~Your POV~
Knockout and I finally got a chance to race! We hadn't in such a long time, and I was running out of the money we earned from bets the last time we raced. That and we were both getting antsy. The drive was long, but totally worth it as we tore through the streets of Jasper Nevada! We escaped the cops twice, and managed to race right past a pesky Autobot! I think it was that yellow Camaro... I can't recall his name. Doesn't really matter anyway.
We made it early to the race, which was held on an abandoned road. This road was known for it's wrecks, hence why it was abandoned, and that made it fair game to any street racer who dared step foot on the pavement. It was a grave yard of cars, some old, some new, others seeming to be towed there for show, and to make the field more dangerous.
"If my paint gets scratched--"
"I'll buff it and repaint it and wax it. Dude, I'm here for more than just decoding scrap." I commented, making him huff. I swear if he gets an attitude before anything happens... you know what, never mind.
We continued to the check-in guy. As usual he looked mean, and could probably bash you into the cement easily, but I bet he was secretly a total marshmallow on the inside. His tattooed arms were crossed firmly across his chest as we pulled up.
"Name?"
"Knockout."
"License?"
"When was that required?" I laughed.
"452 ma'am."
I looked in my small bag, finding only 450. The price went up by two dollars?! I started looking for an extra two in my pockets and my wallet. I had checked the website earlier... so why the sudden two dollar mark-up?
"I got it."
A voice from behind Knockout said. I looked from my bag to the person now beside us. She was tall, taller than me even. Blonde hair, blue eyes, amazingly clear skin. I could have swore she was some sort of fairy with how thin she was. She had given the guy two dollars for our pay, and smiled.
"Hi, I'm Victoria!" She held out her hand near Knockout's window.
"Knockout. Thanks for the save..."
"No problem. They changed it last minute for some sort of charity thing. Apparently it's good for business or something. I'm guessing it's for an underhanded garage with no morals."
Where's the catch? Her smile doesn't look fake... her tone is even, and friendly. I just can't shake off that feeling though...
"Anyway, see you on the track!"
She left with a waive of her hand, and our little party of two found a nice parking spot.
"I like her." Knockout commented.
"She seems off to me..."
"She just saved our tailpipes!"
"Your point?"
"My point is that she just paid part of our fee to get into this stupid race! I'd say she's trustworthy."
"Wow, you and the word 'trustworthy' do not mix well."
"It's Starscream who has the trust issues, not me."
We both laughed for a small deration of time until the first race was called. We lined up. It was only a short straight-away race, not much to gain, but hey, we got this in the bag.
The announcer said a few words, tradition for the first race of the night, then allowed the race to begin. As usual, Knockout and I took the lead. A couple of classic muscle cars were hot on our tail, but swerved around some debris, and made them crash.
"Good luck buffing that out fraggers!" I hollered out Knockout's window.
"HAHAHAAAA! It'll take a miracle for that to be fixed!"
We raced down to the end, coming in first, as usual. I cheered as we came to stop, and got out, being greeted by a couple of magazine interviewers. They were obviously being paid more than others if they were here.
"Miss, I'm from 'Racer's Monthly'!"
"I'm from 'Cars of this Age'!"
"We're from 'Racer's Biology'!"
The list went on, but only one caught my eye.
"Hi, Knockout," It was Victoria, "Oh don't look at me like I'm some sort of suspect! You're so weird," She giggled a small pixie-like giggle, "I'm the owner of 'Illegal Legacy'. It's not well known yet, but it will be! I was hoping to get an interview with you, would you mind?"
"Maybe after the next race, we came here for that one mainly. This race was just a warm up."
"Excuse me, but you said 'we'. Is there another racer with you?"
Scrap, I let it slip...
"Um, no, well, I guess you could say that... I mean, this cherry right here has a personality of his own I swear!"
"Oh how sweet! You treat your car like a person!"
"Actually no, I treat him way better than that!"
We both laughed for a short time, then slowly stopped.
"Well, I'll see you after the next race then!"
She skipped off, going to bug another racer.
I hopped back in and drove over to our parking space from earlier.
"I don't get why you distrust her so much." Knockout stated.
"She helped pay for our fee, and she's a reporter, with her own magazine! I call it suspicious."
"I call it five minutes of fame."
"More like an article of lies. One of the guys in my old crew were interviewed, and the interviewer twisted his words for his own benefit."
"I like this interviewer."
"Oh please. The guy who was interviewed ended up losing his girlfriend, his car, and his spot on the crew."
"Did you miss him?"
"Barely knew the guy."
"Then why the distrust towards all interviewers?"
I was silent. It's not that I distrust all interviewers... okay, yeah it is, but who can blame me? I have a place in the racing world again! If that's ruined, what else am I to do? I can't stay in front of a screen for the rest of my life! Knockout doesn't have to worry about that though, so I wouldn't expect him to understand...
"Hey darling," the Aston Martin got my attention, "next race is starting."
We were already at the starting line, and I could see Victoria with a camera in the rear-view mirror. I glared at her reflection as she gave a thumbs-up. Who does she think she is? My Sister?
The race started, but I was to distracted to even pay attention to what Knockout was doing, until a car hit us in the side.
