Spy Racers: World Tour

Chapter 12: Team Tension

POV Layla

Even though she was more than a little pissed off, Layla had forced herself to pay attention to Echo's conversation with Shashi. However, now that it was over, all she wanted to do was go for a drive and blow off some steam.

Before Echo had left, the girls had been in their room and Layla had asked Miss Nowhere why she couldn't talk to Shashi. After all, she was the one who'd worked with him before and knew him the best. Miss Nowhere's response, however, was the last thing Layla had expected.

"You have too much history with him, Layla," Miss Nowhere had said. "No offense, but we can't risk you walking into a trap because you want to believe you can trust him again. I don't want your emotions to get the best of you"

"My emotions? Seriously?"

"Well, you two worked closely in the past, I assumed-"

"We were friends- that was it. And even if there had been something between us, you think I couldn't put the mission over my feelings for a guy?" Layla spat in response. "Shashi crossed me once already. I wouldn't let it happen again."

"Yes, exactly- he already betrayed you once. Maybe I just don't want to see you get hurt again. Ever think of that, Gray?"

"Whatever," Layla had scoffed, turning away in disgust.

Now, sitting in the boys' room, she couldn't even look Miss Nowhere in the eye. Layla had thought that the entire crew finally trusted her fully, but now it seemed her own boss still had doubts. But that was fine. Nowhere could think what she wanted. At least the rest of the team had her back.

Echo was only gone for about 20 minutes, and watching the conversation over the Pico camera feed was interesting to say the least. Frostee was way too excited to tease Echo when she came back to the room.

"It's good to see you again, Echo," he grinned, mocking Shashi's parting words.

"Shut it, Frostee, or I'll make it so you can't see at all."

"Aw come on, that was funny," Frostee began. Then Echo raised a fist and he held his hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay, sorry. Geez."

"Good work, Echo," Miss Nowhere said. "Seems like Shashi's done his research on Okada."

"So what do you think?" Echo asked. "Do we trust him?"

"I don't know," Miss Nowhere pursed her lips. "I'm not too keen on the idea of getting a whole other team involved."

"Who says we have to," Cisco countered. "Can't we just work with Shashi?"

"Right," Frostee chimed in. "He said himself that only one of his teammates knows what he's up to."

"I suppose," Miss Nowhere said hesitantly. "His input and background would be helpful, so...I'll take a chance on him. Tony, Layla- thoughts? You two have been quiet."

Tony shrugged.

"If it helps the mission, I guess I trust him."

Layla finally met Miss Nowhere's gaze.

"Same here," she said, crossing her arms. "But it doesn't really matter, since my opinion apparently can't be trusted, right?"

Miss Nowhere set her jaw and looked down for a moment, obviously trying to resist telling Layla off. Then, she regained her composure and turned back to Echo.

"Right. You have the go ahead, Echo. Tell Shashi he's in," Miss Nowhere said as began heading towards the door. "Write down everything you learned at dinner and compare notes. Don't leave out any details. I have to get on a call with the agency, but we'll meet again in an hour or so to discuss a plan for tomorrow."

As soon as Miss Nowhere was gone, the 3 boys looked at Layla with wide eyes. Even Echo looked taken aback, and she already knew what the problem was.

"Uh-" Tony started, but Layla cut him off. If she tried to explain things right now, she'd probably just end up saying something stupid and hurt the team

"I need some air," she said, standing up and heading towards the door. If only my car wasn't stuck in a high security garage, she thought as she made her way down the hallway, going nowhere in particular. Every team was required to leave their vehicles in the tour's official garage, so Layla couldn't just go for a joyride unless she wanted to sneak in and break her car out.

Instead, she settled for the balcony at the end of the hall, which opened up to a beautiful view of the city of Moscow, the tall buildings and unique architecture lit up against the night sky. It was much colder here than in LA, especially at night, and Layla wished she'd grabbed a jacket before leaving the room. Oh well. Maybe the cold would take her mind off the sting of Miss Nowhere's comments