Excessive Speeding (Part 1)

"Shit! I'm going to be late again." It seemed no matter how hard he tried, Richard couldn't seem to keep his appointments. His basketball buddies would definitely not be pleased, the last time they had threatened to kick him off the team and get someone who was more reliable. He rushed out the door with his gear and jumped into his car. The tires squealed as he laid rubber backing out of the driveway. He began to chastise himself out loud as he roared toward the freeway. "What an idiot I am!" He tried to dream up excuses he hadn't used before, but it was useless. "Wait a minute! I can cut off some time by heading through the projects!" he said to himself. Normally, he would never drive through the projects during the day, let alone at night, but he had to get there on time. The tires squealed again as he took a sharp right and put the pedal to the floor. The route through the dark streets on the east side of town was eerily calm. This place scared the shit out of him. He pressed down even more on the accelerator. Seventy miles-per-hour in a forty zone, he just might make the game after all. As he roared through a seemingly deserted intersection he glanced to his left. A motorcycle cop had just pulled up to the red light. Richard checked his rear-view mirror to see if the cop was going to give chase. Nothing yet ... still nothing ... whew! He had dodged one bullet. He quickly hung a left at the next intersection just in case. Just a few more blocks and he would be out of this neighbourhood. He slowed down slightly so he wouldn't have to stop at the next light and looked around to make sure all the doors were locked. He slowed down even more so he could time the light properly. The light turned green and he went to move his right foot from the brake to the gas when the sound of a siren made his heart jump. Glancing in the mirror he could see the flashing red and blue light of the motorcycle cop. "Fuck" he said to himself, "this is just what I need!" He drove through the light slowly and pulled over into a vacant lot on the other side of the intersection. The cop pulled over behind him. As he waited for the officer to approach his car he consoled himself with that fact that at least he would be reasonably safe stopped in this part of town with a cop around. Also, he definitely had a great excuse to use!