He's Fast, She's Furious zTiamaTz
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CHAPTER TEN
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++Xander POV++
As we waited for the light again, I could hear the other car's engine rev. I guessed the guy's buddies were trying to give him a pep talk, he was going to need it.
I brought Cordy's window back up to reduce wind resistance, it wouldn't make much of a difference, but I wanted to shred these guys. I looked up as the lights turned yellow in the other direction, it would be any second now. "You ready for this Cor?"
Before she could answer, I saw green, and hit the gas. He was a second or two behind me already. Before long, I was smoothly switching to second, as he continued to try and catch up. You could put paint and stickers on shit, but it wouldn't go down the toilet any faster.
"Are they not even trying?" Cordelia asked, as we closed in on the finish line.
I ignored her, as I kept my eyes straight ahead. With the streets not blocked off, it only took a second of distraction for something bad to happen.
By third gear, it was over, four car lengths. Shortly after, we came to an easy stop at the light immediately after the Jack sign. I was surprised when they actually pulled up next to us, since I was almost positive they'd take off. Chasing them down would have been funner.
As Cordy leaned out the window, and collected our money, I decided to throw them a bone. "You guys show up at a race, they're gonna eat you alive. You go to Little Korea, they'll probably shoot you."
I wasn't sure what was worse, the driver whining because he thought I had threatened him, or his buddies complaining that they lost their money.
Having heard enough of their bullshit, I took off. They were lucky I even gave them that much...
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"Did you really need to threaten them like that?" Cordy asked. "They did pay us the money."
"I was doing them a favor, what I said was true."
"Oh come on, people don't get shot because they have crappy looking cars."
"Johnny Tran is a psycho Cor, pure and simple. He cut a guy's thumbs off with a katana, because the guy accidentally rear-ended him in traffic."
"How do you know all this stuff?"
"Everybody does, it's common knowledge. When you go to the races, if you're not racing, your talking. Whether it's shit or otherwise, everything makes the rounds."
"So why hasn't anyone gone to the cops if this guy is so dangerous?"
"All most of us have is a crew, a car, and a rep. Lose that last one, and everything crumbles around you."
"What if I-"
"Don't even think about it, that's the worst idea you've ever had."
"But-"
"Cordelia, I get that you want to help, but you're not. One, you never even met the guy. Two, he'd probably try to have someone kill you for it. And three, you're already connected to us, so all you'd be doing is blacklisting me, Letty, Dom, and everyone else from here to Vegas.
After driving for another fifteen minutes in silence, we came to a stop outside the address she'd given me. I was really surprised how nice it was. "We're here." I announced flatly.
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~~Cordelia POV~~
I knew I had annoyed him with my idea, but I was still so wrapped up in 'we help the hopeless', that I forgot that wasn't my job anymore. Considering my visions were gone, we were officially out of business.
On the bright side, I'd had more fun today, then I could remember for quite some time. I really didn't want it to end on such a sour note.
"Hey Al," I told him with a smirk. "It's late, do you want to just crash on my couch?"
He gave me a surprised look. "You sure?"
I guessed since he'd just told me off, he thought I'd be angry with him. Of course I could be, but what would be the point? "Yes, but you'll have to be nice to my roommate." I couldn't wait to see his reaction to Dennis.
"I didn't know you had one," He told me as, pulled the car into a space. "You could have at least given her a heads up, she's got to be worried sick about you..."
"He probably is, but he's not big on phones."
We got to the front door, and I turned the key, expecting a fight like I always did when I brought a guy to the house. Instead, the door opened with ease. "That's weird."
"What?"
"He usually puts up more of a fight."
"Who?" He asked, as he stepped into the apartment, shutting the door behind him.
"My roommate, he's really picky about the company when it comes to guys." I explained, as I bent down to finally take off my shoes. Looking good, and feeling good were two entirely different things.
"Cor," Alex said, as he grabbed my shoulder, and pushed me behind him. "I think we need to leave."
This was getting fun, I wanted to see how long I could keep this going. "We just got here, and I'm tired."
"There's a floating sign coming toward us that says 'Hello'."
"Very funny, you might have had me if we were still in Sunnydale."
"Wait a sec, you've got a freaking ghost for a roommate?"
I knew he wasn't going to be fooled for long, but it had been amusing while it lasted. "Yeah, Dennis came with the package, plus the rent was super low because of it."
Alex nodded. "No offense, but I was wondering how you managed to get a place this nice."
"I wanted to see how you'd react, the last guy I brought here ran out screaming, plus he left a pee stain on the floor." I told him, sticking my tongue out.
