HoH Field Trip 2 Electric Boogaloo part 4

“Right, so we have Ray sleeping in the tub in her and Saph’s room. Jacky is refusing to leave the pillow fort. Fengi has learned that mixing perfumes is not the best idea. Essy forgot to charge her phone and thought she had broken it. Shiva has found a comfy chair, and I don’t dare wake her. Jarix has apparently run them out of sandwiches. And Saph is laying siege to Jacky’s fort,” Dakota went with a sigh.

“Great success!” the human just laughed, turning to the poor woman that had apparently been assigned to see to it that they had a comfortable stay. “I guess we made it through without any major damage. We will see to it that the pillows are returned.”

“Very good. We shall try to acquire more food for the dragon. We really should have seen that coming, I do apologise,” the woman replied with a polite nod.

“Better not. We want him to be able to fly after all. He ate till he damn near burst yesterday, so I think he should be good for a while,” Dakota replied, giving the woman a nod in return.

“Very good, Ma’am. Well in that case breakfast is being served down in the restaurant when you are able to join us,” the woman went before turning to walk back down the hall in a dignified manner.

“These people are pros; they don’t even stare,” Dakota mused as the two of them walked back down the hall, looking to see about resolving some of the morning’s issues. First stop had been the siege in Jacky and Tom’s room, which Dakota knew Tom was at least partially responsible for. Mainly since he had been the one to build the damn fort, of course. At least Jacky had stopped trying to break into rooms to acquire more pillows now that she was busy defending her keep from Saph.

This was all rather embarrassing to Dakota, but Tom didn’t seem to mind, maybe this was acceptable behavior here? She would need to inquire about that at some point. The hotel stays she had enjoyed with her mother here certainly hadn’t gone like this thus far.

“So how’s the assault going?” Dakota questioned as they came up to Saph, who was sitting crouched back to the wall in the hallway next to the door to the room.

“Not great. She managed to recruit reinforcements.”

“What?... How?” Dakota demanded, realising this had likely just become more complicated.

“I was going looking for more ammo and some kids walked by... “ Saph replied with a wide smile on her face.

“Okay then,” Dakota went, shaking her head a little. ‘I really hope we aren’t getting accused of kidnapping for this.’

“This is the best hotel stay ever,” Tom chuckled, picking up a pillow.

‘Great, so this isn’t normal… Perfect.’

__________________________________________________________________________________

“How are we looking, second lieutenant?” Jacky questioned her newest recruit, who was busy organizing their spare ammunition.

“Four... uhm… skud,” the girl replied, Jacky shrugging. Communication had proven a problem with the forign troops under her command, but thus far no major incidents had resulted.

“That is very low. Can we get more?” Jacky tried, in her best combination of senior officer and school teacher, while only slightly hampered by not knowing what the word was for ‘acquire.’ Wasn’t likely they knew it anyway.

“No… Tom.”

“No, Tom is out there. He’s my boyfriend.”

“No! Room Tom!” the kid protested, seeming very adamant.

“Huh?”

“Tom means empty,” the slightly older boy replied.

“Really?... Thank you very much,” Jacky went with an evil grin. This was useful information indeed. “Okay then. Don't shoot, just hit,” Jacky commanded, peeking up over the edge of the fort that had been reduced mostly to sheets and duvets by now since most of the pillows were reserved for offensive action. All the towels in the nearby rooms had also proven excellent wall building materials. “Shit, three of them!”

“Oh ooh,” the boy went, looking up over the edge, clutching the fruit bowl he was using as a helmet. “Der er tree. Men det er ikke mor,” the kid snickered, going back down again.

‘I wanted a damn helmet too. Stupid round head and no horns,’ Jacky cursed as she peaked over the edge too. “You’ll never take us alive. We stand!” she roared out in defiance.

“Ja. Kom og tag os!” the girl joined in, sticking her head up and sticking her tongue out.

“You know, I don’t know if that gibberish is cute or disturbing,” Jacky went, looking down at the girl.

“Hva?” she questioned, looking up at Jacky. Then the first pillow hit, knocking down some of the top wall. “Vi under angreb!”

“Communication would be aided by a common… ahr, fuck it,” Jacky snarled, returning fire and nailing Dakota in the face, the confident woman having walked into the doorway, likely going to start some kind of speach.

