Date: January 1st 2012 00:01

Location: CHROME Headquarters - Lobby

The chants of many voices counting down to the new year together could be heard faintly from outside, the blistering chill that whipped across the Celicas hood made her shiver as she watched the darkened streets before her. Shadow was still partially in shock at Wrens outburst toward Jace, her mind whirring perhaps a little too sluggishly after a couple of glasses of wine. Shadow blinked as another whistle of wind shook her awake from her thoughts, her breath turning to swirls of fog that rose and vanished into the night sky. It was perhaps confusion that was holding the car in place, rather like a glue that ceased to let her move until she could figure out what happened. It wasn't so much the fact that Wren had acted out… Sure, she was still surprised at the Corsair for defending her so quickly, but it was the words that seemed to burn themselves into her mind.

"Agent Carlisle is 10 TIMES the agent you will ever be!"

She shook her hood suddenly, as if someone had actually said her name, the shiver coursing through her body once more as a reminder of her dropping temperature. It took a few moments, but she steadily decided that she wouldn't return to the CHROME party… too much had perhaps gone on for her to return with her hood held quite as high. She had a couple of options… though she was sure that Wren had left now, after all, she had gone out the lobby doors after her confrontation, so no doubt she would be heading home. With a small grin, the Celica brought up her holographic screen, scanning through files until she found the one assigned to Wren. Glancing the address over, she was driving off within seconds, picking up speed as she was determined to catch the plane when she arrived.

Little to Shadow's knowledge, Wren hadn't actually left for home, and had instead gone back to her office to retrieve her medical reports in order to pass on to the CHROME head. Despite his superiority over the agency, he was affectionately and unknowingly referred to as Angry, which if you spent 10 minutes with the guy, you could easily suss out why. She was moving through CHROME at a slightly faster speed than she normally would, something clearly on her mind as she passed the papers over, rolled down the ramps and finally emerging into the chilly winter night herself. Snow and ice stuck to the ground, so it was perhaps a little harder for a plane to navigate across, seeing as London was a 'no fly zone' for civilians. She picked her way to the tube station, unawares of the small car that was already beating her to the same destination.

Shadow had access to every side street, back alley and closed off road she could find, surprisingly nimble for a car such as herself, and finally spotting the large hangar up ahead. Sure, she reasoned that Wren might not be best pleased with the fact that her new friend had just appeared in her house unexpected, but Shadow reasoned that Wren seemed to be perhaps warming up to her… she could bring the plane round eventually. Despite the fact that she already knew Wren hated traveling by tube and would be doing so currently. This was confirmed by the lack of lighting that appeared from the hangar, all windows closed and no sign of life. Shadow decided that she could perhaps wait for Wren inside and give her a little bit of a surprise… That would make it all the more amusing! After a quick evaluation, Shadow spotted a window at the back that was large enough for the Celica to fit through. The hangar was rather huge in itself… so Shadow saw that of course it would need big windows. She approached the latched window carefully, propping herself up against the wall with her tires as she assessed which lock it had. For someone that worked at CHROME…. She was surprised to see Wren had more basic locks, a restriction cable at that. It took less than 30 seconds for the Celica to unlatch the window, and cut the cable, allowing her full access as the frame swung out. What was also surprising was that no alarm seemed to go off… though maybe Wren wasn't too worried about Celicas breaking in regularly.

With a push from her suspension, she was balancing on the ledge and half through the window already, using her agility to pry herself to the counter, and finally the floor, shaking her body slightly to be rid of any chippings the window caused. She glanced round, her mouth pulling into a grimace as the smell of Dettol filled her senses, the counters, worktops and appliances… spotless. It smelt too clean! Was this what Wren did all day? Clean? She shook her hood again to try and be rid of the smell, hoping it didn't stick to her paint. She was currently standing in what appeared to be Wren's kitchen, though with how dark it was, it wasn't so easy to see. She pondered what to do for a moment, tapping her tire lightly as she hadn't figured this out all the way yet it seemed…. Shadow spotted the cupboards above the counters at this point, and a small grin appeared on her face. It took only a few seconds, but the car soon had a grappling hook wrapped around the handle of the top cupboard door, opening with ease and seeing what was inside.

