Pit Boys - The Next Race

Chapter 9 - The Deal

They were sitting in the hospital room on the sofa, talking in low voices so as not to wake Babe. Charlie was sitting next to Babe, his head on the bed. They were all exhausted after staying awake half the night. Way had explained multiple times as to what happened. The men who had arrived the moment Way and Babe came down, were armed. They got into a shootout with Pete's men and Babe had been shot before they could take cover. The bullet went into his thigh causing profuse bleeding. Pete and Alan had immediately rushed out as soon as they heard the news and taken him to the hospital. Charlie and Jeff had arrived not long after. Babe had been in surgery for half the night. It was now morning and they were all running on some three cups of coffee each. Jeff had returned to Pete's house in the early hours of the morning and Sonic and North had also left along with Kim. Kenta had gone after some serious persuasion on Pete's side; he had not wanted to leave them alone.
"So, what now?" Alan asked, giving voice to the question that had been in Pete's mind. He had taken Way aside the night before and explained about the reverse deal.
"Do you think they did it on purpose?" Way asked. "Hurting Babe I mean."
"I don't see how they could have." Pete said. "They had no communication devices on them while inside the hall. Unless it was all planned before and he knew that we were going to give him this deal." There was a moment of silence. "There's only some of us who knew about this. Which means one of us was a mole."
"No." Alan shook his head. "No, no way. We cannot turn on each other because of a baseless theory."
"Don't you think it's too much of a coincidence?" Pete asked, sitting forward. "Me accepting it because we know there's no way they can beat Babe and him getting shot at the same moment."
"Look, we don't have the time to figure that out right now." Way said. "We need a plan for tomorrow. We have two racers, Kim and Charlie. They have five, maybe six. What are we going to do?"
"There's only one way we stand a chance." Alan said. Pete and Way looked up at him, their eyes questioning.
"You join the race." Alan gestured to Way. "That's the only way I see."
"He's right." Pete said turning to Way. "You used to race with Babe, you've been training for over ten years."
Way looked from one to the other. "But I haven't been in a racecar for months." He shook his head. "It's too risky, I don't think I can win this for us. I used to cover Babe, he was the lead racer, I can't substitute for him."
"Kim can be the lead." Alan said. "But we can't go on the track with only two people."
"I don't know." Way said. "What if I mess up? What if we lose, because of me?"
"You know you've always been a good racer." Alan said. "Look, I trust that you can do this. If you want practice, you can come to the track right now. But you know that you're our best bet for tomorrow."
"Besides, they won't be expecting that." Pete said. "They will be expecting us to have only two people, a third will definitely ruin their plans, whatever it is. They're not going to play fair."
"I know that." Way said. "Alright. I'll go to the track." He sighed as he got up.
"I'll go with him." Alan got up too.
"He's going to be fine." Alan told Pete as Way left the room. "He's better than he thinks he is."

