continuing from here

picking up from @drdone passing off to @akireyta

Her car is not a large car, an old ‘84 Mustang. It’s nothing like a classic, it’s just old. Four people take up all four seats, and Kayo’s uncomfortably aware of the presence of a civilian in their midst. Two cops, one criminal, and one bystander, and the four of them parked within spitting distance of one of her uncle’s properties. There’ll be guards, there’ll be dogs. There might be people who know her face, though she tries not to think about that.

Because if their intel is good, there also might be the person responsible for one of the more major criminal enterprises in the city, complete with boosted luxury cars, assorted juveniles being coerced with money or drugs or whatever else, and a whole lot of cash being circulated through the whole process.

It’s no wonder this trail has come leading back to the Hood, or at least to one of his properties. But the interesting question is whether this is a partnership of equals, or whether there’s an imbalance. Whether the Mechanic is a lackey or a player in his own right. If he’s a rival, then her uncle will be looking to force him out. If he’s a lackey, the Mechanic may be looking to challenge the Hood’s own robust empire.

They’ve been sitting in the car long enough that the respiration of four bodies has started to fog up the windows, and Kayo swipes a hand irritably across hers, peers out into the darkness. In seat beside her, Brains sits quietly. In the seat in front, Scott’s brother does the same, though Kayo can hear the faint, rapid tap of his thumbs on the touchscreen of his phone, the blue of the screen the only light in the darkness.

Of Scott’s brothers, so far Kayo’s only met Virgil and Gordon, and Gordon only just tonight. Virgil she’s come across once or twice before, solely by merit of the fact that he works so much, which is coincidentally the thing Scott complains about most. It’s Gordon’s temper she hears about, and by now she knows better than to get Scott started about Alan. But she’s not sure she knows anything about John, least of all why the hell he’s here.

Currently, he’s just in between her and the passenger’s side door.

“Right,” she starts, and claps her hands on the headrests of the two seats in front of her. She gives an extra tap on John’s. “You, let me out. Either the Mechanic’s in there or he isn’t, but if he is, then he’s gonna be wondering where the hell his engineer is. That’s our in. A race got blown tonight, and if there’s as much money in this game as Pointdexter—”

“Brains,” John corrects from the front seat, and Kayo’s fingers tighten just slightly on the leather of the headrest behind him.

“—as Brains says there is, then he’s going to need to set up something new, fast. There are people putting big money on these races. He’s lost about half a dozen cars, at least that many drivers, if the rest of ’em aren’t running scared. He’ll be looking. I’ve got a car. I’m a damn good driver. If we can get someone on the inside of this thing—”

“Nope.” Scott’s let her get this far, but now he turns and gives her a hard stare. “Nothin’ doing, rookie, it was one thing when I thought we could catch this guy moving hot cars into a new space, get some decent surveillance, call it in and report it. But this is clearly an operation and it’s clearly on a larger scale than you, me, and the peanut gallery can deal with. If this is connected to your uncle? That is way over our heads. We’re not clear to—”

“My uncle owns the property. He owns about half the property in this part of town. It might be that’s all it is. But it also might be that this is a line we could use to hook a big fish.”

Scott’s jaw clenches slightly. “Yeah, a big fish who knew you when you were still a small fry. Even if you can get on the inside with the Mechanic—”

“I can.”

“It’s too dangerous.”

Kayo growls and kicks the back of John’s seat. “Let me out,” she orders, but knows better than to expect that this will happen. “Just let me go have a look around. I’ll take the Brainiac, that’s my in. He tells the Mechanic that I came by the old shop after the crash, looking for work. Told him I wouldn’t take no for an answer, took him on a joy ride around town to prove I’m serious. He didn’t have a choice but to bring me back to the boss.”

They’ve only been together a few months, but Kayo knows Scott well enough to know the meaning of the way his eyes narrow slightly. He’s thinking about it, in spite of himself.

“I’ll do it,” says a quiet voice beside her. “P-please. I want to help.”

And in the front seat, Scott heaves a sigh.