Participants:
| Scene Title | Pantyhose Can be a Useful Thing |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Evan and Nadira are stranded with a broken-down car. Jaiden to the rescue! |
| Date | August 1, 2010 |
Why can't it ever go smooth?
Fifteen minutes ago, when they left the club, Evan knew how the rest of his evening was going - or how he thought it was - and was quite looking forward to it. Now he's stuck peering under the hood of the car, glaring daggers at the clouds of steam rising up from the engine block. He doesn't actually know how to fix it, but with the tow truck not expected to arrive for at least an hour or two, he's got some stress he needs to vent.
Sunday evening in New York is when the people come out - the interesting ones, at least. It's cooled down from the heat of the day, shadows lengthening, giving pools of blessed anonymity and comfort to passerby who are seeking various things; entertainment, dinner, conversation, or companionship. When you're an Australian in the middle of the big city, however, just getting out and walking the streets to watch the people is a fairly inexpensive way to pass the time. Munching on a hot dog purchased from a street vendor a few blocks back and taking the occasional swig from a bottle of soda, Jaiden makes his way down the sidewalk, weaving in and out of the few passerby, slowly getting closer to the man and the hissing car.
There's a lady near the car too. Leaning lightly against the car, Nadira lets out a slow sigh. So much for a good evening. "Careful of the steam… steam burns are more painful than anything." The Egyptian woman points out, eyes scanning the sidewalk as she, too, seems a little annoyed at the car.
In spite of himself, Evan chuckles under his breath. "Speaking from experience?" One more look for appearance's sake, then he walks around to pop the trunk, taking out a raggedy towel and wiping the worst of the grime off his hands. The hood is left propped up in case it turns out to be something the tow driver can fix on his own.
The man and the woman, apparently! Jaiden pauses, finishing his hot dog with a couple of ravenous bites, wiping his mouth with a nakpin and his hands on his pants, stuffing the bottle into his back pocket. "Miss Nadira! It's odd seeing you without your accessory bar top." Jaiden's Australian accent rings out. He approaches casually, his thumbs hooked in his belt loops, stopping about five or so feet from the pair. "I'm not going to make the obvious statement, but rather, I'll see if I can act as a bit of a knight in shining armor. I fix cars in my spare time. Mind if I take a look and see if I can't bludgeon it into submission, at least enough to get you both home?" He does give Evan a smile before offering his hand. Jaiden Mortlock, barfly. Charmed."
"Yes, actually. Steam's pretty dangerous. Burnt my hand once or twice." Nadira comments, though she stands up straight as she notes the Australian. "Ah, Jaiden! Pleasure to see you again." She peers between the car and Jaiden. "Well, that seems quite fortunate." The gaze drifts towards Evan to see if he'll accept the offer.
The erstwhile driver looks about to ask Nadira about the circumstances, but then there's Crocodile Dundee walking up. "Evan Langford," he replies, returning the handshake as he glances over toward his companion. He doesn't answer out loud right away, but the slightly raised eyebrow seems clear enough in context: you apparently know the guy, does he know what he's doing?
His handshake is firm, squeezing once, pumping Evan's hand a couple of times, that infectious grin appearing now and again before he releases, arms going back to hook in his belt loops, looking from him to her and back again. Jaiden chuckles. "It is lovely to see you again, Nadira-lass, but I'm sure you'd have your druthers it not be in the middle of the street. Let me guess…ran for about fifteen minutes then stopped? Big warning lights on the dash and the like?"
"Nice to see you as well, though it's a shame it's not under better circumstances." Nadira offers the Australian a friendly smile before looking back to Evan, giving a bit of a smile before looking back to Jaiden. "I think we'd appreciate whatever help you can give. I'm not really good with cars myself. Not much of my speciality.
Evan nods, stepping out of the way. "Me neither. Yes, go ahead and take a look. And yes, that sounds about right— the warning lights didn't come on until right around the same time it seized up, or I don't think they did." Keeping his hand a safe distance away from the actual steam, he points toward one side of the engine: "Pretty sure the problem's somewhere over here, but that's as far as I can get." The ability to figure out even that much is… nice, but sharply limited without the domain knowledge to go along with it.
