Need For Speed Fortune Valley Stories

Chapter 22 - High Stakes Part 5

Fortune Valley Resort & Casino. We were on the 3rd section still racing and I was still keeping up with the speed of the Huracan. 2nd hairpin. "It's so frustrating! How is the battle going?!" Zandara asked. "Calm down, Zandara." Nicole answered. "But I'm so worried that I can't stand still!" Zandara replied. "They're probably maintaining their positions at the moment." Nicole said. "The Huracan tries to flee while the R34 tries to catch it." Dominic explained. "Right." Nicole replied. "But do you really think the 34 can win?" Dominic asked. "Huh?" Nicole asked. "What are you saying, Dom?" Zandara asked. "You saw it, didn't you? That speed was incomparable. Besides, it's in the lead position." Dominic answered. "Branden Lee will win no matter what because he's The Drifting Hazards' ace in the hillclimb! That's the same for Ellie.." Zandara replied. Starting point. Ellie was standing by her Z33. She took out a pack of bubble gum. Then she took one piece and put in her mouth as she starts chewing on it. We were already onto the 2nd hairpin. "Jovanna, I couldn't tell you this until now. But I hesitated to pick Branden as a driver for the Drifting Hazards." Letty said. "Eh?" Jovanna asked. "There was a time when he looked inferior, when compared to Yajima with her splendid talent. Branden must've felt it, more or less, as well. Drivers naturally figure those things out. He must have felt a certain degree of pressure. As for me, I didn't want to favor my young heroic student. That's why I've been trying to distance myself from him, and acted harshly." Letty answered. "Yes. You must've done it recently. I remember when Branden damaged his recent car's suspension after going through some oil during our Deadfall Junction expeditionary race when my sister was around." Jovanna replied. Flashback. Deadfall Junction. I was driving down the hill during my time trial. Then I drove on oil and I lost control when I crashed into the side of the mountain. "Damnit! I'm gonna end that prick when I get the chance!" I exclaimed as I kicked the guardrail. "If you're finished yelling at the guardrail, we've got work to do. Yajima. Cordelia. You two finish getting the Supra ready." Letty suggested. "You got it." Ellie answered. "We'll get on it right now." Cordelia replied. "Not so fast. Until we get the rest of that oil cleared off. Split the course in half for your practice. And we'll get started on the clean up right now. We don't have enough time so let's move." Letty replied. "You're kidding me, what am I supposed to do? Sit on my ass and wait? What about fixing my R34, I'm gonna need a lot of help!" I asked. "It'd be pointless to try. I've considered that fixing your car would be an alternative. We just don't have enough time. You don't have a job to do so you should just sit on the sidelines." Letty answered. "You've gotta let me race. Leave me out of this and give them exactly what they want!" I exclaimed. "You really still don't understand do you? The reason the R34 took the hit it did was because of you." Letty asked. "Because of me?" I asked. "That's right, do you think it would have been me behind the wheel that I would've fallen for a pathetic little trap like that? You're pride and careless of what's got the best of you. Now go cool off and think about what you did. Alright let's get to work." Letty answered. Present. "You blamed Branden for his carelessness instead of our opponent's dirty trick. My sister felt sorry for him." Jovanna said. "He's been pretty tough since he was little. I don't know much about him to be honest. He improves more from getting chewed out than from receiving praise. It was around the time when the look in his eyes began to change. Regarding of the training of having Branden match a present time. I was obsessed with the same training a long time ago. Surprisingly, you don't learn much when you're desperate and trying to drive fast. Your concentration doesn't last, and you'll only put stress your car. But you think hard and discover more by practicing car control. You can reach your limit only after you perfect such control." Letty replied. "Yajima is a typical example. She's a master of vehicle control." Letty said. "You're right." Jovanna replied. "You could say that Branden's sense of rivalry with Ellie improved him. Whether it's heavy rain or fog, even when he was sick, he never skipped his driving training on Tri City Bay roads. Some say a never ending passion is what brilliance is all about and Branden