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 Posted: Sun Feb 07, 2016 9:58 pm
Her ribs ached in a way that she hadn't felt in a long time. It was hard to move, and her breathing was labored. But it had been three days and she couldn't stay up in her loft and still pay bills and food. The gifts from Chase were enough to get her by, but she had run out of soup and ramen to make, and she had no money after Paul had taken it all.
She coughed in pain as she came down to the shop, through the elevator and went about opening it for its late night hours.
A simple text to Chase had let her know that her customer tonight would be one, she already knew well. At least she wouldn't have to explain moving slowly now.
The back garage was open and she went about gathering her gear. Sweat rolled down her shoulders in effort.
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Posted: Sun Feb 07, 2016 10:05 pm
Alex arrived at the shop at the time Chase had told him that Regan would be in. He was strangely punctual for a man who often didn't have a concept of time. In his hands were the handlebars of an old sports bike, something that should've been a classical piece but had been worn by the sands of time and neglect.
Still enough of it was salvageable and he was certain that Regan could restore it successfully. The cost of parts didn't matter, he had the money for the whole shebang.
The garage was open so he pulled the bike through, setting it's kick stand down when he was inside. "Hey Regan, Chase told you I was coming?" He offered a strained smile, because he'd forgotten how to smile more genuinely.
He needed to work on that he thought, it'd been too long.
"I picked it -- Achilles -- up about a week ago. Thought I'd give you some time -- "
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Posted: Sun Feb 07, 2016 10:26 pm
She wheezed, but turned slowly and looked at the bike.
Oh god, it was a diamond in the rough. It was everything classic about sports bikes and ruined by time. Her hands wanted to get all up in that.
But she looked at him, and then nodded.
"Fitting name. I'll make sure there isn't a heel for it to die on." She came over slowly, very...very slowly. When she bent down to look at the gears, she practically gasped.
"Hello Achilles." She said through gritted teeth. "I'm going to make you shine."
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Posted: Sun Feb 07, 2016 10:32 pm
He noticed.
He noticed everything from the wheezing to the way she moved, slowly and in agony. His mouth shut, words swallowed down his words as he looked at her. He didn't look angry or upset, he didn't even look concerned. Instead, a look of understanding rippled across his features.
"Tonight doesn't seem like a good night," he stated slowly, the unspoken statement hanging heavy between them.
You're hurt. He did this.
Whiskey eyes met blue and he exhaled slowly through his nose, fingers tapping idly against his thigh. His gaze swept across her as if he could assess the damage beneath her clothing. He was familiar with injuries, he'd had enough of his own, but it was hard to assess how bad it was.
"Ribs?" He asked knowingly.
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Posted: Sun Feb 07, 2016 10:54 pm
"It's okay, We need a preliminary run through, Doesn't take much effort." The plain face he wore was more comforting then anything she had ever seen before, and though she saw understanding in his eyes, it was the calm and aloof way he handled it that made her feel a little more....
safe.
"Cracked. Two I think. Worst pain I've been in." She stood up and lifted her shirt to show the bruising and kept her gaze anywhere but his face. Under clean white wraps, was the peeking blue and purple and yellow, spreading up her whole side and stomach.
"If you don't mind me being slower, then you don't have to worry about the work." She slipped the shirt down and reached over for a clipboard.
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Posted: Sun Feb 07, 2016 11:08 pm
"Okay," he said slowly. Rationally, he knew it would be the proper human thing to do and express concern for her but given that being and acting human wasn't as smooth for him as it once was. He didn't push it.
"You're lucky they're just cracked," he replied, stepping forward so that he could get a better look at her bruising. He remembered that feeling, the way it hurt to breath but there was nothing to do but wait for them to heal.
Injured ribs were one of the worst non lethal wounds.
"How long -- ?" He estimated it happened after he'd left, based on the coloration of her bruising but he wanted to know. "Slow's fine, you should shut the garage though." He glanced back at the door as if he'd been waiting for her father to show up again.
