Drifter's Way
Chapter 3:
Bike Repairs and Shopping Lists
By Drifter Song
February 26, 2002
Copyright Drifter Song 2000-2002, all rights reserved.
Charley shook her head, "No I didn't," she responded to Silver's question about the sword.
That was all Silver needed to hear as he turned and started for the back door. He needed to find his weapon; it held great value to him. He truly did not want to see someone get hurt by fooling around with the blade.
"Hold it right there," Charley said as she stood up and jogged over to the tall man, moving so that she could stand in front of him and poked him in the chest with her index finger. "You stay here, I'll go find the sword." She didn't give him time to answer as she turned and walked out the door and headed for the demolished building.
Silver stopped more for the point that Charley just walked in front of him and he did not want to step on her, then from her words. An ear twitched slightly before they both perked forward with what Charley had said. He actually took a step back as he was poked his reply died on his lips when the woman walked off. Once she had disappeared out the door he scratched the back of his head at what had just transpired. He then shrugged, what else could he do? There has to be some reason that she wants me to stay inside the garage, he thought with a shake of his head. Might as well get to work. He turned and walked over to his bike.
"Poor baby," he said soothingly as he knelt down next to the monstrous machine. He ran his hand down one of the main struts to the front tire as he did so. The machine rumbled softly in response as Silver started thumbing through the tools, trying to decide where to start.
He got up and walked into the back room to find his helmet, which was still resting upon the chair by the bed. Picking it up he left the room and headed back over to his bike only to kneel down again. His gaze traveled over the motorcycle again as he put the helmet on and closed the visor with the press of a button. He then picked up the head of the acetylene torch with one hand as he turned the handle on the tank with the other. He made sure that the gauges were reading the proper pressure before he picked up the striker and turned gas and listened for the tell tale pop of the starting torch as the striker made its odd rasping click. Once the torch was lit he crouched down and used it to start removing the irreparable tail pipe.
* * *
Outside Charley made her way over to the building and began to make her way carefully through the rubble. She had gotten back to the site of the crash none too soon for there was a group of teens now starting to play around in the mess, searching for what ever treasures they might be able to find among the remnants of broken beams and concrete. The glittering of something silver caught her attention and Charley walked over to it in hopes that it was Silver's sword. She let out a sigh of relief when she found the weapon more then half buried in pile of crumbled concrete and glass before the teenagers found it. The pommel of the weapon was beautiful, it was silver molded into the shape of what she could only guess is the snarling form of a wolf, for she didn't know much if anything about Martian wildlife. The hilt itself was wrapped in strips of black leather down to the crosspiece that flared out like claws. The crosspiece itself was engraved with a complex knotted pattern. This doesn't look so bad; she mused to herself as she thought that the sword was only half buried.
"Where is the end of this thing," Charley mumbled to herself as she worked to uncover the sword. "It's gotta be huge."
Charley gave one last good tug the sword and scabbard slid free of its encasement of rubble nearly knocked the woman off her feet. The nearly seven foot long sword carried a lot of weight and momentum, from Charley's consistent tugging. The scabbard was just as ornately decorated with complex not work of silver on black.
"Oof!" She said as she fell back against a large pile of concrete. "This thing has to weigh a ton!"
She grabbed hold of the hilt in one hand and wrapped her other arm around the scabbard and shifted her weight so that she could carry it…well sort of carry it since the end of the scabbard dragged on the ground as she walked. The group of teens, seeing Charley leave with the enormous sword, hollered and complained at one another for not finding it first. The four looked at one another and quickly scrambled to the area that Charley had been searching thinking that they might find something else 'cool' to keep for themselves, fortunately the were sorely disappointed.
* * *
Silver had the tailpipe half off when there was a loud thunk on the door. Turning the torch off he got up and walked over to the door and opened it to find Charley. She was still trying to figure out a way to maneuver the sword and still open the door without setting it down. Blue eyes blinked the door opened before her and there stood Silver.