To her delight, there seemed to be some expensive looking biscuits at the top shelf, and with another well aimed grab, tugged them down so they fell to her hood. So THIS was where she kept the good stuff… all the while she had been feeding the Toyota with value custard creams from Tescos! Once the pack was opened, nothing stopped Shadow from rolling through the large doorway, looking about for other rooms, deciding to explore a little in Wren's absence. She found the bathroom first, taking a special interest in all the rather expensive looking bath soaps that were lined up neatly on a small shelf. It smelt tolerable in here. It was more floral scented, with plenty of shiny ornaments that caught the Toyotas eye. She drove into a few other rooms, nosing her hood about to have a look around, poking at the objects of interest and seeing all manner of exciting things. It was all clean and well put in place… so she of course took the liberty to move some items around… that would drive Wren nuts! She spotted old photographs of Wren in her Navy livery, smirking a little as she thought about how funny Wren looked… She also spotted some with Wren and what could only be perceived as her husband. The car gazed over them all, also spotting the odd award, medal and a bowl of shiny 50 Cal cases. The noise when she poked them was amusing, so she did this for a few moments before moving on.

The final room was the bedroom, and since it appeared there was still no Wren, Shadow started to drive quietly to this very room to satisfy her curious need. She nudged the door open, which opened slowly upon contact, allowing Shadow into the room. She was perhaps a couple of feet inside, when the sudden snore and unsettled movement of someone made her freeze. Was Wren here and sleeping already? Shadow froze, ducking down as she squinted, having seen the figure only moments after the noise. The moonlight that shone through the windows cast a steady glow upon everything, including the navy blue paint job of what appeared to be a male. Shadow ducked down further, reversing out slowly as she stared. Wren's husband was here? She hadn't said anything! Or… perhaps she had… The Celica couldn't remember and now her mind was beginning to race a little more. She was only now beginning to take in the rather frightening details. He was huge, much larger than Wren herself, and she thought Wren was rather big herself! She remembered the photos, and how stern and serious he seemed to be in all of them, making her heart thud a little harder in her undercarriage. If she was caught… this could look very bad.

She reversed out the room, her eyes remaining on the door from which the plane slept behind, beginning to turn gradually. She was rather flustered, thinking back to her failed mission with Finn…. How could she be any sort of agent if she didn't even know someone was here. Defeated, she started to look for her exit, remembering the window from which she entered through. She started to look up, though was too late to notice she had swung too wide, nudging the table that contained the bowl of cases. She backed away immediately, watching as it tipped, and causing a noise that made her hunch down, listening to the deathly silence that followed. Good… there was no noise. She was ok. She began to make her way through the living room, spotting her open window when she was suddenly rammed hard into her left side, the force so great it sent her flying off her tires and hitting the living room wall rather hard. She landed with a yelp and a loud bang, the breath having been totally knocked out of her, and her mind spinning. What was that? What was going on? She glanced back to the room, seeing no one there, but by this point, she knew she couldn't trust her eyes. She knew that Wren's husband was no longer asleep… and thought she was an intruder! Well….. Technically she was. But perhaps a robber! The Celica struggled to her tires, shaking a little from the impact as Finn's instructions finally flooded her mind.

'You must always have a second exit, the first one can be compromised very quickly'

She saw the plane suddenly, heading toward her in another charge, to which she finally revved her engine, bolting down to the hallway as quick as she could given her dizzy state. She had remembered that the bathroom had a large window as well, enough for her to get through quickly, so it was now once again the bathroom she was heading toward.

Wren meanwhile had finally arrived at the hangar herself, letting a small exhale escape as she neared the door. She couldn't wait to just get to bed… waking up with her husband next to her always made her life complete once more. She was about to shuffle the door open, when she heard the sudden commotion, a large bang, followed by a cry, and then other noises that sounded like things falling and being crashed into. For a moment, Wren suspected Skipper was having one of his nightmares again… He sometimes had vivid dreams of the dogfights and battles he took place in, and it often got him riled up. She shoved the door open quickly to try and save at least some of her possessions, though was stunned to see the Celica dart into the hallway, her enraged husband following her. With quick thoughts, Wren dove forward, blocking Skippers path and causing him to halt immediately, stopping inches away from his wife.

"HEY HEY HEY! TAKE IT EASY!" She shouted, her prop spinning a little due to the effort of moving so quickly.

"WREN, MOVE!" The angry Corsair bit back, watching her intently as he panted heavily, the effort from chasing Shadow having been taken out of him.

