Chapter 9 - Talking Skylines and finding Common Ground
She was the first one home again so she made supper. The guys got home and they ate. She asked Sean when they were gonna start on his supra now that the skyline was finished. He told her not right away. They chatted for awhile about how to do it up.
There were races tomorrow night, Sean told her and he wanted her to race. Kat was up for that. She had to start again sometime. Her car was ready, but she wasn't sure if she was. She hadn't raced in a long time. Not since she was in a race that should have killed her. She didn't know how she walked away from the wreck that had been. She didn't want to race any big time players yet either. She had to get back into the mindset and the lifestyle first.
"Where are the races Sean? Who's gonna be there? You know it's been a long time since I raced. Is it a small buy in race? I'm not ready to race for nickels yet."
"It's 'round here Kitten. Same crowd you're use to. It's a g buy in race that you should enter."
"Aight, if you think I can take 'em then I'll enter. But I might get Brian to race me tomorrow for practice."
"Do what you think you need to Kitten. But you're good. You always been a natural. It'll all come back to ya as soon as you rev that big engine and feel that power in your foot." Kale knew the girl craved speed.
"Well, aight then. That's settled. But races round here are small time anyways. We need to find out where the big boys run and get some'a that action after I get warmed up tomorrow." Kat wanted to rule the streets. She had been on her way to it before the accident.
She hadn't been as reckless since the accident. She hadn't driven with the same sort of immortal attitude so many had in their youth. Of course she had also been driving a nearly crippled race car or catch rides in Stacy's mom's station wagon. She guessed when she had the open road in front of her in her newly restored Skyline it would all come back to her. She hoped that would be the case. But it still worried her, as did her new feelings about Leon. No guy had ever made her feel quite like this. She'd dated before, but not a lot. There had never seemed to be time, and the guys seemed to scare off potential dates just by being. And so did her ice queen act. She'd dated Sean of course but he'd never made her feel like this. When she thought about Leon she got that butterfly feeling in her tummy.
She grabbed the ice cream out of the freezer and took a bowl out of the cupboard. She got a big bowl of vanilla with a huge amount of chocolate syrup. She took it into the living room and threw herself down onto the 'new' couch. The guys were watching some movie on TV and she curled up with her ice cream and lost herself in thoughts of big green eyes and spicy aftershave.
She was in the middle of a day dream about her and Leon and the back seat of a Skyline, didn't matter much which one, when she was shaken back to reality. Stacy was laughing at her.
"Where were you Kitten? You have chocolate all over your face."
"Do not." She said and turned bright red at having been caught in such an explicit daydream by the guys. Well not that they knew what she was thinking about, but she was normally a very tidy eater. She put the bowl in the sink and went to the bathroom. She was a mess. Damn. What would the guys be thinking she had been thinking about? She cleaned up her face and stared at herself in the mirror. She was hot and flushed and she couldn't get the image of her and Leon out of her head. Man, was she in trouble. She was very attracted to a guy she didn't even like, and even if she did like him she couldn't be with him. And she didn't think he liked her much either. She shook her head and walked back into the living room.
"So who is he?" Sean asked her with a grin. He had seen the dreamy look in her eyes and the flush to her skin. He knew that she hadn't had any steady boyfriends since she'd been with them but him. And he didn't kid himself into thinking that he had ever made her feel like that. If he had then she'd be his girl right now, not day dreaming 'bout some other guy. Kat blushed darker and murmured,
"No one."
"No way is that look over no one." Kale started.
"I think it's the all American pretty boy she works for. He's all tan and has one of those big cheesy smiles." Sean hadn't gotten that feeling from them when he had seen Kat and Brian together at the store but it had to be someone.
"I'm not into Brian in that way. God. He has a girl anyways but Brian isn't my type at all." She shook her head at them. She couldn't imagine dating a guy as easy going as Brian. She needed a guy who would piss her off and keep her on her toes. And not let her get away with every little trick she pulled. That got boring, when a guy was too, well, accommodating. Oh and he would have to be able to beat her at racing. She had been good but she couldn't always beat her guy or she would look down at him. It's just the way she was. "I don't know what you're talking about anyway. I'm not with anyone, and there's no one. I just wanna race and get a better place to live. I'm not looking for a relationship right now. Taking care of you three is enough. I don't need to add another helpless male into my life and into my responsibilities." She smirked at them right up to the point where they wrestled her to the floor and tickled her into a laughing submission for calling them helpless.
