Webster’s dictionary defines Speed as the fallowing: the rate of change of position along a straight line with respect to time over a set distance. In other words, the quicker you can get from one place to another. The question is what do you, do when your family has spent the last two generations in search of ways to accomplish this goal faster and faster. Would do you do when the family business is the search for more Speed. For Robert ‘Robby’ McGuire the answer is easy. You grab your sister and strap on a pair of Formula One racecars then go for broke.

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Chapter 20
Monday morning, Day after the race, Baku City, Azerbaijan
As I stood next to Beth in the pits I had to smile. I know that we have pissed off more than a few drivers and their fans. Once again, first off, we took the third and fourth pole positions as if they were reserved for just us. Beth turned in a course scorching Qualifying time with me just one-one-hundredth of second behind her. Only the Richtmann twins placed better than us with record breaking Qualifying times. Beth and I were just a hundredth of a second behind the twins. To say that the four of us owned this course would be an understatement. It was like we were back home on the streets of Darlington or Columbia racing the old crowd.

Places where it wasn’t about the just the car, but a driver’s skill. Where the drivers trade as much paint as they do tire rubber and chrome. Places where a race was more often ran for nothing more than bragging rights. I chuckled as I thought about some of those movies that show massive amounts of cash changing hands at illegal street races. The truth of the matter is very small amounts of cash ever change hands. Never more than a few thousand at most. Now, car titles on the other hand are another story. More than a few of those changed hands between the winners and the losers. That was where the money came about. The reselling of cars or their individual parts. That was how I earned most of the money I put into my GTO.

Finally, Beth and I were racing in a way and place that we learned to drive. On the streets. The last two races were on designed and purpose built race tracks. I learn that those types of tracks give the other teams an advantage. I may do alright on those types of courses but not on one like this. Most of the other drivers were trained on the race circuit tracks. Whereas Beth and I learned how to race on the streets of South Carolina. I knew that every time we came to one of these tracks, we would have the advantage from now on. It wouldn’t matter where is the world we were. We would be the ones that owned the street and road courses.

“You girls did damned good yesterday. I know that you would have preferred to take first and second, but you can’t win them all.” I turned to smile at mom as she walked up to us. “Still third and fourth place ain’t too bad. The points for those positions help with our overall team standings in the owner’s race.”

“We know that mom. The twins were just luckier than we were yesterday.” Beth assured her. “We’ll take them down on the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Barcelona.”

“Don’t go getting cocky there Beth. There is still a lot of racing to go this season. The Richtmann twins aren’t the only ones gunning for you girls.” Mom warned.

“We know that mom. That’s what makes it so much fun. With the exception of the Richtmann twins none of those other mooks take us seriously.” I let the giggle that I had been holding go. “Every time they try to pin us down. We just slip-slide-away into the drift before they know what hit them.”

Mom chuckled as she hugged both me and Beth. “That you do, dear. There are times that I sit up there in the spotter’s nest and hold my breath. What you girls do out there with our cars is pure magic at times. I think how the hell did they just do that or where did they think up that maneuver. It takes my breath away.”

“Mom, we’re good but we’re not magicians.” I began then sighed. “Look, I know that I’ve kept a lot of my skills at the wheel of a car secret from you and dad. The same way as Beth. But we did it so that you won’t worry. You and dad have always known about our rat-racing. We just never let you know just how good we are.”

“Yah, it was kind of became our big sister/little brother thing. Something that was just between us in the family mom.” Beth waved her arm at the pit area and race course. “Not like that out there, where the whole world sees us. To them we’re nothing more than the newest entertainment spectacle.”

“Back home on the streets we’re just two kids that love to go hard and fast. To push our cars to their limits and see what happens.” I sighed into mom’s shoulder. “At home we’re nothing more than your everyday street-racers. Not Formula One racing stars Bobbie and Beth McGuire.”

“That’s the funny part mom. We show up at home and we’re just the local talent that got lucky.” Beth said grinning. “It’s that attitude that constantly reminds us of just how lucky we are.”

Dad started chuckling as he walked up to us. “We raised you girls right. Just keep those level heads, never forget where you came from, and you can’t go wrong.”

“Thanks, dad. How much longer for loading up the cars?” Beth asked.

“Another half hour to forty-five minutes for breakdown and loading. After that it’s off to the airport.” Dad gave me a hug. “We should be landing in Spain six hours following takeoff. After that we got seven days to get the cars and you girls ready for the Spanish Grand Prix. This time you’ll have the advantage.”

“Don’t think so, dad.” I quickly corrected him. I knew that the only tracks we had the advantage on were the street courses. “As much as I hate to say this it is the truth. The purpose built tracks favor the more established teams and drivers.”

