Arif Mansion
Saturday, August 15, 2013
9.01 a.m.
The next morning, we had breakfast late because of one: Thea woke up late and two: I was amping up the suspension system on my 2013 Lamborghini Aventador all morning so it could go off-road. Good thing I had the chance to cook before Thea did. I made one of Malaysia's most famous dishes, the Malaysian fried rice.
"What are we having for breakfast, Danny?" asked Thea.
"Good thing I got to the kitchen before you did, I made Malaysian fried rice for both of us," I said while coming out of the kitchen, carrying a plate full of rice at each hand to the table; "but I have to warn you, this dish is very spicy."
"I was warned by Benjamin about how spicy Malaysian food is before, so I'm ready for it," she said confidently.
"Well, that's because he's tasted it before. As soon as he took the first bite, his mouth was on fire!" I said as I put the plates down.
"Metaphorically?" she asked.
"No, it was literally on fire! Someone tampered our food by putting a substance that instantly ignite if it physically comes in contact with saliva. His mouth wasn't burned thanks to my quick reflexes, I poured a glass of water into his mouth. He did get to taste of the rice though, after I made him a new plate of the dish," I explained as I sat down.
"That's terrible! Did you guys find the person redhanded?"
"We did, he was sentenced to 20 years of time in prison for attentive murder."
"How come he didn't tell us?" She sounded concerned.
"It was only a small matter, he didn't want you guys to get worried."
"That poor thing..."
"Alright, here you go. Fresh out of the wok."
"So, spoons and forks, or hands?" she asked.
"The traditional way to eat is by using hands. But in this case, spoons and forks because it is a little oily, and hot."
So she grabbed the silverware and shoveled a spoonful of rice from the plate and into her mouth. It looked like she enjoyed it.
"So? Tell me what you think," I asked for her opinion.
"Hmm... Not bad. I think I can stand the heat," she said while swallowing.
"Good. Because the more you eat, the more heat you'll get."
She took a second bite of the food and paused. That's when I started to think that she bit something what she was really hoping not to bite.
"Something wrong Thea?" I asked.
"Yeah, what did I just bit?" she said.
"What did it taste like?"
"It tastes funny and it's getting really hot in my mouth."
"You better spit it out because that was the bird's eye chili pepper, the spiciest of all chili peppers in Malaysia."
"Hmpft... Hhhhhaaaaa! Hot! hot! hot! said Thea while spitting out the chili pepper, going to the kitchen to get some water.
"Get some milk to drink or a piece of bread to eat. Something sweet or tasteless can extinguish a chili pepper's heat," I said as she stood up. Then I muttered to myself: "Water doesn't work the way it extinguishes fire..." I wanted to explain to you readers if I could, but you'll all be bored of it.
"Can you finish the food?" I asked her.
"Maybe just half of it," she answered while holding a glass full of milk. "Wow, Benjamin was right. This is spicy."
"Keep the other half in the saji."
"Saji?"
"It's a dome or cone-shaped cover which we Malays use to keep our food from being soiled by pests."
"Oh, alright. Note to self: keep track of Malay customs and traditions."
"I'll be at the living room if you need me," I said while getting off my seat, holding my plate to be put in the dishwasher.
11.59 a.m.
Nearly 3 hours later
I've been drawing in the living room alone because Thea was having a video chat with Geronimo about the situation for the past 3 hours. By the time she was finally done, I already finished drawing two FIA GT1 race cars, the Nissan GT-R GT1 and the Lamborghini Murcièlago R-SV GT1 including the sponsors, decals, shading and shadows. She got beside me and complemented my work.
"Wow, nice cars," she complemented. "You drew these?"
Still holding the wooden pencil, I proudly answered. "Yup. This is one of the non-microchip skills that my parents inherited to me. When they were both still in college, they were good and love making sketches like these. So, art is kind of, in my blood."
"I saw you draw that shotgun yesterday, but it wasn't this detailed..."
"So, any updates?"
"The plates Geronimo got from the car Benjamin, Trap and himself shot yesterday, the local vehicle registry database said that the Audi RS6 was reported stolen three weeks ago."
"The slugs?"
"Ballistics show that the .50 cal slugs were possibly fired from a custom-made heavy machine gun, judging from the rifling marks on the slugs."
"Custom, you say?"
"Mmm-hmm. And Pandora has a theory; the bullet impacts were much deeper. She thinks that the slugs were fire backwards out of a moving car."
I had a fear when she said that. "Just as I thought, someone knew about my vehicles' weapon system..."
"Weapon system?"
"Come with me. I want to show you something."
We got down to my garage to talk more about my cars' weapon system. It looked like the garage of a Need For Speed racing game. The lights turned down, blue light circled around the turntable and a spotlight shined over it. There's also the Need For Speed Most Wanted (2012) garage music playing for a little bit of feeling. It also had a coffee table where I take coffee breaks from servicing my cars.
"J-Son, project the family Porsche on the turntable please," I ordered. Then a hologram of my family's Porsche Panamera Turbo projected on it. Blue streaks of holographic light with white tails flowed along the curves on the car's body. Ah, the moment you realize that it's Need For Speed Carbon all over again.
"When my dad was alive, wherever we (my family) go he wanted to keep us safe. Even when we're traveling. So he made a few changes to our family car," I said as a hologram of information about the safety, defense and weapons system hovered over the four-door grand tourer. She read it while I explained on the way.
"This is my family's former Panamera. It was wrecked once, but I managed to restore it. This one is special; my dad was overprotective of my family, so he added some extra safety features that Porsche didn't bother to have."