The Torreto team was at home watching some movie on TV. Well everyone but Leon was watching. Leon was thinking about a certain blonde chica with a purple band around the ends of her hair. At first he was just trying to figure out how he knew her and her team. Then he was seeing her and him in the back seat of his car at a beach somewhere, and seeing that hair around him, seeing her smile at him with a gaze even greener then his own, seeing her eyes go glassy when he.
Dom was shaking Leon's shoulder but the other man was totally oblivious to it.
"Hey earth to Leon. Wake up man."
"Huh?" Leon shook his head. "What's up Dawg?" He asked Dom, having been jolted back to earth.
"Yeah, welcome back man, what were you thinking about? I've never seen you look so out of it."
"He was thinkin' 'bout the little blonde chica from The Racer's Edge." Vince laughed. "That little girl has him all caught up in her big green eyes and long blonde hair. Poor Leon. First time he ever wanted a girl that wasn't all over him." Vince knew what it was like and it was about time it was someone else caught up in that situation.
"I was thinking 'bout new turbos for my car, not some chick. And not that chick for sure. I told you guys, I'm not into her. I think I know her from somewhere, and I think she's lying about not knowing me. But I'm not into her."
Mia gave him this pitying smile, she could see right through him. Mia was like that. She took care of them all and she knew them better then they knew themselves. But he really wasn't into her. He wanted to sleep with her, he'd give them that, and that was what Mia was picking up on. Plus he wanted to know how he knew her, no one was telling him he didn't know her, but he didn't even really like her personally. Who wouldn't want to get with her?
Vince gave him this sly look like he knew more then Leon was letting on too. "I'm goin' to bed. You guys can talk 'bout me after I leave, kay?" With that Leon walked out of the room and down to his bed in the basement.
"You guys buy that he doesn't like the little blonde girl?" Vince asked.
"She has a name you know guys." Mia informed them. "Her name is Kat not blonde chick or chica."
"I don't think he likes her like, likes her, but he wants to get with her, you know. And he's sure he knows her. He's not making that shit up." Jesse knew Leon better then anyone. He was his half brother after all.
"Well he better not have anything to do with her because I don't want trouble with her friends. That goes for everyone, well except Brian of course." Dom didn't want to get involved in anything that would draw attention to them. They had tried to lay low since Brian got them out of trouble about the trucks. And those guys she lived with and her past spelled trouble.
"Man guys, what do you have against Kat? I work with her every day and I can tell ya, she's nice, and she and her friends have cleaned up. They left that past behind Bro." Brian knew from the way Kat looked at Leon that she was attracted to him. And if Leon was attracted to her they deserved to have a chance.
"A past like hers doesn't just get left behind Brian. You should know that as well as anyone." Dom said with a frown. Brian let it go and sat down with Mia. He didn't argue with Dom, but he wanted to. Kat did have a checkered past but she was trying to clean up and she was so young. She didn't deserve to have what she did as a teenager held against her for the rest of her life. Dom should know that better then anyone and Brian decided to point that out after a few minutes of contemplation.
"Imagine where you'd be if everyone felt that we should continue to hold what people've done in the past, when they were little more then children, against them for the rest of their lives." With that little bomb shell Brian walked out of the room. He knew that would make Dom think. And while he wasn't going to mess up his friendship with Dom over Kat he figured a small dose of reality would do Dom some good.
Letty looked up at Dom from her vantage point on the floor. She figured he was gonna explode. But he looked more lost in thought that a murderous rage. He would normally have gotten really mad to have what he did to Kenny Linder thrown in his face like that, but he did seem like he was going to kill Brian. That was progress. Maybe Dom would learn something about judging people. But Letty still didn't want the girl around. She didn't like Dom and Dom would see that as a challenge.
After the guys let Kat up she took a shower and went to bed. She found it hard to sleep because every time she closed her eyes she relived her car wreck. It hadn't been a big deal till she was in a position to have to race again. She should be dead after all, and her poor car had just been repaired. She figured that the guys wouldn't let anything happen to her anyway. They had beaten the snot out of the guy who ran her off the road last time so it was doubtful that anyone would try that shit again. Besides they were just haters anyway, jealous of her because she could put the petal to the metal. She finally fell into a restless sleep.