“Okay, what does that mean?” Mom asked. “You girls have shown you can handle any course they throw at you. The only course that has given you any problems so far has been here. Even then your only competition was the Richtmann twins.”

“Mom, Bobbie is right. The regular purpose built tracks do favor the other drivers. So, far our two wins have been on street course. Yes, I know that Shanghai is technically a purpose built race circuit but the way it is laid out and paved it might as well be a street course. As for the Richtmann twins being our only competition think again. Gusmand, Reinaldi, and Shepard, just to name a few could cause problems for us at any time.” Beth was quick to point out.

Mom and dad stood there staring at me and Beth with stunned looks of disbelief. For them to hear us actually confessing to our shortcomings like this was just too much. “Sis I think we broke them.”

“Nah. Nothing like. They just need time to adjust to the idea of that we’re not perfect. Once that sinks in, they’ll be just fine.” With that Beth hugged mom and dad. Moved out of the for me to do the same. Once we had both hugged our parents, we took off to give the pit crews a hand in getting our cars ready to transport.

I know that most drivers don’t bother with showing their faces around the pits unless they’re there to drive. Unlike Beth and me, who are always in the pit area. Neither of us can just stand around and do nothing. We have to get our hands dirty with turning a screwdriver or bending a wrench. I know that more than a few of the other teams think we’re a little nuts. Not that we give a damn one way or the other what they think. We do know that our fans get a kick out of the pictures of us in the pits working with the crews. I think we have autographed more than a thousand of those at the meet and greets on Thursday’s.

When Mr. Gunderson saw the first pictures of us turning wrenches with the teams in the pits he was not happy with us. He thought that we should present a more lady like appearance for the public. Then he saw how much the younger fans loved seeing the way we worked with our crews. It was a real PR phenomenon. One that was fast overtaking the F1 fan community. We were caught off guard by the number of teenage girls that followed our sport. Mr. Gunderson explained that there was an actual rise in the number of teenage girl fans since we started driving. More than in Indy, NASCAR, and Drift over the last decade. I put it down as nothing more than us being the newest face in the sport. Then I noticed that as we raced in the different countries there was more to it. There were just as many teenage boys as there were girls among our fans.

I didn’t know what creeped me out more. The number of moon-eyed boys or cow-eyed girls that came to see us. I know that Kelly isn’t too happy with all the attention the boys are showing me. I get a kick out of her jealousy at times. I always make it up to her later that night in our hotel. Kelly hasn’t been as torqued up over our fans since I proposed to her. I think it has to do with the fact that she knows that I will always come home to her loving arms.

“HEY! BOBBIE!” I turn to see Tony and the Four Horsemen pushing one of the specially designed cargo crates that holds some of our equipment. “You know where the team trucks are parking?”

The question caught me off guard. “What do you mean? I thought that you were loading them up here in the pits?”

“We are. This crate is supposed to be on the truck carrying our emergency replacement parts. That idiot driver pulled out before we got this one in the van.” Danny answered me quickly. “Dad wants to keep all of the spare parts together. If we can anyway. Something is going on with dad and Chief Marks about this jump.”

“Their parking the transports at the far end of the paddock road before letting them leave. Something about double checking the security seals before allowing them to leave. It seems some of the other teams have been trying to get the specs on the other cars.” I chuckled as the guys just shook their heads at the stupidity.

Even I knew the security surrounding those trucks matched armored bank cars. Not something you screwed with, in the UE. Not and lived to tell about it. The last time someone tried to take down one of those armored bank cars the whole crew ended up in body bags. The police escort just gunned them down not bothering to try and take prisoners. It made the news in over thirty countries.

“Damn. If their already double checking the seals, then we’ll have to put this on another truck. Come on guys let’s get a move on.” Tony said as the five of them hustled to move the cargo container to the next truck in line. “Bobbie do us a favor and explain this to the Chiefs.”

“I’ll cover for you guys. Just take care of that container.” I called back as they pushed the container towards the next truck. I was more than a little surprised at first by the sheer number of trucks that was used to get us from point A to B. As I stood there watching the guys, I began to marvel at the sheer magnitude of the logistics that it took to run the Formula One World Championship.

I thought about how each team competing in the FIA Formula One World Championship now travels something like 160,000 kilometers or 100,000 miles a year between races and test sessions. The logistical effort isn’t as simple as merely getting people and equipment in place. Hotel accommodation must be found and booked. Some teams can require up to 100 rooms. Then there hire cars that must be sourced and the team's facilities at the circuit. Everything from the pit garage equipment to the drivers' motorhomes and the paddock corporate hospitality units must all be in place. Just as important, in this digital age, are the secure data links that connect a team to its base, every type of data and telemetry must be sent directly back to that team’s home-base. It allows engineers to study any potential problems, even while the race is running.