"Like what?"
"For starters, dad replaced all the body panels on the car with toughened, high-density aluminum replicas. It's bulletproof and will stop anything from a nine-millimeter to a .308 Winchester. The windows are made of Alphagel, a high-tech Japanese gel that absorbs shocks, and nothing can break it. It stops .50 BMGs in mid flight and even at point blank. He also installed weapons; a popup, auto-aiming, belt-fed, .50 cal custom turrets. They are stored inside the front fenders when not in use. At the back are also machine guns, they just don't auto-aim and are hidden inside the bumper under the tailights. Not stopping just there, under the car are four caltrop caches. They are opened to release them, and pops the tires of whoever might be pursuing us. The EMP generator in the trunk disables all electronics in a 200 meter radius, and a signal cloaking device so we don't get tracked if we really need the GPS."
In amazement, she raised her eyebrows. "That much weaponry into a car? What else is this Porsche packing?"
"In terms of performance, the stock V8's parts are replaced with racing parts for a fast getaway from a threat. He increased the bore of the combustion chamber, installed bigger cylinder heads, added a two turbochargers, and a carbon fiber intake manifold. All of that made this car's engine output 1192 horsepower. For a quick acceleration from standstill, three tanks of nitrous oxide were added. Tires are replaced with experimental Michelin run flats, if punctured the car will still run at a maximum speed of 260 kilometers an hour for a range of 300 miles."
"How many people know this?" she asked me.
"Very few, including yourself. The other car's weapons and safety systems are completely updated," I answered. "This is dangerous Thea, I know that this is old, but and if somebody had already leaked information about this to The Technologist... I'm dead."
"Then this means that we have a mole among us."
"That was something I was hoping not to hear," I said as I let out a heavy and worried sigh.
"Hey... Don't worry. I'm here to protect you. Alright?" she said as she put her hands on both of my shoulders, looking deep into my brown eyes. "Now c'mon, let go out for lunch. I'm starving."
"Hold on, I forgot my gun in the living room."
Thea's Perspective
"Be careful!" I said.
"I will!" He said as he walked up to the retinal scanner next to the elevator doors. The doors opened and he went into it.
"J-Son, are you still here?" I called.
"Yes, I'm still here Agent Stilton," J-Son answered.
"I have a query."
"About what, Agent Stilton?"
"The Alphagel glass, how does it work?"
"Well, Alphagel is, as you already know, a gel fused with silicone."
"Then how does it stay solid and retain the shape of a piece of glass when it's not even receiving any shocks?"
"You didn't let me finish, Agent Stilton. Alphagel turns into a solid IF any form of physical pressure is applied to it. The Japanese developed this out of crystal clear Alphagel and mixed it with nanobots. They moulded it into the shape of the windows and windshields. Then, the nanobots emit vibrations to the Alphagel for it to retain shape."
"And if it's hit with a bullet, it'll just ricochet off," I continued.
"Exactly, ma'am," J-Son replied.
"Don't call me ma'am. Do I look like a ma'am to you?"
"No, ma'am...er... Agent Stilton."
"Anyway, can you bring out the Charger up here? I want to be in the car while waiting."
"Of course." Then the hologram of the Panamera disappeared, and it was replaced by the car I requested. I got into it and started the engine.
My Perspective
Meanwhile...
As soon as the elevator stopped on the ground floor, the doors opened and I quickly ran to the living room and grabbed my USP45 off the coffee table when I heard the front door shut. That's when my reflexes triggered, cocked the gun, turned around and aimed it at the person at the door (one-handed), gangsta style. It was none other than my neighbor and best friend, Firas.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! It's me! It's me!" said Firas while putting his hands up as a sign of surrender.
"Dude, what the heck are you doing here?" I asked... angrily as I put my gun down.
"I just wanted to drop by and say hi! The door was unlocked, so I thought I'd let myself in..."
"That I get. What I don't get is how my two guards wielding M4 Carbines let you in." I'm really sorry I haven't told you all this, but the guards Geronimo assigned had arrived yesterday when we got back from HQ. Good thing I prepared them guard posts for them to take shelter in the rain.
"I just told them I was your best friend. Easy..." I gave him my signature raised eyebrow stare to make him tell me what really happened. "Alright, they pointed their guns at me, and THEN I told them that I was your best friend."
I still didn't believe him, so I continued to gaze him with my stare. "That's the best you got?"
"Fine, they didn't let me in, so I tased them."
I took a deep breath and sighed loudly. "You do know that injuring an Interpol agent is a felony that can be brought up to World Court?"
"Really?!"
I let out another loud sigh. "How many volts... Firas?"
"Since the Taser you gave me had an adjustable voltage, I'd say about 10 volts..." I knew he was lying. I gave him another deep glare at his face.
"Okay, maybe 10000 volts. They'll wake up eventually."
"*Sigh* You almost scared the life out of me. Anyway since your here, the agent that I requested and I are going out to eat lunch. Wanna come along?" I offered as I put my gun in the holster.
"Well, I haven't had lunch before I left yet, sure," he agreed as I swiped the 3 extra 12-round mags off the coffee table, sliding them onto my combat belt.
"You're carrying a gun now?" Firas asked.
"Interpol's orders, it's for my own safety," I answered as we walked into the garage elevator, after passing the retinal scanner first.
"So, what's the agent like?" he asked again as the doors opened.
"Oh, she's passionate, empathetic... always cheers me up whenever I'm upset or sad."
