** REBEL SIMMONS POV **
"Sei pronto per questo?!" An Italian woman screamed as she stepped in front of our cars. She was the same woman who was sitting on Dante's lap.
"Rebel What the fuck are you doing? Get the hell out of that car right fucking now." Dante's deep voice boomed in my ear. I scoffed and gracefully flipped of the camera on my windshield. The crowd went crazy with laughter and excitement.
"Rebel I swear to fucking God-" Dante said, his voice was cold and deadly. I rolled my eyes and threw the earpiece in the passenger seat. I flicked the switches on the modified dash, preparing the Nitrous I installed.
"We got one hell of a line up today folks." The Italian woman yelled as she held up an Italian flag. The crowd screamed and cheered as she arched her back and held up the flag, her bleach blonde hair flying messily.
"On this side," she said holding the flag with one hand towards Stephan's car. "The notorious, reckless, and incredibly handsome: STEPHAN DIRICO!" She said then leaned forward to blow him a kiss seductively. Stephan rolled his eyes at the life sized Italian Barbie, which made her scowl.
"And on this side," she yelled in her high pitched voice. "We have the challenger taking on the second best racer in Italy: some unknown 'nobody'." She said as her hands made air quotes in front of her. She smirked evilly at me as I rolled my eyes in annoyance. Stephan surprised me by honking at her, startling her and causing her to jump.
"Oi! Shut up and start the race already!" He yelled, making the crowd start laughing and cheering once more. She quickly recovered and held up the large, Italian flag in both hands over her head.
"Pronto?" She said pointing to Stephan. He revved his engine and nodded in response.
"Pronto Nessuno?" She said, smiling evilly at me as I revved my engine loudly. I was pulled out of my concentration when I saw Dante pushing his way through the crowd. The twins and Angelo followed behind him. He was a few steps away from my car, his face laced with anger as his grey eyes met mine.
"GO!" The Italian woman yelled as she lowered the flag. I floored it, getting a slight lead on Stephan and quite literally leaving Dante in the dust. I heard him let out a frustrated yell over the excitement of the crowd as Stephan and I raced down the tunnel. We exited the underground garage and onto the streets of Italy.
The course was full of twists and turns, with two straightaways in the beginning and towards the end. I swerved through the traffic, Stephan following closely behind me on the wide road. We blew through stop signs and traffic lights before recklessly merging onto the freeway, the first straightaway.
I looked in my rear view mirror to see Stephan speeding up to my right. I looked forward again to see the backside of a semi truck closing in dangerously fast. I quickly merged to the left, sped up, and got in front of it. Stephan was right next to me. He winked at me before hitting his nitro, causing him to fly in front of me.
Gauging the specs on his car, he most likely had 2 nitros installed, a twin turbo, and a V8. So he used one of his two available nitros, most likely saving the last one for the final straightaway.
I flipped the switch for my Nitro, and quickly regained the distance between us. He looked at me, slightly shocked as I smiled at him and passed him once again.
Following the GPS, we exited the freeway and entered a narrow street. We had to go through a faintly lit mountain pass to get to the other side. I heard screaming on the earpiece, and quickly reached over and placed it in my ear.
"You fucking idiot!" Dante yelled in the distance as I heard a smack on the other line. A sharp left turn was approaching, followed by a right. I quickly calculated the speed of my car, the angle of the turn, and the strength of my breaks before pulling the emergency brake and drifting both corners effortlessly.
"See she can fucking handle it!" I heard Angelo scream at Dante.
"That's not the fucking point dumbass!" Dante's thick accent roared in my ear.
"Can you two stop fucking yelling. I'm trying to concentrate here." I said as I drifted another corner. Stephan's car was within inches of mine as he attempted to pass me. I quickly jolted my car to the right to block him.
"Rebel. Thank god you put your earpiece back in. There are cops up ahead." Isa said as I hit my brake to drift another corner.
"Where?" I asked as we were nearing the end of the pass. As we sped by, two cop cars were waiting, their lights immediately turning on and filling the dim road with hues of blue.
"Never mind." I said seriously as the cops began their pursuit of Stephan and I.
"Fucking shit! See this is the type of shit I was talking about. Angelo, send a few of our men out to take out the cops." Dante's voice screamed in the earpiece followed by the sound of what seem to be a chair breaking.
