Jake shifted in his seat. They'd been driving around for about an hour when they were cut off by a Mercedes and an SUV. The men inside the SUV hauled Speed out and dragged her back to the Mercedes to talk to someone. She didn't seem to be too upset by that at all. He kept looking back and forth between the Mercedes behind them and the SUV in front of them.
The sound of footsteps coming up drew his attention. Speed slid down behind the wheel and winked. "We're in."
"In?"
"Yeah. The Boss wants to meet me, I was told my reputation preceeded me. I think you and yours are about to get a big break."
She started the car and followed the Mercedes. The entire ride was in silence, not even the stereo was turned on. Jake was beginning to squirm again. He was clean this time out - no wire, no ear piece. It was just him and Speed and his sidearm. He kept his eyes on the scenery around them so he could remember where the place was once they got back to ops.
"Relax Jake. I know where we are and I can tell Donovan."
"I know."
"So why are you so nervous?"
"You tell me, Speed. We're cut off in the middle of traffic, you're hauled out of the car and dragged back to talk to someone we don't even know. What if they hadn't been here to recruit you back into the fold? What if they were old enemies of yours that had held a grudge?"
She chuckled and kept her eyes on the road. Was that concern for her she'd heard in his voice? "No biggie. It's not like they can just walk to up to my door and say 'hey, we need you to boost a few cars for an order'. Number One, I don't have a door of my own... and Number Two, things have changed. Boosts don't know who to trust outside of their crews. What's the matter Jake? Worried that getting me out of prison would be wasted if I'd gotten scragged?"
"That's not it and you know it."
"Don't tell me you're actually worried for me, Jake."
"And who says I can't be?"
She turned and looked at him. "Getting too close, Agent Shaw. No fraternizing with the criminally insane. It won't look good on your resume to say that you fell for a car thief."
Jake turned and looked at her. "You don't have the first clue."
"No? I think I got your timing down pat Jake. You don't think I see you watching me closely, the way you watch me. Admit it - you've gotten in over your head when it comes to me."
"Think agai-"
"We're here." She cut him off before he could finish. With a wink, she stepped out of the car and followed the other men in. Jake caught up and took hold of her around the waist. When she looked at him questioningly, he winked back. So that was it... 'keep up the appearances, pretend to be my lover... rissa, rissa, you stupid idiot did you REALLY think he could have fallen for you?' She sighed inwardly and chastised herself for even daring to think of such a thing.
They were in a scrap yard on the waterfront. She knew this place, knew it well. The smell of the rusting metal combined with the salty tang in the air brought back a lot of memories. 30 feet ahead of them was a desk and a man sitting behind it, obviously involved with something else at the moment. But when their escort came around the desk, he looked up.
"Well, I'll be go to hell."
"You might, if you're lucky Speed"
Jake looked between her and the man. "Baby?"
"It's OK. 'member me talking about the night I got arrested? The cop who put me away for so long?"
Jake nodded - the turning point of his career...
" 'member the kid who was in the car with me? Oh I know I told you about him."
"Yeah, I do... scared kid who puked in the floorboard when the cops yanked him out of the car. Kept crying for his mama, or so you said." Jake had to grin, he remembered the kid completely falling apart when the cuffs were slapped on.
"Seems my good deed was for nothing. Meet Switch." Speed cracked a grin and turned back to the desk.
"Ahhh Speed, Speed, my little Speed Demon... How the fuck did you get out? Last I heard you were serving a dime in the Pen... and no hope of parole."
"Oh, you know me... charming, persuasive, good skills... They let me out for good behavior."
"You're bullshittin' me Speed."
"Would I do that to you? How's your mother?"
"Don't talk about my mother. Let's get to it. When I heard through the mill that you were out, I set some scouts on you. I saw that little driving stunt you pulled a few nights back. What'd he say to you, hm Speed? What got you so pissed off that you nearly killed him. From what my boys saw, he was so white he looked about ready to die right there."
"He asked for a ride and then wanted to know if I'd thought about my life." Jake was listening. So that was why they found Donovan on the floor the next morning. When Monica woke him up, he scrambled up and looked around. He never did say anything about the previous night...
