Stomping on the pedal, David felt his body being pushed back into the seat, as the Sentinel went forward racing along with the other three. In the first three seconds, the Bullet GT was up first, the Saturn was up second, the Sentinel was up third while the Phobos GT was behind them dead last.
Thomas looked behind for a second as, he saw David's car trying to gain on them but, the Saturn was blocking his way. He laughed, thinking to himself that the race was his.
David gritted his teeth pissed off as they passed they first gate. He saw where the next gate was and needed to pick up the pace. As he tried to pass up the car in front of him, he spoke through the loud music. "Lilly I need you to do something for me."
"Yeah, what?" Lilly yelled.
"When I pass a gate, I need you to look at the sign they hold up showing the next gate." David said as he witnessed the two cars in front of him make a hard left turn. Shifting gears, he saw a turn coming up and executed a powerslide narrowly missing the curb. While David was holding on to the steering wheel tightly, Lilly's body suddenly jolted to the side of the door, and banged her head against the window. David heard the sound but didn't look to see. "Are you alright?"
Lilly held the side of her head feeling a headache coming in. "Yeah…never better," Lilly said sarcastically.
The car behind David saw the turn as well, but turned too late. The driver inside the Phobos GT panicked and, screamed as his car spun out of control, and crashed into light pole. The driver was alive but shaken. He got out looking at the three cars drive off and shook his head. Feeling defeated, he kicked his tires in a fit of rage.
Up ahead, Thomas weaved through the small traffic and laughed. "This is easier than I thought." He said as, he made a small turn.
"Come on you bastard…quit hogging the damn road!" David yelled as he honked the horn at the Saturn.
"Pull to the side of his car. I got an idea," Lilly smirked.
"Fuck no. I'm already in this mess, thanks to one of your ideas." David replied, rejecting her request.
"Aw, come on! It'll work," Lilly said pressing the button for the window to go down. She then unbuckled her seatbelt and raised her skirt a bit. When she did, she lifted up her miniskirt exposing her bare white ass along with a red thong. "Drive up to the side of his care David…and be quick about it, it's cold as hell right now!"
Shaking his head, David agreed and made the turn. He watched the road, pulling right next to the car. He kept his distance away from the Saturn and, saw that the next gate was through a straight road.
"Hey!" Lilly yelled, "Like what ya see!" she wiggled her ass at the driver in the Saturn, getting his attention.
David honked his horn several times to get the driver to look. "That should help."
The driver looked and stared in amazement. His foot slipped off the accelerator as he continued staring at Lilly's behind like a total goof. He continued staring as there was another hairpin turn coming up.
Lilly quickly brought herself back to her seat and quickly buckled up as, David shifted gears and began to turn.
"Hold on!" David yelled as he jerked the steering wheel hard and braced himself. The Sentinel was a bit of a fast car, but it's handling on the corners took skill. David was all about skill but in this case it was a different story. David's side of the car was beginning to feel light as he realized one thing; he was on two wheels. "Oh shit!" he cried out. He turned the wheel, trying to bring some stabilization to the car. In a matter of seconds, he brought the car back on all four wheels, and was back on track.
"What the fuck was that?" Lilly wondered.
"We were on two wheels for a short moment. Luckily, your side was a bit heavy and kept the car going, while I had to press down bringing down the extra weight on the car.
Lilly stared at him. "My side was a bit heavy? You calling me fat?"
"No! What I was saying was…"
"Bullshit, you called me fat!" Lilly yelled as she crossed her arms and sulked. "Just win this race David." She demanded as she looked away and started mumbling to herself. "Call me fat, must be out your damn mind."
David ignored how Lilly was feeling and continued driving making towards the gate. He wondered what became of the driver in the Saturn, as took a quick shortcut through an alley. Unknown to David, the driver of the Saturn, had tried to make the turn but ended up driving into a wall and, died instantly from the impact.
"There he is!" Lilly said pointing at Thomas's Bullet GT driving all over the place.
