1: Test Track License

Akira Kurusu never expected to be approached by government agents, but then again, he'd just been arrested for false charges, so maybe it wasn't too surprising that he'd be thrown headfirst into a new life.

A middle-aged woman with dark brown hair sat on the other side of the glass, staring intently at the boy. "I take it you've had a rough evening."

He gave her a side eyed look.

"I see. Your silence speaks volumes, kid."

"…" He stayed quiet.

"You want me to get to the point," she concluded. "Look, I know about the finer details of your arrest. The man you were involved with; we've been investigating him for quite some time. And while I can't reverse your conviction, I can offer you a way out."

That got his attention. His eyes snapped towards her as he spoke. "I'm listening."

"A year, or longer if you'd like, of 'community service.' Of course, we'll have to put you through the usual training, but you won't have to spend the year in juvenile detention. Think of it as 'paid probation.'"

His eyes narrowed. "What would I need to do?"

"Just the basic training. Physical, mental, driving, shouldn't take more than a month to get you in the field."

"Driving? Just what would I be doing?"

"On the record, I can't say anything about the finer points unless you accept. Normally, we wouldn't do this sort of thing, but if you had the balls to stand up to that man, even if you didn't know his past, we can make an exception."

"Another thing; what do you mean by 'in the field?' This some kind of government agency shit?"

"You're not far off. But unlike the police, we aren't affected by bribes from one man. We're an international organisation."

"So this isn't just his way of making me his personal attack dog?"

"Far from it. You may even get the chance to get him back for what he did."

"I like the sound of that."

"I thought you would. Oh, just one small catch; you'll need to leave everything behind. Your friends, your family, all of it, while you're working with us. But I imagine that won't be too difficult."

"Understatement of the century. My parents disowned me and I've already been expelled from my current school. I couldn't care less if I never see them again."

"…"

"What?"

"I've only met one other person like you. An angry young man, with a burden unfairly placed on his shoulders. It's important in this line of work, to be emotionally detached…" she trailed off for a moment before refocusing. "Anyway, you're going to be transferred to a different school if you accept this proposal, to get closer to where we'll call upon you when the time is right."

"…"

"It still sounds a little 'attack dog,' doesn't it? I can't blame you if you don't want to do this, but just know that it's a once in a lifetime chance. And like I said, you can stay on if you'd prefer once you've finished your initial year."

He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. After an aggressive exhale, he sat upright. "If it's this or juvie, I'll take the 'community service.'"

The woman smiled. "I'm glad to hear that. My name is Elena Rose, and on behalf of the entire International Espionage Service, I'd like to welcome you to the Spyhunter program."

"Akira Kurusu, Spyhunter…" he mused. "I like it. Now can I ask what I'm gonna be doing?"

"Yes."

"Okay. You said that I might be able to get back at that man who got me thrown in here. You mean, like, killing him or just getting dirt on him?"

"Hold your horses. One step at a time, kid. There are a few smaller missions we'll have you working on first. In fact, your age'll be an asset to avoid drawing suspicion."

"Huh?"

"As the name suggests, we're supposed to keep things somewhat on the down-low. And your first case'll be investigating a school principal. Getting a student in there is far easier than a teacher going on a last minute 'vacation,' if you understand my meaning."

"Okay, let's do this then! What papers do I need to sign?"

Elena chuckled. "One step at a time, remember? First…" she tapped on the glass separating them. "…let's get you out of here."

—

…And now, here he was. After his training over the course of the past month, he'd been dragged out to some secluded base in the middle of nowhere, where he was supposed to receive his driving training.

After a few minutes of waiting, a large red van drove up to him, and the back of the vehicle opened to reveal a silver car.

"Welcome to the test track," Elena said to him as the car rolled down the ramp and onto the pavement.

"What's with the car?" he asked, a curious expression on his face.

"Only one of IES' favourite toys," she replied. "Say hello to the G-6155 Type III Interceptor, a classic car for our agents."

He raised his eyebrow. "It's just a car. No need for the techno-babble."

"Oh, really? Get in, and let's see if you still think it's 'just a car.'"

Shrugging, he turned his eyes towards the door, which had a distinct lack of a handle. "How DO you get in?"

"Where would the handle be normally?"

He followed her cryptic hint and placed his hand on the small indentation where the handle should have been, and the door opened, rotating upwards like a luxury car's door. Inside, the car had only one seat in the centre of the vehicle, and a dashboard with several buttons.

"How's that for an anti-theft measure?" Elena asked. "Multi-Directional handprint scanner. No one's stealin' your ride. Now get behind the wheel, and I'll explain the objectives when you're on the track. Or Leonie will."

"Who's 'Leonie'?"

"You'll see…"

—

Akira just took in his environment for a moment once he got inside the machine. It was something out of one of his science-fiction novels, more similar to a fighter jet than a car. "Okay Kurusu, you've got this. Just like all those racing games. Gas on the right, brakes on the left, thank goodness this thing's an automatic."

He pushed the power button next to the steering wheel, and the engine roared to life. This sucker was packing some serious power. Power that would be quickly demonstrated when he pushed the gas pedal, causing the car to begin accelerating at a rate he'd never seen before, quickly hitting an average top speed of 130 kilometres per hour.

"Alright," Elena said over the car's communicator. "First, I want you to take a practice lap. No objectives, just get a feel for the course, okay?"

"Got it."

