Chapter 7 - Interviews and plots
It was already the fifth day since the former Nitro Squad decided to spend their vacation with Crash Bandicoot and his family. There was no activity planned for today, so everyone was relaxing in the house of the two siblings.
In a hammock hanging in some trees close to the house, Liz was reading a book quietly. The brunette bandicoot didn't want to admit it fully, but the atmosphere was quite pleasant despite her initial complaints about the island. Of course, the siblings' house was not the luxurious type like hers, but the good company of her friends made everything worthwhile. Her house in Malibu could sometimes be a little lonely, since she hardly had any friends in that place, but none compared to Ami and the others.
Liz smiled when she saw Crash, Megumi and Baby T playing with a frisbee, not far from her. Seeing her two bandicoot friends enjoying each other's company reminded her of the beautiful moments she spent with Arvel. Even today, she regrets a bit for not confessing her feelings, not to mention that her blue-haired friend is in a similar situation.
"I already lost my chance" she thought with a sad smile. "But maybe you now have yours, Megumi."
The brunette bandicoot got distracted when she felt someone touching the edge of the hammock. It was Polar, who seemed to be happily asking her to play with them. "I'm so sorry, little one" she apologized. "Now I am in the middle of a reading. Maybe later, okay?"
Polar was saddened by the answer, but decided to leave her alone.
Liz felt guilty. She didn't like to see her two favorite animals sad, so she quickly changed her mind and got up from the hammock. "Oh, what the hell?" she said happily, catching the bear's attention. "These wouldn't be vacations without some fun."
Polar was encouraged when he saw that the brunette bandicoot joined. Together, they went to where Crash and the others were playing.
"Hey guys!" Liz said. "Do you need more players?"
"Of course!" Megumi said.
At the same time, Ami had gone for a run on the beach. She needed to feel fit, because she hadn't exercised since arriving on the island. Pura and Aku Aku wanted to accompany her, so they went for a run together, except for that mask, who only floated.
The green-haired bandicoot wore a black sports bra, short green pants, black sneakers and a backpack containing two bottles of water and a bowl for Pura. After running a few kilometers along the beach, Ami and the little tiger decided to rest for a moment, followed by Aku Aku, who had accompanied them floating along the way.
"Phew! I needed it" she said before drinking water from a bottle. "I have to admit it, Aku Aku. The island is a good place for sports."
"I'm glad you like it" Aku Aku smiled at her. "If you are interested, in the city you can also find gyms."
"Maybe I'll take a look" Ami said as she poured the water from the second bottle into the bowl for Pura, who drank quietly. "But we're only here for a month. Paying for a gym would be a waste."
"That's a good point" Aku Aku said. "And where do all of you currently live?"
"Megumi and I live in Australia, while Isabella and Liz live in the United States. Still, we always keep in contact."
"That's good, and at least you and Megumi are in the same country."
"In fact, we both live in Sydney. My house is close to Sydney Motorsport Park, while hers is close to her Eau De 'Coot Company, not too far from the circuit. When we don't have much work, we occasionally plan outings to hang out together."
"You two must be very close."
"She's like my little sister" Ami smiled, but then her expression changed to a worried one. "That's why Crash's problem makes me a little uneasy. If Megumi gets her hopes up, she could get badly affected, and I don't want that."
"I understand" Aku Aku said in a sympathetic tone. "But she said she was aware of what it meant to help Crash. Besides, she is an adult who runs her own company, so she is able to make her own decisions. You can't protect her forever."
"Yeah... I guess you're right" Ami sighed. "After all, this whole thing about love and crush is not something that interests me."
"What do you mean?"
"I don't want to offend anyone, Aku Aku, but romance seems too silly. It's just something that doesn't go with me."
"Wait. Haven't you ever been in love?"
"No, and I think I'll never be" Ami said without taking importance to the issue. "I'd rather stay single."
"You don't know that" Aku Aku smiled at her. "Sooner or later, you could meet someone for whom you feel what Megumi feels for Crash. The future is very unpredictable."