Thomas couldn't believe David was still in the race. He was wondering where the other two drivers were as he saw another gate and gunned for it. Ok, you bastard. You wanna play games with me? Let's do it then." Feeling lucky, his hand reached over near the radio and flipped a red switch. He then, pressed the button and a whooshing sound came from the engine, followed by Thomas being flown back into his seat hard, hanging on for deal life. He looked at the Sentinel behind him and laughed gleefully passing the gate.
Lilly stared open mouthed as the Bullet GT drove off. Lilly shook her head. "How…did…"
David knew exactly what it was. He could tell after seeing the blue haze from the exhaust pipes of Thomas's car. "Nitro…the motherfucker was using nitro!" Not wasting any time, he floored it and tried to keep up. "Shit, this isn't good."
"No kidding," Lilly agreed. She was worried David would lose as she glanced at the speedometer. They were going at fast and steady 102 mph. "Can't this fucking car go any faster?"
David shook his head. "This is the fastest I can go without damaging the engine block. I guess you can say, this is the Sentinel's top speed."
The color in Lilly's face drained. "Top speed? TOP SPEED! I can jump out and run faster than this! I don't care what happens to the engine, just fucking hit the gas David!" Lilly screamed. "Earlier you said it had a V-12 engine equipped. That should mean it goes faster right?"
"Yes, but if I redline any more, it's going to damage the engine, and when that happens, this car is fucked." David explained. He saw Lilly didn't get it, so he turned off the radio and, tried a simpler method. "And, if this car is fucked, we lose! So do me a favor Lilly and stow your bullshit!"
Lilly closed her mouth and staring at David. Tears were beginning to well up in her eyes, as she tried not to burst into tears. "D-avid. I just don't want this guy to…w-win that's all."
"Then let me handle it Lilly," David guaranteed. "Getting mad and yelling at me isn't going to help a damn thing."
"Alright…handle it then." Lilly said wiping her eyes.
"He wants to play unfair, and bust out with nitro. We can play that game with him." David smirked as he passed the gate.
"Next gate is at another couple of blocks near the dock." Lilly said glancing at the sign as they passed.
"Good, I know exactly where that is." David nodded as he took a hard turn and entered an alley.
Lilly held on as the car shook and rumbled underneath the cracked pavement. "Why are we going this way?"
"Thomas wants to use nitrous, well I'm going to use shortcuts." David declared.
"Pretty original. But suppose he calls us out on cheating?" Lilly wondered.
"We can do the same thing on his little nitrous scheme. Now hold on." David said as he exited out of the alley and, performed another hard turn heading towards the main street. He saw that taking the shortcut managed to keep up with the Bullet GT. He continued glancing at his meters making sure he wouldn't redline.
"Two more gates till the finish line." Lilly said worried. "We're not going to make it are we?"
"Probably," David honestly answered. "From the way things seem right now, I honestly don't know."
Lilly sighed. "It's my fault…I shouldn't have opened my mouth and proposed this bet."
Yeah, you got that right, David thought, as he continued driving.
"We should've just went with your damn plan…probably hand 'em the money and shoot our way out of there." Lilly continued sighing.
"Lilly, now is not the time for you to get all down and everything. I'm going to win this…I can guarantee you that." David promised. He flicked his headlights on and off several times signaling Thomas that he was still on him.
Up ahead, Thomas glanced at his rear-view mirror and saw David flashing his high beams at him. Thomas scowled as his eyes went back onto the road. "Ok, let's try this again," Thomas muttered as he flipped the switch to the nitro back on. He glanced and saw that his speed wasn't going any higher and, realized his mistake; he used it all up.
Back in the Sentinel, Lilly was glancing at the Bullet GT wondering what was going on. "Why isn't he using that nitro stuff?"
David smiled. "He's out." He pressed on the gas a bit more and was now right up against the Bullet GT's bumper. "He knows he's out, so now he thinks blocking me from passing him will work."
"Will it?"
"If he keeps this shit up, yeah." David said trying to get by.
The two cars both passed the gate and continued racing down Jeffery Boulevard. Thomas's Bullet GT was still in the lead, but David's Sentinel was right on him. Both cars looked like a couple of blurs as they both zoomed past a cop car. Thomas knew that that a regular police cruiser wouldn't be able to catch up to his car. But it would most definitely chase David.