“Hey!... I was being inspired,” Dakota shouted in reply, flinging the pillow back at them just as the boy stuck his head up, taking it straight in the fruit bowl, sending it flying. Jacky almost thought the kid might just start crying, but instead his sister popped up and started shaking her fist while shouting something Jacky didn’t even bother trying to translate. The boy seemed more distraught with losing his helmet than with being hit, but he was soon back on his feet as Saph, Dakota and Tom all moved into the room in formation.

‘Unbeatable odds. A noble end,’ Jacky chuckled as she crouched behind the wall. It was just high enough to see the attack coming. As Saph tried to climb it, Jacky reached forwards, grabbing her by the wrists and dragging her up and into the fort. “Get her. Get her while she’s down!” she shouted as the kids started beating the crap out of Saph with pillows. Well, as much as possible considering they were likely not even 5 years old yet.

“How old are you actually?” Jacky questioned as Saph squirmed in her iron grip.

“Eight.”

“I’m ten,” the boy replied as they kept beating, Dakota and Tom taking a suspiciously long time to come to Saph’s rescue. “How old are you?”

“Huh… I’m thirty one.”

“No you not,” the boy replied, the girl agreeing with a nod as she slammed the pillow down on Saph’s back.

“Where are you guys? Please!” Saph pleaded as the beating continued.

“Yes I am,” Jacky protested.

“No. You not boring.”

“Aww. Thank you,” Jacky went as the boy slammed Saph in the face with his pillow.

“Right, they have had their fun,” Dakota interrupted, moving up, Jacky looking up at the hostiles trying to climb the walls.

“Retreat! Fall back!” Jacky shouted as she let go of Saph, the boy running towards Dakota tripping on Saph’s leg and face planting at the noble’s feet.

“Well, he’s dead,” the girl went, clutching her pillow as Jacky scooted up against the far wall, the boy quickly being subdued by Tom. Saph got up and adjusted her crown, looking less than pleased as she and Dakota moved on Jacky and the girl.

“Hey kiddo. Ever flown before?” Jacky questioned, looking down at her.

“Yeah?” she replied, looking up at Jacky with a curious expression.

“Great,” Jacky chuckled, dropping her pillow and picking up the kid before vaulting over the back wall of the keep. She popped open the window and jumped, laughing uproariously, though to her surprise the kid started screaming for some reason.

“I meant airplane!”

__________________________________________________________________________________

“So, planning on kidnapping anyone at our next stop?” Saph chuckled as they flew in tight formation behind Jarix so they could have a little chat.

“I said sorry,” Jacky protested. Tom had been less than pleased about the whole jumping out of a building with an unknown kid in tow thing. Dakota had also taken the opportunity to lecture them on how they were to behave themselves. They were here to have fun and relax, but they were still representatives of an entire people.

The fact that the boy had immediately asked for a go too had made it a bit tough to keep arguing though. That of course didn’t mean Saph couldn’t tease the hapless woman with it.

“Maybe some young strapping human will come along and suplex you into the ocean because you said you had gone swimming before?”

“Geez, I said I’m sorry. Not like she didn’t start laughing after a little bit.”

“Well, they certainly had some stories to tell when they ran off to tell their parents.”

“Yeah, the mother did not look pleased with you,” Fengi laughed.

”No, but the dad did. Not my problem though. Where are we going again, this is not the city?” Jacky asked, looking at the increasingly rural landscape below.

“Racing,” Saph replied confidently. “I’m beating the crap out of all of you.”

“Not damn likely,” Jacky protested. “I’m the queen of engines!”

“I thought it was dakka?” Fengi questioned, clearly being sarcastic. “Can you be queen of more than one thing?”

“Well if she’s not careful, queen of kidnapping is going to be on the list,” Dakota grumbled, seeming less enthusiastic.

“Oh cheer up, no harm no foul.”

The racetracks were an interesting sight to say the least. Just a large ribbon of dirty tarmac with dirt and gravel making up part of the track. It looked almost half finished if Saph was honest. There was a second smaller track which looked more proper. At least according to what little she knew of human racetracks, which was mainly some videos and pictures of them. This one was all more or less in the middle of nowhere too, well as nowhere as it got around here. There were just little houses everywhere, even in what Tom insisted was in fact the countryside.

None of that was going to hamper Saph’s excitement though, and she knew Jacky was stoked too. They had sorta tried driving before, but they had never been ‘behind the wheel’ as Tom called it.

