[Edward POV]
Taylor and Ness stood at the edge of the road, the glow of their phones casting pale light over their excited faces.
Barbara stood in front of the cars, wearing a provocative short skirt and tank top. She held a handkerchief and said, "Gentlemen! Start. Your. Engine!"
The signal girl raised her scarf. The engines roared louder, the sound echoing through the empty city block.
I turned to my aunt, and she turned to me, both of us smiling with excitement.
The scarf dropped.
I pressed on the pedal immediately.
Both cars launched forward like bullets. Tires screamed against the pavement, sending up clouds of smoke.
Neon signs blurred into streaks of light. I shifted gears hard, the Mustang bucking under me like a wild animal.
Camila's Corvette shot ahead, its taillights glowing like demon eyes in the night. She knew these streets better than me—sharp corners, hidden dips, and all.
She took the lead, and defying expectation, she launched her nitro at a curved street.
"Ho-ho. Daring today are we?" I muttered as I did the same, following her car closely from behind.
Barbara, Ness, and Taylor cheered in excitement from afar. They watched the footage from their phone as a drone followed the cars from above.
I cut the inside lane, skimming dangerously close to a parked delivery truck. Sparks flew as my mirror clipped a street pole.
Almost overtaking her, Camila played dirty and swerved her car towards me. I braked slightly to avoid it, my eyes widened with disbelief.
She laughed, the sound carried to me through the wind.
"Oh. I know now why I'm doing so badly. I forgot to turn on the songs." I muttered as I increased the volume on the stereo.
My pandemic song number 4 was playing on the radio. The 80s inspired pop-synth music began to play.
[Blinding Light– The Weeknd]
"♫♪ I've been tryna call
I've been on my own for long enough♫♪"
The Corvette and the Mustang drifted at a tight corner.
"♫♪ Maybe you can show me how to love, maybe ♫♪"
I tapped the steering wheel according to the beat, acting casual despite being in a race.
"♫♪ I'm goin' through withdrawals
You don't even have to do too much
You can turn me on with just a touch, baby♫♪"
I sang the song as I accelerated while my aunt was trying to regain stability.
"♫♪ I look around and
Sin City's cold and empty (oh)
No one's around to judge me (oh)
I can't see clearly when you're gone ♫♪"
Nodding and moving my head with the beat, I took the lead and began creating a distance with my aunt's car.
"♫♪ I said, ooh, I'm blinded by the lights
No, I can't sleep until I feel your touch ♫♪"
Suddenly, a couple of police cars appeared behind us and started chasing us.
My aunt used the communicator and said, "Eddy! The cops are here!"
"Continue! Don't worry about them."
♫♪ I said, ooh, I'm drowning in the night
Oh, when I'm like this, you're the one I trust (hey, hey, hey) ♫♪
My aunt and I laughed as we were chased by the police.
The police used their loudspeaker and said, "The two illegally modified cars that are racing right now. Pull over!"
I put my hand out of the car and gave them a middle finger.
"♫♪ I'm running out of time
'Cause I can see the sun light up the sky
So I hit the road in overdrive, baby, oh ♫♪"
My aunt managed to get beside my car. The street was straight, and we were speeding as fast as we could.
It quickly broke 250 mph, and was still climbing.
280 mph.
320 mph.
The cops were completely left out by the speed.
"♫♪ The city's cold and empty (oh)
No one's around to judge me (oh)
I can't see clearly when you're gone ♫♪"
A helicopter began following us, putting the spotlight on my car.
"Stop right there!" The cop there said with frustration.
"♫♪ I said, ooh, I'm blinded by the lights
No, I can't sleep until I feel your touch ♫♪"
♫♪ I said, ooh, I'm drowning in the night
Oh, when I'm like this, you're the one I trust ♫♪"
I sang the bridge myself and finally, my duplicates began to work. They hypnotized the cops, and they couldn't see the cars on the street. It was like we disappeared out of thin air.
"♫♪ I'm just walking by to let you know (by to let you know)
I could never say it on the phone (say it on the phone)
Will never let you go this time (ooh) ♫♪"
"What the fuck." The cops cursed, their faces became pale.
"Did we just chase a ghost?" They muttered.
"♫♪ I said, ooh, I'm blinded by the lights
No, I can't sleep until I feel your touch ♫♪"
We were almost at the finish line. Taylor, Ness and Barbara were jumping in excitement watching the race.
(Hey, hey, hey)
(Hey, hey, hey)
"♫♪ I said, ooh, I'm blinded by the lights
No, I can't sleep until I feel your touch ♫♪"
The cars passed the spray-painted finish line on the road. Then, the tires screeched as they slowed down.
We turned the car around and drove to the girls.
"Who won?" Camila asked.
Taylor was reviewing the tapes and said, "Just by one centimeter… Eddie won."
"EDWARD!" Ness and Barbara jumped towards me. Barbara pushed me onto the hot car hood and began attacking my face with kisses.
"Ouch. Barbs, it's really hot."
"I know. You're so hot, and sexy." She continued kissing me.