The day of the race dawned bright and sunny. The racetrack shone in the light, the heat rising off in waves. Alan and Jeff stood near the cars checking the controls. They could see the Red Racing team a few yards away. Pete, Sonic and North had joined Alan and Jeff. Though none of them talked about it, there was an unease rippling in the air around them. Kim and Charlie came out of the locker room. Charlie had been reluctant to leave Babe at the hospital alone. Babe was now awake and on Pete's insistence had allowed two men to be left outside his door just as a precaution.
"Where is Way?" Pete asked.
"He's still inside." Kim replied.
"What do you think?" Pete had pulled Alan apart from the group.
"Well, he went several rounds yesterday." Alan said. "He's just as good as he used to be, maybe a little rusty. The problem is the fact that he has never worked with Kim. They don't know each other's technique like Babe and Way do. I'm banking on the fact that their racers are bad and the fact that they don't know we have three racers."
"Is that good enough?" Pete asked.
"I don't know." Alan rubbed his forehead. "Kim and Charlie have been racing them in this season. They know what games to expect. Kim, especially is not going to be particularly fazed by any tricks they play. But what about Way?"
"I don't think we need to worry about that." Pete shook his head. "Way has watched every single race multiple times and analysed their methods. He knows them inside out."
"Yes well, he has been doing this for years." Alan agreed. "He's not new to any of this. You should go talk to him."
"Alright, I will." Pete agreed. He walked inside the locker room and found Way speaking on the phone. It was Babe. He was still weak but he knew the opposing racers better than anyone else. Pete listened to their conversation as it ended.
"You're here, already?" Way asked as he saw and turned Pete.
"It's almost time." Pete said.
Way was looking down at his suit. "It's been some time since I last wore this." He said patting the white and blue racing suit. "I actually miss this." He looked up.
"Do you think I can do this?" He asked Pete. "Be honest with me."
"Well," Pete looked away and then back to his face. "I do think it's going to be difficult. I can't predict what's going to happen. But I trust Kim and Charlie. I trust Alan. And I trust you. Don't forget the fact that I have seen you race, I know you are good."
Way looked at him for a moment, then nodded.
"Alright, let's go." He sighed. Pete followed Way out of the locker room.
The race was about to start. Alan and Pete were quietly observing the other team and were reassured by the visible confusion on their faces at seeing three cars lined up belonging to X-Hunters. Kim, Way and Charlie were in the cars. The flag came down.
Almost immediately, Kim and Way took the lead. They were side by side, only inches difference between them. As they rounded the corner, the first of the Red Racing cars came up, overtaking Way. Kim struggled to maintain the lead with Way and Charlie behind, blocking the others from moving up.
Ben was easily the best racer on their team and Kim was having a hard time keeping him behind. Winner had come up behind Way and was trying his best to get in front. Despite his worry earlier, Way was now determined to not let him get ahead. He had forgotten how much he actually loved racing. The stakes were much higher than a championship cup and the adrenaline was pumping through him. As he swerved, blocking Winner once more, he could see that Ben was getting a little too close to Kim's car.
Inside, Alan, Jeff, Pete, Sonic and North were huddled in front of the TV. Sonic and North were live streaming the race, their commentary making up for the silence in the room. Yet, their usual liveliness did not shine through, the enthusiasm was muted. After all, this was not just any other race. Alan kept fiddling his fingers, unable to find something else to do. Pete was silent, his hands folded, eyes following the cars on the screen closely.
All of them exclaimed in surprise and shock when Ben's car overtook Kim. The race was not over yet. However, they could see that Kim was having a hard time. Way had come up right behind him and they were trying to move back up to the lead spot.
"There's no way his car is not modified." Jeff said quietly to Alan. "Look at it go, they must have altered it."
"It's not allowed, all the cars were inspected." Alan said.
"He has a point." Pete countered. "We already know they don't play by the rules."
"Yeah well it doesn't help us now." Pete said after a moment.
The three cars were dangerously close on the track. Kim and Ben were neck to neck with Way right behind them trying to find an opening to separate the two and put Ben behind. Time was running out and Ben's car kept getting closer to Kim. They were neck and neck. Kim was trying his best to stay in the track however Ben seemed to be edging him out slowly. Kim was unable to maintain distance between the cars and they scraped against each other. Way tried to give Kim the edge. He was blocking Winner who was looking for an opening. Charlie was behind him trying to put Winner in the back. Now it was clear that Ben's strategy was to edge out Kim's car from the track and possible cause an accident. Fortunately, Kim's experience helped him maintain control of the car. But everyone could see him struggling. The finish line was not so far now. They swerved sharply around the last curve. Kim accelerated and managed to get the upper hand. He took the lead, with Ben following closely. It became apparent that he was going to crash Kim's car one way or other. In the next second, Way pushed forward and crashed into Ben's car. Both cars came to a halt meters from the finish line while Kim cleared it. Behind them, the rest of the cars braked, barely stopping themselves from crashing into the wreck of the two cars. The pit members of both teams came running to extract their racers. Kim who had cleared the line, got out of his car and followed Alan, Jeff and Pete to the cars. The front of Way's car was badly damaged with the engine emitting smoke. The driver's side door seemed to be jammed as that side had hit the side of the track.
Alan, Jeff and Pete opened the other door and pulled out Way. He had hit his head and was bleeding. Pete and Alan held him up.
"I'm ok." He said, trying to stand up by himself. "It's just a cut, I'm not dying."
"We're getting you to a hospital." Pete said as Way leaned on him. "Come on."
"You should stay." Alan said. "Jeff can take him to a hospital. I have a feeling they'll want to talk. They're not happy about the win."
"Alright." Pete sighed. He nodded to Jeff who took Way aside. He had already called for an ambulance. Way kept telling him that he didn't need the hospital.
Just as Alan had said, Ivan was now coming forward to where Pete and Alan were. Their team had managed to get Ben out who looked relatively unharmed. Ivan came to a stop in front of Pete and Alan and offered them a smile. All he got in return was tense looks and grim faces. Like the last time, he was accompanied by a few men wearing black.
"I see you have held up your end of the deal. It must have been a pretty exciting race, I just missed it. Sad." He said, still smiling. "Now, it's time for me to hold up my end."
"You tried your best to make sure that we couldn't win this race." Pete said. There was an edge to his voice, that wiped the smile off Ivan's face.
"I don't see how I have done anything actively that would affect the outcome of this race."
"Oh really." Alan scoffed. "Your men put my lead racer in the hospital. How is that not your involvement?"
A look of genuine confusion passed the man's face.
"I assure you that is not my doing." He looked up, from Pete to Alan. "Although I do have an idea as to who might have."
"Right, of course." Pete looked at him. "You made the deal and moments later, he was shot. Are you telling me that you had nothing to do with that?"
"I understand that this is not easy." Ivan held up his hands in a placating gesture. "You have clearly won with your skilled racers. You have to believe me when I say that I would never even think about breaking the deal we made. You will not be seeing any more of me and my men. I assure you that there will not be anymore problems for you from my end. I think I know who might have caused your lead racer to be in the hospital and I will see to it that he is put in his place. This will be the last time that you see me."
He held out his hand. After a moment's hesitation Pete shook it. Even though neither of them fully trusted him, his words sounded genuine. Pete and Alan were relieved to be rid of this mess.

