Chapter 1
“Bet you twenty bucks,” said Seth.
“That I can’t make it in ten minutes?” Ethan asked.
“You're on.” He floored the Volvo $80 and the tires spun
momentarily on the blacktop before grabbing hold,
pressing all four teenagers against their leather seats.
“Give er!” Rico howled from the back beside Seth, his
fist pounding the door frame. Pete, in the front passenger
seat, grimaced and held on.
They rapidly pulled up on a Chrysler minivan with a
“Baby on Board” sign in the rear window—something
that never failed to piss Ethan off. It was like a middle-
finger salute to the rest of the world while you poked
along at ten clicks below the speed limit. He laid on the
horn and, despite the no-passing zone, whipped the S80
around the minivan, pulling back into his lane just before
an oncoming semi rumbled past.
“Jeez, Ethan,” breathed Pete, “I'll give you the twenty
bucks myself, okay?”
“Pussy,” Rico taunted. “No guts, no glory.”
a)DON AKER
“It’s my guts I'm worried about,” Pete countered. “Keeping
them.”
“I got this covered,” Ethan assured him. He pushed
the pedal to the floor again, racing through the next
intersection a heartbeat after the yellow light turned red.
He glanced over at Pete and grinned at the sight of his
friend’s whitening knuckles. “Hey, you only live once,
buddy,” he said.
“Td settle for the once,” muttered Pete, his eyes never
wavering from the windshield.
A Jeep Laredo rolled through a stop sign on a side street
just ahead of them, clearly intent on merging into their
lane. Ethan accelerated and the Laredo seesawed as the
driver braked hard, blaring his horn when they blew past.
Pete shook his head. “Look, Ethan, it’s no problem if we
miss a few minutes of the game. Really.”
“Not gonna happen,” said Ethan.
The buildings blurred by them, and Rico turned to
Seth. “Better get that twenty out,” he said.
“Just keep an eye on your watch,” Seth replied. “Isn’t over
*til it’s over.”
As if his words had summoned it, a Halifax Metro
Police car came into view, parked at the curb. Fortunately,
the cruiser was facing in the same direction they were
headed. Ethan doubted the cop gave them a second glance
as the S80 slowed and drove past at exactly the posted
speed limit. Once beyond it, though, he hit the gas again.RUNNING ON EMPTY
Three blocks later, Rico now counting down the time
remaining, they approached Cathedral Estates. A sign to
the right of the subdivision’s ornate stone entrance declared
the neighbourhood to be “A Traffic Calmed Community.”
Ethan cut a hard right, and the $80 fishtailed through the
gate onto Monastery Road, the tires making whup-whup
sounds on interlocking paving stones designed to make the
McMansion-lined street look like it had been there for a
hundred years.
“Twenty seconds,” said Rico.
No sooner had he spoken than the Volvo hit a speed
bump and all four friends bounced upward, their bodies
slamming against their seat belts.
“Cripes!” Pete shouted. “You'll wreck the suspension!”
In the back, Rico and Seth cackled like lunatics.
“Ten seconds!” yelled Rico. “Nine. Eight. Seven—”
Ethan cursed as he steered onto Seminary Lane, the
Volvo’s Michelins squealing through the turn. But he
didn’t give a damn if the sound drew the neighbours to
their windows, and he pushed the S80 forward, speed
bumps jolting them like grenades in the undercarriage.
He whipped the wheel right and swung the car into his
driveway just as Rico called, “One!”
“Yes!” he yelled, pumping the air with his fist.
“Ethan!” shouted Pete.
Despite Ethan’s foot on the brake, the garage was
still approaching, and he yanked the wheel left to avoid
(3]