Return to the Speed Zone
Part Two: Pre-Race
Avery and Toby drove into the parking lot of a hotel in Los Angeles. Avery maneuvered around the other high-end performance cars in the parking lot and found an empty space. He pulled into it and he and Toby got out.
"Here we are." said Avery. "This is where we're meeting Tara."
"I can see why she chose this place." said Toby. "What's with all the machinery?"
"Have you ever heard of the 'Cannonball Run'?" asked Avery. "They're running it again and this is the starting line."
"Whoa." said Toby. "When do they go?"
"Tomorrow morning." said Avery. "I'll bet they're all partying right now."
----------
Inside, Bob and Spencer were taking part in the celebration. Both were out on the dance floor.
"Hey, Bob." said Spencer. "How's the car running?"
"As well as can be expected." said Bob. "I think we're ready to run."
"I think I know what it's like knowing you're going to win the Cannonball." said Spencer.
"Don't be so sure." said the Englishman next to them. "Me and Vic here won the race fifteen years ago and I felt nothing."
"So you're the last winners." said Bob.
"Yeah." said Vic. "Got a problem with that?"
"Hush." said the Englishman. "Nice to meet the new hopefuls. I am, as I said, a member of the last winning team. I am Alec Stewart and this is my partner from that race, Vic DeRubis."
"Well, nice to meet you." said Spencer. "I'm Spencer Mills and this is my partner Bob Murray."
"Well, it's good to know what you look like." said Alec. "Now we can identify your bodies when we've destroyed you."
"Who destroys who?" said Bob. "We'll see. I'm going to check on the car again." And he left.
Vic returned to dancing and left Alec and Spencer alone. "So, how do you know your partner?" asked Alec. "Co-worker? Relative?"
"No, nothing like that." said Spencer.
"Just a good friend?" asked Alec.
"We're married." blurted out Spencer. "Happy now?"
"I think I'll stand over there now." said Alec sheepishly.
----------
Alec danced over to the bar where Beverly was sitting. "Hello there." said Alec.
"Get lost." said Beverly.
"Why?" asked Alec. "Can you handle a winner?"
"I said get lost." said Beverly.
"Maybe we can do something before the race." said Alec.
"The woman said no!" said Charlie, the bartender.
"Charlie, imagine seeing you here." said Alec.
"Take a hike, Alec." said Charlie. "Go on, now."
Alec got up and left.
"You know him?" asked Beverly.
"I raced against him in the last Cannonball." said Charlie. "Charlie Cronin, former Cannonballer."
"Beverly Michelle Williams." introduced Beverly. "Team BMW."
"Oh, that's quite a coincidence." said Charlie. "In eighty-nine, I drove for Team BMW."
"Oh, you know Leo then." said Beverly.
"Better than you think." said Leo. "We have quite a history together. I'd rather not talk about it right now."
"I'll say he doesn't." said Charlie. "He suckered me into driving for him and also had me drive the woman he was cheating on his wife with to California."
"Well, I'm a better man for it." said Leo. "I learned my lesson. Tiffany and my wife no longer talk to me and my jaw still aches once in a while. I'm really sorry for all that."
"So, you were our driver in the last race?" asked Beverly.
"Yeah." said Charlie. "Three thousand miles of fun. Need a driver?"
"Sorry." said Beverly. "Mark, come introduce yourself."
A young man wearing nice clothes walked over.
"So you must be Mark." said Charlie.
"Nice to meet you." said Mark. "Leo tells me you drove the last Cannonball for Team BMW."
"Yeah, let me tell you something." said Charlie. "You're in for quite a ride."
"Come on, Mark." said Beverly. "We have to discus race strategy."
Beverly and Mark left Leo to talk with Charlie.
"So that's how you wooed Tiffany." joked Leo. Charlie stared him down. "So, uh, what happened to the other Cannonballers?"
"Let's see." said Charlie. "Jack and Heather got married and they're both working at CNN now. Lea and Margaret founded a website catering to performance tuning. Valentino is now the head of Lamborghini's racing team. Flash became a private eye. The Van Sloans retired. And you saw Alec just now."
"Ah." said Leo. "So any other factory racers?"
"Just from Ford." said Charlie. "They're out back practicing."
----------
Out back, Ford's factory team was finished practicing...because their Mustang was finished running. Driver Chris Donatelli limped the car back to its parking space. Smoke was pouring out from under the hood. Peter, the engineer in charge, ran over and tried to open the hood.
"Are you alright?" asked Peter as he opened the Mustang's hood. A cloud of smoke greeted him.
"Well, better not call John and tell him what happened." said Chris.
"What happened?" asked John as he walked over.
"Oh no." muttered Chris.
"It was my fault, sir." said Peter. "I set the rev limiter too high."
"Great, now we're a car short." groaned John.
