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 Posted: Tue Jan 19, 2016 9:25 am
Her heart was pounding, the sound thrumming through her ears and pulsing through her body. Engines revving and energy running high. It was a good night. No snow or ice, clear skies and clear roads. One of the guys was running a scanner just in case the DCPD caught on to what they were doing, but everything was ready. Everything was set. Everything was...
GO.
They were off, the pack speeding away from the start to make their way along the course. The pot had drawn a number of good racers tonight and it seemed like there would be some stiff competition. The entry fee hadn't been high enough that she was going to feel it if she lost. But it would be damn good to win. She shifted, leaning low as they cut a sharp turn, trying to stay mindful of the riders on either side of her.
One of them was a bike that she had seen around before. It was fast and the rider was good; not afraid to take risks and that always kept things interesting. She was grinning from within her helmet, glad that she wasn't in for a dull night after all.
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Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2016 9:33 am
It'd been a while since Chase did something for himself, the last time was when he'd purchased Hermes and decided to start racing a little when his nerves became too much and his double-life wasn't enough to sate it. Street races were his favorite, because he was capable of being more reckless than the others, he was less afraid and his bike was good.
It helped, having money to keep it in top shape and being able to afford top of the line parts.
He wore all black, leather jacket pulled tight against his frame, and even his helmet was black. Between him and the bike, if it weren't for the headlight--he'd blend in with the dark night, which was exactly the way he liked it. It meant he could slide in and out between opponents when they weren't expecting him.
Which was exactly what he was doing in this particular race, at least until they took a sharp turn that he leaned into, taking it close and neat, popping up beside the rider he'd seen around. He liked her-- she took risks a lot of other riders wouldn't which was why races she was involved in were his favorite.
It meant there was actually a challenge.
He pulled along side her, head turning her way to look at her as they neared the finish line. There was a slight nod-- a challenge issued just between them before he revved his engine and pulled forward.
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Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2016 7:15 pm
Katrina had managed to pull out ahead of the pack on the last curve. She'd heard a one or two bikes skid, but no crashing. Some had slowed down and one had pulled up alongside her. The Midnight Rider, black as pitch from head to toe and hard to see unless you were looking for him. Or he was looking for you. Kat had made up a story or two about him in her head, sometimes wondering if he was really an undercover cop just waiting to bust them all at a big meet. Other times he was more like the kid from Grease 2, picking up a bike to fit in and surprising everyone by being a complete badass. Every night, no matter the story she made up in her mind, he was a challenge; a sign that the night was about to way more interesting than it had been previously. She caught the nod and returned it in kind. Challenge accepted. Kat cut a sharp left, blazing through a red light onto another empty street. Sometimes a good race, a real race was more important than whatever prize she could collect from taking first. It was the thrill of the chase that made her heart pound. It was a damn good night to be out!
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Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2016 8:29 pm
For as long as Chase had been racing, he'd been the mystery rider; the one who dressed in all black and never took off his helmet. The license plate on his motorcycle always conveniently missing or covered so that no one could track him from it. It was increasingly frustrating to his fellow riders because when he won, which was more often than not, they lost to someone who's name they didn't even know.
And it wasn't like he needed the money.
He raced for the adrenaline, the rush and thrill that he only got to feel when he was powered or racing. He lived for it. It was one of the few things he could enjoy in his "normal" skin.
That being said, Kat and Chase neared the finish line and he shifted gears to ramp up his speed and slip in front of her. Directly, so that her choices were to either crash into him and risk wrecking her bike or swerving out of the way.
He crossed the finish line, skidding into the center of spectators with a practiced ease. An arm was outstretched towards Katrina and her bike, finger pointed directly at her. "You, me. Private race."
