It wasn't often that Axel got up at the first ring of his alarm, but being on time today would mean the difference between having a roof over his head for the next month and living out on the street. It seemed strange that he'd pick up a new job as a cabbie immediately after losing his old one. Still, Axel knew the streets of Frisco better than just about anybody, and Gus had seemed like a genuine, down to earth guy. Riding in the passenger's seat of Gus' cab, Axel had listened to the "business proposition."
"I run a small cab company," Gus had said, "that is unlike any other company in the city. We provide three things; cool cars, loud music, and a hell of a lot of excitement!"
"Well, I suppose you've figured out that I have experience as a bike cabbie," Axel had said.
"Yep, I saw that stunt you pulled down at the old parkade earlier today. Cindy, your passenger, is a regular of ours. She's a student at the university, an avid snorkeler, and comes from a very well-to-do family out of Wisconsin." Gus grinned. "I called her up and asked her if she thought you'd be a good fit for Crazy Taxi. I must say, you come very highly recommended."
"Yeah, wish the old fart I just quit on had seen that." Axel spoke before thinking, and immediately began to mentally kick himself for it. Trashing your old employer wasn't a good way to endear yourself to a potential new boss.
Gus didn't seem to take any offence to the remark. "Well, maybe his loss will be our gain, eh kid?"
And now, less than twelve hours later, Axel found himself awake, showered, dressed, and walking up to the entrance of a nondescript one storey building. It was obviously built for an automotive business, with numerous car ports built into it and a fair sized parking lot out front. Axel found it somewhat odd that the building had no visible signage anywhere, but he double checked the address Gus had scrawled on a post-it note to confirm that he had the right place. Walking through the front door, he found himself in a short hallway. With a quick glance around, he noticed the first door on his left was open. Walking into the room, Axel saw three people seated around a small coffee table. His eyes were immediately drawn to the hot girl in the leopard print shirt, who was currently lounging on a couch and sorting through a number of hot rodding magazines in an apparent attempt to decide which one to read. There were also two men seated across from each other with hands full of playing cards. One was a cool looking black dude in a floral hat, the other the one person in the room Axel had previously met – Gus.
Gus finally looked up and spotted Axel, who suddenly felt a bit embarrassed for just standing there in the doorway and staring.
"Uh, hey guys," Axel said with a bit of a nervous chuckle. "I'm here for the job interview?"
The girl slowly looked up from her pile of magazines and fixed Axel with a hard gaze. "Great," he thought, "I've said one sentence and already one of them hates me."
"Ah, Axel! You're here right on time! That's a good start for this business!" Gus had a wide smile on his face, but before he could say anything more, a telephone began to ring.
Gus reached down to where the phone sat on the coffee table and picked up the receiver.
"Hello? Oh hey Kim; didn't know you were back in town." Gus paused to listen to a voice on the other end of the line, then, "Well sure! We'd love to give you a ride down to the hotel! Alright, how about I send B.D. Joe down to get you? Cool, he'll be there in a flash."
B.D. Joe jumped up off the couch, his ever present smile as huge as it could possibly be. "Where am I picking him up, Gus?" he asked.
"Down at the R.B. Station. He just got in on the train for his vacation. Apparently just bought himself a new camcorder too, so make sure you put on a good show."
"Yeah, we gonna have some fun!" Joe said. With that, he jogged out the door and into the hallway. A few moments later, Axel heard a car starting up. Tires squealed and the roar of an engine faded into the distance as B.D. Joe headed off to pick up his fare.
"Well," Gus said, turning back to Axel, "I guess we'll just have to introduce you to B.D. Joe later. This here is Gena."
Axel held out his hand in an attempt to be polite, and was somewhat relieved when Gena accepted it.
"Let's see what you've got," she said. Her voice was warm and smooth. "I'll take a head start down to the beach to set up for the second part of the...interview as you put it." She left the room, heading towards the garage.
"Huh. And here I thought she already hated my guts." Axel remarked.
Gus chuckled. "Gena's as cool as a cucumber unless you get on her bad side. And right now, I'm the one on her bad side. You're the only hope I've got of smoothing things out around here."
"Me? Why me?"