"We've still got the Marauder." said Peter. "Chris was just about to start with that."
"I can get started with the Marauder." said Chris.
"Please do." said John. "I was too young to take part in the race fifteen years ago and I'd like to take part in a win for the comeback."
"We'll get on it immediately." said Peter.
"Good." said John. "Get going on that. Please." He then returned to his hotel room.
"John's a good guy." said Peter as he opened the hood on a nearby Mercury Marauder. "I like having him as a boss."
"I don't." said Chris. "I keep feeling like I'm gonna disappoint the guy. It makes me nervous."
"You know what should really make you nervous?" asked Peter. "Blowing the engine on this one."
----------
The Cannonballers continued to party. In a conference room overlooking the dance floor, a band of car thieves made sinister plots. One member of the crew, "Dallas" Cage, looked at the racers.
"Look at them yo-yos, that's the way you do it." he said.
"Are you making a commentary or singing a Dire Straits song?" asked his partner in crime, Cali.
"A little of both." said Dallas.
"Dallas, are you ready?" asked Dayton, their boss.
"Yeah, I'm ready." said Dallas. "Go ahead."
"Okay." said Dayton as he showed off a picture of a Porsche. "This is our target, a Porsche 911 Turbo. A buyer in Albany has expressed interest in using this car for a job. We have located one that's ripe for the taking downtown. Dallas, you and Cali will go after it tonight and Cali will drive it in the race tomorrow. Simple enough, right?"
"Where is this car located?" asked Dallas.
"We've pinpointed the location at this address." said Pippa, the crew's computer specialist. "I'll print it out for you."
"Why do we have an Australian computer expert?" asked Cali.
"She linked up with us on that boosting spree in Sydney." said Dallas. "After that, she just stayed."
"Okay, guys." said Dayton. "If you leave now, you can get the car back here and ready for the race before it starts."
"Got it." said Dallas. "Wish us luck."
"Good luck." said Dayton as Dallas and Cali left. "Try not to hurt yourselves."
Just after the guys left, Dayton heard a loud crash from the hallway. He opened the door to see what happened. "What was that?" he asked.
"Dallas tripped over the maid's cart." said Cali. "I think he hurt himself."
----------
Avery and Toby sat waiting. "When's she supposed to get here?" asked Toby.
"Right now." said Avery as he looked out the window. A white TVR Tuscan pulled into the parking lot and parked in a space. Two women climbed out and headed for the bar.
The women, Tara and Karen, entered the bar and walked over towards Avery and Toby.
"Avery Watkins?" asked Tara as she extended her hand. "Tara Veronica Roberts."
"We meet at last." said Avery. "I see you brought the merchandise."
"Brand new TVR Tuscan Speed Six." said Tara. "She's a beaut."
"Ms. Roberts considers this car her crown jewel." said Karen. "Parting with it is rather tough for her."
"Care to introduce me to your friend?" asked Avery.
"This is Karen, my financial advisor." said Tara. "And your friend?"
"This is just Toby." said Avery.
Toby winked at the girls, kissed his fingertips, and flashed a peace sign.
"Shall we get down to business?" asked Tara.
"Of course." said Avery.
----------
Out back...
"Okay, let's see how the Marauder does." said Peter into his walkie-talkie. "Are you ready?"
"Sure am." said Chris into his walkie-talkie as he pulled up to the start in the Marauder. "I'm up."
"Okay." said Peter. "Ready...go!"
Chris floored the Marauder's accelerator and raced across the parking lot. The big sedan picked up speed and approached the first corner of Team Ford's test course.
"Turn one." announced Chris as he made the turn.
"Got it." said Peter as he noted it on his sheet.
After making it through the turn, Chris punched it. The Marauder lurched to 100 mph.
"Approaching turn two." said Chris. "And...through."
With a squeal of tires, the Mercury slid through the turn. Peter marked the turn off on his sheet.
Chris raced back down the parking lot towards the third turn.
"Approaching third turn." said Chris.
"Be careful, Chris." warned Peter. "That's where the Mustang bought it."
"Relax, I've got an automatic." said Chris.
Chris entered the third turn and started to take it. Unfortunately, he had forgotten that when a car's engine blows, it bleeds. It bleeds oil, specificly. When the Mustang's engine blew, it left a big oil slick right on the third turn of the test course. When Chris entered the turn with the Marauder, it ran right through the oil slick and immediately lost traction.
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" yelled Peter as Chris tried to regain control of the swerving Marauder. Chris finally straightened the car out, but ended up driving straight for a telephone pole. There was nothing he could do. He slammed right into the pole and demolished the car.
"Oh God!" yelled Peter when he saw the wreck. He ran over to see if Chris was alright.
Chris pulled his face out of the slowly deflating airbag and breathed heavily. Peter ran over to the car's door and opened it.
"Chris!" he yelled. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah." gasped Chris. "I think so."
