Need for Speed: Payback is Everything

Is it Truth or all Lies?

Tyler panicked, trying to get a response from Echo as he drove. He pulled the Mustang off the road and followed where the Charger went. He parked and raced over to Echo, who was bleeding from her forehead and knocked out. Tyler reached in through the broken window and looked for a pulse. Sirens were heard in the distance, quickly approaching. Tyler opened the door and picked Echo up. He set her down in the passenger seat of the Mustang and raced off

"Mac, I need you to send someone to come get us. I gotta ditch the Mustang and the Charger is wrecked. Echo hit another car head-on and it rolled," Tyler said

"I'm almost at the airfield. I'll come and get you guys," Jess said over the radio

"I'll go hide, track our location,"

"You got it. Is Echo alright?"

"I think so. She's got a pulse, just knocked out and bleeding from her forehead. That's all I know so far,"

"Mac, get a first aid-kit ready. I'll get one of the car benches ready as a makeshift bed," Rav said over the radio

"Got it," Mac responded

Tyler pulled off the road and found a small cave. He parked so the entire car was hidden in the shadow before moving Echo into the backseat and laying her down. Once he was sure that she was alright, he sat down in the front seat. Half an hour later, a blue BMW pulled up to the entrance of the cave, catching Tyler's attention. The BMW slowly approached and then parked. Jess got out and so did Tyler

"How is she?" Jess asked

"Dunno. She's still out. What happened to the Charger?" Tyler asked

"Cops have left it on the side of the road, more focused on the Mustang. Mac has already gone with Rav to pick it up and bring it back to the airfield. When I passed it, there was a dude with red hair looking into the driver's side door, as if he was looking for Echo. He didn't see me though,"

"Good,"

"Let's get her back to the airfield, come on,"

Together, Tyler and Jess moved Echo into the backseat of the BMW, and they left the Mustang in the cave. They drove back to the airfield and put Echo on the bench seat of the Impala, giving enough room that she would be able to move around. Tyler put a blanket over her and shut the door. When he turned around, the rest of his crew was smirking at him

"What?" Tyler asked

"We heard you over the radio before she crashed," Jess said

"So what? I would've done the exact same with any of you,"

"Yeah right, man. The panic in your voice gave you away," Mac said

Tyler rolled his eyes, "Yeah, alright, whatever,"

"I have to agree with the other two. You love her, I can tell," Rav said

"Enough, I don't—I'm not—" Tyler sighed, "It's too early to tell, alright? We've known her for a week. Who's to say that she leaves once The House has been taken down?"

"Guess that's your problem. You're the one in love with her," Jess teased

Tyler just stormed off, leaving the garage. He got into his Fairlady and drove off, going to look for some off-roading tracks to go to in order to calm back down. To get his mind off the teasing of his friends, the worry of Echo's health, the pressure of The House gunning to drive them apart again. It had become dark by the time he had returned to the airfield again. He parked inside the garage and got out, locking the Fairlady behind him. He walked over to the Impala and found Echo was still asleep. Tyler weighted his options, be with Echo when she wakes up or hear her call out panicked. Tyler decided to stay in the car next the Impala, which happened to be the BMW that Jess drove when doing her runner jobs.

He opened the back seat and laid down, careful not to move too loudly. He fell asleep shortly after. He woke up to Jess opening the door

"Found him!" Jess called over the car

"What's going on?" Tyler asked, yawning and rubbing his eyes to clear the sleep from them

"The House has a phone call for you,"

"A call?"

"Yeah, here,"

"Hello?" Tyler asked into phone

"This Tyler Morgan?" a male voice came through

"This is,"

"Good. My name is Jake Robinson. I wanted to know exactly what you think you're doing,"

"What do you mean?"

"My ex-girlfriend joined your little team and now you guys are using her cars to pull off your stunts. I saw that wreck, she should've been inside it, dying. I was there as you took off in that Mustang of hers. So, I'm gonna be nice and ask you where she is. She needs to answer for what she did,"

"You talk like she's apart of The House,"

"She's wrapped up in it, trust me. You never thought to question why she was so eager to join your little team? She knew about you from the beginning. She wants you taken down just as much as you want to take us down. The House sent her on that little mission a while ago,"

"No, she can't be. I saw how she talks about The House,"

"She is. It's a ploy Tyler Morgan, something that the best of us learned from when we joined The House,"

"We're not handing her over. She's one of us,"

"Your downfall. Because she'll be the one to destroy your little crew, trust me. It's the only thing she's good at,"

Tyler's heart broke at the thought of Echo betraying them after everything that they had been through in the last week and the little time that they've known her. Tyler hung up the phone and climbed out of the car

"What were they calling about?" Jess asked

"Don't worry about it. I'll handle it," Tyler said coldly to her

"Ty—"

"I'll handle it!" Tyler snapped, walking out of the garage to get some fresh air.