"It's a long story kid. Come on, it's time for the first part of the interview." Gus said.
Axel followed Gus out the door and into the little hallway. They walked all the way to the end where the hallway made a left turn. Beyond the corner were four doors on the left side, each with a number fixed to it.
"Number four will be your garage kid. Well, that is if you get the job." Gus said as he unlocked the last door before the end of the hallway. Walking through, Axel found himself in a well equipped garage. There was enough room to maneuver around and work on the big car parked in the center, the gorgeous '59 Cadillac Axel had briefly noticed in the parkade the day before.
"Nice ride," he said.
"Sure is kid." Gus was looking at the car fondly. "That's why I bought and restored this baby. Didn't even have to worry about rust all that much, since it's been a California car its whole life. But it's just sitting here, not making any cash. And that's why we need a driver."
He reached into his shirt pocket and produced a key ring with a Cadillac logo fob and a single key. He tossed it over to Axel.
"So," Gus said, "let's get this interview started. Gena's down at the beach setting up the second test. That's only about four kilometers away. A Crazy Taxi driver should get there in about three or four minutes."
"Three or four minutes!" Axel exclaimed. "How am I supposed to get there that fast? Especially in the kind of traffic we get around here."
"By any means necessary." Gus replied. "Shortcuts, going off road, cutting through traffic. Anything goes with us, especially if it gives our customers a thrill. The more fun they have, the bigger the tips we get."
Axel took a deep breath. "Alright," he said. "Sit down and hold on."
Though he'd practiced and got his driver's license soon after turning sixteen and had plenty of experience with cars, Axel hadn't been able to afford one of his own on his bike cabbie salary. He hadn't gone to college, and hadn't made many plans for his future. Right now, all he wanted was to keep a roof over his head and have dinner every night. And if that meant driving like a madman to score this job and the insane tips that came with it, that was what he was going to do.
He had to admit he was enjoying himself right now. It didn't seem to take him any time at all to get used to handling himself behind the wheel of this big road boat. The Cadillac's engine roared as Axel raced it down the streets of San Francisco. Gus sat beside him with a sheet of paper on a clipboard and a pencil that he had taken out of the glove compartment. As Axel swerved into the oncoming lanes, overtook other cars at close range and powerslid around corners; Gus made small notes on the paper. At one point, Axel managed to get air off of a small hill as he zoomed along the oceanside road. He took a quick glance at Gus and saw him writing furiously, a small smile on his face.
Finally, Axel saw the beach coming up fast. He could see a conspicuous orange and white Chevy Nova sitting on the sand and assumed it must be Gena's cab. Currently, Axel was driving in the oncoming lane, seeing as his own side of the road seemed a bit more congested. Axel looked for an opportunity and found it. His right tires were on the double yellow line, his Cadillac nearly sideswiping three cars as he overtook them. After passing the third car, Axel found a space of just over a car length between it and the car ahead of it. With precision timing, he cranked the steering wheel right and veered from the oncoming lane. The cab slipped between the two other vehicles with only inches to spare. It careened across two lanes of asphalt and onto the soft sand of the beach.
Axel had made it to the beach well within his time limit, but now he faced another problem. The big taxi had lost a lot of traction in the sand, and was heading straight towards Gena and her cab at incredible velocity. Axel pumped the brakes a few times before jamming his foot down on the pedal. The wheels of the cab locked up, but he felt the car gradually begin to slow as it slid across the sand. Just when Axel thought the impact was imminent, the Cadillac ground to a halt, coming nose to nose with Gena's Nova.
Axel let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding in. He was staring at the steering wheel, which he was still holding on to with a white-knuckle grip. In spite of himself, he began to chuckle as the adrenaline slowly left his system. Beside him, Gus was still scribbling a last few notes. The veteran cabbie didn't seem to be shaken at all.
It was only when he wiped his forehead with his hand that he noticed that he had broken out into a cold sweat at some point during the drive. Soft footsteps approached the side of the cab and he looked up to see Gena standing beside them.
"You realize that if you had hit my car, I would have killed you right here on the spot," she said. Despite her silky smooth voice and the slight smile on her lips, Axel had the feeling that she was being deathly serious.
