Disclaimer: See Chapter One ;)
Summary: Fidget helps fix Big Air's engine. (What you wanted more?)
by Barbara C.
Part Four: Nylon
"No good, the engine is totally tweaked." Grinder informed the rest of Team Xtreme. "Some whatchamacallit sprang loose and that messed with the rest of the engine. We're not movin' an inch people." His smooth English accent did nothing to soften the blow. He had just spent the better part of an hour in Big Air's engine compartment trying to figure out what was wrong and if he could fix it. Now he stood infront of his teammates holding a broken coil and a Swiss cheesed pipe.
The large plane, that literally housed Team Xtreme, sat grounded due to mechanical difficulties at a little airstrip on the Washington State side of the Columbia River. Great views, but not much to do. In one word, boring, add the fact that they had a schedule to keep with; no air-conditioning and the temperatures outside had risen to a more than uncomfortable one-hundred degrees didn't make the situation anymore bearable. In addition, the airstrip was so small and so out of the way it didn't have the complex parts that Grinder needed to fix his baby.
Rikki stood up from his seat and calmly made his way over to Grinder. Without warning, his hands lashed out grabbing the mechanic by his collar. "We have a schedule to keep! Sail boarding in Bali tomorrow afternoon, remember? You have to fix it! Now!"
"Chill, Rikki." Alex stepped in and removed Rikki's hands from Grinder's shirt collar. "I'm sure Grinder'll have the problem fixed and be on our way in no time. Right, bro?"
Heaving a sigh filled with annoyance Grinder spoke. "Would if I could A-Man, but out here it's not gonna be possible. The hanger here doesn't have the right parts, I've already checked. It'll take at least a few hours to get to a place that will have the parts, and then I'd still have to find the right size and all. Not to mention the time it would take to get back here and fix it. Six hours on the lean side, twenty give or take in reality. It's not as simple as ordering a pizza."
Silence consumed the cabin. Alex looked displeased, Grinder looked frustrated, Rikki looked to be on the verge of a panic attack, and Fidget looked hot, sweaty, and bored.
"If Grinder can't do it then he can't." Fidget commented. "Get over it, people. It just means we sit around here in this sweltering heat while you miss out on a day of wet, bikini clad…"
"All right," Grinder broke in hastily. "I…I might be able to do a patch job to get us to Portland International or SeaTac, but we're lacking in materials."
Fidget grinned knowing she had these boys wrapped around her little finger. Their strings were so easy to pull. Less time spent here, meant more time where there was something to do in a cooler climate.
"What do you need?" Alex responded coming back to life. "I'm sure with all the junk we've got around..."
Rikki raised an eyebrow and interrupted. "May I remind you that most of this so called 'junk' is state-of-the-art electronics and other items worth several hundred thousand dollars? At the very least you could call it e-quip-men-t," he exclaimed pronunciating the each syllable of the last word with some animosity.
The Englishman paused in thought. "Something thin and stretchy, not like cord more like…" Grinder shook his head then agitatedly massaged his brow. "Fidget there wouldn't happen to be a chance that you might have some nylons or pantyhose tucked away somewhere, would there?"
The cabin was filled with an awkward silence as all eyes turned on the petite red-head. Rikki's eyes shined with hope. Alex's with curiosity, Grinder's wanted an answer, and Vinnie, well she'd forgotten to feed him earlier so the look he was giving her didn't count in the immediate situation. Scrunching up her nose she thought about it for a moment. "Uno momento," she held a pointer finger a loft as she slid from her perch on the table. A few minutes after retreating to the floor above she could be heard opening suitcases and bumping into things as she was prone to do. A minute later the others were rewarded with an answer. "Will fishnet work or do you need the regular kind?"
Silence.
"Hello? Guys?"
More silence. This time followed by some throat clearing.
"Fishnet?" came one quizzical response.
"Umm…" Alex's voice chimed, sounding just as quizzical.
"Er, uh, you have fishnet stockings?" Grinder asked with a bizarre curiosity.
After a momentary pause, Fidget's laughter could be heard echoing throughout the plane. "Fooled you, didn't I?" She gurgled again with laughter. "No, I just regular pantyhose, I don't even know why I have them." Then, she went on to babble about the various things a cameraman could use them for. She named off everything under the sun, except what they were meant for.
Soon, her head popped through the hatch above and she dropped the cardboard wrapped package down. "Here ya go."
Grinder caught the package and nodded to her, "Thanks Fidge." To Alex he said, "I'm gonna need an extra hand."
As the two wandered off and Rikki began to busy himself with other things, Fidget leaned against a wall upstairs and began thinking. Primarily about the fact that the team really didn't need to know that she had asked the question truthfully. So, for now, her sister's lovely; she thought through gritted teeth; present would stay packed away. With any luck, it would never surface.
Shortness and vagueness galore! Okay, so some research into plane engines might be needed on my part. So, until I never do that research, you'll have to be satisfied with what I've got. *Since it was originally posted, I've done about as much research on Big Air as I can by watching my 3.5 episodes in play/pause/rewind mode and now have a better grasp of the floorplan. Though, I'm not sure I'm happy with this chapter yet, I've taken suggestions and added to it since I didn't like the shortness. I think everyone is now more in character than previously.*