Chapter 11 Newest Crew Member

"Hurray, Michelle! You are officially a legit member of this crew now." Jett said, throwing his fist in the air. Payton got up and walked off.

"You're gonna regret this." He said before leaving. Leslie sighed.

"I don't like this but... I can see you don't have another choice." She said to Michelle.

"I'd like to speak with you alone Michelle," Soriano said, standing up. "Follow me." Michelle looked at Brook with nervous eyes.

"Go." He said, nodding reassuringly. Michelle followed him out of the room.

"This way," Soriano said, leading her past the control room into a small office.

"Take a look." He said as they stopped in front of a wall full of framed photos.

"These are all the men who stood up with me twenty years ago. Half of them..." Soriano couldn't talk for a moment.

"Half of them put their lives out there to protect their county – their people. And we lost them. The rest followed me to the end. Eventually, most of them died... some are still alive, trying to survive in the city." Michelle waited for him to continue.

"Did Brook tell you about his father?" Soriano asked. Michelle nodded.

"Then he must have told you that I'm not willing to let anyone else do the same thing that he did."

"He... did give that impression."

"He's like his father. And that's what worries me. I can't lose him too. I made a promise to protect all those kids." Michelle nodded.

"You gotta know how we work. We're built on loyalty and a bond only death can break. We have each other's backs. We'll do whatever it takes to protect each other. But we also won't let ourselves make the same mistake..." He sighed.

"I understand sir. I won't let you or anyone else down." Michelle said with a steely resolution.

"I know. I can see it in your eyes. You remind me of one of my fiercest men... Anyway, that's not what I'm worried about."

"Then-?"

"This isn't the kind of life for a headstrong young college girl."

"How do you know -"

"I make it a point to know so I can be prepared. And Seynote's University is too near to hide from the Inferno Ghosts. If they think of taking over the towns there... But now you're smack in the middle of our fight. And you want to stay." It wasn't a question.

"Yes sir. I'll fight with you all the way."

"Then I'll only leave you with this warning: do NOT get killed." Michelle swallowed a lump in her throat.

"Yes sir." Soriano visibly relaxed after that.

"I can see you're smart. Now relax. And lose the 'sir' business. I was a policeman, not a general. You can call me Chief."

"Yes, chief," Michelle said. He waved to the door.

"Now go on. I'm sure the others are waiting to celebrate."

"There she is! Looks like you made it out alive. I thought for sure the Chief would rattle you to pieces." Jett said, giving her a low five as she returned to the living room. Paige was lounging on the couch watching TV. Leslie was polishing a part contraption that looked like it came from the inside of a car. Reece sat on the floor in front of the couch absorbed in a PSP game. Brook smiled at her and came near.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Um... ask me again when I get a grip on reality."

"I get it. You just went from preppy college student to trail-blazing outlaw. Must be a lot to take in."

"The only trail she's ever blazed is probably a maze on the back of a cereal box," Paige said.

"Not true. Route Demy 12 has a scorched scar thanks to Michelle." Brook said. Jett looked at her with awe.

"Ho, ho! Looks like someone's a natural! But we're getting ahead of ourselves. We should throw a welcome party! I need a good reason to break out the party preps."

"Uh-huh. And where do you propose getting the food for your party? The nearest restaurant is two hours away." Paige said.

"Home-cooking, duh! I'll make sliders, Leslie's on chili fries, Brook can do the salad, I don't trust Payton with a knife, and you –"

"I am not lifting a finger to play chef for your little party. Call me when the food's done." Paige said, turning back to the TV.

"Pft. Fine. I'll do the pizza rolls too. Oh wait, before that, Michelle's gotta do the initiation tattoo tradition!" Jett said with excitement.

"Wait – what?!" Michelle asked, backing away in horror. Brook laughed at her expression.

"He's kidding Michelle. You're not getting a tattoo." He said. Michelle sighed in relief.

"Phew." Payton laughed humorlessly as he came out of the game room.

"She's afraid of a needle. How is she gonna face a dozen men who race like bloodhounds?" he asked. Paige got up and came to Michelle, laying her hands heavily on Michelle's shoulders.

"I'll toughen her up." Michelle laughed nervously.

"I appreciate the gesture but I'm already as tough as I can get."

"Cute," Paige said, a hint of a smile playing on her lips.

"So... what are we doing today? Any – missions?" Michelle asked. Jett wiped an imaginary laughter tear from his eye.

"That's hilarious. Who works on the weekends?" He said.

"Unless it's an emergency, we usually just bunk in for the weekends, getting on each other's nerves," Brook said.

"Yeah, so get used to the swearing. Payton's got no control over his mouth." Paige said, glancing at Payton who had taken a seat on the couch. He ignored her.

"Wait, I can't tell if you're being serious or not," Michelle said.

"Don't worry; I've got something that'll help block the swearing out. You'll need it when Payton realizes Jett ate all his beef jerky." Payton's head shot up.

"He - what?!" Jett shot Brook a 'how could you?' look and started sidling away towards the door. Payton jumped up after him.

