Spy Racers: World Tour

Chapter 21: Wild Card

Ok so this chapter was supposed to be right after the chapter where Tony gets captured, but somehow it never got posted? Idk what happened lol but I wanted to post it now so you guys can go back and read it and anyone new can have the full story from the get go.

POV Layla

The post-race press conference felt like an eternity as reporters asked Layla and the other top-finishers question after question. Layla was on auto-pilot the whole time. It was a good thing she'd memorized the media etiquette section of the binder Miss Nowhere had given her, because (annoyingly) all she could think about was Tony.

Now they were finally back at the hotel, and the crew had viewed the footage from Tony's pico camera over and over again, picking out any clues they could as to who the thieves might be. She knew it was necessary, but Layla didn't think she could watch Tony get captured again. The sound of his head smacking the hard floor of the sewer made her sick, and she was already feeling way too many things at the moment.

Excitement, adrenaline, exhaustion, panic, confusion, fear- just to name a few.

And, as much as she was worried about Tony, Layla also couldn't help but be a little upset he'd missed her at the finish line, since he'd promised he would be there. But of course, he had to go be a noble dumbass and try to take the bad guys down by himself. At least he'd thought to film everything on the pico camera.

After the fourth time they'd gone through the footage, Cisco pointed out the biggest clue yet. One of the thieves had been addressed as 'Ty.' It was difficult to hear clearly, but Frostee was able to slow down the footage and make the audio less garbled.

"Isn't there a 'Tyler' on Okada's team?" He asked the group.

"Yeah, one of the brothers," Echo confirmed. "Not exactly a common Russian name, so he definitely could've been one of the thieves. And if it's him, then the other two are probably Okada's crew as well."

"Yes, I think they have to be our top suspect," Miss Nowhere agreed. "Beck's little detour during the race was strange as well. I'm sure you can all share my suspicion that it was more than just a short-cut."

"Especially since Shashi somehow disappeared after following him down that other path." Frostee added.

Layla noticed that Echo seemed to flinch at the comment. She knew Echo had gotten closer to Shashi lately, but Echo hadn't opened up about how close. Layla made a mental note to ask her later.

At that moment, a breaking news alert flashed across the TV, showing the aftermath of the fire the thieves had caused at the Armoury. Apparently, they'd filled one of the old war cannons on display with real gun powder and set it off to cause the explosion Tony's pico camera had captured footage of. The reporter on screen shared that while there were no casualties, over twenty people had been injured by the initial explosion, and countless historical artifacts had been ruined.

"It is with dismay that I must also report the Russian Crown Jewels were stolen during the chaos of the explosion," The reporter continued. "Police do not currently have any suspects but are working on a few different leads. We have word from the Federal Security Service of Russia that this incident is suspected to be in connection with a series of recent, high-profile thefts in other countries. They also suspect connections to the Hachiroku World Tour, a Grand Prix that has held races in the cities in question on the same days the thefts occurred. Mr. Jiro Okada, the founder of the Grand Prix, has been asked to postpone the rest of the race until further notice. All participants will be quarantined in Moscow until officials can finish their investigations."

The news report went to commercial, and the Spy Racers crew sat in stunned silence. Quarantined in Moscow? Layla thought, her head spinning. The race postponed?