Aedus sat in front of the mechanic’s shop, he went to a shady part of town apparently, this was Order territory which meant that he and everyone in the place was probably in more danger than they had any sane reason to be in. but it also meant that he was probably in the side of town that wouldn’t draw cops unless something big was going down. It also meant that he could probably afford to ask questions that he might not ask in a more reputable part of town.

From the back of the red Ducati 848 EvoAedus kept an eye on the lights in the shop and eyeed the sign hours he still had a few minutes to go before they were officially open. He sat and waited for the shop to open, He was out early and even though the bike was a high performance masterpiece he wanted to make sure of two things. If it would show up as hot and two if there was anything he could do to make it even better. Gas mileage, horse power, balance, anything and everything. And according to the guy he talked to about his motorcycle the gentleman that worked this place was one of the best.

Travis was certain that this was going to be an interesting morning.

He had just been stirring to life, a full two hours before the shop opened, and getting things ready for the day when he realized he needed to get to the store after work and restock on some groceries… he was dangerously low on milk, eggs and bacon, and that just couldn’t happen. Hot Cocoa too… which was his preferred drink when it was cold out. But it wasn’t those facts that made this morning interesting… it was that someone had arrived before the shop opened, which meant someone had referred this person and they were hoping to get a priority slot before all the main jobs were filled.

Interesting.

About 10 minutes early, Travis moved down the staircase after throwing on his OD Green coveralls, and looked out the dark windows, his mug with his hot cocoa still in his hand, and sipped on it as he eyed the Ducati 848 that was parked outside. The man riding it was about his age, he guessed, but what frame of mind he was in was under question, as there was still ice, everywhere, around the streets. Why did people insist on suicide this time of year? Oh well, not his business.

Flicking the lights on, he finally revealed he was inside, as he had been standing in the dark room, eyeing the man from the darkness to keep himself hidden while he pondered. There was still a couple minutes before the shop actually opened, and his other mechanic’s arrived, so this would likely prompt the man to come in out of the cold.

Aedus opted to keep his helmet on it was darn cold out, He was here for an inspection as much as he was to throw questions at the mechanic. Aedus hopped off the bike and rolled it over toward the entrance it obviously wasn't too hard to steal, as it had been stolen in the first place so he was going to keep an eye on it as much as he could. that said..he did buy the stolen bike with stolen money...that was a crazy night and not nearly as bad as it sounded, still bad mind you just not as bad as it sounded.

It would be nice to get in out of the cold, He liked the weather because he could put on a helmet gloves and all the other protective gear without sweating. He popped the helmet off as he entered. " Hi, this place came with a commendation from a friend. So, I thought I'd get my bike a tune up, see if you had any recommendations for upgrades, or even tell me what could be upgraded. I also had some questions about state inspections... this is my first Vehicle so anything you could tell me about that would be helpful."

He pretty much rattled off everything he had expectations of as a greeting, it saved them both time, if the mechanic didn;t want to deal with him, then he knew right off the bat who he was dealing with, and Aedus got to ask everything up front so he was sure not to forget anything.

Travis smiled as the man walked in, and drew in a breath to give him a welcome to the shop, but before he got the chance the man rattled of everything on his mind at full throttle. Travis consciously blinked, twice, before he was able to respond with any kind of clear thought as he sorted everything out in his mind.

“Alright.. let me look up the stuff for your bike. I know some off hand and a tune-up is cake, but in terms of upgrades, I’m not too sure.” He paused as he clicked the webpages, getting them fired up and letting them load for a minute as he extended his right hand outwards to shake the man’s hand. It was a simple physical greeting, and should the man accept it, it would be firm, but not crushing. “The name’s Travis.” he would say, regardless if he shook it or not.

Using Alt+Tab, he opened the registration window. “While I’m waiting on the webpage, can I get your Vehicle Information and Contact Info real quick?” This implied a lot of information, and considering that this was not only his first vehicle, but a new one to him at least, he might not know everything off the top of his head. Still, he couldn’t shake one fact, and it slipped from his lips before he got the chance to stop it.

“Insurance on that thing has got to be crazy…” he said, shaking his head as he entered the information he did know just by knowing the model and year of the bike.

“Thanks, Sorry; I’ve already had my caffeine, your just getting yours started.”
Aedus calmed himself down and took a breath. “I’m Aedus.” He shook the man’s hand in turn and appreciated the fact the greeting didn’t become a pissing contest.

Aedus leaned over the counter and started filling out the clipboard. After filling out the top portion with his address and cell and all the other info someone might need to track down a thief… He realized he should have opened with this in the first place.

“Yeah, Here’s the thing about that. I’m actually kind of nervous to get insurance on it. I bought it from this guy that needed to sale it for college tuition and I got a really, really good deal. After he had the money and I had the keys, the guy can’t find the pink slip and says he’ll call me back. I call him back and the line is dead. So while I am hoping that I didn’t just throw away a ton of cash on something I am going to have to return. I was kind of wondering if you could make sure it isn’t stolen. If it is, I intend on doing the right thing. But I am really hoping it’s legit and the guy couldn’t afford to keep his phone on due to school. “ he sighed and looked a bit out of sorts.

Aedus Wrote out the vin and the license plate that Sal’s Auto had put on the bike. They said it would show as clean and recently sold. But they also dealt in stolen vehicles.

Travis appreciated that the man shook his hand more than he could really express… it was a physical greeting, yes, but it was also a universal sign of understanding… it meant they were on the same level, no qualms, etc. It was the most respectful form of physical communication, in his mind, between two individuals. He was quick to make one correction to the man’s thinking though. Raising his cup, he smirked. “Hot Chocolate. Caffeine is a little too effective for me… makes me stir crazy.” he explained. The one time Travis had drank a Red Bull, he was a living locomotive at work, blowing through job after job… and then wound up going to sleep at about five in the afternoon.

Travis listened to the man’s tale, nodding in understanding. “No problem… I’ll run the VIN number and see where that takes us. It’ll pop up with a warning if it’s been registered as stolen, and if everything is on the up and up, I’ll send my buddy at the DMV an email with the new owner of the bike.” With that said, he turned back to his computer, and with a single motion, lifted the monitor, mindful of the cords, and turned it sideways so both men could see the screen, the window filled with upgrades, paints, and other possibilities for his bike.

The second monitor, the one still below the counter, was filling out his information for the bike, and sending it. While that processed, he would scroll through the upgrades and whatnot for him, in the hopes that his bike was indeed legal.

(((For plot, I'll leave the 'legal or not' up to you...)))

Ok, well…he didn’t call the police immediately after he told his tale. That was a good thing. Aedus always made an effort to make physical contact with a woman when he introduced himself, there was something about breaking down a physical barrier that made it easier to interact with a woman after you made that contact and seemed to increase your odds of more contact later….That however was not the goal of this handshake however it still might serve the same purpose of improving a relationship between two people. “ I have the same problem…but I go with it.”

“I appreciate it! I sincerely hope that it is…if not I am going to have fun tracking that guy down again. Not like we live in a highly populated area…no, where to hide, am I right?”
Aedus smirked at his desperation…it was much more convincing.

He really wanted to keep the bike, sorry whoever got scammed. But he did pay for it… and he probably would pay for it in Karma down the road. But for now…it was time to look at shiny upgrades…”I’m really not sure what all I should do to it. I like the paint job fine. Good colors. But as far as performance, I wouldn’t mind making it that much better. What is the weakest point of the bike.”

(let’s call it legal, gives us more to do in the thread. Also feel free to b.s or glaze over about whatever needs to be upgraded . unless of course you want to go into detail, I won’t stop you, but I don’t want to give you homework either.)