During the European rounds of the championship the team's equipment will travel by road. In specialized liveried articulated lorries. Most these are familiar from race paddocks across the continent. All of the equipment required for the weekend will be loaded in these. Cars, spare parts, computers, and tools, nothing is left to chance. Only the tyres, fuel and certain other equipment are brought separately by technical partners and local contractors.

The non-European or 'flyaway' races the logistical effort is considerably more complicated as equipment has to be flown out on transport planes. Rather than use conventional aircraft containers, teams have created their own specially designed cargo crates, designed to fill all available space in the holds of cargo plans. Most teams use cargo planes chartered by the Formula One Management (FOM) which fly from London and Munich to wherever the race is being held. In the case of successive flyaway races there is insufficient time between them to allow the teams' equipment to be brought 'home', meaning direct transit between the two races. This means that considerably more components have to be packed.

As the number of races outside Europe continues to expand, so does the massive logistical effort required to transport the teams and their equipment expands right alongside it. Already the amount of transport required for just one season of Formula 1 racing has been described, only half-jokingly. Mom once told me that it was not too dissimilar to what was needed for a medium-sized military campaign. One similar to that used by the US Military for Operations Enduring Freedom or Desert Storm. Jake Stone joked just before we left that my army awaited their general.

As I looked around the pit area I realize that he might not be joking. Between Beth and I, we had more than fifty people counting on us to win as often as possible. We were the Generals that commanded this small army. It was our job to ensure that they would be in the next race. Just as it was their job to ensure that we had the needed equipment to run that race.

“Excuse me Fräulien McGuire. May we have a moment of your time?” I knew the voice was one that I had never expected to hear. At least not in a pleasant manner.

I turned to find Hans and Detrick Richtmann standing just behind me smiling. I knew that my German was a barely up to the job, but I tried my best anyway. “Guten tag Herren. Was kann ich für Sie tun?”

Both of the twins chuckled. The one on the right took my right hand and bowed over it slightly. I think he was Hans, I’m not sure. “No need to used German Fräulien. Our English is better than most on the circuit. Thank you though for trying.”

“I must admit that I am slightly surprised that you would come all the way down to the pit to find me. It’s not your normal operation.” I figured I would get straight to the point with them. Their dislike of me was well known.

“We came by to wish you good luck for the rest of the season. Und in your upcoming marriage to Fräulien Ringwald.” The twin on the left said. This one had a slightly heavier accent so that made him, Detrick. I think.

“Thank you, gentlemen. May I know why you’re wishing me good luck? After all you did just beat me and my sister yesterday. You stand just as good a chance to win the championship as we do.” I figured that I would be honest with them.

“Not so, McGuire. After today we will no longer be competing against each other.” When the twin on the right started talking, I gave up on trying to figure out who was who. I just tagged them twin number one and twin number two in my head.

“What? Why? Aren’t you going to complete the season?” I asked them.

“We were only brought in until our team owners could find permanent replacements. They signed their replacement drivers last night. We will be returning to either the F-two or three circuit for the rest of the season. Hopefully we’ll pick up a new ride before too long.” Twin number two told me with a smile. “It has been a true honor to compete against you and your sister. We have never before had such competition from ones so young.”

“Ja. You and your sister’s skills as drivers pushed us to be better drivers. Our races have come down to luck. Between our two teams there is only simple luck that now separates the winners and losers. Your skills just barely surpass ours, while the technology for our cars barely surpass yours.” Twin number one told me. “This last race prove that point. To both us, and our former sponsors.”

“Umm… just what do you mean? That luck is the only thing separating our teams.” I had cocked my head to the side trying to understand what they were getting at.

“Fräulien you and sister are without doubt the best drivers currently on the circuit. Yet your cars are mostly last years designs. With the exception of your powerplants. Those are definitely next generation.” Twin number two pointed out with a smile as if it was obvious to the whole world. I really needed to learn how to tell them apart if we were ever to become friends.

When they started to chuckle at my look of concentration, I knew that I had been caught out. The twins sang at the same time. “You can’t tell us, apart can you?”

I gave up and started to laugh. I just nodded my head yes until I got myself under control again. Twin number one held up his hand. “I am Hans. The good looking one.”

“While I am Detrick. The smart one.” Twin number two said while holding up his hand. Their latest antics just had me laughing all the harder. Especially as they are identical twins with no real way to tell them apart. That is if you didn’t know them personally. That was what it took to tell them apart. As they each had their own personality separating them one from the other. I was fast learning the two very distinctive personalities that separated the two men.

