As Menich heard sirens in the distance, he let out an involuntary curse.
They weren't supposed to come until I gave the signal. They obviously don't trust me. He thought bitterly. They're smarter than they look.
Menich started as Thai gunned his engine, obviously planning to gun it as soon as the patrol cars got near. Menich did the same, itching for a good race despite the circumstances. He prepared to play a little joke on the officers. As Thai took off, Menich did as well, popping a wheelie and running right over one of the cop cars. That would definitely make them very angry, which gave Menich some measure of satisfaction. The fact that they couldn't do anything about it gave him even more satisfaction. I mean, what could they say? That he ran over a police car? He could excuse that accusation easily. He would just say that he was trying to apprehend Thaiberium and they got in the way. Of course, he had no intention of catching Thai. All he wanted was a good race. He looked on with grudging admiration as Thai spun around one of the vehicles while simultaneously dishing out an obscene gesture. This guy was good, but was he good enough? As he looked back ahead, he saw that the cops had set up a road block, and he thought for a minute that this might be the end of the ride. He quickly changed his mind, devoting himself to make it past the block if Thai did as well.

At the very least, Menich had a healthy disrespect of authority and the race started well in earnest. His doubts somewhat assuaged, he smashed through the patrol cars without slowing down one bit. Flecks of paint and random scraps shoved themselves in his view. His hood was loose and blocked his view. That wasn't much of a problem, Thaiberium had come prepared, since this happened often. He only pressed the detach button and hood came flying off. He wouldn't want it to hit Menich, lest he be accused of using a cheap tactic. Nevermind that however, with the hood now gone, the proper racing conditions were established and the carburetor intake manifold rose up, feeding more air in to the engine. Coming up to the I-13 connection, he kicked it down to second gear and slammed on the breaks, twisting right as he did so. Once the Charger started to move, he hit the pedal and shifted up again, using the momentum to slide around the bend. The screech as satisfyingly deafening and he looked in his rear view mirror again. More patrol cars were forming up from behind. It was now time for a little fun.

Menich watched as Thaiberium crashed through the barricade without the slightest bit of hesitation. Maybe this race would be satisfactory after all. He slid smoothly into the now-clear path, watching as some of the police yapped into their walkie-talkies. It was futile, however. They would never catch Thai. That meant it was up to him. Unfortunately for the police department, that wouldn't do them any good. He watched as, without so much as skipping a beat, Thaiberium glided around a sharp curve.
Not bad. He thought to himself. This guy was turning out to be more formidable than he had expected. That was a good thing.
Now feeling he had something to prove, Menich poured on the speed. As the turn came up, he swerved sharply, the bike tilting dangerously at a 75 degree angle. He planted his foot into the ground at the apex of the turn to keep from tilting over, feeling the forces of the bike's weight and momentum that threatened to snap his leg like a twig. However, inertia won over, and he shot around the curve expertly, if Menich did say so himself. Now that the turn was out of the way, he had a chance to glance back, seeing patrol cars in hot pursuit... if one could call it that. They just kept persisting. It's not like they'd be able to catch Thai... or him, for that matter.

Menich came into the rear view mirror in front of the cop cars. A bike would have a greater advantage on a highway, after all, there was no need to swerve through traffic if there was enough space. But then again, the kid looked like he had something to prove and Thaiberium was perfectly content to have the fool lose precious time dodging traffic as he was.

Never having taken any pressure off the accelerator, Thaiberium continued to dodge and weave in the opposite direction of the traffic, feeling the sway of his Carger's rear end. It felt good, and he adjusted his rhythm to the sway. A miscalculation now could prove fatal.

"...come in Big Bird," that was dispatch's voice on the police band.

"Big Bird to dispatch, I can see the chase from up here. Suspect is a red Dodge Charger," another voice spoke up.

Big Bird, the callsign of the local Police helicopter did nothing but distract him further. This slip had him scrape the side of a passing sedan, nearly wrenching the right door off (the Charger had steering on the left side) and putting him into a spin. Wrenching the wheel the other way to correct his unintentional slide, he caught a glimpse of the black chopper swooping low past his ride. A normal pursuit was fine but a heli always made things way more complicated and he cursed in annoyance. Another thing he noticed was that only one suspect was identified. He tried to dismiss it since his car was a bigger target but the nagging thought had lodged itself well in to the back of his skull. This only amounted to distracting him further as he pushed his ride forward, frustrated at himself and the cops for that loss in speed and time.

