Book Title: The Widowmaker 1200 Short Story

Chapter Eight: Full Throttle, Empty Heart

Bruce's two hours to become a racing legend begin with him disabling Dad's GPS tracker using brute force, tossing the black box into a toolbox. He arrives at Old 42nd Street, nervous but fueled by the need to win and impress Cassidy. Chad, the arrogant rival, arrives on his neon-yellow sport bike, ready to humiliate Bruce and the "old cruiser."

With Todd acting as starter, the illegal race to the water tower and back begins. Bruce's adrenaline-fueled drop of the clutch causes the heavy Widowmaker 1200 to stall, giving Chad an immediate fifty-foot lead. Bruce furiously restarts the engine and surges forward. Once moving, the Cherry Bomb's raw V-Twin torque transforms it into a "freight train of velocity," and he rapidly closes the gap on Chad.

On the straightaway back, Bruce pulls even with Chad, but just yards from the finish, Chad deliberately forces him over the double yellow line. Bruce's ingrained safety training, a direct result of his father's drills, kicks in. He hits the brakes for a split second to avoid a collision, allowing Chad to cross the finish line first.

Chad immediately gloats, but the true devastation comes from Cassidy. She confronts Bruce, not about the near-crash, but about the loss: "You lost, Bruce. You braked. You should have held the line." She dismisses him, stating he's "still just Bruce Fettles, the guy who worries about traffic laws," and not the Shadow Rider she hoped for. Cassidy climbs onto Chad's neon-yellow sport bike and rides off with the winner, leaving Bruce alone with his defeat.

Bruce slowly rides the heavy, silent Widowmaker home, meticulously obeying every traffic law. He realizes the bike, the money, and the effort hadn't bought him a new identity, only a "very fast way to get dumped." Pulling into the garage, he is now faced with the inevitable consequences: a missed curfew, a disconnected GPS, and the crushing disappointment of his data-driven father.

Book Title: The Widowmaker 1200 Short Story

Author: Warren M. Walker

Publisher: V & W Publishing

https://publishing.irishknights.co.za/the-widowmaker-1200-short-story/

Available on Amazon.com:

Kindle:

https://www.amazon.com/The-Widowmaker-1200-Short-Story-By-Warren-Walker/dp/B0FV3V1ZLH

Paperback:

https://www.amazon.com/The-Widowmaker-1200-Short-Story-By-Warren-Walker/dp/B0FVT2YK47