Chapter 4 – Easy money
Hughes Park, Fairhaven City 8:00 p.m.
Later that evening…
On the streets of Hughes Park, a rich neighborhood in Fairhaven City was home to some of the most expensive cars money could buy. Some of these cars were owned by surgeons, lawyers, stock brokers and corporate CEOs, people that have more than enough money to pay for mods on their Ferraris, Lamborghinis, BMWs, Aston Martins, etc.
Izumi De Souza was seating inside her Subaru Impreza STI parked outside the Isabella hotel. She heard from Jamal about a race among some of the wealthiest racers in the city. One thing she didn't like were exotic cars, she felt like the car does most of the job and could turn any idiot into a skilled racer. The pressure of her upcoming undercover mission was too much for her and a good race could relief some of the tension.
Jamal pulled up in his Dodge Challenger and parked behind Izumi's STI, he got out of the car and walked up to Izumi's car. She rolled her window down.
"Glad you could make it, told some of them suckas about you" said Jamal
"How could I turn you down? When you told me about all these rich boys, I got interested on how much money we could get out of this" Izumi responded as she got out of her car.
"Them suckas got money for days so be careful. They're not like that skunt from last night" Jamal looked at other cars pulling up. Most of them were European cars.
"Don't worry Jamal, it's not my first rodeo" Izumi also looked at the cars that were arriving.
Jamal noticed Izumi's business attire "Are you a lawyer? You look like one of them corporate people"
"We won't have to worry about getting busted" Izumi opened her coat and flashed her badge.
"You a cop?!" Jamal freaked out.
"Shhhh!" Izumi placed her hand on Jamal's arm "Don't tell the neighborhood, I'm not here on business. I'm a racer just like you"
"You sure?" Jamal still felt nervous, he's seen his fair share of cops busting races.
"If I wanted to bust people for racing, I would've busted you last night but traffic enforcement isn't my thing" Izumi tried to convince Jamal that she's a friend.
"You almost gave me a heart attack gurl" Jamal started to relax a little.
A Hummer H2 pulled up, a Ukrainian man wearing black slacks and a purple silk shirt emerged from the vehicle. Jamal walked up to him.
"Sergei my mon" Jamal greeted the man.
"Always glad to make business with you, or should I say take some lunch money from you" Sergei responded as he hugged Jamal as a sign of friendship.
"You got lucky mon" Jamal laughed "Anyway, let me introduce you to my new driver"
"New driver?" Izumi thought to herself, she's never agreed to be in anyone's crew.
"Izumi, this is Sergei" Jamal introduced his longtime friend. Jamal hooked up with Sergei back in Jamaica years ago.
"Good to meet you" Sergei shook Izumi's hand.
"Same here" Izumi responded.
Sergei directed his attention back to Jamal "Well my friend it's gonna be four grand buy in"
"Always right to business mon" Jamal pulled a wad of money.
"Let's make it eight grand" Izumi pulled another wad worth $4000.
"I like your driver already" Sergei smiled and waved at his driver in a black Lamborghini Aventador. The vehicle pulled up.
"The new Aventador?" Jamal wasn't expecting Lamborghini's new beast "What about the Nissan GT-R you talked about mon?"
"I don't do Japanese imports" Sergei responded.
Izumi didn't like Sergei's response but she wasn't willing to back down.
"Don't worry, my STI will blow the doors off that Lambo" Izumi said with a cocky attitude. Jamal wasn't too sure but all he could do is to trust her. Izumi then walked to her car.
"Yo! Are you sure you can take that car?" Jamal asked.
"Yup" Izumi answered as she got in her car. Jamal didn't know Izumi's strategy and had no choice but to see the outcome.
"Them car is a beast" Jamal looked at the Aventador.
"Nothing more than a bunch of computers on four wheels, it turns any idiot into a racer" Izumi turned the ignition on.
"I hope you're right" said Jamal.
Both cars, the Lamborghini Aventador and the Subaru Impreza STI pulled up to a traffic light. Sergei got in between the cars. The crowd gathered around, most of them cheering for the Aventador.
"It's very simple! You'll start here and you have to make your way to the end of the Mc. Claine bridge. Make it there and the money is yours" Sergei explained. Bystanders started to make their bets.
"Someone tell little girl to pack up and go home" someone in the crowd yelled.
Both cars started to gun their engines, a blond girl wearing a red dress got in between the cars right next to Sergei. Clearly she was one of his girls, she raised her hands and flagged the race. As soon as she swung her hands down, both cars burned rubber before racing off.
The Aventador quickly picked up speed, leaving the STI behind. Izumi shifted to second gear and floored it, she wasn't willing to go down without a fight. The Aventador turned left to a busy street, the STI did the same. The street was filled with cars, trucks and buses. Both cars were easily swerving around traffic. Some of the drivers got irritated at the street racing show and hunk at them in frustration. The Aventador was ahead by five car lengths, it turned right at the upcoming intersection right before the light turned red. Izumi saw the red light and cars were already stopping, she quickly turned right at a back alley and went in at full speed. She was very familiar with back alleys and shortcuts since she had to chase down bad guys around the city. The STI raced down the back alley and turned right on a less busy street.
