Spy Racers: World Tour

Chapter 19: Short Cut?

Layla was in the zone. She was sitting comfortably in third place with plenty of race left to overtake the leaders. They'd been blocking her from the inside pretty well, but she hadn't really been trying that hard to pass them yet. When the time came, they wouldn't even see her coming.

They were out of the city now and heading into the rougher part of the track, where they would drive up a mountain and then come back down the other side before looping back to the city for the finish. Layla could see snow on the mountain starting about halfway up, meaning the already sharp turns could be slick with ice. Good thing Cisco had installed a new grappling hook launcher to the front of her car.

The crew had been pretty quiet over the comms aside from a few check-ins from Frostee giving her updates on her competitors and observations about their driving styles that he got from his drones' perspective. Normally Layla would've been annoyed at someone telling her how to drive in a race, but Frostee had actually been really helpful. Other than that, there wasn't much for the crew to say to her. They yelled out encouragement at every pit stop and when she overtook another driver, but the majority of the time all Layla heard was the loud hum of the engine and wind whipping past her car.

She found it a little weird that Tony hadn't been more talkative over the comms. He usually couldn't shut up, and she was pretty sure he had yet to say anything during the race. Granted, he was usually the one racing and trying to either distract her or whatever villain they were chasing- not watching from the sidelines. As much as he'd made it clear that he was worried about getting flashbacks while racing, Layla knew Tony missed it and would do just about anything to get the opportunity she was getting today.

The next checkpoint was coming up quickly. Settled at the base of the mountain, it was the last one before the racers began their ascent. There wouldn't be another stop until they came back down on the other side, meaning this was the longest stretch of the race and the pit crews would have to make sure every car was prepared for the treacherous terrain ahead. Layla found her friends in the crowd and flew down the pit lane smoothly, stopping right in front of them. Cisco, Echo and Frostee got to work quickly; changing out tires, refueling and spraying some kind of anti-fog solution on her windows and mirrors to counteract the cold air on the mountain. While they worked, Echo yelled out:

"You heard from Connor?"

"Nothing. Why?"

Before Layla got an answer, the crew gave her the "ready" signal and she had to speed off again, unable to afford any hesitations if she wanted a chance at winning. As the mountain grew closer and larger, she wondered if she'd been right to think it strange that Tony had been MIA. Echo wouldn't have asked if she and the others weren't a bit worried as well. She was about to say something over the comms, but Layla suddenly realized she was right behind Beck Cassidy's car. He was going slower than she would've liked, but the road had turned very curvy and it was fairly dark from the thick trees all around, so it wasn't a good time to pass.

Layla could feel the air getting colder even from inside her car as they climbed the mountain, and she was grateful for her thick jacket. If only the road was a little wider- she could finally pass Beck and get back down the main road on the other side a whole lot faster. It had started getting very dark now, too, with the combination of the trees and fog forming as the elevation rose. Beck suddenly made a very sharp turn, and Layla, having been so focused on the back of his car since she couldn't see anything else, followed suit and quickly turned her wheel all the way to the right- straight into what should've been the side of the mountain.

She let out a scream and squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for impact, but it didn't come. Instead, her car shot through a canopy of moss and snow, into a hidden tunnel that had been hollowed out through the center of the mountain. It was completely dark, save for the glow of Beck's tail lights ahead. Layla's first thought was that they had been right all along- Okada's team was behind the thefts and Beck was about to pull off his part of their next big heist.