Chapter 12

At five-thirty in the morning a knock came on Katrina’s door. She screamed out “If that’s you Richard, I’m going to beat you to within an inch of your life!”

“It’s Frodes. I have your uniform. It’s time to get up.”

A moment later Katrina opened the door a crack and stuck her head out cautiously. The sunlight made her raise a hand to cover her face. Her hair stuck out at odd angles and was full of static. “Are you kidding? It can’t be time yet.”

“Here’s your uniform. You should get ready as soon as possible so I can go over the changes we made before you have to go.” Frodes said. His eyes were at half-mast. He looked very tired and had a grease stain over his right eyebrow.

A few minutes later Katrina emerged, dressed in her uniform and with her hair in a damp ponytail. Dillon met her with an energy drink in hand. They walked over to the racecar where it sat off the lift, all clean and shiny. The burn holes had been filled with exacting precision. Katrina couldn’t even tell where they had been anymore.

Richard walked up a second later and ran his right hand down the hood as if he were 007. “Did you install that ejection seat I ordered for the passenger side in case she gets too unruly?”

Frodes smiled but said, “No, I installed it under the driver’s seat in case your hands get too close to Katrina.”

A lot of laughter emanated from the rest of the team, deflating Richard’s ego a bit.

Dr. Jenkins arrived followed by Appleton, who stayed at the back of the crowd to listen. Jenkins walked to the center of the group to get everyone’s attention.

“Listen up,” he started. He was speaking to the team but made eye contact with Katrina. “I only have a few minutes before the racecars will start to line up. Frodes and the team went the extra mile last night not only to fix all the items that had been broken, but have also to make adjustments to other components that will aid you in the race. I’ll let Frodes fill you in on that in a moment. This race covers five days and four nights. Last night was night number one. The team is only allowed to make repairs to the car on the first two nights, so it’s important that we make good notes about what needs to be repaired tonight and what feels like it might require future repairs so that we can make sure that you have any parts you may need while on the road. Do you understand?”

Richard and Katrina both nodded.

Jenkins continued, “Now I mentioned that tonight is the last night repairs can be made, the next night, you have a required overnight stay at a motel that is already loaded in the mapping system but the team will not be there to make any repairs. On the last night of the race, things are different. There is no requirement that you stop to sleep. You can drive straight through to the finish loop in the desert.”

Richard raised a hand into the air. “How exactly do we get the car in the air to get through the loop?”

Jenkins brought up his right hand and moved it towards his team leader, nodding to indicate that Frodes should reveal that information.

Frodes stepped forward and cleared his throat. “Last night we inserted the method of raising the car high enough to get up on the platform where the ring is located. There are ramps hidden in the frame members. You remove them through an opening at the rear of the frame and slide them out. There is a lip on one end that sits on the platform. You drive up the ramps and through the ring, simple basic technology. But don’t lose them or you’ll never get the car high enough to finish. A lot of the other cars now have their ramps as well. Some of them are only being carried on their rooves.”

Richard and Katrina both turned to look at the other cars on the lot. Some indeed had their ramps strapped on top of the cars. To Katrina it only meant fewer target areas where her weapon could be utilized. But it probably also meant that other’s weapons would be restricted and she was once again impressed with her team’s planning. Then Katrina noticed how few cars had made it to this point. There had been a lot more racecars in the parking lot yesterday when they had started in Massachusetts.

Richard raised his hand again. “Why did you put in the ramps last night instead of waiting another day, won’t they just add weight?

Dillon answered the question this time “We wanted you to get a full day of driving in with the ramps on the car, in case there are any issues that we need to fix tonight. It looks like most of the other teams had the same idea.”

Jenkins spoke up to draw everyone’s attention back to him. “I want Frodes to talk about the changes that have been made to the car, and then I need a word with Katrina.” Jenkins pointed his finger at Frodes.

“Okay. There is a new transmission, and all of the code issues are gone. We put in new brake lines and a shield so we won’t have brake problems again. We refilled all the burn holes with a special compound that’s more similar to the composition of the original shell, and we upgraded your processor so you can do more things at once.”

Katrina said “Ooooh.”

Richard looked at her like she was crazy. “The only thing you’re interested in is the new processor?”

Frodes answered for her. “The processor enabled us put in a voice command option in case you can’t use your hands to change computer options. After what we saw yesterday we thought that voice activated commands might help you. But that’s not all. We also used a beefier transmission so it won’t overheat, and we put on a better set of heavy duty tires.

Richard heard only ‘transmission’. “Talk to me about that tranny.” He said excitedly.

Frodes wiped a sweat bead off his forehead before answering. “We took out the CVT and put in the OEM for this car.”

“Another automatic?” Richard grumbled, downtrodden.

“No, actually in this model the manual transmission was OEM.” Frodes corrected him.

Richard jumped for joy, throwing his fist in the air. He turned to Katrina. “Now you’ll see some real driving.”

Jenkins cut off his celebration. “Okay, that’s enough bragging. Our day is all about having this equipment shipped to your next location and letting the team get some sleep. I know they’ve earned it. I hope you appreciate all the work they did for you last night.”

