Authors: S. W. Frank
“Drop me at the office
honey
,
I need to pick up some papers
.
You go
home and get some rest.”
“I’m not tired.”
Her make-up free face revealed fatigue despite her protestation to the contrary. Of course, she’d say that, she wasn’t one to complain about anything. No, Selange twisted with the wind, drifted on its current in whatever direction it t
raveled.
A
lthough
,
the
y
experience
d different things
growing-up
,
they
had
a lot
in
common
. Their environment spawned a pair
of fighters
.
“Do it for me.”
He insisted.
She nodded, “Okay.”
“Promise.”
Selange broke out a smile,
“I promise.”
Satisfied, he
pushed his torso into the seat,
“I’ll be home before it gets late
. W
e’ll go out to dinner, whatever you want
and
then we’
re flying home
.”
“I’ll settle with a quiet night with you
and Allie
before we leave
.”
“
S
ounds good.”
She smiled
again
and
brought the sun
. T
he
brightness
faded when gunshots rattled the driver’s side of the car
and
shatter
ed their relaxing moment.
Selange floored the gas and his head jerked forward from the sudden action. Cars honked, moving out of the way as she zipped down one hundred and twenty-fifth street trying to shake the
suped
-
up
Nissan Silvia right
on her side
.
It gained
speed, closing the distance
.
The morning traffic slowed
her
progression
at
Madison Avenue
. He
saw her hands tremble with inde
cision. There were pedestrians
and she worried they’d get hurt.
He leaned over, put his hand
s
over her
fingers
and spun the wheel hard to the right
away from the
people
.
The vehicle began to cruise
.
“
Gas it
now
!”
The car leaped forward, barely missing an old woman in
a
motorized chair. His jaw clicked
at how close she came to hitting the senior citizen, thank God she hadn’t. H
e
peered over
his shoulder to
see
the
Nissan
in pursuit. Shockingly,
not a single cop car was visible. Any other time he cruised around they were everywhere, pulling people over for small or trumped up infractions.
“
K
eep going.”
He said aloud.
“Who are they?”
The
Nissan
closed the gap and Alfonzo cursed. The Audi
had more horsepower but his wife’s unfamiliarity with its handling put her at a disadvantage. When she
overcame
the
initial fear
she
began to
handle
the car
more competently.
She circled back to
Second Avenue
by
careening
around streets and
bolting
through residential blocks. He guessed she wanted to get away from the residences to the underpass. The better alternative was the expressway. It was after ten and the traffic
there much
lighter. He pointed down a one way street, a shortcut
to
First Avenue
where they’d have a straight away to the
RFK-
Triboro
ugh
Bridge. She followed his hand and the car screeched east doing ninety.
The
Nissan’s
engine roared and Alfonzo knew they
were in for a race war. The driver of
the
pursui
ng vehicle
wasn’t backing down. The
aerodynamic
wings on the rear
trunk and
specialty tires identified the owner as a speed enthusiast
.
Whoever owned
it
had it
customized
for
illegal street races. Despite th
e alterations,
s
peed wise, t
he Audi sports car
was faster
. U
ltimately
,
it came down to the
skill of the
drivers
and unfortunately, Selange
was a novice.
The
Nissan
was on the Audi’s tail
. Ex
plosive
gun
shots bounced off the
Audi’s
bulletproof
windshield. Alfonzo
’s eyebrow elevated
,
this was the worst time to give his wife advanced driving lessons on evasion tactics. He wished he was at the wheel but he wasn’t
. Instead, he
encouraged
Selange,
“You can do this babe, remember, keep firm hold of the steering wheel, ease up on the gas before each curve, be comfortable with
her
and she’ll show you what she can do.
Come on, i
t’s time to
outrun
th
at
sonovabitch
!”
She nodded nervously then sped up the entry ramp, hugged the curve and shot out like a projectile toward the toll booths. The
Nissan’s driver must have laughed. Alfonzo heard the car drop a gear and he looked back to see the driver show-boating. The Nissan drifted smoothly on the circular incline then roared straight past the Audi.
‘
Shit!’
He heard the
shifting
of gears, slowing the Nissan’s momentum and
Alfonzo guessed
the driver’s
intent,
“Uh, babe
hold on.” He said and w
ithout a thought to
his personal s
afety, Alfonzo released
the
latch from his
seatbelt, threw his body over hers to grasp the steering wheel and shouted, “
Take your foot o
ff the gas!”
The Audi decelerated just as the
Nissan’s
wheel
s
began kicking up smoke
in
reverse
. Alfonzo steered
hard,
aim
ing
for
the
Nissan’s
rear wheel well. He clipped it and
it
went into a f
urious
tailspin. He could feel Selange’s heart pumping as their car headed straight for the guardrail.
Hand over hand he turned
the steering wheel
counter-clockwise
until t
he passenger side
of the Audi crashed against the
protective
r
ail. In
his
awkward position
Alfonzo managed to realign the
car’s
tires
but no
t
before
the body
bumped and scraped the metal barrier sending sparks in the air along with a loud screeching sound.
They were head
ing
straight into
oncoming traffic. Loud, panicked breaths kissed his neck as he
swerved around the opposing vehicles. His face was a mask of concentration, there wasn’t any room for miscalculation
s or
they were dead.
She shouted, “They’re coming again!”
He
avoided
the cars. Horns blared at the crazy driver heading in the wrong direction. Alfonzo
heard
the disti
nctive sound of the
customized Nissan as it barreled after them. H
e didn’t expect a flash
from a
black
car
zooming
by
on
the outskirts
of traffic
to
pass
them or the
cacophony of explosive booms from a shotgun
. A quick glance in the rearview
mirror
revealed
smok
e rising from the Nissan
. There were also
s
trobe lights
belonging to
a convoy of state
police
cars
coming up fast
.
The
Nissan
slamm
ed
into the
protective railing,
flipped on its hood
, more booms then a bright ball of red and black fire. Out of
the smoke came the same
black car
at lightning speed. The tinted windows
protected the identity of
its
driver and Alfonzo doubted he’d get a good look anyway.
Alfonzo
slowed
the car and brought it to rest out of the way of traffic
on the side of the on ramp.
The black car was gone.