They were back again at the hospital. Way's injury had required stitches, however, now he was sitting with Babe. Babe had watched the race live and he had been restless until he had seen Way. Pete and Alan joined Way and Jeff. Charlie had rushed to the hospital immediately after the race.
"So that means we are ok now?" Babe asked after Alan had explained about the race and their conversation afterwards.
"If we are to believe his words, I would say so." Pete said. "He sounded pretty concerned about you."
"I think it's time we left." Alan said. "You should be resting."
"I'm getting out in a few days." Babe said. "Wait, what about the children at your place?" Babe turned to Pete.
"Oh," Pete turned to Way and then back the the others. "We already, kind of adopted them. They'll be with us from now."
"The two of you adopted them together?" Alan stared at Way and then at Pete.
"What am I missing here?" Babe sat up and then winced. "I haven't recovered as much as I thought." He muttered under his breath.
"Nothing's going on-" Way started.
"I like him." Pete cut him off.
Now, everybody turned to stare at Pete.
"Honestly though, you were not as smooth as you thought you were." Alan said after a moment. "It was a little obvious."
Pete blinked.
"For the record, I think I like him too." Way said.
"That's great!" Babe exclaimed and almost immediately groaned.
"We can celebrate later." Alan said. "We're leaving. Now." He looked pointedly at the rest of them.
"Alright fine." Babe said. "But once I'm out of here, we are celebrating this and the win."
Charlie saw them out the door. He came and sat next to Babe.
"You never told me how the race went." Babe said, looking at Charlie.
"Don't worry about it. We're all ok now." Charlie smiled.
"Yes, but I wasn't there." Babe said. "Were you nervous?"
Charlie sighed. "I was. It was my first time without you there."
"But you did well." Babe held his hand and smiled. "You did very well. I'm so happy. And proud."
Charlie blushed.

"Does it hurt?" Pete asked Way, in the car.
"A little." Way shrugged. "Why?"
"I just wanted to make sure you were ok." Pete replied, his eyes on the road. "You must have hit your head pretty hard. Shouldn't they have kept you in the hospital longer? To see if you had a concussion or something."
"I don't have a concussion, Pete. I'm perfectly fine." Way rolled his eyes. "I know there was quite a bit of blood, but honestly, it's not a big deal."
"Alright." Pete said.
After a moment he continued. "So, does that mean you really meant what you said back there?"
"What did I say?" Way raised his eyebrows at Pete.
Pete looked at him and then back at the road. "That you like me."
"Oh." Way looked back at the road and was quiet. "Well, why would I lie about that?" He shrugged.
"Ok." Pete smiled to himself.