"Good." said Peter. "Y'know, cause John is going to freak when he sees what you did to the car."
Chris looked out the windshield at the fold in the hood and the smoke pouring from the grill. He pounded the dashboard and yelled "Damn!"
----------
Inside, Mark entered the bar and walked up to Charlie.
"I'd like a beer please." said Mark.
"Okay, but not too much." said Charlie. "Don't wantcha driving with a hangover."
"Thanks for your concern." said Mark as he traded some money for the beer. "So, you drove for us fifteen years ago?"
"Yep." said Charlie. "Had my hands on a real nice 735i. Sweet ride, I'll tell you."
"What was it like?" asked Mark. "Was it fun? Was it hard? Would you do it again?"
"I had fun." said Charlie. "Well, except for that maniac in the truck who tried to kill us."
"Maniac in the truck?" asked Mark.
"Yeah, I took my eyes off the road for one second and I drifted into the path of this semi." said Charlie. "I managed to avoid a collision, but the nutcase tried to kill me. It took some luck and a couple of states, but I lost him."
"Oh, that's nuts." said Mark. "What about the race itself?"
"Oh, it was rather easy for me." said Charlie. "I've got very good endurance when it comes to driving. I'd do it again in a heartbeat."
"I was tested for endurance and I did pretty well, too." said Mark. "I think I'm good to go. Nice talking with you."
"Thank you." said Charlie. "Good luck tomorrow. You might need it."
Mark walked back to the dining area and passed Dayton, who was on the phone.
"Look, Pippa gave you the location and you found it." he said. "I don't see what the problem is."
----------
"The problem is you didn't tell me the car was still at the damn dealership!" yelled Dallas into his cel phone. He stood on the sidewalk across the street from the dealership where his quarry, a brand new silver Porsche 911 Turbo, sat spinning on a platform. "This isn't simple car theft! This is car theft with a side order of breaking and entering!"
"Dallas, you've encountered problems like this before." said Dayton. "You can do this. You know we don't take insubordination lightly."
"But, Dayton, I...alright, I'll do it." said Dallas. He closed his cel phone and turned to Cali. "He wouldn't budge. We gotta do this." said Dallas.
"How?" asked Cali. "You said yourself this wasn't a simple job."
"Relax, I have my methods." said Dallas as he walked over to the planter next to them and picked up a rock.
"What are you doing with that?" asked Cali.
"I'm gonna take it home and pet it and love it and hold it and call it 'George'." said Dallas as he crossed the street. "It's a rock. What do you think I'm gonna do with it?"
Dallas and Cali walked up to the door of the dealership and Dallas held back his arm, then tossed the rock at the door. The glass on the lower half broke away.
"Uh, isn't the entire window supposed to break?" asked Cali.
"Guess we'll just have to do this the hard way." said Dallas.
Dallas crouched down and crawled through the broken lower half of the door.
"See? Piece of..." Dallas said before hitting his head on a pay phone near the door. He stood up and rubbed his head. "Watch your head." he told Cali as Cali reached through the broken window, unlocked the door, opened it, and walked in.
"What now?" asked Cali.
"Look out for security cameras." warned Dallas.
"What do they look like?" asked Cali.
"That." said Dallas as he pointed to a security camera that was looking right at them. "Let's make this fast. I'll read off the VIN number. You get the key."
"Got it." said Cali as he ran to the key box and Dallas jumped up on the rotating platform.
"The VIN number is..." said Dallas as he read off the Porsche's VIN number. "Hurry, I'm getting dizzy!"
"Found it." said Cali as he grabbed the key and ran to Dallas. He handed the key to Dallas and jumped into the Porsche's passenger seat.
Dallas climbed into the driver's seat and moved it forward until he could reach the pedals. "Who drove this thing last? Shaq?" he joked. He started the car and put it in gear.
"Great, now how do we get out of here?" asked Cali.
"Watch." said Dallas. He waited until the car faced the ramp and drove down, then turned around to face the window.
"Oh boy." groaned Cali. Dallas floored the accelerator and raced the car towards the window. The Porsche lept off the ramp, hit the window, and dropped to the floor.
"Well, that was bad." said Dallas as he put the car in reverse and tried to back out of the showroom.
----------
"And then he starts giving me the stats on the Alfa Romeo." said Avery. "And get this: they're all wrong. Doesn't he know that everyone plays 'Gran Turismo'?"
"So, why do you want a TVR for your collection?" asked Tara.
"Because I can't have it." said Avery.
"Mr. Watkins specificly collects cars that aren't sold in the United States." said Toby. "TVR left the American market long ago."
"And you found out about my Tuscan." said Tara. "Very good work."
"What do you look for in your collection?" asked Avery.
"Whatever I find to my liking." said Tara.
"Within budget of course." said Karen. "Speaking of money matters..."