"Not until you calm down Skipper!" She answered, refusing to move from his path. Her props continued to turn slightly as both planes stared each other down, her own breathing a little heavier as she carefully watched his reactions. There was a soft thump in the background as the bathroom window shut, Wren realizing that Shadow had taken this moment to make her escape and flee. A slight sigh escaped her, just as Skipper also seemed to be calming down, looking away a little as he ran his gaze over some of the damage that had been done. Wren herself had spotted the damage that resided on Skippers nose after he had head on rammed the car, motioning with her own nose to follow her. Together they headed to the bathroom, from which the window lock had been prized open in Shadow's hurry to escape. She now turned to face Skipper, glancing his injury over in a quiet way.

"Look at the state of your nose…" She tutted slightly, her voice gentle and rather soothing.

"Don't start" He said quickly, before he received a certain look from Wren.

"I'm not starting anything. Come on, this needs cleaning up" She responded, giving him a no-nonsense look which told him he wasn't getting out of it.

"She wasn't an intruder… She's a CHROME agent that I met recently. Apparently decided to blow herself up on mission, which I'm sure she could have handled better…" Wren explained now, looking to tend to his nose as she spoke. He lifted it higher, not entirely co-operative to begin with, though it didn't stop him scowling at her for a moment.

"You really didn't need to overreact like that toward her…" Wren said after the pause, still focusing on what she was doing.

"There was a strange car leafing through your belongings late at night and I'm overreacting? You're under reacting!" He persisted.

"Oh grow up Riley… She's just a co-worker"

"Yeah…. A stupid co-worker"

"Oh shh, hold still"

"Augh! WREN!"

The Super Corsair ignored her husband's protests with a calm expression, knowing that after all these years, she was only able to get through to him when she was soft. He usually did calm down to her words, she just had to make sure she stayed sweet with him. Wren took a moment to clean up the bleeding oil, taking her time and making sure it was well looked after.

"I know it's sore… it's ok. Just try to hold still…" She soothed the older plane, though he only seemed to scowl further.

"Then. Why. Are. You. Hurting. It" This caused Wren to soften her voice more, in a bid to calm him further.

"You decided to barge her across the room, not me… I can make it hurt more if you carry on!"

Skipper only seemed to huff, glancing away in annoyance, though didn't seem to protest any further.

"Right… how's that?"

"...Better…. Thanks… But you know that job of yours is getting out of hand"

"You know… Shadow hasn't long been classed as a professional agent. She's fresh out the Academy-"

"-That doesn't matter! Why would she be poking around here? Who taught her that your home was a training ground?" He seemed to seeth for a moment, though Wrens calm voice seemed to be having an effect.

"You're getting all worked up again, come on, hold still…" She spoke lightly, watching as Skipper obediently dropped his nose a little once again for her.

"We were all young and dumb once...She just needs… a little guidance"

"Hmph, well that's not your job"

"She's been through a lot… a little kindness goes a long way"

"Wren I-"

"Wouldn't you agree?" She seemed to draw back here, glancing to him with a more meaningful look. The Corsair fell silent, the words having clearly had some form of effect. There was a long silence that greeted them, as Wren finished up what repairs she could on him, and rolling back just a little to admire her work.

"She surprised me" Skipper said quietly, to which Wren gave him a sympathetic look.

"I know she did"

"I hit her hard...You should check up on her"

"I will, don't worry" Wren nodded gently, before kissing his cheek gently. "You're all done"

Skipper nodded his nose a little more, the beginning of a smile beginning to tug at the corners of his mouth.

"Right….I'm going to bed" Skipper seemed to say now, clearly an indication for her to join him. Wren smiled gently and watched him for a moment.

"Of course… though first I have to make a call"

Shadow was racing through the streets as fast as her tires would allow, her breath heavy as she tried to suck in oxygen in her desperate hurry to get away. Adrenaline fueled her as she pushed on, heart drumming loudly in her ears and the world whipping by faster than she could think. All she knew was that she was in trouble… she could have been seriously injured should Wren have not gotten involved when she did. It seemed a lifetime before the familiar street that she lived on appeared, glancing up to the apartment that she shared with Finn, swallowing a little nervously when she spotted that the light was still on. He was up. Great. She had finally slowed down, panting heavily as she tried to regulate her breathing that looked least as suspicious as possible. For all he knew, she could have moved on to a pub or a club to celebrate the coming of the new year. For all he knew… she hadn't just broken into someone's house.

