TEAM OUTRIDERS
Blake: Step on it will you?
Marc: Between these oily roads, and the weather, I’m not gonna go too crazy. Not to mention that cop that we passed ten minutes ago.
Luigi: So what if we don’t win? This makes the fourth one of these events that this car powered through. Three on the same engine.
Blake: That’s true, the old girl certainly didn’t let us down.
Zach: Not to mention this car is more comfortable than many of the others.
Marc: Yeah, whatever we do next, make sure the car has A/C.
Blake: Our next run will have A/C.
Luigi: This car.
Marc: Isn’t that tempting fate?
Blake: Hell no! We’re driving this old gal until the wheels fall off. Then we’re gonna bolt em back on and drive it some more.
Zach: Maybe tweak out the performance some.
Luigi: I don’t know about that. I think our saving grace is that this big engine while not too powerful, does not have to work hard. We certainly didn’t push this car as hard as that one. (points)
Blake: Shit, that’s the truckling.
Marc: Looks like the motor is cooked.
Zach: That would explain the oil slicks.
(The team crosses the line at 3:32 PM. Not ideal, but at least they made it through intact.)
Marc: So, your wife coming by to pick us up?
Blake: Actually, I didn’t send for her this time.
Zach: Mom isn’t coming with the flatbed?
Blake: I felt the car would hold together and we wouldn’t need it.
Luigi: That was bold.
Blake: The old girl should be more than enough to get us back home.
Zach: Maybe some nicer seats in the future, the car wasn’t bad, but it could be a bit more comfy for long trips.
Luigi: We’ll see.
Epilogue:
The four men return to Tatum Heights without incident.
Upon arriving home, Zach received a subpoena to appear in court as a witness in the People Vs. Eleanor Ventnor case. It was discovered that the head of the IT department placed a small worm in the computer network when all transactions were converted to digital format in 1996. This worm collected pennies from every transaction performed by the company eventually building up a stockpile of over 200 million dollars. The money was placed in a Cayman Islands account that had slowly accrued the money over the years. While Eleanor Ventnor was the chief suspect, it was discovered that there was an attempt to access the account shortly after it was frozen. That was done by Robert Dunbar, head of Petoskey Motors ZLC Accounting. It seems that he and Bill Seward, the IT head who quit not long after the conversion to digital transactions were working together on this scheme. In light of this evidence, the SEC dropped all charges against Ms. Ventnor and opened up a case against Dunbar and Seward. Seward made a plea bargain which turned in all evidence against Dunbar in exchange for a reduced sentence. In light of his efforts, Zach was promoted to assistant director of the accounting department. (He still has to finish school after all)
Blake and Luigi set to work on the Enforcer, performing minor tweaks and basic maintenance. Next time, their car will be ready.
Marc continues to lament about the lack of excitement working mostly from a desk. But the trip did help him appreciate the down time for a while.
Conclusion: No, actually screw that. There is no conclusion. This is the final page for now, but the next chapter has only yet to be written.
See you next mission!