"Was that a…"
"Yes, that was!" David yelled in a panic. Wasting no time, he saw another T-section coming up, and made a hard left turn. The Sentinel nearly hit the curb as he glanced at his rear view mirror, and saw that the police cruiser was definitely behind him.
"Why did we go left?" Lilly said as she looked behind at the police car flashing its lights and, blaring the siren at them.
"Shortcut," David said simply. "This is DeCarter Avenue...a very narrow street, with a few back alleys to drive through.
"Yeah, your point?" Lilly speculated.
"Just watch." David replied, as he shifted gears, followed by hitting the brakes and, going right into an alley.
The Sentinel drove right through the alley, kicking up dust, trash, and nearly hitting a hobo. The police cruiser made it through the alley and was still on its pursuit.
"Shit, they're still gaining on us!" Lilly said looking back.
"I know," David said as they were nearly exiting the alley. He was running out of options till he came to one that was a bit risky. "Lilly…can you shoot?"
Lilly looked at him stunned. "A little bit. Why?"
Quickly, David went into his pocket and, handed her the Colt Mustang. Lilly stared at it for a moment. "What do you want me to do with this little thing? Throw it at them? Don't you have a bigger gun than this?"
"What do I look like, an armory?" David said. "Just roll down your window and shoot at them."
Doing as she was told, Lilly pressed the button down, letting the window roll down, and stuck her body out a little bit, while making sure she didn't fall as they were driving. Fluidly, she let off four rounds; one hitting the tire, another one taking out a headlight, and two hitting the driver in the chest.
The drivers partner inside the cop car, panicked as he tried to take the wheel and steer as best as he could but ended up crashing into a dumpster. He pulled himself away from the steering wheel and tried to radio in but, he was having trouble breathing. He then gave up as he passed out.
Up ahead, Lilly went back into her seat and rolled up the window. "He won't be bothering us anymore." She said, placing the safety on the gun and handed it back to him.
David was slightly impressed. "How did you know how to fire a gun?"
Lilly smirked. "I had a man teach me."
"I take it, it was Johnny right?"
Lilly shook her head. "No, it was someone much older than him. I'll tell you about it later. Right now, we gotta win this race. Last gate should be right down here."
David agreed and, exited out of the alley, and onto the street. He passed a red light while looking at the street sign and, saw that he was back on Lennox St. The entire street was one long straight road. This meant that Thomas's car was going to go much faster, leaving David in the dust, and winning the race. He thought about how he was going to pull this one off. He thought about what Lilly said before he shouted at her, and up to one conclusion…redline. It was going to fuck up his car, but he had no other choice.
"Fuck this," David muttered under his breath. "Grab on to something Lilly…and hold on real tight!" He turned up the radio again as heavy hitting bass of techno music filled the car. Next thing he did was let out a howl and grinned as, he shift his gears up once more and, stomped on the pedal till it touched the floor of the car. The Sentinel picked up speed as, it started racing up towards the Bullet GT at 122 mph…and climbing.
"David! What about the car!" Lilly yelled. "Aren't you afraid of fucking up the engine!"
"Fuck the car and, the engine! I'm not losing!" David yelled back.
Oh shit, Lilly thought as she saw the wild in David as he stared straight forward, with a look in his eyes that said was determined to win this one way or another. She glanced and saw he was seconds away from redlining, and that they were traveling at a good 135 mph. She watched David honk on the horn several times once again, letting Thomas once again that, he was gaining for him.
Thomas was driving at a decent pace, with the radio on, and thinking to himself that he had the race under wraps. He lit a cigarette he had in his mouth and puffed, laughing out loud thinking that David wasn't going to show up behind him at all. He heard several honks going on behind him and thought, it was probably a regular driver. The honking got louder, stirring up Thomas's curiosity as he turned his head slightly. His eyes went wide, as he saw the Sentinel racing towards them. Before he could turn around, toss the cigarette out the window, and press his foot on the pedal, it was too late; the Sentinel passed the Bullet GT.
