Chapter 2: Blacklist

Erica's POV

I couldn't believe this where I was. I came in Rockport in hopes of getting a chance to race, but instead I bump into an old face, that seemed to detest me to death, and threw me here eventually.

I knew Razor, or rather Clarence Callahan. He was a neighbor of mine back in Bayview, but we never swallowed each other. We were always at each other's throats. We couldn't stand one another, we always fought over which car is better, what circuit is better.

When he aged 18 he left Bayview. I was 16 by that time. Man, wasn't I on cloud nine when I found that out.

I didn't recognize him there in the first place. He had changed a lot. He wasn't that muscular and was less tattooed. Also, he had more hair.

I couldn't express in words the anger that boiled in me when I realized that was Clarence Callahan. I couldn't believe that I let him mess with me like that. He took advantage of me and my lack of knowledge of this city, and took my car, my only ride.

I was determined to win it back, it didn't matter how. What did matter was that Razor was going to pay.

I snapped up from my thoughts when I heard the horn of a car. I look forward and saw a red Mazda, presumably Mia. I stood up from the bench and took one last look at the Police Station. I was really lucky to have no solid evidence, so I've been let out.

As I approached the car, Mia rolled down the window, and signed me with her head to get in.

"Thank you really much for bailing me out. I think I would've gone nuts if I stayed longer." I sighed, leaning my head back. Mia smiled, "No problem, Raine. But things are worse. Razor set you up. He messed with your car."

"Okay, that part I already know." I said through gritted teeth, "What's the worst part, though?"

Sighing, Mia continued, "He's number one on the Blacklist. And he used your ride to get there."

I blinked a few times, before gripping my head with both hands, groaning, "That cheater! Ugh that bastard had the guts to bolt on the Blacklist with my ride. Oh isn't he gonna pay for it."

Propping my elbows on my knees, I stuck my fingers in my blonde locks. Mia, with another sigh, spoke up, "To get back in you have to become notorious. Win races and build up your bounty. I've hooked you a place to lay low in, but first you're gonna get yourself a new ride."

"Really?" I jolted, "Thank you a dozen times, Mia."

She nodded, smiling. Then she dialed a phone number, "Hey Ed, it's Mia. I got a friend coming by. Can you hook her up? Thanks. I owe you one."

Mia's car pulled up at a garage.

"Go get there and pick a ride, I'll check on with you after you're done."

I nodded willingly and exited the car. Just as I stepped out and shut the door, Mia floored it away, leaving me in front of this garage. It seemed somehow abandoned.

"Hello?" I shouted, knocking on the metal door, "It's Raine Bailey!"

I took a step back and the garage door slid up, revealing a tall, lean man in a gray jumper and a white shirt underneath. I smiled awkwardly and took a step in the shop.

"Come in." He said, leading me inside, "How much do you have on you?"

"Thirty grand." I answered, disappointed, "My only money."

"Well then, I got this." He pointed to a Lexus, Fiat and a Chevrolet. I wasn't fan of any of the three; though the Chevy seemed reasonable to me. And also, it was cheaper than the other two.

"I'll stick to the Chevy alright." I pointed out. He gave me the keys and I gave him the money.

"Thank you!" I merrily thanked the guy, as I made my way to my new ride.

"Hey," The man spoke up when I entered the aqua-marine Chevy, "Make sure you beat the hell out of that Razor guy. He pisses everyone off."

I flashed him a grin along with a thumb up, "You got it. Thank you again!"

I revved up the engine and exited the garage. I drove a little further before stopping near the boardwalk to adjust myself in the new stock.

I shifted in my seat, arranging the rearview mirror. I let out a sigh of relief as I sunk in my seat, taking in the feeling of new car. I bolted up when my leg was buzzing, and I quickly pulled out my cell.

"Hey, it's me. You're over?"

"Yeah, I have a brand new Chevy Cobalt SS. What next?"

"Check out your map. Head up to the location I told you about. I'll meet you there. Later!"

I threw my phone on the passenger's seat and turned on the GPS. I drove to the green house on her map, which was close.

"Goodness, this car is awesome!" I exclaimed in happiness. I was really doubting this car, and I was so wrong.

The GPS started buzzing. It looked like I made it to the location. It was a simple garage.

"Hello? Mia?"

She opened the door of the safe house, letting me inside.

"So you found it alright, what do you think? You can store your ride here; consider it your safe house." She let me enter, leading me to a blackboard, "If you want to beat Razor and get your ride back," She stopped, letting out a sigh, "You got a lot of work to do."

Mia turned to the blackboard, where the Blacklist racers' names were written. I looked downward, to upward, spotting Razor on the first place, my car written right near his name. I silently groaned in annoyance.

"You've got to work your way up on the Blacklist take wipe everyone out of your way. As far as they're concerned, you're just working to get back into the Blacklist. Pick the right event, get enough bounty, and you can challenge a ranked racer. Once they're all out of the way, Razor's all yours."

I still had my neck craned up the blackboard. I eyed Razor's name angrily, before returning back to Mia, "I get it." I said dull.

"I'll let you get back to business. I'll call you when the time's right." Mia headed for the door, "Later."

"Okay." I breathed out, letting my arms hanging limply around my body. I strolled around, taking some quick glances at the blackboard.

I groaned and sat on the hood of my aqua marine Chevrolet. "What do I do now?"

All of a sudden, my phone rang. I felt it buzzing from inside the car. I moved to the back seat door to grab it, looking at the screen bewildered at the unknown number.

"Hello?"

"Yo, Rog here. Heard you're out from cold, Raine."

"Yeah, I am. Mia helped me out. Now I'm struggling to get to Razor with a stock on my tail." I moved away from the car, doing strolls around the room.

"That's why I called you. I'll help you out. I'll give you info on the Blacklist members and their conditions. I've also talked to some people to help you out tuning your car." His deep voice resounded in my ear, as I jumped in happiness, "Thank you so much, Rog! You don't know how relieved I feel!"

"Don't get too excited, you still got a lot of work, as you have 14 guys to take out so you can get to Razor. And things will get tougher and tougher."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." I waved her free hand around, rolling my eyes in a playful manner, "So, what should I do now?"

"Look on the Blacklist. The 15th racer is named Sonny. He's dumped a whole lot of cash in his car. Now, here are the conditions to race him.

Sonny wants 3 races won, 3 milestones completed and 20.000 bounty won.

You got that?"

"Yeah, yeah." I had put the phone on speaker to note the list down. I deactivated the speaker, and put the device at my ear, "Is that it?"

"Yeah, that's it. Now it's up to you. If I were you, I'd start right away, Raine. Razor's pretty far away and you've got only Rosewood to race."

"Okay." I nodded to myself only, "Hey, thanks. I really appreciate it."

"No big deal. Razor needs to pay. Show him how real races roll along .Now get to work. Later."

"Bye then!" I hung up, and sprinted to my ride. Taking one last look at the Blacklist, I felt a mischievous grin spread across my lips, as my eyes locked on Razor's name.

"You'll never know what hit you, Razor."

Thank you for reading!