Warriors' Providence (Cadi Warriors Book 2)(51)

Providence watched as Madhava took the lead with Dagaa hot on his heels in the last turn of the rota race. Dagaa's vehicle scraped the arena wall as he made an attempt to pass Madhava on the outside, once they moved into the straightaway. Providence saw her opening and throttled forward, pushing the rota towards the finish line while the guys ignored her, jockeying for position.

Of course they didn't see her as a threat. The guys back home never did either until she proved them wrong. Providence's goal when she stepped onto the stage to challenge the men wasn't to win, but to make sure the guys tied. However that rabid competitive side of her had reared its head the instant the race began. To become a pararescuer, she'd trained hard and had been pushed to her limit. She saw the finish line and went for it balls to the wall. Granted this race was exhilarating, but compared to breaking the sound barrier while flying, it was child's play.

Providence goaded the rota faster. Madhava's head swung towards her, surprise evident in his eyes, as she flanked him on the inside. The set of his jaw told her he wasn't about to let her win just because she was a girl. Unfortunately for him Providence now had the advantage as they closed in on the finish line. At this point it was physics and pure bravery. Providence weighed less than either of the men, by at least a hundred pounds, and she was fearless as she pushed the rota to its limit.

"Fuck yeah!" Providence screamed as she crossed the line nosing out Madhava.

Before Providence knew it the next turn came up fast. She'd crossed the finish line at an ungodly speed in order to beat the guys. Even if she put on the brakes now, she'd easily ram the wall.

Providence didn't panic, she'd taken a few curves too fast in her life. She held the rota steady and let off the accelerator as she entered the turn, then at the peak she throttled it faster whipping around the bend. The rota handled like a dream, better than any gas guzzler on Earth.

Providence sighed in relief as she let off the accelerator, once out of the turn, applying the break to bring the vehicle to a steady stop.

"God that was a rush!" Providence's broad grin hurt her cheeks as she jumped off the vehicle.

"You almost killed yourself." Dagaa stormed towards her frowning.

"What were you thinking?" Madhava demanded looking equally pissed.

"I was thinking about winning. Sound familiar?" Providence turned her back on the men with a flip of her hair as she approached the stunned judges.

Providence couldn't believe them. They could risk their hides fighting and trading paint on the race track, but then they had the audacity to pull this double standard bull shit with her.

"Providence wins the rota race." The lead judge announced.

Giselle stood whooping and hollering from the stands. Providence giggled as she heard her chant 'Girl Power.'

"One down, four to go." Providence smiled to herself. She was feeling pretty good. "This just might just work."

Providence probably should feel guilty for siccing Giselle on Kagan, but she didn't. Last night Giselle and Providence had approached Kagan, picking his brain about the rules and the events he was debating for today's lineup. They'd played the part of concerned females to a tee, suggesting certain games over others. Poor Kagan. Of course the way he looked at Giselle now, he knew just how they'd played him. Thankfully he didn't call foul. If anything he looked amused.

Next up was the marksman competition. Providence wasn't the best shot, but she'd often been shooting with her father and had learned her way around a gun in the Air Force. She'd been good enough to kill those damn reptiles. She felt confident enough she'd at least hit the target. It would be best out of three, aiming for a target roughly a hundred yards away.

As the three of them were handed pistols similar to the one Providence had used against the Jurou Biljana, the song from Annie Oakley, the musical, popped into her head. She would always sing it with her father when target shooting. She had yet to best her father, but it was still fun to talk smack.

"I can do anything you can do better. I can do anything better than you." Providence sang out.

Dagaa and Madhava turned from their mark and gawked at her.

Giselle must have heard her from the stands nearby.

"No you can't." Giselle sang back in reply.

Providence and Giselle went back and forth, then laughed as the men shook their heads at their antics.

Providence made her shots one after another. Although they did hit the target, unfortunately only one struck the bullseye. She'd expected as much.

Dagaa was next up. All three of his shots hit the bullseye.

Providence nodded, impressed by his marksmanship, when one of the judges brought his target forward.

Madhava went last. He aimed and shot three times in rapid succession. When the target was brought forward, there was only one shot dead center of the bullseye, and the rest hadn't hit anywhere on the target at all.