ALICE Ch 398

Ingrid smashes a lamp over the amazon’s head, but that only annoys her. The hulking woman turns on her, and Julieta leaps on her back, locking her arm around the big woman’s throat. The amazon flings her off as though she weighs nothing.

Nearby, Aki hastily tries to recalculate the odds as Adella grapples with the other amazon. She sees her chance and rushes in to deliver a side kick with everything she has behind it to the woman’s unprotected flank, but she might as well be kicking steel. Numbers aren’t enough, and to make matters worse, Irina can handle herself. She flattens Riley with a punch. Glynda launches a courageous punch, but Irina puts her in an arm bar and slams her into the dresser. She has to let her go to protect her head as Annette swings a drawer at it.

Adella doesn’t have much left in the tank, and the amazon hits her in the stomach, then laces her hands and smashes Adella to the floor. Aki narrowly avoids Julieta’s flying legs as she’s swung around, clinging desperately to the other Amazon’s back. Aki bumps into the wall and feels the remote in her pocket. Julieta lets out a cry and falls off.

Behind her, Glynda tackles Irina into the full-length mirror.

FF1

Tires shriek and smoke as Alice shoots off in pursuit of Mio. Sliding and jumping curbs outrageously, she squeals around the corner. The Toyota is no F1 car, but it’s fast. The back likes to swing out, and that’s not Alice’s specialty, but she doesn’t care. Glowing signs and windows fly by as she rockets through Suzuka. White and yellow lights shine against the black sky; this city isn’t all skyscrapers and neon like Tokyo. It also isn’t choked with traffic, which gives Mio plenty of room to run. She has more power, but she can’t match Alice’s acceleration in the much lighter Toyota.

Impact jolts Alice and she struggles to keep control of the car and avoid an oncoming Nissan. This car is too old to have any safety features to speak of; she checks her mirror to see a black Mercedes about to give her another bump. It’s got to be someone working for Irina. She shifts up going into the turn, putting her foot down and keeping it there.

FF1

Val has never driven in Japan, and the mini truck she has appropriated doesn’t have much horsepower, but it’s simple enough to follow the noise. Wherever Mio and Alice go, people are screaming, things are being broken, and horns are honking. Val spots a damaged vending machine and squeezes between larger trucks, taking the corner on red. She’s not worried about a near miss with another vehicle; the mini truck doesn’t have much mass.

That’s about to be a problem. She sees the Mercedes trying to run Alice off the road. The next light is already red. Alice is going for it, but the Mercedes hesitates.

That’s good enough for Val.

FF1

Alice looks up to see a cute little toy truck smack into the back of the Mercedes just as it starts to turn its wheels, sending it into an uncontrolled spin.

Perfect. Alice grips the wheel and focuses on Mio, who’s heading into a tunnel. In fairness, Mio’s driving is impeccable, given that she’s behind the wheel of an Armada. Getting that thing to handle at all can’t be easy.

FF1

Blindfolded and strapped in, Faye still bounces around as the SUV drifts wildly. The amazon is in the back with her, and someone else is up front.

The ride evens out for a moment.

Faye licks her lips and swallows with a dry throat. “So, where are we going?” There’s no reply, although there’s a bump and an alarming sound from the undercarriage. “I gather it isn’t the Ghibli Museum, is it?” They don’t reply to that, either. “You know, we were on the same team. Briefly,” she adds. She never had much interaction with the Orlova pit crew. They’d been awfully good, though. Faye forces a nervous laugh. “Always thought if I got tied up in Japan it’d be shibari.” Her voice shakes. No one laughs. Alice is better at this sort of thing.

Faye whimpers.

FF1

Aki isn’t a young woman anymore. She ducks the heavy punch and tries to throw the amazon over her shoulder, but as much work as momentum can do, muscles also have to do some. The amazons easily weigh a hundred kilograms, and Aki’s back isn’t ready. They crash to the floor in an undignified pile.

Glynda straddles Irina Orlova and punches her in the face repeatedly while Annette cheers her on. Irina snatches up a bit of broken mirror and plunges it into Glynda’s thigh, then shoves her off while Julieta jumps off the bed as though it’s the top rope in an earnest attempt at an elbow drop. Red-faced and sweating much more than everyone else, Julieta’s movements are erratic. The amazon she’s targeting rolls over with Aki, and Aki takes the full **** of Julieta’s elbow to the belly.

