A New Team, A New Age
Chapter 22: Revved Up
The loud sound of clacking and clattering came from within the mansion garage, but to every student that was within hearing distance it was normal. It was Noah Grissom (Clutch) and the slightly mysterious student named Ndahiro, but everyone called him Hiro. Every Friday they got together and did a check over all the vehicles in the garage to make sure they were working in top condition.
A couple of the garage doors were open in order to ventilate the garage from all the smells from Noah and Hiro's work. The garage was setup almost like a showroom floor for cars. There were cars behind, in front, and beside other cars, but somehow there was a way to get them all out of the garage.
"So what happened next?" Hiro asked as he tightly a bolt inside of the hood of one of the cars.
"She basically kicked me out after that." Noah said from underneath the car.
"What?" Hiro asked wiped a few beads of sweat from his forehead and stepped back from the car.
Noah rolled out from underneath the car and shrugged as he wiped the grease off his wrench. "Yeah. She told me that if I didn't have anything important to talk about then I should leave, and since I didn't have anything important to talk about, I left." He shrugged and a half-smile.
"So you just left." Hiro sighed as he rolled his dark brown eyes. "Well that's a Feral for ya." Hiro shrugged as he grabbed another tool off the tool shelf and went back to work under the hood.
Noah sighed before standing up and looking under the hood with Hiro to check everything out and help him. "That's just Sam's nature." He said slightly defending her.
"One of these days it's going to get her into a lot of trouble though," Hiro warned.
"One of these days?" Noah laughed. "It already has plenty of times." He smirked.
Hiro nodded a few times, "I don't doubt that, but you know what I mean."
"Yeah." Noah sighed before returning to work on the engine in silence.
"You know that a Feral's personality is to be alone and depend on themselves, right?" Hiro said through gritted teeth as he tighten another bolt tightly.
"Well if she's going to be on this team – let alone a team leader – she's going to have to realize she can and needs to depend on her team." Noah as he looked through the engine once again.
"You have too much hope at times." Hiro said quietly. "At least for her."
"So? She my partner in leading the team." Noah said in defense and slightly offended.
"If you say so." Hiro shrugged.
"Are you trying to get at something?" Noah asked as he stood up straight and looked at Hiro.
Hiro stood up also and wiped his wrench off on the already dirty towel, "Stating what I see." He shrugged.
Before Noah could respond, Linx and Hecate quietly walked in side by side, in unison. They both looked down in thought as they walked with one another through the garage to head inside.
Hiro and Noah watched the two girls walk with one another before exchanging looks with one another. "Where you two been?" Hiro asked calmly as he wiped his greasy hands off on the towel.
Both Linx and Hecate stopped walking and turned around at the same time, "Seeing Sparks." Hecate said in annoyance. She hated not knowing what Orion (Sparks) was talking about. She hated secrets.
Linx stayed quiet as she thought to herself. Stay away. That's all he can say to us, and oddly enough I know we should.
Hiro stopped wiping his hands on the greasy towel as soon as Sparks' name was mentioned. "And what'd he have to say to you two?" He said slightly irritated.
"Nothing." Linx whispered before looking up at Hiro.
"Nothing of importance, at least." Hecate chimed in after Linx spoke. "If you'll excuse us." Hecate nodded her head before turning around to head back inside.
Linx looked up at Hiro with her two different colored hazel eyes before turning her head to follow Hecate. Her black flipped out hair, with the bright red highlights underneath it, turned with Linx as she walked away with her head held high.
When the door to the inside of the mansion closed, Noah spoke, "Linx is a very mysterious girl." He said calmly as he cleaned up a little bit.
"Everyone knows that." Hiro said as he walked over to where Noah was and began to help him clean up. "And that's why people want to know more about her. It's human nature to be curious about what one does not understand." He added.
"But I don't think anyone will ever understand her. The closest person to understanding her is Hecate, and she hasn't even begun to fully understand Linx."
"What are you getting at?" Hiro asked as he cocked an eyebrow at Noah.
"Just stating what I see." Noah mocked him with a smirk.
Hiro paused for a moment and then rolled his brown eyes. "Just worried about those two. I don't trust this 'Sparks' guy with them."