She woke up the next day and headed to work. Her tummy had butterflies over her race that night. She was very nervous about how she would do. She hoped Sean had time to go over her car before the races tonight. She knew she was a competent mechanic but no one had looked the car over since she finished the mechanical work and only Sean knew how to set up the NOS system, the engine management system, and the turbo boost control correctly. She'd done it from memory and had no idea if it was done correctly or not.
She entered the store, tossed her stuff down and gave Brian and Harry a half hearted smile. The two men knew something was up with her right away. Normally she was full of good humor and smiles for them. Brian decided to try and cheer her up.
"So you got my friend Leon in a knot girl, what did you say to him?" Brian asked with a smile.
Kat's face turned to a look of panic and she stammered out "Nothin. Why? What did he tell you?"
"Chill out Kitten, he didn't tell me anything. He was just lost in thought last night and Vince and Dom were teasing him it was over you. We all got the sense he was into you when he came back in here to talk to you alone yesterday. That's all. What has you so upset? Did he say anything to you?" Brian couldn't imagine Leon being rude to her, but she sure was upset by the thoughts of Leon talking about her to them.
"No, nothing like that Brian, he is just sure he knows me from somewhere is all. I'm kinda off today because the now that my car is ready I have to start to race again. And the first race Sean has in mind for me is tonight. And I haven't done more'n the speed limit since my wreck. I shoulda died in that car, everyone says it's a miracle I'm still around. And to make it even better, no one has gone over the car since I rebuilt it. I'm good but I don't know if I trust the job I did on some stuff. And Sean likely won't have time to check it before tonight which means that the electronics could be out of calibration for the new moddes."
"Well that's easy enough to solve Kat, we'll go to Dom's and have the car checked out by Jesse and Leon. Jesse is the best mechanic out there and Leon knows Skylines better'n anyone. I can't have my new star employee hurt and off work. We need you around. Your evo parts arrived today. They're waiting to be displayed and that's what you're doing this afternoon but hey we can take an hour and get your car vetted out. Can't we Harry?"
"Sure you kids take off and have the car checked. It's not busy today, and I'll be fine for an hour. Say hi to Dom for me. I've got an MX-6 running crappy I'll be sending down for a friend tomorrow, can you make sure he'll have time for it while your there?"
"Sure Bro, no problem. Come on Kitten."
"You could take it and I could stay here and start on the display Brian. Ok?"
"Nope, come on, it's your car, they might need to know stuff about it that I don't know." She scuffed her feet right out the door, she did not want to see Leon again this soon. She still had her very explicit daydream in her mind. Brian knew she was trying to avoid his team but he wasn't letting her get away with it. Plus he really didn't know a lot about her car and if they needed to know something about it to check it he wouldn't have a clue. Brian could drive, and work on his car to some extent but he left the complicated stuff to the other guys. And he had a feeling that everything about a skyline was complicated. They took her car down together and parked it at a side door. Jesse came right over.
"What's up guys?"
"Kat's got her first race tonight since she rebuilt the car and she wants someone else's opinion on whether or not it's ready to go. I told her that you and Leon would look it over." Brian told Jesse.
"Well, I got time but Leon's gone out for the afternoon and I don't think he'll be back." Jesse looked at Kat like he expected her to be upset by this news and instead he found her to be relieved.
"That's ok, I'm sure it's fine Brian." She said with a smile, thinking they would just go back to work now. Brian had other plans.
"Well if not Jesse'll find what's wrong. He's the best mechanic I've ever seen. I mean that." Brian smiled. "You can trust him with your car, besides its likely perfectly fine as it is."
"Ok, Jesse can check it over. I'd feed better if someone else checked the NOS system and the turbo setup for me. I never had to set those up before." Besides she was grateful to have the car checked. She just hadn't wanted to see Leon. She was fine with Jesse, he was nice and he was harmless, in that she definitely wasn't into him as more then a friend.
"Pull it in here and I'll check over the systems for you." Jesse said with a smile.
She pulled in into the garage and they popped the hood. Jesse started to check over the car. He made a few adjustments here and there. He retorqued the bolts on the intake and adjusted a few things to do with the air fuel mix and the NOS timer. He didn't find anything major, just stuff that would keep the car from performing up to its top performance. But with this car even a mediocre performance would be good enough to beat most of the stuff that should be around tonight. Jesse was under the car making some adjustments to the adjustable shocks, lowering the car's center of gravity just a bit when Dom came up. Kat was leaned under the hood of the car, talking to Jesse who was under it through the engine compartment.
