Drone Racer

by Andy Briggs

  Marcus Nation’s voice suddenly yelled out in astonishment. “Well, it looks like we found the Carsonators, folks. But what the heck is he doing up there?”

  Every eye in the stadium was torn between watching the drones and looking up at Carson. He didn’t need to see any of this to know he had been found.

  Chapter 31

  THE FINAL RACE

  Eddie and Trix heard the gasps from the crowd following Marcus Nation’s announcement. Only when the four agents ran away did they see where they were heading. Carson was clearly illuminated by the single spotlight, his feet dangling over the edge of the roof.

  “Thanks for the distraction, Vanta,” said Eddie. “But, Carson, you better watch it. The agents know where you are!”

  This time there was no hesitation as Vanta crossed the line ending the hot lap. Her engines spooled faster and she powered forward. Within moments she was vying for the lead between the Russians’ Sledgehammer and the Japanese Shuriken.

  Carson heard Eddie’s warning, but it didn’t worry him. No matter what, their adventure would come to an end tonight, and he would rather go out in a blaze of glory than give up now. A quick check in the rear monitor made him smile. Logan46 was several places back and being overtaken by Sixtus.

  “Get ready!”

  Vanta’s warning drew his attention back to the first obstacle, a series of hoops the drones had to pass through. Missing any would incur a time penalty.

  “Piece of cake!” Carson said, recalling them from the sighting lap. Back then he wondered why the league was using such basic obstacles.

  Then the hoops began to move, some bobbing up and down, others left and right. The hoops were drones themselves! This hadn’t happened on the sight lap or during the previous two heats, and from the crowd’s reaction he could tell it was a surprise for them too.

  It forced the racers to quickly change direction as one. The leaders bunched together like a shoal of fish as they swooped through one hoop, then all sharply lifted up for the next moving target.

  Sledgehammer suddenly veered towards Vanta in an attempt to knock her away from the hoop. Carson slammed on the air brakes and they fell behind as the Russian overshot and struck the Canadian drone, which spun sideways, missing passing through the loop completely and causing the time-penalty alarm to sound.

  Carson fell in behind Sledgehammer. “So that’s the kind of game you want to play,” he growled.

  They passed through the remaining hoops and on to the next obstruction.

  Trix and Eddie had finally crawled off the side track and into the opposite grandstand, which was filled with international fans banging drums in support of their team. With the race in full flight and the darkness of the grandstands, nobody paid them any attention. They ran as fast as they could around the stadium walkway, their gaze locked on the VIP boxes ahead, built above the standard seats to offer the perfect view.

  Eddie had received Vanta’s photo, so they knew which section Kay was being held in. The private box was fairly dark, but he could just make out his sister’s pale face looking out at the race.

  “She looks scared.”

  “Do you blame her? I’d be terrified. I am terrified! It looks like there’s no way inside the boxes from out here.”

  Eddie pointed to a tunnel entrance, which was guarded by an agent who leaned against a storage cupboard door built into the tunnel wall, his attention on the race. “I reckon that’s our way in.” The tunnel had seats either side and above it, packed with Korean fans waving banners to support their team.

  “How are we going to get past him?” She didn’t like the smile forming on Eddie’s face. “What?”

  The agent watched the race with growing excitement. The drones were slaloming through a network of moving concrete blocks, some positioned diagonally across their path. He punched the air and gasped – then cheered – with the rest of the stadium as a drone misjudged the opening ahead and exploded as it struck the block.

  “Excuse me, mister,” said a young black girl with her hair spiked straight up, who shuffled up to him. “I can’t find my parents.”

  The agent turned his attention back to the race. “Go and find security. They’re the ones in the bright green coats.” He had lost the drones over the track, so followed the action on the jumbo screens.

  “But I can’t find them either!” wailed the girl.

  Irritated, the agent stepped from the tunnel towards her. Whatever he was about to say was knocked from him as something very heavy fell on to his head.

  It was Eddie, dropping a packed litter bin from over the tunnel entrance.

