TWO WEEKS LATER
Raid fell from the sky which drenched the neon city, discouraging citizens from enjoying the night life this evening. But out on the nearly empty highway roads, certain creatures of the night wouldn't let a little bad weather stop them from playing after dark. The crickets chirping were suddenly drowned out by the high pitched roars of engines veering by at break-neck speeds.
A figure on a glowing chrome skate board zoomed down the dirt road first. The skate board appeared to be hovering above the ground, and not far behind were two others on similar boards following the first racer. The one in front looked behind, showing long dark green quills and a yellow beak. Behind the leader, a large racer stayed on him, this one twice the size in height and weight. The third was someone thinner and was riding on a Chrome board longer than the other two.
A Hawk, Albatross and Swallow sped through the countryside gravel and made their way back onto the asphalt, illuminating the ground with their lit up hover boards.
They followed a highway lane that led to an overpass, the hawk looked ahead and spotted the unfinished side of an old bridge. He slowed his board down and all three came to a stop.
Four smaller racers caught up to the group and stopped in front of them, getting off their hover boards.
"We win, guys..AGAIN." The hawk wiped rain off his white and red racing jacket. "You know what that means, kiddo."
"Come on, man!" a brown hedgehog pleaded with the hawk. "One more race, Jet! Double or nothing, last one tonight, I swear!"
The green hawk yawned as he took a step to the left, then out of the shadows a blue hawk jumped out and kicked the hedgehog in the chest.
He fell down, and his friends didn't hesitate to get on their boards for a hasty escape. The large albatross jumped on his board and chased them while the green hawk looked down at the hedgehog kid. He reached into the kid's coat pocket and pulled a brown wallet out.
"Next time, don't make bets you can't pay.."
The green hawk took a handful of green bills and dropped the wallet.
"Anytime you get the more money, we'll go double or nothing, kid. Until then, get your sorry ass outta here."
"Have a nice night, loser!" The swallow taunted as she and the blue hawk fist bumped.
The leader, Jet, mercifully allowed the kid to get on his board and ride off, but the larger albatross wasn't as kind. He returned with three more hover boards in his arms and showed them off.
"Wave, check them out." He said.
The swallow took one and checked damage on the sides, then grinned.
"Sweet! Mint condition!"
Predator Hawk, the second in command, rolled his eyes at his contemporary. "This is great and all, but come on!... is this all we're here for, stealing money and boards off kids? I'm getting sick of doing this every night, Jet.."
"Listen, we're gettin' close to scoring that big jackpot, I can feel it." The green hawk counted the money in his hands. "We just have to keep waiting and eventually we'll get our break. Once that day comes, THEN you can bitch and complain all you want-"
A loud horn honked from behind the group to get their attention. Storm, the massive albatross, clinched his fists and faced off with the car as it stopped in the middle of the lane. Jet was surprised any vehicle came out here, no one but his crew would go out onto the unfinished bridge. A closer look showed this was a black limousine that shined it's extra powerful headlights on them.
The back door opened and a wolf the same height as the albatross stepped into the rain and walked towards the group. He wore a long black trench coat that skimmed the ground as he walked, silver dress shirt underneath, dark blue jeans and dark snakeskin boots.
"Furry Forrest is behind you, pal.." Jet looked up to the wolf.
"I didn't come out here in this rain to find the damn forrest.." the wolf got a glimpse of the whole crew. "I came up here to find you four."
"And why would that be, partner?"
The albatross stepped up to the wolf
"Miles Prower.."
Wave put her new Hover Boards down and immediately looked up.
"Ring any bells?"
"Yeah, we know that little punk."
"The swallow glanced up at the wolf. "How do you know him?"
"Lets just say I had a father and he's.. no longer with us. I want to 'talk' to little Miles about that situation."
"And this concerns us how?" The blue hawk asked.
"Everyone tells me he's fast and hard to pin down.. but you guys are faster."
Jet raised an eye brow. "So you want us to track him down, right? Maybe bring him to you?"
Harvey's son chuckled. "Shit, I was thinkin' you could rough up his crew while you're at it. I'd pay good to see ya kick 'em while they're down."
Predator Hawk squared up with the taller wolf. "What the hell do you take us for? We aren't some buck-tooth southerner outlaw group, we're RACERS!"
Jet stepped between the two and pulled his guy back. "Give us a minute, stranger."
The racing outfit's leader turned around and called his group over to talk while the wolf kept laughing to himself and waited for their answer.
"Do you believe the nerve of this guy? Stalking us out here and throwing his money in our face like he owns us." Predator Hawk said.
"What I believe is this guy's got serious money to toss around." Wave said.
Jet agreed. "This job sounds simple enough. Track and extract. Easy money."
"What? You're not seriously considering this, are you?"
"Yes. I am."
"I don't know about easy." Storm countered. "Tails is never too far from Sonic and the rest of his crew. Besides, who even knows if this guy is telling the truth."
"I concur, Tails doesn't have it in him to kill. Sonic? Sure. Knuckles? Absolutely. But not the kid.. something's not adding up."
"This whole thing smells like a setup! I don't like this!"
"Relax, P. I think this is the jackpot - or at least, the closest thing we're gonna get." Jet said. "...I'm going for it."
"Dude-"
"If you're up for it, then so am I." Wave said.
"Guys!"
"You haven't led us astray once, Jet. You have my vote of confidence." Storm vowed.
"Okay, so we're just gonna take this ass-clown's word, fine, let's do it. Not like we have anything else important going on, we've got lots of time to kill..."
"I'll get us a good price tag."
Jet smirked and then led the group back to the wolf, clearing his throat and putting on a serious tone.
"Impossible.. unless the price is right.."
This made the wolf laugh a little more. "My father had a few 'businesses' he ran that I am now currently in charge of.. money isn't an issue here, guys."
"How much are we talking, buddy?" The blue hawk asked.
"I can make you all very rich street racers in one night."
Jet grinned and extended his hand to the wolf. "Well then, you've got a deal.. Mr.. uh.."
"Drago Wolf." He said while shaking the leader's hand. "Grab a seat in my limo, we'll continue this conversation."
The trunk of the limo opened up and the racers tossed their gear inside. The wolf opened the door and let the group climb inside the car one by one, then he jumped in. He slammed his door closed and the limo sped off into the neon city.