Part 39 (1/2)

Up through Queens and it was 1.7 seconds.

Then over the East River and down through the Bronx and the lead was down to 1.5 seconds.

The Bug said something.

'I know! I know!' Jason said. 'If I'm right, this one's gonna go right down to the wire. That's what I'm banking on! The home straight on the last lap is the only place I can get him!'

Then the two cars swept around Yankee Stadium and headed south, into the confetti-filled canyons of the city for the last time.

And here Jason made his move.

As he'd done the entire race, he gained on Xavier amid the right-angled turns of the city.

The gap between them narrowed: 1.2 seconds...

1.1 seconds...

1.0 second...

As he banked and swerved through the buildings of the Upper West Side, Jason saw the Speed Razor through the

veil of falling confetti - saw it getting nearer and nearer. Hopefully Xavier was expecting this, having seen it the

whole race.

And that was the key, Jason thought. This was all about what Xavier expected.

Then the two leaders shot across Central Park at the 79th St Transverse - and when they blasted out of Central

Park on the Fifth Avenue side, the lead was less than a second.

Now there were only about twenty seconds of racing left. They came down through the Upper East Side, through the confetti snow, Xavier taking turns perfectly - impossible to pa.s.s - Jason edging closer.

And then the final turn onto Fifth Avenue came into view.

'Here we go...' Jason said.

The Speed Razor and the Argonaut hit the left-hander almost together.

As they did so, Jason swung in low, lower than usual, diving through the confetti, looking like he was going to go under the Speed Razor.

But he wasn't going under it - he was just aiming for its blind spot, and with all the confetti floating around, Xavier's navigator was more blind than usual.

The two cars. .h.i.t the straight.

And then Xavier did it.

Just as Jason had hoped.

Three hundred metres short of the Finish Line, he punched his fist into the air in triumph.

Just as he had done in each of his victories at the Sponsors' Tournament.

And at the Italian Run.

And whenever he'd won a race at Race School. Xavier, as Jason had noticed during their study sessions, had a habit of celebrating prematurely. As so, at that moment, Jason jammed every thruster forward.

It made for an astonis.h.i.+ng sight.

Xavier in the Speed Razor, roaring down Fifth Avenue to the cheers of the crowds, blasting through the confetti rain, with his fist thrown into the air in triumph...

...before suddenly, there was the Argonaut, zipping alongside him from out of nowhere!

And as the two cars came to the crumpled piles of broken cars on either side of the home straight, Jason darted ahead of Xavier and whip-weaved quickly in front of him!

The crowd gasped at the audacity of it.

Xavier's eyes boggled.

And the Argonaut roared through the narrow gap between the two piles of smashed-up hover cars and shot like a rocket across the Finish Line.

In.