Chapter 72

“Thrice Twenty Five and Two on the way”

‘How long has it been?’ A man wearing his usual gold framed aviators, stood in front of a huge steel shutter as he looked down the quiet alleyway where the car he had just been in drove away towards somewhere in secrecy. He reaches into his pockets to retrieve a key and slots it into a hole on the side of the shutters, turns it, and steps back as he watches “nothing” happening.

A subtle beep sounded out from a well concealed device on the brick wall as the steel shutters started to climb, slowly but surely. The people behind the shutters paused themselves as they anticipated the man emerging from the light of the outside, wiping their hands clean and tidying their tools on their workbenches, trying their best to keep their spaces presentable.

Alas after a good moment of silence the shutters fully retract and beneath it appears a familiar but striking figure.

’~Good Evening Chairman!~’

A man clad in black dutifully steps in front of the shutters just after it retracts, and loudly greets the towering figure on the other side of the doorway with a faithful and deliberate bow towards the man.

’~Good Evening Chairman!~’

As the others in the garage fell suit, just as loudly and deliberately. The figure on the other side of the doorway steps in and greets everyone with a silent smile. It has been a while since his gentle face has graced the walls of this humble garage, but no matter how long he had been away, everyone knows the memory of this man will never fade.

The man, the myth, the legend.

Mr. Asia.

He takes a gander at the space and appreciates the loyalty of his men as he sees a sea of bowed heads facing towards him. He takes a brief moment of silence to savor the uniformity before he ends it with a simple snap of his fingers.

The whole garage simultaneously raised, confident and eager, as they await in silence for his command.

’~Where are my toys?~’

He utters with the loudest most articulate tone of speech anyone has and will ever hear. For comparison to peasant ears, his tone was far from those used in politics. It was a different tone of formal, almost theatrical in a way as if the man was giving his best theater performance of a world renowned play.

’~Through here Chairman.~’

The same dark cladded man replies as he ushers him through a more secluded section of the garage, walking down a ramp big enough for a semi truck to pass through, arriving at another shutter gate, to which the man in black gestures his palm towards to.

’~Chairman, If you please.~’

The man in black said as Mr. Asia raised an eyebrow towards him, seemingly questioning the place they had arrived at.

’~Out of all places to store and study these gifts… Why here?

…Tagama Jun?~’

Mr. Asia spoke with a hint of ire in his voice as he withheld himself from procuring the key to open the gates. He looks at Jun with a piercing gaze as the man in black briefly displays his nerves before composing himself, fixing his now crooked tie whilst he clears his throat.

’~Chairman. I- I chose this place as it is the farthest facility you have from the threat of authorities, both local and international. It is secluded and well hidden… and foot traffic is scarce--~’

‘~Jun.~’

Mr. Asia stops his explanation with a subtle warning, slowly walking with an air of a tyrant, crushing everyone’s spirit with the immense pressure that he wields.

‘~Did you not read the reports that came with this car?~’

Jun held his breath as he tried to gulp the lump in his throat.

‘~I- I did… Mister Chairman…~’

‘~Did you now?~’

Mr. Asia scoffs, smiling a mocking smile as he walks away from Jun, gracefully taking out his key and holding it up for Jun to see. As he slots the metal device into the lock and a panel reveals itself on the side of the gate.

‘~I don’t think you did Jun.~’

He continued, keeping his back turned towards him.

‘~Otherwise. You would’ve known that it’s nuclear.~’

Mr. Asia turns around at the precise moment he spoke these words as a way to emphasize his point. Turning the key at the exact moment that the line was delivered as the booming mechanical sound of the outer doors opening, provided the closing effect that he wanted to achieve.

‘~B-But Chairman… I knew… Which is why I picked a secluded spot to contain a fallout should failures happen~’

Jun fires off his defense, which humors the tyrannically acting tyrant as the pair of them walk inside the airlock towards the second door while the first one closes behind them.

‘~Hear that?-- and see that?~’

Mr. Asia replies looking increasingly amused at Jun’s failure to grasp the meaning of what he was trying to say. Pointing at the first door closing behind them before looking back at the huge second door that stood in between them and the facility inside. Jun nods, but his lack of reaction has given his ignorance away.

‘~In the event of a catastrophe. If these doors were to fail, then everyone inside is trapped.~’

He said as Jun felt the beads of his sweat building up over his brow.