"This thing weighs a ton," she said for the second time as she stood there panting in the doorway.
"Let me take that for you Miss Charlene," Silver said as he opened the visor of his helmet before reaching out to take the sword from the woman.
"Be my guest," came Charley's retort as she let go of the hilt of the sword. She hoped that she wouldn't drop the weapon in the process.
He grabbed the sword by the hilt with his right hand and the scabbard with his left so that Charley could let go of the weapon.
"You can let go, if you wish Miss Charlene," Silver said as he now had a firm grip on the sword.
Once she let go of the scabbard, Silver let go of the hilt of the sword and hosted the weapon up with his left hand as if it weighed nothing. He backed up so that he did not hit the doorframe with long weapon. Once the sword was inside, he flipped the weapon so that it rested against his shoulder. Turning he carried it over to his bike and slid it into the sword slip right side, so that it would be out of the way of his repairs to the left. He knelt back down and started the torch again.
Charley stood there dumb struck for a moment, not knowing what to think as Silver hoisted the sword as if it were light as feather. She shook her head and walked inside, shutting the door behind her. She wasn't going to ask, she made her way over to where Silver was working and looked over his shoulder.
"I only have half of the replacement materials here by the looks of it," she said as she nearly leaned upon Silver's broad shoulder.
He paused in his movement in heating the tail pipe again to look up at the mechanic as she spoke. He opened the visor again, he felt as if he was being rude if he didn't. "I can at least get everything that is irreparable removed," he responded as he looked at Charley. "I believe that I can fix the fenders and part of the denting. The damaged struts I'm afraid will have to be replaced, along with one of the tail pipes." He shook his head slightly before he sighed. "That doesn't include any internal damages the engine might have received."
"That just means that we have our work cut out for us," Charley responded with a smile. She went over to the shelves and got another torch that was sitting below them and a mask and went to work with Silver. In a couple of hours they had stripped the motorcycle all of the damaged parts that were removable.
Silver looked at all the parts that were removed before he picked up the fenders and took them over to one of the workbenches. He went back over to the tools by his motorcycle when he noticed that he had forgot the hammer, causing Charley to look at him with a lofted brow. He gave a bit of an embarrassed looked as he picked up the tool.
"Oops," was all Silver said before heading back to the workbench. The fenders were the first items that he would fix by hammering out the dents before bringing the pieces over to the grinder. Carefully he wore away the imperfections in the inner part of the fender first before working on the outer. Once done with the grinding and consequently the paint removal, he searched for a large piece of sandpaper to make sure the fenders were sanded nice and smooth for the repaint.
While Silver worked on the fenders, Charley went though her supply cribs and pulled out parts for the massive machine. The motorcycle had been stripped down as far as it could go without damaging the internal circuitry that gave the machine life. Once she had found everything that could be of use she brought it over to the main bay area in several loads.
"I think that this should be about it," Charley called to the tall mouse as he pulled off his helmet. "It's everything that I have in stock for a machine this size. I'll be putting in a call for the rest as soon as I know what all is needed, besides the struts."
"Sounds good to me Miss Charlene," Silver replied as he walked over to take a look at the parts, a smile spread across his muzzle. "I think that this will do just fine as a start."
The two of them worked on the motorcycle to well into early evening, replacing parts and even painting the newly repaired fenders. Once they were finished and had the tools picked up and returned to their proper places Charley walked over to her desk where she had left the drop cloth. She picked up the pale piece of fabric and carried it over the motorcycle and shook it out before dragging it over the machine.
"Miss Charlene?" Silver questioned as he watched, cocking a furred brow as she went about the task of covering up the bike.
"It's just a precaution," she responded as she turned to the man a smile slid across her lips. "I don't want to take the chance of someone trying to break in and steal it."
"All right," Silver said after a few moments of silence as he wiped his hands on a soiled towel. "I feel that we have accomplished quite a bit this day."
