Beginning Word Count: 23,112
Firstly, I do not like the title of this story, so consider it a working title. Hopefully, a better one will show up.
Fandom: Speed Racer
Characters: Speed Racer / Trixie
Title: The Conquences of Decisions
Rating: PG
Part: Two of _______ (yeah, no idea)
Disclaimer: Speed Racer is owned by Digital Manga Publishing, Tatsunoko Production, and Trans Lux and was created by Tatsuo Yoshida. The character was adapted for English by Peter Fernandez. I make no claim to ownership and am making no profit from this work.
Sparky rushed out to meet Speed and the Mach 5 as Speed pulled into the pit after the four hundredth lap. "Make it count, Sparky!" Speed said as he quickly ran in and grabbed a drink and took care of his quick break while Sparky changed the tires and filled up the tank. Sparky was among the fastest in the business, and with only one pit crew allowed per driver, that would be imperative in this race. Speed was currently in the lead; however, he was also the first to pull in.
As soon as Speed had finished with his personal pit stop, he stepped in to help Sparky finish. He took over checking the oil and other engine fluids. Sparky nodded at him as soon as he finished with the tires and Speed climbed into the cockpit while Sparky finished tightening up the engine. Sparky gave him the thumbs up, and Speed sped out of the pit just as the next driver came in to start one. He was good for another 400 laps. But there would be one more pit stop before the end. While he had been stopped, Speed checked the standings. So far, twenty three cars had been knocked out of the race.
But that left seventy seven cars vying for the purse.
Speed was not going to give them the chance to take it from him. In another two hundred miles, there would be another turn, and that would, in turn, lead to several laps with on coming racers, and more crashes. Speed did not want to have to try to over take anyone during the cross racing laps. And he didn't want to be close enough that any other drivers thought they could try and over take him during that point either.
While he raced, Speed looked to the stands, as he always did. He liked to see if he could spot Trixie watching. Most of the time, he was not able to find her unless he knew ahead of time where to look. So it did not bother him too much that he could not find her in the crowd. He was driving very fast, and Trixie would not be impressed if he got into a wreck because he was trying to find her.
The race had been going on for three hours now and Speed was about to make the second reversal. He was not keeping an eye on the other drivers' positions on the track. He just drove. After he started the reverse loop, Speed was glad to see that he was the only driver currently driving against the oncoming racers. He dodged drivers, and noted that a few of them were actually driving towards him, rather than trying to avoid being hit. Speed hit the A button to release the auto jacks, easily clearing the oncoming car. He frowned, but did not let that distract him.
It was completely illegal for a driver to take out a fellow racer, but Speed had learned over the years that many drivers were not opposed to breaking the rules, and sometimes the law. After the second driver tried to drive straight at him, Speed got a really bad feeling. Speed called Sparky.
"Sparky, we have some rough racers out here."
"You okay, Speed?"
"Yeah. I got this. But I need you to find out where Trixie is sitting and make sure she's okay."
"Will do, Speed. Don't know where that ticket was for, but hopefully one of the racing officials will."
"You have about an hour before I'll be in for a pit stop."
"Roger that, Speed. I'll be here by that time, no matter what."
"Thanks," Speed said. He couldn't help buy have a bad feeling about this. He hoped Sparky could report that Trixie was fine and Speed was just being paranoid. Speed had found, however, that frequently whenever there were unscrupulous drivers, there were unscrupulous hench men about.
And the easiest way to weaken Speed would be to harm someone he cared about.
"Head in the race, Speed. Keep your head in the race," he thought furiously at himself. The number of cars driving in the opposite direction was getting fewer. He had seen a few wrecks behind him through this turn. Sparky would take care of Trixie, and Speed would do his job.
About thirty minutes later, Sparky came back over the speaker. "No luck. I couldn't find the racing official who kicked Trixie out of the box."
Sparky was holding something back.
"What else, Sparky?" Speed growled out.
"I don't know, Speed. Just that no one had any idea about it. But tell ya what, you'll see Trix right after the race is over. So just concentrate on the race. I'm sure Trix is fine."
"All right, Sparky. You're right. See you in twenty laps."
"Roger that!"
Speed pulled in for his eight hundred lap pit stop, and Sparky immediately started working on the tires. Speed glanced around at the other pit crews and saw that each pit had at least two mechanics. That just spoke volumes about Sparky's skills. But it also told Speed that there was trouble. As Sparky was finishing up, Speed got in the cockpit.
"Ready set, Speed!" Sparky said.
Speed nodded. "Find Inspector Detector. That official was not a part of the race. Those other pit crews have more than one mechanic Sparky. Trixie's in trouble."