She stopped before she got to the exterior door, inhaling fully, and shaking herself out, trying to get to a calmer exterior before she dared face him. He could read her scarily well… so her best front had to be up. She pushed the door open and made her way up the ramps to their level, driving with ease to the door, and scanning her tire in. The door slid open, and the open hallway that led to the living room greeted her. Everything here wasn't as high tech as perhaps other apartments that housed CHROME agents… Finn was more traditional, so had more traditional features. The living room however did boast floor to ceiling windows, one section of the wall being entirely dedicated so you could watch out over the london view. Small lamps flickered as she entered, and spotted the Faultless relaxing on a rather comfortable looking cushion, studying a series of papers that littered the floor. At his tire rested a martini, something he seemed to be fond of on the odd occassion. The Toyota was frozen for a few moments, opening her mouth to speak in general, before Finn beat her to it.

"How did you get that?" He asked, not even looking up from his papers to address her. Shadow's oil ran cold for a moment, before recovering herself.

"Get… what?" She seemed to ask innocently, though stood at the point the hallways met the living room.

"The dent. How did you get it?" He asked again, finally looking up to watch her. Shadow seemed stunned for a moment, before she gave him a smile, laughing just a little.

"Heh… well you wouldn't believe it really… After the whole… Jace thing, I kinda wanted to get away, so went to this Sherlock Holmes pub… rather apt, i thought. ANYWAY I'd been there a little while and this huge fight seemed to break out between two drunks, rather funny, though I got rammed in the process… stings like hell but… it was something to behold!" Shadow started chuckling, though it turned into a nervous one as she saw Finn put down his glass, reverse off his cushion and come toward her. She shrank a little on the spot as he came up to her side, placing his tire above the dent and shifting her a little so he could get a better look.

"You're Lying"

"...what?"

"It looks to me as if a Corsair did this" He started, to which she quickly thought of an answer.

"Yes well, one of them was drunk, yes" She nodded, though he gave her a look that made her oil run cold again.

"Hm….Male, about 14,346 lbs, and judging by the way it's angled…. This was done in the dark…" He continued, and she swallowed again, about to protest a little before he drove to face her fully.

"Tomorrow you'll go straight to Wren's office, you'll get that dent pulled and you'll apologize, and you should be aware that your little stunt this evening doesn't reflect well on me as your mentor" He said sternly, watching Shadow carefully. She shrank on her tires once more before him, her gaze dropping to the floor and her tires tucked in.

"However, with that being said, you still managed to escape. It was perhaps aided, but you still thought on your tires. What happened?" He asked, motioning toward the kitchen with his front. She nodded and followed him in a subdued manner, stopping at the doorway as he seemed to flick on the kettle. Making Tea then, no doubt. She watched for a moment before she started talking in a quiet voice.

"Uh… well, i saw the weaker window was the one at the back, leading to the kitchen, and that was my way in…. My way out was… compromised you could say, so I made for the bathroom window instead. I judged it was the right dimensions, so that's the one I went for. Plus it would be harder for him to move round a smaller room, making it so I had the advantage" She explained gently, watching Finn the entire time. He seemed to make a noise to indicate he had understood, nodding his hood a little in response.

"So… are you angry?" She asked carefully, watching as he stirred the newly made tea carefully.

"Angry? No… Carlisle, anger can be irrational and can make you choose bad choices in the heat of the moment, or say something you could regret… I'm not angry, no" He answered, which caused Shadow to breath out a little.

"I am however disappointed in your conduct tonight…. I thought you would know better by now. Not only did you act inappropriately… you got caught and thoroughly embarrassed yourself" Finn added at this point, and Shadow felt like she wanted the entire ground to swallow her up. Finn laid her tea down in front of her, giving her a curt nod, before making his way back to his cushion, leaving Shadow feeling rather humiliated and gutted in the kitchen.