Back at the intersection in Hughes Park….
"Your driver is very overconfident my friend" Sergei said.
"She's good at what she does mon" Jamal answered
"There's no way that race burner is gonna beat that Lambo" Sergei dismissed Jamal's statement.
The crowd mainly composed of rich race fanatics placed their bets on the Italian sports car. It could mean a big payday for Jamal if Izumi wins.
Back at to the race…..
The Aventador was racing down on a busy street that ran thru one of the financial districts on Hughes Park, the STI wasn't anywhere to be found. The driver thought that maybe Izumi gave up when suddenly out of nowhere the STI reappeared and passed the Lamborghini. People on the street watched the cars pass by, some of them were amazed by the display of their racing abilities while others thought they were crazy. Both cars turned to another two-way street that led to an "S" shaped downhill. The Aventador had to slowdown to clear the twists and turns while Izumi managed to make her STI drift around the corners.
Now on the lead, Izumi raced down the street and turned left to Wilson Dr. The Aventador was right behind the STI and Izumi was doing her best to block the Italian car. An upcoming light turned red and cars started to cross thru the intersection. The Aventador ran the light while Izumi slowed down, some cars came at a complete stop. Now the Aventador was on the lead while Izumi capitalized on the cars stopping and gained speed. Both cars cleared the intersection and headed into the I-92 freeway, the two cars swerved between the slower cars and semi trucks. The Lamborghini was ahead while the STI wasn't too far behind by only 3 car distance.
Some angry drivers cussed at the racers as they saw them flying thru, the driver in the Lamborghini then tried to block the STI as they were in between two semi trucks. Izumi downshifted and took the left emergency shoulder and passed the Aventador.
The driver in the Italian sports car then slammed on the accelerator and quickly caught up with the STI. At that point they were already in downtown. There were two tight turns which the STI's all wheel drive had no problems taking them at full speed while the Lamborghini had to reduce its speed. To Izumi this was where the race would be determined or at least she thought.
At the Mc. Clain bridge the Lamborghini caught up again with the STI and passed it. Taking advantage of the straight away. Izumi had no choice but to use her nitrous oxide. She pressed the button and the car increased its acceleration to the point to reaching the red line. The STI passed the Aventador with ease and crossed thru the bridge first. The driver in the Aventador couldn't catch up since it lacked the NOS kit.
Ironically Izumi took the off ramp close to the same area where she was "busted" on her last undercover operation. A black Bentley was waiting outside the off ramp. A man inside the car pulled out a cellphone.
Back in Hughes Park….
"The Subaru STI won" said the man in the Bentley thru the phone.
"Damn it! Ok…. Tell him to bring my damn car back" Sergei said angrily as he ended the call. Jamal couldn't believe Izumi actually pulled it off. He made some money for a change.
"Ok my friend. You won" Sergei handed the purse money plus the money Jamal bet on the side.
"Mon, you win some and lose some" Jamal said with joy, one thing he loves is money.
Sergei walked back to his Hummer "Don't get to cocky, I plan to win my money back"
"Right" said Jamal.
The spectators angrily started to leave the scene. Jamal walked to his car and left as well.
Half an hour later at Pop's Diner in Mc. Claine district.
Jamal walked into the diner and saw Izumi seating in a booth, he walked towards the booth and sat down in front of her.
"You got us paid" Jamal had a smile on his face.
"Told you not to worry" Izumi responded as she took a sip of her iced tea.
"Who said I was worried" Jamal pulled out a wad of money.
"Right" Izumi answered while Jamal was counting the money.
"Here's your cut" Jamal handed Izumi over $8000 "There's a little extra from the bets me made"
"How generous" Izumi smiled as she took the money and put it in her jacket's pocket.
"There's another race in Callaghan tomorrow night, we can makes lots of money" Jamal said.
Izumi looked at the window "I can't make it, I'll be out of town"
"Well you gots money for a vacation" Jamal said.
"I wish it was a vacation. It's a business trip" Izumi sounded rather bored.
"No good, but you'll be back soon. Right?" Jamal looked at Izumi.
Izumi was quiet for a few seconds.
"You ok?" Jamal asked.
"Yeah… sorry I was just thinking" Izumi looked back at Jamal, she felt an uncertain feeling.
"Let's eat something, I'm hungry" said as he picked up the menu "It's on me"
Izumi smiled and nodded at Jamal even though she wasn't paying attention, next morning Izumi had to take the next flight to Tri City to meet up with Marcus Rodriguez and handle that "business". Another fine mess Izumi got herself into.
The Junkie's notes: I can't thank you enough for your reviews. To be honest with all of you I've never expected to see such a positive response. Thank you guys! I kinda had to re-write chapter 4 because I wanted to include Jamal into the story a little more. By the way "skunt" means "motherf cker" in Caribbean slang, people in Jamaica and Guyana say it.