Kids are savages, I've always told you that. Their brains all run a thousand miles per hour and they want a car twice as fast. I understand the amount of characters can be overwhelming. All I can tell you is to watch for Ed, Bill, and that Brendan Carllyl kid. And that Man In Black? That's no government official. I hope to see you on the other side of Main Street, if you don't crash that coupe. Roll the window down, pay attention to the signs, and the yellow lights mean "full speed ahead."
* * *
PAGE 1
PANEL:
From the back, we see
BRENDAN CARLLYL's head hung low as his FATHER points a finger at his
son and gives him a stern talking-to. BRENDAN stands, his FATHER
sits at the breakfast table in their small kitchen, his young SISTERS
playing in the doorway into the hallway.
VO BOX
Lemme lay somethin' on ya:
It sure does suck coming
home to a dad that rags on you about the dangers of baseball...
PANEL:
BILL PRITCHARD's hands are
up in the air in an exaggerated manner, yelling at BRENDAN in much
the same manner as his father. This time, they're located in the
Wolf Den.
VO BOX
...Only to have Mr. Father
Figure rag on you about the dangers of straying from the pack.
PANEL:
BRENDAN
CARLLYL stands a bit sullen, his head tilted down with a bruised lip
on his left side, the blood scabbed on his bottom lip. We see him up
close, from a bit above. BILL PRITCHARD speaks from off-panel. JON
ALLEN, JR is almost out of view, since this is from BILL's
perspective and he's not focused on JON.
BILL
[OFF-PANEL]
I told you before,
Brendan! I told all of you! We hit them in their yards, they can
hit us in ours!
JON
Oh come on, man. Last
night was 'specially brutal. Even for them.
BRENDAN
Look, Bill, you made your
point. No man treads alone. Got it. But what I'm proposing is
gonna change things. Every time it's the same damn thing. They hit
us, we hit them back, someone hits harder. It's cyclical.
But this can put us one
step above them.
PANEL:
From a different angle,
BRENDAN speaks to BILL, who's still focused on BRENDAN. RICK GRANT
and STUMPS are against the wall in the background. RICK looks to
STUMPS inquiringly. STUMPS answers back with a finger twirling in
the air. JON stands close behind BRENDAN.
BILL
And what's that, Hot-Head?
You want to start packing? Are we gonna be Army men now?
RICK
“Cyclical?”
STUMPS
A circle.
PAGE 2
PANEL:
BRENDAN explains to BILL his
proposal, ED ST. JOHN leans against the wall next to the front door
in the darkness, his arms crossed, his bat leaning against the wall
beside him. OLIVER and TODD are near him, listening.
BRENDAN
It's already dangerous
enough knowing The Hellhounds have a gun with Mickey on their side.
We start waving around a piece, the Hellhounds are just gonna get
five more. No, I'm talking about playing it smart, not tough.
BILL
Like what, Smart Alec?
PANEL:
BRENDAN speaks with THE
ALLEN KIDS and TODD behind him, all smiling at his proposition.
BRENDAN
We follow one of 'em back
to their hangout.
JON
Tch.
PRESTON
Yeah right!
TODD
Won't be able to stop
myself from kicking one of their asses before I--
PANEL:
BRENDAN whips around, a hand
out to the stooges behind him, showing them off as an example.
BRENDAN
Y'see?! We never play it
smart! As soon as we catch a stare from one of their guys we throw
fists like a bunch of apes!
PANEL:
TODD smiles and punches the
palm of his hand. PRESTON smiles, too. JON doesn't.
TODD
Exactly! Feels good to
get loose on one of them fags!
JON
Shit, they start smackin'
us around when they get a chance, too!
PANEL:
BRENDAN speaks to THE WOLVES
as a whole.
BRENDAN
That's exactly why they
won't see this coming! For once we'll be thinkin' ahead!
We could find all their
hide-outs... Shit, where they live.
PAGE 3
PANEL:
BILL has his arms crossed,
talking down to BRENDAN. BRENDAN turns his attention to BILL.
BILL
One problem, Brendan.
They adapt just like we do. What makes you think they won't do the
same?
BRENDAN
No more gathering at one
place. Say one guy walks out--
PANEL:
Using a diagram, show what
BRENDAN explains.
