Pilatus

Sol City Modern Slice of life - Chapter 3 - (all welcome new and old)

Paige Kennedy

Everytime she crossed the Costa Bridge, Paige thought briefly how many more times she would have to drive across it. The sound of her front tires hitting the bridge joint and the hum of the lifeless concrete underneath her made the thought almost automatic. Not even a hint of aesthetic appeal, just worn lanes and boring signs. Strictly utilitarian. Likely named after some individual equally as unremarkable. Of all of Sol’s downtown structural architecture, she found the uncreative, gray expanse to be the most dull, almost a chore to drive over. With Manami in the passenger seat, she counted another trip. Not many more to go… She thought with only the slightest shake of her head and glanced over towards the lights of downtown. They were on their way to pick up Milo, then it was down south to meet Siobhan and her much heralded, race-driver boyfriend. Paige cared little about cars or celebrity, but she looked forward to seeing Siobhan. There wouldn't be many more of those opportunities either.

It felt in poor taste to simply leave Manami to her solitude after the confrontation they’d just had with her former stalker so she’d extended the invitation for her to come along and enjoy the evening. Normally, bringing extra guests to a party wasn’t a good look either, but she knew Sio wouldn’t mind and the rest of them could get over it. Manami wasn’t the type to be left alone after such an encounter and after the adrenaline wore off Paige could see the conflict all over her face. What they had done wasn’t by any stretch, “by the book” or even remotely legal, but it worked. She just needed to keep the young girl talking and thinking positive, not stewing in the right and wrong of the whole scenario. What was encouraging was that she could see Manami’s whole persona change within the short time they’d met. Taking care of Jerome seemed like the push she needed for a much larger spectrum of her life. There was less tension in her words and more confidence. The person who confronted her stalker and pummeled him unmercifully with a phonebook was completely different than the timid girl who called for help on Saturday night.

For Paige, it was the one of the best parts of her job. Other than ruining the day of some asshole, she had helped someone come into their own. “I’ve never met Siobhan’s boyfriend,” She said, referring to the gathering’s apparent host. “And I know you haven’t met any of them, but just try to relax and have fun. Sio’s my best friend here, you’ll like her, and you’re about the same age.” They dropped into the offramp towards Final Round Armoury and Paige tapped her phone screen still seeing no replies from Milo. No response wasn’t out of the ordinary for him, particularly if he was deep into some intricate project. She wriggled her lips a bit, slightly irritated. They’d be there in a few minutes.

@RoccanIronclad
@Otterpop

Sol City Modern Slice of life - Chapter 3 - (all welcome new and old)

Joel Nicolosi

Ryan was so formal it was nearly comical to Joel. They couldn’t have been more opposite. Normally, a car spoke a lot about the person driving it. He’d seen it all over the years, however, he would never have matched Ryan to a big block Ford had he only seen the car and had to pick out the driver. Ultra-polite and soft-spoken didn’t tend to lend itself to rare muscle cars. “I would hold on to it for you, but I’m a little pressed for space at the moment.” He said motioning around in response to leaving the car at the shop. With one in the air and everything else tucked close nose-to-tail, he could still fit Sio’s Corvette inside by about an inch and he wasn’t going to leave her’s out on the street or behind the shop. “It will be fine to drive, trust me.” He said casually. “Just take it easy. I assume you have something else to drive?”

Siobhan’s cooking had filled the majority of the shop with a pleasant aroma of marinated spice and charcoal-grilled steaks that overcame the regular, pungent aroma of oil and race-tires. With the smoke from Joel’s small grill wafting up out of the large garage door, the scent would carry for several blocks. He gave her hand a firm squeeze and motioned for Ryan to go ahead and help himself to the food as their guest; listening as Sio continued the conversation. She was much better with people. Ryan was a perfectionist, which was relatable and how he managed his business was up to him to decide. He took a nice long pull at his beer to finish it off while his eyes watched a car pass by in front of the shop. If they were going to have more guests, he was going to have to move the Jeep to the back to leave another space on the curb.

