Agents Of Time: Chapter Fifteen, Tokyo Drift

James didn’t like how blurry the ceiling was. He squinted, trying to focus. Relieved of his duties, he’d simply lain in bed since he awoke. His mind plagued with too many thoughts, but with the way his head seemed to split open every time he sat up, he was forced stay and reckon with them.

Julian didn’t trust the agency, and James didn’t blame him. He wanted to find out more. Was he also sent into this mission as unprepared as they had been? And who had he been sent to stop? Or to kill. It was becoming clearer that that the director had a very personal role in this mission, he wasn’t simply, directing it, he had commissioned it.

His wristed buzzed, or rather, his watch. He frowned and lifted it. A glowing blue message now displayed on the silver and white analog watch screen.

Prepare for return

What? Return to the agency? But they had not finished the mission yet so why would they be brought back?

His watched buzzed again, deplaning a new message. Or rather, a countdown.

“60 seconds?” Jame finally sat up, the pain blurred his vision, Turing the illuminated countdown into a single glowing mass.

He stumbled up from the bed. He needed to- he paused, the room spinning. What did he need to do? There was no one to tell. Amber, No of course not. Julian? He wouldn’t even reach the castle doors before the countdown ended. They hadn’t completed the mission so was he going to be able to return? Had this all been a test? Was this the end?

James pushed through the dizziness, taking vague guessing’s based on the blurred objects. He’d hidden the mission documents, right? When he pulled them out the other day .. had he hidden them well enough before leaving the castle?

Something fell over. James couldn’t see what. He hit the wall and sunk down. He should just wait. There as no one to tell, or even the need to tell anyone. He was going back. Where he belonged, to face…well the director probably. Maybe this meant the mission was over. He didn’t have t worry about it anymore, worry about anyone, or how his actions affected them.

James let himself sink to the floor, head dipped as he watched the countdown on his wrist. His heart thudding in his chest with such force it made his body shutter.

The countdown shot into single digits.

Were seconds really this fast? He held his breath as then umbers thinned. bracing himself for what ever sensation was to come.

The watch blinked to one, and the zeroed out. The four zeros blinking, and blinking and blinking and-

Everything shot into black like a badly editited movie transition.

James fell, or rather tumbled, from midair since his legs hadn’t appeared yet. Cement filtered into his eyesight, and he groaned, picking himself up. He was still dressed in stiff livery. He tore the jacket off, then tested his joints, including his knees. Thankfully, his legs had caught up with his rapid time travel. Everything seemed to be in order. No missing or out-of-order joints. Good.

“Vangelis.” James last name echoed through the room. James' head snapped up, his stance stiffened, called to attention. But all he saw in front of him was a dark cement wall, a light flickered on the ceiling.

A sigh. “Behind you.”

James swiveled to see the director coming over him. Arms crossed.

“Oh. Sir.” James fumbled. Was he supposed to Salut him? Wave? He couldn’t remember anything He gave a curt nod. “How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough to watch you flail about like a puppet with a bad puppeteer.”

James sucked in his checks, swallowing his embarrassment.

The direction continued. “I’ll need you to submit a report of the mission so far, and then you’ll retort back to the meeting room for a mission brief.”

“Mission brief, sir?”

“You’ve been reassigned to another mission.’

“Yeah, about that. Why?” James took a tentative step forward, but the director was already turning away. “Meeting room at 1000!” the director's voice rang through the room as he slipped through a portal door.

James sighed. So much for answers. Now that the director had left, he now recognized the room as the portal workshop, it still stood in one corner, the light gone, half shrouded in a tarp. He wondered if it would ever get used again. Probably. Having the ability to alter the by traveling back and illuminating key figures was a whole new level of power.

His watch dinged. He tugged it out of his waistcoat. He better get changed and write up this report. Honestly, it had to be the most boring thing ever. Especially since you couldn’t recount it like some exciting story. It had to be written up in plain complex terms like. “Cleared premises at 0900” instead of “Kicked some butt and set off a lot of alarms and looked really cool doing it at 0900.”

Walking back through the gray walled tech filled halls, he had a strange nostalgia for the mechanisms and color of the time he’d been just minutes ago. He frowned, remembering his small hoard of trinkets he’d been collecting. Unfortunately, left in a pile in a drawer back at the castle. Maybe Samuel, the boy who’d first greeted them, would find them. He’d probably get some joy out of them.

He folded his jacket up neatly, tracing a finger on the stitches that Maria had set in, her handiwork permanently preserved hundreds of years later. He should hide it before someone tried to get rid of it.

His watch dinged again, and he glanced at, the notification reminding him of his report.

The spacious cargo pants and fitted soft t-shirt were comfy, yet unfamiliar after over a week in various wool suits and multiple layers. He wouldn’t mind another mission that involved a suit disguise. A few agents passed him, eyeing him warily as he stepped into the halls. Probably wondering where he’d been and, more so, where his agent was. The agency must have given some excuse for their absence, given the confidential nature of the mission.

