The plan was all set--upon arrival at the repair shop, Sherm would pretend to be recounting the Cobalt story to Faith and Violet as they approached either Brian or his daughter, whoever they saw first. Faith would put on a clueless-but-invested act in response to Sherm's story and casually bring up names that might get a reaction out of either Brian or Nayla, while Violet would remain more on the quiet side and subtly study the staff's body language and whether they would respond a certain way to the story and the names mentioned. Eventually Sherm would "get to the point" on why they were there to Brian and the others, claiming that his car was having trouble again with a description of some made-up symptoms. Meanwhile, Faith and Violet would remain in the background and continue to audibly comment on things such as how they were glad Sherm was okay and how much they wanted to meet the one who came to his rescue. Perhaps then Sherm could get more information out of the staff on who Cobalt was, while Faith mainly just wanted to see if some semblance of trust could be built with them. For optimal results, subtlety would be key.
Well, that's how the plan was supposed to have gone, at least. Just as they made a sharp and bumpy turn into the parking lot of their destination...POP! POP POP!
Violet gasped, and Sherm, equally startled, nearly lost control of the steering wheel, narrowly avoiding swerving into one of the other cars in the shop's parking lot. As he slammed on the brakes just in time, the tires made a screeching sound that could likely be heard from miles around.
Gunshots? Or explosives, maybe? Faith wasn't sure how Aaron--or worse, Spencer if he had somehow escaped prison--had found them this fast, but how or even why didn't matter right now. Undoing her seatbelt as quickly as she humanly could, Faith dove onto the floorboard in front of the back seats, clasping her hands over her head...only to discover the true culprit of the series of loud noises they had just heard was sitting right in front of her.
She must have been so invested in studying their surroundings out the window to make sure no one was following them for the entire ride that she hadn't bothered to notice that Sherm had sat that intricate monstrosity of a balloon hat in the floorboard in front of the empty seat next to her, or that her purse had fallen on top of it when Sherm made that rough turn and thus popped some parts of it due to the impact. "It's okay... It was just that stupid balloon hat," Faith groaned, getting back up to return to her seat and pick up her purse.
"Oh goodness, is everyone alright?" Violet asked, seeming to have been the quickest one to compose herself.
"Aside from nearly crashing into somebody's car, I'm good," Sherm said sheepishly. "You good, Faith?"
"Yeah, now that I know that no one was shooting at the car," Faith retorted as Sherm searched for a parking space. Secretly however, she was just about ready to finish the job and pop the rest of that colorful helium-filled headpiece out of exasperation. Okay. Deep breaths. Spencer is still in prison, and at this point Aaron's probably either out with Sheena or at home re-organizing his stacks of Benjamins.
"You still look pretty freaked out there, Faith," Sherm commented teasingly, and even though he smiled now, he still had a nervous look in his eyes. "Didn't you see me sit my hat back there, since I couldn't fit my head inside the car while wearing it?"
"Oh, shush," Faith mumbled. "You were just as scared as I was."
Upon parking, one of the mechanics who looked to be around her parents' age came out of the open garage with a wary look on his face, slowly approaching the car. "Can I help you kids with something?" the man asked, glancing at all three of them. The look on his face seemed to say that he'd spotted their not-at-all subtle arrival. He may not have heard the balloons, but the screeching tires and Sherm's near run-in with one of the parked cars was pretty hard to miss.
"Hi Brian. Sorry for the entrance back there. We just left the art festival across town, and I got a balloon hat from there but it popped inside the car and scared all of us," Sherm attempted to explain before cringing slightly. That story likely sounded a lot less ridiculous when he'd worded it inside his head.
"Okay..." The man who was apparently Brian slowly nodded, and looked toward the car that Sherm nearly ran into. He gestured at two other mechanics to come over. "Check that car, make sure there's no damage."
"Don't worry sir, he didn't hit the car," Violet assured him sweetly as the men checked the other car for any marks or dents. "We were just really startled."
However, instead of giving them all a lecture about being more careful, the man suddenly squinted at Sherm. "Wait, haven't I seen you before? That car looks familiar too."
"Yeah, you fixed it recently," Sherm replied. "And unfortunately..." Sherm paused, seeming reluctant to lie before eventually continuing, "I think it might need to be fixed again."