What grabbed Joel’s attention more and caused him to narrow his glance slightly was Ryan’s words in relation to dealing with Victoria and what sounded like more of a problem in understanding his self-worth as a man. Gossip wasn’t really Joel’s forte, but if Ryan wanted an opinion, he would get one. Joel gave a small shrug, but he wasn’t any good at hiding his distaste in the subject. “I told you what I did, because you asked,” He said, swirling what was left in the bottle for a moment and searching for a little more tact. “Look, I know these people,” That car behind you has their name on the side. He said referring to the giant gear of Olympus sponsorship on the 300. “The granddad is a cool old guy and we get along well. I’m gonna drive for him again in the Fall, but the rest of them are just fucking nuts.” Tact abandoned. “I wasn’t going to say anything, because it’s not my business where you sleep, but since you wanted to know, I had to give you the truth.” He said. “And being mixed in with that freakshow that Aster runs is just gonna land you in a lot of fucking pain and suffering that you don’t need.”

@Almalthia
@Infinite Cosmos

Sol City Modern Slice of life - Chapter 3 - (all welcome new and old)

Paige Kennedy
&

Paige smirked a little as the man toppled over and very casually extended her foot behind him to help him in his ungraceful descent to the floor. Manami had done considerably better than she originally thought, but she knew from experience the next few moments were the most dangerous part. The man wasn’t knocked out cold and his survival instincts would soon take over and he would be acting on nothing but a sense of self-preservation and an attempt to escape the horror that he discovered. The surprise was over. He flailed wildly to roll over and get back on his feet still holding his gashed head with one hand the best he could, but not before Paige swiftly kicked him between the legs hard enough to retract his manhood for at least a month. He let out a guttural belch of spit and pain as the wave of shock passed over him. Gripping himself, he coughed and wailed in excruciation no longer able to concentrate on getting away from the two women standing over him.

Very deftly, Paige extended the rolled up phonebook to Manami in exchange for what looked like a golf trophy. She glanced at it quizzically, surprised by its weight and that Manami had managed to get such a good swing.

Manami briefly wondered if this was enough, after all he had a bleeding head and would probably have several other bruises for awhile. But then she decided no, it wasn't enough, she wanted this guy to realize that she wasn't playing and to never come near her again. Manami thought that he would just stay on the ground in pain but instead he got up again, before she could do anything though Paige gave him a quick kick in the nads. That attack pretty much left him immobilized, he was way too focused on his own pain than the two girls that were still standing there. Manami let of a breath that she didn't realize she'd been holding, looking to the blonde woman beside her.

She was a little confused when she gave her a phonebook and took her initial weapon of choice, she had figured that they would be done after this but apparently not. Part of her was horrified at such violence but another, much bigger part convinced herself that he deserved it. Clenching the heavy book in her hand, she gripped it tight and lifted it in the air. The creep still wasn't paying attention, and when she brought the heavy object down on his head he let out another pained grunt.

Paige continued to study the odd trophy briefly while Manami got in a few more good shots with the phonebook. She gingerly strolled over to the kitchen area and took a dish towel to polished off Jerome’s blood while her young apprentice continued to work him over thoroughly. She was still unsure as to what it belonged, other than that Manami mentioned it was a prop. Well whatever... She shrugged, looking to see that Manami seemed to be enjoying herself and not at all concerned with any further damage to their guest. It didn't take long before the young girl’s arms appeared to labor with each swing; adrenaline fueled rage could leave a person exhausted quickly and she walked back over motioning with a small wave for the beating to finally end.

Poor Jerome had assumed the fetal position and wept like a baby in a state of pain he had only just discovered within the last few moments. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” He sobbed pitifully holding his arms over his head where Manami had scored a few more direct hits to his face. Paige rolled him flat on his back with her foot and pushed his hand away from his face so he could look up at the both of them.