"Bro! You never told me it was a girl..." said Firas as the doors closed, going down to the garage.
"Well, technically speaking she is female," I said as we arrived and exited the elevator.
"What do you mean?" He said as I looked at Thea. Firas looked at the direction I was looking at. The female mouse was already in the driver's seat of the Charger which she must have requested from J-Son.
"Oh..." He said in awe and awkwardness because he's never seen a giant humanoid mouse, holding the steering wheel of a Dodge Charger before. As he stared, we walked slowly to the car while talking.
"Where does Interpol even find an agent like this?" He asked.
"Search this up at Google: New Mouse City," I answered as we got closer to the law enforcement sedan.
"Wow, she's really hot for a mouse..." He complemented.
"Trust me, I wouldn't say that in front of her if I were you," I warned as we pulled the door panels. He was sitting in the back while I rode shotgun.
"Who's your friend, Danny?" Asked Thea.
"Oh, this is my friend who I was talking about. Thea, this is Firas. We grew up together," I answered.
"Hi! I'm Special Agent Thea Stilton," she introduced herself as she shook hands with him before we drove off.
"Firas Fuad, nice to meet you," he replied.
"So, where we eating?" She asked as she turned to me.
"I already sent the coordinates to the car's GPS system. Before we head out, we have to check on the guards outside to see if their awake," I told.
"What do you mean, by 'wake up'?" She asked.
"They're knocked-out."
"Whaddya mean, knocked out?"
"Apparently SOMEBODY here decided to send 10000 volts of electricity into their bodies because they didn't let him in!" I said while raising my voice and turning my head backwards.
Before we moved, the garage door opened downwards as lights guiding us out were turned on, like a runway at an airport.
"Remember, it's left-hand driving here in Malaysia," I advised.
"Right," she replied as she started to drive.
"Left, not right," I advised her again.
"Right, I mean left, I mean.. Oh, whatever," she said nervously as we exited the garage. I let out a little giggle after that.
We checked the guards, and I was glad to see them awake and on their feet.
After a while traveling, I couldn't keep what was in my mind about just now. I wanted to speak it out to Thea, I just thought that Firas would be embarrassed if I did.
"Alright, I can't keep this a secret anymore. Thea when you were still waiting for me, we discussed something about you-" I was cut of by Firas who was trying to stop me from finishing.
"Dang it Danial!" He said.
"Thea, Firas thinks you're hot," I said quickly to avoid any interruptions. Firas' face went bright red as a tomato.
"Ooo...kay, I'll try to take that as a complement..." Thea said.
We went to eat at a restaurant that serves western cuisine. It was somewhere in the state capital of Shah Alam, Selangor. I ate a piece of grilled lamb with a side of coleslaw and French fries while Firas had steak. Thea on the other hand, she had enough of spicy food after the fried rice we had this morning almost burnt her tongue. So, she ordered something with cheese instead.
We dropped Firas home after lunch. When we reached his house, I realized that I've forgotten to pick up a 10 bags of 6mm airsoft pellets at an airsoft store a few miles back. I asked Thea to turn back. After we did, we went home straight away.
"Danny, you look worried," she started as we were on the way home. "You got something on your mind?"
"Yeah, actually I do," I started. "It's about how Martinez knew that we were the people who shot his car. I even have a theory-" I was cut off by a strange look on Thea's face followed by a right J-turn on the freeway with no dividers. I held on to my life as the G forces pushed my body to the middle of the cockpit.
"What the...? Thea, you can't just so a J-turn in the middle of a highway like that! We could of gotten ourselves killed," I exclaimed.
"Of course I can. I was trained for this," she replied. "So, lay it on me."
"Lay what on you?"
"The theory!"
"Oh, right. The theory is that I think he's part of The Technologists. Someone's been feeding him intel about us so that they can take us... I meant me, down."
"What if he looked in his mirror? Possibly he saw us in it."
"He couldn't. Based on my photographical memory and from what I found out when I examined Martinez's car, you shot his rear view mirror by accident when you tried to aim at his head-which is weird because... Why would you even do that?" She took a deep breath to answer, but she kept silent after that instead.
"You know what, just let that slide. Anyway, because of the lack of accuracy the PS90 offers at long range, I accidentally shot both his car's side mirrors. So there's no way Martinez could get a good look at us before he left the property."
"Like I said, we've got a mole among us."
"Where are we going now?"
"Back to HQ so that you can explain your theory to the whole team."
Interpol HQ
1.27 p.m.
"So I was right! I've checked the car myself when we brought it into the garage, but I'd never thought that my suspicions would be true," exclaimed Benjamin after I explained to the team about my theory. By the way, we were gathering around the bullpen while sitting on each others desks.
"What about the business partner he mentioned? Could he be the source of his intel?" Thea theorized.
"I interrogated him last night. I didn't very much get anything about him though," stated Trap. "Martinez never left interrogation ever since."
"Let me have a go at him, he'll crack," said Thea confidently.
Interrogation Room
While Thea got to interrogate, Geronimo and I were in the room next door, the observation room. I wasn't really sure if Thea was allowed to interrogate because I was afraid that she would get carried away.
"Are you sure about this Geronimo? I'm worried if she goes overboard," I asked.
"It'll be fine, Danny. Trust me, she's Interpol's top interrogator... next to me," he answered to reassure me.
We turned to Thea as she walked into the interrogation room looking strict. She held a specimen jar in her hand. It contained one of the .50 cal slugs I pulled out.
"Ah, the chica who shot my car. 'Chu have come back back for me, no?" Said Martinez in his annoying Spanish accent.
