Chapter 10 - Mikey Hale

  Nexi sat on the floor of the abandoned race track next to Blue Jay. Her phone rang, it was her PR manager, Salton.

  “Nexi, where are you? Your stunt is causing us trouble. Forefront is demanding an apology from us on live TV. It's going viral. We can’t ignore this.”

  “Where do I need to be? I’ll go say what I have to say.”

  “The GRS media HQ, conference at 6 pm tomorrow.”

  “Got it. Bye.”

  Nexi quickly hung up. She got into Blue Jay and drove it to an abandoned pit stop garage. She placed a tarp over it.

  “I’ll be right back, Blue Jay.”

  Nexi left her car to go to the teleporter.

  Aged residential concrete buildings loomed overhead.

  Familiar neon signs buzzed.

  Mikey returned home… but something felt wrong. He felt more lost than ever, walking through the streets, trying to think.

  Where can I find Vance? I don’t even know where she lives… I need to find Cipher… I don’t know where he is either.

  He walked past a billboard screen.

  “The suspect in the teleporter hub breach has been arrested. Alia Vance, age 24, was found in possession of the same car used in the breach. The suspect attempted to evade arrest but was apprehended and is now in custody.”

  No… Vance.

  Mikey started running toward the junkyard.

  He passed another billboard.

  A civilian shouted at the reporter during the live broadcast.

  “Wait! I heard the teleporter breach is related to the GRS crash. So did we just arrest Jett Cooper’s saboteur too?”

  People in the crowd started murmuring.

  The reporter hesitated.

  “Uh… maybe. It’s possible.”

  Vance… no… you can’t.

  Mikey rushed into the junkyard. His hands were shaking as he tried to put the key into the ignition.

  Come on.

  The rotary roared to life. Crows flew off the fences.

  Why did they arrest you, Vance?

  Mikey sped toward the Financial District.

  Vance… you didn’t do it, right?

  He drove through the same tunnel where he first drove the car.

  “Why were you there?”

  He reached the Financial District. People took pictures of the illegal car flying past them.

  Mikey slammed the brakes in front of the police station. Dust kicked up around the car. A crowd had gathered.

  Police officers were walking Vance up the stairs.

  “Vance!”

  One officer looked at Mikey.

  “Grab that kid.”

  “I don’t know that kid,” Vance said.

  “Let her explain herself!” Mikey shouted.

  A man in the crowd said, “No ID, no lawyer. She’s done for, kid.”

  “Vance! You didn’t do it, did you?”

  She stayed silent.

  “You didn’t mean to hurt my sister, did you?”

  Vance wouldn’t look at him.

  People in the crowd started whispering.

  “I don’t even know him,” Vance said louder.

  She turned and kept walking up the stairs.

  “Vance! Please don’t go!”

  She glanced at him once.

  Then she walked into the station.

  A policeman walked toward Mikey.

  “Hey, kid, where did you get that car? It’s illegal, you know?”

  “I…”

  “He got it from me.”

  Nexi stepped in.

  “Nexi?”

  She moved to stand beside Mikey.

  “The car is under Nexon’s evaluation,” Nexi explained.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “Oh– Ms. Nexi. Do you know him?” the policeman asked.

  “He’s an unpaid external driver. Non-disclosure pending.”

  Nexi glanced at Mikey, then back at the officer.

  “Nexon will take responsibility.”

  She bowed slightly.

  “Let’s head back to the GRS test facility, Mikey.”

  They got into the RX-8 and drove off.

  “Uh… which way?”

  “That way.”

  Nexi pointed ahead.

  Mikey drove in silence.

  “What does Alia Vance have to do with this, Mikey?”

  “She… I don’t know…”

  “Do you know her?”

  “I thought I did…”

  “She must be important to you, for you to do something that reckless.”

  Mikey stayed quiet.

  “…Sorry. Did I get you in trouble?”

  “I was already in a lot of trouble. This is just one more.”

  Mikey stared at the steering wheel. This happened because of him.