“We know you’re sorry and all Jerome,” She said, “But, I’m afraid that’s just not going to be good enough.” Paige reached behind her back and pulled her pistol out in clear view letting him look straight down the barrel.

“Oh GOD! JESUS, please don’t kill me!” He wailed seeing the dark center of the cylinder looking back at him and blazing green eyes on the other side of the sights. He covered his face again and bawled uncontrollably.

“Look here,” Paige snapped and kicked his hand away again. She cycled the action back ejecting a single bullet into her hand with a satisfying metallic clack. She leaned over him and tucked it into the front pocket of his blazer. “If you ever show your face here again the next one of these is gonna come a lot faster.” She growled. Turning her head she nodded for Manami to get the door. “Now get the hell outta here.”

She didn't stop until Paige motioned for her too, her arms twitched and shook from the effort of lifting and swinging the heavy phonebook repeatedly. Her breath was heavy but her mind was clear, looking down on this pathetic man curled into a ball made her feel powerful. That was something she had never felt before in her life and she was loving it, though was that a good thing? Manami took a few steps back to gain her composure, though when Paige brought out her gun she was a tad startled. That would definitely make this creep think twice about coming around here again. At the blonde's command she walked over to her front door and opened it, the whimpering fool on the floor saw his escape and took it. Without so much as a last glance he hobbled as best he could out of her apartment, shutting the door behind him she let out a long sigh and looked to the woman that had helped her.

@Otterpop

Sol City Modern Slice of life - Chapter 3 - (all welcome new and old)

Paige Kennedy

Paige sat quietly, legs crossed. Her converse sneaker bobbed as she waited patiently. Her figure, clad in one of her favorite white long sleeve shirts over jeans, sat smartly in one of Manami’s posh guest chairs. It was extremely comfortable and she thought she looked rather regal in it with her hair down and her arms relaxed on the rests. They had rearranged the furniture slightly and she had a clear view of the main living space and the corridor that entered from the doorway.

God this chair is comfortable She thought to herself. Maybe it’s not too late to think about a different career. She glanced towards a small ornate mirror on the other side of the room catching an off-angle glimpse of herself. Ugh, no, we’re too ooooooold a whiny voice in the back of her mind chimed. She sighed a little at the thought and briefly examined a few strands of blonde in her fingers. The ends were frayed and uneven and she frowned a little before letting them drop back down to her shoulder. She couldn’t remember the last time she had really got her hair done and it needed it badly. It wont be too much longer. One voice said solemnly. Her eyes lifted up from the sound of a knock at the door. This should be fun at least.

Just like she had figured, it was like shooting fish in a barrel for Tao to get the security camera footage from Saturday night. He had basically scoffed at the request, considering it “beneath” his talents, but she had just as easily convinced him to acquiesce. Within the footage, they were able to identify the individual who’d attempted to force his way into the apartment.

What was a bit of mystery was how he had managed to get a working keycard, granted there were several plausible methods, none of that was going to matter anymore very soon. It was with some surprise that she found Manami willing to take on the much more efficient method of dealing with her overly obsessed fan, but Paige could sense some caged need for independence in the girl despite her nervousness. With some crafty wording, they had managed to convince the man that he had only frightened Manami by showing up unexpectedly and that she was actually grateful to have such a caring and devoted fan. Why not a nice date? Or she could even cook for him. He was like clay in her hand at that point. It was all arranged over text. He could even keep the keycard he had made to let himself in at the appointed time.

The footsteps walked evenly down the corridor into the open foyer where Manami’s kitchen and living space combined. There was no slowness in the movement and Paige knew he had been in there before when Manami wasn’t home. It disgusted her. Everything was familiar. There was no sense of wonderment in his step. He was getting what he felt he deserved, however his victorious grin faded quickly when he turned to find Paige waiting alone.

