Disclaimer: Kim Possible is property of Disney. I own nothing and don't claim to own anything.
Warning: Includes violence & gore, profanity, references to things like sex & drugs, and what some may consider intense scenes. Viewer discretion is advised.
XX
Chapter 4: Ryan Quint's Request
Somewhere near Sacramento, somewhere in the night
"Ben, she's coming over here."
"Yes, I see her."
Rhonda Govea had entered the room and was making her way over to them, she moved quickly and silently like a cat.
"He knows you're here," she said instantly upon her arrival.
"Who?" Ben asked.
"Who do you think? Ese maldito campesino irlandeso de Filadelfia, I won't say his name."
Kim only made out one word of Rhonda's Spanish and that was "Philadelphia." However, she and Ben knew "he" could only be so many people, and Philadelphia only narrowed it down further.
"Why are you-"
"Shut-the-fuck-up-with-your-questions," she barked at Ben, saying the sentence like it was one long word. "I said what I came here to say."
For a few strange moments, Rhonda just stood there with a feral look on her face. Her nostrils flared and her mouth hung open like she was a dog.
She then closed her mouth. Her expression was that of someone who had revealed more of themselves than they wanted to, a theater actor whose mask had fallen off. She looked around the room to see if anyone was looking at her. Apart from one or two nearby people who seemed to be glancing over at her, every was preoccupied with their current conversations.
And with that Rhonda left, retracing her path back out of the room.
Rather than comment on Rhonda and her strangeness, Ben's brain was already zeroed in on his nemesis.
"I don't remember sighting Calvin or any of his affiliates upon arrival. Perhaps they sighted me first, or perhaps I was sighted by someone I didn't recognize: One of their low-ranking idiots most likely."
"How do you want to play it?" Kim asked. She was looking at the door, keeping watch in case Shepherd and his men showed up (or Rhonda came back to do something else freaky.)
"Let's go downstairs and introduce ourselves."
She looked at Ben, wondering what he meant "Oh yeah? How do you propose we do that?" she asked slyly
It took him a few moments to make sense of her response, now it was his turn to look at her "Did you think I meant something else?"
Kim was quiet for a moment, she looked off to the side in thought "Wait…You were being literal?" she said in amazement. "You want to just go up to Shepherd and…talk to him?"
"As opposed to what? Running to the Jaguar and fleeing into the night? Or maybe luring Shepherd into the woods for an ambush? Forgoing the whole tournament and disemboweling him in the dark Blair Witch-style? Not exactly sporting options, are they?"
When Ben referenced The Blair Witch Project, Kim's head instantly went to the door as if expecting to see Rhonda.
She shivered as she realized the grip the street-racing, Oakland witch-woman had on her.
"What if they…pull something?"
"No one's allowed to fight or act stupid in here. Otherwise, it's their ass, pardon my French."
"Pardoned," Kim said as she got into the spirit of things. "You and Calvin are gonna talk then? Maybe do lattes?"
Ben laughed at her playfulness "I imagine we'll exchange insults like wrestlers or boxers. It'll be less like an internet café and more like a Flair for the Gold."
To her surprise, Kim caught the wrestling reference and thought of Ron.
Ben left his empty glass on the table in front of him "If the Witch of the East Bay doesn't scare you, then Shepherd and his bunch are out of their league."
Kim never said that Rhonda didn't scare her.
XX
Calvin had half a dozen of his key men at the party with him. They were going to show up and "welcome" Tetradze to the party, but none of them seemed to be able to locate him.
"Wyatt said he was upstairs," Taylor said.
"I thought you saw him first," Shepherd said testily.
"Yeah, but then Wyatt told me he went upstairs."
"So none of you jackoffs where he went? Is that what you're telling me?"
"We didn't…" Taylor stammered. "Dude, look-"
"Don't call me 'dude' you fucking cocksucker!" Calvin snapped.
"Gentlemen?" said an unrecognized voice.
They all turned to see the image of Ben Tetradze standing before them with a lukewarm expression, his hands in his pockets.
