Small droplets of sweat were forming darker circle on the cement floor of a cheap, old garage in the East of the city. the part of town was run down, so were the cars and most businesses. Yet cars needed to be fixed.
The desperate need for money had driven the ex cop, ex racer, ex everything to look for a job out here were nobody would ask for your history or whether you're currently under investigation.
brian didn't even know for sure whether he was. one of these days he'd make a few calls and hope to hear the desired 'no'.
His brother on the other hand...oh what did he care about the guy, who had weeks ago told him to fuck off after Brian had saved his life. He wasn't worth a damn to him any more. But Brian had to remind himself of that fact because he simply couldn't get over his own worry and care for his brother, no matter what an asshole he was.

Drip, drip...more droplets found their way from the tip of his nose to the ground because the a/c had been broken for years.

Pulling his filthy shirt off Brian used it to wipe his face because he couldn't even see the timing belt any more that he was about to change.

How on earth had he ended up in agarage that didn't even have the right tools?
frustrated brian dropped it on the floor and stood back to take a deep breath.
"Piece of garabage." he growled.
"I heard that." The old guy, who owned the place called from the back.

A moment later heavy footsteps fell on the floor while a fan steadily did a poor job on the garage ceiling.
"Take a break, Brian. I'll show you something."

Still wearing the grim expression that seemed to have become a constant companion brian followed the man out back to a yard filled with junk cars.
All the way in the back however was a large shed.
Once the doors were opened Brian understood why there was a large chain and lock on the door.
There were a few true gems back there. all in need of work but with a lot of potential.
One old Gran Torino, a Mustang and even an older Acura Integra."
No way.
"Are you kidding me." Brian walked around the cars with a suddenly much happier expression.
"What are you doing with these back here?"
The old guy also smiled. "Nothing, really. They belong to my cousin but he's in jail...so nothing. Piece of garbage?" He repeated Brians words.

"Not when I'm done with them." The hired hand replied.

OOC: Come to the garage, Jack. I'll give you a cheap fix. or wait until I take one of the old cars for a drive.

Lighting the smoke that hung between his lips, Jack sat down on the front step of Piper's house, the chill from the concrete immediately reaching his skin through his jeans as he pushed his shades further up his nose. While thankfully the Charger was left in one piece, the house was completely trashed inside. No stone had been left unturned by Frank and his buddy in their attempt to find the USB flash drive. Not that it had been there; while it wasn't stolen, Piper hadn't lied when she'd told the sons of bitches that the jacket along with its content wasn't in her possession, and now, thanks to Tessa, they knew exactly what it was that the mobsters were so eager to get back and Jack couldn't blame them.

Jesus Christ, even Bill Gates would be jealous of the amount of money on that drive...

A glimmer of sunlight off of a red pick-up caught his attention, followed by the sound of the rumbling engine as it drove by. Keeping his hand near the gun hidden under his shirt, Jack's eyes followed the vehicle, making sure it was just an innocent passerby until it was out of sight and all went quiet again. He'd stayed outside to keep an eye out while Piper gathered some of her stuff, and it wasn't much longer till he heard the front door open again behind him.

After taking one last drag, Jack threw his cigarette on the ground, stomping it out with his foot as he stood up and turned around. The sunlight set the gold lights in her hair on fire as Piper stepped outside, the sight of her making him smile instantly. Damn, she was so beautiful, and despite everything, he couldn't help but think he was a lucky man.

"Got everything you need? I'll follow you back to my place, okay," he said as he laid his hand on Piper's hip and leaned in, pressing a soft, lingering kiss to her lips. Forcing himself to move from her then, Jack headed back toward the Evo and slid in behind the wheel. Soon, the engine growled to life and the black Mitsubishi was backing up out of the drive way and onto the street to free the path for Piper's departure.

((OOC: Wasn't sure what else to do, so hope this post/situation is alright with you, Piper. Feel free to 'godmod' them out onto the street where Brian can run into them... hopefully not literally .))

It was funny how one instant could change your life completely.

Standing inside the house that had once been her home, Piper's gaze took in the wreckage and knew in that moment that nothing would ever be the same again. No matter what happened with the USB drive, the life she'd known was over and her feet started on another path where nothing was certain. In some ways, having the monotony of her life shattered felt good while it scared the shit out of her in others. Had she only recently been wishing for some sort of excitement in her life besides going to work and coming home? The very idea had her inwardly shaking her head at her own foolishness. This was definitely a case of “Be careful what you ask for because it might come true” if she'd ever heard of one.