‘~I was waiting… for weeks on my island. And yet I receive a call saying you chose to divert it here.~’

Mr. Asia’s demeanor was starting to shed. As far as he was concerned, they were finally alone. No cameras were in place in between the rooms and the thick doors prevented sound from getting out.

If he were to decide to dispose of Jun at this moment. It would be highly possible to accomplish this here.

‘~C-Chairman. I just thought it would be risky to put the cars near your home. I--~’

‘~Tagama Jun!~’

A single shout, a bellowing voice. A booming sound from a man who prides his theatrics. But the voice was not intended for a specific ‘feel’, rather, it is a voice of raw displeasure. It only sounded the way it did due to his training.

‘~I know you have been working behind my back!

I know you have also been fired from that work!

You are pitiful.

A good for nothing.~’

It was a voice, a manner of speaking not revealed to most. At this moment, the man speaking to him was not the man known as “Mr. Asia”. Not the man that people revered and feared. Not the man that orchestrated his empire in both the light and the dark side of society.

But rather the man who brute forced his way up the ladder, despite the shadow of his more prominent brother.

At this moment, he was speaking to Kawabata Aisha.

‘~I am… surprised that Carbine has decided to keep you alive.

If I were them. A liability who fails this hard.

Should be -[Terminated]-~~~

..

..

There was a pause.

Then, with one swift but deliberate movement. He takes a key card from his pockets. And taps it on a flat screen panel adjacent to the seams of the door.

And in his mother tongue it spoke.

‘~Hello Asha-San. Please. May I hear your voice again?~’

Mister Asia smiles, remembering he was the one who selfishly set the locks for his own visit. Cheekily using a familiar voice of a certain blonde ‘Bishoujo’ when she was young.

‘~Ni-Go-Ni-Go-Ni-Go----Ni?~’

He said the words with a big smile on his face, keeping his expression hidden from his employee behind him as he takes his time to compose himself to a neutral state before turning around to show his displeased expression towards Jun.

‘~Consider yourself lucky.

If this place does come down…

I expect you to go down with it.

So If you value your life… I suggest you do the job,

which exceeds my expectations~’

The door opens right on cue, revealing an underground facility underneath the area of the garage. Unsurprisingly enough, there was nothing of note in this area besides its vastness. It was nothing more than a regular, well hidden garage. But as Mr. Asia trotted on forwards, deeper into the facility, the reasons for it being as hidden as it is, started coming to fray.

Hundreds upon hundreds of original classic vehicles were stored inside this facility and with a collection this vast, the cars themselves were the ones dictating the direction in which they walked as anything and anywhere in between was made up with nothing more than cars, all rare ones, some restored, all packed besides and above each other.

‘~Good Evening Chairman!~’

An old man with dirty overalls greets Mr. Asia with reverence as he bows with dignity before him.

‘~Ah! Akimbo-san. How are you doing?~’

‘~I am doing good Chairman but nevermind me. I assume you are here to see those gifts?~’

The man said as Mr. Asia smiles with an air of delight for his most trusted mechanic, gesturing to him to show the way. Mr. Akimbo softly nods and gets on with the business, briskly walking deeper into the maze of cars that is Mr. Asia’s personal collection.

‘~Are you seeing this Jun?

If the cars fail here how do you expect Akimbo-san’s workers to get out swiftly amidst this maze?~’

He comments. Once again turning his attention to Jun with his arms stretched wide, showcasing the passageways they were navigating around whilst they turned one corner after another, just to get through the parked cars. Jun on the other hand, stayed guiltily silent.

After a couple of minutes of walking through the maze of cars, they soon arrived at a portion of the garage where a huge box made out of hung canvas, was encasing something from view.

‘~It is here Chairman.~’

Mr. Akimbo smiles as he parts the curtain wide, allowing Mr. Asia to come through.

Mr. Asia smiles as he looks at the shiny new paint that coated his newest addition to his collection. He figured since the car had come to his possession in a displeasing bland color of raw carbon fiber that he thought it best to give it a fresh coat of candy red paint.

Of course this was after his staff had dismantled and recorded all of its specs and features.

After all, it is Miles' most recent gift.

Six full units of Carbine Automotive Project 12. Code name “Gamma”

The very cars that Miles’ stole from underneath Carbine’s noses.

‘~Beautiful. Exceptionally beautiful.~’

Mr. Asia spoke with an admiring tone which almost caught Jun off guard as he had never heard the man sound lovingly as he did at that moment.

