On the surface, Joe was clumsy and backwards and he never seemed to be paying attention. Almost everything he said made no sense, but then, when they were in the worst possible situation, he’d do or say something brilliant and save the day, like back when they were at headquarters and he’d identified the right prototype.

It was slogging through all the buffoonery in between the rare moments of brilliance that was the hard part. 

Chief instructed Joe to buckle up. “I don’t like the looks of these guys. We’re going to see just how fast this beast can go.” 

“Now we’re talking, Chief,” Joe said, hitting the roof with his fist. “Let ‘er rip!” 

Chief punched the gas and the pumpkin Cadillac leaped forward with the raw power of a bucking bronco. It did a quarter mile in a heartbeat. Chief checked the rearview mirror. Unfortunately, the black car seemed to have just as much horsepower and it roared up behind them as they approached a traffic light. 

The light turned yellow and Chief saw his chance. He could run the light and hopefully lose the car. Chief pressed the gas pedal all the way to the floor. 

“All right, Chief!” Joe shouted over the whine of the engine. “Bust through that light!” 

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