Anya stepped closer. She placed a hand briefly on his shoulder — not the gesture of a team principal managing an asset, but something more intimate than that. "Drive like you did in those purple sectors. Trust the car. Trust the yourself." She leaned in slightly, close enough that only he could hear through the open visor. "Whatever's driving you right now — use it. The team needs this."
He nodded once inside the helmet.
High stakes didn't rattle him. They clarified everything. The ice in his veins felt sharper than it had all day. This wasn't just Qualifying. It was the first real test — the simulation scaled up to real metal, real cameras, real consequences, real people watching from real grandstands who had no idea that the driver in the Arcadia 24 had spent the equivalent of several lifetimes preparing for exactly this afternoon.
---
The mechanics rolled the car forward on its trolley, wheels touching the ground with a soft thud.
The engine fired.
