At the docks.
Jimmy was shaking in his seat. His has clamped onto the steering wheel with a vice-like grip. He was breathing a gallon of air a minute and his vision, hearing, and sense of touch were blurry at best. But otherwise he was uninjured considering the spectacular crash he went through. The car was done, however. The radiator was broken and leaking. The car was in no shape to continue driving let alone racing.
Already a crowd was growing near the Golf but first to the car was Suki and Alex. Suki quickly opened the driver side door to see to Jimmy.
"Jimmy? Are you alright?"
Jimmy was shaking in his seat, still gripping the wheel. He looked wearily at Suki. "Yeah…I…think I'm fine," he said in a cropped tone.
"Anything broken?" asked Alex. "Aside from the car that is."
"No…no, noting. I'm okay."
"You wanna get outta that seat?"
"…Sure."
Jimmy struggled to unbuckled his harness. Though he was ok physically, he still needed Suki's help in order to get out of the car. And even then he couldn't stand up straight just yet. Suki continued to whisper reassuring messages into his ear to help him recover.
For his part, Alex was glad that Jimmy was ok but something was bothering him in that crash. It shouldn't have happened. He knew the Golf R32 and he's seen a few sample of it in action before. A turn like that at that speed should've been no problem for the car and driver. Then there was that understeer and the way the wheel seemed to dig into the ground which caused the car to flip. That wouldn't happen unless—
Alex had a feeling. Something wasn't right. He took one last look at Jimmy to make sure he was ok before head around the front and towards the left side front wheel.
Meanwhile, Rome's purple 'Cuda pulled up to the scene. Rome stepped out of the driver's seat and Tej stepped out from the passenger seat. The crowds made way for them as they went for Jimmy.
"What happened?!" asked Tej. "Is he hurt?!"
"No he's fine, Tej," said Suki, "just a little shaken up."
"What happened to the car?" asked Rome.
"Flipped after coming out of the corner."
"How the hell did that happen?"
"It doesn't matter," said a new but familiar deep voice among the group.
Everyone look towards the source. Tej recognized him instantly. It was the driver of the Supra who was Jimmy's opponent in the race. He came back and he took his posse with him. Tej and the others knew little about him. All they know was that he goes by the alias "Bull." He recently came to Miami from New York and he brought quite a reputation with him.
He's been cleaning house at almost every race event he's been in for the past couple of months. Tej knew it was a mistake allowing Jimmy to race this guy in the first place but he never expected things to go this badly.
"It doesn't matter because in the end, he still would've lost to me," said Bull. "Suck-ass drivers like him don't belong on the tarmac among real racers."
"Hey, man you shut your mouth!" shot back Rome.
"Or what? You can't argue the fact that the race in mine. You guys got no right to complain. You challenged me, remember?"
Rome was silent, but fuming. Tej and Suki couldn't do anything.
They continued to argue for a bit more with Rome trying to be the antagonist he was known to be from time to time. While all this was happening, Alex was on one knee feeling around the flat left side front tire. He had his hand feeling across the surface of the tire.
He knew what he was looking for. This situation wasn't anything new to him, much to his regret. He saw the signs and he wanted to know for sure. He continued to feel all over the exposed surface of the tire and after a few short moments, he found what he was looking for. And when he did, he got pissed.
"I want my money," said Bull.
"What?" replied Tej.
"The race was for six grand."
"Hey, man, can't you just wait a little, I gotta make sure my boy's alright here."
"Screw that! Just shut up and give me the money that I won!"
"Bullshit!" exclaimed Alex as he slowly got up from where he knelt near the wheel.
Everyone in the crowd turned their attention to him now, Alex looked hard at Bull. Fitting name, he thought, too bad it was only half accurate.
"What the hell did just say?" said Bull.
"That win was not legit. Neither is your claim on that cash. You didn't win anything. You don't deserve the win and Jimmy didn't deserve that crash."
On the other side of the car, Rome looked at Alex curiously then turned to Tej. "Who's this?" he asked.
"The pizza guy," replied Tej earning him a raised eyebrow from Rome.