--Meets guy #2
Guy #2 is gonna be
watching them come for half-a-mile before they meet up.
They'd be able to spot any
tail the first guy didn't catch.
We basically snowball our
gang until we're all together, then we can hit them at any time.
PANEL:
TODD and THE ALLEN KIDS
stand in a line, showing unhopeful expressions. BRENDAN tries to
coerce them to see his ways.
JON
Sounds complicated.
PRESTON
Sheesh.
BRENDAN
I think with a li'l time,
we--
PANEL:
BILL stands over BRENDAN in
much the same way as he did before, looking unhappy that a sheep has
decided to shepherd his flock.
BILL
No. I say we bop back.
PAGE 4
PANEL:
From the back of the Den, ED
speaks.
ED
Doesn't it need to be put
to a vote first...?
Bill?
PANEL:
BRENDAN
looks surprised.
VO
BOX
Holy
shit. Ed is on my side?
PANEL:
BILL
still looks down at BRENDAN, but with one arm raised.
BILL
Fine.
We do anything, we do it as a vote. Right, Brendan?
VO
BOX
This
shit again. His say goes, but anytime he doesn't like something, we
vote on it.
He
still gets his way, but it's a good way to embarrass us into
submission.
PANEL:
BILL
looks over the Den at THE WOLVES in attendance, his hand still
raised.
BILL
I
say we hit them hard and make 'em learn. Show of hands for my way.
PANEL:
THE
ALLEN KIDS and OLIVER raise their hands with BILL.
VO
BOX
Except
maybe...
PANEL:
BILL
motions his open palm to BRENDAN while looking around the room.
BILL
And
Brendan's bright idea of playing “Follow the Faggot”?
PANEL:
STUMPS,
RICK, ED, TODD, and BRENDAN raise their hands on the other side of
the room.
PANEL:
From
above, we see everybody. BILL has his hands in his pockets.
BILL
*Sigh*
Fuck. Alright, who knows where these guys usually hang?
PANEL:
TODD
steps from behind BILL and pats him on the shoulder while looking at
the rest of the group ahead. BILL looks behind his shoulder to him.
TODD
Hey.
Everyone call up the rest. Make sure their homework's done so we
get no 'rents bothering us...
PAGE
5
PANEL:
We
see an up-close shot of a hand coming out of the driver's side window
of a car at night. It's MICKY MOORE's hand, handing a handlebar of a
package to HANK PHILLIPS, who leans against MICKY's car.
VO
BOX
"We're
going to the movies tonight."
PANEL:
MICKY
smiles like the scum he is at the movie screen as he sits in the
driver's seat. DONALD CLIFTON sits in the passenger side, holding
the bottom of his jaw with his right hand as his arm leans against
the door. He's watching the screen. HANK still leans against the
window, smiling.
MICKY
You
don't need reminding, do you, Hanky-Baby?
HANK
Yeah,
yeah, Mick. Ain't never heard of ya.
MICKY
Yeah,
well just be careful with that shit, huh? Deadly stuff.
HANK
So
they tell me.
PANEL:
Through
the passenger window, DON turns to MICKY. HANK is walking away, as
we can see through the driver's side window.
DON
Man...
I don't know about this, Micky.
MICKY
Know
about what? You just gotta give it a try.
DON
I'm
just not comfortable with the stuff, y'know?
MICKY
I'm
not asking you to eat it, Don. The quicker you sell it, the quicker
it's out of your hands.
PANEL:
Through
the front window of the car, DON talks to MICKY off-panel.
DON
Aren't
you ever worried, though?
MICKY
[OFF-PANEL]
What
do I have to worry about?
DON
Your
dad's the damn Sheriff!
PANEL:
Up
close to MICKY's frowning face as he looks straight ahead, at the
viewer.
MICKY
You
trying to bring my dad into this, now?
DON
[OFF-PANEL]
That's
not what I--
MICKY
What
are you trying to say, Don? You insulting my business?
PANEL:
DON
is getting out of his side of the car, turning to speak to MICKY as
he does so.
DON
Shit,
man. Tomorrow's a school day. Almost forgot. Got some homework for
Johnson's class I gotta do.
MICKY
Yeah,
sure. Do what you gotta do.
PAGE
6
PANEL:
The
car is silhouetted against the big screen, other cars here and there.
DON's silhouette jogs away.
