Wheelsy AU ~ Tire changing

[noteasytobepink]

"You know Bill..." Clarice drawled cheerfully. "When you said you wanted to show me the nearest 'city' I thought you meant we'd actually get there." She took her hat off and fanned herself with it, the ballcap doing little to stir the hot, damp air, but at least it was better than glowering.

"And yeah, that really does look like dry rot in the spare there. Never seen it in a tire before but I've seen it in other materials..." She wasn't even sure why they had headed out. A better bar where no one expected him to fix their problems? A place she was suppose to get fitted for a civilian aid uniform? Who knew!

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[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

One of the group smirked.

"Sure, I'll play you."

Bill took a seat with the other two, giving a nod of greeting as the pool game was set up.

"Hey, how's it goin'?"

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"Eh, hasn't been as lively around here as we like," one admitted to Bill. The other was watching Clarice, and the customary "She's pink!" slipped out.

As for her partner, well, Clarice graciously let him break. "I won't be going easy on you. Hope your ego can handle it."

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

Bill chuckled and nodded.

"Yeah. It's a uh-- it's a thing." He couldn't remember their cover story right at that moment.

"Sound pretty confident there, missy. That mean you won't cry if'n I win?" The guy chaulked his cue and leaned on the table to smile at her.

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"A thing? She's pink!" Just, that was some thing! The other man, the quieter one less focused on the pink was comfortably drunk, so he leaned toward Bill and asked quiet seriously "Does it taste like bubblegum when you kiss?" Okay, so maybe he was a little focused on the pink too.

Clarice just smiled, simple and open at the man. "Takes a lot more than my pride riding on a game to make me cry. Why, you wanna try to make me?"

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

"I know she's pink, ain't color blind here." Bill replied, then barked a laugh at the other.

"Not that I noticed."

"Not my aim, no," he man shook his head. "I also don't mind makin' things interestin', though."

[noteasytobepink]

"Huh," the asking about bubblegum flavor harumphed in surprise. Really, seemed like she should you know? "Still, damnest thing."

"Well, I do prefer people not trying to make me cry," Clarice admitted. "But I'm always up for escalation. What did you have in mind?"

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

"Yeah, she's somethin'." Bill smiled.

"Well, assuming you got it to lose, what about five bucks a ball?"

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"Something pink." And didn't that just take all. "Oh...looks like Blake there is getting ready to take your lady for a ride. No one here bets with him any more."

Clarice eyed the table then smiled; guileless, innocent, and naive seeming. "Bill, babe? Do we have the cash?"

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

Bill turned his attention back to the table.

"Yeah, why? You gonna need it?"

Blake cracked a grin.

"Yeah, mister, she'll be needin' it."

"But, didn't you say you were gonna be takin' their money?" Bill asked as he passed over his beer to hold so he could reach for his wallet. He could have sworn that was the plan.

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Clarice shrugged, "Gotta have money to wager if we're going to win or lose any. Else we'll have to play for something else." And Bill had the money!

The men sitting near Bill chuckled. "Don't let his looks fool you, Blake there is a mean pool player when he wants to be."

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

"Alright, well... I got sixty... sixty-four bucks. An' a stick of gum."

He held it out to her, glancing at the other two.

"Oh, she's got this. It's my job t'be the good guy an' warn folks. Which, right, uh, be sure you wanna do this, man. She's better than you think you are."

Money and disclaimer duties done, Bill reclained his beer and went back to drinking on the sidelines.

Blake only chuckled at Bill and laid down his own money, taking up his cue and making the break. He sunk three on the break, including two solids which he followed with a third before it was her turn.

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Clarice eyed the table, and the position of stripes before shrugging. "Bill's adorable when he's tipsy," she pointed out to the crowd. Because, really, wasn't he? Gave away the game secrets, but hey, still adorable!

And not that she wasn't a bit tipsy herself, but in her case it seemed to make her...dangerous. Her movements as she slunk around the table became more fluid, cat like, a predator on the loose instead of a girl trying to behave in public. Her shots, when she made them, were called shots usually with several banks to prevent sinking any of her opponents balls.

She sunk seven and left the Eight sitting in a cluster of Blake's balls.

The two men with Blake...blinked. "Oh, this is gonna get good next game." Because of course there'd be another. This one had just upped the stakes in everyone's mind.

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

Bill grinned at being called adorable, and set about finishing the rest of the chicken wings.

Blake stood back and gaped. He did his best to rally, but still had two on the table when it turned back to her.

"You one of them Vegas players, girl?" He asked, watching her finish the game.

[noteasytobepink]

"I am very, very good at mathematics." Because that was the only viable answer right?! "I don't think I've ever been to Vegas..." she leaned on her cue, trying to remember all the places she'd been through. And nope.

"Nope. Never been to Vegas. And generally I'm too distracted by other things when I'm traveling to play a nice game of pool." This was a nice game after all. Three called banks and a sink on the Eight. "We are looking to repair Bill's truck though, if you guys want to set me up against anyone else. I figure you'd know who would have playing against me here or nearby." Best way to avoid any ugliness was to invite them in on the fun?

