Josh stared into a seemingly endless ocean while he recollected his thoughts. "So I think I can make a safe bet Kenji isn't too happy to see me either." Josh thought to himself. "Still, it's not like Kenji and I were best buds or anything. Hell, we basically hated each other." The rev of an engine that sounded all too familiar caught Josh's attention. He saw Nikki's Ford GT pulling out of a parking spot on the pier, and with one last rev, she sped off. Josh looked on, not sure how to feel. He loved Nikki still, but after the events that have occurred over the past couple of days… He stayed put, waiting for Neville. Josh checked his phone again. "3:55. Damn it Neville, hurry up…" Josh muttered to himself as he slipped his phone inside his pocket. Hearing a honk as soon as his phone got to the bottom of his pocket, Josh grinned. Turning around, he saw Neville's Mercedes Benz CLK 500 waiting at the front of the pier. Leisurely walking towards the car, Josh couldn't help but grin. "When that Shelby is done being repainted, oh boy… Time to work." Josh thought. Getting inside the car, Josh was blasted with a breath of cold air. "Neville, I know the weather isn't exactly cold, but dude, it's barely seventy degrees out." "I know, but I like it when it's cold." Neville replied. Josh just shrugged as he put his seatbelt on. "I guess." "Hey, wasn't that Nikki's car that just took off?" Neville asked to no one in particular. Josh shrugged shaking his head sideways. "I don't know man. Hey, can you take me back to my garage? I gotta repair the damage to the Alfa Romeo." "Yeah yeah, sure." Neville chimed happily.
…..
"Aaaand there! Good as new!" Josh said to himself as he finished shining the bumper. He stood up to admire his handiwork. In addition to fixing up the bumper, Josh also replaced the standard seats with racing style seats and washed the car. "What time is it…?" Josh asked himself before going for his phone. "Ten till eight. Not bad, Carter." Josh spoke to himself. As he put his phone down and was about to get to work on tuning up the engine, his phone began ringing. "Ya couldn't just call me when I had my phone in hand…" Josh joked aloud. "Hello?" "Hello Joshua, It's Sal." The person on the other end answered. "I wanted to call to let you know that your Shelby is done, and you can come pick it up tomorrow, since we're gonna close in ten." "Um… I don't wanna burden you man, but can you wait a little after the shop closes? It won't take me long to get there." Josh asked, his fingers crossed. The line stayed silent for a moment. "Sal?" Josh asked, hoping the call didn't drop. "How about I drop it off? I'll take good care of her, but I, uh… I know who you really are." Sal replied. "Um…" Josh was at a loss for words. "I know you race, and uh… believe it or not, I'm a big fan. I watched you race before you left. These new guys… Buncha posers, no respect." Sal continued nervously. Now Josh was silent, thinking of what to do. "Alright, bring her over; do you have a cell phone I can text the address to?" Josh replied, searching for a pen and paper. "Awesome! I mean, alright, cool. Oh! The number is…" Josh wrote the number down quickly. "Alright, I'll see you in a bit man, thanks again Sal." Josh spoke into the phone before hanging up.
The Shelby's engine revved as it pulled into the garage's lot. Josh walked out to see his Shelby, and whistled. "Damn! Nice job. And not a scratch on her." Josh joked. "And you made it here pretty quickly too." "I grew up here, I know just about every alleyway and shortcut that's in Palmont." Sal replied handing the keys to the Shelby back to Josh. Josh sat inside and turned the Shelby back on, repositioning it to face the street. "Now earlier, you said you knew who I was, and that you knew I raced." Josh asked as he turned off the Shelby and went back inside. "Yeah, I've watched you race since you first started. I remember seeing you push that Plymouth Cuda past the Boss 302 and winning the race." Josh laughed. "Oh man, that was one of my very first races! I was, what… 21, I think?" Josh told Neville grinning. Yeah, and since then, every time you raced, I'd go to watch. And occasionally bet." Neville replied. "Watching you drive, it was like… It was awesome. No car could touch you." Neville continued as Josh put on his white leather jacket with black racing stripes going across the sleeves. "Damn… I gotta ask Sal, do you race?" Josh asked walking back out of the garage, locking up as Neville followed. "Yeah, I have a nice Camaro SS that I use. Why? You looking for a wingman?" Sal asked. "Actually, yeah. I am." Josh simply replied. "I'll take your offer then man." Sal said, sticking out his hand, Josh reaching out to shake it. "Now, uh… I can't race with no car." Sal joked. "Right, right. You need a lift to your place to get your Camaro?" Josh asked. "I'd appreciate it." Sal said with a small grin.
Pulling up to the starting line at a Checkpoint race in Ocean View. Josh took a deep breath as he waited for the green. The fastest time had been five minutes and eleven seconds, and that was in a Mercedes Benz SL65 AMG. Josh watched as the lady who'd start him off walked in front of his car, and stopped on the left. "Three!" She began shouting. Josh revved the engine, eyes back on the road ahead of him. "Two!" A pause in between numbers. "One!" Josh had his right foot ready to hit the gas, his left foot already to press the clutch. "GO!" And Josh punched it. The moment he took off, his time began. He had forty five seconds to get to the first checkpoint, and he didn't get a good start either. "Damn it, too little rev." Josh muttered as he shifted into third. He rotated the wheel left and right, going with the turns of the road; the car nearly spinning out. "Come on Josh, focus. Your goal for tonight is take over Ocean View." He told himself as he passed the first checkpoint. "Thirty five seconds added!" Sal told him over the speakers. Josh down shifted into second as he drifted through a right turn. Turning the wheel left to counter the tail end coming out, the car balanced out, its throaty engine roaring. "That's my girl." Josh said to the Shelby. "Come on. Let's finish this." Shifting back into third, he took off. Josh kept his eyes on the road and nothing more, the lights of Fortuna nothing more than a blur. He flew through the second checkpoint, avoiding a minivan as he did. "One minute added to the clock!" Sal informed Josh. Acknowledging the time he had, Josh shifted into fourth, and pressed the nitrous button on the steering wheel. The car took off, spitting out small flames as it did. Josh took his finger off the nitrous and applied the brakes to take a left turn, the car's tail kicking out as it did. "Come on, don't do this now…" Josh moaned as he turned the steering right to counter the oversteer. Passing the third checkpoint, Sal told Josh he had thirty seconds added to his time. "How much time do I have left?" Josh asked. "A minute fifteen." Sal replied over the speakers. Josh had gotten the Shelby to balance out, hitting the nitrous button once more. The car took off, Josh having trouble shifting to keep up with the car. Flying past the finish with twenty five seconds on the clock, Josh slowed the car to a halt. Driving over to where the timekeepers were, Josh awaited his time. "You beat these guys by a mile man!" Sal exclaimed excitedly as he walked over. "Let's see." Josh told Sal while he waited. "Three minutes and forty seven seconds!" The timekeeper shouted out. A lot of people groaned and a few yelped in excitement, Josh and Sal a few of those people. "What'd I tell you man!" Sal said excitedly. "Yeah, yeah, yeah." Josh rolled his eyes, grinning. Collecting his winnings, Josh headed back to his car. "Sal!" Josh called out. "Yeah, what's up?" Sal asked jogging over. "Let's go race, shall we?" Josh asked grinning. "Hell yeah!"
