A morning breeze rolled in off the Pacific Ocean and brought a momentary reprieve from the heat. Shinya Kogami stared off into the hazy horizon and tried to forget how miserable he was in the sweltering temperatures.  Standing in the shade of three large palm trees, he leaned back against the sinewy trunk and closed his eyes in frustration. 

    Although he was surrounded by the serenity of soothing sounds—wind moving through palm tree leaves and the gentle current of the ocean—it was all lost to him, drowned out in the throaty roar of revving car engines, screeching tires, and cheering crowds of spectators.  The acrid smell of exhaust and spent rubber was as intoxicating as it was annoying to him and served only to irritate the back of his throat.

    It was his third day of observation with the Los Angeles Police department, and he found himself downtown on a security detail that was tasked with crowd control at the Los Angeles Public Speed Park. The venue was a recreational race track that catered to the car enthusiasts in the greater county area.  For early morning, the weather was unusually hot, getting hotter, and that was just in the shade.  Kogami tugged at his already loose tie and his sweat-dampened shirt, which was clinging to his chest.

    "How do Royce and Rodriguez operate in this weather? And in full uniform, too?" Akane Tsunemori fanned herself with her hand.  It did little good.  The air was stifling, and she appeared as if she were wilting away in the oppressive heat. She retreated into what little shade remained as the sun managed to penetrate the canopy of the palm trees above them.

    "They're used it. We're not," Kogami replied. "This is the kind of work that cymatic scanners and drones handle back home."

    "It's no different than a heightened area stress alert, I guess. Only the Inspectors and Enforcers would just now be arriving on the scene."  Wiping the back of her hand across her forehead, she sighed and leaned back on another tree beside him.  "Back home, there certainly would have been an alert by now.  With all this excitement—racing cars, fierce competition, and rivalries—I can't imagine that someone's psycho pass wouldn't have exceeded regulation value."

    "At least that would be interesting.  I'm getting bored." Kogami reached into his coat pocket and retrieved a pack of cigarettes. Tapping one from the packet, he put it to his lips and lit it.

    "Kogami, it's your fault that we were put on this security detail in the first place!"

    "How's that, Inspector?"

    "In less than 24 hours on the job, Rodriguez and you cost the LAPD $1.1 million dollars by blowing up that oil tank."

    "That wasn't our fault.  The perpetrator drove into it."

    "Because you shot out the tires!"

    "I didn't fire one shot."

    "You held the steering wheel while Rodriguez shot out the tires."

    "That perp got what he deserved.  He robbed a bank and put the lives of 20 people in jeopardy, including two little kids.  Besides, Rodriguez and I made up for it the next day with that black tar heroin bust.  Net worth $3 million dollars of drugs off the street.  That was a good case."

    "You broke seven of the dealer's fingers!"

    Hands in his pockets, Kogami shrugged his shoulders.  "He fell down the stairs."

    "Three times!"

    "Twice. There were two flights." 

    "Kogami, that's not helping matters.  If you keep this up, Rodriguez is going to end up being suspended, or worse, and we're going to be deported.  Chief Tomb was very clear about that!"  She balled her hands into tiny fists of anger and stomped a foot as she yelled at him above the racing engines.  "Are you even listening to me?  You can be so selfish at times."

    Had Kogami really heard her, he might have agreed.  As it was, the Enforcer heard every other word.  Generally that was enough to get the gist of her complaints. His antics so often drew her criticism and then brought her praise after the fact when the perpetrators were brought to heel. Her eyes were especially beautiful in those moments, but for the time being, his attention was elsewhere, focused on a crime of a different sort.

    "Give that back, Chase!"  Surrounded by a pack of young men, the little girl was no older than 10 years old.  She was dressed in jean shorts and a pink T-shirt; a matching pink backpack was strapped at her shoulders.  Full of stuffed animals, it bounced and swung from her body as she tried to retrieve one of her treasures, which was in the hand of a much taller, much older boy. 

    Despite the heat, the youth was dressed in a black track suit and too many gold chains for Kogami's aesthetic tastes.  He held the stuffed animal over the child's head and dangled it just out of her reach as his friends laughed and encouraged him. They were standing in the shade of small, blue pavilion.  Polished and gleaming, the latest model of a Porsche 911 GT was parked in the shade beneath the tent.

