Akimbo ✓

03 : Chased

A/n

My exams are done so I'll probably be updating this frequently now, let's see.

Holler if you see any errors.

And rereaders (i love you folks), don't spoil anything for the new members joining this family, okay? *kisses and hugs*

~~~

Thrill reached the Rookwood Mansion before he had time to change his mind.

It was a gigantic bungalow, built like those European manors from the eighteenth century, spread over acres of land. Thrill was stopped before a pair of large, iron gates that loomed down ominously at outsiders, and a security guard came and tapped on his window.

Thrill rolled it down. "I'm here for Ignatius Rookwood."

"And you are?" he asked.

"Thrill Hawthorne." Thrill looked past the gates at the big house glittering in the sunlight. It was surrounded by flawlessly kept lawns, lush green, and adorned with fountains... There was something very creepy about the place.

"Can I see some ID?"

Thrill fished out his driving license and handed it to the security guard. He was restless now, all of a sudden. The flaws in his plan started coming to him, and he realised he was literally knocking at trouble's door.

"It says Mithril, here?" the guard asked, peering down at the license card.

Thrill turned to face him. "Actually, you know what; I don't think they're expecting me now so I'll come back later." He snatched his card from the guard and proceeded to put his car on reverse. Or at least, he was about to.

At that very moment, a sleek, red sports car glided in next to his. The blackened window was rolled down and a familiar face met Thrill's gaze, smirking. "Look who's here! It must be my lucky day."

Thrill clenched his fists around the steering wheel and gritted his teeth. That fucking bastard – he was the reason Drayden was upset at Thrill! Thrill could barely resist the overwhelming urge to punch that stupid smirk off his face, along with a couple of teeth maybe.

Thrill forced himself to take a deep breath. He put his car on reverse and took a turn. This was for the better; he never should've come here in the first place.

"Leaving so soon?" came that bastard's voice and, if that was not enough, Ignatius mimicked Thrill's actions so that both their cars stood neck to neck again. "Not staying for tea?"

What the fuck was his problem?!

Thrill looked out the window, at Ignatius' smirking face. "The fuck is your problem?" Thrill sneered.

Ignatius pretended to be mildly surprised. "Me? You're the one outside my house."

Don't punch him. Don't punch him. Don't –

"Why'd you do it?" Thrill asked.

Ignatius furrowed his brows, still smirking. "Do what?"

Drayden's disappointed face was the only thing keeping Thrill from acting on his rage. He gritted his teeth till the point where it hurt his jaw, then looked away. He turned on the engine and was about to speed off when Ignatius said the two words nobody should ever say to Thrill Hawthorne – "Wanna race?'

The appropriate answer was probably, 'I'm not playing games with you, you fuckin asshole' but who was Thrill to say no when Ignatius pretty much offered his own defeat to Thrill on a silver platter? Nobody raced Thrill and lived to tell the tale, you see.

Thrill smirked. "You're on."

Ignatius gracefully looked away from Thrill and outside the windshield. "First one across the Nagata Bridge wins."

Thrill almost let out a laugh; Ignatius was making it way too easy.

With newfound excitement coursing through his veins, Thrill gripped the steering wheel tighter. A second later, two cars were speeding down the road, leaving only trails of dust behind.

Thrill let Ignatius take the lead. With his stupid little brain driving a stupid little Maserati, it was only fair that Thrill gave him a head-start.

Soon the two boys were on the highway, speeding past cars and buses. Luckily for them, it was a little past afternoon and so the traffic for scarce. They did not pass any cops on the way and all the speedcams across the city were either broken or non-functioning, making the illegal race child's play for them.

Ignatius was two cars ahead of Thrill, but the latter knew it won't for long. Thrill took a hard right, veering off the highway and onto a smaller street that would cut him through civilian traffic in half the time. Of course, smaller roads posed greater dangers but he had done this enough times to know what he was doing. It was his zone, the reason Thrill's name came to be associated with... well, "thrill".

Nagata Bridge was on the other side of the city. Thrill expertly navigated his way through smaller roads that were devoid of traffic and by the time he was back on the highway, Ignatius was left far behind.

Thrill laughed and let out a victory hoot. He saw the Bridge approaching ahead of him. The road there was pretty much deserted as it was on the outskirts of the city and led nowhere except to a hill famous only to tourists and only on winters. On a broad summer afternoon like today, few people would venture out this far.

Thrill sped through the asphalt that was glittering under the sun's glare.

"Come on, baby," he whispered to his car. Rookwood was on his tail now but there was no way Thrill was going to let him pass.

By the time they were atop the bridge, Thrill was having a gala time preventing Ignatius' feeble attempts to overtake. It was hilarious how Rookwood thought he had a chance to win against Thrill fucking Hawthorne. Defeating him would certainly make Thrill's day.

They were midway across the bridge, Thrill's victory only a few metres ahead of him, when all of a sudden Thrill heard the sound of a crash.

He looked through the rearview mirror to see the red Maserati slam against the railings of the bridge and fall over.