"Cut the trash, Martinez. I wanna know how you knew it was me and that 13 year old boy who shot your car," she demanded as she sat down opposite of Martinez.
"Easy, I looked in the mirror."
"The ultra-high definition surveillance cameras in the property caught the footage of all three of your car's mirrors being shot. There's no way that you could get a good look at us by then."
"Damn, I thought I had him jam those things..." He muttered to himself aloud. That's when he realized that he just gave up some important information. Then he started cursing to himself in Spanish: "Crap! Why am I so damn stupid?"
Thea left a wrinkled forehead smirk on her face and said: "Gotcha..."
"Alright! I confess... I wasn't intentionally trespassing the property. Alright? I was forced."
"By who?"
"I don't know. Someone phoned me a week ago to come to this country and steal a piece of tech from this kid for him. Otherwise, he'll do something to my wife and children!"
"Did ever occur to you to call the police?"
"Are 'chu loco? I was in Miami and there's still some time that I didn't do for the crimes I did there."
"What about the fight in the kitchen? With who did you have it with?"
"The guy who sent me here also sent an accomplice to help me with the job. He had special equipment. We fought because he refused to tell me if my family's alive or not. That's when I started to have a car chase."
"What about this then?" Thea said as she showed Martinez the specimen jar.
"What is that?"
"This is a .50 cal slug we pulled out from the front of your car."
"I don't know anything about that..."
"I want his name."
"Whose name?"
"The accomplice!"
"I...I...I can't remember..."
Thea stood up with her patience running out. "NAME." Thea flared furiously while slamming the desk.
Martinez panicked. "I'm telling you I don't remember!"
Then Thea went to Martinez and pulled him by the shirt and made him stand against the one-way glass. I started to get worried when she pulled out her SIG Sauer and and aimed the gun on his forehead at point-blank range.
"You've got until 1 before I turn your brain into a cheese fondue," she threatened.
"Uh... Geronimo?" I said worriedly.
"Wait for it..." he replied. Then, Thea started to countdown in Spanish.
"Tres..." she started.
"What the...? Are 'chu loco?" Martinez replied.
"Dos..." Thea counted as she thumbed the gun's hammer.
"God please help me!" Martinez panicked.
"G?!" I said as my heart raced.
"Wait for it..." he replied.
"UNO!" That's when Fernando gave up the name.
"Russell - Brock Russell!" My heart raced to the max when Thea pulled the trigger. I realized nothing happened. Her gun was empty.
"Argh!" Martinez shouted while sliding down the wall.
"That's my girl..." Geronimo commented as he gave a smirk.
"One last thing, what happened when you chased him down at the highway?" Thea asked Martinez again.
"He... outran me," he replied (still shaking by the way). "He was already a hundred meters away from me when I exited the property. When I got to the expressway, he vanished. His car, the Audi RS6... went from 0-60 in less than three seconds. I'm telling you, that thing's a rocket."
I stepped out of the observation room immediately to see Pandora in the lab. I had a suspicion about how Russell's car could accelerate so fast. Pandora was doing her usual stuff when she's waiting for the results.
"Playing Field of Battle again, I see?" I started, leaning on the door sill and crossing my arms.
"Yup..." she answered, with her eyes bulging out as she focused her ate to at the computer screen. "Tell me, how long did it take you to infiltrate the Axis's base in campaign mode?"
"To be honest... about half an hour," I replied.
"Ugh... I've been trying to get through this level for the past two hours. And this is the 15th attempt!"
"What can I say, gaming's my thing. But I'm not here for that, Martinez confessed during the interrogation that he had an accomplice."
"Who was it?" she asked, still focusing on her game.
"Brock Russell..."
"I knew it!" She looked away, and instantly lost the level.
"Martinez also said that he took off in his car from 0-60 in under three seconds," I started to walk around, "...which of course, the Audi RS6. So there could be only three ways that how Russell could outrun Martinez. Number 1: the car was four-wheel drive. Number 2: Russell was quick at shifting gears and number 3: the car's performance was upgraded."
"Number 1 could be possible because Audi always make their cars permanently four-wheel drive."
"Which brings us to number 2..." I continued, holding up a 'eureka' stance.
"During Russell's car syndicate days, he was proven to be the world's greatest young driver because he outran multiple police cars during one single chase in ten seconds."
"Until he lost the title to me... And of course, brings us to number 3..."
"Number three is entirely true because of this... By the way, I wanted to show you this ever since you came in here," she said as she got of the chair and asked me to follow her. She directed my attention to the giant flatscreen, showing the picture of a tire track with no patterns.
"So? Maybe when he started accelerating, the wheels spun to much, leaving no pattern behind," I said.
"That's where you're wrong," she started. "According to Benjamin, if the wheels skid, he could have left some dirt behind his car. Thus, making the dirt surface behind it unleveled. So, because of the dirt being leveled, he never skidded. Which concludes that Russell must've turned on-"
"Traction control!"
"Correct, and what is kind of tire that doesn't have patterns?"
"Racing slicks!"
"Exactly..."
"But why use racing slicks if the target's home has a dirt-paved courtyard? Slicks plus dirt equalsno virtual traction at all. It's impossible for Russell's car with slicks to accelerate on dirt under three seconds."
"Unless it wasn't actually slicks..." She said as she brought me to a microscope.
"What do you mean?"
"Look under the microscope."
I saw what looked like, some kind of off-road rallying tire patterns.
"Why does these look like off-road rallying tire patterns to me?"
