2020-08-16 - Byron's Car Is Full Of Holes Again

Byron was having a bad day. Not only was he nearly run off the road by some maniacs, one of them using his security detail vehicle to do the deed, but some asshole set the trunk of his ride on fire, rather explosively, I might add. If there was anything of importance kept in that part of the car, it's gone now. Looks like he took some time to cool down, having showered and changed out of his business suit into a casual linen short-sleeved button down and a pair of jeans.

That doesn't mean that he's not agitated when he shows up, but he's not on hot pursuit to hunt one particular police officer down right at this very moment. In fact, he catches a taxi to bring him to Itzhak's place, stepping out of the car in his search to find the New Yorker. If he recalled, at least a while back, the mechanic's shop was in it's own Twilight Zone. Was that the case still or did it resolve itself?

In fact, Salmon Garage--wait...wasn't it Steelhead? No, no, it was always Salmon, right?--has emerged from its transformative cocoon of plastic sheeting. It's no larger, still a very small three bay garage, but it's significantly handsomer. From being a low crackerbox of a building, it's gained a graceful arched roof, and it's fronted with tempered glass bay doors. It looks like a miniature fancy European auto shop. The landscaping is in progress, as is a beautiful mural along one side: a river running with steelhead salmon, a forest where if one looks close, one could catch a glimpse of a unicorn through the trees.

Itzhak's working on that landscaping, shoveling dirt and mulch into a stepped terrace bed that starts at the garage's feet and steps down two or three times to the street. He squints as the taxi pulls up, then straightens and wipes his forehead with a handkerchief as Byron steps out. "Yo, Thorne. How's by ya?" he calls.

If anything, Byron wasn't expecting to see the shop so fancy even if it got out of its weirdness funk. "Like what you did to the place." This surprise, at least, quells some of his agitation as he marvels at this artistic aesthetic... for a car shop. "How did you manage this?" He could be asking financially or even magically. Who's to say!

Making his way over to Itzhak, the businessman responds with something he's told others lately, "Could be better. The street's a battlefield. Or it looks like one." Yeah, he's talking about one of the roads leading to Oak and Oak, itself, which part of it has been locked down due to Hell Breaking Loose. "Lilith and I were chased all the from the Black Bear to... where the roads have been shut down. We were shot at, rammed into. When it was all done, some asshole cop set my trunk on fire."

Brief pause. "How's my car?"

Itzhak sticks the shovel blade-down in the dirt like he thinks he's some low-rent Jewish King Arthur, hops down from the terrace, saying, "Hey, thanks," casually, and then whatever else he's about to say is lost because Byron asks him how his car is. The question makes him suck in a breath and roll his wrists around in some Yiddish 'God only knows' kinda gesture. "It ain't pretty. C'mon in, show you." Stuffing his hanky in his back pocket, he waves Byron to follow him.

The interior of the garage is airy and bright, now, where before it was dark and cavelike. There in Bay Two is the Wraith, which Itzhak has covered with a tarp out of some sense of decency. He swaggers over to it and pulls off the tarp...and winces all over again. "Oy vey izt mir," he mutters, eyes traveling over the bullet holes and the shattered windows and the fire damage. "It is a crime what you put this car through, Thorne."

"Now, I don't expect you to finish with repairs before the... uh... birthday brunch," Look, the party wasn't Byron's idea. "Though I did have plans to drive out of town to meet with Lilith the day before." He tries to explain his situation to Ithzak as he's led into the aesthetically pleasing shop. "It just means, I'll need to get a rental ASAP." He then asides to Itzhak as if sharing a little secret with his mechanic, "If it were up to me, I'd cancel the damn thing." The brunch. "We were nearly killed out there. And there's a rival cartel, corrupt cops all tied into this shit. On top of that, I was dragged into a Dream just a day or two before. It's been a shit show and the last thing I want to think about is a party."

That sounded like something he needed to get out of his system. He probably didn't bring this up to Lilith yet...

Yes, while he doesn't understand Yiddish, he's heard it spoken enough in the movies or on film. "What I put it through? Blame the Veil. The Dark Men. Or that new cartel." A pause, "Have they approached you about anything yet? Try to shake you down?"