MICKY
I
guess dealing's not for everybody.
PANEL:
The
panel zooms out from the previous one. We can now see JAMES
BRENNAN's car a lane away from MICKY's.
JAMES
[OFF-PANEL]
So
what now?
BILL
[OFF-PANEL]
We're
going after Don Clifton. That punk's the one that hit Brendan, he's
the one we're going to hit back.
PANEL:
Inside
JAMES' car, JAMES sits in the driver's seat. BILL sits in the
passenger seat. In-between is BRENDAN. Sitting in the backseat,
from left-to-right, is TODD, HUNTER, and RICK.
JAMES
What
about the others?
BILL
Hank's
going back to his car. Keep an eye on him.
JAMES
Where's
Ed?
BILL
He's
at the concession. We think we saw Alex West earlier. Ed's keepin'
an eye on him.
TODD
Well
what about Micky?
BILL
Glad
you asked, Todd.
PANEL:
TODD
stands center. BRENDAN, HUNTER, BILL, and RICK walk off to the left.
JAMES' car drives off to the right.
TODD
Great.
Guess I'm psycho-sitting.
PAGE
7
PANEL:
THE
MAN IN BLACK from the previous issue smirks as he sits on the trunk
of his black car, staring at the viewer.
PANEL:
ED
stares back to the viewer, a look of concern on his face.
PANEL:
BILL
walks towards the concessions stand looking at OLIVER, who's leaning
against the counter, looking back at BILL as he brings BRENDAN,
HUNTER, and RICK in tow towards the reader. JON ALLEN, JR and
PRESTON ALLEN sit at the counter eating a basket of fries, their back
to the rest of the group. STUMPS is trying to open a candy bar
wrapper with his teeth and his one good arm, intently looking down.
ED is the closest to us, leaning against the side of the concession
stand, arms crossed, his bat leaning against the wall beside him, as
he darts his gaze away from THE MAN IN BLACK and out towards the
movie screen.
BILL
Alright,
Wolves. Let's hunt.
PANEL:
BRENDAN
looks behind himself.
OLIVER
[OFF-PANEL]
Where'd
Don Clifton go to?
PAGE
8
PANEL:
THE
MAN IN BLACK still stares at the group with a smile.
PANEL:
BRENDAN
focuses his gaze behind him as BILL speaks.
VO
BOX
That
guy from yesterday...
PANEL:
ED
still looks forward towards the big screen, looking noticeably shaken
from the presence of THE MAN IN BLACK.
VO
BOX
Is
Ed...
...Scared?
BILL
[OFF-PANEL]
Off
towards Main. Looks like he's going home.
PANEL:
BRENDAN
speaks over BILL's shoulder, who's intently looking ahead with a
smirk. They walk past ED, who doesn't move a muscle.
BRENDAN
Or
meeting with more Hounds.
BILL
That's
why we brought more Wolves.
Keep
it up, Ed. We'll be back by the end of the first feature.
ED
Don't
bother. Seen it. The busty blonde done it.
PAGE
9
PANEL:
THE
WOLVES that stalk DONALD CLIFTON are silhouetted against the lights
of Main Street. They cross the street at a red light, some Wolves
appearing to joke with others by the way they motion around. Hands
on heads, fists being readied. They keep far enough away that DON
CLIFTON won't notice.
VO
BOX
The
Wolves were on the hunt, sniffing the blood carried by the wind.
PANEL:
BRENDAN
is among his friends in the pack, smiling viciously with a scabbed
lip and ready for revenge.
VO
BOX
And
I, for one, plan on payback.
PANEL:
Cut
to JAMES BRENNAN, who hangs one arm out of his car window, his
sunglasses tucked into his shirt collar.
JAMES
Shit,
man. I hope at the very least Brendan gets a little payback.
PANEL:
JAMES
lights a cigarette.
JAMES
Owes
that dickhead Don what-for.
PANEL:
JAMES'
car idles softly down a street, keeping a close eye on a car 50 ft
ahead of him looking to take a right onto Main St.
JAMES
And
as for you, Hanky-Baby, let's find out where you're waltzin' off to.
PAGE
10
PANEL:
Cut
back to DON as he turns around in shock and looks as if he's about to
run off into a trot.
VO
BOX
Sometimes,
a wolf gets too proud in its hunt, and the prey notices too soon.
