The Unceasing Path
Ch 9 - 車手
Hands on the Wheel - wherein some people take action and others are just along for the ride
[Highway to the industrial zone...]
They flew down the highway at obscene speeds. Hands on the wheel, loose and reactive, Just like Haruka taught her. Michiru swerved into the next lane trying to shake her ex-girlfriend off both literally and figuratively. The engine whined as it approached redline.
Music to her ears.
Michiru shifted through the gears full throttle trying to get as much out of this crappy van as possible. Finesse was going to win her the day, not speed. As with most things in life, it was all about tempo. There was a natural flow to things. Michiru grinned as she swung the van hard to the right. They van slid between a gap in the concrete guard rail into oncoming traffic smooth as silk.
Let's see Haruka deal with that.
"WHOA! Michiru! You're having a bit too much fun aren't you?" Ami hung off the handlebar above the window. "Wanna ease up a bit?"
"Never. Haruka thinks she's hot shit, lets see her prove it." Michiru pulled another tight manoeuvre, waiting til the last minute to slip between two cars. "Besides, you're one to talk! Pull out those guns you're so proud of and do something helpful instead of this backseat driving nonsense."
"Still with the old lover's quarrel? 6 years is a long time to hold a grudge. Besides, I can't shoot shit the way we're swerving all over the place. This one's on you."
"Quiet. It's not a quarrel, and we're not lovers. She left me holding the bag when the cops came..." Michiru stomped an elegant foot down on the pedal. The van lurched forward. Minako and Usagi yelped from the back where they were being tossed around like ragdolls.
"OK! OK! Focus you two!" Minako hollered "Gods it's like running a bloody kindergarten. We need a plan. Any ideas?"
"Here's one."
Michiru saw an opening. She threw the handbrake brake and opened the clutch as she gave the wheel a sharp jerk. The tail of the van swung around, plastering Minako and Usagi to the back wall as it spun traffic in a neat 180 degree turn. She blew Haruka a kiss as her motorcycle overshot the van which was now facing the other way.
It was a pleasure to see those teal eyes widen in shock.
"Nice one..." Usagi moaned from where she was tangled with Minako in the cargo hold.
They raced down the highway again, this time going with traffic.
"Ami, would you be a dear and check on our unwanted escorts?"
Ami looked outside again as requested. "No good." she reported. "We still need an exit strategy. You lost one, but Haruka's still with us. Coming in hot to the right."
Michiru gave the wheel a quick jiggle. For an instant, the motorcycle and the van were on a sure collision course. Her breath caught watching the little Haruka in the blind spot mirror react a split second before certain death.
"Fuck!" Michiru whispered to herself. Her hands clenched around the wheel in a white knuckle grip unconsciously. "What the hell is that idiot thinking!? Bringing motorcycles to chase a van."
Ami laughed. "She probably that they would pull up beside us and force us over at gunpoint?"
Police sirens sounded in the distance. The casual joking atmosphere in the van evaporated at the sound.
"Alright. I got this." There was no more laughter in Ami's voice. Her guns were out and she was all business. "You see that tunnel up ahead?"
"Yes."
"Good. Pull up alongside the truck ahead of us there and hold the van steady. Warn me if you are going to swerve. I'll be outside." The noise in the van got louder as Ami cranked the window all the way down. Michiru could barely hear Ami over the roar of the wind even though Ami was shouting. "On my signal - 4 shots - hit the gas. No matter what just...KEEP! DRIVING!"
Michiru looked over just in case she hadn't heard right, but Ami was already halfway out the window. Minako gave her a quick nod before reaching over to steady the gunslinger's legs. Michiru looked back at the road. The truck was just up ahead. It was a blue Isuzu flatdeck overloaded with bamboo rods...
Bundles of barely secure bamboo rods...
Michiru understood the plan in that moment. She pulled up along side the truck and downshifted in preparation.