"What's her car doin' here? I thought her and her friend were mechanics?" Dom did not understand why Brian kept bringing her around, even when he had as much as told him point blank to stop. They were out of ear shot of Jesse and Kat.
"Yeah, well her friend Sean is anyway. She isn't, she's just good with cars. But since she rebuilt this one no one has checked it over and she didn't trust it totally because of that. And her first race since her big accident is tonight. I told her that Jess and Leon would look it over." Brian watched the two young people chat away about god knew what, cars no doubt. It was all either of 'em ever talked about.
"Brian, I don't think her being around here is a good idea. I don't want any trouble." Dom didn't know what kind of trouble he was expecting, but he somehow knew that the girl meant trouble.
"God Bro, she's not trouble. She's just a chick that works for me alright? I don't wanna know she ended up in another accident because no one checked out her car after she did an amateur rebuild on it ok? Jesse's the best. If he says the car is ready then it is. If she drives the way she does everything else, then she drives with a total disregard for her own safety and with a total disregard for her limits. She tends to just jump right into stuff." Brian was determined to get Dom and Kat to some sort of truce.
"Fine, this time, but don't make a habit of bringing her around aight?" Dom shook his head.
"Fine, I won't. By the way, Harry wants to drop an MX-6 off to you tomorrow. He says it's runnin' like shit."
"That's cool." Dom went back to his office and Brian walked up to the car and leaned under the hood with Kat. "So, how's it look?"
"Nothin' serious wrong with it. A few bolts torqued wrong and the shocks shoulda been lower I think but we got it nearly all done now. It should be good to roll." Jesse said from under the car. The way they had it parked the engine was lit up by the daylight coming in the open bay door and Kat and Brian had there backs to the door.
Leon came back from running errands all afternoon ready to finish up that Acura he left behind him at lunch. He saw Brian and someone leaned over a car. Wait a second, he though, I know that car, I know the ass on the girl too. It was Kat. He admired the view for a minute then walked up to them.
"The turbo lags sometimes, any idea's on that Jess?" She asked. Since she had the 'mad scientist' at her disposal, she figured she may as well use his knowledge. She and Jesse had kinda clicked right away. She didn't get that, she didn't normally like new people, but there was a lot of stuff about Jesse that was very similar to stuff that had happened to her.
"What kind of controls do you have on it?" Jesse was totally in his element. He wished he had been involved in building the car, not just fixing it now.
"Well I have the adjustable boost controller, and upgraded turbo elbows, it's a twin turbo of course, and they're not the stock turbos, they're HKS 1.2 bar, with the 4 inch intake. I have a standalone fuel management system, I don't know as much about that as I should, Sean and Stacy set it up, but it has a computer screen in the car. There is so much I.C.E. in the car; I don't know what half of it does. It was all there before the wreck and most of that stuff was fine after the accident. Oh and I have the HKS cam, and pulleys. I think Sean got most of the aftermarket stuff from HKS. It was up around 800 horse the last time it was on a DynoJet but that was before the accident and I went all out this time. The VeilSide body kit is new. Should be closer to 900 horse if it's tuned right this time."
Jesse said something along the lines of no fucking way and she heard a whistle behind her. She turned around to see who was behind her. And there was Leon.
"You serious about all that stuff?" Leon asked. She would give him a run for his money if she was. The 99 Skyline, GT-R, V-Spec, done up from HKS would be an unreal car.
"Yeah, I'm serious. That's how I build it. Why? Is there something about HKS I don't know?"
"Only if you didn't know they're the best." Leon smiled. Then reminded himself he didn't really like her.
"I knew that, that's why I wanted the car to be built from their parts. But I did all the turbo work myself so Jesse is having a look for me and checking the adjustment on the shocks too." She turned back around. Leon walked over and looked at the car from the side.
"You got it about an inch too low Jess." Leon crouched down and said this to Jesse's feet which were hanging out the side of the car.
"How can you tell that?" Kat asked. How could anyone see that amount of distance?
"I know skylines. There have been times when my car was the only good thing in my life." Leon shut up and looked embarrassed to have said that. Kat just nodded. She knew what he meant. Jesse fixed the shocks up a small amount and Leon pronounced that better. Then he looked over her setup and told Jesse to retorque this one bolt again, because they had a tendency to work loose. Then they were done. Jesse closed the hood and she started the car up.
She could feel the difference in it already. She revved it to 6000 rpm and it felt good. Jesse waved and Leon walked up to her window.