“Okay guys. You got to stop already. Please? I’m close to peeing my panties.” I was close to begging them to stop at this point.

“Of course, Fräulien McGuire. We have had our fun.” Hans agreed with a smile.

“Ja. We have had our fun.” Detrick gave me a smile. “We shall be going now. Best of luck Fräulien. Watch your backside around Reizenstein and Shafer. They are our replacements. They do not have any respect for you or your sister. They are just like our old team owners. They believe that Americans have no place in Formula One racing. They have already sworn to take you both down. One way or another.”

“Warning taken, and heeded Detrick.” I knew that a lot of teams felt that way about me and Beth. Yet they had always raced us clean. Dirty tricks were not in the Richtmann wheelhouse. Sadly, I cannot say the same for the rest of the drivers and their teams. Still I held out my hand to him anyways. “By the way, it’s just Bobbie and Beth from now on. Good luck wherever you land guys.”

“Abschied und viel Glück, Bobbie. We hope to race against again one day.” Hans said after Detrick shook my hand.

As the two men turned to walk away, I stopped them. “Say guys before you take off. Can you answer me a question?”

Detrick looked at Hans then over to where I was looking. “It concerns the twin Fräuliens that are always with us, yes?” I nodded my head yes. “Yes, they are our Fräus. We met and married them both three years ago in Berlin.”

Hans chuckled. “Ja. We know that it is a little cliché for twins to marry twins, but we do love them. It is kind of hard to find someone to love you when you push a seven-hundred-and-twenty-eight kilogram car to over one-hundred kph for a living. You should know this by now, Bobbie?”

I looked over to where Kelly was working with the teams. “Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. I don’t know what I would without her.”

“It is true. You and Fräulien Ringwald are engaged to be married?” Hans asked smiling. I smiled and nodded my head yes. “Have you Fräuliens set the date yet?”

“No, not yet. We’re thinking sometime after the season is over.” I had a sudden flash of insight. “Say guys, where did you get the matching engagement rings?”

“When you reach Barcelona there is a small jewelry shop not too far from the main gates of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. It is a family owned shop. Ask to see their grandfather. He still works there every day. He is a true master craftsman.” Detrick answered quickly for me. “If you’re looking for matching rings it won’t take him more than three days for a wedding set.”

“Um… will he have a problem with… well… um…” I couldn’t figure out how to ask them about the man’s feelings towards LBGT.

“They only see one color Bobbie. The color green.” Detrick wise cracked. “They don’t care who commissions a piece. Only that their money is good.”

“Thank you, Detrick. I was worried about that. While LBGT relations have made progress in America not everyone is accommodating to our views.” I figured that I needed to explain why I was looking outside of the US.

“They do not let politics interfere with business. It has been their policy since the grandfather founded the shop in nineteen-sixty-nine.” Hans chuckled. “The old man wasn’t too popular with some of the Nationalist Party under Franco.”

“Why didn’t they… well… you know arrest him? I mean if he was so disliked wasn’t it the normal policy for people like to disappear?” I asked.

“Those types of strong arm tactics went out of fashion after the Second World War. Franco and his party wanted to be accepted by the UN as a legitimate government.” Detrick explained for me. “Their biggest national income was the tourist trade for a while. The Party went out of its way to curtail, even stop those types of things.”

“Damn. There is so much world history that never gets put into the books. I’ve learned more about world history in the last two months. Then I ever learned in four years of high school.” I moaned. “Never let it be said that American schools are the top of the A-list.”

“Well, we need to be going, Bobbie.” Hans said with a smile. “Once again good luck.”

“Same to you guys.” I shook their hands one more time before they walked away. Beth walked up to me as they disappeared out of sight. “There goes the best competition we ever had or faced sis. It’s going to be a damned shame that we won’t be facing them again. At least during this season.”

“What do you mean?” Beth gave me a sideways look.

“They lost their ride. It seems that Hans and Detrick were only temp drivers. The team was just waiting for their two newest drivers to be freed up.” I turned to Beth and I wasn’t smiling. “What do you know about Andree Reizenstein and Maximillian Shafer? Ever heard about them?”

“Just that they are some of the meanest nastiest, dirtiest, drivers on the European Drift circuit. They aren’t known for their fair play attitudes. They don’t have any problems with putting another driver into the wall.” As Beth listed off the nicer qualities of the new drivers, I started to formulate a plan for dealing with them.

“Tell me something Beth. Do you get the feeling that certain team owners are out to get us? Or am I just being paranoid?” I joked.

