Be All, End All

Darynn found the garage easily. She came early and then just sat in her car waiting for the sun to rise. The garage was on a corner and the house nearest it, facing the other street must belong to the owner, Dom. The driveway and street before the house were lined with street machines and imports. Each was a work of art that she longed to study.

The Mazda, Dom’s car was there. A Supra, an Eclipse, a Civic and a tight little black Skyline. What the fuck? It was like a car show. No two by the same manufacturer and each sporting body kits and accessories and custom paint jobs. She couldn’t help getting excited from seeing so much chrome and polish.

The front door opened and a dark-haired guy in a dark wifebeater stepped out onto the small porch. He just stood at the railing, probably making sure all the cars were still there. After a minute he yelled back at the house, “Yo, Dominic!”

Darynn watched as the big man she’d met the night before came out. The two of them stood talking, too low for her to hear. Then they were both coming toward her.

Wanting to meet this head on, Darynn climbed out and stepped onto the curb to wait for them.

“Mornin’,” Dom said to her as he crossed the street. Darynn couldn’t help admiring the way he looked. That he didn’t check both ways before crossing the street seemed petty, yet it also added to his confident stride. This was his home. His relaxed strut made her want to smile.

“This is Leon,” he continued upon nearing her. “Leon, Darynn.”

Darynn nodded. Nice eyes. He was built. Not as impressively as his friend, but still reeking of wiry strength.

“Pop the hood,” Dom ordered, stepping into position before the hood.

“Is this part of the interview?” she asked, doing as instructed.

Dom smiled, releasing and lifting the hood. “Just curious.”

The new guy, Leon, whistled as the highly polished, brightly colored, and performancely impressive engine came into view. Try as she might, Darynn couldn’t help puffing with pride.

“Damn!” Leon swore. “Woman shouldn’t have so much power.”

She could see that he was teasing. His smile and lingering glance on her had her smiling in return.

“Depends on if they know what to do with it,” Dom countered. The look he gave her wasn’t nearly so teasing.

“Is that a challenge?”

“Maybe.” He slowly, and carefully, she noted, lowered her hood until it clicked into place. “I challenge you to a day’s labor first, then we’ll see what else you can do.”

Darynn shrugged and walked forward, crossing the street and heading for the garage. The car alarm beeped as she moved away and she smiled at the cars as she approached them. Already she didn’t know how she’d ever be crazy enough to walk away from this job offer. Even if the rest of his ‘team’ were slobbering rude idiots she’d have to wonder. If these cars had come outta that garage and she got to work with these two *at all* and she got to do anything but maintenance she’d be thrilled beyond belief.

The guys quickly caught up to her and opened the garage. Just two bay doors, but there was room for four cars inside. A Toyota MR2 was up on a lift. An Escalade was on a couple of ramps. One spot was empty save for toolboxes and equipment and the other had a classic ’68 Mustang with some superficial front-end damage.

Darynn walked around and looked at each of the cars as Dom went into the back and turned on the lights. A lot of lights! She was impressed by yet another thing. Most garages had inadequate lighting, like Che’s, but here fluorescents seemed to line the ceiling. Very nice.

“Where do you want me to start?” she asked as he came back into the shop.

“Your choice,” Dom said. “Leon and Gregg are workin’ on the ‘Stang and the Nissan that you painted last night. Me and V are working on the Toyota and the Escalade.”

“The Toyota is what?”

They walked over to the car on the lift, looking up into the underside of the engine.

“Everything. Air intake, fuel management, some wiring, plugs, regular maintenance, the whole shit.”

Darynn smiled. The whole shit. Yeah, that sounded good to her. And considering, if she wanted Dom to see what she could do, she might want to be working *near* him.

Dom smiled slowly as she smiled up into the Toyota’s engine. “The MR2 it is. We got three others. Gregg should be in soon. Vince is always running late.” Leon scoffed from where he stood leaning on the Mustang. Dom ignored him. “Low usually comes in around nine or ten.”

“What’s… he working on?”

Dom smiled, “Low’s our secretary, sorta. He gets out here when he can, but mostly just keeps our bills paid and our parts ordered.”

“Why you telling me all this?” Darynn asked softly, not feeling like she deserved so much of an explanation.

“If you’re gonna be part of the team, you gotta know your shit,” was all he said before he moved away.

