11-18-2025, 03:14 AM
Liv’s response took all of eternity and probably years off of Nika’s life. Stress was no joke versus longevity. When the return message didn’t arrive immediately, her wallet was bravely left on the coffee table while she ran through what was in stock in her AutoChef ingredients. Her nutritionist was conspiring with the team doctor again like they did after every Japanese visit. More fish! How about no? Fish were friends, not food. She glanced at her wallet after every entry in their app. Had she muted it accidentally?
Finally, finally it sounded a message received. Yes!
There was plenty of time to clipper-trim her hair, shower and throw on jeans and a sweater. She planned on being early and headed out to the condo’s interior parking levels before encountering a slight hiccup. Her bays were all empty except one. She’d forgotten the cars were all still at the maintenance garage for checkups. The flyaway races allowed her to get all of the year’s preventative maintenance out of the way at once with little to no disruption to her driving whims.
The remaining vehicle had just had his seals, rods and bearings all replaced three months prior after developing a leak during a charity race. The beast in question was a Special Edition McLaren Senna Hypercar called Pico who had his own social media fan pages from a series of spy movies he was featured in. Nika was trying to ease Liv into her life, or had been trying before basically ghosting her. Showing up in a very recognizable yellow and green angular wedge of unsubtle aggression did not convey normalcy let alone promise a simple future.
Sighing as she climbed in the cockpit, Nika began the starting sequence as the dihedral door slid downward. Her contract did not permit her to take a hire-car because of kidnapping concerns and the contracted driver Ducati had on retainer drove a limo- plus she had already dismissed him for the day. There really was no other option so she set the car to manual and emerged from the building’s drive, dispatching the parking drones to scout out a suitable spot.
The drive was spent weaving through traffic while she worried at her lip with her teeth. Absent minded fingers traced the new, pink scar arrowing upwards an inch above her right brow to continue on past her hairline. It would lessen as the tissue was healed further by dermal treatments. She was fairly certain the doctors wouldn’t need to open it again to check on the skull patch.
Pico’s drones signaled via heads-up display that they’d located a spot and Nika accepted the new routing verbally. Ten minutes later saw her park. She climbed out after looking around to see if Liv was anywhere within sight and activated the projector drones. Now Pico appeared as a small box lorry. Crisis averted.
The crowd at Ivan’s was light still which made the other woman easy to spot when she came in.
All of her own nervousness disappeared instantly somehow . Nika’s nearly-black eyes glittered above a double dimpled smile of excitement. She couldn’t help it. Liv was here! Nika approached from where she’d been sitting. Liv was here! Nika forgot everything but that moment. “Hi,” her smile and eyes were relieved. They were together again.
Finally, finally it sounded a message received. Yes!
There was plenty of time to clipper-trim her hair, shower and throw on jeans and a sweater. She planned on being early and headed out to the condo’s interior parking levels before encountering a slight hiccup. Her bays were all empty except one. She’d forgotten the cars were all still at the maintenance garage for checkups. The flyaway races allowed her to get all of the year’s preventative maintenance out of the way at once with little to no disruption to her driving whims.
The remaining vehicle had just had his seals, rods and bearings all replaced three months prior after developing a leak during a charity race. The beast in question was a Special Edition McLaren Senna Hypercar called Pico who had his own social media fan pages from a series of spy movies he was featured in. Nika was trying to ease Liv into her life, or had been trying before basically ghosting her. Showing up in a very recognizable yellow and green angular wedge of unsubtle aggression did not convey normalcy let alone promise a simple future.
Sighing as she climbed in the cockpit, Nika began the starting sequence as the dihedral door slid downward. Her contract did not permit her to take a hire-car because of kidnapping concerns and the contracted driver Ducati had on retainer drove a limo- plus she had already dismissed him for the day. There really was no other option so she set the car to manual and emerged from the building’s drive, dispatching the parking drones to scout out a suitable spot.
The drive was spent weaving through traffic while she worried at her lip with her teeth. Absent minded fingers traced the new, pink scar arrowing upwards an inch above her right brow to continue on past her hairline. It would lessen as the tissue was healed further by dermal treatments. She was fairly certain the doctors wouldn’t need to open it again to check on the skull patch.
Pico’s drones signaled via heads-up display that they’d located a spot and Nika accepted the new routing verbally. Ten minutes later saw her park. She climbed out after looking around to see if Liv was anywhere within sight and activated the projector drones. Now Pico appeared as a small box lorry. Crisis averted.
The crowd at Ivan’s was light still which made the other woman easy to spot when she came in.
All of her own nervousness disappeared instantly somehow . Nika’s nearly-black eyes glittered above a double dimpled smile of excitement. She couldn’t help it. Liv was here! Nika approached from where she’d been sitting. Liv was here! Nika forgot everything but that moment. “Hi,” her smile and eyes were relieved. They were together again.