  It bounced from the agent’s head, spilling dozens of empty junk food cartons. He staggered, dazed. He unsteadily groped for his Taser but dropped it as Trix darted past him and opened the storage cupboard door. Eddie shouldered the already unbalanced man towards the cupboard. As he crashed inside, the Taser was flung from his hand. Eddie reached in and managed to snag the man’s little earpiece before slamming the door closed and sharply pulling the bar down to lock it securely.

  Eddie slid the earpiece in. “Yew! Earwax…” He stooped to pick up the agent’s Taser. “Careful with that!” Trix hissed.

  “Hey, I’m an ace sharpshooter.” To demonstrate, he tried to spin the gun around his finger as he’d seen cowboys do in movies – and promptly dropped the Taser, which clattered loudly on the concrete floor.

  Trix placed a finger over her lips, glaring at Eddie for his clumsiness.

  The short tunnel led to a T-junction that allowed VIPs to enter their private boxes without being seen by the crowds outside. Trix pressed up against the corner and peeked around. Luckily there were no other guards posted at the door to the box.

  She tiptoed towards the door. She could hear two voices from inside, neither of which were Kay’s. She looked around for anything that might help them. There was nothing but a red fire extinguisher hooked to the wall. She whispered into her phone.

  “Carson, we might need another distraction to get inside.”

  Carson swung his legs over the edge of the roof. Despite the peril they were all in, he had to admit that he was beginning to enjoy the tournament. It was faster than any of the others had been, with more surprises to overcome. But it was also deadlier, so he tried to force everything from his mind and concentrate on the race, to keep Vanta safe. And the longer he kept the spotlight on him and the distraction going, the more time his friends had for Kay’s rescue.

  A rattling from the roof access hatch told him that an agent was trying to reach him, but he had faith that his leather belt would keep it shut. Sure enough, it stopped moments later, presumably because the defeated agent had begun his long climb back down.

  The racers were just coming to the end of the third lap and already numerous rivals had bitten the dust. The Brazilian team had briefly taken the lead before Sledgehammer had revealed its weaponry and shot a jet of fire at them. In an instant, the Brazilian drone had become an out-of-control fireball that plummeted to the ground with such force it formed a small crater.

  Carson was brought back to the moment by Trix’s request for help.

  “You want more of a diversion? I’m a little busy at the moment.”

  “I have an idea,” said Vanta. “Carson, on the turn after the hoops you’re going to have to position me as far to the right as possible. Keep as close to the grandstands as you can.”

  Carson played the course through his head. He should be going left, not right; it would mean wasting time.

  “And I want you to ram Sledgehammer. Annoy him. Get him to follow us. It’s time we started giving the crowd what they want.”

  That made Carson smile. “OK. Trix? Get ready, we’re entering that stretch now.”

  With the hoops ahead, Vanta moved in position just behind and under Sledgehammer, who was still leading.

  “Almost…” said Vanta. “Get ready – now!”

  Carson jerked the controls and pulled Vanta into an acrobatic flip that cl
ipped Sledgehammer. The big Russian drone hadn’t expected the move. It sharply veered to the left – smashing through the side of a hoop. Vanta flipped gracefully overhead towards the outermost hoop and, as expected, Sledgehammer followed.

  Vanta’s weapon pod flipped open, revealing the tiny pencil-size missiles within – but she didn’t fire immediately.

  The pause gave the Russian pilot just enough time to realize what he was looking at.

  “Boppers away!” she yelled.

  Then she fired.

  In panic, Sledgehammer swooped aside, losing speed, and missed passing through the outer hoop. A loud squawk across the arena signalled the Russians had incurred a time penalty. Vanta just managed to make it through the hoop, but her missile fell wide as the Russians evaded it.

  Carson piloted Vanta back towards the race pack, but the move had cost them. Seven other racers had taken the lead, including Sixtus and Logan46.

  Meanwhile, the fired missile streaked straight for the VIP boxes!

  Chapter 32

  THE RESCUE!

  Inside the VIP box, Kay was frozen to the spot as the missile headed straight towards her.

