Need For Speed Super Carbon

Chapter 2 - Getting Noticed

8:00 p.m. SafeHouse. "So Neville. Did you tell my crew about the coordinates to this Safehouse?" I asked. "Nah, Nikki told them. This one girl on your crew wanted to ask where you were so she gave em the coordinates here." Neville answered. "Makes sense." I replied. "It's good to see you guys again." I said as I greeted the crew. "It's good to see you breathing again Branden." Letty replied. "So. Where's the M3?" Adena asked. "It... kinda got into a bad accident on the way but I'm not sure what's happen to it next. It may be repaired or it may be impounded or something." I answered. "Don't worry, I'm not mad. It's just a car anyways. Are you sure you're okay about it? I'm pretty sure you got yourself a backup ride which you are okay with right?" Adena asked. "It's okay. As long as it's not in a junkyard, then we're good." I answered. "April and Jill? What are you guys back in town?" Ellie asked as she saw April and Jill opened the door and walked inside the Safehouse. "We heard this guy was back in town so we wanted to check in with him." April answered. "So how is racing going for you Branden? I heard Nikki was teaching you about how this city works when there are 3 crews that dominated each turf on this area." Jill asked. "It's gone good I mean, everything's changed. I mean we are up against a different territory now. Up against a few crews and we've gotta prove who has the best crew here." I answered. "That's right. This area is separated in 4 different territories as everyone's fighting for them. I've analyzed the bosses of this area which is between Kenji's Bushido, Wolf's TFK and Angie's 21st Street. If we gain enough rep, we'll end up taking that area and we'll be able to take over that area of the territory. But their leader may look for one of us to take him on, if we take em on. We'll have a shot of taking over that turf." Letty explained. "Branden, there's a race going on in the Downtown Area if you are interested." Adena replied. "Alright then, Neville's gonna race with us. We'll give him a shot." I said. "Let's go!" Neville replied as he and I walked out of the Safehouse and went to our cars as we were heading to the race location. Lincoln Boulevard. "Okay, Branden, try to go hard on the last part. For now, just pace yourself and try not to wipe out. When we beat their leaders, one of the members may wanna race with us, so stay focused." Letty said. "I got it Letty." Branden replied as she closed the window and Letty backed off from the car at a few yards. "We're ready. We have a little bit of traffic but we should be able to be ready to start whenever. I'll start the countdown." Jill said. "On my count, 5, 4, 3, 2." Jill exclaimed. "Alright, man, let's show em how it's done!" Neville said. "1, GO!" Jill exclaimed as she started the countdown. "Yeah, here goes Branden!" April exclaimed. "Here's go the first corner." I said as I attacked the first corner from the inside while my opponents were on the inside line. I was in 6th place. "Wow, looks like he's in the zone. Not to mention we haven't raced here before and we haven't done any time trials here. All we can do here is practice and I can look up the courses on the computer." Letty suggested as she saw me attacking the corners and brought out the lap top. "Slipped right past them, man. I love it!" Neville said as he saw me passing a few cars and he passed as well as we were both in a rhythm. "As long as Branden can keep his pace up, he should do fine." April said. The race was 25%. "Neville, block the guy behind me. He's trying to take the lead!" I said. "Got it, you watching?" Neville asked as he was about to pull up ahead and nudge the car behind me to cause him to make a mistake. "Yeah, nailed them!" Neville exclaimed. "That's what I'm talking about! Let's keep moving!" I exclaimed as I accelerated hard and Neville accelerated hard as well. We were on the Billings district section heading into Kings Park. "Neville, we got more guys behind us!" I exclaimed as I saw another car trying to catch up to us. "I gotta get a better look at this guy. That's it! Right there!" Neville exclaimed as he braked and fell back to take out the car ahead of us. We were now on the park area as I saw a shortcut and took it to cut through the race. We were now at the end of the section heading into the final corner. "Okay, just a bit more and you got it!" Neville exclaimed. I moved my thumbs and pressed both of the nozzle buttons for maximum power and boost. I crossed the finish line, deactivated the nos and I performed some