An awkward silence followed.
Beside him was the girl, who Shepherd had never actually seen for himself. She looked about… Middle School age? Her red-orange hair was tied into a ponytail.
She didn't look at all nervous or out-of-place – Well she did look out of place, actually – But rather than act the part of someone who was out of place, she struck a confident pose and had her hands on her hips, and wore an expression that was cool and unflappable, aloof even. Either she thought she was exactly where she was supposed to be, or she wanted you to think so.
Shepherd wasn't sure what he expected from her, but he'd had a few ideas…
Maybe she'd be some rough-and-tumble street kid, the kind he had once been growing up in Philly…Instead, she looked suburban. The way she dressed, her laid-back and untroubled demeaner, her polished and well-cared-for appearance.
Maybe she'd be all twisted and fucked up, like the kids you see on the news that kill their parents and shit…But she wasn't that either. She looked…normal, like she was just some kid.
Just some kid who also killed people…Yeah, okay.
And then Tetradze said something. "I've been informed that you are looking for an individual named Tetradze?"
"Wait, what?" Shepherd thought.
XX
Kim stood dutifully at Ben's side, ready to jump into action should the situation call for it.
"I've been informed that you are looking for an individual named Tetradze?" said Ben, referring to himself as if he were another person. "As someone who's familiar with him, I was wondering if I'd be of assistance?"
The members of Con-Quest Motor Club just stared for a few moments. Calvin looked quizzical. Ryan Quint looked angry, as if he thought he was being made fun of. Albie was scrutinizing Ben with his mouth slightly open. Night Devil was looking off to the side and scratching his head, his mind was elsewhere.
"What are you talking about?" Calvin eventually asked slowly, trying unsuccessfully not to sound dumb.
"Introductions are perhaps in order; my name is Ruslan Markovich Lomovtsev. Like you I'm participating-"
"Your name is what?" Ryan asked out loud, but no one acknowledged him.
"-in the tournament. And like you I'm acquainted with Ben Tetradze."
Shepherd looked like he was gradually putting something together "What are you trying to say? That you're not Ben Tetradze?"
"What makes you think I'm him?"
"You look like him."
"I've been told he looks like me."
Shepherd blinked a few times. "What kind of car do you drive?"
"A Jaguar XJ220."
"He drives the same thing!"
"He's copying my style. He's a real asshole for a Georgian."
Kim thought this was dumb. Everyone knew who Ben was, which made him going undercover pointless.
She assumed the only reason he went undercover was because having a federal agent openly taking part in an underground racing tournament was a bit too weird. He had to pretend to be someone else as a courtesy.
"Suppose – for the sake of argument – I am the person you think I am? What does that change, really? It doesn't change the rules of the tournament."
"I can't race if I get arrested, asshole."
"No one's going to get arrested," Ben said.
"Because you're not Ben Tetradze?"
"Whether I was or not, you're aware, or at least you should be aware, that no one's arrested for the tournament. That the vast network of mutual, means it's unf
"You mean 'if I was Ben Tetradze?'"
Shepherd groaned, "Yes, if you were…"
He stopped mid-sentence, looking like he had been struck by a thought. His struck look then turned into a one of dawning realization.
"You're here to beat me!" Shepherd declared suddenly, he now bore a look of energetic indignation, "To beat us! You know what we're doing this for! You're trying to fuck us!" All these words came out at once, as if Shepherd was involuntarily vomiting them.
Ben listened to Shepherd's outburst intently, starting directly at him with his head tilted forward.
And then he responded accordingly, almost sounding like a lawyer or lecturer "I'm racing in the tournament with the desired outcome of winning it, so naturally I want to beat you. As for why you're doing it, I presume you, like me, want to win."
"I will, however, request you watch your language," he added.
Shepherd gave Ben a funny look, as if he was certain Ben misspoke or said something other than what he just said. "Watch my language?"
Kim shared Shepherd's confusion, why would Ben care if…
"There's a young lady present," Ben said with genteel pride.
