Man, it has been a LONG time.
After that last chapter, my motivation just dropped. Dropped out of the sky, through the floor, probably came out somewhere in Australia.
I guess I didn't find writing fun anymore. And that's important if you want to do this.
I must've doubted myself, thought maybe I wasn't cut out for this. Thought maybe this would be the last story I would ever write here.
But I couldn't stop thinking about this story.
And recently, something brought the motivation back to me. Something must've reignited the old spirit, rekindled the passion inside of me.
It's been a year. A lot of things have happened since I last signed off.
But I have set out to continue.
I have learned from my past mistakes.
And I will finish what I've started.
Tom gripped the wheel of the Camaro ZL1 hard as he brought the muscle car under control. The damn gray Corvette ZR1 was just ahead of him, reeling after that last sideswipe.
"This is for Ami." He slammed the shifter into third and nailed the throttle. Both performance cars plowed past 100mph and the streets became a blur to the occupants, now locked in a brutal duel.
"Is that...?" Kinoshita whispered from the passenger seat of the Corvette. She didn't have time to finish before Fujima yanked the handbrake, sending the supercar into a big drift. Tom slid the big Camaro beside him, matching the fugitive move for move.
Both cars came out of the drift and continued their game of cat-and-mouse. Ahead lay the urban jungle of the tight Sumida streets. Tom knew his Camaro wouldn't match the mighty ZR1 in a straight fight, but he knew that the Corvette couldn't use its monstrous speed in the city. It was the same factor that had allowed Miyuki and Natsumi in the today to keep up with larger, more powerful cars. And he knew that with the mercenaries out of the picture, Fujima could no longer try to break through roadblocks.
Ahead, some officers, including Ken, had the same idea.
"Advise, we have a roadblock set up on Mitsume Dori, keep him coming." Ken spoke into the radio. Replacing the radio and grabbing binoculars, he looked down the road. The Corvette was bearing down on the block, followed by a red Chevrolet Camaro. Neither car looked like it was going to stop.
"Oh crap." Ken realized. "He's gonna ram us!" He didn't make any attempt to move the patrol car, and his determination was rewarded. Both cars locked their brakes as they tried to slow down before impacting the wall of steel ahead of them.
"Shoot!" Fujima exclaimed as he steered down a side street. He glanced in the mirror to find Tom in the Camaro, still doggedly clinging to him. The former TMPD pursuit driver was not giving an inch in his attempt to chase the fugitive down. "This man does not give up!"
Emerging from the tight alley onto Kasaibashi Dori, Fujima tried to accelerate away from his pursuer, but was held up by traffic. People obviously thought it was now safe to get back onto the streets, but received a big surprise as the two Chevys now blazed past them in a ground-level dogfight.
"There they are!" Natsumi exclaimed as Tom and Fujima sped past the Today. Miyuki accelerated out of traffic and engaged pursuit.
"They are not going to get away!" Miyuki declared as she went in between traffic, the small size of the Honda Today coming in handy as they tried to keep up with the Chevrolets which had to weave through the traffic.
Fujima blew through a red light, followed closely by Tom. A panicked civilian slammed on the brakes, getting rear-ended by another civilian. Miyuki had to slam on the brakes to avoid becoming a part of the pile-up at the intersection.
"Dammit!" Natsumi could only watch as the Camaro and the Corvette sped off into the distance.
"All units, suspect is getting close to the docks, we need to stop him now!" Tom could hear a policewoman's stressed voice on his radio. He momentarily glanced out of the side window to see a few ships docked in port.
"This guy has to have a boat waiting." Tom thought to himself. "He's not going to try jumping onto the boat like they did in that movie we watched one time." He knew that even if he lost Fujima for a minute, the fugitive would have enough time to get himself and Kinoshita onto a boat. The nasty part was that the Marintime Self-Defence Force was on exercise, and so Fujima could be heading out of Tokyo Bay and into international waters by the time the JMSDF could get its ships in the area (especially if Fujima's boat was fast enough, and Tom didn't doubt the guy's planning or finances).
