Ambulance sirens blaring in the distance. Vision blurry. Mind foggy.
Simon slowly stirs awake; suspended upside down in his now toppled over Eight-Six, held in place by his seatbelt. The smell of blood in his mouth and the sharp pain along the side of his face making his left cheek sting.
Turning his head to the left, he can vaguely make out a black Viper a few meters away, watching. The red glare of its headlights cutting through the foggy night sky.
As if sensing he’s survived the crash, the supercar roars to life, backing off slowly; J-turning and speeding down the freeway from whence it came. The V10 wailing like a screaming banshee as it disappears from view.
He just lost everything.
And in the end, it didn’t even matter. Or did it?
Simon’s eyes suddenly shoot open from the sound of his alarm clock beeping. The youth rubbed his sweaty forehead, groaning tiredly as he sat up, rubbing his eyes.
“The same nightmare again,” he mumbles, gazing out the window at the orange twilight sky.
Even after two years, he still can’t seem to escape his past. The past that defined his new life from the moment he regained consciousness in the hospital.
Getting out of bed, he slips on a white t-shirt before trudging over to the bathroom, splashing cold water over his face.
He takes a moment to look at his reflection in the scratched-up mirror.
Messy black hair. Sad grey eyes. And a long ugly scar running diagonally along his left cheek, trailing down to his jawline. He traced the now healed wound with his finger, a subtle reminder of his cursed life.
Walking back, he checks his phone, seeing a new message from Mona sent an hour ago.
Rise and shine, sleepyhead11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtn6yeQxRhy
Meeting with the boss in two hours11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Ueu6KZXAH
Don’t be late! xo
Right. The lead.
Before long, he’s back out onto the streets of Bayview city, speeding down the road in his trusty black Eight-Six, heading towards Adrian’s warehouse; the base of their operations for the briefing of their next task.
With a Snoop Dogg remix version of ‘Riders On The Storm’ by The Doors blasting through his speakers, of course.
How did he get roped into all this drama again?
After he lost consciousness on the night of the accident, Simon awoke two weeks later at the hospital. His left leg broken, most of his ribs shattered, and half his face covered in bandages.
That’s when he met Adrian, waiting for him by his side. An experienced street racer from the neighboring Palmont city, and the youngest son of the Arelli Crime Family. Adrian had come to Bayview in 2005; looking for fifteen exclusive hot rides that were stolen from his Family’s warehouse, recovering them all, and taking care of the culprits responsible.
How he did all that was all up to him.
His crew’s intel tells them that the cars are all being held somewhere in the city inside designated lockups to be held up until ready to be sold off in black.
Or so they think.
Along the way, he recruited the help of a fixer and local street racer with the alias Mona; a young Korean girl, more than happy to lend her aid in something that would return her hometown to the street racer’s paradise it once was famous for, from the battleground of the underworld it had since devolved to.
So far, Adrian and Mona managed to recover five of the fifteen missing cars, but have since had no lead on the remaining ten or where they’re held.
And that’s where Simon comes in.
A former member of the Bloodfangs crew and once upon a time, one of their ace drivers; Simon had since been betrayed and stabbed in the back by the only family he ever knew his own and left for dead after an event which left him broken and beaten.
Driven by vengeance and hatred, he challenged his former crew leader to a race for control of the crew and freedom for his friends – a race which ended up being a deathtrap he barely survived from.
Now, the Bloodfangs stand as the undefeated champions of Bayview who run the city, crushing anyone dumb enough to challenge them for their crown, and using any means necessary to achieve dominance.
With the help of some unnamed Organizers, the Bloodfangs have helped set up the Underground Rivals Ladder; a high stakes leaderboard consisting of the worthiest of crews in Bayview, locked in constant competition to rise up the ranks and take their shot.
Simon’s deal with Adrian is simple. He helps Adrian in recovering the stolen hot cars and in turn, the Arelli Family will help represent Simon in entering the League and beating the Bloodfangs once and for all.
No games. No cheap cheating tricks. Just pure skills.
Simon’s thoughts are interrupted as the warehouse eventually comes into view. The black Eight-Six rolls onto the cobblestone driveway; tires crunching the stone beneath as he pulls up beside a purple 240Z; the driver of said car leaning against the back-end with one hand inside the pocket of her red leather jacket and the other holding a lit cigarette.
“Took you long enough. Was wondering if I’d have to come busting in and drag your ass out of bed.”
Mona began with a smirk, blowing out smoke as she watched Simon step out of his car. Her short pixie-cut black hair waving in the cool breeze.
“And miss out on making some serious bank? Please.” Simon walked up next to her, “Besides. Someone needs to take care of Gina’s shitty crew and free their hold over this city.”
“Ooh, fighting words,” the girl chuckled, “What’s wrong? Someone hurt you in the prologue of your life?”