has something like that." Letty explained. "Both Ellie and Branden are mutually beneficial to one another." Jovanna replied. "To be honest. Jovanna, this past month. Actually in the past two weeks to be precise. Branden has reached an incredible level." Letty said. "Huh? An incredible level?" Jovanna asked. "His time is dead accurate to the preset time. Even when he faces obstacles that might disrupt his pace, he matches the time in the end. He must have developed an accurate internal clock. My past peak performance wouldn't beat today's Branden. I did the same training, so I can understand how impressive he is. It's godlike to drive such a long Tri City road within an error margin of less than 1 second. Many factors have contributed to Branden's breakthrough. My training method created an incredible street racer. His condition is extremely good." Letty answered. "What a pleasant surprise. We made it time for the final battle. Our trump card is Branden himself." Letty said in her mind as she smiled. I was doing good on conserving my tires but I was managing to keep up with the Huracan. We both gripped the inside of the corner and Josh was starting to feel pressured. "Damnit, this sucks! Why are you still there? Why are you putting pressure on me instead of falling behind?" Josh wondered in his mind as he started to feel the pressure of me catching up. "The Demon Lords tried to dominate us in intelligence gathering by dispatching scout teams since our first race here. The Collector's plan didn't work, probably because of Branden's skills, that are refined by his peculiar daily training, greatly exceeded the Collector's expectations. The type of driving sense he's acquired becomes useful in many ways. Even if you don't control your car at full throttle you can understand how the car will behave at it's max acceleration. Around the time when we began our Kanagawa races, Branden stopped practicing a flat-out run. You can lean more that way. And more than anything, you can finish your car's settings because of improved efficiency." Letty said. "I see what you mean." Jovanna replied. "Our opponent has a data analysis expert who can see through any imperfect camouflage. By focusing on the critical attacking areas, and going easy on the rest, we created an evened-out pace, which should have made it difficult for our opponent to gauge our potential. On top of that, Branden drives extremely fast even when he takes it easy. Even the Collector couldn't anticipate a driver, who's trained on public roads, could pull such a stunt." Letty explained. Ellie walks up to the others. "It's beyond my imagination." Jovanna said. "They may have figured out how we control our cars... but we didn't give them any information about our peak performance. This battle of intelligence is even." Letty replied. "Branden is amazing." Ellie said in her mind. We were approaching the final section and I didn't lose the 1st run because I managed to keep up with the Huracan's speed. We crossed the goal and it progressed to the 2nd run. Then we arrived back at the starting point. I am now leading and Josh is chasing now. "I'm very sorry." The Collector said. "You don't have to apologize. The car is in great condition. My instinct tells me that I had a pretty good time. Am I wrong?" Josh asked. "You're exactly right. You beat your sector 3 record by 2 seconds." The Collector answered. "See? I had a good feedback. It's not like I lost. I'm struggling a little, but I'll recover from here." Josh replied. "I've got to pull myself together." Josh said in his mind. The Collector looked at Adena as she was looking at me. "Ready to go, Branden?" Adena asked. "Anytime. I'll throw everything I've got into this second run. If this drags on into a third run, I'll definitely lose." I answered. "You look like you're enjoying this, despite your desperate comment." Adena replied. "I'm enjoying this from the bottom of my heart. This could be my happiest moment since The Drifting Hazards began and before my retirement after the Outlaw's Rush." I said. Everyone backed off a bit cause we were gonna start. Adena runs in front on the right side of my car. "Let's begin! Five seconds to start! 4, 3, 2, 1, Go!!" Adena exclaimed as she started the countdown and we both launched off fast. I was now the leader and I have to not drag it into a third run otherwise I'll lose. Finish point. "There won't be a third run. If there is, you'll lose. In any case, I'm proud of what you've achieved, Branden." Letty said in her mind. We approached the 1st corner. I braked and shifted down to 3rd while I was entering the corner. 