Chapter 2

Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture

March, 1999

"WHADDA'Y MEAN THEY'RE BACK?"

Saito grimaced as his friend and college's face went though a series of expressions ranging from outrage to shock. The two junior attendants at the Karuizawa Esso station were standing about, waiting for a customer to show, and were discussing the recent events at Mt. Usui.

"Team Emperor. They're invading Usui again next Saturday." Saito repeated.

"Damn it, didn't these guys learn anything? I mean, do they honestly think they can beat Impact Blue again?" Jun was a well respected driver at Usui, but he was nowhere as good as the Kings, or, more appropriately, the Queens of the mountain.

"Actually, from what I heard last night, Kyoichi never heard of that battle. Not that it mattered; his team got eaten up by that Akina 86 soon after." Saito paused, looking at Jun's expression. "Do you think that they just might actually win this time 'round?"

Jun looked at him. "Have you seen how Mako has been driving recently?" Saito shook his head, "Well it hasn't been good.

"They just might loose."

That was sufficient to shock Saito into silence, the only nearby sound being the clattering in the garage as the mechanics worked.

"But if Impact Blue can't win…"

"Yeah, what chance do we have?"

Before Saito could reply, Jun looked up "Customer coming!"

Saito glanced around an balked "Its…its…"

A black Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III purred into the station. Kyoichi Sudoh climbed out.

"High octane, fill her up."

He watched from a distance, smoking, as Saito and Jun busied themselves with filling and cleaning the car. What he said next came completely out of the blue.

"Do you guys know of an Impreza that drives around Mt. Usui?"

The two attendants stopped and looked at each other in confusion for a second before Saito responded.

"An Impreza? Not off the top of my head. No one I know of drives a 4-Wheel Drive around that mountain."

"Well there's one," Kyoichi stated, "He gave one of my drivers a near heart attack the other night." He scowled for a moment as Jun gawffed, but quickly regained his composure.

"Well, I don't know him." Saito said, thinking quickly, "But, hang on," He turned, "CARL!"

One of the mechanics in the garage stopped working and looked up. He then said something to the other mechanic and walked over to where the Evo was sitting, wiping his hands on a piece of rag.

Kyoichi appraised the mechanic. He was a young Westerner, with light brown, shortly cut hair, and piercing blue eyes. His face, hands and grey overalls were stained from oils and grease, and he wore the sleeves long, instead of rolling them up as other mechanics might have.

His stride was a confident one, and he had an almost bored look on his face.

"Carl, do you know of an Impreza of some type that might run Mt. Usui?" Saito asked him in Japanese.

Carl frowned for a moment, and looked at Kyoichi.

"Impreza? I see them all the time." To Kyoichi's surprise, he spoke not in halting Japanese like most Westerners did, but in a surprisingly educated and fluent manner. "Anything more specific?"

"Carl's one of the top mechanics in the reigon," Saito explained while cleaning the Evo's windshield. "Many racers take their cars to him for tune ups and maintainance."

"Well," Kyoichi said, "It's a dark blue WRX, recent version. It looks pretty stock, but its damn fast. Oh, and it has Gunma plates."

"Well that narrows it down some." Carl looked at the Evo and back at Kyoichi. "Yeah, I know that car. I must work on it about once a week or so on average at the shop over in Kurabachi. Tuning the suspension and stuff, you know." His eyes narrowed, "Why do you ask?"

"That guy gave one of my drivers a run for his money the other night. I was hoping to invite him for a rematch this Saturday." Kyoichi said.

Carl snorted a laugh. "Sorry, they don't do ego runs." He turned and started walking back to the garage, pocketing the rag.

"Wait a minute." Kyoichi started after Carl, who stopped and turned his head. "I've been looking for this guy for the past few days, 'cause I want to tell him something."

"Yeah? What?"

"The last race was under bad conditions. All we want is a chance to race under proper ones."

Carl turned around and looked Kyoichi straight in the eye. "Proper conditions?" He didn't sound impressed.

"Yeah, better line up and start, no distractions." Kyoichi stared back. "Professional conditions."

Carl scratched his cheek. "Well, I can deliver that message for you, but it might not be enough. Heck, I might not even work on the car this week." He paused and looked at the ground for a moment. "Look, no guarantees. If I work on the car again this week, I'll deliver your message for you. But I'd say you have a 50-50 chance of the car showing up. When's it start?"

"10pm. This Saturday."

"Ok, 50-50 chance. Don't get your hopes up."

Kyoichi watched Carl walk back to the garage, and spotted a Ducatti sports bike with Gunma plates sitting in the lee of the shop wall. "Is he from around here?" He asked Saito.

"Who, Carl? No, he lives in Kurabachi, works at Suzuki Motors there. Damn good mechanic, used to work with a pro race crew. The boss occasionally hires him to help out here."

"He drive?"

"Used to, I think. He doesn't hold a car license at the moment."

"Will he deliver my message?"

Saito and Jun looked at each other and Saito straightened. "Look mister, I don't know what previous experiences you've had with foreigners, but Carl is a man of honour. If he says he'll do something, he'll do it."

Kyocihi was silent at that.

Suziki Motors, Kurabachi

Carl pulled his bike into the garage and looked around.

"Boss?" He called, "Boss, you in here?"

