Author's Note: Lyrics copyrighted to Australian pop duo Savage Garden.

Back to the Story

The place Axlerod had picked out was fancy, an upscale restaurant on the Musi River in Palembang. It had a great view of the Ambera Bridge, which was all lit up like a carnival float at night. "Wow!" Melina exclaimed as they drove over to their table. "Have you dined here before, Miles?"

"No, believe it or not. I simply did some research, and heard this place was recommended. It's not Jakarta but… still… we can do this, right?"

"Of course! So… how much money do you actually have, Mr. I'm so rich I don't really work anymore." She chuckled as he took one side of the table and she the other.

"Heheh… well it's… how about you guess." He suggested, eyes twinkling.

"Hmmm… well you don't seem to be afraid of spending money so… over 100 million?" she asked.

"Higher." Miles responded with a smile.

"Huh… 250 million?"

"Higher." His smile grew.

"Not more than 500 million… right?"

"Hiiiigher." Miles sang out to her.

"Oh come on! No! You're not… you're not a billionaire, are you?" she asked in disbelief, but also with some amusement too.

He said nothing here, and just gave her a knowing look.

"No! You are?" she gasped, but almost in a happy way, as if it wasn't that big of a deal to her, or she'd just discovered something amazing.

"I don't want my money alone to impress you… but I admit, it is impressive, I won't lie." He confessed to her now.

"How many billions?" she asked her curiously.

"I used to own a lot more than I do now… as said, I took only what I wanted."

"So dining here is chump change for you." Melina stated slyly.

"Yes… you could say so. Ah!" They were interrupted by the waiter, who took their drink orders, before they resumed the conversation.

"Wow! I've never personally dined with a billionaire before." She stated, blinking.

"Well it's… hopefully not the ONLY thing that impresses you about me." He stated.

"Oh don't worry… it's not. You must've traveled a lot though… what's your favorite place in the world?" she asked, still curious.

"Uh… for what? A business meeting? A dinner date with a gorgeous Daimler? What?" Miles pressed.

"The latter." She chuckled.

"Hong Kong. It's SOOOO beautiful at night… and just… such a nice place to stay no matter the time of year. There's this ancient looking Chinese bridge down in Repulse Bay, and the building with the 'hole'… it's such a unique place! Fantastic dining… you'd really love it there, if you haven't been." He told her.

"I never have… I've always wanted to see Taipei though." She confessed.

"Oh Taipei's nice too! We should go sometime!"

"We, eh?" Melina asked, giving him a quizzical look.

"Oh heheh… yes I suppose that's…"

"It's nice of you to say… but Miles, can I tell you something?" Melina asked here as their drinks arrived.

"Sure! But are you ready to order?" he asked, and she nodded, so they placed their orders and were once again left alone.

"Well Miles… I've been studying you these past few days… you've been so kind to me regarding my past, and you haven't made me regret opening up to you yet about it, nor do I think you will. However… I've sensed something within you, Miles. Something you keep buried very deep… and it became clear to me in the hotel lobby this morning. You're a kind, caring, and sweet Range Rover… but you also hide a lot of pain too… I don't know what caused you this pain, or how it started… but you try and hide it. You're hurt, Mr. Miles McCormick. I don't know why but you're in pain… and you're scared. You're blocking others from seeing deep within you…"

Axlerod's face fell into a more serious stare as she spoke to him.

"Miles, listen to me. You care about me… I can tell. You don't have to hide it. But… if this is going to go anywhere… and I think deep down you want it to… then you're going to need to open up to me. I don't like seeing you harboring this pain… this anguish within you. What happened? Did someone hurt you? I want to…" she paused here, gazing into his eyes. "Help you heal. Maybe I sound crazy but… I know you're hurt deeply by something, Miles… and I want to help you heal. Will… you let me?" she asked him, gazing across the table at him.

Gulping, Axlerod wasn't sure what to say to this. "I like you Miles… I think you're a sweet, considerate car, but you're alone… and I don't think you need an NTSB investigator to tell you that." She half-joked. "What would help you heal? What would start making that pain ease… ever so gradually even?"

Pursing his lips, the Range Rover said nothing at first. She gazed at him patiently, waiting for him to respond. "Miles, you can talk to me. I don't want you to hold this pain inside of you. I will listen to whatever you have to say… I promise." She added.

"Not everything I have to say… but… hold on!" he cut in, noticing her face starting to fall again. "I'm not… shutting the door because I don't trust you… it's just… I could cause you pain… and that's the thing that terrifies me the most right now."

"Miles… what pain could you cause me? I don't even know you all that well. I know one thing though… I hate seeing you hurting inside. Can you open up to me… or is this just a dinner and we're not going to see each other anymore after this? I feel like there's something there… but maybe I'm misreading things. You wanted to tell me something this morning… what was it?" Melina coaxed.

