:sniffles: OMG my nose is killing me damn winter curse U! Anyway it doesn't interfere with the writing. Long chapter ahead. Hope U enjoy and once again I won't be updating for a bit but I'll be reading the reviews Yay I love reviewers. They make me wanna bake cookies for all of them ahahahaha not all there maybe…hmm
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 5
The sunlight kissed against her eyelids as it poured in from the white curtains. Keira fluttered her eyes open, shielding her eyes from the light. Her body felt slightly weak. Her head throbbed. She turned over on her side away from the window, pulling the covers up to her chin. She reminisced on what had happened the night before.
What happened last night? Oh yeah…I made Jak feel like shit. He deserved it though. Then I fell to the floor and cried like a helpless little baby. Great, lets just prove my father right by acting like a little girl. She thought of how Jak had reacted to her and how he must've felt. She remembered the concern in his eyes when she couldn't breathe and she could almost still feel his warmth around her. Suddenly she heard the alarm go off, she always reset it before she left. Her eyes widened at the time. Two in the afternoon! I must've set it wrong. Oh my God! Her body shot up from the bed in a panic. We're still in the Grand Prix for the Yellow Eco Cup! I missed the race! I fell asleep in my clothes! I gotta take a shower and get outta here! She ran over toward the bathroom, throwing off her boots in the process. I'm so sorry Jak. I hope I didn't distract you from your race.
She left the Kras City Inn and as she drove the one-hour drive towards the Haven City tracks as fast as she could, she let all the memories run through her mind freely. She thought of everything with Razer, what had happened with Jak and her own feelings. She thought of everything that had happened because of Krew and Mizo and everyone being poisoned. Most of all she wanted to make last night up to Jak. Maybe she shouldn't have been so hard on him? The final race was coming tomorrow. It would be back in Kras City. Even though she didn't feel that confident with where they stood in their relationship she wanted to do something that would show that she supported him. She wanted to show him that she wasn't the weak selfish woman she revealed last night. She wanted to be by his side, just like always and not worry about the future until after everything was cleared up with the Mizo and Krew situation. She knew exactly what she needed to do and she decided that tomorrow she would show everyone including Jak, where she stood.
She parked her car in the parking lot and ran to the track garage, hoping someone would be there. Constant apologies swarmed through her head and as she ran closer to the garage entrance she saw Torn running out. His arms up to his elbows seemed to be stained in dried car oil. He seemed really upset and once he had eye contact with her, a feeling of relief spread through him. He ran up to her and grasped her shoulder, pointing back toward the garage. He was slightly out of breath, "Oh Keira, Thank God. Jak's in the garage. Listen, it's not looking good right now. His car was sabotaged in the race. We need you to look at it"
"What? Sabotage? What do you mean?" he released her shoulder as they both ran toward the garage entrance. She felt her anger and confusion building up but she tried to control it, remembering what Jak had said about the poison. Razer better not have had anything to do with this!
"His weapons, they wouldn't work. They were jammed and it looks like his car was armed with explosives that didn't originally belong to the vehicle. It was almost as if someone wanted him to explode in the race but thankfully it didn't pull through"
"Oh my God" they had already went through the entrance and into the hall leading to one of the garage rooms for the racers. When she entered, she saw Jak leaning his forehead on his arms that rested on the side of the car. His jacket was off to reveal his short sleeve shirt and arms, also stained with oil. She felt Torn's reassuring hand upon her shoulder and he nodded to her before he ran back out again. She approached Jak cautiously, knowing he must've been really upset. She was sure she had already missed his cursing fit and his punching the car with his fists. Daxter was across the room, sleeping inside of a tire. It seemed that they had been here trying to check out the vehicle themselves and of course Daxter got tired. She should've been there. She walked up behind him but he didn't seem to notice. "Jak? I heard what happened…" she spoke timidly and she was surprised when he spun around with a sigh of relief.
"Keira. Thank God. Torn and I were taking a look at it but we still can't really figure out what happened and where the explosives might've come from" He was concerned.
"Well I'm your girl" she grinned proudly as she pointed to herself. She walked over to the toolbox next to the snoring ottsel and opened it. She grabbed a flashlight and a pair of goggles. She brushed her hair back before sliding the goggles on her eyes and flicked the flashlight on with a determined look on her face. Jak watched her as she did this and tried to contain smiling, whenever it came to cars or technology of any kind, she knew what she was doing. She slid herself beneath the car and yelled out to Jak, "Jak hand me the screwdriver with detachable tops" He slid the small kit under the car next to her. He heard the small squeaks of what seemed like she was unscrewing something. While at work, she continued to talk to Jak, seriously this time. "Jak…I'm sorry"
She heard him call down to her, "For what Keira?"