Moving through the trashed interior towards her bed room, the dancer found her duffel bag and another suitcase. Setting them on the ruined mattress, she shifted through the mess for the things she would need the most. Finding her underwear drawer upended, she wrinkled her nose at the idea of the bastards going through her lingerie but grabbed her favorites up, stuffing them inside of the bag. No use crying over spilled milk, whispered her mothers voice in the back of her head even as daisy duke shorts and tops followed.

Once both bags were full, Piper headed back out to the living room. A quick glance around and then she was ready to go, making tracks for the front porch. There was nothing left for her here and no use lingering, she figured.

Stepping out into the bright California sunlight, the blond spied the man waiting for her and felt her heart lift at the sight of his smile. It seemed like a promise and a reminder that she wasn't in this alone and cause a grin to spread over her own ruby lips. Damn, she had it bad, she thought silently to herself even as he placed a soft kiss on her lips and warmth filled her.

“Yeah.. Ok.” she said inanely in return before moving with him towards the cars. Pausing a moment to watch him walk to the Evo, she couldn't help the little whistle that escaped her lips even as she tossed her things in the back. Then, grinning, she slide behind the wheel of her Charger and started it up. Listening to the purr for a moment, the blond then backed out before turning in the direction of Jacks place, eyes scanning the area for anything that looked out of place.

For the moment though, it seemed like they were in luck.

With the Evo tailing her carefully, Piper wound out of the residential area and through the traffic of the business area.

{OOC: Ok, hope this works! LOL I wasnt sure where else to go with it sooooooo }

The old man was pleased to have found something that sparked his employees interest. "You know about these kind of cars, right? I can see it...you're one of those guys...just like my cousin."
His words didn't mean a whole lot to Brian but that didn't matter so he simply muttered. "Yeah, I'm one of those guys."
Then he opened the door to the Accura. It did look okay inside but still stuck in the 90ies." Casting one glance back at the shop owner he smiled. "May I?"
The guy nodded. "Go ahead. It's not like George is going to be using them any time soon."

Only a few hours later Brian had pulled the Accura from the shed. He checked the engine oil level,
removed the air filter and spark plugs, cleaned them and made sure the battery still had enough charge.
Once the car had started he let it idle for a while making sure the temperature gauge didn't shoot up too much.

"The engine blew out some smoke at first but soon stared purring.
"Do you have NOS in this place?" He hollered from underneath the hood even though he knew what the answer would be.
"Nah!"
A little disappointed Brian shut the hood and wiped his hands on his blue t-shirt.
"I'm taking the Integra for a spin, I'll be back soon."
Brian announced.

Once the car was good and warmed he took it onto the road just to find the brakes rusted onto the pads. So he excellerated and braked until they felt somewhat normal and ready to use.

Out on the streets he manouvered around other cars and corners. The car drove pretty well even though it hadn't been used in a while. Not really round and powerfull. There was a certain lack of spunk to it but it was better than the old rustbucket he called his own.
On the larger road Brian took it to the test and reached prohibited speed before he came to a halt at a traffic light way past the line.
"Damn, those brakes are shot." He mumbled to himself.

Jack rested his elbow on the frame of the door as he drove, the fingers on that hand idly massaging away a knot in his neck as the Evo followed closely behind Piper's Charger. With no one else in the car now to keep him company aside from the heavy sounds of Mudvayne's Not Falling pouring from the Evo's speakers (not that he currently payed much attention to it), he had plenty of time to think about the events of the last few weeks. While no final decision had been made yet on what they were going to do with the USB drive, one thing was nagging at him, more than the possible imminent violent death thing that came with their current situation.

Yeah, for all his bravado and confidence, Jack did have a conscious; believe it or not.

He could still remember that look on Brian's face when he'd told him to get the hell out. They'd both known then that he hadn't just meant the room, but his life as well. Such an ungrateful little bitch he was after everything big bro had done for him, huh?

Yeah... no...

