FourtyTwo

Burning Rubber Three (Bee and kingkonrad)

Max followed her down, his lack of aero compensated for by the sheer aggression he was applying to his Skyline through the corners, the Michelin shoes that the Japanese car sat on screaming for reprieve through the corners, even in spite of the overwhelming grip the car wanted to try and keep. The G-Forces felt like he was pushing the car on the very limit of what it could do, the Brit in total focus to keep in control. But man, was this fun. Right where he wanted to be.

Foot down, Max followed Kaitlyn through the corner and past the 350Z, which had taken a crap route. It felt strange, the girl he'd talked to and led to Magnus was now kicking his ass. Damn, now this was an irony. But hey, he was way too in the moment, and having too much of a ball to even care. The cops could still be very vaguely heard, but Max's only priority right now was to get back in front. Coming back onto the right through the junction, Max tailed closer, coming up and around after getting a nicer exit, barely getting in front before braking hard for a heavy left-hander, coming right up onto the beachfront. It was a long sprint out of here, as he drited through, cursing as he realised he'd gone way too deep, leaving Kaitlyn far, far too much room. It was inevitable what would happen next, getting back behind her and keeping foot to floor.

That moment of fuck-up had taken up his mind, but not enough to realise that in the darkened skies over Long Beach, there were an absolute shit-ton of cops now amassing, and from every street, it seemed like they were pouring out. Something big was going down. And...yeah, that was a helicopter. Well, fuck. Max wanted to say now he had only one priority, but he didn't, knowing he was going to lose, and was gonna have to try and not get arrested. There was the option of pulling over and hoping he got it lenient. But that was gonna be the end of this project car, and any future opportunities to come back. To option two it was, and that was no matter what, keep foot to floor. He knew he wasn't gonna win. But he wasn't gonna get arrested, not today. He only hoped Kaitlyn might have a similar idea...

GEARS: Silent Line - The Silver Bullet (Silverwind Blade & KingKonrad)

Faraenal was a place Max and Anna had been a while away from, a stopover while supporting peacekeeping and recovering work in the region, a scrubland and warm, mediteranian-like clime that had suffered its unfair share of natural disasters. It was phenominal how well it had recovered after the hurricane a few years ago, coming barely a couple of years after a nasty earthquake had hit prior to that- wrecking much of the coast. Efforts from many nations had helped recover Faraenal, the people resilient and willing to recover the country through its industrious and resistant core. Perhaps it was what made the small deployment here easier, Max thought- hey, at least the people weren't complete dicks. While it was a nation locked into war, it had perservered through it, and was a very under-the-radar place to visit for its attractive little towns, its beauty often conflicted with the fact the media had depicted it as in ruin.

The plane halting was the moment Max could unclip, the lion looking across to Silverwind and giving him a nod.
"I'm game for that. Anna, you coming?" The lion asked, Anna shrugging as she looked up to the other feline, not really up for going out, on account of her combat gear.
"In this? You think I'd fit in?" Anna said, Max chuckling as he knew he just had to pull an absolute bastard of a line out for that one.
"Yeah, okay, maybe not. I mean, it does make you look kinda kinky." To which Max got a slap, Anna swearing as the lion barely even gave a shit and laughed, the jaguar sighing in response as the lion yawned, stretching a little as he walked down the ramp, looking across to Silverwind.

"I'm gonna head out to get some rays. Grab some sights at the cliffs over on the shore. Silver, Cat, you in? "

Burning Rubber Three (Bee and kingkonrad)

Max watched on as Kaitlyn pulled by, a bit of traffic slowing the entire group down, the modified 350Z finding a neat route through as Max followed through, taking a slightly different line to Kaitlyn as he shifted back up again, back on the throttle, turbo at full pelt. Pulling out from the traffic, he planted the Skyline's throttle, the old-school R33 neither as aero-focussed. Kaitlyn's machine was clearly just more powerful, and far quicker in the corners, a fact that was now true even on the relatively straight freeway, but Max did have the slipstream here and could at least use that to put himself away from the rest of the pack. It was a hell of a feeling, the speedo climbing as the Skyline's engine clambered to speed, a cruising speed that oddly felt very comfortable in a car like this. Even for its age, it didn't feel like it was coming apart, like it was made to do these sorts of runs, Max sticking close to Kaitlyn, who was getting closer to the lead car. All he could hope for was he could push past when they got into Long Beach.

The highway's empty scene made it easy to put foot to floor, but the cops weren't falling all too far back. This wasn't right. Normally, cops just disappeared. Going 120, 130 and they were gone- but here, it felt like one set of lights had dropped back, and another come into sight. Shit. They definitely didn't know the route...they certainly were cracking the whip tonight, and that wasn't something Max wanted to particuarly feel the wrath of. Coming to a junction, Max kept it tight behind Kaitlyn, the miles clocking down.

