Mr. Carmichael was getting very angry. He had waited patiently for his prisoner to revive, but she was still staring blankly at a spot on the floor. He shouted at her, and received no reaction. Finally, he punched her in the cheek. Trixie gave no resistance and flew out of the chair, landing in a heap on the floor, unmoving.
"Carl!" Mr. Carmichael shouted.
Carl came in immediately.
"Put her in the room."
Carl nodded and picked up Trixie, carrying her out. Mr. Carmichael had an interior room prepared for her. No windows. No way out but the door that locked from the outside. He toted her away and threw her on the bed. Her shoulder was now bleeding freely and she had a bruise darkening her cheek.
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Racer X and his team were driving towards the remote location that headquartered CarMichaelangelo Motors, and where Mr. Carmichael always stayed. Even driving as fast as they were, it would still take them another four hours to get to the location. His carphone rang. "Nine, Racer just checked in. He got a call from Mr. Carmichael himself. He has been instructed to make sure that Plugger Sparks wins the race on Saturday."
"Understood. And we're going to make sure that Plugger Sparks is not even in the race. But my priority is Trixie."
"What's your ETA?"
"We are around four hours from our rendezvous location."
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"Check on the girl, Carl. Find out if she's willing to talk to me now."
"What if she isn't?"
"I am certain you can be very persuasive." Mr. Carmichael smiled.
Carl entered Trixie's room. She didn't even acknowledge him, and as far as he could tell, she had not even moved since he had thrown her down. He slapped her once and got no response. Then he felt her forehead. Their prisoner was burning with fever, and the bedding had a good amount of blood. He got on his phone and called his boss. "Boss, I'm down here with the girl. Maybe you should come down here."
"What's going on?"
"I don't think she's been ignoring us. I think she might be injured."
"Then get a doctor here, idiot!" Mr. Carmichael shouted. He was certain that Speed Racer would demand to talk to Trixie before that race to assure himself of her well-being.
"Yes, sir!" Carl said, leaving the room. But he did not shut the door.
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Trixie waited for a few minutes. While she had initially been in shock, she remembered hearing Speed's name. And she couldn't recognize her surroundings, and she hurt, so she stayed still. Then she was punched, and Trixie lost awareness of her surroundings again. But she decided that if she was not thought of as a threat, she might have a better chance to escape.
Still, she didn't know if the room she was in had monitors or not, so she had not moved. But when Carl came in to check on her, Trixie reasoned that there were no monitors. And when he left, she did not hear the door close. She very slowly rolled over and then sat up. The door was open. Trixie felt a wave of dizziness surround her, but she forced herself to stand up. She had to get out of here. And if anyone asked her anything, she'd just pretend to be confused and out of it. Not that that was too far from the truth.
Trixie felt like she was walking through water. Every step nearly impossible to take, but she kept going. If she could just get to a road, maybe she could get some help. But she had to get out of this place. She saw a hallway open to her right, and looked down it before making her way down it.
Trixie took three or four turns before she finally found a window. She looked out and saw nothing but trees for miles. For a moment, the dizziness threatened to overwhelm her. She felt nauseated. Trixie was surprised that no one was out looking for her yet, but that wouldn't last for long. She turned and found the hallway ended at a doorway. Trixie stopped and listened for a moment. It didn't sound like anyone was in the room, so Trixie opened it and went in cautiously. Empty.
"Just a little rest," Trixie whispered to herself, as she closed the door and slid down the wall.
When Carl and the doctor approached the cell they held Trixie in, Carl was surprised to see the door open. "She's gone!"
The doctor shrugged and turned to go. "No you don't. You're staying right here. He shoved the doctor towards the bed and locked him in. Carl had to find Trixie, before Mr. Carmichael wanted to talk to her.
He looked down the hallway. How long had she been gone? Where had she gone? Carl saw a little bit of blood on the floor. He smiled and followed the trail of blood.
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Meanwhile, the doctor took out a set of lock picks and started working on the door. As soon as he got it open, he got on his comlink. "I'm in," Racer X said.
"Do you have Trixie?"
"No, she somehow got away, but they are looking for her now. I'll signal again when I do, then follow the plan."