"Because they are, only microscopic."
"So the tires function on road as slicks and off road as rally tires?"
"Yup, providing maximum traction on road, off road and wet conditions."
"Making the Audi accelerate as fast as a rocket! Pandora! You're a genius."
"Thank you..."
"One problem though, how are we going to find the manufacturer?"
"I'm still searching for it in the database."
"Well, I hate to say this but, you've wasted your time doing that because those are probably custom made. Special equipment is needed to carve those microscopic patterns."
"Possibly The Technologists-"
"Or, Russell himself."
"So that's how he pulled it off," said Benjamin who stood at the door, leaning against the metal door frame on his right arm while crossing both of them. He had a plastic bag full of stuff too.
"Oh, hey Benjamin," greeted Pandora.
"How long have you been standing there?" I asked him.
"Long enough to hear everything," he answered.
"What 'cha got there?" Pandora asked.
"Lunch..." Then he pulled out a bag of nachos and a can of spray cheese out of the plastic bag, putting them on the table.
"Yum..." Pandora said as she gulped down saliva because her mouth was watering like an overflowing bathtub.
"Want some, Danny?" Benjamin asked.
"I already had lunch. But don't mind if I accepted it as a past time snack," I said.
So Pandora and I pulled our chairs close to the table while Benjamin sat on it. I teared the bag of nachos and everyone reached their hands into it and each of us pulled out a chip. Benjamin started spraying cheese on his and scarfed it down.
"Cheese me, bro!" I demanded nicely.
"And me!" Pandora continued after me. He cheesed both of our chips and we shoved them into our mouths.
Interpol HQ Bullpens, Squad Room
1.49 p.m.
"The matter now is how do we find Russell?" Benjamin started.
"Already tried tracking his car's GPS coordinates. He installed a thick firewall in the in the GPS's software," I replied.
"That won't be a problem because I had Trap do a BOLO on his car," said Geronimo.
"It could take hours for results to show up. What are we gonna do 'till then?" I asked.
"Benjamin, get me all of Martinez's financial activities starting from the 90s," demanded Geronimo.
"On it Uncle G," replied Benjamin as he sat on his chair, typing away on the keyboard.
"Trap, are done with that BOLO yet?"
"Almost... Done!"
"Danny, try what whatever you can to get through that firewall."
"Got it!"
"Thea, stay with him."
"Sure thing, G."
"Trap, you're coming with me."
"Where to?"
"Video conference room. We're getting all the help we need."
"Who're we gonna contact?"
"Every agency in the world. FBI, CIA, NSA, MI6... I don't even care if Homeland Security wants to tag along."
They both rushed upstairs and contacted the directors of the agencies mentioned above. Back downstairs, I was struggling to get through thick the firewall. It gave me a major headache.
"Almost got it... Arrrrgghh! My head!" I screamed in pain after almost penetrating the firewall.
"Can you try again?" Thea asked.
"Sorry Thea, that's the best I can do. Besides this major headache I'm having, the chip needs to be cooled down after all those attempts," I answered while holding my head.
"How much time do you need?"
"2 hours should be enough."
"Benjamin, are the credit card and bank statements finished downloading yet?"
"I need at least 4 more hours because he spent and earned a lot of money back in the day." Then there goes Geronimo and Trap, rushing down the stairs. Looks like their done with contacting other agencies.
"So, how'd it go?" Thea asked.
"Normal, every agency we contacted agreed to cooperate with us," answered Trap.
"Any luck with Danny?" Geronimo asked.
"Nope. No matter how much I try, I just couldn't. When I finally got through, I had to fight an army of antivirus," I answered.
"*Sigh* That's okay Danny, you've tried your best," replied Geronimo.
"What now? We can't sit here and do nothing 'till results show up," Benjamin said.
"I'm afraid that's all we can do for now, Benjamin. We've all done our best and I think everybody deserves some rest," replied Geronimo.
We all sat around the bullpen, doing whatever we can to cure our boredom. Trap sat in front of his computer screen, waiting for the BOLO results while playing Flappy Bird, Geronimo was looking for a scoop in the Internet for Grandpa Shortpaws, Benjamin and I was having a gun assembling competition while Thea timed us. Our guns were disassembled and put the table. Even the rounds were unloaded from the magazine.
"Alright, are you two ready?" Thea asked.
"Ready when you are," I said as I turned to Benjamin.
"We're ready Aunt T," said Benjamin to his aunt.
"Okay... 3, 2, 1... Go!" Benjamin and I started assembling as fast as we can after Thea gave the green light. The rules were to only hand-load the magazines and only load them with 12 rounds and we had to chamber one into the barrel. It ended up with me winning. Here's my strategy:
1. Assembled the barrel into the slide.
2. Inserted the recoil spring to recoil spring guide and into the slide.
3. Assembled the slide to the frame/receiver and pulled the slide all the way back until the slide stop locks it into place.
4. Hand-loaded the 12 .45 ACP rounds into magazine (the rules were not to use speedloaders)
5. Inserted magazine into the grip/receiver and thumbed the slide stop to chamber a round.
Here's what caused Benjamin to loose: in step 3, Benjamin only assembled the slide and didn't pull it back. It takes a few milliseconds to pull the slide back than just to thumb the slide stop.
"Aw! I knew I should have pulled it all the way back!" Benjamin said aloud in frustration.
"Haha! Add that to your losing streak," I teased.
"Wow, both of you were pretty quick, you both timed in under 10 seconds," complemented Thea.
"Thanks Aunt T," said Benjamin.