donuts. "That's about how good we are man! Yeah!" Neville exclaimed. "The Brera won the race! It crossed the finish line with nos and he created donuts!" The guy exclaimed as he called on his walkie talkie. "I knew he could win it, good call. Check back with me in a few." April said. The Brera came back to the start to meet up with the group which was me in the car. "Great job, Branden! The way how you entered that first corner was amazing and you made a move at a park trail that helped you pass your three opponents was another awesome move." April said as she gave a high five to me. "The way how the car attacked it for me was a save and I knew I could pull this off, but these other races are gonna get tougher and tougher just like how they were back in Rockport. Now things are gonna start to heat up. But, let's go home." I answered. While we were on our way home. A group of green cars were coming towards our path as they blocked us. I knew who was in that RX-7 and that was Kenji. "I heard you were back in town. Now I wanna hear you're gone." Kenji said as he and his crew drive away. "You good man?" Neville asked. "I'm fine. I'm okay." I answered. "Don't let it get to you man. You'll be fine." Neville replied. A day later. 7:00 p.m. "Ellie and April. There's a touge race going on in the mountains for you guys to enter. Are you guys interested?" Jill asked. "Sounds like a plan." April answered. "You guys need me in this one?" Neville asked. "We're good, Neville. We can take on these guys alone." Ellie answered. "Alright just let me know when you'll need me to join you." Neville replied. 1 Hour later. Gold Valley Run. The cars were about to go into a side by side start as April and Ellie were about to race on the mountain. "Ah, great. What is Courtney doing back in town?" Ellie wondered as she saw Courtney in a Pink 300C. "I dunno, I guess she must've heard our coordinates about our race location or she wants Branden back." April answered. "What about that girl in the Yellow Camaro?" Ellie asked. "The girl in the Camaro is Jenna Sakura. She's a drifting legend. Apparently she is said to be one of the best drifters in this area. After you beat her, she decided to learn more about drifting, that's how this whole thing started." April explained. "If looks like we're racing our enemies then." Ellie replied. "That RX-8. It's Ellie. She must be trying to take Branden but I ain't gonna let her get him because he's mine." Courtney wondered in her mind as she sees a Rotor 4 RX-8 next to her. "Ready! 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, GO!!" The starter exclaimed as she started the countdown and the cars launched off the start fast. April is line to line between her rivals as they were coming into the first corner. Ellie accelerates hard and takes the next corner as she grips it. She is now in the lead as Courtney is behind her and April is in 3rd while Jenna is in last place. They were approaching the right bend that leads to a few curves. "She's showing off as always I see." April said in her mind as she sees Ellie in the lead showing off. Once they passed the curves, they were about to hit the bridge section. Ellie grips again on the right bend as they were coming up on the curves and a tunnel section. April makes her move and passes Courtney on the outside before the tunnel section as she is now in 2nd place catching up to Ellie. "These girls are good! I can't keep up!" Courtney exclaimed as she tries to grip the corners but is starting to slide. Ellie is coming up to another right bend but her tires are about to wear as she starts losing control. "Shit! The tires!" Ellie exclaimed in her mind as she was losing control and about to hit the guardrail as she was going to fall down the ravine but she regains control. However, April takes the inside and passes her. " *sighs* that was a close one... now I need to gain the lead back!" Ellie exclaimed in her mind as she sighed and recovered from being close to falling off the mountain. She was back in the race but she needs to catch up to April and pass her. "I'm in the lead, now I've gotta hold em back." April said in her mind as she's about hit the next curves on the long straight and on the next hairpin. "These girls are good. But the weakness of the 300C is that it's starting to lack in handling while the RX-8 has better traction. It seems like the girl in the RX-8 can corner faster but acceleration isn't good enough but the way how she's controlling it tells me otherwise. The 240SX seems to be faster than any of us because it has better acceleration and handling than the other