‘~The color was mixed to your exact specification.~’

‘~Of course! I can see it! You never fail to amaze me Akimbo san.~’

Mr. Asia praised the old mechanic who looked at his work with the utmost pride as if he was seeing his child finally graduate with honors from university. Mr. Akimbo then walks towards one of the cars and easily lifts the whole rear end assembly off like it was a child’s toy.

Mr. Asia was taken aback with this but suddenly remembers the the part was made from space age materials that he didn’t bother to comment on it any further as he follows behind his trusted mechanic, knowing well that he had something to show.

‘~Chairman I must say. In all my years of building cars for you. I have never seen such engineering with the likes of these.~’

Mr. Akimbo looks towards the man with an aura of reverence to the machine that laid bare in front of them, and as if the mechanic has inherited Mr. Asia’s theatrics throughout the years, only switches on the brighter “work” lights once Mr. Asia’s gaze was upon the “Gamma’s” inner workings.

Right below where the sleek aerodynamic covers of the “Gamma” resides, was an almost “alien-like” structure that enveloped the car's revolutionary nuclear electric engine that enabled it to be directly bolted onto the car’s moving parts.

‘~It is built like a formula race car. The main engine itself is a “stressed” part. If you can see where these beautiful “almost” organic weaves lead to… It is directly linked to the suspension system.~’

Mr. Asia, who was steadily admiring the work, immediately looked concerned.

‘~A Nuclear powered engine… Directly mounted onto the most unstable part of the vehicle? It’s as if I were to hold a bottle of cyanide by my teeth whilst fighting in a boxing match.

Do the people at that company wish to kill people?~’

Mr. Akimbo sighs as he couldn’t give an answer that even he would be satisfied with, as he thought to just continue on with his presentation on their findings as he knew there were more pressing matters to discuss.

‘~Chairman… I believe that is not just the issue.~’

He said as he walked away from the car to get something from his drawers. He returns with a document in hand and respectfully surrenders it to Mr. Asia’s grasp for him to study.

‘~What is this?~’

‘~Chairman… That is the leaked documents that your “Partner” Lady Kadena has procured from the “company”.

The document confesses something that our records have proven to be true.

That these cars are not what we think they are.~’

‘~What do you mean?~’

Mr. Akimbo pulls out a device that he seemed to prepare beforehand as it was a peculiar device to have within the garage. A telescopic magnifying glass, conveniently bolted on to one of the pillars that flank the car. As he precisely positions it right above the engine’s casing.

‘~The public documentation of Carbine’s CAP-12 project states that they are working on an evolution…

An evolution to their space engine. An engine powerful enough to launch a rocket.

This evolution would be a weaker version. Designed exclusively for space travel.~’

‘~Aha! So no gravity beating power I see. And they are testing it on these cars? The weaker ones?’

Mr. Akimbo frowns as an air of menace starts to fill the room.

‘~It is not… Look.~’

The old mechanic gestures towards the magnifying glass that he precisely positioned above the engine, as Mr. Asia leans over the chassis to look at what his mechanic was trying to show.

‘~Ah Engine number… C-A-N-E-0-3-7… wait…~’

Mr. Asia swiftly reads the document back and compares it with other documents that Mr.Akimbo had supplied to him as he makes the same conclusion as the other people who had worked on dissecting the cars.

‘~This engine… It is… a Zero series edition?~’

He whispers, as Mr. Akimbo silently nods.

‘~Yes Chairman. They are engines specifically made for gravity escape.~’

‘~But why? How? And if these are gravity escape engines, then why would they develop something so small?~’

Mr. Akimbo can only bow his head as he had no answer to challenge this thought, however he does have additional information about the engine before them.

‘~Chairman… Just to add. I have done research on this engine. So far nothing in the public released documents have the serial number 037 stamped onto them. The latest public release had the engine serial 020 for the zero series.~’

‘~And the Version one engine?~’

‘~Published with the numbers 109 Mister Chairman.~’

‘~So they have improved their rocket engines… seventeen times? And in secret?~’

As soon as Mr. Asia receives his epiphany, he quickly turns to Jun with flames in his eyes.

‘~Do you know anything about this?!~’

He spoke rashly as for a moment the pretense of the theatrical Mr.Asia was dropped and the human side of “Kawabata” came out in sudden fear for the toys he had procured.

‘~No Chairman… I do not… In my days in that company they have never--.~’

‘~Quiet! I’ve no time for your excuses… Either you know.