"YES!" Lilly yelled happy as hell.
"We're not finished yet!" David yelled as he continued driving down the road like a maniac. He knew Thomas was going to be pissed off, but he didn't care anymore, he knew exactly what he was going to do in order to win this race. "Lilly, I need you to listen to me. I want you to look behind me and check to see if Thomas is gaining on me."
Lilly nodded and looked. She saw the Bullet GT gunning for them and shrieked. "He's coming for us already!"
"Already!" David said surprised.
"YOU'RE GOING TO FUCKING LOSE ASSHOLE!" Thomas shouted at the top of his lungs. He was quickly gaining for them and was going to make sure the two of them would pay for passing up on him.
"He's close!" Lilly shouted.
"Alright, time to hog the road," David said smirking. He wanted to pull this shit with me before, well let's see how he likes it done to him, he thought. "If he makes a turn, let me know!"
"Gotcha!" Lilly said agreeing with his idea. She saw The Bullet GT try to make a turn, and she caught on. "Left!"
David moved to the left blocking his way. He saw a light blink on his dashboard about the engine overheating, but he didn't care, he had to finish this.
"Right!" Lilly yelled.
David nodded and quickly moved to the right, blocking Thomas's way. Almost there…just almost there.
"He's going left, wait, right! No, left again!" Lilly yelled, almost sounding confused. "What can't this fucker make up his mind?"
David moved back and forth, figuring out what Thomas was trying to pull. He's trying to juke his way around, David mused.
"He's heading righ…oh shit, LEFT!" Lilly shouted.
David messed up on the turn and saw Thomas slightly pulling up to the left side of David's car. There was only one thing to do. He shook his head grimacing, at what was about to take place as he jerked the steering wheel to the left, and hitting Thomas's Bullet GT. The Bullet GT shook as, David did it again. He turned his head and saw Thomas spin out of control and, smiled. The race was now in David's favor. By the time it would take Thomas to recover, David would win.
Lilly turned her head, watching Thomas's car spin out for a moment, and looked up ahead. It was the finish line. She bounced up and down in her seat happily as they cross the finish line. "You did it…holy shit, YOU ACTUALLY DID IT!" She shouted happily.
"Correction, we did it." David said smiling. He began shifting gears as well as slow the car down.
Both sides of the crowded were cheering wildly as the Sentinel came to a stop. The moment it did, smoke was seeping out from under the hood. When David got out, he glanced and saw the smoke as well as the paint swap from the Bullet GT near the taillight. A missing side view mirror on David's side that he didn't even realize till now. He was going to need a full tune up and replace all four tires when he brought it to the shop. He was congratulated by almost everyone, including Lilly, who jumped and hugged him.
"I can't believe you won that race…sorry about your car getting messed up and all." Lilly said trying to apologize as she let go of him.
"Shit, it's alright Lilly. The car needed a bit of work anyway." David shrugged. He turned around and saw Thomas slowly driving up towards them. He saw Thomas's face, and it showed that he was pissed off beyond anything. "Looks like I win." David said crossing his arms.
"You fucking…cheated!" Thomas yelled, getting out of the car. "Fucking rubbed your car up against mine and made me spin out. That's cheating!"
"So was using nitro." David said raising his eyebrow at him. "I thought street racers didn't need to use that kind of shit in a simple one-lap race. You did it just so you can save your own ass." Thomas glared at him. "I wonder how the rest of the racers will feel that you had to use nitro to win a race where nobody else had any. Especially when you lost to a stock car," David said grinning. "Everyone would lose what little respect that they have for you."
Thomas stared at him and realized David was right. Bad enough he lost to a stock Sentinel, but if they found out that he used nitro, and still lost, he would be the laughing stock of the whole street racing circuit. "Fine…you win."
"That's what I thought." David said.
Lilly walked over to the two of them and smiled. "We can have the keys to your car, thank you very much." Lilly, said sticking her hand out.
David shook his head. "I got a better idea for it," he said. He took a step to him and said simply while staring down at him. "Give me your wallet."
"What?"
