Chapter 2 Scraps and Crap

Barney's

Ava woke to the sound of a motorcycle pulling up outside. Unbridled fear scorched through her at the possibility of being found. Then she realized where she was. She sat up on the couch causing most of the blankets to slip down to the floor. She ran a hand through her tangled bed head as she pulled down the large shirt she had borrowed from her dad to better cover her thighs. Most of her clothes were gone. She had no sleepwear and only a couple days worth of essentials.

She had been wearing her thick, black combat boots, a pair of camo capris, and a white, long sleeved shirt with a gray vest over it when she'd been at work. Her running gear had been in her trunk along with a change of clothes in case an accident happened at work, which was a common occurrence when you were experimenting. She arrived near her home to see firetrucks scattered along her block trying to put of the raging blaze that consumed her former home. She'd gone into shock at the loss, not because of the loss of her things so much as the memories. Her scrapbook albums her mother had made for her of their family, their history, and their happy moments. Gone. A flick of a match on a trail of gasoline is all that had stood between her and her warm bed.

She shook her head to scare away the thoughts churning in her mind. Best not to dwell on what she couldn't change. She inhaled deeply before exhaling to steady herself. She heard the door open and she looked over to see Lee walking in quietly afraid to wake her. She tilted her head and smiled over at him as he turned to see her already awake.

"You're already awake?" he asked curiously, "Figured you'd still be sleeping."

"I heard your motorcycle and had a little panic attack," she admitted sheepishly.

"Sorry bout that."

She shrugged, "It's fine. It was still the best night of sleep I've had in awhile."

Lee raised an eyebrow at her. He looked like he wanted to say something, but at that moment the heavy step of Barney Ross's boots came down the stairs. He looked around to see Lee and Ava. He nodded to them as he headed to the kitchen to brew some coffee. Ava looked back to Lee to see him staring at her bare legs. She blushed and pulled a blanket over to cover herself. He cleared his throat and looked away.

"How do you take your coffee?" Lee asked.

"I don't drink coffee actually," she said as he turned back to her, "I'm more of an exotic tea girl. My current favorite is cranberry apple with honey."

He smirked, "Well I'm afraid we're fresh out of tea."

Barney came back into the room to see the too laughing companionably. He rose a brow and walked back into the kitchen. It was too early in the morning to figure out this puzzle. Lee followed him to the coffee pot.

Ava took the advantage and grabbed her other set of clothes. She dashed off to the bathroom on the ground floor and locked the door behind her. She turned on the shower and looked into the mirror. You can't go falling for one of your father's friends, especially right after a large scale, disastrous breakup! She shook her head at herself and undressed.

After her purposely cold shower, Ava dressed quickly. Her spare clothes from that day consisted of a dark green tank top that fit a bit too snugly around the chest and a tan pair of khaki cargo pants with lots of decent sized pockets. She put on a pair of green fluffy socks she'd gotten at a gas station on the way down here before drying her hair some more with the huge towel. After seeing how tall and brawny her father was, she wasn't surprised to find out he had the largest towels she had ever seen.

She left her hair to drip dry and exited the bathroom to go find Barney and Lee. They sat in the kitchen and dining room at a small, round table tucked in the corner. They were talking and chuckling as they drank their black coffee out of plain, large mugs.

Barney noticed her leaning against the door frame watching them, "Coffee?"

"I don't drink coffee," she said smiling.

"Are you one of those unnaturally happy morning people?" he asked squinting at her over his cup.

"I take after mom," she said smirking as he frowned.

"Not natural," he muttered making her laugh.

Lee smiled at their interaction and shook his head before taking another swallow from his mug. He couldn't help but stare at her legs knowing the tantalizing shapes that were hiding beneath. Sure he was taken, but he knew how to appreciate a good looking woman without touching. He shifted his gaze back over to Barney to see him with a raised brow. Knowing he'd been caught staring he shrugged and went back to his coffee.

"The guys will be over later," Barney said to his new found daughter, "Lee mentioned something about junk?"

"Anything you think can't be fixed would make good fodder for tinkering. Anything you need fixed otherwise I can do my best. I can't stay still, I'll go stir crazy," Ava said.

"Anything tossed behind the hangar is up for grabs," Barney said thinking, "I've been havin trouble getting my truck to turn over, even with Lee here helping me."

Lee held his hands up in surrender, "Seems to puzzle us both and we're not amateurs."

"Don't suppose you'd let me have a look at that beautiful plane yet huh?" Ava asked.

Barney chuckled lowly, "No one touches my baby."

"Figured," she said nodding, "Boys and their toys."

Lee smirked into his mug at how true that line was for the Expendables.

Another motor revving outside caught their attention. Barney tilted his head as he listened carefully.

"That'll be Tool," he said as he got up to get another mug of coffee.

Ava noticed the pot was one of those that held at least forty cups, "I take it this is the regular hangout?"

"Yeah, we get a job we gather here. We need to unwind, we end up here."

Ava nodded, "Good to know."

She stood to her full height which reached to an inch or two below Lee, "There a place I can set up a station without being in the way?"

Barney nodded and motioned for him to follow him as he stepped by her into the main room. She followed him through a door that connected to the hangar. There was a large room enclosed in the back of the hangar filled with piles of broken bits and pieces.

"We tend to discard things we can't fix ourselves. It all ended up in this room. You clear it out, you can use the whole thing."

Lee had followed behind and leaned against the door frame. She had her hands on her hips as she looked around with a mischievous smile. Barney turned to her and smirked.

"I assume it'll work?" he asked.

"It's bigger than my last space," she said nodding before digging through a small pile near the door, "I can fix this."

