Claire Russell

Heyy, V! Got the coords for our first race.

We're gonna be stinkin up the corpos' backyards...First off is Vista Del Rey (so they can't turn a blind eye!!)... Then we'll piss off the upstanding citizens of the Glen, make some noise around Corpo Plaza and finish at the docks in Wellsprings.

Let's meet at the starting line, corner of Martin Luther King Blvd and Skyline East.

Holler when you get there! ;)

Thanks!

Guess you don't want a ride...?

BDon't wanna talk to me or something...?

Couldn't stick around forever. See ya.

CHad to go check it out...

Cool, sure, whatever...

I'll ping you when I've got info on the Badlands race... Take care.

Will do. You too, Claire

Hey, next race is in the Badlands... The nomads don't fuck around when it comes to burning rubber on their home turf, so I'm gonna need you in top form – like, for realz. Meet at the end of Brookland St at the new dam... Call like last time.

Preem.

Thanks, laterz

Hey, where are you going? Come back or we'll fuck this up...

Can't believe you didn't come back... I had to duck out of the race... I take it you don't want to do this...?

Trying to screw me over again? Knew I shouldn'ta trusted you... If you don't come back right now, we're done... 3 mins!

You're not making it easy to trust you, but... Fine, I'll let you know when the next race starts. Be there.

Fine... You and I are done. BITCH.

Guess who! SO – next race is practically in my backyard, which means I need to make sure folks around here know I walk my talk ;) Meet at the corner of Brandon and Wollesen. Gimme a call when you get there

Okidokes

Awesome!

V, if you don't help me win this race, we're... Come back, please. You've got 3 mins...

Thanks for NOTHING.

Heyy. Last race is going down on the highway... Whole city'll be watching! Starting line's in Charter Hill overlooking North Oak. Flickin you the coords... Call me when you get there.

Righty-O.

See you there, V.

Hmm... Don't know where you ran of too, but whatever... Took care of Sampson myself...

BHmm... Guess you didn't want a ride? Too late anyway, I already took off...

Dunno, I don't really feel... anything. I don't know... maybe I should feel something...? I guess I'm starting to realize nothing's gonna bring Dean back. Ever.

Hey, V... Just wanted to say thanks... For everything. I left you the Beast. Won't be needing it anymore, so it's yours. Take good care of her...

What the fuuuuu?!?! Dunno what to say, Claire... THANK YOU!

V, get back here. Race is starting in a couple mins... I can't do this without you....

Seriously?!?! You just ghosted?! You know I had to drop outta the race, right? I'm confused – do you even wanna do this or not?

I dunno... Whatever. I'll msg you when the next race is happening.

Fine... You and I are done. BITCH.

Left me with no choice but to do the same. Don't get lost on your way back ;)

Race is barely over and you just bail on me? Cool...

Mind coming back, V? We need to talk. It's important.

You took off, so... I did the same

Where are you going? You helping me or not? Come back, please... 3 mins!

Thanks for nothing, BITCH.

Hey, V. Just wanted to say thanks for that last talk...

AThanks, V.

BYeah. My mind's made up.

CSampson dies during the race, and only then. Remember that. No killing in cold blood.

ANot even a little bit.

AMaybe a little bit.

BThanks for listening to me.

BIt means a lot to me...

See ya around, Claire. It'll be all right.

Hey, V... sorry I got you mixed up in all this.

I dunno... maybe I'm starting to feel guilty? It's dumb...

I know... Dean would've wanted me to move on, instead of just dwelling on the past.

Again, thank you for everything, V.

Take care, Claire

Hey, V... I just wanted to say I was sorry. Haven't been thinking with a clear head for the past year, but I'm gradually starting to realize that getting you involved in my shit was basically manipulation, pure and simple. I wanted to dust off Sampson so badly that I didn't think about anyone else.

I dunno... maybe it's a good thing you tagged along with me... who knows how this would've all ended without you...

I know... Dean would've wanted me to just move on instead of dwelling on the past.

Again, thanks for everything, V.

No problem. Take it easy

Hey, V... I just waned to clear the air between us. I haven't been thinking straight for the past year and it's starting to dawn on me that dragging you into my shit... Well, I manipulated you. I wanted to off Sampson so badly that I didn't care about what anyone else felt...

I dunno... maybe it really did all end up for the best...

I'm done with racing... and having Sampson show up in my nightmares...

And I want you to know that even after all this I don't have any hard feelings against you... Hope you feel the same way...

Sure, Claire. Take it easy

Heya, V! Not like I'd be afraid of riding shotgun with you or anything, but... put some practice in before the next race, OK? xD

AIf anyone's a menace on the road, it's me. You just get us to the finish line in one piece ;)

BDon't turn this around on me! xD

That's why I love ya, V <3

But seriously... practice xD

:P

Hey, it's Claire, bartender at the Afterlife. Bar's abuzz about you lately, so I thought... Looking for a driver - street races. How's that sound? Meet and talk?

