Chapter 11 – Hot Pursuit
Monday, May 31st 7:00 am
West Summit Motel, Seacrest County.
The following morning Anya was woken up by the noise of a hair blower. It was Izumi who was already up.
"Morning" Anya slowly got up from bed and looked at the clock. It was 7:00 a.m.
"Hey good morning, did you get a good night rest?" Izumi looked at Anya. Izumi was almost ready, she was wearing blue jeans, black thigh boots, a tight see-thru low cut black tank top with her bra showing under and a leather jacket. She was done with drying her hair, she left her hair loose with a long bang on one side of her face.
"I got some good rest but now I should get ready" Anya got up and headed for the shower.
Izumi then sat by the bed and turned the T.V. It was the news talking about some random politician sex scandal. Suddenly Izumi's phone rang. It was an unknown number from Rockport.
"Hello?"
"Is this Izumi De Souza?" a female voice asked.
"Who wants to know?" Izumi inquired
"This is Detective Mia Townsend from Rockport PD"
"This is Izumi. Marcus told me about you"
"I was calling to let you know we're on standby. I just need to know where the drop is to be made?"
Izumi looked at a piece of paper "It's on the abandoned shipyard on Camden, pier 10"
"Ok. We'll be there as your backup. But I just have a question to ask?"
"What is it?"
"I tried calling Marcus but he hasn't answered his phone. Have you heard from him?" Mia asked.
"Nope. He said he was gonna be in touch with you" Izumi answered.
"I see" Mia felt like something was off
"Is there something I should be worried about?" Izumi felt something was off too.
"I don't think so but I'll be in touch ok" said Mia.
"Ok. One more thing" Izumi said.
"Yeah?"
"I have another undercover officer from a different agency"
"Another agency?" Mia asked.
"Anya Romanenko from the Russian FSB. She's got info that might help us" Izumi responded.
There was a long pause…..
"Mia?"
"I see. We can talk about it later just make the run and we'll bust Sauniere" said Mia.
"Ok, we'll stay in touch" Izumi got up and walked towards the couch where her bag was.
"Alright later" Mia ended the call.
Izumi put the phone down. She felt the mission just took an unexpected turn. Anya got out of the shower and started to get dressed. She put on a pair of blue jeans, a white tank top and high boots. "Is everything ok?"
"Yeah" Izumi answered.
"Ok, should we get going?" Anya picked up her bag
Izumi nodded.
As the two female drivers got out of the motel room, two cops pulled their guns.
"Freeze!" yelled one officer.
"What's the problem?" Izumi put her hands up.
"We received a tip of two females with high end vehicles transporting drugs" said the other officer.
"We don't know what you're talking about" Anya barked back at the cop.
"We'll see when we search your cars?" The second cop yelled as he approached Anya, ready to slap the cuffs on her.
"I hope you get a Christmas bonus this year" Izumi said as she smiled at the cop.
The cop looked dumbfounded. Anya suddenly smashed the cop's nose with her elbow and kicked him the mid-section. Then Anya cuffed the cop to the handrail. Izumi grabbed the cop's gun and twisted it from his hand, then she did a spinning back kick which landed on the cop's face.
"You too. Cuff yourself to your partner" Izumi commanded as she was pointing the gun at the cop. The officer complied.
"Let's go Izumi" said Anya, Izumi nodded.
Izumi and Anya ran down the stairs and got in their cars. They pulled out of the parking lot and into the highway towards the mountains.
Ten police cars received orders to chase the silver Toyota Supra and the blue Maserati.
"Anya, how good are you with cops on your tail?" Izumi asked over the radio.
"I can hold my own" Anya responded.
Both vehicles swerved around the other cars. The cops didn't have much problems since most motorist pulled to the sides.
Anya saw a semi truck carrying heavy tree trunks "Izumi. move to the opposite lane, I'm gonna stall these cops"
"Ok" Izumi switched to the opposite lane. Anya got close to the semi and bump the rear of its trailer causing the trunks to fall. She barely overtook the truck, avoiding the trunks.
"FUCK!" said the officer on the front when he saw the heavy logs rolling in front of him. The police cruiser got crushed while others cruisers slammed against the debris as well.
"Anya you're nuts" Izumi said as she saw what happened from her rearview mirror.
"See who's talking" Anya said.
The downhill came and Izumi started to drift thru the many turns keeping the cops from catching up.
"Try to keep up, I know how to lose them" said Izumi over the radio.
"Is this your idea, drifting thru tight corners?" Anya didn't have much experience on drifting. That and the fact that a Maserati was mean for the motorsport of drifting.
"Just stay close" Izumi said calmly.
Izumi was able to take those corners at high speed, the cops slowly stayed behind.
"Izumi, I'm not too familiar with these roads and my car can't keep up. I can't drift" said Anya.
"Don't rev your car too much, it has too much horsepower. Just get enough speed to get in and match your speed at a good rev then let off the throttle as you come out of the turn and you'll be fine" Izumi responded.