2nd hairpin. "This is breathtaking, isn't it? He was at a disadvantage in every aspect. Branden Lee was an incredible street racer even back then. But he turned out to be even better than we imagined." Dominic said. "Right. Like I said, The Drifting Hazards' double aces won't lose no matter what." Zandara replied. "But turbo-charged cars tend to lose power over time because of heat soak. A longer race will negatively affect the 34." Nicole said. "Branden Lee should know that better than anyone else." Dominic replied. "I don't know where, but he'll make a spurt in the second half of the course." Nicole explained. "I agree." Zandara replied. We were approaching the 2nd corner. "Here they come!" Dominic exclaimed. We passed by the 2nd corner. "I'm going to get a kick out of Branden Lee's cannonball dash which has beaten a number of tough challengers. It's going to be epic in this final stage. I can't imagine what's going happen, or how the race will turn out. After all, both drivers are putting their lives on the line to drive so fast." Nicole said in her mind. We were approaching the Braxton section after the bridge which is the 2nd sector. "He's making it obvious that he's just cruising. He's not pushing it to the limit. Even so, he's still fast and maintaining a high speed pace. Nice execution. I didn't expect him to be able to pull off such an elegant move. I didn't realize he was so skillful until I drove behind him. That aside, his car seems fun to drive. I'm being sucked in by this pleasant rhythm and getting synchronized." Josh said in his mind as he felt an aura on my R34 and synchronization from behind. "That is beyond our expectations. An R34's cruising speed can't be that fast." Josh said in his mind. We approached the twisty bends. "I can do it. I'm focused. This is fun. I've wanted to fight a battle like this!" I exclaimed in my mind as I braked and shifted down to 4th gear when approaching the next corner. We were approaching the few incoming hairpins. "This must be it. It's the point where I made my move in the 1st run. It's the simplest and easiest answer." Josh said in his mind. "I'm going to use all the strength I've been saving. Let's begin our battle, Josh Carlos!" I exclaimed in my mind as I took the corner fast and I started warping through the 1st run. "I knew it." Josh said in his mind as he warped. Finish point. "I feel very much like, Do your best and leave the rest. I've done everything I could, so drive as you see fit. You outgrew me and Ellie a long time ago. From here, your strength will be put to the test. Go for it, Branden." Letty said in her mind. I was in the zone and I was using up all of my strength in this run. My body was ready to go for it and it is immortal that it's saying that I won't lose. A car that's a four wheel drive which was built for me to race with. It's a monster machine that I was born to drive. This car has wrestled through all of the races and wins that I have kept as a streak. I warped through the 1st hairpin. "Woah! Is that the sound of the car slicing through the air?! I've never heard it on a mountain pass before, but the sheer speed gave me chills. That R34 is wicked. It's sick." The spectator exclaimed as he saw my fast warping. I kept warping through all of the corners. Josh shifted up and tapped the guardrail. "The view is different from usual. I'm going at an extraordinary pace. I can't stop. How can I stop having this fun?" Josh wondered in his mind. "Not only my car is understeering, but it's oversteering as well. I've never worn the front tires so much on a hillclimb before. He must have the same problem. Damnit!" Josh exclaimed in his mind. Finish point. Ellie was stretching her arms up for a warm up. "Warming up already? The hillclimb hasn't ended yet. If they can't settle their match in this second run, there will be a third. Don't be in such a hurry, just relax." Jovanna suggested. "Right, but I don't think there will be a third run. It will be over in this second run." Ellie replied. "Ellie, your prediction sounds convincing, but why do you think so?" Letty asked. "Branden's in excellent condition. I can feel it because we practice together and we are a couple. I always thought he was great, but he's extraordinary this weekend. He's a veteran and I'm a semi pro, so our driving precision varies by our physical condition at the same time. He raised his condition to the highest at this critical moment. That's impressive." Ellie answered. "You're observant as usual." Letty