"I mean the car," I said as I grabbed her and moved away from it, patting my back hurriedly before it could get burned.
Ness lifted my back and widened her eyes. "Oh my god, your back is all red."
I called Sage before the race, asking her if there was a way for me to return to a normal human threshold in order to make it fair against my aunt.
She gave me a debuff that made it possible. Although, I kept my duplicates without the debuff so they could interfere if anything went wrong—not to interfere if I was losing.
I laughed it off, not minding the pain right now.
My aunt was pouting as she lost the match. I grinned at her and said, "So, I guess you'll have to use the money."
"Fine!" She sighed deeply.
Barbara, Taylor, and Ness cheered for my victory again. Barbara still had her arms wrapped around my neck, hanging from my body when my aunt asked, "Why did the cops suddenly stop chasing us?"
"They must've known it was Eddy, so they stopped chasing," Taylor guessed.
Ness added, "Edward bribed them."
Barbara said matter-of-factly, "They're afraid to mess with Eddy, the supersoldier."
My aunt picked Ness's guess. "That must be it. He bribed them."
I rolled my eyes and said, "I didn't do anything. They must've thought we were too fast, so they gave up chasing."
"Yeah, right!" My aunt didn't believe the flimsy excuse.
…
The next morning, I went to work as usual. I had sixteen hours of filming time, and when I got home, Mirr was already sleeping.
My aunt said, "She wanted to play with you, so she even stayed past her bedtime. She fell asleep on the couch."
I looked at my mother, my eyes flashing with guilt.
"This is my fault. I tried to push for the episode to be wrapped so that I could have a day off tomorrow."
I sighed and picked her up, bringing her to bed.
"Why do you look so guilty when it's with her, but not with us?" Taylor asked, slightly dissatisfied.
I smiled and said, "Because I can make it up to you guys in a way that I could never do with her." I walked behind her and nibbled on her left ear.
Her face turned red, and she said, "Okay—I get it."
My mother and aunt planned to completely move to Cuba after a week. They were already starting to send their belongings back there, using my shipping company.
I personally sent them over by opening my portal directly into the house I built for my mother—the Carmen family house.
As I walked into the empty room there, I saw several people cleaning the yard and trimming the bushes outside the window.
I didn't hire anyone for that, so I was quite confused about it.
I opened another portal to Sado's place and went to the Presidential Palace.
Sado was signing some documents alone in his office, already anticipating my arrival.
"Sir," he greeted. "Did you finally come to see what's going on in this country after completely forgetting about it for months?"
"What do you mean, Sado? I've always thought about this country," I said dismissively, unable to meet his accusatory eyes.
"Did the pandemic ruin the economic stability of the country?" I asked.
Sado shook his head and said, "On the contrary. Our factories and warehouses have been shipping a lot. Thanks to your channel, we made a nifty profit from it."
I nodded and let Sado talk about what they did to the country.
The twenty-billion gold reserve helped stabilize the peso. They backed the national currency directly with gold, not paper.
Foreign investors panicked at first—but then the world saw Cuba weren't bluffing. The currency became one of the strongest in the region.
Then came the infrastructure phase. Highways built to Japanese standards, trains running between Havana, Santiago, and the new industrial zone near Holguín.
Everything was automated so there's no corruption there.
"Now, we're focusing on heritage. Every old historic building is being restored." Sado said simply.
"The beaches are developed into government-controlled resorts—no foreign ownership, only national profit. The tourism revenue alone can fund the education system for decades."
I nodded in satisfaction. "Well, continue your hard work." I told him and prepared to leave, turning my hands into circles.
Sado sighed and said, "Wait. Don't you want to hear about the food and culture? Even your mother's biopic?"
I stopped opening the portal and asked, "Oh. I forgot about that. What happened to it?"
"Well, the pandemic is basically non-existent here. So they shoot the film smoothly. I think they will finish it early next year. However…"
Sado trailed off. I furrowed my eyebrows and said, "However, what?"
"Some people tried to put the actress on the casting couch process. So I killed all of them." Sado said calmly.
"Really? Here, in Cuba?" I was astonished since I knew there wasn't anyone here who would dare to do that.
"No, it's some Frenchman billionaire. Also, one guy from Hollywood tries to tempt her to go make a movie with him after she finishes here. What should I do with this?"
I shrugged and said, "If she wants to go, then let her go. I don't really care if she wants to migrate to another country."
"Understood." Sado replied easily.
"By the way, should we announce that we have nuclear missiles?" Sado asked.
We have updated our arsenal here in the country. Yet, we kept it a secret since Cuba was claiming neutrality.
However, we weren't completely stupid to think that a piece of paper would be able to stop the invader if any major powers tried something.
"No. We shouldn't say anything. We're still at the starting stage of country development. Once it's completely possible for us to stand on our own, then we can do that."
One thing I know for sure in the world's politics was that there were no true allies. That's why I was making the preparations.
"Good work Sado." I waved goodbye to him and left, leaving him slumped with the work again.
