Spy Racers: World Tour

Chapter 10

Tony hadn't eaten much the rest of the day, so he'd been looking forward to dinner at the party. But now, with the news he'd just been given, he wanted nothing more than for Okada to announce that they could mingle with sponsors and the other teams again.

A few moments ago, Layla had tapped his shoulder, and when he'd turned to look at her, concern was etched on her face.

"I have to tell you something, but you can't freak out," she whispered. Tony raised an eyebrow. Why does she look so worried? He thought. And why is she telling me something now?

"...okay? What's up?" He whispered back.

Layla swallowed.

"It's Shashi. He's here."

It took everything in him for Tony to not jump up and go find his old enemy right then and there. But he kept his cool as best he could, setting his jaw and gripping the edge of his seat. He had a million questions- the main one being why Layla wasn't freaking out.

"How are you so calm about this?" Tony asked, his voice low.

"I'm not," Layla said, fixing her eyes on a water glass on the table. "I'm just good at acting like it. We'll talk later."

"What? I feel like this isn't something that can wait till later. Don't you wanna know why he's here?"

"Of course I do!" Layla hissed. Miss Nowhere shot them a glance, so she lowered her voice again. "But we need a plan. We've gotta keep our cover."

Tony wanted to protest, but he knew Layla was right. As much as they wanted answers from Shashi, they couldn't just straight-up confront him- especially with the chance that he may be part of the crimes they were investigating. Tony wanted to believe the guy had truly changed for the better, but if Okada had made him an offer he couldn't refuse...

And even if Shashi wasn't here on shady business, they weren't on what Tony would consider "friendly" terms. Sure, he'd helped them take down Sudarikov and the AI cars, but that didn't exactly cover for the fact that he'd kidnapped Frostee, stolen billions of dollars in cars, and tried to take over LA. Plus, when Shashi had paid him back by saving his life, Tony thought he'd died in the process, so a lot of his anger had faded in that moment.

But now, seeing the guy alive and well, all that anger, shock, and yeah, maybe even some jealousy, came flooding back. If they came face to face, there was a good chance Shashi would end up with a black eye and a broken nose.

Dinner was three-courses consisting of Moscow specialties: tomato and cucumber salad for the appetizer, Pelmini and Beef Stroganoff for the entrees, and Syrniki for dessert. Tony wasn't crazy about the Beef Stroganoff, but everything else was pretty good- not that he could really focus on food right now, though.

He glanced around at the rest of the crew. Layla and Frostee were also picking at their plates nervously. Cisco was already on his second helping and didn't look tense at all, so either he wasn't in the loop about Shashi, or he was eating to calm his nerves. Echo was going through her meal like nothing out of the ordinary had happened, which was strange. Tony wondered if she was actually this calm about the situation or if she was just doing a really good job keeping her cover.

Miss Nowhere's voice suddenly pulled him out of his thoughts.

"So," their boss began, pausing to wipe her hand on a napkin. "What are your thoughts on the course, Layla? Can you win this thing?"

Tony caught Layla hesitate for half a second, but then she put on her usual confident expression and leaned back in her chair, arms crossed casually.

"Same old, same old," she told Miss Nowhere. "I've got this."