Read Online Dragon's Teeth by Mercedes Lackey - Free Book Online Page B

and the flamboyant, long silk scarf he wore.
    “Out,” she ordered, and watched his grin fade in surprise. “You heard me,” she said when he hesitated. “You know the pit-rules. Nothing that can get caught in machinery! God help us, that scarf could get your neck broken! I told you once, and I meant it; I don’t care how many movies you’ve made, in here you’re the Bugatti rookie-driver, you’re here on probation, even if you are the best damn driver I’ve ever seen, and you toe the line and act like a professional. And if you think you’re going to make me break my promise not to compete again by getting yourself strangled, you can think again! Now get out of here and come back when you’re dressed like a driver and not some Hollywood gigolo.”
    She turned her back on him, and went back to the crew changing the tires, but she did not miss his surprised—and suddenly respectful—“ Yes ma’am!” She also didn’t miss the surprised and respectful looks on the faces of her mechanics and pit-crew. So, they didn’t expect me to chew him out in public. She couldn’t help but see the little nods, and the satisfaction on the men’s faces. And she hid a grin of her own, as she realized what that meant. The last rumors of her protege being her lover had just gone up in smoke. No lovelorn, aging female would lay into her young lover that way in public. And no young stud would put up with that kind of treatment from a woman, young or old, unless the only position she held in his life was as respected mentor.
    She raised her chin aggressively, and raked her crew with her stern gaze. “Come on, come on, pick it up,” she said, echoing every other crew chief here in the pits. “We’re running a race here, not an ice cream social! Move it!”
    “Ready, Miz Duncan,” said a sober voice at her shoulder. She turned to see Jimmy was back already, having ditched the coat and scarf for the racing suit of her own design. His helmet tucked under one arm, he waited while she looked him over critically. “Nothing binding?” she asked, inspecting every visible seam and wrinkle. It was as fireproof as modern technology could make it, asbestos fabric over cotton, covering the driver from neck to ankle. Thick asbestos boots covered his feet, which would be under the engine compartment. It would be hotter than all the fires of hell in there, but Jimmy would be cooler than most of the other drivers, who shunned her innovations in favor of jerseys and heavy canvas pants.
    And he would be safer than she had been, who’d won the French Grand Prix in ’48 in a leotard and tights.
    And if she could have put an air-conditioner in there, she would have. Temperatures in the cockpit ran over 120 degrees Fahrenheit while the car was moving—worse when it idled. In the summer, and at those temperatures, strange things started to happen to a driver’s brain. Heat exhaustion and the dangerous state leading up to it had probably caused more crashes than anyone wanted to admit.
    She finished her inspection and gave him the nod; he clapped his helmet on—a full head helmet, not just an elaborate leather cap, but one with a faceplate—and strolled over to his car, beginning his own inspection.
    Just as she had taught him.
    While the mechanics briefed him on the Bugatti’s latest quirks—and Grand Prix racers always developed new quirks, at least a dozen for each race, not counting intended modifications—she took a moment to survey the nearest crews. To her right, Ferrari and Lola; to her left, Porsche and Mercedes.
    Nothing to show that this was Wisconsin and not Italy or Monte Carlo. Nothing here at the track, that is. She had to admit that it was a relief being back in the U.S.; not even the passing of a decade had erased all the scars the War had put on the face of Europe. And there were those who thought that reviving the Grand Prix circuit in ’46 had been both frivolous and ill-considered in light of all that Europe had