BILL
[OFF-PANEL]
Hey,
Don!
PANEL:
BILL
shouts with a smile out towards DON, while BRENDAN looks at his
friend half-angrily, wondering why he's deviating from the plan.
BILL
We're
comin' for you, motherfucker!
PANEL:
Across
a long panel, DON runs down the street, past all the shops and parked
cars, past all the pedestrians moving out of the way. THE WOLVES run
close behind.
VO
BOX
The
problem is, even when you corner your prey...
PANEL:
DON
runs down a residential neighborhood, no one in sight. The lights in
most of the homes are off. THE WOLVES trail close.
VO
BOX
Sometimes
you learn the prey can be just as dangerous as the hunter.
HUNTER
We're
comin' for ya, Don!
JON
Nowhere
to run to, you punk!
PRESTON
Yeah!
PANEL:
BRENDAN
runs by a smirking figure in a leather jacket, whose top of their
head we don't see yet but it's CLIFF JOHNSON either way. His large
wooden stick is about to make the connect from behind BRENDAN's
unsuspecting head as he passes the corner of the last shop into the
residentials.
VO
BOX
And
to think: My next thought was, "This isn't Don Clifton's
street."
PAGE
11
PANEL:
CLIFF's
arms are making the last of their swinging motion as BRENDAN falls to
the ground, one arm in front of him trying to catch his fall. CLIFF
just stands smiling a full grin.
CLIFF
Ooh!
Down for the count!
PANEL:
THE
REST OF THE WOLVES turn around to look towards the viewer as they
stop giving chase. Meanwhile, LEONARD "LEO" THOMPSON,
SAMMY HERNANDEZ (who holds a chain), SULLIVAN CARR (who holds a
pipe), RYAN HILL, CHARLIE CARSON, TIM BROWN (another pipe), CLAYTON
LEWIS, and GEORGE REUBEN step from behind cars parked on the street,
most smirking at the work they're about to get done.
PANEL:
BILL
whips around towards the reader, looking in shock.
BILL
Shit.
PANEL:
CONNOR
is front-and-center, holding a pipe, smiling like a prick.
VO
BOX
Two
things are never good news when it comes to the Hellhounds: When
Micky pulls a gun, and when Connor O'Brian, leader of the Hellhounds,
rears his ugly head.
CONNOR
Hello,
little doggy. Been a while.
PAGE
12
PANEL:
Cut
to the front wheel of JAMES' car as it moves into frame with HANK's
car sitting on the deserted end of Main Street leading out of the
city. A few buildings hang around the line in the sand that
separates the lights of Ellisville with the darkness of the looming
hills that hang on the horizon of the Earth.
PANEL:
JAMES
looks inquiringly out the windshield of his car, leaning over the
dashboard, trying to figure out what's going on.
JAMES
The
fuck is he--
PANEL:
JAMES
looks down in a “Aw, dammit” kind of way.
PANEL:
JAMES
leans back into his seat, smiling.
JAMES
Heh.
Alright, man. I getcha.
PANEL:
JAMES'
wheels move up towards HANK's, lining them up nicely.
PANEL:
JAMES
looks over into HANK's car. HANK has a smile on his face to match
JAMES' own.
JAMES
When
did ya figure it out?
PANEL:
HANK
still looks straight ahead at the horizon, his tired eyes never
resting from the view.
HANK
You
think you fuckin' sneaky like James Cagney with how loud that engine
is?
PAGE
13
PANEL:
JAMES
has a hand on the stick shift, still looking to HANK.
JAMES
You
ain't makin' fun of Lorraine here, are you? You best apologize if
you knows what's good.
PANEL:
HANK
looks to JAMES with an incredulous look on his face.
HANK
What,
that hunk of shit? Couldn't outrun Carmen even if it was working
properly. Surprised your family hasn't eaten the leather off the
seats, living out on the skids like they are.
PANEL:
Looking
straight at both boys in their driver seats, we see JAMES smiling and
HANK frowning.
JAMES
Yeah
well at least I didn't name my car after a Beaner.
PANEL:
HANK
grabs the stick shift with a smile.
HANK
You
wanna see this Beaner-car kill what's left of your pride in that
piece of shit?
PANEL:
JAMES
grabs his shifter just the same.