She sighed, "For last night and for not being here today when I was needed…I don't know what I would've done if the explosives had gone off" She received silence in response and just assumed he didn't know what to say at the moment. She finally unscrewed the box and gently cradled it in one arm as she slid herself out from underneath the vehicle with the other. When she slid out, Jak was on one knee beside her, staring down at her with a stern expression that she couldn't read. She gave him a baffled look and he got up, offering his hand to help her up. She grabbed his hand and he pulled her up to him. He gently pulled the box from her arm and placed it on the hood of the car. She watched and studied his actions as he suddenly pulled her against him without warning, wrapping her in his firm embrace. Her body stiffened and her hands stood in the air not knowing what to do. She closed her eyes and just when she was about to wrap her arms around his neck, he quickly backed away.
"It's ok. I'm glad that you're here now" and she smiled. What he had just done was confusing to her but she didn't want to spoil it by questioning it. She turned her attention to the box on the hood of the car and moved it on the trunk. She beckoned for Jak to stand beside her. She observed it for a moment, gently poking inside it with her fingers and finally lifted the goggles on top of her head.
"Ok, so these are the explosives. You guys were right. They were obviously planted there. Now this is what happened. In theory, from what I studied on explosives, you're supposed to attach this blue wire to the black one on the bottom of your vehicle. The black wire leads to the fuel tank and connecting it with the blue would cause an explosive reaction once you pressed the gas pedal of your car, however…whoever did it seemed to be in a rush. Instead of connecting the black and blue wire, they intertwined the blue wire with the red and yellow wires that are automatically connected in one wire. The red and yellow wires connect to your weapons and that's why your weapons wouldn't fire. So instead of making your car explode as they probably planned, they jammed your Yellow and Red Eco weapons instead"
She walked over to the computer nearby the car and wiped her hands on a towel before beginning to type. Jak looked intently at the screen, pondering what she was doing. She went to the main website that held the racing events and recorded the sport throughout history. There you could find each racer's profiles along with their records. She typed in the brand of explosives that were planted on Jak's car in the search engine and George Thomas Blitz popped up. It was an old profile with all his information, including his birth date and the day he died. She pointed at the screen so that Jak could see what she was reading aloud, "Cause of death, mysterious explosives were planted on his vehicle, causing it to explode when the gas pedal was pressed. Sadly he left behind a wife and a son who was named after him. We will always remember the legacy of G.T. Blitz and we hope that his son, who shares the same name will carry on his legacy" She slowed down as she finished it off, both of their jaws hanging. She clicked on the link with the actual newspaper article containing the exact details of the explosives used. "So this is G.T. Blitz's father and that's what the G.T. stands for. He must've gotten rid of the Jr. at the end of it. Anyway, so we don't know who planted the explosives but we do know that whoever planted them on your vehicle was the same person that planted them on the vehicle of Blitz's father, except back then they were able to connect the wires successfully and failed this time" She turned her head to see that Jak was staring at her in amazement. She felt the heat beginning to burn in her cheeks and he grinned at her.
To save her from further embarrassment he placed a firm hand on her shoulder, "Well it looks like we really got somewhere thanks to you. I think we need to pay Blitz a visit. If he knows any info. on his father's death we might be able to gather some clues on who planted the explosives" She nodded in approval and he continued, "Well since we're in Haven City and there's no Bloody Hook let's check out the Naughty Ottsel" He walked over to the tire where Daxter was still sleeping, tongue hanging out of his mouth. A devious grin spread on Jak's face as he kicked the tire, "Dax, get up. We gotta go"
He got up startled from the kick and looked around frantically, "Who dares to interrupt the slumber of the great orange lightning? Oh it's you. Where are we going?" He yawned and stretched his furry arms as he said this.
"To the Naughty Ottsel, Blitz might be there. I'll explain more on the way. You can get the chance to see Tess if you move your ass because we gotta head over to Kras City again by tonight" and with this, Daxter's eyes shot open and he quickly scurried up Jak's back to his shoulder.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's find this bastard so I can see my Tessy baby!" He pointed forward in excitement. Jak and Keira nodded to each other as they walked out of the garage.
While they drove their vehicles to the Naughty Ottsel, Jak radioed everyone to tell them about what they had discovered by looking at the explosives. The only person close enough to meet them at the Naughty Ottsel was Ashelin and she said she'd bring Pecker as company. They were already waiting outside when Jak and Keira pulled up in front of the bar. They nodded at each other in greeting and then walked into the Naughty Ottsel. They each looked around and Jak spotted him first. He nodded toward Blitz's direction and they all walked toward him, all burning with determination. Jak and Daxter slid into the booth that G.T. Blitz was sitting in, hunched over a mug. Kiera, Pecker, and Ashelin stood next to the booth.