Bangbangbangbang
4 shots rang out in rapid succession. Michiru hit the gas. They had seconds to overtake the truck. The bamboo started to roll loose.
Oh goodness. The tunnel. This was going to be close.
"QUICK! Minako! Pull her in!"
Usagi to jumped into help as well. Together, they hauled Ami in before she was splattered on the tunnel wall. The van sped into the tunnel. Behind them, a load of falling bamboo and one confused truck driver blocked the entrance.
The plan worked. Michiru heard her girls cheering as she exited the tunnel. The next highway exit should take them to the dock lands as planned. Once there, it would be easy to ditch the van in here somewhere and steal a new getaway vehicle. Or they could scatter on foot. Either way, they should be home safe.
Michiru exhaled, easing the van to normal speeds as they rejoined the regular flow of traffic. Tenoh Haruka...the cause of so much trouble. She hadn't felt this alive in ages.
[Haruka's Condo, Underground Parking Garage. Not long after...]
"Fuck! I can't believe they got away!"
Haruka slammed her helmet down on the backseat of her bike. The empty thunk echoed throughout the underground parking structure. Makoto pulled up into the empty slot next to Haruka.
"At this point, I'm happy that we got away. The cops were right behind us, and that truck! Shit. What a mess..."
"ARUGH!" Haruka kicked her motorcycle. "They were driving a VAN! We had bikes! We should have had them!"
Makoto hopped off her bike and waved frantically for silence, or at the very least, indoor voices.
"Hey! Keep it quiet! What if someone's down here? We tried our best. At this point, it's a win that no one was hurt." Makoto's grinned, hoping to distract Haruka from her tantrum. "Besides, if you hadn't taught your ex everything you knew, we probably would have them."
"Blow me Kino. She can die in a fire for all I care..."
"Damn, still sore about all that?"
"No. Why should I be? I didn't do anything wrong. The cops were supposed to chase me dammit. Arugh..." The rant continued the entire ride up the lift to the top floor"...I swear, she's the one holding a grudge. You should have seen her face earlier. I she winked at me as she drove by! Winked!"
"That doesn't sound like a grudge. That sounds more like she's flirting with you."
"Well, it is Michiru. She did try to kill me about 3 seconds after that so ehhh. Women." Haruka shook her head as she opened the door to her penthouse. "Sorry I didn't get a chance to clean. I wasn't expecting that we'd have work today."
"Ah. Whatever. It's clean enough." Makoto made herself at home on Haruka's couch. "What were we chasing them for anyways?"
"I don't know. I just got a call from the Boss a few hours ago. He didn't tell me anything. Just for me to grab whoever I trusted, and be ready to intercept a van outside the 24K Jewelers in Kowloon. I didn't know it would be the Yuet To Tong until I saw Michiru."
Only one word caught Makoto's ear: "Boss". Thankfully, Haruka was in her bedroom changing out of her motorcycle leathers. She didn't hear the little gasp of excitement that Makoto failed to hide.
So the Boss was responsible for today's raid huh? That was new information. It wasn't much, and now wasn't the time to analyze it, but it was slightly more than she knew this morning. Makoto filed it away to consider later.
In the meantime, she carried on the conversation with Haruka, probing for what information she could get.
"So we just hit the Yuet To Tong without knowing what we were doing? That's insane!"
"I don't ask questions. Not my place. We were just supposed to steal whatever was in the van...Hey, don't give me that look. It's just the way things are around here. We get a mission, we do it."
Haruka shrugged, full of the careless confidence that Makoto had learned to recognize as false over the past 3 years.
"I don't like taking orders from someone I've never even met." Here goes nothing. "What's the Grand PooBah like?"
"Careful Mako. A little respect. The big Boys are scary people. Arugh. Is it October already?" Haruka muttered under her breath as she put on a tie."Fucking dress codes..."