Nobody appeared home. Carl looked about in confusion and started towards the office. As neared it, he heard voices. He pushed the door open.

"Carl, there you are." Masashi said in English, and looked up from where he was sitting on the desk, and gestured to the two business-suited men in the seats in front of him. "We've got company."

Carl looked at the two men. He knew one of them, and the other looked strangely familiar…

"I trust you already know Keishi-sei Takagawa of the Gunma Prefectural Police." Masashi said, and Carl nodded to the police officer in charge of the local criminal investigation division. Carl had worked several times on Takagawa's personal vehicle, and Takagawa had been very impressed with his work.

"Carl, I think you might know this man. He claims to have worked with you back when you lived in Australia." Takagawa motioned to the other man, a westerner, who stood and put his hand out.

"Come on, Carl, surely you remember me? I mean, that time we…"

"Seth Jackson, yeah I remember you." Carl then balled a fist and laid Jackson across the floor in one blow. He then walked over to the kitchenette and poured some tea as Jackson picked himself up.

"What is the meaning…?" Takagawa exclaimed, but stopped when Jackson raised a hand.

"It's OK; I guess I deserved that." He rubbed his cheek and looked at Carl who was now bringing the tea cups over to the desk. "You haven't forgotten, have you?"

"What did you expect me to do?" Carl asked facetiously, "Welcome you with open arms? You ruined my career!"

"Look, Carl" Jackson raised his hands, "That's in the past, OK? We're here because we need your help."

Carl barked a short laugh. "'Need my help'? The last time you 'needed my help' you…"

"Carl!" Masashi barked, and Carl immediately shut up.

"We need your help with an investigation we're currently running." Jackson said, sitting down again and producing a folder from a bag at his side.

"Investigation? Here? You work for the Australian Federal Police, last I heard." Carl said, leaning against the doorway.

"Mr. Jackson was recently recruited by Interpol, and is currently helping us coordinate with other international police agencies in this investigation." Takagawa said.

"Two months ago," Jackson started, "a gang of thieves managed to hijack a truck on the 18 Highway, just south of Haruna."

"Yeah, I read about this in the local paper." Carl said, "They made off with several million yen of high-end electrical equipment."

"That's what we got the PR people to tell the press." Jackson said, "In reality, they made off with approximately 4.2 million yen of car parts, market value."

Carl stared at Jackson for a minute. "Car parts?" He asked incredulously.

"Not just any car parts, Carl. These were specific high-end and prototype parts destined to be shipped to professional racing teams around the world. It didn't stop there, either. This group has hit at least four other shipments that we know of, making off with a total of about 35 million yen worth of parts. Heck, the most recent raid netted an entire shipment of parts destined for team Subaru WRC team."

"Okay, why are you talking to me about this?" Carl asked.

Takagawa answered. "Jackson was brought in when some of the serial numbers of the stolen parts started showing up in the United States and Europe. We believe the gang is taking the parts and selling them off to independent shippers for sale overseas."

"We've traced the overseas dealers and are starting to work our way into the network here, but it's a slow process. Even if we do catch some of the dealers, there's a chance the guys at the other end of the chain will hear about it and go to ground." Jackson grimaced, "We've got to catch them all, and that means burning the candle from both ends."

"You want me to help by being the flame from the other end." Carl said. Jackson nodded.

"The work you did in Brisbane was brilliant Carl. They were still talking about it when I left for Interpol."

Carl rolled his eyes and sighed. "What do you want me to do?"

"Well," Jackson explained, "The first four raids happened on stretches of road with little in the way of illumination, but the most recent one happened just a mile outside town. The driver saw a large black car with a large rear spoiler."

Carl merely shrugged, but Jackson went on.

"We also identified the tyres they were using from the skid marks:Toyo Proxes TR-1s, so these guys are racers. Also, an analysis of the skid marks has led us to believe the car is an all-wheel drive."

"So, you're looking for a large blackall-wheel drive with large rear spoiler andToyo high-performance tyres." Carl looked up from reading the report. "And you want me…?"

Jackson glanced at Takagawa and took a deep breath. "We want you to go into the local street racing scene and find this car."

Carl looked at Jackson for a moment and then tossed the report back onto Jackson's lap. "No can do."

Jackson smiled. "Why?" he asked.

"Three reasons." Carl said, holding up three fingers. "One,I don't have a car license, and I've been banned from driving anything with more than two wheels for life. Or did you forget you managed to get that done to me?"

Takagawa produced a small plastic rectangle from his pocket. "License for Carl James Tucker, born 13 March, 1975, permitting him to drive a manual vehicle of any description, issued in the Gunma Prefecture. Also, your driving ban has been lifted."

Carl took the card and read it. It seemed real. "Okay. Two, I don't have a car." Jackson merely smiled at this.

"And three," Carl stated warily, he'd seen that smile before; "It's been three years. My driving skills are probably dead and buried."

"I don't think that's going to be a problem, Carl." Jackson said, "We know about your little nighttime jaunts. Someone of your skill can't possibly resist the temptation of driving. Just to, you know, keep your skills up. Even if it means doing so without a license."

"You son of a bitch." Carl stated calmly.

"We've got you dead to rights, Carl." Jackson said, "Will you help us?"

Carl shot a fleeting look at Masashi, who was calmly sipping his tea. Then his shoulders slumped. "Do I have a choice?"