"So, did that cure your boredom Danny?" Thea asked.
"Nope, still bored. I was planning to have a teenagers hangout with Pandora in the lab. Wanna join in Benjy?" I asked.
"Sure," he answered as we both got up.
"Call us back up if the BOLO's ready, Thea!" I shouted as Benjamin and I scampered off to the elevator.
"Alright!" She shouted back.
We talked about Field Of Battle gaming strategies during the hangout. I helped Pandora on that level in campaign mode she was stuck on. Step by step, she got through. What she did wrong was that she killed the guard at the Axis's base at close range, alerting the partner to activate the alarm. What she should have done was killing them with a silenced weapon, snipe the guard at long range (silenced) while the partner is unaware or melee kill them with a knife.
_
Bullpen
30 minutes later
"Geronimo! BOLO results are here!" Trap informed as his computer beeped. He pulled the footage of the BOLO to the 42-inch plasma TV.
"Where's he at?" Geronimo asked as he got of his chair, walking towards the plasma.
"A store clerk at a nearby 7 Eleven recognized his face when the BOLO was issued. She quickly informed the cops as soon as Russell left. She also sent the security footage to help them identify him."
"Then you'll need some help. If he drives his Audi, we... I mean you guys are going to need a better vehicle. If that RS6's acceleration is as fast as Martinez claims it to be, your Dodge Chargers won't stand a chance," I interrupted.
"We planned earlier that we'd stop by Danny's place to get you guys a car that he could lend you," continued Thea.
"Be quick, he couldn't have gone far from the city center," said Geronimo.
"Will do," I replied.
We rushed of to the mansion to pick up a car from my garage. We got there in about under 15 minutes because the roads and freeways were empty and Thea was speeding along like a maniac (good thing there weren't any highway patrol cops cruising in Mitsubishi Evolution Xs). When we got to the mansion, I picked a car not to fast, not to flashy nor expensive. I introduced Thea to Ray, my 2013 Cadillac CTS-V Coupé.
"J-Son, can you please bring Ray up here on the turntable?" I requested. Then Ray drove himself from the storage garage onto the turntable.
"Like I've told you, every one of my cars weapons and defense systems are updated. Like Ray here-" I was cut off by Thea who was asking about the Cadillac's name.
"Ray? That's what you named the CTS-V? Thea questioned.
"Yeah. What's wrong with Ray being a Cadillac's name?"
"Never mind, you can carry on."
"As I was saying, I added a few performance touches to Ray..." Then the holographic stats hovered over the 2-door car. It read:
Cadillac CTS-V Coupé
Engine: 6.2 liter all-aluminum twin-charged LSA V-8
Power: 990 bhp
Top speed: 390 kph (242 mph)
Acceleration (0-62 mph): 3.0 secs
Drivetrain: RWD
Transmission: Standard Tremec TR-6060 6-speed manual
Curb weight: 1,200 kg (2,645.5 lbs)
Lateral grip: 1.3 g
Stopping distance (62-0 mph): 26.2 meters (85.95 ft)
Fuel type: E86 ethanol biofuel
"He's equipped with an EMP generator that could target other cars front and back for a range of 500 meters, portable spike strips stored in the form of boxes and will extend if deployed, an electronic's jammer that disables other cars electronics, and four hidden popup auto-aiming M134 Vulcan miniguns in case we need to fight back."
"Geronimo would love to drive this-erm-him... No offense Ray," Thea apologized.
"None taken, Agent Stilton," Ray replied.
"Ah!" Thea screamed. "Did he just talk?"
"Oh, I forgot to mention that he has an AI in his ECU," I stated. "By the way, dibs on the drivers seat!"
"Oh no you don't! You're riding shotgun."
"Hey, I'm good at driving for a 13 year old..."
"You're to under-aged to drive."
"Technically, I'm not the one driving. Ray has a built-in autopilot system."
She paused to think. "No..."
"Hey! Who owns Ray anyway?"
"Yeah, but what if cops see you "driving"?" Thea said as she air quoted.
"Fine..." I said as I tossed the keys to Thea. We got into Ray, and Thea started him up. "One more thing, you do know how to drive stick, right?"
"Danny, don't worry. I'm a trained agent. Of course I can drive stick," she said to reassure me.
We fasten our seat belts and drove off to make up for our lost time.
Federal Expressway
While Thea was (still) speeding along the highway like a maniac (again), I asked her to slow down. Not because she was going too fast (which is perfectly fine for me), because what I saw from a distance was very much like Russell's Audi RS6.
"Thea, can you please slow Ray down for a second?" I started.
"What's wrong?" She replied.
"You seed that black car over there?"
"Yeah...?"
"Try to keep your distance... I've gotta hunch." I turned on the holographic HUD on the passenger's seat and brought up the footage from my front HD 50 megapixel parking camera. I zoomed in and pulled the photo of the BOLO from Trap's computer with the chip to compare them both. With Ray's help, he confirmed that the car ahead of us was indeed Russell's car.
"We've got good news and bad news," I started.
"What's the good news?" Thea asked.
"I know where Russell is."
"Where?"
"That's the bad news. Right in front of us..." She turned her attention towards the four-door sedan. "Get Ray to call Geronimo. Ask him to go to the video conference room, I'm sending a live feed."
Ray placed a virtual touchpad on Thea's right-hand side. She began typing Geronimo's number on it. He picked up after a few moments later.
Geronimo's Perspective
"Thea, where are you?" I asked.