Katrina wasted no time and gave Frodes a hug. Dillon was next in line and he got his. Quickly a line was beginning to form but Jenkins pulled her away.

“We have no time for this, Katrina, I need to talk to you.”

Katrina hugged him too. Jenkins blushed. He didn’t usually get attached to the students that came and went, but considering the circumstances, and his role in placing her in the middle of them, he couldn’t help but have become a little emotionally involved.

“Listen,” he began, as they walked away from the group, “I saw the video of everything that happened yesterday. You need to understand that there are people out there that don’t want you to see the finish loop. I need you to be on your guard.”

Katrina nodded. “I’ll try my best.”

Jenkins shook his head. “I have the rest of the team trying their best. I want you to succeed, I need you to succeed.”

“I have Richard. He’s a great driver…”

“I’m worried that he may be part of the problem. He’s the investor’s son. There may be other agendas coming in to play here that we know nothing about. Richard may not even know it himself but he still may be part of the problem. Rich people play games, and we regular people are only pawns in those schemes. I’m trying to get the upper hand here but it will take some time. Stay focused.” Jenkins said.

Katrina nodded in understanding. A bullhorn keying up brought everyone back towards a central point in the parking lot. Grant Phyindress stood tall in his thousand dollar suit and wing tip shoes. His black hair was slicked back and he had a smile that suggested that it was going to be a good day whether anyone else liked or not.

“First, I’d like to congratulate all of the racers that are here this morning. Your cars have passed the most vigorous of all tests, surviving the first day. Look at all of the work that the teams put in overnight to prepare for today. That is a testament to the commitment we each have in our investments.” All eyes went towards the MIT group who clearly had the largest team in the parking lot.

“So… to give a tally of where everyone is, let’s start with the numbers. I know all the engineers out there will like that. Initially we had thirty teams. Three cars never made it to completion, leaving twenty seven cars at the starting gate. Yesterday morning, after the starting flag was dropped, an unfortunate event occurred. A jam up at the exit created the perfect opportunity to draw weapons. It felt like the shoot-out at the OK Corral.” Grant chuckled. “One car caught fire, three received burnout, and one more was too damaged to race before they ever saw the street, bringing down our number to twenty-one. Throughout the course of the day, two more were excluded from our ranks, one from burnout and one from a traffic accident.”

The MIT team members all looked around at each other realizing that the car in the accident that had just been mentioned was one that they had witnessed being run down by the maroon Ford Explorer. Katrina noticed that that the speaker didn’t mention if there were any injuries to the driver or passenger involved in the ‘accident’. His cavalier attitude showcased his lack of empathy towards the victims. Katrina and Professor Jenkins looked hard at each other.

Phyindress continued. “This morning we count among us nineteen participants. Take a good look around drivers. Some of you will not be with us tomorrow morning.”

All the drivers looked around. Most of them were easy to pick out among the teams. Some were obviously students that had been chosen to drive. When Katrina’s eyes found the driver for the split car team they widened is surprise. He looked like gang member even in his racing uniform. Tattoos littered his neck, his face was scarred, and his long black hair had been covered in a red and black bandana while his ponytail stuck out of the back. How had she not noticed him yesterday? His passenger, or second driver in their case, exhibited many similar attributes although he had a crew cut, was blond, and stood a head shorter.

The racecar team that drove the vehicle that looked like a dune buggy had positioned itself right next to the split car’s team. Their driver appeared to be more clean-cut, with sun bleached dirty blond hair like that of a surfer. When he turned his head Katrina could see a heavily pockmarked visage.

The car beyond the dune buggy was built very low to the ground, more like a real racecar, and their driver was a woman. Katrina was impressed, wondering why she hadn’t at least noticed the female driver at the starting line yesterday. But at the time she had been more interested in the weapon systems designs than the drivers.

Grant Phyindress began speaking again but a thought struck Katrina. He had said ‘Some of you will not be here tomorrow’. Had Phyindress just said that some of the racers would be dead? No, no. He meant that other racecars will have been disqualified, right? That must be what he meant. Katrina’s heart was hammering.

Katrina shook off her ominous feeling as Grant Phyindress pressed on. “Remember what’s ahead. Two more required night’s stays, on only one of which more work can be done to your vehicle. The night after that, however, there are no requirements. It’s straight to the finish loop and to victory. Any team that survives that long will go down in history.”

Survives that long? Katrina thought. Clearly the incident yesterday had left an indelible mark on her psyche. She was starting to think the worst of every word Phyindress said. Richard’s cell phone rang, interrupting her thoughts. Grant Phyindress was still speaking but Katrina focused all of her listening skills on Richard’s call.

“Father, what a surprise. You never call me.” Richard’s face screwed up in concentration, trying to listen to his father over the loud bullhorn speech.

“Yes, the incident could have been horrible.”

Phyindress’ voice boomed out. “And think of what history will remember you as…”

“You… you really mean that? You want me to look after myself? That’s a first.” Richard’s voice went from surprise to anger in flash. “Since when do you care what happens to me? Are you drunk this early in the morning? Where’s mother?”

Jenkins and Appleton both looked at each other with concern and shared comprehension. Appleton turned on his heel and left, there was work to be done.

