I'm alive!

Drive Me Crazy
-
U-Turn

It was astonishing how fast it all fell into place that weekend at the Summer Home; as soon as he and Konohamaru began picking apart the data, Neji knew they had made a massive breakthrough. He called Kakashi who agreed to meet them both the next day, as well as to contact Genma and Sabaku Security.

"And don't worry about Tenten," he'd added on. "I'll let her know as well. The two of you enjoy the rest of your evening there."

Neji didn't have a logical reason to object to his Captain's assurances, so he signed off with "Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir," and an irritated gut. He had planned on packing up and moving his operation back to the station rather than staying with Hinata, Hanabi, and Konohamaru, in their library-turned-mini-crime-lab.

The pictures Hanabi helped print and cut were taped on the large whiteboard his Uncle kept there for when he worked at the home, with various lines drawn by Neji connecting them. Hinata made subtle inquiries at Neji's direction while Hanabi texted friends that were unlikely to speak to anyone to whom Hinata had spoken.

Inside of three hours, they'd made more headway in the case than Neji had made in two years.

"So, this whole time?" Hanabi breathed, looking at the layout Neji and Konohamaru had created in the study.

"The items were stolen before the burglaries were staged," Neji nodded. "That is how they were able to use unimportant people for the getaways - whatever they were "stealing" wasn't that important, and they couldn't tell us anything if they even got caught."

"But how?" Hanabi looked to Konohamaru.

"Bored rich kids," he shrugged. "They were feeding each other information. Probably not putting it together."

"Someone had to," she frowned. "Someone had to have started all of this."

"You're right," Konohamaru snorted. "And someone had to coordinate the moving of the goods. This stuff must be going over some borders if we haven't had any trace of it."

"And now that we have a shift in the 'when,'' Neji stepped back to consider the whiteboard they'd organized with pictures. "All of the previous alibis have to be revisited."

"Hey," Hanabi plucked a piece of paper off the desk. "Did you notice that the races are always pretty near to the burglaries? Like soon before or after?"

"Races?" Hinata looked between them all.

"These children have too much money and not enough responsibility," Neji snorted. "They like to race their cars - or their parent's cars - in wholly unsuitable terrain. Their mechanics must be making a fortune."

"So how are they not getting caught?" Hinata frowned. "Father's mechanic would have told him if anything had happened to his cars."

"Holy shit," Konohamaru breathed. "Hanabi - remember when I told Dao I couldn't race because my car was in the shop?"

"He said he knew a guy..." she said, eyes widening. "And everyone else vouched for him. Said he was good. Discrete."

"Did he give you a name?" Neji asked sharply.

"No," Konohamaru smirked. "But when I asked, they'd all met this guy through his cousin."

"And look!" Hanabi looked over the list again. "Dao and his cousin are the only ones that went to every race. Some of the drivers said he'd even slammed into them and offered to have their cars fixed on his tab. And look here!" she pointed eagerly. "This last race - it was one week before the Wantanabe robbery, but Madame Wantanabe's grandson couldn't make it at the last minute. Dao made a point to taunt him into showing up at this next one - bet he's their next target!"

They beamed at Neji, but it was Hinata who ventured. "Is it enough?"

"I think I should go have a chat with Dao. Why don't you text him, Konohamaru and ask him the name of his mechanic."

"I'll do it," Hanabi got out her phone. "Dao's not a fan of Konohamaru..." she trailed off as she tapped out her message. It was only a moment or so before she replied. "Kyūroku."

It was Neji's turn to frown. "I've heard that name before..."

"So's the Captain," Konohamaru held up his phone. "Says: Congratulations, you've linked this thing to the Wagarashi Family."

"The Wagarashi Family," Neji's eyes widened. "Their syndicate is out of the Land of Tea. We shut them down after we realized they were working with a corrupt member of the Governor's cabinet."

"Hey," Hanabi tagged Konohamaru on the arm. "Wasn't that last race near that border?"

"Ouch, but yes?" he rubbed his arm. "I think so."

"And I'll bet if we look up this 'garage' of Kyūroku's, it is registered just out of jurisdiction," Neji grimaced.

"Won't matter if we can pin this all on him," Konohamaru pointed out. "We'll have the legal backing to act. We probably have enough for a warrant as it is."

"What we need is to catch him in the act," Neji rubbed his head. "When is the next race?"

"I heard Dao say something about a race tomorrow," Hanabi offered.

"I could run it," Konohamaru mused. "Can arrange to be hit by him - that would at least get us to the mechanic."

"It has to be someone that's been robbed, doesn't it?" Hanabi mused. "We don't know if they moved the Wantanabe goods already or if they were waiting. Someone needs to drive that kid's car - that is probably where the stolen items are, yes?"

"Possibly," Neji agreed.

"Huh," Konohamaru held up his phone. "Captain must be way ahead of you. Says he's got someone checking the Wantanabe cars, and Tenten has already been informed."

"What?" Hanabi balked. "You're going to let her do this?"

"They hand out the routes the day of the race," Konohamaru rubbed the back of his neck. "If he doesn't take the bait and hit her car, we will need someone capable of following him until we can catch up."

"And there are very few places to lie in wait along those roads," Neji felt his stomach drop. "And no way to anticipate the route. We have to rely on a pursuit tactic, and that will require an incredibly experienced and skillful driver."

Hinata looked at Neji.

"And is this alright?"

Every part of Neji wanted to declare that it was decidedly not alright. He knew the area in question, and it would not be difficult for a chase to go from tricky to treacherous, if the other driver was skilled enough.

Still, he had seen Tenten in action, and he could not deny a simple truth: she was the person best suited for this type of assignment.

"She can handle it," he said with a curt finality. "Between her skills and Kankurō's gadgets, we'll have eyes on her, should something go wrong. Let's run this one more time," He nodded to Konohamaru and then to the board. "I've been waiting for two years to nail these bastards - let's be sure of our facts."

Konohamaru's grin was sharp. "On it, Boss!"

Anticipation coiled in Neji's veins, tempered by a determination to bring his investigation to a successful close. Once that was accomplished, he'd have time to think about the possibility of his unofficial partner moving on to other things, and possibly leaving Konoha.

Until then, he shoved the thought aside, and ignored the dull ache in his chest.

Let's wrap this one up! - GL