"The Federal Expressway, still on my way here. Listen up, I need you to go to the video conference room, Danny's sending you a live feed from Ray's parking camera," she said.
"Who the cheese is Ray?" I asked again as I ran up the stairs.
"Apparently, that's what Danny named his Cadillac he was going to lend you," she replied as I entered the room.
"Sir, incoming transmission for you from Agent Thea Stilton," said the transmissions operator as I entered the video conference room. I paired the wireless headset the operator gave me with my phone via Bluetooth.
"What am I looking at?" I asked my sister.
"Does that car look familiar to you?" She replied.
I froze. "Russell? How did you find him?"
"Coincidentally while cruising," interrupted Danny in his American accent. I must say, he does a good impression. "Should we engage in a pursuit?"
"Negative, from what I got out of Martinez just now, Russell's car is heavily armed with machine guns chambered in .50 BMG rounds, I CANNOT risk your life out there Danny," I said aloud.
"That won't be a problem, Ray's body panels and glass are bulletproof," stated Danny.
"No, that's still too dangerous to pull off," I said.
"But we'll loose him, we can't go through all the trouble of finding him again!" Thea said.
"We need to engage NOW!" Said Danny loudly.
"DO NOT ENGAGE! I REPEAT, DO NOT ENGAGE...YET!" I yelled through the microphone.
"Yet?" Danny asked suspiciously.
"I'm calling for backup from the Royal Malaysian Police, you both couldn't handle it by yourselves," I said.
"What are we gonna 'till then?" Asked Thea.
"Sit tight, and DON'T let him out of your sights! They'll be there in a couple of minutes."
"Ten-four," Thea agreed. I ended the transmission with a signal of my hand going over my neck to the operator. I started making some calls right away.
My Perspective
2 minutes later
It had been 2 minutes, backup still haven't arrived yet. We still kept a distance of 60 meters from Russell.
"Where are they? Backup should have been here by now," complained Thea.
As we drove through an underpass, a group 10 Mitsubishi Evolution Xs with Royal Malaysian Police liveries appeared from the off ramp and onto the highway, placing themselves on random lanes. We were radioed from one of the officers driving in one of those cars.
"This is Seargent Kamal Hussein from the Royal Malaysian Police. Please identify yourself," said the officer in Malay through the car's megaphone. He sounded like he's in his early 20s.
"He wants our-erm-your identification," I translated. "I'll patch Ray's radio signal to his radio scanner."
"I understand Malay, Danny. I'm an Interpol agent," replied Thea. I was done patching and she spoke into the small microphones installed all over the interior. "This is Special Agent Thea Stilton from Interpol, and beside me is a 13-year-old boy I have in protective custody, Danial Arif," she replied in Malay. "Permission to communicate in English, Seargeant."
"Permission granted," replied the officer in English. "We were sent by Special Agent Geronimo Stilton to help you with a pursuit. He's your brother I presume?"
"Yes, he is,"
"So, who do we need to apprehend?"
"Brock Russell. You see that Black Audi RS6 in front of us? There he is. But we need him back ALIVE, so make sure you don't use any unnecessary force. His car is heavily armed with .50 cal machine guns, so be careful," I interrupted.
"Affirmative, anything more that we should know?" He asked in his American accent.
"His car is super-tricked out. It can accelerate as fast as a speeding bullet, so tell your men to try to catch up."
"Ten-four. How are we going to pull this off?"
"I have a plan, you guys turn on your strobe lights and sirens one by one, and make it look like you're chasing us. After that, just drive past us and get closer to Russell. When I say engage, we engage. Got it?"
"Copy that," said the officer.
"What are you trying to do?" Asked Thea.
"Trying to spook him, he'll have no head start if the cops get close enough," I answered. "Alright boys, strobe lights and sirens, NOW!"
Like I planned, they turned them on car by car, the noise of the sirens just got louder and louder until I assume that Russell was able to hear it (remember, I can read minds). The cops closed in on him, going around us. That's when Geronimo rang us.
"Thea, status report," he started.
"The backup has arrived and we're following Danny's plan," she answered.
"No need to explain, I heard it all through Officer Hussein's radio when I called him. Which phase are you going through right now?"
"The beginning of phase two. I'm reading his mind and he's about to get spooked right... Now!" Russell accelerated his car and left the cops in the dust. I held on to my life as Thea did the same, overtaking the police cars.
"ENGAGE! ENGAGE! ENGAGE!" I shouted into the radio. The police sped along behind us as we and Russell a achieved speeds of 250 kph.
"Wow, you guys are fast," complemented Officer Hussein.
"Try to keep up, you're way behind," I teased. I turned on Lady Gaga's 'Applause' on the stereo to get us into pursuit mood.
"Really Danny?" Thea said.
"What? It suits the mood," I replied.
Radio chatter log
Hussein: Wolf Pack, proceed with 10-0 (caution). Suspect vehicle is armed.
Unit 5: 10-4.
(The Wolf Pack closed in. Russell spooks and starts accelerating)
Me: ENGAGE! ENGAGE! ENGAGE! (Accelerates, overtaking the Wolf Pack)
Hussein: WOLF PACK! GO! GO! GO!
Unit 2: Dispatch, we've got a 10-80 (chase in progress), suspect is Brock Russell, driving a black 2013 Audi RS6.
Dispatch: 10-4 Unit 2.
(Russell nearly misses a civilian car)
Dispatch: Officer Hussein, the commissioner wants to know what's going on out there.
Hussein: Dispatch, suspect just nearly missed a civilian vehicle, we need air support.
