Need For Speed Fortune Valley Stories

Chapter 20 - High Stakes Part 3

7:45 p.m. Silver Canyon Highway. They were still racing but Ellie is starting to keep up with Melayna and the Huayra BC. "As long as the car is MR, I'll still be able to handle it. However it's not the end of the racing season and I don't have much of a budget. I cannot just waste gas, that's why I went with the Huayra BC. The car is light and fast but since we are running a highway section of uphill and downhill, this lightweight car should be able to win!! The Z33 should be based as the same concept but I will not lose... I just need to focus!!" Melayna exclaimed in her mind as she braked into the next corner early and shifted down which was caused to trick Ellie and throw her off guard. She saw the braking time but was still able to catch up. The two hairpin sections. "How different do you think this battle will be?" Jovanna asked. "It might not be easy from my point of view. All of these racers have a very high skill leve. My last race wasn't that easy and I can sense Yajima's opponent will be much harder to beat since the race in Lookout Point." I answered. "But her opponent is probably as good as you can get from a street racer. Could you really see that?" Jordan asked. "Of course.. at least I can. Yajima's feeling the same way as me right now." I answered. Ellie was still keeping up but Melayna is starting to pull away a bit on the corners while the Z is catching up. "The Huayra in front may hide it's full potential until they show up at these hairpin turns we're at right now. Not only that, but this opponent we're talking about know this course on the back of her head. The third half can be a bit steeper and the road's conditions are very worse, that will be the key point to determine the outcome of this race." I said. "It'll be tough for the Z33 because the suspension is rather old but the car's power seems to not be in par with the Huayra's." Jovanna replied. "Right, that is unfortunately our disadvantage. But this isn't the first time we've been engaged in these types of situations. Ever since we started The Drifting Hazards, we expected to be put at a disadvantageous positions. The strategies and battle plans Ms.Disantos thinks of will handle almost anything. If you say that our opponent is the course specialist, then our team is designed to counter all the opponent's strategies. And if you want to know who is better off because of these facts... Well, that will really depend on the outcome of the race." I said. "The Drifting Hazards can achieve the impossible. As long as we have our local genius Letty Disantos... that's what I choose to believe in!!" I exclaimed in my mind. The cars were racing down the bridge section and they passed it. Then they were coming up on a series of turns. Melayna shifted down to 3rd and Ellie shifted down to 2nd as they turn their wheels and start drifting on the turns. "Go Lopez!!! Show them what you've got!!" A female spectator exclaimed. "Beat that Z33!!" A male spectator exclaimed. "You all might remember her boyfriend Branden from his horrible wreck and takedown days ago. Well, let me reassure you, he's the same ol' Lee now that he was then. Say something for the crowd, Yajima!" Melayna exclaimed as she drifted into the corner. "Huh, keep watching. I'm about to crush your superstar." Ellie answered as she drifted as well but was catching up. They were approaching the 1st hairpin turn. Starting point. "In mastering the course. The braking distance is increased on the downhill, and if you make one mistake you could lose your life. I consider braking is the most important technique used on the downhill. You can only use the objects on the side of the road to make an approximate judgement. Compared to the circuit, a street is very dangerous that it has no markings to indicate where the braking points are. It's all cause of the potential of the human mind. Especially Yajima's, she has an excellent braking sense. That's the reason she can keep winning against the local drivers who've overdriven those downhill roads." Letty said. "Yeah, just practicing will not make you that good." Adena replied. "She must be born with that type of talent if you ask me." Zandara replied. "When you are chasing, all you can do is stay close to the opponent in front. While remaining behind, if you watch your opponent carefully you can work out their potential on how they brake. But your opponent could hide their abilities and will want to wait for the right moment carefully to unleash their potential." Letty said. They were about to approach the next hairpin turn after the second corner. "Ooooh! Thanks for the donation WolfTFK! Five more dollars and I'll sing any song the chat wants. Who's gonna get me there?" Melayna asked as she approached the hairpin and braked early that caused Ellie to come off