Race With a Heart
Chapter 121: Which Part of His Body is Steve Thinking

Chapter 121: Which Part of His Body is Steve Thinking

Jack Lambert has never seen Karl so angry before. Walton was not calm and had his temper, but he never got so upset by anyone like he is now. Lambert was so intrigued that he was waiting impatiently for an explanation from the young stable manager.

Jack, Karl and Abe went to Walton’s office because there the probability that someone on the team would hear them was close to zero. So it seemed that the topic of the conversation Karl wanted to have with them was rather confidential.

"As you may have guessed, Steve won’t be driving for a while," Walton said matter-of-factly. "One month is the minimum before he can take the wheel, and after such a long break without training, I won’t let him go on the track. Will you agree with me, Abe? "

The chief mechanic sighed.

"Yes. His body underwent two shocking events in a short time. He needs to heal and rest before resuming at least basic fitness training. "

"Fortunately, we have a two-week break after the race on Sunday otherwise we would have missed a good position. It is true that we have a backup driver..."

Walton’s expression clearly said that much of his problem lay here. Karl was against hiring Alston and only agreed to it because he had no other choice.

"How is he doing?" Walton asked Abe.

"All right," announced the chief mechanic.

"Damn it!" Karl cursed. ’All right’ was a damn far from ’great’ and even from ’good’.

"We have to field him for this race. He will be driving his third car. As for the race in three weeks ... "

Walton paused, making Jack feel a strange excitement. Has Karl found another candidate to replace Steve?

Allen seemed to suspect the same, as he looked more closely at the young manager.

"Steve must have been hit in the head because he said he wouldn’t get in the same car that Don was in," Karl announced.

"WHAT?!" Jack and Abe asked simultaneously.

Paxton’s request was idiotic, preposterous, and outrageous. No wonder Walton was pissed. Lambert, however, began to laugh.

"Steve ... Well, well ..." Jack wiped his eyes, which filled with tears with laughter.

"You think it’s funny?" Walton chilled him with a pattern. "How about who is going to be his replace men?"

"It was he who also indicated his deputy. I knew the guy had balls, but I think they are too big. "Jack wasn’t laughing that much anymore. He had the tact to understand that this situation, though a bit comical, was actually causing Karl a lot of trouble.

Allen was not laughing either.

"Alston is not the perfect driver, but he is also not the worst. We can’t just replace him with someone new, especially... because he has a strong sponsor backing. "

"As if I didn’t know that! I am just back from meeting where my father told me the same thing. Steve is pushing me on the one hand, and my old man on the other ... And where the hell is the good of the stable? "

"Sorry, Karl," Abe said, "but Steve’s demand is ridiculous. A driver cannot simply request this or that person to replace him on the track. Maybe suggest someone, but demand? I don’t know why you even consider what Steve says. "

"Because he said that if I didn’t comply with his demand, he wouldn’t be back on the track."

It wasn’t fun anymore, but it was scary. Paxton really had the nerve to say something like that? A cold sweat splashed over Jack’s back. Had all the bad experiences he had had on and off the track finally broke him? Did Steve really break down mentally?

It wouldn’t even be weird considering what he’d been through, but it was a really bad thing.

"He lost it" Allen seemed to have exactly the same thoughts. "Steve is out of his mind."

"For me, Steve was talking terrifyingly consciously," Karl sighed. "Steve saw Don sitting near these boys. He’s sure Don was listening to them. He has no proof, but he is convinced that Don knew what the boys were up to and did not interrupt them or warn him. It’s once. Two: Who will gain the most from eliminating Steve from races? He thought a lot and came to the conclusion that Don must be somehow involved. So he stopped trusting him and thus cannot work with him. "

"Has he turned paranoid?" Abe snorted.

"If so, he had a bloody right to do so," Jack grimaced. "But unfortunately his reasoning makes sense. Steve is not a judge, he is a victim, he doesn’t need to have objective evidence of someone else’s guilt. If he lost his trust in someone, he lost it and I must admit that I don’t trust Don either. "

Karl nodded.

"I asked a private investigator to start x-raying him," he announced. "I don’t like doing this, but maybe that way will calm Steve’s suspicions."

"Good thinking," agreed Lambert. "And... who does Steve want as his replace man? I don’t think anyone is free right now. We will not steal anyone during the season. "

"It’s Martin," said Walton, resigned. "Steve wants our ex-mechanic Martin."

Whether it was a joke or not, Jack’s mouth turned into a grin. Paxton must have completely stopped thinking with his head and started to think with his heart... or with that organ between his legs.

"I love Martin," announced Jack. "He’s a sweet boy and a great mechanic, but... mechanic. Right, Abe? Abe? "

Allen looked deep in thought. He was considering something, maybe he was mentioning something. At least he was rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

It was then that Lambert remembered that when they urgently needed a third driver for a test, Martin stepped onto the track. He drove not too bad, although he lacked much to excellence, but it was his first time in this type of car. And yet, driving in amateur races, Martin was not inferior to Alston. Only then Alston got into a more professional field and Martin chose to play with the engines.

So Martin had the basics, he had some experience and talent as well, but that wasn’t enough to get into such a professional field. Or was?

Jack looked at the chief mechanic.

"If I had at least two weeks to prepare him," Abe announced, "and the boy would only enter a maximum of two races, it could be done. But there is no way a boy from nowhere, without any back-up, can enter the track. Alston’s sponsors will never allow that. "

"Wait a minute," Jack wanted to make sure. "Are you saying that Martin has the potential to be a professional driver?"

"I know him from diapers," Allen explained. "I saw him racing cats on all fours and winning his first race in the car. He may not be as good as Steve or as good as you, Jack, but in three weeks he will be better than Don. "

Walton wasn’t angry anymore. He was pensive.

"Steve says Martin will finish in the top ten," he told them. "He won’t be able to take the lead, but he will be able to take down the tail of the race. How do you forecast Alston, Abe? "

"Lower," admitted the chief engineer gloomily. "Don is a hot shot and racing must be smart. Know when to press down and when to let go. The Don only knows how to push. "

"Damn it!" Karl cursed again. "You couldn’t tell me that when we hired the third driver?"

"The boy quit racing, so what was I supposed to say?"

"So there is a possibility that Martin may not want to come back on track?" Karl asked hopefully. Jack felt pity for him. Steve was very selfish in putting Walton in this position. After all, Karl had contracts with sponsors and with Alston himself. He can’t just introduce someone new just because the driver has requested it. In this situation, it would be best for him if Martin simply refused.

However, Martin’s decision was unpredictable. The boy did not currently dream of returning to the track. He resigned from this path of his own free will and even on his own initiative. He just decided he preferred something else. He chose a new path for himself, and now there may be opposition to inducing him to go back to the old one. Martin would be right. You can’t just go back to something as serious as racing without preparation.

However, Martin could agree if Steve asked him to. Love was a very strange phenomenon, and at times it made people commit madness or sacrifice. Martin’s return to the track was not strictly insane, but it certainly required some sacrifice from him. Really, what was Steve thinking about giving Karl that ultimatum?

Whatever Walton decided, he has to be careful. There was too much money at stake and too big deals to just choose one and cut off the other.

"If Martin agrees," Lambert said thoughtfully, "he may come to us temporarily as a test driver. Don can drive his car that is no worse than the rest, and Martin can test a new one for Paxton. "

"It’s a good thinking," Abe praised. "What do you think, Karl?"

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