Frank Rides

Frank's quarry was half a block ahead, running fast. In the dimming light of the desert day, Frank could see his quarry jump onto a motorcycle, start it and drive off.

Frank himself veered off his course when he spied a motorcyle that he could use. As he jumped on the motorcycle, the flitted across his mind that a lot of people in this desert town rode motorcycles; indeed, motorcycles seemed to be parked in front of every house on this quiet residential street. Frank zipped up his jacket--for he knew desert nights could get quite chilly. Then he kickstarted the motorcycle, applied acceleration and drove off in chase of the suspect.

One thing about motorcycles was that they did tend to be quite noticeable aurally. In the quiet of the small desert town, Frank could easily hear his quarry's motorcycle as he tried to escape into the darkening desert. The darkening desert also allowed Frank to see the headlight of his quarry's motorcycle.

Good. His quarry was exiting the town via the two-lane highway. Frank would have a straight shot at his quarry. He This part of Arizona was sparsely populated and the distances were long between populated towns. His quarry had picked a bad place to hide out in, for in small towns, it's easy to get picked up when you're on the most wanted list.

Frank drove to the outskirts of the town. Up ahead he could see the taillights of his quarry's motorcycle. He applied more acceleration and soon the wind was whipping against him and Frank thought his cheeks were plastered to the back of his head. But he wouldn't worry about that now.

His objective was to overtake his quarry, collar and cuff him. Frank rode the motorcycle easily, and he was glad he'd thought to zip up his jacket before starting. The wind would have peeled the open jacket over his arms and limited his mobility.

The sand in the wind was scouring his face and getting into his eyes, making him squint. Frank did take note for future reference that he should wear a helmet and invest in wrap-around aviator glasses--one pair with polarized lenses for use by day, and the second pair with clear lenses for use at night.

Frank noticed his quarry up ahead. So the quarry hadn't accelerated much. Frank would be able to over take his quarry soon, very soon.

Frank felt good about that prospect.

Frank accelerated still more, pushing the motorcycle to its limit and moved over into the left lane of the highway. As he pulled up alongside his quarry, he said, "Boo."

Jake, hearing Frank's voice in his ear, turned his head slightly to the left, smiled and Frank heard "Yeah. Not bad. If this were a real chase, we'd be riding for miles to ensure our quarry's capture."

"Practice run. Now we know what to expect. And we also know what we need by way of protection from the sand," Frank said into Jake's earpiece as he slowed down behind Jake, then pulled back into the right lane.

"We ride into the next town over, where Cody is waiting," Frank finished. The two members of the team rode their motorcycles in silence for the rest of the ride, each enjoying the brilliant desert sunset.

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