Jak was across Blitz and he kept his voice low, "Blitz, we need to talk"
Keira was at the end of the table, hands resting on the surface, "We analyzed Jak's car after it was sabotaged. The explosives used..."
"Were the same type as those that killed your father" Pecker finished off her sentence.
"I don't know what you're talking about" Blitz snarled at everyone as if they had interrupted him with something irrelevant.
Jak found this strange but continued to explain himself. Maybe he was just uncomfortable with the subject. "Don't you get it? The very same people that want us dead also killed your father" Jak leaned in closer to Blitz.
"So the syndicate killed my old man. I'm not surprised. He was arrogant and cocky anyway" he continued to brush them off.
Ashelin was growing impatient with his resistance and jumped in, "These are very bad people. If you know anything..."
"What I know is that the ratings this season are through the roof. And it's only going to get better as the season comes to a close"
Jak was baffled by Blitz's reactions. "So that's it. That's all you care about?"
"It's all I've got. Now, if you don't mind, I have a swarm of cameras waiting" He then slid out from the booth and walked toward the exit.
Everyone followed him with their eyes, staring at him oddly. They were suspicious at his strange behavior. Once Blitz had completely left Jak spoke again, still keeping his voice low so that only those around him could hear, "Maybe he just doesn't want to get involved. But why wouldn't he? That was his father" Keira saw the anger in his eyes. Here was man that at least knew something about his father and didn't want to give a damn about finding out who killed him. She was sure Jak cursed him, cursed him for being lucky enough to know his father for a while before he had passed on. It was the kind of luck that Jak was not fortunate enough to experience. Keira nodded in disapproval of the situation.
Daxter seemed uncomfortable with the atmosphere and broke the silence, "Soooo uhh…I'm gonna head over to the bar for a sec before we head back to Kras City" He scurried his way over to the bar.
Tess was walking across the surface, struggling with a bottle, which to her was heavy since she had been transformed into an ottsel about a year ago. Her blond hair was frizzy and she moved sluggishly as if she had worked all day. She hadn't realized that everyone had walked in since she was so lost in her work. Only two men were at the bar and a group of four at a table. Even if the day was busy, thankfully tonight wasn't. Daxter crept up behind her and without warning, pulled her against him from the back. She yelped and almost dropped the bottle she was pushing. Luckily it didn't fall and when she turned her face to look over her shoulder at the furry face nuzzling her neck she squealed in delight. She quickly turned, jumping on him as she wrapped around his neck, "Daxter! I'm so glad to-" her words turned into a yelp as they both fell over behind the bar with an Oomph. It seemed that Tess had jumped too hard on Daxter and he lost his balance. Jak, Ashelin, Keira and Pecker rolled their eyes at the sight, grinning and nodding. Innocent whispers of apology were heard behind the bar, "Oh Daxxie poo are you ok? I'm sorry"
Daxter yelled out in response, not only to Tess but to the others as well, in a muffled cracking voice, "I'm ookaaay. Tess kind of landed on me but we're in one piece. Do not be alarmed. Orange lightning is not injured" They heard Tess giggle with glee.
Jak yelled to his furry companion behind the bar as he got up, walking toward the exit, "Alright Dax, you got two minutes. We gotta get going" They all walked out the exit, leaving Daxter behind.
Meanwhile behind the bar, Daxter was sprawled out on the floor with Tess hovering over him. She straddled him as he rubbed his head, wincing with pain. He had bumped his head when they hit the floor. Tess brought her tiny pink lips to kiss the bump on his head and stared at him apologetically. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to"
A wide grin spread across Daxter's face as he sat up with Tess still straddling him. "Ehh don't worry about it. There's nothing better than having my Tessy poo fall on top of me, I'm the hero remember? Rescuing his poor damsel from falling off the high treacherous cliff" He spoke dramatically and she laughed. It seemed that she had regained all her energy just by seeing Daxter again. He finally stood up, holding her hand in his. His expression turned serious. It was not a face he wore often since he was always being the humorous one but around Tess, it tended to show more. "Time for me to get back. The final race is tomorrow" He stood facing her, waiting for a response.
Her eyes trembled with worry and disappointment, "Oh…tomorrow huh? You're…you're coming back right?" She had already been informed about the poison and about the death threats on their heads.
Daxter smiled again to lighten the intensity in the moment. He hated awkward depressing moments. That's why he always made sure to add his humor in anything possible. "Don't worry. Your orange lightning will return!" he pointed upward, once again being dramatic. He was taken by surprise when he felt Tess pull down his ears so that she could pull his furry orange face to hers. She pressed their tiny lips together with a loud muah and released the red-faced ottsel. He flashed her one last grin before he climbed over the bar and scurried out the exit.