cars ahead of me. She's very good so I'll have to make my move wisely if I have to pass the car in front of me." Jenna said in her mind as she analyzed how the cars ahead of her function. They were on the 3rd section as they were coming up to a series of bends and corners. "Looks like I'll have to attack if I want to win!" Ellie exclaimed in her mind as she turns off the light switch to turn off her headlights. "Huh? Where did she go?" April wondered in her mind as she noticed that Ellie disappeared. "The RX-8 disappeared! But how??" Courtney exclaimed. "She's going to make her move somewhere between this section." Jenna said in her mind. Ellie was on the inside between April as she turns on her headlights. "What the-??" April exclaimed as she saw Ellie appear side by side with her again. The RX-8 makes it moves and accelerates hard until it reaches the final corner. "The goal's up ahead! Don't let up!" Ellie exclaimed in her mind as she steps on it as she was about to hit the finish line. "I'm gonna pass her here." Jenna said in her mind as she passes Courtney on the corner before the final bends and curves. "Damnit!" Courtney exclaimed. "Yes!" Ellie exclaimed as she crossed the line first, April was in second, Jenna was in third and Courtney was last. A few minutes later. "Ellie, you were on fire tonight. I didn't notice you'd pull off that standard move on me. That was crazy out there." April said. "Well, what can you say, I had to pull of my standard move because I didn't have any options left or Courtney was putting pressure on me as I managed to break free from it." Ellie replied. "That was a good one. Well done, let's head back in town now." April said. An hour later. Downtown Palmont. While Ellie and April were on their way back to the Safehouse. Kenji and his crew were driving up to approach them as we are starting to attack his territory and trying our best to conquer it. He pulls up to Ellie as she slams her brakes when he approaches her. April stopped her case well. "I don't know what's more pathetic. Your crew or your car." Kenji said as he drives away from Ellie as the rest of his crew were moving along and doing their own thing. "Don't let him to get to you Ellie, he's trying to mess with you." April said as Ellie nodded and they both continued driving their way back to the Safehouse. Meanwhile. Mason District. "Hey Branden, I forgot to tell you. I've hooked you up with a friend of mine named Jenna Sakura. She's one of the best drifters in the area, if you want to earn more rep you gotta do some drifting. She's a nice girl as well so be gentle with her. She knows you're a friend of mine as well." Nikki called. "Sounds good, I appreciate it." I replied. "She is at the Palmont Motor Speedway." Nikki said. "See you around." I replied as I hung up and drove to Palmont Motor Speedway. A few minutes later. Palmont Motor Speedway. I saw a White Supra at the starting line and the person outside of the Supra is Jenna Sakura. I drove up to her as I parked my car and got out. "Hey, I heard you're that racer that owned everyone in the first race." Jenna greeted. "You must be Jenna Sakura. Nikki sent me here because she told me you would teach me how to do some drifting." I replied. "Ah, yes. She told me about you. You must be Branden Lee? An old friend of her's?" Jenna asked. "Yes, I'm a friend of her's." I answered. "You're driving, let's go out for a drift." Jenna replied as she got in the passenger's seat. I walked to the Supra and got in as I was on the driver's seat. "Let me know when you're ready to start and we can take off." Jenna said. I nodded as I started off slow and accelerated gently as we were about to go into a drift. "So drifting is all about cornering, all you need to is get enough speed and pitch it hard to get the best points. Link drifts as well without fishtailing. If you drift close to the wall, you'll do better. But if you tap it then you're done for. Also try tuning your vehicle's setting to see how it feels for the drift tracks. The car is specifically tuned so you should be able to practice with it." Jenna explained. "Okay. Let's do this." I replied as I launched off fast from the first corner as we were about to begin the drift run. I accelerated hard and steered into the next corner as I performed a power over. "Nice drift!" Jenna exclaimed. We were on the straightaway as we were coming up on the next corner. I braked and shifted down to 3rd gear as I steered into the corner while performing a braking drift. "Okay, this car is not bad compared to other drift cars I've driven. This one seems to be performing