She was the first one home again so she made supper. The guys got home and they ate. She asked Sean when they were gonna start on his supra now that the skyline was finished. He told her not right away. They chatted for awhile about how to do it up.
There were races tomorrow night, Sean told her and he wanted her to race. Kat was up for that. She had to start again sometime. Her car was ready, but she wasn't sure if she was. She hadn't raced in a long time. Not since she was in a race that should have killed her. She didn't know how she walked away from the wreck that had been. She didn't want to race any big time players yet either. She had to get back into the mindset and the lifestyle first.
"Where are the races Sean? Who's gonna be there? You know it's been a long time since I raced. Is it a small buy in race? I'm not ready to race for nickels yet."
"It's 'round here Kitten. Same crowd you're use to. It's a g buy in race that you should enter."
"Aight, if you think I can take 'em then I'll enter. But I might get Brian to race me tomorrow for practice."
"Do what you think you need to Kitten. But you're good. You always been a natural. It'll all come back to ya as soon as you rev that big engine and feel that power in your foot." Kale knew the girl craved speed.
"Well, aight then. That's settled. But races round here are small time anyways. We need to find out where the big boys run and get some'a that action after I get warmed up tomorrow." Kat wanted to rule the streets. She had been on her way to it before the accident.
She hadn't been as reckless since the accident. She hadn't driven with the same sort of immortal attitude so many had in their youth. Of course she had also been driving a nearly crippled race car or catch rides in Stacy's mom's station wagon. She guessed when she had the open road in front of her in her newly restored Skyline it would all come back to her. She hoped that would be the case. But it still worried her, as did her new feelings about Leon. No guy had ever made her feel quite like this. She'd dated before, but not a lot. There had never seemed to be time, and the guys seemed to scare off potential dates just by being. And so did her ice queen act. She'd dated Sean of course but he'd never made her feel like this. When she thought about Leon she got that butterfly feeling in her tummy.
She grabbed the ice cream out of the freezer and took a bowl out of the cupboard. She got a big bowl of vanilla with a huge amount of chocolate syrup. She took it into the living room and threw herself down onto the 'new' couch. The guys were watching some movie on TV and she curled up with her ice cream and lost herself in thoughts of big green eyes and spicy aftershave.
She was in the middle of a day dream about her and Leon and the back seat of a Skyline, didn't matter much which one, when she was shaken back to reality. Stacy was laughing at her.
"Where were you Kitten? You have chocolate all over your face."
"Do not." She said and turned bright red at having been caught in such an explicit daydream by the guys. Well not that they knew what she was thinking about, but she was normally a very tidy eater. She put the bowl in the sink and went to the bathroom. She was a mess. Damn. What would the guys be thinking she had been thinking about? She cleaned up her face and stared at herself in the mirror. She was hot and flushed and she couldn't get the image of her and Leon out of her head. Man, was she in trouble. She was very attracted to a guy she didn't even like, and even if she did like him she couldn't be with him. And she didn't think he liked her much either. She shook her head and walked back into the living room.
"So who is he?" Sean asked her with a grin. He had seen the dreamy look in her eyes and the flush to her skin. He knew that she hadn't had any steady boyfriends since she'd been with them but him. And he didn't kid himself into thinking that he had ever made her feel like that. If he had then she'd be his girl right now, not day dreaming 'bout some other guy. Kat blushed darker and murmured,
"No one."
"No way is that look over no one." Kale started.
"I think it's the all American pretty boy she works for. He's all tan and has one of those big cheesy smiles." Sean hadn't gotten that feeling from them when he had seen Kat and Brian together at the store but it had to be someone.
"I'm not into Brian in that way. God. He has a girl anyways but Brian isn't my type at all." She shook her head at them. She couldn't imagine dating a guy as easy going as Brian. She needed a guy who would piss her off and keep her on her toes. And not let her get away with every little trick she pulled. That got boring, when a guy was too, well, accommodating. Oh and he would have to be able to beat her at racing. She had been good but she couldn't always beat her guy or she would look down at him. It's just the way she was. "I don't know what you're talking about anyway. I'm not with anyone, and there's no one. I just wanna race and get a better place to live. I'm not looking for a relationship right now. Taking care of you three is enough. I don't need to add another helpless male into my life and into my responsibilities." She smirked at them right up to the point where they wrestled her to the floor and tickled her into a laughing submission for calling them helpless.