"Whatever you say Hiro." Noah shrugged with a chuckle before moving on to the next car. Hiro shook his head as he followed Noah over to the next car not wanting to get into an argument or discuss the matter at that time.
Noah popped the hood of the car from inside the car, while Hiro unlatched and pulled it up into the air. Noah got out of the car and walked over to the hood where Hiro was standing. They both began to examine it before Hiro looked over at Noah, "I'll tackle the under carriage?"
"Sounds good to me." Noah nodded before walking over to the tool shelf and grabbing a few things. Hiro grabbed the board, laid on his back, and slid himself underneath the car.
After a few minutes of starting on the new car, the garage door to the mansion opened up. Sam walked out of the house dressed in slightly baggy cargo pants with a camouflage print and a white wifebeater that slightly showed her stomach. Her light auburn hair was left down and she left it wavy and slightly tousled. She set stepped down the steps into the garage she didn't even look at where her helmet was, but still managed to grab it with ease as she came down the stairs.
Hiro slid out from underneath the car slightly to see Sam and then nudged Noah to look up. When Noah looked up and saw Sam, he opened his mouth to say something to her, but Sam quickly interrupted him, "Save it Grissom." She said coldly as she walked straight passed him as she slipped her black motorcycle helmet over her head.
Noah looked down at Hiro, who gave him a half-hearted shrug before they both looked over at the loud sound of Sam's motorcycle starting up. She revved the engine couple times to warm up the bike before sliding the visor on her helmet down over her hazel-green eyes.
"Sam, wait!" Noah tried to shout over her motorcycle's engine in the enclosed space, but Sam didn't listen.
She kicked up the kickstand and sped out of the garage with a small screech. The leaves outside on the ground kicked up into the air behind her wheels as she flew through the grounds of the mansion. She reached the gates and as soon as they were open enough for her to get out, she did. Moreover, after a few minutes she was completely out of site.
"Damn." Noah cursed as he shook his head and turned around to the car. "Great she just ups and leaves without telling anyone where she's going… What if we need her for something?" Noah sighed in frustration. What a team leader she turned out to be? What was Sean thinking making someone like her a team leader?
"She's going home." Hiro said softly as he sat up and looked off in the direction in which Sam had driven off.
"What?" Noah asked as he looked down at Hiro. "How do you know?"
"You notice the ring on her finger?" He asked as he looked up at Noah with his dark brown eyes.
"What ring?"
"Obviously not," Hiro rolled his eyes as he used Noah's hand to stand up. "When you're part of a gang there's always some symbol of loyalty, and Sam's symbol is a ring… She was wearing her ring when she took off."
Noah looked off in the direction where Sam had driven off into and sighed. Home, huh? He thought silently. "You know where her home is?"
"I could find out." Hiro shrugged.
"Do it." Noah demanded as if he was giving a command to a solider. Hiro nodded. He hated to be demanded around, but he knew that Noah may have been a friend of his, but Hiro viewed him as a leader first, friend second.
BAM
The garage doors flung open, scaring both Hiro and Noah at the loud noise.
"What the hell!" Noah shouted as Tonya jumped over the steps down to the garage and came to a quick hault.
"Where's Sam!" She asked in heaving pant.
"What? Why? What's wrong Tonya?" Noah asked as he looked over Tonya, who was completely out of breath.
"Who cares Grissom!" She shouted in annoyance. "Where's Samantha!" She said louder.
"You just missed her." Hiro said calmly, after he collected himself.
"Damnit!" Tonya said in annoyance. "Where'd she go?"
"Home."
"Can you please tell me what's going on!" Noah demanded.
"Thanks." Tonya sighed as she nodded to Hiro before turning around.
"Hey wait!" Noah shouted at Tonya, who ignored him and kept walking away. "You can't just come in here demanding to see Sam and not tell me – the team leader – what's wrong." He said matter of fact like.
Tonya reached the door and turned around to look at Noah, "Sure I can." She smirked.
"No you can't!" He said as if she was insane.
Tonya chuckled, "I can, and I just did." She paused. "You're not the only team leader, so I don't have to tell you jack." She said before slamming the garage door shut behind her.
"Ah!" Noah sighed loudly in frustration as he violently pulled "The women in this house drive me insane!" Hiro smirked at Noah's comment and then slid himself back underneath the car to continue his work.