Ahead, the light changed to green. Jack started forward. Curt pressed the accelerator to the floor, jacking his speed up to over fifty miles per hour. He was determined to make the light. Curt’s mouth went dry, since he knew it would be close. He prayed there would be no taxis jumping the light on their way north.

They streaked across Third Avenue without incident. Jack was only a half block away. But as they rapidly closed the distance, a car pulled out from a parking spot. Curt was forced to brake rapidly. He came up to the very back of the vehicle and leaned on his horn. The driver ignored him. Ahead Jack was again leaving them behind by crossing Lexington Avenue.

“I don’t believe this!” Curt yelled. He slammed on the brakes and simultaneously hit the steering wheel with the heel of his hand in frustration. The car in front had stopped at the corner with a yellow light. “It’s just our luck to get behind the only driver in New York who stops on yellow lights.” He ran an anxious hand through his hair. “I suppose I could push him out of the way.”

“But look at the traffic,” Steve said. It was bumper-to-bumper and moving slowly on Lexington Avenue. “There’s no place for us to go, so don’t bother. We’ll catch him on the next block.”

Curt growled but didn’t say anything.

“Let me out of here!” Yuri cried as soon as he was aware they were stopped. He dragged himself forward between the front seats.

Steve looked over at Curt, who shrugged his shoulders and then nodded. Steve opened the door and climbed out. Yuri scrambled out of the vehicle and stood on shaky legs while Steve climbed back inside.

“We’ll see you tonight,” Curt yelled from the driver’s seat. “Sometime around eleven. You’ll be ready, right?”

“I’ll be ready,” Yuri promised hoarsely.

The light turned green, and Curt honked his horn. The car in front slowly made the turn to the left. Impatient, Curt gunned the van before the car was completely out of the way. They ricocheted off the car bumper, and the driver leaped out to protest.

“Serves him right,” Curt said with a malicious laugh as he sped west.

In the distance Jack was crossing Park Avenue on a green light. Steve braced. As Curt accelerated, Steve had no idea what was going to happen at the intersection. He knew intuitively that they were not going to make the light. Fortunately it ambered its way to red soon enough to force Curt to stop. The traffic heading uptown was moving rapidly, and since it was now coming on Curt’s side of the van, he was instinctively reluctant to try to cross against the light as he’d done on Second Avenue. While they were waiting, they could see Jack in the distance turn right on Madison Avenue.