The Torreto team was at home watching some movie on TV. Well everyone but Leon was watching. Leon was thinking about a certain blonde chica with a purple band around the ends of her hair. At first he was just trying to figure out how he knew her and her team. Then he was seeing her and him in the back seat of his car at a beach somewhere, and seeing that hair around him, seeing her smile at him with a gaze even greener then his own, seeing her eyes go glassy when he.
Dom was shaking Leon's shoulder but the other man was totally oblivious to it.
"Hey earth to Leon. Wake up man."
"Huh?" Leon shook his head. "What's up Dawg?" He asked Dom, having been jolted back to earth.
"Yeah, welcome back man, what were you thinking about? I've never seen you look so out of it."
"He was thinkin' 'bout the little blonde chica from The Racer's Edge." Vince laughed. "That little girl has him all caught up in her big green eyes and long blonde hair. Poor Leon. First time he ever wanted a girl that wasn't all over him." Vince knew what it was like and it was about time it was someone else caught up in that situation.
"I was thinking 'bout new turbos for my car, not some chick. And not that chick for sure. I told you guys, I'm not into her. I think I know her from somewhere, and I think she's lying about not knowing me. But I'm not into her."
Mia gave him this pitying smile, she could see right through him. Mia was like that. She took care of them all and she knew them better then they knew themselves. But he really wasn't into her. He wanted to sleep with her, he'd give them that, and that was what Mia was picking up on. Plus he wanted to know how he knew her, no one was telling him he didn't know her, but he didn't even really like her personally. Who wouldn't want to get with her?
Vince gave him this sly look like he knew more then Leon was letting on too. "I'm goin' to bed. You guys can talk 'bout me after I leave, kay?" With that Leon walked out of the room and down to his bed in the basement.
"You guys buy that he doesn't like the little blonde girl?" Vince asked.
"She has a name you know guys." Mia informed them. "Her name is Kat not blonde chick or chica."
"I don't think he likes her like, likes her, but he wants to get with her, you know. And he's sure he knows her. He's not making that shit up." Jesse knew Leon better then anyone. He was his half brother after all.
"Well he better not have anything to do with her because I don't want trouble with her friends. That goes for everyone, well except Brian of course." Dom didn't want to get involved in anything that would draw attention to them. They had tried to lay low since Brian got them out of trouble about the trucks. And those guys she lived with and her past spelled trouble.
"Man guys, what do you have against Kat? I work with her every day and I can tell ya, she's nice, and she and her friends have cleaned up. They left that past behind Bro." Brian knew from the way Kat looked at Leon that she was attracted to him. And if Leon was attracted to her they deserved to have a chance.
"A past like hers doesn't just get left behind Brian. You should know that as well as anyone." Dom said with a frown. Brian let it go and sat down with Mia. He didn't argue with Dom, but he wanted to. Kat did have a checkered past but she was trying to clean up and she was so young. She didn't deserve to have what she did as a teenager held against her for the rest of her life. Dom should know that better then anyone and Brian decided to point that out after a few minutes of contemplation.
"Imagine where you'd be if everyone felt that we should continue to hold what people've done in the past, when they were little more then children, against them for the rest of their lives." With that little bomb shell Brian walked out of the room. He knew that would make Dom think. And while he wasn't going to mess up his friendship with Dom over Kat he figured a small dose of reality would do Dom some good.
Letty looked up at Dom from her vantage point on the floor. She figured he was gonna explode. But he looked more lost in thought that a murderous rage. He would normally have gotten really mad to have what he did to Kenny Linder thrown in his face like that, but he did seem like he was going to kill Brian. That was progress. Maybe Dom would learn something about judging people. But Letty still didn't want the girl around. She didn't like Dom and Dom would see that as a challenge.
After the guys let Kat up she took a shower and went to bed. She found it hard to sleep because every time she closed her eyes she relived her car wreck. It hadn't been a big deal till she was in a position to have to race again. She should be dead after all, and her poor car had just been repaired. She figured that the guys wouldn't let anything happen to her anyway. They had beaten the snot out of the guy who ran her off the road last time so it was doubtful that anyone would try that shit again. Besides they were just haters anyway, jealous of her because she could put the petal to the metal. She finally fell into a restless sleep.