Or you don’t.~’

At that specific moment Mr. Asia’s eyes started flickering with flashes of orange. Most people within the circle of his employees know very well that orange eyes were a symbol of danger. A warning that your allocated warnings have elapsed and that you have failed too much to be forgiven.

But since Jun spent most of his time dealing with two factions at once. He was never close enough to anyone within the employee’s social circles to be advised of this trait.

And thus he just stood there. Wondering.

-Bzzzt!- -Thud!-

The next thing he knew, the lights were out.

‘~What do we do with this Akimbo san?~’

He asked Mr. Akimbo as his mechanic tried hard to ignore the wilted man strewn over his garage floor. Replying with a smile as he already had a solution for Mr. Asia’s dilemma.

‘~Chairman… you see…. What I have here is just a presentation.

I wanted you to know why. So that you would not be angered by the waste we have made. ~’

Mr. Asia squints at the word “waste” as another bout of negative feelings try to escape his façade once again, thinking that his mechanic might’ve done something foolish. His mechanic once again briskly walks towards another car in the garage and effortlessly pulls out the rear assembly to reveal its innards. As Mr. Asia approaches the naked car, he immediately notices something different.

‘~Is that?... A combustion engine?~’

He said as the old mechanic smiles proudly at his work.

‘~Yes. It costed us quite a sum but we made a backend deal with a rival company to loan us one of their old race engines.~’

‘~Race engine? Why? And where from?’

Mr. Akimbo pulls out another magnifying glass and positions it on the engine cover, just like he did with the previous car. On the cover of the engine was an extremely difficult to read code made difficult because it was just embossed in the metal used for the engine block but as Mr. Asia leans close to the symbols, it read: -RA621H-

‘~It is the only one that fit.~’

Mr. Akimbo comments as his employer seems to be robbed of his speech at the moment after recognizing the code on the side of the engine.

‘~It cost you much? And this is just a loan?~’

Mr. Asia finally spoke with the look of astonishment on his face as he could not believe his mechanic had gotten his hands on a legend. Meanwhile his mechanic had a cheeky little smile on his face.

‘~Well… It “was” cheap when they loaned it but… now…

It is ours.

Well as long as we keep our rival’s name stamped into it.~’

Mr. Akimbo said, as his employer looked to be almost in tears knowing there was such a workaround to the problem that these toys had created for him.

‘~Much brilliance from you Akimbo san! This is more than what I expected!~’

He gleefully said but a sudden thought came to surface in Mr. Asia’s mind.

‘~But what about the other five cars? And what do we do with the engines?~’

The old mechanic smiles and pats his back in assurance.

‘~I am starting to feel famished. How about we talk about this over tea?~’

He said as he led the way out of the garage, walking in energized discussion about the plans and the engineering learnings he and his team had learned about the car.

Meanwhile while all of their discussions were happening as they walked out of the facility. A lone man wearing a black suit, lays dormant on the cold garage floor.

Hours later a staffed mechanic would kick this man awake after hearing his loud snore from across the facility, complaining to his superiors he was sleeping on the job.

‘Val!’

J2’s loud shout echoes throughout the garage that he was able to get Val’s attention from across the floor. She was busy working alongside Ash in the middle of cooking the lunches for their start-up food business when his shrill shout reached her eardrums. She darts her gaze towards him with the look of annoyance as his sudden call causes her to lose the flow of her work, ruining her rhythm and engaging her ire.

‘What is it?’ She replied. She tried her best to reduce the annoyance in her tone but she just came off sounding aloof. Thankfully J2’s mood was intense enough for him to not notice as he ran over to her side to deliver the news.

‘The car’s finally here.’

‘...’

‘Val?’

She froze as the surprise of the news had left her speechless before Ash gave her a wake nudge to her shoulder to bring her back to her senses.

‘Shit…. Shit! I’m coming, where is it??’ She blurted out as she dropped her task but not before shooting Ash a look of concern as he responded with an assuring smile that her leaving wouldn’t bother their work. She didn’t even bother waiting for a reply from J2, having no choice but to lead the way with the pair of them breaking into a sprint towards the front door.

‘Delivery to a Miss Valentina Fe?’

A delivery man idly stands by the door of the Champworld garage as he begins to question if there is anybody present on the other side of the door. Soon enough he hears the gradual pounding of footsteps from deep within the establishment as it grew louder the nearer to approach, ending with a loud bang as a fiery athletically built woman charges through the stutters with a bright glimmer in her eyes as she stared down the lone deliveryman, clearly looking intimidated with her sudden barging.

