Paul De Sousa

Speed

A short story by Paul Kain

Gavin gunned the BMW’s engine and pushed the button that let the top down.
He let the motor idle and warm up while the top slid away into the gap behind the seats.
He grabbed his shades from the sun visor and slid them slowly on, putting on his mean “I am the man” face.

He put the car into gear and turned on the radio. Eminem was on, singing about the hurts his mother had put on him as a child.
Gavin liked this song and cranked the volume up, slowly edged the car into the road then flattened his foot.
The Beemer’s backend dropped slightly and the car roared forward, gripping the road like Velcro. Gavin bopped his head to the radio, trying to sing along. He didn’t know the words but he didn’t care, he felt good anyway.
He was happy. He had the wind blowing through his hair, it was Friday afternoon and he had a long weekend ahead of him. Monday was a holiday and the office had given everyone Tuesday off. Bonus. He had given Tracey the boot which meant that this weekend was all his. He was free.
Tracey was out of the picture and he was going to hook up with the boys and get slaughtered and chase skirts all over town this weekend.

The freeway was quiet for a Friday afternoon, people must have left town for the holidays. This gave him the opportunity to open the Beemer up on the freeway.
He gripped the steering wheel tighter and pushed his foot flat.
The Beemer seemed to enjoy this and responded accordingly. Gavin watched the needle on the speedometer creep up and up.
He remembered seeing an advert in some magazine for this very car. The image displayed the clocks in white with the caption underneath that read “Color coded to match your knuckles.”
Gavin glanced at his tight grip and grinned to himself.
The wind was drowning out the radio, but he didn’t care. He could feel the bass though, coming from behind the backseats.

He approached the off ramp going as fast as he dared. He knew these roads well.
At the bottom of the hill was a sharp turn left then a set of traffic lights, a slight bump in the road that always got his car airborne if he caught the lights green then an s-bend, a long straight and then a stop street.
He geared down twice and took the corner tight.
The lights were green and he floored it. He caught the lights with lots of time to spare then hit the bump in the road.
For that split second when all four tires were in the air, Gavin felt like the king of the world, the champion, the alpha male.
Tracy hated it when he drove fast and they always argued about the speed he drove at. Now he had no one to bite his balls about his driving.
It had been 2 weeks since he had heard from her.
He had asked the cute receptionist, Patty, not to put her calls through and he never answered her calls when she called his cell phone.
He hit the S-bend like a formula one driver and maneuvered the car professionally through the bends then flooring it again, slowing down only enough to hear strains of Timo Maas’ Shifter belting out of the speakers.
That’s what he felt like, a shifter. Shift the car into gear and put foot, that’s what he loved doing.
He could get the car to 5th gear at 5500 rpm before he had to slow down and stop at the intersection in the distance so he hammered the car up a gear, flooring it for all he was worth.
Achieving his goal then reluctantly started slowing down.

As he approached the intersection it dawned on him.
He had forgotten his house keys on his desk when he was packing away.
He wondered whether he could get back to the office before they locked up at 5.
It would cost him a bit to get a locksmith to open up his place so he decided to get back to the office.
He looked at the time quickly. 4:46. It had taken him about 12 minutes to get here.
He’d have to push it back to make it and started turning the car around.
He floored it down the straight, wishing that the bump was on this straight.
He had often wondered how far in the air the car would travel if he could hit it at top speed.
He maneuvered through the S-bend then went over the bump, the car hardly lifting as he went over it. The way to work was not half as exciting as the way home. He also had an extra set of traffic lights to get through to get onto the onramp of the freeway.

Gavin hated traffic and traffic lights.