"He your crew?"
"Nope. A friend of one of my crew." She nodded to Jake.
"And what do you do...?" Switch looked at Jake expectantly.
"Me? Man, I can drive anything with wheels. Outdrove mah baby here once." Subtly Speed put her foot on Jake's and put pressure on it. Jake cracked a grin to hide the wince of pain.
"Is that so." Switch watched them both closely. "When'd you two hook up?"
"Before I got arrested. I've kept him on the burner for a while
Switch watched Jake for a few moments. It was obvious that something didn't sit right. As he watched Jake, Speed's left hand began to shake almost imperceptibly... except Jake had his arm around her and felt the shaking as her hand pressed against his hip. Jake responded by pulling her a bit closer to him. If he wasn't careful...
"Well. I better get down to it, then. Here's the list. I need all of these by Friday morning, 7 am." He handed Speed an 8x11 piece of paper. Speed took it and scanned down the list.
"No way man. Can't be done." The tone of her voice was different, almost in shock...
"No?"
"No. Not that 'I' can't do it... it just cannot be done. This is way too many cars in too few nights and half of these are so exotic that we'd have to raid the high rent districts."
"Then you better get working. You don't deliver, I'll make sure that you WISH you were back in the Pen."
Speed's eyes slid down the list as she'd been talking, but when he mentioned her being sent back, she flicked a look up at Switch and her hand began to shake again.
"7am Friday morning." Switch sat back down in his chair and turned around to do more business, effectively dismissing them.
As they walked back to the car, Speed's hand had begun to shake hard enough that it was plainly noticeable.
"I can't do it... it can't be done... he's insane...."
"Speed.... calm down!" He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her gently. She was beginning to freak him out. He took this list from her hand as she sat down on the hood of the car. "That's a big list." The 50 cars were listed by make, model, and year... and some of them were colletor's items.
"George... I have to go see George... I need to talk to him." She looked up at Jake, a touch of hauntedness in her eyes as she looked... then she slid behind the wheel. They drove in silence. Jake was getting more and more worried. This was looking bad if Speed was rattled. He hoped that she'd get over it quickly. It was going to be bad enough with her on her game, worse if she couldn't get back into form. More than that, he knew that he was falling for her.
****
The sound of footsteps coming up drew his attention. Speed slid down behind the wheel and winked. "We're in."
"In?"
"Yeah. The Boss wants to meet me, I was told my reputation preceeded me. I think you and yours are about to get a big break."
She started the car and followed the Mercedes. The entire ride was in silence, not even the stereo was turned on. Jake was beginning to squirm again. He was clean this time out - no wire, no ear piece. It was just him and Speed and his sidearm. He kept his eyes on the scenery around them so he could remember where the place was once they got back to ops.
"Relax Jake. I know where we are and I can tell Donovan."
"I know."
"So why are you so nervous?"
"You tell me, Speed. We're cut off in the middle of traffic, you're hauled out of the car and dragged back to talk to someone we don't even know. What if they hadn't been here to recruit you back into the fold? What if they were old enemies of yours that had held a grudge?"
She chuckled and kept her eyes on the road. Was that concern for her she'd heard in his voice? "No biggie. It's not like they can just walk to up to my door and say 'hey, we need you to boost a few cars for an order'. Number One, I don't have a door of my own... and Number Two, things have changed. Boosts don't know who to trust outside of their crews. What's the matter Jake? Worried that getting me out of prison would be wasted if I'd gotten scragged?"
"That's not it and you know it."
"Don't tell me you're actually worried for me, Jake."
"And who says I can't be?"
She turned and looked at him. "Getting too close, Agent Shaw. No fraternizing with the criminally insane. It won't look good on your resume to say that you fell for a car thief."
Jake turned and looked at her. "You don't have the first clue."
"No? I think I got your timing down pat Jake. You don't think I see you watching me closely, the way you watch me. Admit it - you've gotten in over your head when it comes to me."
"Think agai-"
"We're here." She cut him off before he could finish. With a wink, she stepped out of the car and followed the other men in. Jake caught up and took hold of her around the waist. When she looked at him questioningly, he winked back. So that was it... 'keep up the appearances, pretend to be my lover... rissa, rissa, you stupid idiot did you REALLY think he could have fallen for you?' She sighed inwardly and chastised herself for even daring to think of such a thing.
