A Strong Family Chapter 6: Three Long Days, a speed racer fanfic

Chapter 6: Three Long Days

Speed was devastated as he knelt down on the floor in his den with his face in his hands. "Three Days!" he screamed standing up and kicking one of the already broken lamp across the floor. "That stupid son-of-a bitch!" he roared at the top of his lungs. When the room fell quiet again, in his head he heard Zain saying, "Don't Call The Police." That's when Speed realized that he better stop the yelling and screaming before his neighbors called the police once again. "What am I suppose to do?" he asked himself out loud. He felt like ripping his hair out of his head as he felt himself going insane. A mad man held his wife, his life hostage!

"No. Stop this. She's coming back so I have to clean up," he said trying to compose himself as he looked around at the mess. First he picked the melting ice-cream up from off the floor and then tossed it into the kitchen sink. Coming out of the kitchen with a towel, he started to wipe the floor where the ice-cream had been but then just stopped. Again he became furious and threw the towel as he stood up. Letting some more anger out he slammed both of his fists against the wall. Now feeling the pain growing in his fist, he looked out the window and into the darkness and thought, Please, please be alright, Trixie.

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Just as Speed was falling apart, Trixie was lying in the strange bed in that small windowless room. She had run out of tears and now just laid there hoping she'd be rescued soon and that Speed was all right. Suddenly she felt the baby start to kick, which usually happened whenever she wasn't moving around. Even during this miserable time she smiled as she placed her hand over her unborn child to feel the movements under her hand as well. She whispered to her baby, "We'll be all right. Daddy's going to get us out of here." She forced herself to stay positive and to think happy thoughts about their future. They would be a strong family after getting out of this ordeal. Eventually, Trixie's exhaustion from being pregnant took over and she actually fell asleep.

Hours later Speed was still wide-awake sitting on the floor in the baby's room, with his back against the wall as he stared out into space. He remembered being in that room earlier kissing his wife and holding her close. They had danced just a couple of feet away from where he was now sitting. She had told him again how much she loved him and he knew it. That's how it was with Trixie. How could he not know how much she loved him because her eyes literally lit up when he walked into a room. As sweet as she was back when they were dating, her eyes turned to daggers when girls would try to flirt with him. After such moments he'd find time alone with her so that he could kiss her over and over to prove that she was the only one he wanted. She then knew she had him wrapped around her finger and he couldn't deny it.

Speed also remembered a certain, sweet argument they had about their love. They had actually argued over who loved who more. The scene came back into his mind as he slumped back on that cold wall in the baby's room. They had only been married for about six months at the time and still living in their apartment. They had been sitting on the sofa watching a movie when a commercial came on. After snuggling together, they gaze at each other and Trixie simply said, "I love you."

"I love you more," Speed said sincerely as he put his forhead against hers.

"Oh no you don't," she said taking him by surprise as she moved her face a few inches away from his.

He was shocked as his eyes widened and then he smiled and said. "I know you love me a lot but I love you more."

"Humph. How do you know I don't love you more?" Trixie asked folding her arms.

Speed thought that he couldn't believe what they seemed to be argueing about. "Let me just show you how much I love you," he said smiling as he pulled her into his arms and began to kiss her.

After the long, passionate kiss, Speed backed away from her and watched as her eyes fluttered back open while she looked as if she was coming out of a daze. But then she startled him. "Oh yeah!" she said suddenly in a fighting tone. With a strength he didn't even know she had, she pushed him back and started kissing him very fervently.

That night ended being one special night they'd never forget. It had to be a good hour when they finally stopped saying "Oh Yeah," and attacking each other to prove who loved whom more. Eventually they agreed that they loved each other the same - each really thinking they loved the other more.

Coming back to reality, Speed hated that in the present he seemed to be living out a nightmare.

The next morning Speed was still sitting in the same spot in the baby's room wide-awake when there was a knock at the door.

At first he ignored it, knowing he couldn't talk to anyone. When the knocking became louder he suddenly wondered if it was Zain sending a message. Quickly he got up ignoring the pain in his back from leaning on the wall all night. Opening the door, he saw the Masked Racer.

