Grip - 10. Chapter 10

Jae’s Garage, sometime later that night.

“Is that so?” said Max said wearing the militsiya jacket he’d won off of the Evo driver.

Max and Jae were standing by his car in the middle of the floor. They were, at the time, the only people on the garage floor as it was already past quitting time. Mrs. Cooper had gone home and Boomer has gone to bed after a gruelling day of practice. Jae took this opportunity to get Max to one side and discuss the situation about Bull.

“If anything,” Max continued. “I’m not all that surprised. I figured he’d by the type of guy who wouldn’t take something like losing lying down. You say he’s driving a Mustang now?”

“Yeah, man,” replied Jae. “And it’s nothing like that Maserati he raced you with last time. From what I heard, this thing’s a real rocket on the street.”

“And he’s been racing?”

“He’s been beating some dudes left and right for the past week.”

“And he’s gunnin’ for me now, huh?”

“Yup, you’re the Grip Master now in his mind and he wants that title back.”

Max looked thoughtful. “Tsk. Well it had to happen sooner or later. I suppose he’ll probably challenge me within the next few days to one last showdown.”

“And what’re you gonna do?

“I’ll take him up on his challenge, of course.”

“That’s it?”

“What else is there.”

Call him naïve but Jae was expecting a little more than that. He was sort of expecting Max to say something that would indicate that he’d come up with a plan or already have one. He didn’t expect Max to just say that when the challenge comes that he’ll just take with no questions.

“There’s gotta be more to it than that, brah.”

“Well, I’ve never been the kinda guy to plan ahead. I always play it by ear; you know what I’m sayin’. Right now, unless I know the exact specs of Bull’s car and the exact road he’ll challenge me on, I can’t make any guarantees. Also that’s not what’s really worrying me right now.”

“What is then?”

Max took a moment of silence to look around the shop as if trying to make sure that they were alone. He gave the whole floor a once over just to make sure nobody else was there. Once satisfied that they were alone, Max turned back to Jae.

“Does Boomer know anything about this?”

Jae was caught off-guard by the question. But pretty soon he caught the drift. Max was right. This was a point of concern.

“No, man,” answered Jae. “I only found out from Ilya and Vasili a while ago. I haven’t told anybody else about this yet.”

“I don’t think we should let Boomer know about this yet. It’s most likely he bears a bit of a grudge because of what happened during his first run in with Bull. If he caught wind of this then he might just do something dumb like challenging the guy himself.”

“It definitely sounds like something Boomer might do.”

“Not just might. He probably will do it the first opportunity he gets.”

“What makes you say that, man?”

Max didn’t answer right away. He looked up into the air and seemed to space out for a moment or two. When he turned back to Jae he had a nostalgic look on his face.

“Let’s just say, he reminds me of what I was like a few years back.”

“Well, whatever the case, he’s not ready. Not yet. At the level he’s on now, Bull will still have the upper hand. We can’t let him make that challenge.”

“That would be the best thing to do.”

“Now back to you, man. Are you really just gonna wait around?”

“Yes.”

“Seriously?”

“If I’m the one who will challenge them, that might put me in an uncomfortable position. If I challenge him they’ll try and make it look like that I pick on guys who I’ve already beaten. No. I have to wait for him to come to me and he’ll do it soon enough simply because as his rep grows so will everyone’s expectations of him. Then he’ll have no choice but to challenge me.”

“But you gotta be at least be prepared for his skills. He may have been a push over last time but you and I both know that he’s got something to show behind the wheel.”

“I know he’s good. Good enough to be a problem. And he probably took a lot of time actually preparing that new car of his just for little ol’ me.”

“Look, I’ll get some of my guys to scope him out. Word is he’s gonna have a big race with a couple of hotshots out by Dinamo tomorrow night. We could probably get some good lowdown on him from that.”

“Never knew you were worried about me, man.”

“Well what can I say…You make me a lot of money.”

Max chuckled that last remark off. “Thanks, man. That makes me feel real special.” He patted the orange crown vinyl he’d painstakingly placed on the black roof of his XKR.

“Hail to the king,” Jae nodded.

Max smiled as he opened the driver side door. “Well, I’m gonna crash for the night. I took your advice and picked up a better apartment up near Savelovskaya metro station… You give me a call when something’s up, ‘kay?”

“Got it brah.”

