The Neighborhood

Somewhere in Divnyy

Ryan was sitting on the fire escape, with his favorite classic rock tunes softly gracing his ears from the inside of his apartment and a beer in hand, mentally preparing for the race tonight. The Prime Police Department was kind enough to handle housing as fast as possible, since they knew he could've been followed by Julio's people the moment he made his first contact, and motels would be too suspicious. Especially in Divnyy, nobody went there to see the historical buildings or the world-famous cuisine, such things didn't exist. He looked out between the railings, from the 16th floor, to see nothing but concrete, climbing as high as the human eye can see. That was Divnyy, never changed, never will.

He knew his car could've been improved, but his driving yesterday had shown him that it was good enough to go head to head with Jaki. Didn't matter if he lost or won anyway, he was there to prove himself and get on Jaki's good side.

He stretched, his back cracked like old wood. Last night's adrenaline had worn off, leaving only soreness. He was done with fresh air for now, he got into his apartment and made his way on to his L shaped couch. The couch was more comfortable than his bed, so he was sleeping on it ever since he moved in. On his way, he saw his badge. He stared at it for a moment, then took a sip of his beer, realized it was already empty, then looked away.

Ryan got dressed, his trusty jeans and a black t-shirt. Enough grit to pass for a local, clean enough to blend in with the common folk if he had to.

He made his way out of his apartment, outside, under the crumbling billboard for a swimsuit brand, where he parked his RX-7. He popped the hood, checked the fluids. The intercooler piping was still giving him issues but it held, for now.

Abandoned Corn Packing Plant, Tek

When Ryan arrived in the meeting spot, everybody was already in place, waiting for him. Jaki leaning on his RX-7 FD, one hand on the back of his head, talking to someone on the phone, Lu sitting on a crate, looking like she owed the loan sharks ten times her annual income, Milo fine tuning his white Toyota AE86, Scott and CC arguing about god knows what… Ryan parked his car at the far edge and killed the engine. He stepped out and analyzed them one by one, as he walked toward Jaki's car.

'The woman on the crate, beside a red Lancer Evo IX. Red leather jacket, high waisted black pants, boots with high heels. Dark brown hair, down to her waist and amber eyes. White skin with a subtle olive hue, and the face of a Greek goddess. Probably Italian. The kind of beauty that pulled all the eyes in the room on to herself. At first glance, she looks thirty at most, but there are tiny cracks in her porcelain skin. She's closing down on forty. And she's owning it.

The guy working on the AE86. Can't tell his build but he's shorter than 5'9. A cutie with curly hair. A hoodie and a beanie in this weather? Take it easy, my guy. Either he was getting lock-him-into-his-locker kind of bullied in high school, or the toughest guy in school had a soft spot for him. I'm assuming it's the latter, considering he doesn't look like he belongs, and probably followed him into this scene.

The blondie, standing between a Viper SRT and a Chevelle SS, neither of which looked like his. Hair slicked to the side, blue jeans, white t-shirt and red sneakers, looks like he's cosplaying as the other guy's high school bully. Name's Brad, or Chad, or something like that. If it isn't for the oil stains on his fingers, I would've assumed he was just tagging along with the cool guys.

And the girl talking to him. One foot propped against the yellow Chevelle and the other resting on the pavement. Worn out black cargo pants with a carelessly placed brown belt with a chain dangling from the side, a black leather jacket over a grey crop top. Black curly hair, an afro down to her shoulders. Natural make up, almost none. Skin glowing gold under the parking lot lights, like the world had just gone down in flames and you're watching everything flow away in heaven, with her by your side. What a sight to see, this woman.'

Ryan shifted his stance and started walking a little bit faster. He wasn't here for her, or any of them. He was here for Jaki. Still, he let his eyes linger one last time before turning to Jaki's car.

"Finally," Jaki called out. "I was about to come looking for you."

"Sorry," Ryan said. "Had to give the old girl a pep talk."

In reality, Ryan was trying to sober up. He didn't have a drinking problem, but he had a problem with not drinking.

"Well I specifically told you not to make me wait, but whatever, I'm in a really good mood. And that FC of yours is worth the wait. It's impossible to find stock or shitty tuning around here. I genuinely forgot about the joy of building a Mazda from the ground up. It's been forever since I worked on mine."

"Wait, we're racing for slips?" asked Ryan. He didn't want to choose between the mission and the memories of his father. Lu was laughing under her breath, to Scott and CC. Milo was petting Daisy.

"What did you think, Ry-ry? Four of us is going to race," Jaki said, pointing to Lu and Milo. "I win, I get the FC. You win, you get the FD. Milo wins, we go to a McDonald's drive through. Lu wins, y'all make preparations for my funeral 'cause there's no way she finishes above me as long as I'm breathing." Said Jaki. Then laughed for 30 seconds. Nobody else laughed, nobody else was listening. "Anyways, if you're gonna chicken out, I'd understand, but I will be super pissed at you."