"Oh yes." said Avery. "Once we complete this transaction, you will have your money, I will have my car, and we can see what the Cannonballers are driving. Who knows? You might just find a car to add to your collection."
"Just give me your price and we'll see where that leads." said Tara.
Avery wrote down a figure on a piece of paper and slid it over to Tara. "This is the most I'm willing to pay." he said.
Tara took the price and looked at it. She looked discouraged. "This price is too low." she said as she slid it back.
"What?" asked Avery.
"I paid a lot more than this when it was new." said Tara. "Even with the normal depreciation, it would be worth more than this."
"I disagree." said Avery. "Do you remember that car appraiser I sent to your showroom last month? That's the price he recommended for the TVR."
"Well, he's an idiot." said Tara.
"I did not drive all the way from Buffalo to have this blow up in my face." said Avery.
"I had to drive from Winnipeg." said Tara. "I not only had the distance to worry about, but I also had to cross an international border."
"I think you should seriously reconsider letting this deal go." said Avery.
"Oh yeah?" said Tara. "I'm seriously considering letting this deal go."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." said Toby. "I think you should both reconsider letting this deal go. Alright? Now, you're just going to have to come to an agreement."
"I don't see one." said Avery.
"Me neither." said Tara. "There's just no way to resolve this civilly."
"The solution is right outside." said Karen. "The reason all those cars are out there."
"Are you suggesting we enter the race?" asked Avery.
"That is exactly what I'm suggesting." said Karen.
"You're the one who suggested we meet here." said Tara. "Your intention was to enter the Cannonball from the start."
"It's been a dream of mine since I was a little girl." said Karen. "The last time it was run, I was too young to have a driver's license. Now, I finally have a chance to live my dream."
"Here's how it goes." said Toby. "Whoever has the shorter time wins. If it's Avery, we buy the car at his price. If it's Tara, we buy the car at her price or no deal. Now, how does that sound?"
"Sounds fair." said Avery.
"Sounds fair to me too." said Tara.
"Aight, let's get some entry forms and do this." said Toby. He and Avery walked from the table to the Cannonball officials' booth.
"You agreed to the meeting place in hopes of taking part in the Cannonball as well, I assume?" asked Avery.
"You assume right." said Toby. "I thought we could each run a car. You in the Lambo and me in the TVR. This, however, is much better.
The pair walked past Spencer and Bob.
----------
"After we win this, we can form our own racing team." said Spencer. "Then we can show up all those other racing teams that turned us down because...well, you know."
"Yeah, I know." said Bob. "I just want a better excuse to do this than to defend my sexual orientation."
"I wish we didn't have to defend it as well." said Spencer. "But you know how narrow-minded these people are. They hear 'gay' and they quickly come up with reasons to put us down without bringing up our racing ability. This is what I like doing. Racing. Can you understand that?"
"Yeah, I gotcha." said Bob. "I was practicing with the Viper last week and the guys at the track were saying some really nasty things about us."
"They'll be so sorry they sais those things." said Spencer. "I'm going to get another beer."
"One more of those and I'll have to drive the whole way." said Bob.
"Wasn't that the plan?" asked Spencer.
Spencer walked up to the bar and ordered a beer as Cali walked in and walked over to Dayton.
"How did it go?" asked Dayton.
"The car's back at the hotel." said Cali. "Dallas and Pippa are smoothing out any mars and changing the plates. We're good unless someone reports my Toyota stolen."
"Excellent." said Dayton. "Are you ready to go tomorrow?"
"I'm just about ready to hit the sack." said Cali. "See you in the morning. Make sure I'm up."
Behind him, Mark walked into the bar and bumped into Vic. Both tried to step around each other until Vic grabbed Mark and pushed him into Cali. Cali was knocked into Spencer who spilled his beer.
Spencer turned around and asked Cali "What did you just do?"
"Sorry, man." said Cali. "It was the other guy."
"I spilled my beer!" yelled Spencer.
"Sorry about that, man." said Cali.
"What are you going to do about this?" asked Spencer.
"Relax, I'll buy you another beer." said Cali. "Don't be such a queer."
"What did you just call me?" asked Spencer.
"Nothing." said Cali.
"No, what did you call me?" asked Spencer.
"Nothing." repeated Cali as he turned to leave. Spencer grabbed him and punched him in the face.
Cali jumped back up and hit Spencer in the chest with his elbow and followed with a punch to the jaw. Spencer grabbed Cali by the throat and hit him in the face a few times.
Mark ran over and tried to separate the two yelling "Break it up! Break it up!" Spencer gave him a punch in the eye for his troubles. Mark stumbled back from the blow and fell over a chair, hitting his arm on a table on the way down.
----------
AN:Okay, you can review now. This chapter was much better in my opinion. Do you agree? Leave a review and say whether you do or not.
One more thing: Should I add a cast list at the end?