"Oh goddammit, Ben!" Kim thought, cringing inwardly and wishing she was somewhere else. "He SO didn't just say that!" She was unable to conceal the embarrassment on her face.
Shepherd looked back and forth between Ben and Kim a few times, looking horribly irate and incredulous. He was shifting around where he stood and making erratic motions (randomly touching his head, crossing and uncrossing his arms.)
The Con-Quest Motor Club members were watching their leader with faint trepidation. Kim thought it sort of looked he was having a seizure or a panic attack…
All this was because he was angry?...Well actually, maybe she understood…
Ben and Kim had sabotaged his affairs in Los Angeles and left him on the hook for a shipment of cocaine. They had shown up to sabotage him again and only further tighten the noose around his neck. Ben was pretending to be someone else and not breaking character, he had approached Shepherd directly in this role, while also simultaneously doing nothing to disguise his appearance. Ben was almost being brash in his behavior, all but declaring to Calvin "Look it's me! Except it's also not! I'm racing in the tournament! What do you think of that!?"
And now he was making polite requests for him not to curse or use inappropriate language?
Yeah, Kim could see why Shepherd would be upset. The same way she could see why Hitler would be upset once the war started going badly for him.
"You're being…Are you seriously…" Shepherd muttered, trying to string together sentences through the haze of his anger. "You really…SHUT THE FUCK UP RYAN!"
Ryan Quint forced himself to stop laughing, a feat he was only able to perform due to fear of his boss. He stood there looking like had a gun to his head.
"Quick, think of something cool-sounding to say!" the flustered Kim thought, wanting to defuse the situation and perhaps get some of her pride back.
Shepherd too, seemed to be at a loss for anything subtle or witty to say. He instead looked at Ben with naked aggression, his mouth forming a cavalier sneer.
"How about I kill her!?" Shepherd shouted. "Then she won't have to hear me say shit!"
It was weird but being threatened with murder eased Kim's embarrassment. She suddenly felt adult and serious again.
An increasing number of partygoers were looking over at where they all stood, the belligerent Calvin Shepherd yelling was hard to ignore.
Ben took the threat against Kim with an aloof lightness. "Go ahead, try to kill her. See how it goes for you," he said candidly.
Kim suddenly felt a sibling-like affection for Ben. He requested Calvin not to curse in front of her, which was annoying and a chance for him to play gentleman but was also a glowing indication of his own fraternal mindset toward her.
Yet his nonchalant response to Calvin threatening her also indicated the confidence he had in her. She wasn't some precious thing that needed to be protected, she was the girl that fought and killed a notorious Canadian hitman last month.
And when she was with Ben, they were a force to be reckoned with.
Shepherd stood there looking foolish. Even if he wanted to or thought he could, he wasn't cretinous or suicidal enough to murder a child while surrounded by hundreds of people.
Ben had trapped Calvin in an awkward position, a position where he was too angry to say anything worthwhile, but also unable to do anything rash or violent. He could only stand there exposed; exposed to Ben, Kim, and his men as the limited and venal thug he was.
"Calvin?" Albie said.
"What?" was the blunt response.
They all became aware of a Judge who stood nearby them and drank a bottle of beer. He was dressed in black biker leather, with an American flag bandana and a pair of dark sunglasses. The Red "R" on his leather seemed to shine brightly as the party's lights reflected off it.
If the Judge was keeping an eye on them, he didn't show it through his opaque glasses.
Kim wondered how many Judges there were at the party, or what they were prepared for. Maybe they had tear gas?
She was then struck by the ultraviolent thought of the Judges closing all the exits to the warehouse and murdering everyone inside. Was that even an option? Would they do it if they were asked to?
She was inclined to think "No," but she didn't know that. There's no way she knew that…
Kim noticed that Calvin Shepherd's attention was on her. Having him looking at her wasn't as awkward or strange as when Rhonda had looked at her, his gaze was merely the gaze of another scumbag. Kim imagined she'd be getting used to scumbags. "
"Is this really her?" he eventually asked, sounding much calmer than had been less than a minute ago.