"You heard me. The wallet. Now." David repeated. Thomas flinched hearing David telling him again. Thomas went into his pocket and, handed over his wallet not wanting any kind of trouble. David snatched the wallet from Thomas's hand and, began examining the contents inside it. Inside was, a library card, an ATM card with his pin number behind it. Idiot, David thought. He continued looking and saw that were was a club card for a supermarket, and behind it was his driver license. Wasting no time, he pulled out the driver's license and put it in his pocket. He then went into his other pocket and pulled out a business card.
"What is that?" Thomas asked.
"It's where you're going to take that car. Head to Brownstand car dealership, and take it there. Speak to a man named Quentin, and that's all." David said putting the business card inside the wallet.
"You mean I get to keep the car?" Thomas said looking at him.
"Till tomorrow morning at 8am sharp. I find out your car is not there, I will be looking for you, and you won't like what happens. From here on out, you work for me Thomas. If I need you for something, you will be there."
"Do I get paid?"
"You get to live." David said sternly and walked back to his car. "Be seeing you. Lilly, let's get out of here." Lilly followed him and, got inside his car. He started the engine and was wondering something. "Where's your car at?"
"Right by the parking lot of the Speedway," Lilly said pointing in the direction. As David stared driving, Lilly sighed and smiled. "So now you got a new car, any plans with it?"
"No, not really," David said as he backed up and slowly driving away from the crowd and headed towards the parking lot. "Maybe use it for a job, or have it stripped and sell the parts." He heard a rattling in the engine as the smoke from his car got a little thicker. "I really did a number to the engine." David said shaking his head. He stopped the car, turned off the engine, and popped the hood. A plume of white smoke escaped from the engine. He got out of the car and saw the damage and continued shaking his head.
"How bad is it?" Lilly asked.
David really didn't know how to put it in words; so instead, he motioned Lilly to come over to see for herself. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number for a tow truck.
Lilly coughed, waving the smoke away from her face. "That bad huh?"
"Bad enough to ask you if, you can give me a ride home," David said apologetically. "The Sentinel needs to be towed for repair."
"Yeah, no problem." Lilly said getting out pulling the keys from inside her tube top. "We can go, as soon as the tow truck comes."
"You still haven't told me about how you learned to shoot." David said leaning against his side of the car, changing the subject.
"Well…my dad taught me how to shoot. He's a captain of the narcotics division in Liberty City." Lilly said looking up at the sky. "Every Sunday after morning mass, he would take me to the shooting range in Hove Beach, Broker, and I would learn how to aim and shoot. Of course my mom would get pissed off about it, saying that young proper women shouldn't learn how to handle guns. My tenth birthday my dad had gotten me a gun; a CZ-75. It was unloaded of course. When my mom found out, she tossed the gun out into the trash."
"Your mom hated guns?" David asked, as he put his cell phone in his pocket.
"With a damn passion," Lilly said rolling her eyes. "She was this paranoid, yet uptight housewife who could hardly give me or dad any sort of freedom. She would try to put me in violin classes, saying that it would turn me into a proper woman, and thinking that I would grow to love the violin."
"Violin isn't that bad to listen to." David said shrugging.
"To be honest, I hated the violin so damn much; I used to skip classes just so I can go to the shooting range." Lilly chuckled. "It was me and my dad's little secret for a while, till my mom found out." Lilly sighed before continuing. "My parents spent the whole night arguing over me, and before you know it, my mom files for divorce and won. She ended up taking the house, the car, half of my dad's paycheck…and me."
"Sorry to hear that," David said glancing at his watch. It was a quarter till eleven. "How was living with your mom?"
"Boring as fuck," Lilly spat. "My mom pulled me out of public school, and threw me into some lame private school. I had to wear a uniform with the short skirt, where guys would give out nasty cat calls and comments every day I went to school on the street or while I was on the train."
"Any of them try to touch you?" David asked looking at her.
"This one guy almost did when I was coming home from school. Some stumbling drunk, but anyway, I'm walking home and this guy tries to feel me up, so I push him, and he stumbles into the street. Before he could say anything back to me when he got up, he was knocked down by a bus." Lilly laughed slightly.