    Incensed by the bully's cowardice, Kogami crushed out the cigarette in the bare palm of his hand and headed in the girl's direction to even the odds.  Before he could render any aid, the boys took off running toward an area of parked vehicles.  As high-octane engines roared to life, tires chirped and squealed as three vehicles sent a spray of gravel high into the air.  The trio, a Mazda Miata, a Volvo 340, and a Nissan 240X recklessly made their way through an open gate onto a paved section of nearby figure-8 track.

    "Hey," Kogami said to the little girl.  "You alright?"

    Though the face that turned to him was defiant, there were tears ready to spill forth at any moment.  "Chase took one of my stuffed animals. Tigger."

    "Don't worry about him.  I'll get you another one."

    She bowed her head and stared at her feet.  "My daddy got me that Tigger. He said to never lose it. To always keep it close."

    "Is he here?  I'm sure he wouldn't mind—"   

    "My daddy is dead, mister."  Her thick brown hair was tied back in two, unruly ponytails. They swayed lethargically in the heat as she met Kogami's eyes with a quiet, but stubborn resolve. Sighing back her tears, she shrugged her shoulders.  "I'm sorry. Didn't mean to be rude."

    "I'm the one who should be sorry."  Kogami glanced at Akane, who made an awkward face. Neither of them was certain what to do.

    "You're not from around here," the child said, "are you?"

    Bending over to meet the girl at eye level, Akane smiled.  "No. We're from Japan."

    The child turned to Kogami, bending her neck to look up at him with one eye closed against the glare of the sun.  "You're awfully tall for being from Japan.  I heard all the people there were short, like her."  She pointed to Akane.  "My daddy would say they put more fertilizer in your bed because you're bigger.  My name's Phoenix.  Phoenix Iazzetti."  She offered her hand to Kogami in friendship.

    "Kogami, but my friends call me Ko." He shook her hand firmly.

    "Am I your friend?" Phoenix asked. 

    "You are now.  This is Akane."

    Phoenix stood awkwardly looking on as Akane bowed politely to her.  She did her best to replicate the greeting, but could not refrain from giggling at the gesture. "I didn't mean nothing by saying you were short. My daddy taught me that the best things in life come in little packages.  Just like BabyGirl here."  She tapped her fingers affectionately against the Porsche's driver's side door.

    The Porsche was a beauty on its own merit, but the custom paint job accentuated a presence of pure confidence and spirit. Metallic gray was the main color that covered the high-end performance vehicle from its hood, across it front quarter panels, the roof, and both doors. From the middle of the doors on back, in the fashion of an unfurled checkered flag blowing in the wind, a myriad of squares from faded to vibrant blue finished the custom job all the way to the rear bumper and tail lights.

    "BabyGirl, huh?" Kogami admired the car for a long moment.  "You're a little young to have your own car, aren't you?"

    Phoenix smiled and clasped her hands over her chest.  "She's a very special car, Ko, a proven street racer."

    A loud commotion drowned out the child's voice. The first heat on the figure-8 track was getting underway.  Constructed in the literal shape of a number eight, the track's connecting intersection formed a perfect X between two oval loops.  The danger of a collision at the intersection was evident to anyone watching, but with only three cars on the track, there was less chance of a wreck and more room for an exhibition of skill and showmanship. 

    Kogami recognized the cars and the bullies at their steering wheels. The leader, Chase, sat behind the wheel of the Miata and raced into the track's intersection before drifting into the first arc. He was promptly followed by the Volvo and the Nissan as the three drifted in tandem.  Straightening out in the intersection, the Miata drifted once more into the arc of the second loop.  To add a bit of spectacle to the show, the brazen drivers were tossing Phoenix's stuffed Tigger from one window to another.

    "Hey," the Enforcer said, tapping Phoenix on the shoulder, "mind if I borrow your car?"

    "Kogami?" Akane's voice was both an inquiry as well as a condemnation.

    Phoenix was too preoccupied watching her beloved toy being tossed perilously through the air.  Her little hand pulled at the handle to open the door.  "Can you get it back, Ko?  My Tigger?"