Under normal circumstances, this question might've annoyed Kim. But the way Shepherd asked was actually flattering.
"She's the one killed your man Jimmy," Albie whispered to Night Devil.
"I hated Jimmy," Night Devil muttered dismissively.
Ryan Quint was looking at her, a slight smirk on his face. Kim disliked this and looked away from him.
Calvin Shepherd was regarding her more subtly, as if he found her fascinating. "What's your name?"
Before she could scarcely think about answering, Ben answered for her. "You don't need to talk to her," he said in measured voice. It wasn't a threat or even a suggestion, it was more an observation of fact.
Shepherd narrowed his eyes at Ben, but also seemed a little ponderous. As if he was seriously questioning whether it was wise or necessary to talk to Kim.
"Did Ben just do a Jedi-mind-trick?" Kim thought to herself.
She momentarily cast a look back at Ryan. He was still smirking at her, and she found herself feeling antagonistic.
"I don't care if he talks to me," Kim said defiantly.
"Oh, look it talks," Ryan Quint said.
Kim did her best to quell the feelings of anger that she could somehow feel in her bloodstream.
"She doesn't care if I talk to her. You hear that Tetradze?" Shepherd said, flicking his head at her.
"Must I go through with you again that I'm not Tetradze?" Ben said directly to Shepherd, even though he was glaring daggers at Ryan as he didn't miss what was just said.
"Oh right," Calvin said jovially. "What was your name again?"
"Ruslan Markovich Lomovtsev."
"Rosalyn Mark-itch?" Night Devil said suddenly, his attention drawn back to the conversation from where it had been diverted.
"You may call me Rus."
"So tell me then, Rus" Calvin said dubiously. "…In addition to looking like Tetradze and driving the same car as him, you also have a girl just like this that follows you around?"
Ben looked at Kim, and he smiled as he had a flash of inspiration on his face "Perhaps it was her with him?"
Calvin rubbed his face in annoyance as the conversation took another confusing turn, "Uh what?" he said in a rather pained voice.
"But why don't we ask her? Akima? Was that in you Los Angeles last month? Accompanying Ben Tetradze in the field and killing people?"
Ben just stared at her, giving no indication of what her answer should be. Calvin and crew were staring at her too.
"Okay, sure," Kim eventually said, in an offhanded, unserious way.
"Fascinating, what were you doing in Los Angeles with a U.S. government agent?"
Kim shot Ben an exasperated look. He wasn't just messing with Shepherd, he was messing with her too, wasn't he?
Ben just smiled, as if this was fun and silly to him.
Shepherd laughed as he noticed the look Kim was giving Ben. "I imagine he's used to that reaction."
Calvin's men looked like they had no idea what was going on, all except Ryan, who was still smirking at her. It had gone from a sort of snide, half-smirk to a full-blown smirk, and it was…really repulsive.
Kim felt her dark side speaking to her, maybe Ryan would watch where he looked if she cut out one of his eyes?
"In any case," Ben said. "Akima isn't racing, which means she'll be a non-factor in the tournament's outcome."
"Except we can't exactly race if she kills us," Shepherd spat.
"I fail to see how killing other racers would be useful to her, or myself, or anyone else. Doing so would derail the tournament and therefore nobody would win. Once again though, I propose we ask her: Akima, do you have any plans of interfering with the races?"
"No, I'm just here to observe," Kim answered.
"Observing, eh?" Shepherd said, raising an eyebrow. "Is that what you were doing at Richie Liu's hotel? Or in the woods near Santa Monica?"
Ben looked over at her, this one was hers to answer.
After thinking for a few moments, Kim had a response. "Sometimes you just observe, and sometimes you need to do something about what you're observing," she said darkly, speaking from a visceral place.
"Oh yeah?" Calvin said sleekly, a villainous look came over his face. "And what if you observe me or my guys doing something you think is uncool, and you feel like doing something?"
"Then I'll do something," Kim said with grim satisfaction. She started to think she was handling herself fine.
"I've never been threatened by a kid before, Cal." Ryan said out of the side of his face.
