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.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDJWlhCwU7m
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. 119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTBFxKlMM1k
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. 119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkRH7WcDTyV
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. 119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTDPoGLHj5D
“If we can place first in five stages, that’s over half a million.” One said. 119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHSyrrG36VC
“Yeah, but why stop there? If we make it to the end, we get that whole ‘wish’ thing.” Said the other. 119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjoOe9XiAIx
“Only if it’s true,” 119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv4RrFcdkLR
“And I can’t even begin to imagine what I would ask for if it were.” 119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRd5Pr6exyr
“I know that if I had it now, I’d only wish to be out of this damn heat.” 119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKEEEVBYx8e
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. 119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtcAWLH8PE6
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?” 119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzHrd3Tez4b
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. 119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOURFp6x7zw
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. 119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpEvKNXuENU
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!”119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQplWW519NL
“Have either of you heard of a Laveau?” I asked. 119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ29C8qNCaSk
They both shook their heads, “The only other racer I know is Dumont” 119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb79JrFWarR
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.” 119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO7JnUz3ec2
"No," I said, "Someone else has already broken ahead. We're racing for third now."119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSHGWzd4Chk
“Only if there’s not another plane competing.” 119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzFWBRhxpOx
“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. 119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL5Mf8zoM2y
“Cool, now we’re gunning for fourth.” Johannes rubbed his hand against his head. 119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDIU8rKeRK4
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!” 119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUS06yXtCVJ
“Hey, Johannes the announcer just said that Nerio is here." 119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZdGP09sHvB
“Nerio? Let me guess, he’s already far ahead of anyone else?” 119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3G9cUfAa9x
“Yeah, looks like we’re fighting for fifth.” 119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpXv4E3rAJE
“Nerio?”119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUvJC4rr71f
“Oh, right, you’ve never met him. He was a mercenary we worked with during the Continuation War.” 119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqm8yz5GdbT
“Mercenary? I didn’t know we hired any mercenaries.” Johannes looked at me. I shook my head.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ub1NEv8Du
If he doesn’t know now. . .119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA3WDikE9GE
“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. . .” 119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeoS0AucyNE
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.” 119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyjFU5qqWJW
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. 119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZqfTNia5oZ
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. 119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkJKfsC8fTi
Well, third place it is. Disappointing, but I could use the $12,000.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKSNeVRuxEc
I am Urho Häyhä, and this race is how I discovered what I needed most.119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3nJdN7MRLk