The report room was boring. Everything in this place was starting to feel boring. He quickly typed up a vague report, detailing the locations they'd visited, any significant persons; he excluded anything to do with Amber, focusing instead on Verena’s determination to complete it.

James stretched his fingers and checked his watch, jumping when he saw the time. That was fast. He quickly ported over to the director’s office. It really was forever majestic, truly if the rest of the Agency looked like this it’d be a much funnier place to live and work.

He joined the two agents standing just off the director's platform. their eyes remained focused on the director, who looked at him. “I’ve already briefed the agents on their mission. Your job is the usual. You can choose what car you want from the garage. Stealth won't matter too much. Better to blend in. You’ll be in the city, on the edge.

Well, that certainly was positive. It was rare he was allowed to chose the car for the mission.

The agents nodded at him and took their leave. Shortest briefing of his life.

The Director stepped down from his platform before James could leave, having him a folder. “For whatever questions you have about the mission and its location.”

James tucked it under his arm. “Thank you.”

“How’s Agent Laufy doing?”

James frowned. “Same as always. Perfect”

The Director nodded. “Good. Anything noteworthy? No complications in the mission?”

James paused before answering. Everything had been detailed in the mission report. Expect his blunders, and the mysterious messenger. “No, sir.”

The Director studied him for a moment; “your loyalty to Laufy may be the end of you. But I trust you know that I will know all mission details, whether you inform me or not.”

“Of course, sir.

James left the room. A shroud of warning cast over him.

The Director was usually intimidating. He didn’t have his rank and position for nothing, but that threat seemed out of character. He mused for the right word. Just straight up strange. As if the Director didn’t fully trust Verena anymore. Or at least, not specifically in this mission. Did he know something about the mysterious letters and Julian? The former agent had given him the impression that the Director thought him dead.

All questions he couldn’t answer.

The Agency garage was the perfect place to forget the Directors threat, if that was threat. Maybe more of a warning.

The garage consisted of two spanning levels buried deep under the cooperations headquarters, deep in the mountains.

The garage levels were divided into sections, this main section housed a variety of cars, ranging from average family cars to sports cars, muscle cars, and a spattering of high-performance cars that went 200 kilometers an hour just standing still.

He'd driven most of the regular cars, and sports cars, but the muscles cars and higher performance cars were rarely suitable for a mission. Their maneuverability and superior performance stood out. You couldn't run and hide in a Lambo without someone spotting it. Really, the highest perk of the job was working for a place that could easily afford to buy the newest, best, or limited-edition performance cars.

But this mission, he smiled, he could take his pick of the lot. He’d probably dreamed about driving every one of these cars. They shined brightly under the fluorescent lights, parked in a neat line, beckoning him.

He considered his options carefully. The mission was being held in the city, during a well-known car show, hence his ability to choose what car he wanted.

The Sian roadster Lambo was the flashiest choice. The limited-edition Cerulean and carbon fiber exterior highlighted every sharp and calculated plane of the car, stopping only for the open top interior. The dark seats and dials shone from the brightly colored car, like a black hole.

The Ferrari SF90 Spider beside it lurked like a dark shadow, the deep jewel toned blue shimmering in the lights. The carbon fiber assets added to the cars' intrigue while giving it a lightweight quality like the Lamborghini.

His eyes shifted to the next car, and ever popular choice, the Porsche 911 GTS stood out among the two blue toned cars.

Shining in a willow green, the round headlights forever iconic, more carbon fiber rimmed the vehicle, spanning back to the large tail mounted on the back. His favorite detail was the small yellow elements that’d been custom added to the car, breaks, the stitching, even trimming the instruments.

James' personal favorite rivaled the Porsche in a bright red, the Lotus Evora GT410.

The sharp headlights pierced the soft edges and aero dynamic plates of the high-speed car, the grill spanning far across the front bumper in a grin. An all-black interior completely camouflaging itself through the windshield.

A newer addition to the group, the Aston Martin Vanquish swirled in a purple storm, the unique metallic purple color shifted, bending it with carbon fiber accents. The wide grill, so black it was devoid of all reflection, added to the mystique of the supercar. The bright green breaks, added a small pop of color to those who noticed.

Second to last Verena’s favorite, although he argued she could nearly drive as well as him. Was the dark phantom that made up the Chiron Pur Sport. The only way you could even see the void of a super car was the light of the garage itself. Looking at it in the dark it appeared like some speedy cheshire cat, the slim sharp headlights shining.

And finally, he brushed a hand over the hood, stood the McLaren 750s Coupe, a hot red speedster with dark wheels and a dark hood making it appear almost like a convertible.

Triangular wide shapes tied the car's design together, from the wide flat hood, the headlights to the way the doors melted into the wheel wells.

