[WIP]

At the prospect of going back to their trailers, Ellie shrugged and figured that wouldn't be such a bad idea. The sooner they got their shit packed, the better. It was a hassle to do, but there was an honor in doing everything with her own hands. She could have very easily gotten some assistants to do it for her, and all she had to do was to make a gesture and they'd come running in. That wasn't the case. Ellie and Seb had made it a point that they do everything themselves. Packing, rigging, and all the sorts. The only thing they'd let be in the hands of other people were safety precautions. They would allow officials to inspect their gear just in case, made legal matters easier and added an extra sense of security for the professional content-makers. What they did was bat-shit crazy, safety was not something that would be taken lightly in this line of business.

"Let's get outta here, yeah?" Ellie gestured, as she held her parachute in her arms and walked off the LZ. She found a wide open space behind the stage that looked like a good place to pack her parachute. She knew she could've just ditched that one and allowed workers to provide a replacement, but Ellie wanted to keep this parachute pack as a memory. She laid out the parachute on the ground and began the rather tedious procedure to pack everything properly. It had taken many repetitions to perfect the craft of parachute packing, but once she had it down, she had it down. It was like clockwork as she folded the pack, providing slack and whatnot as she progressed further and further. Why out here? It was the perfect space to do so. Better to get it out of the way now than to waste some time later at their living quarters. She wanted to get out there and mingle. This location was an excellent place to promote the channels she and Seb had. It seemed kinda scummy, but it was business.

A long process later, and Ellie was holding her pack in her arms, slinging it on her back like a backpack, her little flight suit still on as she started to walk back to their caravan. She was told that they would have a decently sized one, not one of those super cramped ones but one that they could probably live out of for a long time if they needed to. "I'm so glad that's done and over with." Ellie chuckled as she shuffled on the alternate path towards the caravan area. There was one primary path everyone took, but for people like Ellie and Seb, they were made aware of another path just so they could have a heckle-free walk back to their temporary home. The caravan had a number on it, one that matched up with the number they were sent earlier. "I guess this is home for now." Ellie smirked, as she grabbed onto the door handle and opened it up.

The door revealed a roomier-than-expected caravan, and the officials took the time to really make things nice for their special guests. There was a bottle of really nice champagne all gift wrapped with a gold ribbon and whatnot. In front of it was a piece of paper, with a greeting personally written by the event organizer, thanking them for their time and efforts. At the very bottom of the piece of paper, there were two golden wristbands. They were to signify an individual's access level at this festival. Gold meant "very, very, VERY important person". Only top names and people that impressed at today's rallycross events were given this wristband. Ellie took the wristbands, handing one to her boyfriend before walking further down the caravan to explore a bit more. A glimpse at the bed showed that the shoes and jacket Ellie wore earlier had made their way back. Another nice touch by the organizers for sure. Ellie placed her pack by their bed, before commencing the removal of the jumpsuit. In just a blink Ellie was in nothing but the shorts and tank-top she was wearing back at the hangar. Her socked feet was planted on the ground as she reached for her very light gray shoes, slipping them on as Ellie looked up at Seb.

"You think you can make it to the bar? As soon as I'm done here, I'm going down there. I think we both deserve a drink or nineteen." Ellie chuckled as her shoes finally slipped on her feet. The Scottish-Canadian woman stepped back out to the front of the caravan, looking back at Seb. Ellie took the golden wristband and started to apply it on her wrist, "If you're ready, let's come on then. If not... I'll see you there." Ellie smirked, before she disappeared through the open door of the caravan, making her way to the booth that served alcohol.

----

A skeptical Kimberly cocked an eyebrow as Ross said he'd come with her outside. As Ross would get ready, she figured that she'd take the time to get her makeup done. She took her makeup bag and sat in front of a nearby mirror, starting the process as her husband would go get ready. He was all concussed and stuff, but someway somehow he had the balls to persist and have a good time. That was one of the major factors of why she loved her husband so much. Nothing could stop him if he put his mind to something. Kimberly certainly couldn't, not like she wanted to anyway. As she finished up her eyeliner, she cleared her throat and started on the other parts of putting on her face. She wanted to look presentable for the party right now, and the other party later that night. Basing on the music, the party was only surging with more and more energy. Which was good, just the way Kimberly liked it.

Just as Kimberly had finished putting on her makeup, Ross had finished getting ready as well. She knew he knew how long she took to put on her face. She didn't really like going outside without her makeup on. It made her feel a lot better about herself. She turned around, getting up to hold her husband by the waist and planting a kiss on his cheek. "I think it's about time we had some non-car fun." Kimberly joked, knowing that she and Ross rightfully deserved some time together outside of being around cars. Just as the two were about to depart, an official came by with an envelope with the couple's names written on it. Kimberly thanked the official before taking the envelope and opening it.

"Hey, what do you know? Gold wristbands!" Kimberly beamed, her smile getting wider as she handed the other wristband to her husband. Putting it on quickly, it reminded her of something akin to Coachella. "Gold's a good color on me, huh?" Kimberly joked, before gesturing outside the door. "Come on baby, let's get you something to drink."

---

After a rather rigorous race involving the best rallycross drivers that bothered to show up at Lydden Hill, Regina had managed to claw her way to a respectable second place. It wasn't first, but at least it wasn't third either. The drive back had been a very pleasant one as Regina knew that she and Ryan had made it to the second round. That Graham driver took first as expected. Gina was hoping she'd have a chance at redemption the next heat. To beat out the heavy favorite and pull off the upset. But now... now was the chance for them to just unwind and relax at the party tonight. Gina clambered out of her race suit and was wearing a pair of shorts and a shirt of some sorts. Thermals weren't really necessary at the moment, and it seemed like Ryan had the same idea.

The formal party was going to be starting soon, so Regina knew that the priority was to visit Ross first. Ryan must've read her mind, as he offered up the idea. "I think they're at their caravan. If not, they've probably been whisked away by the party." Regina said, as she gestured for Ryan to follow her to their caravan. "Come on now! The sooner the better!" The Chinese driver said with a slight sense of urgency. She wanted to see how Ross was, how he was doing after being KOed.

The two had made it to the temporary Rossi-Hartley residence. Judging how the lights weren't exactly on, Regina glanced inside the window and saw no signs of movement or life inside the building. She turned around to Ryan and shrugged. "I guess they've been whisked away by the party. Ah well... I'm gonna get myself a virgin Cuba Libre." Regina turned to start walking towards the main life of the party, hoping her partner would follow.

---

Kimberly had arrived at the bar, weaving her way through the crowd to make her way there. It wasn't as populated as the party outside, but it was still somewhat of a hassle to make her way there. At last, she was at the bar and ready to get a drink. She wasn't too sure where her husband had gone, but she figured he'd make his way back somehow. She leaned against the counter, her arms pressing on top of the wood and watching the female bartender address the customers ahead of her before she finally got to Kimberly. Looking at the prices... it seemed like they followed the trend of overcharging for drinks. It ranged from £9 to straight up £100 for a lot of the drinks. Kimberly didn't exactly desire to burn a hole in her pocket so she looked at the popular drinks board. Luckily one of Kimberly's favorites was on the board. The bartender put her hands on the counter in front of her and propped herself up, listening for Kimberly's request.

"Hi! I'll have a Dirty Shirley, please." Kimberly asked. The concoction made of Sprite, grenadine syrup, and vodka was always a staple in Kimberly's alcohol tastes. It often ranged from a simple beer, to some heavy shit like absinthe. As she was about to pull out her wallet to pay for the drink, the bartender noticed Kimberly's golden wristband and put a hand out to gesture her to stop. "Gold wristband means you don't have to pay anything. It's on the management." She said as she prepared the components that went into making such a drink. Suddenly, the bartender's attention shifted to someone who had just pulled up to Kimberly's left.

"Hello, you guys wouldn't happen to serve a Dirty Shirley here, do ya?" A feminine, Scottish accented voice requested, as she wrote down the order. "Yeah we do. Since you've got the golden wristband too, you don't have to pay." The bartender replied, before she started to get to work on the drinks. Kimberly was intrigued by this woman, who just happened to order the same exact drink with the same level of wristband she had. Kimberly watched the bartender momentarily before she glanced over.

On first glance, the woman was definitely taller than her. About an inch or so. She had strikingly blonde hair and skin just as pale as her own. A closer look would show that she had deep, brown eyes. Kinda like Ross's. Her cheeks were cute, but the attire of the woman next to her showed that she wasn't exactly one of those high level people that one would usually expect. Kimberly had no idea what this woman was here for, but she had to introduce herself. It wasn't that often that a woman with the same level wristband order the same exact thing that you had just ordered.

"I like your taste in drinks." Kimberly joked as she turned to the woman next to her. The lady next to her turned to Kimberly. As soon as she laid eyes on Kimberly, she saw a brunette, a brunette with piercing blue eyes and skin as pale as snow. Her hair was voluminous and wavy, and she had quite the figure. It was a figure many people would practically die for to obtain. The lady smiled back and laughed. Based on her accent (or lack of), she was definitely American. But why, why did she also have a gold wristband? Americans usually never went to these things. It was like seeing a white tiger in the wild.

"Yours isn't too bad yourself." The lady replied, propping her elbow on the table, before extending her right hand to the girl who had stricken a conversation with her, "I'm Ellie, Ellie Dorian."

Kimberly reached her hand out to shake Ellie's hand, returning with a firm grip, "Pleasure to meet you, Ellie. I'm Kimberly. Kimberly Rossi-Hartley."

As Ellie heard the hyphenated name, she glanced at her left hand and saw a ring exactly where she expected it to be. Married woman. Something about her last name, specifically the latter half of it, tugged at something within her. She wasn't sure why, but she was sure that she had definitely heard the last name Hartley before. Could it have been? Maybe. She wasn't too sure. It had been far too long. "Same goes for you, Mrs. Rossi-Hartley."

Kimberly smiled, before leaning further on the bar, "So what brings you to a place like this, Ms. Gold Wristband?" Kimberly gestured at the wristband on Ellie's left wrist, which Ellie promptly held with her other hand. "The organizers called me and my partner for a stunt, and in return they gave us these so that we could use them for this and whatever events they'll deem it eligible." Ellie smiled, "What about you?"

Kimberly shrugged, "My husband and his racing driver friends dragged me over here to compete. Since I took first place and he took second, I guess the organizers were impressed with the performance and gave us these. We were about to just roam around before someone came over and gave us these things." Kimberly sighed, "I'm loving it so far."

Before the conversation could continue, two Dirty Shirleys were placed in front of the ladies, both of them picking them up promptly and taking sips. Ellie was first to speak up again, "Your husband, you say? Where is he anyway?" Ellie asked curiously.

Kimberly shrugged again, taking the straw in her drink and stirring it casually, "I have no idea. I'm guessing he's lost somewhere. He should find me eventually." Kimberly quickly pulled out her phone, feeling some vibration of sort, but it was just a text from her little sister. "Ah, when he gets here he'll get here. I think you two would get along." Kimberly commented, hoping that wasn't a bit too presumptuous. "So what kind of stunt did you and your partner do?"

Ellie shook her head and waved it off, "We just parachuted onto that big LZ, smoke trails flowing behind us and whatnot." Gears turned in Kimberly's head and she had just figured out why Ellie had the gold wristband. A big stunt like that definitely deserved payment like that. "Really? That's so cool!"

Ellie blushed slightly, "All in a day's work. We do this stuff all the time, recording stuff for our YouTube channel and whatnot." Kimberly was even more surprised. She was also a content producer? She liked Ellie more and more, "My little sister's super into that stuff. That's freaking awesome!" Kimberly beamed. Before they knew it, Kimberly and Ellie were hitting it off like two peas in a pod, forgetting where exactly her husband was in the process.

Seb began packing on the tarpaulin, putting his canopy back into the rig, taking about five minutes to go through the whole process, being careful with all the lines and the material, getting it back in a jumpable state. Slinging it over his shoulders, he managed to slide out of his wingsuit, and slung that over his shoulder too, following Ellie, as she seemed to be more aware of their arrangement here.

He couldn't help but grin at the nice trailer, throwing down his stuff, as he sighed, slamming onto the bed.
"Yeah, that was so sick." He swung the gold wristband a little, before putting it on his wrist, before looking at his case that had been left in here. He took a few things out, but one of the things he was looking for was a black baseball cap, going onto his shaven head, complimenting his black and grey t-shirt, and his khaki shorts he wore, Seb feeling ready for the party, his glorious girlfriend looking like it too. Before she went out the door, he pecked a kiss on her cheek, as she looked out, and turned to him.
"I'm right behind you....let's go paaartay, as they say!"

