ALICE Ch 370

Japanese Grand Prix Starting Positions:

1. Verstappen (Red Bull)

2. Sainz (Ferrari)

3. Perez (Red Bull)

4. Bottas (Aston Martin)

5. Tanaka (Mercedes)

6. Dunham (Freedom)

7. Flores (Freedom)

8. LeClerc (Ferrari)

9. Alonso (Aston Martin)

10. Wilde (FUTA)

11. Ricciardo (Haas)

12. Norris (McLaren)

13. Darcy (FUTA)

14. Woodcock, M. (Williams)

15. Woodcock, S. (Williams)

16. Hamilton (Mercedes)

17. Magnussen (Haas)

18. Ocon (AlphaTauri)

19. Pattinson (McLaren)

PIT: Laakso (AlphaTauri)

Bright lights shine on the simple chair.

Will Buxton is pensive. “There’s a peculiar sort of energy around this Grand Prix,” he admits finally. “I spoke to Alex Jacques this morning, and he mentioned that what happened last race has alarmed a lot of people. Maybe it’s the severity of the crash, or the questions surrounding what exactly caused Mio Mido’s car to do that, although I suppose how quickly FUTA racing sacked her tells us exactly what they think. Maybe everyone’s just shaken up because a crash like that is a reminder of a reality we prefer not to dwell on. In any case, Max is back on form, and more importantly, Red Bull has supposedly fixed Checo’s car, and despite her injuries, Alice Wilde is starting in the points. Patty Dunham and Akiko Tanaka stand out this weekend because Dunham’s performance has suddenly become so impressive, and with Mio Mido out, Akiko Tanaka is the only Japanese driver on the grid. That’ll make her a favorite here in Suzuka, and I expect to see a lot of Mercedes fans. Yes, I expect that the Japanese also rather like Alice Wilde, who seems to be cementing herself as the protagonist of this year while Valeria Flores can’t quite seem to stabilize her performance. Still, predictability is the enemy in this sport, and this cohort of drivers has given the fans something we haven’t had in a long time. It would be a good time to be an F1 fan if Alice Wilde would just stop frightening us all to **** every chance she gets.”

FF1

Glynda has made it clear that she wants no part of anything that isn’t strictly the running of her racing team, but she’s a part of this situation whether she wants to be or not. That’s the topic at hand when Annette visits Riley and Adella in their cramped Japanese hotel room.

“Lotte didn’t show up to work today,” Riley reports as she closes the door behind Annette.

“I heard. Irina’s got the whole ballroom upstairs bought out for a huge party after the race. I have a hunch that Patty’s gonna do well,” Annette says, rubbing her face. “I’m starting to pay attention to rumors about who isn’t feeling well and who isn’t showing up to work, and I’m seeing patterns. She’s clearing the way.”

Riley winces. “The Lotte thing hits us for double. Glynda won’t show it, but she’s worried. And our pit crew sucks to begin with.”

“You aren’t that bad.”

“We aren’t that good,” Adella says without looking. She leans by the window, gazing at the city.

“Well, this party is the chance we’re looking for,” Annette says.

“Adella says it’s a bad idea,” Riley informs her.

“It was Adella’s idea.”

“I know. I think she’s just trying to be transparent.”

“We can’t just let her run amok, Riley. I’m putting out feelers to see if we can get some support inside F1, but if she’s smart, those are the first people she’ll have bought off. If we’re gonna get her, we’ll have to get her with the media. That means we have to have something to show.” Annette shrugs. “It’s straightforward. We need one of Irina’s devices. We have to talk to Alice.”

[ Small note, I'm leaving home tonight and will be taking a little trip, so normal chapters may be disrupted, and commissions may slow down, but I'm guessing things will be mostly normal. Chapters might appear at strange times because of time zones. Anyway, I'm not slacking, I just might have patchy access to internet. I'll be back home and back to normal in about two weeks. BUT THEN, later this month, the new RE game will come out, and there will be another potential slowdown as I prioritize beating it and then racing to be at least among the first AO3 RE nerds to write and start posting a futa RE9 story. Dailies and everything will be normal, but all nonessential resources will be allocated to RESIDENT FUTA: REQUIEM. Thank you for your patience and understanding during this difficult time. ]