Part Two: Pre-Race
Avery and Toby drove into the parking lot of a hotel in Los Angeles. Avery maneuvered around the other high-end performance cars in the parking lot and found an empty space. He pulled into it and he and Toby got out.
"Here we are." said Avery. "This is where we're meeting Tara."
"I can see why she chose this place." said Toby. "What's with all the machinery?"
"Have you ever heard of the 'Cannonball Run'?" asked Avery. "They're running it again and this is the starting line."
"Whoa." said Toby. "When do they go?"
"Tomorrow morning." said Avery. "I'll bet they're all partying right now."
----------
Inside, Bob and Spencer were taking part in the celebration. Both were out on the dance floor.
"Hey, Bob." said Spencer. "How's the car running?"
"As well as can be expected." said Bob. "I think we're ready to run."
"I think I know what it's like knowing you're going to win the Cannonball." said Spencer.
"Don't be so sure." said the Englishman next to them. "Me and Vic here won the race fifteen years ago and I felt nothing."
"So you're the last winners." said Bob.
"Yeah." said Vic. "Got a problem with that?"
"Hush." said the Englishman. "Nice to meet the new hopefuls. I am, as I said, a member of the last winning team. I am Alec Stewart and this is my partner from that race, Vic DeRubis."
"Well, nice to meet you." said Spencer. "I'm Spencer Mills and this is my partner Bob Murray."
"Well, it's good to know what you look like." said Alec. "Now we can identify your bodies when we've destroyed you."
"Who destroys who?" said Bob. "We'll see. I'm going to check on the car again." And he left.
Vic returned to dancing and left Alec and Spencer alone. "So, how do you know your partner?" asked Alec. "Co-worker? Relative?"
"No, nothing like that." said Spencer.
"Just a good friend?" asked Alec.
"We're married." blurted out Spencer. "Happy now?"
"I think I'll stand over there now." said Alec sheepishly.
----------
Alec danced over to the bar where Beverly was sitting. "Hello there." said Alec.
"Get lost." said Beverly.
"Why?" asked Alec. "Can you handle a winner?"
"I said get lost." said Beverly.
"Maybe we can do something before the race." said Alec.
"The woman said no!" said Charlie, the bartender.
"Charlie, imagine seeing you here." said Alec.
"Take a hike, Alec." said Charlie. "Go on, now."
Alec got up and left.
"You know him?" asked Beverly.
"I raced against him in the last Cannonball." said Charlie. "Charlie Cronin, former Cannonballer."
"Beverly Michelle Williams." introduced Beverly. "Team BMW."
"Oh, that's quite a coincidence." said Charlie. "In eighty-nine, I drove for Team BMW."
"Oh, you know Leo then." said Beverly.
"Better than you think." said Leo. "We have quite a history together. I'd rather not talk about it right now."
"I'll say he doesn't." said Charlie. "He suckered me into driving for him and also had me drive the woman he was cheating on his wife with to California."
"Well, I'm a better man for it." said Leo. "I learned my lesson. Tiffany and my wife no longer talk to me and my jaw still aches once in a while. I'm really sorry for all that."
"So, you were our driver in the last race?" asked Beverly.
"Yeah." said Charlie. "Three thousand miles of fun. Need a driver?"
"Sorry." said Beverly. "Mark, come introduce yourself."
A young man wearing nice clothes walked over.
"So you must be Mark." said Charlie.
"Nice to meet you." said Mark. "Leo tells me you drove the last Cannonball for Team BMW."
"Yeah, let me tell you something." said Charlie. "You're in for quite a ride."
"Come on, Mark." said Beverly. "We have to discus race strategy."
Beverly and Mark left Leo to talk with Charlie.
"So that's how you wooed Tiffany." joked Leo. Charlie stared him down. "So, uh, what happened to the other Cannonballers?"
"Let's see." said Charlie. "Jack and Heather got married and they're both working at CNN now. Lea and Margaret founded a website catering to performance tuning. Valentino is now the head of Lamborghini's racing team. Flash became a private eye. The Van Sloans retired. And you saw Alec just now."
"Ah." said Leo. "So any other factory racers?"
"Just from Ford." said Charlie. "They're out back practicing."
----------
Out back, Ford's factory team was finished practicing...because their Mustang was finished running. Driver Chris Donatelli limped the car back to its parking space. Smoke was pouring out from under the hood. Peter, the engineer in charge, ran over and tried to open the hood.
"Are you alright?" asked Peter as he opened the Mustang's hood. A cloud of smoke greeted him.
"Well, better not call John and tell him what happened." said Chris.
"What happened?" asked John as he walked over.
"Oh no." muttered Chris.
"It was my fault, sir." said Peter. "I set the rev limiter too high."
"Great, now we're a car short." groaned John.
"We've still got the Marauder." said Peter. "Chris was just about to start with that."
