Author's notes: Oh my god! Two people reviewed the same chapter. That's the first time ever in this fic, so thanks to:
MangekyoMasta510: Thanks for the compliment. It's nice to know people like this story.
Sergeant Daniel: This is the best compliment that I could ever receive! It's what I had in mind when I started on this fic and it's so gratifying to know that it's working.
Black Seconds
Yajirobe Sandwell was sweating. A worklight dangled from the ceiling and the warmth of the strong bulb burned on his skull. He had scraped most of the paintwork off with a pocket knife, the gray metal shone showed. It was, everything considered, a very simple damage. The painting as the final step would be the hardest. Yajirobe wasn't desperate, but he did need a bit of a break. He slid on the working table and lit a cigarette. His eyes lay so deep in his face that they, when he bowed his head, seemed like two black holes in his thinned face. He really had lost a lot of weight. His gaze slid over the walls of the garage, over the shelves with tins filled with nails, the boxes with bolts, bougies, screws, oil and other tools. Against the back stood an old storage shelf with hundreds of small drawers. Only Yajirbe knew what was in those drawers. If someone would ever get it into his head to snoop around, he would only see jars and boxes. One thing was certain. There lay also something in those drawers that produced a lot of money on the streets. He smoked and his eyes narrowed as he pondered. Then he heard a car grind on the grit. A tall man with a bald head stepped out. Yajirobe was immediately on full alert. Automatically he tensed up. A second before Tien's tall body appeared in the doorway of the garage, he managed to pull on a questioning face. Yajirobe saw him as a sharp shilouet. The feeling that was growing in him felt familiar and he was thinking fast. The man kept standing there. But he was looking curiously at the black Opel, at the cluttered tools and then finally at Yajirobe.
'Sandwell?' he asked politely.
Yajirobe nodded. His stomach shrunk. The man who stood in the doorway looking at him, the man who was almost two metres tall, was a cop. He knew that for certain.
'Tinkering with the car?' Tien asked curiously.
'I don't tinker,' Yajirobe said dismissively. 'This is purely cosmetic.'
Tien came a few steps closer. He reviewed the front fender.
'I'm from the police,' he said. 'Is Trunks Vegeta Briefs here?'
He met Yajirobe's gaze, while pulling out an ID from his pocket.
'No,' Yajirobe said quickly.
He jumped from the bench and kept standing with crossed arms.
'Do you know where he is?' Tien asked.
Yajirobe withstood the desire to look outside. Trunks was at Mama Betty's Shop. He could come back every given moment.
'He'll show around sooner or later. But I don't know when. Why are you asking after him?' he asked.
'You have probably heard about Marron Chestnut.'
'Yes. Well.'
'I just wanted to talk to him. Have you also participated in the search?' Tien asked.
'No. But Trunks did.'
Yajirobe moved forward a few steps, with his hands deep inside his pockets.
'Had an accident with the car?' Tien kept on distracting, looking at the black Opel.
'It's not my car,' Yajirobe answered quickly. 'I don't get in accidents, I'm not that bad a driver. Its Trunks' car. He slammed against the guardrail on his way to the centre of town. He just got his driver's license,' he said apologetically, with an attempt at a confidential smile. He himself was already driving for four years and he saw himself as an excellent driver.
'Novices behind the wheel, you don't have to think lightly about it,' Tien nodded. 'He was lucky maybe, that he only hit the guard rail. And nothing else.'
'Yeah, well,' Yajirobe repeated.
He threw his cigarette on the ground. A lot of thoughts moved through his mind. Was this a coincidence? A cop in his garage? Had someone slipped something? He became dizzy and leaned against the wall. He wanted to wipe the sweat of his brow, but he managed to stop that reflex at the last moment.
'Trunks is lucky that you know something about cars,' Tien said.
Yajirobe nodded. He started to panic. Trunks could drive up onto the lane in Yajirobe's Scorpio, with bottles of coke and cigarettes. He didn't knew where he had to keep his gaze fixed on. Not on Tien's searching grey eyes, not on the storage shelf, not on Trunks' dented Opel. Finally, he stared at the floor.
Tien stepped into the garage, looked inside the Opel. Afterwards he walked around the car.
'Tough cars, those old Opels,' he said with the flair of an expert.
Yajirobe nodded quietly.
'I'll speak to Trunks another time,' he said. He quickly looked over his shoulder to the back of the garage. 'Nice cabinet, by the way. For bolts and screws?'
yajirobe nodded indifferently, but his heart thudded wildly underneath his overall. Now he'll open the drawer, Yajirobe thought, he'll search through it. He knows who I am. Everything is on the computer database. It's just a question of pushing some buttons and then there will appear big and small cases. Especially small cases, Yajirobe thought, sweating. But Tien was finally content. He walked outside. A car door slammed close. Yajirobe was pinned against the wall, while he heard the roaring of the Volvo's engine, who drove backwards of the lane. He kept standing there for a few moments in order to get his nerves under control. Then he heard another car. It was Yajirobe's own Scorpio. Trunks entered with a shopping bag in his hand.
'Who was that?'
He stared distrustful at Yajirobe. Yajirobe thought quickly. He had to make sure Trunks kept calm.
'Give me the coke,' he said. 'I'm so damn thirsty I could drink a whole barrel.'
Trunks gave hime a bottle of coke and opened his own.
'He was from the police,' Yajirobe said slowly.
Trunks paled. 'Why?'
Yajirobe looked at Trunks, a quick glance who immediately searched the floor again. 'He asked after you. Damn it, I thought I was about to get a heart attack. He kept staring at my storage shelf.'
'Your cabinet?' Trunks asked non-comprehendingly.
'There some stuff in there. If you know what I mean,' Yajirobe said.
'But why did he ask for me?' Trunks asked fearfully.
'Damn it, you are the friend of her family,' Yajirobe said. 'Of course they ask for you.'
Yajirobe emptied his bottle in one big gulp. 'Relax, man. Now we'll got to work,' he said harshly.
Author's notes: So this is Yajirobe's side. Let me know how you find this story so far. Review