She had pulled out an old, small, handheld computer that attached to a wrist. She had twisted it around to access the back and pressed to clasps to yank off the back. She fiddled with a couple wires before pulling a small screwdriver out of a side pocket. She tightened a few pieces before returning her screwdriver and setting the thing on her knee as she crouched down a bit. She used her mostly free hands to two wires that had come loose and twisted them back together before clipping the back into it's place. She flipped it back to face outwards and smiled.

"Now all I need is a USB charger."

"A what?" Barney asked with a look of utter confusion on his face after what he'd just seen.

She let out a heavy sigh, "I take it you guys have no tech expert?"

Barney looked at Lee and he shrugged, "We're more old school. Bullets, knives, and fists."

"Where did you get the tracker then?" she asked confused.

"CIA op," Barney said shortly, "We CAN use a tracker."

"You know this does more than track?" she asked as she raised a brow.

"That's all we needed it for at the time."

"It can also tell you incoming weather, humidity, and it has a built in infrared."

Lee and Barney were both silent a moment. They looked at each other and both nodded.

"You lookin for a job sweetheart?" Barney asked.

"I told you I got fired from my last job," she said sarcastically, "Of course I'll be your techie."

"Got your sass that's for damn sure," Lee said chuckling.

"Think you can fix any of that other stuff?" Barney asked motioning to all the computer equipment on the table.

"I'll get right on it, but I never know til I do," she smiled as another man approached Lee.

Lee and Barney turned to him and smiled.

"This is Tool," Barney said jerking a thumb in his direction, "He helps us find jobs and talent when we need it. He's retired from field work so you'll see him around when we're gone."

Tool raised a brow at the introduction, "And who is this young lady?"

Ava stepped forward and reached a hand out to Tool, "Ava Merri Ross, phenomenal techie, inventor, and Barney's daughter."

Tool took her hand and gave a good shake, "Mighty fine to meet you young lady."

"Tool can get us that DNA test to satisfy the guys," Barney said.

Ava nodded, "Well let's get to it."

Tool chuckled, "Definitely a Ross. I'll run over to my place and get what I need. The rest of the guys should be here soon. They're gettin antsy for another job."

Ava had walked over to one of the covered tables and picked up another small handheld computer. This one had a USB charger still plugged into it and made her sigh. She pulled the charger from that piece and plugged in the one she'd fixed. She took a critical look at the items on a small table by the wall. It was the only table not completely covered, but she saw little that could be fixed. She shoved it off the table to the pile on the floor next to it. She set the now charging tracker down. She put one hand on her hip and the other tapped her chin as she looked back over to the table covered in electronics. There was barely a walkway through the room so she figured she'd have to come up with some kind of organization system. Maybe some steel shelving from floor to ceiling on the outer walls and some crates for parts storage. She made a mental list and turned back to see Lee and Barney staring.

"I'm going to need my measuring tape and tools."

"Where you want em?" Lee asked.

She motioned to the only clean table. Lee left the room to fetch her things while Barney put one hand in a pocket and took a long drag of his coffee, draining his mug.

"I assume we've got some work to do?" he muttered.

"If you can swing it," she said nibbling her bottom lip, "I need floor to ceiling shelving and crates for parts storage. I'm gonna need a sturdy ladder to reach it all since this high vaulted ceiling is a bit much for a short person like me."

"Not much room at the moment."

"Once I get some measurements we can get a couple shelve racks on this side near the empty table. I'll start there as I clear the room. Maybe about twelve crates for now that'll fit on the shelves and I already have a labeler in my crate."

"Labeler?"

"So you guys can find something if I'm not immediately available. No one will understand my code system until I explain it, but if you guys need something fast for a mission you shouldn't have to wait on me."

Barney nodded, "Efficient."

"Precisely," she joked.

Lee lugged her crate into the room and tried to set it gently on the table, "Geez," he huffed, "What kind of tools you got in this thing?"

She grabbed a key out of a small front pocket and unlocked it. She yanked open the top and Lee peered inside to see not an inch of space wasted. He didn't recognize ninety percent of what was in there, but she reached in past him and grabbed the measuring tape she needed as well as a small notebook and a pencil which she stuck behind her right ear. She turned to the least cluttered wall near the table and measured its length. Her tape didn't quite reach the top of the room.

"How high is this room?" she asked as she glared at her useless measuring tape.

"More than forty feet," Barney said crossing his arms after setting down his mug next to the tracker.

She nodded and wrote down some measurements and requirements on the pad of paper as she muttered to herself. When she was done she placed the pencil back behind her ear and tore off the page. She handed it to Barney as she shoved the pad in her back left pocket.

"That'll get me started."

Barney took the page and gave it a brief scan, "I'll take some of the guys to get this after they get here. Couple of them have trucks. I think some of them should stay here with you tho."

"You think there's a risk?" she asked frowning.

"I'm not taking the chance," he said as he shoved the small page in his wallet, "On another note, what did you make where you worked?"

"I only need enough to replace my tools and eat since I'm stayin with you," she said before frowning down at her clothes, "Tho I only have two sets of clothes… so one shopping spree would be nice. I prefer thrift stores if that helps ease your mind about your wallet."

He smirked at her again and shook his head, "How about you give me a list of the tools you're missing and I'll put Tool on the trail."

She paused and looked up at him, "You sure? Most of what I lost isn't cheap."

He shrugged, "Not worried about money."

She raised a brow, "Didn't realize the Expendables made so much."

He shrugged again, but didn't reply as the sound of vehicles pulling up distracted them.

"How soon you think you'll have this place cleaned up enough to install the shelving?"

"Oh I'll have enough room by the time you get back," she said crossing her arms and giving him a smug look.

"Definitely a Ross," Barney muttered causing Lee to laugh loudly.