Car trouble back in SR1. V tries to self-assess, but could use a helping hand.


It was a slow day. Nothing really to do for Julius since the hit on Lopez, nothing to manage or pick up leads on, and nothing really to pass on in turn, so when he sat down to enjoy the game he was ready to pop open a beer and call it a night. The lid was off for only a few seconds when his phone began to ring, and while he wasn't surprised he wasn't exactly happy to hear it.

Until he saw the number, that is. He pushed his irritation aside to take it. "Hey."

"This is silly, and I feel like an ass for asking, but when your car squeals, that's not good, right?" V asked.

Troy scrunched his eyebrows together. "No...?"

"And if it's leaking, that's bad too."

"Yeah. I'd call that bad."

"Well, shit. I feel like I'm going down a fucking checklist."

"You finally break that thing?"

"Kind of...?" He imagined her frowning at her car while twirling her hair around her finger, and grinned. "I think it's pissed off, honestly."

There was a question there, and he wondered if she was going to ask it. Then he wondered if he should. If she wanted him to.

It didn't take him long to decide. He could hear her shuffling around on the other end, and grabbed the remote to shut the television off. "I can be there in fifteen."

"Are you sure? There's a Rim Jobs close by, I just have to drag this damn thing over and see how much it's going to set me back."

"They'll just take you for a ride. Let me get a look at it and we'll see how bad it is."

"Okay, since you just had to twist my arm... I do promise to pay you in beer and compliments, though."

He chuckled. "One'll only get you so far."

"Eh, we'll see. I can be pretty persuasive. See you soon."

He hung up and tapped his fingers against his cell, remembering the times he'd seen her trying to work on her car over at the church before, and took a long drink of the beer he'd abandoned. Then took another shortly after that.

"We'll see is right," he muttered as he went to grab his tool kit.


Her apartment didn't leave her a lot of space, so when he pulled into her parking lot V was already there with both of her hands under the hood. This left her bent over the edge, squinting at the problem waiting for her.

Then she stretched, and in her denim shorts and tank top she looked like nothing short of an automechanic's wet dream. Pretty girl, hair tied back in a messy ponytail, slinging tools around with a cigarette and a slow smile? Trouble.

And she sure as hell was, Troy mused, keeping his eyes from running over her.

She wiped the sweat off of her forehead with the back of her hand and glanced his way when he turned the engine off, giving him an expectant look. His cigarette was three-quarters gone, and he knew it wasn't going to last five minutes with her. Not at this rate.

He opened the door and got out, and she dropped her arms by her sides. "Not going so well?"

"No," she told him, blowing smoke out of the corner of her mouth. "It's still leaking and squeaking. The squeaking's the brakes, but the other? Not sure. I've been at this for over two hours and I don't have a whole lot to show for it."

"Still runs, right?"

"Yeah, but something's fucked. Might be the radiator, but I don't know which end I should be poking at." She lightly kicked one of the front tires and flicked her cigarette. "What do you think?"

He put his cigarette out before coming closer and crouched down by the Halberd's side to check for anything on the pavement. "You know what side the leak's coming from?"

She walked over by him and he tried not to look up. "Just down the middle?"

"That's specific," he replied drily.

"Hey, when it's been there for a bit it spreads. I'm sorry I'm not thinking in blueprints."

He glanced under it and waited for any sign of movement. A few drops fell, and when he put a small flashlight over the area below, it was stained an almost violent green. Once he was close enough he could smell it too. "Looks like coolant. Radiator's right."

"Okay, then this must be causing it." He got back up and she waved him over. "See that?"

Her finger traced the air above the upper radiator hose and he saw the cracks. "Yeah."

"It's cracking isn't it?"

"Yep. Lower one's probably bad too. You're lucky the damn thing didn't go and overheat on you." She exhaled, and Troy noticed the cigarette dangling from her mouth again. He never lit up whenever he was digging in a car's guts, so when he took it away, it was almost purely on reflex. "Hey, keep this to a minimum when you're working here."

V froze, but then went right back to pointing at the radiator. "Sure thing, but this is bad, isn't it?"

