the side with some care. Their pursuers were certainly not discriminating, and Mezzo had a conscious.  

On the stone moorings, he spotted an escape route.

"There!"

He waved a finger toward a trawler, medium sized, somewhat sheltered. A deckhand was releasing the vessel from its moorings, a long, thick rope wound around a bollard. A rapidly approaching vehicle suddenly became apparent. Rubber on gravel, the back end dragged in a wide arc to block the duo from reaching the river. The engine, labored and spluttering, ended abruptly as three figures with significantly larger guns stepped out.

Jack raised his pistol and dropped the first, though was forced into an alley by an oncoming torrent of fire.

Gavin muttered to himself as he ran; the only discernible words were obscenities. Jack's response about driving a boat didn't exactly fill him with confidence.

Shit. It seemed like there were three thousand Durdens out there. How was that even possible? Philly had a few dozen people in the business, sure. But this?

Gavin followed slightly behind Jack, noticing how he was trying to place nice by getting people out of the way. Shit, he was just like Tara. Doing something "the right way" and slowing them down. How much did that mean if you got iced by one of the Durden horde? Gavin aimed his gun forward and fired off a couple shots at the building in front of them. Hopefully that would scatter the crowd so Jack wouldn't be slowed down quite as much. 

As a boat came into sight, a truck- or something, it was bigger- blocked them and opened fire; Jack and Gavin ducked into the alley, though not before Jack managed to take down one of the newcomers.

This was fucked. 

They were running toward a boat that they couldn't even drive, and the amount of Durdens behind them was practically an army.

Army. Shit. In a flash, Gavin remembered the conversation with Tara before he'd left with Jack.

*****

Gavin was pissed, but he sat on the edge of his bed in his sparse apartment nevertheless.

"So you're really just going to go on a mission with our boss, without any sort of reconnaissance?"

"Yep. That's the plan. Grab the money. Get a boat. Jack'll drive it."

Tara just stared at him for a moment before reaching down and removing several papers from her bag. Knowing her, Gavin suspected it was a condensed version.

"Delaware City is approximately 1.8 to 2 hours south of Philadelphia-"

Gavin threw himself back on the bed and closed his eyes. The next fifteen minutes felt like an eternity. Population. Maps. Landmarks. But one thing Tara said caught his attention. He sat up quick.

"Yes, I thought that'd get your attention. Fort Dupont is currently a quartermaster depot for the United States Army; it is also the current Base of Operations for the First Regiment of Engineers."

*****

Gavin suddenly snapped back to the alley with Jack; he leaned over and shouted over the gunfire into his boss's ear.

"Hey Jack! I think you just declared war on the United States by shooting that guy- those guys out there might be Army! Fort down the road! Even if we get to a boat, those boys have artillery at their fort. They'd blow you out of the water!"

His face dropped. Tugging at his collar, Jacks first instinct was to grab Gavin by the collar and fall backwards. They tumbled with a crunch and a shatter through a pane glass window, though both quickly resumed their composure and positioned themselves backs against the wall. Shouts and gunfire consumed the street outside, a splattering of automatic fire bit into the window frame over their heads. A reminder they were not out of the woods, yet.

"Hopefully they'll turn on each other, what do you think?"

Mezzo looked trustingly at Gavin, he found a fire in the man which satisfied the reckless child in himself. He expected that the qualities he had over his sister were probably the more irresponsible, enjoyable ones, than the rational and sensible decisions that Tara would employ.

They could probably need her about now, though.

Footfall could be heard as smartly dressed mobsters surrounded the bakery they had apparently fallen through. Rapid weapon fire continued to spray over their heads, though it wasn't a solid indicator that the two sides had forgotten the pair of louts vainly cramped under a rack of croissants.

"Any ideas?"

Gavin grinned. He'd never been to war before.

"Uh... yea, they're probably going to fight each other. But with this many Durden assholes rampaging through the city, you figure Fort Dupont'll send out some troops soon."

Ideas. Tara was better for planning; Gavin usually just did whatever came to mind.

"Uh..."

Another sustained burst of bullets crashed into the wall above them. Gavin tapped Jack and indicated the stairs in the corner. Ducking low to stay as under cover as possible, the two men climbed to the apartment above the bakery, still holding their two sacks. The gunfire was audible outside, but at least they had a couple minutes to talk. Still, they both kept an eye on the stairs.

"Idea 1. Stick to the original plan. Get to a boat, hope that the fighting between the two groups keeps everything distracted enough from taking us down, either in person or with artillery. Also, hope that boats are easy to drive."

"Idea 2. The guy you shot before was in some sort of Army... Jeep... thing. If we can get outside, maybe we can steal that and peel rubber. Might have to deal with some pursuit, but you've gotta figure that that thing would be more bullet proof. There's a bunch of bad guys out there, but if we can distract them, our getaway vehicle might be right outside."