well." I said in my mind as I was about to let off the gas when I was feeling a bit of weight transfer as I have performed an accel off drift. We were coming up to a series of corners and I pulled up the handbrake as I performed an e-brake drift while linking drifts between corners and corners. "This kid's not bad! He's getting the hang of it while he seems focused." Jenna exclaimed in her mind as she saw my drifting skills and how I was concentrating very well. We were about to hit the finish line as I crossed it and pulled up the e-brake when I was going to perform a brakestand. "That... was insane! You have good drifting skills Branden." Jenna said as she and I got out of the car. "So here's the deal, if you and your crew win all of the drift events in the Downtown area, I will join your crew. Does that sound good?" Jenna asked. "That sounds good to me! See you around." I answered as I walked back to my Brera and got in as I was heading back to the Safehouse. While I walked in, I saw Nikki and Neville with the crew. "Darius asked me to come by to see how you're doing. Neville, why don't you go get me something to drink." Nikki suggested. "Sure, uh... what, like a soda or something?" Neville asked. "How about some options?" Nikki asked. "Okay." Neville answered. "Looks like you cleaned up the place up a bit. You've been generating quite a bit of buzz, you know, but you're not fooling me. I'm trying to figure out as why you haven't skipped town yet." Nikki replied. "It's a difficult answer as it's similar to a puzzle. I'm sure you'll find out later on." I said. "May I introduce Sal Mustela?" Nikki asked as she saw Sal walking into the Safehouse. "Hi. Uhm, Nikki said that you might be looking for a... a new wingman?" Sal greeted. "Wait a minute how did you- Ellie did you find this guy and how did he notice me?" I asked. "Well... he didn't notice you but he only noticed me because of that race I had with April and I was known as the members of your crew so I told Nikki about the story as it happened that she told him about having a new wingman after I beat April and those two girls in muscle cars. Give this a guy a shot, he's one of the best." Ellie answered. "I mean you don't know me, but uh... I know you, I'm a... I'm a big fan. I've seen all of your races." Sal replied. "And on that note, I'll be outta here." Nikki said as she was about to leave the Safehouse. "See... Things haven't been the same since you've gone, you know. There's a lot of uh... a lot of posers, no respect. I know all the back streets, I grew up in these alleys, I can customize anything. I've practically built all the kits you see around this place, so I...-" Sal explained as Neville walked in and interrupted him. "Okey dokey, so I got soda and water. Where'd she go?" Neville asked as he comes in with a few cups of soda and water. "I'll take the soda. You can have the water pal." Ellie answered as she takes the soda cup from the tray. "I'll even put up with this guy." Sal replied as he grabs a cup of water and takes a sip of it. Meanwhile. Lookout Point. "So? You want me to drift this Murciélago down the hill?" Jill asked. "The car's not bad, it's a 4WD. It should be good to drift with." Jordan answered. " *sighs* okay. Let's do this..." Jill replied as she starts off slow coming into a rolling start before coming into the first corner. "Let's do this." Jill said as she shifted down to 2nd gear as she was about to take the corner fast as she starts drifting. "Jill?? What are you doing?? Hit the brakes!!" Jordan exclaimed as he was screaming and being frightened by Jill's driving skills. "Jordan, relax. This is how I race, just calm down. You'll be fine." Jill answered. "This isn't bad, but as long as I don't countersteer. I should be good to go." Jill wondered in her mind as she starts to feel the car's handling and finds a way to drift it without countersteering. "I don't think I can handle this!" Jordan exclaimed as he was trying to hold on but was very frightened. Downtown Palmont. Historic Chinatown. Ellie's phone vibrated as she took it out from her pocket and got a message. "I got a message from Kenji? I wonder what it is." Ellie wondered as she played the voice message. "Haha. You think that car's got what it takes? Huh? Enough to take me on? Okay, first, we're gonna run in the city. And then, only if you win am I gonna give you a shot at taking what's mine. But if you think you can beat me in a canyon duel, you're as much of a joke as your car." Kenji said in voice message. "This guy wants to take me on. Well bring it! Let's do this!" Ellie exclaimed.