Once Akira made it around the first bend, he followed the path up a slope and through a set of bulkheads. He was slightly caught off guard by the sudden shift to a dirt track with multiple explosives detonating seemingly at random, but he quickly got a feel for how the car handles rough terrain and avoided them without much hassle. Overall, a pretty simple setup so far.

Through the next bulkhead was another stretch of pavement, where he weaved through wooden standees taking the places of other cars. Once again, fairly simple, though the presence of targets on some of them made him wonder what else this car was capable of. After another segment of pavement, with a branching path where he had to make the choice of trying to avoid the now oncoming cars or going with the flow of traffic like last time, he could take a second to breathe on another straightaway.

Unfortunately, he was completely helpless as he suddenly hit a ramp and started to fall into a water canal. Before he could ask himself if he made a wrong turn somewhere, the car morphed into some kind of speedboat and continued down the canal without skipping a beat.

While the boat was slightly harder to steer precisely, the width of the canal made traversing it a non-issue.

After another section of water, the course ended with a large ramp after a wide turn. Akira wondered why it was there for a moment, before the car suddenly started unfolding around him, eventually ejecting a motorcycle-like escape pod from the main body while leaving the majority of the vehicle behind. This new vehicle was a bit more slippery to control, but he kept going, finally crossing the finish line.

—

Once the rest of the Interceptor was brought over, the escape vehicle hooked itself back up to the body and the car reconfigured into its original form. "Definitely not your average car," Akira remarked.

"Oh, you haven't seen the best part," Elena replied cheekily as she put a card against the door's scanner.

The moment she did, two compartments above the headlights opened to let the machine guns hidden inside fold out. "So, do those come with the car, or are they an optional accessory?" Akira asked.

"Guns are always an option," Elena replied.

"I'll take it then," Akira quipped.

"And these are just the tip of the iceberg. But now, it's time for you to earn your wings. Get in the car again, and I'll set up the mission objectives."

"Right."

Akira practically jumped into the Interceptor, and drove back to the starting point.

Suddenly, a voice began to play from the speakers. "Greetings, Agent Kurusu. I am the voice of the G-6155 Interceptor, known as Leonie."

"What the- You're the one Elena was talking about?!"

"I see you are already familiar with Ms. Rose. Then you should know why I am active. I will list your objectives now.

Primary Objective:

- Destroy the 9 targets placed on the track.

Secondary Objectives:

- Avoid all barrel obstacles.

- Navigate all slalom gates.

- Make contact with all SATCOM points.

- Place GPS trackers on all tracker targets, without destroying them.

- Clear 50 metres on the turbo jump ramp.

- Avoid civilian casualties.

Completion of primary objectives is required to complete the mission, but it will be advantageous to complete all objectives before starting field work."

"Good to know," Akira said. "Alright Leonie, let's do this!"

—

It took a great many attempts to complete the course. Sure, the targets were easy, and the slalom gates weren't that difficult to drive through, but the SATCOMS were placed in such a way that when he jumped one of the ramps to touch it, he'd often end up demolishing one of the civilian cutouts.

And don't even get him started on the turbo jump. That thing ended more attempts than anything else, and it was especially demoralising after he'd placed the trackers, as those required him to line up a shot from behind the target before swerving out of the way before he rammed through it, an especially difficult feat with the speedboat's more slippery steering.

—

Before the day ended, Akira decided on one more run. Just one more attempt while the course was fresh in his mind.

He whipped around the first turn, weaving through the barrels easily. The first set of gates on the dirt track came and went. Once he had a clear shot, he opened fire on the targets, ducking through civilian traffic. No problem. He even turbo boosted off the ramp into the canal as practice for later.

The second set of gates was child's play to navigate at this point. Once he made his way into the open section of water, he laser-focused on the SATCOMS. The first ramp was a gimme, as the cutouts didn't go that far out before turning around. Surprisingly, Akira found the other three to be just as simple by angling the car towards places he knew the cutouts didn't venture.

"Alright, now for the GPS targets. Almost there, kid," Elena said over the communicator.

The GPS targets were still difficult, but Akira was finally used to the Interceptor on both land and sea, and dealt with them in record time.

And then, there was the turbo jump. Adrenaline rushed through his body as the car sailed through the air, and he finally heard the sweet words, "Fifth objective complete."

One motorcycle segment later, and he had finally completed the test track. "Good work," Elena said to him. "For completion of the IES test track, I present to you…" she reached into her breast pocket and pulled out a small card. "Your licence. Excellent work on reaching Spyhunter status. Now, don't let ANYONE know you have this, okay?"

"Got it. But they might smell a rat if they see what I'm driving around. Or that I'm driving at all, now that I think about it."

"If they question you, you obtained that licence in the US, where you can get a driver's licence as early as 16 years old. And the car was a gift from a very wealthy family friend, got it? As was this." She handed him a wrist communicator. "This'll give you full command of the Interceptor, even when outside the car. You can remotely summon it to the nearest road, and notify Leonie of your status. She'll handle the rest. Don't worry, she's programmed to not harm civilians."

"That's good to know. Now, where am I going?"

Elena smiled. "To Shujin Academy. Your cover is a transfer student, so you'll be taking up residence with a civilian. To be specific, you are looking for one Sojiro Sakura, in Yongen-Jaya. Comms will be going dark, so you won't be hearing from me for a while."

Akira nodded. "Right. Thanks for everything, Ms. Rose."

"You're welcome. Now get out there, Agent Kurusu. Time for your first mission."