Chapter 13.
. 2.15pm .
Memphis stood back and scanned the garage. Some of the crew were doing last little bits of prep, but if he was honest he had to admit that there wasn't much else to be done. The others sat around impatiently waiting, anticipation hung heavy in the air around them.
Donny stood at the board, hands in pockets, staring at the ladies written upon it. Memorizing the names, not that he actually needed to. Boosting as a long career sharpened the memory, especially where car names were concerned. For the most part, they used the same names over, but where new cars were concerned there was always a story behind the choice to help jog the mind. For example, a Ferrari F33 was a new one to make the boosting list, named Sara in honor of Sway.
Memphis watched Sphinx, enveloped in the shadows as ever, his angular features accented in the dim light. He stood sharpening and polishing his flick blade, alone, silent. Although they occasionally got the odd word out of him, Memphis sometimes wished he could have a real conversation with Sphinx. As he watched him, he realized that he knew nothing about the man who had saved his life and come to aid situations like this more times than he could remember. He owed him so much, but never got the chance to repay his debts. After this was over, Sphinx would undoubtedly disappear again, probably waiting in the shadows until the next time he was called upon.
Obviously aware that someone was watching him, Sphinx turned and nodded at Memphis who offered a weak smile and looked away.
Sway was draped across a swivel chair that kip sat in, talking with him, her head tipped back, dreadlocks brushing the floor as he gently swung the chair from side to side with his feet. Memphis couldn't help but envy the friendship his girlfriend had with kip. They were so comfortable with each other, and could sit and talk for hours on end. Although he knew that there was nothing to worry about. Sway could dance around naked in front of Kip and he probably wouldn't even notice!
Rachel stood in the doorway chain-smoking and staring into the distance through dark sunglasses. Memphis couldn't help but wonder if she knew how stunning she actually was, loitering casually against the doorframe, all tattoos, leather and mystery. He smiled to himself as he remembered the first time he'd met Sway. He'd been having lots of trouble with some tricky Italian ladies that he needed for a big order, and someone had given him Sways number. She had dark hair herself back then, rearing horse on her abdomen, black on black ensemble and lots of bravado. He thought she was great, and within five minutes of meeting her she had knocked him flat on his ass and given him a black eye.
It looked as is Tumbler and Mirror Man were heading for the same fate. They hung off her every word as it was and if her mechanical skills lived up to their reputation, they would be even worse before the day was through. Tumbler had managed to recover from his near miss with Sway, and if he kept his distance he would be fine. They were all just a little hyper charged, emotions running high. The only problem was the only emotion his little crew had managed to muster so far was rage.
His chain of thought was broken by a familiar voice from across the room.
"Hey Memphis!" Sway yelled, looking at him upside-down over the side of the chair "What time is it?"
"About 5 minutes after the last time you asked." He replied.
"Argh!" She sat up in frustration "This is getting so old! I hate all this waiting around shit!"
"You're right. Hey everyone!" Memphis addressed the whole group "Over here a minute I want a word."
"Get up baby." Said Kip to Sway "Show a bit of leg."
She laughed, got up and pushed Kip over towards where the others were gathering around Memphis.
"Okay guys. I know this is getting dull now, waitin around, but we can't do anything in daylight. I'm sorry but it's just too risky. You know the rules, if a crewmember gets caught, the other team wins."
He looked around at the gang most of whom were nodding in agreement.
"You might as well all go out for a few hours. I'll give you one more brief on the rules now, and then you can leave. Do your own thing 'till about 4.00pm, and then come back here. Okay?"
"Yeah that sounds good man." Replied Kip.
"Okay then." Memphis sat down on the edge of a desk and folded his arms across his chest. "You all know how much this means to me. We have to win this bet, you need to be one hundred percent sure of what's goin on tonight." Sway strolled over and sat behind him, her arms around his neck resting her head on his shoulder. "Each team can have no more than 10 boosters. We have our 9," He nodded at them in turn "Donny, Sphinx, Kip, Mirror, Tumbler, Freb, Rachel and Me and Sway. Otto and Junie are gonna stay behind the scenes to keep things ticking over here, and if we need an extra, I've tracked down Frankie Fish."
