ALICE Ch 284

Belgian Grand Prix Starting Positions

1. Flores (Freedom)

2. Verstappen (Red Bull)

3. LeClerc (Ferrari)

4. Norris (McLaren)

5. Woodcock, M. (Williams)

6. Hamilton (Mercedes)

7. Bottas (Aston Martin)

8. Sainz (Ferrari)

9. Alonso (Aston Martin)

10. Pattinson (McLaren)

11. Dunham (Freedom)

12. Perez (Red Bull)

13. Bottas (Aston Martin)

14. Wilde (FUTA)

15. Ricciardo (Haas)

16. Mido (FUTA)

17. Ocon (AlphaTauri)

DQ:

MIDO

MAGNUSSEN

TANAKA

FF1

“No, you can’t do this. You can’t do this right now. It’s the night before a race. You can’t do this!” Colby all but shouts.

Meri’s smile is fixed and stiff. Quite a crowd has gathered in the paddock around the FUTA motorhome.

Hailee, a blonde FUTA rep, smiles no more convincingly at Colby. “OK. Someone, can we find a big wad of money to stuff in this broad’s mouth to shut her the fuck up?” She turns and claps her hands. “All right, people. Positions. Hey! What the fuck is this?” she demands, approaching the backdrop that has been set up in front of FUTA’s stairs.

The pit crew is assembled in front of the backdrop in pink and blue bikinis.

“What the shit? What is wrong with you?” Hailee asks the photographer. “That’s the ass of FUTA right there. Red? Yes, you. With the ass. I need you on all fours, and you point that bad girl this way. You.” Hailee snaps her fingers several times at Ingrid. “With the boobs. Get behind her, I want those puppies on her head. More. More. Now get your arms in here, squeeze them together. Perfect. Adella Salazar, right there on the left. I want the Barbie doll grabbing her legs like in old movie posters.” Lotte hesitates, then moves to comply. “You too, Mary Sue,” Hailee snaps at Julieta.

“What about me?” Sun asks.

“Stick bug, nobody’s jerking off to that body. Let’s put you back here.” Hailee grabs Sun and moves her behind Ingrid. “OK, now feel her up a little. Look cozy. Let’s put your chin here. There we go. Is that so hard?” Hailee asks the photographer. “Hang on.” She pauses beside Riley and bends over, giving her bikini bottoms a little tug.

“Hey! You can’t give me a wedgie!” Riley squawks.

“Yeah. Hold that face,” Hailee says, getting out her phone. “Take the fucking photo.”

Nearby, Colby has turned her back on the photo shoot. Meri holds her tightly, feeling wetness on her chest where Colby’s tears are staining her blouse.

“It’s OK,” Meri says, stroking Colby’s hair.

Lots of photos are being taken.

“They’ll be fine,” Meri adds.

“They are not ready.”

Meri has no reply for that. She rubs Colby’s back and gazes at the crowd and the phones recording. Then she looks at the shoot in progress.

“Hey, let’s get some oil in there,” Hailee barks.

“They might not be ready. But that is a fine-looking pit crew,” Meri murmurs.