Triple Digits

Claire Miles

The clock on her wall read twelve-forty at night, Claire sprawled out on her couch, a takeaway container of ramen noodles on her lap, as she watched her life's work slowly run down the drain. Helix had failed in finding her a car that worked, the street-rat male apologising for the bad luck, knowing exactly what missing the race was going to cost her.
She would need to move, start her life up again with a new name and identity.
Maddy would be left behind, as would Helix. Triple Digit would be left behind.
Sniffling, Claire wiped the tears from her face, trying to ignore the 'TICK, TICK, TICK!' of the clock as it stole her future from her, turning her attention back to the show on her TV.
It was a mindless show about a collection of famous celebrities forced to survive a hike up a mountain.
Sipping from a cup of hot chocolate that Maddy had bought for her birthday last year, Claire sighed. Tomorrow, she would book plane tickets and get the Hell out of here before the police or her rivals could show up.
On the couch beside her, Claire heard her phone buzz, likely Maddy wondering where she was.
Glancing down on a whim, deciding it couldn't hurt to inform her friend she wasn't coming, Claire saw a single message on her phone: Look outside.
Rising from the couch, she rushed over to the window, a gasp escaping her throat.
Maddy, the brilliant, beautiful genius, now stood outside, wearing a black hoodie and leaning against Corey Strickland's car.
Her bestfriend had taken the police car and fitted her most recent racing plates 'TD-180' onto it. Covering the car in a black wrap, she'd torn through it with a sharp knife down the sides, allowing the Mid-City police logo to remain on the hood and front doors of the car, circling them with the spraypaint before adding Triple Digits tag underneath them, as well as add lightning-bolt-esque stripes across the hood and roof of the car. She'd even changed the rims!
Tonight, she was hoping to update those racing plates to a much higher number.
Her highest speed was always immortalised on her plates. Not only did it give Claire a constant reminder of her goals, but it was also a warning to her opponents of what she was capable of.
Squealing with glee, her life saved, Claire changed out of the pyjamas she was wearing, slipping into the usual outfit Triple Digits wore while racing.
A lime-green, long-sleeved jacket that was thankfully thick enough to cover the cast on her arm, a pair of black leggings with a green stripe down the outer side of her legs, and a black and green mask.
Braiding her hair, Claire twisted it into a bun, sliding a pair of lime-green contacts into her eyes to disguise the usual brown and a black mask over her mouth and nose, and rushed downstairs to her friend, wrapping her arms tightly around her as she excitedly sung, "This is an X-Class car, Claire-Bear! A 230-Mirage!" Compared to her S-Class Peregrine, it was slow, but the Peregrine was totalled, and buying another one would take at least a month to ship it from the nearest city.
Corey Strickland drove a dangerous car.
Claire liked him all the more for it.
"I did some work on the engine for you," Maddison whispered into her ear, checking her watch and humming, "We should get going. I have my own car around the corner. Go! I'll meet you down at the Docks for our grand entrance!" Tossing her the car keys, Maddison disappeared down the side of the building to jump into her own car- an X-Class Falcon, while Claire strode around to the drivers seat of Corey Strickland's car.
His personal belongings had been cleared out, Maddison likely disposing of them to prevent them from being linked to the crime, and taking a seat behind the wheel, sliding the keys into the ignition, Claire revved the engine, feeling the purr of the car beneath her, a grin rising to her face.
This was going to be a damned good race.