A/N: Welcome back to "Pedal to the Metal"! As you can probably tell, this story has been officially renamed from "Clannad Story". That name served as a placeholder at first, but I've left it that long, it's kinda grown on me. But, since I'm currently watching "Clannad: After Story", I decided to come back to this story, and I decided to change it. So, here we are.
Also, side note, I've went back and updated the previous chapters of this story, as to accommodate the new title. So, I hope you enjoy the new chapter. Enjoy!
Chapter 7 - An Inch or a Mile
The Robertson siblings, as well as Kyou and Tomoyo, had crossed the line first, Adam leading the pack, with the three Civics passing the second after, which was understandable, seeing as they were less modified than the rest of the crew's. After the crew had raced, they had dispersed for the day, with Adam promising that he would radio them when he wanted them to go back to the track.
The next day, Adam's crew had all got in their cars, and had all met up, driving in a straight line formation, and were driving towards the track, when Adam picked up his radio, and said, "Guys, we got an issue up ahead. Traffic jam." The crew then pulled to a halt, and got out their cars, but they were surprised to see a large crowd of people. "C'mon." Adam said, leading the crew through the crowd, and he froze when he saw the wreckage of a bus. "Jesus. What the hell happened here?" Kyou asked, before Adam looked at the side of the wreckage.
"Look at the damage." he said, pointing to it, while looking to Jamie. "A car flipped the bus." Jamie said, to the shock of the crew, before Adam nodded, and his eyes narrowed at a burn mark on the ground. Kneeling down, he placed a hand over the mark, which he noticed had some yellow marks in it. "Nitrometh." he said, rubbing his fingers, before he straightened up. "That's not sold in this town, even by Han." Jamie said, getting a nod from Adam, and stepped over to an area of road, where he knelt down. Placing a hand on a tire mark, his eyes darkened and his fists clenched. "I know these tires." he said, before Tomoyo stepped over and asked, "How's that?" Taking a deep breath, he turned to her and said, "Cause I made them. And only a few people use them: myself, Jamie, Libby, our mother, Weiss and one other person." This caused the crew to look at him in shock. "What the fuck would he be doing here?" Jamie asked, before Adam shrugged. "Beats me." he said, before he noticed Kotomi was absolutely pale, and was staring at the wreckage of the bus. "Kotomi? You alright?" he asked, before the girl fell to her knees and screamed, causing the rest of the crew, as well as the crowd around her, to look at her in shock.
As the girl screamed, Adam heard the rev of an engine. "I know that car." he said, spinning to see a pitch black Nissan Fairlady tear down the street. Slapping his brother's shoulder, he pointed at the car. "Son of a bitch, it is him. What's he doing here?" Jamie asked, before Kyou spoke up. "What are you talking about?" she asked, before Adam looked at the crew. "You lot, get Kotomi off the street, now!" He ordered, then turned to Jamie and Libby. "You two, with me!" "Where are you three going?" Tomoyo asked, before Adam turned to her. "We're going to have a chat with an old friend. Now, get Kotomi help. She needs her friends." he said, getting a nod from his girlfriend, before he kissed her. "Now, go. Go!" He ordered, before Tomoyo got into the Challenger and drove after the rest of the crew, who had already taken off. "Right, you two..." Adam said, turning to his siblings while getting next to his car. "Let's roll!" He said, as the three got into their rides, and followed the Fairlady round the city, eventually slowing down at a bridge, where the Fairlady was parked. Pulling up beside it, Adam and his siblings looked over to see a boy, round the same age as Adam, sitting there.
"Hello, Cameron." Adam said, before the boy looked to him. "I see you got my message." Cameron replied, before Adam's hand tightened on his wheel. "You flipped a bus, to get my attention?" he asked, Cameron shrugging in reply. "Seems you're drawn to vehicular warfare, Robertson. I just tried to do what you taught me to." The boy said, before Adam glared at him. "I don't do that anymore." he said, before the boy chuckled. "It doesn't matter how hard you run, there are some demons you just can't escape. Remember?" Cameron said, before he gestured to the road. "I'll explain why I'm here, if one of you three can beat me." he said, causing Adam to glance briefly at the road, before he looked to Jamie and Libby. Shaking his head, Jamie said, "I don't like this, Adam. Don't do it." he said, before Libby nodded in agreement. "You two are able to win as well, remember." Cameron piped up, before Adam spun to him in anger. "Alright, Cameron. Let's do it. Quarter mile?" he asked, before Cameron smiled and nodded. "You only live once. Let's do it." he said, turning to face the road. Nodding, Adam and his siblings did the exact same thing. As the light changed from red to yellow, the four drivers revved their engines, before the light changed to green, and they all slammed on their accelerators hard, switching their gearsticks, and tearing off down the street.
