Before The End

Four

Zack and Jason stood side by side against Zack's car. They looked over at the other racers, trying to figure out each one. In their eight years of friendship they had spent three in the illegal racing business. It helped both of them pay for the mansion Zack and his brothers were living in. Not forgetting food, bills and tuition fess. Ever since Solana Marie Winchester died, her sons were forced to fend for themselves. Four out of five of them using not so legal means.

"We really need to win tonight." Zack told Jason not taking his eyes off their competition.

"Any particular reason you need the money?"

"Yeah actually," Zack smiled "I need to throw Macky a small party and get her an awesome birthday gift."

"I was told she didn't want a party."

"Yeah well I convinced her to have a small one. Just the eight of us. If anything goes wrong she's not going to be speaking to me for a long time."

"Interesting." Jason said.

"Don't ruin this for me Jay. No trying to sabotage this." Zack said punching him in the shoulder.

"I can't believe you think so little of me." Jason smiled. "Either way, you know you can't date her right? I can't have her involved in any of this."

"I know." Zack sighed looking down. "Let's get this over with so we can meet Joaquin at the drop off point."

Joaquin Garcia was the son of Spain's most powerful Cartel boss, Julio Garcia. La familia was a growing enterprise. It reigned supreme in every Hispanic country on the globe including the state of Florida. They were on their way to gaining control of the rest of America. But they weren't the only ones seeking power.

Zack's mother was a part of La familia. At least her family had been. They had run away to Florida seeking protection after her husband got involved with the wrong people and got himself killed. Once her smoking habits caught up with her and killed her, Zack and his brothers were put under their care. But on one condition, that they worked for the organisation. Harry was too young to get involved, so Jason offered himself in his place. A sacrifice he was willing to make for his best friend. His brother's.

Harry and McKenzie would have normal lives if it was the last thing they did. And Julio promised they would. As long as the boys did their jobs perfectly.

"Let's go." Jason said entering Zack's car. He had two things on his to do list now.

1) Make sue tonight goes on without a hitch

2) Do whatever it takes to ruin McKenzie's birthday party and make it Zack's fault

....................

"Okay so these questions are going to be focused on irreversibility and Gouy-Stondola theorem." Harry said looking down at his work sheet.

"That's easy." McKenzie scoffed from her position on his bed.

"Say's the genius with a Physics obsession."

"You're exactly the same way with Chemistry."

"Yes but I'm not obsessed." He smiled looking at her.

"Just ask the questions." She laughed throwing a pillow in his face that he easily caught.

"Fine. I'll start with an easy one. Entropy generation number can be given by?"

"Rate of entropy generation divided by mass flow rate by specific heat." She said getting up from the bed.

"As in the rate divided by mass then multiply it all by specific heat?"

"No. Mass by specific heat and the answer is what the rate is divided by."

"Oh I get it." Harry nodded.

They continued to answer the questions on the work sheet until they were done and headed downstairs. McKenzie plopped herself on a kitchen stool while Harry made them something to eat.

"Where is everybody?" McKenzie asked helping herself to a bunch of grapes.

"They're all at work till somewhere around three in the morning." Harry said.

"I think we should get jobs too."

"And I think you should tell my brother how you feel about him. Neither of which will happen in this century."

"I don't know what you're talking about." She said looking away.

"Everyone but Zack knows you've been in love with him since forever."

"Love is a very strong word."

"Okay, you really like him. Same difference." Harry shrugged. "You're both pretty oblivious at the end of the day."

"Can we talk about anything else please." McKenzie begged.

She didn't like the fact that everyone knew about her crush on Zack. As it was she was trying to get over him. As it was there was absolutely no hope of him not seeing her as a sister. She had better chances getting into MIT than she did of ending up with Zack Winchester. And MIT was a big old 'never going to happen'. But there were other places she could go to get her engineering degree. MIT was just always her dream. Her second unachievable dream.

"Don't worry. In a couple years we would have both graduated from MIT and you'll be married to Zack with a bunch of babies. I will die alone, obviously, but it'll be an epic death." Harry said sliding a plate of food to his best friend.

"You aren't gonna die alone. What kind of best friend would I be if I let that happen." She smiled at him.

"The worst." He laughed.

There was a point in life when Harry thought of McKenzie as something more than a friend. He was just better at hiding his feelings than she or Zack were. But after five years of watching her pine over his brother he completely obliterated those feelings and threw them in a bottomless pit. Never to be recovered or spoken of again. Now she was his best friend, the sister he never had. And he couldn't believe at one point he actually really liked her. The very thought made him shudder now. He did love her. But not all love is romantic after all. That's something very few people realised.

"To being single forever." McKenzie smiled raising a glass.

"Salute"