Fast and the Furious: Diesel Queen
Chapter 3- Meeting the Crew...Again
I did not know what to expect when I came up to Terminal Island to what looked like a storage facility. I put my rig into 'park', and turned off all the switches. I took a deep breath, and closed my eyes, "Here we go," I said quietly to myself, and opened the door. I exited my rig to be greeted by what appeared to be a rough bunch of guys, or at least can't seem to stay out of trouble. I had my Taylor Arms 1887 Bootleg shotgun in a hip holster, and my knife hidden in it's boot sheath. The leader of the crew smiled.
There looked to be seven guys there rolling out the welcoming mat, and only one woman, "To be honest, I did not expect that coming out of a Peterbilt," He stated, I half-smiled at his humor. He looked down at the shotgun at my hip, "look, now I don't wanna be starting anything, alright? I called you up here so we can talk," That peeked my interest. I approached him figuring that this guy doesn't bite, though I am taking my chances, "I'm Dom, that's Han, Roman, and Tej, the one that wants to kill you is Letty,"
"Enchanté," I said shaking all their hands.
Letty dresses just like me in a way, but her leather pants looked a little looser than mine, "Damn straight," Letty said in a light growl, and punched a left hook at my face. I moved back to evade her fist, and did a savate leg sweep which is not a sweep like in most martial arts, but a strike to the Achilles Tendon. She got back up quite quickly.
"Tsch, cheap shot," she snarled only to have a few of Dom's crew hold her back. Hey, she started it and I am just defending myself. Well, in a way it is my fault since Letty was getting thrown around on my tanker unit like a rollercoaster from hell. When things settled down, I looked at Roman whom seemed impressed. I admit he is handsome.
"By the way, you owe me a new truck," Han said pointing back at an orange '69 Chevy with a crumpled rear end like balled-up paper.
"Meh, collateral damage, put it on my bill," I replied with a shrug of the shoulders,
"On your salary? I'll be dead by the time you have the money," Han commented,
"Mother trucker's got some moves," Roman said with a smirk. Letty rolled her eyes. I lightly chuckled, and showed the crew to my rig. I could feel his eyes on me. I didn't mind. In fact, it is better than what I hear on the CB when I am making a haul, "so this is your ride, huh?" He asked, I nodded 'yes' to him. I opened the door to my cab, and put the shotgun away in it's holster on the driver's side door, "so what cha' rockin' under the hood?" He asked, I came out and closed the door, and popped the hood for him.
"12.7 liter C-15 Cat diesel with a custom twin-turbo system which brings the output to 700hp and 3,200 feet pounds of torque, she's my angel," I explained closing the hood, "so what is it that you want from me? Surely you did not call me over here just to have a little chat?" I asked, getting straight to the very point of being in a Terminal Island warehouse. Having heard the workings of the engine, I thinking about why they need someone like me. I needed answers. Dom lightly smiled, liking what he heard from me.
"More like a nightmare," Letty scoffed,
"Hey, she knows her stuff," Tej said with a shrug of the shoulders, "I wouldn't mind riding shotgun with her,"
"In your dreams, Tej," Han joked,
"The thing is we need you for a job," Dom explained, "since you wrecked our truck, we're going to use your rig for a job, from what I have seen out of you, I think you are just what we are looking for," I nodded in understanding seeing Han glare at me. I smiled back to say sorry, "and this is what you're going to be hauling for us," He added.
I looked to see a spread axle curtainside unit. I nodded in understanding, "I see, you guys need something to get in and out of while on a job, yes?" I asked, Dom nodded yes, "alright, but my question to you is...what's in it for me? I don't want to come off as greedy, but you know there is no such thing as a free lunch," I stated back to him.
"I'm going to have Roman go with you, you're not going to have a problem with that?" Dom asked,
Roman turned to face me, "I'll go with her, just as long as she doesn't eat me," Roman said,
"I can't make any promises, mon amie, let's fire her up," I said, walking up to my rig with Roman at my side. I looked at him, and winked to let him know he is in good company unlike some of the grumps I meet at the truck stop. I went into the cab and turned on the engine, and taking the rig out of 'park'. I backed her up into the spread axle trailer. I hooked up all the tubes, and cranked up the stabilizers as the engine idled. I gestured with my head for Roman to get into the cab on the passengers side door.
Puffs of black exhaust came out of the straight pipes. Tej was inside the trailer to operate the ramp. The ramp went down with the pull of a lever, and the cars were backing in. Dom knocked on my door, and I rolled down the window, "Consider this a trial run, we're not going to start the job yet, I just want to see if we can our cars in and out, got it?" He explained, and we were out on the open road of Highway 50 by morning's light. There wasn't a single trooper for miles. It was time to see if this is going to work.
"Breaker, breaker this is Lady Lioness, all clear on my end, Tej," I said into the CB radio which was on a private channel.
"Alright, let's do this thing," Tej radioed back
Tej was inside the trailer, and pulled down a lever like a moving truck, "We should keep the ran about an inch off the ground, I feel the last thing you guys need are sparks in your face," The first car came barreling out of the trailer, swerving it's tires but getting it's grip on the road without a fuss. All three cars came out, each of them a success.
Now getting back in was another task altogether. Since the ramp is an inch off the tarmac, the cars have a bit of a bump to get back into my rig. I shifted gears, and gently put my foot down on her accelerator. There was a slight bump when each car came back in, "Hey Dom, I think our crew just got eighteen more wheels," Roman radioed in.
"That's a big 10-4 Dom, I'm in," I radioed back to the boss of the crew, and gave him a thumbs up when he pulled up beside me. He nodded back. I shifted my rig into gear, and let the twin-turbo system loose. My rig is not the fastest on the road. Honestly, if you are looking for speed when the trucking business may not be your cup of coffee at the AM-PM. The power for my engine comes from pulling power. My Peterbilt 379 can handle it all from pulling your average trailer or tanker unit to handling oversize loads.
"Well there goes the neighborhood," Letty commented, I can tell she does not like where this is going. Trucks are trucks, and cars are cars. Some people feel like they don't mix. I ran a hand through my short, gelled back hair and pulled the horn. It felt good to be a part of the team. I looked at Roman, and he smiled at me. I smiled back, and shifted my rig into gear as we were slowing down to a nearby truck stop. It had so far been a long day, but nothing a good breakfast and coffee can't handle and make better.