The O'Conner brothers' dynamic had always been a volatile one, but when push came to shove, they always had each other's backs when it mattered. Jack's way of doing so was just a little different from his brother's. While it hadn't felt right, after everything that had happened and Brian practically losing everything because of him, cutting ties between them simply had been the best for the both of them in his opinion. He'd had to make himself look like a selfish asshole in the process, but hey, in the end it was a small price to pay if it meant Brian would finally start living his own fucking life instead of worrying about his, right? Right.

Jesus, why are you even still giving a shit when you have a beautiful woman in your life now, huh?

...Idiot.

Still half lost in thought, Jack pulled up to a traffic light. With Piper's Charger rumbling on his right side, he barely payed attention to the rust bucket to his left. The old Acura may have been a half decent ride way back when, but now? Shit, it was hardly even worth a first look, let alone a second one. And yet, when the stench of it's exhaust fumes wafted through his rolled down window, Jack couldn't stop his souring mood from getting the best of him as he turned the volume of his music down a bit and actually turn his attention onto the Integra.

"Hey shithead! Ever heard of a tune-up? That thing looks and sounds like it's ripe for the junkyard," he called out to the driver of the Acura, still blissfully unaware of who it was, sitting behind its wheel.

Despite the poor state the old Acura was in brian was having one hell of a good time with it. For the first time in weeks he drove something with a little power to it and a lot of potential in the right hands. It would never match up to any of the cars he owned when he still had a bank account and a real job but it was...something.
After a few violent steps on the brakes he had finally shot off most of the rust so the vehicle was stopping within a decent distance rather than just rolling on and on.
The engine was starting to run a little smoother and Brian was actually starting to have a good time while driving around the city.
The job at the crappy garage could wait.

While he was driving around he briefly thought about maybe driving over to Mira but she'd most likely not appreciate a surprise visit so Brian turned onto a road leading into the opposite direction. Here and there he spotted the odd car that was actually catching his interest.
Soon he had to stop to fuel up again when he spotted a woman with long dark hair. Of course she reminded him of Mia, whom he had only met again last weekend. Oh boy, just thinking about that kiss they shared made him giddy as a school girl. Whether there'd be more would still have to be determined but it looked like slowly but surely he was picking up the pieces of his life and putting them back together...most of them. There was one named Jack, that still left one heck of an ugly hole.

Before he knew it Brian was back on the road to drive back to the garage since it was about time to get back to work when he spotted two very familiar looking cars next to him. Could this really be? The EVO was unmistakable and there was a charger right in front of him, which looked just like Pipers, whom Brian had briefly met at a race.
"You gotta be kidding me!" Brian muttered to himself when he pulled up next to his brothers car at the red light.
He tried hard to ignore him but good old Jack chose to yell at him...something about tun´-up and junk yard . Even through the closed windows Brian could hear his annoying crap. Obviously the guy had no idea that it was Brian , who was behind the wheel...maybe due t the dark tint of the 90ies windows.
From one second to the next there was a very dark storm cloud of feelings approaching and Brian's happy peaceful mood changed into a bitterness and anger.
"Fuck you." he muttered and just rolled down the window enough to stick out his finger.
In front of them the light turned green and Brian couldn't help but press down on the gas as hard as he could. It was a reaction he simply could not stop. He hated Jacks gutts with every fibre of his being for what he had done to him and how he had just told him to fuck off.
The Accuras old wheels left a good part of their rubber on the tarmac before it 'shot forward'. At least his brother couldn't go anywhere fast since he was sitting behind Piper's car.

Lost in her own thoughts, Piper wasn't paying much attention as they sat at the stop. With Drowning Pool singing about bodies hitting the floor, her fingers tapped out a rythem on the steering wheel and her head bobbed slightly as she waited for the color to change. The sound of another car pulling by though had her glancing sideways and then eyes widening at the sight of it. Damn, the thing had definitely seen better days.

Then, she saw the face of the driver beyond the rolled down window. Well, shit. It was none other than Brian O'Conner. Instantly, Piper tried to twist around as the other car shot by her and look for Jack. Had he figured out who was driving the car? He hadn't spoken about the older man lately but they had been a bit preoccupied with other things. Come to think of it, she hadn't had a chance to tell him she'd met his brother either.

Happy Happy Joy Joy, right?

A look of quiet rage crept into Jack's eyes when he saw that finger being held up through the open window; the same look that was usually combined with him rushing headlong into a situation on nothing but anger and testosterone as the Acura then took off. Jesus, did the asshole really think it was a good idea to taunt him like that?

