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canon:ace15:ace_15_ch2 [12/03/2026 10:02] – poistettu - ulkoinen muokkaus (Unknown date) 127.0.0.1canon:ace15:ace_15_ch2 [12/03/2026 10:02] (current) – ↷ Page moved from ace_15_ch2 to canon:ace15:ace_15_ch2 kkurzex
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 +Chapter 2
 +
 +Detroit was already forgetting them.
 +
 +That was the way of cities.
 +
 +By the time the Triad left the safehouse, the rain had stopped completely and the streets had resumed their usual morning rhythm — delivery vans, commuters, construction noise, the slow metallic hum of a city pretending it hadn’t spent the entire night vibrating with illegal horsepower.
 +
 +The parking structure beneath the building smelled faintly of oil, damp concrete, and cooling engines.
 +
 +Ace stopped halfway down the ramp and looked at the two cars waiting in the shadowed corner.
 +
 +The **vanta black Nissan Nismo 270R** sat low and quiet under the concrete lights, its surface absorbing the brightness around it like it didn’t particularly approve of being seen. Even parked, it looked predatory — the kind of machine that preferred motion to stillness.
 +
 +Beside it stood the **silver Aston Martin DB11**, clean lines catching the faint overhead glow like a blade catching sunlight.
 +
 +Two cars.
 +
 +Two completely different philosophies.
 +
 +One system.
 +
 +Shammy leaned against the railing above them, looking down at the vehicles with obvious appreciation.
 +
 +“You know,” she said casually, “from Detroit’s point of view, those two cars are now basically cryptids.”
 +
 +Mai paused beside the Aston and glanced up.
 +
 +“Cryptids?”
 +
 +“Yes.”
 +
 +Shammy pushed herself off the railing and walked down the remaining steps with unhurried grace.
 +
 +“Think about it. Mysterious pair of cars appear out of nowhere, dismantle the Blacklist chain using a scoring rule nobody expected anyone to actually use, and then vanish before sunrise.”
 +
 +Ace rested one hand on the Nissan’s roof.
 +
 +“It was not that mysterious.”
 +
 +Shammy smiled.
 +
 +“It was to Detroit.”
 +
 +Mai reached the Aston and lightly brushed rainwater from the windshield with her sleeve.
 +
 +“The important part,” she said, “is that nobody has a clean ID on us.”
 +
 +Ace glanced sideways.
 +
 +“That part was intentional.”
 +
 +“Obviously.”
 +
 +Shammy walked slowly between the two cars, studying them like an art exhibit.
 +
 +“Also,” she added thoughtfully, “the internet has already decided the Nissan is haunted.”
 +
 +Ace raised an eyebrow.
 +
 +“Haunted.”
 +
 +Shammy nodded.
 +
 +“Apparently a car that quiet shouldn’t be that fast.”
 +
 +Mai opened the Aston’s door.
 +
 +“That’s because most drivers prefer machines that announce themselves.”
 +
 +Ace ran her hand along the Nissan’s roofline.
 +
 +“I prefer machines that don’t.”
 +
 +Shammy stopped between them.
 +
 +“And then there’s the Demon Supra.”
 +
 +The three of them went quiet for a moment.
 +
 +Ace leaned lightly against the Nissan.
 +
 +“He enjoyed that.”
 +
 +Mai slid into the Aston’s seat.
 +
 +“Of course he did.”
 +
 +Shammy tilted her head.
 +
 +“You’re surprisingly calm about it.”
 +
 +Ace shrugged.
 +
 +“He always does that.”
 +
 +“Appears out of nowhere?”
 +
 +“Yes.”
 +
 +“Embarrasses you in public?”
 +
 +Ace looked at her.
 +
 +“He did not embarrass me.”
 +
 +Shammy grinned.
 +
 +“Detroit disagrees.”
 +
 +Mai started the Aston.
 +
 +The engine came alive with a smooth, controlled rumble that echoed softly through the garage.
 +
 +“Detroit,” she said, “is frequently wrong.”
 +
 +Ace walked around the Nissan and opened the driver’s door.
 +
 +Shammy stopped beside her.
 +
 +“Serious question.”
 +
 +Ace looked up.
 +
 +“Yes?”
 +
 +“Did he actually pass you just to annoy you?”
 +
 +Ace slid into the seat and started the engine.
 +
 +The Nissan’s idle was low, quiet, almost restrained — like a predator breathing slowly before moving.
 +
 +“Yes.”
 +
 +Shammy blinked.
 +
 +“That’s it?”
 +
 +“That’s it.”
 +
 +She leaned down slightly toward the open door.
 +
 +“That’s extremely petty.”