"I can get started with the Marauder." said Chris.
"Please do." said John. "I was too young to take part in the race fifteen years ago and I'd like to take part in a win for the comeback."
"We'll get on it immediately." said Peter.
"Good." said John. "Get going on that. Please." He then returned to his hotel room.
"John's a good guy." said Peter as he opened the hood on a nearby Mercury Marauder. "I like having him as a boss."
"I don't." said Chris. "I keep feeling like I'm gonna disappoint the guy. It makes me nervous."
"You know what should really make you nervous?" asked Peter. "Blowing the engine on this one."
----------
The Cannonballers continued to party. In a conference room overlooking the dance floor, a band of car thieves made sinister plots. One member of the crew, "Dallas" Cage, looked at the racers.
"Look at them yo-yos, that's the way you do it." he said.
"Are you making a commentary or singing a Dire Straits song?" asked his partner in crime, Cali.
"A little of both." said Dallas.
"Dallas, are you ready?" asked Dayton, their boss.
"Yeah, I'm ready." said Dallas. "Go ahead."
"Okay." said Dayton as he showed off a picture of a Porsche. "This is our target, a Porsche 911 Turbo. A buyer in Albany has expressed interest in using this car for a job. We have located one that's ripe for the taking downtown. Dallas, you and Cali will go after it tonight and Cali will drive it in the race tomorrow. Simple enough, right?"
"Where is this car located?" asked Dallas.
"We've pinpointed the location at this address." said Pippa, the crew's computer specialist. "I'll print it out for you."
"Why do we have an Australian computer expert?" asked Cali.
"She linked up with us on that boosting spree in Sydney." said Dallas. "After that, she just stayed."
"Okay, guys." said Dayton. "If you leave now, you can get the car back here and ready for the race before it starts."
"Got it." said Dallas. "Wish us luck."
"Good luck." said Dayton as Dallas and Cali left. "Try not to hurt yourselves."
Just after the guys left, Dayton heard a loud crash from the hallway. He opened the door to see what happened. "What was that?" he asked.
"Dallas tripped over the maid's cart." said Cali. "I think he hurt himself."
----------
Avery and Toby sat waiting. "When's she supposed to get here?" asked Toby.
"Right now." said Avery as he looked out the window. A white TVR Tuscan pulled into the parking lot and parked in a space. Two women climbed out and headed for the bar.
The women, Tara and Karen, entered the bar and walked over towards Avery and Toby.
"Avery Watkins?" asked Tara as she extended her hand. "Tara Veronica Roberts."
"We meet at last." said Avery. "I see you brought the merchandise."
"Brand new TVR Tuscan Speed Six." said Tara. "She's a beaut."
"Ms. Roberts considers this car her crown jewel." said Karen. "Parting with it is rather tough for her."
"Care to introduce me to your friend?" asked Avery.
"This is Karen, my financial advisor." said Tara. "And your friend?"
"This is just Toby." said Avery.
Toby winked at the girls, kissed his fingertips, and flashed a peace sign.
"Shall we get down to business?" asked Tara.
"Of course." said Avery.
----------
Out back...
"Okay, let's see how the Marauder does." said Peter into his walkie-talkie. "Are you ready?"
"Sure am." said Chris into his walkie-talkie as he pulled up to the start in the Marauder. "I'm up."
"Okay." said Peter. "Ready...go!"
Chris floored the Marauder's accelerator and raced across the parking lot. The big sedan picked up speed and approached the first corner of Team Ford's test course.
"Turn one." announced Chris as he made the turn.
"Got it." said Peter as he noted it on his sheet.
After making it through the turn, Chris punched it. The Marauder lurched to 100 mph.
"Approaching turn two." said Chris. "And...through."
With a squeal of tires, the Mercury slid through the turn. Peter marked the turn off on his sheet.
Chris raced back down the parking lot towards the third turn.
"Approaching third turn." said Chris.
"Be careful, Chris." warned Peter. "That's where the Mustang bought it."
"Relax, I've got an automatic." said Chris.
Chris entered the third turn and started to take it. Unfortunately, he had forgotten that when a car's engine blows, it bleeds. It bleeds oil, specificly. When the Mustang's engine blew, it left a big oil slick right on the third turn of the test course. When Chris entered the turn with the Marauder, it ran right through the oil slick and immediately lost traction.
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" yelled Peter as Chris tried to regain control of the swerving Marauder. Chris finally straightened the car out, but ended up driving straight for a telephone pole. There was nothing he could do. He slammed right into the pole and demolished the car.
"Oh God!" yelled Peter when he saw the wreck. He ran over to see if Chris was alright.
Chris pulled his face out of the slowly deflating airbag and breathed heavily. Peter ran over to the car's door and opened it.
"Chris!" he yelled. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah." gasped Chris. "I think so."