He leaned forward, her cigarette between his fingers, and had to call it. "Looks like it. You take any hits to the front lately?"

Her look told him exactly what he guessed, but it was always good to have confirmation. "I get hit or grazed at least once a day."

"Took it on the nose, though?"

"Like a champ. This one guy wasn't paying attention at the light, and I skidded right into him. Didn't even think he was in the wrong at all."

"So...?"

"I yelled at him until he sped off, which didn't help, but what was I going to do anyway? Get the cops involved?"

"No, that wouldn't work. They'd see purple and it'd break down fast."

It irritated the shit out of him, but it was true, even though he'd been specific on how anyone was supposed to engage her and the others. Minimum force and aggression, no fucking heroes with their eye on the prize. Defend only if provoked and all of that jazz. Unless it was Johnny, in which 'engage with extreme caution' was always the operative phrase.

Still didn't make it easy to enforce, however, and his reach wasn't far, not where he was right now. If someone got ideas and slapped a pair of cuffs on her he'd have to tear through a stack of papers to bust her out, but he'd try. And if it was over trading paint, he'd give the cop dumb enough to do it hell first.

He put a hand on the raised hood and let his eyes drift back to V only to find her staring back at him. His eyebrow went up, but when he took a drag, he realized the cigarette in his mouth wasn't his. Didn't even taste close to what he knew, and he exhaled the smoke in one quick puff.

It went under his shoe after that, and he swallowed against the feeling in his throat. "You know how it goes. Guy wouldn't have paid you shit for it either."

She blinked at him and turned to the radiator. "Yeah, you're right. Wasn't even worth going after him either. Fucker."

"Nope, not a chance." Troy stepped away and put his hands in his pockets. "Might as well get under this and see what degree of fucked it is in other areas too, eh?"

"And here I was hoping the poor thing wouldn't lose its dignity," she joked, wetting her lips.

His eyes flicked towards her then parked themselves back where they should've been. "I'll still respect it in the morning. Don't worry about that."

"You damn well better. What do you need?"

The short answer to that was time, a set of screwdrivers, and her vehicle jack. The long one? Beer, another cigarette, and an angle where he wouldn't get distracted by her getup. Or her legs. That wasn't going to happen, however.

"Just the basics. Wouldn't hurt if we started with the hoses, though."

She nodded. "Gotcha."

The model wasn't too hard to guess, but he put the car up to get both hoses for comparison anyway. She wasn't sure, he wasn't sure, and he didn't want her waiting for him all damn day while he kept on choosing the wrong thing.

He pulled off one of his shirts so he'd have a clean one left to head home in, and slid under the car to drain the radiator fluid. It wasn't difficult with the pan she rushed down to him, but it did take time, and he watched her boots circle him as they waited. Her face would peek under every now and then, her eyes narrowed as she tried to examine things, and the actual interest there surprised him.

"How do you know when it's done?" she asked, staring over at him from the other side.

"You just do."

"There's got to be some level you check." A drop fell, then another after a couple of minutes. "Because it shouldn't take monk levels of patience to fix my car."

"It doesn't. You think I've got that?"

"More than me at any rate. ...That doesn't count, does it?"

He tapped at the hose. "What?"

"As a compliment." She started chewing her lip. "That's more of a fact."

"Everybody's got to start somewhere. Can you pass me a cloth?"

That got her out of sight and he closed his eyes for a few seconds before opening them up again. By that point she had it and he used it to get the hose off once the clamps were loose. The same thing was done to the hose that connected right to the radiator, and both showed clear signs of damage.

"You want company, or should I stick with my car?"

The hopeful look in her eye wasn't hard to miss, but in the end he shook his head. "It'd be no problem if you had a garage to stash this in, but I'd hate to see someone grab your tires while you were out."

V pouted. "For real?"

"I mean it. You turn your back, and they'll be halfway down the street."

"Where's your trust, man?"

Troy didn't even blink. "Dried up and gone like the last car I left unattended. Shit happens."

She folded her arms and sighed. "Fine. I'll just sit here and wait then. Alone."

That did earn a single pang of guilt. She was getting better at that. "Can't avoid it here, V. Shouldn't take long."

