It took me apologizing half a dozen times, a bribe of some ice cream the next day and a promise never to drive like that with him in the car before Marv's finally mollified.

The race isn't until later tonight so the two of us decide to hang out and relax before our big break, which after the non-stop work we've been doing the past week is a much-needed break. By the time the sun's setting and we're on the road to Riverside I feel much better than I did all week, though I can still feel a pit in my stomach as I pass by broken down suburban buildings and drive closer to the city's edge.

I hear the crowd before I see them. Turning a corner, I can see down the street that it's packed, looking like every John and Jill around are here. As I approach, I notice most aren't like the ones from the last race, though given this is where the worst off live I don't doubt that this is probably one of the few pieces of entertainment they can afford to watch, cause y'know, it's free.

"Doesn't look to be that bad of a competition like the last race choom, you might have a real good chance here," Marv says from beside me as we watch two cars pass from an adjacent street, the crowd cheering as they head down the straight and disappear behind a house.

I hum noncommittally as we finally get past most of the crowd and into a rather large intersection, the street packed with cars and people filtering between them. Marv is right, most of the cars around range from being absolute pieces of garbage to cars that don't look to be modded beyond aesthetics so it's looking good for me right now.

I pull between two cars near the entrance, both looking nothing special with dents and rust covering their cars and the drivers looking not much better than the wheels they ride on. I studiously ignore the dorphhead beside me as he tweaks out in his seat and instead get out to talk to the Riffer approaching us.

"Fifty to get in, hand it over or beat it," he says bluntly, though looking at how his trigger finger looks to be itching, I decide to just hand over the bill.

"Good, it starts in twenty so be ready Drake," my eyes widen as I stare at the back of the ganger as he walks away.

I turn to look at Marv who looks just as bewildered as me, "How in the hell did he know who I was?" I question with a little fear.

My choom just shakes his head in response as he stares at the man who disappears into the crowd, "I'm… just gonna go, got a bet to put down y'know, can't stick around too long, good luck," he quickly belts out.

I stare at his back in slight betrayal as he scampers away but quickly call to him when I remember something important, "Marv wait up!" I yell, him reluctantly stopping when he hears me jogging after him.

I lower my voice so that only he can hear my words, "Bet on me getting third."

His eyes snap to mine but I continue before he can get a word out, "Yeah I know this is kinda fixing things, but do you really think the other drivers would like a kid coming out of nowhere and, if I could, win the whole thing? I'd be making enemies in my first race here and neither of us can deal with that!"

"Well I don't know about you but I'm more scared of the Riffers than some dorphheads!" Marv furiously belts out, though thankfully he knows enough to keep it to a whisper.

"It'll only be for a race or two choom! I've already got too much attention from the last race, we can just say I'm getting my feet under me, and once we got a read on the other drivers, we can see what we can do to make sure I won't be flatlined the second I win, if I win."

Although still reluctant, I can see that my argument has gotten through to him and he stiffly nods before continuing on.

I watch him go before turning but my step stutters when I see two people hovering in front of my car, wait one of them is sitting on my hood!

"Hey assholes!" I yell as I push through the crowd between us.

The one standing clearly hears me and he's mid turn when I finally notice the sheer size difference between the two of us and I'm starting to slightly regret my life before I catch a glance at his face.

"Is that really how you talk to a choom Drake?" Leon rumbles with a smirk.

I laugh, with relief that I try to keep it hidden, as I slow down and approach him, "Yeah well you're not exactly the most friendly looking guy when I can't even see who you are," with massive gorilla arms and reinforced tendons visible all over his body that he isn't shy to show off with wearing a tank top and shorts, I'm not exactly wrong when I say that everyone around us keeps at least ten feet between them and him.

By the time he's completely turned, I can finally see the other person who decided to sit on my car, "Yeah you don't talk to a lady like that! Beat him up Leon!" Ashely haughtily orders, pointing my way.

Although I'm not looking, I can tell that the man rolled his eyes hard at that but thankfully doesn't move a muscle, "Oh ha ha, now why don't you get your ass off my baby, it can't handle the weight of deadbeats."

She pouts at my comeback but slides off my car and turns on her input, "Hey your supposed to beat people up when their mean to me!"

Now I actually see him roll his eyes at his output's whining, "You dug your own grave, now you have to lie in it."

"Since when do you say idioms you lug!?"

"Since when do you know big words like idiom," and she punches him in the gut.