"You son of a –" Brook slapped his hands over Michelle's ears. She laughed as she watched Payton chase Jett out of the room.

"I could get used to this." She mouthed, tapping his hand. Brook winked and led her away to the bunks.

"Back when I was a teenager..." Brook said rummaging through a drawer next to his bed, "I couldn't handle all the yelling either. Got on my nerves all the time. So Soriano got me this." He pulled out a violet-colored pair of headphones with large ear muffs.

"The best quality for blocking out sound and enhancing that base." He said handing it to Michelle.

"You're lending your headphones?"

"I'm giving it to you. I want you to have it."

"Brook..." He wrapped his arms around Michelle.

"Finally got a moment alone with you. In this base, that's like a VIP ticket to privacy." Michelle laughed softly.

"Oh, I almost forgot. You'll need this too." Brook pulled a small tube out of his pocket.

"Anti-scar medicine?" Michelle said, reading the tube.

"For your injury. You didn't let me check it out for you so..." Michelle held his hand and brought it over her shirt where her cut had been.

"It's all better, thanks." He let his hand linger on her waist and pulled her close.

"So... are we... a couple now?" she asked. Brook watched her face with a thoughtful expression.

"I've never dated before Michelle. I'm not the kind of guy a girl like you should even think about dating. But man, I can't hold myself back around you..." Michelle responded by leaning on his shoulder.

"Then don't. I want to see where it goes too – with you. If you do."

"More than anything, Michelle." She sensed him holding something back.

"But?" she asked. He let his hand hold her cheek.

"But I don't know what the future holds. All I know is that I want to be in yours. That's not gonna be easy. Sooner or later, we might not get a chance to be – us. And if it means keeping you from a better life... I won't hold you back." Michelle swallowed the tears that she felt and spoke with determination.

"As long as I can, I'm gonna stay with you." He tightened his embrace.

"All the time in the world with you can never be enough, but I'll take what I get and be grateful for it."

She lifted her head to smile at him.

"For my first boyfriend, I believe I made a great choice." Brook grinned softly into her hair. The bedroom door slammed open suddenly and Jett dashed in. He stopped for a second on seeing Brook and Michelle and ran behind Brook.

"Hide me! Payton's gone nuts!" Brook rolled his eyes at him.

"You shouldn't have touched his jerky."

"I was hungry! It was late and I was bored watching all those security cameras!"

"Tell that to Payton. Speaking of –" Brook stepped aside pulling Michelle out of Payton's way as he came charging into the room.

"Come back here!" he yelled after Jett.

"Dude! It was just a little jerky! I promised I'll replace them!" Jett said, dodging him from left to right.

"That jerky was from Wisconsin! That's halfway across the country!" Payton yelled. Michelle stifled a giggle.

"Wow." She said to Brook.

"Welcome to the family." He said.

Later that evening when Michelle got a moment to herself, she got out her diary. She found it useful for pouring out her thoughts since she couldn't talk to her friends.

So Brook finally told me everything. From what he says about his dad, and from what I've seen, he's just like his dad... And that scares me. I can't lose him... she paused.

But at least we told each other how we felt. And right now, I want what we have to continue. I like Brook...

"Okay, let's get this party started!" Jett said, turning up the stereo that he brought out to the main base. A fun fast beat tune with plenty of synchronizers blared from the speakers.

"Oh, I love this song!" Michelle said, her head bobbing from side to side with the music.

"You and everyone else in the country. Who doesn't like club music?" Paige said in an amused voice.

"I don't," Payton said. He was standing brooding in a corner watching Jett with a glare like daggers as he ran around getting things ready for the party.

"No one cares," Brook said. Payton scowled at him.

"Where's Reece? I need him to work on the shots." Michelle looked confused.

"He means drinks. You know, like whiskey shots?" Brook explained.

"Er... I don't drink anything stronger than soda." She said. Paige snorted.

"Pft. Weakling. You can't dance like you mean it without a kick of alcohol." Michelle raised an eyebrow.

"Is that a challenge?" she asked. Jett drew a long 'whoa' of awe.

"I smell a dance-off! First battle Michelle vs. Paige!" Paige flipped her hair back.

"Deal. But I need three shots first."

"Coming right up. And don't worry Michelle. I can whip up a mean Shirley Ginger for you. It's non-alcoholic but packs a punch of flavor." Jett said.

"Did someone say non-alcoholic? People, I go out of the room for ten minutes and you sap the fun out of everything?" Reece said coming from the outer cave.

"It's for Michelle, Reece. She and Paige are gonna settle it on the dance floor tonight – alcoholic vs. non-alcoholic." Jett said, filling him in.

"You're really gonna dance-off with Paige?" Brook asked Michelle. She mock-frowned at him.

"Hey, I've been dancing since I was five. Don't underestimate my moves." Brook held up his hands and backed off.

"Wouldn't think of it. Tonight is gonna be entertaining, that's for sure."

Leslie and Jett laid all the food on the coffee table. Jett positioned the drinks in the middle.