"Don't bother. I got this." I said in an annoyed, yet confident tone.
Does Dante really think I'm that helpless?
I looked at the GPS to see an upcoming fork in the road. When Stephan and I reached it, he took a left while I took a right, a cop following both of us.
The road led me to the streets of an Italy once again. The crowded streets filled with pedestrians watching as I weaved in and out of traffic.
"If you take the road down further, you'll end up in the plaza. It's packed and full of pedestrians. Go down the alley coming up on your right." Dante's deep voice spoke urgently. I glanced at the GPS and drifted to the right into the narrow alley. I sped through, the blue lights following me closely behind. I made another right to see a semi truck loading out supplies with another semi parked behind it on the opposite side.
I mentally made rapid calculations before I hit the brake and turned my wheel. My car turned so I was driving backwards as I narrowly made it past the first truck. I quickly spun my wheel again and drifted around the second truck, spinning my car so I was driving in the right direction again. The cop, who was unable to mimic my maneuver, crashed directly into the first semi.
"Holy shit." I heard the twins gasp as the sound of the crowd behind them began roaring with cheers.
I sped out of the alleyway and out onto the streets again. The red icon on the screen indicates that Stephan was nearing the final straightaway. The last leg of the race was below me on the freeway, I looked over to see a light grey Audi R8 closing in. I was nearing a bridge which was directly above the road I needed to be on. I looked over and mentally made my calculations again before I held my breath, floored it, and activated my Nitro. I jolted my car to the left right before the bridge, crashing into a few street signs, and fell down about 20ft onto the freeway below.
My car swerved, but I quickly regained control. I looked over at a smiling Stephan as I floored it. We were neck and neck, both pushing our cars to the limit.
"Good job, you used the last of your Nitro." Dante's sarcastic words spoke in my ear.
"Mystify, mislead, and surprise the enemy." I said calmly as a smirk stretched across my face. I looked over to see that Stephan used his last Nitro, exactly as I predicted. He sped ahead of me as the finish line came into view. A large crowd surrounded the sides of the garage entrance were waiting for us, their cheers beginning to get louder as we began to get closer.
Damon was right, Stephan was a reckless driver. He used his Nitro too early. I activated my third Nitrous, and jolted back as the power from the car increased exponentially. I smirked as I flew past a bewildered Stephan, crossing the finish line first. I hit my emergency brake, and drifted to a stop, smoke filling the entire area from my tires. Stephan drifted to a stop right next to me, the crowds excitement still filling the air. I got out of my car, only to be tackled to the ground by the twins.
"Holy shit! You fucking won Rebel! Hell yes!" Isa yelled as her embrace tightened.
"Not that we had any doubt!" Natalia exclaimed as she also hugged me tighter, constructing my breathing.
"What... did I say... about... the tackling?" I breathed as the twins both let go of me.
"Sorry." They laughed in unison as they stood up. I took a deep breath, and opened my eyes to see Stephans tattooed hand offering to help me up. I grabbed it, and he effortlessly lifted me off the ground.
"That was quite impressive." He said smiling at me as his hand still held onto mine. "You definitely gave me a run for my money." He laughed.
"You're not too bad yourself, a little eager, but an excellent driver nonetheless." I said smiling back at him.
"Well, a deals a deal. I'm a man of my word, bellissima." He said as he held out the keys to his Audi R8. "At least I'll have peace of mind that a beautiful and talented driver is behind the wheel." He said as he smirked. I slowly grabbed the key as a smile stretched on my lips and examined it before my eyes drifted to the newest edition to the garage.
"Oh and Rebel," Stephan said calmly. "My offer to take you out on a date still stands." He smiled a brilliant smile and winked at me before disappeared into the crowd of cheering bystanders. I examined the crowd until a scowl captured my attention. Dante was standing there, his grey eyes locked on mine as he stood there with his arms crossed. His face was hard and emotionless, but his eyes contained annoyance and... relief? He walked over to me and the twins, Angelo following closely behind with a bright smile on his face.
"Not bad for a nobody, huh?" I said with a wicked smile, going on my toes to get in Dante's face; I emphasized the nickname he gave me as I held up my hand, and spun the Audi R8 key around my finger.