Special thanks to my Monkee. She coaxes, prods and begs like a baby. She's a sneaky little sis, but I wouldn't have her any other way. This story is for her. Happy birthday Monks. I love you!
Completed: June 9, 2005
He took a deep breath and surveyed the damage. With every bullet hole and dented panel, his stomach lurched. His beloved Corvette was totaled. He had just left his apartment to get his car hand washed and waxed at DJ's down the street, when Hannibal called, stating that Decker was on their tail and that they needed a diversion. Never one to let his team down, he went to their rescue.
He walked around to the other side of his formerly perfect vehicle and his heart sank...it was even worse than the other had been. Yep, definitely totaled. Face thought to himself.
The right side was missing paint, and the metal was gouged deeply. He only hoped the concrete wall that he had hit suffered as much, if not more, damage....he doubted it. He ran a loving hand along the side where the orange stripe had been and sighed again just as BA and the rest of the team pulled up in the van.
"You okay Face?" Hannibal asked, wincing around the cigar in his mouth, as he took in the state of Face's car and the crest fallen man man standing beside it.
"Yeah...I'm fine." The younger man stated, trying to push down the rising depression he was experiencing.
Murdock circled the car, shaking his head. "Oh Facey...your car...your beautiful car."
"Yeah...My car...My Beautiful car." Face repeated, staring blankly at his car.
"I'm really sorry about your wheels man." BA said, his voice soft, unlike his normal gruff self. "We'll take care of it. It'll be good as new." He added, placing a gentle hand on his team mates shoulder.
Face shook his head and took few steps away from the vehicle, never taking his eyes off of it. "No....I don't think anything can fix this." He said quietly. "There's not a part on here that's not damaged."
"Not true Faceman!" Murdock said enthusiastically, "This looks great." He said, pointing to the driver's side mirror, just before it fell off the car. His smile faded, as he looked at his dearest friend and shrugged. "Sorry."
"It's okay, I'm surprised I didn't lose it when I ran Decker onto the on ramp so you guys could get away. I had to nudge him a few times to force him over." Face said, still in a daze.
Noticing that Face looked like a child who had just lost his favorite toy, Hannibal walked up to his LT and put his arm round his shoulders. "BA's right Face. Give him a few weeks with it, and you'll think this whole afternoon was just a bad dream."
For the first time since they had arrived, Face looked at them and then to Hannibal. "You really think so?"
"Of coarse he thinks so sucka. You saw what my van looked like, when I first got it. It had been in a head on collision and the whole front was flattened toward the passenger compartment. I had to straighten the A frame, and find another van like it to rob parts off of. A few modifications here and there and now I have the meanest ride in town...almost as mean as me." BA smirked proudly.
Face nodded, speaking thoughtfully, "Yeah, I remember. It was pretty much trashed...." Hope dawned in his eyes, which didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the team. "Maybe it's not so totaled after all." He added, with a slight smile and feeling a little bit better.
"That's the spirit." Hannibal slapped Face on the back and then offered him a cigar.
"Thanks, I need this." He said, puffing as Hannibal lit it.
Murdock shoved his hands deep in his pockets, still looking at the car and obviously mulling over something. "Ummm, Face? Just how did you get away from Decker?"
Face smiled and walked to the front of the car, motioning for Murdock to stand beside him. "You see that crunch right there?" He pointed to the right front fender. Murdock nodded so Face continued. "Decker was two cars behind me when I hit the concrete divider. You see this?" Again Murdock nodded, as Face pointed to the passenger side. "This is where I slid down the divider, about 50 feet, after impact. Yep, I left about 50 feet of paint and tire marks behind me. And this under here..." He pointed to the various scrapes and where the muffler had once resided, "This happened when the tires got hot and I really got traction. I actually climbed the wall on this side and went over....Lost a few parts along the way..." he frowned. "...but I made it all the way over the wall. I'm still shocked that I didn't get stuck. I guess the extra speed gave me the forward momentum to make it. I actually had a break in traffic on the other side, so I did a 180 and sped off in the other direction. I made it this far before my tires finally blew out." Face patted the hood proudly. "She's something all right...even with the scars.
"And She'll be even better when I get through with her." BA added.
Face turned to BA, and without hesitation, he gave the big man a hug. Finally pulling himself together, Face backed away and grinned sheepishly. Noticing BA's embarrassment, he decided to get the big guys mind working on the task at hand. "When can we get started? Can we paint it the same color? I really like the stripe...sort of a trade mark you know?....How hard will it be getting parts...can I help you check the junk yards? I know some people, maybe I can make a few calls and get a special discount...." Face continued rattling off questions as BA ushered him back to the van, before calling his friend Phillip who owned a wrecker to get the truck and tow it back to the garage where BA hung out.
Even though the car had been totaled, the team was still intact. Deep down, Face knew that was the only thing that mattered. Material things could be fixed or replaced, while friends / family could not. Once again, everything was right, or well on it's way to being so, in Face's world.
Fini.
