marcus leaves his hat on the train

I picked up Marcus from Oxley station.  As he gets into the car he announces that he has left his hat on the train.

He suggests that he can recover it from lost property and I remind him that he does not have a good record of success in that area having left some luggage on a train in Munich that was never recovered.

This is a hundred dollar hat.  Do these kids have absolutely no idea of the value of money.  I decide we should give chase.  Push the pedal to the metal and with wheels spinning, gravel and old ladies with prams flying we exit the station.  Luckily the the oxley round about is clear as we skid round it and up the hill.  Then disaster.  A 50kmh driver in a black audi in front as we proceed up Seventeen mile rocks road.  Again some luck at the Canossa roundabout they go straight ahead and accelerate left and drift into turn and head for Darra.

As we traverse the Harcourt Rd overpass we can see the Darra station is empty and so plot a course for Ipswich.  There are about 6 cars queued at the lights at the end of Harcourt Rd but we make it through on the first change of lights.  We are stuck at 40km/h, trapped behind a queue of cars lead by a Nissan Urvan, we are like Craig Lowndes trying to take Nick Percat but no opportunity to overtake.  Again luckily half the cars including the offending Nissan Urvan take a left to Inala and the rest of us are round the roundabout and onto Ipswich Rd.

On the Ipswich Rd straight and I am weighing up value of hat vs more points and more dollars and kind of wishing we could enter warp speed.  To the right and I see the jail and that tempers the thoughts but reminds me that my previously jailbroken iphone is now rehabilitated and so I get Marcus to check the maps.

I feel the need for speed.  In the movie they seemed to get it by having a laptop connected to the car's computer.  Convieniently grammar has supplied Marcus with said laptop for just such occasions as this so I tell him to get it out and hack into the cars computer.  Suddenly the windows open.  The ECU I shout, you've got the BCM.  The windows close again and we feel a surge of speed.  One of those big air intake things with a huge fan belt sticking out of the bonnet would be handy about now.  More power.  More speed we need.  Stealth technology and a blue flashing light would be handy too.  We don't even have the top gun CD.

We see the train on the right and have a new found appreciation of the speed of public transport.  Racing the train on Ipswich Rd, we pull ahead with every station it stops at.  We pass that iconic cultural heart of Wacol (Maccas).  Consulting Google maps we decide to take the Redbank exit from the right lane. We cross several lanes of traffic and swing down the exit.  Oh no.  Yellow flashing lights.  Roadworks.  No chance.  Luckily they have not started yet.  At the bottom.  Red light. We wait and wait and wait..

Finally its green and the car in front eventually decides that they might consider moving this week.  As we take the wide track we pass the guy on the left gathering acceleration.  The light in front is turning a shade less green.  A call the the engine room.  "More Power Scottie"  "I'm given it all she's got" comes back the answer in what sounds like Billy Connoly's voice.  As we become slightly airborne and we could debate the colour of the lights we see more men in the shadows.  Police.  Relax only men propping up stop/go signs.

Round to the right and we see the train pulling into the station.  Into pit straight and pull up beside the ramp. Marcus has the door open as we pull to a stop.  Zig zag up the ramp and onto the platform.  I think he forgot to touch on.  I see a hitch.  This is two trains joined together.  He has this in hand as he sprints down the platform and enters the last door of the front train.  Then I see him running like Jason Bourne through the middle of the train.  All the doors are open and people are ejected as he sprints down the train.  He stops.  Bends down.  Picks up the hat.  Dusts it off.  Some kid is holding the door open.  To be totally cool sunglasses are required.  The train pulls out.  Marcus walks coolly down the platform and a man in uniform yells obscenities from the next platform stymied by the $300 fine he is unable to attend to his duties on the platform where all the people are.

Then we drive calmly home listening to 4BH and have Corn Beef and 3 vegies for tea.