Velocity

Chapter 1: Late Night Cruise

The young man sighed as he slowed to the red light. It had been a long day at the office; he had a presentation due, and he barely finished it in time to send it off with the courier. Not only that, but Tracey had just given him a huge pile of work to get started on tomorrow; it seemed that he would never catch a break. He had just left the office and the lights of Pewter City were just beginning to switch on in the night sky. He snapped down the overhead mirror and inspected his tired face.

His short black hair was starting to unravel from the rigorous combing he had to do in the morning and was starting to stick out in every direction. He had a particularly handsome face, or so the ladies at the office told him anyway. Everyday he was bombarded by invites to random occasions from the women he worked with; drinks, dinner, movies, things of that nature.

He glanced at his suit, which was now wrinkled and unruly looking; a result of him tearing through the office to catch the courier in time. With a sigh, he closed the mirror and flipped his CD player on. As The Crystal Method's "Born Too Slow" poured from his car speakers, he leaned his head against the steering wheel and glanced up to the light.

Still red, he thought to himself. Geez, it sure is taking this light forever to change... He smirked and pressed his foot to the accelerator, feeling the power pour out from his brand new yellow 2005 Silph Dodrio. He had bought the sports car on a whim; just a present to himself, and he enjoyed the compliments he received from the people he worked with.

To his surprise, he heard an engine rev up even louder than his, which caused his head to snap up from the steering wheel. He glanced to his left and spotted a man, considerably older than him staring at him with a smirk on his tanned face, even though it looked like he was squinting fiercely to get a good look at him. Apparently, he had pulled up next to the young man when he had revved his engine, and took it as a challenge.

The man's car was considerably flashy, sporting decals of numerous rock and ground pokemon all over. It was a dark brown '98 Shinobu Falcon, sporting an aggressive body kit and a massive spoiler. The rims gleamed in the light of the city, obviously polished with extreme care. Even the paint sparkled in the night sky, a result of the metallic flakes added in the paint.

The car rumbled again as the man revved his engine even louder; issuing his reply to the young man's inadvertent challenge. The young looked puzzled for a moment, unsure of what to do. I can't race this guy, its illegal! He looked around for a moment, seeing there were no cars in the vicinity. Still, I can't just back down...besides, no one's around. Who's gonna know?

The young man's eyes darted around, trying to make a decision. Slowly, a grin crept to his face as he stepped fiercely on the accelerator, causing his engine to rev with a loud whine. He glanced at his opponent for a moment; the man smiled and turned back to the traffic light, before raising his windows. The young man grinned and did the same, turning up his Crystal Method CD. His eyes were fixed on the traffic light as he tightened his grip on the steering wheel and steadied himself.

Red...The engine rumbled again.

Red...He leaned forward and stared at the light, waiting for the moment when it would change.

Green. The car jerked forward as the young man slammed his foot on the accelerator, taking off like a rocket from the line. The roar of the engine filled his ears as he sped through the empty city streets, his opponent right on his heels. Suddenly, the brown car blew past him and swerved to the right onto the next street, leaving a long trail of burnt rubber on the concrete road. The young man followed suit and braked before jerking his steering wheel to the right. He could hear his tires squeal as the vehicle lurched to the right before he slammed his foot back onto the gas.

Damn, he's got a good head start. He shook the thought out of his mind, holding the clutch and switching to the second gear. The car jerked forward again with a sudden burst of speed. His heart pounded as the world around him began to blur; details began to disappear, shapes no longer held shape, and colors began to blend into colors that blended into other colors.

The car ahead of him turned again, this time to the left, and the young man followed suit. He popped the clutch and shifted to the third gear; the engine no longer roared but became a constant whine; that coupled with the music blaring from his speaker filled his ears; the outside world was no longer a concern for him. All that mattered now was him, his opponent, and his victory.

The two machines sped through the illuminated streets of Cerulean, each one trying to outrun and outmaneuver the other. Both cars vied for the lead, zooming throughout the metropolis, leaving long trails of smoking rubber in their wake. The young man shifted to the fourth and finally caught up to his opponent, and flashed a lopsided grin.

The other man returned a grin with his own before swerving to the right. The young man looked ahead and screamed as he jerked the wheel to the left, grazing a car that was sitting at the red light. He slammed on the brakes and veered to the right side of the intersection, just barely missing two other cars before resuming his race through the streets.

He struggled to steady his now pounding heart; after all, he'd just barely avoided two accidents in the span of ten seconds. He looked around for a moment, searching for the man he'd been racing against. Where the hell did he go? As if on cue, the brown Shinobu Falcon screamed out in front him; he'd apparently taken an alternate route through the back alleys of the city.

He picked up speed and pulled alongside him again, now neck-and-neck with the older man. The man smirked and pointed to a gas station that was coming up on the road. With expert skill and never slowing down for a second, the Falcon turned into the station and stopped on a dime in a nearby parking spot. The young man pressed down on his brakes and pulled into the station alongside the car before he finally killed the engine.

All the young man could do was stare into space for a moment; trying to register the past few minutes. Finally, he pulled the car door open with shaking hands; a side effect of the adrenaline that was rushing throughout his bloodstream. The music from his stereo rushed out of the car, breaking the silence of the night sky. He turned in time to see his opponent emerge from his vehicle, grinning from ear to ear.

"Wow, you're pretty good! Never seen someone maneuver through a busy intersection and come out in one piece! Who do you race with?" The man proclaimed as he patted the young man on the back. The young man merely shook his head.

"Th...That was my first time..." he said slowly and quietly. The older man raised an eyebrow, obviously not believing him.

"Come on, quit screwing around. Who do you really race with?" The young man turned and shook his head again.

"That was my first time; I'm not a racer, I'm an executive for a law firm." He pointed to his crinkled black suit, driving home his statement. The older man's eyes opened wide with surprise.

"You're kidding!! Holy shit, did you even know what kind of moves you just pulled off?! You drive like someone who's been racing his whole life; hell, you handle a car like a freaking Formula One driver or something!!" the man exclaimed loudly. He smiled widely and patted the younger man on the back.

"How'd you like to race with us tomorrow night?" Suddenly, the young man shook his head fiercely and started to back up.

"No, no, no; I can't do that, its illegal!! And I almost got killed tonight racing with you!" he shouted. "You have no idea how close I was to being a smear on the street tonight!"

The older man folded his arms and smirked. "Ok, I'll give you that. But let me ask you this...now that you know what it's like...do you regret doing it? Do you wish hadn't even raced me?"

The younger man fell silent; he did get quite an adrenaline rush out of racing him...in fact it was the first time he had actually felt truly alive in a long time. The older man chuckled and held his hand out to the younger man.

"I'll take that as a no. I'll tell you what...you don't even have to race tomorrow, just come to check us out, ok? I promise it'll be fun," he said. The young man looked at his outstretched hand cautiously for a moment.

"And I don't have to race or any of that stuff?"

The older man shook his head. "Nope, you can just hang out in the sidelines and watch."

The young man sighed for a moment, and took the older man's hand, shaking it gingerly. "What time?"

The older man grinned. "Midnight, at the Cerulean Pier. Don't be late," he said as he turned back to his car. Suddenly, he whirled back around and groaned. "Man, I totally forgot to introduce myself...the name's Brock Slate."

The younger man looked at his car, then back at Brock before letting a small smirk appear on his face.

"I'm Ash. Ash Ketchum."