It was fine though. The way he figured he might have a few minutes to spare when he got back to the office and the receptionist, Patty, would be there alone to lock up.
By now she knew that he and Tracey had split and she always smiled coyly at him. So he figured this was a perfect opportunity to slip her some sweet talk and perhaps even convince her to join him for a drink.
She was cute.
And he had caught her staring at him a few times when he walked past her desk.
She always looked away embarrassed when he looked back at her.
He wondered if she’d put out.
The thought excited him and he willed the traffic he knew would be at the traffic lights to be gone when he got there.
Luck was on his side. He had momentarily forgotten about the holiday, there was no traffic. Life was good.
He roared onto the freeway and was soon weaving between the slower cars making his way to the fast lane where he’d flash his lights at anything in his way.
Dare anyone get in his way now.
He pushed the Beemer hard, growling like a primal beast as he squinted his eyes behind the dark glasses.
He saw flashing lights in the distance in the opposite lane coming towards him and as they passed he saw a Black Sedan weaving through the drabs of traffic, trying to get away from the chasing Police cars. 3 Black and white’s and police chopper vs. one lone ranger. He wondered what the driver had done. He growled again and momentarily exchanged places with the driver of the black sedan.
He was in control and the cops wouldn’t, couldn’t catch him.
He wondered if the cops could ever use his driving skills.
He’d call em up sometime, offer his services as a chase car driver.
Secret Agent Gavin ‘Gung Ho’ Glover . Only when things got bad, they’d call him up; “Agent Glover, we need you, we got some guy that we can’t catch, will you assist us in apprehending him?” He’d wear a cape and a mask.

Nah.

That was pathetic.

Lame really.

He stopped daydreaming and flashed a car edging its way into the fast lane and didn’t slow down as the car swerved back into the slower lane.
He flew past the car as though it were parked. He made it back to the parking lot just in time to catch the petite porcelain doll-like Patty exiting the main door, ready to lock it. He turned the radio down.
He honked twice and drove right up to the door as far as he could get. Leaving the engine running and not bothering with the door, he hopped out of the car, a la Magnum P.I.

He strode up to her and said “Hey, sorry, but I left my keys on my desk.”
She smiled and looked shyly away from him
“Go ahead, I’ll wait here for you.”
“Come with me quickly” he oozed “It’ll give us a chance to chat. We hardly ever talk and I figured I may as well make a new friend.”
Hesitantly she replied; ”Um. Ok why not.” Then smiled that sweet little innocent smile of hers.
He grabbed the open door and motioned her in before him. They walked down the hall to his office and chatted along the way. He asked her a few questions about herself which she shyly answered. From behind his dark glasses he eyed her up and down.
She was well built with curves in places that other girls could only wish for.
Her slim petite figure and body hugging attire accentuated her large breasts that pushed up against her tight top.
He felt his groin stir as he unlocked his door and let himself into his office and made a mental note to put his office keys and house keys on the same ring so that he wouldn’t have a repeat of this.
He grabbed his keys off his desk and locked his office again.

“What are you doing now?” he innocently asked
“Now?” she replied “I’m walking with you.” Then laughed.
Her laughter was like sweet musical instruments and Gavin laughed back.
“I meant what are you doing now, as in after work and what plans do you have for the weekend?”
“Well I am meeting some friends later tonight then we’re going partying. I’m planning on spending the rest of my weekend catching some rays. I want to work on my tan. What are you doing?
“Well, I’m supposed to hook up with a few friends tonight then perhaps also go partying. I don’t have plans for the rest of the weekend. Where you going now? Need a ride?”
“I’d appreciate it. I’m going to pop into the hair salon down the road for a cut”
“The one on 7th? Next to the gift shop?”
“Yes. That’s the one. My mom works there”
“Come on, I’ll give you a ride.”

He waited for her to lock the door then opened her door for her before walking around to the other side and hopping into the driver’s seat. Patty smiled at him and looked at the dashboard with all its shining and glowing instruments, obviously impressed.
Gavin turned up the radio reversed the car and when he was out of the parking lot Patty motioned to him to go left.
He floored the car and it lurched forward, like a stallion out of the starting blocks. The Beemer felt as though it were hopping forward like an overgrown bullfrog on steroids.
He turned to Patty and smiled. She smiled back.
He turned the radio down and asked her; “Do you mind the speed?”
“Not in the least” she replied enthusiastically “it excites me.”
Gavin felt a stirring in his groin again.
“Good” he replied “ I don’t like driving slow.”
“My ex boyfriend had a superbike.” she enthused “ I love speed!”
Gavin felt his heart drop a bit and made up his mind right there that he was going to buy a bike. He was going to buy the biggest, baddest, fastest superbike that he could get his hands onto. Maybe an SRAD or the new Kawasaki ZX 1300. Chicks dig it. He knew this.