Max started up his car and drove off. As soon as Max’s engine was out of hearing range, Jae went on to close the shop for the night. He too went ahead and headed off to bed, glad that the day was over. His residence was close enough to the garage that it only needed a few minutes’ walk. In the darkness of the garage, all was quiet and motionless.

A minute later, after Jae left, something did move.

Boomer came out of his hiding place inside from behind a stack of tires. He stood there with a bit of a pondering look on his face. He was deeply considering what he just heard.

What happened was Boomer left the garage right at the same time Mrs. Cooper did but unlike Mrs. Cooper who drove home Boomer could only park his car in Jae’s garage. Max stayed behind of course since Jae said he wanted to ask him about some stuff. Two minutes walking down the path to his place he noticed that he had accidentally left his keys in the car. He quickly turned around walked back to the garage.

However, the moment he reached the door he heard His name being mentioned for the first time during Jae and Max’s conversation. He also Heard Bull’s name, that whole thing about challenging Max to a rematch, and everything after that.

“Dinamo, huh?” he said to himself quietly.

He made a mental not of the name of the place. He knew it well. Dinamo was the second largest football stadium in the Moscow Oblast. Built to house some sixty-thousand people it had been the home stadium of the infamous Dinamo football team. He has watched races there before. That would be a fine place to get his payback. He played back in his head the conversation he heard. As he expected Jae and Max still thought he couldn’t take on that challenge.

Tomorrow night he would prove them wrong.

* * *

Morning the next day.

On a small parking lot uptown, Mrs. Cooper’s tricked out Lamborghini Gallardo was once again busy burning rubber like nobody’s business. Her girls, as usual, were on hand to provide any assistance she needed. Mrs. Cooper had just installed brand new adjustable shocks from TEIN, similar to what Max was using on his car, and wanted to test them out.

As she expected, at first the shocks were a little too hard and too high for her taste. She softened them up and lowered the ride height by an inch or so. Now the car handled much better.

Handling was her priority. The Gallardo, even in stock form, is one of the best handling cars in the world due to its perfect 50/50 weight distribution. The biggest problem with the Gallardo in stock form was that it was too much car for most people. Even the designer of the Gallardo had once said that ‘it took great courage and skill to master an Italian lady.’ Tuning helped fix that.

Mrs. Cooper increased the power and acceleration through some engine tuning and weight-shaving on her car. She got a full performance package from Mugen which tuned up the intercooler, the headers, the pistons, the exhaust manifold and several other internal parts of the engine which increased response significantly. At some point however, she installed a supercharger from HKS and a customized engine management system from Nuespeed which increased engine power and response dramatically. The supercharger pushed the power to just past five hundred and fifty hp, more than respectable enough for the Gallardo and Mrs. Cooper’s driving style.

In addition to the new shocks, The Gallardo also had high-performance brakes from Brembo and TOYO tires designed for high grip. After that, all that was left was the looks. She found a nice organic looking body kit from Veilside which not only made the car look cooler but also improved the ground effects. The GT wing spoiler was added for more stability.

Then there was all that pink. Sometimes Mrs. Cooper herself wonder why all the pink. She is a girl but even she thinks that she is not that much of a girl. The pink paint job was bad enough but the pink custom interior, which included specially made SPARCO racing seats covered in pink fur, was pushing it a little. But then, pushing the limits was what Mrs. Cooper enjoyed. To maintain her rep, she’d bought a cartoon pig vinyl for the doors.

She was glad to have her car back. Nevertheless her MG had gained an identity of its own and everybody in the racing scene recognized it. With that car Mrs. Cooper had built a respectable reputation which grew more as she partnered with Jae. Now she had a high-performance car that would take her reputation to the next level.

During her trial runs on the parking lot, she did several prowerslides and sharp turns just to see the car’s threshold in handling. When the new shocks were a bit hard, she tended to powerslide a lot due to the amount of oversteer accompanied by the stiff suspension and the car handled like a go-cart. She gradually softened the suspension which increased the grip a bit more. She was nearly there, at that perfect setting.

She stopped in the middle of the lot, white smoke trailing close behind. He friends moved in with needed help.

“One last adjustment and she’ll be perfect,” said Mrs. Cooper as she stepped out of the car. “And maybe later we’ll change the tires. They’re pretty worn out.”

Mrs. Cooper’s group of friends were quick to roll out a jack and lift the car up while Mrs. Cooper fetched some tools. The process of adjusting the shocks took all of fifteen minutes. Mrs. Cooper and her friends enjoyed some light conversation.

