It was slightly disconcerting to Happy that he had to look to his right as the blue lights strobed. He rolled down the window of the Rolls Royce and leaned his right arm on the window, his left hand stayed still on the wheel.
"License, and registration papers, if you please sir."
Yeah, thought Happy as he handed over his paperwork, a British accent does not make that sentence sound any better. It didn't help that he could hear Tony sniggering in the back. He was still feeling the effects of jet lag and just didn't need this. Christ in a blender.
"You do realize, sir, that we do kilometers an hour on the motor ways here?
Happy plastered a bewildered smile on his face and tried to look harmless. "I guess I must have been looking at the other half of the gauge then?" Happy tried a sheepish grin. It bounced off the stoney expression of the Traffic cop. He heard Tony give another strangled giggle and he gave an inward sigh.
He knew that there were times that he needed to listen to his employer, and there were times that he needed to listen to the voice of common sense (and that voice mostly sounded like Pepper theses days). But. . . But the guy in the white racing suit that pulled up to him at the light on that London street had just struck a nerve with Happy. He wasn't sure why, maybe it was almost robotic way that the white helmet had turned to stare at him as he (Happy assumed it was a he - can't tell in full racing gear after all) revved the engine of the brand new Austin Martin.
Tony's seemingly nonchalant comment of, "You're not going to let that Limey bastard call you out are you Hap? You can take him!"
He should have ignored Tony egging him on. But it was the slight cock of the helmeted head, and the reflection of the street in the visor that just made Happy's foot itch on the accelerator. He hadn't realized that he had decided to burn off the line until the light had turned and the car had been slammed into gear and with a jolt of smoking tires they were off. It was 90 seconds later that the lights had flared into his rearview mirror like a star going super nova. Sigh. But it had been a great 90 seconds.
Happy knew there was going to be a ticket - a large one. With the American asshole tax slapped on - he was sure of it. The officer had just returned the paper work to Happy through the window when the sound of a powerful engine roared and the Austin Martin reappeared. The driver did a dead man's turn, tires smoking. Then the mystery driver revved the engine - hard - flashed a rude hand gesture at the officer. The traffic cop swore loudly and sprinted to his car. There was a another rev and the helmeted driver gave Happy a thumbs up and was gone in a cloud of tire smoke, the cop in hot pursuit.
Silence filled the car.
"Well fuck me," Tony said in a stunned voice.
Happy grinned, started the car and headed off- at a responsible speed - back to the hotel.