Chapter 11

JOSHUA

I’d lived in the West Bay long enough to know there was never a place you were completely safe. But some places were a lot more dangerous than others. There were too many gangs and clubs in West Bay claiming territory for that not to be the case.

It went without saying that 55th was one of those places. So when Sean told me he had the bright idea of taking Roland and the Demons up on their offer, I knew it wasn’t the best idea.

I kept my arms tight around Sean as we headed toward our destination. Two other Chargers, Kellen and Zak were in tow. The nervous feeling in my stomach kept twisting my insides as I struggled to try and calm myself.

It’s okay. Everything will be fine.

But the voice in my head was quickly drowned out by the unmistakable rumble of exhaust in the distance. I didn’t even have to see 55th to know that we were close. I could feel the streets rumbling underneath me.

We turned the corner and I saw the whole picture. 55th was what you’d imagine chaos was like. The club members all sat on their bikes, observing their competitors with the meanest looks in their eyes. There were homeless out on the streets trying to make ends meet by taking bets from everybody around them. Exhaust in the air was joined by all of the hooting and hollering. Some of the men were drunk. Others just looked angry. Dozens of people were on 55th and every single one of them looked like they were capable of anything.

Sean pulled his bike to a halt off to the side just as a race was underway. The two bikers lined their rides up while a woman in a barely-there outfit stood between them. They revved their engines just before the woman shouted.

“Go!”

They sped off down the street and the crowd cheered. The bikes were moving so fast that you’d miss ‘em if you blinked.

“Those bikes have had some work on them,” I said.

“How do you know?” Sean asked.

“There’s no way a ride can move that fast. Not if you want it to be street legal. These bikes were built just for this…”

I was growing more nervous with every passing second.

“…Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“The answer I’m looking for is here. I know it is. There’s no other way around it.”

“I just hope you know what you’re doing.”

“I’m not alone. These boys will watch my back.”

Zak was a man as big as you could get. It was nice knowing he was on Sean’s side because I couldn’t imagine how frightened I’d be if he wasn’t.

Kellen was smaller in stature but looked like he could hold his own. Regardless of what either man was capable of, they were still only just two men. And with the dozens of men surrounding us, I wondered if they would be enough to handle whatever was coming for us.

I didn’t have much more time to worry when Roland walked up to us. The filthy biker looked at Sean with a toothy grin that hid more sinister intentions.

“You made it,” he said.

“I told you I was coming,” Sean said. “I’m a man of my word.”

“A man of your word. That’s exactly what I like to hear.”

Roland shifted his eyes toward me.

“The best mechanic in all of Snow Falls,” he said. “It’s about time you finally decided to see some of your handiwork.”

I didn’t respond to him. I just stayed close to Sean, counting the seconds until we could finally leave the races.

“Sit back,” Roland said. “Relax. Every rider is worth his salt out here. I’m sure it’ll entertain you.”

“Maybe we’ll do just that.”

Roland gave Sean a smirk before backing away and finally turning around. Zak and Kellen joined Sean and the three of them all looked at each other, the only three men on the entire street who didn’t seem to care about gambling on the races.

“This is it,” Sean said. “I know those accidents are because of these races.”

“It looks that way,” Kellen said. “But I don’t see how you’re gonna shut this thing down.”

“What’s wrong?” Zak said. “You don’t think asking them politely to stop is gonna work?”

They all grinned at one another but I was too anxious to smile.

“Listen,” I finally spoke up. “I get what you’re trying to do. But Kellen is right. You can’t expect anybody here to listen to you. There’s too much going on. Too much money at stake. Too much pride on the line.”

“Not to mention that guy over there will probably pop you if you try anything,” Kellen added.

We all turned and looked toward the man on the other side of the street.

“That guy,” I said. “He was at my garage just the other day. With Roland and his crew.”

“Leon,” Sean said. “He’s the leader of the Demons.”

Even if I didn’t know he was the leader, he sure looked like it. Everybody around him was laughing but the man was so stoic while he watched the next race getting set up that it was almost terrifying.

“Looks like the Demons really are back in town,” Kellen said. “They sure didn’t waste any time in getting set up.”

“Well, we can’t waste any time in taking ‘em down,” Zak said. “You know Kennedy won’t hesitate to come in here and start sweeping the streets.”

“If the stories about Lion are true, sweeping 55th won’t do anything. He’ll just get started on the next street. Then another one after that. He’ll keep going until him and his club have torn up the entire West Bay.”

“Maybe it’s for the best that you don’t get involved,” I said. “It’s not even just the Demons. Every man on this street looks like trouble. There’s no way you can convince them to shut things down.”

“Maybe there is a way…” Sean said. “Zak, Guru, watch my ride for a second.”

His words trailed off, his focus on the street across from him.

“Sean? Sean, what are you up to?”

My words were lost on him as he suddenly walked forward.

Sean moved by all of the other gangs and clubs, who were eyeballing him, sizing him up like they wondered how much money he was carrying in his pocket.

I don’t like this.

Sean walked right up to the Demons. Leon was the first man to take notice of him before the others all turned their attention to him. The leader of the Demons gave Sean a half-smirk.

“Look who it is,” Leon said. “The Charger has arrived. It’s good to see you here.”

“I told him only the true riders come out here,” Roland said.

“That’s the truth. If you’ve got a bike, it’s only right that you put it to good use.”

“That’s exactly what I intend to do,” Sean said. “How about a race?”

“What?” I exclaimed. “You can’t be serious!”

My words fell on deaf ears. While every member of the Demons stared at Sean, he stood defiantly, his eyes locked on Leon.

“Interesting,” Leon said. “Your first night here and you’re already interested in putting yourself on the line. I like it. I respect it.”