"You've obviously never spent any length of time in the city of Philadelphia."
Ryan paid no attention to what Shepherd said, "I didn't know you were that kind of guy, Tetradze."
For the first time, Ben took his focus off Calvin Shepherd and devoted his full attention to the Delaware preppy turned road jockey that served as Shepherd's top guy. "What kind of guy is that?"
"The kind of guy with a taste for ja-"
Ryan Quint was unable to finish his sentence because Ben had delivered a roundhouse kick to his face, knocking him on his ass.
In the next second, Night Devil smashed into Ben. "Devil!" Shepherd erupted.
Nearby partygoers scrambled away and gave a wide berth to Ben and Night Devil as they tumbled on the ground.
Kim had her gun out, prepared to kill Night Devil, but Ben had already thrown him off and away from him.
Night Devil tried to stand up, but Shepherd knocked him back down and put his foot on his chest.
"If you stand up, I will sodomize you with a tire iron!" Shepherd bellowed; he meant it.
Night Devil froze like a trained animal.
Ryan Quint was being held back by Albie and one other Con-Quest goon. The livid anger on his face doing its best to hide his wounded pride,
Kim felt an angry, psychotic energy running through her, and felt that she understood what it meant to be a soldier entering a village looking for enemies to kill. Understood what it was like for the villagers that were still there to flee and hide at the sight of you. Understood the desire to put the hurt on the villagers because they were stupid enough to still be there and because the enemy was dishonorable enough to be elsewhere.
They wanted to fuck around? They could find out!
Someone turned off the party's music at that point, which broke her from the psychotic trance she'd been in.
She suddenly became aware of the onlookers who saw her but made sure not to get too close to her.
She looked at Ben. He remained standing where he was, staring down at the members of Con-Quest Motor Club as they struggled with each other. He had a combat stance, and his hands were in front of him, but he was waiting for the enemy to make the first move.
"Ben-"
"Kim, please be quiet," Ben said quickly and clearly, his focus never wavering from the villains in front of him.
She looked around and saw that nobody was armed, so she put her gun away.
"What's going on here!?" boomed the voice of a new person.
All eyes turned to the new arrival.
A large and muscular African American man towered over everyone in sight. He wore a black tank top and blue jeans, and black shoes. He had a mustache and small beard, and his hair was long in the back.
He was flanked by five Judges, even though he looked like the type who could defuse a situation with minimal assistance.
Kim was able to surmise he was a Judge himself, but noticed he didn't wear the Red R pin on his tank top. She was wondering why this was until she saw the R dangling from a necklace around his neck.
"Nothing, we just had a scrape," Shepherd said.
"That what happen?" the large Judge said as he looked over at Ben.
"Yes, we're fine now. Thank you." Ben's tone was appropriate to a parent whose child had thrown up in public.
"Perhaps we should keep it that way."
"I suggest we save the excitement for the races," one of the Judges said, a smart-sounding fellow in a suit.
"The next fight we'll end ourselves!" declared another Judge in a black hoody, his energetic mannerisms reminding Kim of a carny she once saw at the fair.
Ben took his attention away from Shepherd and his scum and looked at Kim, he gave her a reassuring smile. She didn't smile back but nodded faintly at him.
Ryan was no longer being held back but was on his knees and gently shaking from agitation. There was a bruise on his face from Ben's foot. Albie stood by, looking ready to tackle him.
Just when it seemed like everything had been pacified, Ryan Quint's face lit up with inspiration. "I gotta request for Mr. Levi!" he shouted.
Everyone looked at him, even Night Devil who was still pinned to the ground beneath Shepherd's foot. Shepherd and Ben looked at each other, they both looked like they knew what Ryan was about to request.
Kim could only guess what the request was, but it probably had to do with racing.
The large Judge narrowed his eyes at Quint "What request is that?" he asked, even though he seemed to know too.
Ryan grinned manically and pointed at Ben. "This bitch! I want to race him first!"
"You can request to race someone?" Kim thought.
