Seven Ways to Break a Racer's Heart
Disclaimer: I don't own Hot Wheels... or Acceleracers... I only own Kara Tezla and her gang and all the other stuff I make up, and Trinity and her gang belong to Wings of Speed. Whew.
Summary: (sequel to the Art of Stealing Cars) Kara Tezla is back, and she has more problems to deal with than her brother and uncle. Along with dealing with her usual Los Angeles gang problems, she has new racing teams to worry about, and she has to keep her reputation. When weird stuff starts happening around the mansion, she becomes curious, and as you know, curiosity killed the cat... but racers don't have nine lives to waste.
A/N: I just realized the most unorganized children's sport in the world: Basketball. I suggest you don't criticize the ref until you've actually gotten out there and ref-ed yourself. It doesn't help when all the players only come up to your waist. My legs hurt.
Chapter Two: An Unexpected Visitor
"Where's Kara?" asked Mark as he sat down for breakfast. It was December 1st, and many of the teenagers inside the mansion were planning on heading out for the day.
"I think she went down to the garage," said Alex, stuffing a fork-full of eggs into his mouth.
"Oh, right! I almost forgot that she's not grounded anymore,"
The racers came and went from the dining area and left for the garages. Kara, who had been down there since six that morning, was busy working away on the candy-apple red Grand Prix GT that her brother had neglected. Well, it used to be red, now it was a two-toned black and navy blue with colorful oil/chemical spots all over. Kara was half hidden inside, her legs poking out the partially open door.
"Great," Mark retorted, "now that you're back on the road, you can start putting the rest of our cars to shame... again."
"Eh," Kara said, ignoring Mark. "I'm not back on the road just yet. I still need to install the subs and touch up the paint job. Besides, I'd think you'd be glad that I was back."
"We'll see about that yet,"
"Are you going today with the rest of 'em?"
"Out? Yeah, but I'm going back to LA for a bit. James says he's having a hard time."
"Hard time with what?"
"Stuff, he says that somebody took over the old HQ and turned it into a dumpy nightclub. The rest of the gang meets in secret over at Joe's place every once in a while to keep up with things."
"Shouldn't I know these things before you?" Kara asked, sitting up and pushing the door all the way open.
Mark shrugged, "It's not my fault Joe's not calling you. I thought you knew,"
"Has he told you anything about Aaron?"
"Ol' Crater Face? No, I'm assuming that he thinks we're all gone."
"Superiority?"
"Haven't heard anything about that either. I'd bet that somebody's taken our place. I'll call you when I get over there."
"Is Adrianna going with you?"
"I think so, you'd have to check with her to make sure, though." Mark walked off toward his car. "I'll talk to you later,"
"Yup,"
Leaning back, Kara took her previous position wiring a woofer between the seat. It made her upset thinking that she couldn't leave Joe in charge and expect him to call her. She would have to make a surprise visit to him soon. Twisting together two wires to hold her place, she climbed out and watched Mark drive away. Adrianna's car was right behind his. Other cars started up minutes later and drove out, heading toward the nearest mall.
"You wanna go shopping?" Vert asked from behind Kara.
"Uh," Kara turned to face him. "I have work to do, but if I didn't, yeah."
"Oh," Vert said, a little downhearted.
"Sorry,"
"It's okay," Vert smiled and walked toward his car awkwardly. "I... I guess I'll see you later?"
"Yup,"
Kara chuckled to herself as he hit himself on the head with Reverb's door. Vert rubbed his head and looked back at her. She shook her head and ducked back into the Grand Prix. His face flushing with embarrassment, Vert settled into the driver's seat. Not only did he embarrass himself, but now he had a nice purple bump on his forehead to show for it.
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After everyone had left, with the exception of Kara, Dr. Tezla, Karma, and Pork Chop, there was a ring at the front door. No one was exactly nearby to answer it, so it rang at least three times before Tezla paged his niece.