Irina grabs another piece of glass and shoves Glynda flat, raising it high. Glynda tries vainly to shield herself with her arms.

There’s a sharp crackle, and Irina cries out, dropping the shard of glass. She collapses, and a battered but smirking Lotte tosses the stun gun to Glynda, who immediately shocks Irina again.

A chair shatters over Adella’s back, but the triumphant amazon takes a drop-kick from Riley that sends her smashing through the balcony doors.

FF1

Suzuka isn’t large or dense. It doesn’t take long at breakneck speed to get clear of the traffic and buildings. Alice is no expert, but she can recognize the lights of an airfield at night. It’s a private runway, or a small one—it doesn’t matter. Irina can probably get a plane anywhere she wants.

This is Alice’s chance. It’s a series of hairpins to the bottom of this hill, and Alice’s car is the superior one for a change. Mio wins on a straight, but there’ll be none of that here. Mio’s brake lights give her away. Alice pulls the handbrake and slides where Mio decelerates, but she can’t make a move until Mio’s closer to the bottom. Crashing Mio doesn’t help if it kills Faye in the process.

Alice stays tight behind them; it’s like waiting for DRS.

Mio brakes hard and Alice has to swerve; her smaller vehicle will not fare well with a collision like that, and they’re close enough that Mio can drag Faye to a jet if she has to. Alice almost loses it, but gets back on the pavement and floors it only for her tire to blow. Rubber and metal make a lot of noise as she skids crazily, almost rolling.

Mio sails on down the hill while Alice bumps and struggles to move in a straight line. She’ll never catch up now.

Unless she takes a shortcut. The car screeches to a halt and she looks uncertainly down the hill. That’s a long way, and it’s not a smooth ramp.

Far beyond, there’s a small plane already on the tarmac.

Alice puts the car in gear.

FF1

“I’ll be sick,” Faye says queasily. She has a good stomach for fast driving, but this feels like doing donuts. “Oh, no. Oh, no.”

The amazon says something in Russian, and her tone is not gentle.

“S’not my fault I don’t speak Russian! I want to!” Faye wails miserably. “I like the Strugatsky brothers! I just hardly even have the discipline to do my Japanese once a day on Duolingo!”

The amazon says something else. Faye has a feeling that she’s being told to shut up.

“Maybe if you tell me where we’re goin’ I will!” she splutters.

A hand grabs at her face; the amazon is trying to gag her. Faye squirms, and her blindfold is knocked askew in time for her to see blinding headlights. A battered black and white car tears down the hillside toward them.

“Oh, Janey!”

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Mio brakes in time and even swerves to minimize it, but Alice still clips the front of the SUV with so much speed and **** that it spins with its front sufficiently mangled that there’s no danger of it driving anywhere. Sparks fly from Alice’s exposed wheel as her car comes to a halt.

No airbags. No safety features. Her seatbelt has kept her alive, barely. She feels like lines of knives are driving into her body wherever the straps touch her, and her back is on fire.

Broken glass tinkles to the ground as she kicks her door open and spills out to the road. Alice groans as she hauls herself upright and staggers toward the smoking Armada.

“Faye?” she calls out.

The hulking form of an amazon emerges from behind the SUV.

Alice falters, but keeps moving forward. Her sash is fucked up and her robe wants to fall open. She holds it shut and points at the amazon.

“I don’t care that we hooked up. I’ll still kick your ass,” she promises. “Gimme my girlfriend.”

The amazon doesn’t look inclined to do that, and apart from a cut on her cheek, she appears unharmed by the crash.

There’s distant shouting. Alice looks past the amazon to see lights waving. People at the air strip saw the crash. There are sirens as well.

“You ain’t getting her to that plane,” Alice promises.

The sudden patter of feet makes both women turn. Mio shoots off into the night at a sprint, incredibly fast for someone with such short legs.

The amazon looks startled, then it’s obvious on her face: a moment of self-doubt. She hesitates for a beat, then turns and runs after Mio.

“Yeah,” Alice says, blinking to stop from seeing double. She staggers forward. “You better run.” She falls to her knees by the car. “Babe?”

A dazed Faye is inside, tied up and snugly belted in. She peers dazedly out at Alice, then bursts into tears.