The group moved to an abandoned part of the city. “The hill here is perfect for a go-cart race,” Tyler explained.

“She should be our finish line girl,” Tina said.

Tyler glanced at her, “You want to do it?”

“What do I need to do?” Olivia asked.

“See that yellow line at the bottom of the hill? By the third light?” Oscar said. “All you need to do is wave this flag as all the drivers cross it and make a note of the order they come in.”

“I can do that,” Olivia grinned. Oliver handed her the flag, which was really just a dowel with a green t-shirt hanging on it. She walked down to the hill’s bottom and looked back up at the group in the darkness. Erik gave the order to go, and Olivia watched as the racers came toward her. She lost sight of them temporarily because the streetlights stopped partway down the hill. As they got closer, Olivia could see them again.

James, Tyler, and Tina looked to be vying for first place, with the others following close behind. Tyler came in just slightly ahead of Tina, with James coming in third with Sam following. Oscar broke down on his way down the hill, and Rayden crashed. Erik ran down the hill. “Who won?” he asked breathlessly.

“Tyler was the winner, and Tina got runner up,” Olivia said, handing the flag back to Oscar. “That was fun.”

“You know the finish line girl usually kisses the winner,” Tina teased.

Even Olivia could see the woman was teasing her as well as testing her. The others waited in silence for Olivia’s reaction. “Bring it over here then,” Olivia bantered. She didn’t mind giving Tyler a kiss.

“See, I told you she wouldn’t freak out,” Erik said to James, slapping James on the shoulder. “You owe me five credits.”

Tyler walked over to Olivia and tilted her head toward him, gently pressing his lips to hers. His kiss was chaste as though he was holding back, which was fine considering they had an audience. Olivia’s arms slipped around him, and Tyler tensed momentarily before relaxing. He ended the kiss but gave her a hug as he murmured. “Thanks, you didn’t have to be so nice about it.”

“Who said I was just being nice,” She whispered teasingly as they pulled apart. The banter and ribbing continued around them as they took the go-karts back to the warehouse.

“Hey Olivia, want to grab a few beers for these losers?” Tina asked.

“Sure,” Olivia walked away with Tina.

“I wasn’t sure about you first, but you’re a pretty cool chippie,” Tina gave her a grin. “You can take a joke too. I like that. Anyone messes with you, let me know.” She said, reaching into the fridge. Tina handed a handful of cans to Olivia before grabbing a few more as they walked back to the group.

The girls handed out the beers, and everyone chatted amicably. Their peace was shattered as the door burst open. Two Officers of the Unified Axis walked in. “You’re all under arrest. Everyone knows that meetings of more than three people are illegal under code 354 of the Axis Alliance.”

Tina rolled her eyes, “Someone told you we were here, didn’t they. What’s the Alliance got against go-karts?”

“You know the rules,” the other officer sneered.

Olivia looked over a Tina and then at Tyler. She knew that they would be fined for a meeting if the Alliance found nothing else to charge them with. The cost to pay the fine could be a body part. This was an opportunity Olivia had been waiting her whole life for. She immediately threw her bottle at the first guy charging the second as she yelled, “Get out of here!”

She couldn’t see what was going on, but she hoped the others would listen and leave with the chaos she was creating. As the officers wrangled her to the ground and got her cuffed. They pulled Olivia to her feet, and she breathed a sigh of relief, seeing the others were gone.

“You know you’ll be sentenced to death for attacking an officer,” The one said to her snidely.

Olivia said nothing, knowing it was the law. In fact, that was part of her plan. “Well, we don’t have to turn her over right away,” The other said, giving her the once over. “We could have some fun with her first. Not that it would matter. She’s good as dead anyway.” The officer pulled her over to a support pole and handcuffed her to it.

The other officer looked away, “Do what you want, Mac but don’t take too long. I want to get back before dinner.” He walked out of the building.

Olivia was now alone with Mac. “Now it’s just you and I,” His hand slipped up her shirt as he groped her. “You want this, don’t you, sweetheart.” Olivia turned her face away from him and closed her eyes. If this was the price she paid to bring her plan to completion, so be it.