Welcome to Palm City

10:30 am

Palm City

The next morning

The Skyline and the Evo had raced throughout the night. The two drivers only stopping for gas, and coffee. They ignored all the motels and rest stops, worried about a random stranger identifying their cars while parked, and notifying state/highway patrol. The two cars maintained their top speed the entire time they raced down the I-65.

The two cars only stopped once the I-65 gave way to Palm City. They were now parked in a lot in the Eden Shores district of the city. The driver of the Skyline finally let go of the wheel, letting out a groan of mixed shock, pain, and relief when all the joints in his fingers popped all at once. There then came a knock on his window, which made the driver jump in shock and horror. Thinking it was the cops or a bounty hunter, his horror gave way to shocked relief when he saw that it was just the driver of the EVO. He was a tall black man in his 20s, with dreadlocks tied behind his head in a ponytail of sorts. He wore dark pants, had on a dark blue shirt that was tucked into his pants, and on top of that, wore an unzipped hoodie styled after Kakashi Hatake's ninja garb, and looked to be made out of a very light material.

"Yeah Sky?" The Skyline's driver rolled down the window. Like the driver of the EVO, he too was in his 20's, and wore the same t-shirt and jeans from the night before. As they had not stopped for anything but gas and coffee, there were tired bags under his eyes. He yawned, as he got out of his car. Stretching, and groaning as more joints in his body, especially those in his legs and back popped.

The other person, Sky stretched his back, as if to try and relieve a particularly troublesome knot in his lower back. "Danny, we gotta ditch the cars." Anticipating that his friend would react with shock and horror, Sky was not disappointed to see that he was indeed correct. He didn't want to do it himself, but in the 10 hours they had been on the road, and on the run from the law, word must have gone out by now.

"Are you nuts!?" Danny reacted just how Sky thought he would. "I'm not ditching my-"

"Danny, think about it!" Sky cut across his friend. "We've been running from the cops since midnight. Word must have gone out by now, and probably every cop in town could be looking for us. More specifically our cars."

Danny's response was to suck his teeth, and let out an irritated growl. "Ah, mierda! Fine, but where?"

"My Uncle has a garage nearby. I already called, and he said we can use it." Sky then twisted his back, which then let out a hollow sounding pop so loud that not only had Danny heard it, but it caused Sky to have to use Danny's Skyline for support for a few moments.

"When you said nearby, I didn't think it would be that close…" Danny mused with a light laugh. The garage that Sky had mentioned belonging to his Uncle had been located just behind the row of hotel/apartment buildings that were across the street from where their cars had been parked a few minutes ago. The garage was fairly large, and looked like it could fit several more cars inside it. Both Danny and Sky had parked their cars in the back corners, covering them with tarps they had found nearby.

The thought crossed Danny's mind, as he covered his Skyline, had their friends made it to the other cities. Palmont, Rockport, Fortune Valley… he hoped they did, as Danny didn't want to think about the other outcomes of being arrested or worse…

He was brought out of those unpleasant thoughts by the sound of … several vehicles pulling up. Meeting eyes with Sky, the two boys cautiously approached the open door of the garage. Peeking around the corner, Danny's eyes went wide, and his stomach flipped. Out in front of the garage was parked a large flatbed truck with two cars on it. A dark grey Porsche Carrera 911 RSR, and a torch red 1965 Mustang. "What the hell…?"

Two men then got out of the truck. One wearing oil stained coveralls and a backwards baseball bat. The other had on khaki pants, and the ugliest Hawaiian shirt both Danny and Sky had ever seen. The older man in the coveralls held his arms out, smiling brightly. "Skylar! Mijo, come see your-!"

"Uncle Manny!" Sky moved past Danny, and embraced the other dark skinned man. After the two broke apart, Sky gestured to the two cars the other man was unloading. "What's this?"

"Said you couldn't use your cars. Think of it as a late college graduation present mijo." Manny clapped his nephew's shoulder. "They should be perfect for the Showdown."

"Showdown?" Danny parroted moving closer.

"SpeedHunter Showdown." The other man, the one in the ugly Hawaiian shirt said. He had finished unloading the cars, and had approached the three men. "Legalized street races that take place all over the city. Tons of people show up from out of town. And there's always money to be made."

"Could use that right about now." Danny said with a yawn. "Ugh, along with a place to stay."

