Bad Debt

Background

Dear Mr. Tyng,

Before you can flee the jurisdiction of US courts, we seek redress.

While cleaning assets in preparation for the upcoming RCTC battle on August 24, we found a very large hole in the roof of Le Credit Populaire de Clarmemont. The building itself is still structurally intact, but the extraordinarily expensive roofing material (EERM) has been compromised. This damage may allow nefarious tankers to abscond with gold bars often stored within our bank by Tri-Pact Global Securities senior partner (TPGSSP) when he returns from his "therapy sessions" at the Mohegan Sun.

Upon review of video footage cited below, we believe that you and/or your employer, the shadowy Loic, should recompense us for damages given that the EERM was ignominiously used to build a magazine for Loic's tank. Although the TPGSSP incorrectly identified the EERM as from the "casino", it is clearly from our bank as seen in this video evidence.

Please reply immediately so that we are not forced to freeze your assets and revoke your passport.

Fred SImms
Anvilus Roofing Services and Engineering (ARSE)

Both TyngTech and Field of Armor denied liability for any damages caused to the bank and they refused to pay for repairs. Accordingly, ARSE contracted Tri-Pact Debt Collection Services to collect the Bad Debt.

Battle Preparations

The following participants were present at the legal proceedings:

Scofflaws: Joe Sommer (Hetzer), Steve Tyng (Cromwell), Caleb Smith (25 Pounder), Issac Smith (Navarone), Joshua Smith (Bofors), Brian Smith (Pz II)

Repo Men: Frank Pittelli (Semovente), John Pittelli (Pz II), Paul Pittelli (Patton), Will Montgomery (SU-100), Doug Conn (Tiger)

The Repo Men would have 30 minutes to storm the compound and recover the gold bar. No assets were allowed to cross the river except via the central bridge.

First Sortie

The first sortie began with all of the Scofflaws on the South side of the river and the Repo Men approaching from the North. It was hoped that precision firing from John's Pz II and Will's SU-100 would keep the Scofflaw tanks pinned down and reduce the number of soldiers guarding the artillery pieces. Unfortunately, equally impressive precision fire from the "Smith" boys keep a number of the Repo Men diving for cover whenever possible. This wouldn't be an easy debt collection. Repo Men spread out along the river and probed for weaknesses in the compound defenses. Never known for patience and discipline, the two newest weapons in the Tri-Pact arsenal, Frank's Semovente and Paul's Patton decided it was time to storm the compound. With a loud war cry, the Semovente charged across the bridge, straight into a kill zone between three artillery pieces, not to mention the Cromwell, Hetzer and Pz II operating nearby. Amazingly, the Semovente was only hit once as it drove straight past the shack holding the gold enroute to the far side of the compound, where it attracted the attention of the Hetzer and PzII. Turning around to see if his comrade, Paul, had made it through as well, Frank soon learned the cold reality that he was on his own deep in enemy territory. (Paul will have to give his own account of why the Patton didn't follow the Semovente into the bowels of hell as planned.) Being chased by two tanks, the Semovente danced around some trees for a while, then decided to head back into the compound in quest of the gold. Unfortunately, the "Smith" gunners locked on to the Semovente and sent it back to home base for re-incarnation.

After re-incarnation, the Semovente decided to stay on the North side of the river in relative safety. Unfortunately, while lining up soldiers to help quiet the artillery in the compound, Frank failed to realize that the sneaky Cromwell (and equally sneaky Steve) positioned itself about 10 feet away under a tree. Four quick shots hit the side of the Semovente and it was once again dispatched to home base for re-incarnation, while Mr. Tyng not-so-quietly giggled like a school girl!

While the Semovente was busy absorbing paint from the compound, John, Will and Doug waged seige to the artillery men and the Hetzer, taking out Caleb's 25 Pounder, Issac's Navarone Gun, and Joe's Hetzer once each. The Bofors Gun had only one soldier left (hiding behind a hard-to-reach barricade) and kept firing relentlessly. With the compound defenses in disarray, John's Pz II charged across the bridge and went straight for the gold bar. He took a hit or two from unknown defenders (John can fill in the blanks), but scurried back across the bridge without being destroyed. At exactly 14:37 into the sortie (it seemed a lot longer), the debt collection had been accomplished and Tri-Pact returned to their luxury encampment to divide up the loot.

Second Sortie

Through some legal wrangling of their own, The "Smith" Clan, represented by Duie, Cheetum and Howe, claimed that one or more of their reporters had been injured during the first sortie and they convinced a sympathetic judge, coincidentally named "Smith", to award them the gold bar as compensation, despite a complete lack of evidence or even a hearing. With the gold bar back in hand, The "Smith" Clan returned to the compound, along with the paid sharp-shooter services of John's Pz II and Will's SU-100. Tyng and Sommer joined the Repo Men in hopes of recovering the gold bar and sharing in the booty, after the lawyers and judge took off for the golf course to play a round with the ex-President.

The following battlers participated in the second sortie:

Scofflaws: Will Montgomery (SU-100), John Pittelli (Pz II), Caleb Smith (25 Pounder), Issac Smith (Navarone), Joshua Smith (Bofors), Brian Smith (Pz II)

Repo Men: Frank Pittelli (Semovente), Paul Pittelli (Patton), Doug Conn (Tiger), Joe Sommer (Hetzer), Steve Tyng (Cromwell)

The second debt collection operation was made more difficult by the placement of John's Pz II in a well-defended bunker adjacent to the bridge. In theory, any tank crossing the bridge would be shot multiple times by the Pz II before making it deeper into the compound. Of course, that also meant that the Pz II was a close-range, sitting target that would itself be destroyed if it ventured out of the bunker. Thus the chess match began. With five itchy Repo Men trigger fingers and the "Smith" boys full re-loaded, it wasn't long before paint was flying in all directions. This time around, Frank, Joe and Paul vowed to rain down destruction on the artillery pieces that caused so much grief during the first sortie. Taking up somewhat protected positions behind trees and barricades, the Trio of Death started relentless targting soldiers. Shouts of "that solder is hit" kept echoing through the compound, disrupting the firing ability of the "Smith" boys and requiring them to tromp back to home base for re-incarnation. With a difficult, if not impossible, task of storming past both Will and John to get to the gold, most of the Repo Men were content to collect points from the destruction of artillery. They also successfully picked off the SU-100 by concentrating fire from various places outside the compound. The two PZ IIs, however, stayed well out of harm's way during the sortie. Although "most" of the Repo Men stuck to the seige plan, Joe's Hetzer never saw a kill zone that it didn't want to visit. With his trademark reckless abandon, Joe charged into harm's way twice, suffering destruction at the hand's of Will's SU-100 and each of the "Smith" boys.

After 30 minutes, the Scofflaws successfully defended the compound and a cease-fire was declared for lunch.