“Who the hell are you?” He said with more than a modicum of surprised disgust.

“Hello, Jerome.... Oh I’m just a friend of Manami’s. She’s getting ready. It’ll just be a few minutes” Paige said, looking at him with an easy smile. She glanced him up and down briefly. Just as instructed, he arrived in his most formal attire which constituted an aged suit that was noticeably too big for him and so stiff it appeared to have lived in a closet for years. His regularly unkempt hair was slicked down over his skull with a generous amount of styling gel and his slightly overweight face was red from being recently shaved. Overall he looked something like a cross between prom date and used-car salesman. However, Paige’s eyes brightened slightly at what was tucked under his arm. Also, as instructed, he brought with him the most recent copy of the Yellow Pages. The final printing. Crisp and new, still with a glossy sheen on the cover. “Oh, you did good.” She said, standing up and walking over slowly. The man’s apprehension seemed to fade into unease as she approached. Her green eyes had a near paralyzing glance like he’d never seen. She was much different than Manami. Not sweet and cute, but predatory, like some wild animal. With no resistance, she gently slid the phonebook from underneath his arm and let the pages roll under her thumb before glancing back up at his confused face. “She’s going to be very happy with this…”

@Otterpop

Sol City Modern Slice of life - Chapter 3 - (all welcome new and old)

Joel Nicolosi

The shop was full at Apex Designs, a little bit like old times, Joel thought as he made his way around lifting his arms and leaning back slightly to negotiate his way around a high spoiler. Unlike the past however, none of the cars inside belonged to customers. In the air, on the lift was his daily driving Celica, in front on the floor parked at an angle was the GTR and pointing nose-out towards the street was the 300. He made his way alongside of it and pushed the winning trophy from the Vineyard Rally out of the way with his foot. It was crowded, but he’d reached a slick deal with Sol City Nissan to display the race-winning 300 in their showroom while he worked out some more space. He handed a bottle of Guiness to Ryan Woods whose Mustang sat halfway nose-in with the hood up.

It felt good to be home doing things in some semblance of how business once operated at Apex Designs. The location had become more of a Southside novelty than a shop, not that he longed for the past, but the simplicity of it was almost comical as he considered how much of a turn his life and career had actually taken in a surprisingly short amount of time. After a few spirited rounds around the block, he had a pretty decent idea of what was causing the trouble. He took a long drink while his freehand traced over the spark plug wires on both cylinder banks. In the back of the shop the stereo belted out tunes the same as always while the smell of steaks on the grill filled the whole shop. The outside curb was just as crowded with Sio’s Corvette and his Jeep parked with two of it’s big tires up on the sidewalk. It was still comfortably warm as the evening sun was setting over the old streets with an explosion of orange in the sky. Off in the distance the regular evening freight train horn sounded. He took another drink and pulled one of the plug boots out of the massive engine.

“Here’s your problem.” He said casually pointing the wire at Ryan for him to see. “Somebody likes to stomp the gas, huh?” He didn’t anticipate the young chef to understand the reference. “It’s just carbon track,” He said with a shrug, “Pretty normal, happens sometimes especially on these older cars, we just need to replace your plugs and wires.” Leaning back over the engine bay, he plugged the boot securely back in it’s socket. “It’ll be safe to drive until we get your parts, just stay away from the drag strip.”

He glanced over towards Siobhan, tending to dinner at the grill, not the least bit concerned their guest was a professional chef. “You should hang around.” He said to Ryan. “We’re expecting a little bit of company later, plenty of food,” He saw her glance up and gave a wink. “We do like’em rare around here though, and nobody critiques the chef other than me.”

Joel’s shop radio


@Infinite Cosmos@Almalthia

Sol City Modern Slice of life - Chapter 3 - (all welcome new and old)

Running a little bit behind. Got busy at the end of last week, but i see we got a few more posts in which is great. I should be back in the saddle tomorrow to work on the next skip notice.