"What!" Sway exclaimed "I goddamn hate that smarmy piece of shit!"
"I know." Said Memphis turning too look at her "But we need him Sway, he's a good boost and we have a space spare."
"Hmm." Sway frowned but stopped her argument.
"Like I said if any of the10 members get caught its all over." He looked around to check that everyone was taking what he was saying in.
"We load the cars into two adjacent warehouses down by the pier. This way we can keep an eye on the other team and make sure there's no cheating taking place.
Each team is also to allocate a scout, someone to stay at their warehouse and look after things. Sphinx, you got a guy on that right?"
Sphinx nodded, silently. A slow, simple, head up, down and back to the center.
Memphis drew in a deep breath. "This is going to be hard guys. I know we've prepared all this to the letter, but things can still go wrong okay? We have to be focused. We need as many cars from the list as possible, starting with the top ladies, and working our way down." He paused for a second.
"If anyone wants to back out, now's the time."
"We're with you man." Nodded Tumbler.
"Hell yeah! Have you seen the girls up there on that list dog?" Mirror man gestured at the board and whistled "Sexy, dude!"
Memphis laughed and stood up, Sway dropping down behind him off the desk "Okay. Back here at four and remember guys, lay low. We don't want any - "
He was interrupted by someone crashing through the doorway, tripping over and landing spread eagled, facedown on the floor behind them. They all turned around and stared over at the panting figure. It was Toby.
"Toby man! What in God's name are you doing here! I told you to stay out of this." Kip grasped him by the back off his shirt and hauled him up off the ground.
"I - they - gotta tell you - " He bent over at the waist and took some deep breaths "Jonny B - "
"Memphis stepped forward urgently "What about him?"
"He's started already. I tell ya, dudes crazy man. Hes boosting. Broad daylight!"
"How the hell do you know this Toby?" Asked Kip accusingly.
"Well I kinda mighta tapped into their phone lines and you know, listened a little."
"Holy shit Toby! What are you trying to get us caught - "Kip was cut short by Memphis's laughter.
He walked over and patted Toby on the back "Nice work kid." He shrugged at the rest of the group who were now staring at him open mouthed "Oh come on! Like he's not gonna cheat!"
Sway smiled at him.
"Well, what do we do now boss?" Asked Donny "Cuz the way I figure it, they got what, a 3 and a half hour head start on us?"
"Yeah." Memphis muttered and stood thinking for a second "Everyone still with me?"
They all nodded yes.
"Okay, get your stuff. We're starting. We'll go to addresses and if owners are at work we'll find out where and get em there."
"Woo!" Cheered Mirror man "Party time!"
"Toby, you stay here with Otto and Junie. We need your skills." Said Memphis
"Sure man."
"Donny." Memphis gestured to the desk "You know what to do."
Donny nodded, a grin of satisfaction on his face as he hit play on the tape recorder and Low Rider filled the airwaves.
They all closed their eyes and listened, even the younger crew kept quiet.
After a couple of minutes Memphis spoke "You all still ready?"
"Lets ride." Said sway throwing on her heavy black duster and grinning.
They all grabbed their bags and a set of keys per pair, and set off towards the door. Rachel stopped as she reached Toby, bent down and kissed him square on the lips.
"You're a cute one." She said as she stood up.
"Woo!" Shouted sway as she spun around to face Rachel, jogging backwards through the door grinning. "Look out ladies, we're comin to get ya!"
"Hell yeah!" Laughed Rachel as she lit up a smoke and followed her, leaving Toby sitting open mouthed and breathless.
*** End chapter 13 ***
Authors note - Just want to apologize in advance that the next chapter may take a while. Boost scenes are hard to write! But don't worry, you will get it soon enough. AN x
. 2.15pm .