“Bobbie, when people are deliberately trying to put your ass into a wall at over one hundred miles per hour. No, you’re not being paranoid enough.” Beth snapped.

“I thought so.” I reached into the hip pocket of my skinny jeans. I pulled out the foil pouch that I had stuffed there earlier. Wading up a small ball of the contents I popped the pick rubbery material in my mouth and began to chew. “Beth, I don’t know about you, but I just got a sinking feeling that the next few races are going to be more than a little squirrelly.”

Beth just snorted. “Squirrelly, she says.” Then she gives me a nasty look. “Bobbie, squirrelly doesn’t even began to cover what we’ll be facing.”

“Just what the hell does that mean?” I asked harshly.

“The other team owners have put a bounty on our asses. More than a few of those teams are getting pissed at you and me for beating the pants off their drivers.” Beth snarled. “Kelly doesn’t hear a quarter of what the rest of the pit crews do. The other teams really don’t want to see a pair of Americans any where near the top spots for the Championship.”

“Damn. Why the hell can’t we just race and leave the politics in the garbage pit?” I growled through clenched teeth.

“Don’t ask me Bobbie. I just know that it is out there on the track. With us winning half the races so far it is just egging them on.” I could tell that Beth was more in touch with what went on in the pits by the way she talked. Not that I was all that surprised. I did have a tendency to ignore anything that doesn’t hit me in the ass directly. That is when I deal with problems. I don’t go looking for them. Yet if they come looking for me, I don’t hold back.

“Fine by me. Let ‘em come. Like I said before. They want a war. I’ll give them a war they can’t win. The last time I looked we were in the top two Championship positions. The only way they can take us out of those slots is to wreck us on the track. The Marshals are already looking for that kind of horseshit.” I figured that I should point out the obvious. I blew a bubble and popped it while Beth thought about what I just said. “They’ll have to come at us sideways, Beth.”

“What the hell does that mean?” I could tell by Beth’s question that she didn’t understand the reference.

“Beth the other drivers are going to have to make it look like an accident or something along those lines. They’ll try to get the Marshals to penalize us for stupid shit. Make us into the newest ‘bad guys’.” I stopped and rethought that last statement, then grinned. “Or should that be newest ‘bad girls’?”

Beth just groaned as the corny joke. “That was just wrong on so many levels. You know that right, Bobbie?”

It was my turn to chuckle at my sister’s pain filled expression. “Yup. Let’s go finish helping the crews get things ready to take off. I have a feeling that mom and dad are going to really push us over the next few weeks.”

Beth got a very thoughtful look on her face. “I think more than just mom and dad are going to be pushing us. Have you seen the look in Coach Hall’s face lately. I swear that woman has a sadistic streak in her a mile wide. Have you seen the new workout schedule she posted on our team website?”

This time I was the one to groan. “Please don’t remind me. She has me down for five mile runs, seventy-five push-ups, and sit-ups. Not too mention weight training, and aerobics with the Cheerleaders. What about you?”

“The same.” She sighed. “Like I’ve said before. The woman is related to Tomás de Torquemada of the Spanish Inquisition.”

I giggled. “Well, considering where our next stop is, that might be a befitting description of her. Maybe we can check out her family ancestry while we’re there.”

“It would be nice to know if she was really related to Torquemada. I mean it would make sense if Coach Hall was related to the man. Wouldn’t it?” The quirky smile that Beth wore made me laugh.

“HEY! YOU TWO!” we both turned at the sound of dad’s voice. “You going to stand around all day or are you going to lend a hand? We got less than two hours to get these containers loaded up on the plane.”

“Coming dad!” We both yield at the same time. Then took off at a dead run to give them the much needed help in getting our team ready to move out. In the next twelve hours we would be in Spain. Another country, another race. This was the life we had signed up for. The crazy part is both Beth and I, not to mention the guys and gals on the teams, have come to not only embrace the life, but love it with all our hearts. I doubt that I could ever be a normal teenager again. My need for speed and pushing the boundaries of a car are just too great to ignore anymore. I faced my death once already in a hospital bed. I’ll never do that again. The day that I won my contract I faced down death once more.

I have two places that I truly feel alive. Out on the track going all out with my hair on fire and my ass catching. In the arms of Kelly at night. Anywhere else I feel like I’m missing something. What that is I don’t know. Not that I care. It was like Doc Sharron told me long ago. Life is nothing more than what you make of it. It can be either good or bad depending on your attitude. A good attitude makes for a good life. Bad attitude makes for a shitty one. Me, I just want to go fast, love hard, and live for as long as I can. For now, I just wanted to win as many races as I could and marry my high school sweetheart. After that who knows?

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