Little Joe sticks his head in the office. “Hey, boss-o,” he says. “About this policy. Seems like it’s going to disrupt our workflow, no?”
“No,” I answer flatly. “Not if you follow it carefully.”
He scratches the back of his head. “But why wouldn’t we use those big doors? I like the sunlight when we leave them open.”
“Then go to the beach,” I shoot back. “I’m trying to make this place respectable. Stop pissing off the neighbors. But I guess the guy who likes showing off his scrawny ass in a jock strap wouldn’t know the first damn thing about that.”
Little Joe and Big Jo both hold up their hands in surrender.
“Got it,” Little Joe says.
“Sure thing,” Big Jo agrees before they both hurry away.
I huff and sit behind the desk. My mechanics should be focused on repairing bikes, not playing neighborhood politics. But any adjustment we can make, I decide, we need to make it.
Chase walks into the office, helmet under his arm. “Nope,” he says immediately. “Not allowed.”
“What?” I ask as I stand. “I haven’t even said a word.”
“Don’t need to. I can see the stress on your face, and today is your scheduled day off. I’m going to need you out of here. A burnt-out Riley is no good for the garage.”
I grunt. “Kicking me out won’t eliminate the source of my stress.”
“Don’t care. Isn’t that NiagaraCon thing this weekend? You said you wanted to check it out. Fine. As your boss, I’m ordering you to attend.”
I cough out a laugh, ready to argue because I don’t like being ordered around. But I do love a geeky convention, and he’s right that this should be my day off. Not to mention, the director of an old sci-fi show,Galaxy Demons, will be at this one, and I’ve got a bone to pick.
After a second’s hesitation, I frown. “If I go, it’s because I want to, not because you demanded it.”
“Cool.” He lifts up one of the papers with the new policy. “And I see you stopped by to lay down some new laws?”
“That, and to deliver bad news.” I reach out and grab my friend by the shoulder to show him I’m serious. “You’re going to have to hire some PR.”
By the time I’ve filled him in on the problem, Chase is riled up and ready to fight for his garage. I convince him, though, that this is a job for a professional and not for an angry biker dude with too many facial piercings. Changing things up at the garage will be our first step.
A couple hours later, I pull up to NiagaraCon. It’s a small, regional convention, which means there won’t be any major movie announcements or A-list actors here. But I’ll enjoy browsing all the booths and taking in a few panels, a low-stakes distraction from the headache that Chase’s garage has become.
And with any luck, I’ll finally get to tell the man behindGalaxy Demonsexactly what I think of the second and final season, a major botch that ruined one of the best premises in sci-fi television history. I’m dying to know how he’ll justify those choices.
I hitch up my jeans and head into the small convention hall, ready to put Allentown, Liberty Garage, and Finn out of mind, at least for one afternoon.