"Plenty of spaces there." The man in the ugly shirt jerked his thumb over his shoulder to the high rise apartments behind him. "If you're here for the Showdown, you can usually stay for free or a reduced cost." He then held his hand out, giving the two a friendly smile. "Lucas Riverra. I run Riverra's up by the old racetrack. It's closed now, but that old oval saw a lot of action in my old man's day."

Danny shook Lucas' hand after another yawn. "Danny Johnson. That's my friend Sky." Sky then shook hands with Lucas. "We came here from-"

"Ventura." Lucas finished for Danny. "Manny told me everything. But it looks like you guys could use some sleep. We'll get these cars in the garage, you guys go find some empty rooms."

1:20 pm

The next day

Danny woke up the next afternoon to the sound of engines roaring by his apartment. His phone was a buzz with activity. And when his brain decided it wanted him to properly perform the normal motor functions, he let out a very loud sigh of relief. "Oh thank god!"

Checking his phone's messages revealed that all of his friends who had fled Ventura, had all made it to their respective hideouts safely. Ryan had gotten to Palmont in one piece. Roland had a bit of trouble with highway patrol, but managed to get away clean, and arrive in Rockport with no more trouble. Shiro and Hunnigan made it to Fortune Valley, and Alex had already set up shop in Bayview. There was also a message from Skylar, separate from the swarm of messages in the group chat: 'Took the Porsche, hope you don't mind. The Mustang is yours. Keys are on the nearby workbench. Oh, and Uncle Manny said not to worry about paying him. Just so long as we put the cars to good use.'

"Kickass…!" Danny groaned, as he sprawled back out on his bed. He needed another 20 minutes…

That turned into 2 hours, that was spent on taking a very long shower, and getting something to eat … and some time at the beach. So it was really more like 3 hours. It was well into the afternoon by the time Danny returned to the garage. In that time, at least 20 different races had to have taken place all along the same stretch of road in front of his apartment, and he was itching to get back behind the wheel.

"Alright, time to see what this bad girl's capable of…" The second the ignition turned over, Danny nearly jumped. It sounded like there was a mean V8 under that hood! Pressing his foot down on the gas made Danny smile like a complete fool. That was a V8 under the hood! Sky's Uncle Manny must really like him. The Mustang roared after getting on the open road, and Danny was now searching for someplace in Eden Shores for the starting line of that race he'd seen and heard about 20 different times today.

Fortunately, he didn't have a long search. Not ten minutes of driving by, and he had found the starting line. But something stopped him from just taking a spot. Lucas had said yesterday that this was legalized street racing. Was he supposed to go and get registered for this? There had to be someone he could or should talk to about that. Pulling his new car into a side lot, which was filled with all sorts of high performance cars (no doubt all of them here for the Showdown), Danny flagged down the first person he saw … which luckily enough was Lucas.

"Hey! Look who's finally awake." Lucas greeted, as he approached. "Car running good?"

"That's what I'm here to test out. But, do I gotta get registered or anything before…?" There was an apprehensive look on Danny's face, that matched how he felt. "I mean, I don't wanna step on anyone's toes by just showing up to the starting line. I mean yeah, it's a street race. But if it's legal and all, there's gotta be some sort of registration process…"

Lucas just laughed, and held out his hand. "Gimme your phone." That was all he said, as his fingers twitched in his direction. Shrugging, Danny fished his phone out of his pocket, and handed it to Lucas. "Should only take a second…" He said, while fidgeting with Danny's phone. And a moment later, he handed it back. "All set. You're ready to race."

"Wait, that is?" Danny was clearly shocked, as that was all it took to get him registered.

"Yeah, that's it. Showdown has its own app that's linked to your phone. It'll update with whatever car you're driving, so all you gotta do is show up to the starting line." Smiling, Lucas clapped Danny on the shoulder. "Next race is in 5 minutes. You ready?"

"Any last minute advice, or info I should know about?" Danny's right hand had curled around the handle of the driver's side door to his new Mustang.

"Couple things, yeah. This course is mostly tight corners, so time your turns right." Lucas was ticking off things on his fingers. "First place prize money on this race is 5 grand, but you can look most of that up with your phone. That app I put on your phone for the Showdown shows all the races around the city. So the more you win, the more races you get access to, and the more cash you can rack up. And that's not all. The more you win, the more parts will become available. And you'll want better parts for your car. Sure you got a monster V8 under that hood, but it takes more than a big engine and wheels to win a race."