"Okay, pizza rolls, sliders... those chili fries don't have as much cheese as I like," Jett said frowning. He went to the kitchen and returned with a shaker full of powdered cheese.

"Jett doesn't let anyone else do the sacred rite of cheese sprinkling," Brook said to Michelle.

"Hey! Nobody beats my cheese dressing. And as I recall, you all love my recipes." Jett said with a self-satisfied smirk.

"Forget the food! Where are my shots?" Paige asked. Reece came near holding a tray with four glasses.

"Three rocket shots and a Shirley Ginger for the lovely ladies," Reece said.

"I thought those were the drinks," Michelle said, pointing to the table.

"Please. Those are the after-shots. For the games." Reece said.

"Games?"

"Hello, what's a party without games?" Jett said. Payton groaned in the corner.

"Pathetic." He said. Leslie came out from the kitchen just then.

"Jett, you forgot the best part." She said holding up a remote. Jett looked aghast.

"Damn, what is wrong with me? That is vital to any party!" He took the remote from her and began to fiddle with a bunch of buttons. At once the plain yellow bulbs all over the base went out and a flash of colored lights split over the room from small spotlights dotted along the walls.

"Sweet! I've been waiting for a chance to use these." Jett said.

"Wow... it feels like a real club," Michelle said.

"Angel face, I don't know what club you've been to but you've been seriously misled," Paige said.

"Actually, I've never been to a real club. Only a few parties on campus. Since I'm not twenty-one yet." Michelle said. Everyone stared at Michelle in surprise.

"You are so missing out! This might not be a real club, but it's as close to the real experience." Jett said. Michelle saw Leslie slip back to the bunk room.

"Aren't Leslie and Soriano coming?" she asked Brook.

"Nah, they prefer to let us kids have fun our way." He said.

"If it were me, I wouldn't have let a little thing like 'age' stop me from partying at a club. We should take her to Roamer's next time we head out." Paige said with a sly smile. "I bet she'd love it."

"Roamer's is not the kind of place for her, Paige," Brook said warningly. She merely shrugged and took her shots.

"You could get away with a shot here. No one would know." Paige said to Michelle.

"Thanks but no thanks; I'll consider it after I'm legal." She said. Paige shrugged.

"Your choice. You ready to get shown up?" she asked Michelle.

"If you are." Michelle rejoined. Jett and Reece whooped.

"This is gonna be good," Reece said. Paige downed her drinks in five seconds and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"You ready angel face?" she asked. Michelle drank her drink in one shot, savoring the flavor. She put the glass down and took off her plaid shirt which she wore as a shrug, revealing a yellow halter cami underneath. Brook couldn't take his eyes off her until he heard Jett and Reece wolf-whistle. He raised a fist at them and they stopped.

"Bring it," Michelle said. Jett turned up the volume. The girls took their place in the middle of the room where the lights flared brightest.

"Show me what you got," Paige said. Michelle responded by throwing herself into the beat, letting her body bend back and forward, her arms fluid as she did a Hawaiian wave in front.

"Not bad. Top this." Paige said. She moved erratically, her hips thrown sharply from left to right. She moved her feet skillfully to the beat, drawing impressed awes from the on-lookers.

"Beat it, Michelle!" Brook hollered. Even Payton turned to watch them. Michelle winked at Brook and began to roll her shoulders seductively before throwing her arms up in a twist. She let the music guide her body to a wave, occasionally doing a kick with each of her legs.

"Yeah, Michelle! That was hot!" Jett said. Paige rolled her eyes and began to move slower but still with electrifying energy. She swirled her hips as she slid her hands down the sides before bringing them up to her hair and letting them slide out. She smoothly transformed the move into the famous 'single ladies'. She then snapped her neck back, her arms flaring behind like she was falling backward.

"I doubt Michelle can beat that," Payton said. Michelle rolled her tongue over her lips in smug confidence and turned around before bending forward and shooting herself back in a graceful curve, her hair fanning out like a lion. She finally did a perfect body roll that drew applause from the boys. Even Payton smiled.

"Not bad." He said. Brook couldn't stop smiling widely.

"Go Michelle." He said. his eyes were fiery on her. Michelle turned and faced Paige.

"Give up?" she asked. Paige's lips twisted in a smile.

"I don't quit. But that was pretty impressive. I guess you don't need alcohol to move like you mean it."

"Whoo! Yeah, Michelle! That was awesome!" Jett said. She came and sat down on the couch and opened a soda can.

"It's all about keeping your wits." She said. Brook slid closer and wrapped his hand around her waist.

"You're gonna make me lose my mind over you one of these days." He said so only she could hear. She blushed and fanned her face.

"Your turn guys. Show us what you got." She said. Jett shook his head.

"I'm not gonna beat that here and now. Maybe when we hit the clubs."

"We're really going to a club?" Michelle asked.

"Sure why not? We tear it up at clubs whenever we do jobs in the city. No work without fun." Jett said.

"People, dig in before the food gets cold," Reece said.