Immediately, Cameron and Adam tore off ahead of Jamie and Libby, who stayed neck and neck. Rolling his eyes at Libby, Jamie picked up his walkie talkie. "Show off!" He said, before Adam's voice replied, "Not now, Jamie!", and hung up. Further along the road, that very Robertson sibling was currently a couple of metres ahead of Cameron, before there was a loud gush of wind, as Cameron tore past the Charger thanks to NOS. "Oh no you don't, Cameron!" Adam said, before pressing two buttons on his wheel, activating his own NOS canisters, and allowing the Charger to tear past the Fairlady, before passing the set of lights at the end of the quarter mile. Smiling, Adam saw Cameron scowl in his rearview mirror, before he pulled into an empty car park, the Fairlady, Skyline and Eclipse behind him.
"Guess I shouldn't be surprised you beat me, Adam. You always were faster than me." Cameron said, shutting the door to the Fairlady, before a fist flew out of nowhere and sent him to the ground. As Cameron looked back up, he saw Jamie scowling at him, his fist clenched. "Still packing a mean punch, Jamie. Good, I'd be disappointed if you didn't." Cameron said, picking himself up while massaging his jaw. "Well, you've got a promise to keep, Goldie. Why you here?" Adam asked, leaning against his car. "Yeah, I guess I do. Well, alright..." Cameron said, before starting to explain...
"A member of your mother's street racing syndicate who is actually a mole for the Vale Police Department learned of your real objective being here." He said, causing Adam's eyes to widen, before they shot to Jamie and Libby, who were equally shocked. "Adam, I know that family is the most important thing to you three, but, as a member of the Vale Police Department, you know what my job consists of. And because of that, I'm going to give you one chance... go home. End this now, or I'll be forced to take drastic measures, and you know I don't want to do that, as I respect your family too much for that, which is the reason why I've decided to lay off in the past." Cameron continued, before Adam rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Adam, you're gaining too much attention here. Enough that the VPD is sending in an elite team. "Cameron said, before Adam tilted his head and looked at him. "And I'm guessing you're part of that team?" He asked, receiving a nod from Cameron. Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Adam said, "Look Cameron, I appreciate the gesture, but I can't walk away from this. That fucker screwed my mother over. I'm going to return the favor." He said, before Cameron sighed and nodded in understanding. "I get that. Just, be careful." He said, before stepping over to his car, and entering it. With the engine roaring, the Fairlady sped off.
"You sure you want to continue with this, Adam?" Jamie asked, stepping up to Adam, who sighed, before leaning back on the Charger's hood, looking up at the sky. "Yeah, I am. But I have to be a tad more discrete in the future." He said, before sliding off the hood. "We should get to Kotomi's, see what's up with her." He suggested, before his siblings nodded. "Alright, let's get going." With that, the three got into their cars, and sped off, soon arriving at Kotomi's house.
"How is she?" Adam asked Tomoyo, when she answered the door, with his girlfriend simply standing to the side, allowing him to enter. "See for yourself." She said, before Adam and his siblings slowly entered the house's sitting room, where the sight that greeted them shocked them. Kotomi was sitting on one of the couches, being held tightly by Fuko and Ryou, while Tomoya, Nagisa, Youhei, Yukine and Kyou were scattered round the room, their faces solemn. As they heard the trio enter, every head except Kotomi's snapped towards them. "You're okay." Kyou said, embracing her boyfriend, who nodded. "Of course I am, babe." Jamie said, kissing Kyou on the top of her head. "Adam, you three know something about that bus accident, don't you?" Nagisa then spoke up from the corner of the room, causing the entire Drama Club to look to Adam, who sighed, before he cracked his neck. "Yeah, we do. The bus crash wasn't an accident. An...old friend of ours, for lack of a better term, caused the bus to crash, just to gain my attention." He said, before Tomoya's eyes darkened. "What kind of...old friend?" he asked, before Jamie spoke up. "He's a former member of our mother's street racing syndicate. My partner, in fact. That is, until I was forced to join the police force by our mother. Cameron decided to join me, and we were posted to take out a so called 'dangerous street racing gang'." He explained, before Youhei spoke up. "Three guesses which gang that was." He said, causing Adam to nod. "Yeah, it was our mother's. You can imagine how complicated it made things." He said, before Jamie scoffed and continued. "Yeah. When the identity of the gang's head was revealed, my loyalty to my family forced me to turn on the Police Department, and help my mother and siblings evade capture. Cameron stayed behind, to cover our tracks. Now, he says an elite team is being put together to take me and Adam down." He said, causing the group to look at each other, then back at Adam. "But, you're just street racers. Is that really worth putting a team together for?" Fuko asked, before Adam looked at his brother, who nodded. Sighing, he turned back to the group.
