Driving Me Insane

Chapter 16: Reading the Warning Signs

When Lisa was a little girl, and her father was just getting her into the family business, there was one thing that he would always remind his daughter to do. One thing on top of the other two things that he made sure she knew.

It was this: Don't ever let her walls down for anyone. Because the second she did, he told Lisa, she'd miss those warning signs, and then someone would be bound to drive off with her heart. And not in a good way, Marco Manoban would say.

Lisa wasn't aware enough to understand that her dad was just bitter about Lisa's mother leaving, a fact that Lisa herself wouldn't understand until she was 14 and able to actually connect with everything the woman had done in her life. But she did realize that her dad probably had a good point.

If she put walls up she could avoid all the usual and harsh anguish a person would normally go through when letting someone in. Lisa worked hard at putting those walls up, and making sure that no one matters more to her than the next boost and the fastest race.

Lisa's always been really good at keeping those walls up.

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"I have visual on the cars. Over." Lisa whispers into her walkie before letting the hand that holds it fall to her side.

She scans the general perimeter of the area she's currently occupying. Not much to look at; she's outside the main fence line of a Honda car dealer, and honestly it's more like a glorified used car lot.

There's a building complete with a large glass faced showroom displaying the newest Honda models behind its secure walls and bulletproof glass. There is a chain link fence that surrounds the perimeter with barbwire at the top, a shop like access area of to the side of the main building, and a giant asphalt lot with a bunch of different style Honda's, and a few mix and match cars. Off to the very side is a group of car hauling semi trucks that currently lack any sort of product on them with which they could hall.

"Manoban, what's your 20?"

Lisa scrunches her face up in a look of confusion at the voice that filters through her walkie. It's Jackson's, she recognizes, but she's wondering why he's asking such a silly question.

"Jackson we had this discussion a few months ago," Lisa says into her walkie before rolling her eyes at her friend's memory, "You know when I turned 23? And don't forget to say over, over!"

There's a considerable pause.

"Lisa, I'm talking about your location," Jackson's voice sounds irritated for only a moment before it shifts to compliant as he states, "Over."

Lisa smirks at the fact that she can make people nervous even over a lil' bitty walkie-talkie.

"I'm at the same damn place that we all agreed we would be. Over."

After another short pause, Jackson replies, "Got it boss. Be right there. Over and out."

Lisa is still smugly congratulating herself on the fact that she can instill fear in grown ass men when hands are suddenly covering her eyes.

"Guess who?"

"What the fuck!"

Lisa doesn't guess before she's grabbing the person's hands and preparing to throw them over her shoulder and onto the ground. That is, before she notices that the person is Jennie.

"Jesus Lisa, paranoid much?" Jennie questions as Lisa pauses mid shoulder toss, her eyebrows raised to her hairline.

"Jennie! Shit, you can't do that!"

"Yeah, I got that one now seeing how you were about to go all ninja on me."

Lisa shakes her head and releases a breath she was holding.