Hell naw.

Within the blink of an eye, the sound of a second set of squealing tires rang through the air as the Evo peeled out from behind Piper's Charger onto the adjacent lane and tore off after the old Acura without any hesitation. His focus dialed in solely on the Integra, it was obvious the old rust bucket was hardly a match for the well kept Mitsubishi. As soon as traffic allowed it, the two cars were driving side by side and it was then that Jack had to do a double take when he saw who was behind the wheel of the other car.

You've got to be fucking kidding me...

The corner of his mouth ticked up into a half smirk, half sneer as Jack's eyes met his older brother's. If Brian knew him well enough, he'd easily be able to recognize the silent challenge that lay in that simple facial expression. They'd parted ways with quite a bit of bad blood between them, and Jack had no doubt that Brian still held something of a grudge against him. Surely he'd be even more easily riled up than normally by his younger brother, yeah? And if Brian wanted to duke it out with him on the streets, he could get his wish.

Raising his own middle finger at Brian now and adding the complimentary cocky wink, Jack down-shifted just before he hit the gas. The Evo responded immediately and effortlessly, surging forward and past the Acura with more power than the older car (and his brother these days, for that matter) could ever dream of.

Keep up with me if you can, bitch...

Jack took the bait like a hungry trout. Of course he would. Racing was in his blood just as much as it was in Brian's. Unfortunately Jack was driving the much better vehicle and no matter how pissed off Brian was no anger could give his Accura wings. He'd have to pull some tricks out of his sleeve, for sure.

At first the heavy evening traffic was in Brian's favour but after a few minutes the road was big enough for Jack to pull up next to him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the famous finger and slightly turned his head to see the look on Jacks face. It was a mixture of surprise and 'game on'. For Brian however this wasn't a game...not unless it was a game of pure hate and anger. Right now he wanted nothing more than to run Jack off the streets or at least leave him standing in the dust.

Of course Jack used the moment to shift down and shoot ahead.
"Game on, asshole." Brian muttered grimly as he glued his Acura to Jacks bumper and followed him as well as the old car permitted it.
Where they were going Brian didn't exactly know, only that he needed more traffic to slow the EVO down.
Just as he thought it a large SUV pulled out of a parking space and into traffic without taking notice of the two racing cars, which gave Brian the chance to stay right on Jack.
The road ahead lead into a t-intersection, so Brian saw his chance. The lights were just turning green so he cut across the opposite lane and turned left almost gracing an oncoming car. Brian shifted down to get as much excelleration out of the old car as he could. In the rear view mirror he saw Jack's car, who was only inches behind him.

Turning the volume to Mudvayne back up, Jack couldn't help the adrenaline fueled grin from spreading across his face when he watched the Acura in his rear-view mirror; a grin that was rather abruptly wiped from his features when he had to grab the wheel with both hands to swerve out of the way of the crazy lady who'd randomly decided to back her soccer mom SUV full of screaming little angels (bwahaha! angels my ass) out into the road in front of him. Had he been paying any less attention, those kids truly would have had something to be screaming about if the Evo had T-boned the SUV at over sixty miles an hour. Now, the black Mitsubishi thankfully shot somewhat safely past the SUV's rear-bumper, even if it was by only inches.

"Son of a bitch!"

His brother always had been a dirty player. When the T-section came up, Jack watched the Acura cut to the opposite lane barely avoiding a scrape with another car before it took a sharp left along with a small lead. Not one for just rolling over and playing dead, Jack yanked the wheel to the left, giving the e-brake a quick pull and down shifting as the Evo slid into the turn. Straightening the car back out again, he floored the gas once more and pressed up behind Brian as close as their bumpers allowed without touching, biding his time until traffic allowed him to make another move.

As soon as there was another window of opportunity again, as small as it was, Jack took it, earning himself a long, frantic scream from the horn of an oncoming car, its headlights flashing nervously as the Evo pulled out from behind the Acura into the opposite lane.

"Yeah, yeah... I see you."

Despite his confidence though, the oncoming car and the Evo were cutting it close. Maybe a little too close. To avoid a head on collision, Jack had to swerve back to his own lane before he'd fully cleared the Acura. The Evo's rear side fender scraped across the side fender of the Intergra's front, most likely leaving a fugly dent and a couple of large tears in the paint job. But hey... at least he had the lead again for a bit, right...?