"HE SCRATCHED MY PAINT!"
"That wouldn't have happened if you were watching your flank!"
"Well excuse me for having a defective co-pilot!"
"I'm not defective you glitch! Give me the wheel!"
Knockout gave me control, and I weaved through debris, baiting other drivers as we went into the open part. It was more of a demolition derby than anything at this point. Only the bravest entered, and only the richest bet on the best. I knew we were going to win, but I didn't know it would be this hard for Knockout not to come out of it unscathed.
"WATCH THAT ONE!" He hollered as we passed a hidden car and driver.
"YOU DON'T THINK I KNEW HE WAS THERE?!"
"Knowing you, you just guessed and hoped for the best!"
"I applaud you good sir! You should be a poet!" I yelled at him, swerving to miss a downed car.
At this point I was counting drivers who were still good to go... so far three... no wait. I looked in the rear-view mirror to find a blue Aston Martin trying to hide between the debris that we passed. That made four.
"This idiot thinks he can outsmart us, huh?" I switched gears and swerved, making another car crash, "He's got another think coming."
Knockout said something about being careful about his finish, but I wasn't listening. There were three cars left... make that one. The other two crashed into themselves... imbeciles.
Making a U-turn, I made it so that we were behind the blue Aston Martin.
"Who does this guy think he is? Blue is NOT a color you use willingly."
"Why the sudden hate for blue?" I asked my Devil Car.
"LOOK AT IT!"
I guessed it was the fact that we were currently against a fellow Aston Martin. I will admit, red would suit the car much better than blue.
"Let's scratch up his finish!" Knockout growled.
I raised our speed, catching up to the racer until we were practically bumper to bumper. When he stopped, I stopped, when he turned I turned. They swerved around some sharp debris, thinking that we would fall for it and pop a tire. I only followed their movements, but disappeared behind a stack of cars shortly after. They had guessed where I hid Knockout, but I planned that, making a pass as their hood came into view. This resulted in them panicking, and the tires popped as they hit sharp debris. Now they were immobilized, Knockout and I had won.
We arrived back where we had started, more magazine reporters flocking to get a picture.
"Give the girl some air guys. Honestly!" It was Victoria, to the rescue once again.
"Guess you'll be wanting that interview?"
"No, I have who I actually came to interview. I'm starting small, you know, getting others interested first." She smiled, her pretty lashes making every boy swoon. Sickening. "Anywho! I'll see you around, yeah?"
"Yeah... see you around..."
She left with a wave, and I took my place back in Knockout's driver's seat.
"Trust her yet?"
"No." I answered straightforwardly.
We raced for a bit longer, well into the waning day. The money wasn't as good as other races, but I wracked up enough to go on for a small while. Once the sun had gone down, we were ready to leave. Most racers had gone already, either out of shame or just tired. Knockout and I had reached the exit when a line of racers stepped in the way. Knockout revved his engine, warning them. When that didn't work, I honked his horn. That didn't work either. I rolled down his window, poked my head out and yelled at them.
"HEY! Get out of the way!"
They were silent.
"Shall I run them over darling?"
I smirked, considering the option.
"If they don't give me a reason to why they stopped us, yes... but not yet."
I got out, and was met with a metal bat to my arm. I'm glad I have good reflexes.
"SON OF A GLITCH!" I held my arm as the pain spread. "YOU AFT!"
I shrill laugh came from behind the line of racers. "What kind of language is that?!"
I hissed in pain as I punched the kid with that bat in the face. He fell with a broken nose.
"It's the kind of language your dimwit mind can't understand!"
I heard Knockout chuckle behind me as I sat on his hood, waiting for the supposed ringleader. By the sound of their voice, they were female, and had a bad attitude.
"Please," She sashayed into the light of Knockout's high beams, "Your the one with the dimwit mind."
Never trust a reporter. And this proves it.
Victoria stood proudly among her entourage, the pixie smile from earlier replaced with the smirk of a con-artist. She moved with the grace of a dancer, and the slyness of a fox as she made her way to the front of the line.
"Thanks to my racer... you do remember the blue doppelganger, don't you? We know your moves, and how you race, that includes your faults." The group surrounded us. "You have the powers of observation and quick thinking, but so do I. I needed you to distrust me, allowing me to get closer and consequently making you think I might not be so bad."
Her logic doesn't make sense...
"SO!" She got my attention again, "In return for your life, we want your car. We'll treat it nicely, don't worry, we just want to make sure you don't win anymore races. Knockout has taken the lead, but Lucky is gaining."
I burst out in laughter, her threats being a total joke to me.
"How about no. Look Victoria, if that even is your name, you might think today was your lucky day, but you'll be lucky if you even get out of this alive." I smirked, enraging the blonde now in front of me. She messed with the wrong racers.
She leaned on her left side, and scowled. "I was hoping to do this the easy way, but you're leaving my no choice. BOYS!"
The circle of racers were advancing, but I didn't care. Getting up from my spot on Knockout's hood, I ran to the door and jumped back in.
"Metal to the pedal Knockout!"
(Hope you like it! Thanks for reading!)