Crocodile Dundee to the rescue, it seems. The Aussie sidles over to the car and, mindful of the billowing steam, leans over to peer down into the bowels of the engine compartment. "Allright, you little bugger…what seems to be your major malfunction." The pouch on his waist is opened and a flat-bladed screwdriver is pulled out, the terminals on the battery unscrewed so he can get in without electrocuting himself. His overshirt, too, is put over the pressure valve on the radiator and, with a quick twist of the wrist and a dance back, the sound of pressure venting into the atmosphere can be heard - a loud *HISSSSS* that slowly goes lower and lower until the billowing stops, allowing better access to the engine. "Ah…." he says with a smile. "Here's your problem." and, reaching into the compartment, he pulls out a blackened and frayed belt, neatly worn through. "Bad belt. Could have happened to anyone." He pauses for a moment. "If you've got some pantyhose on you, Miss Nadira, you can get going fairly easily."
"I suppose we're in luck, then." Nadira points out, looking down at her legs. "I suppose the two of you will have to do without me for a moment." She comments, moving to open the car's rear door and climb in. A moment or two later, she re-emerges, minus shoes and pantyhose, and she offers the garment up. "That's quite a quick fix. Seems you're full of useful talents."
"Not too full, I hope," Evan murmurs under his breath, just loudly enough that Nadira might overhear. He's been keeping an eye on Jaiden's work - he does have a general sense of the subject, he's just never taken the time to pick up the details - and continues to do so as he relays the pantyhose over to him. Besides, that's his car that the guy is slightly disassembling; he found the belt all right, but if it turns out he's messed something else up, then at least it can all be explained to the shop later on.
Out of the pouch comes a small lock-bladed pocketknife, the pantyhose trimmed down to a more manageable size and slowly twisted into a rope about the same thickness as a finger. Out of the pouch comes a small Maglite and, gripping it in his teeth, Jaiden leans down and threads the nylon around the accessory belt and water pump, making sure to route it in all the right ways before pulling it tight and tying it in a complicated looking knot. If the murmured line was heard it was either ignored or filed away for further use in the future. Once the battery terminals are back in place and the radiator cap is twisted back tight, he looks to Evan. "Crank the key if you would, Mate, and you and the lovely lass can be back on your evening's adventures. Just don't try to drive to Jersey or any further than thirty or so miles. Those hose are strong, but they won't last for a long journey."
Nadira peers towards the two, noting Jaiden's quick fix and skillful knowledge of the car. "Hey, thanks… we really appreciate it. Didn't know you were into cars, too. I suppose you've got to supplement your pension anyways, right? Especially in the economy these days."
And sure enough, the car starts right up - with a subtly difference in the background thrum, but that's not too much of a surprise, considering. "Yeah, thanks," offers Evan, fishing out his wallet to offer some compensation for the man's trouble. "I'll take it in tomorrow morning, get a more permanent replacement."
"You should see me improvise." Jaden puts his tools away, buckling the pouch closed and retrieves his bottle from his back pocket, taking another swig, his shirt thrown over his right shoulder. "This was a fix….a quick one. I'm best when I'm pressed to make something work. Oh, and Mr. Langford, you might want to get your water pump looked at. That's part of the reason the belt broke. It's turning, but not very well." He lifts a hand, waving off any compensation offered. "Consider it a gift. I like working on cars and helping people out so….it all worked out rather well this evening for me, didn't it?"
"Well, maybe one day I'll see that." Nadira offers a smile. "Hey… next time you come by Tartarus, you can have a drink on me. Seems fair enough, right? Really… thanks a lot for the help. Who knows how long we'd have been stuck here." Her gaze drifts back to Evan.
With a shrug, Evan nods and puts his wallet away again. "Again, thank you. I don't have much in the way of comps, but I'll give you a recommendation if the opportunity ever comes up." Assuming the repair actually does hold up to the suggested tolerances - but even if it doesn't, they'd probably be no worse off than they were in the first place.
"You just might one day. You never know." Jaiden grins, looking to Evan after a moment. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Langford and I do hope to see you again in better circumstances."
"I'll look forward to it, Jaiden." Nadira insists, a warm smile offered. "And don't forget to come by for that drink. It's always nice having visitors while I'm working." With that, she glances back towards Evan. "Shall we?"
"I think we shall," Evan echoes, easing back into the driver's seat once the hood is safely down. A quick wave to Jaiden, giving him time to return to his original walkabout, and then they're off and back into traffic.