James turned back to the lined of cars he’d passed, folding his arms in thought. A car show in the sparkling city of Tokyo really could give him the choice of any car, so long as it wasn’t rare, making it remarkable.

His eyes reverted to the bright red Lotus, his favorite out of the seven. He tapped his watch on the post beside the car. Each parking spot hosted a metal post, only a few inches wide, just as tall as his waist.

Lights lit up on the ground around the car, and the top of the post opened, revealing a set of shiny keys. James snatched them up and unlocked it.

The car rumbled gently as he turned the ignition on, reverberating through the frame. He navigated it onto the main roadway out of the garage. The agents would be dropped off at the location in another vehicle, equipped with the tactical equipment they needed. His only job was to wait at the rendezvous point and keep an eye on communications.

The garage's main road connected the other parts of the garage; the path he turned out of led him quickly to the exit and entrance. It sloped up, leading to a check in and out station resembling a large pair of metal detectors, that arched in an angular style over both the exit and entrance points, high enough for any type of vehicle to pass under.

He passed under the detectors showing no signs of working other than a quiet buzz; the roadway opened into a circular tunnel lined with lights; He shifted gears, speeding up until the light blurred together.

A specially designed and integrated button flashed by the ignition. He tapped it, and the tunnel ahead of him flashed green momentarily.

Minutes later, the bright city of Tokyo dawned in front of him as he emerged from the tunnel. Putting him directly in the middle of the city scape. Nighttime framed the city, fuzzy where the dark met the bright colored lights.

Traffic piled up as he neared the rendezvous point, buildings tall and shiny rose up on both sides as the road developed sidewalks and light poles.

He peered out the tinted windows. Sleek cars in flashy colours, and bright decals moved slowly along with him, they passed a leveled parking lot for a mall, vehicles filtered in, finding spots among the cars already there. James pulled off to the side, joining a few widely spaced cars on the roadside.

He settled down in his seat and popped open the file for the mission. Might also see what the agents were up to while he waited.

A bright flash ripped hm from the page he was reading, leaving the letters burned in his eyes.

What on earth

White pierced in interior of the car, washing out the dark interiors. He winced.

A thump sounded above his head, and he glanced up, only for a shadow to slink down his passenger window and wrench the door open.

One of the agents, drenched in a cloud of smoke leaped into the car, scrambling into the backseat, followed by the second.

Urgency shot through James’s heart at the same time the second agent slammed the door shut.

His hand glided over the gear shifted and his foot mashed down the petals, slipping between the clutch and the gas. The car ricocheted off, narrowly missing the sleek, parked car in front.

Screams sounded as the Lotus swung into the half empty street. The onlookers who’d taken advantage of the closed street dove out of the way.

James spared a glance into his rearview mirror, catching a glimpse of the agent in the back. “what’s the situation?”

The agent in the passenger seat beside him was taking note of his leftover weapons. “Bad. they’re in pursuit, check the black charger spilling smoke behind you.”

He spotted it with another quick glance in the mirror. The Dodge Changer emerged from a cloud of its own smoke like a dragon on mission.

True to its name it charged at the lotus, closing the distance with a roar. James burst through the roadblock, cones spiraling over the car

The city buildings vanished on one side, dropping away to reveal a dark void, reflecting the cars and lamps posts light in flickering waves.

James kicked the gear higher and sped down the roadway, searching for the nearest tunnel.

He spotted the glimpse of one down a side street, framed between two tall buildings. That should work.

He eased off the gas, swung the wheel to the right, then pressed down again as the car rocketed around the corner, narrowly missing a streetlight as it drifted, kicking up a cloud of smoke. He felt the cars’ weight shift as the force of gravity forced the two unassuming agents in the back to one side of the car.

They readjusted themselves just as James sped around another left turn, placing the car on the street with the tunnel. A screech of times and the scream of an engine behind him told him that the charger was still in pursuit.

“No wonder Agent Laufy won’t share you.” On of the agent exclaimed as they once again pulled themselves away from the door.

“Either way, whatever you did certainly put these guys behind me, in need of some anger management.”

James punched the button by the ignition and lined the car up with the tunnel.

Four hundred meters

The system booted up.

Three hundred meters

James eased off the gas, the charger caught up, the bumper filling his rear-view mirror

Two hundred meters

The tunnel erupted in a flash of light.

One hundred meters.

The charger hit the back of the lotus, kicking the car forward with a lurch, before the black car reared forward, lining up to hit the far-right end of the lotus’s back bumper.

Fifty meters

James stepped on the gas, sending the lotus forward as the charger swerved, aiming for a pit maneuver.

The bright red lotus shot through the purple shimmer glazing over the tunnel entrance. The portal disappeared as soon as the bumper vanished through it. The black charger spun out, vanishing in a cloud of its own smoke.