And if he did speed a good few over the limit, he didn't notice.

The rest went according to clockwork. Everything under the car was exclusively his, but once she had an idea of what was going where he let her help with the hose up top. Most of the instructions he gave she followed to the letter, and she had him double-check everything once it was done.

It was always interesting to see her focus up close, because as much as she liked to joke about pissing around, she usually did give her hundred percent and then some. It all came down to whether or not she had something to do, and when she did, that was what mattered.

"That good?"

The new radiator fluid hit the point it needed to, and he gave her a nod. "Yep, and it doesn't appear to be dropping either. Nice work."

V rolled her eyes, but the shy smile told him she was pleased to hear it. "Hey, compliments are for you. I owe you a bunch. The brakes and other junk I'll leave for them, but this was a huge help. You're not half-bad at this mechanic business."

"Half-bad?" he asked, stepping back from the car. "Aiming low, there?"

The hood dropped as she closed it hard. "Wasn't trying." Her tone was light, and when she walked up to him she gestured towards her face. "But you sure are messy, teach."

"Sure about that?"

His thumb brushed across her cheek and smudged some of the dirt there. "Hey!"

The fierce scrubbing she did made it streak more, and when she dropped it to get his opinion, he was shaking with laughter. "No dice, V."

Her fake offense turned into one of the brightest smiles he'd ever seen. It lit her up all over, and he wasn't sure what to do with it. Even when she used his shock to throw the old cloth in her hands right at him.

"I'm getting washed up. Want to come?"

Troy pulled the rag off of his face and stared at her.

"You don't want to go home like that, right?" She crossed her arms behind her head and rocked on her feet. "I won't take long, and you can borrow my shower after that. Then pizza?"

"...Sure," he said, shaking himself out of it. "Any good places in mind?"

He started gathering up his things and V handed him any tools that strayed too far. "I've got a few, but I'm open to suggestions. Pep good?"

"Always," he said, tossing everything into the trunk of his car.

"And beer?"

"Lead the way."

It was almost as if she were dangling a carrot in front of his face with a promise like that. Especially since she gave him one shortly after walking through the door. It was one of his favorites that she'd taken a shine to and she laughed when he sighed fondly at the sight of it.

When he turned that look on her, she retreated fast, but not before winking at him.

The shower started soon after and he listened to it for a bit before going for her television. He dusted off his jeans and took a seat on her couch, hoping that whatever was on him wouldn't transfer too bad, if at all. The football game he'd meant to catch earlier ended a while back, but another was about to start, and he kicked up his feet on her coffee table.

Towards the end of the first quarter a towel was dumped into the spot on the couch next to him. "It's open if you want it."

V was drying her hair still, and tried to blow her bangs out of her face. Another tank top had taken the other's place, and Troy tried not to crane his neck too much when looking her over. "You've got some timing."

"Good game?"

"It's shaping up to be. Might as well go now before the half."

He got up and grabbed the towel and shirt he'd brought with him, but she intercepted him. "Wait. Just to let you know, soap-soap's by the sink, because I'm sure you don't want to smell like some citrus disaster coming out."

Citrus disaster wasn't what he was getting from her, but he nodded anyway. "Thanks."

"Oh, and one more thing." She stole his cigarette from his hand and grinned. "Payback for earlier. Showers and cigs just don't mix."


He was in and out in record time. The pizza was in the middle of being ordered when he opened the door, and V's voice floated over from behind the couch.

Her feet were propped up on the arm on the far end as she laid across the cushions, and she sat up when he poked his head over the back. "Yeah, yeah. Two'll do. Thanks." The phone went on the coffee table and she brushed her hair out of her eyes. "Should take thirty to forty minutes to get here. They're a good place, but you'll have to take my word for it."

"Beer too?" he asked, leaning on the couch.

She laid back down and smiled, taking a decent drag off of his cigarette. "Only if you get me one."

He almost grabbed three when he reached the refrigerator. "They're losing, aren't they?"

Her voice was muffled, but it still traveled far enough to reach him. "Yep, but it's early. They could bring it back."

He chuckled and made his way back to her. "Maybe."