As expected, there had been some gawking faces when they landed in the car park, Jarix taking a second to appreciate the soft gravel under his feet. There weren't a lot of people though, which was a nice change of pace. Maybe 20 tops. Tom had disembarked and gone over to have a chat with some of the people as the rest of them waited with Jarix. All their heads turned as the sound of an engine roared to life somewhere to their left. Even Jarix craned his head to try and see the source, but to no avail.

After a bit Tom came back laughing and shaking his head a bit.

“Well, the guy who owns the place thought it was a joke when someone had booked the track for eight dragonettes. Sounds like we will still have the track for a bit though.”

“We have the track to ourselves?” Dakota questioned skeptically.

“Yup,” Tom replied. “Eight people in four cars, meaning four teams. We’ll take turns driving. First though, I think you all need a few lessons.”

“Let me guess. You and Jacky get a car to smooch in?” Saph chuckled with a shit eating grin on her face.

“Correct,” Tom chuckled.

“Do the rest of us also get the privilege of an assigned human?” Fengi asked, clearly poking a bit of fun too.

“You do indeed. Three instructors will be helping us. Then when it’s time for some actual racing, you will be on your own.”

“Uhm… What kind of racing?” Ray asked, holding up her hand. “What happens if we break something?”

“People’s racing. It’s meant to be for everyone. And if you crash, I recommend having a good laugh about it. Don’t try to kill the cars on purpose though. Then it will be a short day.”

“Okay… I might not be that fast.”

“Oh don’t be so shy. You’ll get the hang of it,” Jacky chuckled, giving Ray a delicate nudge on the shoulder, the woman letting out a rather nervous laugh.

“Yeah, don’t worry about it,” Tom confirmed. “Come on you lot, let’s go try and see if we can somehow make a helmet fit you.”

__________________________________________________________________________________

“So I push that one when changing gear… Right?” Essy questioned, looking down at the pedals. ‘This is really complicated.’

“Yes. And then you go to the next gear with the stick on your right,” the very kind, if by now slightly strained-sounding instructor confirmed. Essy and Ray had gotten a very nice older man who was honestly quite fat. Not that it really mattered, it was just a bit odd to see when racing was concerned. His patience was to be commended though, which was likely why he had been stuck with the two slowpokes of the group. This was all very interesting, but Essy couldn’t honestly state she wasn’t a little scared of all this. There was so much to learn, and a lot of it was hardly intuitive in her opinion.

“And that doesn’t just need to go forwards. It goes to the higher number right? One, two, three and so on?”

“Indeed.”

“Okay. Let’s try again then,” Essy concluded as she turned the key, the car lurching forward as she pulled her hand back confused. “Sorry.”

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“You are still in gear. Clutch in, or put it in neutral.”

“Whoops,” Essy chuckled nervously, taking the car out of gear again. Tom had told them not to take this too seriously. These were apparently old beat up cars and not worth much, hard as that was to believe. Looking at them from the outside seemed to back that up though. They looked like someone had tried to hammer them into a new shape or something… Maybe actually they had been.

On her second try the car came to life as she pushed the throttle a few times like she had been told to keep it from dying as they called it. She still found it a touch odd how these people seemed to treat the car as a living thing, then at the same time abuse it like a mob boss would some street scum.

“There you go, Essy,” Ray shouted over the loud engine from where she stood next to the car, holding the door open.

“Do I need to put my helmet on?” Essy questioned, looking to the instructor who had his on already.

He took a second to think about it before he nodded. “Probably for the best.”

“Okay then,” she replied, trying not to sound disappointed. It was not very nice on the ears, and it was so hard to put on with her horns having to go through the freshly drilled holes in the open faced helmet. With some difficulty she got it on though. She was so sure she looked like an absolute idiot too, cheeks squished together and all.

“Have fun,” Ray said in an encouraging tone as she closed the door. Then closed it again. And a third time, getting progressively rougher without any luck.

“No, slam it,” the instructor corrected, leaning over Essy a bit to try and help.

Ray did as she was told, and the door slammed shut as the instructor leaned back in his seat doing up the belts. Essy did the same.

“Whenever you are ready, miss,” he said, gesturing ahead. Essy took a breath before she put it in gear, slowly letting out the clutch.