Evidently you could as the large Judge nodded. He then spoke audibly for everyone to hear. "A request is only granted if both parties consent to it…" He gestured towards Ben "What say you?"
Ben stared down Ryan, the animosity between the two of them captivating the attention of everyone else. "I accept Ryan Quint's request," he declared, sounding much more even-tempered and self-contained than Quint.
"It's settled," the Judge said. "Your two names will be removed from the list we have. The remaining fourteen racers will be paired up impartially."
The large Judge strolled off, the crowd parting for him as he went along. Most of the other Judges followed after him, a few remained behind in case another fight started.
"Does this conclude our conversation?" Ben asked Shepherd.
This question prompted a look of disdain. Shepherd took his foot of Night Devil, who remained on the ground. "I got nothing left to say to you…Whoever it is you're supposed to be."
"Understood," Ben said. "Enjoy the rest of your evening," he added sincerely.
Calvin squinted, his disdain becoming clearer.
Ben began to back away, only turning around once he was safely out of distance. Kim followed alongside him the entire way, never once looking back at Calvin Shepherd or the Con-Quest Motor Club.
Just before the party's music was turned back on, Shepherd was heard saying "Devil, you can fucking stand up now!"
Ben and Kim returned to the disused locker-room, the same one from when they first arrived.
"I thought you said they weren't going to pull anything?" Kim said.
"They didn't, I'm the one who kicked Ryan Quint in his stupid face."
Kim allowed herself a brief but satisfied smile, before becoming serious again. "Do you think you can beat him?"
Ben gave a restrained scoff, looking like he was trying not to be a braggart "His vehicle is an impressive piece of work, but he's competent behind the wheel at best. My vehicle is also impressive, and I've been estimated to be a superior racer than him."
"Naturally he doesn't see it that way, being the unimaginative materialist he is."
"He also doesn't appreciate the immortal fact that one must understand their opponent if they wish to defeat them. Their strengths, their weaknesses, their psychology. I couldn't say with any certainty that he knows anything about me, or if he would willingly try to learn unless Shepherd forced him to."
"Ryan Quint is the type of individual who doesn't know enough about the people and things he really should know more about…To say nothing of him not knowing enough about much of anything."
"Of the four off them – the four of them being Shepherd, Ryan Quint, Night Devil, and Albie – I believe that Ryan is the dumbest. Amusing since he's the only one of them to have completed High School, and the only one to have spent any length of time at an institution of higher learning."
"Of course, having a stupid opponent isn't necessarily to your complete advantage because it means they may do something that a smart opponent wouldn't do. I suppose then; that it's a question of neither overestimating him or underestimating him, and I don't think that'll be a problem."
His monologue over, Ben looked at Kim, who had been patiently listening to him, but looked like
"…Yes, I think I can beat him."
"Super," she said.
They were quiet for a few moments, Kim's mind moved to the elephant in the room, which was Ben had done for her out there.
"Ben…You didn't have to."
"Life isn't just about the things we have to do, Kim."
XX
Kim and Ben kept a low profile until it was time to announce who would be racing who. And according to Ben, a man named Levi would make the announcement.
A section of the warehouse had been cordoned off, the section looked like it had once been a loading dock for trucks.
A line or two of fierce looking judges stood between the crowd of partygoers and the cordoned off section.
Kim noticed a few other Judges standing on top of things or up in the catwalks, holding what she somehow recognized as riot shotguns.
Two laborers dressed in work coveralls had set up a podium with a microphone, making it seem as if a press conference was about to begin.
As Kim looked around, transfixed by this show of force, she asked herself: Was this really the best way to announce information about the tournament?
The music had been turned off at this point, and nearly everyone in the building was crowded around the cordoned-off section of the warehouse.
Kim surveyed the crowd, noticing Calvin and his gang, and nearly all the people Ben had pointed out to her. She also noticed Rhonda sitting by herself on top of a large stack of crates, her boots dangling off the edge.
Everyone was talking amongst themselves, still in idle party mode…
And then one of the loading dock doors opened, revealing the dark night outside. The talking stopped.