  “Ms. Joanna Nexi… how do you know my name?”

  She laughed softly.

  “You drove that RX-8 like crazy on the racetrack. Then you told me your name. Hard to forget.”

  “Wait… how–”

  Nexi held out her hand.

  “Nice to meet you. Jolene.”

  “You gave me a fake name?”

  “Heh. Sorry. I had to keep my identity a secret. I was committing a crime too.”

  Mikey let out a long breath.

  “You drive better in the Porsche than in the GRS car.”

  “Ouch.”

  “I meant that as a compliment.”

  “Oh. Thanks… I think it’s because it’s less restricting.”

  They kept driving.

  “Ms. Nexi… why did you help me?”

  “I told you. The champ owed them one.”

  Mikey looked at her again.

  “The kid watching the GRS race from the abandoned building with his sister… that was you, right?”

  “…Yeah. It was. I’m sorry I ran away at the hospital.”

  “The stars really aligned… Is your sister okay?”

  “She broke her legs, but she’s fine. She’s recovered.”

  “Phew– Thank God…”

  Nexi pointed the direction for Mikey to turn.

  “I’ll deal with the trouble. We’ll be fine. Whether you like it or not, you’re on the team now, Mikey.”

  She smiled at Mikey.

  “Unpaid external racer, huh? How did you think of that?”

  “Xogic helped. What’s your full name, Mikey?”

  “Just Mikey. I don’t have a last name.”

  “Then… how about– who do you want to dedicate your racing to?”

  “Hmm… My sister then, Hailey.”

  “Mikey Hale! Future paid internal Nexon racer. What do you think?”

  “Sounds good.”

  “Welcome to Nexon Racing, Mikey Hale.”

  At Forefront’s Race-zone testing area, Jett walked in, Dr. King was inspecting Forefront’s new race car.

  “Mr. Jett Cooper, you actually came.”

  “I need to get ahead of the competition somehow.”

  “Understood, we are testing Neo-gen 1.1 and the new adaptive aerodynamic frame right now. We are predicting a significant time gain but none of the test drivers could surpass your recorded lap time in the previous car iteration, even with the upgraded chassis.”

  “Alright, I’ll test it out.”

  Jett put on his race suit.

  “I might have been wrong when I said that you are the variable that’s limiting this car on the track.”

  Jett glanced at Dr. King.

  “Checks out.”

  Jett smirked.

  Dr. King raised his eyebrows.

  “Your behaviour at the GRS interview too, very predictable.”

  Jett’s smugness disappeared and he stopped tying his shoes.

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “Predictability is good, mind you. It allows Forefront to operate without a hitch. You are a much better asset than I anticipated.”

  “I’m not an asset.”

  “You indeed are. I should not be saying this, but during the interview, Mr. Jackson was using you.”

  “I know. I let it happen, because I know that I will get what I want in the end.”

  Dr. King adjusted his glasses, studying Jett more carefully.

  “Your race seat?”

  “A damn stage and a microphone.”

  Dr. King seemed… interested.

  “What do you want to say?”

  “Stop telling me there’s only one way to reach the finish line.”

  Dr. King looked at Jett for a long second, recalculating.

  He looked at the race car.

  Then at his tablet.

  “Let’s see what Neo-gen makes of that.”

  At the busy rooftop bar in the financial district, a group of mid-pack racers gathered at the table further away from civilization so that they could hear each other complain.

  “I lost ‘cause of that god damn SMRI!” Manju yelled.

  “Bad workman blames his tools,” Zeeker teased.

  Falner was looking at his phone.

  “Guys, Neo-gen launched Neo-gen 1.1.”

  “Urgh! Our Sovereign Mind’s AI would never keep up with Neo-gen!” Manju complained.

  “We were not good enough to make it into Forefront or Nexon, so we are stuck with these consumer-grade race AIs…” Zeeker said.

  “I think that it’s fair. Good racers get good tools,” Falner said.

  Manju sighed.

  A GRS announcer spoke on the bar TV screen.

