Spy Racers: World Tour

Chapter 3: Spies in Disguise

Just as Miss Nowhere had promised, she arrived in the spy plane with Gary and Julius at exactly 9:00 P.M to pick the crew up. They boarded with anticipation, excited to find out the details of their new mission.

Almost as soon as they took off, Miss Nowhere walked into the cabin, looking as stern as ever.

"Alright, listen up," she began, turning on the TV on the wall behind her. "Frostee informed me that you all figured out the event we're infiltrating in Moscow is the Hachiroku World Tour. And you're correct. The first three legs of the race have already been completed, and the agency has linked their times, dates, and locations to a series of recent, high-profile, international thefts. After our experience with SH1FTER, we have reason to believe that the tour is being used as cover for these crimes."

Miss Nowhere clicked a few buttons on the TV remote and 3 pictures appeared on the screen. There was a necklace with a large, blue diamond, an intricately decorated vase, and some kind of sword.

"These are the three artifacts that have been stolen so far. All from museums located in cities that have held races for the tour. This is the Hope Diamond," Miss Nowhere explained, pointing to the picture of the necklace. "It was the most recent theft and most valuable so far with a value of over $250 million, meaning whoever stole it had to get past a lot of high security and would've had to time the heist perfectly. We're not dealing with regular art thieves here, which is why we're going to try and catch them from the inside. The agency and myself believe the sponsor of the Hachiroku Tour is the mastermind behind the operation. He's a businessman from Tokyo by the name of Jiro Okada. Your mission is to get close to him and find out more about his background, motivations for creating a grand prix racing event, what he's like when the cameras aren't rolling, and report back anything suspicious. Gray, Frostee says you're our driver?"

Layla nodded.

"Your job is to win the next leg of the race," Miss Nowhere told her. "That will get you an interview with Okada and you can start making your way into his inner circle with the other top racers."

"Uh, hold up," Layla replied. "How are we entering the race if it's already started?"

"Late entries are allowed, so you're registered as a new team, but you'll be ranked at the bottom of the field since you weren't able to get any points in the first few races. You've got a lot of ground to make up- that's why I need you to win this leg," Miss Nowhere said seriously. "All of you will also have to wear disguises since your names and faces are fairly recognizable now, at least among high-profile criminals. I've got binders for all of you with everything you need to know about your new personas. Make sure you study them carefully- I'm looking at you, Toretto."

"Hey, I always keep my cover!' Tony protested.

"Yeah, sure you do," Echo replied. "Remember the 'Marcelo' incident?"

"Okay, that was one time."

"What about with SH1FTER? Shashi figured you out," Cisco added.

"Actually, that one wasn't Tony's fault," Frostee said. "When Shashi kidnapped me, I asked him how he knew we were double agents. Apparently we left a mark on his wall when we broke into his house."

"Ha! See, I'm not the only one who's screwed up my cover," Tony said triumphantly.

"Quiet!" Miss Nowhere called out. "I don't care what you all did in the past, just don't mess it up this time. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go yell at Gary."
Miss Nowhere power-walked out of the room, leaving the crew with their binders and a lot to think about. They flipped through the pages of descriptions and backstories, learning that their team was called "Midnight Drifters." They were sponsored by Alliance Motorsports and the notes stated that they'd been racing together for a year. Their code names and descriptions filled the next section of the binder:

Madison West (Layla Gray)
- Brown hair, blue eyes
- Uncle introduced her to racing at 12 years old

Gwen Thomas (Margaret Echo Pearl)
- Black hair, brown eyes
- Introduced to racing by Madison (they are best friends)

Connor McFarland (Tony Toretto)
- Light brown hair, brown eyes, wears glasses
- Got a summer job at the racetrack and then started working on cars/racing, worked with his best friends Mikey and Cameron

Michael "Mikey" Huerta (Cisco Renaldo)
- Longish, wavy dark hair, dark eyes, long scar on his cheek
- Got a summer job at the racetrack and then started working on cars/racing, worked with his best friends Connor and Cameron

Cameron "Cam" Foster
- Dark hair, dark eyes, always wears a baseball cap
- Got a summer job at the racetrack and then started working on cars/racing, worked with his best friends Mikey and Connor

A note from Miss Nowhere at the end of the documents told them that all clothes and items they'd need for their disguises were in the cabinets next to the TV. The kids quickly found them and began trying on various things. Layla, Echo, and Cisco all had to wear wigs, and the girls were not happy about it.

"I swore I'd never change my hair back to its natural color," Echo stated grimly, pulling on the dark wig over her vibrant, green hair. "This mission better be worth it."

"That's what I'm saying," Layla agreed. "I can't believe Nowhere's making us wear disguises. How 'recognizable' can a bunch of teenagers be?"

"At least you guys don't have to completely change your hair," Tony countered. "Miss Nowhere gave me a box of hair dye instead of a wig!"

"Ooh, nice bro," Cisco said, looking at the label on the box. "Cinnamon brown!"

"Do you even know how to dye hair, Toretto?" Layla asked, trying not to laugh.

"What do you think?" Tony replied, rolling his eyes at her. "Actually, I was hoping you or Echo would help me out, ya know, since you guys have some experience."

The girls turned to each other and were about to answer when Frostee interrupted.

"Uh, Layla will help you!" He blurted. "I need Echo to, um...help me design our team logo!"

The team looked at him, puzzled, and Frostee glanced pointedly at Echo and Cisco, who finally seemed to catch on to whatever Frotsee was trying to do.

"Right!" Echo said quickly. "The logo. Um, yeah, I've got some ideas.

"Since when do we have a team logo?" Layla asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We don't yet," Frostee replied. "Which is why I need Echo to help me make one. And you can help Tony dye his hair. See? It works out perfectly!"

"Right," Layla said slowly, skeptical of Frostee's sudden strange behavior. Then she turned to Tony. "Okay, then, let's do this, Toretto."

"Right now?" Tony asked, looking slightly panicked.

"Why wait? You in love with your hair or something?" Layla teased.

"Oh, you're one to talk. You were just complaining about having to wear a wig!

"Whatever. Come on, let's get this over with."

Cisco, Echo, and Frostee watched in amusement as Layla dragged Tony out of the room. Frostee clapped his hands together and took a sip of his Yoca. Echo crossed her arms.

"Smooth, Frostee," she said. "You think Layla didn't know what you were doing? She's gonna kill you, bro."

Frostee shrugged.

"Eh. If things go like I think they will, I'll get my $10 back. Totally worth it. Also, do you actually have ideas for a team logo?"

"You weren't kidding about that?"

"Well, I was," Frostee replied. "But now I have to actually make one so Tony doesn't get suspicious. And I figure it'll get me some brownie points from Miss Nowhere."