    "Certainly going to try."  Before Akane could protest, Kogami put his arms around her and his hands behind her neck.  "I need to borrow this.  You don't mind, do you?  It's for a good cause."

    "M-my necklace?" Akane stammered.  She felt him undo the clasp and remove the gold chain with a heart-shaped winter sapphire as its pendant.  It was a cherished gift that the Enforcer had given to her after an especially close call on the job.  "Kogami, what are you about to do?"

    "I'm going to work on my selfishness." Adjusting the seat for his long legs, Kogami sat down in the driver's seat and strapped himself into the five-point restraint harness. He placed the necklace over the rearview mirror and punched the START ENGINE button.  The Porsche purred in response to the ignition. 

    "What's that for?" Phoenix asked through the window. She stared at the beautiful sapphire heart as it swung from the mirror. Encrusted with diamond chips, the pendent captured the light and cast pale-blue accents throughout the cabin of the car.   

    "Balance," Kogami replied. He looked at Akane as he said it. Then revving the engine, he slowly drove across the parking lot to the track entry.

    Timing his entrance to seamlessly merge with the trio at the rear of the pack, Kogami spun the Porsche's tire and raced onto the figure-eight track.  Speeding around the first loop, he took his foot off the throttle and then lightly tapped it again.  The Porsche responded obediently, going into a gentle slide. He followed up by aggressively working the accelerator to power through the last arc of the drift. 

    Kogami kept an eye on the cars sharing the track with him and on the sapphire pendant.  When the winter sapphire was pulled into a precise angle by centrifugal force, he knew when to act to produce the best performance from the Porsche.  Confident in his impromptu ballast, he experimented with the Porsche's handling. 

    BabyGirl proved to be a finely crafted machine, professionally enhanced by precision tuning and aftermarket performance upgrades.  With a light tap of the brake and a subsequent demand on the accelerator, the same drift could be produced with near-perfect accuracy and consistency.  Satisfied that he had the car well under his control, Kogami set his sights on claiming the racing line and disrupting the other drivers.

     Despite his unexpected appearance on the track, the game of toss continued between the bullies unabated.  Kogami took advantage of their distraction by speeding through the first loop and attempting to pass on the inside track of the rear car.  Spooked by the gladiatorial maneuver, the Volvo driver panicked and hit his brakes.  While there was plenty of room for both cars, he lost control of his vehicle and spun out into the gravel on the outside of the track macadam. 

    To maintain a hard line on the inside track, Kogami buried one of the Porsche's front tires in the grass, just off the asphalt, to lock the car onto its trajectory throughout the drift.  Once all four tires were back on the asphalt, he tapped the accelerator, and the Porsche obediently slid sideways into the next curve on its own inertial momentum. Traveling side by side with the second car, Kogami glared at the frightened driver of the 240X as they prepared to speed around the crest of the loop. 

    With only inches separating the cars from disaster, the maneuver was high risk and spooked the second driver, who abruptly braked. Kogami straightened the Porsche just long enough to speed by him on the inside line.  As the scared driver dropped back into third place, Kogami let the Porsche's rear tires loosen and swung back into a drift beside the leader's vehicle. Ignorant of what had transpired on the track behind him, the bully gave Phoenix's toy a toss out of the passenger window.

    Straining against the five-point restraint harness, Kogami caught the toy and safely tucked it into the passenger seat.  Never letting up on the accelerator, he met Chase's eyes with a menacing grin. Despite a California tan, the boy's face went ashen with fear. As the cars straightened for the track's intersection, Kogami downshifted and sped by him without much effort and claimed first position.  To show off his superior skills, he toyed with the emergency brake and sent the Porsche into a powerful drift through the initial arc of the curve. With a cocky grin, he held the slide through the entire loop until the last possible minute before straightening to shoot through the criss-crossed intersection and off the track.

    Surrounded by applauding spectators, Kogami was forced to crawl across the parking lot to avoid hitting the crowd of appreciative car enthusiasts. He rolled to a stop in the grassy area in front of the Porsche's pavilion, where Akane and Phoenix were waiting for him.  Even as he tried to get out of the vehicle, spectators crowded in on him and shoved track programs in his face for autographs.  Ignoring them, Kogami forced his way to Phoenix and offered her the recaptured toy.

