Author's Note: I am so sorry I am so long in updating—I have been recuperating from a recent hospitalization and also had three book layouts to complete for my job. Writing stories is my hobby and other things do take priority but I promise that this story shall be completed quickly now that I'm on the mend. Thank you for your patience and I hope you enjoy this latest chapter.

IN THE NICK OF TIME

At the oasis amid the palm trees and desert brush nestled by a sand dune was a bunker type building that had at one time been a military base for the Soofki army, desert division. Inside, there was a briefing room, a bunkroom, kitchen and mess with enough provisions for about twenty men. But due to a slash in the size of the army, the desert division was dropped and the bunker abandoned.

The two men in black who had captured Trixie were seated in the briefing room on hard wooden folding chairs sullenly waiting for their next order. Punjab, the taller of the two cast his rodent eyes back at the door leading to the bunkroom where Speed Racer's wife was laid out, bound and gagged.

"I hope His Highness will be joining us soon. When the woman wakes up, she will be difficult to handle," he muttered to his companion.

The shorter man Fasmir grunted in affirmation and added, "She was quite the vixen before the chloroform took effect." He rubbed a bruise growing on his cheek where Trixie struck him during the struggle. His companion regarded him with a crooked grin, amused at his comrade's predicament.

"Hmm. Did you give her enough to keep her knocked out until the prince arrives?"

"Yeah. She'll sleep for a while yet. Though I never would imagine a little slip of a thing like her could punch like that." His memory of a petite green-eyed spitfire struggling with all her might before they finally subdued her would stick with him for a while and he promised himself that he would not make the mistake of taking her lightly. . . .

On the desert, the Mach 5 was a white flash barreling through the blowing sand like a hot knife through butter, the Ebony Tiger right behind. Both cars were throwing up sand to add to the ensuing storm, seemingly oblivious to the treacherous conditions.

In the Mach 5's closed cockpit Speed was beset by a myriad of emotions as he focused on the task at hand, to bring his bride back safe and sound. He was terrified as what the insane monarch planned to do with his beloved and dreaded that he may not be in time if the sandstorm got any worse. Underneath it all, he was seething with a cold rage that gnawed at his insides and he savored the thought as he pictured Omar's scrawny neck in his hands as he squeezed the life out of him, giving him a anticipatory gleam in his cold cobalt eyes. He gritted his teeth in fury and determination.

The radio came to life with Kim Jugger's voice. "The oasis is about ten miles to the northeast and if we approach from the west, we'll have less of a chance to be caught. Stealth is the key."

Speed picked up the mike and answered, "Gotcha. You want to get in front of me and lead the rest of the way?"

"I think that's best."

"No problem. I'll slow down and you pass me and get in front so I follow you." Speed replaced the mike and then cut back on the throttle so the Ebony Tiger could roar past. He then jammed on the accelerator to maintain pursuit.

Before long the oasis and the military bunker came into view. Kim signaled by hitting his brake lights twice and then veered off to the left behind a sand dune. Speed followed as the Ebony Tiger drew up to his side and Kim leaned out the driver's side window to plan their next move.

"We now need to move covertly. Any closer and Omar's men would have seen us."

Speed opened his cockpit, flipped up his visor and regarded the dark racer intently. "So how do we get close enough to get her out of there?" he yelled over the wind.

Kim stared ahead contemplating. He then brightened up as he replied, "We can come through the back of the oasis and through the secret exit."

"Secret exit?" Speed echoed.

Kim nodded, "My father built a secret rear exit in case of attack. He always made sure there was a way of escape in case of failure."

Speed nodded silently as he looked into the blowing sand his mind on Trixie and if she was all right. Trixie honey, just hang in there. I'm coming to get you, so have faith in me. he said fervently. "So what are we waiting for?"

Kim responded, "Take it easy, Speed. If we aren't careful, we could blow everything and they will kill your wife. We have to move under the cover of the dust storm"

Speed sighed heavily as he grudgingly agreed, "You're right but I just want to get her back."

"Yes, but you want to get her back in one piece. If they see us, she's as good as dead." Kim took a pair of binoculars and peered through the blowing sand. "The best way is to head east and then come up behind the oasis and enter through the secret door in the rear of the bunker." He whirled and headed to his car to get in. He started the engine and his voice came over the radio.

"Follow me."

Wordlessly, Speed started the Mach 5 and continued behind the Ebony Tiger as it made its way through the airborne sand to the oasis. . .

At the bunker, the black Land Rover pulled up and Prince Omar jumped out and raced through the blowing sand to the entrance. He wrenched the door open to let himself in.

Both men shot to their feet at attention when the prince entered. "Your Highness, forgive us," they echoed obsequiously but Omar waved his hand impatiently.

"Silence! Where is the lady?" Omar barked.