While they mulled that over though she was going to collect her winners, pass them to Bill, then go settle in his lap because she could!

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

"Math, right," Blake deadpanned, handing over his money.

Bill grinned at the company, and put his arm around her waist.

"Hey there, Ms. Shark."

Blake set about racking, putting his hands on the table when he was done and looking at the couple.

"Yeah, we might know some folk, but I wanna rematch, first." He wasn't particularly angry about being taken, but he did want a chance at evening things up.

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"Yes, math." Clarice agreed easily. "Look at the angles." she leaned back against Bill for a few moments to allow Blake to rack, then slipped liquidly to her fete.

"For example, the set up here. Equilateral triangle. Apply pressure at any point A, B, or C and you get a predictable scatter. Given the length 3/4 of the way down the table and the shooting arrangement, Point C is impractical and the other two have even chances of sinking when scattered." As she demonstrated after chalking her cue. Three sinks, two of them solids.

"Now, point to any one of mine and I'll explain the angles as I work." Because interactive learning was fun?

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

Blake tried to maintain an unimpressed expression, but it was still clear he was paying attention.

Looking the table over, he pointed out a ball that would be a hard shot for a pro.

"Let's see it."

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"Okay, first the triangle of nearest rail, pocket intended, and ball. If the triangle is over half the length of the table on it's shortest side you need to pick another pocket, generally." She held her cue up over the ball, ignoring the others in the way to help outline the triangle she was going for. "With me still?"

Good, because it got complicated then. She broke the larger triangle into smaller triangles between each blocking ball, until, if one could picture it, it was miasma of angles. But there was a path through all that. A path she also outlined by explaining how to bisect certain triangles safely and the greatest probability of not sinking opponent balls while getting the angles and spins necessary...

...and then she shot, and sunk. "See why's it's easier to just call the number of banks?" INNOCENT SMILE!

What? Mathematics like this were vital on a battlefield. Best to learn it well!

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

Bradley watched, and was clearly lost by the end of it (as were the other three on the sideline), but impressed.

"An' you can do that with any shot? Any ball?"

Bill scratched behind his ear, shaking his head into his mug as he drank.

"Shit, I didn't get most of that, an' I did good in high school geometry."

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Hey! She'd been drinking! Who didn't babble a bit after drinking? She just got to babble math today! "Yeah, but sit me down with pen and paper and math stumps me. I have to do it all hands on..."

Bill? She was coming over for a kiss because now she was worried she'd upset people!

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

Blake wasn't exactly upset, just confused and trying to work it out. He hunkered down beside the table, checking the angles on the remaining balls, shifting his weight from left to right to look at each side of the ball and trying to sort it out in his head.

Bill wasn't upset, either, and was glad to accept the kiss.

"Think y'broke our heads'a little bit there, darlin'."

Straightening up, Blake dug a five out of his pocket and held it up in the air.

"I got five bucks says you can't sink that seven ball there without puttin' in any of the others."

He pointed at a ball that was pretty well surrounded by others. There were paths, but he was confident it was still an impossible shot.

"Think yer on again," Bill drawled, his accent thickening noticeably as the alcohol levels in his system went up.

[noteasytobepink]

"It's just angles! It isn't that bad!" She sighed, stole another quick kiss and sip from Bill's beer then went to go look over the Seven ball.

Well, he would pick a tough one wouldn't he?

"That one, sir, is just going to take a little bit if gentleness is all." She smiled at Blake, lined up her shot straight at a wall and...shot. The point being not to hit the ball hard enough that the energy in the ball would sink others. Two balls came awful close to sinking, within an inch of their pockets, but they didn't go in and the Seven did. "Mind if I finish out the game now or do you want to quiz me some more?"

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

They all watched the ball intently, heads turning in sync as it rolled, and holding their breaths as the two threatened to go down, but didn't.

Bill let out a whoop when she was in the clear and started to laugh.

Blake frowned, scratched his head, took another look at the setup, then finally waved his hand and shook his head.

"No, ma'am, I'm smart enough to know when I'm licked. Y'all have fun, I'm gonna go back to takin' these two clowns money."

He nodded to his two companions and took a step back away from the table.

[noteasytobepink]

"I'm not done with you yet," Clarice grinned. "We got a truck to fix." Simple as that really! "Not saying you need to keep playing...but do you know who we should play? Maybe some people who aren't very nice?" They were local they'd know!

She played her fingers along her cue, smiled, and cleared the table, giving the man and his friends time to think it over.

"Bill? Any idea how much we might need to get new tires?"

[no_andy_taylor]

Bill finished his mug and was well and truly on his way to being Drunk.

Smiling wide, he was busy humming the country song that was playing to himself while she cleared the table. Snapped out of it by her question he canted his head to the side and shrugged.

"Oh, I du-- I dunno. Five hundred bucks... maybe. What-- what's'a tire cost these days? Times it by four 'cause a truck has four. One, two, four. Each side."

Blake stroked his chin, and shook his head.

"You're lookin' for that kind of money you gotta play Mike an' his crew. But... they don't like losin'. At all."