Chapter 18: Speeding, Seaweed, and a Chase

Previously, Robert had used his position as chief to help Luke directly become an official member of the police force. There were still some lingering issues there, waiting to erupt.

But now, Luke relied on his seriousness and hard work to make the existing members of the force acknowledge and accept this new colleague, and they no longer simply tolerated him out of respect for Robert.

As for Robert, he was even happier than the others to see this. He had bragged many times that he had been right to hire Luke; Luke was simply born to be in the force.

Luke merely sneered when he heard that. “Chief, if it’s just empty praise, forget it. Will you be raising my pay?”

Robert immediately chased him away when he heard that.

What kind of joke was that? Luke had only been on the job for a month. The only reason Robert hadn’t been reported for abusing his authority was due to his prestige in town. If he dared raise Luke’s pay, someone would definitely report him for abuse of authority.

And just like that, time passed peacefully and Luke’s second month at the police force arrived.

Today, he was out patrolling with Selina as usual. After a while, Selina stopped the car in front of a supermarket and went inside to buy a can of Coke and a can of Dr. Pepper.

The people of Texas loved Dr. Pepper, and Luke could only comfort himself that he couldn’t get used to the taste because of his Chinese soul.

In truth, it wasn’t like he loved Coke too. He had drunk too much of it in his past life.

But Selina insisted that they get fat together, and she wouldn’t allow Luke to drink plain water when she was drinking some fattening beverage filled with sugar.

She got into the car and tossed the Coke to Luke before opening her own Dr. Pepper. She took a big mouthful of the drink before burping in satisfaction.

When she saw Luke fiddling with the can of Coke, she was immediately unhappy. “What are you doing? Are you trying to wait until we finish work before leaving it behind in my car?”

Luke could only helplessly open the can of Coke when he heard that. He planned to take a few sips just to make her happy.

At that moment, raucous music started resounding in the air. Far away at first, it got louder as it approached them. Along with the music, there was the sound of two people roaring with laughter.

After a while, a car sped past on the road.

The supermarket Selina had stopped at was located at an intersection. In order to avoid the sun, she had even parked in a small alley beside the supermarket. Thus, the cars on the main road couldn’t see the police car.

Selina frowned. “Hehe, that’s probably above the speed limit, right?”

Luke immediately nodded. “Absolutely. It’s about 90mph.” He also seized the opportunity to move the can of Coke to the side.

This place was near the town’s north exit. Even so, it was still inside the town, where the speed limit was only 40mph.

90mph was definitely above the speed limit.

Selina immediately shifted into gear and slammed her foot down on the pedal as the car sped off. “Let’s issue them a large fine, then. The town has been complaining recently that we’re being paid too much. Let’s try making some money for the town.”

Luke nodded with a grin. He had also heard of that.

If the town did decide to act on the complaint, it would be a reduction in either pay or manpower. Either of those would affect Luke, as he was the newest member on the force.

The moment Selina stepped on the pedal, the car’s police siren started blaring as well.

Luke didn’t bother to use the loudspeaker to warn the speeding car as it was already quite far away from them.

But a short while later, Luke had a feeling that something was wrong.

In the United States, the moment a police car turned its siren on, the car ahead would normally slow down and see if the police was coming for them.

Those who didn’t slow down either weren’t thinking straight or harbored ulterior motives.

A trace of excitement flashed in Selina’s eyes as she said, “Nice. This time, we can issue a fine of at least 500 bucks.”

Luke replied, “Sure, anything to make you happy.”

After a 10-minute chase, the car was still speeding, with the police car several dozen meters behind it.

The car they were chasing was a Ford sedan, a decent car that was lighter than Selina’s F150 and which also had better acceleration.

If it wasn’t for the fact that the sedan driver occasionally swerved left and right for some unknown reason, Selina wouldn’t even be able to catch up to them.

Suspiciously, smoke could be seen trailing out the sedan’s windows every now and then.

Cigarettes? Not quite. Luke believed that it was far more likely that they were smoking weed instead.

That would explain why the driver was swerving so much.

That would also explain why they didn’t stop even after hearing the police siren.

Just as Selina clenched her teeth and Luke reckoned that they might have wasted their gas for nothing today when they saw the road sign for Knox City not far ahead, the sedan swerved again.

This time, the sedan wasn’t as lucky. It swerved off the road at high speed, knocked into a concrete barricade, and spun a few times before stopping.

Overjoyed, Selina turned the steering wheel and stopped the police car seven or eight meters away from the sedan.

The heroic Selina then opened the door and hopped out of the car, her right hand already on her gun.

As for Luke, he used the loudspeaker and started going through the motions. “People in the Ford, this is the Shackelford PD. Please get out of your car for a police inspection.”

He repeated himself a few times, but there was no reaction whatsoever.

Taking cover behind the car door, Selina said, “Issue them one last warning. If there still isn’t a reaction, we’ll rush in.”

Luke nodded and issued a final warning. They still received no response.

He put the loudspeaker down, opened the door, and got out of the car as well. At the same time, he unbuckled the holster of his gun.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t too good at shooting. At this distance, Selina was a much better shot than he was. Thus, his hand on his gun was just for show. His other hand was still holding the can of Coke which Selina had bought him.

He was taller than Selina, and moved faster than her too.

With a few steps, he had already arrived at the passenger’s seat.

The window on the passenger’s side was open. Luke could smell a familiar yet unfamiliar smell in the air when he approached.

It was familiar because it was quite an odd smell, and at the same time, it was unfamiliar because Luke had never smoked it before.

Indeed, they were smoking weed!

The two fellows in the car probably weren’t so bright. Given how high they were, they were lucky enough not to get into an accident driving.

Obviously, luck wasn’t on their side today. In fact, they were cursed.

They could even hit a random concrete barricade in the middle of nowhere. They were truly unlucky.

In fact, they were extremely unlucky, as they just had to hit the barricade when a police car was chasing after them.

As Luke mused to himself, he was finally one meter away from the passenger’s seat. From there, he could see the passenger clearly.

It was now that he noticed that the two people in the car were moving, but they were still in a daze from the accident. Thus, they were moving slowly, but frenetically.

However, Luke’s enhanced vision was very keen, and he was able to immediately notice that their movements were abnormal.

In the United States, it was common sense to place one’s hands where the police could see them after a police warning. For example, letting their hands rest on the steering wheel or raising them.

As for the two in the car, their hands were at their waists, seemingly searching for something.

Luke was immediately alarmed when he noticed this.