<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;">     Allison could probably see the wheels turning in Taras' head as she responded to his prompt, though what exactly he was thinking about she could only guess - per the norm. If she would have held her tears back as well as she'd held the truth from him, he probably would have been even angrier... but seeing the pain in her eyes softened him up a bit. His intentions were only to help her after all. Her decision to wait to tell him was honestly the only possible option, if it was a deep as he believed it to be. Unfortunately it would only give his mind time to wander and imagine things far worse than the secrets she was managing to withhold for a few more hours.<br/><br/>     His jaw clenched for a moment but relaxed as he let his anger go - something he was <em>not</em> very good at doing; but Allison always seemed to curve him on the right path, even incidentally. After she finished speaking he finally let his gaze go... his eyes stretching out the side window away from her as he thought over her offer. After a moment - which probably seemed like ages for her - he responded. <strong>"All right."</strong> He turned back to look at her as she started the vehicle. <strong>"Whatever it is, it has to wait."</strong> He nodded, more to himself than her. Seeing how she reacted to being 'caught' he knew it must be something serious... which means it will take some time to process.<br/><br/>     <strong>"If you can... try to forget about it. For now."</strong> This was the first organized race of the summer, and while it wasn't the biggest... sometimes it felt that way. Every driver set the tone for the season on opening night, even though the prize was minimal. <strong>"My money's on you tonight - Adrianno's already got the cash. So I need you focused out there."</strong> There was a small glint of softness in his eye. She knew him well enough to know the money didn't matter; all he cared about was her safety. Racing with demons in the head is impossible here. The tight corners, moisture on the roads... Seattle was unforgiving. This course wasn't the most dangerous one they'd raced here, but it wasn't the safest either. There were only two long stretches of straight highway - the rest was tight corners and confined space on rural streets. It was going to take lots of focus, and lots of attention to detail. Hell, that's why he'd bet on her to win - when it came to these kinds of races, she normally outperformed the whole crew. She was a technical driver, and these are where she shines.<br/><br/>     It was a pretty big compliment that he was betting on her, when he was also racing himself. He was a very proud and talented driver - if unpredictable. So it had to make her feel good that he had so much confidence in her abilities. He just hoped that this encounter before the race wouldn't throw her off her game. That wouldn't do either of them any good - money be damned.<br/><br/>     Truth be told... it was Taras who had a hard time separating personal matters and business. When he had issues going on, it <em>always</em> showed in his driving. When he gets behind the wheel and opens up that throttle, his fuel injectors are kicking out pure emotion. Sometimes it's actually scary to watch... but so far he'd come out better than not and no worse for the wear. He was worried about Allison - not just about racing tonight... but in general. She'd been on a downward spiral for several weeks and it had gotten to the point that she was almost about to hit rock bottom. He didn't want to see that. He'd do anything to keep that from happening.<br/><br/>     <em>"We should get going if we don't want to miss the start..."</em><br/><br/>     Her words drew him out of his thoughts and he nodded, draping his arm out the passenger window. <strong>"Da. Let's roll."</strong> The first word was slavic for 'yes'. It was a word he used often enough around the crew, Allison in particular, that she knew what it meant even though she didn't speak Russian or Ukrainian. He tried to teach her words here and there - but honestly he was starting to forget some of the languages. He'd been in America so long, with no real ties to his family back home or any slavic communities here.<br/><br/>     Taras only kept in touch with his one older brother - and every time he talked to him he had to search and dig for words in his head. Nobody really knew much about Taras' family - he never really talked about them to anyone. Though when he was speaking another language on the phone, he figured they must have guessed by now it was family. His older brother didn't really talk to the rest of the family either - which is probably the only reason Taras bothered to keep in touch. That and just in case there was any word from his only younger sibling Vika, his sister. After Taras had been sent to America his brother said she left too. Taras was very close with her, and she didn't seem like the type who would run away. He worried that something bad had become of her. <br/><br/>     He looked over at Allison as she drove them both back North to Skunk Bay and the starting line... she reminded him of Vika. If he put any thought into it, he'd have realized Vika's disappearance was the reason why he had taken Allison in under his wing. He didn't though. He didn't think about those deep emotional things... unless he was drinking alot; in which case he always forgot before the next morning anyways. Whatever was creating the emotional barrier in Taras, it still hadn't hit the surface yet. He was a closed box which the crew occasionally got to peek inside when they partied really hard. Sometimes he warmed up to Allison, but even that didn't occur too frequently.<br/></div>