Chapter Two: Settling In

Eden Shores, Palm City

THE FOLLOWING MORNING…

Rachel was up early, wrenching away under the hood of her Nissan. Outside the garage, muffled sounds of passing cars of various types were audible through the metal lift door. Hard hitting, bassy rap music echoed through the garage's speakers as she worked, getting her hands dirty under the hood of her pride and joy. Some time later, as she was finishing the installation of her new twin-turbocharged setup, a low, loud rumble of a Subaru engine went past.

"Damn, that thing sounds sick," She said to herself while reattaching her Nissan's front bumper, as she had taken it off to allow more room to work. Once the bumper was reattached, she closed the hood of her car and walked to the driver's seat of her Nissan, starting up its engine and guided the Japanese car out onto the streets, flooring the accelerator. Soon into her relaxed drive, a sleek, brand new silver Toyota Supra roared up alongside the purple Nissan, both drivers rolling down their windows. The Supra driver was a man who looked a bit older than her, but not by much, with shoulder-length dusty blonde hair and sunglasses.

"Yo, I've seen your build on the app, pretty sick. Question is, is it all for show, or do you actually have some go under that hood?"

"Trust me,you wanna see how much this thing's got? Just don't blink, 'cause you'll miss it." Rachel said confidently as both cars pulled up at a stop light and stopped, "First to the tunnel leading toward the Raceway."

"I'm game, let's roll on green," The Supra driver said, to which Rachel nodded and the two rolled up their windows again, revving. The millisecond the light went green, Rachel's foot slammed the accelerator, sending her out ahead of the Toyota driver, whose reaction time was noticeably slower, though by the time Rachel's eyes darted to her rear view, the Supra was already on her tail, closing up the ground between them at a solid pace.

Oh. Well… this is a problem. I may have bitten off a tad more than I can chew with this one.

Shaking her doubts out of her mind, she flattened the gas pedal and both cars rocketed down the busy city streets, weaving in and out of traffic, close to, and away from each other, almost evenly matching each other's pace. Panicking traffic swerved out of the way of the cars, and sure enough someone had called the police, because Rachel's police scanner went off. She reached over and switched audio channels on her app, listening in.

"Officers in Eden Shores, civilians reporting two cars driving recklessly and weaving in and out of traffic. They don't look to be a part of the Showdown. Any units nearby to intercept?" The dispatcher reported, audibly unpleased.

"10-4 Dispatch, I'm in the area, I'll take point." A female officer radioed back. Just as both racers reached the long tunnel separating Eden Shores from the Raceway area, a white Ford Crown Victoria with a light blue Palm City Police Department livery flashed its sirens, giving chase as the officer reported in.

"Dispatch, the cars are in sight! Giving chase."

"10-4. Makes and models?" Dispatch asked.

"Looks like a Nissan...180SX? And a brand new Toyota Supra giving chase behind it," the officer replied.

"The Supra is wanted for various charges, and that Nissan was reported as involved in damaging an officer's cruiser just last night. Use necessary force to bring both vehicles to a stop."

"Affirmative," the officer said, and Rachel switched audio channels, speaking into the phone.

"We've been made."

"What?" The Supra driver asked into the phone in reply.

"The cops. Both of us have pretty notable records." Rachel explained, keeping her Nissan firmly in front of the Supra as both cars, followed by the police cruiser, "Records neither of us can get caught for."

As they talked, the Supra passed the Nissan, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw the officer flip a switch on her dashboard. Before she could even react, the engine abruptly shut off, and the car coasted.

"No, no, no no no… c'mon…" Rachel groaned, trying to restart the car as it rolled, skidding into the gravel aside the road. Fortunately, the Supra driver saw the gap between them growing and circled back, skidding alongside the now-stopped Nissan before the officer could get out of the cruiser.

"Get in!" He yelled, throwing the passenger door open.

Not wanting to get arrested, she didn't hesitate and ran toward the Supra, getting inside. The car sped off, leaving Rachel's beloved Nissan behind. The car that she had slaved over for so many long hours and no-sleep nights, reduced to a heap of metal that wouldn't start as it sat at the side of the road.

"Thanks for comin' back for me. I figured you'd have just… y'know, split." Rachel spoke, glancing in the rear view at the police car.

"Racers gotta look out for each other right? We ain't got no beef." The Supra driver nodded, "You gon' need a new ride, though. You likely ain't gettin' that thing back."

"Shit, you're right," Rachel realized, "Know anywhere I can snag a decent set of wheels cheap?"

"Yeah, my guy Calvin. He's out on the Westside. Runs a small garage, you're bound to find somethin' he's tryin' to pawn off at a solid price."

Rachel nodded as the Supra driver drove through the city before eventually arriving at the warehouse.

"Tell 'im Case sent you. He'll hook you up."

"Thanks, Case." Rachel nodded, getting out and walking into the nondescript building. It was dark, and Rachel couldn't see much aside from the reflections of multiple vehicles' body lines in the low light.

"...Uh, hello? Anybody home?" She called out into the dark space.

That moment, the lights came on, practically blinding Rachel with their brightness as she covered her eyes and a middle aged man's voice spoke.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Case sent me. My name's Rachel Jackson. I, uh, lost my last set of wheels, and Case mentioned you're a good source of decently priced wheels." Rachel said, uncovering her eyes as they adjusted to the brightness and she laid eyes on multiple cars of various types and sizes.

"Decent? I'm gonna have to teach him the art of upselling," He chortled, "Have a look around. Name's Calvin."

"Will do," Rachel nodded, looking around the garage at the automotive smorgasbord sitting throughout the space.

She laid eyes on a Bayside Blue Nissan Skyline off the bat, and she instantly knew: this was the one.

She walked over to the car, and Calvin followed soon after.

"How'd you even get this baby stateside, anyway?" Rachel asked as Calvin leaned on the hood of a late model Ford Mustang nearby.

"It helps to have friends in high places," He said simply.

"I'll take this GT-R off your hands. I've got the cash, lemme just e-transfer it over."

"Pleasure doin' business." Calvin smiled. Rachel transferred the funds, and seconds later Calvin's phone buzzed. Once Calvin gave a nod, he left to retrieve the keys, handing them to Rachel. She got into the car, carefully guiding it out of the garage with Calvin's help. As the car pulled out of the warehouse, she saw Calvin reach up and pull the manual garage door down, closing it once more.

If I call the impound lot and ask about the car, they'll trace the phone and I'll be burnt. I'll cruise by now, and look through the fence. It's impossible to miss. A bright purple Nissan. Once I know it's there, I'll have to drop by after hours and grab it back. If I don't, they'll crush it in ten days.

She nodded, conceiving a plan in her mind as she looked up the Palm City Police Department address in her Maps app, driving over to it. Once she was near enough to the gates, she parked the car a block over so it wouldn't draw attention, then got out and locked the doors behind her before walking back down the street to the impound. Scanning the various cars through the steel fence, she eventually sighted the Nissan and nodded to herself.

Car found-now I just need some time to plan a way in.

Having found what she was in search of, she jogged back down the sidewalk to where she had stashed the GT-R, and got back inside, starting up the inline-six engine and roaring back to her garage.