Anya followed Izumi's advice and was able to keep up at a descent pace.
"On the bottom of the mountain there should be an abandoned fort. We can hide while the heat is off" said Izumi on the radio.
"Good idea"
The cops stayed behind negotiating thru the tight corners and hairpins. Some cruiser wipeout due to their automatic transmissions.
"This is unit 598, requesting air support" said one officer.
"Negative, the bird is already on a search and rescue mission" said a woman at dispatch.
"Damn. We'll never catch them" the officer complained.
"I'm taking over the pursuit" said an officer. He revved his Corvette C6 and raced out of a dirt road as soon as he saw the Toyota Supra and the Maserati racing downhill.
"What a hell?" Izumi and Anya said in unison when they saw the Corvette with its lights flashing.
"Pull over immediately!" The cop commanded.
Both cars made the last corner of the downhill, the cop got closer to the Maserati and clipped its front against the Italian super car.
"Shit!" Anya protested as she almost lost control of the car. She stepped on the accelerator, the Corvette did the same keeping close. Izumi saw what was going on from her rearview mirror.
"Ok… let's see what you've got" Izumi downshifted and pulled on the e-brake, making a 180 turn. She gunned the engine and raced towards the Maserati and the Vette.
"Anya, move out of the way" Izumi was racing head on towards both cars when Anya moved out of the way. The cop was psyched out when he had the Supra just a few feet in front of him. He violently steered out of the way but lost control of his car and started to spin out. After making a 360 spin, the Corvette slammed against a rock. Izumi yanked the e-brake again and did another 180 spin. She stepped on the accelerator and she passed the Corvette, the officer stumbled out of the wrecked muscle car. Other than a few scratches he was fine.
"Now who's crazier?" Anya taunted.
"We gotta get out of the highway before they send more backup" Izumi warned.
After clearing the downhill, the scenery changed drastically from a mountain area with green trees and a lake to a desert. Seacrest County had such scenery. As the Toyota Supra and the Maserati sped down the highway, on the right was a dirt road leading to a fort. Izumi and Anya took refuge in there.
Izumi got out of the car, she looked upset.
"What happened back there?" Anya asked.
"Someone called it in" Izumi said as she leaned on the hood of her car.
"No shit, but who?" Anya looked annoyed.
"Someone doesn't want us to make the run and I think I know who that is" Izumi responded.
"Who?" Anya was curious to know.
"Does the name Jack Macleod sound familiar?"
"Nope" Anya answered "Who's he?"
"When I recovered Sauniere's car that other night, I was confronted by him. He warned me not to get involved. He called me yesterday when we left Tri City." Izumi pressed her temple with her index finger to relief some stress "We need to get to Rockport before he blows our cover"
"From here we split up and meet in Rockport to deliver the money. Do you think your friends will be there?" Anya asked.
"Yeah or at least I hope so" said Izumi.
Anya got close and put her hand on Izumi's shoulder "We need to stay focused and nail Sauniere"
"You're right" Izumi smiled at Anya.
"Let's go" Anya walked to her car "I'll see you at the boatyard"
Izumi nodded.
The engine on the Maserati roared as it made its way out of the fort.
Izumi pulled her phone and dialed Mia's number.
"Hey Izumi, is everything ok?" Mia asked.
"After being chased by the Seacrest County Sheriff's Department I could say I'm ok now"
"I've heard they were tipped off and we're trying to find out who did it but now I have some bad news though. It's Marcus" Mia said.
"What? Is he ok?" Izumi's voice displayed great deal of concern.
"His car was blown up and got injured in the explosion" Mia responded.
Izumi was quiet and in shock.
"Izumi?" Mia said with concern in her voice.
"What do you mean his car blew up!" Izumi asked with anger.
"I don't know the details, that's what Tri City PD is saying" Mia answered.
"Damn it! This wasn't supposed to happen" Izumi's voice started to crack a little, she fought the tears in the process. One thing is that Izumi didn't show much interest in people but she cares about those that became friends. She was good at hiding emotions.
"It's ok, he's alive and well. He's recovering, it was just a dislocated arm and broken ribs" Mia's voice sounded re-assuring.
"Do me a favor Mia, run a check on Jack Macleod. I have a feeling he tipped the cops off" Izumi went from sad to pissed off.
"Who's Jack Macleod?" Mia asked.
"This guy who wants me to step away, he seems to have a beef with Sauniere but I don't think he's a friend. He may be working for another organization" Izumi explained.
"Ok I'll check him out, for the meanwhile be careful" said Mia.
"Ok Mia, I'll see you later"
Izumi got back into her car and turned the ignition on. She closed her eyes, trying to pull her mind together. She pulled out of the fort and drove into the main road en route to Rockport.
Later that evening…..
Rockport 8:00 p.m.
After splitting up according to plan. Izumi arrived to Rockport. She got off the freeway and made her way thru a large industrial area en route to the abandoned shipyard in the Camden district.