The white board floated up to him, and Alex took it in his hand. "Thanks Dennis, it's nice to meet you."
"I keep the board, and some markers around for him. Before that, we communicated by flipping the light switch. I thought this was a lot better though."
"That's a good idea, and hey, as long as he's friendly, I can deal."
I smiled at that, it was hard bringing anybody back here because of Dennis. I'd made it clear to him though, that it wasn't his fault. "Let me get you some pillows and a blanket, we'll talk more tomorrow."
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I woke up in my bed to the smell of something wonderful. At first, I wondered when Dennis decided to try cooking, and then I remembered Xan- no, Alex, had stayed on my couch.
After throwing on a robe, I came out to the kitchen, to find him working diligently to get breakfast ready.
"Morning Cor, coffee's done, and I've got bacon and eggs on the way. I hope you like 'em scrambled."
"That's fine." I couldn't care less at the moment. He was standing there over the stove, shirtless and yummy. The shower wand was definitely going to get some extra use today.
I grabbed a cup of coffee, and sat down at my small kitchenette. Shortly after, breakfast was served, and it was delicious.
"Where did you learn to cook like this?"
He shrugged. "I started cooking when I was a kid, it wasn't that good, but it was edible. Mia showed me some stuff though, and that's why it tastes as great as it does."
"You're lucky, you have all of these people that care about you..."
"Cor, they like you too." He said evenly. "When they were talking about how they couldn't believe you were my ex, they weren't joking."
"It seems like you're doing okay, I remember Letty saying you had dated 'all those girls'."
Alex snorted at that. "I've gone out with a few, but none of them really worked out. They just weren't what I was looking for."
I knew how that felt, my track record was less then stellar since I came to LA. At least he hadn't been impregnated with Haxil demon spawn.
"What did you think about last night?"
I thought about it for a second. Those moron's had been so asking for it, plus, we'd made almost two hundred and fifty dollars in less then five minutes. But I did feel bad after what had happened to me, what if something like that had happened to someone else?
"Fun, but a little dangerous, don't you think?"
"That's the point," He told me with a grin. "Besides, the roads were clear at that time anyway."
"What about when my Jeep got totaled?" I asked, not liking his answer. "The streets weren't clear then."
"Every street is supposed to be blocked, we all rotate that job. You think we want that kind of shit?" He asked in exasperation. "That just brings more problems then it's worth."
"So how did it happen?"
"This dude Timmy, he decided he'd rather smoke a bowl with some jail bait. That fucking idiot, by now his CR-X is in pieces."
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++Xander POV++
She looked shocked. "They cut his car up?"
"Hey, the only reason you got hit, was because he wasn't where he should have been. Remember that."
"I'm not defending him, but-"
I held up a hand to stop her, I had been afraid of this. "Cor, you need to understand, what we do is illegal. We're not out there murdering people or anything, but we don't like cops."
"But you can't just do that..."
"How are we supposed to deal with people who mess up like that, huh? Drag him into some alley and beat him down, or maybe put a bullet in his head?"
"The guy's car is in pieces." She reiterated.
"And your Jeep is an accordion. Maybe next time, people will take their responsibilities a little more seriously."
"You make it sound like the mafia..."
"Fine, Timmy's CR-X sleeps with the fishes, does that work for you?" I asked sarcastically.
"They're dumping it in the ocean too?" Cordelia asked, confused.
It took me a second, then I realized she had no idea what I was talking about. I started to cough, since now wasn't the time to laugh.
"Look, okay, what we do is a lot of fun, but it can also be really dangerous." I pulled out my wallet and laid ten twenties, and two fifties, along with a business card down on the table.
"What's that for?"
"That's money for cab fare, and the card to the lawyer Dom told you about. The appointment's at four."
I got up to grab my shirt and boots from the couch. It was time for me to go, whether I liked it or not.
"Wait," She grabbed my arm. "You aren't taking me?"
"No, I'm not." I reached down to pick up my shirt, causing her to let go. After pulling it on, I sat down, and looked up at her. She had this look on her face, like I'd just stabbed her in the back.
I held out my hand, and she took it, sitting down next to me. "I'm really happy to have you back in my life Cor, more then you know. But I want you to take some time to think if this is what you really want."
"Alex I-"
I shushed her. "I don't want the answer now, go see the lawyer, and think it over." I tied up my boots, and gave her a quick hug, before heading for the door.
"I left my cell number on your bulletin board, there's a race two days from now. If you're still interested, give me a call."
"Why are you being like this?" She asked as I opened the door.
"Because I already messed things up with you once, I'm not going to do it again." With that said, I left, hoping for the best.
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END