"Good." said Peter. "Y'know, cause John is going to freak when he sees what you did to the car."
Chris looked out the windshield at the fold in the hood and the smoke pouring from the grill. He pounded the dashboard and yelled "Damn!"
----------
Inside, Mark entered the bar and walked up to Charlie.
"I'd like a beer please." said Mark.
"Okay, but not too much." said Charlie. "Don't wantcha driving with a hangover."
"Thanks for your concern." said Mark as he traded some money for the beer. "So, you drove for us fifteen years ago?"
"Yep." said Charlie. "Had my hands on a real nice 735i. Sweet ride, I'll tell you."
"What was it like?" asked Mark. "Was it fun? Was it hard? Would you do it again?"
"I had fun." said Charlie. "Well, except for that maniac in the truck who tried to kill us."
"Maniac in the truck?" asked Mark.
"Yeah, I took my eyes off the road for one second and I drifted into the path of this semi." said Charlie. "I managed to avoid a collision, but the nutcase tried to kill me. It took some luck and a couple of states, but I lost him."
"Oh, that's nuts." said Mark. "What about the race itself?"
"Oh, it was rather easy for me." said Charlie. "I've got very good endurance when it comes to driving. I'd do it again in a heartbeat."
"I was tested for endurance and I did pretty well, too." said Mark. "I think I'm good to go. Nice talking with you."
"Thank you." said Charlie. "Good luck tomorrow. You might need it."
Mark walked back to the dining area and passed Dayton, who was on the phone.
"Look, Pippa gave you the location and you found it." he said. "I don't see what the problem is."
----------
"The problem is you didn't tell me the car was still at the damn dealership!" yelled Dallas into his cel phone. He stood on the sidewalk across the street from the dealership where his quarry, a brand new silver Porsche 911 Turbo, sat spinning on a platform. "This isn't simple car theft! This is car theft with a side order of breaking and entering!"
"Dallas, you've encountered problems like this before." said Dayton. "You can do this. You know we don't take insubordination lightly."
"But, Dayton, I...alright, I'll do it." said Dallas. He closed his cel phone and turned to Cali. "He wouldn't budge. We gotta do this." said Dallas.
"How?" asked Cali. "You said yourself this wasn't a simple job."
"Relax, I have my methods." said Dallas as he walked over to the planter next to them and picked up a rock.
"What are you doing with that?" asked Cali.
"I'm gonna take it home and pet it and love it and hold it and call it 'George'." said Dallas as he crossed the street. "It's a rock. What do you think I'm gonna do with it?"
Dallas and Cali walked up to the door of the dealership and Dallas held back his arm, then tossed the rock at the door. The glass on the lower half broke away.
"Uh, isn't the entire window supposed to break?" asked Cali.
"Guess we'll just have to do this the hard way." said Dallas.
Dallas crouched down and crawled through the broken lower half of the door.
"See? Piece of..." Dallas said before hitting his head on a pay phone near the door. He stood up and rubbed his head. "Watch your head." he told Cali as Cali reached through the broken window, unlocked the door, opened it, and walked in.
"What now?" asked Cali.
"Look out for security cameras." warned Dallas.
"What do they look like?" asked Cali.
"That." said Dallas as he pointed to a security camera that was looking right at them. "Let's make this fast. I'll read off the VIN number. You get the key."
"Got it." said Cali as he ran to the key box and Dallas jumped up on the rotating platform.
"The VIN number is..." said Dallas as he read off the Porsche's VIN number. "Hurry, I'm getting dizzy!"
"Found it." said Cali as he grabbed the key and ran to Dallas. He handed the key to Dallas and jumped into the Porsche's passenger seat.
Dallas climbed into the driver's seat and moved it forward until he could reach the pedals. "Who drove this thing last? Shaq?" he joked. He started the car and put it in gear.
"Great, now how do we get out of here?" asked Cali.
"Watch." said Dallas. He waited until the car faced the ramp and drove down, then turned around to face the window.
"Oh boy." groaned Cali. Dallas floored the accelerator and raced the car towards the window. The Porsche lept off the ramp, hit the window, and dropped to the floor.
"Well, that was bad." said Dallas as he put the car in reverse and tried to back out of the showroom.
----------
"And then he starts giving me the stats on the Alfa Romeo." said Avery. "And get this: they're all wrong. Doesn't he know that everyone plays 'Gran Turismo'?"
"So, why do you want a TVR for your collection?" asked Tara.
"Because I can't have it." said Avery.
"Mr. Watkins specificly collects cars that aren't sold in the United States." said Toby. "TVR left the American market long ago."
"And you found out about my Tuscan." said Tara. "Very good work."
"What do you look for in your collection?" asked Avery.
"Whatever I find to my liking." said Tara.
"Within budget of course." said Karen. "Speaking of money matters..."
