Author's note: Hello! This chapter is kind of a filler chapter…So I apologize if you're left twiddling your thumbs. This one's more about character, but action will follow! I promise you; I'm just working on fixing a few continuity errors I'd had originally, filling a couple plot holes here and there. It's all part of writing. *Sigh* Enjoy! Action soon!
"Well, he's successfully blocked me out," Keira sighed.
She and Bill were in their usual positions in the shop, still working on the Kras City car. Bill fished in a nearby drawer for a proper-sized washer. He made a face.
"I told him to get in touch with you on Friday…"
"It's been more than a week now!" Keira blurted.
Bill couldn't help smiling. "He's putting off making you an agent as long as he can."
"I wish he'd get over it," She huffed, drilling a screw into the frame, "So I stole a few papers- big deal! He's really pissing me off!"
Bill thought with a frown about how Torn didn't even know she had taken the papers. He smirked, watching her drill in the next screw angrily; there wasn't a doubt in his mind that she wasn't pretending it was Torn's head.
"That's the idea, Luv. 'E's hoping that if he pisses you off bad, you won't want to be in the Underground anymore," he told her, continuing his search for the washer.
Keira snorted. "Like that's going to work! I am not backing down, Bill. He's going to have to face it, an' take it like a man."
"Well, neither of you has tried anything. Nothing is gonna happen if one of you doesn't take initiative."
Keira was silent for a moment, as if thinking.
"But Why?!" she gasped.
Bill bit his lip, rolling his eyes. He heaved a sigh, leaning against the jack.
"Torn never does anything without a damn good reason, Keira. He wouldn't keep you away unless he had a concrete reason."
Bill punched his palm for emphasis. Keira scowled at him. Patience, Bill told himself, She's only a kid yet…let her whine for awhile…
"Maybe, it's 'cos you're too young," he suggested.
"Too young?! I'm seventeen years old!" Keira roared.
Bill cocked an eyebrow at her, and she let out an exasperated breath.
"I'm responsible at least," she continued, "I could hold my own out there, and I'd be fighting because I want to beat the bad guys! Most of the members I've seen are only in it for themselves."
"That's not true, Luv," Bill shook his head, "And I don't consider going all starry-eyed for the Commander of the Krimzon Guard responsible."
"I'm not 'starry-eyed!' I'd call it more like…admiring."
Bill snorted. Ignoring the fire behind Keira's eyes, he said firmly,
"The point is, you can't even fire a weapon, much less hold one. Take it from me: I've seen battle many times, and it ain't no place for a seventeen-year-old girl."
"Really? Didn't you tell me something about being in a battle when you were a kid? Something about it being tradition- to have kids duke it out in a ring?"
Bill took a moment. "You've simplified it a lot, but while that is true-" he stopped Keira from further comment with a disapproving look, "That is where I grew up, and it was a long time ago. They don't do stuff like that anymore."
Keira rolled her eyes. "How hard could it be?!"
Bill couldn't believe this kid. The city had done a number on her for certain. All he could do was laugh.
"I admire your passion, Keira, but I think part of this is just to stick up a middle finger at Torn for keepin' you out."
"….No…"
Bill grinned, standing up straight. He began walking back to the tool shelves as he spoke, wiping his hands on a rag.
"Yup, that's what it is."
He walked around to the other side of the car, Keira following him like a child who wanted candy before dinner, refusing to hear the negative.
"I wouldn't be like this if he just understood!" she snapped.
Bill tossed the rag on the table, putting his hands in his pockets.
"What's there to understand, huh?" he asked abruptly.
Keira hesitated.
"C'mon, kid. Let me know."
"He doesn't understand…how hard the past two years have been for me."
"Maybe if you actually talked to him…"
"He wouldn't understand the drastic change," she continued, "My village, to this hell-hole! Security to paranoia…my father and my friends taken from me!" Keira looked to have tears welling up in her eyes. "He's supposed to protect me, Bill!"
Surprisingly, Bill felt a pang of sympathy for this girl. She had become his friend in the few months they'd been working together, and he hadn't had a friend in a long time. His heart went out to her, but he doubted Torn was her 'protector.'
"Keira, I know you're frustrated, but Torn has a lot to do these days, and with the damn Baron running around arresting children –for God's sake- he barely has a quiet moment in that dingy hideout of his."
Keira nodded gently, crossing her arms. She sighed yet again, falling into a thoughtful silence. She shook the bangs from her eyes, leaning back against the counter.
"Don't worry about Torn, Luv," Bill told her, pulling the young mechanic into a one-armed hug, "He'll come around sooner than you think."
Keira managed a smile.
"I hope you're right."
"Always am! Let's get back to work, then?"
"…Okay."
The two continued to work on their car, talking about finding a new racer to sponsor Keira's team this year. They worked long into the night, and both 'grease monkeys' fell asleep slumped over their desks.