"We lied to you." He started, causing the group's faces to darken. "How so?" Kyou asked, before Libby cleared her throat. "May I explain?" She asked Adam, who nodded. "Thanks." She said, before she turned back to the group. "Adam and Jamie, though they do plan to complete their education, are here to get revenge on a man who screwed our mother over. A few years ago, when our mother was working in the street racing scene in this town, she met a guy who turned out to be a crime lord, and she started to rule the streets for him. Then, he managed to get one over on her, took every bit of money she had, and exiled her. Now, when Adam found out about this, he planned to make the guy regret that, so he decided to come to Japan." She explained, before the crew looked to Adam. "What does she mean, Adam?" Tomoyo asked, before Adam cracked his neck. "I'm planning to repay the guy in kind...by taking every single bit of his money." He said, causing the group to gasp."Adam, taking on a person like that...it's suicide." Yukine said, before Adam nodded. "True, but that fucker messed with my family, and he's going to pay." He said, before Tomoyo stood up. "Can I talk to you?" She asked, before Adam gestured out the room, and she exited, with Adam immediately behind her.
Following her into the back garden, Adam leaned against against the wall. "What was your plan, exactly?" Tomoyo asked, sitting down in a lawn chair. Growling slightly, Adam said, "Join the School, keep my cover, get my siblings here, complete the job, then my family and I would disappear." He said bluntly, before Tomoyo scoffed. "And what about your friends? Did you ever think about them?" She asked, before Adam chuckled. "You think I planned to get close to anyone? I didn't. The original plan had to be changed when I was forced to join the Club. Then it changed again when you lot started street racing." He said, before Tomoyo scowled. "How so?" She asked, before Adam sighed again. "We had to push back our plans more and more with each development. Hell, there was even one occasion where I debated calling the whole thing off." He explained, before Tomoyo sat up a bit straighter. "Go on." She said, before Adam fixed her with a look. "I'm talking about when you and I became a thing. I knew that if we continued on our plan, Jamie and I would have to hurt you and Kyou. And I love you too much for that." He said, before Tomoyo looked at her feet. "I don't know what to say. The boy I love has just revealed that he is planning to take on a powerful crime lord, just to...what? Get revenge?" She said, before Adam folded his arms.
"Thanks to that wanker, my mother lost almost everything. The only things she had left were myself, Jamie and Libby, and her car. That was all that bastard left her with. Tell me, what would you do?" He asked, before Tomoyo remained silent. "See? You can't even answer me." He said quietly, before going to leave. Stopping at the door, he looked back to her. "Stay away from my brother and sister. And especially stay away from me. That's the only way you'll be safe from all this." He said, before walking back into the house, leaving Tomoyo alone. Walking into the living room, he walked over to his siblings. "Let's go. We're clearly not welcome here anymore." He said, looking at the Club, who were all avoiding their eyes. Even Kyou wasn't looking at Jamie, which tore the older Robertson's heart in two. Nodding, his brother and sister followed him outside to their cars, then drove off.
Back in the house, Tomoyo had rejoined the Club (or what was left of it). "Adam and the others left then?" She asked, before Kotomi nodded, whilst still looking at the floor. "What do we do now? Do we report them?" Nagisa asked, before Tomoyo fell back into her chair. "We should, but we'd also have to reveal our own street racing activities as well." She said, before Kyou stepped up. "So what do you suggest we do?" She asked, before Tomoyo sighed. "I don't know." She said, causing the Club to groan.
As for the siblings in question, they had driven back to their house, and without even saying anything to each other, went to bed. Or at least, Libby did. Adam and Jamie lay awake, staring at the ceiling. After a while, Jamie decided to close his eyes and drift off, as his brother kept debating his options. Eventually, he growled slightly, grabbed his pillow and placed it behind his head. He knew that his plan was almost impossible, and it was about to get a lot harder...
Elsewhere...
At the nearest airport to the city, a military plane had touched down, and the ramp had been lowered. "Alright listen up!" A voice ordered, which was revealed to belong to a red-haired man when he stepped into view. "The men we're after are professional runners. They like speed and are guaranteed to go down the hardest possible way, so make sure you got your funderwear on. We find them, we take them as a team, and we bring them back, and above all else, we don't ever, ever let them get into cars. Crime scene's 10 hours old and counting, men. Let's go hunting." He ordered to his men, who dispersed, as he heard a car pull up. Turning round, he saw that a Nissan Fairlady was pulling up. "Finally." He said, as the car's door opened, and Cameron stepped out.
