Minor Repairs

"Hey Charlie!" The woman yelled to someone, forgetting to take her finger off the button for the microphone. "Come take a look here at what the cat dragged home."

A much smoother and gentler voice came through the speaker. "I'm coming, Mom."

There was a pause and then the voice exclaimed, "Oh my goodness! Jack? Jack Lola is that you?"

"Yes, Miss Mason."

"Well it has been a minute! Give me a second and I'll buzz you in."

A moment later the door made a faint hum and then clicked as the deadbolt remotely unlocked. Lola pushed the door open and went in, holding the door for the two behind him.

As busted and rusted as the old hangar seemed on the outside, stepping inside was truly too amazing. They had entered into a pristine and completely climate controlled showroom. Rare and luxurious cars were neatly lined up as far as the eye could see. Not so much as a speck of dust could be found on any of the cars.

Before Chance and Koty could start drooling over the incredible contents of the showroom, a woman walked over to them.

She seemed to be just a few years shy of Lola's age. She had slight laugh lines around her eyes which gave her a very amiable and mature feeling.

Her curly ink colored hair was tied up in a messy bun which drew more attention to her beautiful face. Her dark velvety complexion was perfectly complimented by her olive green cargo pants and black t-shirt. The woman was covered in patches of oil and grease but in no way looked dirty. It simply added to her look.

She headed straight for Lola and gave him an unapologetic hug.

"Jack, you haven't come to see me in forever!"

He gently patted the woman on the back until she released him.

"Sorry, Miss Mason."

"So, who are your friends? Aren't you going to introduce me?" She smiled impishly and turned to face the others.

"Mr. Addison, Mr. Flynn, this is Miss Mason."

"You can just call me Charlie." She waved off the formal introduction.

"Then you can call me Chance and this space cadet over here is Koty." He nudged Koty with his elbow to get his attention.

"Hmm, what?" Koty had completely zoned out and was still looking around at the cars.

Charlie giggled without restraint, "Aww, he's too cute!"

Koty felt his face flush. He wanted to crawl into a hole and hide.

"So, what can I do for you gentlemen?"

"We need a new ride." Chance was the first to answer.

"What happened to the Benny?" Her deep brown eyes widened and her eyebrows raised in concern.

"Don't worry, Miss Mason. It only needs some minor repairs..."

"Minor repairs!? Jack, last time you told me your car needed minor repairs, the roof had been torn off and the frame was cracked. It had to be scrapped!"

"This time is different, Miss Mason."

"Chance, what really happened to Jack's car?"

"We may have been in a small firefight."

"Oh, the poor thing! Where is it now?"

"It is parked around back."

"Pull it around to the service door and I'll have a look."

Lola went back outside to get the Bentley while Charlie led Chance and Koty to the back of the showroom and then down a flight of stairs.

"Hey Charlie?" Koty had an idea. Maybe an actually good idea...

"What's up hon?" She reached for a handprint scanner to raise the door.

"Would you consider taking in an apprentice?"

"Are you any good?"

"Not me, my sister. It looks like I need a safe place to put her for now."

"Kid, I don't run a daycare or babysitting service."

"She's eighteen and working on getting certified as an auto mechanic."

"The girl is spirited and hard-working. I'm sure she'd be a great helper." Chance spoke up for Nevada as well. This was a way to get her a safe distance away from the city. Far from people that could tie her back to him or Koty and use her.

"I suppose I could consider it. We can talk again later."

Just then, the Bentley slowly rolled in through the door. She pressed a button to close it and then started to circle the car and survey the damage.

"Poor Benny! How could they do this to you?" She gave the car a few reassuring pats as she took note of what she needed to replace.

"Obviously, it'll need some body and paint work. I'll probably have to replace the rear fender entirely. New tires, fresh brakes and rotors, wheels seem fine though... May as well do a tune up, an alignment, and some routine maintenance too." She opened the driver's side door and popped the hood.

Looking in the engine compartment, everything seemed to be alright. There were no obvious signs of wear on the hoses and belts and there were no leaks.

"When was the last oil change?" Charlie asked as she reached for the dipstick and checked the engine oil.

"Just over two thousand miles." Lola was attentively watching her every move. She was focused on the color and texture of the used oil.

"I'll go ahead and swap it out. There's a new filter I want to try out." She replaced the dipstick and wiped her hands on her pants.

"Miss Mason, while we are here, Mr. Addison is interested in purchasing a vehicle to use in the mean time. Do you have anything 'big' in stock?"

A huge grin spread across her face as she said, "I thought you'd never ask."