Date: January 1st 2012 13:23

Location: CHROME Headquarters - Medical Bay

Once the car had roused from her patchy nights sleep, she had deliberately stayed in her room, not daring to emerge and be confronted with the humiliation that awaited her back at CHROME. Finn caught on rather early when she didn't emerge upon hearing the kettle boil, a habit she seemed to have developed over time. He immediately saw the lack of movement on her end, and over-rode the door to let him in. Shadow had ducked away from him at first, remorse stuck on her face until he had smiled gently, telling her things would be ok, but the dent still needed looking at. After further gentle coaxing, Shadow finally agreed to get it seen to, rolling out the apartment several minutes later with a rather heavy sinking feeling. She had tried to persuade Finn to come with her, but he had stated that he had work to do, besides, Wren would probably need to speak with her. Alone. The drive to CHROME was not a long one, though she took longer than needed as she thought of all the possible scenarios in her head. She had been stupid… and now she looked it too.

She took a moment to steady herself once CHROME came into view, the situation she faced was less than bright. Even with the slower speed, CHROME loomed before her, and before she knew it, she was driving through the twisting halls and toward the Medical bay. Shadow saw the familiar Green Mini Cooper moving between rooms, and he smiled as he spotted her.

"Shadow! Happy New Year! What are you here for?" Phil said in a more than happy tone, a few hungover agents groaning at the noise. Shadow glanced inside the room perhaps to grab a glance at Wren, though there seemed to be no plane inside the room.

"Uh… here to see Wren, actually, is she in?" She asked hesitantly.

"Well… Today was her day off but she DID call earlier to say she would be in for a small while… if you wait by her office, I'm sure she'll be here soon" Came the reply, and Shadow nodded her thanks. Phil was the only medical employee she could see, and remembered that it WAS still a holiday… a majority got the day off. It was only perhaps around 10 minutes later, when Wren finally rounded the end of the corridor. She never looked pleased on the best of days, so today she seemed to carry a stern aura about her. Shadow backed up away a little from the office door, allowing Wren to turn in and unlock it. The Corsair completely ignored the car, entering her office and slamming the door closed after her. Uncertainty washed over the Toyota, and she wondered about asking Phil to fix her up, though just as she went to move, there came a shout from within the office.

"CARLISLE!"

The car flinched, staring at the door as though it were about to eat her, afraid to move at first. Though, as she slowly started to move, she pressed on the door with her tire, seeing Wren facing away as she messed with another piece of complicated looking machinery. The agent crawled in slowly, before stopping in the center, a deathly silence surrounding her as she stared at the Corsair, unsure how to play it out. Without a word, Wren turned, looking at her for a fleeting moment and then rolling to Shadow's dented side.

"Hmm…. This is definitely my husbands work. I'm afraid I don't think I can get the panel smooth again….Well, It's a good job I charged the electric chainsaw yesterday isn't it!" The Plane finally spoke, her expression serious. Shadow glanced up to her with a wide eyes, a sharp exhale leaving her in what appeared to be fear, no words flying from the Celica's mouth immediately.

"The…. the w-what?"

Another moment passed as the vehicles stared at one another, a slow smirk appearing on Wren's face.

"Relax you damn Spring Roll, I'm just gonna pull the dent. You'll be back to breaking and entering in no time" Wren now stated, and Shadow shifted her gaze away, looking straight ahead as the plane set to work with pulling the dent out. Shadow flinched every so often, the stinging becoming sharper occasionally, with Wren stopping to ask if she needed any painkillers. Shadow politely shook her hood no, though after a while it had begun throbbing, and she rather regretted this choice.

"You know…. You scared him."

"What? Him? He's 5 times my size…."

"He's a light sleeper, Shadow. Plus, waking a plane with PTSD is not a good idea"

"Right….. I….. i'msorry"

"What?"

"I'msorry"

"I'm afraid I can't quite hear you-"

"I'M. SORRY"

"...That's better" Wren stated with a smirk, though her expression grew a little softer.

"It's ok, Shadow"

Finally, it seemed that the repair work was complete, and although it still throbbed and stung, it felt better already than it had done.

"How does that feel?"

"Uh… yeah, it feels alright now… as good as new" Shadow managed with a small smile, looking to her panel through her wing mirror.

"Good… I can tell Skipper to stop worrying now. You know, he's flying back to the states next week… perhaps you can stay for the night."

"What… why?"

"Well, whatever it was you wanted to say… it must have been damn important for you to break into my house at 1am"

"Well…. I was sad"

"That's it?"

"Pretty much…"

"Wow… let's hope you don't get depressed. You might break into the Bank of England to touch the gold"

"Ha. Funny"

"Aren't I just?"