Bull seemed to have gotten a little irritated but that show of bravado from Alex. "Big words from you there pal. Got anything to back them up?"
Alex simply smirked. "I know a flat tire when I see one."
Bull was quiet for only a moment before bursting in a fit of giggles. His posse followed suit and so did a few people from the crowd. Suki, Jimmy, Tej and Rome were all looking at Alex curiously, as if the young man had gone mental or something. Alex took all this in stride.
"Yeah, well so do I," said Bull. "Hell, everyone with an IQ over 10 knows what a flat tire is, jackass!"
"Yeah, maybe," replied Alex, "but not everybody knows a knife stab when they find it."
With this the laughter died down. Bull looked a bit surprised by this and so did Suki and the others. Tej was darting his sights between Bull and Alex, thinking about the implications of what Alex just said. If that was true then Jimmy's crash was…
"And you say I'm full of bullshit?" retorted Bull.
Alex was holding back a grin. He had played this game before and he played it well. By the time he was done this jerk would be walking away with his tail between his legs. It was all about set up. Play the words right and this guy will fall right into it.
"You can check it for yourself, if you don't believe me."
"So, you're accusing me of cheating?!"
Strike one. Alex smirked a bit but it was barely noticeable. "Cheating? Who said anything about cheating? Who said anything about you cheating?"
Bull was taken aback. He knew he had just fallen for a trap. The worst thing for a guilty party to do is accidental self-implications. Distrust is one of the hardest things to get rid in a person. Tej now narrowed his eyes. Things were getting thicker. Suki, Jimmy, and Rome also seem to be getting the drift of things.
"All I'm trying to say is," continued Alex, "that win was not legit, regardless of who did or if there was any cheating."
"That's crap! This is the streets! Anything goes on the streets! I don't care if his tire blew or not, a win is a win and a loss is a loss!"
"Whatever, bro. That may be where you come from but they do it a little different here." Alex looks towards Tej. "Right?"
Tej looked a little confused for the moment before knowing what he would do. He turned towards Bull. "He's right! We may be on the streets but even here we have a little something honor, brah. You can't call that a win, I don't care who you are. The money's not yours yet. If you want it that bad, you're gonna hafta wait till we set this up again. Then we'll run this with the same rules."
"To hell with that, brah!" retorted Bull. "I haven't got all night to wait for you boy over there to go find his balls again!" He turned to Alex. "Unless this ass-wipe can put his money where his mouth is, our discussion here is done! The only way I'm giving you a chance to get your money back is if punk over here throws down!" Bull pointed to Alex during that last sentence.
Strike two. "Sure, I can deal with that."
Bull was again taken aback. This time so was Tej and the others. The crowds were giving off a resounding "oooh" at the blatant, if not casual, acceptance of Bull's challenge to Alex. No one seemed to have been expecting that except maybe Alex himself. And in truth, it was. Bull was digging himself deeper into the trap and all Alex had to do was close and lock the hatch.
"On one condition, though," said Alex. "Triple or nothing. Either that or you're just not worth my time and gas."
The crowds slowly started to cheer. Alex was smirking more noticeably now. Tej and the others were getting increasingly concerned about, mostly because they never expected any of this from Alex. After all, he was just a pizza boy, right? Suki made sure that Jimmy was strong enough to stand on his own then swiftly moved to Alex's side.
"Triple or nothing?!" said Suki. "What do you think you're doing?"
Alex turned to her and replied: "This guy is not worth racing. However, six grand times three is. That's the only way I'll take this guy on. Relax, Suki, the cash won't be a problem." He turns to Bull again. "What do you say, bro?"
"You think you can ask for eighteen grand, just like that?!" retorted Bull.
Strike three. You're out asshole. "This is the streets. Anything goes on the streets."
Around them the crowds were cheering and screaming for Bull to accept the condition. Bull was silenced. He knew right then and there that he was in a trap he couldn't get out of. He was played and he dug himself in too deep. Alex was now staring him down. He knew that the only way this guy could save face was to throw down the cash and accept the conditions. He had nowhere to go because he knew how much of a punk-ass he will look like if he backed out of his own challenge. All that was left to do was to smoke him on the tarmac.