guard. The red braking lights shined on her eyes as she saw the late timing. "I was late, very late, but I don't know. I might've done it late for sure. That super hard braking from the straightaway. But then even if it was that one time. It was because I was late in braking while she caught me off guard!!" Ellie exclaimed in her mind as she braked too late on the hairpin turn and caught her off guard. "How can you concentrate on racing and live streaming at the same time?" Ellie asked. "Their entrance speed is amazing!!" A spectator exclaimed. "The distance between the Z is getting wider!" A female spectator exclaimed. "User poll. Who's gonna be sad when Nobody's crushed and out of spotlight?" Melayna asked. "Here they come!" Jordan exclaimed as he heard the cars coming to the last hairpin. "Look! The Z's behind! Looks like this is a tough battle for Ellie!" Jovanna replied as she saw the cars passing by. "As what I thought. This is gonna be very tough, but I hope Ellie realizes that her opponent is twice as fast as her from the previous battle. She's gotta at least tough it out to win." I said in my mind as I saw the Huarya and the Z passing. "First win, then talk." Ellie answered. "Oh, I will. The Demon Lords hooked us up, there's no way I'm losing." Melayna replied. Starting Point. "Basically, Pagani's rear-wheel drive cars are designed to have the roll axis a little forward of the rear point." Letty said. "The Zonda is no exception, but the Huayra in particular has a better handling feel thanks to it's biased load to the front." Zandara replied. "But if you push it harder, it has a tendency to oversteer because of the MR layout and the load to the rear. It becomes an unavoidable issue when fine tuning a Huayra. There are many different approaches, but you can't eliminate the car's natural oversteering tendency. I wonder how they did it." Letty said. "Oversteering on the downhill is very bad. Instead, you can go faster by understeering. Know our opponents, her car must be perfectly tuned and suited for this course, but... if something destroys that balance, Yajima will have a chance." Adena replied. They were approaching the bridge section after the hairpin turns. The Z was struggling to catch up but the gap hasn't widened yet. "Grr... I can't keep up, but... the gap hasn't widened, even though I'm only tracing her car's line and speed." Ellie said in her mind as she was trying to catch up but struggling. "Wow! It's a miracle she's keeping all! Maybe I shouldn't look my rear view and just look ahead. I'm just gonna have to win by doing that method." Melayna said in her mind as she moved her rear view mirror to the right. Ellie started to listen what her car was saying while she was in the race. She flipped the headlight switch to turn off her headlights for a blind attack. They were shut off and they approached the next corner. "The Z33's headlights are off!!" A spectator exclaimed. "No way! On this pitch black mountain pass? What's going on?!" A female spectator exclaimed. "The Z33's headlights are off?! A blind attack, huh?" Adena asked. "Letty..." Zandara called. "During the race until now, Yajima must have intuitively learned that she's at a disadvantage in the high speed sections. Ellie's god sent talent... no, she must have heard the voice of the Z33." Letty answered. They were approaching the 3rd half of the course that leads to a straightaway. "The blind attack, which is Yajima and Branden's forte, is a two sided diversion technique of confusing their opponents as well as hiding their offensive strategy." Letty explained. "But when the opponent is familiar with the course and highly remains focused." Adena replied. "Right, but it doesn't create the desired effect. But then... the Z doesn't have retractable headlights but if they do, it would have a lower drag coefficient value when they're lowered." Letty said. "Can it be because of the less air resistance? Cause if you ask me, the Z31 has retractable headlights hat can have low drag coefficient value." Zandara asked. "Ellie must've wanted to increase her top speed by reducing the drag, even by a little small amount." Letty answered. "Yajima's tenacity?" Adena asked. "Her tenacity might create... a breakthrough." Letty answered. They were approaching the next corner on the third section. "Just before her braking action... I'm not exactly sure, but most likely... Right here!" Ellie exclaimed in her mind as she flipped her headlight switch back on to turn on her headlights and it reflected the mirror into Melayna. She saw the light reflecting and turned to the left which gave Ellie an opening to the outside. Yajima accelerated hard and went side by side with the Huayra. Melayna gasped as she noticed the Z right next to her. "It was too soon, little by little... what the hell happened? Damnit, I'm not gonna lose after coming this