Woopty-fucking-doo...


((OOC: Rolled a 3.))

Leave it to a couple of guys to try to settle things through a testosterone challenge.

Shaking her head ruefully, Piper watched the two cars shoot past her with a resigned expression. For a moment, she wondered what she should do and then she said screw it. Hitting the gas, the blond followed in the wake of the two brothers, pace fast enough to keep them in sight but not make her a serious part of the race.

Which she was grateful for as she watched Jack barely avoid a crash and Brian's own maneuvering. Damn, these two were crazy, she thought absently, hitting the gas hard in order to shoot through another light and then avoid her own collision with oncoming traffic.

Uphead, the guys fought for advantage and Piper could only pray it didn't land one of them in the hospital.

This wasn't a fun race or was it a race for money. What exactly it was for Brian had no time to think about but he knew he needed to win despite the fact that Jack stood much better chances in his car.
His brother however wasn't one to roll over and play dead (liking that expression a lot), which made the job incredibly hard.
The guy was glued to his bumper while Brian hoped that the oncoming traffic would be as heavy as possible but as soon as there was a gap he could see the Evos lights in his side mirror.
"Fucker." He commented and pushed his foot down as much as he could but there wasn't much more left in the old car.
An oncoming car forced...would have forced Jack back behind Brian but he once again proofed what a crazy driver he was by not giving up but shooting in front of Brian at the cost of both of their fenders.
Brian could feel his blood boil over because his brother seemed to not only be the most ungrateful bastard he'd ever seen but also playing as dangerous and dirty on a public road as possible.
Just to let him know what he thought about it Brian didn't slow down one bit but slightly bumped into his rear to leave a nice dent.
Since there was no way he'd be able to overtake Jack in the opposite lane in the Acura Brian had to come up with something else.
The heavy traffic was a big plus right now because Jack couldn't make use of the full power of his car.
Not too far ahead a light was turning red before another t-intersection. Knowing his brother he would not stop there, which could be extremely dangerous.
As Jack rapidly approacher the stopping cars Brian saw no other way that to swerve into the bike path on the side, run the red light and turn right on the bike path because the cars on the other road, who were just excellerating left no room for him. of course it was way too narrow for his car. The advertising signs on the sidewalk got mowed down one by one leaving dents and scratches all along the right front fender.
Pieces of wood and plastic were getting thrown up in the air making him duck in his seat instinctively.
At least Jack was now once again behind him.
A guy on roller skates finally forced Brian to slow down and push his way back into traffic.


Rolled a 3 as well...hey, 3 means damage your own car not the other persons.

Jack 3
Brian 3

As adrenaline pumped up his system, sending his reflexes into hyper alert mode, Jack couldn't help but grin despite the damage the Evo's rear fender (and bumper, thanks, bro) had undoubtedly suffered because of his bold move. Even if there was no set finish line and no way to determine a winner until one of them gave in, this was the first time he had raced like this in a long time, and as he changed up gears and the Evo thundered on towards another T-section, he couldn't help thinking that it was far too long in his opinion. Best thing about it was that there was no room for nitrous oxide either to give an extra boost, making both brothers rely solely on raw talent.

Nearing the T-section at rapid speed, Jack watched the Acura swerve onto the sidewalk in his peripheral vision and avoid most of the now oncoming traffic as the old car took a right turn, taking down more than a few signs in the process. The younger O'Conner had more balls than that however; the Evo's engine roared as Jack down-shifted and gave the car the extra punch it needed to shoot past the slowing down cars and in front of the accelerating oncoming ones when he yanked the wheel to the right in the middle of the T-section. His heart rate shot into hyper drive as the Evo narrowly avoided a collision with a van, the vehicle sliding to a stop just in time only to get rear-ended by the car behind it.

"Jesus Christ, that was fucking close," Jack muttered to himself as he straightened out the Mitsubishi and shifted gears again.

Checking his side-mirror, he had to commend his brother on his resilience because the guy just wouldn't give up, determined to give him a run for his money. Despite the lacking ponies of the Acura, Brian wasn't doing a bad job either, coming up his right side rapidly hoping to make the distance on the sidewalk and even succeeding for the time being by the time the Intregra was forced back onto the road in front of him. Thanks to the heavy traffic, it appeared Jack's winning margin was much smaller than he would have liked, but coming second to his older brother like he'd done most of his life wasn't something he was willing to take lying down anymore.