"This will be a good country for my mother to enjoy living in. Wait, should I make something here for her? Like an amusement park…"
I mused on that thought before adding, "Something big like Disney world. It can be a tourist attraction too."
…
-Christen Forger-
Inside a dim-lit warehouse, a bunch of shirtless men were sitting around a metal cage fighting ring, cigarettes on their fingers.
I punched the large-statured man in the face after battling with him for a few minutes, causing him to lose consciousness and fall to the floor.
Breathing heavily, I wiped my bloodied face — a major cut on my eyebrow — and still kept up the fight stance.
"Who's next?" I asked in a hoarse voice.
Hector, the bald man with the skull painted on his face, walked inside the ring and raised my hands up.
"Winner! La Championne!"
As Hector announced it, everyone in the room burst into cheers. They whistled, popped some confetti, and even shook their beer cans in the air.
"Twenty people! Six hours! One Champion!" Hector said dramatically. "The rich white man can fight!"
Everyone burst into cheers again. Then, Hector gave me some money for the prize.
"Five thousand dollars. Use it well," Hector whispered in my ear. He held my head suddenly and added, "We're going to let it go this time. But we will continue to watch you, Forger."
"Watch my movies instead," I said sarcastically, which made him chuckle.
I put a band-aid on the wound without cleaning it properly and left the warehouse wearing only an unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt.
This duplicate body was also debuffed by Sage so that I wouldn't win against the fighters so easily.
Outside the warehouse, a couple of people suddenly stopped me.
'Are they dissatisfied with the outcome?' I thought.
However, one of them slapped the roof of an old car and said, "We noticed you don't have a ride. I'll sell this to you for 400 bucks."
The young kid, barely 19, grinned hard as he expected to make a sale today.
Feeling amused, I began to haggle. "300."
"390!"
"320."
"350!"
"Deal."
We shook hands on it, and then I left driving the really old Lincoln. It belonged to the seller's uncle.
Seeing his resourcefulness, I took his number and told him I would call if I needed some help with my project later on.
As I climbed the stairs to my house, suddenly, I saw a woman standing in front of the door.
"What are you doing here, Scarlett?" I asked casually, walking next to her and opening the door to the apartment.
Scarlett was stunned when she saw my wound and the bruises on my body.
"What—what happened to you?" she asked with concern, trying to look at the wound, but I grabbed her hand and brought it back down before she could.
"Nothing of your concern. Why are you here? This is not a very safe neighborhood."
Her face flinched slightly, thinking I was being crass because I was feeling hurt by her.
"Forger, I'm here to talk to you about staying with me for a while. Or, I can pay for you to get a better apartment," she offered.
I waved my hand, rejecting it, and said, "I don't need it."
"You're in danger over here. This isn't the time to hold on to your ego."
"It's not ego," I told her with disbelief.
She argued, "You're clearly not in a safe place with the wounds on your body. God, did you get jumped by people here?"
"First of all, this is voluntary." I pointed at my bleeding eyebrow. "Secondly, there are rules in place, so I can't talk to you about it."
"What rules?" she sniped and remarked sarcastically. "You're not in a fight club."
I smirked as I heard that. Scarlett's angry face turned into disbelief, and she muttered softly, "You… are in a Fight Club?"
"Just some boxing matches to get some money." I took out the cash from my pocket. It had some of my blood on it, which made Scarlett feel gnarly.
"You shouldn't associate yourself with me, Miss Johansson," I said seriously.
I was afraid her involvement would ruin the experiment for me. She took that personally; tears pooled in her eyes.
"Look. I didn't call you because I didn't know how to react to all of it. It was never my intention to abandon you at a time when you need a friend the most—"
"You're thinking too much, Scarlett." I interjected. "I don't really care about all of this. Nor did I care whether you called me or not. We're not lovers or even friends. You owe me nothing."
Scarlett was taken aback by my words. Dejected, she turned back and left without saying anything.
I followed her from behind, which made her turn to me with confusion and a little expectation. "I thought you wanted me to leave?"
"I'm just walking you to the car. It's pretty stupid to come here without any security."
She forced a smile and said, "It is… pretty stupid of me to come."
I didn't reply and just walked behind her. After she got into her car and left, I yawned and waited for the time for the duplicate to dissipate, unaware that Scarlett would try to contact my main body after that.
…
-Edward Newgate-
"I heard you. I do think he needs some help too."
While I was in the hot tub with the girls, I was getting scolded by Scarlett on the phone.
"Yes. I do know I'm his friend. And he gave all of his money to me. But he doesn't want any help. So what can I do about it?" I replied to her while rolling my eyes secretly.
"I can give him a part-time job at my company. If he does that, he can get corporate housing. Live someplace better." I tried to placate her.
She calmed down a bit and said, "Please. Do it tonight. Make him move out from his place tonight."
I sighed inwardly and said, "Yeah. Sure. I will do that."
After I cut the call, Ness asked, "Is this about Forger?"
"Yup. Turns out, having some friends has its perks. Well, it's supposed to. And since she's being logical about it, I can't even reject her request."