"Cameron Goldie." The man said, walking over. "I presume you'd be Cardin Winchester?" Cameron asked, extending a hand. Nodding, the officer shook his hand. "I read your file. You're the VPD's main officer when it comes to the Robertson family." Cardin said, before Cameron sighed and nodded. "I used to ride with them. Used to." He said, before Cardin scowled. "You were Jamie Robertson's partner when he worked with the VPD, and worked against him when he revealed his true loyalties. But I'm not interested in your history with the Robertsons. I only want to know your true loyalties. That, and I plan to bring the Robertsons in, one way or another." He said, before Cameron nodded. "You know Adam won't go back to prison. He'll die before that." He said, before Cardin scoffed. "Then he will." He said bluntly, before walking past Cameron, who looked at the ground, then walked over to Cardin's team. After getting introduced to the rest of the team, he walked back over to his car. After sliding into the driver's seat, he saw a file on the passenger's seat. Picking it up, he quickly read the contents, before sighing. "Ride or Die." He said quietly to himself before peeling the car out and driving away.
As Cardin watched him leave, a member of Hikarizaka's Police Department walked up next to him. "Agent Winchester, a pleasure." He said, extending a hand. "It's Cardin." He said, before the officer looked behind him, where Cardin's team was unloading two Gurkha trucks, along with a bunch of military equipment. "Is all this really necessary to apprehend two men?" They asked, before Cardin smirked. "Let me tell you something about these two men. One's a former VPD officer, spent five years in service before defecting, knows every way you're going to come for him. The other, his younger brother, is a professional criminal, escaped capture multiple times, spent the last few years of his life on the run avoiding folks like you. Trust me when I say, this'll be more than enough." Cardin said, before the officer nodded. "Well, if there's anything we can do to help the VPD..." they said, before Cardin cut him off. "Two things. One, my team needs immunity on these streets." He said, before the officer nodded. "And the second thing?" They asked, as they reached one of the Gurkhas. Turning to him, Cardin said, "Stay the fuck out of my way.", before he opened the Gurkha's door and entered, starting the ignition and driving off...
The Next Day...
The Robertsons had decided to ditch school the following day, instead choosing to drive to an abandoned warehouse, which Adam had purchased for the job. As they parked their cars inside, they got out and took a look around. "Alright, no pushing the plan back anymore." Adam said, before his siblings nodded in agreement. "Alright, let's get to work." He said, going to walk away, before they heard the revs of car engines. "What the hell?" Jamie asked, before Adam held up a hand. "I know those engines. What the fuck are they doing here?" He said quietly, before walking over to the door, and peeking out the crack. Outside, he saw the Plymouth, Challenger, and the three Civics had parked outside. Grunting, he pulled the door open, and stepped out, as the other members of the Club exited their cars. "What are you all doing here?" Adam asked, before Tomoyo sped forward and slapped him. "You idiot!" She said, before Adam turned to her, massaging his burning chin. "You really think we were going to turn our backs on you three, after all we've done with you? If we hand you in, we'll need to confess our crimes of street racing, which would get us arrested, so... we're going to help you." Tomoyo said, before Adam shook his head. "You'll have to disappear afterwards. Are you really ready to do that?" He asked, looking around the Club, who hesitated, before they nodded. "If it means we can do the right thing, of course we are." Nagisa said, before Adam nodded. "Alright." He said, stepping to the side. "Get your cars inside." He said, before the crew nodded, got back into their cars, and drove them into the warehouse.
Inside, the Club gathered round a table, where Adam had spread out a map of the city. "Alright, our mark goes by the name of Takahashi Komuro, and he runs the drug scene in this town. He's never been caught because he never leaves a paper trail." Jamie said, before Kotomi spoke up. "No paper trails means no banks, and I'm guessing that means...cash houses?" She asked, before Libby nodded. "That's right. Ten of them, spread all throughout the city." She said, pointing a hand over multiple circled areas on the map. "And we're going to hit 'em all." Adam said, before the crew looked at him. "All of them?" Tomoya asked, before Adam nodded. "All of them." He rectified, before Sunohara sighed. "How much we talking about?" He asked, before Adam smiled. "The haul's for 1 billion Yen, and whatever we take, we split even." He said, before Kotomi looked up at the ceiling, doing the math in her head. "Rounded up, that would be equal to 83333333 Yen apiece." She said, amazing the whole group. "I am down." Sunohara said, before Tomoyo raised her hand. "We're not at school, Tomoyo. You don't have to raise your hand." Adam said, before she nodded & lowered her hand again. "It's impossible to pull off ten heists on the same target. It just can't be done." She said, before Kyou nodded. "Yeah, once you hit the first one, they're gonna do whatever they can to protect the rest." The elder Fujibayashi said, causing the three Robertsons to smile. "Exactly." Adam said, causing the crew to look at him and his family in confusion...
A/N: Now we're getting to the good shit! Also, remember that name; Takahashi Komuro. He isn't gonna be a one and done character in my stories. He'll be appearing a few more times than just in "Pedal to the Metal"'s continuity. Anyways, see you all in the next chapter, Chapter 8 - First Strike. Madman out!