 +
 +Ace met her eyes.
 +
 +“Yes.”
 +
 +Shammy considered that for a moment.
 +
 +Then she laughed.
 +
 +“Okay, I like him.”
 +
 +Mai’s voice came over from the Aston.
 +
 +“No you don’t.”
 +
 +“Probably not.”
 +
 +Ace glanced toward the ramp.
 +
 +“Ready?”
 +
 +Mai nodded.
 +
 +“Yes.”
 +
 +Shammy moved around the Nissan and slid into the passenger seat.
 +
 +The door closed with a soft mechanical click.
 +
 +For a moment the two cars sat there in the dim concrete light.
 +
 +Then the Aston rolled forward first, gliding toward the exit ramp.
 +
 +The Nissan followed.
 +
 +Outside, Detroit had resumed its daytime illusion.
 +
 +Traffic lights blinked lazily over half-empty intersections. Delivery trucks rumbled past storefronts still opening for the day. The wet pavement reflected the pale morning sky like dull metal.
 +
 +The two cars merged into traffic without drawing attention.
 +
 +Which was exactly the point.
 +
 +For a few minutes they drove in silence.
 +
 +Then Shammy spoke.
 +
 +“You realize something, right?”
 +
 +Ace kept her eyes on the road.
 +
 +“What.”
 +
 +“Detroit is going to spend the next decade arguing about last night.”
 +
 +Ace shifted gears smoothly.
 +
 +“That sounds like Detroit.”
 +
 +Mai’s voice came through the open channel.
 +
 +“They already are.”
 +
 +Shammy leaned back in the seat.
 +
 +“I checked again before we left.”
 +
 +“And?”
 +
 +“There are at least four different theories about who we are.”
 +
 +Ace said nothing.
 +
 +Shammy continued.
 +
 +“One group thinks we’re a traveling professional team.”
 +
 +Mai snorted softly over the channel.
 +
 +“Unlikely.”
 +
 +“Another group thinks we’re a tuner collective testing prototype cars.”
 +
 +Ace turned onto the highway ramp.
 +
 +“That one’s closer.”
 +
 +“And one guy thinks we’re part of a cult.”
 +
 +Mai sounded amused.
 +
 +“A cult.”
 +
 +“Yes.”
 +
 +“What kind of cult?”
 +
 +Shammy checked the phone again.
 +
 +“Something about summoning mechanical spirits through illegal racing.”
 +
 +Ace almost smiled.
 +
 +“That’s creative.”
 +
 +Mai’s Aston accelerated ahead slightly, clearing space in traffic.
 +
 +“And the fourth theory?”
 +
 +Shammy scrolled.
 +
 +“That the Demon Supra was the real winner and the rest of us were just background noise.”
 +
 +Ace sighed.
 +
 +“He’s going to love that.”
 +
 +“Yes,” Mai said.
 +
 +“He will.”
 +
 +For a moment the radio channel went quiet again.
 +
 +Then Shammy spoke, more softly this time.
 +
 +“You know what the funniest part is?”
 +
 +Ace glanced at her.
 +
 +“What.”
 +
 +Shammy looked out the side window at the city sliding past.
 +
 +“They’re all wrong.”
 +
 +Ace nodded once.
 +
 +“Yes.”
 +
 +Mai’s voice came through the comms.
 +
 +“Completely wrong.”
 +
 +The highway opened ahead of them, lanes stretching out toward the edge of the city.
 +
 +Detroit’s skyline slowly receded in the rearview mirrors.
 +
 +Behind them, the story of the night before was already mutating into legend.
 +
 +The vanta black Nissan.
 +
 +The silver Aston.
 +
 +The Demon Supra.
 +
 +None of it was accurate.
 +
 +None of it needed to be.
 +
 +The truth was quieter.
 +
 +Three people.
 +
 +Two cars.
 +
 +One system that Detroit hadn’t been built to understand.
 +
 +Shammy finally leaned back and stretched slightly in the passenger seat.
 +
 +“So,” she said casually.
 +
 +Ace glanced over.
 +
 +“Yes?”
 +
 +Shammy smiled.
 +
 +“Horizon.”
 +
 +Ace looked back at the road.
 +
 +“Yes.”
 +
 +Mai’s Aston maintained a steady distance ahead of them.
 +
 +Shammy’s voice carried a hint of anticipation now.
 +
 +“That’s going to be… interesting.”
 +
 +Ace didn’t answer right away.
 +
 +Her hands rested calmly on the steering wheel.
 +
 +The Nissan’s engine hummed beneath them, steady and restrained.
 +
 +Finally she said:
 +
 +“Yes.
 +
 +It is.”
 +