"Melina… I will tell you some things… someday… but right now I can't. I need… time. OK?" She nodded comfortingly at him in understanding. "But… this morning… I wanted to tell you that… I…" he felt his throat closing up. Seeing this, Melina locked eyes with him and tried to get him to relax.

"Trust me, Miles. Just calm down… and say it… I won't judge you."

"Melina…" he started again. "I… I've never been in a serious relationship before… I don't even know what one is, in fact. But I… I have… developed…" he enunciated each word, taking it slow. "Feelings… for you. Melina… you somehow manage to make me feel calm when I'm around you… like everything will be all right… I have a lot of problems, OK? A LOT of problems… and yes, I'm alone. Not entirely by choice but… well it's just how I am right now. I think I… I think I'm falling in love with you, Melina. I know we only just met a few days ago but… you're so different from every other car I've met. Leaking oil and being a lemon are the least of my concerns… so far you've been very kind to me, and haven't judged me based on what type of car I am."

"Nor would I." she broke in now. "Miles you being a lemon has NOTHING to do with what a caring, nice car you are. You're a true gentlecar, Miles, and I don't care if you leak oil or break down often. That can be fixed. Your personality though… that's what I'm most interested in." she told him seriously.

To hear her speak was a blessing and a curse. He felt so terrible for how she described him… none of it was true… but at the same time maybe it was. Was he changing for her? Somehow, his desire for revenge was just fading into the background like a fog compared to her standing across from him. She was right here, in front of him… and if only he'd met her years ago… things would be SO different… he just knew it.

"I shouldn't have admitted that." He stated here with a sigh.

"But you did. You admitted it. And I don't blame you for it… I knew you wanted to say it this morning… but for whatever reason, you couldn't."

"Because I didn't know… I'm still confused about it… I've never been in love before, Melina." Miles confessed to her. "I'm so… clueless. But everything inside of me… wants to find out what it's like. Wants to know if I really do love you or not… how… how do you feel about me?" Axlerod asked here.

"The same… and I want to find out too." A song Miles recognized started playing in the restaurant now. Most of it was background music, but this song was different.

Maybe it's intuition

But some things you just don't question

"Miles… would you like to dance?" Melina asked him here, motioning with her eyes to the large, open floor of the restaurant.

"Can we?" he asked, unsure of that.

"I don't care." She said, driving out from the table and hoping he'd follow, which he did. "Worst they'll do is throw us out." As they moved out onto the floor, he faced her right on, gazing into her eyes as he began to move slowly to the tune.

Like in your eyes

I see my future in an instant

And there it goes

I think I've found my best friend

I know that it might sound more than

A little crazy but I believe

I knew I loved you before I met you

I think I dreamed you into life

I knew I loved you before I met you

I have been waiting all my life

They turned slowly, bobbing gently to the music, the lights from the Ambera Bridge bathing them in muted blues and reds. It was a very intimate setting, and Miles moved in closer, moving up against her to nuzzle her affectionately as she nuzzled him back.

There's just no rhyme or reason

Only this sense of completion

And in your eyes

I see the missing pieces

I'm searching for

I think I found my way home

"How appropriate…" Miles whispered. "I remember Savage Garden… but I think… I think I've found my way home…"

"Mmm… yes… all those missing pieces… right here… Miles…" Milena closed her eyes and pressed herself up against him as they danced. "I wish we could stay like this… forever."

I am complete now that I found you…

"I do too…" he was barely talking above a whisper, closing his own eyes too as the song wound down, pressing up against her and just dancing as slowly as he could.

"I'm flying back to Britain tomorrow… come with me…" he heard her whisper.

"Uh…" Britain… the one place he shouldn't be going. But maybe… it'd be the one place they wouldn't expect to look for him, either. Still… this was like driving into the car crusher at a junkyard. But he couldn't leave her side… not now… not when things were starting to go so well. "I might have to go back to South Africa after a few days." He told her.

"Mm yes… your home. But… don't you have a place in Britain, Miles? You know, with your funds and all."

"I… do." He lied. His penthouse had been seized by the government, and it was no longer safe for him to go back. "Oh wait um… no, I don't anymore, sorry." He quickly corrected. "But I could stay in a hotel or something." Bad idea… hotels usually asked for passports…. And he knew the new one he'd had forged for himself would probably be a hot item soon.

The song ended here, and Melina began to slowly drive back to their table, Miles at her side. "Actually, I'm not sure really if I can go or not." He confessed. She seemed disappointed.

