Chapter 20

Nick James maintained a moderate speed through the residential area to make his pursuers believe there was nothing sinister about his midnight drive. He turned west on 98^th Ave and took the left exit that led to the Groat Road at the same leisurely place, He waited until he hit the winding curves through Groat Road that he unleashed his Porsche’s power, by suddenly downshifting and hitting the gas pedal.

The tires on the nimble sports car barely squealed as it took off like a rocket, clinging to the curves he took at eighty kilometres per hour. After he negotiated a curve Nick James looked into the rear-view mirror and smiled in triumph. There was only one police behind him and it couldn’t match his speed.

He glanced down at his speedometer, and saw he was now going one hundred kms an hour and his Porsche still held the road through the remaining curves like it was glued to it. He loved this car. It was exhilarating to be able to fly through these winding road like a jet airplane.

When Nick James came out of the curves and onto the straight stretch under the 107 Avenue overpass he thought he home free until he heard the police sirens. He glanced into his rear-view mirror and saw a police car coming up behind him fast with flashing lights and siren blaring. Two more police vehicles were on top the 107 Avenue overpass.

He realized they intended to race down its exit and cut him off. He stomped on the gas pedal, and again his Porsche shot forward like a bat out of hell. The cop cars were too late coming down the exit to stop him, but they joined the chase, and he now had three of them to contend with.

By the time Nick James shot through the lights at 111^th and 114^th Avenues, he had left the police cars far behind him, but they will still coming, and he knew others would soon join the pursuit. The odds were against him. He could outrun one or two, but he couldn’t lose all of them. However, he just had to shake them long enough to carry out the rest of his escape plan.

He roared through the traffic circle at 118^th Avenue just ahead of another cop car. He wanted to go west on the Yellowhead Trail, but it was blocked by a police car that sat sideways on the entrance ramp. He raced by it, turned left into an industrial area, and drove without his headlights as he looked for a place to hide.