GEARS: Silent Line - The Silver Bullet (Silverwind Blade & KingKonrad)

Anna chuckled, sighing as she nodded towards Max, knowing full well what she just said wasn't a million miles away, the sight of Silverwind's sleepy deneamour humourous to the sight as she sighed, looking back across to Cat, the jaguar nodding in agreement.
"Oh yeah, we've got trust. We understand each other, in some chaotic way. Even those two!" Anna philosophised, chuckling as she looked back to Max, who was now beginning to snore, at an increasing noise. It wasn't enough to echo in the cargo bay over the droning engines, but in an isolated environment it certainly would.

"Even him. We might not always see eye to eye, but I think we somehow work for each other. Even each other out as two weirdos. We come from different worlds...he never knew real trouble when he was young but he's fearless and knows how to get things done. Only person he found in challenging that was me. In return, he makes me a bit more tolerable." She added, shrugging, as she looked back towards the Highland Cow's listening and warm embrace, someone that made her feel more real than android. Perhaps Anna hated it, really wanted to reject it at all times, but she had to admit, someone like Cat was impossible to just put into numbers and quantify. She had a Arvaran-ness about her, a person worth caring for, and Anna had very few that she felt like that. Beyond a professional courtesy to stop her team-mates getting killed, she had something more proper here- tangible, perhaps. Like she could be more open here.

"Anyway, I can do three in the morning. These eyes don't sleep...and I've done worse." Anna added, chuckling as she flicked her Pebble back into life, bringing the holographic display back into life, checking over a few bits of her data link to Cat and the display inside the vehicle. The professional was still there, for now at least.

Burning Rubber Three (Bee and kingkonrad)

Max's buyoant mood was nothing unexpected, as he flexed his hands around the wheel and the shifter, waiting, and waiting out. The screen lit up, prompting on the next intersection light change, it was go time. Sitting tight in the OMP harness, he clutched the Momo wheel tight and got ready to send it, the car sitting in first and the engine revving gently. Soon, he'd give it the absolute beans, as it went to red, staying and staying, his heart rate multiplying, his mind in total focus. And then go.

The lights turned green, and Max had his foot hard on the gas, the four-wheel drive Skyline barking into action, the clutch dumped as the other cars followed suit, almost neck and neck as they all pulled away, Max unable to leverage an advantage just yet. The road was straight on, as they came into very light traffic, Max going onto the other side of the road and coming back, the whole pack stacked together. The first turn was coming up, and just like any race, was where shit got real.

Tapping on the brakes, the car gave a course little four-wheel drift, coming out of the intersection and onto the highway ramp in a smooth action, a handful of cars already dropping back from their lack of cornering, but not Max and Kaitlyn, as they came up and onto the road. A single cop car became a blur as the speedo climbed, the sight of the other sports cars and tuners all around making the place one hell of a speedzone.

The only concern he had, was that the one cop car they had driven past had turned into four in pursuit.

GEARS: Silent Line - The Silver Bullet (Silverwind Blade & KingKonrad)

Bit shorter and sweeter- wanted to give a little interaction between Anna/Cat!

GEARS: Silent Line - The Silver Bullet (Silverwind Blade & KingKonrad)

Max had taken an awful lot of sleep, as had Anna, the team sleeping for the majority of the flight. The day was passing quick, given that they had quite a bit of distance to cover- and after their stopover in Faerenal, they were on their way into the hot zone. Max had a rough idea of how they could work with Anna's laser designated point- while they could do it remotely from above, like a strike fighter could, it would potentially get hairy if there were local countermeasures in place. Anyway, Anna would get a much more accurate lase, and more importantly, identify the target much clearer than they could from afar if there was any interference. The infiltrator on the other hand had looked into how she would insert- going in prior to the rest of the GEARs dropping, using the jet-powered wingpack to land outside the base, then start setting up a whole array of "treats". Risky, but the night was her friend for that one.

Sitting back, Anna exhaled, as the black jaguar took her headphones off, some rap from back in the days. While Anna was a woman that had risen above her background, sometimes though, she had kept bits of it in the little things she did. Max sometimes joked that while he was like a surfer, she was like the terrifying shadow you saw behind you in the rough part of town. A street soldier, but a spec-ops one. Taking her headphones off, she walked across to Catriona, the Highland Cow someone she wanted to chat to, knowing now was probably the right time with the other two asleep.

Looking across to her, the jaguar walked across, the sultry and tactical infiltrator sitting down, sighing before she started.
"Hey up. You know me and how I am....I don't really talk to people much and all. I don't want to mince my words, but just wanted to say after last time, I owe you a little bit of a debt. You nearly died for me, Cat...I thought that was me done and dusted, a stupid way to go after some of the other crap I've been in. But here we are....not sure what it's worth, but you need anything after this, you've got my Pebble's contact." Anna said, her voice coming through as honest, breaking her usual cold and harsh demeanour, genuine and true in her words, offering a paw out to Catriona.