  At the very last second it detonated before it could strike the window. The glass shattered into a cobweb of white fractures – but didn’t break. Kay and the two agents guarding her threw themselves to the floor.

  At the same time, the door was kicked open with a loud thud and Eddie ran into the room with a whoop, holding the Taser gun at arm’s length. The agent nearest him on the floor looked and scowled at him. It was Bevan, his injured fingers now heavily bandaged.

  “You!”

  Eddie grinned. “Surprise!” With that he pulled the trigger and the darts thudded into Agent Bevan’s bum. He shrieked in pain as electricity jolted through him, then he lay in a daze, drooling on the floor.

  Seeing Eddie was now unarmed, the second agent started to climb to his feet – only to be sprayed in the face by a jet of foam from the fire extinguisher Trix was wielding as she followed her friend inside.

  The agent coughed and spluttered as he clawed the foul-tasting foam from his mouth. He staggered backwards – only to be tripped by Kay. With a wail, the agent plunged through the cracked window frame and on to the crowd underneath in a shower of glass. Kay and Trix ran forward, afraid they’d hurt the man, or worse – but broke into laughter when they saw, despite his kicking and screaming, that he was surfing the crowd like a rock star, being borne away over the heads of the crowd towards the front of the grandstand.

  Eddie grinned at his bewildered sister. “Did somebody order a rescue?”

  Carson’s lip was numb as he nervously chewed it. He throttled Vanta forward, overtaking the Australians to make fifth place. Logan46 was just ahead, Sixtus to one side, and Shuriken had taken the lead. He was satisfied to see Sledgehammer even further behind; even if they made up the ground, the time penalty had effectively put them out of the race for now.

  He tried to accelerate, but Vanta didn’t respond. Frustrated, he slapped the side of his controller.

  “Vanta, what’s wrong? The controls feel sluggish.”

  “I’m detecting interference. Somebody’s scanning our frequency. I think our little missile stunt has annoyed somebody.”

  “Can we switch channels?”

  “OK. Try now.”

  Carson was rewarded with a jolt of speed and he followed Logan46 into the seventh lap.

  The race was now a game of leapfrog. Vanta overtook Logan46 only for his arch-rivals to slip past as the South African in third place tried to attack Vanta with a flailing whip that extended out on a telescopic arm. Angry sparks crackled down its length.

  “Carson!”

  “I see it,” replied Carson, his voice taut with concentration as he avoided the whip. It narrowly missed both Vanta and Logan46, who were forced to fall back just out of range.

  Crossing the line into lap eight, Vanta and Logan46 were now in joint fourth position. The sweeping hammer obstacle took out the South African contender, and Vanta inched into third place.

  “Carson, something’s coming straight at us.”

  A quick check behind showed that Sixtus was just behind Logan46.

  “That’s just India.”

  “No, I don’t mean in the race.”

  Carson felt the wind around him pick up with a roar, and he was suddenly very aware of the danger of being blown off the roof. As they reached a racing straight to start lap nine, he pulled his goggles half up to see what was going on.

  A midnight-black helicopter rose from behind the stadium, causing the fierce breeze. From below, the crowd probably thought it was a part of the TV coverage, as news choppers had been circling the stadium all evening.

  The chopper’s side door slid back, revealing a scowling Agent Anders.

  “Carson, what’s going on?” Vanta shouted in his ear.

  “They’ve found a way to get up here!” Carson exclaimed, leaping to his feet. With the goggles half covering his eyes, he started to run.

  “Carson! There’s no escape, kid!” yelled Anders. She jumped the metre from the aircraft to the roof and gave chase.

  The roof sloped up, then down, then up again in a series of undulating waves that made Carson’s leg muscles tremble with exertion. He angled the VR visor so one eye could see the screen, the other to make sure he didn’t run off the edge of the roof.

  “I’m coming!” said Vanta urgently.

  Carson felt her take control. “NO! We finish the race!”