“So, how’s this Max guy you’ve been hanging around with?” asked one of Mrs. Cooper’s friends.

“Well…What do you want to know?”

“Is he really that good a driver as everyone is saying?”

“Well, from what I’ve seen, he’s definitely got mad skills.”

“Really? There’s been word going around that his first big win against that guy from the states was just a fluke.”

“It was no fluke. Trust me. I was in the passenger seat.”

“He let you ride with him on the race?”

“Yeah. Just as well, I wanted to see what he can do up close. And he can do a lot. It’s pretty obvious he’s got plenty of practice behind the wheel. I think I remember him mentioning that he’s been racing for a few years already before moving here to Moscow.”

By now, Mrs. Cooper had finished with the front wheel adjustments and was now moving to the back wheels.

“You know, Mrs. Cooper,” said her other friend. “You seem to be taking an interest in this guy, Max.”

Mrs. Cooper stopped working for a moment. “What do you mean?”

“I’m saying he seems to be all that you’re talking about for the last few days.”

Another one of Mrs. Cooper’s friends giggle a bit. “Yeah. And it’s noticeable that you have nothing but good things to say about the guy.”

Yet another of her friends started to giggle as well. “And you may say that you’ve just gotten along with him but this is the fastest you’ve ‘gotten along’ with a guy since…well, ever.”

Mrs. Cooper was underneath the car at the time so she was kind of thankful that her friends who were standing outside the car couldn’t see her frown deepen. She shook it off and rolled herself out from under the car with the straightest face she could manage.

“But we really do just get along really well and that’s it!” retorted Mrs. Cooper. “Besides, this is all because of Jae anyway.”

“What does he got to do with you and Max?”

“He’s got this big idea about building a team.”

“What kind of team?”

“An unbeatable street racing team…or at least that what he said.”

“An unbeatable street racing team? Kinda sound way out there, you know, Mrs. Cooper?”

“I thought so too at first and so did Max. Jae’s quite serious about it though. He wants to build a small team of elite racers who will crush the competition completely. He’s had this idea for a while now and he already had his picks. He wants me and Max on the team and he’s also talking to Vlad about it as well. He also believes Boomer would be a good addition once he picks up on Max’s training.”

“Oh ok. So he’s putting you and those guys into a team that nobody can beat.”

“That’s the idea.”

“Something like that might attract bad press.”

“He actually wants that. Both he and Max think that this kind of team will definitely attract attention and gather a lot of challenges. That means more cash as far as they’re concerned.”

“I guess that would be how it works. Nice that Jae thought you’d be a great part of some unbeatable team. Well you have been pretty unbeatable ever since Bullit left town. You’ve definitely gotten better. I mean, not even Vasili can touch you now.”

“I wanna ask you though, Mrs. Cooper,” said another friend. “Say this team does get built like you say, what then? You guys will just hang around here looking all smug?”

“Well, Moscow isn’t the only pace with an underground racing scene you know. Suffice it to say…Jae has ambitions for us.”

“And you’re really going along with this?”

Mrs. Cooper shrugged her shoulders. “Why not? Sounds like fun actually.”

By then Mrs. Cooper had finished up adjusting the wheels. She had packed away her tools and was headed back to her car.

“If this team of yours succeeds,” said one of her friends again. “You’re gonna be on top of the street racing world, basically.”

“That’s what Jae thinks but it’ll be a while before that happens,” replied Mrs. Cooper.

“Well it’s good he picked you. And I guess that Max guy was a pretty good choice too. He really does have mad skills.”

“Yeah that’s true.”

“Plus he’s got a cute butt, right?”

“Yeah that’s true too…”

There was a short period of silence where all of Mrs. Cooper’s friends were trying to hold back giggles. It took Mrs. Cooper about the same time as it takes for her car to go from 0 to 60 to recall exactly what the last thing she said was. And when that happened, she scowled noticeably.

“Hey!!”

Mrs. Cooper’s friends just laughed it off and headed back to their own cars leaving Mrs. Cooper fuming in the middle of the lot. She eventually huffed it up and got in her own car to drive off.

* * *

Later that night.

Dinamo was just beyond the Garden Ring in the west end of the city. It had numerous suburban apartment buildings and industrial parks scattered around the long broad boulevard called Leningradski Prospekt. In the middle of the area was a great pink palatial building that had become a military training centre backing onto an idyllic park that was bathed in snow.

