He was not in a racecar. He was not even on a track. But Cass was racing in his head. The hoverbike he had rented was a sport model and fast. The desert in front of him was endless except for boulders, a few hills, and scattered vegetation. For the first time in years, Cass was getting that racing feeling back as he accelerated up to the hoverbike’s top speed on an imaginary straightaway before slamming on the reverse thrust to brake heavily into a corner marked by a cactus, then accelerating away. Ahead, a dry riverbed formed a series of high-speed corners he slalomed through.

  This was not a trip he had wanted to make, but at least it was putting a smile on his face. When Vex told him his engineering ability was not up to par to build a competitive chassis for the team, Cass had been upset. First the AI, now the car itself. This time, though, it was Cass who had to find someone to do it, which was why he was out here in the desert. Somewhere out here lived Elias Cole. He had previously worked for Olympic Motors before joining their sponsor, Titan Dynamics. Cass was not sure what Elias was doing out in the middle of nowhere, but according to Vex, he was a genius. Vex said his cars were beasts.

  As he amused himself driving the hoverbike around the desert, Cass noticed a drone tracking him. It followed him as he turned or changed speed. Cass had no idea where the drone had come from or what it was doing, so he tried to lose it, but without success. It was far more manoeuvrable and could track the hoverbike easily. When Cass got closer to where he believed Elias lived, more drones joined in.

  It was then that the radio in the hoverbike crackled to life. “Identify yourself,” came an automated voice.

  Cass fumbled with the controls. “Hello, hello?” he said. “I’m Cassian Varn. I’m looking for Elias Cole.”

  “State your intentions,” said the voice.

  “I want to talk to him about my Ultracar team,” said Cass.

  The line was dead for a minute before the voice returned. “Follow the drones. Do not deviate.”

  One of the drones took a lead position in front of Cass. When he glanced at the ones around him, he noticed that a few had weapons pointing at him. “What is going on?” said Cass with the radio off.

  The drones led Cass farther into the desert. He had a GPS coordinate he thought was Elias’s location, but the drones started leading him away from that point to another. “Hey, I don’t think this is the right direction,” said Cass into the radio.

  “Follow the drones. Do not deviate,” came the response.

  Not that Cass had much choice at this point. He followed the drones until they led him to a small dome building surrounded by solar panels and a few vehicles. The drones began circling and formed a perimeter, with Cass in the centre as he brought the hoverbike to a halt.

  A man stepped out of the dome carrying a shotgun by his side. “Show your face,” he yelled at Cass. Cass pulled off his helmet to show his face to the man, who held up a phone and looked back and forth from the phone to Cass. “OK, you can come in.” He turned and walked back into the dome while Cass dismounted and followed.

  Inside the dome, it did not look much better than outside. It was mostly a work site strewn with various items and military surplus crates. A hammock hung in one corner next to a small bookshelf. “Sorry for the rude welcome,” said Elias, putting the shotgun down. “I know you tried to contact me, but I prefer my privacy. I didn’t expect you to come out here. I thought you might be some corporate hitman.”

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  “But you know I’m not,” said Cass, trying to confirm he was safe.

  “You’re not,” said Elias. “I remember you. You’re not here to kill me.”

  “No, I’m not,” said Cass, trying to sound friendly. Of all the problems he was having in getting his team going, this was one he had not faced so far. “I’d like to recruit you.”

  “No, thank you,” said Elias. “Maybe I should have replied to your messages so you wouldn’t have come all the way out here, but I’m done with all that.”

  “Why?” said Cass. “My mechanic says you were the best.”

  Elias shrugged. “I was good,” he said. “Too good. I got recruited to do other things. Things that should never be done. Things that haunt my dreams at night.”

  “Is that why you are out here?” said Cass, gesturing around.

  “Basically,” said Elias. “I don’t want to be anywhere near Ultracar, or more specifically, their corporate sponsors. It’s safer. Plus, I can do some good work here. Humanitarian stuff.”

  “Humanitarian work in the desert?” said Cass.

  “There are a lot of people who live out here,” said Elias. “People who are hurting need help, need refuge. The cities aren’t safe for them, but the climate here is harsh. I’m trying to help with that. Put my skills to good use.”

  “And you’d rather do that than try to stick it to the corporations on the track?” said Cass, hoping there was a competitive side to Elias he could tap into.

  “No.” The way Elias said it made it clear he did not care about the racing. “I’m happy here. I’m fulfilled. I’m making amends for my past sins.”

  “Could I at least get you to take a look at what we’ve got?” said Cass. “Maybe just a temporary role to design a chassis.”

  “You don’t have a chassis yet?” said Elias. “Doesn’t the season start soon?”

  “It does,” said Cass. “We also have a sponsor who will leave if we don’t have one sooner. Look, we have the chance to take a stand against some of the big corporations. Including Olympic and Titan.”

  Elias blinked. “Fine, let me take a look at what you’ve got so far.”

  Cass pulled out a tablet with the relevant information. Elias took it and sat down in a recliner. “This might take a while,” said Elias before he got too deep into the data. “Make yourself at home. The kitchen is over there. Help yourself.”

  As Elias returned his attention to the data, Cass got some food. It was all military freeze-dried rations. Not very tasty, but he was full afterwards. About an hour later, Elias looked up from the tablet.

  “Your mechanic has a knack for aerodynamics,” said Elias. “That’s some first-rate stuff. The dynamic components are excellent. As you said, the chassis design is very inadequate. And then the AI...”

  “What about it?” said Cass. He had already had enough issues with that AI.

  “It scares the living daylights out of me,” said Elias.

  That was not what Cass had been expecting. “What do you mean?”

  Elias paused for a moment, and Cass wondered what he was thinking. “It will be fast,” said Elias. “It will do the job, but I don’t trust it. There are other things going on with it. Phantoms. I don’t think it’s an Ultracar AI.”

  Cass was annoyed that it was that obvious. “We have an expert handling it,” said Cass. “But what do you think about the job? Could you do it?”

  “No,” said Elias with finality. “I’m done with all that.” He handed the tablet back to Cass. “I’ve made a few notes for your mechanic to follow. Should help him out.”

  “I need more than that,” said Cass. Elias shrugged. Cass did not want to bring this up, but he felt he had to. “Do you remember my crash? The one that ended my career?” Elias turned serious and looked at Cass. “And killed my teammate?”

  Elias pointed toward the door. “I think it’s time you leave,” he said.

  “I know they all thought it was my fault,” said Cass. “And it was. At least part of it. But I always felt there was a mechanical side to the incident.”

  “You’re cruel to bring that up,” said Elias.

  “But there was more going on than just my actions?” said Cass. “It never came out during any of the investigations, but I suspec...”

  “Get out,” yelled Elias. He walked over to Cass, grabbed his jacket and lifted Cass up. “Move.” He pushed Cass toward the door.

  “I see that Bible by your bed,” said Cass. “You said you’re out here to make amends. Atone.”

  “This doesn’t concern you,” said Elias.

  “You don’t want to atone to me?” said Cass.

  Elias glared at him for several minutes as his heavy breathing slowly calmed down. Cass waited patiently, letting time do the convincing. Finally, Elias spoke. “If I do this, you never bring that up again.”