the invisible villain

A little bit of revenge

There were two days to the race. That could be a lot of time or too little.

“Not very long,” Ludwig said with a sigh.

They were on the balcony. Ludwig and Alex with wine, and Abe with a beer. On the ground between them was a bowl with roasted and spiced nuts.

“That’s two days,” Abe said.

“Yes,” Ludwig said. “Two days is hardly enough for a completely satisfying little bit of revenge. But then, I get what you mean. No amount of time is enough really, is it? We’ll just do our best in the two days.”

“It’ll be a we when you tell us what you’re planning,” Abe said.

“I thought that was obvious,” Ludwig said, looking surprised like he meant the words he spoke. “We’re here for the race. He knew Akira. Didn’t he say something about inviting her to be on their team? Doesn’t that mean he’s here for the race too? And he’s got a team, a car in the race. What do you think we’re going to be doing in that case?”

“Ensuring his defeat?” Abe asked.

“Is he for real?” Ludwig asked Alex.

“Yes,” Alex said. “He’s not like us. Hasn’t experienced the darkness of the world.”

“That’s the best,” Ludwig said.

“Yes,” Alex said, with a joyful smile. “But, know what makes me prouder still? Even if he was buried in the most terrible darkness, I think he’d be the same. Just how he is. Endlessly optimistic.”

Ludwig and Alex laughed. Abe ignored them and kept looking down at the market. Such a happy scene. So much bustle. A joy he hadn’t experienced in the last life, and this, until now.

“You want to go down again?” Ludwig asked, following Abe’s eyes.

“I do,” Abe said. “But not now. Maybe after we’re done. Maybe, we can visit other markets too. We only went once, for Cafe.”

“Yes,” Alex said, struck by realisation. “We really haven’t gone out a lot. We should change that. And a lot of other things.”

“Yes,” Abe said. “A lot of things.”

Ludwig nodded. His phone buzzed just then. He opened the message he received.

An hour ago, he’d messaged a merchant he used very rarely. Not because he had something against the merchant. The merchant was good as his word, and had deep and wide contacts. Only, their circles were different. Only on the rare occasions when Ludwig had something on hand that was quite far from being legal did he go to the merchant.

There was a string of numbers in the message. Ludwig opened his laptop, entered BlackHouse, an extremely secretive communication portal that enjoyed the greatest popularity among the dark circles. Parties had to know the id for the chatroom and the password to enter into a communication. Contained in the numbers in the message was the chatroom id and the password. Encrypted, of course. And the decrypting program was a whole other secret.

Ludwig entered the communication and found that the merchant was already on there.

[Mar] - Ludi, great hearing from you.

[Lud] - Mario, hello to you too. I have a proposition.

[Mar] - That’s new. Tell me. I’m all ears.

[Lud] - Thank you for your trust.

[Mar] - You’ve always got my trust. Just as I’ve got yours. So, what’s the business?

[Lud] - The races begin in two days. We’re hitting one team. Ascort’s.

[Mar] - Personal?

[Lud] - Yes. Very much personal.

Ludwig grinned, knowing already Mario’s answer. Ascort’s was the team owned by Javier Orotio, the second son of Brendan Orotio. Javier didn’t want the throne of the Orotio family. He was happy supporting his elder brother who was much more capable than him in every way. He was more interested in cars. That was the one division of the Orotio group he stood at the head of. And the racing team was the jewel of his crown. He was also the childhood friend of Isaac Greeve, which was why he invited Isaac to be a part-owner of the team. He had also invited Isaac to the race, knowing Isaac was sad. And because of that association and friendship, he was also in the crosshairs.

[Mar] - What are we talking about? The one race?

[Lud] - Actually, no. The first race, the one in two days, is out of our scope. We’re targeting the rest of the championship. And Ascort’s.

[Mar] - I’d like the first race too. What do you have? What do you need?

Ludwig was curious now. Mario was the most level headed person he knew. And for Mario to be so interested, there definitely had to be a very good reason.

[Lud] - Personal?

[Mar] - Call it so. Curious?

[Lud] - Can’t say I’m not.