“We’re moving!” she let out in triumph as the car started to roll. She could hear the engine get quiet, so she pushed the right pedal again as she continued to let out the clutch pedal.

“You’ll get used to it!” the instructor shouted over the screaming engine as she kept letting out the clutch. He was certainly sounding a bit strange, like he wanted to tell her she was doing something wrong, her attention turning to him as they slowly rolled forwards. “A bit less gas. You’re burning the clutch.”

“Oh sorry,” Essy replied, taking her foot off the clutch. The car lurched forward, though it didn’t cut out as they started moving faster. “Eyy, I’m driving!” she cheered as they picked up speed.

“Very good. There we go.”

“Okay, I’m gonna try and change gear.”

She tensed as she pushed in the right pedal and moved the stick down into second gear with a satisfying click. ‘Oh thank the gods, no crunch,’ she chuckled to herself as she let the clutch back out, the car lurching once more.

“There we go, now that’s down there is a corner. Just leave it in second, but slow down a bit.”

“Okay,” Essy replied, taking her foot off the gas and pushing the middle pedal, the car slowing down beautifully as she turned to go around the corner. It was a little hard to straighten it out afterwards, leading to a bit of a wobble as she fought with the wheel.

“Just let it straighten. Softer on the wheel. It wants to help you,” the instructor went, placing a calming hand on her shoulder, Essy noting just how tense she had gotten and taking a breath. As she stopped fighting the wheel, the car magically straightened out again. “How did it do that?”

“I don’t know, some clever bastard with a pencil. Now let’s try taking the next one without any of that wobbling.”

“How did Ray do?”

“Very good, just like you. You are being very careful,” the instructor replied in a warm tone as another car came screaming past on their inside, Essy instinctively flinching left, turning into the guardrail.

“Sorry!”

__________________________________________________________________________________

‘Okay… Focus,’ Fengi told herself, looking at the red light. She had seen Ray and Essy struggle to even get the car to move; they were not a threat. Dakota and Shiva had done well enough during their instructions, so she needed to watch out for them. Jacky had obviously gotten way more time than them and she had Tom on her team, which was hardly fair.

She and Saph were not going down without a fight though. Fengi had made good use of her phone last night and early this morning, learning what she could ahead of time, watching videos and reading what she could find. Even if she had been quite frustrated to learn that rally and rallycross were totally not the same thing. Still she was willing to bet she knew more than everyone here that wasn’t Tom or Jacky, so she and Saph might just have a chance.

That chance did count on Jacky either breaking the car or crashing. Which, granted, was quite likely. Otherwise Fengi would be happy if she and Saph got second place. Tom had said anything could happen in this strange sport though, so who knew? Maybe they could actually win this fair and square.

They were doing 4 heats, so they would all get a chance to drive twice. They got points based on position from each heat, racking up a total at the end. She had won the coin toss, so she was going first, much to Saph’s annoyance. She wasn’t letting them down though, that was for sure, even if she was going up against Tom.

The instructor had said to launch at 4 on the dial, so she just held it there by ear, eyes locked on the light as the green came on.

“GO GO GO!” Saph shouted from the passenger seat as Fengi dumped the clutch and floored the old Volvo, tires screeching on the dirty tarmac as they set off down the opening straight. Looking out the side window, she saw the ghastly green car of Shiva and Dakota, the noble being at the wheel for the first heat and staying right alongside them as Tom pulled ahead, Ray nowhere to be seen.

“How the hell did he do that?!” Saph shouted out as Fengi concentrated, grabbing second gear, gaining a bit on Dakota. The first corner was a sharp left hander with a wide run off area with enough space for three cars. She was hoping she could cut in front of Dakota before that corner, which was going to mean braking late like the instructor had told her.

“Fengi!” Saph let out in alarm as Fengi slammed on the brakes, turning left, cocking her head as the car kept going straight for some reason.

‘What!?’ In dismay she looked ahead, watching Tom’s car turn with ease as the far side barrier of the corner started getting closer really damn fast.

“Too much brake! Ahr fuck...” Saph sighed, bracing against the roll cage as Fengi released the brake. The car turned sharply left, the back end suddenly deciding to slide instead as they slammed into the earth berm sideways, coming to an abrupt halt.

“You dumb dumb,” Saph laughed after they came back down onto four wheles, confirming she was probably okay.

