Then he went to the office window and looked out at the industrial park. The sidewalk was empty, the neighboring bays were closed, and the sky had begun to soften toward evening. It struck him that the person who had altered the motorcycle might know exactly where Grip had taken it for repair. Someone who could gain access to the frame could also know its recent service history, and someone who wanted the bike to fail might be listening for news that it had finally done so.
He pulled the blinds down across the office window. The gesture did not make him safer, but it made him feel less exposed. He turned back to the motorcycle and began preparing the damaged area for a structural remedy he had studied under Aaron, understanding that a proper inspection would still be necessary before the bike returned to unrestricted road use. The work demanded controlled equipment, careful measurements, and enough patience not to mistake a clean-looking joint for a sound one.
What happened next was the most demanding hour of Caleb's life. He examined the metal he had exposed, checked the geometry against the notes in Aaron's binder, and separated the compromised material from the portion that remained sound. He prepared a replacement reinforcement based on the existing approved repair practice for the custom frame, then worked on the chassis with a concentration that made the rest of the room disappear. There were no shortcuts he trusted, and he took none that would hide a question he could not answer.
Sparks briefly illuminated the cinder-block wall. The smell of hot metal mingled with the shop's old oil and the dry summer air that entered through the open bay. Caleb's shoulder ached from holding an awkward position, and sweat made the safety glasses slide against his face. Each time his hands began to shake, he stopped long enough to regain control before continuing.
The clock read seven fifteen when he stood back from the exposed frame. The repair area was raw and unpainted, its fresh steel a stark interruption in the candy-apple finish. Around it the stripped motorcycle lay in organized sections that might still appear to an outsider like a butchered carcass. To Caleb, each separated component was a reason the dangerous structure could finally be seen.
He wanted to inspect the result with Jonah before proceeding. He wanted the older man's second opinion on the suspected tampering, the repair, and the possibility of hidden damage elsewhere. But Jonah was still trapped in traffic, and Grip was due before long. Caleb decided he would continue only with the reassembly work that could be performed without concealing the evidence or preventing a later inspection.
He placed the recovered insert in a labeled metal tray and covered it with a clean cloth. He wrote out a preliminary report in language as plain as he could manage: serious unauthorized modification of a primary frame section, signs of movement under load, associated ignition interruption, and urgent need for competent structural evaluation. He added the test observations and a warning in capital letters. 'DO NOT RELEASE FOR ROAD USE UNTIL VERIFIED.'