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Hal rested his chin on the top of his hands. They were silent for a moment. The hum of the generator that kept the lights on filled the space. Hal finally nodded slowly as he straightened himself. “Aight. I just got one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“I ain’t driving. I don’t want someone to track me down in case this goes south.”

Alex scoffed. “Well tough shit, man, ’cause I was also thinking the same thing. I ain’t driving either.”

“Augs, I ain’t doin’ it.”

“Neither am I.”

“I can drive!” Matt called from the hall with two cardboard boxes stacked in his hands.

“Shut up, Matt!” Alex and Hal yelled in unison.

Matt grinned, grooving to whatever was playing in his headphones, as he walked over to the aisles to restock the chips.

Hal aggressively shook his head, motioning him to get closer. “I don’t want him to get involved,” Hal whispered. “He’s too…” He mouthed the word “soft.”

“Then fuck, man, what do we do?”

“Why don’t you use the new guy?” Matt called, his head poking up from the opposite side of the chip aisle.

Alex was about to yell at him again when Hal stepped in. “Actually, I was gonna suggest that too.”

Alex raised an eyebrow. “You got a new guy?”

Hal nodded towards the wall behind him where the garage was. “Yeah, he’s in the back. Come on. I’ll introduce you two.”

Alex trailed behind Hal as he opened the door. Stepping into the concrete garage, the echoes of the cranking and tinkling machinery amplified. A warm, sharp smell filled the entire room, coming from an off-white 2000 Honda Civic parked in the middle of the space. Parts lay scattered beneath the car, a pair of ripped skinny-jeans and dirty Vans sticking out from under it.

“Yo, Connor!” Hal called over the thundering mechanical noise. “Come out for a sec!”

The new guy pushed himself out on the skateboard, feet walking him along the concrete. Sweat and grease glistened all over his lean body, including his dirty gray tank top. When he removed the bandanna covering his face, Alex’s body went cold. Alex wasn’t about to make a quick assumption, but the moment Connor smoothed out his long frizzy black hair, revealing frayed bleach tips in the light, Alex stopped breathing.

“This is my homie, Alex. We go way back,” said Hal, gesturing to Alex, then turned to Connor. “This is the new guy we call Connor.”

He pointed back and forth between the two on beat with their names. “Connor. Alex. Alex. Connor.”

Connor’s sunken black eyes glanced at Alex before averting his gaze back to Hal. “Okay, and?” He had a slight accent with his cold monotone voice. If his looks weren’t an indicator of who he was, the accent was a dead giveaway.

Hal laughed nervously as he scratched underneath his dreadlock ponytail, giving Alex a wide, uncomfortable smile. “Connor’s just like that. He don’t mean no harm.” Turning back to Connor, he rocked on his heels. “Anyway, Augs here got a job, and we think you’re perfect for it.”

Connor locked onto Alex, and for a moment, it felt like he was looking straight through him. His expressionless face made it harder to figure out. “What is it?”

Alex swallowed and crossed his arms, trying to keep his composure. “Nothing big. Just need a driver. Can get dangerous pretty quick.” When Connor didn’t make any kind of reaction, Alex asked, “You know about cars, right?”

Connor gave a half-hearted one-shoulder shrug. “Sure,” he replied curtly.

“Then we should talk. Talk about which car is the best suited for the job. Since that is your area of expertise, right?” Alex nodded at Hal, then jerked his head back at the shop.

Hal’s eyes went wide. He sucked in a breath and clapped once. “Cool cool! Well, I’m glad y’all be getting along, but I gotta go attend the front.” He pointed his thumbs over his shoulder as he slowly headed backwards towards the door. “I’ll check in later!”

When Hal closed the back door behind him, the space enveloped with the roar of silence. Connor broke it. “What kind of car are you—”

“Drop the act,” Alex cut in.

Connor blinked slowly, the first reaction of any kind. “What act?”