Memphis stood back and scanned the garage. Some of the crew were doing last little bits of prep, but if he was honest he had to admit that there wasn't much else to be done. The others sat around impatiently waiting, anticipation hung heavy in the air around them.
Donny stood at the board, hands in pockets, staring at the ladies written upon it. Memorizing the names, not that he actually needed to. Boosting as a long career sharpened the memory, especially where car names were concerned. For the most part, they used the same names over, but where new cars were concerned there was always a story behind the choice to help jog the mind. For example, a Ferrari F33 was a new one to make the boosting list, named Sara in honor of Sway.
Memphis watched Sphinx, enveloped in the shadows as ever, his angular features accented in the dim light. He stood sharpening and polishing his flick blade, alone, silent. Although they occasionally got the odd word out of him, Memphis sometimes wished he could have a real conversation with Sphinx. As he watched him, he realized that he knew nothing about the man who had saved his life and come to aid situations like this more times than he could remember. He owed him so much, but never got the chance to repay his debts. After this was over, Sphinx would undoubtedly disappear again, probably waiting in the shadows until the next time he was called upon.
Obviously aware that someone was watching him, Sphinx turned and nodded at Memphis who offered a weak smile and looked away.
Sway was draped across a swivel chair that kip sat in, talking with him, her head tipped back, dreadlocks brushing the floor as he gently swung the chair from side to side with his feet. Memphis couldn't help but envy the friendship his girlfriend had with kip. They were so comfortable with each other, and could sit and talk for hours on end. Although he knew that there was nothing to worry about. Sway could dance around naked in front of Kip and he probably wouldn't even notice!
Rachel stood in the doorway chain-smoking and staring into the distance through dark sunglasses. Memphis couldn't help but wonder if she knew how stunning she actually was, loitering casually against the doorframe, all tattoos, leather and mystery. He smiled to himself as he remembered the first time he'd met Sway. He'd been having lots of trouble with some tricky Italian ladies that he needed for a big order, and someone had given him Sways number. She had dark hair herself back then, rearing horse on her abdomen, black on black ensemble and lots of bravado. He thought she was great, and within five minutes of meeting her she had knocked him flat on his ass and given him a black eye.
It looked as is Tumbler and Mirror Man were heading for the same fate. They hung off her every word as it was and if her mechanical skills lived up to their reputation, they would be even worse before the day was through. Tumbler had managed to recover from his near miss with Sway, and if he kept his distance he would be fine. They were all just a little hyper charged, emotions running high. The only problem was the only emotion his little crew had managed to muster so far was rage.
His chain of thought was broken by a familiar voice from across the room.
"Hey Memphis!" Sway yelled, looking at him upside-down over the side of the chair "What time is it?"
"About 5 minutes after the last time you asked." He replied.
"Argh!" She sat up in frustration "This is getting so old! I hate all this waiting around shit!"
"You're right. Hey everyone!" Memphis addressed the whole group "Over here a minute I want a word."
"Get up baby." Said Kip to Sway "Show a bit of leg."
She laughed, got up and pushed Kip over towards where the others were gathering around Memphis.
"Okay guys. I know this is getting dull now, waitin around, but we can't do anything in daylight. I'm sorry but it's just too risky. You know the rules, if a crewmember gets caught, the other team wins."
He looked around at the gang most of whom were nodding in agreement.
"You might as well all go out for a few hours. I'll give you one more brief on the rules now, and then you can leave. Do your own thing 'till about 4.00pm, and then come back here. Okay?"
"Yeah that sounds good man." Replied Kip.
"Okay then." Memphis sat down on the edge of a desk and folded his arms across his chest. "You all know how much this means to me. We have to win this bet, you need to be one hundred percent sure of what's goin on tonight." Sway strolled over and sat behind him, her arms around his neck resting her head on his shoulder. "Each team can have no more than 10 boosters. We have our 9," He nodded at them in turn "Donny, Sphinx, Kip, Mirror, Tumbler, Freb, Rachel and Me and Sway. Otto and Junie are gonna stay behind the scenes to keep things ticking over here, and if we need an extra, I've tracked down Frankie Fish."
