Chapter 2 Unraveling evil

Agnes’ POV

Crash!

I jumped at that loud sound and everyone in the garage turned to look at the source of the disturbance.

It was a mechanic who was trying to lift a tyre, probably running on nerves because literally in this kind of environment I would.

Another mechanic walked up to him and offered to help him. And everything returned to as it was.

I'd been one of the early birds in the garage this morning, it had been a little chilly but I needed to see how they all began their day. So I stood at a corner; not so hidden that everyone knew I was in the room, with my camera hanging down in my hand.

“Tire blanket temps need to drop by two degrees”.

“Understood, Aero adjustment?”.

So many terms flew in and over my head. I stood watching seven mechanics form a tight semicircle around the front wing of Corvus; that's what I'd decided to call the car.

The way they were so precise and coordinated, it was fascinating to watch.

Ace hadn't come in yet.

“You're not filming?”

I shook, startled. It looked like they all had a thing for walking up to you and startling you here.

I turned to the owner of the soft voice, my eyes almost narrowed in surprise

“Dae Good morning”, I replied cheerfully and held out a hand.

He glanced at my outstretched hand and shook his head. He had this tired and stressed look in his eyes and I stared at the grease in his hands.

Probably that's why he didn't want to shake my hand.

“You're not shooting?” He asked again, his gaze flitting to my camera.

I shook my head and crossed my arms, “Not yet”.

“You're missing the daylight”, he said casually.

“ Doesn't matter. I don't want people to perform for the camera. What makes a true documentary is the realness of it. I need people to stop seeing the camera”.

I noticed his brow quirked up very quickly, his face still neutral and expressionless.

He was staring at me the way Ace did yesterday.

“Ace said you were thorough”.

I blinked, uncrossing my arms. “When did he say that and why…

He dismissed me with a wave of his hand.

“I have to go”

And he walked towards the other engineers who were staring at something on the screen.

Fine, looks like the top guys here want to be assholes

I spend the rest of the morning watching and mapping out the garage and the paddock. There was some kind of subtle level of power displayed in the room.

Everyone answered someone and I was beginning to tell their faces apart. Aside from that it was almost as if the team revered Ace.

I know people adored and respected their stars or driving force but this was different like there was some kind of intense loyalty interwoven amongst themselves for Ace.

I wrote it down on my tablet.

Ace soon came in for the morning practice.

He wore his green fire suit, his curls still wet and shiny. He'd caught my gaze once and I saw something like a smile tug at the corner of his lips.

It was time for the testing and everyone began to move out to the track. A young woman placed a nose-cancelling headset in my hands and gently nudged me towards the track.

I packed up my gadgets and followed them.

“Ma'am. Dae wants you at the pit wall”.

I followed the engineer’s direction and saw Dae staring at me.

I walked to the pit wall, they all cleared for me and I beamed a smile or two at anyone who was at least open-minded to smile back.

I met Dae at the pit wall and set up my camera.

“He wanted you here”.

Oh, the cocky alpha male wanted me here. How nice

“Oh okay”.

I stare at the monitors glowing in the shaded canopy displaying live data, GPS tracking, and the track temperature. Dae stood next to me, his eyes locked on the screen.

“Put that on”

I quickly slipped on the headset and the loud chatter disappeared. I'm connected to the team's radio channel.

I heard his voice

It's deep and sonorous. But it wasn't the one he'd used with me yesterday. This one was alive, raw, pumping with the adrenaline of doing what he loves to do best.

“Balance is off the rear”, Ace said.

Dae’s brows furrowed and I watched his fingers fly across the keyboard.

“Copy. Tire degradation on the rear is spiking. We have to adjust the wing flap at the stop Ace”.

“Don't”, Ace snapped back, “I'd drive around it”.

I looked at Dae and watched his jaw tighten. He tapped at a glowing red spot on his monitor.

“Ace, the data says you're losing two tenths in sector three because of the slip. We need to box”.

There was silence on the other end.

“I know what the data says”, Ace replied, his voice hard with such authority that I almost shivered, “Leave the car alone. I'll drive around it”.

I could imagine him with his face set in stone, look, and the terrifying precision and attention he had on the road.

I shook my head quickly.

Dae glanced at me, rolling his eyes. It felt so relatable and I chuckled.

Ace doesn't pit, he continues driving with blistering tires. We both watched the timing screen.

The three sectors go purple one by one and I hold my breath as he clears each lap.

He finished the fastest lap of the session by four tenths of a second.

I pulled off my headset and began to write.

In a game governed by real-time numbers and data, he's a driver who chooses to trust his instincts. This was new.

Instinctively, I look up at the empty track and remember how he stared at me the first time we met.

Soon it's evening and the adrenaline everyone began with wore off. I packed up my camera and headed for the motorhome to possibly have a little time to myself and call Leo.

They were supposed to arrive today.

I stepped into the posh and air-conditioned motorhome. At the lounge were two crew members discussing in low tones. As soon as they saw me, they stopped abruptly.

I walked past them with a smile and sat down, trying to catch my breath. Whatever it was they were talking about was their business.

After a while of sitting there in the lounge gathering my thoughts and making a couple of calls, I stood up to leave.

I walked down the narrow private corridor that led to the executive's offices.

The doors were locked and I could see the name tags of the owners on an engraved square on the door.

A door was left slightly open and I could hear voices coming from the room.

“You mean Tremaine”

I stopped dead in my tracks, that was Ace’s voice.

“Yeah. I know who she is. That's why she's here”.