Burning Rubber Three (Bee and kingkonrad)

Max followed the same protocol, the plates being taken off the R33, pulled from front and back- a classic street racer move, especially when speed cameras, ANPR and all sorts could track. Same as back home, so long as you were fast enough, you weren't traceable, Max mused to himself as he took both plates and stowed them in the glovebox, reaching through the passenger door before clambering back into the driver's door, on the wrong side. This was an original Japanese import, and while it had sat in someone's garage for a long time, it had seen a lot of work from Max since he had got it. Not enough, but it was a work in progress, the Brit reminded himself. Good enough to roar, as he turned the key, the six-cylinder barking into life, and putting an instant grin on his face.

Pulling out, the Skyline's turbos whined as he planted his foot, stutering on gearshift, the classic STUTU of the Skyline's straight six and turbo in harmony. Max was in heaven, but he knew he had to focus, aware of the race to come. The Evo in his rearview, he knew this was a race, but it was gonna get pretty real quick, and keeping up the pace was gonna be order of the day. A $1000 was on the line here, and seeing the rest of the cars near the El Camino, he had to admit, that number now made a bit more sense.

Pulling up to the lights, the other cars around were dense in the pack, way more than Max was anticipating. Four on the highway, stationary in the night, with another six behind. Shit, this was pandemonium. Stopping at the lights, Max wondered how the hell it was so quiet here, noticing actually that there were some roadworks signs behind now placed, penning in this road. This was 2 Fast 2 Furious now. No way this was real. Max shrugged, as he looked across, seeing a souped up old-school Eclipse, a 350Z, Kaitlyn's Evo, a BMW E92 M3, a customised Foxbody Mustang, and a Porsche 911 Carrera to boot among the group, an impressive set of relatively evenly matched cars. Not perfect, but close enough to keep things interesting, Max thought to himself, as he got a knock on his window.
"Phone?" Max heard, as he saw the girl bring up a number, a link on whatsapp with a QR code. Scanning it, Max's phone bleeped, going straight back to a mapping application, as he hung it in his dash. Classic street race setup. Given nobody was 100% a local here, a point to point didn't work. Instead, the map planned itself out, sprawling across LA to a destination in the south, a long-distance yet high speed route on the freeway, then back into the streets of Long Beach- finishing right on the coast. A nice route, Max thought to himself, as he nodded, giving a thumbs up, the girl moving onto the next. Exhaling, Max looked across to Kaitlyn, with only a look that it was good to be racing her...but he was walking away with that dough tonight.

Burning Rubber Three (Bee and kingkonrad)

Max chuckled, laughing and already wanting to prove Kaitlyn wrong.
"Winner takes all? That's a big pot. Bring it on." Max only replied, nodding to Magnus who in turn could only chuckle to their replies.
"Looks like you've made that decision. You two do look like you're made to be a couple though. But hey, that's just my thoughts...have fun!" Magnus added, almost comedic at the end as Max looked at Kaitlyn awkwardly, almost as if to say "seriously, this is weird"- but still rolling with it all.

Walking through the crowd, Max eventually reached the man with the black hoodie, the only one in the cafe, but defintely the dude. A dark-skinned black guy wearing a backward baseball cap and a messenger bag, the man to talk to for street racing quite clearly from the fact he didn't look like he fit with the other owners here. Clearly he was a front for something a bit wider, an unwritten racer's code here that pretty much everyone, including Magnus, were in on. With Kaitlyn nearby, he made his opportunity to get in.
"Yo, you taking racers? Heard you're the man to talk to?" Max asked him, aware that as British as he sounded, he had to play the part. When in LA and all....maybe most wouldn't see it, but Kaitlyn most certainly would.
"Yeah, and you willing to part with bank?"

"Here. Stack." Max said, pulling the roll out from a buttoned pocket on his jeans, the black hoodied man whistling, flicking through.
"Y'all good to go. Get your ride over two blocks over to the east, there's a dude wtih a black El Camino waiting there. Give him your number and he'll WhatsApp you the route. From there, rest is yours. You win, we tell you where to get your winnings. You lose, well, only credit you got is to make sure the police don't bust yo' ass. Pretty girl, same go for you too, huh?" He asked, Max sighing as he knew this guy was clearly just cocky, but sure, whatever, so be it the Brit thought to himself.

GEARS: Silent Line - The Silver Bullet (Silverwind Blade & KingKonrad)

Apologies for the delay in the post! Just putting together something took me a while- got back super late on Sunday so going back to ordinary from today hopefully haha. Posts from me might be a tad shorter after, I'd hope!

Oh man, I had some fun writing up Anna on this one- you almost can't tell :P

Believe it or not, the thermal-imaging tech Anna uses already exists (the resistant weave)- and that can be expanded upon quite nicely if this continues along (and you're happy with it)- I've recently come across a few ideas that can make her even more frightening that fit the lore!