Page 33 of Retrograde
‘Well, you’re in safe hands. You cool if I just keep the camera rolling while we get you set up, and then again when you get out? We’ve got in-car cameras too, to the left, right and in the middle of the dash. And as you know, the footage will be posted on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook by both the IEC and by us.’
‘As long as you make me look good. I’ve got to impress the ladies.’
Brett roared with laughter. ‘I love this kid.’
They led Theo out of the garage and down to the far end of the pit lane, where a representative for the IEC was waiting along with someone from the main media crew who was in charge of the GoPro, a health and safety official and the medical car. It made this whole situation seem very daunting, but Theo was totally unfazed. He looked like he was about to burst. This car went fast, but still not as fast as Revolution’s car. It was from a different class within the competition, and it was also a winner.
As Theo was briefed, again, this time by the healthand safety woman, Lucie walked around to the driver’s side of the car where Brett was getting himself situated and leaned in the window.
‘I love doing this. I reckon this Theo kid is going to be an absolute blast.’ He pulled his helmet on over his head.
‘Make sure you get me my content.’ Lucie patted his chest.
‘Of course.’
‘I’m in! Let’sgo!’ Theo cheered as he got strapped into his seat.
Lucie stepped back, camera aimed at the car. She was definitely going to keep the wink Brett shot in her direction in the final edit. The fans would go wild for that, but she knew he hadn’t done it for their benefit. That wink was for her. That wink was him telling her he was about to kick ass and be the Brett she knew and loved. The one who had got his fire back.
She waited for them to complete the standard two laps, laughing when Brett took Theo for a third and a fourth, interrupted only by the IEC rep telling him over the radio that the marshals needed to clear the track of the gravel he had just flung everywhere, in preparation for the race. Brett always liked to push the limits and give the fans an experience they’d never forget, but he was always skating on thin ice with health and safety. Still, everyone knew Theo was in safe hands. And they knew Brett would simply give his signature cheeky grin and all would be forgiven and forgotten.
‘That was amazing!’ Theo was still yelling when they pulled up next to her in the pit lane again, competingwith the idling noise of the engine. Lucie had a feeling the in-car microphones would have struggled with the volume of his screams.
‘Glad you enjoyed it,’ she smiled.
‘Thank you for today. It was the best day of mylife. I’m going to get me one of these one day.’ Theo patted the side of the car in appreciation.
‘No worries, mate. I had fun.’ Brett shook his hand. ‘Let’s take a quick photo before you head back into the paddock. Luce?’
‘It was so cool meeting you, Mr Anderson,’ Theo gushed after they’d posed for the camera, and Lucie tried not to snicker at the formality. She didn’t think she’d ever heard anyone refer to Brett as a Mr. It was just Anderson.
With Theo whisked away in the direction of the hospitality area for his next adventure, Lucie sidled up to Brett. ‘How do you feel?’
‘Unstoppable.’ He breathed out a laugh.
‘That’s because you are. I’ve been telling you.’ She rolled her eyes playfully.
‘I have never felt so mentally prepared for a race. I’m going to go get ready.’ Brett kissed her on the cheek and ran off to find his team, leaving Lucie standing there in a daze, unable to wipe the pride from her expression.
The tension in the Revolution Racing garage was palpable. Not one member of the team was looking anywhere other than at the screens as Brett tailed Kahan Racing’s number eight car. He’d been trying to overtake for threelaps, and they were only two away from the finish. If he couldn’t catch them, Revolution would lose at Monza for the first time since the team was formed. Brett obviously wasn’t going to let them lose in Marco’s home country. Not without one hell of a fight.
Lucie and Faith always left Marco and Julien alone in moments like this, choosing to stick together at the back of the garage and shoot their content from a distance. Until their car was over the finish line, the drivers couldn’t be spoken to. It was like they tuned out the rest of the world and their only focus was the race win, and somehow the garage was deafeningly loud and silent all at the same time. You could hear the cars out on the track, the engines roaring as they passed the pits, none of them coming down the pit lane so late in the race. The smell of burning rubber lingered in the air, and Lucie’s palms were sweating.
He needed to win this. Not just for his team, but for himself. And she needed him to. To prove that leaving Sydney prematurely hadn’t been a waste, that it had done him some good. If he lost, he would enter his usual downward spiral, only this time it was likely to be far more intense and have bigger consequences.
But right as she was starting to worry, to lose hope, ruby red shot past metallic blue and with one lap to go, Brett was ahead. Way ahead, in fact, as the Kahan Racing driver momentarily lost control of his car and those precious seconds allowed for a gap that there was no coming back from.
‘No way.’ Faith breathed out a laugh, in disbelief. Thatwas the difference; Lucie wasn’t surprised he’d done it. This was what Brett was known for.
‘Let’s go.’ Lucie pulled her out to the pit wall, her co-worker still not used to this moment of the race. They always did this, every team who placed on the podium.
Julien helped Faith up onto the wall, then Lucie, and before long the majority of Revolution were hanging on to the metal fence that separated the pits from the track.
The chequered flag waved, the crowds went wild, and their beloved Aussie driver crossed the line in first position, seconds ahead of anyone else. Brett was back.
14
The sun was setting as race day came to a close, and Brett was starving. The team had been awake since five o’clock in the morning, gone straight to the circuit and only left forty-five minutes ago. The whole day had been jam-packed, and he just wanted some pasta. And a drink. Some white wine or something, just to help release the stress that still hadn’t left his body since he got out of the car. But he couldn’t be seen drinking, and nobody else was either. He knew it was a show of solidarity for his drinking problem. Brett still wasn’t convinced he needed to be babied like this. He also didn’t need heartfelt speeches from Lucie that made him feel belittled.