‘Yes! I am her!’ Val loudly declared as the delivery man looked stunned in place as he gathered his thoughts for a moment before snapping back to his task at hand.

‘Uhhh…. Yes. Can you please go over near our trailer for identification?’ He said as Val nods cooperatively, going through the strange identification process of being eye scanned and photographed by the huge container truck where her “package” seemed to be delivered on.

‘One last check madam. Our service has a package that allows the sender to facetime the receiver on the day of delivery. So if you please take this tablet and press the green button it would be much appreciated.’ The man said as Val looked at him weirdly for being so thorough with the procedures. She takes a look back towards J2 to ask for his reaction which only gains her a shoulder shrug as he himself looked weirded out by what was happening.

‘By the way madam, where would you like the package to be parked?’ The delivery man follows up with another question before Val could fire a question of her own.

‘Umm… You could park it next to the garage shutters over there and we’ll handle the rest.’

‘Copy that madam. Oh and please if you could get a good shot of us unloading the package for our client for confirmation then it would be much appreciated.’ The man said before rounding up his crew to open the container doors and unraveling the ramp from underneath the truck to help them unload.

‘Client? You mean…’ Val transfixed her thoughts on the delivery man’s words as her finger hovered above the green call button, having a slight inkling on who was on the other side of the line.

-Bleep-

‘Heeeyyy Mrs. Karisuma!’

‘Oh wow what a surprise.’

Val wore a smug smile on her face as a familiar beauty appeared on the screen. The face of her former rival and now dear friend.

The Drift Queen of Nanamagari.

Gloria Leading - Karisuma.

‘When the delivery guys notified my app I was expecting Ash to greet me on the screen since it’s still early in the morning.’

‘Oh you knew Ash had run away to my place?’ Val replied with a teasing tone.

‘Of course! You know damn well my ears are better than yours.’ Gloria bantered back as Val rolled her eyes at her response.

‘Anyways. Is that Super Bee being unloaded?’ She asks as she gets a slight glimpse of her car being rolled out of the truck behind where Val stood.

‘Yup! Oh goodness I kinda forgot how intimidating she looked under clear skies.’ Val responds as she catches J2 with his mouth wide open.

‘God-Damn…’ He mutters to himself as the dull gray paint of the “Super-Bee” R32 skyline shines underneath the bright morning sun as their eyes pick up the hint of a strange pattern behind the paint job.

‘Who painted that?’ J2 gasps as he approaches the car to get a better look. Gingerly caressing the car’s front fender as he admires craftsmanship of the body panel. ‘The paint is so smooth and clear, but it’s still thin enough to see the carbon fiber underneath… I see… From afar this thing looked like a black anaconda.’ He said, loudly so that Gloria could hear over the tablet.

‘If yer looking for the guy who painted it then you’re in luck. He just arrived there not too long ago. Said he wanted to clear stuff up.’ Gloria mentioned, with the latter part of the sentence making Val blush as she tries to hide away her embarrassment by deflecting any eye contact.

‘Wait? Ash worked on this thing?!’

‘Who else could it be?’ Gloria answered in a teasing manner. As they watched J2 run back into the garage, possibly to pester Ash about his work. Meanwhile Val was looking peeved with her finger dangerously looming close to the red button.

‘I think you’ve gotten enough proof already. It’s safe, delivered, time to end the call.’ Val spoke with a dry tone as Gloria tried to plead not to end the call, but Val wasn’t having any of it and proceeded to end it.

At least she would’ve until Gloria muttered something that caught her attention.

‘Val wait! It’s about Mr. Asia!’

‘...’

‘Speak…’

Gloria lets out a sigh of relief as she manages to keep Val on the line.

‘I heard a little something from the grapevine that there has been talk of him stepping down from his position as Nissan’s head honcho.’

‘What??’

‘I know right. Our old contacts, have kept in touch and have been talking about those rumors spreading around our old circles like wildfire. I just thought that since you’re one of the most recent people to get in contact with him that you’ll have any inkling of his intent or anything.’

‘Wha-- No! This is actually a big surprise for me.’

‘Really?! You never felt any foreboding words or moods that would’ve led him to even consider stepping down?’

‘No. Well… I dunno… Looking back I think I never really cared to notice. To me he still spoke and acted like the same dramatic hardass that he wants us to see.’

For a moment Gloria looked perturbed on the screen after hearing what Val had to say as she shrugs her shoulders to brush it off.

‘Oh Val… You never change, do you?’ She said, making Val confused with the sudden change in topic.