She woke up the next day and headed to work. Her tummy had butterflies over her race that night. She was very nervous about how she would do. She hoped Sean had time to go over her car before the races tonight. She knew she was a competent mechanic but no one had looked the car over since she finished the mechanical work and only Sean knew how to set up the NOS system, the engine management system, and the turbo boost control correctly. She'd done it from memory and had no idea if it was done correctly or not.
She entered the store, tossed her stuff down and gave Brian and Harry a half hearted smile. The two men knew something was up with her right away. Normally she was full of good humor and smiles for them. Brian decided to try and cheer her up.
"So you got my friend Leon in a knot girl, what did you say to him?" Brian asked with a smile.
Kat's face turned to a look of panic and she stammered out "Nothin. Why? What did he tell you?"
"Chill out Kitten, he didn't tell me anything. He was just lost in thought last night and Vince and Dom were teasing him it was over you. We all got the sense he was into you when he came back in here to talk to you alone yesterday. That's all. What has you so upset? Did he say anything to you?" Brian couldn't imagine Leon being rude to her, but she sure was upset by the thoughts of Leon talking about her to them.
"No, nothing like that Brian, he is just sure he knows me from somewhere is all. I'm kinda off today because the now that my car is ready I have to start to race again. And the first race Sean has in mind for me is tonight. And I haven't done more'n the speed limit since my wreck. I shoulda died in that car, everyone says it's a miracle I'm still around. And to make it even better, no one has gone over the car since I rebuilt it. I'm good but I don't know if I trust the job I did on some stuff. And Sean likely won't have time to check it before tonight which means that the electronics could be out of calibration for the new moddes."
"Well that's easy enough to solve Kat, we'll go to Dom's and have the car checked out by Jesse and Leon. Jesse is the best mechanic out there and Leon knows Skylines better'n anyone. I can't have my new star employee hurt and off work. We need you around. Your evo parts arrived today. They're waiting to be displayed and that's what you're doing this afternoon but hey we can take an hour and get your car vetted out. Can't we Harry?"
"Sure you kids take off and have the car checked. It's not busy today, and I'll be fine for an hour. Say hi to Dom for me. I've got an MX-6 running crappy I'll be sending down for a friend tomorrow, can you make sure he'll have time for it while your there?"
"Sure Bro, no problem. Come on Kitten."
"You could take it and I could stay here and start on the display Brian. Ok?"
"Nope, come on, it's your car, they might need to know stuff about it that I don't know." She scuffed her feet right out the door, she did not want to see Leon again this soon. She still had her very explicit daydream in her mind. Brian knew she was trying to avoid his team but he wasn't letting her get away with it. Plus he really didn't know a lot about her car and if they needed to know something about it to check it he wouldn't have a clue. Brian could drive, and work on his car to some extent but he left the complicated stuff to the other guys. And he had a feeling that everything about a skyline was complicated. They took her car down together and parked it at a side door. Jesse came right over.
"What's up guys?"
"Kat's got her first race tonight since she rebuilt the car and she wants someone else's opinion on whether or not it's ready to go. I told her that you and Leon would look it over." Brian told Jesse.
"Well, I got time but Leon's gone out for the afternoon and I don't think he'll be back." Jesse looked at Kat like he expected her to be upset by this news and instead he found her to be relieved.
"That's ok, I'm sure it's fine Brian." She said with a smile, thinking they would just go back to work now. Brian had other plans.
"Well if not Jesse'll find what's wrong. He's the best mechanic I've ever seen. I mean that." Brian smiled. "You can trust him with your car, besides its likely perfectly fine as it is."
"Ok, Jesse can check it over. I'd feed better if someone else checked the NOS system and the turbo setup for me. I never had to set those up before." Besides she was grateful to have the car checked. She just hadn't wanted to see Leon. She was fine with Jesse, he was nice and he was harmless, in that she definitely wasn't into him as more then a friend.
"Pull it in here and I'll check over the systems for you." Jesse said with a smile.
She pulled in into the garage and they popped the hood. Jesse started to check over the car. He made a few adjustments here and there. He retorqued the bolts on the intake and adjusted a few things to do with the air fuel mix and the NOS timer. He didn't find anything major, just stuff that would keep the car from performing up to its top performance. But with this car even a mediocre performance would be good enough to beat most of the stuff that should be around tonight. Jesse was under the car making some adjustments to the adjustable shocks, lowering the car's center of gravity just a bit when Dom came up. Kat was leaned under the hood of the car, talking to Jesse who was under it through the engine compartment.