---------------



The music inside was pounding, the mass of people drinking, chatting, dancing and soaking the atmosphere making it electric, this place really setting off. Ross's head was recovering, and he was getting his shit back together, able to at least know what was going on. And this was awesome....albeit not as edgy as the party in the warehouse/construction site in London, that was a whole different beast altogether. This was just a really good party, that was a midnight rave, and a real street racing event, true and mental as usual. This felt regulated. The ecstasy wasn't going to be anywhere near as well cut. Ever since he had a kid, he was no longer anywhere close to that scene, but his youth said it all, he thought to himself.

Ross followed her to the bar, losing Kimberly for a second, seeing her go to another corner of the huge bar, while he went to another. Looking out, he saw the cups of Thatchers' Cider being served, and not being one that was going to say no to a cider, he was going to drink. He might have just been knocked out, but as Kimberly would know it, he was a tough cookie. And he didn't really care too much. His head was recovering slowly, and the party was kicking off, the place getting rowdy, the dance floor beginning to be filled. Swigging his drink down, he tried to look for Kimberly, cutting his way through. Even after five minutes, he could't find her, and his pint was finished. That, and his need to go to the men's room was kicking in. He was sure he'd find Kimberly, at some point later on.

---------

Ryan smiled, watching her urgently lead.
"Sure thing." He simply replied back to his team-mate, running after her as he followed Regina into the dark, towards where the caravans and trailers were all parked up, knowing that the party was getting cracking, and that they'd be following in, being drivers, they'd be recognized and let through to the VIP section to chill, relax and calm down.

Finding it empty, Ryan shugged his shoulders, chuckling.
"He can't be partying." He said to himself aloud, as he looked at Regina.
"Then again, this is the Ross Hartley who I know. They'll be out there somewhere." Ryan added, sighing as he heard her comment, thinking himself.
"I'll stay away from the cocktails, just a pint of cider, for tomorrow morning to at least be a nice one. Am I too simple like that?"

--------

In the crowded toilets, Ross finished going for a slash, heading out where he saw another bloke, a little shorter than him, in his black t-shirt and shorts, wearing a baseball cap and generally looking like the adrenaline junkie he was. He seemed athletic. After washing his hands, he headed out, just in front, thinking he recognized him from somewhere.
"Excuse me, you're not from that YouTube channel....TheWingman, right?"
"I might be, yes?" Seb said, chuckling a little, as Ross smirked.
"No way....that is absolutely awesome!" The Scot replied, as they headed out of the portacabin come festival toilet, the music audible from here still, as he looked inside, following the individual out.
"Well, my real name is Seb Rietch, if you have to know...and you are?" Seb replied, looking at the other fellow, standing a few inches taller than him, and with a slightly more fearsome appearance. Seb knew he was well developed from his time on the mountains, and could call himself athletic, but this fellow looked like he was hard, far more raw, and his head was similarly shaven, with a particularly staring look in his young eyes. He was probably a racer, Sebastian guessed to himself.
"I'm Ross, Ross Hartley. Shit, my wife would go crazy to meet you." Ross said, as Seb chuckled, looking at the party for a second before back at Ross.
"No way, you're married? That's pretty sweet....dude, I should tell you about my girlfriend, Ellie....I film her a lot, actually, I haven't met anyone who flies like her." He replied as smoothly as he could when describing wingsuit BASE, as Ross chuckled, shaking his head.
"She sounds like fun....and that must be so cool, flying together and all right? Man, I wish I could do that, but I'm too fucking scared!" Ross said, as Seb nodded, smiling.

"It's good, kinda normal though to me now...which I guess isn't a good thing! I mean, it's what we do I suppose. What about you? Seems like jumping isn't your thing then?" Seb asked, as Ross took the initiative, as they headed back towards the party under the tent, and the bar.
"I just race really, I'm more on the streets though. Part mechanic, part racer, part fixer. I solve problems in a way....I've always thought about going into YouTube, your stuff inspires me, you know?" Ross said, Seb chuckling, feeling a bit red, and a little humbled.
"Yeah, I guess it's sweet....hey, since I got paid today, want to get a drink on me? You seem like a nice guy, after all!" Seb said, the Austrian relatively easygoing, and the conversation sparking well between the two of them, Seb glad he wasn't some simple fanboy, but actually got down to
"Fuck yeah, why not?" And with that, they were headed into the crowd, Seb leading the way back to where he remembered he had been with his girlfriend, downing cocktails and other splendid drinks.

As the house music pounded in the background, Kimberly and Ellie were still at the counter chatting it up. It had really become apparent that the two's relationship sparked faster than a cigarette butt inside a drought-stricken forest. They were halfway through their Dirty Shirley as they talked about their past. Kimberly had learned that Ellie was originally a Scot, but later moved to Vancouver, BC when she was twelve years old. She was a die-hard snowboarder/skier, which was something that Kimberly respected big time. Also confirmed her initial suspicion that Ellie was a Scot, but it never connected that she was actually Scottish-Canadian. Ellie on the other hand, learned that Kimberly came from a family of nine (including herself, but not her parents), and was a very successful collegiate athlete in basketball. She was Stanford University, having recently obtained a Master's in Mechanical Engineering and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications.

That sort of academic background put Ellie's to shame. She felt that her measly Bachelor's of Media Studies from the University of British Columbia was nothing compared to Kimberly's background. On a full ride, no less. But the most interesting part was Kimberly's current life. Ellie had pushed the conversation more towards Kimberly herself. Kimberly seemed kind of nervous about it, but Ellie was adamant that whatever she said would be okay. Kimberly was such an interesting individual that she wanted to know more about her.

The brunette was blushing slightly, a similar fashion to that when she met her husband for the first time, just not to as extreme of a degree. "Me? You know I've got a husband... uhh... I've got a one-and-a-half year old daughter." Kimberly said in a rather sheepish manner. The poor brunette felt that she was being a bit excessive by mentioning that she was also a mother. A collegiate athlete, a engineer, AND a mother that looked the way she did? Kimberly felt that she was a living Mary Sue.

"A daughter?" Ellie cocked an eyebrow, her interest suddenly peaking. The Scottish-Canadian woman had always been particularly interested in kids. Although she had no room for some herself in her hectic lifestyle, Ellie was always interested in hearing about her peers' kids. She welcomed posts about their kids on her social media feeds. "Tell me more about her!" Ellie beamed, propping her head up on her hand as Kimberly's blue eyes looked at the Scot, drinking her Dirty Shirley in the process.

"Well, okay..." Kimberly replied, clearing her throat. "Her name is Mia. Mia Victoria Hartley." Kimberly said, slyly pulling out her phone and putting it on the counter as she knew she'd be needing it as a visual aid later. "She was born October 13th, 2013, in..." Kimberly looked up to her left as she was trying to remember where she had Mia. It was rather embarrassing how she couldn't remember where she had her. It then came back to her mind. "...in Glasgow, Scotland." Kimberly shrugged, "I know it's an odd coincidence... y'know, because you're Scottish and my daughter can obtain dual citizenship easily whenever she wants to."

As Kimberly revealed that her daughter was born in Scotland, in Glasgow specifically, Ellie tilted her head in curiosity. The city she grew up in, Inverness, was about four hours away from there. Ellie then remembered that Kimberly mentioned that her husband was a Scot. Ellie was about to ask her a question, but she looked at Kimberly who was on her phone. Maybe she was pulling up a photo or something. And as expected, Kimberly gestured for Ellie to look over as she had the screen pointed in a position where Ellie could see easily.

Kimberly pressed on the album labeled, "Mia" on her phone and it revealed a rather large collection of photos. That album contained photos of Mia since the day Kimberly's baby bump started to show. The first photo Kimberly showed was a candid photo her friend, Amy, took of her in Japan. Kimberly had only just found out she was pregnant with Mia there. "This was a few days after we, as in my then boyfriend and I found out I was pregnant. When I found out, I was just in disbelief. My whole world was turned upside down." The photo depicted Kimberly sitting down on the floor of their hotel room, her arms hanging on her knees as she was looking up to something or someone.

She swiped past the next few photos to show another photo of her looking rather surprised, a few more months along in her pregnancy. That photo was taken when she and her fiance had went to her family's restaurant after he had won the race and some money along with it. "This was after my boyfriend proposed to me, we decided to celebrate by going to a local restaurant and he snapped this pic when I came out from the bathroom." Ellie chuckled a bit as she continued to look at photos of Kimberly's cute little daughter. Ellie also did like how Kimberly pulled off the maroon hair.

Another few swipes, and there was a photo a few moments after Mia was born. Wrapped up in a little blanket and beanie as Kimberly was looking down at her for the first time. This time, Kimberly had removed the dye from her hair and was back to her natural brunette color. It was arguably one of the most valuable photos in the album. The album that had multiple copies synced up to multiple online clouds, and was pulled from many different cameras and phones for the future. "I think this photo explains itself." Kimberly took the moment to sip from her Dirty Shirley as Ellie looked in awe. Seeing that mother-daughter bond form between Kimberly and Mia was something magical and Ellie was glad that whoever took the photo took the photo at that moment.

Kimberly then swiped a few photos more, to ones that were more recent. More specifically just a few months ago. Kimberly was smiling and holding Mia in her arms, who was also smiling. Ellie started to see the slight resemblance between Kimberly and Mia. Mia had brown eyes, which was pretty much an indicator that her dad had brown eyes. Ellie looked up at Kimberly and squeed. "Aww! She's so cute! Do you plan on having any more?" Ellie realized that that was kind of a personal question, but she was sure Kimberly would answer.

"Honestly? I'd like to have one or two more, but it's up to my husband." Kimberly replied, shrugging and finishing off her Dirty Shirley. Ellie was then reminded of the question she was going to ask Kimberly. "Hey... you've been showing me pictures of you and your daughter, but we don't know anything about your husband? Where he's from? I remember you telling me he's a Scot."

"I think he's from Inverness." Kimberly shrugged, wondering if she actually pronounced that right.

Ellie swallowed big, "Inverness? That's where I'm from!" Ellie chuckled. The coincidence was getting really, really big. Last name Hartley, from Inverness? Her heart was pounding as she was starting to connect the dots. "Let's see a picture, yeah?"

Kimberly promptly swiped a few pictures back, back to one of their wedding photos at the beach. There, their facial features were very clear. "Wedding." Kimberly sighed, reminiscing happily about the good times.

As Ellie examined the man's features, her heart sank. That couldn't be... no way. This was way too freaky, but Ellie wanted to know. "What's his name?" She asked curiously, planting her hand on the counter so that it wouldn't shake out of its socket out of pure anxiety.

"Ross. Ross Hartley."

Ellie gulped hard again. It was him. The Ross Hartley she knew when she was growing up in Inverness. Her childhood best friend. Never did she plan on seeing him in a place like this, nor did she expect him to be married with a child. But, she didn't want to sound too creepy by mentioning that she knew Ross. "Ross? What a nice name, handsome too." Ellie looked at the photo once again before slamming her Dirty Shirley. She turned towards the bartender. "Oh barkeep! Can I have a gin and tonic please?" Ellie was probably going to have to drink today down. It was far too crazy of a day.

"You like your alcohol heavy, don't ya?" Kimberly commented as she sipped on her Dirty Shirley more. Looking out to the crowd, she saw the instantly recognizable face of her spouse there. "Speaking of the husband, there he is." She said, gesturing with her head towards the six-foot-two man making his way towards the bar.

The Scot saw the man she was talking about, and in the person, every single fiber of her being immediately CONFIRMED that it was Ross. It was a reunion a decade plus in the making.

---

Regina made her way through the rather energetic crowd in the bar, having her intentions set for the special VIP area that was clearly cordoned off. Cider? Out of all the possible drinks in the world, cider? Regina was expecting to pound a few beers tonight. Even though she was Asian, she felt that she and Ryan deserved a drink. Regina located the area and walked up to the bouncer, who saw her golden wristband and unhooked the border for her and Ryan.

Regina gestured so that they would enter. The area was a little more quiet but provided a wide view of the bar outside. It was a nice place to be able to observe and have a nice little chat sans the energy of the crowd. Regina immediately ordered a beer and cider, and sat herself down in an area. "This is nice, isn't it?"

The music continued pounding, as Ross and Sebastian headed through the crowd, the noise of CHVRCHES playing loud, the bar packed, and the whole area was livening up indeed. It wasn't too wild, but it was in a frenzy in places, and it was definitely living up to the hype. This was a party indeed. They had talked on the way, and established a bit more about what Seb did too, as well as Ross. They had figured it out, and after moving though a mass of people, were able to head up the stairs inside the big tent. Soon enough, they were in the VIP area again, and with a drink in one hand, a Vodka on the rocks, Ross felt like he was set to chill out and finally switch off.