The two shared a laugh, walking on in soon after as Mona finished her cigarette while they chatted some more
A tall and skinny young man in a dark grey blazer and black turtleneck sat in the middle of the room on a worn-out sofa, typing away busily on a laptop placed on the coffee table before him. His eyebrows knitted in concentration as his hazel eyes scanned the bright screen.
“About time,” Adrian began, addressing the two while his face remained glued to the screen, “Come take a seat so we can get this show on the road. This one’s a beauty.”
The three now seated on either side, view the screen before them; a picture of a dark green Nissan 350Z illuminated before them. The car sported a black dragon’s head on either side and a carbon fiber hood.
Mona gasped loudly, and Simon too knew well what this was and who it belonged to.
“Stratospeed Mantis widebody kit, metallic green and yellow paint job and twenty-inch Volk GT-C rims,” Mona began, pointing out all the details of the car, “This is-”
“Rachel’s prized 350Z,”
Simon finished, mumbling under his breath and earning a nod from Adrian.
“In the flesh,” Adrian began, “And the sixth car to tick off from our list if all goes well tonight. Our crew bid it off the car from Rachel herself who wanted nothing to do with it now, looking to forget and move on from her life as a former racer and fixer in this city after the humiliating defeat of her crew at the hands of the Bloodfangs. You would know, right?”
Adrian ended by giving Simon a knowing look and a slight nudge as Mona shook her head, sighing.
“And to think Rachel’s Ryders were one of the most notorious crews in this city too,” Mona chimed in, “They were even responsible for taking down the Wraiths back at the end of ‘04.”
“And yet, neither Rachel nor anyone in her crew were able to hold a candle up to the Bloodfangs when they turned up. To say they were disgustingly unprepared would be an understatement.”
“Well, d’uh!” Mona rolled her eyes, “Have you seen the rides they’ve got? Vipers, Corvettes, SVT Cobras. We don’t drive those sorta cars here! Not back then, at least,”
“Anyways,”
Adrian finished, closing the laptop and placing it down on the coffee table before them,
“The fact of the matter is that the prized jewel and icon of Bayview has revealed itself. I managed to track the last known location of it, and this is our chance to take it back before they move it again.”
“So, what’s the plan, then?” Simon finally said, “’Cos the sooner we get this car back, the sooner we can all get back out there and start racing again, and I’m kinda running low on bank.
Mona scoffed while Adrian stood up, turning back to the duo before him as he began,
“The car’s being held up in a lockup at the top of Jackson Heights. All we have to do is bust the car out and bring it back safely to the dockyards in Coal Harbor to be shipped back to Palmont. Simon, you’ll be on getaway as usual.”
“Sure, but how exactly do you want me to bust the car outta there?” the youth interjected, folding his arms, “There’ll be cameras everywhere and the gates are made of four-inch reinforced steel. This isn’t your Best Buy where you can just walk in and walk out.”
“Or maybe it is, my taciturn friend.”
Adrian smirked, holding up a small remote device with an antenna attached to it. A remote EMP device.
“Woah there! Hold up,” Mona began, standing up too, “That’s a police grade EMP! How did you get your hands on one of those?!”
“We Arellis have our sources. Don’t ask, don’t tell,” Adrian replied calmly before handing the device to Mona, “The two of you will drive up to the lockup. The GPS will show you a rough idea of where it is, but you’ll still be able to spot it easily once you’re close by. It’s a big-ass metal cage with floodlights surrounding it, so it’s not exactly discreet.
“When you’re at least fifteen meters from the lockup, just out of sight of the cameras, that’s when Mona will trigger the EMP which will fry all the electronics in the area and plunging the entire block into darkness. Get close, then Simon will sneak inside and bust the car out. The place will be swarming with goons, so you’ll only have a short window to escape. Work together as a team and we should be golden.”
“Nice. Let’s give these Italians a proper show they’ll remember,” the girl laughed, flicking her hair back and pocketing the EMP device, “And we’ll take my car since it’s obviously the sexier of the two and a head turner like yours truly.”
“Hey, at least my Corolla doesn't look like those abominations from The Fast and The Furious,”11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5TdsdM02yu
"You take that back!"
“Alright, ALRIGHT! Let’s do this the, jeez!” Adrian finished, laughing and interrupting their childlike squabble by clapping his hands together, “Oh, and Simon? Make sure you don’t attract any heat on you once you get out. The place will be swarming with Gina’s men, so be careful out there. I’ll head down to Coal Harbor and try getting us a spot on the next ship heading to Palmont. Good luck to both of you.”
“Aye aye, Captain!”
With that, the three break off.
Simon and Mona hop into Mona’s 240Z heading north, while Adrian in his red IS 300, going in the opposite direction to steal a container without attracting attention from the customs.
Things were about to heat up tenfold, and none of them would be prepared for what’s in store for them.
ns216.73.216.171da2
and then Add to home screen.