Chapter 223

Juniper’s head throbbed as she read the rest of the message. Two brothers and four sisters… did he want her to find him a whole soccer team while she was at it?
Juniper: [Client’s name?]
Binary Oracle: [Melvin Steele, the recent three-time F1 champion.]
Melvin? That pretentious poser from the training grounds who looked down on her? He was paying a fortune to find her?
Why? Was he that afraid she’d actually get on the track and steal his championship title? Sometimes… she didn’t have to be the one racing to win.
Binary Oracle: [Boss, should we take it? He added that we can start by looking for the youngest sister.]
Juniper: [No.]
It was true. She only took jobs based on her mood. When she was in a good mood, she might help someone out for free. But when she was in a bad mood…
Well, she was in a very bad mood right now. That poser really rubbed her the wrong way.
Binary Oracle: [Boss, if we turn it down, he’ll probably go to Cybernetic Shadows, the hacker collective from Sigma Network.]
Let her arch-nemesis get the payday? That didn’t sound like her at all.
Juniper smirked, typing back with confidence: [Let them. Finding a whole soccer team will keep them busy. As for J
She paused for a second before continuing: [If Sigma Network can find J, I’ll call their leader my new boss.]
The members of Binary Oracle scratched their heads, completely baffled. Finding J shouldn’t be that hard for a group like Sigma Network, right? Why was the boss so certain they would fail?
…
Cloudscape Community.
Juniper sat at the dining table, intently reviewing F1 races from the past few years. She hadn’t paid any attention to the circuit since she retired. The more she watched, the darker her expression became.
After her three consecutive
championships, she had donated all her prize money to her home country’s racing development program. She had hoped to see
vel
more racers from the Orient Country
on the world stage. But
she never
imagined the domestic scene would become so barren. Since her
departure, the number of drivers
qualifying for F1 had dwindled each
year. Kurt was their only hope this season.
“How was Kurt’s training this afternoon?” Shanley asked gently, placing a plate of
fruit next to her. His eyes glanced at her iPad.
“It was okay,” Juniper said, closing the device. “A few more days of intensive training, and getting into the top five shouldn’t be a problem.”
“That’s good to hear.” Shanley peeled an orange, feeding the segments to her one by one with a faint smile on his lips.
“What are you smiling about?” Juniper frowned, puzzled by his relaxed demeanor.
“If Kurt couldn’t cut it, you were planning to race yourself, weren’t you?” Shanley met her gaze, his eyes full of affection and concern.
From the looks of it, she probably wouldn’t have to. Racing, especially F1, was incredibly dangerous, with countless accidents every year. resulting in death or permanent injury. His little girl was brilliant, but she hadn’t touched a race car in three years. There were no guarantees. But thankfully, Kurt would be the one on the track, not her. Of course he was happy.
Juniper pressed her lips together, not saying a word. She had to admit, Shanley had read her mind perfectly. She had accompanied Kurt today specifically to gauge his abilities. If he could make the top five, she would let him compete. If not… even though she had promised her grandfather she’d never race again, she couldn’t just stand by and watch her country’s racing legacy crumble.
“Right,” Juniper said, taking a sip of juice in tacit agreement. After a few seconds of silence, seeing that Shanley wasn’t saying anything else, she tilted her head up. “Don’t you have anything to ask me?”
“I do,” Shanley said, picking up a napkin to gently wipe the corner of her mouth. His voice was warm and magnetic. “But it’s about something else.”