Chapter XXVIII: All Going Down
PERHAPS I SHOULDN'T HAVE EXPECTED THE OTHERS TO UNDERSTAND WHAT I MEANT BY MY ANSWER.
Elise is the first to comment on my action of removing my shirt and the skin-like sheath that concealed my protection suit underneath. "Wow, that...that's your, um, Life Support Suit, right there. It's great to know that you're-"
"NO! Don't you guys get it?" I plead back. "It's THIS! The Life Support Suit HAS to be the reason!"
"The reason for what?" Mac asks. "You mean, for how he'd know that we'd leave the room?"
"Exactly!" I say. "There MUST be hidden tracking devices in the Suits or something!"
Allegra pipes up. "No way Roxanne, or um, WHOEVER you are! It's just not possible. What would even make you think this?"
"Remember when Jack had complained that Psymon and Moby were down at his mansion, but NOT me?" I implore.
"Yeah, I remember that..." Psymon declares. "What was up with that anyways?"
"What's up?" I reply. "It's because last night, when we went down there, I WASN'T WEARING A SUPPORT SUIT! You two, on the other hand, hadn't changed out of your racing outfits from earlier that day!"
"Oh, COME ON, that HARDLY proves your point!" Allegra retorts, although the astounded expressions on the others in the room show that the possibility is more than likely to them. "You...you can't think of anything else that would make more sense?"
I decide to ignore Allegra altogether now, and turn to Elise for help. "Elise, don't you remember what Brodi had said, in his gear shop? How it was a tournament rule or something to wear the Suit at all times?"
"Oh yeah!" Kaori states, blocking off anything that Elise might have added. "It's a tournament policy, to keep one on if you're ever on the peak mountains! Gosh, putting tracking chips on our protective suits? I mean, if that were true, it would be like they would want to, to..."
When Kaori finds it difficult to continue with the though, Moby finishes it for her. "It's like they would want to know if we were near something they didn't want us to see."
It's a very far-off observation, but it helps make more and more sense to the others of what I am absolutely positive is true. Griff joins in, saying, "Alright...so, how about the Rhodium caves you said you were in? Jack also knew you were there, Right? And the area didn't show up on the mountain hologram in Luther's Rock Shop...could it be possible that the Suit might have let them know where you were, even if it was out of radio reach?"
Mac responds, "I guess it's possible...I mean, what they use to map the surfaces of the mountain wouldn't be the most accurate for underground, but a tracking chip? I'm sure those things are designed to read you no matter where you are!"
"Yeah, and how did the guards here in the building know where you guys were?" Psymon claims, pointing at me. "I think it was you, Viggo, Elise, and someone else who said that the guards brought you near this room. I guess tracking devices could have helped them as well, especially if there really are no security cameras in-"
"Aw, no way man, I just remembered something!" Viggo excitedly shouted. "Why, we might not know if we're 100% on this, but Jack even said it HIMSELF! It was during the tournament's commencement ceremony before the first race, and he talked about how as long as you were wearing a Life Support Suit, his team back up in this building would be able to find you if you got lost! That's gotta PROVE that theres something up with these protection suits!"
It's true...I remember myself that Jack, disguised as his brother at the time, saying pretty much exactly that. In fact, I'm amazed that piece of information hadn't tipped us off in the first place.
As everyone else begins to accept the idea as truth, I notice that Zoe has been leaning against the wall in the back of the room, one foot positioned on the concrete bench and the other on the floor, in complete silence. Eventually she steps away from the wall and walks toward our group, stating, "So let me get this whole thing straight; FIRST, Roxanne and I find that hidden box in the snow, which we NOW know was containing grade-A explosives, during the Cross Peak Race, and on top of that, it caused me a BUNCH of stress! THEN, after you guys discovered the dead body of whom we NOW realize was Roger, not Jack, in the mansion, and - in what I'll admit, was a pretty dumb idea on my part - after all of us traveling to this Peak tower, Jack rounds us up in this room and locks the door on us, promising that we would die. FINALLY, just as we can make our escape, we come to understand that if we DON'T deal with these protective suits, which we're pretty sure have been fashioned to track our every move, Jack is going to know that we've left this room JUST so that he'll be able to kill us in some other sadistic manner, all the while we'd be CERTAIN that we've MADE IT OUT ALIVE?"