Speed instantly looked around him to see the Shooting Star parked right there in front of the house, and he suddenly remembered that he had made plans to meet Racer X at the track earlier that morning. Obviously the Masked Racer must have come looking for him.

"You have to get out of here!" Speed exclaimed in fear afraid that Zain and his people were watching the house.

Racer X couldn't believe the way Speed looked. His eyes were blood shot, his hair a mess, and his mood not normal at all. He looked and sounded totally out of control.

"What is going on?" Racer X asked wanting an answer.

"Please. Just go," Speed pleaded just before slamming the door shut on him and locking it.

Racer X stood there a few seconds in shock. He began walking to his car and recalled how Speed kept looking around him as if someone was watching them.

Watching as Racer X pulled off, Speed let out a relieved breath. He then just stood there staring out of one of the windows by the front door. Was someone out there watching now he wondered. Maybe he could make them tell him where Trixie was.

Five minutes later Speed heard a door to his house being opened. Quickly he spun around and saw Racer X standing by his back door to his backyard.

"I told you to leave!" Speed yelled as if he was flipping out.

Racer X closed the door and said calmly, "No one knows I'm here. I parked three blocks away."

"I can't take the chance," Speed said nervously. "You have to leave. Please."

Racer X then caught sight of the mess in the den. He looked back at Speed seeing the desperation on his face. The last time he saw Speed look this way was when Trixie was in the hospital fighting for her life after her plane accident.

"Oh no," Racer X said thinking Speed thought the press was hiding outside. "Did something happen to Trixie and the baby?" The Masked Racer feared that maybe she went into labor early and something went wrong.

Speed turned the other way so Racer X couldn't see his face. "I hope to God that she and the baby are okay."

"What? Where is she?" Racer X asked walking further into the house.

"I don't know," Speed just barely mumbled.

"What?" Racer X asked now just a couple of feet behind him.

Speed turned around and yelled, "Don't you get it! I don't know where she is!" He then kicked one of the poor lamps once again.

Before thinking, Racer X said, "I know Trixie would never leave you, unless you were acting like this."

With that, Speed's desperation on his face turned into rage. He put all of his anger into his fist and punched Racer X clear across his face.

Racer X hadn't seen that coming and somehow kept his balance - not falling on to the broken glass. He looked back at Speed who was backing up as if regretting the punch. Enraged now himself the Masked Racer grabbed Speed by the collar of his shirt and demanded, "What the hell is wrong with you!" Racer X had never seen so much fear in Speed's eyes and he knew it wasn't because Speed was scared of getting hit by him. He let go of Speed knowing that something was terribly wrong.

"They...they took her," Speed said collapsing onto the sofa.

"Trixie? Who took her?" Racer X asked confused.

Now calmer, Speed said, "If I tell you, they'll kill her."

"You're going to tell me, and they are not going to...hurt her. They don't know I'm here," Racer X said confidently.

Suddenly the phone rang. Speed quickly stood up looking for it and saw it lying on the floor where he had dropped it the night before. "Hello," he said sounding frantic as he answered it.

Zain chuckled before answering Speed. "Well hello, Speed. How did you sleep last night?"

"I didn't," Speed said putting a finger over his lips signaling to Racer X to be quiet. "Is Trixie okay?" he asked wondering if she was right there near the phone. "Can I talk to her?"

"She will be eating breakfast soon and no. You cannot talk to her. Not until you lose the race."

"I told you I'll lose. Why can't I talk to her?"

"Because that might make you feel better and I don't want you to," Zain said with his aggravating chuckle following.

"Just please remember she's pregnant," Speed said worried.

"I said she will be eating breakfast. Now if I were you I'd stay home because I will call back."

"Wait," Speed said but Zain had already hung up.

"Who was that?" Racer X asked wanting to kill the person himself.

Speed looked at the Masked Racer again not sure if he should tell him.