"Got what he deserved." David smirked.
"Damn straight!" Lilly laughed.
"So what made you want to sing?" David asked. "You mom forced you to take singing lessons?"
"Nah, just a gift I have. Not one lesson either." Lilly smiled brightly.
"And the sailor mouth that you have?" David raised an eyebrow and closing the hood of the car when the smoke was gone.
"My fucking mother," Lilly said irritated thinking about her. "Every third or fourth word from her would be 'fuck' or 'ass' or something vulgar."
"Sounds like a certain woman I know." David laughed looking at Lilly.
"Oh, fuck you." Lilly said, crossed her arms looking not amused.
The two of them waited for a few more minutes till they saw a tow truck arrive. David signaled them to come over, and had his wallet ready to tip them. The trucker looked tired as ever as he started asking David several questions.
"Make sure that this car gets taken to the repair shop next to the dealership on Brownstand. Let the repairmen give me the bill for the tow and the repairs." David requested, as he tipped the man two hundred dollars for his trouble.
The trucker snatched the money and began loading the car up. When everything was finished, the trucker got back in and started driving off, leaving the two alone.
"Well, let me take you home." Lilly said as she stared walking towards her car. David followed till the two of them arrived in front of her Cognoscenti. The two of them got inside and Lilly started the engine. The radio was playing some R&B song neither one of them knew, or cared for that matter.
"So how did you manage to come out here? Seems like your mom had a firm grip on you."
"I'll tell ya about that another time David. Can't give you the whole story about me in one sitting." Lilly said in a teasing voice.
"Right," David laughed. "At least answer this last one for me. You grew up in Broker?"
"Yeah, South Slopes. Nice place during most of the day. Nice places to eat." Lilly said thinking about the places she would go to, while making a turn.
"Would you ever go back? To see your dad?" David wondered.
Lilly shrugged. "Maybe…not until I have my shit together over here."
The two of them were both silent, not thinking of anything to say for the moment after David had asked that. It was easier that way. He thought about his mom, and thought to go visit her around the morning after some much needed rest.
It didn't take Lilly that long as she actually remembered where was David's place. Lilly drove the car into the underground garage and, parked the car near the elevator. She then killed the engine and sighed looking at David with a smile. "You sure know how to treat a woman out don't you?"
"Oh yeah," David laughed. "Street racing, driving away and shooting at a cop car, and worried of what would happen if we lost. Yeah, what a night."
"Aw, you were worried for my ass?" Lilly laughed. "Aren't you a sweetheart?"
"If you say so." David laughed a bit. He got out of the car holding on to the money he brought with him and closed the door. "You aren't afraid of Johnny finding out where you were?"
"A little," Lilly said hesitantly. "As long as I stick to my story, that I was singing at the lounge, I'll be ok."
" Dressed like that?" David asked and laughed. "Have a good night Lilly."
As he started walking towards the elevator, Lilly got out of the car and walked over to him. "David?"
"Yeah, what's up?" He turned around.
Lilly ran up to him and embraced him tightly. As she continued to hug him, she inhaled deeply and hugged him more. "Thank you David…I really don't know what the hell would happened if you didn't show up. I owe you big time."
David returned the hug and looked down at her. "You don't owe me anything. Just try to stay out of trouble for me ok? Last thing I need for you is to get hurt."
"You really care about my safety that much?" Lilly said her voice rose up a little.
"Of course. Johnny would get pissed if he found out if you were hurt." David said chuckling.
"You can be such an ass." Lilly smirked playfully punching him in the stomach. "Well I'll let you get some rest, so talk to you later. Maybe you should come see me at the Starlight sometime tomorrow night."
"I'll keep it in mind." David said as he let her go.
Lilly jumped up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and took a step back from him. "See you around David." She went back in her Cognoscenti and started the engine up. David waved goodbye, as she backed away slowly and started driving out of the garage.
Another job well done…at the cost of my car. David sighed and went to the elevator pressing the button and watched the Cognoscenti leave as the elevator doors slowly closed in front of him.