Spy Racers: World Tour

Chapter 9: Whispers of Bad News

POV Echo

"Thank you all for coming!" The blonde woman at the front of the room exclaimed once all the guests had returned to their seats. "Most of you know me by now, but for our late entries, my name is Christina Halverson. I've had the pleasure of working with Mr. Okada to make this event happen, and I've loved getting to know so many of you along the way."

Christina continued speaking, going on about the plan for the night and other race details, but Echo wasn't really listening. She had bigger things to worry about, like the fact that Shashi had definitely recognized her, and probably Cisco and Frostee, too. Which meant he probably assumed Tony and Layla were somewhere at the dinner party as well, and he would most likely try and find them. Echo had to let them know before Shashi caught them off guard.

However, she was pulled out of her thoughts by Jiro Okada suddenly joining Christina at the front and accepting the microphone from her. Okada was a middle-aged man with a stocky build, tooth-paste commercial smile, and jet black hair that was slicked back neatly. He donned an expensive looking three piece suit and spoke with an air of easy confidence.

"Welcome, friends- I'm glad to see we all made it to the third leg of the race!"

The comment earned him some laughs, which he paused for before continuing.

"Moscow has got to be one of my favorite places- aside from my home in Tokyo, of course. I am excited for you all to experience what it has to offer, and to race with such a beautiful city as our backdrop."

Okada pulled out a clicker from his pocket, pressed it once, and a projected screen appeared on the wall behind him.

"The video I'm about to play is a recording of the track in its entirety at race pace, courtesy of my good friend and famous drifter Keiichi Tsuchiya. It should give you a good idea of what you'll be facing. Enjoy."

Okada pressed the clicker once more, and the video began to play. The lights in the room were dimmed, and everyone's eyes were glued to the screen as the teams tried to memorize every twist and turn of the route. Even though everyone was silent, the volume of the video was loud enough to fill the room, and with everyone distracted, Echo figured it was the perfect time to try and let Tony and Layla know about the Shashi situation.

Frostee was sitting in between her and Layla, so she elbowed him to get his attention. He glanced over and furrowed his brow in response.

"Shashi. Here. Did you see?" Echo whispered, so quietly she was basically just mouthing the words. Frostee's eyes widened, but he nodded.

"What do we do?" He mouthed back. Echo jerked her head towards Tony and Layla. Frostee glanced their way and then back to Echo, his expression telling her he didn't think it was a good idea to tell them. Well, too bad- they needed to know. Echo narrowed her eyes at Frostee and they had a silent stare-down for a few seconds, until he finally gave in. With a dramatic eye roll, he turned to Layla and tapped her shoulder and then leaned in to whisper the message. Echo saw Layla's breath catch for a moment and her eyes snapped up, already surveying the room. Then, her gaze went to Tony. Frostee must've just told her to tell him. Layla glanced back at Frostee and then to Echo, indecision etched on her face. Echo gave her a slight nod. Layla pursed her lips, but finally she turned to Tony.