Chapter 6

Hallet Racetrack

Speeding down the empty highway at about 5:30 AM, Llyraen thought she saw the faint lights of Tulsa ahead of her, obscured by the fog that had descended as soon as she had gotten on the road. She was driving over 80 for a reason; she had to be at Hallet Racetrack by 6:30 at the latest to drive in the upcoming race. The original driver was laid up in the hospital after a crash with a drunk driver the day before.
"I haven't even seen the damn car yet, and they expect me to drive it. Cold turkey." She exploded, talking mostly to herself but partly to Aodhfin. "I suppose they expect me to do well too. And that's probably why I have to personally be there at 6:00, to practice driving the... oh shit!" Even with next to no one on the road, the local law enforcement felt like they had to pull her over. How typical. Aodhfin slowed down and pulled off the edge, 'accidentally' spraying gravel at the large officer who had just pulled up behind them.
"Can I see your driver's license Miss?" Llyraen handed it to him. Llyraen's eyes turned a stormy blue gray as she progressed from annoyed to irritated at a glance at the clock. Using a trick she had learned from Korendil and Bard Eric, over on the West Coast they liked to call the 'Obie Won Kenobi Gambit', she caught the officer's eyes and he stopped just as he was about to write out the ticket.
"That'll be a warning. Make sure you follow the speed limit in the future." He handed back her license and stepped back from the car, still a bit befuddled.
"Of course." Llyraen pulled back on the road and drove carefully at 55 until the police car had disappeared in the other direction. NOW she would have to hurry, it was 10 till 6:00 and she still hadn't reached the outskirts of Tulsa. Snarling an Elven curse under her breath, she brought Aodhfin up to 110, changing her clothes to matte black as Aodhfin changed to the same color around her.
Having recently renewed all her licenses, racing or otherwise, as well as picking up a couple new ones, Llyraen was now able to drive in real races, outside of Fairgrove, rather than remaining a lowly mechanic and test driver. Thus her present high-paced activities.
Finally pulling up to the racetrack's 'parking lot', Llyraen jumped out of the car and sprinted through the gate, pausing only to flash her cards in the general direction of the Security Guy before rushing over to where a mob of mechanics and other racetrack personnel were running agitatedly around.
"Al." A skinny, darkish man pointed at her, nudging a tall man with long blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail under a hat. Blondie turned to look at Llyraen, a slight frown turning to a grin as he saw who it was.
"Ah. You must be Lily Raen." His eyes twinkled as he took in her autumnal red hair, tied back like his and white hat with the Fairgrove logo. Llyraen made an educated guess as to his identity and smiled back.
"And you must be Al." She could tell that he was an elf too, underneath his glamour he had slitted eyes, and his hat covered the tops of his ears.
"So what kind of car is it?" She asked, glancing at her watch nervously, "How dies it run? All Keighvin told me was that I was going to drive and HE didn't even know that until late last night." She raised an eyebrow at Al and the skinny guy and was rewarded by their sheepish looks.
"She's a Cat 200, runs like a dream. Do you want to try her out now, since you're obviously dressed for it?"
"Of course I would!" She snapped, scowling at the elf. Only the most arrogant and foolish driver would race in a car they'd never even seen before, and, however arrogant or foolish she might SEEM sometimes, she was not prepared to risk her neck needlessly.
The elf raised his hands in front of him, grinning again. "I surrender! Here're the keys. You have until 20 after to get used to it." He looked at his human companion. "Have I forgotten anything Bob?"
"Nah." Bob grunted, gesturing for Llyraen to walk over to the car.
Llyraen did so and whistled in appreciation after a quick inspection. She raised an eyebrow at Al and pointed at the hood. : Engine Block?: He nodded and winked. :Of course: and Llyraen found herself grinning back as she got into the car and started the ignition. Purring like the Cat it was named after, the car rolled slowly out of the pit as Llyraen tested all it's many controls, getting a feel for it.
Careful not to spin the tires or spray gravel at the observing mechanics, Llyraen stepped on the gas and whipped out onto the track. She moved from lane four to lane eight to lane one, and held it there for the turn. Unlike most cars, Llyraen had a feeling this one could take that turn, and it did. Keeping the car at the same speed, and holding the wheel steady, it was almost easy. Back on the straightaway, she put the petal to the metal and now the engine DID roar. Everything about the car did indeed remind her of a cat. She completed tow more laps before heading back in, confident that she could at least keep from crashing into the wall multiple times.
"That's one helluva car." She breathed to Al, as they watched the rest of the team refilling the gas, and checking on all the parts. "But I'm still a bit pissed about your timing." Al just smiled.