"Hey up!" Seb said, a smirk on his face, as Ross walked over. He saw a face he couldn't entirely remember, sitting next to Kimberly, his wife talking to the other blonde-haired, athletic looking woman. He could only assume this was Ellie.
"Ross, this is my lovely Ellie Dorian...Ellie, this is Ross Hartley, the guy who was just telling me about the race we dropped into." Seb said, introducing the Scot, as they took a pair of comfy chairs in the VIP area, beside a table, the distant music below, and the VIP area feeling generally as VIP-ing as it was. Ross felt a little confused, trying to figure it out. There was an Ellie, Ellie Dorian he remembered from his childhood. An adventurous girl. The only girl that kept up with his antics. Except she always seemed to want to fly, to go to the Cairngorms to ski or snowboard, or do something cool. And she always wanted to. If this was who Seb was talking about, then he couldn't believe it, if she had done it.

Taking a seat, Seb looked at Ellie's bemused face, before back at Ross.
"Do you two know each other, or something?" He asked, as Ross shrugged, looking over.
"I can't really remember....shit....you aren't from Inverness way are you?" Ross asked, a little confused, and it could stem from well, perhaps his concussion, or confusion. Or both. He didn't really know. It just didn't fit in his head, Ellie looked different, she seemed to have this physique, this face that seemed different to what he remembered....yet somehow the same.

-------

Ryan chuckled, smiling, following behind his team-mate, a bottle of Bulmers in his hand, maybe not as extreme as the rest of the people in this place, but still, a drink of leisure. Heading into the VIP area, he took a seat by Regina, sipping it down slow, taking it easy.
"Remember. Only one, then we get some rest. Long day tomorrow. Big day too." He said to her, as he sipped the cider, looking around, seeing the conversations of the various VIPs go on, as he looked back at her.
"It's pretty good."

The tall man got closer and closer and Ellie's heartbeat pounded harder and harder, her mind calculating every single possible outcome of the scenario. What if it was a fake? What if Ross didn't remember her? What if Ross did remember her? Ellie didn't know what to do, it had been so out of the blue. This potential reunion in the making. This sort of rush flowing through her veins wasn't something she had particularly experienced before. It wasn't like the same rush she had whenever she hopped out of an airplane or flew down on a snowboard in the Alps. This was more rooted from the heart. Her breathing - it had slowed down, but the intake of oxygen had increased immensely. The last time she felt something similar to this was when she had to give a speech during her high school years. The judging eyes of all those in the area - only this time the only eyes she cared about was the man who was approaching her and the woman next to her.

Seb's voice traveled into Ellie's ears and yanked her out of the trance that she had been lulled into. Remnants of the auto-pilot she was in had made her wrap her arm around Seb's waist, pulling him close as the other man came by. Ellie took her drink's straw and started to stir idly as Seb began the introductions. Slumping into the rather comfortable VIP chair that was nearby, Ellie smiled and eeped out a gentle greeting. Making sure her distinctly Scottish accent was as emphasized as possible while still maintaining her cool composure. How she was still composed in this very moment was a testament to Ellie's willpower and ability to remain cool under pressure. No matter how stressful a situation might've been, she had still maintained her composure. It was quite amazing. But right now, all the attention was on the couple in front of them. More specifically the man in front of her. Ellie was peering into... Ross, and she was looking for those telltale quirks and whatnot that confirmed it was him. Nobody knew Ross like Ellie back in the day. She had spent so much time around him that she could predict what he would do in most situations before he even knew he was doing it. She knew all his tells, all his tendencies, everything.

He was quite the adventurous person as well, dreaming of owning a McLaren F1 of his own when he was older, and whipping that thing at top speed down the Autobahn. Ross always did have a thing for cars. Ellie on the other hand wasn't as into them as he was, but because of the time she had spent around him she had picked up a few things. But after that one life-changing day in 2002, their paths split and hadn't shown signs of crossing ever again. That was until today happened. Ellie's gut was picking up on slight tendencies that matched up with what she had on him in her mind. But, something was off about him. He seemed dazed, confused. Like something had happened to him earlier. Maybe he was drunk? Concussed? One of the above.

Seb's inquiry caught Ellie off guard as he had stopped beating around the bush and inquired if they knew each other something like that. Ellie wanted to say yes so badly but she didn't want to jump the shark just yet. As Ross spoke up, his accent raised flags within Ellie, being very recognizable almost immediately. Even though the last time Ellie had seen Ross, his balls hadn't dropped just yet, but there was a certain thing to his voice that made it stand out. And all these years later, she figured it didn't change just a single bit. And right there and then, Ross had asked a question that had essentially confirmed that it was him. All Ellie had to do now was to make sure that Ross remembered who she was. She wanted to play it cool. "Yeah, I'm from Inverness." Ellie cleared her throat and sipped more of her Dirty Shirley. "Does Balloch Primary School ring a bell?" Ellie asked, hoping he remembered the primary school that she and Ross had attended together, "What about the name, Elizabeth?" Ellie had now hit the nail on the head, and she hoped to all that was high and mighty that this triggered something in Ross's memory, as the song had now shifted to something more mellow.

---

While Ross, Ellie, and what she could assume to be Ellie's boyfriend had linked up, Kimberly was about to yanked in a world of her own. The conversation had obviously become more emphasized between Ellie and Ross, and Kimberly just felt awkward being between the two. There was obviously a little something between them but the poor American woman couldn't really remember what it was. Maybe it was that friend of Ross's that he fondly talked about sometimes? Was that Ellie? The girl she had shown pictures of her daughter to? The situation had become a lot for Kimberly to handle. She had inadvertently taken part in a reunion that was probably a long long time in the making. Not expected until today, but it was going to happen.

Since the level of an intimate connection of sorts had become really strong between Ellie and Ross as they tried to figure each other out, Kimberly stood up and excused herself from the conversation as she wanted to be elsewhere while the two were connecting. Her Dirty Shirley had run out anyway so she was just going to get a refill and come back. She walked towards the bar, her empty glass dropped off on a waitress's platter as she leaned against the bar once again. The same bartender came by and took one look at her, and Kimberly only nodded before she got to work on a second Dirty Shirley.

As Kimberly waited around, her phone vibrated as she received a text from the one man she loved more than her husband, and it was her father. It was something about a particular thing that would really perk up Kimberly's interests. Kimberly sent a reply, getting him to further elaborate before turning back to the bar. She was just internally conflicted right now. What if Ellie was Ross's long lost flame? Kimberly knew that Ross wasn't the type of person to actually dump her like that, but she was still paranoid. She didn't want to raise their daughter alone. She wanted to be with her husband, and her husband only. It was a scary thought to ponder on, but it was just Kimberly being paranoid. The poor girl had a tendency to really over-exaggerate things in her mind, which lead to constant internal struggles that she battled whenever she was left alone with her mind.

But before Kimberly's mind would take her on a path that would destroy her day, her phone vibrated, indicating that her father had replied. And as it turned out, it was something that really peaked Kimberly's interest. It was a picture of the stripped body of a Ford Mustang Boss 429, and Kimberly's father was offering it to her for free. While Kimberly was known for specializing in cars of a Japanese background. She couldn't pass this up. She accepted the offer - which meant that when Kimberly and Ross came back to Kimberly's Santa Monica house, it would be sitting in her front yard waiting for her. There was a slight smile on her face before her Dirty Shirley came. She thanked the bartender before returning to the group of Europeans she happened to be associated with.

As she arrived, she walked back into the area and sat back in her seat, sipping her drink as Ellie was still trying to figure out Ross. The way Kimberly was positioned and the expression, especially in her eyes, showed Kimberly's internal state of turmoil. The best way to figure out how Kimberly was feeling was by looking at her eyes. She was pretty good at keeping a pokerface, but her eyes always gave everything away.

---

Regina sipped on her beer, almost 3/4 of the way through as Ryan was pounding that cider of his. She didn't even know that Cider came in an alcoholic form. She always thought that cider was just non-alcoholic and used as a champagne substitute at parties. "Just one, Ryan." Regina warned as she sipped her beer. "I'll take my beer over that cider anyday, Ryan."

Ross struggled to put two and two together, as he realised for a second, who this girl was, more and more, the image clicking that this wasn't a stranger from even a one-night stand one day, it wasn't anything like that. It was Ellie fucking Dorian. It was hard for Ross to get his head around who she was entirely. Life had split them, then put them back in this moment for some weird, strange reason. The past that they had. It felt like things were going, pacing, as he just let the words spill his tongue.

"No way." He almost froze for a moment, his brain fucked for a second in confusion and then clarity which didn't action itself the noise calming down of the music that was playing in the background, as a grin began to open up on his face. She was absolutely beautiful, not like Kimberly, but the face, the look, everything just seemed to come back to mind. A childhood they missed, in some ways, the dreams that they once sometimes told each other, the flame of his youth, but one he just didn't see any more in..well, he somehow assumed that wasn't a thing. No. Looking back at Kimberly, he saw the look of turmoil in her eyes, he had learned to see past her straight face, as he sat up a little still smirking madly.
"Your Scots accent's changed...but I know who you are." With that, Ross chuckled, smiling at her, his concussed, slightly buzzed state picking up piece after piece, knowing things had changed greatly, they were two different people. Seb and Ellie had to be the wingsuiters, he realised, that was what she did. Part of Ross was in amazement. But here he was, racing cars too. And quickly, illegally, and with a good tempest to run. And yet even Ross understood that. He could see Ellie's eyes burn like golddust, the spirit of something that he now remembered seeing.
"Kimberly...we were friends a long, long time ago. Can't believe this. Wait, so you follow Seb on his antics?" He asked, talking to lots of people at once it felt like, in a little confusion. Sebastian laughed, sitting by Ellie's side, watching her blush a little almost, as he looked over.
"Yeah man. That's crazy, dude. Can't believe you two knew each other years back!" He said, the Austrian a little amused by the sight itself, that this weird coincidence had played up in the way it had.
"Yeah, we did. Shit, that is something." Ross said, as he shook his head, almost in disbelief again, as he drank down a little more, smirking.
"So, how've you been? God, it must have been more than ten years...more....you've got to have had some adventures." And with that, Ross started the conversation up, and they realized there was a lot to catch up on, on both sides, stories of speed, adventure and love that they'd both found.

--------

"I promise!" Ryan said, chuckling, as he clanged his cider down, chuckling.
"Only racing a 600bhp rallycross car, that has enough speed to blow a hangover away. I'll leave it." And with that, Ryan finished his cider, knowing Regina wasn't looking on approvingly.
"Beer's shit anyway."

[NEW SYSTEM LADDIE
this is kimberly
this is ellie
this is gina
this is for mia]

Ellie chuckled once Ross asked her how she was. It had been far too long since the two had seen each other. But basing on his questions, he probably didn't dwell too much on her YouTube channel. She didn't even know where to begin. Sure, there were already stories from when she moved to Vancouver, but there were just so many that it was hard to pinpoint just one to start with. Ellie sat there, putting her hands on her cheeks and sighing. So much to do, so much to see, but she just didn't know. The blonde smiled and sat back in her chair, taking one long sip of her drink before settling down and looking at Ross and his beautiful wife.

"Well... since I moved to Canada... shit's been interesting."

Ellie went on about her life since she'd moved to Canada. She went over how she developed an interest in snowboarding and skiing, even mentioning how she became a teacher for a little bit to support herself as she went through college. Despite how silly it might've been to be so passionate about such a sport, Ellie was fully confident in it and owned every decision she made. Those decisions were the ones that got her to where she is today. She was giggling like a motherfucker though, mostly attributed to the alcohol. But also how she was able to finally tell one of her lifelong friends about what she was doing in life.

"...and after that... GoPro came up to me and offered to sponsor me and let me use their stuff in future videos of mine! They promoted three of my videos after I did some promotional stuff for them and I just blew up from that point." Ellie eventually finished up with summarizing all the events that had happened in the last few weeks with the illegal wingsuiting and whatnot. She left out the part where she and Seb fucked on the beach because that's not something that they should know just yet. Now came Ross's turn to talk about his life, and at some points Kimberly joined in, knowing that the least she could do was to help her husband reunite with his childhood friend.

"...no I was driving the NSX. The turbos broke so I wasn't able to finish ahead of you obviously." Kimberly squinted at her husband, who was talking about the time where they raced in Europe with his Aston Martin and her (now retired) Honda NSX. Even though she was about four months pregnant at the time, Kimberly truly did enjoy that very much. If she had to relive that moment, the first and only thing she would change was the car she picked. The NSX had no business competing with those cars, even if it might've been pushing 600 hp with two turbos. The chassis was shit, the suspension was shot, and the balance was compromised due to the tuneup. It was good in acceleration but poor in cornering. It was nothing like her R34.