A few judges entered through the door, they were soon followed by a man that Kim was able to deduce was Levi…
He was a man of average height and weight. He could've been anywhere from his late thirties to his early fifties.
He was dressed in a suit and wore it in such a way that it was clear he often wore suits.
Kim's dad had once said that some people wore suits badly. They wore suits that were bought off-the-rack and thoughtlessly put on, and they looked uncomfortable and unsure of themselves in it. They wanted to seem classy and professional, but instead it looked like they were going to a job interview.
Levi wasn't one of those people, his suit was tailor made and he wore it immaculately.
To complete the ensemble, Levi wore a pair of oval-shaped spectacles on his face.
There was no sign of an "R," red or otherwise, anywhere on his person.
Kim thought about who Levi reminded her of…Some gestapo officer from a World War II movie? Or maybe Slugworth from "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." That wasn't even one of her favorite movies or anything, but the sight of Levi brought the character of Slugworth to the front of her mind.
The Judges escorted Levi to the podium, he adjusted the microphone so it was directly in front of his mouth.
"Good evening," Levi said courteously, his smooth voice filling the warehouse.
Nobody returned the greeting. Everyone just quietly stared at Levi as if he were some apparition.
Levi took out a piece of paper and held it up for everyone to see. "I have here the first eight races for this tournament. One has been requested and agreed to by both parties, the remaining seven were paired up impartially."
Kim thought she noticed an accent. Ben knew everything, she'd have to ask him where Levi's accent was from.
Levi then announced who would be racing who, she recognized many of the names from what Ben had told her. Some others she didn't.
K.G. Mandeville would be racing Salim Qavam-Jafarnejad.
Ian Montgomery would be racing Nicholas Nowicki.
Russell Barleycorn would be racing Rhonda Govea.
Simon Pletzinger would be racing Goro Wakamisugi.
Christopher Cuellar would be racing Calvin Shepherd.
Eleanora Featherston would be racing the Turtle. "The Turtle?" Kim thought.
Ruslan Lomovtsev would be racing Ryan Quint.
Juan Xavier Barrera would be racing Cheng Dau-ming.
Levi placed the paper back into his suit. "Details regarding the times and places have been posted for you all to view. As these details weren't listed for me, I was unable to announce them to you…That is all. Thank you and goodbye."
Levi then stepped down from the podium and returned to the loading dock door he had emerged from, his honor guard of judges accompanying him the whole way. They walked through the loading dock door into the night
The loading dock door closed shut.
The
Kim and Ben looked at each other.
"Well what did you think?" he asked.
"I feel like my life is just going to get stranger."
XX
Before leaving the party, Ben went to look at race information that had been posted in chalk on a concrete wall. He and then Kim made their way back to his Jaguar, left this place that was in the night, and began the drive back to Sacramento.
"When's your race with Ryan going to be?"
"Tomorrow afternoon at three. Yosemite National Park."
Kim scratched the side of her head in thought "So…How long does the tournament take?"
"Would you like me to explain in detail?" Ben asked pleasantly.
Kim chuckled "For sure! That's your thing!"
"The tournament will occur over the course of a week and everything has been diligently organized. It's currently the weekend before the tournament, so we had a party."
"Today is Sunday, April 16th. In less than an hour, the clock will strike midnight and it will be Monday. Once the sun rises, people will go to work and go to school, and we'll be going to the races."
"The first round will consist of eight races occurring over a period of twenty-four hours. This round will be known as a Dawn-to-Dawn round because it will occur from Monday's sunrise to Tuesday's sunrise, one full rotation of the earth."
"For the rest of Tuesday, everyone sleeps."
"That night at midnight, Wednesday will begin, and so will the second round, otherwise known as the quarterfinals. Four more races will occur between the midnight on Wednesday to midnight of Thursday, making this the Midnight-to-Midnight round."
"And then we have another period of rest, one that will last the rest of the night and go into the next day."
"Once the sun sets on Thursday, the third round begins, otherwise known as the semi-finals. Two more races will occur that night, making this the Penultimate Round or Penultimate Night."