Bull was silent for a while but eventually said: "Fine…"
Alex smirked wide. "Ok then. Give me a minute to fetch my car. I'll see you at the starting line."
Alex started to walked towards the warehouse where he parked his car not giving anyone else a second look. Suki followed him in after giving one last glance to her friends then quickly caught up to Alex and they walked into the warehouse together. Bull was fuming as he got back into his Supra and drove back in the direction of the starting line. All the while, Tej, Jimmy, and Rome were standing there confused.
"What the hell just happened, man?!" asked Rome.
"Man, I have no clue," said Tej, "but I got I feelin' It's gonna be a long night, brah."
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Inside the warehouse.
As expected with the atmosphere of the general area, the place was filled with cars, all of them tuned and modified. Many of the tuners inside were have speaker battles instead of races. Speaker battles were all about watts and not horsepower. The majority of the cars had their trunks open showing off their impressive stereo and light systems trying to out-sound the other guys.
Alex slowed in his walk to appreciate the loud thumping beats that shook the building to its foundation. Suki was right next to him the whole time, only not as calm as he was.
"Alex do you have any idea what you're doing?" she asked. "You just challenged a guy for eighteen grand."
"Technically, he challenged me."
"You reeled him into that and you know it. And what was all that talk about Jimmy's flat tire. You really think he stabbed it to cheat?"
"Maybe after this, I can show you myself where the tire was punctured."
"Bu how do you know this guy cheated?"
"I've been through this before. And the signs were all too obvious. The flat was suspicious enough but when he came up to scene like that, demanding the money first in a hurry, it was just too convenient for him. And the way he answered me when I told everyone about the flat…"
"Setting all that aside, are you sure you can even take this guy on?"
Alex stopped in his walk, right in front of a car. Suki didn't notice this at first but when Alex pulled out a key from his pocket, pressed the button on the infrared remote, and made the car beep, she did notice. And the moment she did she was rendered speechless.
Sitting right in front of her was a bright orange Nissan Silvia S15 with a carbon fiber aero hood and GT wing spoiler, a C-west GT-type body kit, and nicely flowing black tribal decals on the side. Other exterior modifications that she noticed were a set of black NISMO aluminum rims wrapped in Toyo performance tires. She got a peek at the aftermarket names on the side of the door once again, most of which she recognized.
She slowly turned her sights back to Alex with a flabbergasted look on her face. Alex smiled back at her. "Like I said before. You've already seen what I can do, Suki."
She raised an eyebrow.
"Don't give me that look, you started that thing we had on the highway."
Alex moved towards the driver side. She motioned for Suki to take the passenger seat. Suki hesitated a bit before walking around the front and taking the passenger side door and they both climbed in together. Alex fell into his seat like he belonged there. Suki had to adjust herself to the seat. She got a chance to explore the interior as well.
The front seats were replaced with Recaro racing seats complete with four-point harnesses. The inside was reinforced with a custom roll cage. The back seat was completely removed and the back areas seemed to have been spray painted black to match the rest of the interior. The steering wheel was also made by Recaro with added buttons labeled "N20" with easy thumb reach. The stock RPM gauge Speedometer were replaced with professional racing gauges from Auto Meter. Other than that, everything looked stock, although it look like Alex did remove the carpets on the floor to save a little weight.
"Let's go," said Alex as he started the engine which rumbled to life.
Alex stepped on the Gas and was soon out of the warehouse.
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At the starting line.
By then, Bull was waiting at the starting line again, digging into his pockets and trying to come up with the agreed upon purse for the race. Tej, Rome and Jimmy were waiting anxiously on the sideline leaning on Rome's 'Cuda. As for Jimmy's Golf, they managed to push it to the side lines with some help from the crowds. They'll just pick it up later.
"So when is your boy gonna get here?" asked Bull as he paced to and fro in front of his car. "How do you even know this guy?"
"He delivers pizza to us," answered Tej honestly.
"And he thinks he can race!?"
"I don't know. Ask him when he gets here."
"What is that all you can say?!"