While Carl had seen Racer X's face, he had no idea who he was. Racer X listened for Carl, and heard him storming down the corridor. He also had seen the amount of blood on the bedding and knew Trixie was in serious condition. When he looked down, he saw blood on the floor. He had to find her fast.
Soon enough, he saw Carl, without a second thought, Racer X charged the henchman and knocked him out. Racer X quickly pushed him into a nearby room and secured the door, then he took off down the hallway, following the drops of blood. Soon enough, he came to a closed door. Racer X tried to open it, but found it was blocked, not locked. He pushed the door again and heard a soft whimper. "Trixie? Is that you?" X whispered.
"Speed?" she called softly.
"I need you to move. Can you do that?" He glanced over his shoulder to check that no one was behind him.
"Help me," she whispered.
"I'm sorry, Trixie," Racer X said as he pushed the door open just enough to get in the room. Trixie was lying against it. As soon as he was in the room, he shut the door again and signaled the team that he had secured Trixie. Then, he knelt down beside her, and realized that Carl had underestimated how badly she was injured. "What have they done?" he asked softly.
"Where's Speed?" Trixie asked him, fever burning through her eyes.
"Waiting for you. I'll get you to him, okay?"
"Okay." She looked at him. "Who are you?"
"I work with Racer X," he said.
"You sound like X," she slurred. Then she looked at him again. "You look kinda like Speed."
"Then I take that as a great compliment," Racer X said as he lifted her up. "Let's get you out of here."
"Okay."
Racer X settled Trixie so that her head was resting on his shoulder. He opened the door and looked out. Then he hurriedly retraced his steps through the compound to get to where his car had been hidden. He settled Trixie into the seat and checked her temperature once more, then slipped his mask on over his head. This time, he was going to have to trust his team to take care of business without him. X signaled "Trixie needs medical attention immediately. Let me know when you're clear. Nine out."
With that, he started the car and drove as quickly as he could. When he was safely away, he called Speed. Even though Trixie's condition was still unknown, Speed would want to know she was in friendly hands now.
"Racer household," Pops answered.
"Mr. Racer, this is Racer X. Is Speed there?"
"How's Trixie?" Pops asked.
"I don't know. Look, I'm taking her—"
"Can I talk to her?" Speed got on the phone, interrupting him.
"Speed, I've got to take her to a hospital."
There was silence. "How is she?"
"There's no good way to say this, Speed. She's lost a lot of blood. She's either passed out or asleep."
"What did they do to her?" he asked despondently.
"Speed, I need to concentrate on getting her to the hospital. I'm about eight hours from you, and I don't think she can wait that long."
"No."
Pops took the phone, "X, we'll get wherever you take her. You have the number for the Mach 5's phone, right?"
"Yes, I do."
"Okay, we're on our way. Which direction?"
"Carmichael's compound is about two hours south of Matrandor."
"Thank you. Take care of our girl until we can get there."
"You can count on me, Pops," Racer X said.
Racer X returned his attention to the road, every few minutes he looked over to Trixie to see how she was doing. This time, when he looked at her, she was looking back at him curiously. "Rex?" she asked.
Racer X frowned.
"It is you. You sound a little like Speed. And you look like him." She looked at him. "Why won't you tell Speed?"
Racer X took a breath and said, "Trixie, you can ask me that? After what you've just been through?"
"I'm not saying tell everyone. But tell Speed."
"I'll think about it, Trixie."
"So you're not denying it. You are Rex. Where's Speed? Is he okay?"
"Speed had to be available when Carmichael called. He's on his way. How are you doing?"
"I'm tired," she said softly.
"Get some rest." X looked back at her and saw she had already closed her eyes. He reached over and felt her forehead. Time was running out.
He called Speed as he pulled into the parking lot of Matrandor Hospital. "Speed, I wanted to tell you where we are. I'll keep her safe for you."
"On my way," Speed answered. Sparky was with him while Mom, Pops, Spritle and Chim Chim were following in the family car. As soon as he relayed the location to Pops, Speed floored it.
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Meanwhile, Nine's team had completely secured the CarMichaelangelo compound. Inspector Detector was on the way. They had already found the car which had brought Trixie, and had all the men there in handcuffs.
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Racer X carried Trixie into the hospital where she was immediately taken in. He waited patiently in the lobby for either word on Trixie's condition, or Speed to arrive.