'Even if I don't win, I can stop him from winning.' Ryan thought. "Fuck it, I'm in."

"You hear that folks! He's in!" shouted Jaki. Scott answered with a 4 second long "Woo!".

Jaki turned his attention back to Ryan. He held his arm and pulled him aside, and started talking.

"Look, Ryan. You got balls, and that's more than enough for me to take you seriously. Maybe you don't realize how rare that is in Prime, I don't know. Rivalries are cool and all, but it's been years since the last time I was this excited for a race. So don't blow it, alright? Give me a challenge, don't disappoint me. Now go talk to the guys before we race. They've been dying to meet you."

That was a trick. Jaki wanted to figure Ryan out. He wanted to get into his head before Ryan got into Jaki's again. Where did he come from, why did he come… Who was he?

Lu was the oldest, and knew the most people. Milo's innocence could've made Ryan give up information. Scott knew Rory. And CC was organizing races all around Prime. She had seen every racer, one way or another.

Ryan saw this as an opportunity to get close to Don Julio's inner circle. He started with Lu.

"Ryan, right?" Lu said as he started making his way towards her. "Name's Lucille. When I'm not making Jaki look fast by purposefully easing off the throttle on straights, I ride in Divnyy. Heard about a black RX-7 showing up in the streets recently. Not racing, but tuned up. Turns out it was you, racing in Tek."

Ryan was surprised. It's been three days since he got the car, and he didn't even used the car in Divnyy, other than driving to and back from Tek.

"Yeah, guilty as charged, Lucille. Love your ride. Huge fan of Lancer Evo's here. I'm more of a Evo III guy, but can't help but to appreciate such a beauty."

"Thanks. And just Lu is fine."

Ryan made a little gesture with his eyebrows and started making his way to Milo. Right then and there, Lu stretched and said "Anyone else smell coolant?" walking toward her hood. "Feels like something's leaking."

Scott followed. "You sure? Looks clean from here."

CC made her way to Lu's side. "Want me to call Gus? Just to be sure."

Lu waved her off. "Nah, I'll run hot if I have to. She's never let me down before."

Ryan's eyes slipped to a Nissan 180SX parked just outside of the plant. Engine off, windows too tinted for street legal. A bald person in a beige coat got inside it, and drove off. Nobody else saw them. He noted that to the back of his mind.

Ryan walked up to Milo.

"Nice ride. You running tonight?" He asked, tapping the hood of the car gently.

Milo looked up, blinked, wiped his sweaty hands on his jeans. "Thanks, yeah. She's Daisy. I'm Milo." He said and reached for a handshake.

Ryan didn't refuse it. "Ryan. That's a cute name. Any story behind it?"

"It was a mutual decision between my mom and dad, I didn't have a say in it." Milo said.

"I meant Daisy..." said Ryan, with a confused look.

"I know, I'm kidding. No, it's just… I like daisies. You're with an RX-7 right?"

"Yeah, my father left it to me. It was rotting in a garage, I got it fixed up and started racing with it."

"Were you racing before?"

"Just between friends, stupid drag races and seeing who would stay on the throttle the longest in a highway, that sort of stuff."

"Sounds fun."

"It was."

"Good luck, you're gonna need it. Jaki and Lu are the best racers in Prime. The third one is here as well, though he's not racing tonight. And don't forget, you're supposed to enjoy it."

"Thanks, good luck to you too."

Ryan was dumbfounded about how genuine this whole conversation felt. An instinct hit him, he wanted to protect Milo against anything the life threw at him, and no matter what he did, it wasn't going to go away.

Then he couldn't reach a decision between talking to Scott and CC or making his way to his car. He ended up going in between, walking towards the entrance of the packing plant.

"You lost, new boy?" CC asked, popping a bubblegum.

"Just looking for the DJ. I need my pre race routine, I can't get in the mood if I don't listen to late 2000's punk songs."

Scott offered him a fist bump. "Ha, you came with jokes."

Ryan got close and bumped back. "Wasn't a joke, name's Ryan."

"I'm Scott. And this is-"

"CC," CC said, interrupting Scott. She pushed herself off of her Chevelle and crossed her arms. "You're the guy Jaki brought in?"

"Depends. Are you gonna ask for my autograph as well?"

Ryan made sure Jaki heard that joke. He didn't

"I'm the girl running the racing scene around here. I don't know if you're gonna leave here as a legend, or a nobody, but if you're gonna keep being in the racing scene, I handle the big races and the bets. Just so you know."

"Good to know. What are my odds tonight?"

"No bets tonight. This is a special occasion. But Jaki is the house favorite. He always is."

"I don't know CC, I'm rooting for the underdog." Said Scott. CC didn't answer.

"That's me, right?" Asked Ryan.

"Betcha." said CC.

Before anyone had a chance to talk, Jaki's whistle echoed in the parking lot. "Showtime," CC said and started making her way to the starting line. Scott put his arm on Ryan's shoulder and said "Try not to die, new guy." Then he rushed quickly to CC's side.