Chapter 7- Status Quo
It was a dark night in the city of Bayview. From top of Jackson Heights; the city lights glittered, bringing a display of colors all around. It was one of the best cities when it came to the car scene, on a typical Friday night cars gathered around on an almost deserted street in Coal Harbor. A red Nissan Silvia S15 was parked on the side, a 20 year old Izumi emerged from her car wearing black cargo pants and a gray hoodie with her hair straight, it reached down to her lower back with two bangs hanging from both sides of her face.
"Nice of you to show up" A man in his mid-20's wearing a pair of blue jeans, a black t-shirt with ashy brown messy hair walked up to Izumi.
"You know me, Lance. I have nothing better to do but see if I get a shot at that GT-R you just bought" Izumi replied.
Lance Zane just laugh "First time you raced me you were driving that S15 and I had an Acura NSX and you couldn't beat me. But we can try again"
Izumi only smiled "I gotta get back at you"
"You can dream I suppose" Lance teased.
Izumi's cellphone rang.
"Hello?"
"Izumi, please you gotta come to my place. I need your help!" a female's voice was on the other end.
"Gianna? What's wrong?" Izumi knew something was not right.
"You have to come… please! You… have…." Suddenly the call got cut off.
"Gianna…? Hello….?" Izumi tried to call back but no answer.
"Is something wrong?" Lance asked.
"It's Gianna, something's not right. I'm heading over to her place" Izumi explained as she started to shake in panic, she turned around and started to walk to her car when suddenly Lance grabbed her arm.
"You don't look good, you're shaking. Let's take my car" Lance was Izumi's friend and rival, he knew that Gianna was the closest thing Izumi had for a sister. Izumi nodded at Lance and both ran to his car.
Seven minutes later in Beacon Hill, the Nissan Skyline GT-R stopped at an apartment building on Lombardi St. Izumi and Lance got out of the car and ran inside the building. Once inside the building they saw the door slightly open.
"Somebody was here" Lance said as he slowly opened the door, he and Izumi walked in silently.
"Gianna, are you ok?" Izumi walked thru the living room towards the bedroom. Then she saw her friend, a 5'6 light skinned girl with black hair, wearing a white short dress lying on the floor.
"Oh my God! Gianna!" Izumi knelt down and leaned Gianna's lifeless body on her, tears started to roll down her cheeks as she quietly started to weep.
"I'm so sorry…." Izumi's voice started to crack.
Lance walked into the bedroom and was speechless. He could do nothing but to put his arms around Izumi to console her. There was a blood on Gianna's mid-section, Izumi lost the only person that was family to her…..
Suddenly Izumi woke up in her bed at the safe house, she was sweating but realized that she had a nightmare.
"I'm sorry" she said softly as she was fighting the tears from coming out. For 5 years Izumi has been haunted by Gianna's death, it happened a week after Gianna won the Formula 1 championship. As Izumi was trying to get a hold of herself her phone started to ring
"Hello?" Izumi answered the phone.
"Hey hotness, heard you've won last night" said Marcus.
"I supposed you had surveillance watching" Izumi said
"Well you rammed poor Buck into that pay phone booth, his Camaro was a total loss. He said a Korean chick in a silver rice burner clipped him" Marcus explained "and besides that's the word on the street"
"I need to ask you something" Izumi got up and walked towards the kitchen.
"Yeah, what is it?"
"Who is Isabelle Dumont? There's no info on her" Izumi inquired.
"I have no idea but I'll find out" Marcus replied
"She seems to call the shots, or at least she's doing the recruiting" Izumi was pouring water into the coffee maker.
"Maybe she's new, we've never had any info on anyone by that name" said Marcus.
"Anyhow, I'm supposed to get a call from them" Izumi walked toward the shower.
"That's good news, let me know when they call you ok" said Marcus.
"By the way I'm gonna need a new bumper" Izumi turned the knob inside the shower, warm water started to come out.
"Oh yeah. After playing bumper cars I can only imagine" Marcus said playfully.
"Very funny" Izumi replied with her usual sarcastic tone "I gotta go. I'm hopping in the shower"
"Hey can I join you?" asked Marcus.
"Dream on" Izumi replied
"Just joking. Anyway be safe Iz" Marcus ended the call
Izumi put her cell phone down and fixed the water to a nice warm temperature, then she looked at her reflection on the mirror "It's all my fault". Izumi looked down and just sank into her thoughts.
Somewhere in Sunset Hills, a suburb east of Palm Harbor…..
"So you're serious about giving the job to that girl?" said Andrei
Isabelle walked towards the door that led to a mansion "yeah, she's good and knows how to drive that car"
"There's something that tells me she's trouble, I checked her and she looks too young to have done those jobs in Europe" Andrei's experience in the Spetznas made him not to trust anyone. Back in Russia he was a captain of a Spetznas unit, he did missions in Eastern Europe, Africa and Afghanistan before he was discharged and then he offered his services as a mercenary. That's how he started working for Jerome Sauniere.
"Too many years in the Spetznas messed with your head" said Isabelle.
Inside the mansion from the main entrance, there were at least ten armed men standing guard. There were also several pieces of art worth thousands even millions of dollars.
"I hear you have good news for me" said a French man walking down the stairs, he was wearing a white business suit with a pink shirt, messy hair and sunglasses.
"Yes Jerome, a new driver for the next run" said Isabelle.
"I trust she's not a whistle blower like that undercover cop from last time" Jerome took his sunglasses as he stood in front of Isabelle and Andrei.
"She checked out just fine comrade" said Andre "but I suggest you look for another driver. I have a bad feeling she can bring trouble"
"She?" asked Jerome.
"She's wanted in Europe and Japan but I wouldn't worry about it. It's just Andrei being paranoid" Isabelle responded.
"So a female driver?" Jerome wasn't expecting his new getaway driver to be a woman.
Isabelle walked to the bar just across the main hall "I need a drink"
Jerome and Andrei followed her.
"Tell me more about this driver" Jerome inquired
Andrei pulled a laptop as Isabel poured herself a drink.
"That's Izumi Matsushima, born in Japan from an Irish father and a Japanese mother, she's 25 years old and as you imagine she's a career criminal" Isabelle said as she turned the laptop around for Jerome to see.
"Half Japanese and Irish" said Jerome
"We should get another driver, tovarishch" said Andrei as he grabbed a bottle of vodka.
"You worry too much my friend" Jerome patted Andrei's shoulder "look at her, she's pretty but maybe another test might confirm she's what her profile says she is"
"Another test?" Isabelle asked.
"Oui!" Jerome replied "we have the Lamborghini sitting at the police impound, not that I need it but It'll be fun"
"That may cause unwanted attention" Isabelle protested the idea.
"Don't worry, just give her a call" Jerome said as he put his sunglasses on.
"Ok Jerome" Isabelle finished her drink and left.
"Were you able to get to that dog Franz Siegfried?" asked Jerome
"Yes comrade" Andrei replied.
"Where is he?" Jerome inquired.
"He's at the warehouse" Andrei took another sip of vodka.
"Ok I have questions for that fils de pute" Jerome had plans for this man who apparently had problems with.
Andrei laughed "We Russians and French had our problems with Germans back in World War II"
Jerome laugh too "yes indeed"
"Well lets head to the warehouse and talk to this bafoon" said Jerome.
The Junkie's notes: As you noticed in chapter 2, I gave the nameless driver from Need for Speed Underground the name "Lance Zane" so again I want to say that I don't own the character and I just gave him a name. Furthermore I put some foreign words so for those who don't know "tovarishch" means comrade in Russian and "fils de pute" means son of a bitch in French.