Her voice, which grows to a shout near the end of her lecture, makes me believe that Zoe is going to throw a massive tantrum. But she does the complete opposite, calming herself down before saying, "Well. That's...very intriguing." She then turns back around to walk back to where she was resting on the wall.
And that's when Zoe lifts her right foot up into the air and, in what is clearly a bout of uncontrollable rage, pulls her foot down onto the concrete bench in the form of a powerful ax kick. Her kick is so forceful and violent that she tears the concrete away from the wall and breaks an impressive portion of the bench, which encircles the room, into thousands of smaller bits of rock. Breathing angrily, she turns back around to face the rest of us.
"I know people who have done lousy things to me before, but THIS TAKES THE CAKE!" She screams, her face looking more determined that I have ever seen her before. "That BASTARD, and each and every one of his little thugs, are ALL, GOING, DOWN!"
"But what now?" Kaori asks. "Okay, ao we know that the Suits are being used to track where we are, and, what do we do about that? Are we supposed to look for some sort like, I don't know, a little computer chip in the Suit or something?"
"That's too complicated," Psymon quickly jabs, "I say we just get rid of 'em while we can!"
Elise, anxiety swirling in her expression, counters, "What, are you saying that we should take them OFF? Not that have any other ideas but...we can't! We NEED these Life Support Suits if we plan to board down Peak Three...there just too much risk without them!"
This comment catches me off guard. I walk up to Elise and confront her. "You're KIDDING me, right? I mean, SERIOUSLY?"
"Roxanne!" Elise replies, surprised with my attitude. "You HAVE to understand; riding down this mountain without any protective wear? You saw the Peak track on the way up here, right? It's too dangerous! And I've never-"
"YOU might have never, but I HAVE!" I yell back. "For four years, as a matter of fact. You know what off-League coordinators would give us for armor sometimes, if we were LUCKY? A really, REALLY, big jacket! And let me tell you, a really big jacket...never did the best job at protecting someone on the mountain." I flinch, remembering a few choice backcountry riders in the past who weren't fortunate enough to have a Life Support Suit. "Yeah, that's RIGHT! I've probably seen people DIE before, and because they were in the same predicament that we are in now: riding down a dangerous peak, without a Lookout OR a protective suit!"
Allegra sighs. "That's fabulous. What's your point?"
"My POINT is that all of you all still have one thing over every backcountry off-League rider I've ever known - THEY weren't SSX vets!" I gesture my hands to include everyone in the room. "I mean, just think about it; you nine are probably the best snowboarders I know, let alone on this PLANET, and you've already beaten out THIRTY other riders to make it here. It proves a lot, doesn't it? I doubt that any of you will have trouble getting off this mountain."
I could feel the atmosphere improve in the room; everyone around me starting looking a whole lot more optimistic than a few minutes ago. Kaori is the first one to comment back, with a smile. "Aww...that really means the world, Roxanne-san."
"Now I'm glad we're all being chipper about this," Moby states, "but...how do we take these Life Support Suits off anyways?"
...Uh oh. Moby seems to bring up a very valid point, because all positive chatter immediately drops when he says this. After all, the Life Support Suit isn't just a bundle of heavy pads, or anything like an undershirt or underpants...this time, or at least it would have been if the Extraordinaire was still going on, the Support Suit is a full-on outfit that covers every square inch of the rider from the neck down, concealed with a very thin skin-colored sheath that gives the impression of actual skin. I'm more than certain that all of the others in this room are wearing every bit of their riding outfits over their own protective suits. As for myself - and I don't know if this thought occurred to anyone else - I almost considered wearing my Life Support Suit in place of underwear.
"Huh," Viggo flatly presents. "This...is going to be awkward."
END CHAPTER