"I barely know the guy! And what does it matter anyways? Your challenge, your race! You worry about who he is, man. I'm just the organizer."
Bull turned away annoyed. Rome then turned to Tej. "Hey, man, I'm not too comfortable with this cat, Alex. I know it's hi race now and all but it ain't like you to just let somebody from outta nowhere to take the line like that. Can this guy put it down or what?"
Tej was about to say something when he heard the sound of engines coming their way. When Tej saw it coming out of the corner, he just had to smirk. "Somehow, yeah, I think he can put it down."
Rome, and just about everyone else there, turned towards the end of the straight where the bright orange S15 was driving towards them. The crowds slowly started cheering at the approaching car. When the S15 was about ten yards away, the car did a sudden 180 degree turn and reversed right alongside Bull's Supra.
The doors of the S15 opened and both Alex and Suki stepped out. Alex raised his hand and showed that he held an impressively large wad of cash. Tej took this as his cue and walked in between the two cars and their respective drivers. Alex handed his cash to Tej for his keeping. Tej then turned to Bull who pulled out his cash from his pocket and hand it down.
"Okay then," said Tej, "do I have to review to y'all how this works?"
Bull's response was getting in his car and slamming his door shut. Tej took that as a no. He then turned to Alex since he knew he never explained the race rules to him yet. But Alex waved him off.
"Don't worry man, I got this." He said then got back into his own car.
Tej shrugged and went to his position in front of the two cars. As Alex was getting himself comfortable in his seat, He was a bit surprised when Suki got back into hers. He looked at her inquisitively as she buckled up again.
"You're the one who said you wanted to show us what you got," she said. "Well, here's your chance, pizza boy."
"Well, alright then," he placed his hands on his steering wheel. "I'm just a little worried about the weight handicap."
Suki smirked and nodded. Then she suddenly realized what the comment implied and instantly frowned. She turned her head towards Alex with a look. "Excuse me?!"
Alex didn't have time to answer back. At that moment, Tej had already dropped his hands and yelled "GO!" The race was on.
The Supra was off the line first by a few milliseconds. Alex was off the line, pressing Suki back down onto her seat. Bull in his Supra and Alex in his S15 were neck and neck throughout the first stretch. It almost seemed like the revs were completely synchronized. The whole stretch Alex was looking at Bull through his window, studying his moods.
"Um, Alex?" said Suki. "The corner?"
Alex let off the gas and let the Supra go ahead, long before the corner hit. Alex kept his eye on the Supra as Bull took the corner aggressively going in a wide arc. Alex smirked as he gently eased the S15 through the hairpin turn not even attempting to catch up. By the time they came out of the corner, the Supra was at least four car lengths ahead of the S15. Alex continued to watch the Supra carefully as it made the next corner into the wide area where Jimmy crashed. He was just about getting the gist of Bull's driving style.
Cheat or no cheat, no doubt this guy had some skill worth taking seriously. Alex estimated he must've been racing for at least a year, maybe went to a school somewhere that gave him a few techniques. As for the car, it was no hack job. It was tuned professionally though he doubted that Bull himself did most of the tuning, considering how he handled that car. Drivers who tuned their own cars usually either adapted their driving style to the car or vice versa. It was painfully obvious that Bull and his machine were not in harmony
"Alex," said Suki, "you do know this is a race, right?"
"I do."
"Then why don't you drive like it?"
"Don't worry, I got this. I just want to give this dude something to think about."
Alex decided to show off a bit by drifting across the corner in a wide arc, much to the enjoyment of the crowds that were watching. Alex was easily able to catch up to the Supra but still made no attempt to overtake him. Instead he stayed right on his bumper. It was the same story through the next four corners.
The S15 matched the Supra's every maneuver and remained at a modest two car lengths away up to the last, quarter mile straight before the start/finish line. During the straight both cars easily reached a top speed of 160 miles per hour before they both had to brake hard for the last corner. Waiting at the start/finish line, the crowds cheered at the sight of the two cars as they appeared out of the corner. Bull's Supra looked to be securely in the lead, much to the chagrin on Tej, Jimmy and Rome.
