Chapter 3 Meet the Crew

Michelle didn't know how long she slept but she knew it wasn't very long. Two things woke her; one was her stomach rumbling, reminding her that it had been hours since she had eaten anything – the chocolate bar and soda hardly made up for dinner. The second was the flurry of raised voices. Michelle opened her eyes, noticing immediately that the room was dimmer than before. The overhead bulb was off and only the bulbs further away gave out light. Michelle slowly raised her head and looked towards the lighted area. A small group of people stood there, obviously arguing over something. Michelle's head ached but she ignored it. It was time to get some answers.

Languidly she put her legs down hoping they were less pathetic now that she had rested. She stood up and walked towards the group of people. Brook was there, and Jett and a few new people, each shouting with language Michelle would never hear in her friends' company.

"You should've called Soriano! You are not supposed to handle them by yourself!" A woman with black hair and red streaks shouted. She wore a lot of black – a black jacket and pants except for a red leather blouse inside.

"There wasn't time! And I don't need your permission to do my job!" Brook shouted back with folded arms.

"We almost got blown up back there! How do you think they found grenades?!" a young man with black hair raged. He also wore a black jacket and acid-wash jeans. Michelle thought he looked fierce.

"That's not my fault!" Brook shouted, stepping forward.

"If you're gonna do something stupid, don't leave it to us to clean up your mess!" the woman with black hair shouted back.

"Guys! Calm down. This is getting us nowhere!" a tall woman with short dirt blonde hair said, raising her hands to get attention. She was more casually dressed in a denim skirt and tank tee.

"Yeah! What's done is done. We'll just make the best of it." Jett said.

"How?! You're not the one who has to go fetch new parts every time something breaks down!" a man with blue-streaked hair shouted.

"How did they find her anyway? They've been quiet for weeks!" Paige asked. Michelle thought her voice was too harsh for a woman.

"Her overhead light had been on. I noticed the switch flipped. It's a given they would've noticed it even from a distance. She might've had the radio on as well. She was an easy target." Brook said.

"What is she, a runaway minor?" Paige asked with contempt.

"She's definitely new around here. But that's not the biggest problem." Jett said, rubbing his chin.

Michelle looked confused. Were they talking about - her? She rubbed her temples and came up to the group.

"Um pardon me..." she began. She looked at Brook whose face relaxed when he saw Michelle.

"You're awake." He didn't know what else to say. Everyone stopped and stared at her.

"Hello. How you feeling, kid?" the woman with dirt blonde hair asked her.

"She just flew over a seven-foot ledge in a car! How do you think she's feeling?" Jett asked half-jokingly. Michelle smiled.

"Better, thanks to Brook." The woman with black hair scoffed.

"She's fragile but she doesn't look stupid. I'm glad I didn't find her. I might have left her where she was." She said callously. Jett gave a fake laugh trying to smooth over the tension.

"Ha, ha-ha, that's our Paige. You never know when she's joking." He put his arm around her but she aggressively shook it off.

"Sorry we woke you but you're not gonna get much sleep around this bunch," Brook said. The woman with dirt-blonde hair came forward and shook Michelle's hand.

"Since you're awake, might as well get you introduced. The name's Leslie, that charming young lady over there is Paige, that's Jett, you met him, and that's Reece." She said pointing to the blue-haired guy.

"You forgot Payton," Brook added with a smirk. The fierce-looking guy with black hair glowered at Brook.

"Right, and that's Payton," Leslie said, waving to him.

"You got a name kiddo?" she asked Michelle.

"Michelle." She replied. Brook glanced at her keenly for a moment.

"Michelle. Well, it's nice to meet ya, Michelle. Hope you're comfortable here.

"Ugh, I'm out," Payton said before pushing past Brook and going through a backdoor.

"Ignore him, he's always crabby," Jett said with a wink.

"Guys, shouldn't you tell her?" Reece interjected. Everybody's expression sobered up.

"Right... So who's gonna do it?" Jett asked. Michelle looked around wondering why everyone was acting weird. Paige stepped closer to Michelle with folded arms. Michelle noticed she wore high-heeled black leather boots which added to her height.

"Look angel face. If no one's gonna give it to you straight, I will. Your car's toast. Sucks for you. You're a target and you're stuck here which puts the rest of us at risk. If you weren't stupid enough to go driving in the desert at night with your top light on, you wouldn't be here now." Michelle stepped back, Paige's words stinging her ears. Brook stepped in front of her like a shield.

"Give her a break Paige! She went through a bloody car wreck!" Brook said defensively. Paige scoffed.

"Please. She's still standing. She's not as bad as you think." Paige retorted. Brook turned around and faced Michelle.

"Go with Leslie, she'll take you to a more comfortable room," Brook said. Leslie put her arm around Michelle and led her through the backdoor Payton had gone out from.