Katrina watched Dr. Jenkins’ friend turn and leave. She wondered what that was all about.

At the same moment Richard shouted into his phone, “You don’t care about me, you’re just worried about the stupid car!” He pulled the phone away from his ear and threw it across the parking lot away from the crowd as hard as he could.

~~~

In a mostly dark room Silvia Thruwell sat in front of a long table filled with many computer screens and three keyboards. It seemed odd that there were more screens than keyboards but the maniacal look on her face resembled that of the scientist who had brought Frankenstein to life.

Several men stood behind her, each breathing hard, as though they had carried each piece of this conglomeration of hardware ten miles uphill. One of them managed to say a few words before he had to pull in more breath. “The Boss will be here in ten minutes or so. You better get to work. He doesn’t like broken promises.”

“He certainly doesn’t.” Mac Killington stepped out of the shadows of the large room. The man filled the room with his ego. The old mill that they had chosen to set up shop in had massive rooms with light that only stretched so far and had created a large shadowy area from which he had been observing them unseen. He had an unlit cigarette in his hand. He placed in his lips and withdrew a lighter. In a well-practiced move, he tilted his head as he lit the lighter and took a drag all at the same time. It took perhaps less than a second before he was blowing the putrid smoke out into the room through his crooked nose. “How long do you think it will take to see some results?”

Silvia used her hand to move the air around, swirling it under the bright lights, hoping to clear the smoke away before she took a breath. Killington waited patiently for his answer as he took another drag and refilled the space between them.

Silvia ended up giving a small cough before she answered. “I have to wait about eight hours to start up all the equipment. It was transferred here in the cars upside down.”

Killington laughed. “Is this from the same book of fallacies that states that you must wait an hour to swim after you eat? Start up the equipment. I expect to start to see results in an hour.”

“Uh.” Silvia said interrupting Killington’s attempted retreat. “Even if I do a cold start now, it will take me hours to write enough code to break in...”

Killington put on a smile. “Then you have two hours. You wanted to know when you would get paid? We only pay out after a lot of hard work. Do some, and stop whining about not having enough time. Do some, and I’ll let you live long enough to do this again tomorrow. Do some, and I’ll pay you what you’re worth.”

Killington dropped his cigarette butt onto the wooden floor and left without bothering to crush it. Silvia wondered for a moment about what she had gotten herself into, all out of her desire for revenge.

Silvia turned on the power strip and began to power up her creation, hoping that she could type fast enough to satisfy her new boss.

~~~

The bullhorn blared. “Drivers! Take your positions!”

Katrina and Richard climbed into their car through its open windows. None of the cars actually had doors. It helped maintain the electrical continuity throughout the entire fuselage. The cars began to line up as they were instructed.

Katrina remembered the mess at the parking lot entrance the previous day. When the jam had occurred all of the racecars had pulled out their weapons. This morning she would be ready and have her weapon already active. Unfortunately every other team had the same thought. All of the weapons were powering up as the clock counted down to the starting time.

At the starting line Grant Phyindress stood next to a pretty girl in tight clothes that was easily three decades his junior. She was blond with skin tight spandex that allowed her to show lots of cleavage, belly, and leg. He handed her the green flag with a big smile before checking his stop-watch. When the moment finally presented itself, he waved his hand up and down. The young girl next to him used the green flag to further accentuate his hand motions. The race had officially begun. Cameramen from all of the teams were positioned to catch the fight or flight of all the cars as they maneuvered themselves to the hotel parking lot’s exit.

Richard revved the engine a couple of times before engaging the clutch. The car moved so seamlessly it felt like an automatic. Katrina noticed Richard’s skill but said nothing as she kept watch over all of the cars. Her fear of weapons being drawn was first and foremost on her mind.

Clearly the expectation of another log jam, as the racecars all jockeyed to find their way out, filled everyone’s mind. After the flag was waved, the pretty girl followed Phyindress as he hurried to a safer vantage point. Camera lenses panned the parking lot to catch any unusually aggressive maneuvers.

The laser platform on top of the MIT car moved around as Katrina moved her head. Its arm rotated exactly in sync with the headset that she was wearing. The other cars gave their car plenty of room, clearly intimidated by their weapon’s range. It didn’t hurt that by now all of the other drivers had seen the internet broadcast that had shown in great detail how that weapon had been used.

As the contingent of racecars moved towards the parking lot exit the closest ones were able to squeak out fairly quickly including the split car and the dune buggy looking car.

The MIT car had come in last the night before but because of the other drivers’ fear of its formidable weapon they had easily moved up in the line more than twelve places and exited the hotel parking lot unchallenged. After the MIT car had left the lot, to many dropped jaw expressions, the remaining cars had lined up and left without incident. Those who had come for the show left feeling cheated.

Jenkins shouted to his group. “Okay! Let’s pack this up! Our transportation will be here in less than a half an hour.”

Not three minutes later a tractor trailer and a tour bus drove into the lot. “Once the truck is packed, We’ll have breakfast on the bus, then you can sleep until we get to our next destination. Time is ticking people. Let’s go!” ��~QB��

Next Chapter: Chapter 13