The next few days were devoted to final checks of the car and the weapons. Although the ATSS engineers did their usual excellent job building the vehicle to Kayla's specifications, the newly formed crew knew their asses depended on everything working like it was designed. The AADA blocked out the Washington Park Arena for this very purpose, and each car and crew were assigned time slots to check out their vehicle.

  They slalomed their way through a makeshift obstacle course, complete with potholes big enough to swallow a person, water-filled barriers, and simulated dropped weapons. To make things even tougher, they'd also set up targets at various distances away, and it was Kayla's job to identify and hit each target when a light came on over it.

  "Hard left coming up. Gonna have to brake for this one." Dillon found communicating with a partner was becoming easier now, for both of them. Her only response was, "Adjusting fire." He didn't have to listen to Sammy complain about how hard it was to hit anything or pushing him to move over so he could take a shot at something. As much as he hated to admit it, Kayla was proving to be more compatible and easier to work with than his former crew partner.

  The turn opened up into a straightaway, and when they got leveled out a target lit up at the far end. This one was motorized, moving left and right in short jerks like a car maneuvering for a shot or trying to avoid one. He reacted on impulse, going into an evasive pattern while accelerating so he could get past his opponent.

  "Dillon! Hold still. We're supposed to shoot at the target."

  Chagrined that he'd reacted without thinking, he let off the accelerator and held a steady course, waiting for Kayla.

  For her part, she only murmured, "Good, good, D, steady… now." The front-mounted cannon fired, striking the target dead center. As soon as she did, he adjusted course for the next obstacle.

  Nico watched them work the course from the VIP level, giving him a great view of most of the arena. He alternated between watching the action and looking at the stopwatch each time Kayla took out a target. Eric stood next to him, clipboard in hand where he noted the times.

  "Looking good, Nico," the other man said. "Best run I’ve seen from them yet."

  "Good. Please call them in. They just announced the official course route. Time for some strategy."

  Twenty minutes later, they were seated in a small conference room. Nico hooked up his tablet to the screen on the wall, and it displayed a map showing Colorado, Deseret, Montana, Wyoming, and the Dakotas. A red line traced a looping route out of Denver, heading south first and then west before turning north. It continued north into Montana, where it headed east again.

  Nico used a laser pointer to trace the route. "Since Governor Poncher has refused to allow the event to go through the Eisenhower Tunnel to cross the Continental Divide, the AADA was forced to use a more southerly route on Interstate 25. This will go through Colorado Springs to Pueblo, where you’ll recharge and then take Highway 50 west. This will take you to Gunnison, your first overnight stop."

  He paused and looked at them apologetically. "It’s expected that the first leg will be relatively peaceful, or at least no serious threats. Given that Gunnison is a vacation spot for the rich and famous, there’ll also be a media event there. We had no say in the matter. Eric, that’s our first logistics stop."

  Turning back to the map, he continued. "Heading west out of Gunnison, you’ll cross the Blue Mesa Reservoir, which has a National Guard base. We don't expect any trouble in that area, but you'll have to be on your best behavior. After that, you’re going to enter some really wild territory. Road conditions out there are going to be your biggest concern, since that area doesn’t seem much in the way of road maintenance. When you get to Montrose, you’ll head north to Grand Junction and into Deseret territory."

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  He paused again there, and Eric shook his head. "You kids may find the Patrol to be a bigger nuisance than any biker gang. They’re damned strict, but they’ve agreed to this event because they want the publicity too. All competition vehicles will be allowed to pass through Deseret lands without being stopped for any reason other than wanton destruction."

  Nico tapped the table. "The key thing to remember is that Deseret does not allow human cloning. If you buy it out there, we’ll try to get to you as quickly as we can to get a memory read. There is a very real danger that we may not get to you in time."

  Having competed without Gold Cross for all of his career, this didn’t faze Dillon too much. He saw Kayla go a little bit pale, and her father’s face was locked down, displaying no emotion.

  The CEO laid his pointer down on the table and folded his hands. "Once you leave Grand Junction, it should be easy driving. You’ll stay the night at the Green River Truck Stop, and then continue on to Salt Lake City the next day. The day after you arrive, there will be an arena competition to cap that leg of the rally. The organizing committee isn’t saying what it is just yet."

  "That won’t give us much time to get our cars ready for the next leg," Dillon mused. "Not if we have to repair the road damage, compete, and then repair it again."

  "Oh, they thought of that." Eric swiveled to face him. "You won’t be competing in the arena with your rally cars. The AADA will provide… something. We just don’t know what. And while you’re competing, yours truly will be overseeing the repairs and making sure you’re ready to go for the next leg."

  Kayla pointed at the map. "The next leg takes us into Idaho and Montana?"

  "Yes, although they’re not announcing the pit stops just yet. Apparently, there’s going to be a competition online for fans to guess the route and pit stops. The winners get an all-expense paid trip to the arena fight at the end of the second leg." Her father grimaced. "Fans can submit their guesses as soon as it starts. According to our media team, the fan boards are burning up with rumors and speculation."

  "Speaking of which," Eric tapped the table for emphasis. "The Association has put some serious marketing money into a social media blitz. For us, this translates into a live feed from your car. Fans will be able to bid for the right to ask you questions. Those transactions turn into points. The more the fans interact with you, the more points you earn."

  Dillon threw his hands up in the air. "What? I’m supposed to type while I’m driving? Or in a fight?"

  "No. The computer will have a voice interface, or Kayla can type answers in when things are quiet." The brown-haired man looked the young driver square in the eye. "This is another way to win. Remember, it’s not all about driving."

  Sighing, he dropped his head. "Right. It’s not all about driving. Do we have to answer every question?"

  "If you want to keep getting questions - and points - you’ll answer them with good answers that encourage the fans to follow you. You don’t have to give a monologue. Just be yourself. And since you control the input, you can edit your answer before submitting it. The best part is you won’t be on camera."

  Kayla nudged Dillon with her fingers. "You can do this part. I’ll read the questions out loud, and we can talk about our answer before we put it in. It’ll be an easy way to get points."

  Nico put both hands on the table and looked them over. "Now that the details are out of the way, let’s talk attitude." He shook his head at their looks. "It’s not what you think. I’m talking about your attitude on the road. This will be a marathon. Dillon, it’ll be the longest competition you’ll ever be in. Kayla, this will be like a never-ending system test. It’s going to take everything you have to stay on task, remain focused, and not get hurt."

  The two young people were quiet now, their faces sober. The former autoduellist looked them over once again and sighed. "I don’t know what you’re going to run into out there. I don’t know what’s going to trigger you, to push you over your limit. Just remember two things; you have each other to rely on, and you have my faith. I wouldn’t be putting you out there if I didn’t think you could do this. I wouldn’t be betting my company’s reputation on this wild rally if I didn’t think we were going to have a chance of winning."

  He stood and offered a hand to Dillon. "Go out there tomorrow and drive. Not like your life depended on it; you’re used to that. No, Dillon. Drive like my daughter’s life depends on it."

  The young man shakily smiled back at him and shook his hand. Then Nico turned to his daughter and held out his hand. "Kayla, I want to say I’m proud of you for stepping up and taking on the gunner role. I don’t have to worry about you doing your job. Remember, just as Dillon has your life in his hands, you have his. Count on yourself and remember who you are."

  She stood up, her back straight, with her eyes wet. "I won’t let you down, Dad."