Of course, I had heard of the Grenfell-Maxwell Marathon. Its advertisements were certainly targeted towards people in desperate situations. In fact, the promised wish at the end was cited by most I saw signing up. Though it was obviously no more than a ploy to get gullible people in the gate.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmSsLOUyiBJ
Why bother with the ploy when the offered money is more than enough to draw people?
Even my fellow veterans that knew the wish was a lie desired nothing more than to win the grand amount of money at the end of it all. Most of my friends and family wanted nothing more than to win, but they either lacked the drive or the money to cross the Atlantic and try. 73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZNeSl7LMXz
Me? Well, I pride myself on being a little more tempered, a little more frugal, and a lot more patient than my peers, comes with the territory of being a sniper, but even I cannot deny a quick way to make lots of money. Combine that with my expecting wife? To not try would be the worst choice. 73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEUPxRdb21j
I found a handful of other vets from the Continuation War and talked them all into coming with me, and we were soon on our way to the starting line. I had finished rechecking that we had everything packed in our jeep when I overheard my two teammates talking about their hopes for the race. I may have been the one to convince them to come, but they were far more ambitious than I. 73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9oqliLAmQL
“If we can place first in five stages, that’s over half a million.” One said. 73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoFi7nHH6Mo
“Yeah, but why stop there? If we make it to the end, we get that whole ‘wish’ thing.” Said the other. 73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzwHUJafUrh
“Only if it’s true,” 73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvPRtmQfk6Z
“And I can’t even begin to imagine what I would ask for if it were.” 73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu5k5A4b37B
“I know that if I had it now, I’d only wish to be out of this damn heat.” 73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI77vJ8w04h
They had a mutual laugh as I sat in the back of the vehicle, “You should have packed like I told you to,” The two people sat in front of me were Johannes Mannerheim, a soldier I had met during the Lapland War, and Aksel Oesch, a friend through Johannes and the person who stole this jeep from the Soviets. 73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ42BR6dU9v9
One of them waved their hands to dismiss my words, “Bah, we’ll have plenty of opportunities to buy clothes on our way to the other side of the world. By the way, are you still sure about leaving after the first stage?” 73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYFs41FfURr
I hesitated to answer. $1,000 was a good amount of money, and it would only grow larger if we placed higher and finished more stages, “I can’t. I promised that this would only take two months, and no amount of money is worth not seeing my child’s, well, any of it.” Johannes nodded. Though his children are adults now, he remembered how it felt. 73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ21qXnSKCal
A minute of silence passed and it was only interrupted by the announcement of the beginning of the race. Our car sprang to life as the countless others around us followed suit. As I expected, we weren’t gaining on most of the competitors on the flats, but once we reached more rugged terrain, we would make up for it. I reached over and turned on the large radio placed next to me in the back row. I quickly scanned the stations and found the one announcing the race. 73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy8kBnKFg72
A static-infused voice came out of the headphones and was barely audible over the screams of engines filling the air, “Laveau has broken ahead!”73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDcGerHE9th
“Have either of you heard of a Laveau?” I asked. 73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9M1jMQ98Dz
They both shook their heads, “The only other racer I know is Dumont” 73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZawAvSodVK
Aksel groaned, “Can you not remind me about her, please? It kills the mood when I know this is just a race for second place.” 73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYPKWrUvaUW
"No," I said, "Someone else has already broken ahead. We're racing for third now."73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUKOjyVEu9R
“Only if there’s not another plane competing.” 73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh2ApRGmW1W
“No,” I said, “Only Dumont’s crazy enough to fly a plane when she doesn’t know where the finish line is.” Just as those words left my mouth the ground around us darkened. If I was eating anything, I would have spat it out right then. Above us was a twenty-year-old relic, a zeppelin. 73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoGMszOqlv5
“Cool, now we’re gunning for fourth.” Johannes rubbed his hand against his head. 73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyd3Fd6Ri6E
I went to reassure him, but I was interrupted by the radio, “My God! Someone else has broken through the crowd and is gaining on Laveau! It’s competitor 200362, Nerio Pinkerton!” 73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu1N2QYG0S3
“Hey, Johannes the announcer just said that Nerio is here." 73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡraKJJx6Ddg
“Nerio? Let me guess, he’s already far ahead of anyone else?” 73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOC9gnV3XxA
“Yeah, looks like we’re fighting for fifth.” 73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkZCpZhogLh
“Nerio?”73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJKgKYrKY5x
“Oh, right, you’ve never met him. He was a mercenary we worked with during the Continuation War.” 73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvqlX8d9oPa
“Mercenary? I didn’t know we hired any mercenaries.” Johannes looked at me. I shook my head.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyoh4X1EA6k
If he doesn’t know now. . .73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdrm9cNflfm
“We are clearly off to a wonderful start to this race!” The announcer continued, “Those two appear to be leagues above the others, and what a spectacle it would be to watch them battle for victory. Wait, hold on. . . I have just received news that Mr. Pinkerton and Ms. Laveau are both members of the same team. This really does put pressure on the other competitors. Can anyone but Dumont’s plane and Kober's. . .” 73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGw6uY4rvO3
He’s on a team with that other person who sprung ahead? Fourth it is. Though, why would he waste himself on this race?
“Hey, Urho, stop daydreaming about him and look,” Johannes pointed to our left where a plane was easing above the crowd, “She must be braver than I thought, taking off in the middle of all this.” 73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAi2lgzcOP0
Something wasn’t right with Dumont trying to take off this early. She was clearly capable of it, but a collision with any vehicle would destroy her chances at victory. I grabbed my rifle’s scope and aimed it towards the plane. Through the scope, I could see black drops fly out from the right wing. 73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkWjYRRhl6M
I panned the scope until I could see the cockpit window. Inside, one person was sat behind the controls. While I couldn't see them clearly, I could tell they weren't Dumont for two reasons. Firstly, they were wearing a wide-brimmed hat inside the plane, a hat that would only make it more difficult to see where they were flying. Second, and most damning, their fashion sense was extremely poncho-centric, a direct offense to Dumont’s normal French chic. 73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo1su8B6oum
Well, third place it is. Disappointing, but I could use the $12,000.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXBY9VafLQK
I am Urho Häyhä, and this race is how I discovered what I needed most.73Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3vU5x1bCLd
