Racing Hearts - Blood and Steel

Chapter 6

Where is everyone? Clarence thought to himself, staring down the raceway in hopes of catching a glimpse of even a single one of the participants. While yes, most of the cars down there had been just common everyday vehicles with regular motorisation, they should have been able to reach the finish line by now. Especially that BMW from earlier and the green Ford Focus. Lotto was his name. If Clarence recalled it correctly. What if something had happened?
That was the only plausible explanation for the fact that no one else had returned by now. Maybe someone had crashed. The thought of another innocent car having to face the same fate the red Corvette had suffered two years ago made him sick to the stomach. No one should have to go through the pain and agony he had gone through. Especially not one of them. Young cars that still had their whole lives ahead of them.
Lotto! The name of the green Ford Focus ST X shot through the Corvette's mind. He remembered the depraved look he had on his face, this evil and menacing grin... The way he had looked at the young BMW earlier. As if he viewed the black car as prey that he could play with. Just like a cat would do with a mouse, before giving it the killing blow with its clawed paw.
What if it had not been an accident? Clarence asked himself yet again. The thought alone that something conspiratorial had been causing the return of the other cars to be delayed like this, made him tremble with fear. The horrors they must have witnessed.
No, no, no! The red sports car pushed these thoughts aside. There must be another explanation for this. Something that did not involve innocent cars getting hurt. Maybe one of the trees that were surrounding the racetrack had fallen onto the road. It had been quite stormy the past few nights. Maybe the trunk had already been damaged and given in by the time the red Corvette had left the raceway. Yes! That must be it! His own voice called out to him in his own thoughts. Yes, maybe they were still trying to get the tree off the road.
Yet the worst possible scenario his mind had created would have self-fulfilled itself just mere minutes prior, snuffing out the last hopeful thought that had passed his mind, by the time the ringing of a phone disturbed the silence.

A melodic ringtone caught the attention of the red Corvette. His emerald green eyes looked around, spotting his own mobile phone on the table in between beer bottles and empty plates. Yet it wasn't the source of the ringing.
In fact it was Clint's phone. With a quick movement he grabbed it with his tire, accepting the call.

"Hey Lotto, Clint here." He said in a calm manner, keeping his voice down, slowly moving away from the group so that he could understand his partner a bit better, as the connection was rather choppy.

"Clint, we need to leave now. Meet me at the B258!" He heard his partner say in the usual deep and croaky voice, before he hung up almost immediately. Leaving the black Corvette clueless about what had happened or rather what he had done. But Clint wasn't stupid, he knew Lotto for quite some time by now, he was able to connect the dots. Guessing that whatever the green Ford had done, involved the black BMW.
A certain warmth overcame him from the inside out. It made him happy knowing that this big mouthed asshole had probably found his demise. He had definitely deserved it. The black Corvette wanted to let out a scream of glee, a menacing laughter of triumph, but he had to keep it to himself. Keeping a low profile, so that no one of the others would even suspect the slightest.
Except Clarence... he knew enough about Clint's deeds. Enough to get the black Corvette locked up in a prison for all eternity. But that's just how his life went on with every day, every hour, every minute that passed by. One foot in the grave. Until the day he dies.
Clint turned around to the other cars. A concerned and anxious expression on his face.
"Something has happened down there. Lotto didn't tell me what exactly, he sounded very upset and he suddenly hung up on me. I... I gotta go. I think he needs to see me right now." He explained with a shaky voice, sounding as if he was close to tears. Nervously gesturing towards the exit of the restaurant.
However, all of this was nothing but an elaborate act. Deceiving enough, that Clarence' friend group believed him.