JAMES
Whattaya
say to the three-mile marker?
PANEL:
Both
cars shoot off into the darkness outside Ellisville and towards their
goal.
PAGE
14
PANEL:
CONNOR
bends down next to BILL as the others are getting beat down. SAMMY
HERNANDEZ holds BILL down.
CONNOR
You
and your boys ever want to run this town, you'll have to join The
Hellhounds, 'cause you know we're gonna run Ellisville one of these
days anyhow, dontcha? You gonna end up like those Timber rejects out
in the hills if you don't! Just come on down to Mercer Street with
your application, and we'll see what job we can get ya, dig?
PANEL:
BRENDAN
gets beat on by SULLIVAN CARR and CHARLIE CARSON, with CONNOR
speaking to BILL in the background nearby.
CONNOR
Maybe
we can get you a job as a shoe-shiner or an ass-wiper! Hahaha!
PANEL:
BRENDAN
dives to the side near where BILL is.
PANEL:
BRENDAN
shoulder checks CONNOR away from BILL, kicking SAMMY in the head
along the way.
CONNOR
What--?!
PANEL:
A
close-up of BILL's beaten face, he yells angrily over his shoulder
with a string of bloodied spit spraying from his mouth.
BILL
Wolves!
Shag ass! Let's get out of here!
PAGE
15
PANEL:
JAMES
has one hand on the throttle, grinning from under his brow and over
the steering wheel.
PANEL:
HANK
grips his steering wheel, gritting his teeth.
PANEL:
The
headlights of the two cars as they race neck-and-neck pass by the
one-mile marker.
PANEL:
ED,
in the foreground, his back to us, he gets up and walks to THE WOLVES
that got jumped. Each bloodied and bruised. BILL walks to him,
slightly hunched, blood dripping from his nose down his chin.
BRENDAN walks second in line.
ED
What
happened?
BILL
Brendan's
stupid fucking plan didn't work!
PANEL:
BRENDAN
looks to BILL with an angry and beaten look on his face.
ED
[OFF-PANEL]
What's
our next move? We going back to the Den?
BILL
The
Den? Hell no. We act. Tonight. Right now.
PAGE
16
PANEL:
OLIVER,
RICK, HUNTER, and THE ALLEN KIDS all look to each other with serious
and confused expressions.
ED
[OFF-PANEL]
Don't
we have to vote on this?
PANEL:
BILL
points his finger on ED's chest, ED just stares down at BILL with a
stern look while the rest of THE WOLVES look on.
BILL
Fuck
that!
We
should've done my plan from the start! We're gonna bop back!
ED
We
don't even know where they hang.
PANEL:
BILL
speaks with a bloodied smile.
BILL
We
do now. Connor talks.
PANEL:
BILL
speaks from off-panel proudly, as BRENDAN stares angrily.
BILL
[OFF-PANEL]
He
told us something we didn't know before. They're on Mercer Street.
VO
BOX
We
would've found that out if you hadn't fucked-up the plan.
PAGE
17
PANEL:
JAMES'
hand shifts gears again.
PANEL:
HANK
looks angrier than before as he looks to the right towards JAMES'
car.
HANK
Fuck!
PANEL:
They
pass the two-mile marker.
PANEL:
The
door to a garage is kicked open by OLIVER.
VO
BOX
If
there's one thing Bill was right about, it's that Connor talks. Way
too often. He mentioned Mercer street. And from what we know, Alex
West's dad owns a car tuning shop up there.
When
we found the lights were on, we all had the same thought. I know we
did.
PANEL:
THE
HOUNDS drink and smoke, looking to the door in surprise. The only
members missing are HANK, ALEX, and MICKY.
VO
BOX
“Bingo.”
PANEL:
THE
WOLVES rush into the garage in an above shot to show how they flow
into the room, as THE HELLHOUNDS collectively try to back away. None
of THE HOUNDS have any weapons. LEO and DON have bottles of beer.
As for THE WOLVES: ED carries his bat, BRENDAN a stick, BILL and
HUNTER both don pipes, STUMPS has a wrench, and OLIVER, PRESTON, JON,
and RICK need nothing but their mitts.
VO
BOX
I
think the last time we counted up Connor O'Brian and his recruits, we
counted fourteen. Here they have eleven. In all, The Wolves have
eleven members. We have nine accounted for.