"S-she's in the sleeping quarters. W-we had to subdue her by tying her up, she gave us quite a fight." Punjab fingered his mottled cheek gingerly.

"Fools!" Omar hissed. "I told you to take care of her but she was to be unharmed. What did you do to her?"

"N-nothing, my liege. W-we merely tied her up. She's unconscious, we gave her chloroform, she's still sleeping."

Omar whirled from them and growled over his shoulder. "She'd better be all right or I'll have both your heads."

Both minions cowered as they watched the prince enter the quarters.

In the sleeping quarters, Trixie was still out, bound and gagged on a filthy cot. Omar approached her slowly, feasting his eyes on the soft innocent beauty of her face in repose. Licking his thick lips, he moved sinuously to the cot and knelt beside her.

"Well my sweet Trixie, I'm sorry that it had to be like this, but you left me no choice. I'm determined to have you and I will not be denied. From the day I first saw you, your lovely face has haunted me. You are now mine."

He reached to plant a kiss on her forehead and at his touch her sea green eyes fluttered open. At seeing Omar's pockmarked visage smiling at her she recoiled and turned her head away. He laughed at her attempts to avoid him.

"Trixie, how good of you to awaken and join me. I trust you had a good rest."

Trixie's eyes widened fearfully as she stared at him incredulously, the gag keeping her silent.

"Of course how silly of me! Now you can answer me." Omar chuckled amused, as he slid the gag from her mouth, caressing her cheek in the process. Trixie flinched at his hand's touch.

She took a deep breath. "Omar, what are you doing? Surely you don't think that you'll get away with this, my husband will find out and come to rescue me."

Omar grinned evilly. "Not if he can't find you. You see, Trixie my love, this oasis is far from the race course and nobody but a chosen few know about its existence. Speed Racer won't be able to find you and you will cease to be his."

Trixie shook her head in disbelief. "Omar, you don't know Speed. He'll be relentless till he finds me when he discovers I'm missing."

Omar threw her a Cheshire Cat smile and answered smugly, "He won't find you. I've made certain of that. When the race is over, my lovely cousin Sibana will be quite convincing that you left with me very willingly. Eventually he'll get the idea and being the proud man he is, he will not come after you."

Trixie's eyes widened in alarm. Prince Omar was truly insane, he had himself convinced that he could make her his by simply taking her away from Speed. She was filled with an icy draught of dread as she comprehended what he would do next. . . .

Meanwhile, both the Ebony Tiger and the Mach 5 arrived at the oasis and pulled behind some brush, concealing them from the bunker, 25 feet away as the sandstorm raged around them. Speed and Kim Jugger both exited their respective cockpits and hid behind a rock formation to the right to plot their next course of action.

Speed was antsy and on edge. "So how're we gonna get in there to get Trixie?" he demanded brusquely, anxious to get to his wife.

Kim replied, "There's an underground tunnel that leads to the kitchen near the mess. The entrance is about five feet from where we are now." He pointed to some 50-gallon drums in a group about five feet away.

"So what're we waiting for an engraved invitation? Let's make tracks!" Speed exclaimed as he leapt forward but Kim laid a restraining hand on him.

"Not so fast. We have to be careful as how we plan our approach. Omar may be a slime but he's no fool."

At the sound of Omar's name, Speed gritted his teeth and snarled, "When I get through with him, he'll be a corpse. Or damn near close to one. So what's our next false move? "

Kim frowned and reiterated, "We need to be wise as serpents and gentle as doves. We'll go through the tunnel and into the kitchen. Chances are he's got her in the bunk room because there are cots there to tie her to. The kitchen is right next to the bunk room so we'll be close by."

A chilling thought came to Speed. "What if he's got her somewhere else?" The last thing he wanted to think was that she wasn't here at all and that they were just on a wild goose chase.

"I'm sure he has her here. The way I heard him and Sibana talking, it is the only logical place to bring your wife. Her absence would not be questioned if she conveniently 'disappeared'." Kim pointed out.

Well, don't sugarcoat it for me," Speed said sarcastically. "After all we're only talking about my wife."

Kim's expression softened. "I know. But you need to know the gravity of the situation. So let's go and move very carefully." He turned to head for the drums in the distance.

"You don't have to tell me twice," Speed answered as he followed suit.

Both men crouched to the blustering wind and sprinted over to the drums. Kim then opened one and climbed in with Speed following. Once inside, they crawled along a tunnel about eight feet below the surface and then climbed up into a subterranean vent that led to a trap grate in the kitchen. Kim turned with a finger to his mouth to Speed and they listened carefully to try to discern what was going on. . . .

In the bunk room unbound and without a gag, Trixie was sitting on a cot listening to an impassioned soliloquy by the prince as he mapped out his plans for her. She grasped Omar's ramblings with a mixture of fascination and horror, realizing that the monarch was indeed mad. He was busy outlining his plan to build a life with her that made her blood run cold, going on about making her his princess, and her giving him an heir to his throne. It was then that Trixie decided that she would try to reach him by telling him about her pregnancy.