"For most of Friday, we rest again. And then that night, at the end of the week. The final round will occur with the final race, the Ultimate Round or the Ultimate Night."
"And then it'll be the weekend again, and it will be time to celebrate."
Kim couldn't help but be in awe of how intricately organized the tournament was. Who made these decisions? "Sixteen races in five days?"
"One full week in the Spring, that's all we need."
"Is it done the same way every year?"
"Not necessarily, but this is the way it's done this year."
Kim had no frame of reference for how a street racing tournament should be organized, so she had little in the way of criticism or suggestion. "Okay, cool."
"The tournament's brevity is a blessing. I don't want to keep you from things any longer than necessary."
"What would you be keeping me from?" Kim asked, not following.
Ben looked over at her, observing her genuine confusion. "School for one thing. I trust it isn't problematic? That you're sometimes gone from it?"
Kim blinked a few times, somewhat surprised by the notion that her extracurricular activities would be a detriment to her school or social life back in Middleton.
It surprised her because it didn't seem to be the case. Although she could see why someone would get that impression.
"Oh…Not really, I'm ahead in all my classes. I never found school difficult."
Ben gave a look of resonation "I was your age when I finished my time in the Soviet school system. Yes, it was in my twelfth year that I started at the Budapest University of Technology. Of course, I didn't get into crime fighting until I was in my twenties."
"I may not be a prodigy like you, but I've got a head start on my crime fighting," Kim boasted.
"I imagine if you focused on school full time, you would be much more than ahead in your classes. Maybe you wouldn't've finished as early as I did, but perhaps skipped a grade. You're a prodigy that's channeled her abilities elsewhere."
"It's no big," she shrugged.
"Oh, I forgot to ask, what did you think of Levi?"
"Uh…wow."
"Yes. Wow."
That's all Ben had to say? He didn't feel the need to recite what he knew about Levi? … Did he even know anything about him? "Do you know what his deal is?"
"Whichever one of us finds out first, let's be sure to tell the other."
Okay, that meant no."Did you notice he had an accent?"
"It's Slovenian. As previously stated, I went to college in Hungary so I'm familiar with Central European accents."
"He's Slovenian?"
"Oh I don't know, but the accent he was using was Slovenian."
Kim found this mysterious "So why would he use a Slovenian accent if he's not Slovenian? To hide where he's really from?"
"Perhaps he's an interdimensional being, and he uses a Slovenian accent for an aesthetic reason."
Kim looked at the side of Ben's head as he drove. He had said that sentence the way he said everything else, with complete seriousness. She was unsure if she was being messed with.
She found something else to talk about "You know he reminded me of?"
"Who might that be?"
"Have you ever seen Willy Wonka and the Charlie Factory? He reminded me of a character in that movie called Slugworth."
A few seconds passed before Ben responded, "That wasn't Mr. Slugworth, though."
Kim gave him a curious look. "What wasn't Mr. Slugworth?"
"That was Mr. Wilkinson."
Kim was lost. "Ben, what are you…"
Ben smiled and explained himself. "The character you're referring to first appears to Charlie after he finds the Golden Ticket. He introduces himself as Arthur Slugworth, a competitor to Willy Wonka, and offers Charlie a bribe if he retrieves an Everlasting Gobstopper from Wonka's factory. But at the end of the film, it's revealed this was a test of character for Charlie. The character who had identified himself as Mr. Slugworth is Mr. Wilkinson; an employee of Willy Wonka."
Kim continued to stare at Ben for a few moments, taken aback. Apparently among the information he stored in the hard drive of his mind were the details of a movie from 1971.
She tried not to giggle "Ben, you're a riot."
"Um…Thank you?"
Notes
Next chapter we head to Yosemite National Park for the Tetradze-Quint race.
Ben made a reference to internet cafes, which felt appropriate since the story is set in the year 2000.
My first novel comes out around this August, so that's been a major focus of mine apart from this story.
I dream of the day when I'll become a full-time writer, a day that I sense is near.