"Did you bring in Trixie Shimura?" a nurse asked as she walked over to him.
"Yes."
"Are you family?"
"I'm family of sorts, and her family is on the way. How is she?"
"We're getting her settled in a room now. She lost two pints of blood and has a broken cheek bone. We've operated and set the cheekbone, which should heal well. We want her to stay under observation tonight and we'll decide tomorrow whether she can be discharged."
Racer X nodded. "Can I go sit with her?"
"She is in room 439," the nurse said just as Speed ran in, with Sparky close behind.
"How is she?" he asked.
"I take it this young man is also her family?"
Racer X nodded. "I'll fill him in."
Speed looked to X.
On the way to see Trixie, Racer X tried to brace Speed for what he would see. Trixie's face had been badly bruised when he last saw her. Now, he assumed, it would be covered in bandages. "Speed, she was beaten a bit while there. Her cheek was fractured, and the hospital has done surgery to correct that. So, just brace yourself for that."
"He hit my girl?" Speed asked angrily.
"I believe he punched your girl, but I was not there. But, I do have some good news. She did not have a problem with the speed I was driving."
Speed nodded. They had arrived at Trixie's room. "Do you want me to come in with you?" Racer X asked.
"I'll go wait in the lobby and tell Mom and Pops what room she's in," Sparky said, leaving Speed to go in.
Speed nodded. "I would." He knocked on the door, and then went in. As soon as he saw Trixie, Speed's heart dropped. She looked awful. He ran over to her and took her hand. She moaned and opened her eyes.
"Hey, Gorgeous."
"Speed," she whispered. "You came."
"Of course I did." With his other hand, he ran his fingers through her hair.
"I wanna go home," she slurred.
"We'll get you there, just as soon as we can. You just rest and get better, okay?" Speed smiled at her.
Racer X stood nearby. Trixie looked at him, as if she were asking him for something. He nodded. "I will," Racer X said. Trixie nodded and closed her eyes.
Speed looked at him questioningly.
"Just a conversation Trixie and I had," he said, trying to dismiss Speed's question. He looked at the door. "When will Mom and Pops get here?"
"Probably within the next thirty minutes."
Racer X nodded. "All right." He went over to Trixie's door and shut and locked it. "This stays here, between us. Trixie figured it out. You should know too." Racer X reached up and removed his mask. Speed's eyes opened wide.
"Rex?"
Racer X nodded. Then he put his mask back on.
"How, why? Why didn't you say anything?"
Racer X looked at Trixie, then back to Speed. Speed nodded. "It's good to have you back. And thank you."
Racer X nodded. "Now you know why I'm so protective of you."
"And of her."
Racer X unlocked the door. "I've got to check in with my team. You take care of her."
"I'm not letting her out of my sight," Speed said.
Racer X nodded.
As Speed watched Trixie, he took in every bruise he could see on her face, and his anger at Carmichael Motors, and Plugger Sparks increased with every new bruise he saw.
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Plugger Sparks looked around the field for the TransAfrican. Speed Racer was supposed to be here, but he was not. He frowned as he walked toward his car. As he approached, he saw Inspector Detector standing beside it.
"Can I help you?" Plugger asked.
Inspector Detector nodded. "You're under arrest for conspiracy to kidnap Trixie Shimura." With that, another officer placed handcuffs on Plugger Sparks' wrist.
"I didn't have anything to do with that," Sparks protested.
Inspector Detector shook his head. "Be grateful we decided to arrest you, rather than let Speed Racer come after you."
Sparks looked at him in shock. Racer would likely kill him if he had a chance to get his hands on him, or at least hurt him as badly as Trixie had been.
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The day after the TransAfrican, the hospital finally released Trixie for the ride home. They would have released her sooner if her trip had been shorter. As Speed pushed Trixie's wheelchair towards the Mach 5, he stopped. "You don't have to ride her if you don't want to," he said.
"I do."
"Okay, but if it's a problem, let me know, okay?"
"Speed, stop worrying."
"You're my girl. I'm gonna worry about you. Get used to it," he said.
Trixie laughed. "Okay, but I get to worry about you."
"Deal."
Speed helped her into the Mach 5. As Speed got behind the wheel, he turned to Trixie. "On the way home, would you like to go on a picnic?"
"Oh, Speed!"