Now that the traffic was easing up a bit, he accelerated again and moved the Evo up next to the Acura. Looking sideways at Brian, he shot his brother a self-assured grin. He was about to say something too, but something in his peripheral vision had him switching his eyes back onto the road ahead of him again.

Roadwork!

As fast as the Evo had pulled up next to the Acura, as fast it was falling back again when Jack stomped on the brakes, tires squealing and smoking as they slid over the pavement. A hard yank of the wheel had him falling back behind his brother again and he hit the steer in frustration as they passed the construction workers working on the cordoned off piece of road. He'd always hated LA's city traffic, but today was really taking the fucking cake.

(OOC: rolled a 1... lol)

His heart was pumping hard when he shot back onto the road j=just in front of Jack. For now he was in the lead but not for long because Jack definelty had more power and was the more ruthless driver. Brian needed a small miracle to stay ahead.
Out of the corner of his eye he watched the inevitable...Jack pulling up beside him to shot him one of those grins that Brian hated so much. Oh how much would he have loved to wiped that damn smirk off his face (preferably with his knuckles) but now wasn't the time. he needed to concentrate so he only gave him one angry finger and and kept his eyes on the road when the much needed miracle presented itself in from of a few construction workers in bright orange suits.
"Look out, Jack." He smiled while pushing the pedal down as far as he could.
Just after the fenced off area he yanked the wheel hard left ignoring the traffic light that had just turned red and shot across the opposite lane to head towards the coast, where most streets were narrow and busy at this time of the day.
Despite the adrenalin rush he was getting from the insane ride his anger towards his brother wasn't getting any less.
Deep down he hope that Jack's tire would blow or he's simply stop at a red light (highly unlikely) so he wouldn't have to deal with him and his self assured smile anymore. Jack had written him off a while ago...now it was Brian's turn.

The traffic rolling through the intersection blocked the Evos way..at least for a bit and for once Brian was in the lead...by far.
"Fuck you, little brother." He called out flying down the road in the old, painless can.

OOC: Rolled a 5..yeay.
Jack 4
Brian 8
What's our winning/stopping score? 10? 15?

Jesus Christ, these guys were insane. What was with the brothers? Did they both have some sort of death wish? Racing was one thing but this was different. This was worst that the testosterone driven shit that happened at night and Piper wasn't sure she even wanted to know.

Ok, scratch that. Maybe she did want to know but only because she had a feeling it was part of what was driving Jack's emotions right now, no pun intended. Something had obviously been bothering him, besides the whole "Hey we're on the run from the Mafia" thing. As if that wasn't enough, right? Now it looked like he had brother issues too because, while she didn't claim to be an expert in sibling relations? This didn't exactly look like the normal sort of "hey how you doings?" that most families had. No, this looked almost as if neither one cared if the other got himself killed.

Happy freaking joy joy, right?

Shaking her head as the cars up ahead drew further away, the former dancer sighed as she tried to decide what to do. They had obviously forgotten all about her in their mad death race dash but something wouldn't let her break away. Probably the fact that she was itching to bash both their thick skulls together for their broad daylight stunt and the other was fear for Jack. It was only by luck that they hadn't run into a cop or two and the last thing they needed was Jack getting picked up and tossed in the slammer. That would be a surefire death sentence.

So, she hung with them, keeping them in sight the best she could, praying they had the brains to slow it down soon.

You see it on TV all the time. Those shows which feature stunning home videos of spectacular accidents and disasters. Some of those videos shown are often from professional circuit and drag races. Anyone who's ever seen a professional racer experience an accident while going at high speed will know what kind of dangers even the simplest looking races could have even in a closed course that was built with safety barriers and had paramedics ready, as well as cars designed to keep the driver alive even during 200 mph crashes.

This race was nothing like that. This was a street race, fueled by testosterone, pride and a deep seeded rivalry between the brothers. Throw in the unpredictability of the environment of the road with an almost complete lack of safety precautions, and this was clearly a race that wasn't for the weak-willed...or, in his case, the smart-minded.

While he knew he should have kept from drawing attention to himself, the rational part of his brain still refused to kick in as the younger O'Conner down-shifted, ran the red light and took the same high-speed left turn Brian had.