    "Ko, that was amazing!" Phoenix gushed.  She gladly took the offered toy from his hand and tried to twist around and reinsert it in the top of her backpack.

    "Here, let me do that," Akane said.  She turned Phoenix around to face Kogami, so that she could glare at the Enforcer and his reckless antics.  "Is that your idea of conflict resolution?" she asked in Japanese.

    "Nothing got blown up, and no one fell down the stairs." Kogami retrieved the necklace from the Porsche's rearview mirror, but when he attempted to return it to her, Akane took a step back and away from him.

    "You are impossible," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

    With the most mischievous smile on his face, Kogami nodded.  "Most of the time."

    "Ah, Ko," Phoenix said in a small frightened voice. The child pulled insistently at his jacket sleeve. "I would never say it's rude to be talking Japanese when I don't. I would never say that, but they might." She pointed behind them.

    Kogami followed her gaze to the trio of young men, the bullies, who were walking toward them.  Their leader was carrying a tire iron in one hand.  "Stay with Akane," he whispered. 

    Holding the winter sapphire securely in his left hand, Kogami retrieved his cigarettes and tapped the bottom to separate one from the pack.  He put the cigarette to his lips and lit it. Taking a long drag, the Enforcer exhaled into the air above him.  It was purely aggressive posturing meant to be a deterrent.

    A petulant pup who had not yet learned to pay his respects to a much older, more experienced wolf, Chase failed to recognize the warning and take the opportunity to back down. Arrogance helped him maintain his current, reckless course, and the presence of a small pack behind him lent a false sense of confidence.

    Kogami met him with a smirk. There were wolves who had no need of a pack, he thought.

     Chase was self-assured and all swagger. He walked with a boastful strut in his stride. Head cocked up, chin jutting out, he slapped the tire iron against the palm of his hand to illustrate an intended threat of violence. Kogami observed no hint of any martial training in his gait, just pomp.  The bully had relied too much on numbers instead of prowess to rise to his pretender's throne.

    But that was not Kogami's present concern.  The present concern was in deciding how badly to hurt and embarrass him.

    The other two drivers stopped five strides out as Chase proceeded to confront Kogami with no hesitation.  "You got some skills behind the wheel, but we'll see what you're made of off the track." Raising the tire iron above his head, he took a swing at Kogami.

    "Kogami!" Afraid to see the aftermath, Akane closed one eye and pulled Phoenix close to shield her from the sight.

    Without attempting to dodge the blow, Kogami caught the tire iron in his right hand and wrenched it free with a twist that popped the bones in the boy's wrist. The audible sound made the gathered crowd of spectators wince in collective pain.

    Chase yelped as a numbing sensation spread from his fingertips to his shoulder.  Kogami put the tire iron back in his flaccid hand and smashed the end of the iron rod into the stunned boy's face.  The telltale sound of crushed bone brought a second, collective gasp from the crowd as nose cartridge gave way to hardened metal. 

    Gagging on a gout of blood that went down the back of his throat, Chase dropped the tire iron and cradled his broken nose. In shock and gasping for air, he fell backward into the grass. "What are you waiting for?" he screamed at his companion. "Get him!"

    Kogami took a long, unhurried drag on his cigarette before exhaling the smoke above his head.  "Anyone else?" he said softly.

    Chase's compatriots retreated, taking a cautious step back and away from the Enforcer. 

    "Didn't think so."

    "You b-broke my nose!"

    "You're lucky I didn't break more than that."  Kogami flicked the spent cigarette at him.

    The butt bounced off of Chase's forehead and landed in the grass. He flinched in terror when the Enforcer stood over him and casually crushed it out beneath his heel. 

    Ushered to the scene by concerned onlookers, Officers Royce and Rodriguez hurried to the fallen racer. Dressed in their dark blue uniforms, the officers reminded Kogami of soldiers on patrol. "Your handy work?" Rodriguez asked with envy.

    "He was bothering my new friend," Kogami said, leaning on the Porsche. He shoved his hands into his pockets and watched from a distance.

    "I want to press charges," Chase mumbled.  "I'm pressing charges."

