The Art of Stealing Cars by Kara Tezla

Disclaimer: I do NOT own any of the Acceleracers Characters. although I wish I did And I do not own Trinity Wheeler and Co., those belong to Wings of Speed.

Summary: The Teku and the Metal Maniacs go to LA to race, but what happens when their cars start disappearing?

Author's Note: Man, the ideas are flowing like water, now! Type like the wind! This chapter is a little violent, so beware.

Chapter Five: The Sheckler Complex

"What's wrong, Tez, at a loss for words?" Said the figure in the middle. He was right; Kara was at a loss for words, so it was a good thing that Alex spoke first.

"Who...?" He asked, almost as speechless as his sister.

"What, Al? Don't tell me you, too, have forgotten me. That hurts my feelings!"

Mark caught on first. "...Sheckler." He mumbled just loud enough for Kara and Alex to hear.

"Aaron Sheckler?" She questioned, copying Mark.

"Oh! And she remembers!" Said the figure sarcastically, stepping out of the headlights and into the florescent lighting of the old warehouse. Aaron Sheckler, age 21, bleached hair and a nose ring. That's how everyone pretty much remembered him, him and his crazy hyena laugh. He had so many goons that he didn't have to steal cars, he just had to threaten the owner with them.

"Yes," Alex said, standing up.

"Alex..." Kara warned; also standing up, ready to stop her brother from punching Aaron to the next county. Truthfully, though, she wished that she could let him, but she couldn't risk getting Alex killed.

"Aw, look at that. Tez really has a heart, how sweet," Aaron said, grinning. "Too bad I'm about to break it."

"What?" Kara said, reconsidering her attempt to keep Alex from pummeling Aaron.

"Yeah, that's right. An old friend of mine just called at told me that somebody stole their cars. And, guess what? I just happened to know exactly who did it. Kara Tezla, in the garage, with a lock pick. Case solved. There's a bonus, too," He grinned wider, walking up so that he was face to face with Kara. "I'm getting paid to bring the cars back... and there's extra cash in it if I bring the thief, too."

Kara could smell cigarettes in his breath. "Ha, fat chance," She spat. "How do you even know it was me, anyway?"

"Only one beautiful little girl could break a lock system like Tork's," Aaron said, his hand coming up to Kara's face. Alex saw the gesture and took a split second to consider the odds. They were against him, but now that this guy was moving up on his sister, he would be glad to give Aaron a couple black eyes and a bloody nose at any consequence.

"You sicko!" He shouted, diving at Aaron. Alex hit him square in the chest, with a knee in his stomach when they landed on the ground. Kara stared for a moment while she watched Alex's blows land all over Aaron's face before she pushed her brother off of him.

"What do you think you're doing?" She shouted at him.

"He--" Alex started.

"I know! I was there, remember?" Kara's hazel eyes looked down at Aaron as he started to stand. Kara then planted a swift kick between his legs, causing Aaron to crumple to the ground once again. Two goons came running, one to help Aaron, and another to take care of the troublemakers.

"Watch out!" Kara said as Goon Two ran behind Alex and wrapped his arms around the skinny brunette. Alex yelped in pain as the air was squeezed out of his lungs. Kara started running to help her brother, but another pair of giant arms wrapped around her body. With one arm pinned against her, she struggled to push the arms away with her other arm. She kicked back and wormed around in the man's grasp to no avail. Both Alex and Mark's results were the same, nobody was going anywhere soon.

Kara stopped struggling and reached over the man's arms and tucked her legs up to feel around her ankles. She pulled out the small pocket knife and buried the blade in one of the man's arms. He cursed in pain and dropped her to pull the knife out, Kara took the opportunity to run.

Her adrenaline kicked in and she ran faster than she had ever thought possible. She headed for the stairs, not knowing where she would go after she got up there, but Sheckler's goons blocked all the other exits.

"Kara, watch out!" Shouted Mark. Kara's feet slowed tremendously at the cry from her friend. But shortly after, pain crashed over her like a tital wave, blossoming from her back. Kara gasped as she fell to her knees. She turned to see burly goon with a fairly large crowbar in his hands. Everything seemed to go in slow motion, she was able to get to her feet and dodge the first swing, but the second swing came like a the goon was hitting a home run.

Hitting her in the ribs, she thought heard herself cry out, but everything seemed so far away that she wasn't sure. The world melted away as her body fell to the ground, the pain was too great for her to stay conscious. Giving up, she surrendered to it.

VVVVVVVVVV

"It was a good idea to call your cousin, Vert." Said Nolo, sitting on the couch of the hotel lobby. "From what you said, she seems like she'll know how to take care of this problem."

"Yeah, but I think she's gonna be a lot more than we bargained for, and I don't mean that in a good way." Vert said. If he knew his cousin, Trinity, she would bring all of the Atomic Winds, and maybe more. And he was scared of the "maybe more" part.

"Ah, is that her?" Asked Karma, nodding towards the entrance.

Vert turned to see a girl walk in the entrance. "Trinity!" He shouted, jumping up. She was a blonde, with a purple and white racing outfit that accentuated her curves. Blue eyes, similar to Vert's, scanned the room after she hugged her cousin. They landed on Shirako for a moment before continuing on. There was a very confident air about her as the others approached and introduced themselves.

"Trinity," Said a Mexican guy, poking his head through the door.

"Yeah, Mikey?" Trinity said, turning around to face him.

"There's a guy out here looking for some Tork dude, does your cousin know him?"

Trinity turned to Vert. "He's upstairs," Vert mentioned. "Why? Do you want me to get him?"

Mikey nodded. "That would be good,"

"Just a sec, Trin, I gotta go get Tork." Vert brushed past his cousin and headed for the elevator.

…YES! Fifth chapter complete! But I updated the exact same day that I posted the last chapter, so there was no time to review. I will probably update again really soon, cause I'm on a roll!

KARA