[Mar] - You tell. I tell.

[Lud] - Sure. Another time though. Here’s what we have.

Ludwig made no secret of that fact that he wasn’t alone. It wasn’t important. And it wasn’t such a big secret. Cars and the races were far from Ludwig’s area of interest. It was only obvious that he was with others. As long as the identity of the others didn’t come up, Ludwig was comfortable. And Mario was professional enough to not pry. Everyone had secrets. It was only fair to respect both of theirs.

Ludwig gave Mario everything they had. Ascort’s team members. Their history. A rough idea of the improvements they made to their car. Their partners, regarding fuel and parts and advertisements and everything else.

[Mar] - Two hours.

[Lud] - Okay.

Ludwig closed his laptop. And looked at the other two.

“Lunch anyone?” He asked.

“Not me,” Abe said. “I’m filled with the nuts.”

“I’m not,” Alex said.

“You've not eaten one so far,” Abe said, throwing another nut into his mouth.

“Yeah,” Alex said. “Wine and nuts don’t go together. I’m thinking we should order a cheese platter. Cheese and wine make a delicious combination.”

“Alright,” Ludwig said, nodding happily. “I love cheese too. So what do you want to have for lunch?”

“How about pizza?” Alex said. “If it’s pizza Abe will eat too.”

“Never too full for pizza,” Abe said.

“Aright,” Ludwig said. “Pizza it is.”

Ludwig picked up his phone and ordered from a pizza parlour a short distance from the hotel. The restaurants at the hotel did have pizza in the menu. But those were incomparable to Emilio’s pizzas which was a landmark of the city. And it wasn’t even uncommon for the guests of the hotel to have Emilio’s pizzas delivered. They couldn’t get it to their rooms, of course. Room service didn’t include outside food. The guests had to go down themselves, pick up the pizzas and take it back to their rooms. Ludwig went down to pick up the pizzas. The three of them enjoyed the pizzas on the balcony, with more beer and wine. They had finished lunch, when Ludwig’s phone buzzed. Mario had messaged, exactly after two hours.

[Mar] - Okay.

[Lud] - What do you need?

[Mar] - All the information you have.

[Lud] - I’ll do you better. I’ll give you everything. What’s the plan?

[Mar] - For the race? Share the info with other teams. They’ll figure out the weaknesses of the car, and the driver, and they’ll find the optimum path to victory. Yours?

[Lud] - Reaching out to others. Hurt their logistics.

What Ludwig didn’t tell was that he also intended to sabotage from within. But not everything had to be revealed. If more than one party shared the same intent, the damage would be so much greater. Worked in his favour.

[Mar] - Alright. Am I included in everyone?

[Lud] - Of course. You’re the best. I’ve already got to the fuel. That’s the second race taken care of.

[Mar] - Good. I’ll work on the third.

[Lud] - Sounds good. I’ll keep you updated on others as well.

And so, the association came to be, aiming for Ascort’s defeat.

*

Akira and Justine were knocking at the suite’s door later in the evening. Alex opened the door and welcomed them in. Abe was asleep on the bed. Ludwig was still drinking wine in the balcony. And the glass filled to a third with wine by the other chair’s side was evidence of Alex accompanying him.

“When did you start?” Akira asked.

“Afternoon,” Alex said. “Maybe a little before noon. As soon as we returned from shopping.”

They looked at the bags by the bedside and understood.

“He too?” Akira asked.

“Yeah,” Alex said. “Beer.”

“How many?” Justine asked.

Alex counted the bottles on the balcony for the answer.

“Three.”

“No wonder he’s out,” Justine said.

“That’s good too,” Akira said. “We can talk.”

“Please join us,” Alex said, inviting them to the balcony.

The balcony was wide enough for four chairs. And there were four rattan chairs put on the balcony. They all sat down. Justine accepted Ludwig’s offer of wine. Akira shook her head. She didn’t drink before a race.

“So, tell me,” Akira said, “what’s going on.”

“Nothing,” Alex said, shaking her head.