Both cars burst into the docks, Fujima now into the final part of his escape. All he had to do was lose the Camaro behind him, and he could make a break for international waters. He tried swerving onto a jetty to shake the tail, only to find Tom staying right behind him. He still had some skill, Fujima had to admit. Barelling towards the end of the jetty, Fujima slammed on the brakes and steered back onto solid docks, the red Camaro still right behind him.
At the portacabin serving as the office of the import company, the employees had heard the supercharged V8s nearby and were gathered at the windows trying to get a look at the source of the noise.
"What is that, is that an... LS9?" Hank commented on the distinctive engine note. Right on cue, Fujma sent the Corvette into a powerslide past the portacabin.
"Isn't that Fujima?" Izuko wondered as he saw the fleeing Corvette. The red Camaro ZL1 quickly followed.
"And isn't that...?" Hank saw the Camaro, and just stood there, wondering what the hell was going on.
Both vehicles now turned onto a straight road, lined with shipping containers on either side. Tom wasn't playing around anymore and started sideswiping the Corvette.
"Whoa!" Fujima yelled. The Corvette ZR1 was light, good for speed and agility, but that meant the heavy Camaro beside it could knock it around. Tom slammed into Fujima again, sending the Corvette perilously close to the shipping containers. Fujima countered with a sideswipe of his own, steering both cars away from an incoming container. At these speeds, a collision with a container would be disastrous.
"Just give up already!" Tom yelled. He slammed the Corvette again, causing it to scrape off a container. Fujima then slammed on the brakes and the Camaro shot ahead. He steered left, and as Tom tried to block Fujima, the fugitive smacked into the muscle car's quarter panel, sending it into a spin. Fujima watched as the Camaro spun behind some containers and out of sight.
"Yes!" Fujima celebrated as he could not see his pursuer anymore. Kinoshita silently put a hand over her eyes, wondering if this was really going to be the end.
"All units, suspect vehicle reported to be at the docks. Notify air support." The dispatcher announced over the radio.
"The docks!" Natsumi said.
"I know..." Miyuki replied as she gunned the little engine to try to make it before Fujima could get on the boat.
Fujima parked the Corvette on a jetty next to a big yacht. He could finally taste freedom.
"Even if you escape," Kinoshita tried one final attempt at reason. "You won't be free. You'll have law enforcement agencies hunting you wherever you go."
"Is that so?" Fujima replied. "You see, I don't think that's entirely true. The North Koreans have been a big supporter of my efforts." Kinoshita's eyes widened at the revelation. Not even Investigations knew how deep this went. "Now, get out of the..." Fujima paused.
He could hear an engine approaching. It had the familiar bassy roar of a V8, most likely American. It had the whine of a supercharger, suggesting it was a high-powered engine. And it was revving hard, meaning it was coming fast. Fujima whipped his head around to look at the source of the noise. Kinoshita saw too, and gripped the grab handle with all her might.
Fujima yelled, "OH SHI-"
The red Camaro ZL1 plowed into the side of the gray Corvette ZR1 at high speed, spinning the supercar like a top and causing it to crash into a shipping container. The Camaro slid after the almighty crash and finally came to rest after smashing into another container on the other side of the jetty.
Natsumi and Miyuki steered onto the jetty and quickly stopped the car. They got out of the Today and surveyed the carnage, shocked. There were noticeable tire marks on the jetty, as well as parts spread all over the place. The Corvette was to their 2 o'clock, smashed up and not able to move. The Camaro was to their 11 o'clock, in front of a container and also wrecked.
"Damn..." Was all Natsumi had to say at the aftermath of Tom's last-ditch kamikaze attack.
And that concludes this chapter. So please, even if life gets you down, even if you feel you couldn't possibly get any less motivated, just keep those ideas in your head, and someday you will find the strength, motivation and inspiration to finish.