Ellie had learned about Ross and Kimberly's experiences in parenthood and how both of them agreed it was a very difficult thing to do. Kimberly had been nice and opened up about her post-partum depression. That along with the freaking baby waking them up every now and then made it so difficult on them, especially because every time little Mia started to cry it was always something different. Now that she was older it was different, she was gaining independence piece by piece. That being said, Kimberly was always open to having another child. Despite the downsides, Kimberly expressed how satisfying it was to watch her little girl learn how to walk and talk and become her own person. It had Ellie thinking about her life and what she wanted to do later down the line. She couldn't keep this lifestyle up forever as much as she wanted to. The constant falling and injuries were going to come bite her in the ass later, and at that point she would have to retire. It was something she'd want to discuss with Seb later down the line.

The conversation had dragged on to the wee hours of the night, before both Ellie and Kimberly were both having tomato faces - which was an indicator that they probably should head on back home before they started to do some really stupid things.

---

A few days later
Los Angeles, California, USA

The event had been an ultimate success. Kimberly had the time of her life there, enjoying the parties and the cars and meeting all the cool people. But now, now it was back to home life. The two had landed back in Los Angeles a few hours ago, and was getting used to the climate in Los Angeles yet again. Ross was shipped home in a taxi of sorts as Kimberly said she had some business to take care of once she got home. The two had gotten home right in the evening, so the sun was still up over the Los Angeles cityscape as she picked up her Skyline and drove to take care of her business. It felt good to be back on the Californian tarmac, even though the British streets were of better quality, these streets just had a quality to them that couldn't be replicated anywhere else. The RB26DETT roared as Kimberly took the side streets into the industrial area of the city. Her father had texted her earlier about something that had peaked her interest, and she was there to cash in on the opportunity.

Kimberly and Godzilla roamed around the streets until she was able to find the warehouse that her stuff was in. Once she was in the compound, came the aimless roaming throughout as she located the unit it was hidden in. Whatever he had for her better had been worth it. Kimberly just wanted to see Mia right now but her father had told her that this was something she needed to see as soon as possible. Eventually, she did come around and find it, which was great. Exiting her car and going up to the unit's keypad, she punched in the key. It took a while, but then the door lurched. A groaning sound emitted as she stood there and waited for whatever it had inside.

The bright light had blinded Kimberly temporarily, but what was inside was worth the blinding. Inside was the rolling shell of a 1967 Ford Mustang Boss 429. It was a car that Kimberly had wanted for a long time but was never able to find, and yet there it was... sitting right in front of her. She had a wide smile on her face as she pulled her phone out, its bright screen reflecting off of her glasses as she called her towing guy.

"Hey Lou, I got something you might wanna help me move."

---

The next few weeks had zipped by as Kimberly promptly had the shell parked in her garage. The first thing she ordered was a 5.0L RSC Coyote V8 straight from the website, then came some fat tires and the best suspension components her money could buy. She was planning some big power for this baby, and she needed some serious metal to get it set up. The parts often came in large crates, meaning very little assembly was required as she fit the pieces as if they were a puzzle. First came the engine, which was quickly put in and hooked up to the parts that had already come. In one entire day, she had been able to juggle taking care of her baby daughter and setting up the engine so well that she was at the point that all she needed to do was to connect the ECU to the engine and she was set. Kimberly had very little sleep throughout these days as she tried to get the Mustang ready to roll in a few weeks time.

At the same time, however, Ross had obtained an RX7 and he had gone nuts with it too. At that point, all delivery services knew Ross and Kimberly by name. If they saw a huge package come by, it was 99.9% their things for their project cars. Kimberly had no idea what Ross was doing to his car. All she knew was that he was like a little kid and candy when it came to it. At one point, when Kimberly had taken a day off and was spending it with Mia, he darted out the door faster than she had ever seen him move to pick up a package he had been waiting so long for. Mia didn't have a care in the world for what her dad was doing. She was just happy that mom was paying attention to her for a longer period of time than recently.

Weeks and weeks shot by and both of their cars were becoming actual cars. Kimberly's car was practically operational at this point, but not ready to race as everything was still new and required their breaking-in period so that she was ready to race it when the time came. Kimberly's car had gone from a hollow husk to a beautiful green Mustang. It was a sight to behold, honestly. And underneath that hood was six hundred and fifty plus horsepower ready to tear someone's face off at the step of a pedal.

---

A few days after that...
Nighttime
Los Angeles, CA, USA

"Ehl-lee. Ehl-lee. Ehl-lee!"

The Canadian-Scottish woman had come over with her boyfriend to the Rossi residence as tonight was going to be a spectacular racing event. Lots of people in the LA racing scene were going to be involved and Kimberly was really excited to be involved. However, despite the amount of horsepower on the household, Ellie was more focused on Mia.

"Ewwie."

Mia was plopped on the ground, sitting up and looking at Ellie with a smile on her face as she grabbed her hand and pulled on it. Her hazel eyes were filled with joy, mostly because she had someone to play with. Ellie still couldn't believe how adorable she was in person. The way how her cheeks were just so chubby, and how smart she was for a one and a half year old. She was full of life, but also very well behaved. Definitely wasn't Ross's genes.

"AH YOU'RE SO CUTE!"

In one fell swoop, Ellie scooped up Mia and cuddled her, the little girl giggling with joy as she was squeezed by Ellie.

In the meantime, Kimberly was getting her Mustang ready tonight. She was chilling in the Mustang and looking at the dashboard as she had her laptop, making adjustments to the tune on her ECU to make it optimal for the racing conditions tonight. A lot of raw prospects and veterans were going to be on the road tonight. This was going to be the Green Hornet's debut tonight and she wanted it to be as amazing as possible.

As soon as she was done, she turned the key and the engine fired up. The V8 rumbled the entire household, prompting Ellie to pick up Mia and put the ear protectors on her as she brought the cute little bundle of joy to the garage and placed her on Kimberly's lap. Mia was delighted to see her mom as Kimberly embraced her. Kimberly shut off the car before making her final arrangements.

"So... Seb rides with me, and Ellie rides with Ross. Deal?"

Kimberly looked at everyone around her before snuggling her daughter once again. Mia had enough of snuggling her mom and looked at her dad, having that look on her face that signaled that she wanted to be carried by her dad. She wanted to be with him more right now. Couldn't blame her. Kimberly in the meanwhile looked at the newest member of her collection of cars. This was the first muscle car she would've ever owned, and she was proud to have a car like this. It was one of her desired cars, growing up as a young woman, but could never have it as she was far too busy.

"So let me get this straight. You guys do this regularly... and you haven't been caught once?"

Kimberly shrugged, despite having many run-ins with the police they never seemed to get close enough to catch her. It was helpful that she covered up any identifiers such as her license plate or the VIN. The question did haunt her from time to time, however, because she had to think about how she can't keep this sort of lifestyle up if she wanted to be a good mother for her kid, and potential kids in the future.

"We're just too good. We're not those jackasses that put other people in danger. We race when there's nobody out so that nobody's at harm. If we do, it's because we know how to maneuver.

An unspoken rule among the group of street racers that race even in heavy traffic is that they had to put other lives above theirs. That meant if someone had to decide running into a tree or into somebody they were going to go out of their way and plow into that tree. Even if it meant killing them. At least they didn't have to take another one with them. Kimberly had never recalled having a fatal crash, and she didn't intend on having one soon.

Her eyes looked around, briefly locking gazes with her daughter before sticking her tongue out. Mia promptly smiled and buried her face as she was amused. It was amazing that this little girl had so much personality to her. She was only one and a half yet she was as jazzy and lively as any other person.

Kimberly looked down at her watch and saw that the race time was coming soon, which meant that Kimberly's sister would be coming to babysit once again while Kimberly did her thing. "It's almost go time, people." Kimberly gestured for whoever was holding her daughter to go back inside and make sure she wasn't too close to the car. Mia was smart enough to cover her ears even when she didn't have those earmuffs but Kimberly didn't want to risk it. As soon as she was out of the damage radius, Kimberly once again turned the car on and the big-block roared to life. She revved it twice, before letting it warm up. "Rule Number one of my car, don't ever touch the steering wheel unless I tell you too. Rule number two, you better have good music taste or I will kick you out on the freeway. Rule number three, keep your mouth shut when we're going fast."

Part Six: Redline

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZW7et3tPuQ

LA. The pumping noise, where it all began, and where Ross had come back to. It wasn't often they went over the Atlantic, but when they did, it was for a good period of time. And they figured that they could do that.

It was there that Ross had acquired himself a stock RX7, painted in a crappy dark green, and was it stock? Well, not entirely. 2001 Mazda RX-7 FD, the Spirit R no less. A rare car in these circles, he'd paid something large in money, enough to probably buy a brand new hot-hatch, for that cash. But it wasn't in good nick. Bumpers half trashed, and it did not sound mechanically nice, the rotor was on the way out, and Ross had known that as he paid for it.

Cue the montage, and the increasing stacks of receipts, and the decreasing stack of money that Ross had come to LA with. The green had vanished, but it was a sight to see, sitting in the garage, around pools of oil Ross was only half-cleaning up, and spanners, and other tools everywhere. The packages, the sheer amount of time in his garage. It felt like this was months of work, but done in weeks, given that he'd had to call in a lot of favours, and spend a lot of all-nighters. Sitting there and quietly fiddling, and messing about. But Ross was an obsessive when it came to making cars his own, he left some things stock, as supercars, and his BMW, well, relatively. These machines were no-questions asked, customised, absolutely bonkers project cars, and he'd find nothing better than to sit in the shed and work on his Mazda.

---------------------------

Ross had done something to the RX7, to say the least. The time spent under this thing, the hours, hours, hours into the night, he didn't know what the fuck else there was. A little OCD, a little car nut, he hadn't even seen Kimberly's build properly, and she hadn't seen his. Not entirely at least. He had let his mind run riot, his Scooby had been a race-focused, Kate Moss-thin, four-wheel drive grip machine. This was something else. The rotary had undergone a hell of lot of work, from the VeilSide bodykit, the phat carbon spoiler, the imposing scoop, and the paintwork that had undergone an entirely new lick. The metallic yellow and black looked mean and imposing, the carbon roof, the black outlining on the bodykit, and the whole engine had been remapped, redone, and remade, from as many overnight parts from Japan as Ross could get his hands on. It was minimalist, but not in the same way, it retained some sanity, the comforts at the edge. The colour was striking, the yellow more golden-green in the right light, the black matte, spruced with a yellow honeycombing, that had been Ross's finest graphical achievement to date. It would get scratched, but in the garage, it looked mega-fucking cool.

The rotary was not an easy tool to work with, and Ross had gone from being a basic mechanic to being a car sensei, given how fucking complicated he'd found it. But it was something that was wonderful, and twin Garrett turbos, combined with the Wankel beneath, that revved up, and up, and up. The noise it made, to the custom Akrapovic cans was genuinely scary, it wasn't like the whining anti-lag of the Subaru, it sounded like a lion. And so from all of this, came the weapon of choice for going sideways. Ross had always wanted to make the ultimate drift toy. A car with so much rear end poke, that it did not give a fuck. He'd pulled about 850bhp from this machine, and the rotary sounded like something that drove into warpdrive, with more on tap if he kept fucking around with it and was willing to blow up several thousand dollars worth of engine. He hadn't properly driven it yet, but the fat, wide and semi-slick tyres would do the job in the searing heat of the city, tearing it sideways on demand. The car's internals had NOS tanks by the driver's seat, in classic Fast and Furious/Need for Speed fashion, as Ross had always wanted to do (and hadn't on his Scooby), Recaro seating, a Momo race wheel, it felt a little overkill, but last time that he'd undertuned his car, of course, Kimberly had done up her own beast more. It was light, it was powerful, and scary.

Ross was a diehard, he didn't like to just make cars comfortable, if he wanted that, he had his daily, a BMW M4 GTS, sitting outside. And he'd left it stock, this time. Two cars a continent, he said to himself, that was a good rule, and relatively affordable from his previous cash flow, given he'd given up most of the work he'd done. But his RX7, that was something that he didn't really compromise on. It felt honed, it felt civilised, until you hit throttle. The car did not look like it had a lot of shape, until now. The complimentary Speedhunters sticker on the rear spoiler, two towing hooks, and even a radio inside. He was a little civilised in this thing, it was the West Coast after all, and it blared his favourite tune for when he had this thing to work on.