“We don’t race for fun out here,” Roland said. “If you plan on putting your rubber to the road, you’ve gotta put something on the line.”

“And what’s the usual bet?” Sean asked.

Roland looked back over to where Sean had parked.

“I like your ride,” he said. “A decent set of wheels. I think I can scrap the thing and put it to use.”

“My bike?” Sean said. “You want me to put my ride on the line?”

“Or you can put the money up. It’s your call.”

“All right. My bike.”

Sean said it without hesitating. I knew there was no point in trying to stop him. Not with that determined look in his eyes.

“Your confidence knows no end,” Leon said. “Very well—”

“I got this,” Roland interrupted him.

The shaggy-haired biker got off his bike and walked up to Sean. He looked up and down, that satisfied smile still on his lips.

“Pink slips… Okay—”

“I don’t want your bike,” Sean said. “We’re racing for something else.”

“And what’s that?”

“You win, you get my bike. I win, you and the rest of the Demons stop racing.”

“What?” Roland said.

He started laughing so hard that he almost fell over. The other Demons joined in. But Leon… Leon wasn’t laughing. He just kept staring at Sean with that same stoic look on his face.

“Are you sure about this?” I whispered to Sean.

“Just relax,” Sean said. “I’ve got everything under control…”

“Interesting,” Leon said. “You want us to stop hosting these races… by beating Roland in a race.”

“Unless Roland isn’t sure he can beat me.”

Roland stopped laughing. He swallowed hard and looked down his nose at Sean with the kind of disdain you wouldn’t want to see from anybody.

“Get on the line,” Roland said. “I’ll take your slip faster than you can blink.”

Sean gave him a nod and made a beeline back to his bike on the other side of the street.

“Sean… Sean, you can’t be serious?” I said as I rushed up to him.

“What’s going on?” Kellen said.

Sean smiled and nodded to the other two Chargers.

“I’ll put an end to the races,” he said. “All I have to do is beat Roland. Simple as that.”

“You really wanna take a man like Leon’s word on that?” Zak said. “With what Guru was telling me about him, I’m not sure you can trust him.”

“He might be above the law but he’s not above the code of the streets. He’ll keep his word.”

“That’s assuming you even beat Roland,” I said.

“You think I can’t beat him.”

“You just saw me work on his bike. With the kind of modifications I put on it, there’s no way that you can keep up with him.”

“All the mods in the world don’t matter if you don’t know how to ride. I can beat him.”

“But Sean—”

“I can beat him.”

Sean put his hands on my shoulders. There was something so calming about the way he looked at me. But even with how safe I felt near him, I didn’t completely shake the doubts I had out of my mind.

“Crazy,” Zak said as he shook his head. “Not even here for 10 minutes and you’re already racing for pink slips…”

“Just make sure you get this done,” Kellen said. “It’ll be nice having this shit off our hands.”

The next race was underway and over just as quickly as it started. Sean rolled his bike up next to the starting line on the street with Roland just across from him.

55th was a long straightaway. Just an empty quarter-mile between the derelict buildings of the West Bay. My stomach twisted into knots because I knew just how fast Roland’s ride was. All I could do now was cross my fingers and hope that Sean really did know what he was doing.

“Come on,” Kellen said as he put a hand on my shoulder. “Let’s wait for him at the finish.”

Sean gave me a wink before Kellen and I rode with Zak near the finish line.

I stared off into the distance as the two bikers revved their engines. The tension in the air was palpable. Everybody along the streets was shouting at one another. The amount of money exchanging hands was too much to count. I didn’t care about pride or money or fame though. All I wanted was for Sean to make it to the other side and put an end to this.

Please…

I clenched my fists tight in anticipation.

The woman lowered her hands and the two racers sped off. In the blink of an eye, Sean and Roland were moving toward us, their exhaust squealing in the air.

Sean put his head down, moving so fast that he took a lead. But Roland slowly drifted over and gave Sean a bump.

“Sean!”

I shouted out helplessly as Sean spiraled out of control. He managed to regain control but Roland was already passed the finish line. It was already over in a split-second.

The other Demons rolled up to Roland and celebrated. Money exchanged hands. Sean pulled up right next to me and hopped off of his bike.

“Sean—”

He made a beeline right to Roland and grabbed him by the collar. My heart jumped into my throat as the two of them started struggling with each other.

“Cheating bastard!” Sean shouted.

“I didn’t cheat,” Roland said. “I beat you!”

“Sean!”

I kept yelling out as other joined into the scrum. Zak and Kellen grabbed Sean to stop him from moving forward.

“You cheated!” Sean yelled again.

“I beat you, fair and square,” Roland said it with the cockiest smile on his lips. “Those are the rules.”

“Those are the rules,” Leon said.

Everybody turned their attention to the leader of the Demons.

“You made a bet,” he continued. “You lost.”

“I lost because he cheated,” Sean grumbled.

“Are you not going to honor the terms of your bet?”

Sean gritted his teeth and looked away.

“Shit…” he muttered to himself.

“That’s what I’m talking about!” Roland said. “Now… I do believe you owe me a set of keys. Gonna need to ride this thing over to the junkyard so I can turn it into scraps.”

Sean stopped struggling and Zak and Kellen let him go. He put his head down as he held his keys in the air. Roland swiped them away faster than I could blink.

“You’re always welcome to ride again,” Roland said. “I always need new parts.”

Roland cackled into the air as he rode off on Sean’s bike. The other Demons joined him.

I looked to Zak and Kellen but neither man said anything. Sean had his hands on his hips, his eyes focused on the pavement.

“Sean—”

“Come on. Let’s just get the hell out of here. I’ve had enough of 55th tonight.”