We fixed a couple minor glitches in the engine while you were driving. Bob's a mechanical wizard and when he feels something, there's something to feel." : He really is a wizard- cousins up north took him in:
:Ah: Llyraen nodded. That would explain how Bob seemed to know about Al, and why he talked so little. The northern elves were not nearly as excitable was their southern counterparts, and rarely said more than absolutely necessary.
By that time, most of the other drivers and mechanics had shown up and the pit was full. "They think of you as a decrepit old timer." Al gave Llyraen a sidelong glance as she studied the young drivers sauntering by. "I talked to some last week about local drivers when they arrived." Lily Raen was something of a racing legend, a pioneer of the modern style.
Llyraen just grinned, despite religiously avoiding racing during her latest travels, for security reasons, Llyraen was by no means out of practice. "Oh?" She sounded mischievous. "Perhaps today will correct that."
Al nodded, almost seriously. "That's why we wanted to get you out there and back before they showed up. We love surprising some of the snottier establishments that way."
They both looked back over at the swarm of mechanics crawling all over the car. At last they seemed satisfied that it was not going to fall apart and the horde dispersed, giving Llyraen multiple thumbs up signs. She checked her watch again, five minutes left till race time, and got in. Half the other cars were already on the track and Llyraen joined their ranks, rolling once more out of the pit, and refraining from showing off as she normally did, that would have spoiled the surprise.
In some other part of her mind, Llyraen heard the announcer broadcasting her appearance as she prepared in an oddly calm state of mind to beat the pants off of every insolent upstart out there.
When the last car was on the track, the announcer proclaimed the advent of the race and Llyraen pulled off the safety brakes. The started dropped the flag and fourteen cars roared forward, hurtling down the track as they battled for good starting positions.
Llyraen settled in as fifth, wincing at having to take anything but her customary first right off, but at least this way she could deal with those impertinent little humans who dared to consider her a rusty old relic of the past.
nineteen laps later she was second and gaining on the first car, driven by Marv Goldstein, another 'old timer', with five more laps in which to overtake him. Feeling good, Llyraen glanced in her rearview mirror and noticed the car behind her pulling up slowly. She grimaced and stepped on the gas twice quickly, sending back a blast of exhaust into his windshield as her front wheels cleared the ground. That forced him to slow down for the seconds it took her to pull back ahead.
With three laps left Llyraen pulled up alongside Goldstein on the straightaway and edged forward and closer, forcing him to pull back momentarily, in the move Tannim had pulled on her when she had raced him. She slowed down a little bit, making him drop back a little more in order to get around her. When he did that, she shot forward and into the final lap, passing the last cars as they rounded the turn on their second to last lap. She used some of them to block Goldstein, so he had to go further out onto the track to continue, giving herself another few meters of buffer space. Coming back up on the last straightaway, she roared forward over the finish line, accompanied by the bellowing of the crowd as the announcer shouted out the standings as each car came in.
Bringing the cat into the pit she rolled to a halt in front of her team, stopping the car and hopping out to raid the Gatorade supply. Al intercepted her halfway to her objective and smiled brilliantly. He was actually kind of cute! She reflected, her errant thoughts drifting back to the real world moments after that shocking revelation.
"Nice driving." He said simply, accompanying her to the Gatorade stand and getting some for himself.
"Thank you, thank you very much!" She bowed, smirking at him for no apparent reason.
They chatted for a little while, drinking gallons of Gatorade. "Well, I suppose I should leave now." Llyraen sighed, tearing herself away from their enthralling discussion.
"Well, maybe I'll see you again soon." Al seemed suddenly nervous. "Um, I might be coming to Fairgrove for a while since this track's pretty much good to go with out Me an' Bob, and its season is almost over."
Llyraen raised her eyebrows and smiled at him. "I would like that." He smiled back, obviously relieved. Driving back to Fairgrove Llyraen had a lot to think about. Maybe this would become a serious relationship...