"I doubt it." Ami laughed. "Anyway, I'll continue. Are you ready, Pura?"
The little tiger nodded, so the three continued with their journey.
As for Coco, she had taken Isabella to the garage, where she had all her projects; from computers to karts and other machines. But among so many gadgets, there was one in particular that caught the attention of the Italian bandicoot: it looked like a kind of laser beam tied to a stretcher.
"Coco, is that...?"
"Yes, that's the Project C" the little bandicoot walked to the laser and put her hand on the metal base with a smiling face. "This baby is the reason why Crash can talk now."
"Incredible..." Isabella was perplexed. "I see why the UN is interested in this."
"Heh, heh. Surprised?" Coco said with pride. "But we're not here for this, but for that."
The little bandicoot went to a switch located in a dark spot in the garage. When the lights came on, Isabella's jaw literally dropped and her eyes widened when she saw what Coco meant: it was a green ship. Its design was similar to the one used to defeat Dr. N. Gin's mech on the Moon, but this time it was large enough to carry a good group of people, almost a dozen. It had a cockpit that stood out from the top plus two others, one on the left and one on the right, responsible for managing weapons.
"Uhhh..." Isabella continued with that funny expression on her face, but immediately regained her composure. "Are you saying I'm going to help you with... THAT?"
"It won't be that hard." Coco laughed at her friend's expressions. "If you follow my instructions, we will finish it successfully and in less time. Sure, only if you want. I won't force you."
Isabella didn't know how to respond. On the one hand, helping to build a ship wasn't exactly something she was hoping to do in her life; but on the other hand, she wanted to help her friend, who guaranteed that it won't be complicated.
Seeing that she didn't get an answer, Coco deduced that Isabella didn't feel safe with such work, so she approached to the tall bandicoot. "Don't worry, I understand" she said in a sympathetic tone. "I won't push you. Leave it in my hands."
But when Coco turned around, Isabella stopped her. After thinking about it for a few moments, the Italian girl had made a decision.
"I'll help you" Isabella smiled. "Just don't be too picky with me, okay? This is something totally new for me."
"I promised" Coco replied as she gave her friend a thumb up.
Meanwhile, in Wumpa City, Tawna and Pinstripe had organized interviews for possible replacements for the Nitro Squad. The event was held in one of the circuit offices, where the couple attends the registered candidates.
Pinstripe was interviewing a female gray wolf, while Tawna was reading her curriculum.
"Well, Natasha" Pinstripe spoke pleased. "As I see, your family is one of the richest in the whole island."
"I know" The girl spoke with an arrogant attitude. "If you hire me, I can provide many benefits. You won't regret it."
"I think there are no more questions then."
"Hold on, Pinstripe" Tawna said after reviewing the curriculum. "Natasha, there's no evidence here that you have knowledge as a professional racer. Without that, you cannot join."
"Tawna, what are you doin'?" Pinstripe whispered in a low voice, telling her to stop, but she ignored him.
"Oh, come on" the wolf insisted. "It's just about driving a stupid car. How hard can it be?"
"More hard will be the fine we get once you have an accident for not having experience" Tawna scolded her. "I'm sorry, but you can't join."
"Didn't you heard me? My family has a lot of money. Have you been clear, you idiot?"
"Do you think I care about that, miss?" said Tawna, keeping calm. "Also, is that the way you talk to your future bosses in an interview? With that attitude nobody is going to hire you."
"Don't give me sermons. You're not my daddy."
"And you're not my boss, so don't give me orders. I won't hire you, so you better get out before I call security."
The wolf left the office in a bad way, even saying a few words to Tawna through the halls. She was a spoiled girl without a doubt.
"What have you done?" The potoroo complained. "With her family's money we could have benefited a lot."
"You're not taking this seriously, Pinstripe" Tawna replied. "We are looking for racers for the team, not useless people who take advantage without doing anything."