"Oh… but I'd really hate this to be the last time we see each other. Miles it wasn't just an accident that brought us together… I don't believe in mere coincidences… this… this means something. Surely you feel that way too? Our meeting was more than just an accident… I've never gotten involved with a witness on this level before… please…"

"Er… can I think about it?" He asked as he reached the table.

"Miles… don't shut the door… you finally admitted to me how you were feeling tonight… you really want to just let this go without finding out?" she asked him now.

"I don't… it's just… remember those problems I told you about? Well… turns out more than a few of them are in Britain." He tried to explain.

"Oh… I see." Melina blinked here, not expecting that. "But then again… you did say you moved to South Africa… I suppose that makes sense."

"I'm sorry I just… have problems in Britain. And I'm afraid going back there will only open up some old wounds. Do you HAVE to go to Britain tomorrow? I mean… your job is done, right? Could you maybe take some time off?" the Range Rover asked her hopefully here.

"Well… I do have reports to write… but I suppose so long as I bring my computer, it won't really matter where I write the reports. Still… I'd like to go home at some point." She admitted.

"And you will! I just… I'll need some time to work those problems out before I can head back again to Britain. I'm sorry."

"No, no, it's OK. Remember… I offered to help you… I didn't expect you to be healed overnight." She responded.

Sighing in relief, he gave her a grateful look. "Thank you, Melina. That really means a lot that you're willing to give me time."

"Of course… pain doesn't heal overnight." She commented.

"Anyway… sorry about your case being covered up by Indonesia. That really angered me today to see that." Miles changed the subject.

"Yes… well… in my line of work it happens sometimes… we don't ALWAYS get the result we want." Melina replied, looking off to the side out the window. "Still, at least my report is being officially published, and we're a much larger organization than the NTSC is anyway. I can still rest easy about this one, despite not being 100% sure on it."

"But you're fairly positive on your results, right?"

"Fairly. There really isn't much other explanation, I think. It's just frustrating the way the Indonesians handled it. Oh! What did the doctor say?" she asked, smiling at him here from across the table as their food was delivered.

"Oh, heheh… well I'm leaking, he knows that much." Miles replied, rolling his eyes. "He said I need a new part… no surprise there. I really hate this old engine. It's such a pile of junk and the parts I get for it are little better."

"Why don't you just… I dunno, upgrade yourself? You know… electric or something." She suggested, without realizing the irony of it.

"Ah, well… I swore to myself that I'd not hate myself for being a lemon but… it's… kind of a promise I'm not sure I still want to keep.' He confessed.

"I mean with your money you don't have to live as a lemon, you know. You could convert yourself into anything you wanted… upgrade your engine to anything." She pointed out.

"True… I suppose I could… um… thanks by the way… for saying yes to dinner, and also for the dance. It was very… well it helped me I think." He told her sincerely. This brought a smile to her features.

"I'm very glad to hear that… now… why don't we eat, before our food gets cold?" she suggested. Both of them had ordered fish, with Miles getting swordfish and Melina having halibut. The meal was particularly delectable, and Miles ordered some dessert for them to split before paying for the meal and taking Melina back to the hotel.

Pulling up in front of the hotel, the lights of Palembang bathed the two cars in colorful blues and greens. "Well Miles… that was a wonderful time. I hope you enjoyed yourself. You really seemed relaxed after we started dancing. I myself had a great time… thank you for taking me out. Are you feeling maybe just a bit better?" Melina asked.

"I… yes. I am." Miles informed her, giving her a small smile. "Thanks for saying yes to my invite. I really had a good time. It's a gradual process but yes… you made me feel a bit better about… things." He didn't elaborate, but he knew he didn't need to.

"Fantastic! And if you need anything… don't hesitate to talk to me. I'll listen to anything you have to say. And… I'm looking forward to seeing you tomorrow, too. Have a good night, Miles." Driving up to him, Melina delivered a small kiss to his side, then drove into the hotel, leaving Miles gazing after her as his smile widened.

"Good night!" He called, sighing happily, and drove in shortly after she did.


Inside Siddeley, Finn drove up the ramp and could see Holley already waiting for him inside. "Where's Zundapp?" Holley asked.

"He told me he wasn't interested… in not such polite terms." Finn told her. "So we're on our own for the moment. Did you turn up any leads, Ms. Shiftwell?" Finn asked hopefully.

"Actually, I did!" Holley replied, bringing up a screen now. "See I've been scanning news reports, and someone sent in these pictures from Palembang. Recognize anyone in the crowd? This was at a press conference for a crashed airliner."

Finn narrowed his eyes, and gazed at the shot of a green Range Rover apparently outraged at something in the crowd. "Well, well… hello Mr. Axlerod. Good work, Holley! Siddeley!"

"Finn?" came Siddeley's voice.

"Set a course for Palembang! We're going to Indonesia!"