The Team // A Formula One AU

Esteban

My god.

Once again he's stirring up trouble, once again he's in the way. I might go so far as to say I hate him.

"Nikita did what?" I lean forward, putting down my magazine and looking across the lounge to where Daniel sits talking with Mick and Charles. Gossiping.

"He stole my camera," Charles tells me. My god.

"I'm sick of that little-"

"Esteban. You can't... I don't know. Whatever you're thinking."

"Kill him?" I suggest.

"Yeah. No... Doing that." Daniel jabs his French fry at me as if to enforce his point. We're not supposed to eat in here, but it's late enough that Tom's run out of energy to care. I stand up.

"Like I would."

"Don't do anything stupid," Mick calls as I march away towards Nikita's room. Stupid. Maybe something stupid is just what that criminal ordered.

I knock at the door to check it's just him in there. It is. He lets me in.

"Hello?"

"So... Where's the camera?" He looks at me blankly.

"What?"

"The camera you stole. Where is it?" I'm trying to keep it as casual as possible. For now.

"Whose camera?" His eyes scrunch in confusion and for a moment I consider that maybe the Charles just left his camera out on the field or something. But then the second emotion comes over Nikita, the doubt creeps into his expression.

I pin him to the wall in one quick movement. "Tell me where it is or I'll break your neck."

He looks scared. Terrified. I grin.

"I don't know where Charles' camera is, I swear!"

"Who said it was Charles'?" His eyes go wide and I know I have him.

"I just noticed him using it, I-"

"Okay, Nikita. Maybe you don't want to get it out in front of me. Maybe there's something else you're hiding in that locker, I don't know... But you're going to get that camera back to Charles by tomorrow's training starts, or I'm going to make your life totally miserable starting from now."

"I-"

"No! Just do it."

I turn and leave, not closing the door behind me. At least now he knows who's in charge around here. It's late and we have a busy day of set-up classes and gym work tomorrow so I head to my room. Valtteri and Lance are in there, and when I flop down on my bed I notice Valtteri is holding what looks like...

"Is that your camera?" I ask as lightly as possible. I may have made a mistake here.

"Charles'," Valtteri replies. He walks up to me and places it on my bedcovers. "He left it in the garage after our race-craft session. Nice work with Nikita by the way. I'm sure the whole building heard you."

"Uh... Thanks," he smiles at me and I'm a little unnerved. What's his game here? He sits on the bunk across from me and laces his fingers together.

"Listen, Esteban. I know you're not aggressive, or controlling, or let's say... A bully. It's just not you. And you know how I know?" I shake my head, not letting my face give away how unnerved I am. "Because I'm in charge here. I won't let people like you and Nikita ruin this opportunity for all of us. Understand?"

"Uh... Yeah..."

He smiles. "Good. Now I guess you'd better give that back to Charles. But next time there's an issue, you don't try to sort it out yourself. You want to fight with someone, you do it on the track."

I press my lips together and stand up to take the camera back to its rightful owner. It'll seem to Charles and his crowd like I got the camera back from the Russian without any problems. I'll seem like the tough guy, Nikita will lose even more respect, and the whole time it'll be because Valtteri was pulling the strings.

I make eye contact with Lance before I exit the room. He gives me a tiny shrug and a smile that says he'll do anything Valtteri tells him to. I roll my eyes and head into the corridor. The Finn was right about one thing though. The only way to prove who's in charge is to take it to the track.