My brows shoot up in surprise when Leon buckles at that, his exhale sounding like it hurt a bit. I eye her with some trepidation as she crosses her arms in self-satisfaction before addressing me again, "Nice seeing you out of work, gotta say you look much better than in that shitty uniform," she compliments, Leon giving a thumbs up as well which I respond with a smile.

I typically keep my hair short so that it doesn't get in the way with a little styling on the sides, but I like my brown hair just the way it is, no-need for anything special, not like I could afford it. Tech shirts and pants are my to-go outfits, the style being pretty cheap compared to anything else and it looks pretty decent with the jacket Dad gave me.

She's looking good as well, during work she wore baggy clothes and kept her hair wrapped up tight in a bun so our manager couldn't have even more reason to harass her. Now she's wearing it in an elaborate braid, strands of techhair highlights flashing between different colors in her blonde hair and wearing a cropped jacket with a Lizzy Wizzy graphic tee under it.

We shoot the shit with each other until riffers start going around and shoving the hanger-ons off the road as the drivers start up their cars.

"Good luck drake, break a leg!" Ashely says with a wave as the two of them back away into the crowd.

Giving a wave of my own to them, I slide into my seat and take a deep breath as the anxiety I pushed down threatens to rush back up again but I do my best to ignore it, focusing my thoughts on the street and the people I'll be racing against as I roll my car in position.

Looking down the line it looks like there's a lot more racers in this race than the last, by what I can see there being at least twenty. I guess the odds of winning something from this is far better than any other race around leading to a lot more people driving around here.

Way ahead of me I see someone stand up on the stoplight above, yelling something into a megaphone that I can't hear over the rumbling of my car. I glance to my right at the dorphhead that was beside me earlier and dismiss him as competition, the man just blankly staring off into space.

Putting my attention back to the announcer, I watch as the red light comes on, taking a deep breath as I rev the engine when it hits yellow.

VROOOM

I slam the pedal down the moment I see green, and I push against the now familiar force of acceleration and weave around the two cars ahead of me, both slower to react, giving me enough time to pick up speed far faster and easily weave between them.

It's only when I'm nearly to the light that I notice that I'm laughing, just before passing another pair that decided to slam into one another and fight, giving me the chance to leave them in the dust.

Ting

I grin as the metal holds behind me as I approach the next car battling it out with the one ahead of him. Slowly creeping up beside him- oh shit!

I quickly jerk the wheel to the side, fighting to keep my body still when I collide with the car I was trying to pass to dodge out of the way of a car spinning out of control, passing where I was just a moment before.

Locking eyes with the surprised women beside me, my eyes widen in surprise when she snarls and in turn, her hair literally bursts into flames! She turns and disengages before suddenly smashing herself right back into me.

I curse as I jerk in my seat from the force of it, cursing even more when I notice a car slowly approaching from behind in my camera, hoping to pass by while we fight here. Glancing to the side, I feel the world slow down as she pulls to the side farther, I wait in anticipation before she commits to turning that I slam the breaks, my new tires screeching in effort as I slow down just moments before she slides where I was and instead hits the front of the other car.

Gunning the engine as soon as she passes and I watch with a grin as she applies the pit maneuver to herself as her car spins out of control from the force of the other car hitting her tail, taking her out the game and slowing down the other driver in the process.

The car feels amazing, like it's a whole new car with how fast it accelerates, but let's see how well it handles.

Up ahead I see a sharp turn from an T-intersection, the road ahead blocked by a dilapidated house, one with a car half lodged in the walls of the building with some members of the crowd hollering and jeering as they throw cans and garbage at the crashed car. The two cars ahead of me exchange a last round of fire, both using semi-auto from what I hear, right before they hit the corner.

I'm right behind them as they both decide to keep it safe and turn the corner, I'm not them. My tires screech as I smoothly go into a drift, taking it wider than the two and I grin at the boggled faces of the two as I cleanly pass and leave them behind.

The momentum from the drift lets me slip past another car that decides to take offense and shoot a few into the back of my car and now I'm really grateful that Marv thought of the idea to armor it up otherwise I'm sure I'd be dead by now. I'll remember to annoy him less for a week… a day, yeah a day.

Up ahead it looks like a car is taking potshots at the two behind him with what looks like a Budget Arms auto pistol, its distinct pink standing out and it immediately making me feel disgusted, Texan gun sensibility rightly taking offense to the massive red flag of a gun. Though it does do its job because as soon as he lets loose behind him, one of the cars gets riddled with holes and immediately weaves out of control and slams into a lamppost, the car giving up before the lamp as it crumbles into itself.