Sparky's eyes grew wide as Speed took off to finish the last hundred laps. Sparky ran towards the officials' box. He burst in, this time full of purpose.
"My friend is in trouble because someone impersonating one of you told us she could not stay in the pit. So I expect some help in finding her. Got that?" he demanded.
One of the officials came up to him. "I'm Ruckous Jerman. Sorry about your friend, but how is that our fault? If you listened to someone without verifying his creditials, that's hardly something we're responsible for."
"I didn't say you were responsible. I said I expect help. You have an impersonator here, so why are you not bothered. I want to speak to Inspector Detector."
"He's in the announcer's box," Mr. Jerman said.
Sparky said nothing more to the ineffectual man, but turned immediately to go to the announcer's box. He opened the door and had a great view of the race and could see Speed easily leading the pack. Inspector Detector was watching the race.
"Inspector?"
Inspector Detector turned around. "Sparky. How can I help you?"
Sparky told him what he knew. That someone had impersonated a racing official and told them that they could only have one pit crew member, that Trixie had been given a ticket for a seat in the stands, and that he had no idea who did it or where she was supposed to be sitting.
"So she could be all right." Inspector Detector said.
"Yeah, she could be. But I don't believe it."
"This box has a great view of the stands. What was Trixie wearing?"
"Pink shirt, red pants, yellow bow," Sparky said.
The Inspector turned to the announcer. "How many laps before Speed finishes the race?"
"He's down to twenty. Next racer is half a lap behind him."
The Inspector nodded. "Sparky. Get down to the pit, just in case he needs you. I'll scan the stands for Trixie. And maybe this will all blow over and she'll meet you in winner's circle."
"You don't believe that, do you though."
"No, Sparky. I don't." The Inspector took a pair of binoculors and scanned the crowd. "I don't see her."
Sparky and the Inspector left the announcer's box and headed down to wait at the finish line. By rights, Trixie would already be there by now.
Speed smiled as he passed the white flag, signalling the last lap of this race. He pushed the pedal and gave the Mach 5 more speed. This last lap should be over very shortly. He turned the final lap and smiled as the checkered flag was waved, and Speed headed to the Winner's Circle.
He got out of the car, looking for Trixie. She was no where to be seen, but Inspector Detector and Sparky approached.
"Inspector?" Speed said.
"Congratulations on your win, Speed," Inspector Detector said.
"Thank you, sir." Speed looked around, and frowned deeply.
"As you have realized, Speed, Trixie does seem to be missing. Unfortunately, we do not know when."
"We have an idea. She was here at the start of the race," Sparky said.
"Yes, but that still gives whoever has her up to a five hour head start. And we don't know where she disappeared from, so finding those clues is going to be very difficult. My men have shut down the exits. We'll be talking to the other spectators, to see if anyone has seen her. Hopefully, we'll get some leads. Until then, we don't have anything to go on. The local police don't even think it is reasonable to report her missing yet."
"Inspector!"
"Hold up, Speed. I am not going to wait until the trail goes cold. We are going to find Trixie."
Speed nodded. He had truly been worried about her for almost half of the race, but to discover there was a reason to be worried was almost unbearable.
"Speed, they want you up at the Winner's Podium now," Sparky said.
Speed nodded, and absently went up. Usually, this was something that he enjoyed, waving to the crowd and collecting his trophy. But usually, Trixie was right there, smiling up at him. And he didn't realize how much that was his favorite part of it until she was not standing there. He liked making her proud of him.
Instead, she was in danger and he had no way of knowing where she was, who had her, and if she had been hurt.
As soon as the ceremony was over, Speed joined the Inspector, who was talking on his radio. He was nodding.
Inspector Detector hung up. "We found out where she was sitting, and about when she disappeared. My men are on the way over there to see if there are any clues to her disappearance."
Speed nodded. "I'm going to change, then Sparky and I will be at the hotel. We'll wait for you there."
Inspector Detector nodded. "Thanks, Speed. I promise you. I will find Trixie."
Speed pulled up with Sparky to the hotel where they had been staying, and parked the car.
"Speed, you okay?" Sparky asked. Speed had not said anything on the drive over.
Speed looked at him as if he had lost his mind. "of course I'm not okay. I'm worried. I'm afraid for her, Sparky."
"Me too, Speed."
They walked up to the elevators and to their hotel room. Speed opened the door and saw Trixie, bound and gagged, sitting in a chair at their table. He dropped the keys and ran over to her. "Sparky, find a knife!"
Today's word count: 1,921
Total Word Count: 25,033
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