Psycho Pass: All Alone With You

Drift! Chapter 7

 McNeill and three of his security team led Kogami and Akane back to the front of the estate, where one of the pastures had been cleared to permit a helicopter landing. Painted red and sporting black letters with the mogul's name emblazoned across the tail section, the helicopter set down in the grass.

Hair tossed and pulled in the high velocity winds produced by the rotors, McNeill beckoned to them to join him. He climbed into the back of the aircraft and paused only long enough to take Akane's hand and the panda to assist her entry into the passenger cabin. Kogami followed behind her and sat down closest to the door. As McNeill handed them headphones to wear, his armed guards jumped in and slammed the hatch closed. On cue, the helicopter took off, banking sharply to the east and into the sun.

"Dokoni ikundesuka?" Akane asked.

No one was able to hear her due to the downwash noise of the helicopter's rotors in flight.

Kogami adjusted her microphone and nodded for her to repeat what she had said.

"Where are we going?" she tried again in English.

"My favorite playground." McNeill looked out the window and pointed to a forested mountain region rising from the coast ahead of them. "Bernie, give the guests a tour before you set her down."

"Copy that, Mr. McNeill," replied the digitized voice of the pilot.

The helicopter again banked sharply. Starting at the base of the mountain, the pilot brought them into position over a pristine stretch of roadway. The chopper hovered above the secluded road, which was comprised of steeply banked corners, sloped corners, and multiple hairpin turns at varying elevations that shifted as dramatically as the terrain shifted.

The geography resembled the mountainous high country of Japan and reminded Kogami of the improvised road courses that produced legends among the street racing culture in the local country towns at the foot of these earthen shrines "Let me guess. You want me to race in a downhill challenge?"

"You read my mind," McNeill said. "What do you think of it?"

"Looks challenging."

"Some people live their lives one quarter mile at a time. I'm guessing there's much more to you than that."

"Traffic?"

"None." Unflinching, McNeill met Kogami's defiant eyes with equal enmity. "I own it. The mountain. The road. The beach. All of it."

"One small problem. My Porsche has been impounded," Kogami said. "The police weren't too inclined to say when it would be released."

"Mr. Walters has arranged to have the car emancipated from the LAPD impound yard at 4:15 this evening. Just in time for an early dinner. You needn't worry. For now, another vehicle has been provided."

"Remember when you asked if I was a betting man?" Kogami slouched down in the seat and crossed his arms over his chest in disgust. "This is what I call stacking the deck."

"Despite my reputation, I am a fair-minded man, Ko. The bet will be on the level. You have my word."

The helicopter abruptly gained altitude, and Kogami felt his stomach flipflop with the unexpected ascent. Akane grabbed his hand, her nails digging into his skin as the aircraft crested the top of the mountain. Several vehicles were waiting on the tarmac below them. Surrounded by four black SUVs, a sleek, maroon Nissan Silvia was parked beside a white Toyota AE86. Kogami smiled, recognizing both cars from McNeill's high-octane stable.

"Still feel the odds are stacked unfairly? I've put you in a car that made one of your countryman a legend. The race is on a road that should be a familiar one. No tricks up my sleeve, Ko. A fair wager." McNeill offered his hand to seal the bet.