Chapter 9 Shadows from the Past

"There he is!" Jett exclaimed as Brook drove into the base. Everyone had gathered around in front of the car. Michelle squinted as her eyes adjusted to the bright light after the darkness of the tunnel. She sensed the tension was high as they got out of the car.

"Well, well, well. The prodigal returns." Reece said with sarcasm. Payton stepped through the others walking straight towards Brook. Without warning, he rammed his fist into Brook's jaw. Brook staggered back, rubbing his lip.

"Payton stop!" Michelle shouted. "It wasn't his fault! I'm the one who wanted to leave!" She stepped between him and Brook holding out her arms.

"Of course, it's his fault! That damn idiot deserves a whole lot worse!" Payton spat. Brook pulled Michelle aside to face him.

"Don't talk like that in front of her!" Brook roared. Soriano stepped forward.

"Brook, I'll see you in the hangar – NOW. Payton, leave it to me. And somebody see to Michelle. Jett, you're on guard duty. Give us a head's up if you see anything." Soriano took Brook by the arm and pushed him toward the control room next to the infirmary. Leslie laid a hand on Michelle's shoulder.

"Come on kid. Let's get you something to eat." Michelle was still seething with anger towards Payton as she walked towards the living room. She almost stumbled off her feet when he suddenly grabbed her wrist and began to drag her away.

"Hey! Let go!" Michelle protested. He paid no heed. He pulled her into the game room and shoved her forward making her fall over the pool table.

"Payton stop! Don't hurt her!" Leslie called out.

"You dumb ass! Soriano's gonna kill you if she gets hurt!" Paige shouted. Payton shut the door to the game room and bolted it. The others banged on the door but he ignored them. Then he turned to Michelle with scorching eyes.

"I'm not afraid of you," she said, clutching her stomach which had hit the pool table. He approached her, his lethal glare never leaving her face.

"You should be. You should be afraid of a lot more things. Most of all, me." Michelle only glared back at him. She inched away from the pool table.

"What were you thinking? What selfish thoughts were running through your head when you left this place? Can you answer that?" Payton's voice was low but dangerous. Michelle was half-afraid he would get physical.

"I'll tell you what you were thinking. You thought our threats of danger were a joke. That you could gamble with our lives as freely as you gamble with yours. You thought you could trust Brook to get you out and bring you back in one piece at the risk of exposing our hideout. You thought we were all a joke, fighting with our lives and putting everything on the line for a damn girl we only met a week ago!" Payton's voice rose higher with each sentence and Michelle found herself trembling. Payton noticed and stepped closer, grabbing her wrists and pinning them to the pool table.

"You have no idea who you're dealing with. But you still decided to risk your life for an hour's worth of freedom and put the rest of us in danger as well. If you don't know what we're fighting, you'll do damn well to stay out of our business and do as we say. Otherwise, I'll feed you to the wolves myself. I won't let some stupid college girl get in the way of everything we've been working for!" Michelle swallowed and tried to speak.

"What are you fighting for?!" she asked as strongly as she could, though her voice shook. Payton stared hard with his black-as-coal eyes and Michelle felt like she was under the gaze of fire.

"You know what? I ask myself that question every day. The most pathetic part is, I'm not even sure it's worth it because of people like you." he let go of her hands and walked to the door, unbolted it, and walked out. Michelle fell to her knees, her strength draining. She looked down at her hands and saw they were white. Her breath came out loud and ragged and she felt like she just ran a race.

"Michelle!" Leslie called and came running into the room. Reece glanced at Michelle through the open door and went after Payton. Paige strolled in with her arms folded.

"You got what you deserved – I can't say I disagree with Payton." She said. Leslie knelt down beside Michelle.

"Are you hurt anywhere?" she asked. Michelle looked up at Leslie and then at Paige.

"I'm fine; you don't have to worry about me," she said in a low voice. She got up and pushed past Paige toward the bedroom. Paige watched her go, an unreadable expression in her eyes.

Soriano stared Brook down as a lion would its cub for a fun minute. Brook sat on the swivel chair as he was ordered to do, sullen and silent. Finally, Soriano spoke.

"What were you thinking, Brook?"

"I'll take full responsibility." He replied gruffly.

"I don't think she'd let you. She looked ready to take on Payton back there."

"Regardless, she's not to blame here. I said I'd take her out for a ride. It's all on me."

"Would it also be on you if the two of you got caught or killed?" Brook flinched at Soriano's words.

"It won't happen again." He mumbled.

"It better not, seeing that you care about her. You want to protect her, don't you?" Brook raised surprised eyes at him.

"Yes." He said in a low voice. Soriano gave a less intimidating smile.

"Good. And while you're at it, try not to put yourself in danger either. I don't want to lose my boy." He said. Brook swallowed heavily.

"Yes sir."

