The Tale of Love & Racing: Sarina's Story

Chapter 16: "There's no fun in that."

Wednesday, February 7 – Hendrick Motorsports

Making his way into the shop, Chase knew the responsibilities on tap today before leaving. The first step included checking in with Alan to make sure everything was going accordingly with his notes.

"He's here...." Chase hears as he makes his way through the shop, catching his attention. Your attendance was never mentioned, unless the guys in the shop had a plan in mind. He immediately froze, almost set to burst out laughing, in noticing the three crew members together. At least this was a welcome response.

"I thought you were kidding," he comments as the three walk over. As promised yesterday, Jared Erspamer had brought in a big roll of bubble wrap, while Chad Avrit now held some rolls of masking tape in his hand. To cap it off, Jared Seate was even available to film – as stated. Leave it to them to keep their crazy promise.

"I was – but the more I thought about it, I think it's a good idea," Chad says as he stops just before his driver. He actually couldn't believe they had gotten this far with the plan, truthfully. "We'll make sure that we leave your face uncovered so you can see, speak, and oh yeah – kiss the girlfriend."

"For all we know, Kyle may be a fan of this idea considering...." Jared Seate adds, causing a couple laughs as Chase gives him a complete stare down. Jared was full of jokes - but they always steamed to stem from one direction lately. "Suddenly I feel like I'm off your good side..."

"So, are we going top to bottom, or bottom to top?" Chase just shakes his head, now growing more shocked by the events before him. Was this happening? 

"How about none of the above?" Chase suggests, causing a sad look to form on Chad's face immediately. So much for everything coming together as planned for a change.

"There's no fun in that," Chad offers as he looks back at the bubble wrap. It was a waste when a plan was blown up. It was an even bigger waste right now considering all the bubble wrap in hand. "Now what we are supposed to do?" Chase crosses his arms with a smirk as his eyes return to Jared Seate. There had to be some good revenge to offer.

"Oh hell no...." Jared immediately protests as Chase laughs. It was nice to give him the necessary, but sadly he knew he'd be wanted in the shop by Alan. Instead, there was a new idea that came to his mind. 

"Actually, I have a better idea," Chase then starts as he looks out towards the parking lot. It was sounding better by the second. "We have a rookie teammate here. I think he needs to be welcomed in style." He looks between the three of them. "Are you thinking what I am thinking?"

"I'm on-board – as long as I get to play with the wrap," Chad declares as the others nod their heads in agreement.

The objective didn't take long to complete as they were able to wrap William Byron's Tahoe in a short amount of time, including some special work on the door handles. The four of them then retreated back to their normal duties – with Chase completing his to-do list as required.

As he was finishing up for the day with a photo sent out on twitter, he couldn't help but laugh in seeing William walk around the shop.

"Alex!" He heard William call out as Alex Bowman glances over at him. It was even funnier in watching this scene before him. "Do you know anything about the bubble wrap?" Alex shakes his head no. "It's like something Jimmie would do...."

"Jimmie hasn't been here all day," Alex comments as Chase just quietly chuckles. This was more golden than he thought it was going to be.

"So then who would bubble wrap my car?" Alex shrugs his shoulders, actually surprised he wasn't involved this time. This seemed like right up his alley. Of course when he did learn the truth, he knew nobody would ever believe it if it was let loose. "You honestly didn't see anything?"

"Nope, not a thing. Sorry man." William then continues to make his way through the shop, questioning others – but nobody gave up the secret as Chase just stood aside with his own chuckles. "He's going to kill you when he finds out...."

"Hey, it wasn't my idea to bring bubble wrap in today," Chase says with a smile before heading out. At least that was the reasoning he was going to use should he ever be accused. 

**********************

Wednesday, February 7 – Charlotte Airport

With their bags all packed and in hand, Chase and Sarina had made their way to the airport, and were now traveling across the tarmac to the plane. Sarina was set to load the plane, as Chase would go over everything to make sure they were good to travel.

The pair reached the plane in good time, and a simple nod was set to begin things as usual. However, Chase's feet froze in place as he noticed a wrench sitting by the back wheels, with the engine cover loose. Taking a deep breath, trying to push aside the sudden nerves, he makes his way over and takes off the engine cover slowly.

"Are you kidding me?!?" He questions immediately, seeing oil all over as he shakes his head in disgust. It was one thing to play games. It was one thing to cause little bodily injuries. But this absolutely took the full cake for him. 

"What's wrong?" Sarina wonders, setting the first bag back on the ground as she makes her way over. She then noticed the black liquid all over, followed by the wrench that was beneath. "Well, they made it painfully obvious, like they wanted to get caught...." Chase then notices a piece of paper, picking it up and slowly unfolding it. The same familiar black typewriter typing filled the small piece of white paper, the same white he was turning right now.

"Considering this a warning that I can get to you under your skin, and to your skin with a flick of the fingers..." He scrunches up the paper, set to chuck it away, when Sarina grabs his hand. Why was she stopping him? Nobody needed a reminder of what happened. "What are you doing?"

"This is what they want. They want the frustration out of you. They want you to be angry. They want to mess with your head. Remember when you told Kyle that? Take a deep breath, and calm down..." He does as instructed, slowly lowering his hand with the scrunched up paper ball. She uncurls her fingers, taking the paper out of it, dropping it down beside the wrench. It wasn't much, but it was necessary if they were to build an entire case to ensure this cycle didn't continue. "Don't touch anything else, and let's call this in. Maybe there are fingerprints on the wrench, or maybe there's a security camera." She then looks up into his brown eyes. "Chase, talk to me, please...."

"I'm fine, and you're right. We need to do the right thing here..."

The pair walked back to the airport offices, reporting the incident. It didn't take long before they were met with an investigating officer, who took down their statement and went to see the plane scene for evidence. With some time to calm down, Chase also took the time to call the Hendrick security personnel to make sure they were aware of what happened – and they promised that they'd look into it, as well. He then made the decision to call his dad, asking for a favor.

About two hours after the incident, they were in the air and off to Daytona, landing down there in quick fashion.

"Thank you," Chase says as he takes the final bag off the plane. He was glad that he could count on his parents no matter what. 

"Anytime," Bill replies as he gives him a hug. "Be careful, okay?" Chase nods his head, accepting. "And I know you're scared, but you have to know it will work out fine. They'll figure this out, but you can also call me if you need to talk."

"Yes sir." Chase then walks away, bags in hand as Bill looks over at Sarina. They'd normally just separate without words, but this situation felt different to Bill. He knew he couldn't go without saying anything, knowing how much his son meant to them all. 

"Keep an eye on him. He's not saying much and he's trying to act like this is nothing, but you can tell that it is eating at hi-"

"I know, Bill. I can see that it is too without him saying a word. Trust me when I say this – I will do whatever it takes for him. He's always done that for me, so now it's my turn to return the favor." Bill gives her a hug before watching her hurry to catch up with him, as he says a silent prayer that things indeed worked out.