"O-Omar, I have something to say to you, something you need to know," she said hesitatingly, her eyes pleading.

Omar was immediately alert. "What is it, my dove?" He knelt beside her to listen.

Trixie cleared her throat. "I-I think you should know. I'm going to have a baby."

Omar chuckled delightedly. "But of course, we'll have many babies, my love, once we're married."

She tried again. "No, you don't understand. I am going to have a baby. I'm pregnant, Omar."

As realization dawned on him, his warm smile faded as his eyes narrowed. "Who has done this to you? Who was the filthy dog who touched you?" he howled as he became enraged, leaping to his feet.

Trixie sighed, "Omar, my husband Speed Racer is the man I love and the father of my child."

At those words, Prince Omar became truly animal like in his behavior. He made a low guttural growl like a jungle predator and whirled from her. He then turned slowly around with the coldest smile that sent a chill down her spine.

"No matter. The situation will be dealt with. That infidel Racer will pay for his trespassing and I will of course forgive you for your 'indiscretion'." He left and she heard him bark out orders to his two henchmen to meet him in the mess hall.

"Punjab! Fasmir! Come to the mess hall immediately!" His tone brooked no disobedience.

Both men rose and followed their prince to the mess area. They waited for his directives.

"I have a job for you to perform. You still have the chloroform?"

"Yes, Your Highness," Fasmir replied.

In the tunnel, Speed and Kim lay silently as they strained to hear any conversation. They were soon rewarded for their patience as they listened carefully to the exchange.

Omar commanded, "I want the two of you to put the lady under sedation again. But this time when you do, I want her beaten, especially struck hard in her stomach repeatedly but do not kill her. Kill the seed but not the flower."

Hearing those words, Speed shot forward as if to burst through the grate but Kim held him back.

He whispered furiously, "What the hell are you doing? You heard what that bastard wants to do to my wife. Let me go, damn it!"

"Now is not the time."

"Not the time?" he echoed incredulously. "When will it be the time, you heard what they plan to do to her. We gotta stop them," Speed insisted, livid.

Kim hissed, "We will but we need to keep them unaware for the time being. When they go back out to the front of the bunker, we'll make our move." As if on cue, the trio went away from the mess area. He readied himself and noted that his companion was like a cobra, coiled and ready to strike. "Okay, Speed at the count of three we come out, but quietly. One, two, three—go!"

The grate opened and both men emerged from the underground tunnel. They crouched in the dark room and quietly, stealthily made their way to the bunk room….

In the room, Trixie was sitting on a rusty cot, her mind teeming with the implications that the prince made in his non compos mentos state and his reaction to her informing him that she was pregnant. She looked up bleakly when Omar and his two stooges entered the room.

Omar smiled an oily grin that didn't reach his cold eyes. "My dear, you look completely exhausted so we're going to help you get some sleep." Her eyes became as big as saucers as he motioned to Fasmir who stepped forward with a chloroform soaked cloth and grabbed Trixie, immobilizing her and pressing the cloth to her nose and mouth as she struggled to get free.

At that moment, Speed and Kim burst into the room. In a red haze of fury, Speed flew at Punjab like an enraged linebacker at a hapless quarterback and tackled him, squeezing his throat with one hand and leveling a knockout punch to break the man's nose. Kim rushed up to Fasmir and his eyes bugged out in abject fear as he dropped the now unconscious Trixie. He tried to run but Kim grabbed him and grinned cruelly as he buried his fist in the solar plexus of the prince's henchman, causing the man to double over and then he viciously kneed him in the groin making Fasmir howl in agony as he crumpled to the ground.

Omar watched in dismay as the two racers dispatched his two strongest assassins relatively easily so he scooped up the limp form of Speed's wife and beat a hasty retreat out the rear door of the bunker.

Speed noted the exodus of the prince sprinting away carrying his wife and jumped to his feet, tossing the out cold henchman aside like a rag doll.

"Trixie!" he screamed as he bolted toward the door after them. Kim leapt over the prone form of Fasmir and tailed the frenzied racer as he ran after the man who had his wife.

Outside in the midst of the raging sandstorm, Omar ran blindly as he spotted the parked racing machines. He headed for the Ebony Tiger and getting to the vehicle, tossed the unconscious woman in the front seat like a sack of potatoes as he leapt behind the wheel. He turned the key and the powerful machine roared to life then took off in a cloud of raised dust into the windswept desert.

Speed sprinted to the Mach 5 and he and Kim vaulted over the sides into the cockpit. Speed started and revved the 12 cylinder power plant as he whirled the car about and floored the accelerator to give chase.