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Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2016 8:43 pm
Kat, on the other hand, left no secret to who she was beneath the helmet. When she won she wanted to flaunt the fact that she was a girl; often a 'girly' girl, pink and magenta in her hair and everything. She was also the first to throw her helmet off when she was pissed off, much like she was now. It had been so tempting to touch her tire to his. She had almost wrecked into him just to take him out, but she would have gotten no satisfaction out of road rash and having to rebuild her bike just because she couldn't back down. It was so much easier to save the frustration for once they were off their bikes. Katrina tore her helmet off, hair tumbling down past her shoulders as she fixed a glare on the Midnight Rider. His words almost didn't make it to her ears in time to cut off the string of insults she was about to sling his way... You, me. Private race. "You're on," she answered without asking about the stakes or the course, fixing her bright green gaze on him. It didn't even matter where they were racing to. Her heart was still thundering and she wasn't ready to back down without some sort of fight. Better on her bike than throwing punches... "If I win I want half of the pot from this race and I want a look at your face." Her gaze narrowed at him before she popped her helmet back on, making sure that it was secure before revving her bike. "You got a course in mind or are we riding this one again, just us?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2016 1:51 pm
Chase watched her with interest, watched the way she seethed at him when she'd torn her helmet off and let her hair cascade free. Katrina had always been interesting to him, in the ways that prey were interesting to predators. He always bristled with an air of dangerousness, interest, but with Katrina it was different.
He was interested because she had potential and he wanted to test it. Exploit it.
"Done." His reply was quick, definite. The money was of little importance to him and besides, didn't think she would beat him anyway. "I have a course in mind," his voice rumbled, low and raspy. It was like he hardly spoke anymore, which wasn't completely wrong. His interactions with regular people were far and few between or didn't require words.
Like the races.
Usually he won, collected his winnings and left. Easy. Tonight, the moon was bright in the sky and he was hungry.
"Around the industrial district and end at the start of coffee blvd, you know, where that shop, Just Add Coffee sits." They'd run races around the area before, but they'd been few and far between. Still, Chase was confident that Kat had been part of at least one of them.
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Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2016 2:02 pm
"That place has s**t coffee." She revved her engine again just the same before nodding as she shifted her weight on her bike. As long as he wasn't expecting her to drink s**t coffee with him after she won she was fine with following that course. It was a little bit more risky than the ride they'd already taken and if he pulled any more stunts like he had approaching the finish they were in trouble. Luckily, Kat was alright with trouble. "Who calls 'GO'? Or are we just taking off?" Not wanting to be called a cheat was the only thing that had kept her from speeding away from the crowd and leaving him to catch up. If they were going to ride she wanted it to at least start fair between them. "Ready whenever you are, tough guy."
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Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2016 2:12 pm
"Maybe you just have s**t taste." The insult slipped from his lips before he could reign it in. It was in that moment that he was grateful that his tone was flat and his expression masked by the visor of his helmet.
He settled back onto Hermes, eased his bike next to hers and looked at the guy holding the flag that they'd waved for the first race. "They can say go." An easy, unbiased solution.
His engine revved as he watched, keeping the flag in the corner of his vision before it was dropped and both of the riders were peeling out. This course had more obstacles than their last one, with bits and pieces of abandoned construction sights littering most of the course.
But that's why he picked it, so he could see what wild tricks Katrina would pull in an attempt to get ahead.
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Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2016 2:26 pm
Instead of letting the light insult get to her she laughed. When it came to coffee she definitely had s**t taste and she wouldn't deny it. Tea was far more her thing anyways. She didn't have long to think about it as they settled into position, eyes watching for the flag to drop and... GO. The first leg of the course was a straight shot out of the area they'd been gathered to originally, cutting another sharp turn towards the industrial district. She'd expected that to be easy enough, but she hadn't counted on the construction barrels and barricades blocking off lanes. At least that explained why the race had avoided the area they usually used as a turning point. "Think fast," she murmured to herself, processing her options quickly while trying to keep her speed steady. She couldn't just wait to see what route he was going to take. That would put her behind. She had to... There. Catching an opening in the barricades Katrina swerved up onto the sidewalk, weaving around a barrel before hitting the gas.