replied. "I think our opponent is an impressive driver. But Branden is better at the current moment. I'm relieved that he's not my opponent. He gives off a dangerous aura." Ellie explained. "Is my entry speed exceeded? No, I've gotta go for it. Step on it, I can't even lose a tenth of a second. I have to push it." Josh said in his mind as he kept accelerating hard but then his tires were worn and he spun out. I warped again and pulled away. But then my aura was showing as I crossed the line. 2nd hairpin. "We won!" Zandara, Nicole and Dominic exclaimed as they gave each other high fives. "It's awesome, just awesome." Dominic said. "Just like Branden Lee." Nicole replied. "He's in a class by himself! Now Ellie, you should win, too!" Zandara exclaimed. Starting point. "They've done so well that the outcome is meaningless. The stopwatch doesn't lie. The car I built must have been possessed by something. It's like a miracle. I've been in the biz for a long time, but this is some kind of culture shock. Humans are incredible." The Collector said. Adena raised her arms and cheered while Cordelia hugged her as they felt so happy that I won. Downhill start point. I got out of my car, raised my arm and walked up to Ellie. We gave each other a high five while I gave a hard one. "Ouch." Ellie said. "It's up to you now. We're counting on you, Bayview's fastest downhiller." I replied. "You are too cool, even more than usual, Branden." Ellie said. "Heh, naturally." I replied. The cars were at the starting point and I was with Letty. "Ms.Disantos." I called. "Yeah. At the very end this might be the greatest test." Letty replied. "I'm Ellie Yajima." Ellie greeted. "I'm Takahiro Shimizu." Takahiro greeted as he shook hands with Ellie. They got in their cars and revved it. "Just as we thought, they chose to lead. It will be decided on the first run. The ultimate opponent is here. Pull away even if you wear your tires. He is tough." Letty said. "I understand. I will do my best." Ellie replied. "Let's get started! Starting in 5...!" Adena exclaimed. 2nd hairpin. Sector 3. "It's happening. It's happening! The Drifting Hazards' downhill ace, Ellie Yajima is racing!" Zandara exclaimed. "4...!" Adena exclaimed. "Calm down, Zandara! I say that, but for some reason my heart is pounding too." Nicole replied. "In fact mine too." Dominic said. "Of course it does! After all Ellie is our treasure of Bayview!" Zandara exclaimed. "We could say she is our pride." Dominic suggested. "Yeah, that's right! Ellie is our pride. Win it!" Nicole replied. "3...! 2...! 1...! Go!!" Adena exclaimed as she started the countdown and the cars launched off fast. They were approaching the 2nd corner. The FD started to warp and confuse the Z. "What the...?" Ellie wondered in her mind. "Wow... So fast!" Ellie exclaimed in her mind as she saw the FD warping on the corners. "That at the very end Ellie's opponent would be an FD. I never imagined." Zandara said. "Yeah, there is between modern and classic JDM cars." Nicole replied. "Beside, it seems a bit different from that Takayuki guy in the FD." Dominic said. "I can feel that too. Something unexpected is gonna happen. All that pressure. Look, I have goosebumps!" Nicole exclaimed. "For some reason I'm shaking too. The only question is what's going to happen." Zandara replied. "Even if I do my best... I can't keep up! I'm falling behind." Ellie said in her mind as she saw the FD pulling away and couldn't keep up. Starting point. I opened myself a can of Coca Cola and Adena was holding the phone. "The true meaning of the Drifting Hazards. If it weren't for both Branden and Ellie, I wouldn't have started it. This battle is about more than winning or losing. Fight the boundaries, Yajima! For the sake of you taking the next step, there couldn't be any better opponent!" Letty said in her mind. "He's not particularly faster at the entry or the exit either. Yet his entire cornering is faster. Little by little... even if only very little at a time. I'm losing him in the corners." Ellie said in her mind as she realized her opponent is faster than her in cornering. "Even if I somehow catch up to him on the longer straights, there are no straights on the last section of the course, but tight corners only! I won't be able to keep up there. What should I do?" Ellie wondered in her mind as she tries her best to keep up with Takahiro. "This is bad! This is bad! This is really bad!" Ellie exclaimed in her mind as she saw his fast cornering that was starting to hurt her abilities to focus. The battle continues.