The Evo shot onto the intersection, making it across almost scot-free when it happened. The horn of the Mac truck blared in warning, but it was already too late. The large vehicle continued roaring down the road despite its attempt to break, slamming through the intersection like a runaway locomotive. Smashing solidly into the rear-end side of the black Mitsubishi, the Mac propelled both vehicles through the intersection and further down the road until finally the truck and its newly-acquired hood ornament came to a complete stop.

"Jesus Christ..."

For a moment, Jack sat motionless behind the wheel of the Evo, his breathing rapid from the adrenaline rush. The sound of the truck's door opening and the voice of the truck driver shouting at him if he was alright and what the fuck he was thinking pulled him out of his dazed state however, and he reached for the ignition, the Evo roaring back to life.

Thankfully not rendered completely immobile by the crash though heavily damaged, the import tore itself free from the truck's fender. A look in the rear-view mirror showed the truck driver throwing his hands up in the air and shouting most like not very nice things after him, while a look in the side mirror showed Jack the damage done to his baby. By the looks of it, the back tire wasn't gonna last must longer. The panels of the wheel arch were twisted and bent in such a way that it pressed against the rubber. It would only be a matter of time before the tire would blow.

Though the import was rattling and squealing, Jack pushed the Evo as far as he dared, until he found an abandoned enough parking lot in front of a currently closed store where he pulled over. Once the ignition was turned off, he punched the steering wheel in frustration.

Fuck.

Not only had Brian 'won' now, the Evo was in a worse shape than it had ever been. He had the mob on his ass again, and he'd sort of forgotten about Piper during the race...

...Dumbass.


((OOC: Rolled a 3 again. Post is a little 'eh', but I'd say Brian won .))

The humourless smile that had crept his way onto the ex cops face was slowly vanishing when he was flying down the street without any obstruction or obnoxious grin from the driver side of the EVO when he rolled his head to the left or right. In fact the EVO couldn't even be seen in the rear view mirror.
A sour "I won" fell from Brian's lips before the worry started to kick in.
He knew his brother. He knew a red light and traffic would not stop him. Jack would try to get through the intersection somehow...most likely...or would he stop and be smart for a change...in a race against his older brother? Brian quickly scartched the last option from his list of possibilities and took his foot of the gas while his pale blue eyes never left the rear view mirror scanning the street for signs of the EVO. None!

Coming to a complete halt Brian couldn't help but smile about his victory for a brief moment before his worries got the better of him again. As much as he wanted to simply speed up again and drive off into the sunset he couldn't bring himself to.
He needed to see why Jack wasn't coming and he needed to shove it in his face that he had lost against Brian, whom he had told to get lost. ' Guess that's what I did.'

A few minutes later he had returned to the intersection where traffic was being held up by a damaged MAC, whose cooler was letting out long clouds of steam and leaking bright yellow fluid onto the tarmac. No sign of Jack though, well, at least he wasn't around. So Brian started searching the perimeter just to find the partially wrecked love of Jacks life sitting on an empty lot. It was severly banged up if not totaled.

The sight alone made Brian's day as he pulled up next to him, got out and laughed out loud at what used to be a pretty decent piece of engineering.
"Now your car matches your personality, Jack." Brian commented dryly.
"Guess we found out who the better driver is after all!"
His hand petted the rusty surface of the 90ies vehicle. Even in a piece of shit like this he had his brother beat. Skills. Pure raw skills.

Being with a guy like Jack had its moments. There was a lot to be said about a man who lived by the seat of his pants and didn't mind her own inclination for mischief. Unfortunately, it also had its downsides as today proved. Not that she'd change a thing about him really but that didn't mean Piper didn't want to strangle him a bit as they hurled through traffic and Piper was left to deal with the wreckage left in the brothers wake.

Time and time again, she was forced to brake hard and avoid a collision in the aftermath. This slowed her down to the point that the dancer was forced to watch the events that ended the race at a distance. A distance that made the horror no less heart wrenching for all its vague edges. She was pretty sure she'd never get the image of that truck plowing into the Evo out of her head.

The vision of the vehicles imploding into each other made her fingers dig into the steering wheel even as she was forced to bring her Charger to a halt behind the traffic now blocking her way. Shit, shit, shit. Dont' let the idiot be dead. Please, lord, don't let him be dead came the words that turned over and over like some sort of litany in her head to whatever god might be listening.