"Okay well, we're about to close now so you'll need to make an appointment for another time," Brian said tersely.
"I know, but I just wanted to tell you some of the things it's been doing, and wondered whether you think it might be serious or not. It won't take long, I promise," Sherm reassured him as he climbed out of the car.
"Look, I'm sorry but it's gonna have to wait. We've all had a long day, and--"
"Excuse me," Faith suddenly interjected, also climbing out of the car followed by Violet. "I know you guys are probably eager to be done for the day, but...is there a water cooler inside? I'm just really parched, with how warm it's been today. After that, I promise we'll leave." Why did I have to come up with THAT, of all things? Oh well, whatever can potentially get me closer to Nayla or maybe even Cobalt if he's here somewhere...
Brian gave a close-mouthed sigh before muttering, "Sure. I'll get someone to show you inside." Once again turning toward the garage where the other two men from before were returning, apparently not having found any damage to the other car, he called out, "Nayla!"
Sure enough, a girl wearing a uniform matching that of Brian and the rest of his staff turned around to look at them from the garage, her appearance consistent with what Faith could recall of Aaron's sister. The only real difference was that her blue curls were pulled back in a bun this time.
"Yeah, Pops?" Nayla replied, and Faith could see that she had a similar tiredness in her eyes to Brian's as she approached them. Faith wondered if maybe she was still mentally reeling from that heated argument with Aaron that night. Or maybe they're just mad at us because of the hold-up we're causing... she thought with a trace of guilt.
"Show her where the water cooler is," Brian said, glancing at Faith. "Her friends here have some questions about this car, so I'll help them in the meantime."
Nayla and her father shared a knowing glance with one another before glancing back at Faith, Sherm and Violet. Eventually though, Nayla nodded and beckoned for Faith to follow her inside through the garage.
Since Faith was trying something of her own now that their original idea wasn't going to work, she hoped that in the meantime her friends could show Brian (who likely called most if not all of the shots on who could and couldn't be trusted) that while their actions might be temporarily inconveniencing, they didn't mean any harm.
"Look, you can get a drink of water, but after that we are gonna need to close," Nayla told her as they walked through the door leading inside the building, insisting that Faith go in front of her.
Her voice sounds the same too... "I understand," Faith said cordially, glad for a chance to talk alone with her, safely inside the building no less. She knew she would have to be quick about it. Subtle, though. Quick, but subtle.
"It's just been one of those days, I guess," she continued, making an attempt at casual small talk while Nayla led her down a hallway to the waiting area, both of them keeping each other in their direct vision. It was almost like Happy Scoops all over again, just not quite as nerve-wracking. "Not only did my friend nearly get mugged recently, but now his car won't stop giving him trouble."
"Sorry to hear," Nayla muttered. She appeared to be studying Faith while only half listening to her actual words. "It's sad, but I guess bad things are always gonna happen to good people, huh?"
Faith reluctantly filled a paper cup not even half full of water, knowing she would have to drink some to avoid looking suspicious. Hey, if Aaron's water cooler isn't laced with anything, then hopefully the one here isn't. Taking a cautious and sparing sip, Faith continued, "Yeah. I'm just glad Sherm is okay now, though. We hardly know anything about the guy that saved him, only that he carries an electric baton, calls himself "Cobalt", and gave him a card with some phone numbers that should only be called if something serious was occurring. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it all, to be honest."
Faith wished Violet was here with her, but from Faith's own lay perspective, Nayla sure enough looked a lot more tentative to what she was saying now. Good...we're getting somewhere. Making herself take one last sip before discarding the cup in the trash can next to the cooler, Faith went on, "Now, I know I'm reaching here, but...if you know Cobalt or think you might see him any time soon, Sherm's girlfriend especially wanted to thank Cobalt personally, since Sherm could've died if not for him. But since we can't do that, at least not today, just tell him we said thanks--and that goes for the other vigilantes he works with too."
Nayla now fully locked eyes with her and nodded, almost as if saying, You're welcome.
Faith swallowed hard before saying the next part. "I...also heard one of them has a brother that's on the wrong side of the law, and...I know that must be rough for her too."