Kara sighed; it figured that her uncle was too lazy to get up from work and answer the door. She climbed the flight of stairs from the garage into the back hallway and made her way through the living room to the foyer and the front door.
"I'm sorry I couldn't--" Kara apologized, opening the door, but she stopped mid-sentence. "Josh...?"
In front of the nineteen-year-old stood a sandy brunette in clean-cut military uniform. Several pins on his uniform shone in the minimal light, and his breath puffed out like a cloud of smoke. He grinned. "Hey Kar," he said. He let the grin fall off his face. "Let me in, it's freezing out here."
Kara smiled and stepped aside to let her brother in. They looked nothing alike, but if she had to say who she was most like in her family, it would be Josh. He was tall and muscular, and not to mention smart. He went to college at the age of eighteen and graduated in two years with a bachelor's in Information Technology. When he heard what Luke had done, which went against everything that our parents had ever taught us, he took the easy way out and took his education into the Army. It had been four years since she had saw him last.
"Gosh dang, Kara, where's Uncle Pete?" he scoffed, pulling off his boots and gloves and placing them beside the door.
"Up in his office, I believe. He never comes down any more."
Josh turned and smiled at his sister. "Wow, you've grown,"
"Really?" Kara asked, "I just think you've shrunk."
"I hope not," he laughed, "where is everybody?"
"They just left... uh, except for a couple people in the garage."
"Oh," Josh brushed past his sister and into the living room, throwing himself on the couch. "I didn't think you'd be here, Kar."
"Huh?" she asked, sitting in a chair.
"I thought you guys were living in Los Angeles."
"Yeah, we came out here for a couple days and never left. Mark said he was going over today to check on things."
Josh's face went dark as he looked up at the ceiling. "You aren't still involved with those gangs, are you?"
Worried, Kara, bit her lip and tried the innocent approach. "Um, their kind of hard to get out of once you're in."
"Kara!" Josh shot a dangerous look at the brunette.
"Well, I'm sorry, okay?" she said, moving to the offensive. "I'm not just going to leave it because it's dangerous and watch all my hard work fall into the hands of some idiots! I'm still here, aren't I?"
The was a brief silence.
"I just don't want you to end up like Luke, Kar. He thought the same way you did."
Kara sighed, "Just don't worry about me, okay? I know more about this stuff than you think I do."
There was another, longer pause. So long, in fact, that Kara thought that her brother had fallen asleep.
"What's uncle working on?" Josh whispered hoarsely before clearing his throat.
"I don't know," she retorted back, "I never know what he's doing. That whole office is a mess, something like a wreck after a tornado."
"Hm,"
"Are you staying for Christmas?"
"Are you staying for Christmas?"
"Only if you are,"
"I think so, but I don't know when I'm going to get called back."
"Why don't you just stay here? You don't have to go back, do you?"
"No, but it keeps me out of trouble, and I like it. It's not like I'm on the front line 24/7 like some of the guys. Besides, I have friends over there."
"Well, when you get done with this whole 'Army' deal, bring some of your friends back and we can all hang out."
"Why? So you can draft them into your own army?"
Kara grinned, "No, silly,"
Just then, they heard the sound of the door to the garages opening, and footsteps coming down the hallway. A familiar voice called Kara's name.
"Kara, dear!"
Kara sat up; disbelief crossing her face. "Jess?" she asked quietly.
Yay! End of chapter two. Yay! My legs still hurt, but ham is yummy!
To my reviewers!
Kawaii: 1:39 in the morning? Are you crazy woman?! I look forward to reading the second chapter! Yay! i seem to like that word right now
Trin: I figured out the whole private messaging thing out, as Kawaii knows, and I'm thinking we can get back to communicating! I have finally gotten my own email address! Yay me! As I said before, my legs hurt. I stood around listening to parents yell and scream about how unfair life is. I may PM you and tell you more about that. It was interesting.