"You don't see it, do you? Money moves everything. You more than anyone should know. Isn't that why you decided to leave Crash in the foist place?"
Tawna got bothered by that argument, but she didn't protest. Deep down she knew that her boyfriend was right. She hadn't only left Crash because she found him very immature for her, but also for economic reasons. However, she felt that accepting anyone on the team would be another betrayal for Ami and the others, so she wanted to be as professional as possible.
"Just... let's continue with the damn interviews" Tawna made an enormous effort not to sound furious.
"Okay" Pinstripe sighed as he checked the list of candidates. "Only one more left. Her name is Pasadena O'Possum."
"What?!" Tawna was surprised after hearing that name. "Pasadena? The best racer of Von Clutch's MotorWorld?"
"Do you know her?"
"Not in person, but I've heard of her. What's she doing here?"
"We'll ask her" Pinstripe said before giving the approval for the racer to enter. "Next!"
The two soon saw a blonde opossum enter in a sky blue racing suit with some pink clothes. Tawna could see that, indeed, it was her.
"Good afternoon" she greeted them as she sat down. "My name is Pasadena O'Possum, and I would like to join your team."
"I know who you are, miss" Tawna smiled at her. "You're very well known all over the world."
"Oh, yeah? I hadn't noticed" Pasadena laughed nervously.
"Enough talk" Pinstripe said. "Let's get straight to the point. Why do you want to enter the Nitro Squad? Aren't you supposed to work for a guy called... Von Cloth?"
"It's Von Clutch, and yes, I worked for him before, but he fired me for cuts in the staff. However, I have a lot of experience as a racer. Here is my curriculum."
The possum proceeded to give the documents to Tawna, who analyzed them carefully. The bandicoot was quite impressed with Pasadena's professional record, which was almost as big as Ami's.
"Well, well..." Tawna smiled and looked at the possum. "I like what I see. What if we start with the interview?"
After about ten minutes of questions from Tawna, the interview was over. Pinstripe didn't show much interest in his girlfriend's decisions. He wanted to finish as soon as possible, so he let her take over.
"I didn't expect more from you" Tawna said happily. "I think we have everything we need."
"Does that mean…?" Pasadena asked.
"Yes. You are hired. I'll be waiting you here in three days without fail."
"Thank you!" the possum said cheerfully as she shook hands with the bandicoot. "You don't know how much I appreciate you!"
"Yeah, whatever" Pinstripe said a little annoyed. "You can go now."
After Pasadena left the office, Tawna leaned back in her seat with a tired sigh.
"Well, I see the interviews were not in vain after all" she said.
"Do you think?" Pinstripe said wryly. "You only accepted one of many who came today."
"But all the others were spoiled girls of rich parents without any experience. What kind of contacts of yours are those?"
"It doesn't matter…" Pinstripe decided not to answer. He didn't want to admit that he only did it for money. "See you tomorrow. I've called a newscast to promote more interviews."
"What?" Tawna asked surprised. "When were you going to tell me?"
"Who cares? I'll be waitin' for you at 5:00 tomorrow."
When the potoroo left the office, Tawna sighed in frustration. She did not like her boyfriend to perform activities on the team without notifying her, but she let him go for now. She was satisfied that she finally found someone worthwhile and wasn't a brat like the others who attended the interviews.
However, deep down she knew that no one could fill the void left by her four friends when they quit. For Tawna, they were sentimentally irreplaceable.
In the circuit parking lot, next to two karts, someone was waiting for the possum. The individual was a brown moose whose outfit looked like the one from an aviator.
"Hey, Hasty!" Pasadena called the moose as she left the circuit enclosure. "I'm in!"
"Really? That's great!" the moose hugged the possum. "Too bad the group is only for women. I would've loved to join you."
"I don't think that's necessary. You know very well that the alleged dismissal is only a strategy of Von Clutch."
"Now that you mention it, I must call him" Hasty said as he pulled out his mobile phone and dialed a number, in addition to putting the speaker so that Pasadena could be included in the conversation.