"Speed," Racer X said as if reading his mind. "You have to tell me so I can help. This person obviously doesn't know I'm here if he didn't say anything to you on the phone."

Speed didn't say a thing as he sat down on the sofa again looking into space.

Racer X understood the state Speed was in but he couldn't help his younger brother if he didn't know exactly what was going on.

Meanwhile Trixie was lying on the bed awake when she heard a key in the door. Just before it opened she managed to sit up.

"I see you're awake," Tim said bringing in a tray of food.

Trixie didn't say a thing. She wanted to go home and be with her husband so badly but she knew she had three long days ahead of her.

"Here's some breakfast," Tim said putting the tray down on the nightstand.

Trixie only looked down at the toast and eggs. When she looked back at Tim, her eyes said that she was afraid to eat it.

"Trixie," he said almost really sounding concerned. "You have to eat. Think of the baby."

"You take a bite first," she said picking up the fork and holding it for him to take.

Tim let out a breath. "Fine," he said. He took the fork and cut a tiny piece of the egg and ate it, then a piece of toast as well. "See," Tim said after some chewing. "I'm still alive."

Trixie didn't move.

"Look," Tim said. "Do what you want. I'll be back in about twenty minutes."

When Tim left, Trixie wiped the fork off several times and did eat only because of the baby. She surely had no appetite.

Twenty minutes later, Tim did come back. "I'm glad you ate. You have to take care of that baby."

Again Trixie was silent.

"Okay," Tim said knowing she was too mad to talk. "Mr. Zain wants to see you. I'm going to bring you to the rest room first to wash up or whatever you need to do."

Trixie only shook her head that she understood.

The bathroom was right down the hall. As soon as she was in, she closed the door and locked it.

"Oh," Tim called through the door. "Just know that we can get into that bathroom if we have to."

Trixie thought sarcastically to herself, There goes my plan to lock myself in here for the next three days. Looking around she saw that there was one window but it was too high and too small for her to get through. Quietly she checked through all of the drawers for a weapon but there was nothing. There was no mirror, or razor, or anything like that.

Another twenty minutes later, Tim knocked on the door. "Are you ready to come out?"

Trixie didn't answer but opened the door.

"Come this way," he said heading to the big den.

In the den Zain was sitting down in a recliner in front of a TV holding a remote control in his hand. "Trixie. Please come sit down," he said happily as he motioned to the sofa.

Trixie sat down on the sofa as far away as she could from his recliner.

"How was your sleep and your breakfast?" he asked as if she was staying there because she wanted to.

Trixie knew she better answer so she gave in and said, "Fine."

"I'm glad you slept well. Speed didn't sleep at all."

Trixie looked at Zain, "You spoke...

"Yes, I spoke to your husband this morning. He really wanted to speak to you but I told him no."

Trixie looked crushed as she watched the man lift the control up and aim it at the TV.

Appearing on the screen was Speed driving the Mach 5. He was flying across the finish line easily showing his skill. Following that scene were scenes from other races he had won. There were even scenes from him practicing.

"Are you obsessed with my husband?" Trixie asked looking puzzled.

Zain let out a small laugh. "Obsessed. I never quite thought of it that way. I'm not obsessed with him, but rather with his racing career. My dream is to have him on the Zodiacs."

"He would never be on your team," Trixie said angrily. "He has his own team, the Go Team."

"Maybe it wouldn't bother me so much if he just stopped winning," Zain admitted. "Oh, but how I would love for him to be on the Zodiacs."

"He wins because he's the best," Trixie said defending her husband with that same angry tone in her voice.

Changing the subject, Zain asked, "Do you miss him?"

Trixie looked at Zain, her facial expression becoming sad. "Yes I miss him. I should be with him right now."

Back at Speed and Trixie's house, Racer X was trying to drag information out of an exhausted and extremely worried Speed.

"What happened, Speed? Tell me so I can help you," Racer X said determined to.

Speed looked back at Racer X. He couldn't see the Masked Racer's eyes but somehow he knew he was sincere because of the many times he had helped him before.

