The Great Cleanup - стр. 11
She noticed the side window at the back of the limousine rolling down. A swarthy male face appeared behind the window. The man intently, though somehow lazily, gazed at the motorcycle, and Herman, and Anna. Then the swarthy man turned away, saying something to someone in the car; in a moment, binoculars appeared at his eyes.
Anna realized the limousine's passenger was looking, not at the motorbike, nor at Herman, but at herself, and specifically at her D-cups. She remembered her plain beige home bra and lowered her eyes to check if the dressing-gown has burst open again. But no, this time, she was well clothed; thanks to the gold pin and the well tied belt, the buttons held. Her legs were, of course, exposed by the headwind, but within reasonable decency.
Anna glanced at the swarthy passenger of the limousine again. He appeared to nod contentedly to himself, saying something to someone inside the car again. The limousine pushed right, closer to the motorcycle. The swarthy man gestured to Herman, demanding that he turn to stop at the edge of the road. Herman responded with a one finger salute. Anna was not sure what was going on, but trusted her saviour completely. She suspected he knew what he was doing when he boldly fobbed the other man off.
The swarthy passenger shook his head and said something into the car again. The window closed slowly, and the limousine fell behind.
Anna was glad that they were left alone so she could finally tell Herman everything she wanted to tell him. But in a few seconds another car, shorter and more powerful, appeared in place of the limousine. Herman slowed down so the car would fall forward, but their new road mate dropped his speed as well. Anna's saviour sped up, but so did the car, trying to keep level with the motorcycle.
The next moment, another “mate” showed up on their right. As if by agreement, the two started to move closer together, squeezing the motorcycle in between. When they were just an arm's length away on each side, they started turning in unison towards the edge of the road, slowing down gradually. Anna realized they were trying to stop the motorcycle. She did not know if stopping would actually be bad, but she definitely had no desire for a conversation with road bullies.
Herman, too, understood what the pincering cars wanted. So he revved up the motorcycle, leaving the pursuers behind – but not for long. The powerful cars swiftly caught up, now moving in straight lines by the sides of the motorcycle, not coming closer again. Anna realized that such an escort would not be the end of it, something else had to happen. And she was not mistaken. One of the cars moved aside a bit, letting a small lorry come through, and this lorry immediately took up the lane in front of the motorcycle.
Anna thought that the motorcycle probably needed to drop its speed, falling back from the vehicles surrounding it. Glancing to the right, the left, forward, she didn't understand why Herman would not slow down. Finally she looked at the rear view mirror, realizing the gravity of their situation: a huge dump truck was speeding a few yards behind them. The motorcycle was boxed in!
Raising her head to look forward again, Anna saw the lorry's rear sideboard open up. A drawbridge descended from the bed of the lorry, its tip touching the hard surface of the road. As the metal hit rough spots, whirls of white and yellow sparks rushed out from it.