Bull was about to laugh in celebration at the knowledge that the first lap was his when suddenly he heard the rumbling of an engine suddenly pass by him on the left. He looked through his window just in time to see the S15 zoom past him and cross the line before him.
Alex grinned as he watched the Supra became smaller in his rearview mirror. However instead of punching it, Alex stepped on the brakes and pulled back. He let Bull pass him and Alex stepped on the gas again and maneuvered himself behind the Supra's slipstream.
Inside the S15, Suki looked at Alex curiously. Alex simply smirked back.
"That should be something for him to think about," he said.
Suki slowly curved her lips into an understanding smile. She figured out his game now. There was no doubt that Alex was the better driver here and he wasn't about to let that guy, Bull, forget about it. She tightened her harness and sat back for the ride.
In his Supra, Bull just got a hit of the nerves. In all likelihood, he came to the same conclusion that Suki had a second ago. And it showed. His driving seemed to have gotten a little bit more sluggish now though only the keenest person would see it.
Nothing he could do about now but race with all his got and he knew deep in his got it wasn't that much. He powered on through the first two corners and soon both cars were in the wide open space again. Bull was fully expecting Alex to make a move here and Alex entertained that notion well.
Alex made some purposely half-assed attempts to overtake just to see how Bull would react. Predictably enough, the Supra moved in to block in the attempts. He was getting nervous now, thought Alex. He pulled back and let Bull gain a bit of a lead. For the next four corners, the story would be again the same: Bull in the lead and Alex on his tail pipe. Finally they came up to the long quarter mile stretch.
"Alright, now we end this," said Alex.
If Suki wanted to see Alex's skill, she was entreated then and there. Alex popped the clutch, slammed the brakes, shifted gears, turned the wheel, and slammed the gas again, and counter-steered in almost one fluid motion putting the car into an inertia drift, maneuvering the S15 alongside the Supra. The S15 and the Supra were now neck and neck going down the stretch, the S15 matching the Supra's pace. To say Suki was impressed was an understatement.
Bull and Alex came face to face through their open windows. From his expression alone, Alex could tell that Bull was having a very hard time trying to keep his composure. Alex kept a straight face and winked at Bull right pressing a little harder on the gas pedal putting the S15 into a lead of two feet.
That was all it took for Bull to move desperately, and it was also what Alex was counting on. Bull reacted by igniting his nitrous adding about 150 horses to his engine's power output instantly. The Supra zoomed forward and regained the lead. Bull looked at his rearview mirror and watched the S15 grow smaller in the distance. What he didn't see was Alex grinning in satisfaction.
Bull was so preoccupied with keeping his lead that he failed to notice that the final turn at the end of the stretch was less than 400 feet away when he shot his nitrous. When he did realize it he tried to stop by applying both the foot brake and the handbrake simultaneously and tried to turn the car sideways. It wasn't nearly enough.
The Supra went into an uncontrolled spin and ended up hitting the stack of containers which defined the walls of the track at about 60 miles per hour, rear bumper first. The resulting crash completely crumpled the back end of the Supra just shy of the rear axle.
The crowds around the start/finish line watching let out resounding "whoa's" at the sight of the crash. A second later, the crowds cheered as Alex's S15 came out of the corner at high speed and sprinted towards the line. Alex ended the race in some style by sliding the car across the finish line passenger-side first, sending up some smoke from his tires. Almost instantly the Crowd converged on his car.
Inside the S15, Alex turned towards Suki. "So what do you think?"
Suki playfully grinned back. "Well, you got some talent, pizza boy. Where'd you learn to drive like that?"
Alex kept his smile but turned away from her. "Now that would be a really long story."
"Maybe you can tell it to me sometimes." Suki then unbuckled herself from the seat and opened the door to let herself out.
Alex let out a chuckle and soon unbuckled his own harness and got out to a cheering crowd. He looked around and looked at all the applauding people around him. It felt good, he told himself. He had almost forgotten what it felt like to win a race:
It felt perfect.
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Author's note: Well this story is going well so far. Next chapter, we'll explore Alex and his car a little bit more. As for Bull well he'll play a bit of a role in this particular story arc. Till then pls. R&R.