Ludwig was looking out into the distant horizon. Justine was looking at Alex and Ludwig, the same as Akira. It clearly wasn’t nothing. Alex and Ludwig knew. They just weren’t willing to tell. And that was telling in itself.

“It’s not nothing,” Akira said, her voice turning sharp from her trying to rein in her anger. “Alex, don’t take me for a fool. You know better than that. What’s going on? What’s between Isaac and Abe? And why are you acting so weird?”

Alex shrugged soundlessly. Ludwig sighed, and opened up.

“The race in in two days, Akira,” he said. “You like to concentrate fully on your race. This isn’t anything important. Just juvenile stuff. Something we’ve all gone through. Don’t turn a molehill into a mountain. Don’t break your concentration. Once the race is done, we’ll tell you. Okay?”

Akira wasn’t convinced. But she also knew Ludwig was right. She couldn’t fall from the right state of mind. As far as she was concerned, every race was important. Every result, ever win, was important.

“Alright,” she said with a nod.

But the unvoiced threat was loud and clear in her eyes. Just that Ludwig didn’t care. Alex even less.

“Should I be worried?” Justine asked.

“What do you mean?” Ludwig asked.

“Your choice of words,” Justine said. “Points to a certain direction, at a certain thing. I don’t want it to be so. I don’t want to be right. So, I’m asking, should I be worried?”

“No,” Ludwig said.

“Not you,” Alex said, with a laugh. “Not for that. Silly girl.” 
Justine sighed in relief. And Akira’s eyes glowed, as if she figured something out, but held on to her silence.

“I don’t like it,” she whispered.

“It’s like being stuck between a rock and a hard place,” Ludwig whispered, from next to her.

“Don’t make it worse,” Akira said.

The two were far enough away from the others for their conversation to remain between them.

*

The next morning, the rest left early to the car. Alex, Abe and Ludwig, enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, and went for a slow and long walk. There were other markets, other streets and things to see. And the things Ludwig needed done, could be better completed in the privacy of the busy outdoors.

While the three of them were enjoying themselves as tourists, the race track was abuzz. There was always a lot to be done before the race. Among the uncountable many running around were those who didn’t actually belong, indistinguishable from the others who did belong. They carried little boxes and thin envelopes to teams in their shops. The exchanges were short and wordless. Before their faces could be registered, they handed the ‘presents’ and disappeared into the stream.

The heads and brains of the teams had a long night. There was much to be discussed, to be done. Did they believe the contents of the letters? Who else received the envelopes? And did the others believe? If so, how should they prepare? In the end, all teams made changes to their plans, to accommodate for the newly acquired information. And all of the time, every one of them guessing in their hearts, the motivations of the one behind the act. It was scary. Ascort’s was one of the big fish. If Ascort could be infiltrated to such an extent, did anyone stand a chance? What exactly was going on?

The morning of the race, every one of the teams who received the information felt validated. There wasn’t a word from the officials. The officials were going through the motions like usual, like the race was no different from any other. And so, the teams all knew that no one had reported it. And they were all filled with anticipation, hoping their preparations and accommodations bore fruit.j

The first half of the race had nothing to suspect. And then, things began to change. Ascort’s car began showing its flaws. And the driver his habits. And that was all the proof the teams that made preparations needed. The flow of the race began to change noticeably. Suddenly, Ascort’s flaws became apparent, being showed up by many of the weaker teams. And the stronger teams quickly followed their lead. Ascort was rapidly losing its place. By the end of the race, Ascort was near the bottom, a result no one had predicted.

Alex, Abe and Ludwig were sitting on the balcony, looking in at the tv showing the race. They only turned around to see Akira’s car when it entered the patch of the track visible from the balcony. They were expressionless through the first half. And then, when the race began to change, Ludwig’s smile began growing. And Alex and Abe could only smile along.

“Just the beginning,” Ludwig said at the end of the race.

“Cheers,” Alex said in a celebratory mood.

They clinked their glasses, and emptied them in one draught. Abe was having wine too, today being an exception.

“Do you want to see his face?” Ludwig asked.

“We don’t want to see any part of him,” Alex said.

