Seven Ways to Break a Racer's Heart
Disclaimer: Bah, check the first, second, or third chapter.
Summary: Check the chapters listed above for that also.
A/N: This is more of a filler chapter... yeah... it has four semi-important scenes... well, one of them somebody almost dies. (I'm not telling who) So! Read on, reader, read on.
Chapter Eleven: James Bond
"Before we go anywhere, I need to pick up your brother. Then I have to find Dill and Red. They're not... out there enough to be immediate targets. I believe Tyce and Haylee have gone back to Hawaii for the time being, so that's no worry. James is a small time drug-dealer, so he might be next. Nix went to New York, but she could be back, I'll have to call her next."
Kendred watched in amazement as Kara went through a verbal checklist, thanks to the contacts on her phone.
"Can you call Asano?" she asked next.
"Uh... sure," he replied quietly.
"Great," Kara flashed him quick, grateful smile before directing her eyes back to the little screen. "The Highst siblings are temporarily out-of-town and I hope that they won't be back for a while. Emilio and Pez are off somewhere, probably clubbing, but Aaron probably won't go after them until later since their not big threats. Jeff is vacationing in Miami. Carson... well, I don't know where Carson is, and if I don't know, it's a slim chance he doesn't, either. Kev is up visiting family over in Iowa, so that's not a problem. Hopefully, Trinity and company aren't in LA because I have no way to contact them.
"The Teku... well, I don't have any cell phone numbers for them either. I'll have to hunt them down by hand because of... well, I'm not as worried about the Metal Maniacs, seeing as though Tork has ties with Aaron. So all I have to do now is call Dill, Red, James, and Nix... I'll call Nix now," she finished, her thumbs flying over the small keypad. Kendred shook his head and pulled out his own phone.
Ten minutes later, Kara relaxed.
"Amazing," Kendred said.
"What?"
"How you can do that... especially after one of your own just died. It's like you don't even care."
Anger flared up inside of the brunette. "You think I don't care?" she whispered.
"No, I know you do, but you're so good at hiding it." Kendred corrected, not wanting to risk another bloody nose all over the inside of his cousin's car, which could risk a black eye, whether it was his fault or not..
"Hm," she grunted. "We have to go to Dill's place now," she said, shifting gears and taking off.
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"How do I win her back?" Vert asked again, pressing Alex for answers over the phone.
"I don't know!" Alex shouted back. "This has never happened before!"
"What is she likely to do?"
"Again, I don't know, but there is a guy I know that she was eyeing before we left Los Angeles."
"Who?!"
"His name is Hayden Taylor--"
"That's nice,"
"--but he goes by the nickname Red because of his hair."
"Anybody else I should be worrying about?"
"Well... there is another--"
"Great,"
"--whose name is Dylan Doryson. But he goes by Dill. Nobody knows why. I think it's because it's what his older brother called him. The older guys call him Sonny because he's such a ladies' man."
"Ladies' man?"
"Yeah... but he's never had a girlfriend. Ever."
"Oh,"
"Kara really liked him though, and I don't blame her. He's quite the gentleman. He likes James Bond."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"Nothing, I was just being random," Alex grinned into the phone. Seconds later, glass sprayed into his lap.
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"Dill," Kara called, "Answering your door once in a while would be nice," she turned the doorknob and stepped inside the small apartment. A small apartment that had no visible floor. "And cleaning your place wouldn't be a bad idea either," she added quietly.
"Sorry, I was just coming out." Dylan Doryson appeared in the bedroom doorway, pulling on a fairly tight, black t-shirt that read 007 in white letters across the chest. Baggy, gray cargo pants completed his look. Kara smiled.
"Sure... I bet you were sleeping."
"And I bet you would have thrown water on me like the last time you came. Why do you think I'm up now? It took days for my mattress to dry outside, to prevent mold, and then I forgot to bring it in when it rained."
"Yeah... well, all of it was your fault."
"I had to sleep on the floor!"
"Your fault,"
"I had a bad back for a week!"
"I'm not saying it again!"
"Soreness..."
"You are going to be sore if you don't shut up!"
Silence.
"That's right," Kara smirked, "now go get your car... we have to go to Red's place."
"Red...?" Dill let puzzlement take his face. "Why him? Couldn't we just, like, ask somebody else?"
"Why not?" Kara pursed her lips. "Do you have a problem with that?"
"I, uh, no..."
"Good,"
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A bullet shattered Alex's window passing through the car and out the window on the other side. It took all of Alex's skills to keep on the road. Where had the shot come from? Another one ripped through the speakers, causing a small explosion near the trunk. The car swerved wildly and took a nosedive off the side of the highway, down through the trees. Luckily, he didn't hit a single one.
Unluckily, he landed right in a swampy lake. Before he knew it, water was seeping around and under the doors and in the broken windows. Grabbing his phone and stuffing it in his pocket, he started to wrestle with his seatbelt. For once, he wished he hadn't worn it. The water had reached the seat and was soaking through his pants. It was deeper than he had thought.
Dirty, murky water, starting as a small trickle, poured through the driver's side window and into Alex's lap, getting the whole rest of him wet. For some reason, the seatbelt buckle was stuck. The water came up to Alex's chin now and he was starting to panic, even though he knew it was the exact thing he shouldn't do. Taking a last, deep breath, he felt the water move over his closed mouth and nose.
Ducking down, he squinted against the green-tinted water to find a small knife he had always kept under the steering wheel for emergencies. This qualified. Pulling out the small piece of sharp steel, he started sawing through the thick belt.
I can hold my breath for at least a couple minutes, right? he reassured himself. Well, this shouldn't take more than a minute. By the time he sawed all the way through the first belt, he was starting to feel uncomfortable; itching to take a breath. He started in on the second belt with more urgency than he had the first. It was getting darker, which also meant he was going deeper. Alex stopped for a second, his hair floating slowly around his head. He could see the bottom now, but the pressure had already popped his ears once. If he had to guess, he was twenty-five feet below the surface.
With one last, hard yank, the belt broke. Alex's lungs burned, and his mind was starting do leave him. He struggled around in the small cabin of the car before wiggling out the window. Several broken pieces of glass scratched through his skin, but that wasn't his focus. Alex pushed off the side of the car with his feet, shooting up like an arrow through the murky water. Now his vision was starting to go. He clawed for the surface, but it was still too far away. Am I going to drown? he thought, a shutter of adrenaline rushing through his body before his limbs went numb.
A strong hand reached down and grabbed Alex by the front of his shirt, pulling him up past the surface. Vert.
I had to re-read this chapter!!! Now that's sad. I thought I had lost my floppy disk there for a week or so, so I haven't worked on it in a while. We had a lot of snow and a couple of snow days in which I wish I could have worked on it if I could have found my floppy. Floppies are so out-of-date... ah, onto the reviews!
Fen: Muahahaaaaaa... sorry 'bout that. I have to review your story here sooooon if I can remember. I need more sticky notes. Badly. I love confuzzled. It's fun.
Kawaii: Woooooow... that was a long review. Me like. WHAT? YOU GOT A CLASS FOR OFF-TOPIC-NESS? I WANNA GO! We got, like, a foot and a half ((half a meter, for the rest of the world, because americans are so stupid)) and below zero temps and ice. That was 5 days ago... now it's 50 degrees outside!!! I hate Michigan weather.