    "Pressing charges, huh?" Royce laughed.  "You just tried to assault a police officer."

    Chase stopped writhing in the grass. "He's a cop?"

    "Yep." Royce slapped the street racer in the back of the head.  "Best you can hope to get out of this is a couple of tissues and a lollipop." He pulled a napkin from his pocket, wiped at his forehead until the shine was gone from his black skin, and tossed the damp tissue on the ground at the boy's feet. "You got the lollipops, Rodriguez?"

    "Yeah, I got his lollipop. You better Lilly your ass up out of this park before I cuff the lot of you." Winking at the Enforcer, Rodriguez grinned at Kogami. "I knew it was a good idea to bring you along on this shit detail. Way to protect and serve, Ko." With a nod to his partner, he cleared his throat and loudly declared, "Nothing to see here, folks. Move on."

    "You're a policeman?" Phoenix whispered.  Her brown eyes were wide with admiration as she looked up at Kogami.

    "Yeah, and I'm in big trouble with my boss."

    Squinting against the sunlight, Phoenix glanced over her shoulder to where Akane was debriefing with their LAPD colleagues.  "Akane's your boss?"

    "Yep."

    "And she's mad because you helped me?"

    "She doesn't like how I do things.  I get a little crazy sometimes." Kogami chuckled. "I have a thing for pretty girls."

    Phoenix smiled and embraced him. "My daddy would have done the same thing."  She took Kogami's hand and opened his fingers to reveal the winter sapphire in his palm.  "This is really beautiful, Ko.  Akane's really beautiful, too."

    "That's why I gave it to her."

    "She shouldn't be mad at you for helping me. I'm sorry."

    "Hey," he said, taking her by the chin.  "Don't be sorry.  She may gets mad at me for my bad behavior, but she understands. Eventually."

    Phoenix took the pendant from his hand and held it tightly to her chest.  Walking over to Akane, she held it out.  "Please don't be mad at Ko. He was just trying to help."

    Running her hand along one of Phoenix's thick ponytails, Akane smiled at her and took the necklace.  "He's just a little difficult sometimes."

    "My daddy always said it's the difficult ones that give you the most in life.  People and cars.  That's why he loved BabyGirl so much.  She's a little difficult sometimes, too. Not everyone can drive her like my daddy did.  Except my auntie and now Kogami.  So that means BabyGirl likes him. And that makes him special."

    Akane sighed, glancing up at the Enforcer, who was watching them. "That he is."

    "I've got an idea," Kogami said.  "How about some ice cream?"

    "Are you buying?" Phoenix asked in a high-pitched squeak.

    "It's my idea, isn't?"

    "Hey!  Hey, was that you!" a woman screamed from the direction of the track.  She pointed to a massive Jumbotron screen in the nearby parking lot.  The theater-sized screen replayed the final moments of the figure-8 heat as Kogami was reaching out to catch Phoenix's toy in midair.

    "Friend of yours?" Kogami asked

    "That's my Auntie Nysa," Phoenix said. 

    "She looks upset." Akane observed, a worried expression darkening her face.

    "She always looks like that, especially now that my daddy's gone. I got this, Ko." Phoenix took Kogami's hand in hers and then took Akane's hand as well.  "Nysa, Chase took one of my stuffed animals again. Miss Akane and Mr. Kogami were trying to help me. Please don't be mad."

    "Mad? After a performance like that? Who can be mad?"  Wearing gray mechanic's overalls, she quickly wrapped her thick, wavy hair in a bun at the top of her head and secured it with a screwdriver. "Where'd you learn to drive like that?"

    Smiling impishly, Kogami glanced at Akane.  "Some would attribute my talent to a chapter in juvenile delinquency."   

    "Kogami, I never said that," Akane protested.

    He pursed his lips and shrugged, feigning hurt feelings from beneath a tousled forelock of black hair.  "You didn't have to: it was evident."

    "Well, I don't care what it was...you just qualified my car for the next heat and maybe for the modifieds this fall," Nysa said.  She offered her hand in friendship.  "Name's Nysa, Nysa Iazzetti.  Looks like you met Squirt already.  And you're clearly well acquainted with BabyGirl."