Fengi couldn’t feel anything that hurt too much, so she just floored the car again, pulling away from her little accident as Dakota came driving past, Ray actually coming up behind her.

“The internet said Volvo’s don’t do that!” Fengi protested as she cut off Ray’s attempt to get past, picking back up speed and chasing after Dakota.

“What’s a Folvo?”

“This car, he told us.”

“Oooh,” Saph replied, nodding a little. “But it did just lock the wheel?”

“Yes I know!” Fengi snapped, trying to look for a way to catch up to Dakota.

“But it’s a Folve?”

“Folvo… I think. Okay, I don’t know,” Fengi admitted

“Eh, just go faster than them and it will be fine.”

“Geez, thanks for the advice oh wise one,” Fengi chuckled, Saph breaking out laughing.

“Any time, nips.”

“Don’t call me that!”

“But you are such a little nippy girl.”

“Shut up, Lips.”

“Now that’s just uncalled for.”

__________________________________________________________________________________

“Fengi on our tail,” Shiva concluded calmly if loudly as Dakota braked for the turn.

‘Slow and steady wins the race,’ Dakota chuckled to herself. Fengi had already crashed twice now trying to get past, shouldn’t be too hard to make that three.

“She’s trying outside.”

“Thank you, Shiva,” Dakota replied as she turned in to give Fengi some room to run wide, hoping she would go for it.

“And here she comes,” Shiva chuckled, clearly quite bemused with how predictable the young huntress was being right now.

“Oh no, I think we are sliding,” Dakota said sarcastically as she turned just a little bit less right than she needed to, pushing Fengi up against the dirt bank. There was a bit of a knock and a jolt as they hit and then a spray of dirt as Shiva laughed uproariously at their opponent's misfortune.

“Expertly done.”

“I swear it was an accident,” Dakota joked as she looked in the rearview mirror, shaking her head at the once again stuck car.

“Of course. Where is Ray at?” Shiva questioned, trying to look in the side mirror, seemingly forgetting it was no longer there.

“She’s keeping up, just about,” Dakota confirmed.

“And Tom is nowhere to be seen. This thing won’t go faster now, will it?”

“Sure it can. If you want to end up like Fengi.”

“I would rather not get out and push.”

“Oh come on you old grunt. Isn’t it in the Furlong spirit to excel at sports or trials?”

“He’s just better at pushing a pedal, hardly worthy of note. Just don’t let him lap us. That would be embarrassing. And there’s the line. Eight down, two left.”

“He’s fast, but not that fast,” Dakota smirked, looking in the mirror and seeing two cars there. “Oh you have got to be kidding me.”

“Lord Murphy strikes again,” Shiva chuckled darkly. “Now would you please step on it?”

Dakota grumbled in annoyance as she moved wider for the next corner, breaking a little less. “I will hear no whining if we crash.”

“I do not whine.”

__________________________________________________________________________________

“Get her! Get her! Get her!” Jacky shouted out, nearly bouncing in her seat as Tom looked for a way around Ray, giving her car a loving little bump, which seemingly made her flinch at the wheel.

“Calm down, would you?” Tom chuckled, having a look for a hole. Ray didn’t tend to cut corners very tight, so there would probably be room on the inside of the s-turn that was coming up next.

Predictably enough, Ray stayed more or less in the middle of the track as Tom shot inside her line, going a bit late on the breaking and forcing her to give him room. She didn’t even try to cut him off like Fengi did, just a nice wide considerate gap to drive through.

“Think she would have pulled aside if I flashed my lights!?” Tom shouted out as the old Opel revved it’s nuts off to pull in front of the Saab.

“Does that mean move over!?” Jacky questioned excitedly as Tom pulled out of the s-turns, eyeing the car in front of him.

“In a way.”

“I’m gonna buy a flashlight then!”

“Why stop there?! You need a spotlight at least!”

“Yes, definitely!”

Tom just laughed as he set to work reeling in Dakota. She was putting on a pretty good pace though, having sped up quite a lot since the first few laps. He did not expect her to let him past that easily either for that matter.

It took him nearly a lap to close the range, and at that point he could see Ray battling with Fengi in the rearview mirror again. It clearly didn’t matter to Fengi that she was down a lap on the rest of them thanks to her antics. Two on Tom and Jacky for that matter.

“Come on, dude. Faster!” Jacky shouted as she leaned forwards, pushing against the belts.