They all drove into the night in silence. Ashelin had went to meet up with Torn so she turned left on a corner, leaving Jak accompanied by Daxter and Keira to continue driving straight in their separate vehicles. After about forty-five minutes they arrived in Kras City. The bright colorful city lights greeted them and lit up the sapphire sky. They stopped at a red light in a four-way intersection when suddenly a classy red and black Havoc V12 pulled up between their vehicles. Keira recognized the arrogant laughter immediately.
"My my, fancy meeting you around here Jak" Razer always made sure to emphasize Jak's name to mock him. Jak's eyes burned into his, flickering black but it was unnoticeable in the dark night. Razer exhaled the nicotine smoke from his cigarette and turned to look in Keira's direction, her car beside his. "Ahh and finally, he is accompanied by his mechanic. Is this a miracle granted by Mar?" He was very sarcastic and he smiled slyly at her, flashing his perfectly straight, white teethe.
She turned and snarled at him, "What'll be a miracle is you winning that race tomorrow"
He laughed again and turned back to Jak, pointing in her direction, "Hmm, that's what I always liked about the girl. She's a feisty one" Jak began to growl at him and she could see his hands clenching the leather on his steering wheel. Razer continued, "As for the race…I'm not worried. Not worried at all"
Jak responded with a threatening tone of voice, "And why is that? Planning to win with sabotage again?"
Razer mocked Jak's efforts of trying to get him to confess to sabotaging his vehicle. However he wasn't the one that did it. He nodded in disapproval. "Jak Jak, you should know that I have more class than that. If I'm going to kill you I'll do it with my bare hands or my own weapons. It's not like I haven't done it before" As much as Razer's cocky attitude made Jak furious, he had to admit, Razer was right. Razer wasn't the kind of person to stab you when you weren't looking, he'd rather look you in your eyes and enjoy it. The light turned green ahead of them. Razer gave a quick wink to Keira and turned back to Jak's cringing face, "See you at the tracks tomorrow lover boy" and he sped off ahead of them. Daxter flung him the finger as he watched him. Thankfully the streets were deserted so no one was honking with impatience behind them. Keira looked over to Jak who was focused on the road ahead of him. It seemed that he didn't want to meet her glance and she saw the anger burning in his onyx eyes. Razer had set his blood boiling. His hands were trembling as he relentlessly clenched the steering wheel as if it was a living thing and he was strangling it. It was a scary sight and it brought fear into Keira's heart. She knew he had to be brimming with anger. Not just because of the sabotage and Razer's arrogant attitude but because of everything that had happened after he had found the flowers in her room. She searched for some sort of reaction in his raging eyes. Without turning to her he spoke coldly, "I think I'm gonna get a drink. Torn and Ashelin should be at the Bloody Hook. Maybe I should meet them there" and without waiting for Keira's opinion he turned left and drove off.
Keira stood there in awe with her mouth ajar. She stared into the direction that Jak had driven off as she saw his vehicle slowly disappear. Did he just…leave me here? Did he just drive off and leave me here like an idiot? I can't believe this. As if running into Razer wasn't bad enough, now he's just gonna go off and have-a-drink? What a jerk! Her brows creased in anger as she continued to drive straight towards the direction of the Inn. She couldn't believe what had just happened. Could've at least invited me along asshole. You think you're the only one around here that needs a drink…So much for not being stressed. Once again Keira was left feeling helpless. She hated feeling this way, not knowing what to do next. She felt like every day that she spent participating in the racing events, Jak slipped farther and farther away from her. What was worse is that she also felt herself slipping farther from him and instead of resisting it; she was slowly giving into it. She was beginning to get tired of putting so much effort into a love full of doubts and unclear answers. Tomorrow's the last day Keira. Jak is gonna win the final race and we'll get the antidotes. Everything can get back to normal. I know exactly what I'm gonna do tomorrow and if Jak doesn't feel secure or supported after this then tough luck. She tried to calm herself as she drove on, letting the wind harshly blow through her turquoise hair. Even though she had convinced herself that the worse was coming to an end, somehow in the back of her mind, as the doubts crept through her heart about Jak, she felt that the worse was only yet to come.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Wasn't that an emotional roller coaster? One minute it was happy, then it wasn't, then it was again, then it wasn't…Another cliffhanger yes I know. I needed to make sure my readers don't try and forget about my story while I'm gone for about a week Muahahaha. So that ending should keep you interested. Right::hears crickets chirping: uhhh right? So Keira is real mad now and so is Jak. Hmm I never knew he had a jealous side. Well it's about time he felt it for once instead of Keira so U show him how it's done girl!
Review review! I'll post up something next week most likely. Keep spreading the Jak Joy! Jak Joy, good for ya body, good for ya mind.