far." Melayna wondered in her mind as they approached the turns. "I'll keep my space, can you keep it up?" Melayna wondered as she was trying to pull an inch away but the Z was close to her on the narrow roads. She stomped on the brakes as well as the Z braking. But then the Huayra slammed into a road sign which caused the lip spoiler to be damaged. "I messed up the lip. I've gotta keep the race short, I'll end this on the first run!" Melayna exclaimed in her mind as she was trying to focus on taking the corner but the car was unstable. "The car's unstable. I don't know what's wrong with the wing, but the car's lateral balance is off. I would've been better off without it if it didn't break off completely. Shit, no need for excuses. I just have to motivate myself to raise my limit." Melayna said in her mind as she started to sweat after shifting up. Ellie starts slipstreaming from behind and saw the Huayra losing control. Melayna tries to keep it stable but then spins out. Ellie saw her spinning out as she dodged her when she lost control and lost the race. "Bye, Melayna!" Ellie exclaimed as she drove away to the goal and kept accelerating. "Shows over, Melayna Lopez!!" Ellie exclaimed as she crossed the line. "I bet you're goddamn pleased with yourself." Melayna replied. "You know... I am. At least I used my own techniques to win. Ya know what I mean?" Ellie asked. "I may not be able to stop Branden from getting into the Rush, but you can bet his saggy ass that I'll do everything I can to stop him during it." Melayna answered. "I'm not alone in this Melayna. The Demon Lords wants a fight? We'll be ready for it." Ellie replied. "Ten cockroaches are still only cockroaches, Yajima. But have fun with your pipe dream. You have no clue what you just stepped in." Melayna said as she drove off and did burnouts in front of Ellie. "Pipe dream? What does that mean? Well, I guess I just have to put faith in Branden that he is gonna win." Ellie wondered in her mind as she saw the Huayra driving off. Hours later. 7:45 p.m. Underground path. The Barrio. "Uh. Great flood?" Adena asked. "Apologies for the run-around. We've had numerous security branches recently." The mysterious agent answered. "You don't say." Adena replied. "Here is the hardware the Demon Lords has requested. Keep it safe. If this were to fall into the wrong hands... Well it wouldn't be good for you." The mysterious agent said as he handed Adena the unknown device. "Well you know me, always careful." Adena replied. "You'll be hearing more from us later." Mysterious agent said as he drove away. "Us? This guy definitely wasn't demon lords. Who the hell is pulling the strings here. Hey. So I have this... looks like an ECU piece with me now." Adena called. "ECU piece? Have your engineer take a look. I'm sure he'll know what it's for." The Broker called. "Will do. The password to meet with this guy was "Great Flood" is everything going to be okay?" Adena asked. "I hope so, I really do." The Broker answered. "Wonderful." Adena replied. Garage. Lakeside. "Hey Adena, what is that thing you're holding?" Letty asked. "It's a ECU device. I need you to give this to Dom." Adena answered as she handed the ECU device to Letty. "Uh, Okay..." Letty replied as she took it and went to Dom. "Hey Dom, Adena told me to give you like this device or whatever for you to look at." Letty said. "An unknown device taken from a mysterious agent... you two have proved my curiosity. Let's see it... Chidori's reserved line. It looks like this is getting a signal from somewhere. I would say not to check it out but..." Dominic suggested. "Hmm... the Solar Array." Letty guessed. "Be safe, I mean it." Dominic replied. Letty drove off and headed to the location. "Hey Letty, I poked a little more into the device. I was wrong. Looks like it's transmitting a signal, not just receiving." Dominic called. "Do you know what that signal is?" Letty asked. "All I'm getting are GPS coordinates. Can't make sense of it." Dominic answered. "Okay. Well, I'll let you know what I find at the construction yard." Letty replied as she hung up and called the Broker. "Hey. Dom checked out the device." Letty called. "And?" The Broker asked. "He doesn't know what it is, but it's getting data from somewhere around the solar array." Letty answered. "I assume I don't have to tell you to go check it out." The Broker guessed. "Already on my way." Letty replied. "Never doubted. Contact me with any updates." The Broker said. "Will do." Letty replied. Meanwhile. Braxton Diner. "Hey Branden, is something wrong?" Ellie asked. I looked at my drink and then I looked at her when she noticed I was spacing out. "You spaced out of nowhere." Ellie said. "Oh, yeah. I am concerned about that call." I replied. "About an impersonator?" Ellie asked. "Eh, no.. Sorry, is it okay if I can make a phone call outside?" I