The phone took a few seconds until the screen revealed a short green cyborg in a military suit, whose helmet had racing flags.
"Guten Tag, Hasty!" Von Clutch said. "What do I owe your call to?"
"Boss, I am pleased to tell you that Pasadena was accepted in the Nitro Squad successfully."
"Excellent!" The cyborg was glad. "I knew zey would accept her. She is mein best racer after all."
"Hey!" Hasty complained. "What about me?"
"Easy, fuzzy pants" Pasadena laughed at her partner's reaction, but then looked at her boss. "What is the next thing we should do, V. C.?"
"It's simple" Von Clutch replied. "I want you to talk with miss Tawna. Try to find out more about ze sudden sabotage ze Nitro Squad suffered, ja? But you must make sure zat Don Pinstripelli Potorotti doesn't find out."
"Do you still believe in Hasty's suspicions about that potoroo?" Pasadena asked. "Sir, with all due respect, but I think all this is just a coincidence."
"You're so naive, girl" the moose said. "The boss is Crash Bandicoot's number one fan, so he is knowledgeable about the marsupial and its enemies; Pinstripe between them."
"Still can't see your point, Hasty."
"Here's a question: what do the people of the mafia do to take over a business?"
"Um... spaghetti?" the possum asked innocently.
"No..." Hasty covered his face in shame. "They economically sink the business. When I saw the news about the unknown financial boycott to the Nitro Squad and that Pinstripe would be the new promoter, I began to suspect. It is not necessary to be smart to know. Today, anyone knows about mafia practices."
"Und zat's why I ask you to uncover zat bastard" said Von Clutch, who soon became angry. "Zis is not fair! I saw enormous potential in zose girls und I wanted to be zeir promoter, but zis gangster came to ruin everything. I demand justice!"
"We'll take care of this, boss. That's why you pays us for" Hasty said.
"Agree. Let me know if you find out anything. Auf Wiedersehen!" Von Clutch said before the screen went out.
"I still don't think this is a good idea" Pasadena said. "We're racers, not the FBI."
"Then why did you agree to do this task?" Hasty asked. "I do it for extra payments, but you must have a reason. Am I right?"
"Well... I... uhh..." Pasadena hesitated while blushing, something that did not go unnoticed by her partner.
"Wait a minute…" the moose began to remember when Von Clutch asked them to infiltrate into the Nitro Squad. Pasadena was hesitant to accept, but quickly changed her mind when she heard they were going to the island where Crash Bandicoot, who she kept talking about lately, lives. "You still want to meet that bandicoot, eh?" he laughed.
"Shut up! That has nothin' to do with this!" Pasadena protested as her face turned completely red.
"Are you sure?" Hasty insisted. "Whenever you mention it, you do it in an amorous tone."
"Unless you close your goddamn muzzle right now, I'll kill you" she threatened him.
"All right, all right" The moose smiled playfully when he saw the possum turn her back. "I won't bother Mrs. Bandicoot anymore."
"I TOLD YA! Pasadena shouted as she went out to chase Hasty, who ran away from her with laughter.
Back at the Bandicoot siblings' house, Coco and Isabella had finished making adjustments to the ship.
"Good" Coco said as she closed the engine hatch. "A few more pieces and this baby will be ready to fly."
"Great" Isabella wiped the sweat from her forehead with a rag. "I just hope I did it well."
"You've done great" the little bandicoot smiled at her. "I think it would be better to leave it for today. I want you to enjoy your vacation."
"Okay, but there is something I still don't understand Coco. What will you use as an energy source? The ship didn't seem to have fuel tanks."
"Don't worry. I already have that under control" Coco said with a smile. "Let's go back with the others."
Without more to say, the two blonde bandicoots left the garage to meet Crash and the others. They had several days ahead and they were not going to waste them.
Author's notes: Originally, Hasty wasn't planned to be in the story, but I decided to include him since I liked the character. Also, this way I avoid Pasadena having to do all the work herself.
Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter. See ya! :)