He pulled up outside the salon and turned the car around.
Patty turned to him and smiled again “um. Listen, how many friends have you got partying with you tonight?”
Gavin quickly counted in his mind the number of single friends he had and knew were going to be in town tonight; “four, with me five, why?”
“Well” said Patty looking down away from Gavin “There are 6 of us going out tonight but Shelly has a boyfriend that’s joining us, so it kind of evens it up. We’re going to be at Regatta’s for drinks from 8. um. If you’re keen, come past. It’d be nice.”
Gavin played it cool. “Well we’ve got a party planned, but I think we could slip away and come past.”
Patty’s eyes lit up and she said again “It would be real nice if you came past.”
She quickly climbed out of the car. As she walked into the salon Gavin sat watching her walk. This chick was built and she was going to put out. Tonight. Life was good.

He pulled slowly out into the road and roared towards the freeway. At the next traffic lights he whipped out his cell phone and dialed Roger’s number.
Roger answered after the 2nd ring and Gaving slipped into “homey talk”
“wazzzzzup!”
“Wazzzzzzuuuup!”
“Nuttin’ much, just scoring us some action for tonight”
“For real?”
“For real brother, for real”
“What action?”
“This bird from work, she wants us to party with her and her mates tonight at Regatta’s”
“ahuh? And these others, they any fine?”
“Hell yeah, just saw two or three of them now. Fine stuff brother. Tonight’s a free fox hunt”
“How many?”
“6 but the one’s taking some wanker along with her. That leaves 5”
“shit, Adrian’s brother’s partying with us tonight which makes us 6”
“What about his missus?”
“She went away with her folks for the long weekend”
“hmm…. Too bad. Maybe we can beat the other chick’s boyfriend up or something”
“or maybe Adrian’s brother can party with your date?”
“maybe not. She’s booked. Wants to come to my place afterwards”
“that a fact? Let’s have another challenge. Any man without a pair of panties in the morning in his pocket buys the rest drinks at tomorrow night’s party.”
“Deal. Pick you up at 7. get the others to meet at your place.”
“Cool B, I got a bottle of Jack’s that’s been on ice since this afternoon.”
“Keep it there, I’m about to come and teach you fellas how to drink”
“bring it”

He didn’t care about the white lie he had just told.
So he didn’t know what the other’s looked like. So what? A good looking girl like Patty certainly wouldn’t have ugly friends.
Birds of a feather and all that.
Besides, the other guys would have to fend for themselves once they got there.
He had his good time in the bag.
He was the Alpha male.

Gavin rose up in his seat to put the phone back in his pocket.
The lights had changed to green and the car behind him blasted its horn. Gavin calmly turned up the radio.
It was aching to show off how loud it could play Cypress Hill’s Rock Superstar.
He then looked in the rear view mirror, flipped the bird at the driver in the car behind him, put the Beemer through its paces and was soon back on the freeway.

He soon had the car screaming abuse at the other cars it flew past. Yeah, flew past. This wasn’t fast driving, this was low flying.
The broken lines on the road seemed to become solid as the car gained speed. Everything around him was a blur. Time stood still for Gavin.
He was in control.
Back in Alpha male mode.
He had a lay planned for tonight.
Life was good.

As he approached the off ramp, he could see the police chopper he had seen earlier circling the area.
He chuckled to himself thinking that the cops were too dumb to even catch just one guy.
He hit the off ramp as fast as he dared go and as he approached the left hand corner he geared down hard, and again. The Beemer’s engine whining as it responded.
Gavin could hear the sirens. They were close by. He could see the lights were green for him and he flattened the pedal, trying to push it through the floor.
He was actually going a lot faster than he had ever previously managed to exit that left hand bend at.
Adrenaline pumped viciously through his veins. His knuckles were white, like chalk, he was squeezing the steering wheel so tight he could hardly feel his fingers.
This was the ride he’d always sort after. Like a surfer seeking the ultimate wave. Like a junkie looking for that ultimate high.
But he wasn’t a surfer or a junkie, he was secret Agent Gavin ‘Gung ho’ Glover, on a mission.
He felt so exhilaratingly alive.
He was going to hit that bump and be airborne for a lot longer than usual.
He was going to be the king of the world for a few seconds more, he was going to be the champion for longer than before.
He was going to be the dominating alpha male and put his mark on the world.
This is Gavin’s world.
Life was good.

As he crossed the intersection, that’s when the black sedan skipped the red light and hit him.