  “Now that we are at the middle of the season, it’s time for the annual GRS relay race!”

  “God damn it. It’s the relay race. We'll pick last again.”

  “You… you will get picked last.”

  Zeeker giggled.

  “Urgh!”

  “Let’s see the format for this year's relay,” Falner said.

  “Six of the top race teams in the current season standing will take turns picking racers to form their relay team.”

  “Cool, I won’t pick Manju.”

  “Were you even paying attention last year? We don’t get to choose, our managers do!”

  “My manager is my g, hehe.”

  “Relay teams will fight tournament style to proceed to the next round.”

  The GRS announcer showed a diagram on the screen.

  Round 1:

  Team A vs Team B, Team C vs Team D, Team E vs Team F

  “Winners of round 1 will all compete with each other.”

  Round 2:

  Team vs Team vs Team

  “The defeated teams from round 1 get eliminated and will not proceed to round 2. Each racer in the team would have to duel another team racer in a stint. It doesn’t matter if you lose the stint, as long as the overall lap time of the relay team is better, you will win and proceed to the next stage.”

  “Manju, try to not drag your team down, okay?” Falner advised.

  “Why are you guys ganging up on me!"

  The GRS announcer continued.

  “You will not be able to drive the new track for practice, telemetry cannot be shared with other racers, however, you can describe the track or give tips to fellow racers after your stint,” the announcer said.

  “The first stint racer’s going in blind then.”

  “Seems like it.”

  “Racers from the relay teams can vote to decide who gets to race after each stint.”

  “Manju, can you go first pleaseee?"

  “I’m going to vote for you to go first if I’m in your team, Zeeker.”

  “This year, mid-season, we are again letting wildcard racers enter GRS. These wildcard racers have to compete in an established team and their starting score points will be the same as the top racer from that team,” the announcer said.

  “Isn’t that how Reiji got into GRS?” Falner asked.

  “Yeah, I don’t even know how they found that guy,” Zeeker said.

  “An outlaw street racer should never get to be in GRS!” Manju said.

  Zeeker and Falner looked at each other.

  “He’s good though.”

  “He juked me good, I can’t lie.”

  “Whatever– I’m excited about who will be joining this year. I wanna humble some newbies!” Manju said.

  At the GRS Nexon press conference, Nexi took the microphone and held it tightly.

  “I am here to address the controversial method I used to overtake Rinova in the last race.”

  An audience member whispered to another.

  “Ahem. Wall ride.”

  “I know the stunt might have looked unsafe, and I understand why you might have doubts about GRS safety. But rest assured, I know my car’s capabilities, and I determined the maneuvre was possible before executing it.”

  Nexi paused and looked at the crowd, past the cameras.

  “So. I’m sorry for acting without explaining myself and making you feel unsafe.”

  Then she looked directly into the camera.

  “And Rinova, my bad. I promise I won’t do the tunnel wall ride on you again.”

  The audience started gossiping.

  “What? That was barely an apology.”

  Nexi tapped the microphone.

  “Anyways, I want to introduce the new wildcard entry for Nexon Racing– Mikey Hale!”

  She waved Mikey onto the stage.

  “He’s a natural-born racer from District 12. No academy. No sponsorship. Just instinct. He will be a perfect fit in GRS!”

  The stunned crowd started shouting different things.

  Nexi nudged Mikey.

  “Hi… hello, I’m Mikey. I haven’t raced in GRS… or raced officially– like, ever. So, um… I’ll try my best.”

  The crowd grew even more divided.

  Mikey bowed repeatedly.

  Nexi clapped her hands.

  “I believe GRS will prove to all of you that Mikey can compete even without professional training, if he’s given the right steering wheel. And I personally think Nexon offers the best ones.”

  Nexi smiled at Mikey.

  “That is all! See you next race!”

  She blew kisses at the camera.

  “Let’s go, Mr. Hale.”

  Nexi exited the stage with Mikey while the crowd was still shouting.

  She finished her “apology” speech before Salton could even join the stage.

  “What has she done…”

  Salton facepalmed.