--------------------

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTkhvGVLf3k

He could only look at it, smirking. He took the can of Monster off the spoiler, as he turned off the DMX, hearing Seb come in.
"Bro....I leave town for a couple weeks and you make this?" Seb says, smirking, looking at the car, whistling.
"She's a beauty. Gonna have to try her out." Ross replied, as he looked at it, patting the roof.
"You have seriously been watching too much Fast and Furious. Even I can say that. Tokyo Drift." Seb commented, Ross chuckling as he knew the exact reference.
"Dipshit. I suppose we kinda do that anyway. Like you're in Point Break."
"Hey, you can't say that!"
"Gonna rob a bank?"
Seb was speechless, as Ross chuckled, heading towards the exit of the shed, chugging down the last of his Monster and tossing it into a bin, with already numerous Monsters inside of it. The shed was at the back of the house, as Ross didn't want
"No?" Seb replied, as Ross chuckled.
"I'm saying the film's retarded." Seb simply replied, as Ross chuckled.
"And I'm saying we do street racing, and other stupid shit. First one is the only one worth it's salt anyway." Ross added, as he headed back towards the house, seeing Ellie and Kimberly, back in the garage proper, working on the green monster.
"Whatever you say, man..." Seb commented, as they headed through, the noise of tools audible, as Seb looked over at Ellie.

-----------

"Hey, beautiful." Seb said, kissing Ellie on the cheek, looking down at Mia.
"Awww. She's lovely." Seb said in his native German, knowing Ellie might have caught a little of it. With it, Seb tickled Mia a little on the cheek, chuckling, gurning a little at her. Meanwhile, Ross headed over towards Kimberly, who was firing up the V8, leaning in through the open window.
"Beautiful. Fucking awesome." Ross said, chuckling, looking at Kimberly, a nod of approval, as she stepped out, and he listened in. He took Mia into his arms, wrapping her around his shoulder, hearing the plan.

"Sounds good." Ross simply replied, as Seb nodded, looking over the green machine, the Mustang a fine specimen indeed. Ross looked to Ellie, smiling, listening to her question.
"Well....you guys do jump off of cliffs. Trust me, we've done this for long enough, you take a few risks, but you find a limit to this." Ross simply commented, as Seb shrugged.

"Why the fuck not. Don't put us into a car at 100mph and we'll be happy." Ross chuckled in response to the Austrian, as he looked around Kimberly's car, before sliding into the passenger seat, on her request.
"Sounds like skydiving to me. And trust me, I have some good songs. Are you into drum and bass, fraulein?" With that, Seb connected up the AUX cord to his phone, sounding almost a little overly Germanic, as he chuckled, knowing it was for the shits sometimes that he overdid it.
"Not like I'm gonna hear it over that thing!" Seb yelled, smirking. He didn't like this, but he was gonna have fun riding shotgun in a Mustang.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QA_AIg6c3UQ

-----------

Ross carried Mia back inside, dropping her off. He knew he'd have to wait on Kimberly's sister, who would look after Mia. His daughter cooed, as Ross sat down, smiling at her. She was the most treasured thing in his life. Working on the car was important, it was a little OCD, sure. But this was his project. Mia was that to him, more than just the car was, so whenever he had the chance, he was with her, looking after her with Kimberly.

"This is it. Madness, right?" Ross said, looking to Ellie, smiling.
"Can't say I didn't become a total car freak. Like I said I'd be. Makes me think though, if I followed you. Did all the stuff you did. The skydiving, the snowboarding. I'd have probably have been at it if I wasn't such a pussy." Ross chuckled, thinking back to all of it.
"But I suppose I kinda got into cars. Doing stupid things with them. And little Mia loves daddy Ross for it, don't you lass?" Mia cooed, as Ross chuckled, knowing how he sounded.
"I'd do the world for her. Never thought I'd be a dad. But I'll do right by her. Have my fun, but do right for her, might not be the best way either.." Ross said back to Ellie, as the doorbell rang.

--------

Stepping into the shed, Ross opened up the RX7, clambering into his seat, watching Ellie follow. He had to push the door open to the shed, before stepping into the car.
"This might be one of the best ones I've done yet." Ross said, as he looked across, and smiled.
"Haven't properly taken her out for a ride. I promise, I won't go too sideways. Tyres are gonna need to be bedded in. Trust me, that means going a little side-on." Ross added, as he fired up the ignition. The fuel injectors whirred, as the lights flicked up, the night sky visible, with the usual heat and haze of LA. Gently sliding the car into first as it started up, the low burble audible, he drove it out. door open, as he stuck it into neutral and handbrake on, shutting the door. He ran back and clambered in, doing up his harness.
"So. This is it. Ready, hun?" Ross smirked, looking to his old friend, knowing Ellie would find this a little exiting. And she'd probably know the rules, he guessed. It was this mad life that they chose, yet so different, and he didn't entirely understand what had brought it to here. But it was a good place to be.

Slamming first, the gearbox a sequential manual, the car caught and lept forwards, as Ross turned hard right, down the thin alley, pulling out, a small cloud of dust. The car revved higher and higher, hitting 10,000RPM easily, the engine sounding absolutely gushing, the noise of the Wankel rotary roaring, not like a throaty V8, but like it screamed, escalating in pitch whenever you thought it just couldn't. The car idled through the alley, as Ross hit a hard right, the iconic flip-headlights replaced for a modern LED and halogen lamp replacement, that beamed blue light strongly, Ross opposite locking the car onto the road, before hitting gears. It shifted fast, second, third, and he was going 90 comfortably, the Garmin already picking up to where the race route was. He turned on the carphone, already pitching in Kimberly's number.
"Hey, babe. We're headed on our route now. I can hear you, can you hear me?" Ross added in reference to their engines in the distance, as he looked to Ellie, before the black and yellow-skinned rotary's exhaust backfired, before Ross hit the throttle again, darting down the wide streets, with little regard for the speed that was accumulating.

As the Japanese rocket shot from their household, Ellie was surprisingly impartial to the sudden shot of g-forces that her body had been subjected to. Eyeing the tachometer, as it climbed up higher and higher - Ellie was surprised at how high it was going. She wasn't made aware about the nature of rotary engines. Did this car sound like a vacuum cleaner tearing some carpet? Yes it did, but it was fast, and the powerband was as tall as she was. It felt like a rocket as it tore through more gears, but unlike a lot of high speed cars that she had been in, it was very stable, which could be accredited to the downforce that the body of the car had produced. The fastest thing that Ellie owned was a turbocharged Toyota 4Runner with a V8 in it. That thing was her daily, and could climb anything. But could it go as fast as the RX-7 she was sitting in right now? No, it couldn't even come close. The more that she sat in this car, the more she thought about obtaining a car like this. It was interesting how this car's nature was.

As the Garmin GPS system flickered to life, and provided a route to race location, Ellie took a moment to pull her phone out and update herself on what had happened. She had a stack of emails, text messages, and her voicemail had filled up with stuff that she needed to take care of as soon as she got back to somewhere where she could do it. Then suddenly, the sound of a V8 roaring filled the cabin as Ross dialed up his wife, and suddenly her voice replaced the roaring V8. A quick conversation took place as to what was happening tonight, then an audible click was heard as the conversation concluded. Ellie stared at Ross for a cool minute before returning to her phone, as she looked at photos she took of her, Mia, and Kimberly.

---

American Muscle was a strange fit for Kimberly, despite her specialty with Japanese cars - muscle cars were also a good fit for her. It wasn't just because she was American, but it also suited her style. A common theme across the cars she currently owned was the massive amount of power that was packed underneath the hood of each car. It wasn't because Kimberly needed it to be the sort of driver she was now, but she just really, really liked the way it felt whenever she pressed on the gas pedal and a whole bunch of power surged throughout. Muscle cars were excellent at that, which is why they suited her very well. Such was the case with the Mustang. Tons of torque and power were available, and because it was a supercharged car, there was very little lag and throttle response was immediate. It was satisfying, especially when Kimberly was shooting down the straight, with some Austrian fellow sitting in the seat next to her.

The redline wasn't as high as Ross's RX-7, let alone her Skyline, but when it hit that rev-limiter, the punch of power that followed was immensely satisfying. As she and Seb pulled up to a red light, having to stop because there were a bunch of cars crossing by that would make the trek across impossible, the phone sitting in her cupholder rang. Before she could pick up, however, the light turned green and Kimberly was focused on getting the car to move and pointing it in the direction of the meet. As she saw open road ahead, she pulled it out of her cupholder and answered the call, putting it on speaker as she put the pedal to the metal. "I can hear your voice, but your car not so much." Kimberly replied cheekily, taking a moment to shift gears before telling Ross about the details of the race coming up. "So this is going to be like the London thing, except EVERYONE you see there is gonna be participating. From those dudes that are inevitably going to be in bone-stock R8s to those fucks in Civics. They'll be there, and you're going to have to compete against them. First is first, though. Doesn't matter what you're driving just as long as you get across the line first." A lot of familiar faces, at least to Kimberly, were going to be there. She hadn't seen much of them since she'd met Ross, but she was sure they remembered who she was and was also sure of her still-standing reputation. Some would be shocked to see her at the event, and even more shocked at what she was driving, but Kimberly didn't care. She was back on the scene after so long. There were going to be some people looking to overtake her, but that was fine with her. She just had to put them back in their place. "See you on the other side, babe." Kimberly dismissed, before hanging up and dropping her phone back into the cupholder. She looked over to Seb, and shrugged. "Picked a good time to come by, Sebby. You're in for an experience."

---

As Ellie looked at the photos, she was smiling at how adorable Mia was. Out of all the things in the world right now, the little girl that she was holding a while ago was on her mind the most. She had no clear idea why, but she was sure a part of it was because that it was an indication of the different places she and Ross were in when it came to life. Mia was a symbol of sorts. Ellie was still out doing some crazy shit, but Ross had things tying him down (which didn't really keep him from doing crazy shit either), and lived a different lifestyle. It had Ellie thinking about how she was living life. It was weird that she was having an existential crisis in a car barreling through the streets of Los Angeles.

"You guys ever think about having another kid? Mia is so fucking cute I can't even handle it. She's like you, but more... tenacious. I can tell she's going to be a handful to whoever's going to date her once she's older." It was a weird question to ask, definitely. But with the mental fuck that Ellie was having right now, she had to get it off of her mind. Maybe it would've provided a basis for her to start settling down soon - she was coming up on thirty and needed to get a plan together for when her body is inevitably unable to handle the lifestyle she lives right now. "It's weird, y'know?" The Scottish girl inquired, as she looked at Ross. "We're pretty close in age, but yet we're in different places in life. You're married and have a kid and whatnot, but here's me, going around jumping out of airplanes, skiing, and carving mountains with my boyfriend -- as a career as well." The lifelong friend of Ross's had sunk in her seat a little bit, shrugging. "[color=fff79a]I don't know, man. I thought you'd be doing the same old shit you did when we were kids.[color]"

---

party music bc fuck yeah

The sight of the collection of cars on the abandoned lot instilled a good feeling into Kimberly. It had been a long time since she had been to one of these sorts of events on her home turf. It was good to be back, after all. The barreling Mustang had slowed down just enough so people could gawk at the Mustang that had just arrived. As she rolled up, she stopped for just a second before revving the car just to show off a bit. It wasn't like Kimberly to be like that, but because it had been so long she just felt like doing it. She then went to move around and found a place to park her Mustang, backing into a spot next to a familiar looking pearlescent McLaren MP4-12C and an even more familiar dark blue GT-R. Once the engine had settled, she took a moment to find her glasses out of the glovebox, putting them on because she would need it to see things. They were those glasses that made her piercing blue eyes look fucking HUGE.

Kimberly gestured to Seb to exit the car, and once she did she was met by the owners of the cars next to her. They really did remember who she was, as shown by people's enthusiasm of seeing her once again. The music boomed, but the attention was still on the cars as Kimberly was handed a slip with the race route. All she had to do was to punch it into a phone app and she'd be set. Kimberly stuffed the slip into her pocket and greeted some old friends.

"Holy shit, it's Kimberly... how ya been? I haven't seen you in such a long time."

"I've been good! I've been busy with life so I haven't really had time to come back today, but y'know... I felt it was time to come back today."

"No shit, huh? That Mustang yours? That's unlike you."

"Yeah it is, spent the last few months building it from the ground up. It was a bitch but everything's going well - pushing six hundred plus on just regular gas. I don't know what it'll push on E85 just yet."

For the time being, Kimberly was socializing with old friends and whatnot while she waited for Ross to get there. She didn't need the GPS to get there, because she knew the fastest route to that lot by heart, meaning that she had a little time to kill before the race started.

