ALICE Ch 143

Starting positions tend to be predictive in Monaco, but not today. The press box is packed because of the weather, and Erica Bruhl is squeezed in among her colleagues, watching breathlessly as the streets of Monaco run with the figurative blood of teams.

She is so saturated in F1 that her brain processes the implications of every twist without her telling it to. They’re twenty laps in after a lengthy delay to clear the track, and while Erica has seen rain races before, she’s never seen anything like this.

The shakeup with the first crash, the retirements in the second—a mere twelve drivers are still on the circuit now, and this wet race will end the way it began: with tires. Some drivers have gambled that the rain will end, including Mercedes. Both FUTA drivers are still in, and driving on inters. This is meant to be a one-stop race, but that can’t be possible for everyone. And that is what makes this terrifying. The streets are wet and deadly, so the drivers have to be at their absolute best—and it may not even matter. If their teams have gambled wrong, their effort is for nothing. A second stop is a **** sentence.

FF1

“That’s what I thought, pretty boy,” Alice growls as she narrowly overtakes Charles LeClerc in Turn 8. “Is that sunlight? I swear to god.” Rain and spray are everywhere; the world is a watery gray blur. She can’t see a goddamn thing.

“Please focus, Alice.” Lora’s voice is extra soothing. That’s worrying. Lora is soothing by default. It’s just how she is. She’s trying to sound soothing. It must be bad.

Alice has no power, but that doesn’t matter today. Even the cars with power can’t use it in these conditions. She can hardly see.

“Who’s that?” she demands.

“Alice, defend!”

“Chuck, don’t you even fuck with me!” Alice rages, adjusting to keep LeClerc boxed out. “Who’s even left, Lora?”

“Let’s not worry about that right now, Alice.”

“Is Faye OK?”

“She’s P9, Alice. She’s gained a position.”

“Good. Good. Good. Holy shit! Did you see that? Who is that?”

“That’s Max, Alice. Stay on him and mind that spot, he almost lost it.”

“I saw!” Alice has ‘Almost lost it’ about seventeen times so far. “They should’ve canceled this shit! Someone’s gonna get hurt!”

“Bottas has overtaken Charles. You’ll need to defend.”

“See?” Alice rages. “I told you this would happen if he was ever in a fast car. Get fucked, Max!” Alice sees an opening and goes. The trouble with Max is that he’ll go wheel to wheel all day long. He doesn’t scare the way that some of the others do. “Back off, Max! I’m American! I’m crazy!”

“Dear god,” Lora says, sounding shaken. “You may take a penalty for that, Alice.”

“It was legal,” Alice grumbles.

“I meant from Glynda! She doesn’t want you taking these risks.”

“I just overtook Max in Monaco! You should be offering to have my babies!”

“What?”

“Alice!” Glynda snaps. “Focus! Please!”