can manage anything you throw at me.”
He chuckled and patted her on the shoulder. “Ms. Chang, we’ll see how it goes and adjust as your performance merits.”
He walked us over to the track and showed us the slalom courses we’d be traversing. One area had traffic cones that were arrayed in several different patterns for slalom runs. A bit farther down, a mini town had been set up with stoplights, signs, mannequins posed as people, outdoor cafés, school buses, plastic dogs, bikes, and parked cars.
“This should be fun…NOT,” I murmured under my breath.
As we walked back to the car, I began to ponder my future again, as in, whether I had one. I considered telling the professor I couldn’t ride with them, but if I wanted to be an operative, I couldn’t admit to being afraid of being in a car I wasn’t even driving.
At least I wasn’t alone in my fears. Wally knew what was coming, too. He stared straight ahead, eyes wide, not blinking. Resigned, I took his hand and pulled him toward the car. He came with me without arguing.
As we strapped in again, Frankie smiled at us over her shoulder, perhaps sensing our trepidation. “Don’t worry, guys. I’ve got this.”
As we pulled onto the track, Professor Grange took control of the car and carefully demonstrated the techniques for properly negotiating the slalom course, slowly increasing speed. By the end, he was racing through the course with the wheels skidding on each turn and barely recovering before the next turn. We lurched back and forth, barely able to straighten ourselves between each turn.
Frankie, completely unfazed, cheered and chatted the entire time, acting like she was on a roller coaster ride. Professor Grange then provided a step-by-step recitation of how to perform the various required maneuvers we’d learned in class and in the simulator.
By this time, it was abundantly clear to me that driving on a physical course was a significant leap from the virtual simulator. What little confidence I had in my driving skills sank deeper than a tuba on the Titanic.
At some point, the professor turned the car over to Frankie. She ran the slalom course several times at low speed. He had her try each of the maneuvers he’d demonstrated and critiqued her performance. I was thoroughly queasy by the time he instructed her to head away from the main area onto one of the paved rural roads.
“Remember, students, the point of this class is to teach operatives how to recognize a threat while in a vehicle and how to respond appropriately,” he said. “Situational awareness is key, and please remember that, because it will be on the written test.”
Frankly, I wasn’t sure I’d remember anything he said at this point, as I was just focused on breathing.
“This course teaches both defensive and evasive driving techniques,” he added. “Remember, defensive techniques enable you to avoid an accident or a mistake by other drivers. They are, in fact, useful for every driver, not just spies. Hopefully, what you learn here will benefit you when you’re driving your own vehicle.”
I really hoped Frankie was paying attention to this part of the training.
“You need to be hyperaware of your surroundings because you may have to make accurate, quick decisions in this scenario under a lot of pressure, and often while traveling at high speeds or in dangerous or heavily populated situations,” he continued. “As you learned in class, the most important thing to remember is that you must always keep moving. If you run out of road, use a sidewalk, grass, beach, whatever. Don’t stop. If you’re being shot at, don’t stop. If your car become incapacitated and can no longer move, get out of the vehicle and run. The key to success is to never stop moving. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, sir,” we murmured.
“Good. Ms. Chang, pull off to the side here and stop. We need to be off this two-lane road in case one of the other students comes whipping by at high speed.”
Oh, great. We’re going to have Frankie driving and traffic, too. I’d have to recalculate my probability of dying.
Frankie came to a hard stop, and we whiplashed again. My stomach roiled. I tried not to think what my grade might be if I hurled in the back seat of the training car on top of my fellow students during the very first live scenario. I wished, at the very least, Professor Grange would take charge of the brakes. I sincerely didn’t know