"It's the 4th, It's been October since Saturday." Haruka didn't seem to hear her. She looked distinctly nervous, fiddling with her shirt tail in front of the mirror. Makoto's concern for her friend led her to an unexpected opening. "Aw shit. You have to go tell the Boss that we fucked up don't you?"
"Yeah I do."
"You going to be ok?" Makoto put a hand on Haruka's shoulder. Hopefully Haruka would take it as a show of solidarity and not suspicious snooping. "You need backup or anything? Maybe I should come with you."
"Nah. I appreciate it. I have to do this on my own. Boss is a real stickler about privacy. Just...if I don't come back, yeah. It's been nice knowing you."
"Come on!" Makoto gave a forced laugh. "They dropped a truckload of bamboo on us! No one's going to blame you for losing the van after that. We couldn't have seen that coming."
"It was fucking Mizuno again wasn't it? Had to be. That psycho dog... I swear, if I make it through this, I'm going to..." Haruka punched the air in front of her with a grimace.
"Haruka, you can't be serious. Are you really that worried?"
"I told you. The big Boys are scary people." Haruka put on her shoes. "Nah. I'll be fine. We're meeting in a very public place. Can't kill me with thousands of people around right? Worse case scenario...ah nevermind. I got to go. Have 15 minutes to get across town and I really don't want to be late. Don't mean to kick you out or nothin, but got to go!" Makoto felt herself getting shoved out the door. "I'll call you tomorrow!" Haruka called over her shoulder as she ran for the lift. "...And if I don't, maybe consider getting out of town or something. See ya!"
[Ami's apartment, other side of town...]
Her girls were safe. Makoto was safe. Today was a good day.
And another crime goes unpunished in the streets of Hong Kong.
Fuck.
The thrill from the heist faded to a dull throb behind her eyes. The glare of the monitor was too bright.
Reports. Details. She needed to remember the details. This was important. She was a cop. Still a cop. Evidence needed to be logged, her activities needed to be documented and her actions justified. Protocol had to be followed, even if no one ever saw the reports and no good ever came of anything.
Fuck.
Focus. Think. Details.
At 15:30 on Tuesday, October 4th, the "Celestial Born Crew" - real names: Aino Minako, Kaioh Michiru, Mizuno Ami, Tsukino Usagi - all known members of the Yuet To Tong, committed armed robbery at 24K Jewelers, taking goods worth approximately 3 million HKD and leaving less than 5000$ in property damage. 6 shots fired, no casualties.
Ami's hands froze over the keyboard. No casualties. Was that accurate?
There was the store manager she scared into giving up the password. Poor woman had been terrified even before Ami physically cut off her breathing. Was she a causality? Ami took herself back to the moment. Why had she done that? It was completely unnecessary in retrospect. Even Usagi was scared of her now. The girl had flinched back unconsciously when Ami reached out for her.
Fuck.
It was for the best. Usagi shouldn't be involved in this world at all – the guns, the violence, the danger...Usagi needed to be protected from that. Hopefully, this will scare her off the path she was heading down. Ami hit the delete button until "Tsukino Usagi" was removed from the report.
She did it for Usagi. She hurt people for Usagi. Maybe that was the lie she needed to tell herself today.
There were more pressing issues at the moment: The ambush during the getaway. How had the Hung Fa Boys known they would be there in that van? Ami considered all the possibilities and hated all of them. The common denominator was the same. Only one explanation.
Someone told.
More critical than the how, was the why. Why had the Hung Fa boys ambushed them? That was a significant deviation from their typical M.O. It had been years since they were involved in street level activities. The diamonds they stole were valuable, but they weren't worth the kind of public exposure the Hung Fa Boys had brought down on them today.
So why the ambush?
Either way, she needed Makoto.
She dug out one of her many burner phones and dialed Makoto's number. It connected on the first ring.
"Hey!" Ami chirped in a bright and cheery voice "I found that book you were looking for!"
And now, to get some answers.
[Meanwhile, outside Haruka's apartment...]