"Come on kiddo." She said gently. Michelle let her lead the way, turning around only to glance at Brook. He and the others immediately resumed their brawling when Michelle was out of sight.

"You should've left her there," Paige said to Brook.

"Cold-hearted, dudette. If they got to her first..." Jett shuddered.

"Yeah, if they got to her first, we wouldn't have come close to being blown up. I still haven't figured out how they knew we were out there." Reece said.

"What's wrong with you people?! You would've left a person to die out there?!" Brook raged.

"She's as good as out there at night. Her crash should've killed her on the spot." Paige said carelessly. Brook took a wrench from the table and slammed down in front of Paige's feet.

"Nobody asked you to risk your neck tonight. Jett told me you guys had it covered. If you couldn't handle a simple diversion, I would've taken care of it myself." Brook said in a dangerous tone. Paige let out a yell of anger.

"You think I couldn't handle it?! if it were up to me they'd be halfway out of the state by now!" she said, shaking her fist.

"That's enough!" a voice from the front of the base shouted. Everyone went silent as they watched a man come from the shadows.

"Soriano, I gave them your message but er... it looks like we have a difference of opinion," Jett said.

"What happened?" the man named Soriano asked.

"They got to her. Ran her off the road. Her car is totaled. But I got her before they could find her." Brook said.

"And the men?" Soriano asked.

"We headed them away but one of them must've stuck around and found her car and torched it," Paige said.

"They also used grenades this time," Reece said.

"Any big damage?" Soriano asked him.

"Only a smashed door. Nothing I can fix but..."

"Good. At least no one got hurt." Soriano turned to Brook.

"The girl?"

"Leslie's with her in the LR," Brook said. Soriano nodded slowly.

"It was strange for them to be out there tonight. We don't know if they targeted her." He said.

"If they didn't before, they do now. Also, they know we're in on it." Paige said, scowling.

"We'll deal with that. We've done so before. For now, let's just keep undercover. Nobody goes out at night until I say so." Soriano said.

"What about the girl? She's a threat to us if she stays here. Can't we drive her to some town or back to wherever she came from?" Paige asked.

"No, if they follow us and find out where she's going they'll go after her. Until we get this sorted out, she stays here. Someone keep an eye on her. I don't want her to leave this place or give our location away." Soriano said.

"I'll keep an eye on her," Brook said.

"Then it's settled." Paige glared at Brook for a moment before turning away.

"It's no five-star hotel, but it's got the basics. There's light and warmth and a TV. You can use the fold-out couch too if you like." Leslie said as they entered a living room slash kitchen. Michelle had a feeling the room used to be a dorm but now held only half a dozen bunk beds, a couch, a television, a fridge, a cabinet with a sink in the corner, and a round dining table with a few chairs dotted around it.

"There are only a couple of bedrooms so we girls bunk together. Good thing this place came with bunk beds. There's a game room if you're into that. I mean, while you're here, you can make the most of it." Leslie said. She pointed to a door in the corner. Michelle heard some knocking sounds from it.

"That'll be Payton. He plays pool every time he needs to blow off steam." Leslie said. "Sit down. You must be tired and all with everything you've been through." Michelle sat on the couch, glad to give her legs the rest they were craving.

"Um, if you don't mind me asking, what is this place? Because I have no idea where I am aside from the fact that we're underground." Michelle said. Leslie rubbed her arm awkwardly.

"I'd like to tell you kiddo, I really would. But it's better if you didn't know for now."

"Better for whom?"

"For all of us, including yourself. For now, just make yourself at home." Michelle bit her lip as she hesitated to ask another question.

"What Paige said out there... is it true? My car – is it..." Leslie nodded.

"Sorry kiddo. We were out when Jett called us up telling us about you. Said your car crashed somewhere in the middle of the desert and – well, we went to look for it to see if we could tow it in and fix it up. But when we got there it was nothing more than a burning wreck. My guess is the gas tank leaked and set the whole thing ablaze." Michelle squeezed her eyes.

"You okay?" Leslie asked.

"Yeah, it's just that – I worked five years to earn enough for that car... it was..." she trailed off.

"I understand. That was your blood sweat and tears. But you're lucky Brook found you when he did. if the car had blown up with you in it... anyway, you're safe now." Leslie said, patting her hand.

"I don't believe in luck but I'm glad Brook found me too," Michelle said, remembering the cars that chased her.

"Yeah, Brook is the only one of us that can handle a stealth job," Leslie said. Then realizing she had given away something, she tried to change the subject.

"So how are you feeling kiddo? You need anything?" Leslie asked, getting up from the couch.

"Why do you keep calling me kiddo? Not that I mind, but I'm not a minor. Just to be clear – I'm twenty." Leslie grinned.