Abe shrugged. Ludwig nodded. And poured the three of them another glass of wine. The intention couldn’t be clearer. They were getting drunk, again.

Before they could bring the wine to their lips, Akira burst in. The door was left unlocked, as if just for her.

“What did you do?” Akira asked, struggling to contain her fury.

“Doesn’t matter,” Ludwig said.

“Don’t,” Akira said, her voice as low as her fury was raging.

“You, don’t,” Alex said, flatly.

Akira looked at Alex, completely thrown off of her rhythm.

“What?” Akira said.

“Don’t,” Alex said. “You don’t know what’s going on. Leave it that way. This here, this distance between us,” she said, pointing to the room that stood between Akira at one end of it and the other three at the other end, “is what it is. You stay there, in the light. We are here, in the dark. You stay there. We stay here. And that’s the best for all of us. You keep with your race. We’ll keep with ourselves, out of your way.”

Akira froze. That was admission of not just today, but of the future races too. As hurt as she was by the way they were separating her from them, she was shocked by the blatant admission.

“Is it that important?” Akira asked. “So much that you do this? Cause such pain?”

“Yes,” Alex said.

“More than you can imagine,” Ludwig said.

“I’m sorry,” Abe said. “We’re sorry.”

Akira was stunned into silence. Alex and Ludwig, was bad enough. Abe too? Her Abe was distancing her? Why? She couldn’t understand.

“You should go,” Abe said. “Really. I am sorry.”

Akira was expressionless as she turned around, and left. Behind her was Justine, wearing the same disbelief and the same shock on her face. And she was staring at Abe. Glaring at Abe.

“Are you serious?” She asked.

Abe didn’t answer. Didn’t blink. Didn’t flinch. Merely stared back, unfeelingly.

“You know how much the race means to Akira,” Justine said. “You all do. You know how much she cares for you. And you could still do this. So easily. You could say those things to her. How could you? I look at you now, and I can’t recognise you. I don’t know if the Abe I know, the Abe I love is you or this is the real you?”

“This,” Ludwig said cheerfully. “Absolutely. This is the real Abe.”

Justine shook her head. Dazedly. Hurt. And left, running after Akira.

Alex went over to close the door, lock it, and returned to the balcony.

“What are you thinking?” She asked.

“What they said,” Abe said. “Were they right? Were we wrong?”

“Hmm,” Ludwig said. “Answer me this. Did we harm Akira in any way?”

“No,” Abe said.

“Did we hurt her in any way?” Ludwig said.

“No,” Abe said.

“Did we touch her car in any way?” Ludwig said.

“No,” Abe said.

“Did we affect her race in any way, other than Ascort’s car?” Ludwig said. And before Abe could answer, he continued. “Scratch that. Don’t answer the question.”

Abe smiled.

“If we were to go by their logic,” Alex said, “we should do nothing. At all. Justine is happy. With her life. With the world. And so, because we love her, we shouldn’t take any action. We shouldn’t do any of what we are planning and intending of doing. Because we would be hurting, affecting the world she is so fond of. Is that okay?”

“No,” Abe said.

“Exactly,” Ludwig said. “We’ve all got our own world, within the wider world. Our own sensibilities. Our own ideas and intentions. Loving someone doesn’t mean giving up your ideas and plans when they’re contradicting with theirs. And they’ve got to come to terms with that.”

“Justine’s young,” Alex said. “She’s lived a blessed life. She’ll need longer. But she’ll come around.”

“Hopefully,” Ludwig said softly, but not soft enough.

“She will,” Alex said, giving Ludwig a glare.

“It’s okay,” Abe said. “Even if she doesn’t. I don’t know. I don’t think I’m able to think about that now.”

“Yeah,” Ludwig said. “Don’t think about it at all.”

“As for Akira,” Alex said. “She’ll have to choose. And then, whatever her choice, she’ll come around. She loves you too much. We’ll just wait for her, okay?”

“Yeah,” Abe said.

“And now,” Ludwig said, cheerfully. “Let’s continue with the celebration.”

They clinked their glasses, and continued drinking.