Time was ticking. This was the first real lead on the boss she had gotten in a long time. If she could somehow follow Haruka, then Haruka would lead them straight to the boss. After years of cold trails and missed opportunities, Makoto hoped that this time would be the time they succeed.
She needed to call Ami. Her cellphone was out the instant the lift door closed and Haruka was out of sight.
GAH! The damn thing suddenly started to vibrate in her hand. Makoto almost dropped it in surprise.
The words 'Unknown Caller' flashed on the screen. Oh, please...please be Ami. Haruka was getting further and further away. Makoto didn't have time for anyone else right now.
"Hey! I found that book you were looking for!"
Fucking pass phrases. Makoto didn't know what was weirder. Ami's attempt at sounding like a normal person, or her cloak-and-dagger paranoia. It was going to be the death of her one day. Makoto swallowed her irritation and gave the countersign quickly.
"What-colour-is-it?" She didn't bother wait for the final confirmation response of "green". "Look, the line is secure and I know it's you. We don't have time for this. Something's happening right now. Haruka is on her way to meet with the Boss, in person. Right now. As we speak. She left her apartment less than 5 minutes ago. If we can follow her, we can find out who the Boss is. Bad news is that I only have access to the motorcycle. She'd make me in a minute - "
Ami didn't miss a beat.
"Understood. I'll go after her. Where's the meeting?"
"No idea. I tried. Haruka wouldn't say."
"Think. There must be something. Maybe I can still pick up the trail. You say she just left her apartment. The one in the Mid Levels right?"
"The fancy place. Yeah."
"Why go there first? Why not go see the boss directly?"
"She went home to change. Haruka needed a tie...because it was October?" Makoto went over the conversation again. Tie. Dress code. 15 minutes. Across town. Public space. Thousands of people...but private enough for a meeting... "Happy Valley! It's got to be Happy Valley Jockey Club. Their fall dress code is suit and tie only and kicks in starting October. The Boss must have a member box there. Shit. You'll never get access..."
"On my way. I can be there in 20 minutes."
"Ok, we know where she's going, that's good, but how the hell are we going to find her once we're there? There's thousands of people milling about on race nights!"
"Irrelevant." There was a long pause and the sound of cupboard doors slamming on the other end. "Make that 35 minutes. Call Chiba. Have him get a warrant ready for every scrap of CCTV footage from the racetrack tonight."
"Do it yourself! I'm not your secretary! I'm coming with you! We don't have probable cause anyways. This is all hearsay."
"Do you trust me?"
"Yes."
"Then stand down. Stay away from the race track. I've got a plan."
"Oh hell... Fine, fuck you. we'll do it your way" Makoto said reluctantly. She didn't like it, but there was no time to argue. "At least tell me what are you planning."
"You'll find out soon enough. We have bigger problems. Meet me tonight at 0200 hours. You know where. Dead drop the key when I get it. Standard procedure."
The line went dead.
A.N.
Clearly Michiru feels the need for speed. Hey-o! If this were an actual movie, I like to think that the chase scene would have been awesome.
Also, someone get Mako a Sherlock hat, because that was a fine bit of plot induced detective work on her part.
And of course: thanks for reading everyone :D. Hope it's been a good ride so far. We are now roughly 1/3 of the way into this fic,, so...the plot-plot starts now! What the hell is Ami thinking?
Special shout out to brycelozier. You rock, and your observations are always so bang on. Is triad!Ami really going to Macau as much as she says she is, or is some of that a cover for clandestine meetings with someone? *Spoiler alert* It aint Mamoru.*points at the next chapter and winks*
And another special shoutout to TheKissingHand. It took you 2 chapters! (Two chapters!) To get the chapter title easter egg that I didn't think anyone would notice. Bilingual bonus ftw. Thank you for the lovely art! You are wonderful. All the egg waffles to you.
Cheers,
-Drift.
Up Next:
Ch 10 : 天若有情 - A Moment of Romance - wherein everything else could wait until tomorrow