Nayla began to blink rapidly, staring at Faith for a few seconds before eventually letting out a snort. "Oh, yeah? Well that sounds rough. Kinda makes me glad I don't have a brother. Now look, as fun as this conversation's been, we've really gotta close--"
"Please, one more thing and then I'll leave," Faith said quickly, lowering her voice and noticing that Nayla once again appeared uncomfortable.
"Make it fast," Nayla sighed, brushing a loose curly strand away from her face.
"Look, we didn't just come here to annoy you all. My point on the last part is, I'm...familiar with some of the things Aaron Galanos is capable of, and at least two of my friends could be in danger. I'd rather not take sides in this situation if at all possible, but...if you do know any of these vigilantes by any chance--the Salvagers After Sundown, to be more specific--are there any safe places or known headquarters where they operate and take people in, or do they just go to anyone who needs help and not vice versa?"
"No specific headquarters. Just the phone numbers...as far as I know, that is." She looked off to the side, as if wondering if she was already telling Faith too much. "Ask your friend. He got a card, right? Write all the numbers down and don't lose 'em."
"Okay... Thank you." Faith couldn't believe she had made this much progress on her own...and hoped it wouldn't be the death of her. "Well, I guess I'll be on my way, then."
However, the look on Nayla's face had softened as she nodded and gave a brief wave goodbye. Her smile was half-hearted, but somehow reassuring as Faith nodded to her and waved back.
Faith had turned around to head back out through the garage outside when Nayla added behind her, "Oh, and--did I get your name earlier?"
Faith was debating with herself on whether giving her name out right now would do more harm than good, when Sherm suddenly opened and peeked in the door Faith was about to leave through. "Hey Faith, me and Violet are ready to go if you are."
Never mind, I guess she knows all three of our names now. Our surnames, at least. "Yeah, I'm ready."
"Good luck on your car," Nayla said, nodding to the both of them. "And it was good to meet you, Faith."
"You too, Nayla." Even if they hadn't made the best first impression, it seemed that for the most part, they were among people they could ultimately trust.
"Thanks for taking another look at my car," Sherm said to Brian as they met Violet next to the car. "It's a huge load off my mind, knowing nothing's wrong with it. Are you sure I don't owe you anything?"
"Don't worry about it. I'm just glad I could help. All of you take care now, and don't hesitate to tell us if it acts up again." As with Nayla a few minutes ago, Brian also had a look of subdued concern on his face, as opposed to the tired and slightly flustered demeanor they had had when Faith and her friends first arrived. Faith watched out the corner of her eye as he glanced between her, Sherm and Violet one last time, as if trying to mentally register each of their faces before finally turning around and heading back into the garage. Something told Faith that the kind of trouble Brian referred to in his last sentence wasn't strictly referring to that of cars.
"That was quick thinking earlier," Sherm commented to Faith once all three of them were safely back inside the car. "And it looks like things went well in there with Nayla, too. My only real disappointment was that I couldn't get much out of Brian in the way of details on Cobalt, and I didn't see anyone there that reminded me of him. But Brian did get comfortable enough to mention some details about both Aaron and Nayla at one point."
"He seemed kind of uneasy at first, especially when talking about his son, and for a moment I thought of suggesting we just leave and not bother them anymore," Violet noted. "But once he seemed to get the hint on why you really wanted to talk to him, his demeanor seemed more relaxed. I'm guessing that's not the first time someone's come to him like that, either to ask for help or to just show interest in what their mission is."
"It was the same with Nayla," Faith agreed. "She made a comment at one point about how she didn't even have a brother, even though Brian apparently still acknowledges both of them. It kind of makes me wonder where things went wrong, exactly. Did...Brian really adopt Aaron and Nayla only to treat them like underage soldiers in some sort of personal mission to try to fix what he thought was broken, instead of children that needed a proper home and guardian?" Faith recalled how even Aaron seemed to disapprove of Spencer's abuse of Rowan and his siblings, and wondered if maybe he had been there himself somehow.
"Well..." Sherm paused. "Brian also mentioned that he's actually a war veteran and saw some pretty messed up things during his time overseas, and at times it sounds like Nayla had to be the parent for all three of them, whenever Brian was having one of his bad days and Aaron started really acting out during their teen years. I don't think Brian was ever abusive though, the way that--" Sherm suddenly stopped himself.
