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: This chapter sprung upon me. It wasn't ment to happen like this, so I'm pretty much making this up as I go along. Basically.

Chapter Six: The Prelude to Problems

"You called your cousin?" Tork said, standing in the elevator with Vert.

"Uh, yeah, I already said that."

"Oh, sorry." He paused. "I found an old friend of mine who's gonna help us get our cars back." Tork said, completely changing the subject.

"Really? Wow. So that's what Mikey was talking about?"

"Yeah--Mikey?"

"One of Trinity's racing gang buddies,"

"Okay," Tork said as the elevator doors opened. They walked out to see a guy with bleached hair, a nose ring, and two black eyes.

Vert stopped outside the elevator. "That's your friend?" He exclaimed. "He looks like he should be in jail!"

"Well, that's a nice way to greet someone," Retorted the bleached guy. "The name is Aaron Sheckler," He finished with a grin, showing tobacco-stained teeth.

"Uh... hi. I'm Vert,"

"You got a last name, Vert?" Aaron asked.

"Wheeler," Vert said nervously.

Tork laughed. "Hey, he wasn't always this... dirty. Or scary, for that matter,"

Aaron rolled his eyes. "Do you want your cars, Tork?"

"Do you got 'em?"

"Yeah, and the thief, too, if you want her."

"Her?"

"Yeah, Kara Tezla, are you surprised?"

"I've never heard of her,"

"Right, whatever." Aaron said, turning and walking to the door. He whistled, and a big, meaty guy came in carrying a guy in one arm, and a girl in the other. Another guy came in after him carrying the teenager who had delivered the envelope to the Teku.

"Here they are, Tork. Kara Tezla, Alex Tezla, and Mark Anderson. I couldn't find the others," He said, like some kid showing off his favorite toys. "They put up quite a fight, as you can see, but they were no match for my boys. Where do you want them?"

"Aaron," Tork sighed. "Put them on the couch, gently." The two thugs walked over and put them on the couch, though they weren't too nice about it. Trinity and all five Teku rushed to the couch to see the infamous Kara Tezla and her brother. Vert was the last one to get there, but what he saw took his breath away.

There, on the couch, sat the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Long brown hair pulled back in a ponytail with a few stray strands hanging in her face. A blue mesh racing outfit, similar to Trinity's, fit her body like a glove, like it was meant to be. A tiny line of dried blood, starting at the corner of her mouth, led down her chin; staining the mesh below it.

The guy on the other end of the couch was a split image of her, except for being a guy. Vert automatically figured that it was her twin brother.

"Hey," Nolo said, breaking the silence that fallen over the small group. Aaron and the Metal Maniacs were talking softly by the entrance. "It's that girl that I saw at the hotel after our cars were stolen! She was in the room right next to Karma's!"

A confused look crossed Karma's face. "What?"

"Right after that guy... called..." Nolo said, suddenly realizing what had probably happened.

"It wasn't a guy then," Kurt finished. "You said her voice was disguised."

"Yeah, it was."

"So," Said Aaron, surprising them all. "What do you think you're going to do with her?"

Tork approached him from behind. "We," He said, his hand making a loud thump on Aaron's shoulder. "Are not going to do anything. You are going to leave, now. Thank you for getting our cars back, but your services are no longer needed."

Aaron nodded with a scowl. "Whateva, Tork. Your cars are outside. Good day," He said, walking out the entrance; anger radiating from his body.

Once the door was closed, the talking started.

"What was his problem?" Asked Karma.

"Well, Sheckler likes control, and I think he was hoping to take Kara with him."

"Why?" Asked Trinity, bending down to take a closer look at the bruise on Alex's forehead.

"Wasn't it obvious?" Tork said. Everyone turned and gave him blank looks. "I guess not. Aaron and Kara were the worst enemies, and that gave Alex reasons to hate Aaron, too. From what I heard, Alex hit Aaron first, gave him both black eyes, chipped one of his teeth, and broke his nose. Then Kara pulled Alex off of Aaron, the turned and kicked Aaron below the belt. That's when Aaron's boys came and pulled all three of them apart, breaking two of Alex's ribs, five of Kara's, and fracturing Mark's arm trying to making him tell where the others were."

"Wow," Said Shirako, staring at Trinity.

Kurt hit him gently on the arm. "It's not polite to stare, Shirako." He whispered. Shirako continued to stare, but now he was smiling.

"Maybe we should get them to a hospital," Commented Vert.

"That would be a bad idea. Once the people at the hospital knew who they were treating, they would call the police." Tork answered.

"Well then, maybe we should take them up to a room."

Tork was silent, then nodded. "Carefully, though. We wouldn't want to hurt them any more than we have to."

VVVVVVVVVV

Kara awoke in the dark. Her head hurt and she felt like she couldn't move. If she was dead, then it didn't feel too good. In her attempt to sit up, pain exploded in her torso. Kara fell back; it felt like someone was sitting on her chest. Not being able to breathe meant not being able to cry out for help, and her mind tried recalling everything that had happened, but all she remembered was Aaron Sheckler. The urge to breathe got stronger, but no oxygen could enter her lungs. She heard a shout, then nothing, and the pain was gone.

Okay, there's chapter six. Not too long, but it was more like a filler chapter for what's going to happen next… which I'm not so sure about.

To my reviewer!

Wings: Cool. Yeah, everything isn't coming out as I planned now. I originally had Kara winning the fight between Sheckler's thugs and the Tezla siblings, but that would have been to main-stream, if you know what I mean. I'm just about to read chapter 17, which I have saved on my computer.

KARA