"No doubt!" Seb yelled over the noise of the roaring muscle, the Mustang yelling as he held on in his seat, letting her drive, and focus on the driving. The Austrian was reserved in that sense, he didn't speak when he didn't have to, it was a very Germanic thing to do, and he knew that she was in command, weaving and ducking and bobbing through traffic. One thing was for certain, and that was that they were gonna get there hella quick.

------------------

Ross chuckled, listening to Ellie. It really was like the good old times again, as he slowed down, dropping the gear as the rotary whined, sighing almost.
"Yeah. I don't know where it went I suppose. Maybe it would have worked out the other way around....but fate has a weird way of working. Me as a petrolhead, you as a shredder and wingsuiter. Crazy." He smirked, as he looked on, dropping another gear as he made a tighter corner, onto another of LA's straight, straight roads, right towards the lot now.
"And the fact you make money out of it....it sounds amazing. Then there's me here, doing this. Racing cars, doing some dodgy shit. It doesn't make sense." He added, the brightly coloured RX7 barking into life a little more as the throttle was pushed, the rotary engine replying fully to it's input.

"We're almost here."

-------------

Ross pulled in, the pumping music lighting up the atmosphere, as he got out of the car after finding an appropriate spot. He got a few looks, mostly because driving a green-yellow RX7 that had a particular whine and a low down appearance was going to do that. And he expected nothing less, as he pulled up opposite Kimberly, smiling across at Ellie.
"Welcome to car culture. Because we're also energy drink chugging lunatics who listen to a lot of Trap." With it, he leaned across, pecking Ellie on the cheek, grinning with a distinctive smirk that was completely shit eating.
"We aren't so different again I guess." With it, Ross clambered out of the car, knowing if Kimberly saw, she'd be pissed, but finding Ellie was funny again, and he was getting used to it...again. He had no intent of letting Ellie join in, he was committed to Kimberly, he knew that much, it was more of a token friendly gesture, but he just prayed that she'd be fine with it. Otherwise, super awkward.

Walking out, Ross saw Kimberly talking to old friends, Seb also in tow.
"Looks like she didn't kill you. Women drivers." Ross said across to the Austrian. With it, Seb chuckled, knowing full well that Ross was snuggling up to Kimberly as he said so, only asking for a slap.

Totally oblivious to what Ross had did with Ellie, Kimberly eyed the unmistakable Japanese car pulling up next to her. Leaning against the dark green Mustang, she saw her husband and Ellie emerge from the car. A smile formed on her face as she saw her husband once again. But, she remained cool, and watched some other cars come in as well. There were cars like a very nice Corvette Z06, a Mitsubishi Evo IX, and a Subaru BRZ that definitely sounded like it was swapped. The racing scene had come such a long way since Kimberly had first joined it. Back then it was just her and whatever imports and domestics people could get their hands on. But now, big competitors were coming in, and the racing scene had become so large that subgroups had started to develop. There were the drag racers that were on 1320Video, drifters that were on smaller channels, and then there was them. Arguably the most selfish racers in the entire scene, the people that still bobbed and weave through traffic and made a ruckus out of the streets of Los Angeles.

People started to pop the hoods of their car to reveal what was underneath the hood of their cars. Kimberly wouldn't have dared to do something like that especially with the newest addition to her garage. The song changed as the parking lot began to get even more packed. All of these people would be competing in the race today, the free-for-all race. She hoped her supercharged V8 could keep up with these cars. Sure, her car was pretty light, but she feared her car would have trouble getting traction and getting around corners. It wasn't as nimble as her imports, that was for sure. The weight of the car, plus Kimberly, was somewhere in the three thousand pound range. Hopefully she was able to keep it steady and figured out the optimal angles to get the car around.

Her big ol' glasses helped her see the drivers of each vehicle better, and in turn helped her evaluate the talent that she'd be surrounded by. She wanted a better idea of what she was going up against. People could have fast cars, but if they couldn't handle it then there was no use in owning such a car. Experienced drivers, like Kimberly, were able to tell if someone knew what they were doing most of the time. Sometimes there was an exception, but the chances of that happening were slim. Looking around, Kimberly could see a lot of fresh faces, and that boded well for the experienced racers. Hell, she made a mental bet that some people were already looking down on her for bringing such an old car. They were going to pay for their insolence. She whipped people even with the cute little junker she started off with, and she wasn't afraid to take on people with her Mustang.

---

Ellie felt a warm kiss on her cheek and looked at Ross. "Uh, lad, you've got a wife. C'mon now." Ellie chuckled, "You had your chance years ago." She exited the car and put on her sunglasses, taking in the environment. People were walking around, bringing their kids and pets and spouses and everything like that. It was a fun environment to be in. Everyone was taking in the cars around them. There seemed to be a wide variety too. More than she had seen in one place since the festival back in the United Kingdom. There were cars that only came out a few months ago, and there were cars way older than she was. According to what she had heard, all of these cars would be participating in a city-wide scramble and whoever crossed the line first would receive a nice prize.

She broke off from Ross and Kimberly and started to roam around by herself. She was much harder to recognize with her sunglasses on, and she intended to keep it that way to avoid drawing too much attention from the amazing vehicles parked here. She was seeing stuff she would've never seen in Canada or in England. Turbos with a car attached to it, little roadsters with big ol' V8s stuffed inside, and cars that were made from scratch. Ellie stayed a moment to look at a silver Evolution IX, which had an incredibly clean and pretty setup. Both in the engine bay and when it came to the aesthetic. The car was clean, from its carbon fiber hood all the way down to the 17" Volk TE37s and Advan AD08Rs that embraced them. The girl that drove it wasn't too bad either.

Walking past, the music got louder but the cars got shittier. She started to see some really regular looking cars. There was a Ford Escort just sitting there minding its own business, as well as a regular looking Honda Civic. Ellie didn't look at those much - failing to see that the Ford Escort packed a BMW six-cylinder and the Honda Civic being lighter than a feather with a 2.4 liter engine. The sightseeing was almost over as Ellie took in every car that she wanted to see. She was sure that'd she'd be able to see the cars again once the race actually started. Hopefully they'd be behind her and Ross, though.

---

About half an hour later, the starting grid for the cars were set. The way the cars were gonna start was gonna be a mess, which was why the fences were being pulled away to allow for a more creative approach to start the race. Everyone was in their cars and ready to go. They were just waiting for the song to start playing so that they could get racing. The destination was at the top of a parking garage near LAX. First person there would receive a handsome prize. Fortunately, there were prizes for people finishing all the way up to seventh place. Kimberly hoped that she'd be able to take first, though.

The V8 underneath the hood of her Mustang idled, revving it twice to keep the engine warmer. The announcer stood on top of the DJ's equipment, which quite frankly annoyed her but she couldn't complain as she was set to make fucking bank after the gig. "Ready... set..." Kimberly put her car into gear, holding the clutch down and giving it enough gas so that she could launch the car forward. "...GO!" The song started playing and everyone started to scramble. Kimberly let go of the clutch and shot forward, keeping one arm on the steering wheel as she made her way to the exit on the other side of the parking lot. On the way, she was bobbing and weaving around cars. A couple of them had already crashed and eliminated themselves from the race. Embarrassing.

Arriving at the meet, Ross had brushed it off with Ellie what had just happened, realising that maybe it was the wrong way, not a playful thing but something different to her. Shit. He just had to deal with it, he thought awkwardly to himself, as he knew she'd probably forget it. He had a look over the competition, then back at his own RX7, the rotary-engined, whining machine a heck of a motor to have for tonight, given that it was nothing like the Subaru. It was minimalist, but it was drift-orientated, not for sticking to tarmac. And it would do it's job well, if he drove it to the limit he had to. Putting his sunglasses on, he leaned on a streetlamp next to his car as the sun began to come down, bringing out the fluorescent yellow that it was painted in, with the

Meanwhile, Seb had the chance to go and look about at some of the cars, getting lost in conversation with a few of the people involved. But he had a few plans of his own. He didn't really want to steal the thunder from Ross and Kimberly but knew that after this, the night was stil long. And there were a few buildings in LA that he still wanted to go see. Nothing massive, but a few ideas flew around in the Austrian's head, a few things he'd like to do. Their gear had been brought over, and whilst he'd have to swing by the hotel to get it, getting it all setup wouldn't be a big deal. Not a huge one. That could be arranged for. Whilst they were sponsored athletes, of course, that didn't mean they had their own shit picked up after them. They had to work for their pay, and well, Seb knew just as Ross and Kimberly raced for the laughs and pink slips, they jumped off buildings and skiied down slopes for pay, sometimes never the easiest of games to play when you couldn't tell how much something would work, but it was something nonetheless. He'd have to go back and get it all, but once he had it, he knew they would have something to do for late night activities, and if Ross and Kimberly were up for it, they would have a hell of a fun time.

----------------

The engines roared of the cars around him roared, as Ross had his sunglasses now back in their case, sitting in the RX7's seat again, his hand on the handbrake, gently throttling the revs, feeling this was what it was. The same old shit. Some jumped up racers, it felt still too organized, compared to the underground scene back at home. That was ecstasy-driven madness, this was...well, sober. And yet in this car, it didn't feel like it. It felt like he was alive, as he throttled it gently, the Wankel roaring, as he saw the DJ step up. No woman in scantily clad clothing in the middle? This scene was post-PC, seriously. Not like in the good old days...Ross chuckled to himself. He probably shouldn't have thought that, not when he was a married man with a kid. But he still had a little madness in him, as he watched him set it up. He was ready, his heart pounding, first already in, as he watched him yell the monosyllabic word that depressed his handbrake.

The RX7 pulled away fast, not as fast as the Evos or the other supercars, but fast, the rears spinning up as he already pulled in the gearshifter, a manual sequential being possibly the best choice he'd ever made for this thing. It felt...far more real than a paddle shift, it was literally a giant stick that you pulled and if the racing Gods were kind, you were up a gear with no throttle loss at all. It did demand throttle blipping of course, and that wasn't fun with twin turbos, but the fun that came from pulling a lever and feeling power was the kind of thing Jeremy Clarkson would approve of, for the cool factor alone, not just the performance gains in short changes. The RX7 was in third and hitting 90, as he turned out of the parking lot, overtaking two cars on the way out, the supercar drivers clearly not up to it while the RX7's skiddy nature was through, back on the throttle as he heard the engine whine. It wasn't a roar so much as the engine just screaming in falsetto, the turbos kicking in at the top end and making this thing go quick. And where they didn't help...NOS did.

The flick was not a slow-burner like he had on the Impreza, but a fast, that upped the engine in an instant, giving a sudden burst of power that let him slide by a Porche Cayman GT4, skidding through a junction and avoiding a car as he was back on it, the rear truly in full drift, as he cackled with laughter, seeing Kimberly ahead. With another shift as they hit a straight, they were on the small roads towards LAX, and second place was not an option. Ross wanted to be first.

The RX7's downshift and anti-lag was not quiet. It was a bang, as the lift-off made a crackling noise at the pipes, this thing Mad Maxesque on how it used fuel, given the twin-turbos and the Wankel that was inside. Let alone the amount of oil....Jesus. it was a wonderful machine, as he bobbed past a couple of cars, sighting the rest of the crowd, knowing he'd catch them quick.

-----------------

Meanwhile back at the party, Seb had managed to find Ellie, ogling at a set of cars as he tapped her on the shoulder.
"Hey up, honey." He said, wrapping his arm around her, looking on at the others that were left here in the parking lot, the distant noise of engines roaring away audible.
"I've got an idea, if you want to hear it....something I think might add to our channel. I know that those two want us here...but I was thinking we should show them how we do things. Get something setup while they have their fun. There's one I saw downtown, the US Bank building. Tallest structure in LA...and they're doing some refurbishments on the top floor which makes that the perfect entry for us. Bit of risk but that's the fun. There's maybe even get Ross and Kimberly to come and see if they can follow us once we make the jump.....and it's eally illegal...but it's not like this is right?" Seb asked, as he brought it up on his phone, passing it to Ellie, knowing she could have a look.

"Could be done as a BASE if we want to really keep it simple...but I'm thinking wingsuits, even if we're playing with low altitude, with the performance we get on average we can crank about 30 seconds from there before huck. Gives us a chance to fly past buildings. Urban proximity wingsuit BASE....at night....come on, I can see you're tempted." Seb chuckled, as he looked at Ellie, knowing he could sometimes play these things past her. It was strange, sometimes he felt like the guide, and sometimes, well, it felt like Ellie was the one suggesting these things. He seemed to do the logistics well, but she felt like she was the one who was going to be far better at this, and push the boundary a little further than he dared.

