Heated Nights

Chapter 11 : Rise Up

It was early the next day and the crew were on the turnpike with John and his partner Amanda. Damien raced down the mountain road in the ZL1 given to him by Helen.
"It feels strange not driving my hemi." He said to himself.
"The car is fast but something feels... off." He continued. He tried to keep the Camaro steady through the turns, but he kept spinning out.

"Argh! What am i doing wrong!?" He asked himself.
"Am i going too fast? Am i losing Traction somehow?" He asked in his head. Further down the turnpike were John and Victor powering through the corners. Victor was able to keep up with John in his Evolution VII, easily out of the turns.
"This feels amazing, I can slide the car so easily and i barely need to brake." Victor spoke.

"The set-up is so balanced, I don't have to worry about understeering or losing traction." He said.
"The acceleration is quick and the steering response is almost instant, that's impressive." He stated.
"With all this power in the engine, this car is almost scary to drive." Victor told himself.
"Helen adds or changes something on this car after all my races, all she told me is that I can improve, so i try not to disappoint her." He says as he drifts rapidly through the corner.
"However, my favourite thing about this car, is that it feels like i can keep going faster and never worry about crashing the car." He said smiling.

Suddenly the car behind him started flickering its lights, asking him to pull over. The driver was an African-American woman who introduced herself as Amber Star. "Nice Driving, I'm surprised you can slide this car so well." She said to him. "Thanks, I've actually been drifting for a while now." Victor responded.
"I knew I recognised you, you were in Detroit, in the Mercury Cougar." She said.

"Congrats on the win, I'm actually a fan of Drifting." Amber told him. "That's cool and thank you, I'm Victor by the way." He said to her.
" Nice to meet you, let's talk after practice." She said before driving off. John drives up the hill and parked next to Victor's Evolution.
"Hey man I thought I lost you back there." John said to him.

"Is everything Alright?" He asked him. "Yeah, Everything is great." Victor responded.
"Well we should wrap this up quickly, if we want to avoid traffic on the motorway." John told him.
"Alright, Let's go." Victor replies to John.
"Great, two more runs and we should be good for the day." He said to Victor.

Damien was with Nikki in their hotel suite having breakfast after practice. "I don't get it, I just can't hold the car." He said with frustration.
"Why don't you ask Helen about it?" Nikki suggested.
Damien picked up his phone and asked Helen for advice. He rambles into the phone for a while then Helen began to explain herself.

"I gave you the Car for a reason Damien." She said to him.
"In your past few races, everyone on the team improved except you." She told him.
"I needed to get you out of your comfort zone, and racing in Japan was the best way." She explained.
"You will learn to control the Camaro, but only if you get out of your comfort zone." Helen told him.
"Japan is home to some of the best drivers, and the best drivers always improve." She told him then hung up the phone.

Damien looked out the window and saw Walter and Yuki laughing next to his car.
"I might head back up the Turnpike later." He said to Nikki.
"Alright, too bad i can't come, Eli and I are going to the arcade." She replied. Just a few blocks away were Amanda and John with the rest of their crew. "So, what did you learn from practice this morning." Amanda asked John.

"The Lancer Evolution has more than just a fancy body and wing, he kept up with me for most of the route." John told her.
"It's an aero kit, and the wing is for downforce,This means we need to step up if our opponents are racing with those kind of modifications." Amanda told the team.
"Until we figure which drivers we'll face, we all should stay at the top of our game." She ordered them.
The meeting was dismissed and the crew members head their separate ways. "John, how much money do you have?" She asked him.

"I'll need to check, why?" He responds. "I want your A80 in the race, but we will need to upgrade it first." She explains. "I hear you boss, anything for the team." John replies with a smile.
"First we'll win this race, then we will take Josh's Throne." Amanda smiles.
"Team Grip will be on top." She says to John.

Later that day, Amanda and John made their way to one of the few Tuner Shops in the Prefecture.
"How may i assist you two?" The mechanic asked kindly.
"We'd like you to make a few modifications to this car before the weekend." Amanda said with her hand out.
"An A80, interesting, anything specific you want me to do?" The mechanic asked her.
"We need a good set up for mountain racing." John told him.

"Say no more, Just leave me your number and I'll call you when its ready." He says after sipping his beer.
"Ok, thank you." Amanda said nicely.