  Vanta didn’t argue as Carson seized back control and accelerated the drone with all the power he could muster. The crowd went wild as Vanta focused on the American drone in front, the Eagle, which was just behind Shuriken.

  Running while trying to pilot the drone was an almost impossible task. His feet slipped on the metal slopes and he kept falling to his knees. Luckily, Agent Anders wasn’t finding it any easier, as the downwash from the helicopter kept blowing her over.

  Carson stumbled and landed on his knees. His thumb accidentally shoved the control sticks. Vanta jerked straight into the Eagle, suddenly moving at full speed. Her military-grade, reinforced fuselage was much stronger than the Americans’ lightweight plastic drone, and she tore through the centre of it as if it were an overly ripe melon.

  The crowd became louder than ever in their enthusiasm as the Eagle was torn into two halves in a mass of flames and sparks.

  “Oh, that’s gotta hurt!” Marcus Nation bellowed. “And that puts the Carsonators into second place!”

  Carson struggled to his feet, feeling disorientated. He didn’t know which way he was facing, or where Agent Anders or the edge of the roof was. He readjusted his goggles so he could see Vanta’s view.

  “Are you OK?” Carson’s thumbs jerked the control sticks to weave Vanta through the array of moving concrete blocks.

  “That was unexpected! I’m not indestructible, you know. Some debris struck my engines, so I had to reroute power. I should be OK.”

  They zoomed over the line and Marcus Nation declared: “The final lap!”

  “Watch out behind!”

  In the rear-view, Carson saw that Logan46 had caught up and was on a collision course for Vanta. He impacted her at full speed. Carson felt the jolt through his body – and it took him a split second to realize he had been tackled by Agent Anders. He fell back hard, his VR headset tumbling off. Luckily the controller was in still clutched in his hands. Carson kicked at Anders, pushing her down the slope.

  He reached for his helmet – only to see it tumble off the edge of the roof. His free hand checked his phone was still in his pocket, still connected to Vanta.

  “I’ve lost my goggles! I’m flying blind.”

  “Well, a lot of left would help right about now!” Vanta wailed.

  Carson jinked the stick to the left. In his mind’s eye he could see the section Vanta was approaching. He ran to the edge of the roof and squinted down – he could just see the pack of drones, but from th
is distance they were nothing more than a bunch of blinking lights.

  Then he caught the video feeds on the jumbo screen. He would have to control Vanta using them.

  “Vanta, I think you should take over now.”

  “What? No.”

  “Vanta! This is crazy.”

  “Then let’s quit the race. There’s no harm in doing that. But if you let me fly then Eddie was right all along. We’ll be cheats and everyone will know it. It’s better to lose now and fly again than to be disqualified for ever from something you love. Think about it. What would your mum want you to do?”

  Carson’s mind was filled with conflicting emotions. They had got so far and Vanta was right: quitting was the safer option.

  On the big screen, he could see parts of Logan46’s fuselage were cracked and broken, revealing the electronics beneath. In places it was barely hanging on. They were lining up to ram Vanta again. Clearly their intention was no longer to win, it was to stop the Carsonators from completing the race.

  Carson was suddenly yanked backwards as Agent Anders pulled him by the collar.

  “Get away from the edge!”

  Carson dropped the controller and watched it slide away from him. He lunged for it, pulling himself free from Agent Anders at the precise moment the helicopter hovered closer. The hurricane-force wind helped propel Carson towards the controller. He rolled, then was suddenly sliding headfirst towards the edge.

  His outstretched hand caught the controller as it launched into the air – but he couldn’t stop himself from plunging over the edge!

  His flailing hand caught the rim of the rooftop and he hung from one arm, the controls still in his other hand. The entire stadium erupted in gasps – not regarding him, but because Vanta had just unleashed a missile at Logan46, tearing off the rotors along one side.

  Logan46 spun like a Catherine wheel, rapidly losing speed. Sixtus was right behind and pitched to the side – just as Sledgehammer was about to unleash a jet of flame. Then Logan46 collided with the Russians in the largest explosion the games had yet seen. And the crowd loved it!