Sliding onto the street, Kimberly counter-steered hard just to keep the car straight and pointed in the right direction. She kept her foot light on the pedal, using every single bit of her weight to delicately feather the control as needed. The female driver already knew that she'd be burning through this set of tires by the time she got done with the race. Might as well get her dollar's worth if they were gonna be ruined by the end anyway.

Feeling the tires get their grip, she put the pedal to the metal, sending every single ounce of power to the rear tires as she shot down the roadway. Now was the time to keep both hands on the wheel. Dealing with her Skyline was one thing, but this car was another beast. All this power and torque at once had started to prove difficult even for Kimberly, who had dealt with many cars like this before. Something about this car had gave it a very wild, unpredictable nature. Despite having some very good semi-slicks on, something about this car felt like that it was ready to let loose at any second and take both Kimberly and Seb on a trip. It felt like it had a mind of its own.

Seeing a turn come up, Kimberly moved her feet as necessary. left foot on the clutch, and her right foot had moved to an angle where her toes were on the brake pedal and her heel was on the gas pedal. Heel-and-toe downshifting was a technique that was difficult for Kimberly to implement, especially in her beginning days as a racer. She didn't even remember how she tackled corners without heel and toe. But she learned it quick once she realized how important it was to be a faster driver. It was an essential skill and she was glad she learned how to do it.

Going down two gears, Kimberly held her left foot over the clutch in preparation for upshifts. Feeling the car lose its grip when hitting the apex, Kimberly wrestled the wheel to the other side to countersteer accordingly. Going down a gear, she felt the car straighten itself out and get itself back on track. Once she was set again, she fucking floored that shit. Watching her Mustang fly past some dumb lil' imports, she continued to bob and weave in and out of traffic. She looked even more focused than before. This Mustang was definitely a beast of its own, but at the same time if Kimberly could learn its intricacies in time, she would definitely be able to use it to win.

---

Earlier, before Ellie had gotten into Ross's car, Seb had approached her about an interesting idea. It was something about diving off of US Bank tower. She was skeptical at first, but after some coaxing from her lovely boyfriend, she was leaning more toward doing it. It might've been pretty illegal and they probably couldn't use the footage without being incriminated for trespassing among a variety of other laws. But, if it was just them and them only, then it probably would've been pretty cool to do.

"Yeah, sure. Fuck it. Why not?" Ellie replied, shrugging. It probably would be a very cool story to tell later to their friends.

A few minutes later, and Ellie was inside Ross's RX-7, barreling down the streets of Los Angeles faster than the human mind could comprehend in a vehicle with four wheels. The shit that Ross and Kimberly did suddenly gained a lot more respect. These two had never been in a collision with another vehicle and they'd been doing this sort of stuff for a very long time. It was amazing. Ross was barreling down these streets and he wasn't even breaking a sweat. It was hard to believe that this gearhead couple were also responsible parents that prioritized the care of their daughter whenever they were around her.

Needless to say, it was a lie if Ellie wasn't at least a little bit nervous. She had never been in something like this at this speed. All these cars that they were flying past made the Scottish girl nervous. She knew she could trust Ross. Ross wouldn't do anything to put her into harm's way. But it was a different story with the car. Anything could've happened with the car. But at least she could trust Ross to keep things intact and keep her safe.

---

After some more bobbing, weaving, turning, sliding, and braking, Kimberly had found herself on the freeway. Yes, it was in Los Angeles, where freeways were pretty much nightmares. But surprisingly, at this time of day, the only occupants of the freeway were just the racers headed to LAX. This is where the Mustang could've really shined. Wide, shallow turns and straightaways for days. Kimberly hoped her gears were long enough to really be able to utilize the power and gain some time.

Merging onto the freeway, she could feel the suspension take most of the car's weight as the ground leveled out. She felt the V8 roar, rumbling through the floor as she put herself in the middle lane. The supercharger was whining as loud as the devil as the green car tore down the freeway. As the cabin was rumbling as it ran over every little imperfection in the road, Kimberly turned to Seb. "You alright? Hopefully this isn't too rough for you." She commented, before switching lanes to overtake a Lamborghini Gallardo and an Audi R8 going at it.

Ross had foot to floor down the freeway, hitting sixth. The turbos in flutter, it was noisy and fast and exiting like hell, as he didn't even make waste of the fact that it was clear in front. Kimberly was overtaking a R8 and Gallardo, both were so locked on each other, that they didn't even see the Mustang fly by, and Ross had to join while the gap was there. Yet it wasn't. It narrowed, as he hit the hard shoulder, then coming back onto the main road, side by side with the R8, the engine whining as he duelled the Audi, the two close, the R8's driver only having the advantage of a little more optimisation at this speed, while the RX7 felt far more unstable and ludicrous. Yet Ross made it stick, passing by and keeping foot glued, aware that Ellie was by his side, quiet. He didn't feel the need to talk, he didn't when he raced often, he just took it in and focussed on tailing Kimberly, the sight of the signs for LAX coming into view, the RX7 ready for one last charge to the terminal parking lot, to tail Kimberly and the leading pack.

-----------

Seb nodded, as he looked over, watching Kimberly at the wheel. It was nothing short of insanity, weaving and bobbing traffic, knowing this was mad. Yet she was in control, perhaps like he was himself at times. This was something where he had to hold on, and just let her steer him. This would be fine, he said to himself, and no doubt, the lights in the rear could only say that they were not alone in going balls to the wall fast on the road.
"Just fine, fuck this is awesome!"

Closing into the finish line, Kimberly got onto the appropriate exit ramp and charged like a bull up it. It was only a few turns and curves before the garage was coming up, meaning she had to get the tires loose. Grip was essential earlier, but she needed to get rid of it now. These next few turns needed the absolute limit of the car. She had to enter them sideways, and knowing this area, she knew that there was a crucial shortcut coming up. Kimberly kicked the clutch and whipped the wheel to the opposite side, feeling the tires break their grip. The Mustang's weight shifted as it held the drift, seeing the smoke and tire marks be left behind in her wake as she straightened out the Mustang and pointed it in the right direction.

Going through gears, Kimberly's eyes watched her phone and the road up ahead, anticipating when she would have to make the turns and cut into that shortcut to get that sweet, sweet saved time and have the best shot at winning first place. "I'd recommend you strap in and hold on, Seb. Gonna be a wild ride." Going down a gear, Kimberly pointed her foot at a forty-five degree angle and rev-matched the downshift, before whipping the car in a certain direction. After these next few turns, there was an alley ahead that would point her right at the garage and possibly send her straight to the front of the car.

The biggest problem in Kimberly's head right now was the diminishing grip on her tires. These were semi-slick tires, but they weren't going to hold up underneath the immense stress Kimberly was about to put them under. Not like this. Migrating her right hand onto the emergency brake, she was waiting for the right time to pull it and get the car looser. Waiting, waiting, waiting. Past the stop light and the e-brake was yanked. She didn't have the time or the patience for a clutch kick. She needed it to lose grip now. Disengaging the e-brake, she kept her hand on the little stick, waiting for the last turn before she was able to stop with the e-braking.

Seeing it, she didn't bother following the turn up ahead. She just darted straight for the alley up ahead. Feeling the suspension take shock of the transition onto elevated ground, she continued on. Flooring it down the narrow alley, she could see a side entrance into the garage. Just a few more minutes, and Kimberly would be taking the well-deserved 1st place.

Ross was close, pulling off the highway and pulling a long drift onto the next road, adjusting the angle as the rotary screamed, slamming a gear and clutch kicking out, feeling the torque nearly shift the whole chassis impossibly, as he knew that Kimberly had been out of his sight for a while. She'd found another way, no doubt, as he barely overtook a modified Subaru BRZ, highly so, given how quick it was holding pace. He knew that would be the way it was, with any street race, it was always tight for a reason.

He didn't follow Kimberly, though he had taken a different route, going the main way into the garage. He had punched his way into the top three, as he saw Kimberly come in, the Mustang roaring as Ross knew that his own tyres would have to be taken steady. The compound wasn't particularly soft, but it was like butter and boiling hot when you were shredding it through corners and creating a smokescreen. Seeing Kimberly, he followed her in, barely darting past another car as it too flight over the entry ramp, hitting in a hail of sparks and uncomfortable noises. He had to follow her up, and there was one car, right in front that she could take.

As Kimberly made her entrance into the garage, sparks flying out from underneath the car as the underside made contact with the asphalt of the parking garage. In here, all she could hear were the roaring of engines. She could hear her Coyote, the rotary right on the tail, and the unmistakable sound of a Mitsubishi 4G63 nearby. Apparently, someone had a similar idea. Placing her hand on her gear lever, she prepared to shift down to push more power if it came down to the inevitable. She didn't want it to come, but she was ready to make a decision should it come.

Eyeing the Mitsubishi, it showed no signs of letting off. Getting a closer look at it, it was tricked out to the teeth. Full aerodynamic bodykit. Not time attack level, but still a significant amount for a street car. Looking at the ramp to the floor above, she saw the Mitsubishi get closer and closer out the corner of her eye. It still showed no signs of backing down, and before the both of them knew it,it had become a game of chicken. It wasn't head to head, though. Instead of a head-on crash, someone was going to be t-boned. The Mustang got closer to the ramp, and the Mitsubishi was daring to shoot the gap. Kimberly was doing calculations in the head, figuring out how much throttle she would need to commit to closing the gap, and how hard she should slam on the brakes to give up the gap. She continued to glance at the Evo IX to her side, still doing calculations in her head.

It was decided. Kimberly Emily Rossi was going to close the gap, and she hoped to god Seb was on for the ride. Her right hand tensed on the gear lever as she prepared to drop down a gear. Hearing the Evo's engine get louder and louder, she was waiting for the right time to shift down and floor it up the ramp. She held on, watching the ramp get closer and closer, and crossing into the point of no return. The Mitsubishi had committed to shooting the gap. If Kimberly's calculations were right, this would allow her to be able to go up the ramp while creating enough space and time behind her for her to fit in right behind her. Ross, unfortunately, would be dropped down a spot should this work.

Pressing the clutch in and blipping the throttle, Kimberly pulled the gear lever toward her, dropping a gear as she let go of the clutch and floored it. The sudden surge of power and torque caused the tires to squeal as the car shot forward and went up the ramp. The Mitsubishi fit into the gap behind her. If the arrangement of the garage was traditional, then the ramp should be right behind this one, which would prompt a very wide drift just to get the car around quick enough. As the Mustang emerged onto the second floor, she whipped the wheel to one side, before countersteering quickly to get the car's rear loose. Feeling it slide, Kimberly held a constant angle as the Mustang went wider and wider, seeing the ramp going up once again as she continued to slide to the next ramp. The Evo couldn't slide so it just had to take a wider line. She didn't know what Ross was doing, nor did she care.

Either way, the prize money would be split between them anyway. A significant portion would be put away for their familial purposes, whether it be for their kid's college fund, future endeavors, or even preparing for more children in the future. But what was at stake here was bragging rights. If Kimberly won, then she would be able to make fun of her husband, and vice versa. Both of them were driving new cars, and they were looking to see which of their projects were better. Simple as that.

Finishing her drift and shooting up the next ramp, Kimberly anticipated two more floors of this before the finish line was in sight. More and more drifting, and more and more rubber being burnt. Kimberly repeated the drifting line two more times. She couldn't care less about how Seb was feeling, either. If he was nauseous- tough luck for him, it was the price you had to pay for a victory. Soon enough, Kimberly was on the top floor, seeing two ominous looking Audi RS7s parked around a line for one car. From the look of things, it was a mad dash between whoever was behind her and her own car. She floored it and shot toward the finish line, hoping she would take the victory home.

Ross was quick, but Kimberly was driving like a woman alive, she was going for it and no doubt, Seb was having a hell of a ride in the passenger seat. Dropping a gear, the rotary roared as they entered the garage, catching a little air almost as he hit the brakes, passing a awkwardly parked car in the lot, chasing the frontunners. He had to keep going, he said to himself internally, and he knew that Ellie was going to have her heart pounding from what came next.

The ramps were steep, and he had to slow, or he'd rip the entirety of the undercarrige, it slowed him more and would mean he wouldn't catch. A disadvantage in hindsight, but he wasn't going to hit the ground running on the other side. He'd hit it skidding. The low weight on the rear wheels as they rolled onto the second level combined with a bit of clutch kick sent the rear wheels skidding, drifting elegantly around the tight lot, and into the next ramp, a cloud of smoke pouring out of the ruining rear tyres, as he followed it up the next ramp, a little immersed in it, far more sideways and far more aggressive, the redline closer and the Mazda going hell for leather. But it wasn't enough, even by the next one.