" I agree," Charley replied, "It may take a couple of days to get the rest of the parts in, then you'll be on the road again."
Charley's words caused Silver's ears to twitch again as he made his way over to sink to scrub his hand clean. Where he started to scrub the oil and grease that was so hard to see against from his dark fur. That was just the thing that he wanted to hear as he had a journey that he had to accomplish. Turning off the water he grabbed a towel to dry off his hands before walking over to the covered bike. Picking up a corner of the cloth he walked underneath it. He opened one of the still slightly dented compartments on the back of the motorcycle and he took a clean vest. Then he made his way out from under the drop cloth before he pulled article of clothing on.
Charley sat down in the chair that she has used frequently as a bed for the past day and a half when she caught sight of the time. Oh, no! The guys are going to be here soon! She thought frantically. I really don't need them finding out about Silver right now! I don't know why? She leaned back in the chair and threw her right arm over her eyes, thinking. I know! I'll send him on a small errand for me, that should get him out of here long enough for the guys visit. I'm sure that he's going to want to explore a bit while he's out. She sat up all of a sudden, but do I have a shirt that will fit him? She dropped her arm and turned around best she could in the chair, trying to find Silver who had just emerged from being under the drop cloth and she smiled.
"Do you think that you could do me a small favor," Charley asked in somewhat of a sweet tone as she stood up, watching as the tall man put the vest on.
Silver cocked his head to the side and looked at the woman, one ear twitched slightly as he asked. "What do you need Miss Charlene?"
"Do you think that you could pick up a few things for me? I have a bunch of paperwork that I have to get done, as well as, put in an order for the parts that we need," she explained. While part of what she said is true, most was an excuse to get him out of the shop at least for part of the evening.
A furred brow was lifted at this request, now he was confused. He wasn't allowed to go outside to find his sword and now she wished him to go outside and go shopping. Its not like he was going to say no, that would rude he is after all a guest in her house, but that doesn't mean that it still doesn't confuse him. He opened his mouth to say something and paused, closing it, before answering the woman's question. "If you wish, Miss Charlene."
"Great! I may even have an old shirt around here somewhere that might…" she paused, as she looked Silver up and down before placing a hand to her chin. "Might, fit you…oh boy."
She then walked off towards the back room muttering a bit to herself under her breath. Opening the door to the back room, she entered and went to the closet. After she opened the door to the closet, she dug around inside the closet. She was looking for some of the old coats and shirts that were left behind from a time when she had actual employees working for her at the Last Chance. She found a couple of old button up shirts, one was an awful looking plaid shirt, and the other was an odd grey in color. She honestly hoped that the grey shirt would fit over the plaid. She gave the shirts a good shake and started to cough when the plumes of dust flew from them. I really have to clean out this closet, she thought as she tried to wave the dust away.
Silver watched the woman go with a light chuckle as he crossed his arms about his chest. He shifted his weight so that he stood in a comfortable position, waiting for Charley's return. The tip of his long tail twitched softly, as the tip brushed against the floor. This may be interesting, he thought. Ears perked forward at the sound of the coughing from the back room as he again cocked his head to the side.
Charley came out of the back room with both shirts draped over her arm, waving a hand in front of her face. "Well this is the best that I could find," Charley said, coughing slightly. "I hope that one of these will work."
She then held up the shirts for Silver to look at, he took each shirt in turn to take a look at. His nose wrinkled at the plaid shirt once he held it where he could get a good look at it.
"I'm sorry to say this Miss Charlene, but this shirt is absolutely revolting," he said as he set the shirt down and took the grey one.
"I know," Charley agreed, as she laughed Silver's comment. "That is why I'm hoping that the grey shirt will fit."
He looked at the grey shirt before he walked to the bathroom to try it on. Once inside he shut the door most of the way. He took off the vest and the piece of cloth wrapped about the tattoo before he pulled the shirt on and started to button it. Once he was done, he tucked the shirt in. He then picked up the piece of fabric that he used to cover the tattoo, folding it he placed it in his pocket. Then he turned his attention back to the shirt as he stood before the mirror trying to re-adjust the shirt. He unbuttoned the top three buttons as he pulled on the collar, trying to make the fabric lay right.
