More news.
Christmas has been very busy, and the free time I had was used in different things. I’ll be resuming this challenge in the matter of a day at most. Sorry for the greatly delayed chapters. I’ve set myself a goal of finishing this challenge before January is over.
Chapter 9: quick death.
13 december 2017, 21:32PM. Brooklyn Heights, NY, USA.
Aaron grabbed a noteblock and a pen. Holding the phone between his head and shoulder, he gave the cigarette another puff. A hint of a nervous breathing could be heard from the other side of the phone.
“First question. What made you take part in the race?” - Said Aaron.
“What race do you mean?” - Replied the voice from the other side of the phone.
“The Great Automation Run. You took part, in an '85 Contendiente Conquista, with a Nohda engine swap. A V6 from a Nohda Assent you bored and stroked to 3L…am I wrong?” - Said Aaron.
Silence reigned for a few seconds.
“…I did.” Replied the voice. “What do you want from me, Aaron?”
“You know the backlash we could receive if this was found out by one of these street racing bloggers or something like so? Oh, they’d inmediately point at Motornation for giving you a job!” - Replied Aaron, taking a deep breath. “People like these pseudo street races where the drivers stay in the same lane all the time and slow down if someone approaches them. But you, Kuro…you really went overboard.”
Outside Sétè, France, 15:35. 8th of October 1996. 4221km to Athens.
The google maps route can be seen here.
The cars blazed past the bridge, with the few remaining Erins still chasing. A symphony of different engine sounds, at high speeds, was everything that could be heard at the coastal forest. From the sides of the road, between the trees, a few more black Erins joined the chase. The racers knew it. They had to escape now or never.
Special rule!: every car that’s slower than the mafia car will have to roll a drivability roll. If the roll is not passed (the Arrest/s. rule section equals 1) the racer will be shot at and slowed down.
(Musical suggestion by @ramthecowy!)
The initial straight crossing the forest was followed by an s turn. The Bonham started recovering lost territory to the Chupacabra, trying to flee from the gunshots that were taking place further behind; both were followed, although not closely, by the Evo, which struggled to keep up with the two leaders but was comfortably outrunning the rest and the mafia.
The forest was left behind. In the middle of a fight for the place, the Dolphine bumped the Blood Eagle, sending it out of the road. The classic had to recover, which fortunately didn’t end in anything breaking down, but the place was lost. Further down the pack, one of the mafia cars started shooting at the Dingo Z. The gunshots couldn’t hit the driver or codriver, but the swerving necessary to avoid them slowed the car down, which was passed by the Kiito.
As the road widened and they passed a few road restaurants, the T25 and the 350 Biturbo passed the NRZ. The Friala tried to pass the Maesima as well, only to start losing power as soon as the dogfight started. They desperately looked for a place to stop where they couldn’t be seen, finally stopping behind a bush. A broken injector. The two drivers of the car started the repairs as fast as they could.
With the road widening again but becoming straighter, a dogfight between the Tsukuba and the Breezer broke out. Both cars received gunshots from one of the Erins which was ruining their aero and exhaust mounts, and forcing them to slow down due to the scraping.
The racers soon reached Vic-La-Gardiole. The roads soon joined the train tracks, with the group still being chased by the Erins. The Invader was shot by one of the mafia shooters, piercing one of its wheels. Spinning out into a ditch, the driver found themselves forced to duck until the mafia cars passed to start changing the wheel. The long straight allowed some of the cars to stretch their legs and take places; the Comet GT-R overtook the Scagliatti during this stretch.
Inside the narrow roads of the French Coast the racers had a hard time to maneuver. The Arumina, Bushranger, Canny R and the Visios received a few bullets as well, breaking their aero. They didn’t stop, but they’d have to stop to fix it later. The last Erin in the pack tried to send the Montauk out of the road; however, the driver of the car outreflexed him by braking before impact, letting the black car crash into a ditch.
The racers approached Lattes. One of the black Erins tried to PIT the Canny R; the Scarlet, however, was the one to PIT the mafia car, which rolled over after spinning out. The highway was getting wider and wider, and the Erins were starting to either be taken out by the racers or struggling to keep up. The racers stormed throug the town, hearing the gunshots followed by the inhabitants screaming again, bullets sparkling everywhere. The road was divided once again, making the not too wide road tighter even. Some of the racers decided to take alternate routes, going through parking lots and even a mall, finally getting the mafia out of sight.
The group exited the town. The mafia was nowhere to be seen. The racers sighed, relieved. The race was now taking place in the plains of France, with no place for an ambush to happen. But would this be the only time they’d encounter the mafia?
To be continued.