Kimberly's Mustang roared, the Pony car that had the heart of a warhorse in it in front of the Evo, as Ross chased the Evo, unable to take him despite the power advantage. He let it go, aware of his passenger, as he downshifted, the gearbox sounding as Victorian as it could get, the sequential clanking like he had pulled a cog with a sledgehammer, yet it was fast and transferred power down with a subtle whine and exhaust run-off popping. The RS7s were waiting, and there was no doubting that he had given it his all. Sometimes it wouldn't be enough, and in a car like this, it had proven itself. Another project car that had made it's mark, and it felt like a hell of a machine.

Finding a parking spot, he looked across to Ellie, Ross only nodding.
"You okay?" Ross said, still almost locked into his Wheelman mode, as he breathed out.
"That was fun. I mean....she got us this time. Bet she'll be smug." Ross added, shaking his head with a smirk, as he undid his harness, opening the door and clambering out, to join Kimberly.

To quote a famed Orangutan, Kimberly was finally across the line and had officially won the race. Crossing the line, Kimberly hit the brakes and turned the car around, pointing toward the other cars which had just arrived. The female racer had a huge smile on her face, fumbling the buckle on her harness as she clambered out of the car and proceeded to reap the benefits of her victory. It had been a nice addition to Kimberly's racing career, to be able to win a race as big as this.

She stepped onto asphalt and was greeted by a figure emerging out of a totally innocent looking murdered-out Mercedes Benz GL63. Kimberly glanced toward Ross as the individual gestured toward the SUV. This was a little shadier than she thought, but she told the individual to wait for just a second as she celebrated for her husband. She ran up to Ross, jumping up onto him and planting a kiss on his lips. "I did it! Holy shit!" She cheered, embracing him. The fact that Ross was somehow managing to hold onto her 5'11" ~150 lb frame was something amazing, but the fact that she won this whole thing was even better. Getting off of him, she looked toward the suited individual. "I'll be right back." She said, getting off of Ross and awkwardly jogging toward the individual. The sound of cars coming to see that the race had been won already was amusing to the winner.

She stepped inside the Mercedes SUV, where a female figure was sitting in the seat next to her with a bag beside her leg. Kimberly sat down on the rather comfortable leather seat, and the female figure put a hand out to shake the winner's hand. Kimberly complied, and then the female figure began speaking.

"Hello Mrs. Rossi. It's come to my attention that you, out of all the people who have entered this race, have won it all. Of course, those efforts will be rewarded." The woman pulled up a laptop and popped, revealing something very, very nice inside. "$10 million dollars, all in a Swiss bank account with your name on it. I know that you and your husband will enjoy this nicely." She smiled, closing the laptop and moving them toward Kimberly. "I know how the United States is stingy with these things, so we've took the liberty of pulling our own strings and associating the account with you. However, Mrs. Rossi, I do have an interesting offer for you, too. I've got to be frank with you, this race wasn't organized by us just for fun." She chuckled, "I have a job that needs to be done in Las Vegas, and you and your husband have the skills that I want in my drivers. If you choose to participate, I can assure you that you will be rewarded handsomely. Much more handsomely than this race."

Kimberly looked at the lady and down at the bag. On the first hand, ten million dollars was enough for the rest of their life. But... if they were to get more of that, then they'd be able to move somewhere very nice and be able to live a very, very comfortable life with everything they could've ever asked for. Kimberly looked down at the suitcase once again. "It's okay if you don't want to participate, but I urge you to take up my offer. I'll give you time to think about this. I will follow up with a text message tonight." The lady's lips parted to a smile, "Enjoy, Mrs. Rossi."

---

"What do you think's happening in there?" Ellie asked curiously, after Kimberly had entered the SUV. "I've seen many movies, and that means something fishy is happenin'." She sat down on the ground in front of the RX-7, before seeing Seb walk over to the car as well. Ellie reached up and pulled him down, wanting him to sit next to her. "That was fun, wasn't it?" She smiled, "I mean, I think you got quite a ride. We were on your tail and it was just intense the whole way. Pedal to the metal." Ellie chuckled, "You're okay, though, right? Ross's car kinda hurt my back but I'll be okay."

Looking up to Ross, Ellie put her arms up and pulled him down as well. "How ya feelin'? How does it feel to lose to your wife?" She laughed, "Don't feel too good, does it?" Ellie was being a little harsh, but it was all in good nature. "At least she's nice enough to share the prize money. I hope."

---

Kimberly disembarked from the SUV with nothing in her hands, walking over to the sitting trio. She sat down next to Ross, putting a hand up over her mouth as she whispered. "Ten million in a Swiss account. But there's a little something that the lady told me... and I'd prefer to talk about it once we go home." She trailed, before she backed away, a smile returning to her lips. "I'm a winner, and you're a loser." The teasing began now, and it wouldn't end for a long time.

---

A few hours had passed, and everyone was at the Rossi household. Kimberly had hooked up the Swiss account to her and wired some of it to her checking account already, and they were celebrating with some very expensive catering. However, Kimberly and Ross were in their bedroom, where Kimberly was sitting on their bed and about to break some news to Ross.

"So... the lady in the SUV told me the most interesting offer. She said she had a job for us in Las Vegas, and she told me that the reward we'd be getting would be way more than what I got today." Kimberly looked down at her phone, and then back at Ross. "I got a feeling it's one of those heist type of deals, y'know? But, if we sign on and we get it done, we don't have to worry about money for the rest of our lives, Mia's life, and her child's life. But at the same time... if it goes down south, we may never see Mia ever again." Kimberly put her face in her palms. "I really don't know, babe. What do you think?"

Hugging Kimberly, before watching her run off to the SUV, he could only chuckle.
"Hell yeah, that was awesome!" He said to her, as he watched her run off, like an exited child. Then again, she had won just a very big street race.

Turning to Ellie, he chuckled, knowing she had a point, but his wife wasn't like that.
"She'll share. We always do, in any big races." The wait was killing him internally, he had to say, as he looked back at Ellie.
"Glad you enjoyed the ride. Hey, it's good to ride with you. Like old times." He was interrupted as Kimberly came back, to announce exactly what she'd won.

He was a little shocked. 10 million? What the fuck? That wasn't street racing money, a 1000 maybe at most, $5K but not that much!
"What the hell?" Ross asked, his confusion turning to joy, as he hugged Kimberly, giggling.
"Okay, you won. But remember, this is for us." He nodded, chuckling, as he walked up to her, holding her hand as they looked out over the airport

Seb looked over, nodding.
"You drove like a madwoman, fraulein. But that was incredible. Well done." He said, as he knew that no doubt, this was a time to celebrate, and that was surely going to gloat to Ross in no time.

-----------

OST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBkHHoOIIn8
Portugal.The Man, Feel it Still

Back at the house, Ross had also paid mind to the conversation, sitting close by Kimberly.
"They're offering you work as a getaway driver if they are. They'll give you a fast Audi or BMW, and your job is to drive as fast as possible. Transporter style. I mean....the risk is high. Reward is too. And while you made us more money than any street race I'll ever do...I know what this means to you, sweetie." Ross said, reassuringly as he embraced her, sighing a little.
"I'm with you all the way. Look. Let's think about it. This is a big deal, for both of us. We make a decision as a couple on these things, and we've had our fair share of close calls. Mia has a lot of potential, and I want her to have the best upbringing. Without us, it won't mean a lot." He added, knowing he was the type of person that actually DID these things more often than not, in the UK that was what he did. A wheelman.

And yet, it felt like the first proper time he'd come clean on it. He had grown into his responsibilities. And knew that when money like that was thrown around, this was not a small time deal. This was big.
"Listen. If they have $10 million to give to a little street race, they are paying for talent that gets way more than that stolen. That means they would want to steal something big, you know. So whatever you do, don't get in over your head. For both of us. This is me saying it, okay?" Ross said, to the point yet calm, warm in his embrace, as he kissed her on the forehead, letting her lean against his shoulder.

"It'll be alright, my love. Whatever you think is right, we'll do." He added, as they spent a few more minutes there, just taking the quiet in.

Heading downstairs after a few minutes, Ross took in the party that had become so impromptu, the amount of cars parked outside was mad, the upstairs was quiet at least, so Mia could get some sleep with Kimberly's sis. It was clearly popular, with Ellie and Seb on the couch, chilling and drinking various energy drinks. The new age, no alcohol he thought to himself, these were adrenaline junkies of the vehicular and airborne kind.

Seb looked over, mid sentence as he was talking to Ellie.
"The only catch is, we are going to need to break in. This one isn't going to be legal, I found out...so maybe let's not upload this one?" He mentioned over to Ellie, as he saw Ross.
"Hey man, you good?" Seb asked, as Ross nodded.
"Yeah, we're alright. Tell you what. We down for this little adventure of yours?"
"We're ready when you are. Just give us a ride, we'll let you know when. We need a fast exfil on this one. This is a hell of a stunt we're pulling."
"Sure is. Think you can handle getting in?" Ross asked, as Seb chuckled, trying not to laugh but he had a shit-eating grin with the worst response he could have.
"We have disguises."
"I swear to God.....are you joking?"

-----------

Seb led the way, leaving the elevator, wearing a highly reflective vest, and a white helmet on. Generic, but they were working on the building site at the top of the building. And it had gotten them past one security guard so far. His gear bag stowed over his back, containing pretty much everything, and a smug look on his face.
"That should not have worked." Seb laughed, still aware that this was as stupid as it got, and Ellie in the same attire seemed to work just as well. For now, it had to stay on while the cameras were pointing their way, and they still had stairs to go up. In the pitch black.

As they headed up through the floors, Seb looked back at Ellie, knowing she was more the leader of the two of them, more than usual at least. That what made their partnership so good. They furthered each other, pushing one another, and they were getting into the flow and rhythm of it. There was no weak link. They were just as good as one another.
"Good old days. This is black-hat BASE. Doing it for the sheer tally. I guess we have more marketing stuff to do in the week, anyway. This is....well, I think they'll have fun trying to keep up with us. Let's keep it tight, Ellie." Seb was not an idiot when it came to stuff like this, BASE jumping was after all, an extreme sport but sometimes that meant breaking a few rules. Legal ones too.

Buildings were not normally that welcoming to BASE jumpers, given the nature of the sport, and sometimes that meant breaking in. That in itself was a rush, it was just like how Ross and Kimberly raced cars, it was getting into a place you shouldn't have been, trespassing a bit then leaving without taking the elevator.

The last staircase took them to the last floor, the last one that they were going to be able to access. The windows were installed, all apart from a pane missing on an access point on the western side, the office in full refurb clearly, and this being a site for an exterior walkway to be installed. At some point. Of course, it was fenced off and the appropriate health and safety measures had been taken, but it was easy to get out through. Dropping the gear bag, Seb took the high-visibility vest and white plastic helmet off, breathing out.
"Shit. We'll have to radio our friends at the bottom. Hopefully they don't get a parking charge waiting on us." Seb added, as he pulled out his distinctive black, grey and blue wingsuit, with a black and blue container, with a grey full-faced helmet to follow, a GoPro distinctly set up on top. Looking across to Ellie, he nodded.

"Kinda never stops getting real right?" Seb gave a grin, knowing the adrenaline always pumped, even in places like this, as he began to set his wingsuit and rig up. Slowly and surely, he set up, the wingsuit the same as the kind that they'd used in Norway, a high-performance, fast wingsuit model, something a little unruly to fly sometimes but still, something. It took a lot of physical pressure to fly one, but he knew that Ellie and himself were up to it, and after a few seasons in the Alps and in parts of the US and Canada, that always stayed.

Doing his last legstrap up, he slid his helmet on over his head, before approaching Ellie, checking her straps, as well as the pins on the BASE rig, as well as running through the rest of the check.
"So, let's run through it. Exit is simple. Dive, fly straight on, and keep going straight on, the boulevard goes right between a lot of tall buildings so we have only one way out. Really push the performance out. We'll keep a nice separation, I'll deploy nice and early, so it gives you plenty of time. Nice and easy. " He asked, as he finished up, then opening up his leg and arm wings, letting Ellie check him over, almost an unsaid thing.

After Ellie had checked him, he adjusted the walkie-talkie that he had kept out with the rest of the building site gear, picking up Ross and Seb on the line.
"Okay, thirty seconds till we go. We'll give you the head start. Light up some tyre smoke, watch the skies above you. This is a race, right? See you on the ground." Taking the radio, he popped it on a pocket on the front of his suit, tucking in deep and out of the way, as he looked to Ellie, smirking.
"Ready?" He asked, as he kissed her gently, before turning the window, standing toward one side to let Ellie set up, and lead the flight in her bright white and golden suit. This was going to be quite something. the view of Los Angeles from up here was just ridiculous, and some part of him that screamed inside reminded him this was very, very real.