"What!" Sway exclaimed "I goddamn hate that smarmy piece of shit!"
"I know." Said Memphis turning too look at her "But we need him Sway, he's a good boost and we have a space spare."
"Hmm." Sway frowned but stopped her argument.
"Like I said if any of the10 members get caught its all over." He looked around to check that everyone was taking what he was saying in.
"We load the cars into two adjacent warehouses down by the pier. This way we can keep an eye on the other team and make sure there's no cheating taking place.
Each team is also to allocate a scout, someone to stay at their warehouse and look after things. Sphinx, you got a guy on that right?"
Sphinx nodded, silently. A slow, simple, head up, down and back to the center.
Memphis drew in a deep breath. "This is going to be hard guys. I know we've prepared all this to the letter, but things can still go wrong okay? We have to be focused. We need as many cars from the list as possible, starting with the top ladies, and working our way down." He paused for a second.
"If anyone wants to back out, now's the time."
"We're with you man." Nodded Tumbler.
"Hell yeah! Have you seen the girls up there on that list dog?" Mirror man gestured at the board and whistled "Sexy, dude!"
Memphis laughed and stood up, Sway dropping down behind him off the desk "Okay. Back here at four and remember guys, lay low. We don't want any - "
He was interrupted by someone crashing through the doorway, tripping over and landing spread eagled, facedown on the floor behind them. They all turned around and stared over at the panting figure. It was Toby.
"Toby man! What in God's name are you doing here! I told you to stay out of this." Kip grasped him by the back off his shirt and hauled him up off the ground.
"I - they - gotta tell you - " He bent over at the waist and took some deep breaths "Jonny B - "
"Memphis stepped forward urgently "What about him?"
"He's started already. I tell ya, dudes crazy man. Hes boosting. Broad daylight!"
"How the hell do you know this Toby?" Asked Kip accusingly.
"Well I kinda mighta tapped into their phone lines and you know, listened a little."
"Holy shit Toby! What are you trying to get us caught - "Kip was cut short by Memphis's laughter.
He walked over and patted Toby on the back "Nice work kid." He shrugged at the rest of the group who were now staring at him open mouthed "Oh come on! Like he's not gonna cheat!"
Sway smiled at him.
"Well, what do we do now boss?" Asked Donny "Cuz the way I figure it, they got what, a 3 and a half hour head start on us?"
"Yeah." Memphis muttered and stood thinking for a second "Everyone still with me?"
They all nodded yes.
"Okay, get your stuff. We're starting. We'll go to addresses and if owners are at work we'll find out where and get em there."
"Woo!" Cheered Mirror man "Party time!"
"Toby, you stay here with Otto and Junie. We need your skills." Said Memphis
"Sure man."
"Donny." Memphis gestured to the desk "You know what to do."
Donny nodded, a grin of satisfaction on his face as he hit play on the tape recorder and Low Rider filled the airwaves.
They all closed their eyes and listened, even the younger crew kept quiet.
After a couple of minutes Memphis spoke "You all still ready?"
"Lets ride." Said sway throwing on her heavy black duster and grinning.
They all grabbed their bags and a set of keys per pair, and set off towards the door. Rachel stopped as she reached Toby, bent down and kissed him square on the lips.
"You're a cute one." She said as she stood up.
"Woo!" Shouted sway as she spun around to face Rachel, jogging backwards through the door grinning. "Look out ladies, we're comin to get ya!"
"Hell yeah!" Laughed Rachel as she lit up a smoke and followed her, leaving Toby sitting open mouthed and breathless.
*** End chapter 13 ***
Authors note - Just want to apologize in advance that the next chapter may take a while. Boost scenes are hard to write! But don't worry, you will get it soon enough. AN x