Sol City Modern Slice of life - Chapter 3 - (all welcome new and old)

Paige Kennedy

“It’s no problem,” Paige said stepping through the doorway. “And you don’t have to worry about a bunch of police.” She continued, glancing around the very sheek apartment, though Manami’s furnishings tended to add a touch of nerdiness that she hadn’t expected and partially reminded her of Siobhan’s eclectic, artsy side. There were a large assortment of books arranged neatly along with a gaming console in plain view among the more opulent decorum. She didn’t expect to find much, but just listened as the girl talked. When Manami mentioned the person had a keycard her gaze lifted from the room and she looked back at Manami, narrowing her eyes quizzically. “He had a card to get in?” Keycards suddenly seemed to be one of the main focal points of her life she thought with some amusement.

The girl’s anxiety was nothing new to Paige. She knew she wasn’t the best at consoling people, but she was good at fixing their problems. The fact that this particular person had enough access to get through the automated security at the front gate, the door, and make a card to enter the apartment seemed to confirm it was likely someone who worked around the complex either as an employee or contractor and watched her enough times to know which unit belonged to Manami. They had likely been observing her for some time before becoming so bold. She wriggled her lips a little and looked back around the apartment considering what she was going to say so as not to freak the girl out any further, but to also imply there would be a simple option and a more time-consuming method of solving their problem. Her phone vibrated with a call in her back pocket and she turned her hip slightly seeing a completely unexpected call from Marlin going to voicemail. She cocked her eyebrow a bit and slid the phone back in her pocket.

Saving the distraction for later, Paige leaned against the armrest of the sofa and ran her fingers over the smooth threading as Manami continued to talk. She brushed a few strands of loose hair back behind her ear. “This works a couple different ways,” She said looking back at Manami. The girl’s youth and exquisite natural beauty made her feel old and tired. Why couldn’t we have picked a job like this? Some internal voice very pointedly vocalized in her mind. “One way is I go through the regular channels and we get this person taken care of by the book.” She said. “Since I’m not just a beat cop, I can probably move things along a little faster for you, but keep in mind this is not… usually what I do in my job, it will still take some time.” Her tone seemed to denote a certain amount of monotony to the process. She drummed her fingers on the sofa considering her next words and glancing at the bookshelf again. “The other way is going to be a lot faster, but you’re gonna have to be a little brave.”

@Otterpop@PrinceAlexus

Sol City Modern Slice of life - Chapter 3 - (all welcome new and old)

Fyi,

Just a casual notice that we are working on the next skip. You'll be seeing it later this week so think about concluding your interactions for the current setting.

-P

Sol City Modern Slice of life - Chapter 3 - (all welcome new and old)

Joel Nicolosi & Siobhan Murphy

Joel read the text once and then instantly narrowed his glance and brought the screen closer to his eyes to read it again before abruptly laughing out loud with a great guffaw. The sort of laugh one would make when watching people injure themselves haphazardly on skateboards or with shopping carts. The calmness of the setting broken as he smacked his knee and cackled at the words on the screen before reading it again and laughing some more while clutching his side. Sensing Sio’s confused glance as well as the sudden attention of others around the campfire he waved his hand dismissively, though he was having a hard time containing his hysterics. He exhaled and tried to breathe evenly, but the words on the screen were too much. “Oh my fucking God,” He snickered shaking his head and finally turning the screen again so Siobhan could read.

Siobhan read the words on the screen quickly and raised an eyebrow at the laughter. "Poor guy. Why text you when it's too late? That's like getting caught in a bear trap in the middle of nowhere. Might as well lay down and die. Don't be sadistic to the poor boy. That could have easily been you and that blonde bitch." she thought about that for a moment. "If you were stupid, which you aren't."