"Mom's instinct. I had a little boy once – all sweet, like you. I used to call him kiddo. You sorta reminded me of him. Now all the youngsters are like kiddos to me."

"What happened to him?" Michelle asked. Leslie's face twisted in sadness.

"He died a long time ago," Leslie said softly. Michelle looked sympathetic.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know..."

"No, it's alright." Michelle tried to change the subject.

"You don't look very old. I mean that as a compliment by the way." Michelle said with a nervous laugh.

"Thanks. I'm thirty-five, actually." Leslie said, smiling again. Michelle's stomach rumbled, loud enough for Leslie to hear.

"Smack me silly, you must be hungry! We bought pizzas from town and completely forgot about them in the middle of that brawl. I'll go get 'em now." Leslie got up and went out to the base. Michelle glanced at the clock on the wall. It showed ten-five. She had slept for two hours at the most.

The door opened and Jett came in carrying a small packet and a water bottle.

"Hi, good to see you haven't caved in. I thought you might need this – it's a painkiller. I should've given it to you earlier but you fell asleep." He handed them to her.

"Thanks," Michelle said. Leslie came back with the pizza.

"Dinner's here." She said cheerily. She laid the pizza boxes on the table. Jett immediately opened one, took a slice, and stuffed it in his mouth.

"Hey, hey! Save some for the others!" Leslie scolded him.

"First come, Leslie." He said. He winked and went and sat on the couch with a box. He offered it to Michelle.

"You like pepperoni? Or are you a vegetarian?" he asked.

"Pepperoni's fine, thank you," Michelle said, taking a slice. The game room door opened and Payton came out, looking less fierce now that he wasn't glaring or yelling at anyone.

"Hey, Payton. Dinner's on the table. Yours is under the third box." Leslie said to him. He took a box and came and sat on the couch next to Michelle.

"You're still here? I thought Paige would've scared you off by now." Payton said, opening the box.

"If I had to pick who's tougher between you and Paige, my money's on Paige. That chick can send a monster truck driver over a cliff." Jett said with his mouth full of pizza. Payton leaned over Michelle and slapped a pizza slice in Jett's face.

"Hey!" he protested, rubbing cheese off his nose. Michelle giggled but straightened her face before Jett could see.

"Guys, it took an hour's drive to get this pizza! Don't waste it." Leslie called from the table. Payton ignored her and offered Michelle a slice.

"Want one? It's vegetarian." Michelle took her second slice.

"Thanks." She said. Jett turned to her after getting the pizza off his face.

"So which is better, the meat lover's or the weak greens?" Payton scowled at Jett for calling his pizza that.

"I really don't mind both. I like them." Michelle said truthfully. Leslie bought her a cup of soda.

"Hey! Where's mine?" Jett asked her.

"Your legs are fine Jett, get your own. I only gave Michelle a cup because she was in an accident."

"We're sitting on the same couch..." Jett grumbled as he got up to get his own soda. Brook and Paige came into the room along with another man Michelle had not seen before. He had long brown hair and must have been somewhere between thirty-eight and forty-two.

"We can't do anything more tonight. I'll see what we can do about it tomorrow." He said. He looked at Michelle.

"You must be Michelle. I'm Soriano. I run this crew." Paige rolled her eyes.

"We're not a crew." She said. At least she stopped shouting, Michelle thought.

"Hello," Michelle said. She glanced at Brook with a questioning look. He turned away and went to the table to get some pizza.

"We eat together, sleep together, ride together... I dunno, sounds like a crew to me." Jett said. Paige punched him in the stomach.

"You shouldn't talk while eating," she said sardonically. He huffed, his face scrunching in pain.

"Got it." he wheezed. Brook came and sat next to Michelle with a slice of pizza in his hand.

"Everybody here? wait, where'd Reece go?" Leslie asked.

"He's working on his car in the other garage. He took his pizza box earlier so he's covered." Soriano said. Michelle turned to Brook.

"Can we talk?" she asked. Payton glanced at her and smirked.

"You're talking to the wrong person. If you want answers, don't ask him," he said. Brook looked at Soriano. He nodded.

"I think we should hold a meeting. Our guest looks like she's got some questions." Everybody looked up.

"I'll be outside," Paige said, grabbing a slice of pizza and walking back to the main base. Everyone got up to follow her. Michelle stood up dusting her hands and felt dizzy. She swayed back and fell on Payton.

"Whoa – hey, I'm not a wall." Payton objected, but he caught her by the wrists. Michelle winced at the pain in her side as she bent over.

"Michelle, are you okay?" Brook asked, grabbing her hands. She steadied herself out of Payton's grasp and stood straight.

"I'm fine. I just want some answers." She walked out before Brook could change her mind. Weak or not, she was not going to have it put off any longer.