It was past the curfew of most people and the stadium itself was quiet. The small towns in the district became abuzz with city night life. The scattered clubs across the borough were a hive of activity as young and old alike washed away the day-time grime with loud music and alcohol.

A fairly large parking garage that was part of one of the many high-rise buildings in the region was taken over by the street racing scene. In the day this garage would house the multitude of employees’ cars that come to work in this building. Now a new crowd was occupying it. The first level was almost fully occupied by tuner and exotic cars and people while the second, third, forth, and fifth levels were completely empty. Those were being saved for something special.

On the first level the floor was filled with flashing cars and shaking bodies. Club music echoed across the concrete of the structure. As usual there were more people busy showing off their cars rather than doing any racing.

The beats of the music was only interrupted when the sound of loud engine revs echoed throughout the floor. One sound was the unmistakable growl of a high-powered V8 engine. Everyone tuned towards the ramp leading to the second level in anticipation for something as the engine noises grew louder.

Within seconds, a gun-metal grey Ford Mustang GT came sliding around and driving down the ramp at high speed. The crowd cheered at the car’s arrival as it raced down a short stretch on the lot and came to a stop in the middle of the floor. Seconds later it was followed by a Lancer Evo 7 with a predominantly black paint job with bright red stripes and tear graphics running across the side and the hood.

The Evo 7 stopped just behind the Mustang GT at which point the driver of the Mustang, Bull, stepped out with a smug look on his face. The crowd and his own posse started gathering around him and applauding him. Bull raised his fist victoriously.

By then the Evo driver stepped out of his car and wore a very frustrated look on his face. Bull saw him and slowly walked towards him, keeping his smug look. He came face to face with the Evo driver and reach a plam out as if waiting to be given something.

“Pay up,” said Bull.

The Evo driver was hesitant at first but soon reluctantly fished a wad of cash, Seventy-five grands worth, out of his pocket. Bull didn’t wait for him to hand it over and quickly grabbed the wad of cash and pocketed it himself. He then gave the Evo driver a rather hard shove as if to tell him to get out of his face. He then walked back to his car and his posse. One of his posse, the man in the leather jacket, came up to Bull.

“That was a great take huh, boss?”

“Shut up!” replied Bull.

The man seemed taken aback. “But boss--”

“I said can it! You call this a great take? That race in the docks was a great take! This is chump change compared to that!”

“Aw c’mon boss. It wasn’t our fault. That pizza guy came out of nowhere.”

“Whatever. Why hasn’t that guy challenged me yet? Haven’t you been spreading the word?”

“We have, boss. You’re getting to be pretty popular with all this hotshots you’ve been beating recently. But that Kid seems to be laying low and only taking on challenges that Jae guy is giving him.”

“Has he challenged anyone after he beat me?”

“No. He doesn’t challenge anyone. Boss I think he’s waiting for you to challenge him.”

Bull was quiet for a moment. “Is that so?”

“Well, he has been kinda avoiding you. But I don’t think he’ll back down from a challenge if you give him one. And I think it’s best if we do issue the challenge first.”

“Why do you think that?”

“If we do then we’ll be in the position of laying down the stakes. Stakes that we can afford. But that guy will probably demand something big from the loser if he issued the challenge. He’ll probably try something like the last time you raced against him. At least if we challenge him, we won’t lose much in case we--”

Bull’s hand suddenly went to the guy’s collar and he gripped hard. “Are you implying that I’ll lose to that guy again?”

The man in leather was starting to choke. “No…no, boss I…never said--”

“I spent all this time preparing for a rematch. No matter who issues the challenge first I will wipe the asphalt with his sorry ass!”

Bull then threw him to the floor and the man in leather landed hard on his butt.

“Let him bring whatever stakes he wants to the table,” continued Bull. “I’ll come out on top in the end. I won’t let him get away with humiliating me!”

Just then another one of Bull’s posse walked up to him from behind and whispered into his ear.

“Uh, Boss, there’s someone here to see you.”

“Who is it now?”

The guy pointed in a direction. Bull looked in that direction. There he saw Boomer standing there in front of his tuned Peugeot 206. Boomer was wearing a rather antagonistic look on his face. Bull was curious at first before he realized what this kid was there for. When he did, he slowly grinned.

Boomer walked up to Bull. “Hey hotshot!” he exclaimed. “You and I got some unfinished business.”

Bull only grinned wider. Fate, as it seemed, was smiling on him that night.