“Certainly, ma’am,” Tom replied as he put himself directly behind Dakota, looking to ‘lend’ some of her brakes.

“I ain’t no fucking ma’am you dunce!” Jacky laughed as Tom rammed Dakota from behind when she braked, flashing his lights and blowing the horn.

“Pensioner in the road!” he shouted out, Jacky jumping at the idea.

“Yeah, let the real racers through! You’re slower than a snail going uphill!”

“Like a Lada on a hill!”

“The fuck’s a Lada?!” she questioned, looking at him, head tilted.

“A car. Doesn’t matter.”

“Their car is the Gord, right?”

“No, Ford.”

“Doesn’t that mean river?”

“Not now, Jacky,” Tom dismissed her, getting a bit of a grump in reply as he started trying to find a way around Dakota. She was not having any of it though, even managing to push him into the back once.

“Inside, go inside!” Jacky tried helping, pointing eagerly. “Just ram her ass!”

“Language,” Tom replied, trying his best to sound offended as he put a wheel on the inside of Dakota’s ford.

“What do you… Oh you little shit!” Jacky laughed out. “I ought to- Aow!” she shouted out as someone ramed them from behind instead. “Fuck you Fengi!”

Dakota had started turning in to the corner, with Tom and Jacky being pushed into her side, forcing the old ford sideways as its front dug into the earth berm on their left.

“Ah shit,” Tom winced as Dakota’s car rolled the front of the old opel he and Jacky were driving, catching on the side of Dakota's ford, sending him and Jacky up and over.

“WOOOUUU!!!!” Jacky shouted out as they sailed through the air, coming down at a less than ideal angle, the front right corner of the car digging into the ground and rolling them over onto the roof too. They came skidding to a stop up against the berm on the far side of the corner, wheels spinning aimlessly as Tom cut the power to the engine.

“You okay?” he questioned, looking over at the stunned Jacky, who slowly turned to look at him.

“That… Was awesome!” she replied, looking downright giddy as she squirmed a bit in her seat, punching the roof and stamping on the floor repeatedly. Tom just laughed and looked out the side window only to see Ray drive past, Fengi already having speed off. The Ford of Dakota and Shiva was looking rather rough, but they were at least the right side up. She didn’t waste any time either, the old rust bucket coughing to life as they limped off, dragging a wheel.

It took a little bit for the marshals to get everyone to stop, Ray and Essy not noticing the flags for over a lap. When they finally got the all clear, Jacky had clicked out of her harness, not so gracefully falling down onto the roof of the car before clambering out the door, telling him to stay put.

“Sure thing,” Tom chuckled. This was hardly the most comfortable position, but he could manage for a bit.

Out the front window he could see the forklift driving along, coming to flip them over. Then the car started to rock a bit.

“You are gonna have to try harder than that,” Tom chuckled, trying to see where she was.

“Fuck you,” Jacky responded before letting out a grunt of effort, the car slowly tipping over as Tom braced for the hit of coming back down. “Hah! Back to racing!”

“Could you be a bit more gentle with me next time? That was very uncomfortable,” Tom said in his most sarcastic tone as she looked at the rather confused forklift driver, who just shrugged then set about driving back to base.

“Nope,” came the simple reply as Jacky slid back into her seat, buckling up as Tom turned the power back on.

“Aww. I thought you loved me… Right, no throttle and just let it crank for a bit. It will smoke like hell.”

“No, I’m just here for the guns and engines,” Jacky chuckled as Tom cranked the poor Opel Kadett to life.

“Fucking hell,” Jacky coughed and spluttered as the cabin was filled with white smoke, Tom chuckling like a maniac to himself as he took in the smell.

‘Good god I’ve missed this.’

__________________________________________________________________________________

After Shiva had gotten out of the wrecked car and finished giving Dakota no small amount of grief for losing, she had taken a quick look around to see how the others were doing.

With all the chaos going on, Fengi had declared herself the winner until it was brought to her attention that she was in fact a lap down on Ray and Essy, thus actually making them the winners of the race. To Shiva’s slight annoyance that did also mean Dakota had actually managed second, the younger noble looking quite accusingly at the smith.

Shiva just ignored her, instead focusing on the downright heartwarming scene of Ray and Essy celebrating their victory.