Though Menich was confident, his progress was being stunted by the oncoming traffic. Sure, it was easier for him to swerve in between the traffic than it was for Thaiberium, but at this rate, there was no way he'd be able to gain on him fast enough to win. He could simply swerve onto the side of the road, where there would be no oncoming cars, but that would make it too easy. He wanted to prove that he could beat Thaiberium without taking that advantage. That left one option. Unexpectedly, Menich slowed down, allowing the police to gain a little bit. The scene appeared quite awkward, seeming like a hot chase. Theoretically, the cars ahead would see this and make an effort to get out of the way, clearing a path for Menich to glide through with ease.

And then, as if Racing Moses was behind him, the cars parted way. Something was up and that something was Menich, using the chase to clear away the cars. A fine idea if Thaiberium wasn't already trying to dodge cars in the way. The sign on the opposite side read 20 km to Rockport, and that'd be another five km just to get to the docks unscathed, if at all. The chopper was still flying low, as low as humanly possible and still dodge the highway signs. Menich and the 5-0 were definitely catching up with the empty ground and soon enough, even the cars in front of him started to part. An excellent condition, and he pushed the nitrous button and let the acceleration push him back.

Menich watched as Thaiberium sped away. He hadn't seen this coming, but he supposed he should have. Thaiberium was using some sort of speed boost to gain ground. Menich poured on the speed, blazing down the newly made path in the road. He doubted if he would be able to catch up with Thai in time to win the race. Of course, using the boost would practically be suicide, considering that the cars farther away from the scene of the chase would not be able to see it, and thus, would not have parted yet. It would only be a matter of time before Thaiberium would have to slow down again... or die.

This was where years of racing experience came in. Still blurring Thaiberium's vision, the first tank of nitrous emptied, having brought the Dodge Charger to top speed. He looked at his speed-o, the needle going past 100 miles per hour. Still, he was too close to Mach .5 for his comfort. Even a little twitch in his steering could send his ride over the side and in to a ditch. A large horn blared up, two full sized trucks were heading straight towards him. There was no time to swerve out of the way, saving perhaps his own skin instead of race. They moved erratically, trying to make way for him yet avoid the other traffic. Still not slowing down, Thaiberium turn the steering right then left. At the present speed, it lifted the car's left side up above the tarmac. Praying that the joint of the axle and wheel would hold, he maintained course, the left wheel gripping the container of the truck on his left. They still swayed erratically and he was on four wheels again, with the gap in front of him closing fast. There was no choice but to go underneath now, having the roof sheared off by the low clearance. He could it now though, the Rockport Bay, where a container ship was waiting. How ironic that the cargo it off loaded almost destroyed the one that it was going to load in a few minutes.

"Officers on the chase, we have a spikestrip set up at the highway exit, of the expected path of the suspect."

Thaiberium frowned upon hearing this, wanting to paint the blocked passaged way with an RPG. He wouldn't do that of course, or else the military would have jurisdiction. He certainly didn't want to take the long way around. Decisions, decisions.

(Sorry for taking so long. I thought I'd already responded.)

Menich watched with satisfaction as two rather large trucks headed for Thai's vehicle. He would surely either have to forfeit the race or forfeit his own life. Then, to his shock in amazement, Thaiberium decided to go with choice three, going under. This was an extremely risky maneuver, and as Thai went under one of the trucks, the hood was sheared clean off. Of course, the impact slowed him down, but he was still in the race. Menich couldn't help but imagine Thai's head tipping the bottom of the truck and flying off, but no such luck. He made it. By now, the trucks had successfully cleared off to the side of the road, giving Menich a clear path. He pushed the bike to its limit, trying to make ground on Thai.

((Likewise, I thought you dropped this...))

The side mirrors were still stuck on the car doors amazingly enough. It was useful and Thaiberium saw Menich accelerate up to him. They were close enough that they could talk to each other, noise notwithstanding. Another thought came to Thaiberium and that thought was to slam in to the biker, but that was poor sportsmanship. He tried to signal to Menich that there was a roadblock up ahead but it was rather awkward in the midst of dodging traffic. With the spike strip smack in the middle of the road, there was no where else to go.

Menich came up beside Thaiberium, pushing his bike as far as it would go to take the lead. He risked a quick glance over at Thai's vehicle. He could see that he was gesturing, making a signal of some sort. He continued to look, trying to decipher Thai's message, which was rather difficult to do while cars flashed by on either side of him. He looked back ahead and immediately got the message. There were road spikes dead ahead. He swerved awkwardly, trying to avoid it, but even though he succeeded, the clumsy maneuver cost him some time.