I stay behind the last car and let it soak up the bullets, the driver skilled enough to weave around and not give the shooter a chance to take a shot but eventually, the inevitable happens. In the middle of a spray behind him, I can see the gun start to melt in his hands, the plastic giving up and burning the hand holding it as he drops the molten plastic and fervently tries to shake the residue off his hand.

The driver ahead of me decides it's his best chance, stopping his evasive maneuvers and punches the gas to pull up beside the driver, something I decide to copy and do my best to stay out of view as the two cars level out with each other.

I look through my camera and see a huge Liberty through the shot-up windshield of the driver pointed at the Budget Arms shooter, the man quickly raising a hand with fear before I see a flash and a spray of blood splashes across the windshield.

Gazing for a moment too long, I push the car out my mind as it slowly veers off the road, focusing on the coming corner. This one not as sharp for a drift so I keep my speed as I turn and pull up right behind the car ahead. I go to slip past him but quickly tap my brake to avoid a crash when he suddenly swerves in front of me.

Trying once more and getting blocked again, I feel a scowl start pulling my face. This time I quickly press on the pedal and blatantly show where I'm going to pass and when I see him commit, I juke the other way and easily pull up beside him. Looking him dead in the eyes, I flip the bird at him and continue past him when he starts screaming in rage.

Smirking in amusement, it doesn't take much to pass the next three, too focused on each other and not a new car slipping between them, at least not before I'm long gone. I end up getting a few shots at me for my troubles but they don't do much harm.

Now for the last visible car I position myself for the coming turn, and slide into a tighter drift than the other and-

My eyes widen when a car comes screeching around the same corner, headlights pointed straight at me and I feel my life flash before my eyes as I try to widen my drift in time. Metal shrieks in pain as our cars rub against each other as we pass, and I feel my car get pushed further into the turn and smash into the side of the one I was trying to pass.

Jerking away from him, I try to bring my breath under control before getting slammed into the side again. I straighten with a grunt and glare at the other driver as another car passes from the other direction, what the hell's up with that!?

Up ahead I see another car coming at us and I grin when an idea pops in my head. Taking the initiative I decide to slam into the side of my competitor, shoving him to the side and right into the path of the oncoming car.

I faintly hear his scream over our engines get cut off as he disappears from my side in a blur with a loud crash sounding from it that makes me wince.

Catching my breath in the few moments of no one trying to kill, during which two more cars whizz past me and I get my first look at the roundabout that's apparently sending us back. Looks like they blocked all other roads intersecting it with a crowd packed together in the central island cheer as another car whips out into the street.

I'm nearly bumper to bumper with the next car when we hit it and both of us execute our drifts around the crowd. I keep my sole focus on my car as I drift, squeezing beside him into a wider turn and a quick glance to my rear showing that I'm just barely keeping myself from smashing into the barriers surrounding us.

My opponent ends his drift first but taking the wider turn lets me keep more speed, so when I do exit the circle, it takes mere moments for me to swerve past him.

He doesn't take it with good grace as I hear him let loose bursts bullets at me, thankfully nearly all of them miss bar a few that hit the armor on my car. That is until I take a glance at my rear screen and scowl when I see that it's switched cameras, meaning that my first got taken out which is a pain in the ass as this one's in a weird position, making it harder to see anything but in a more safer location.

Swerving around the crash I caused, and I blanch slightly when I catch a glance into the cabin of the driver I fought and see a lot of red covering the glass. I force down the slight disgust I feel to deal with later when a ton of eddies aren't on the line.

Unable to get a big enough gap between me and the guy I passed, I'm forced to keep blocking him whenever he takes a chance to pass me, but with him sticking to my slipstream he's able to keep up as I pass by another car that doesn't decide to fight against both of us. At least he gave up shooting at me given the futility of it.

I keep this up until we hit the corner again, forcing my car to push through as fast as it can without spinning out right before I hear a loud bang, making me jerk the wheel slightly in surprise before I take a quick look back from where it came from and start laughing. The guy decided to keep following me even in the turn and it looks like his car couldn't handle it as well as mine, ending up with him flipping over the barrier.

I grin with the breathing room I get, feeling it widen when I see the last four still ahead of me though for some reason they seem… relaxed? They don't really look like they're fighting for each other's position as they don't seem to be shooting or attempting to pass each other.

Pushing my curiosity away for now, I read as much as I can off both cars I need to pass, trying to figure out the best approach, but I still have a gut feeling that what I'm seeing isn't all there is to it.

That feeling intensifies once I pull close enough to fourth, his slipstream helping my car in closing the gap to the point that I'm about to pass by him when he suddenly brakes. My eyes widen in surprise when he does, my knuckles whitening from my grip as I desperately slam on the brakes and brace for the inevitable impact, one that doesn't happen as he just as quickly accelerates.