"Oh yes." said Avery. "Once we complete this transaction, you will have your money, I will have my car, and we can see what the Cannonballers are driving. Who knows? You might just find a car to add to your collection."
"Just give me your price and we'll see where that leads." said Tara.
Avery wrote down a figure on a piece of paper and slid it over to Tara. "This is the most I'm willing to pay." he said.
Tara took the price and looked at it. She looked discouraged. "This price is too low." she said as she slid it back.
"What?" asked Avery.
"I paid a lot more than this when it was new." said Tara. "Even with the normal depreciation, it would be worth more than this."
"I disagree." said Avery. "Do you remember that car appraiser I sent to your showroom last month? That's the price he recommended for the TVR."
"Well, he's an idiot." said Tara.
"I did not drive all the way from Buffalo to have this blow up in my face." said Avery.
"I had to drive from Winnipeg." said Tara. "I not only had the distance to worry about, but I also had to cross an international border."
"I think you should seriously reconsider letting this deal go." said Avery.
"Oh yeah?" said Tara. "I'm seriously considering letting this deal go."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." said Toby. "I think you should both reconsider letting this deal go. Alright? Now, you're just going to have to come to an agreement."
"I don't see one." said Avery.
"Me neither." said Tara. "There's just no way to resolve this civilly."
"The solution is right outside." said Karen. "The reason all those cars are out there."
"Are you suggesting we enter the race?" asked Avery.
"That is exactly what I'm suggesting." said Karen.
"You're the one who suggested we meet here." said Tara. "Your intention was to enter the Cannonball from the start."
"It's been a dream of mine since I was a little girl." said Karen. "The last time it was run, I was too young to have a driver's license. Now, I finally have a chance to live my dream."
"Here's how it goes." said Toby. "Whoever has the shorter time wins. If it's Avery, we buy the car at his price. If it's Tara, we buy the car at her price or no deal. Now, how does that sound?"
"Sounds fair." said Avery.
"Sounds fair to me too." said Tara.
"Aight, let's get some entry forms and do this." said Toby. He and Avery walked from the table to the Cannonball officials' booth.
"You agreed to the meeting place in hopes of taking part in the Cannonball as well, I assume?" asked Avery.
"You assume right." said Toby. "I thought we could each run a car. You in the Lambo and me in the TVR. This, however, is much better.
The pair walked past Spencer and Bob.
----------
"After we win this, we can form our own racing team." said Spencer. "Then we can show up all those other racing teams that turned us down because...well, you know."
"Yeah, I know." said Bob. "I just want a better excuse to do this than to defend my sexual orientation."
"I wish we didn't have to defend it as well." said Spencer. "But you know how narrow-minded these people are. They hear 'gay' and they quickly come up with reasons to put us down without bringing up our racing ability. This is what I like doing. Racing. Can you understand that?"
"Yeah, I gotcha." said Bob. "I was practicing with the Viper last week and the guys at the track were saying some really nasty things about us."
"They'll be so sorry they sais those things." said Spencer. "I'm going to get another beer."
"One more of those and I'll have to drive the whole way." said Bob.
"Wasn't that the plan?" asked Spencer.
Spencer walked up to the bar and ordered a beer as Cali walked in and walked over to Dayton.
"How did it go?" asked Dayton.
"The car's back at the hotel." said Cali. "Dallas and Pippa are smoothing out any mars and changing the plates. We're good unless someone reports my Toyota stolen."
"Excellent." said Dayton. "Are you ready to go tomorrow?"
"I'm just about ready to hit the sack." said Cali. "See you in the morning. Make sure I'm up."
Behind him, Mark walked into the bar and bumped into Vic. Both tried to step around each other until Vic grabbed Mark and pushed him into Cali. Cali was knocked into Spencer who spilled his beer.
Spencer turned around and asked Cali "What did you just do?"
"Sorry, man." said Cali. "It was the other guy."
"I spilled my beer!" yelled Spencer.
"Sorry about that, man." said Cali.
"What are you going to do about this?" asked Spencer.
"Relax, I'll buy you another beer." said Cali. "Don't be such a queer."
"What did you just call me?" asked Spencer.
"Nothing." said Cali.
"No, what did you call me?" asked Spencer.
"Nothing." repeated Cali as he turned to leave. Spencer grabbed him and punched him in the face.
Cali jumped back up and hit Spencer in the chest with his elbow and followed with a punch to the jaw. Spencer grabbed Cali by the throat and hit him in the face a few times.
Mark ran over and tried to separate the two yelling "Break it up! Break it up!" Spencer gave him a punch in the eye for his troubles. Mark stumbled back from the blow and fell over a chair, hitting his arm on a table on the way down.
----------
AN:Okay, you can review now. This chapter was much better in my opinion. Do you agree? Leave a review and say whether you do or not.
One more thing: Should I add a cast list at the end?