Both vehicles sped across the arid landscape and blowing gusts throwing up huge clouds of sand in their wake. The Mach 5 was gaining as Speed opened the throttle, shifting into double overdrive to get every bit of performance out of the mighty white racing machine. His expression was grimly determined as he gritted his teeth and leaned over the steering wheel as if to urge the car on.

In the Ebony Tiger, Omar kept glancing in the rear view mirror and saw the rapidly advancing Mach 5, getting closer and closer. He knew that death was in that white race car in the form of the Formula 1 champion and that once he caught up to the Ebony Tiger, he would make the sand taste blood, Omar's blood. He had seen how quickly and ruthlessly Speed had dealt with his servant Punjab and he knew that there would be no mercy for him at Speed Racer's hands. A cold rivulet of fear skittered down his spine as he grasped that reality.

Omar was so preoccupied with the inevitable blow coming that he paid no attention to where he was going and the Ebony Tiger was heading full steam into a huge sand dune. By the time he had seen the dune and wrenched the wheel to try to avoid it, the car careened out of control and smashed head on into the dune, causing the vehicle to come to an abrupt halt.

The Mach 5 screeched to a stop as Speed and Kim both hurdled over the side and raced to the crashed vehicle. He noted and ignored Omar's limp form slumped over the steering column as he made his way to the passenger side.

"Trixie! Trixie, are you all right? Speak to me, sweetheart," Speed pleaded as he leaned inside to take his wife's shoulders and shook them gently. She was still under the effect of the anesthetic and out cold so she was unresponsive.

Kim came up to Speed and shouted over the wind. "We have to get them out of there."

Speed nodded as he answered back. "I'll get Trixie out and you get the other one." He didn't trust himself to touch the prince, remembering what was said at the bunker concerning his wife, he was fighting the urge to break his neck. He opened the door and scooped up the slack and senseless chestnut haired girl and brought her to the Mach 5 where he opened the car door and carefully laid her down on the passenger seat kneeling beside her.

Kim nodded in acquiescence and went to the driver's side as the sound of a helicopter whirred above them. Both gazed up as a dark shadow of a midnight blue chopper hovered above them and the radio in the Mach 5 squawked to life.

"Speed?" Sparky's voice crackled over the speakers. "I'm here in the chopper with Inspector Detector. What happened?"

Speed picked up the mike. "Kim and I have found and rescued Trixie. Prince Omar had snatched her and brought her to an abandoned military bunker at the oasis and we busted up the party." He lovingly stroked his wife's cool cheek.

Inspector Detector's voice boomed. "So how did you both end up here?"

"Omar tried to flee with Trixie but Kim and I chased after him. He ended up crashing Kim's car and we pulled both of them from the wreck. But Trixie's unconscious and needs medical attention ASAP."

"Okay, Speed. We'll land and pick you up. Over and out."

Speed replaced the mike and crouching beside his wife's prone form leaned close to Trixie, stroking her face tenderly. "Hang in there, baby. Help is coming."

The whirring became louder as the chopper landed just to the right of the accident scene. The hatch opened and both Sparky and Inspector Detector disembarked and ran to the Mach 5.

"How is she?" Sparky asked worriedly.

"Shook. I need to get her to a hospital now."

Inspector Detector nodded and gestured to the chopper. "We'll take her right to the capital." He turned and went over to Kim Jugger who was examining his car after he pulled the limp monarch of Soofki from the cockpit of the Ebony Tiger. Detector directed two officers to cuff Omar then pick him up and carry him to the chopper.

Speed reached to take his wife up into his arms but as he did he turned to his crew chief. "Sparky, make sure you get the Mach 5 back to the capital."

"Will do Speed. Don't worry about a thing, just take care of Trixie," Sparky reassured him as he went to the driver's side.

Speed got to his feet and cradled Trixie in his arms carrying her to the waiting helicopter. He placed her inside and then climbed in after her. Detector joined him and the chopper took off, rising slowly through the blowing sand. Sparky watched them go.

He sighed as he was about to get behind the wheel. He noticed Kim as he ran his hand along the crumpled hood of his racing machine, his expression inscrutable. He strode over to the man.

"Hey, Kim you need a ride so come on. When we get back to the capital, we'll get your crew and we'll come and get your car." He clapped the taciturn man on the back.

Kim smiled painfully, "I wonder if I can salvage her. The front end is badly damaged." He sighed as if he were seeing the serious injury of a close friend.

Sparky understood the man's attitude. He said comfortingly, "We'll savage her. Both of our crews will. I know Speed wouldn't want it any other way."

Kim grinned gratefully at him as both men headed toward the Mach 5.

TO BE CONTINUED…..SPEED RUSHES TRIXIE TO THE HOSPITAL WHERE A SURPRISE AWAITS HIM

NEXT---TRUTH REVEALED