"It's good that you managed to get away but now we have a new problem." The other man said as he leaned forward in his seat, "How're you supposed to race without a car."
"The only way I can think of is to try and get a pink slip although we'll be risking our own rides to do it." A girl leaning against the kitchen counter told them and even Anna seemed unsure of the idea, "If we want her to keep racing then one of us has to."
"I'll do it." Eric said as he set his drink down and they all gave him a surprised look, "When's the next time you guys race?"
"You're not even in our crew so why are you putting your car on the line for us?" The last girl asked in a confused voice and Eric gave her a shrug, "I'm serious dude. You could lose your car."
"She lost her Supra racing against me so I feel like it's only right for me to replace it." Eric explained with a sigh and the crew couldn't help but grin, "So when do you guys race again?"
"There's a meet up tomorrow night. Meet back here around eight and we'll lead you there." The man in the seat told him with a grin and Eric put his empty bottle in the trash before leaving with a wave. When Eric was thankful that none of the cops he passed on his way home had recognized him and he fell asleep the moment he hit his bed. When he woke up he checked the clock on his nightstand and sat up when he noticed it was already seven. He stretched with a yawn before getting dressed and heading out the door. He reached Anna's house by seven-forty and noticed that he seemed to be the first one there. After a few minutes the others arrived and he stepped out of his car to greet them.
"So you were serious after all huh?" The man who had brought up Anna's car problem said as he opened his door and climbed out of his Corvette, "Pull into the garage so we can check out your ride in private."
"Alright." Eric said as the garage door seemed to open on its own and he thought the situation was a bit odd but decided to go with it anyways. When he turned his car into the driveway he saw that Anna was already waiting for them and he popped the hood as he parked inside.
"Your Shelby is definitely top of the line but we wanted to add some aftermarket parts you probably haven't gotten yet." Anna told him once everyone was inside before she pulled a tarp off of two blue tanks and he realized what they were almost instantly, "Since you're putting your car on the line we figured it'd be a good idea to give you the edge most of the other racers have."
"Problem is it'll probably take a while to add them in but we still have a few hours before the meet up." The other man said as he opened the trunk of Eric's car to check if there was enough room or if they had to try to get them in the cab and he was relieved to see that there was, "We're good to go back here."
"What do I owe you?" Eric asked with a slightly worried look and one of the girls chuckled at him, "What?"
"Dude you're putting a hundred grand car on the line to get Anna a ride so they're free of charge." She explained with a grin as he and the first man carried the tanks over, "I'm Sierra by the way."
"I'm James and this grease monkey is Cooper." James said as they set the tanks next to Cooper, who was busy pulling out the things in the trunk before he pointed at the girl digging in the red tool chest in one of the back corners, "That's Isabella."
"Well now that introductions are done let's get to work." Anna told them as she walked over and getting the tanks in was relatively quick. It was trying to run a new electrical system to a switch they added into the dash without causing and serious damage to the original system while trying to keep them hidden from view that took them hours. Eric was glad they were there to help him because if he had tried that alone he was sure he would have fried everything and lost any chance of him being a street racer.
"Now that we finished that I'm going to give you a word of advice." Cooper said as he wiped the sweat from his forehead before shutting the trunk with a serious look, "You have a lot of power in this baby but don't use the nitrous until after they do or you'll never catch up in time."
"Once we get there I'll keep an eye out for a nice import and convince them to take you on." Sierra told him as she looked up at the clock and they realized the meet up was soon, "Let's get going."
"Right." Eric said as he climbed into his car and followed them to an old airstrip on the outskirts of the city. He could tell that most of the cars he had seen the night before didn't hold a candle light to the ones he was seeing tonight and knew that if he could win then not only would Anna get a car but his reputation would rise as well. Several of the racers looked up when they parked next to each other and seemed to recognize the crew as they stepped out of their cars.
"The races here are all straight shots to the far side of the airstrip so your Mustang won't be slowed by any drifts like last night." Anna explained as Sierra walked towards the large group of racers closer to the track and Eric felt a bit excited as he watched the cars speed down it without care. After about twenty minutes a man walked up to them with a serious look and glanced between the Shelby and Eric.
"This your ride kid?" The man asked Eric as he ran his hand along the hood and Eric gave him a nod, "Well that girl over there's been telling everyone that you were looking for a pink slip race and I'm willing to take you on."
"What are you betting?" Eric asked with a raised brow and the man pointed to a black Camaro SS with purple racing stripes running down the center parked closer to the track, "Alright you're on."
"I'll meet you on the track in ten minutes." The man said as he walked away and Eric hopped in his car to get ready for the race before he noticed the look on Anna's face.
"Do you know who you just took on?" Anna asked in a concerned voice and James leaned against his Corvette with a hand over his mouth as he thought about the situation, "That guy is one of the better racers here tonight and I'm pretty sure you just lost your ride."
"We'll see." Eric told her as he started up his Shelby and she took a step back as he pulled out to get on the track. Every racer watched as the two lined up and a girl stepped between them with a flare in her hand.