“Oooh, gettin’ spicy over there.” Joel chuckled. Sio’s disdain for Romus-Olympus brood was a never ending trove of delightfully sordid quips. He glanced away briefly mulling over what to say in reply, but ended up shaking his head still in a bit of wonderment at what remained on the screen in front of him. “What a dumbass.” He said finally. “You know, he struck me as kind of odd back at the festival, but i thought maybe he was just nervous about the attention.” He turned his glance back to Sio. “You would think after a big win like that, he would have all kinds of options…” He paused, still thinking and partially probing for what sort of pithy inspiration she might give him. People didn’t normally come to him for relationship advice and his mind teetered somewhere between pity and sadistic humor- Sio knew him pretty well. “And that chick is like the monkey-branching queen of the city.” He said. “Wasn’t she just with your friend’s boyfriend before she jumped to Ethan?”

Siobhan smirked and decided to give him a story he could relate to Ryan. "I'd say they prefer the term community bicycle. But yes she had her claws in Milo. Paige was a definite upgrade for him. Did I tell you I actually met them before I met you? Milo and the pregnant community bicycle that is. Paige was one of the few decent people at that Winter Ball thing. I digress. Milo was dancing with… that thing and she had the audacity to glare at me like I was going to take him away from her. She also scratched the hell out of Paige's car thinking it was mine because Paige and I stopped by Milo's work. She's a piece of work."

“Yeah, I remember the car-keying thing.” Joel replied, his disdain evident. Taking a shot at someone’s car always grated his nerves, not just because of his profession or lifestyle, but because a car couldn’t defend itself, it was just an exceptionally depraved way to get after someone, almost like hurting an animal. His lip curled slightly as he mentally recalled the story and the image of glossy factory paint curled away to bare metal under the direction of a sharp tool played behind his eyes while the perpetrator trotted away as if it were nothing. He shook his head a little and hit send:

-I’m not tryin to tell ya how to live your life, but you might want to get the fuck out of there and just not look back. That’s the best I can do, take it or leave it.-

Joel thought briefly towards mentioning something about Ethan, but thought better of it. If Ryan questioned more, then he would give his opinion, but he really didn’t like getting into other people’s business. If his advice was asked, he gave it and that was it, otherwise he kept to himself. He sent one more message thinking it might lighten the sentiment somewhat:

-Also, i’ll be around the shop this week if you still want that mustang looked at, come on by.-

@Infinite Cosmos@Almalthia

Sol City Modern Slice of life - Chapter 3 - (all welcome new and old)

Paige Kennedy

All remained quiet as Paige walked slowly down the hallway. Nothing was out of place and there was hardly a sound save for her light footsteps and the air whispering quietly through the ventilation. Whoever it was, if anyone, was long gone, which was about what she expected as she neared Manami’s doorway. She glanced back briefly to get a view of the security camera’s field of vision and if it was recording she checked the time on her phone to timestamp herself just in case there was any tampering to be uncovered. There was no doubt that finding out who was responsible was going to be a slam dunk and she had no doubt Tao would be able to pull the security camera footage much quicker than she could go get a warrant and do things by the book. It seemed odd that whoever it was would be so willing to put themselves at such risk, but she had heard of stranger things. The thirst was real for many men and it made them stupid, stupid enough to land them serious hot water and stupid enough to get people hurt.

As she neared Manami’s door number, she could hear the faint sound of a deadbolt turning and another lock being withdrawn. She lifted her hand to knock, but the door cracked open just as she had curled her hand into a fist finding herself being examined by a pair of very worried eyes. She tilted her head slightly, peering back so as not to spook the girl any further. “It’s okay, it’s me.” She said taking a small step back and drawing her jacket back to show her silver Marshal’s star and the gun on her hip. “There’s nobody out here and I didn’t see anyone else out on the floor.” She said. Her southern accent was evident. Strangely, she’d discovered it seemed to have some sort of calming effect on some, like it was somehow what they expected after watching too many old western movies, though she had to admit she liked the correlation. “I’m Paige.”

@Otterpop