PANEL:
ED
is mid-swing to connect with CONNOR.
VO
BOX
With
Ed on our side, they're ridiculously outnumbered.
PAGE
18
PANEL:
HANK
is cussing uncontrollably as he grips the steering wheel.
HANK
Fuck
fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!
PANEL:
JAMES'
car passes the three-mile marker a car-length ahead of HANK. A trail
of “FUUUCK!” follows HANK's car.
PANEL:
JAMES
smiles and lights another cigarette as HANK's car idles up slowly
next to his.
PANEL:
JAMES
blows a puff of smoke as HANK stares ahead out towards the road.
HANK
Don't
say anything, you mother--
PANEL:
HANK
hits his head on his steering wheel as JAMES smiles.
JAMES
You
ready to apologize to Lorraine now?
HANK
Fuck
you, you chimp.
PAGE
19
PANEL:
JAMES
takes a drag from his cigarette.
PANEL:
He
blows smoke while scratching his eyebrow with his thumbnail.
JAMES
Hey.
You know, I gotta tell ya...
PANEL:
A
look at the heroin sitting next to HANK in his passenger seat.
JAMES
[OFF-PANEL]
You
gotta cut down on that shit.
It's
gonna kill you one of these days, y'know?
PANEL:
HANK
doesn't smile. He just looks at the road in front of him.
PANEL:
HANK
turns to the reader (JAMES) with a smirk.
HANK
Yeah...
That's
what they tell me.
PANEL:
HANK's
car turns back towards town in a U-turn.
HANK
See
you in Mrs. Miranda's class tomorrow, queer.
JAMES
Heh.
PAGE
20
PANEL:
A
sweeping scene of the garage as it lays smashed. A couple of the
cars have dents in them from where the blows of bodies were landed.
THE HELLHOUNDS aren't unconscious, but definitely bleeding and
hurting. THE ALLEN BROTHERS continue to kick GEORGE REUBEN on the
ground. ED smokes a cigarette as he holds SAMMY HERNANDEZ down on
the ground with his bat on his chest. STUMPS and BRENDAN lean up
against a shelf looking at their job well done. BILL is centered,
walking from left-to-right towards CONNOR, who's up against a car on
the far right, looking straight at BILL.
VO
BOX
It
lasted maybe a few minutes, but the good feelings of the work we'd
done would last a lifetime.
VO
BOX
Not
only that, but Alex West's dad owned the shop. Unless he and his
buddies could clean up by tomorrow morning, there would be hell to
pay. We hit them where it hurt the most.
VO
BOX
Right
in the parents.
PANEL:
BILL's
leg and pipe stand in the corner of the panel in the foreground.
CONNOR is up against the car, face bloody, looking up at BILL.
BILL
You
learn your lesson yet, little doggie?
CONNOR
Fu...
Fuck... you...
PAGE
21
PANEL:
From
CONNOR's perspective, the pipe pointing at him, BILL stands in front
of one of the lights hanging from the ceiling.
BILL
I
want you to listen good, Connor.
PANEL:
Still
from CONNOR's perspective, JON and PRESTON look to each other as they
say something, smiling, popping their heads up above the bottom of
the panel.
BILL:
It
sounds to me like you want to step up your game, you violent creep.
PANEL:
Still
from CONNOR's perspective, THE ALLEN BOYS look to CONNOR as they
smile, RICK and OLIVER walking up now, bruised, and not smiling.
BILL:
Well
we'll give it to you. If it's a rumble you want, a rumble you'll
get.
PANEL:
HUNTER
and ED step up now. STUMPS and BRENDAN coming up from behind.
BILL:
One
week. This Sunday. The park. But before you get your troops,
remember one thing:
PANEL:
All
THE WOLVES stand in front of CONNOR now. Some smirk, others do not.
BILL
You
fuck with one Wolf, the pack will hunt you down.
PANEL:
THE
WOLVES walk out the broken door of the garage. Seeing no problem, no
need to hurry out of there. They won the night anyway.
VO
BOX
It
looks like votes were becoming increasingly unpopular to Bill. He
was starting to make decisions that would shape the safety of the
whole gang. But I have a feeling the vote would've been unanimous
anyway.
VO
BOX
In
one week, we rumble.
TO
BE CONTINUED...
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