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Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2016 11:37 am
This course was one that Chase himself ran almost every time he took Hermes out, because it was challenging and it allowed him to do ridiculous stunts. He watched as Katrina made her move and hummed a noise of approval to himself. His attention returned to the course and he opted to jump onto a steel beam that was strewn across the barrels.
He shifted gears as he zipped off the end and came along size Katrina easily.
He glanced at her as they banked a corner then cut across her as another set of construction work came across them. He slid beneath a barrier before disappearing into a mess of tunnels made of tubes.
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Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2016 11:44 am
While he went into the tunnels she went over them, hopping down off of the sidewalk and taking a ramp leading up. The board bowed under the weight of her bike and she hit the gas, flying up onto the tubes before it could give way. She barely heard the sound of it clattering to the ground behind her, focusing on what was ahead. If whoever had set the board there hadn't figured out a 'down' she was going to be in for a jump at the end. For a moment she didn't care at all about the race, caught up in the thrill of the ride itself. At least if she died tonight doing something stupid she would at least be happy that it had been fun.
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Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2016 11:21 am
When Chase pulled out of the tunnel, he zipped out of it upside down, as he'd been riding along the curves of the tubes, and successfully completed his loop with a smooth landing. It was one of his fancier tricks and he hoped that Katrina got a nice view of it before he swerved between the various construction vehicles that scattered the construction site.
Whenever he got the chance, he preferred to drive on any of the steel beams, performing a dangerous trick every time he dropped down from one, or when he hopped up on one.
Soon, they were terribly close to the end of the course with a final sharp corner before Just Add Coffee would be insight. Chase banked the corner then-- disappeared.
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Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2016 12:04 pm
She caught the tail end of his loop and the landing that followed, cursing that she hadn't been able to pull ahead while on top. The leap down from the piping gave her a bit of ground, but still not enough to push her ahead of him. If she was going to lose to him again she might actually hit him once she got off her bike this time. That thought faded as she kicked things up another notch only to slam on her break as she rounded the corner and he was... Gone. "What the <********>?" No one was that fast. Even if he'd made modifications to his bike and added a separate fuel line, as she knew a number of people did with their cars, he would be somewhere. What the hell was he? A wizard or something on top of being fast and dangerous? Katrina was pretty sure that she should turn around and go, but curiosity often got the best of her and if he was going to just reappear she wanted to be there when it happened. Her approach to the coffee shop was slow, engine revving slightly as she came to a stop and glanced around. It felt way too much like a horror flic and she really didn't want to be the girl who died next.
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Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2016 2:35 pm
Chase came out from behind the building, barely visible beneath the dim lighting in his dark wash of clothing. Beneath the helmet he was grinning cheekily. "It appears you lost," he said slowly, bike slowing to a halt before his dismounted. "It's a pity," he faux-lamented striding towards her with his helmet still securely attached. "You came close a few times, almost gave me a run for my money."
He'd picked the course to evaluate her decisiveness and to see what risks she was willing to take. As it was, he was pleased and very ready to collect on his prize. One he'd picked since she'd never offered an alternative to him giving her something.
"So, Katrina, I think I'll collect my prize." He'd wandered dangerous close to her and her bike.
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Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2016 2:52 pm
Her heart was racing again, pounding in her chest and drumming through her ears. He was so close now that she wondered if he could hear it. If this was a movie there would be ominous music playing; dark, heavy chords ready to signal either someone's demise or a terrifying chase scene. They'd already had the chase scene. "Screw you," she stated plainly as she yanked off her helmet, glaring at him with eyes that were bright and defiant. "You didn't win. You cheated. You had to have cheated. I don't know what you did, or how you did it..." He hadn't been there. His bike had disappeared around the corner. "Who are you? Some street bike version of the Phantom of the Opera?" Her heart was going to hammer out of her chest. She should have put the bike back into gear and taken off, but she didn't. Why? Curiosity killed the cat. "I want to see your face."
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