It takes a second for me to push through the panic before I have enough sense to try and follow behind him, though that singular second was enough for him to gain a massive lead on me.

I clench my jaw as I try to make up the distance between us while my mind whirls, that move doesn't make any sense! It forced me back but at the same time he lost a lot of ground against third, something that basically ended his chances of winning this race!

Scowling, it's not until we're nearly at the last corner before I get a chance to pass fourth again. Warily closing in on him, I feel the world slow down as I put my sole focus on him, the sound of my engine fading away, the jerks of my wheel as I race down the road numbing. The millisecond I see his brake lights come on, I jerk the wheel to the side and I watch in slow motion as he screeches past me, and somehow I'm able to watch as the surprise paint itself across his face as I pass by him before he disappears behind me.

I grin as I take advantage of the space and catch up to my goal. Taking the corner is simple enough, and it looks like he's not as good as taking them as me as I can see the distance close between us quickly and I'm able to pass him before he even notices I'm there.

Starting with a small giggle, I slowly devolve into a laugh and slowly relax in my seat. Hitting third like I needed was the best possible thing I could do, and although I'm tempted to go for second and maybe even first, I know that this is already taking a step too far into the spotlight than I need, this is enough. It has to be enough for me.

Bang

My heart sinks when I hear a soft stutter from the engine, which devolves into coughs and before I can do anything my car starts shuddering, the power I've been feeling from the engine throughout the race slowly starts to wane and panic grips me when lights start flashing on my previously dark dashboard.

"No, no no!" I shout futilely, slamming my hands on the wheel as I keep slowing down, letting the man I just passed easily slip by me.

I can feel knots in my stomach, ones of frustration as I try to rev the engine, try to jumpstart it again and when I hear its roar of defiance, I can quite literally feel tears of joy at the corner of my eyes when my car lurches to accelerate.

"C'mon c'mon push it," I mutter under my breath as I slowly gain back speed, one that increases to the point he starts blocking me again once I catch his slipstream.

I try to fake him out but to my growing ire he's able to read me like a book and not take the bait, and at the same time he starts slow down. As my speedometer slowly starts to drop, he immediately jumps up on my shitlist as I see the glare from who was previously fourth shine on my rear camera.

Hitting a moment of clarity, I finally piece together what's happening after so many blatant attempts, their working together to keep me out of third place. And given that neither seem to care about going for an even higher position, the top two might even in on it as well. Why the hell would the Riffers let something like this happen!? It's quite literally the definition of rigging a race!

Screw this.

I try one last fake out and when it unsurprisingly doesn't work, I don't stop. I jerk in my seat as I slam right into the back of his car, with mine holding up much better than his as his bumper crumples. With a sharp grin I give us some space before hitting the gas again and slam once more into him, this doing much more damage as my front digs into his trunk and crushes it like a tin can.

The force of my slam is enough for him to lose control. I take advantage of him struggling to bring his weaving car back under control to finally pull up beside him.

I reach down to my waistband as my window lowers, locking eyes to the pissed off face of my competitor as we both push our cars to their limit to the finish line just a few hundred meters away. I decide to cut our competition short and pull out my old Unity and point it straight to the man's head across the short distance between our cars.

Although he has a mono-eye, I know he's panicking when he slams on his brakes and desperately evades -bang- my shot, one that goes far off even if he kept pace, but it's the action that counts.

Taking in a shuddering a breath, I pull my arm back and stuff the old gun back into place after flipping the safety on, it went off once and I'm forever thankful it didn't take a piece of my ass when it did and I'll never disregard gun safety. It takes mere seconds before I'm crossing the finish, right back to where I started to the cheers of the crowd as they run towards the winner.

Slowing down, I come to a stop further away from the racers as they come barreling in and slump into my seat. As the adrenaline fades from my veins, I can feel the pressure I put on my body from just a ten-minute race with my muscles aching and arms violently protesting any movement, guess that's what happens when you've never worked out and decide to go into a race like this.

Dragging my sleeve to wipe the sweat from my face, I give myself a few moments to relax as I feel my heart start filling with pride and a smile stretching higher on my face before I get interrupted by knocks on my window.

I flinch in surprise at that, but looking out I can see Marv with a smile on his face as wide as mine with Leon and Ashely standing near, the latter vibrating in excitement as she keeps banging on my window and yelling for me to get out. I don't intend to keep them waiting.

Realized I didn't give any description of our main man so I just sneaked in one here.