It was past one in the morning when Michelle got out of bed after hours of sleeplessness. The whole base was quiet; she saw a faint light coming from the control room and went to see who was up. Jett was sitting on a swivel chair in front of a dozen screens, snoring. She quietly shut the door so as not to disturb him. She shivered a little and pulled her knitted cardigan closer as she walked around the base once, watching the string of cars. Finally, she sat on the ground leaning against the wall opposite Brook's car. She wondered how he was holding up and if he was okay. He must have gone to bed ages ago – she hadn't seen him since Soriano dragged him off.

He had gotten into trouble with his crew because of her; he risked everything so he could keep the promise he made to her and let her be free. And he actually thought he was trouble for her – the irony was almost laughable. But Michelle didn't feel like laughing; watching Brook get hit by Payton because of her, hearing Payton's vent earlier... it only made her stomach twist in a knot of guilt. Everything he'd said was true. Because of her, this little crew hidden away in the desert trying to survive and fight for people like her almost lost everything. And Brook had to take a risk to protect her without putting his crew in danger. She put her head on her knees, her heart feeling heavy.

"Michelle?" Michelle looked up and saw Brook standing in front of her. He was wearing car-grease-stained overalls with the sleeves tied around his waist and a white vest inside. His arms were bare.

"Brook, I didn't know you were still up." She said.

"I never really went to bed. What are you doing here?"

"Nothing. I couldn't sleep either." Brook watched her face for a second before reaching down and scooping her into his arms.

"What-?"

"The couch is more comfortable." He said carrying her to the couch in the corner. He sat down and cradled her on his lap.

"It's not your fault okay? None of it was." He said in her ear. Her eyes filled up and she blinked ferociously to keep them from spilling.

"Yes, it was... I was selfish and I put you and everybody in danger. You saved me and offered me protection and how do I repay you? By being – being..." she choked on her words.

"Shh, it's okay, Michelle. You did nothing wrong; please believe me." she looked up to meet his eyes. He stroked the stray loose hairs that fell from her ponytail back.

"If you won't regret it, I won't either." He said. Michelle was touched to hear him repeat her words. "Last night was the best night of my life and I wouldn't take it back for anything." He said. Michelle burrowed her head into his shoulder.

"Thank you," she whispered against his chest. His hand came up to her arm and he rubbed it comfortingly.

"Hmm... that feels nice." She said.

"You're telling me..." Brook mumbled against her hair. She felt his lips press on her forehead.

"Brook?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Depends."

"On what?"

"Whether or not I can answer." Michelle noticed he said 'can' and not 'will'.

"Why are you all here? What are you fighting for? And... who are those men who were after us?" she heard Brook sigh.

"You're too smart for your own good, you know that? Okay, I'll tell you. No use hiding it from you anymore." He took a deep breath.

"They call themselves the Inferno Ghosts – they're fast and dangerous and have a habit of hunting down people in the dark – like ghosts. They formed some twenty years ago but had disappeared for a while. They originally started out as street racers. Cars from the fifties and sixties were their prized possessions. They claimed to have 'collected' them, but that was BS. They were thieves through and through. But as long as they kept their street racing to themselves, nobody seemed to bother with them. But one day, a cop couldn't take it anymore. He took it to the county authorities. They sent him back saying a couple of kids racing for twenty bucks a bet was nothing. Problem was, they didn't know what really went down in the desert.

"One night in July, before that cop took matters into his own hands, this tough-looking guy showed up at a street race. Said he was gonna run the show from here on out. The guys laughed at him. He raced them in his own car – a Jaguar xj220 - and won. But that wasn't the worst part. He caused a landslide to wipe out every rookie driver in that race. The rest of the guys cowered. Some ran off. He hunted them down." Michelle swallowed.

"Turns out he was an ex-sergeant from the military. He had connections in high places. He was tough, ruthless, and feared. He took over Ginswell County – where you were headed for - in a matter of weeks. He recruited every criminal he could find. That wasn't enough; he started breaking criminals out of prison. The crime spree got so bad that the cops freaked out. They were powerless. They went to him trying to make a compromise with him. He laughed in their faces before gunning them all down." Michelle covered her mouth in horror.

"One cop survived. He's the guy who'd ratted out the street racers in the first place. He had a friend who used to be a racer before he became a mechanic. He knew the ins and outs of every race car ever made. Together they planned to recruit their own crew – called them the 'Night Blazers' and take down the sergeant. Remember, the sergeant gained his standing from a street race. They had to take down his crew and put him down for good. Only a cop could do that."

"Why didn't they go to the FBI?" Michelle asked. Brook laughed humorlessly.

"The sergeant had the Mayor in his pocket. He could manipulate the government so much that they'd leave him alone – and Ginswell would be his county. No, this started in the desert – it had to finish in the desert. No cops could do anything without either getting blasted out of the way or vanishing without a trace.

"Morgan, that's the cop, planned everything perfectly. But he didn't count on one thing – having a mole in his crew." Michelle squeezed her eyes.

"They were betrayed?"

"The biggest betrayal since Judas. The Inferno Ghosts wiped out half the crew before Morgan could do anything about it."

"What happened?"