Charley walked over to the to the bathroom and she asked through the moderately closed door. "How does it fit?" Once and a while she could see a flittering shadow of movement inside through the cracked door.
Silver opened the bathroom door with his tail before he turned to face Charley and asked in a bit of sheepish tone while he still tugged at the collar. "What do you think?"
"I don't know?" Charley replied as she placed a finger to her chin, cradling her elbow with her other hand as a mischievous grin slid across her face. "Maybe you should try the plaid shirt."
The tall black mouse wrinkled his nose at the mention of the ugly piece of fabric with its patches of olive green and bright blue mixed with yellow strips of varying width. He then sighed before he spoke, "If you honestly think that it would look better Miss Charlene, I will give it a try."
The woman laughed, "I was joking," she said, as she cocked her head to the side, studying the tall Martian mouse now dressed in a slight bluish grey shirt. She turned to walk away, then paused long enough to say over her shoulder. "Honestly, I think that that color looks quite nice on you."
"Thank you, ma'am," Silver responded with a slight bow, glad that his dark fur covered the faint blush rose to his cheeks.
Finally satisfied that the collar was going to lay right, Silver exited the bathroom after picking up his vest and putting it back on. The warm rusty red stood out in a nicely against cooler grey of the shirt. He followed after Charley who walked back into the work bay and over to her desk. Where she sat down and wrote out a short list of what was needed around the garage for Silver. She slid the slip of paper across the desk to him when she was finished.
"Here's the list of what I need you to pick up for me," Charley explained with a hint of a smile, before she stood up. "Let me go get you some money."
He picked up the slip of paper and turned around so that he could lean against the desk to read it. Holding the paper in his right hand he rested his left against the desktop, leaning upon it comfortably. He scanned over the list, figuring that most of the items would be easy to find given what he has heard of Earth. Though he was unsure as well, he did not know how many of the stories that he has heard about Earth were true. He looked up from the slip of paper when he heard a bit of noise coming from the other room that Charley had disappeared into. The noise was Charley shutting safe, that banged closed with a heavy clank. The woman then reappeared with an envelope that was folded in half.
"This should be enough," Charley said as she walked over to Silver and held out the envelope.
Taking the folded envelope, Silver opened it up and leafed through the green bills inside, noting the different numbers in the corners on some of the bills. Different values, he thought as he closed the envelope and folded it back over, before sliding it into the pocked on the inside of his vest for safekeeping. I have to keep that in mind.
"Is there anything else that you need to add to the list Miss Charlene?" Silver asked as he stood up, readying himself to leave.
"I don't think so," she responded after thinking a moment.
He nodded to Charley before he went over and picked up his helmet. "I think that this is everything that I need," he said as he put it on he then wrapped his tail about his waist. He turned to face Charley again and added, "I'll be back as soon as I can."
The woman waved her hand at Silver, "Take your time," she said. "I'm sure that you're going to want to take a look around town why you're there. If you want you can use my motorcycle, I know that it will be a bit small for your stature but," she shrugged, "go ahead, it's outback and keys are next to the door."
Charley was sure that she could come up with some excuse or another as to why her bike was missing.
"Thank you, Miss Charlene," Silver said with a warm smile before he shut the visor and walked out the back door, grabbing the keys to Charley's motorcycle as he walked by.
Charley smiled as she watched Silver grab the keys and a few moments later she could hear the engine of her bike roar to life just before he left. Charley let out a sigh of relief that the guys hadn't arrived yet and nearly jumped out of her skin when they came a knockin'. That was close, she breathed silently to herself as she walked over to the door.
"Hey guys! How's it goin'?" she asked as she opened the door to see the three Martian mice dismounting from their rides.