Dakota had decided on using Tom and Jacky as the outlet for her frustrations, blaming them for the crash. Luckily Jacky had dealt with the situation by using her tried and tested tactic of pointing at Fengi and Saph and claiming they did it. Tom had backed her up with some incomprehensible technical talk that had seemingly managed to convince Dakota, leading to the usual sigh of defeat as Dakota pattered over to Fengi to discern if she was telling the truth. In all honesty, Shiva didn’t care though. It had been good fun, even if the damage to their car was rather extensive.

“Tom? How would they fix this?” she questioned, feeling out some of the mangled metal plates before looking at where the wheel had been ripped away.

“Eh. Probably have a few donor cars around here somewhere. Only looks like a few suspension components. They will get it fixed eventually.”

“I guess we are out for now then,” Shiva sighed. She had rather wanted to have a go in one of these. No matter. She would have her chance in due time.

“Oh no, we’ll just get another one,” Tom chirped up like it was no big deal.

“Is that so? I was under the impression cars were expensive… even in a state of… disrepair,” Shiva answered carefully, looking at the banged up vehicle. There was not a single panel on it that wasn’t dented. Including the roof. Still wouldn’t do to insult their host if the car was considered of great value.

“Nah. They’re shitboxes the lot of them. Hardly worth the tank of fuel you put in.”

“AKA why they are perfect for smashing,” Jacky added, going up and giving Shiva a slap on the shoulder.

“I will keep that in mind,” Shiva replied, trying to be at least a bit ominous as she looked down at Jacky. ‘Not another stupid word to learn. What could AKA mean?’

“Hey. We went over too. Don’t come after me.”

“I would never.”

__________________________________________________________________________________

“You better not drive my car like that!” Tom protested with a laugh as the revlimiter reminded Jacky it was time for a gear change.”

“What?!” Can’t hear you! Having too much fun!” Jacky roared out as she slammed home fourth gear. It was finally her turn to drive, and it was definitely worth the wait. “This is soo fucking awesome!”

“Luxury hotel room—aow—Top quality food. A trip to the gun store. And this is the biggest smile I’ve seen on you—aow!—yet!” Tom laughed out as they went over some bumps.

“Didn’t get to shoot the guns yet!” Jacky countered as she came off the throttle, trying to slow down.

Then the blue car, with Saph at the wheel, rammed them from behind. “You bitch!” Jacky protested as they went wide, clipping the barrier. Saph tried to take advantage and sneak up the inside. “Oh no you don’t!”

Tom just laughed, hanging on for dear life as she floored their Opel. Such an odd name, but it hadn’t blown up yet, so that was good.

“She’s heavier than you, remember that.”

“Yes yes, I’m light like a wasp,” Jacky snapped as she kept her foot down.

“No, float like a butterfly, sting like a bee,” Tom corrected.

“I’ll give you sting,” Jacky chuckled evilly as she tried pushing Saph out of the way, not getting much of a result.

“Oh, she’s learning,” Tom chuckled, looking at the red volvo.

“What? What is she doing?!” Jacky questioned, hoping Tom had some secret trick or something.

“Don’t mash the brake or throttle if you want to turn. Lift off the throttle, now turn right!” Tom ordered, Jacky doing as she was told as the two cars came away from each other, Saph accelerating ahead.

“Oh come o-”

“Hard left,” Tom commanded, Jacky looking at Saph’s car having just about made it past them.

“Okay!” she let out enthusiastically, realising the plan as she smashed into the vovlo’s rear corner, giggling with delight as they began to spin her little Opel screaming past as she went for third.

“That’s payback, you bitch!” Jackyk roared out, laughing heartily.

“And that’s how it’s done,” Tom laughed as well, looking back at Saph and Fengi getting smaller in the mirror. “Just don’t do that on the road.”

“Oh, can we go on the road too?”

“No.”

“Oh why not!?” she protested looking over at him. “Please...”

“No. You need a licence for that.”

“Then I'll get one.”

“And the whole country will be running in fear,” Tom chuckled.

“Of how much better I am than them,” she laughed as she turned in, going down a gear, the old car revving well up into the red.

“Too fast,” Tom scolded as he grabbed his harness.

“You said second?” Jacky questioned as they started running wide. “Oh dammit!” she cursed as they caught the bank, the car lifting up at a 30 degree angle with a jolt as they came to a stop.

“So. Miss perfect driver. How do you plead?”

“Fuck you!”