asked. "Sure, no rush. Take your time." Ellie answered. "Thank you, I'll be back in a few minutes." I replied as I got out of my chair and took out phone. Then I walked outside of the restaurant and I stood by the window from where Ellie can see me from the view. Garage. "Hello? Oh it's you Branden, what are you up to asking at this time at night?" Gillian called. "Ms.Disantos' coordinates? No, you don't have to worry about it. I don't know where she is but your mother knows where she is though. I'll hand the phone to your mother." Gillian said. "Hello, Branden? Listen up. Don't worry about Ms.Disantos. She's not so weak that she needs you to worry about her. She is very independent and strong so just let her do her own thing while you do your business. Do not worry about it and focus on preparing for the final battle. Also I know you're with Ellie at a restaurant so I suspect you two to be focused for it." Adena called. I gasped for a moment and I looked at Ellie with a surprised look from the window. She looked at me and waved hi. "Trust Ms.Disantos, and try not to worry to much. Just relax." Adena suggested. "Okay then." I answered. "Bye." Adena replied. I hung up and looked at the starry night sky. I went back inside the restaurant and sat at my table. "So the call was already dealt with?" Ellie asked. "Yeah, but we don't where Ms.Disantos is right now. So I'd say we shouldn't worry about it." I answered. Desert. "Wondered when I'd see you round these parts." Joseph said. "Expecting me?" Jordan asked. "Course. Was looking forward to meeting the famous off-roader maniac Jordan Douglas." Joseph answered. "Yeah... Okay. Look, I'm just here to race." Jordan replied. "Yeah, Yeah. But I can't take on every race with a reputation, you know? Gotta make sure you can keep up. How about... Make it to the airfield in a jiffy. That'll be the test. Show me all those stories about you weren't just tall tales." Joseph suggested. "Oh, they're not. Watch and learn." Jordan said as he puts his harness on and launches off. "Hah! You got fire kid." Joseph replied. Jordan shifted down to 3rd gear and drifted into the corner. He stepped on the accelerator as he exited the corner fast with a 4 Wheel Drift. Fortune Valley Solar Array. "What?! How the hell did the police know I'd be here?!" Letty wondered as she stopped and then floored it because she noticed that the cops were incoming. "Broker!" Letty called. "What? What is it?" The Broker asked. "The police were there waiting for me. What the hell is going on?!" Letty asked. "This is absurd. How would the Collector know you were coming?" The Collector asked. "Don't tell me it was because of the damn ECU unit I picked up. I'll get myself out of this mess, you figure out how they knew I was coming." Letty answered as she accelerated hard and side swiped the cop car. "Disantos what the hell did you get yourself into? Code names. Black boxes. Drop offs. Secret tech. This is ridiculous. "Oh look at me, I'm Branden and Jordan! All we do is go around and race people all day!" Of course I get stuck running for my life." Letty said in her mind as she accelerated hard and activated the nitrous when she entered the off road trails. Fortune Valley Resort & Casino. "Tomorrow's the last day we'll be racing on this mountain and getting to see the beautiful city from this view." I said. "I still can't believe the situation I'm in. It still feels weird that I'm a member of the Drifting Hazards." Ellie replied. "You'll have to thank me for that. You saved me from that wreck I suffered in back in Bayview, then we met there, and we reunited in Port Crescent. Here we are right now." I said. "Yeah, you did." Ellie replied. "Wipe that smug off your face and don't lose this race." I said. Ellie gave a surprise look. "I haven't seen your opponent yet, but I have a bad feeling that I'm about to sense something very bad. My intuition as a street racer is usually correct. Your opponent must be like a ghost, and you're definitely gonna have a hard time." I explained. "You can't be serious?!" Ellie asked. "But I do not think you will lose. I'm gonna say it because you were like a ghost before, but now I can see you. So I have faith in you that you won't lose but... we've gotta win no matter what or how much they throw at us! We won't lose for sure." I answered. "What are Yajima and Branden talking about? Man, that makes me so anxious. I've been friends with her so much longer. So why is it. When did he become so close?" Nicole wondered in her mind. "Nicole! What do you think you're doing? We're gonna be eating lunch soon. Tell those two to come in as well." Adena asked as she saw Nicole spying on us. "Branden and Ellie. We're gonna have lunch so come in when you're ready." Nicole said as she opened the window. "Okay." I replied as Ellie and I came in and walked to the dining room for lunch.