They were in a scrap yard on the waterfront. She knew this place, knew it well. The smell of the rusting metal combined with the salty tang in the air brought back a lot of memories. 30 feet ahead of them was a desk and a man sitting behind it, obviously involved with something else at the moment. But when their escort came around the desk, he looked up.
"Well, I'll be go to hell."
"You might, if you're lucky Speed"
Jake looked between her and the man. "Baby?"
"It's OK. 'member me talking about the night I got arrested? The cop who put me away for so long?"
Jake nodded - the turning point of his career...
" 'member the kid who was in the car with me? Oh I know I told you about him."
"Yeah, I do... scared kid who puked in the floorboard when the cops yanked him out of the car. Kept crying for his mama, or so you said." Jake had to grin, he remembered the kid completely falling apart when the cuffs were slapped on.
"Seems my good deed was for nothing. Meet Switch." Speed cracked a grin and turned back to the desk.
"Ahhh Speed, Speed, my little Speed Demon... How the fuck did you get out? Last I heard you were serving a dime in the Pen... and no hope of parole."
"Oh, you know me... charming, persuasive, good skills... They let me out for good behavior."
"You're bullshittin' me Speed."
"Would I do that to you? How's your mother?"
"Don't talk about my mother. Let's get to it. When I heard through the mill that you were out, I set some scouts on you. I saw that little driving stunt you pulled a few nights back. What'd he say to you, hm Speed? What got you so pissed off that you nearly killed him. From what my boys saw, he was so white he looked about ready to die right there."
"He asked for a ride and then wanted to know if I'd thought about my life." Jake was listening. So that was why they found Donovan on the floor the next morning. When Monica woke him up, he scrambled up and looked around. He never did say anything about the previous night...
"He your crew?"
"Nope. A friend of one of my crew." She nodded to Jake.
"And what do you do...?" Switch looked at Jake expectantly.
"Me? Man, I can drive anything with wheels. Outdrove mah baby here once." Subtly Speed put her foot on Jake's and put pressure on it. Jake cracked a grin to hide the wince of pain.
"Is that so." Switch watched them both closely. "When'd you two hook up?"
"Before I got arrested. I've kept him on the burner for a while
Switch watched Jake for a few moments. It was obvious that something didn't sit right. As he watched Jake, Speed's left hand began to shake almost imperceptibly... except Jake had his arm around her and felt the shaking as her hand pressed against his hip. Jake responded by pulling her a bit closer to him. If he wasn't careful...
"Well. I better get down to it, then. Here's the list. I need all of these by Friday morning, 7 am." He handed Speed an 8x11 piece of paper. Speed took it and scanned down the list.
"No way man. Can't be done." The tone of her voice was different, almost in shock...
"No?"
"No. Not that 'I' can't do it... it just cannot be done. This is way too many cars in too few nights and half of these are so exotic that we'd have to raid the high rent districts."
"Then you better get working. You don't deliver, I'll make sure that you WISH you were back in the Pen."
Speed's eyes slid down the list as she'd been talking, but when he mentioned her being sent back, she flicked a look up at Switch and her hand began to shake again.
"7am Friday morning." Switch sat back down in his chair and turned around to do more business, effectively dismissing them.
As they walked back to the car, Speed's hand had begun to shake hard enough that it was plainly noticeable.
"I can't do it... it can't be done... he's insane...."
"Speed.... calm down!" He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her gently. She was beginning to freak him out. He took this list from her hand as she sat down on the hood of the car. "That's a big list." The 50 cars were listed by make, model, and year... and some of them were colletor's items.
"George... I have to go see George... I need to talk to him." She looked up at Jake, a touch of hauntedness in her eyes as she looked... then she slid behind the wheel. They drove in silence. Jake was getting more and more worried. This was looking bad if Speed was rattled. He hoped that she'd get over it quickly. It was going to be bad enough with her on her game, worse if she couldn't get back into form. More than that, he knew that he was falling for her.
****