His jaw clenched, the only sign of irritation -- mild protectiveness -- that he showed.
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Posted: Sun Feb 07, 2016 11:45 pm
"Lucky." Her face didn't change, but her body was very stiff and tense. Lucky.
The only thing lucky about it was that she had the proper stuff to take care of it for now. Her pen tapped the clipboard.
"The night when I fixed Hermes. I've been upstairs recovering, but rent needs to be paid and I need money for food." She shrugged. "Can't keep upstairs."
She circled the bike slowly, writing notes on the clipboard, and not making much more noise then that. Eventually, she did shut the door of the garage, but she didn't bother mentioning that it would stop Paul from coming. If he couldn't come in, he'd wait outside.
She figured with the pay she had, and the pay he taken, she would be okay until the injuries were mostly healed.
"I'd like it if you didn't mention to Chase, that you met my father." She casually asked, "It's bad for his business."
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Posted: Sun Feb 07, 2016 11:53 pm
"I thought so."
Alex could tell, because he paid attention. He'd seen the way Paul had looked at her, the underlying anger that had been in every word he'd said towards Regan, to him. He'd gotten that look from his own father, before everything had gone downhill. He knew the signs.
He knew, he was familiar with it all.
He didn't say, I came back to check on you, like he thought he might.
Instead he said, "I won't. It's not my business." It wasn't, if she didn't want her uncle to know, then he wouldn't know. If Regan changed her mind, he'd step in but otherwise - he would stay out of it. "You can work slow," he offered, shrugging as he took a seat in the same spot he had before, gaze never leaving her.
"I don't have anywhere to be." Unless she wanted him to leave.
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Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2016 11:21 am
She looked over at him and saw a deeper understanding that she didn't understand herself. She had never met anyone that suffered the same as her, but it didn't mean that it didn't happen to others.
"Thanks." She breathed out and circled the bike. Silence was golden and while he made himself comfortable, she didn't feel odd with him there.
He was a quiet presence in her mind, as she worked. A quiet presence that was a bit comforting and not at all stressful. Unlike Fritz, she didn't feel like she had to answer for everything. It didn't make Fritz bad, she immediately thought, because the man was anything but bad. It just made Alex different.
"What colors are you gonna want for him?" She tapped her pencil and imagined that this would be his racer bike. Black was sleek, but she thought that color should be reserved for personal bikes, speeding in the night.
No, if he wanted racer colors, she thought white, or red. Draw attention, look at me. I'm faster then you, I fly farther than you.
She was just oddly staring at him while she thought about it.
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Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2016 11:27 am
He watched her with interest, the way she moved even if her movements were sluggish, and found that he enjoyed watching her work. It was an odd concept, enjoying something because, outside of racing and riding Hermes in general, he didn't know what he still liked. He hadn't spent time on himself in so long, it was hard to remember what it was like to do so.
'I'm thinking blue, like a midnight blue. Maybe paint some stars on it but - I don't know." He hadn't put much thought into besides that. He preferred to do things quietly, stick to the shadows and not draw too much attention to himself despite perpetually making a name for himself.
Hermes was sleek and black, he rode in black pants, black boots, and black leather. His helmet was black too. "When I ride - race - they call me the Midnight Rider." A terribly fitting title for a man who moved like a shadow when he wasn't being threatening.
'I want quiet detail, subtle but there."
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Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2016 10:44 am
Her gaze lightened and she pulled out of the show me more mantra. Her customer knew what he wanted, so she would make it happen.
Even more personally, she loved the idea of a deep blue with white stars. Achilles was a great greek hero, but the bike would be a great shooting star on Destiny city.
"Midnight Rider sounds like a 70's show." She didn't disapprove of it, but she could totally see it too. "I didn't know you raced. I mean I could tell you work Hermes, but I wasn't for sure what." She came over closer to him, interested.