"I have a bad feeling about this" Izumi thought to herself as she came to a stop at a red light, apparently closure of the case was near but she had a hunch things were turning for the worse. Marcus was almost killed by an explosion, someone tip the Seacrest County Sheriff about the run and not to forget the leak of information on the operation. Izumi picked up the radio and tried to contact Anya.
"Anya… are you there?"
No response
"That's odd" Izumi thought to herself as the light turned green. She kept driving towards the location, according to the GPS it was about 15 minutes away. Her phone rang, she saw the caller ID.
"I've just made it to Rockport" Said Izumi to Mia.
"Good, we're on stand by but something is off" Mia responded.
"What do you mean?" Izumi asked
"No one's here, it's like they've been tipped off" Mia was just as confused as Izumi, usually everyone is punctual for these kind of "transactions".
"Have you heard of the DEA making a move?" Izumi inquired
"Nope, is like if they didn't know this was going down" Mia answered.
"Ok. I should be there in 15 minutes, let's see what happens and….." Izumi was cut off short as a black Hummer suddenly T-boned her Supra, losing control of the car and sending her crashing into an antiques store. Izumi bumped her head against the wheel.
"What a hell?" Izumi felt disoriented as she placed her hand on her forehead.
"Izumi, is everything alright?!" Mia said as she heard the loud noise from the wreck.
"Bring the bitch alive!" said one man coming from the Hummer
"Izumi, what's going on?! Are you ok?" Mia was suddenly cut off.
Izumi picked up her gun and exited the car, then she saw the guy carrying an AK 47 entering the store, without hesitation she shot him in the leg.
"Fuck!" yelled the guy as he fell to the ground.
Izumi ran towards the back, still felt a high sense of confusion due to her head being bumped against the steering wheel.
"She's running thru the back!" Another thug yelled.
Izumi opened the door that led to a back alley, she ran and all she could hear to make matters worse….. Dogs barking and growling as they chased after her. Then she saw a fence and climbed it and kept running to an apartment building. In the hallway she almost bumped into a middle aged man carrying groceries, accidentally dropping her gun in the process. She could hear her attackers making a run inside the building. However Izumi ran up the stairs into the second floor. There she saw a Hispanic couple arguing on the hallway. Izumi pushed them both and made it into the apartment. She stopped for a second and scanned her surroundings, she heard the man yelling at her in Spanish.
"I'm sorry" Izumi apologized to the man when she turned and faced him. Then she looked at a window the led to the fire exit, she took her leather jacket off and wrapped it around her hand, then she broke the window to exit the building. She made her way through the fire exit and jumped down the emergency ladder.
As soon as Izumi landed and rolled on the floor due to the fall. One thug was waiting for her, she threw a side kick to his mid-section and then grabbed him by his shirt and executed a Judo throw. Another man ran and tried to punch her but she blocked the attack and countered with a back spinning elbow to his nose. A third attacker came and before he could act, Izumi executed a back spinning jump kick to his head. The guy fell to the ground unconscious. However before she could make a run for it, she felt someone hitting her on the back of the head, causing her to lose balance.
"Got her!" said the henchman.
Another two men grabbed Izumi, one grabbing each arm as they cuffed her hands behind her back and dragged her to the other side of the back alley into a loading bay of a warehouse nearby.
A third henchman came with a chain and wrapped it around her neck as if he was about to strangle her, he just applied enough pressure to just let her breathe. Izumi tried to struggle but at no avail.
A limo pulled up and the door opened. Jerome Sauniere emerged from the limo.
"You thought I wasn't gonna find out you're undercover? Detective De Souza" Sauniere said.
Izumi was quiet but she stared hard.
"Answer him!" a henchman slapped Izumi across her face.
"Don't ruin her face, that's my job" said Andrei who came out of the limo as well.
Izumi grinded her teeth "Your operation is over"
"You see Detective, I'm untouchable. Do you think you got this far all by yourself?" Sauniere taunted.
"I got back up" Izumi said.
"Who? Isabelle? Or should I say Anya?" Sauniere smiled "She had an unfortunate accident"
"Poor whore. She kept calling your name" said Andrei.
Izumi felt nothing but anger "We got enough dirt to put you away for life"
Jerome nodded at Andrei.
Andrei stood behind Izumi and hit her in the back of her head with his gun. She fell to the floor unconscious, now at the mercy of the people she was set out to apprehend.
The Junkie's notes: The race in this chapter is a homage to the police chases on NFS Most Wanted and Carbon where you could bump into the semi so the logs could roll on the cops and it's also a homage to the anime Initial D. That's why there's some downhill drifting here. Some details on how to drift are depicted here also, for example the fact of not being able to drift in a car such as a Maserati which has too much power for a drift. One more important thing Mia Townsend makes an appearance in this chapter and she will be in the upcoming chapters so again….. Here's the disclaimer… ahem I don't own Mia, EA does. Dear people at EA don't sue me. And the last part of this chapter when Izumi was ambushed somewhat reminds me of NFS The Run when Jack Rourke had to evade the cops and the mob in those QTE cut scenes.