Eddie Strauss was a man of many talents. His first loves was always books. He would spend hours at a time reading up on anything he could find. Even into adulthood Eddie always made a few weekly trips to the library to find some new reading material. Today he was looking through the psychology side of things. Deciding he was gonna read a few excerpts from “The laws of human nature” by Robert Greene. Eddie would usually pick out a book read a chapter or two in the quiet calm library. Using a few chapters to decide if this was gonna be his next story to read or if it fit what Eddie was thinking at the time. Today Eddie was quite enthralled with what he was reading. Self help and psychological books were usually right up Eddies alley when it came to gaining knowledge. The library had become a natural resource to Eddie young, and had grown into his place to get a little peace and quiet not just knowledge as he grew older. Eddie also happened to have another love other then reading as well. A love of muscle cars and speed. The calm book enthusiast happened to also be one of the top street racers in the area. Possessing vast knowledge of both building cars, and racing Eddie had a strong reputation in the area. Eddie also had the rare distinction of being one of the few street racers the town actually approved of. He was one of the few that tried to be respectful of the rest of the town organizing most of the races to take place late at night on the outskirts where many people wouldn’t even notice. After a while this went out the window as Eddie gained notoriety. Now many people would meet and gather on the outskirts to watch Eddie and the other top guys meet and race. These races typically consisted of a sixteen car tournament with large amounts of cash on the line between rounds. The two rules were no racing for “pink slips” or the rights to another drivers car, and all bets must have money put up from both drivers before the cars line up. Eddie was known for making quick work of most drivers. Eddie was getting ready for another race again that night. A high stakes race that attracted drivers from all around the area. Two thousand dollars was the entry fee per round. Meaning the winner was walking out with around sixteen thousand dollars. Eddie knew the competition would be fierce usually they race about once a week in the summer time. Prize money usually consists of about five hundred dollars a race, or four thousand to win the entire race. For this bigger purse Eddie sent a couple calls out to draw in more drivers. Hoping to raise the field up to thirty two teams. This would raise the purse up to around sixty four thousand for the winner. Confidently Eddie believed he still had a car, and mindset to win. Eddie drove a nineteen sixty seven Chevorlet Camaro. The car was all black from paint to interior to the rims. Murdered out was the term used to describe this in the automotive world. The Camaro possessed a four hundred sixty eight cubic inch big block engine that had been tuned to the max. Eddie won both a lot of races, and money in this car. He intended to add to his accolades in the underground street racing world tonight. Eddie finished up his reading for the day deciding to purchase the book he had been flipping through. Heading down to his garage to make sure his car was ready to go for what would be to come. Down at his shop Eddie did a final inspection to make sure everything was in tip top shape before racing. Tires aired, gas tank full, and suspension setup done how he wanted. Finishing up tuning the motor Eddie thought to himself “one day this life’s gonna be the death of me.” Once he got through his race day check list Eddie got ready for the nightfall. As the sun was setting Eddie loaded his car with a few tools and a cooler full of water, and headed out to the usual street turned drag strip. Usually arriving around an hour or so before the racing started Eddie would have time to get a good idea of what his competition would be. It also gave him a look into how much of the town knew of the race. If much of the town was there the chance of police intervention was typically lowered. Mostly they were more worried about crowd control from unruly spectators. The racers themselves rarely gave the police any issues other then trying to evade them completely. Once Eddie got to the spot north of town he parked his Camaro heading towards a small crowd already gathering. Recognizing a few of the townspeople Eddie made small talk while the other racers began rolling in. To Eddies surprise not only did thirty two teams show up close to fifty did. When the final count came down to fourth eight cars ready to race Eddie allowed the remaining sixteen to also join in if they were willing to pay. This brought the total prize money in the purse up to ninety six thousand dollars for the winner. Eddie knew that word had spread about the race but he never imagined this. Some of the top street racers from the region had shown up to try, and collect both the money and bragging rights. Eddie went through and made sure his car was ready for the first round as a couple of his guys got the brackets ready. Once brackets were set they began lining up cars and collecting entry money for the round. Everything was set as Eddie pulled the Camaro into the right lane to stage. Eddie was racing a local he had known for years in a nineteen seventy cutlass. Eddie knew the cutlass had a big motor but was heavy so he should have the advantage. To his pleasure Eddie was correct as he won the first round convincingly. The next few rounds went similarly. After making it down to the final sixteen cars eddie went to lineup with an out of towner named Mike Townsend. Townsend was known from a few counties over as a great street racer as well. With a background in both organized drag racing, and the streets Townsend presented Eddies first real