Dispatch: "Request denied, the chopper's being refueled.
(Russell rams the back of a civilian Toyota Camry and drives away)
Unit 9: Suspect has just 10-57 (hit and run) a civilian vehicle, suspect is still mobile. We need EMS on scene.
Dispatch: Roger that, Unit 9.
Hussein: Unit 1, try to run him off the road.
Unit 1: Copy that.
(Unit 1 gets to Russell's left side, only to be rammed)
Unit 1: Suspect just hit me at the side, minimal damage taken.
(Russell does a drift at a tight turn and rams another civilian vehicle upon exit)
Unit 10: Suspect just took out another civilian and it's rolling. I need EMS on scene, now!
Dispatch: 10-4, Unit 10.
Russell, Thea and I and the police swerved between mild traffic, taking on tight turns at high speed and listened to more chase music. Thea took an opportunity to drift at a 120 degree turn.
"Hold on!" Said Thea. Then that's when I thought about the EMP generator.
"If Russell's car relies to much on the ECU, maybe I can hit it with the EMP!" I said.
"And stop his car!" Thea continued.
"Tell Hussein and his men to get behind us, if they're hit, they'll go down as well."
"Officer Hussein, tell your men to get behind us. I'm gonna try to hit him with an EMP. If they're hit, their car's system will fail," she said into the comunicator.
"Roger that. Boys! Get behind Agent Stilton's car. She's gonna hit the suspect with an EMP!" Said Officer Hussein.
"Ray, charge up the EMP," I ordered. "Yes sir. 15 seconds remaining," Ray replied.
"Once the EMP's recharged, I only have 5 seconds to discharge it before it does automatically," I stated.
"What if it doesn't?" Asked Thea.
"Then the pulse will discharge at Ray, causing a system failure and could shut him down. We certainly don't want that won't we?"
"Sir, the EMP is fully charged!" Ray informed.
"Good, now get a target lock." The crosshairs were shaky because of Russell. He kept changing lanes to shake us off.
"Stay still, damn it!" I said.
When the countdown ended, the EMP discharged and missed Russell's car.
"EMP missed the target, sir," Ray told me.
"Again. ETR?" I asked.
"10 seconds sir," he said.
"ETR?" Thea said with a raised eyebrow.
"Estimated time of recharge," I replied.
"Sir, the EMP is ready," said Ray.
Russell then accelerates until he was out of the EMP's range.
"Thea, he's out of the EMP's range. I need you to get closer to him," I ordered.
"On it," she replied. As the rev-counter needle pointed towards the redline, she hit the clutch and shifted Ray into 4th gear.
"Try not to miss this time," I advised.
Russell was finally locked on when he stopped changing lanes randomly.
"Target locked, sir!" Ray alerted. I pressed the 'fire' button to discharge the pulse. Russell was hit. The pulse's energy was so strong, it shook his car, making him swerve. As he tried to regain control of his car, he crashed into a wall. The car was now immobile.
"Hussein, suspect vehicle has crashed. Tell your men to get ready and surround him," said Thea into the radio.
"Ten-four," replied Hussein.
The whole pack rushed and surrounded Russell and his car. We all got out of our cars (including me) with our weapons and... MP5 submachine guns? Wow, I really doubted that the police would bring such heavy firepower. Anyway, we all shielded ourselves behind the doors, just in case if Russell would pull off a stupid stunt.
"Brock Russell! Get out of the vehicle slowly with your hands where I can see 'em," Thea instructed. Russell came out slowly, slightly wounded on his forehead.
"Now put your hands on the roof frame," she instructed again as she came out of cover. Russell did what she told.
"Someone search him," Thea ordered. Hussein came out of cover and left his MP5 slinging on his shoulder. He searched Russell's both arms, his sides, and both of his legs. When Hussein checked the waist, the found the Glock which was use in the shootout Geronimo was involved in. Hussein took it out and tossed it aside. When Thea came to cuff him, she put her gun back in her holster and Hussein lend her a pair of handcuffs because she left her's in her desk drawer.
"Thanks Hussein," said Thea.
"Don't mention it," Hussein replied.
A little about the sergeant, he's 6 feet 4 inches, medium build, has the face of an anime character because he was a mix of Malay and Chinese except without the pointy chin because his was flat, and true almond-shaped eyes. He has a crew cut as a hairstyle.
As she turned to Russell, she said: "Brock Russell, you are under arrest for speeding, dangerous driving, hit and run and resisting arrest." She cuffed his hands as tight as the corners we took.
"Take this kitty litter back to Interpol HQ," she said to Hussein and handing him Russell.
"Hope you're worth the trouble you got us into. Watch your head," said Hussein as he put Russell in the highway patrol vehicle. It was followed by him getting in and drove away towards HQ. The rest of the Wolf Pack went back to their respective precincts.
"Nice driving back there, Thea," I complemented.
"It wasn't me alone, you know. If it wasn't for your assistance and Ray's weapons, I wouldn't have gotten this far," she replied as she picked up the Glock and bagged it.
"Brofist?" We both reached our fists and bumped them together.
As we walked towards Ray, Thea asked me something: "Seriously, can you really drive?"
"You should see me drive at Nürburgring and Spa-Francorchamps," I replied as we got into Ray.
We drove off back to HQ after that adrenaline-pumping chase. We treated ourselves with a couple of sodas to celebrate our victory.
A/N: I think this is my longest chapter yet. Hope you all enjoyed it! Also hoped that it was whoopass enough for ya! Leave a comment if you will! *brofist*