"What's her car doin' here? I thought her and her friend were mechanics?" Dom did not understand why Brian kept bringing her around, even when he had as much as told him point blank to stop. They were out of ear shot of Jesse and Kat.
"Yeah, well her friend Sean is anyway. She isn't, she's just good with cars. But since she rebuilt this one no one has checked it over and she didn't trust it totally because of that. And her first race since her big accident is tonight. I told her that Jess and Leon would look it over." Brian watched the two young people chat away about god knew what, cars no doubt. It was all either of 'em ever talked about.
"Brian, I don't think her being around here is a good idea. I don't want any trouble." Dom didn't know what kind of trouble he was expecting, but he somehow knew that the girl meant trouble.
"God Bro, she's not trouble. She's just a chick that works for me alright? I don't wanna know she ended up in another accident because no one checked out her car after she did an amateur rebuild on it ok? Jesse's the best. If he says the car is ready then it is. If she drives the way she does everything else, then she drives with a total disregard for her own safety and with a total disregard for her limits. She tends to just jump right into stuff." Brian was determined to get Dom and Kat to some sort of truce.
"Fine, this time, but don't make a habit of bringing her around aight?" Dom shook his head.
"Fine, I won't. By the way, Harry wants to drop an MX-6 off to you tomorrow. He says it's runnin' like shit."
"That's cool." Dom went back to his office and Brian walked up to the car and leaned under the hood with Kat. "So, how's it look?"
"Nothin' serious wrong with it. A few bolts torqued wrong and the shocks shoulda been lower I think but we got it nearly all done now. It should be good to roll." Jesse said from under the car. The way they had it parked the engine was lit up by the daylight coming in the open bay door and Kat and Brian had there backs to the door.
Leon came back from running errands all afternoon ready to finish up that Acura he left behind him at lunch. He saw Brian and someone leaned over a car. Wait a second, he though, I know that car, I know the ass on the girl too. It was Kat. He admired the view for a minute then walked up to them.
"The turbo lags sometimes, any idea's on that Jess?" She asked. Since she had the 'mad scientist' at her disposal, she figured she may as well use his knowledge. She and Jesse had kinda clicked right away. She didn't get that, she didn't normally like new people, but there was a lot of stuff about Jesse that was very similar to stuff that had happened to her.
"What kind of controls do you have on it?" Jesse was totally in his element. He wished he had been involved in building the car, not just fixing it now.
"Well I have the adjustable boost controller, and upgraded turbo elbows, it's a twin turbo of course, and they're not the stock turbos, they're HKS 1.2 bar, with the 4 inch intake. I have a standalone fuel management system, I don't know as much about that as I should, Sean and Stacy set it up, but it has a computer screen in the car. There is so much I.C.E. in the car; I don't know what half of it does. It was all there before the wreck and most of that stuff was fine after the accident. Oh and I have the HKS cam, and pulleys. I think Sean got most of the aftermarket stuff from HKS. It was up around 800 horse the last time it was on a DynoJet but that was before the accident and I went all out this time. The VeilSide body kit is new. Should be closer to 900 horse if it's tuned right this time."
Jesse said something along the lines of no fucking way and she heard a whistle behind her. She turned around to see who was behind her. And there was Leon.
"You serious about all that stuff?" Leon asked. She would give him a run for his money if she was. The 99 Skyline, GT-R, V-Spec, done up from HKS would be an unreal car.
"Yeah, I'm serious. That's how I build it. Why? Is there something about HKS I don't know?"
"Only if you didn't know they're the best." Leon smiled. Then reminded himself he didn't really like her.
"I knew that, that's why I wanted the car to be built from their parts. But I did all the turbo work myself so Jesse is having a look for me and checking the adjustment on the shocks too." She turned back around. Leon walked over and looked at the car from the side.
"You got it about an inch too low Jess." Leon crouched down and said this to Jesse's feet which were hanging out the side of the car.
"How can you tell that?" Kat asked. How could anyone see that amount of distance?
"I know skylines. There have been times when my car was the only good thing in my life." Leon shut up and looked embarrassed to have said that. Kat just nodded. She knew what he meant. Jesse fixed the shocks up a small amount and Leon pronounced that better. Then he looked over her setup and told Jesse to retorque this one bolt again, because they had a tendency to work loose. Then they were done. Jesse closed the hood and she started the car up.
She could feel the difference in it already. She revved it to 6000 rpm and it felt good. Jesse waved and Leon walked up to her window.