‘Eh?’

‘Sorry… I just… Well I guess I just missed you!’ Gloria’s tone changed from forlorn to cheerful with the delivery of her last sentence. Val picked up the strangeness of her tone and chose not to peer into it. Deep inside her mind if it was something she didn't see or feel, there was no point in understanding it.

‘Anyways look!’ Gloria masterfully kept up her change of topic by shifting her camera view to point down to her belly, to which Val witnesses to be swollen thrice over ever since they had seen each other a couple of months ago, when it was barely even visible.

‘Holy shit it looks like a balloon!’

‘Hah? You sayin it’s not cute?’

‘N-No… it’s just… nicely round?’

‘Uhuh? Yeah… Right then…’

‘So how far along are you now?’

‘A little along seven months. Came to the doctors around a week ago. He said I just started the third trimester so we’ll be expecting in a couple of weeks' time.’

‘Sheesh… I can’t believe you’re gonna be a mom now… It seems like yesterday you were throwing your car around as if the ravine was nothing to be scared of. And now…’

‘Hard to believe, isn’t it?’ Gloria said in solemnly happy tone as she caresses her belly with a subtle smile on her face. ‘Don’t worry Val one day you’ll understand once you have a child of your own.’

‘Wait what?! Whaddya mean a child? I’m not even--’

‘I said the same thing during those times but when I met my husband… Oh goodness how everything got thrown out of the window.’

‘I’m not like that Gloria.’

‘Oh really now? Speak of the devil, I see the prime suspect is within the shot.’ Gloria said as Val turned around to see J2 walking towards her with Ash in tow.

‘Oi Satoshi kuuun! Val’s asking when are you gonna get her--’

Ash suddenly perks up his ears as he hears a familiar voice from the tablet but Val swiftly cuts it off before he could even get close.

‘Yo! Was that Gloria?’ He asked as Val could only nod as her answer. ‘What was she saying?’ He followed up as Val took a deep, flustered, shaky breath as she pushed him aside, far from any prying ears that could hear them.

‘Hey… Val what’s the matter? Is something--’

‘I got some news from Gloria… I was hoping to know if you know anything about it?’ Val said with a serious tone as he can feel her palm clenching on the folds of his shirt.

‘Is this about her pregnancy? Val.. I mean isn’t it--’

Upon hearing his words, Val’s cheeks turn beet red as she quickly puts her hand on his mouth to stop his blabbering so she could pretend to not hear or assume what he was about to say. Even though it did nothing to stop her mind from thinking that Ash might’ve gotten the context of Gloria’s “parting” question.

‘Not that! Idiot!’ She responds, her cheeks still flushed as Ash couldn’t help but think of how adorable this demon of a lady was acting now in front of him. Raising his hands in surrender as Val cautiously removes her hold and frees his lips.

‘What is it then?’ He curiously asked.

‘It’s about Mr. Asia.’

‘Yeah?’

‘She said there were rumors of him stepping down… Is this true?’ Val asked him with eyes that pierced through his soul, deeply searching for any answers for the man that, he knew, she treated as her own father. He takes a deep breath before he gives his reply.

‘You know… before I left… He was the same Mr. Asia I knew and respected. But…’

‘But?’

‘After hearing that… There were some things that started making sense…’

‘Like?’

‘A lot of things… But if there’s something I can say as a good example… Well… I’m here.

He let me go.’

Val looked at him, confused.

‘You know what he told me when I left? Just as I was about to board the plane going here?

He told me…

That life is too short to do one thing for every single day of your life.

At first I thought he’s just being the drama king that we all know him as.

But now…

Yeah…’

Ash said what he could, keeping in mind the things he knew about Mr. Asia and his recent assistance to Val, which only he and J2 knew about.

At first he thought it was strange that the old man was being “extra” considerate but after hearing the words from Val, even though they were just baseless rumors. Somehow, everything made sense.

‘Guys?’

J2 butts into their silence as the two turn around to face him from the shade of the building.

‘The delivery people had left… said that all the requirements for delivery are complete… So umm… yeah… what are we gonna do with the car?’

J2 continues as the couple affix their sights onto the lone “Super-Bee” standing proudly in wait in front of the doors of their garage.

And as if their minds were intertwined, their gaze shifted towards each other with both letting out a cheerful smile as Ash placed his arm around Val’s shoulders and her leaning her head on his chest as they responded in unison.

‘Well?’

‘Yep!’

‘Welcome to the family!’