Chapter 10 - Opportunities

It had been two weeks already, but Alan Tracy was finally getting into a normal routine.

In the mornings, he would ride his motorcycle over to the track and help Derrick and Stanton clean the Edwards Racing pit area and wash both of his cars. For lunch he would grab a hot dog from the fast food stand at the raceway, and then it was back to more tinkering and cleaning in the pit area as Mr. Edwards double checked the cars and made test runs on the track.

After one particular grueling day, Alan came back to the dorm room and dropped his stuff beside the door. He had recorded one of Mr. Edwards test runs on the track and after grabbing a few snacks from the fridge, he popped the video disc he had made into the player on top of the TV and settled down on the Sofa to watch. Alan watched the recording numerous times, looking for how the car handled the turns, where the car picked up the best speed, and even how it was able to pass the competition.

He had not been keeping track of the time, so he was more than startled when Fermat's voice broke into his thoughts. "A-Alan are you still up?"

Alan nearly fell off the sofa as he turned around to find that his friend standing behind him dressed in a robe. He checked his watch and realized that it was nearly three in the morning. He looked at him with an apologetic glance. "I'm sorry Fermat, I just wanted to study up on what I would be encountering racewise with Mr. Edwards."

Fermat yawned. "I don't blame you, but do me a favor and turn down the volume will you? I-I have to give a presentation for Introduction to Quantum Mechanics tomorrow, and I don't want to fall asleep in front of the class."

Thorughly chargined, Alan grabbed the remote. "Sorry Fermat."

Fermat gave him a sleepy grin. "Y-You really are focusing on this. Do you think you will be able to race soon?"

Alan looked thoughtful as he muted the sound. He had mentioned to his friend more than once that he had a secret desire to get behind the wheel of a race car. "I hope so. I mean I'm not in any hurry, just being around the cars is a rush for me, for now at least."

"You think your dad is disappointed that you didn't want to come home?"

The question had been totally unexpected, and Alan looked at Fermat in some surprise. "What do you mean, Fermat?"

"I saw that look, Alan. He really wanted you to come home."

Alan had in fact seen that look in his father's eyes that day, in fact it was all too hard to miss. The business with the Hood also had him on edge, but he was determined to be the last one to admit that. Memories of invisible hands choking off his oxygen supply were still a little hard to take even after all of this time. More than once Fermat inquired about his weird sleeping patterns, but Alan just shrugged it off as wanting to stay up for a little while longer.

Alan waved Fermat off. "Get some sleep, Fermat. That class will want to learn about quantum mechanics tomorrow."

--

After waking up nearly two hours late the next day, Alan broke all speed records and raced to the track. When he ran into the pit area though, he found no one there. He looked around in some confusion until he heard engine noises out in the track area. Following them, he found Stanton and Mr. Edwards standing at the rails bordering the oval shaped dirt track and went out to join them.

At the sound of his approach, Stanton turned around and laughed. "'Bout time you showed up. Late night, Tracy?"

Alan brushed off the comment as he took up a position beside him to watch the track. "Just dreaming of speed and more speed. What's going on?"

Stanton pointed out towards the dirt track as one of their cars was being put through its paces. "Mr. Edwards is giving us an opportunity to become backup drivers and challenged us. The fastest time gets the job. You game?"

"Actually, I'm not sure that we should give you a chance, Mister Tracy," Mike Edwards replied while keeping his eyes on the track. "Opportunities like this do not come every day, and if you are not going to be on time, how can I trust you to back me up if you are chosen to be my backup driver?"

Alan wasn't about to lose out on this opportunity if he could help it. "It was totally my fault, Mr. Edwards. I was watching some of your race recordings last night and I fell asleep on the sofa. It was totally irresponsible and I totally understand if you don't want to give me a chance."

--

As he watched his car cross the finish line, Mike Edwards clicked on the stopwatch that he held. He had allowed Derrick to race first, and his time was only slightly slower than his own. He quickly made a mental note of the time and then turned to Alan. "So you were watching my race recordings?"

He watched in some amusement as Alan scrambled to explain. "I was watching the way your car handled the turns and noticed that it didn't seem to be smooth at all and-"

Mike hadn't heard back from his contacts since their initial order to keep an eye on Alan, but he wasn't about to deviate from a chance at a fortune that he had been initially promised. He took a chance and interrupted Alan. "That'll be quite enough, Mister Tracy. For being late today, you get to clean my primary and backup cars without any help. As to this opportunity, Stanton will be next to race, but you will be allowed a turn. Are there any questions?"

He watched as Alan smiled and replied with enthusiasm. "No sir, and thank you!"

Mike smiled in return as he turned back in time to watch Derrick bring the car to a stop. As far as performances go, Derrick did quite well, but Mike noticed on the dirt track the steep turns proved to be quite the challenge and Derrick spun out more than once.

"Stanton, suit up," he spoke quickly, "you're next."

--

In his study, Jeff Tracy viewed the data John had compiled on Shadow Force and truly wondered if they bit off more than they could chew. News reports, Military communications, Thunderbird Five's capabilities at monitoring communications were truly remarkable, but at the same time they could only tell them what was already known, which amounted to almost nothing.

The military chatter from Australia and Japan indicated that they had no idea how their leaders were spirited away. What little Jeff had read in the British newspapers indicated more, that the authorities found the security detail compromised at Downing Street.

John had managed to capture some communications that seemed to come from suspicious sources, but all they amounted to was people talking in code, seemingly moving things that didn't have names. Shadow force seemed to be just as elusive as their name suggested.

"Dad."

He looked up suddenly from his reading to find John standing in front of him. He could tell something was wrong by the frown on his son's face. "What is it John?"

John stared at him solemnly. "I just checked in with Gordon. News sources are reporting that ransom demands are coming in for the kidnapped leaders. Shadow Force is taking responsibility."

Jeff shook his head in confusion. "It can't just be for the money - they wouldn't have broken the Hood out otherwise."

John nodded solemnly. "I know, and that's bothering me."

--

Alan leaned forward on the rail bordering the dirt track and watched as Stanton started his run. Compared to Derrick, Alan noticed that Stanton was handling the curves of the track better, but once he came out of the turns he was losing considerable speed each time.

Mr. Edwards shook his head as he looked at the stopwatch he held. Apparently he wasn't so impressed either.

Minutes later, Stanton pulled the car to a stop beside where they were standing and shut off the engine. When he got out of the car and took off his helmet, Mr. Edwards called out to him. "Not too bad, Stanton, but you were a few seconds off of Derrick's time."

Stanton kicked at the dirt in frustration before walking over to Alan and tossing him the helmet. "Time to kick it up, Tracy."