Spy Racers: World Tour

Chapter 17: Race Day pt. 2

POV Layla

Layla never got nervous before a race. There was no reason to be- she'd been doing it practically her whole life. But today was different. She didn't know if it was the fact that she had to stay undercover, or if it was just that she'd finally made it to a grand enough scale to doubt her chances of winning- but something felt off.

Tony was acting weird, too, so that wasn't helping, especially because he wouldn't tell her whatever was bothering him. There was also the fact that Beck Cassidy might've been trying to play her- gross.

Layla hadn't paid much attention to it when she and Tony were talking to him at dinner their first night in Moscow, but looking back the vibes had definitely been a bit flirty. And the fact that he said the VIP party was a secret didn't make sense. Telling all the teams there was a chance they'd get invited would be an incentive for them to race well, making the Grand Prix way more exciting- why keep it a secret?

Layla sighed and flopped onto her bed as soon as she and Echo were back in their room. She was dreading putting her uniform on because she'd have to put a helmet over her wig and there was no way that was going to be comfortable.

"What's up with you?" Echo asked.

"I'm nervous. I never get nervous! So why the hell am I nervous?" Layla hadn't expected her words to come out so sharp and frazzled, but saying the thoughts out loud scared her a lot more.

"Yo, chill out- this is a big race. You know it's normal to be nervous, right?"

"Not for me."

"Okay...well, why do you think you're nervous?" Echo tried.

"I dunno, I mean I'm thinking about a lot of things, but none of it should make me nervous for the race."

"Then maybe you're just stressed."

"When did you become a therapist?"

Echo shrugged.

"I'm just trying to talk through it like Cisco does. He's good at this kind of thing," she said. "So, uh, what are you thinking about?"

Layla gave Echo a sideways glance before turning away again and closing her eyes. She didn't really want to have this conversation right now. It would probably just stress her out more.

Before Echo could press her any further, there was a knock on their door. Layla got up and looked through the peephole to see Frostee standing outside.

"What's up?" She asked as she opened the door to let him in.

"We need to talk," he said, sitting down at the desk across from Echo's bed. "It's about Tony."

Normally, this would be the part where Layla would get annoyed with Frostee for trying to get her to talk about Tony and admit to whatever secret relationship he thought they were hiding. But Frostee didn't look like he was in the mood to tease her. He looked genuinely concerned.

"Okay," Layla said slowly. "What's going on?"

"Has T said anything to you about...nightmares? Or something similar?" Frostee started. "Because when Cisco and I went to wake him up this morning, he was all sweaty and thrashing around in the bed, mumbling something about a car chase- at least, I think- a lot of it was hard to understand. But...it was weird."

Layla sucked in a breath and her heart sank. She had a pretty good guess of what the nightmare about a "car chase" was- and if she was right, then that meant Tony had left that particular detail out of their conversation on the balcony.

Not that she could really blame him, though. The fact that he was still having flashbacks from the whole evil-AI-car ordeal with Sudarakov was bad enough. Tony was probably afraid that saying he was also having nightmares would make Layla think he was weak. Not that she ever would, but Tony could have a really low self-esteem sometimes- despite all his arrogant banter during races.

"He...may have mentioned something, yeah," Layla admitted to Frostee and Echo. "But I kind of promised I wouldn't say anything, so..."

"Don't worry about it," Frostee said, holding up his hands. "As long as someone knows what's going on, then I'm good. It was just...scary, honestly, seeing him like that when Cisco and I walked in."

"Wait, T is okay, though, right Layla?" Echo asked. "Like, this isn't something we need to know about?"

"No, nothing like that," Layla promised. "He's just...working through some stuff, I guess. I don't really know how to explain it. But he was acting kinda off at breakfast, so maybe I should talk to him again."

"Good idea," Echo agreed. "But maybe you should wait till after the race? I don't think you need anything else stressing you out."

"True," Frostee said. His phone pinged and he frowned when he looked at the screen. "Anddd Miss Nowhere just said to meet downstairs in ten minutes, so, you probably don't have time anyway. But Echo's right- don't freak yourself out. Just focus on the race for now."

Layla nodded, knowing her friends were right. As much as she wanted to figure out how to help Tony, there were more pressing issues at hand. If she didn't win today, there was a good chance the mission would be at a standstill. And if they didn't report back to the agency with any solid leads soon, it would really hurt their chances of being assigned to big cases like this in the future.

And at the end of the day- even though she was racing undercover- Layla was getting the chance to race in a Grand Prix. That was something most drivers only dreamed about, and here she was halfway across the world about to line up next to the best of the best. Why was she stressing so much on what should be the best day of her life?

Layla held onto that sentiment as she put on her uniform and twisted the strands of her hair into two braids. She was still getting used to the brown and it was weird not wearing her usual ponytail for a race, but braids were the only option since she had to wear a helmet now.

The racing uniform was pretty awesome, though. The pants, gloves, and jacket were dark gray with teal stripes and lettering and they fit her perfectly. The jacket was the same style as the leather one she usually wore, and it wasn't too tight in the arms so she'd be able to move well.

Finally, Layla picked up the matching helmet and held it against her hip, unable to hold back her smile as she studied herself in the mirror. For the first time ever, she looked like a real racer- not just some runaway teenage outlaw who happened to know her way around a car. Of course, she wouldn't dream of trading in her usual look for good, but it was kind of fun to play the part of a classy professional.

Echo was dressed in her uniform as well when Layla stepped back out into the main room. Her pants and jacket were the same dark gray and teal, but they were more of a utility style, with lots of big pockets, zippers, and loops- perfect for holding all the tools and gadgets the pit crew may need.

The girls made their way downstairs and found the rest of the crew already waiting in the atrium. The other teams were there too, all filing towards the massive doors at the front of the hotel where there would no doubt be paparazzi waiting outside. Layla was grateful she had some experience getting used to the constant camera flashes from her time as a movie stunt driver, because the Grand Prix paparazzi were very aggressive and crowded the streets as the teams tried to pass through.

Tony fell into step beside her, his taller frame shielding her from some of the bright flashes as they exited the hotel. Layla wasn't sure if that had been his intention, but she wasn't about to complain.

Tony seemed even more tense now then he had at breakfast, and Layla figured it probably had something to do with his conversation with Miss Nowhere. She was dying to ask what they'd talked about and why Tony hadn't mentioned his nightmares, but Frostee and Echo were right- she needed to focus on the race. So instead, before she could lose her nerve, Layla took Tony's hand and gave it a light squeeze. He jumped slightly in surprise, and didn't look at her- but he also didn't let go.

A small voice in the back of Layla's head told her that this was probably breaking one of Miss Nowhere's rules for being undercover, but she didn't care. Tony needed someone right now, and to be honest, so did she. The nervousness from earlier had turned into a sinking feeling, and Layla had been on the streets long enough to know to trust her intuition.

The race ahead would likely throw more than just sharp turns and high speeds at her.