Her fervent prayers seemed to be answered when the Evo moved again, breaking free its anchor but even at this distance, Piper could tell it wasn't going to be going far. From the looks of it, the import's frame was probably compromised and the blond was amazed that the thing was even drivable.

Drivable it was though, evidently, as Jack proved as he tore the vehicle away from the scene of the crime and took off. Stuck in traffic, Piper swore and then was forced to cool her heels as traffic sorted itself out. From up front, she caught sight of another familiar car coming back and then taking off and she suddenly was shaking from something more than fear. Something a whole lot easier to deal with that the stark terror that had hit her when the truck had hit Jack.

Anger. Oh yeah, they didn't need to worry about the cops or other vehicles found them cause Piper was pretty certain she was going to kill them herself when she found them.

"Now your car matches your personality, Jack."

Brian's words dripped condescension, but for the moment, Jack remained seated behind the wheel of the half totaled Evo, staring silently ahead of him. Only his nostrils flared, the only indication that Brian was getting to him on his otherwise emotionless expression while his anger built up like a pressure in his chest. He really couldn't use this right now; the Evo, Brian pouring salt into his wounds. Both Piper and he already had enough shit on their plates, and yet...

"Guess we found out who the better driver is after all!"

It was then as if his mind went on autopilot; he suddenly felt all the rage he'd been holding back rise up to the point where he couldn't stop himself anymore. The Evo's car door opened, then slammed shut as Jack stepped toe to toe with his brother. Quick as lightening he grabbed Brian by the shirt, pushing him back to shove him roughly against the Acura before he could do anything. And then he hit Brian across the jaw. A solid punch to the bridge of his nose followed quickly after, and he could feel it scrunch when it met his knuckles.

Blood splattered on impact while the skin on Jack's knuckles split from the hard blow, but he couldn't bring himself to care about either. The rage inside of him was barely quenched as he stepped away, spitting disdainfully on the ground before he pointed a finger at his bleeding brother.

"Now your face matches my car, too, bro. Stay the fuck out of my life like I told you," he snarled, his words coming out between gnashed teeth. He turned to walk back to the Evo then, not sparing Brian another look as he did so, hoping his brother was smart enough to take the less-than-subtle hint and would let him be instead of turning this into another dramatic scene from a soap opera like he'd done last time. He already felt bad about the way they'd cut ties, and he was sure he'd feel bad about this too once he'd cooled down, but it was best for everyone if Brian would just follow his advise.

Of course Brian was well aware that his brother was in a shitty mood and condition judging by his dramatically downsized car. What a pitty. The car had been a real beauty but at least Jack seemed unharmed. Why on earth did his still care about him?
Yanking his chain with a few harsh words was plainly spoken 'mean', so Brian went for it. After all it was justified.
The tiny bit of movement in Jack's nostrils was all Brian needed to see to know he'd struck a chord and when the door opened he was pretty sure it wasn't for an apology.
It was a game they'd been playing since they were kids and would probably never stop.

How fast Jack was after just having an accident was not that foreseeable though. Maybe it was also the fact that Brian expected to him to show some sort of remorse after Jack told him to get the fuck out of his life that had him wait just a moment too long to duck.

Whatever the reason was, the result was a great deal of pain exploding in the middle of his face not long after being smashed against the Acura and hit in the jaw. Tears immediately shot to his eyes while Brian heard the sickening crunch and felt the familiar wetness running down onto his lip. Apparently it was pay back time for the broken nose Brian had given his brother a while ago. Oh boy did it ever hurt.
Unable to see anything Brian covered his face with his hands and tried to back away from his furious brother, who had turned into some wild berzerk, but his fender blocked the way. Instinctively the ex cop was trying to move out of reach. The pain from his nose seemed to shoot straight up in his skull and had him double over groaning loudly.

The the old principal of action-counter action came into play.
Without giving any thought to what he was doing he cut Jack's little speech short by kicking his right foot at his brothers back when he was turning to leave. Whatever his words or warnings were it was just useless, nasty blabber anyway.
A second later he was at his feet wrapping his arm around Jack neck from behind with the force of a true muscle hamster. He spun him around to sink his fist deep into his gut. 'Bon appetit.'
"I'll stay away when I'm dead." He stated dryly.


OOC: Rolled a 3. (Punch in the pretty little belly)