"Yeah, you need decent parts. But it also takes a skilled driver behind the wheel." Opening the door to his car, Danny suddenly stopped and looked back to Lucas. "Hey, you entered in the Showdown?"

"Me? Nah, don't race anymore. But you better get to the starting line, the race is gonna start soon." Lucas gave Danny a thumbs up, as he walked off. The V8 of the Mustang roared, when Danny turned the key in the ignition. Pulling into one of the 6 starting positions, Danny took a look at the cars he'd be driving against. Three cars looked to be ricers, which made Danny roll his eyes. They'd be lucky to just to get off the starting line. The other two looked to be more serious competition. A Barracuda SS and a Supra. Yeah, the competition was definitely going to be the Supra, especially with what Lucas had said about this course being all sharp corners.

The driver of one of the ricers, a Honda Civic that had been decaled to hell and back revved his engine. Clearly trying to get Danny's attention. The sound made him roll his eyes, as it sounded like someone playing a kazoo near one of those kiddy microphones. "Hey! Hey boy!"

Rolling his eyes again,. Deciding to see what this overconfident pain in the neck wanted, Danny looked his way, and his eyes widened a bit. The driver of the Honda was waving a pink piece of paper in his direction. This guy was throwing down the pink slip? Either he had no idea how this worked … or there was something more under that hood.

Still… if the guy wanted to wager his ride, that was fine by him. His attention then turned to the large screens that had been positioned on scaffolding stretching from one end of the street to the other. It was flashing START YOUR ENGINES in big letters. A wide smile began forming on Danny's face, and he revved his engine. That V8 sounding like music to his ears.

3

2

1

GO!

Danny threw his Mustang into gear, and hit the gas. It rocketed forwards, easily passing the other two ricers, and was neck and neck with the Supra and the Barracuda. The Honda however, was right on his tail. Danny's suspicion was right, there was something else under that hood. The Supra had pulled ahead, and the Honda suddenly cut out from behind Danny, and quickly pulled alongside him. Shifting gears, the Mustang shot forwards, and was now level with the Supra.

With the first turn coming up, Danny felt like an iron glove had clenched tightly about his innards. This being his first race, Danny hadn't gotten a chance to test out how his car handled around corners. "Oh well, trial by fire it is!" Spinning the wheel to the left, he pumped the gas pedal twice. Shiro often said that American Muscle couldn't drift, and Ran would often prove him wrong. Still, this wasn't Ryan's mustang, and it wasn't exactly tuned for drifting, and the Supra had pulled ahead. Still, Danny was able to get around that first turn, still neck and neck with the Barracuda, with the Civic still right on his tail. That second turn was just after the first, which made Danny curse. He would definitely have to do some work on this car after this race!

He slid around that turn with a little more trouble than the first turn, meaning that the Baracuda had pulled ahead. But with a straightaway just ahead, Danny put his foot on the gas. Rocketing forwards, the Supra's rear end got closer, and closer. And with a barricade on their right, Danny cut to the left. Pressing his food down on the gas harder, he passed the Supra and was soon out in front of the pack. Checking his rearview, he saw the Honda had passed the Barracuda, and was quickly gaining on the Supra.

"Don't think so cabron!" Shaking his head, and spinning the wheel to the left once again, he slid around the next corner a little easier. Mustang would definitely need some work, but he was getting the hang of the car. Shifting into 4th, the Mustang flew past the row of hotels, and past the building where he and Sky were staying at. Even better for him, the other cars couldn't even be seen in his rearview. "Definitely gotta find a way to thank Sky's Uncle!"

Two more sharp turns later, and Danny crossed the starting line again. His phone beeped, and after chancing a glance at it, he saw the SpeedHunter app on his phone was active. Taking up the whole screen, and displaying Lap 2. "Circuit race huh? No problem!" Danny went back into 2nd in order to make the first two sharp turns of the course. It was as he came around to the straightaway that Danny heard that annoying riced up Honda's engine. Looking in his rearview mirror, Danny saw the Civic had just rounded the second turn, and was gaining on him. Now determined to not let that car past his Mustang, Danny shifted into 4th, and put the pedal to the floor. Just as before, his Mustang rocketed forwards. Leaving the honda in his dust … or so he thought. Danny felt his stomach jolt, when he saw the Honda catching up. Just what the hell was under that damn hood!? The Honda was now level with Danny's Mustang, having pulled up on his right, as the next set of turns came up. Chancing a glance at the Honda revealed something he hadn't seen before. Several large blue and orange tanks. This guy had a serious NOS setup! And combined with whatever was under that hood, it was no wonder he had passed the Supra and the Barracuda.