"The way that Spencer was to his grandkids?" Faith finished for him. "It's okay, you can say his name. There's no reason to be afraid of him, now that I know he's where he belongs and can't hurt anyone else." It made perfect logical sense to her now that things were calm, but whenever it felt as if there was some sort of threat around them, Spencer was still one of the first people to come to mind. She hoped that with time, she could fully come to her senses one day.
Sherm nodded solemnly. "Well, Spencer deserves it, but Brian doesn't. It sounds like he just wanted to raise his kids to be equally as concerned with the state of the world as he was, especially after coming home and witnessing the level of corruption in his own city. He might've made some mistakes raising them, but I strongly doubt that he ever really hurt them."
But you don't have to physically hurt someone in order to scar them, Faith thought, but purposely held her tongue this time as she didn't need Sherm misunderstanding her and questioning where her true loyalties were.
"So what about you, Faith? Did you find anything out when you talked to her?" Sherm asked, shaking her out of her thoughts.
"Well, I admit I did the majority of the talking, but she did encourage us to call the phone numbers on the card Cobalt gave you if we ever ran into any danger, namely with her brother and those working for him. She doesn't know what I overheard, and didn't outright say she participates in any vigilantism, but she dropped a lot of hints that suggest that she and Cobalt might work closely together somehow."
The rest of the way back to the festival grounds, the three continued to recount and share thoughts on the new information they'd gathered. Even if Nayla and Brian had only dropped subtle hints about their roles in the S.A.S. the entire time, it was exciting nonetheless--almost as if they'd gotten to meet two secret celebrities today.
Faith still wasn't sure how she felt about Brian's initial intentions regarding Aaron and Nayla, and hoped that he'd genuinely tried his best to be a father to them and not just some overzealous mentor, the way Aaron had made him sound. However, it truly seemed that while Brian may have made mistakes in the past, he genuinely regretted them and Nayla at least seemed to forgive him.
"Well, I had a great time," Violet now smiled, leaning over to give Sherm a kiss. "It's been a long time since I've had such an exciting day."
"I'm glad!" Sherm grinned, looking back at Faith as if to confirm that she'd also enjoyed herself somewhat.
"I'm glad I joined you both today. Not only did I need to know what this was like again, but...I also think we might've made some new allies. We'll see."
"You two already sound like vigilantes yourselves," Violet commented with what sounded like a mixture of amusement and concern. "Still, I'm not sure if I'd recommend a dangerous occupation like that to either of you."
"Don't worry. I still don't plan on joining them," Faith reassured. "I just admire what they do and would like to know them better. That's all really, in my case."
"Well, if I thought there was ever a chance of them letting me join," Sherm mused, "it would be like achieving a lifelong dream. I don't care how childish it sounds."
"But what about your job at the animal conservation center? You get to play a part in helping animals there, if not people too in some ways," Violet reminded him. "That alone is an occupation that a lot of people dream of having."
"It's okay, but it's not as interesting as people think it is. And it's not like I'd want to do the vigilante thing full-time at first anyway," Sherm replied. "I'd work my way up."
Faith wanted to brush off such a concept as that, but then again, she had worked a full-time job while taking care of Rowan, and Brian and Nayla were able to juggle being mechanics full-time and vigilantes on an as-needed basis. So who was really to say that Sherm couldn't pull off something similar?
"Well, tell your parents we said hey. And just...let us know if you ever need anything," Sherm said to Faith as they entered the parking lot next to the art festival, where vendors had now begun to take down their canopies.
"You can just let me out here at the edge," Faith told Sherm. "I need to get my walking in. And guys, I'm really okay," she added dismissively. But of course, Sherm didn't appear to fully believe her as they said their final good-byes and eventually parted ways. I'll probably be getting a concerned text from him this evening.
Faith watched as Sherm's red car got smaller and smaller on the road, shrinking into a tiny dot in the distance before eventually becoming lost in the midst of other cars. As for finding her own car amongst the many others in the lot, it wasn't as if that would be any difficult task, as long as she focused on the windshields.
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