"Morgan's friend, Ripley, the mechanic, had a backup plan. He told Morgan to get the survivors out and save themselves – he was gonna sacrifice himself taking down the Inferno Ghosts." Brook closed his eyes as though trying to overcome some pain.

"Morgan hated himself for leaving Ripley behind. But Ripley locked him in his car – he was a mechanic if you remember – forcing him to get out while he could. He had to stay behind to detonate explosives. Back then they didn't have long-range detonators. And then... he did it. Ripley had rigged the entire warehouse where they had been meeting with explosives. As soon as Morgan and the crew drove out, he detonated the place – the warehouse blew up high as a nuke explosion, the whole thing collapsing on top of everyone, including Ripley. The Inferno Ghosts, their cars, everyone was gone."

"Poor Ripley... he was a hero."

"Ripley - was my dad." Michelle pulled away and stared at Brook in horror. She felt the blood drain from her face.

"Your – dad?"

"Morgan got out with most of his crew members alive. He fled the county as far as he could. Moved to the city for a while. That was eighteen years ago. But his days as a cop were over – he had broken the law too much to take down the Inferno Ghosts by it. He became an outlaw – started an auto shop in memory of his friend. Most of his crew disbanded – a few stayed behind out of loyalty and helped with the auto shop. But life was not easy for an ex-cop from a forgotten county; there were bills to pay, mouths to feed and he wasn't gonna let the men who stayed with him down.

"He changed paths. He went to the law once for help – and they laughed at him. The law turned its back on him and cost him the life of his friend. So he turned his back on the law. He taught himself everything his friend knew about cars. With the training his crew had, they became the best car thieves in the city in no time. No one could touch them. They robbed and sold cars or parts from the rich and from other gangs. Eventually, they amassed enough wealth to build a town.

"They returned home. But home was gone; Ginswell county was overrun by a new gang – young blood. The Inferno Ghosts had returned."

"I don't understand... I thought they had been wiped out." Michelle said.

"Sergeant had a son back then – he must have been a teenager when the Night Blazers took his father down. He vowed revenge on Morgan. And he took it out on the town since Morgan had fled."

"And the cops could do nothing." Brook nodded.

"Like father, like son. He inherited his father's fame and power – and also his bloodlust. It pained him nothing to watch innocent people get killed. He took over the county, the desert, everyone, declaring himself the crime kingpin. He even expanded his territory more than his father ever had. He's got more blood on his hands than Jack Ripper. And if anyone dared to cross through his desert – he wouldn't rest till he - destroyed them." Michelle knew Brook was about to say something else when he paused.

"So that's why..."

"That's why they're after you. The new Inferno Ghosts reformed only five years ago. Morgan meanwhile decided to take them down again – without history repeating itself. He returned to the city and started recruiting again – only this time he made several headquarters all over the city. That way they would be safe – away from the desert. They'd continue to work for him, get cars, better technology, and connections."

"Where is he now?"

"He came here. Found an abandoned military base, started to regroup... vowed to take down the sergeant's son and reclaim the county – for all the people who lost their lives because of the Inferno Ghosts."

"Why come here? And where is he?" Brook looked at Michelle with fiery eyes.

"Soriano is Morgan." Michelle took a minute to digest that.

"The Night Blazers are the only life savers out there for tourists and lone travelers. Even if some tourists got away from him, Jackson, the sergeant's son, would send his crew like a pack of wolves and hunt them down. Soriano wanted to keep an eye on the sergeant's son and prevent that from happening. The sergeant had created hell for a lot of innocent people – his son is no different. Worse, in fact. He attacks everyone who passes through his county – and the desert."

"Like me," Michelle said in a small voice. Brook tightened his arms around her.

"You were one of the few people who got away from him. And it was one in the eye for his ego. No one gets away from him. No one can take him down." Michelle looked worried.

"You guys are fighting a war, aren't you?" She asked in a small voice.

"A war the outside world has no idea about. Soriano is fighting and has been fighting since his youth. But there are people at stake. He can't bear to lose anyone – again."

"So that's why." Michelle lay quietly on Brook's shoulder, listening to his heartbeat.

"I'm so sorry about your dad." She said softly.

"I never knew him. He spent so much time with Soriano back then that I barely ever saw him. My mom raised me till I was fourteen. Then..." He pressed his fingers to his eyes.

"Soriano took me in." Michelle slipped her hand into his.

"And the others?"

"Children of the first Night Blazers. The men who died by the sergeant's hands."

"Even Leslie?"

"She lost her husband to the Inferno Ghosts a few years ago. Her son died a couple years later." Michelle felt her heart clench.

"All those people... all the pain they've been through..."

"Now you know why we're here. We all want revenge." Michelle looked at Brook's eyes and so a cold flame of hatred burned in them and she felt a twinge of fear.

"But... you won't kill them, will you? You can't become like them just to take them down."

"No... that would just insult our parents. But we're gonna bring them down for good one way or another." Michelle wrapped her arm around Brook's neck.

"And I'm gonna help."