AAt my garage in Arroyo. I'll give you all the detes. Sometimes I pop out for a minute, so if I'm not there just wait for me... And remember I work nights at the bar ;) Later!

BHm, too bad. If you change your mind, stop by my garage in Arroyo. Sometimes I pop out for a minute, so if I'm not there just wait for me... And remember I work nights at the bar ;) Later!

AHey V, enjoying the Semimaru? Get that CrystalCoat issue fixed? Gotta admit - I'm jealous you get to ride such a beauty.

AThanks for pointin me in the right direction, Claire.

AGot it all straightened out. Couldn’t have done it without ya

ACrystalCoat’s fixed. Itchin to hit the streets and give it a spin. Thanks a mil!

BFuck you and your fucking thanks!! I did this for the eds. You can kiss my ass!

BIf you believe that's possible you're fucking delusional. Think I'm gonna let you betray me again?

AHappy to help :)

ANow get out there and show off that upgrade!

AHa, careful. Get too sentimental, people’ll think you’ve gone soft.

ANow go burn some rubber and watch those turns!

AOr y'know… don't. Otherwise what's the fun? :D

AHit the road hard and hit it fast, the way you do it best. ;)

BTake care of yourself, Claire.

A<>

ARides like a dream, but the CrystalCoat system's busted somehow - thoughts?

ARides like a dream, but CrystalCoat system's offline - any idea what might be wrong?

BMind taking a look at the data?

BThink your expert eye could take a gander?

ADamn V, life of a torque junkie's treating you well! A Semimaru's a helluva rare catch! Wicked fast, that one

ASend me all the data you have on that rig. I’ll see what I can do

BLook who can’t take a fuckin hint. Are you serious? After the shit you pulled at the finals?

BI’ll check the data, but only for a trunkload of eddies. Then you lose my number.

BYou hope the dust's settled?! You fucked me over! And now you want my help? Are you fucking tone deaf??

B€$10,000 up front. Take it or leave it. It's the going rate for traitors

A<<>>

AGood lord… This baby's tuned tighter than hell. Whoever did work on this sure knew their stuff. Torque must kick harder than shot of high rye

ADug up some info on the previous owner - some street racer called "Mint". Honestly can't find much on her tho, which is weird considering the impression this ride must've left on the competition

AGood news is I uncovered a little nugget that might solve your CrystalCoat problem

AYour preem new ride has "custom build" written all over it - meaning it doesn't have all the industry-standard guts of inside it to support CrystalCoat tech. Long story short, it's got the hardware, but the software wasn't uploaded right

AI pinged a place where the car was updated a bunch of times. Might be able to find the data you need to unlock those features there

B<<>>
<<>>

BReceived. Let’s see if this thing’s as busted as your sense of loyalty.

BThat's what burning bridges does, asshole. Transfer received. Let’s get this over with.

BTime heals all wounds, huh? See how far that gets you.

BIf you change your mind, you know the price. Nothing’s free except regret – that's on the house.

BWhat a shame. Let me know when you're worth my time.

APrivate setup from what I can tell. Old garage maybe? Secret hideout? Hell, could be a repurposed dumpster in a back alley. Who knows. The racing crowd's a resourceful bunch, V

AIn any case, with a race-tuned monster like this might wanna lay low. This rig's gonna draw attention, and not the kind you want

AMint? Went dark a few years back looks like, but not before making a name on the circuit. Got a few track records under her belt too. Guess her skills behind the wheel matched her skills under the hood

ADefinitely on track to legend status until she ghosted. Or flatlined. or... whatever the hell happened to her

AA lead’s a lead. Doubt many could squeeze out more info than this. I owed you an honest crack at it and you got one

BRight, so the tune on this is the work of a real pro. Almost makes me excited enough to make me forget who I’m helping. Almost.

BPrevious owner was a street racer named Mint. Data on her is scarce tho. Pretty strange considering the performance she musta got outta this rig

BBut the dead CrystalCoat’s why you came groveling, so lemme see…

BCar's been heavily modified – lotta blood, sweat and elbow grease. CrystalCoat hardware’s mounted but it's missin the software.

BFound the coordinates of where this rig was gettin its updates done. My bet is that spot'll have what you need to bring the CrystalCoat back to life.

ASending you the coords of the place now in case you wanna check it out --- Good luck!

BHell if I know. Who do you think I am? NetWatch?

BCoords are what I have, coords are what you get

BCould be anything but my gearhead senses tell me it's likely a hideout or private garage.

BMint ghosted a few years back. She was really pushin this rig's limits. Clear-cut case of strivin for greatness – then I guess something or someone knocked her off course.

BHmm, doesn't that sound real fucking familiar…

BYou really gonna bitch to me about not getting everything you wanted? You paid, I delivered. Eat. Shit.

BFlicking you the coords. Check it out or don’t. I don’t care. We’re done.