Psycho Pass: All Alone With You

Drift! Chapter 4

 The prospect of undercover was exciting enough, but to be permitted and encouraged to fall so far into character was an exhilaration that Kogami had not anticipated. There were no cymatic scans to cause him the slightest hesitation and no Dominators to curb his rabid enthusiasm. The deeper he immersed himself into his role the better he looked, and the better he played the part. But he worried that he might have gone too far. On more than one occasion, he caught Akane watching him with trepidation.

Can't be helped, he thought. She's along for the ride now. We both are.

The Patriarchs led Kogami on a challenging cat-and-mouse chase through the heart of Los Angeles. Unlike the quarter mile, these were not protected back alley stretches of the city or sequestered side streets just off the strip. This contest was high stakes: complete with power slides through red lights, sudden turns on the fly, and rapid acceleration weaving through oncoming traffic and against the flow. he had a feeling that this was a test, the pre-game trial run before the actual competition.

"They must be communicating with each other!" Akane said. With one eye closed and the other watching through her fingers, she held onto the five-way restraint with the other hand as Kogami aggressively maneuvered the Porsche through a turn to keep pace with the Patriarchs.

"They've been a team for over three years according to the file," he replied. "They know each other's moves."

"Which gives them an unfair advantage."

Kogami grinned. "You're right. Only one thing to do."

"Kogami?" she whispered in warning.

"You want me to slow this down, so let me do that."

Kogami downshifted, which sent the Porsche lunging forward in response to the increased power output. Since leaving the off strip quarter-mile heats, he had kept his eyes on Tsuki's rear bumper, but now he set his sights on the RX-7. He cut sharply into the opposing lane to cut ahead of her for a new pole position.

Not expecting him to usurp her place, the Patriarch did her best to close the gap and prevent Kogami from eclipsing her. But when the lead car, the Skyline, made a sudden left turn across traffic, he downshifted again to transfer the Porsche's weight from the back tires to the front. Despite Tsuki's attempts to block him, he drifted passed her to claim the third place in their line up.

"What do you think of that?" Kogami asked, a big smile on his face. He glanced at Akane only to find her cowering in the seat with both hands over her eyes. "Akane?"

"I can't. I c-can't watch." She brought her knees up to her chest and buried her face in them.

"You trust me, don't you? It's just like a roller coaster ride."

"Thanks to you, I'll never ride in a roller coaster again." One eye glared at him from beneath her fingers. "Is this what you call slow?"

Kogami laughed at her remarks. "One down, two to go. Then you can open your eyes, okay?"

Gripping the five-point restraint as if her life depended on it, she waved him on with her hand.

For a mile-long stretch, there was a break in the traffic. Kogami used the opportunity to stretch the Porsche's legs in a hard sprint with the RX-7. Patriarch Sung entertained the notion and allowed him to pull even. With a tire chirp, the sprint was on, and the two cars raced for dominant position. Though BabyGirl had more to give than her current rival, Kogami matched the RX-7 quarter panel for quarter angel until the space ran out with the Porsche in the lead. Having underestimated the Porsche, Sung was just not fast enough and settled for third.