"Idea 3. There must be a bunch of soldiers in that base, and if they hear that one of their guys is down they'll most likely be flooding the city soon. If they're all heading in here, there'll probably be a minimum left at their actual base. So we go to the base, steal a couple uniforms, steal a tank, figure out how to drive a tank, drive it back down the street and up Durden's ass..."

Jack was staring.

"Yea, you're right. Not a good plan. Still, we could head over toward the base and grab another vehicle there. You gotta figure there's less people guarding the place if they head into the city. And there must be uniforms lying around somewhere."

He shrugged, noticing a fire escape out the back. An easy exit back to ground level, at least. He pointed it out to Jack.

"What do you think?"

Mezzo couldn't help but grin. Despite the dire situation, he loved the enthusiasm that Gavin brought to the occasion. 

Peering once more out onto the streets, he noted the numerous figures now engaging each other. Escape would be difficult, as there would be a substantial clean up operation regardless of the outcome. Sirens began to wail as the local PD began to arrive on the scene. Further unmarked cars pulled up and waves of Tyler Durden's goons spilled out onto the streets. It was unclear at this point if the situation had escalated into a full blown war or if the cash Gavin and Jack had swiped was still the target.

Mezzo watched the unfolding drama, while his eye caught sight of a larger cargo vessel moving at reduced speed into the harbour. A stupid smile formed and the man nudged Gavin, indicating where to look.

"How about we take both?"

A bewildered look was returned, however he knew that the cantankerous Byrne was undoubtedly interested.

"If we get hold of any one of these cars, we could jump the dock onto the deck of that ship. In the chaos, we find a lifeboat and paddle on upstream to Philly."

A ricocheting bullet suddenly reminded them of the seriousness of the situation. It was a little too close. The pair ducked once more out of sight, they may have been spotted, it would be wise to move.

"Totally insane. Tara would never go for it. Let's do it."

With a wide grin, Gavin kicked open the door in the back, leading Jack Mezzo down the fire escape. Their large sacks made them conspicuous, but it was so chaotic that only a couple gangsters were really paying attention to them. A couple shots from Jack and Gavin sent them scurrying away. 

As they peered around the corner towards the Army jeep, Gavin simply stared for a moment. There were thousands of Durdens in the streets, and the 1st Regiment of Engineers was moving against them. Shit, this whole city must have been a powder keg waiting for a match. Gavin supposed that he and Jack were guilty on that count.

Gavin began running into the road but was pulled back forcefully by Jack instead. A half dozen soldiers sprinted by the end of the alley, abandoning their vehicle to chase some looting Durdens in a jewelry store.

Jack moved and Gavin followed. Both sacks were tossed in the back as the don slid behind the wheel and Gavin hopped in the back seat. As the jeep roared to life and started to pull away, Gavin knelt on the seat and faced the rear, popping off several shots designed to keep people in cover until the two Philadelphian entrepreneurs were out of range. Reloading, Gavin felt like this wasn't even real. He just kept shooting as more and more targets grew smaller behind him. A few stray bullets clanged against the Jeep, but mostly Gavin just kept laughing and shooting in equal measure. He felt like a God, moving with untouchable speed through the city as he fired until he ran out of ammo.

When the last bullet was fired, he turned around just in time to hear Jack yell "Brace!"

Looking up, he saw a large ramp usually utilized for unloading cargo ships. At the moment, it was unused- but it was pointing in the direction of a cargo tanker just offshore.

Cursing to himself, Gavin frantically put his seatbelt on, seeing that Jack had already done so.

With his foot hard on the accelerator, Jack Mezzo hit the ramp with speed.

For a moment, they were flying- and Gavin felt even more like a god.

Then he woke up, hours later, with several broken ribs. Jack and Tara were standing above him.

"What happened?"

Jack couldn't hide the immense grin on his face, though Tara looked a little more... disgruntled. It appeared they were in a hospital, with a few more moments to make a proper assessment, it became clear that it was the one the family used regularly, in Philly. In the corner of the room were the two large sacks, a few damp clothes and Gavin's shoes.

Jack dropped a heavy hand on Gavin's shoulder and ignored the wince that followed. Mezzo was pretty certain he could take it at this point.

"You demonstrated qualities most befitting of your position, my man."

Jacks face was still jovial and comforting. If not a little bashed up. His amused look was stretching a busted lip and caused some bleeding, while a bruise to the side of his face appeared to be swelling.

"Namely, precise and measured coordination in your physical exertions and putting yourself between your boss and those parties likely to case him harm."

He began to crack up, resting his hand now on Tara's shoulder to feign needing support.

"Though in short, on hitting the deck of the ship, you managed to pass through the windscreen, took out four armed deckhands like bowling pins and land directly into the lifeboat!"

Jack was gone, hysterics consuming him, and Tara seemed to break a smile, too.