<div class="floatright">(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b52/jotunusmc/36827_421832359861_518524861_4822950_3819136_n.jpg)</div><br/><hr/><hr/><div style="text-align: right;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 14pt;">Taras Ivan Markovski<strong>  -  Name           </strong><br/>The Muscle<strong>  -  Title              </strong><br/> Gas Station along Highway 16<strong>  -  Location     </strong><br/> Allison "Saurer"<strong>  -  Tagged         </strong></span></span></div><hr/><hr/><br/><div style="text-align: justify;">     It was tradition - in a way. It had started since the very first day Taras had picked Allison up, denying what would have been a seriously traumatic experience for her. That was years ago though, and they had moved on from the circumstances of their first meeting. Taras had, at least. It wasn't the kind of event that would be of any use to bring up. Ever since then, Allison had tagged along for these underground races. She was different than most of the girls he ran into at these illegal events - maybe that was how she'd hooked him. He spent a lot of time with Allison, whenever he got a free moment. <br/><br/>     They had developed a close relationship, but the nature of that connection was pretty blurry. It almost had a 'big brother - little sister' feel to it... though something underneath kept them from ever truly feeling like siblings. It was an unspoken attraction, and they gravitated towards each other. It was still subconscious - at least for him. So the time they spent together never felt weird or awkward. That is, until Allison left to Southeast Asia to race in Formula 1. She'd been gone for quite a while; he'd watched her races on television or the internet (when they didn't air them). For whatever reason, the young woman came back and jumped right into the underground scene... but something was different.<br/><br/>     She wasn't the same girl he remembered before she left. So many of the things that separated her from the other people Taras was used to being around had disappeared. She had seemed so much more wholesome before she'd returned. She was trying way too hard to fit in; to be just like everybody else. He was suspicious. She'd always been highly independent, unique, and forging her own path. She even had her own style that nobody else really shared, but it was fading. When she'd pulled off her jacket and revealed her outfit for the evening he was nearly stunned - though that was an emotion that didn't show on the outside. Not that he'd ever been the most expressive man anyways. <br/><br/>     It stunned him because it was a little too close to looking sleezy, which didn't befit her at all; not to mention seeing her in a skimpy outfit almost forced him to look at her body in ways he really never had before. He didn't say a word about it, however. He didn't want to do anything to make her feel more awkward. She already had something nagging her - it was easy for him to tell. Usually she freely opened up and shared whatever was bugging her... but that too had been a pretty rare event. It was all business lately. He was determined to get to the bottom of it soon.<br/><br/>     As she got out of the car and began pumping gas, he pulled out his cell phone and checked for messages from any of the other crew members. Although Cori was the active head of the crew, Taras also played a big role. Cori was the guide, the direction, and the motivation behind a lot of the crew's operations where as Taras was the glue that held them all together. He was rough around the edges, but he seemed to easily relate to most of the members. He wasn't a big talker. In fact, he usually led by example - and not even on purpose. He just did whatever it is he wanted to do and the others tended to just follow. He had the natural gift of leadership - but zero desire to actively use it. He really viewed himself as someone who operates on his own plan - which often included the others. It seemed like a meager connection most of the time, since he normally kept his opinions and feelings to himself... but when the shit hit the fan; that was where the bond was strongest. <br/><br/>     He was a fighter at heart, and all of the members of the crew were family. Even though he didn't normally show it, when things went down, he was the unyielding fortress everyone could rally to. He usually always put the others before himself, and he'd never turn down a request for help. He fought for his family fiercely - since it was the only family he ever really had. He was also a good listener and many members of the crew felt comfortable sharing things with him - since he always kept their secrets faithfully. That was probably why Allison's recent behavior was so peculiar. It wasn't the norm. It wasn't how things usually worked - especially with how great of a relationship they had together.<br/><br/>      <em>"Snacks?"</em> she said, breaking the silence.<br/><br/>      He looked up from his phone and nodded. <strong>"Yeah. I'm starving."</strong> He opened the door and climbed out of the car - literally... it was so low to the ground... he wasn't used to that. He walked around the front of the hood at a leisurely pace so she could easily walk in along side him. He was wearing a sleeveless T-shirt and a pair of old stone-washed denim jeans that looked as though they'd seen better days. As they neared the building one of those heavily-tattooed arms reached up to open the door for her and he followed her in. He went straight for the beef-jerky and canned peanuts. He was kind of a health freak, but not so much that he would even consider being a vegetarian or vegan. He needed a lot of protein to keep up his weight. <br/><br/>     With his <del>snacks</del> meal in hand, he headed to the register and payed for the both of them. She'd spent the last couple hours driving him around the night's course - it was the least he could do. Taras hadn't really said anything inside the convenience store. Even when the clerk had asked him if he'd found everything all right, he'd only nodded. He was too busy trying to think of the easiest way to start the conversation she - and he, really - had been dreading. <br/><br/>     Once he managed to squeeze himself back in the car he closed his door and looked in her direction. He could see the worry on her face and he asked a question that was really asking something else. <strong>"Feeling uneasy about the race?" </strong>It was a simple inquiry with a much heavier implication. Allison never felt uneasy about races. She was always confident, collected, and prepared - which is why she was such a damn good racer. So when he asked her that, she knew that he was <em>really</em> asking her what the deal was. She had to have known that she wouldn't be able to hide it from him; and if she thought she could lie to him and get away with it... she was dead wrong. <br/><br/>     Even from day one he'd never really believed her when she talked about her past. She was hiding something, well... she was hiding a lot of things actually. That didn't overly concern him though. Taras had his own issues, and if anyone knew the feeling of not wanting to be bothered - it was him. He'd just never confronted her before because even though he knew she was lying - he still <em>felt</em> like he could trust her, as a person. She'd never been a danger to the crew - he knew she wasn't a cop at least. He'd never really had a reason to go digging into places that were none of his business - but it was different now. Whatever her secret was - it was starting to effect and damage someone he cared about: her. <br/><br/>     He wasn't sure how long he would let her keep pretending. At this rate, he just hoped she'd make it through another week - or night even. There was only one time he'd had a reason to be as concerned about her as he was now, and that was the first night they ever met. So he wasn't about to make it easy for her to keep covering it up. He didn't even look away after he finished asking. He just stared and waited for her response - a look of deep concern in his eyes, with a hint of anger creeping into them. He was very protective of the crew, but even more so of Allison. So he would not tolerate anyone harming her; and she was no exception to that rule.</div>