Took the machine up to northern MI for a big sxs event. Did a group ride and then while watching the mud bogs I saw a buddy of mine I hadn't seen in yrs, he's always been a little sketchy and we called him Snowman due to he was the supplier back in the day IYKWIM. Anyway, he said I was just who he was looking for, said he had something to show me and to follow him down the road to meet these guys. Followed him to a garage a short ways down the road and there was a group of guys there that looked pretty eccentric. Lots of toys, cars, trucks, sxs's, etc. He introduced me as Trigger to a guy named Big Ed that said he saw my machine and was impressed with my build and driving skills and had a proposition for me. He walked me into the garage and there was a P1K6 prototype sitting there with a big off road trailer hooked to it. Said he owned a horse ranch in KY and wanted this rig driven down there to be delivered to his son for his birthday. I said why not just trailer it, said he had driven his Ferrari up for the event, besides, he didn't want to haul the cargo over the road. I asked what was in the trailer, he said it was full of lab grown MI weed, which is legal here but not in OH or KY. I said I'm not taking that risk. He said no, Snowman was driving the rig and he needed me to run interference for the trail police so no big risk to me. Said it paid $50k but the catch was it had to be there for the birthday party. Told him my machine was a tiny tank but not fast enough for that, I'd need something that did at least 60mph. He said no problem, Leon's got that covered, Leon looked of Asian descent so I figured that wasn't his real name. Apparently he was a Honda engineer for yrs and had some tweaks and tricks for my machine and kind of why they picked me, it also explained how they acquired the P1K6. Told him I didn't know all the trails between here and there, said no problem, The Hyena had that covered. Knew every trail, dirt road and bike path and could load them on my tablet. Asked how we'd communicate as our cell phones could be tracked, said they'd supply us some Baofeng's to use. Said to leave my machine there and they'd get everything ready, we'd leave at 6am the next morning but had to deliver it to his ranch by 10am the following day. $25k each in 28 hrs with Snowman actually doing the bootlegging and he was game. Told him "you're on" and saw them betting as I left. Told the wife about it that night and she said "I'm going with you"! Told her no, it was too dangerous and we didn't have time for her every half hour pee stops. She stomped off in a huff and that was the end of it.
Hit the trail the next morning and sure as hell, don't know what he did exactly but, the P5 was snappy and had an extra gear added. It would fly! About an hour into the trip I passed a Popo burning on the side of the trail but no one was around it so I kept going. A little further up there was a young lady walking in the middle of the trail. When I stopped she jumped in and said just drive. Asked her what was up and she said her and her fiance' were in that Popo and that he ran off to find his brother for help. Said she was leaving him bc he spent all their money on that pos and she tried to tell him. She was a chatty little thing with long legs and kind of looked like a frog but kept me company while ripping down the trail. Wasn't long and I was seeing flashing blue lights behind me so I jumped off into the tight stuff and hammered it, saw them bouncing off trees and beating the hell out of their rig trying to catch me. That happened several times through several counties and into OH but kept the heat off Snowman. Made a pit stop by a river in OH to snack on some Buckeyes and fill the tank with the Roto Pax's when all of a sudden I saw a MI trail cop speeding toward us. I said "why the hell is this persistent A hole chasing me over state lines". About that time Frog said "OMG, it's Smokey and Buford". "Who's Smokey and Buford"? "My fiance' and his deputy brother". Oh snap! They were on my tail for quite a while until it got dark and I pulled off into the woods and killed the lights and they flew by. By the time I hit the KY border the next morning I had several trail cops chasing me and thought I might get caught until I came across a big group ride of machines. I was talking to some of them on the Baofeng, they knew who I was and had heard I'd be coming through. They let me mingle into their group and actually hid me from the pursuit until I was able to hit a side trail and escape. They also blocked for Snowman to get through unscathed.
We made it to the compound with a few minutes to spare and they closed the gates behind us. It was like a ticker tape parade and they waved us into one of the barns to hide the rigs. After a bit of hooting and hollering about us making it, I noticed Leon walking over to my machine with an angle grinder. I asked what he was doing and Big Ed said "you didn't think that trailer was the real payload did you"? I watched him cut the end caps off my nerfs and drain a ton of white powder into buckets. "Well you Sum B****"!
After sleeping for about 10 hrs, one of Ed's hired hands gave me and Snowman a ride home and trailered my machine back. Leon had taken out the tune and extra gear but hey, it was a helluva run! 😏
P.S. Frog got hired on at the ranch taking care of horses.
No idea what became of Smokey and Buford.