    "Akane Tsunemori," Akane said.  She bowed, still feeling awkward with the traditions of a new country.  "This is Shinya Kogami, my partner."

    "Partner?" Nysa asked.  "You two an item?"

    Akane flushed crimson.  "We work together."

    "They're together."  Phoenix giggled.  She fist bumped Kogami as Akane rolled her eyes at them.

    "What do you mean I qualified the car?" Kogami asked. "I didn't even complete the heat."

    "For the qualifying run, you don't have to finish.  It's just practice," Nysa explained.  "If the judges like what they see, they call you back.  A call back is an automatic qualification."

    "How do you know Kogami was called back?" Akane asked.

    "With scores like that? How could he not be called back?"  Nysa pointed to the Jumbotron.

    Staring at the scores, Phoenix stood unblinking for a long moment and then looked at Kogami in shock.  "BabyGirl really likes you, Ko."

    Kogami pulled at his pants legs and squatted down beside her.  "Want to explain all that to a tourist?"

    "You did really good, as good as my daddy, and he was a Patriarch."

    "A Patriarch?"

    "A well respected member of the best underground street racing crew in the city," Nysa said.  "The judges are looking for five things in the first heat:  style, race line, commitment, drift increase, and crowd reaction.  You got 10s in all five scores."  She pressed her fingers against her temples in disbelief.  "I don't suppose you'd be up for doing that again?"  When he hesitated, she said, "Look, I came here with a hired driver, only to have him flake out on me."

    "What happened to your driver?" Akane asked.

    "I suspect someone paid him to hire on with me and then to quit at the last minute, leaving me in the cold. There's a lot of sabotage out here on the streets and in the pits."

    "But we don't live here, Nysa. We're going home in a few days."

    "I get it.  I just need the car qualified.  I can always find another driver."  She turned to Kogami.  "Another heat like that, and my car is in for the modifieds. I'll even pay you, win or lose."

    Staring at the ground, Kogami hesitated to give her an answer.  He felt a warm hand take his and smiled down as Phoenix leaned against his hip.

    "Please, Ko?"

    Glancing up at Akane, he waited for her approval. "Inspector?"

    Akane shook her head in resignation.  Unable to hide the smile curling in the corners of her mouth, she said, "I guess you're going to be need this again."  She held out her hand with the winter sapphire.

    "It's a chance to make good on all the mayhem I've caused." He held her hand and rubbed his thumb across her fingers as the necklace rolled across their skin.

    "It is.  And if anyone can do this, it's you."

    Having dealt with the rambunctious racers and kicked them from the track and common grounds, Royce and Rodriguez returned, meeting Kogami at the Porsche.  "Did you see those scores, Kogami? Damn!" Rodriguez said.  "Three days on the job, and you're becoming some fricking prince of the city!"  The two men shared a crisp high-five.

    "And destiny calls again."

    "You're going back in for the last heat?" Royce asked.

    "Ah, damn! That's my son right there!" Rodriguez cheered.  He opened the door to let Kogami get back in the Porsche.  "Lucky sonovabitch!"

    "Lucky for us," Royce said in a hushed tone.  He bent over the car door from the passenger side to whisper to his partner.  "Remember that street racer case the chief's been ragging on us about?  I just got an idea."  He looked at Kogami and then back to Rodriguez.

    Rodriguez paused, his grin widening with understanding.  "Dude, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

    "Probably not," Kogami complained. "One of you want to enlighten me? And make it fast, I've got a heat to win."

    "How'd you like to go undercover, Ko?  Take down a real bastard who makes that bank robber and that heroin dealer look like choir boys?" Rodriguez whispered, trying to block their conversation from eavesdroppers.

    "We've been busting our balls on this case for over six months."

    "Did you really need to ask such a dumb question?" Kogami slammed the door shut and started the car.  "I'm in, but you'll have to convince Akane." 

    "Convince me of what?" she asked.

    Putting Akane's necklace back on the rearview mirror and straightening the pendent so that it hung, unmoving, down over the dash, Kogami winked at the officers. "Good luck with that. We've all got our jobs to do." Signaling his intention to run the next round, Kogami punched the accelerator and spun the tires. The crowd cheered and a few air horns went off as the Porsche returned to the figure-8 track.