The first in the Price of Vengeance series.
Oliver had it all. A brother who saw him as his hero, a caring uncle, the love of his life Charlotte, a successful racing career (even if it was of the illegal street-racing variety) and not a care in the...
Oli was wheeling his Charger out of the garage when he heard Gabe calling to him from behind him:
"Uncle Joseph know you're going out this late?"
"Why aren't you in bed?" Was Oli's simple reply
"Bed's for people who aren't taking classes, who don't have soccer practice, who don't wanna go to college... So why aren't you in bed?" Gabe asked with a smug grin on his face
Oli was smiling from ear to ear at his brother's wit. "Business opportunity," he replied
"You're racing again?" Gabe asked, all joking now clearly aside
"What can I say? This guy's like an ATM, I won a grand off him last week and now he wants a rematch."
"Is that the guy with the fifth street? There's a reason they call them the 'Locos'!"
"Nah, he ain't like that. Just likes to race. You wanna come?"
Oli saw a glimmer of a smile on Gabe's face before it disappeared and was replaced with a disappointed frown.
"I can't, have to finish a lab report for science"
"All work, no play."
"Gets me into Stanford at Berkeley," Gabe countered, smug smile back again
"Yeah, I know. But why not chill out every once in a while? Come on, live a little! I'll help you with your homework when we get back."
Oli started getting in the car before Gabe eventually conceded
"Ok, but you are not helping me with my homework. I need to get an A." Gabe stuck out his tongue and Oli couldn't help but chuckle
As soon as Gabe had sat down, Oli rolled the car onto the drive and allowed it to carry on slowly down the hill their house was on.
Minutes later they were driving with the music playing through the radio and smiles on both their faces.
"So how fast are we gonna go this race?" Gabe turns excitedly to Oli
Oli laughed, "Ok, first of all, we aren't racing, I am, you're gonna watch. Secondly, it's not about fast. It's about torque, quarter mile, zero to sixty, maximum acceleration.... What?"
"How come you didn't go back and finish school?" Gabe asked
"You know why," Oli replied; tapping Gabe on the head.
"That was then, we're doing ok now," Gabe replied desperately, "Maybe if you went back you could be an engineer like Joseph!"
"Gabe, I love what I do. I'm good at it. And besides, I'd rather be working on cars than doing paperwork in an office."
They stopped at a red light with a van parked in front of them. Oli noticed the driver must have fallen asleep at the wheel because he didn't move even after the lights turned green. Oli honked his horn at him.
"Hurry up asshole, we've got some money to make!" He yelled
He and Gabe shared a grin, turning back to see the van doors burst open and a man with a Molotov in the back, hurling it at the car.
"FIFTH STREET!" Gabe yelled
"Stay down, I'll get us outta this!" Oli yelled back, throwing the car into reverse, but not before the cocktail coated the bonnet in fire. Oli slammed into the car behind him (clearly another Fifth Street vehicle), then swerved around the van in front, racing away as fast as the car would allow. He swerved around the corner, tires screaming as he pushed them to their limits, trying to escape the van and the car speeding after him.
Then Oli turned and looked at his younger brother, seeing the fear etched into his face, and feeling his own. Gabe saw something to Oli's left, and he turned to look down the barrel of an SMG. The muzzle lit up before his eyes and he felt bullets ripping through him. He felt his ribs fracture, saw blood spurting from both himself and his brother and felt the bones in his arms splinter. Not having the strength in his bones to keep the wheel steady, the car swerved to the left, mounted the kerb, and flipped. Rolling over and over again. Oli was hurled out of the car, then landed with a sickening crunch on the tarmac. And all he saw, was darkness....
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Gabe's POV
I could feel the blood running across my face, my entire body was screaming in pain, but I couldn't move. I managed to free one hand and test I could still use it. Flexing my fingers and rotating my wrist. I tried to pull myself out, but couldn't. I couldn't feel my legs, I was just lying there. I saw Oli, lying motionless on the tarmac.
"Oli?" I called to him, to no reply "Oli?! NO!"
I was sure he was dead.
Then I heard it. A motorcycle pulling up.
"HELP!" I screamed, hoping to all hope that it wasn't another Fifth Street member coming to finish off whoever survived.
"HELP! PLEASE HELP ME!" I kept calling.
Suddenly I was moving backwards out of the wreckage, towards safety. I couldn't see who he was.
He then walked over to Oli, bent down to check on him. Then Oli moved. That's when I knew he was alive. It was at this point darkness clouded my vision and I started to pass out. But that was ok. I knew Oli was alive. Alive and well.