challenge. Eddie pulled his car up into the left lane he had drawn this round alongside mikes nineteen sixty nine mustang. The mustang sounded like it had a lot of horsepower Eddie thought to himself. Thankfully Townsend spun his tires off the start and Eddie was able to pull away convincingly. Atleast so he thought as he was rounding the corner to head back towards the starting lines he noticed a flashing set of lights coming up behind him. Confused as he hadn’t seen much police presence he pulled off to the side hoping they’d pass him by. Instead the lights dimmed and pulled directly up behind Eddie. As Eddie was trying to figure out what was going on he saw a man walking up to his car. It was Mike Townsend, Eddie assumed he wanted to send his congrats. To his surprise Mike stopped at his window and flashed a badge in Eddies face._ _The_ _shock_ _flushed_ _all_ _of_ _the_ _color_ _from_ _Eddie. Townsend told him to step out of the vehicle so they could talk. Eddie unsure of what was happening obliged. Townsend proceeded to explain that he had been out of street racing for a few years now. Now a detective for the state Townsend was being tasked with infiltrating, and shutting down large illegal street racing rings in the area. Eddie thought “ I’m so screwed right now.” That’s Mike told Eddie I know you organize a lot of this, but your a good man and I don’t wanna see you go down for it. So I’m gonna give you the chance now to make a break go pull the Camaro back into your garage for the night and don’t be around when the cops get there to shut the whole thing down. Eddie said “I can’t allow the rest of my guys to go down without me.” Townsend said “suit yourself don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Townsend walked back to his mustang putting the police lights back into the car. Townsend proceeded to turn around and drive away from the racing strip. Eddie proceeded back to the lanes to get ready for the round of eight. Eddie proceeded to let his crew know what Townsend had told him. Eddie thought to himself maybe Townsend said all this to try and get him to withdraw so one of the out of town guys could get the win. Eddie knew he must push through to win it all now. In the round of eight Eddie drew an out of towner he didn’t recognize but made easy work of him. Now down to the semi finals Eddie began getting an eerie feeling about his interaction with Townsend. Semi final round Eddie was up against Josh Raymond a young local who had been rapidly gaining notoriety in the street scene. Raymond driving his black seventy two corvette with everything built to the gills had pulled into the lanes. Eddie knew the kid would be a challenge, he had raced Josh once before just barely edging him out earlier in the summer at a smaller race. Eddie also knew Josh was trying to make a name for himself, and wasn’t gonna go out easy. As soon as the starter dropped the flag Eddie dumped the clutch in his Camaro, and let the motor roar. Eddie noticed immediately the two cars were almost neck and neck. At the finish line Eddie was declared the winner by less then a quarter of a second. Eddie could see Raymond visibly upset in his car. Eddie thought to himself after I win this money I’ll go congratulate the kid on a good race. Down to the last three cars Eddie went to see who he would be lining up against in the finals. The other semi final race was between a local Eddie raced against for years named Allen Wright. Wright would be lining up against an out of towner named Jim Lyndsie. Eddie didn’t know anything about this Jim Lyndsie guy other then he wasn’t known by any of the local guys. Racing out of another state by the plate on his car Eddie wanted to see how this would shake out. Lyndsie ended up beating Allen off the line. Picking up a convincing win Eddie know this Jim Lyndsie meant business. Eddie went to make sure he liked the tune on his car still, and make sure tire pressures were all set. Eddie began getting some nerves when getting into the car heading up to the starting line. Unsure if it was due to the money on the line or if it was something else Eddie shook it off to focus on the last race. Once lined up Eddie looked over at Lyndsie to give him a thumbs up. Lyndsie looked over, and nodded, signaling he was ready to race. Eddie proceeded to take the advantage off the line but Lyndsie caught back up quickly Eddie knew this would probably be the tightest race he had been in to date. As they approached the finish line Eddie put the Camaros accelerator all the way to the floor and barely squeaked out the win. When Eddie turned the corner this time to head back, and collect his money he was in disbelief at what he saw. Mike Townsend parked on the side of the road waiting. Alongside Townsend was about twenty state trooper vehicles alongside about ten black Cadillac SUV’s. As soon as they saw the two muscle cars turn the corner all of the police hit there lights and four or five of them began surrounding the vehicles. Eddie could see a few more of the troopers, and a couple of the suvs going towards the starting line and the crowd gathered to spectate. Eddie realized quickly that he should have took Townsends warning earlier. Both Eddie, and Lyndsie had been boxed in the by the troopers once they turned the corner. Officers began stepping towards the two cars with guns drawn demanding the drivers exit the vehicles with there hands up. Both drivers stepped out and were quickly placed in handcuffs. While sitting there Eddie was approached by Mike Townsend who just gave him a solemn reminder “im sorry Eddie I tried to spare you I know your a good man but we have a job to do as well.” Eddie would be placed under arrest with the rest of the racers and race organizers. This would be the largest street racing ring buts in the south eastern part of the United States both in terms of money and racer attendance.