Darynn didn’t quite understand, but she let it go. This was a job to her, that was all. She’d been part of a team before, yeah, but that had been different. Raised and living around cars constantly, she’d felt like her friends were a team. Her dad had hired in help, sure, but that had been the ‘hired help’. They didn’t make the new people part of the ‘team’ just because they worked with them. Maybe they should have, but it just never felt right. Now, this guy was telling her by walking into the shop and picking up a tool made her something special to all of them? Fuck that. She’d believe that when she saw it.

They immediately got to work. Dom and Leon talked back and forth some, asking her questions as well, but mostly she stayed quiet.

Gregg showed up after about an hour and she was introduced. He seemed like a nice guy. Taller than Leon, but not as tall as Dom. He was built nice. That seemed to be a requirement here. Dark blonde hair long enough for the top to be pulled back in a tiny ponytail. Whether it was naturally that color or was really dirty, she couldn’t tell. She couldn’t guess his age. His attitude, non-stop chatter from the moment he walked in, made him seem young, but a shaped tuft on his chin lent him an older look. The eyes gave him away. He was a rascal, she could see it.

Leon seemed more at ease with Gregg than Dom did. Darynn didn’t say anything, but she saw the way Dom followed him with his eyes. He’d said hello, but then had left all the talking to Leon after that. The light conversation with Leon ended as well. Darynn wondered why, but didn’t ask.

Next came Low, or Lowell as she was told. Darynn liked the guy immediately. Where Gregg had wooshed in like a storm, she hardly noticed Low until he stopped beside them to talk to Dom. Soft spoken and reserved. He didn’t say more than a brief ‘hi’ to her, but she got the feeling he really wasn’t shy, just quiet. He rivaled Dom in size, though just in the thickness. He was only an inch or so taller than her. Short dark curly hair, dark green eyes that seemed to be holding more thoughts than he was voicing, which was nil.

Dom went into the back with Low, leaving her alone to work on the car. Darynn didn’t think anything of it. She just kept working.

“Who the fuck is this?”

Darynn gasped and sprang backwards at the harsh tone right at her ear.

“V, back off.”

Leon was coming toward them, but that didn’t stop an obviously pissed off ‘V’ from getting in her face. “We don’t need more *puta* in the garage. I thought we’d got ridda the last one.”

“Vince!” Dom yelled, coming from the back. Leon was coming from the other side. Darynn didn’t give a shit.

“Fuck you!” Her hands were balled into fists already, that fight or flight thing. When he reached for her she reacted, not thinking about hitting him, she just did.

Blood spurted from his nose as he howled like a banshee. Suddenly Dom and Leon were running, grabbing Vince as he took a swing at her and pulling her back as well. Gregg was making some comment as he came over.

Darynn shoved at Dom’s arm holding hers. “Fuck you! You can’t touch me! And no one calls me a *puta*! Who in the fuck do you think you are? * Ttiron necio*!”

“Rynn!”

Dom’s commanding voice directly in her ear made her settle, but she couldn’t help the dirty look she continued to give Vince as she flipped him the bird.

“Little bitch!”

“Vince, that’s enough. Go clean up. I’ll be over in a minute.”

Dom was obviously used to being obeyed. As surly as Vince was he still backed down at Dom’s words. His nose gushed unchecked, staining his shirt as he left the garage muttering to himself.

Darynn moved with Dom as he turned her before releasing her. Low stepped back as Dom corralled her towards the office. Then he closed the door between them and the rest of the garage.

“Dom, that asshole started that,” Darynn started.

He ignored her. “Need some ice for the right hook?”

Darynn frowned, starting to get angry all over again, “Did you know he was going to act like that? I won’t put up with shit from—“

“That’s obvious. You almost broke his nose. You’ve been here two hours.” He gave her a pissy look for all of five seconds before he grinned.

She grinned in return, “Dammit, this isn’t funny. I don’t think I made a very good impression.”

Dom chuckled, “I think you made an impression. It was just on his face.”

“Well, he called me a *puta*. And what was he talking about? The ‘last one’?”

There went that joking moment. Dom instantly became reserved, giving her a wary glance. “That’s none of your business. I’ll take care of Vince.”

As the King of good exits he was gone before she realized the conversation was over.