"I'm sorry I hit you," Speed said now ready to tell him what had happened.

"Forget about it," Racer X said clearly not about to hold it against Speed. "Just tell me what happened."

Speed shook his head okay and stood up. "Since Trixie has been pregnant she craves ice-cream. She eats it faithfully every night. Anyway, we ran out so I left the house to go buy some. While I was coming home, I could just feel that something was wrong so I laid on the gas and got here as fast as I could. When I got here the front door was wide open. The den was a mess and she was gone. I freaked out, and I was leaving to go find her but then I heard the phone ringing."

"And it was the kidnapper," Racer X said folding his arms.

"Yes," Speed said taking a deep breath before telling the rest. "He was horrible. He spoke of how he could really hurt or even kill her, making her suffer a ...very painful death." Speed then sat down on the sofa once again agonizing over the thought.

The Masked Racer knew this psycho wouldn't hurt Trixie unless he didn't get what he wanted. "What does he want?" Racer X asked tilting his head a bit, wondering if it was money.

"He wants me to lose the race," Speed said looking up like he still found that hard to believe. "I told him I'd drop out but he wants everyone to see me lose. I could care less about everyone seeing me lose. Right now I just want Trixie and the baby back safely."

"Do you have any idea who the man is?"

"Zain," Speed said as the name alone gave him chills.

"Zain?" Racer X repeated. "The only Zain I know is the leader of the Zodiacs."

Speed only shook his head yes to his friend.

The Masked Racer remembered the huge fight Speed, he and a bunch of other racers had with the Zodiacs. It started because Zain was so mad that Speed had won a race - practically taking that victory away from the Zodiacs at the last possible second.

Before Racer X could say they should go after them, Speed said. "Zain said that the team doesn't know about it. Not all of them anyway. He also said that if I start anything or even tell my family she's missing and he's got her, he said he'd kill..."

Speed was too upset to finish, so Racer said, "Okay, let me think."

Racer X walked away from Speed and it wasn't nice thoughts he was thinking. Was Zain just going to turn around and let Trixie go right after Speed lost? No way, he'd keep her and then what if she went into labor while she was there? The Masked Racer paced a bit then stopped. If Zain did let Trixie go, Trixie and Speed's life would never be the same. He wouldn't just let them go back to normal. Speed could never race again and would be in constant fear that Trixie and the baby would disappear. The police would be out of the question too. This psycho obviously wouldn't think twice about hurting Speed's family if the police got involved. And who knew what other connections he might have. Racer X looked back at his brother who was still sitting on the sofa in pure misery. There was no way he was going to tell Speed what he had just been thinking. He especially wasn't going to tell him that he believed this man would kill Trixie in a heartbeat. What the man did already was sick enough.

It wouldn't have mattered if Racer X did tell Speed what he was thinking because Speed had already been scared thinking of those same possibilities himself.

"Okay," Racer X said looking at Speed. "I'm not sure yet how but I do know that we have to take her back and not wait for him to just return her to you. Then…we have to bring him down. There won't be a Zodiac Team when we get finished with him."

Speed looked at this man with the face that he had thought he had never seen before and for the first time since Trixie disappeared, he felt a glimmer of hope.

Before even asking how, Speed stood up and said, "Why are you going to help me?"

"Quite honestly?" Racer X said folding his arms not quite sure of what to say. He could have very easily said he was Speed's brother but he stated another fact. "I'm going to help you because I know without a doubt that you would do the same for me."

Racer X could see Speed's appreciative emotions all over his face. That was enough without Speed actually having to say thank you.

"Okay," Racer X said as he patted Speed on the shoulder before starting to pace again. "Not many people really know that we're friends."

Speed knew it was true. No one seemed to be around too much when they talked so Zain shouldn't suspect that Racer X would help him.

As if reading Speed's mind, Racer X said, "No one thinks I have any friends so he'll never suspect that I'm helping you."

Author's Note: Trixie's plane accident that I had Racer X remember above, happened in my first Speed Racer story on this site, "Speed and Trixie." Thanks for reading, Jen