"Drag, Street or...professional?"
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Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2016 11:20 am
"I didn't name myself."
The other racers had, because of the way he dressed, the bike he rode, and the way he never gave his name or took off his helmet. Something increasingly frustrating for his opponents, they perpetually lost to a man who's face they never saw - except Katrina and even then, he'd shown her his other face before she'd seen Chase.
"It's easy to give someone a name than refer to them as 'that d**k that always wins because he's reckless as s**t.'" He offered, a slight smirk curling on edges of his mouth. "I don't make it very public." He stated when she mentioned the missing knowledge. "You and one other person know."
He'd rather keep it that way, but he didn't think he needed to worry about Regan ratting him out. He'd keep her secrets if she kept his. An easy, understood if unspoken agreement. "Drag and street, but I prefer street racing. It keeps things interesting."
It meant he could do unpredictable things, preform stunts best left for professionals but that what why he did them. Because of the risk, the chance, the adrenaline rushes they brought him. "There's a race in a couple of days, if you wanted to watch?" He offered, pausing before deciding to add, "so you can see the damage that gets done to Hermes first hand."
There, it was a professional thing instead of a personal one.
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Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2016 12:45 pm
She smiled again, hesitantly, and then it faded. The sarcasm she often had was so dry, it was hard to tell if she was serious or not. But she could imagine the young man, dressed in black.
"Reckless is good. Bad, but good." She had always been fond of the movie characters that were reckless. Sure they got hurt or captured or killed, but they lived fast and hard.
"I see." His secret was safe with her after all. She didn't have friends, and Chase wouldn't want to hear about his customers lives unless he knew them really well. Besides, he didn't speak of her things, why would she speak of his.
But her gaze widened, and she tapped the clipboard with interest. Going to see a street race? Going to see Hermes in action? She practically oozed at the idea of something dangerous and...and thrilling. Plus all the cars.
Something whispered, 'no' that this was just like 'living' and that hadn't she just told him she wasn't meant to fly?
But the other part wanted so badly to see. To exprience. Just his once.
"Okay." She said slowly, "I'd like to see the bikes, and how you're running him. I can adjust how I fix him that way." She paused..."Do you need...my cell phone number or something?"
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Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2016 2:49 pm
Regan smiling were rare things, Chase had realized, and seeing the small positive reaction from a girl who hardly reacted was interesting. It vaguely made him feel like he was looking at a mirror in the halted reactions to emotions neither seemed to understand. He hadn't seen anything quite like it, outside of Alkaid but she was different.
They were different.
"I'll be honest, some of them take s**t care of their bikes," he said plainly, hand sliding into the back pocket of his dark jeans to pull out his phone - a shiny iPhone 6 sleek and black like all of his things - that he unlocked and held out to her. "Phone number would be good so I can send you the details.'
He paused, brow crinkling in thought, before saying, "I'll stop by the shop to get you first." It would be easier for him to take her, especially if her father had an access to her phone. He didn't want the man finding out about what they were doing.
Especially if he learned that prize money was usually a thing. Alcoholic fathers were always after money.
Another pregnant pause and Alex said, "I don't know if I want to race Achilles, but I need to have a backup in case Hermes isn't fit. Have to defend my title and all." The last sentence came out dry and sarcastic, because Chase couldn't give a damn about titles.
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Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2016 5:49 pm
Regan puffed her chest a bit proudly. "I do the best work." She nodded, "But I know my bikes well. Small business is good like that."
Then she pulled out one of those old tracphones, that still flipped open and had a very small screen. She rattled off her phone number and then tucked it away when she got his.
"Get....met?" She looked at him....."You mean I am going to ride with you?" The thought excited and terrified her.
"I don't have a helmet...." That was a sorry a** excuse but all she could muster up at the moment, as she stared at him blankly....
"Defend your title..." She cocked her head, "Don't you mean crush the competition in the ground."
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