Still, he must have burned through two of those tanks to catch up to him already. If he had to use the third to overtake him, then that would leave room to catch up and overtake him once again. And his little hunch was proven correct. After the next two sharp turns, the Honda rocketed forwards, and overtook the Mustang. Fine by him! "Burned up all your NOS too soon!" And Danny was quickly level with the Honda, and was pulling ahead once again much to the driver's shock.

He crossed the starting ling, beginning the final lap with the Honda on his tail, and Danny caught a glimpse of the driver's furious expression in his rearview before rounding the turns. This race was his! Back in 4th, he then passed the two other ricers, quickly leaving them in his dust. And then Danny laughed, when those ricers blocked the Honda in due to how slow they were moving.

Pumping his fist in victory after crossing the finish line, Danny did a little pos-victory celebration by doing a few doughnuts. Much to the delight of the crowd. Now that was a good way to get back into the racing scene! He happily revved his engine, not noticing that the other two drivers, the Supra and the Barracuda had also shown up. Neither of them looked upset, and damn was the Barracuda's driver a bombshell!

"Nice drivin' hun." The driver of the other muscle car held her hand out, as Danny stepped out of his car. "Get that car from Manny?"

"How did you…?" Danny both sounded and looked shocked. Something that made the woman laugh.

"Manny's got a habit of puttin' super powerful engines in cars, and he loves giving them to newcomers for the Showdown." She explained, eyeing up the car with a jealous look in her eyes. "Shoulda picked that Mustang up when I had the chance… ah well, no use crying about it now. Oh damn, where are my manners? I'm Alice. Alice Jardine, but call me AJ."

Danny smiled, as he shook AJ's hand once again. "I'm Danny Johnson. Si it's an American name. Papi's American Madre's from Puerto Rico."

"Ain't that an American territory?" AJ tilted her head, as she asked that question. By that time, the other three cars had pulled past the starting line. Including the Honda Civic who had wagered his pink slip against Danny.

"Yeah, although a lot of people don't seem to know that." Danny then shook his head, as the owner of the Honda tossed him his keys, and sulked away into the crowd. "Almost feel sorry for him…"

"Well that's what he gets for betting his car." Lucas had walked up, and clapped Danny on the shoulder. "Nice driving, and you're 5k richer. Now, the best thing you can do with all that new bank, is buy yourself a Nitrous kit."

"There's a decent one in there." Danny jerked his head towards his newly won Civic, before holding out the keys to Lucas. "Can you drive that back to the garage?"

Lucas nodded, and took the keys from Danny. "No problem, but you should still stop by the parts shop and look into a Nitrous kit of your own. It's right around the corner from Riverra's garage."

4:45 pm

Outside the parts shop

"Hey!" Danny knocked, or rather pounded on the door of the part shop. The shop was locked, but he both saw and heard people moving about inside. "Oye! Open up! I can hear you in there!"

"Oh they know." A female voice said from behind Danny, that made him jump in surprise. There was a woman standing a little ways away from him, one with curly dark hair that fell to her shoulders. She wore teal colored sweatpants, and a long sleeved Adidas shirt that was cut off to show her midriff. Behind her was a mostly teal 350Z. Except for the front panel of the right side near the headlight, which was dark grey, almost black.

"What's with them?" Danny had turned to face the other woman, jerking his thumb over his shoulder.

"Supply is limited here 'cuz of the Showdown." The newcomer responded with a shrug. "They're only gonna sell to you, if they know you're gonna put the parts to good use."

"Who says I won't?" Danny asked with a shrug. Something that made the woman laugh.

"Ohooo! Rookie's got confidence!" She nodded in approval. "How about a chance to prove you're more than just talk?" She held out her hand with a 'gimmie' gesture. "Give me your phone."

Danny shrugged, but fished his phone out of his pocket, and handed it over.

"I'm Ana." She introduced, as she fiddled about on his phone for a few seconds, before handing it back, and heading back to her car.

"Wait, that's it?" Danny asked, following behind Ana.

"I download an app onto your phone." Ana explained, as she opened her driver's side door. "Thing acts like a cop scanner. Now I gotta make some calls, as for you. You stay on that thing!" That was all Ana said, before driving off.