Itzhak's gray eyes tick up to Byron, from the damage done to his Wraith. He listens quietly, with a musician's sense of hearing, taking in the things Byron clearly needs to get off his chest. "Well, shit, buddy, far be it from me to tell you to go through with it. You hate the idea, why do it? Just take Lilka--" his Yiddish nickname for Lilith, "--and get outta town. It's your birthday. Why do something you can't stand the thought of?"

Itzhak has logic.

He grunts at the question of whether he's been shaken down. "Not yet." Yet. Because he knows he will be. It's coming. "Look," he adds, a little awkwardly, glancing over his shoulder to make sure nobody's going to come in. "Kelly and you go back, right?"

"Because Lilith set it up." Now, that doesn't mean that Byron is whipped in any way. He just cares about his girl's feelings, alright?? "She had this planned for a while. But, yeah. I'll ask her if she still feels up to it." Licking at his lips, he then asks, "Not only that, have you heard rumors saying that I was dead and that Lilith killed me? So yeah, this'll be quite the awkward birthday party."

As the both of them stand before Thorne's wrecked car, Byron sets a hand down on the vehicles frame looking none-too-pleased. Yes, he was there to witness his car catching on fire, "That fucker." He then adds, "His police cruiser blew the fuck up too. Strangely." It's not that strange, Lilith was with him at the time. "But I still won't call it even."

His dark eyes are cast on his burned out Wraith as he probably listens to what Itzhak has to say while pondering on all the things he'd like to do to the corrupt officer of the law right about now. He even nods when the man says the ominous 'Not yet'. However, when he brings Joey up, the businessman turns to Rosencrantz and offers another two nods. "We go way back. Hung out as kids." He then adds, "The town can really fuck people up, but Joey's doing his own thing. Running the family gym. He's a hard worker, that Kelly." Well, probably both Kellys. "Why do you ask?" He's curious about this now.

Itzhak smiles wryly. Because Lilith set it up. Yeah he knows how that is. "Well, look, I'll play whatever ya want. Except 'Happy Birthday,' I hate that song." He too pets the car, murmurs something in Yiddish to it: ir zent gut, mameleh. As if it's an injured animal he wants to soothe. Itzhak gets way too into inanimate objects. "Ehhh. Kelly's kinda having a rough time. Was wondering if there was anything youse guys do sometimes, yannow, as friends." From his tone, he knows Joey and Byron don't exactly spend a lot of time together anymore. He's kind of embarrassed to ask, but, he obviously feels like he should.

"Got it. No requesting Happy Birthday." Though Thorne has to inquire about something now, his eyes watching the mechanic with some scrutiny, "Joey hasn't said anything about being hired by Lilith to hop out of a cake, did he?" He remembers Alexander's birthday all-too-well.

Byron's been too caught up in his own problems (and in truth, he's got some really big problems), that he barely had the time to keep up with the Kelly. Though since he and his group of investors acquired that casino, they've mostly spoken business. Then there was this cartel war that reminds Byron that he needs to speak to Joey and quick. Especially, after he and Lilith were nearly killed in a shoot out car chase.

"What do you mean? A rough time?" Joey's already dropped hints that Itzhak was in-the-know, so there was no need to cover up the fact that Joey had to deal with this war going down in their precious town. "Due to the cartel war? As for making Joey Kelly happy, it depends on the grievance, I think. We'd often go drinking, take a trip out of town-- which is something I'd recommend for anyone living in this hell hole." He tries to think, eyes staring down at the Wraith's frame, "Be there to listen to him.. wait, what is this about? Does he need help with anything?" Byron's thinking that Kelly might need backup or assistance due to the gang warfare.

"Yeah, due to that." Itzhak sounds a little bemused, possibly because Byron always talks like he's in a board meeting. "Uh," he laughs under his breath, and rubs a scorch of carbon on the Wraith with his thumb. "Far as I know, Kelly ain't jumpin' out of no cakes. More's the pity, right? He'd probably have fun." Itzhak tests the blown-out edge of a bullet hole, makes a face. He's very busy inspecting the car he's already ostensibly inspected. "He just, uh, he doesn't seem to be doin' so good. So go see him and don't talk business. He's got all the business he can stand."

Byron expected Joey to be handling this cartel business. He just wasn't sure how he was going about doing that. "Why? What's been going on? Was there another incident like the one at the casino parking garage?" Felix's assassination attempt. "All I know is that if the vibe that I get from de la Vega is true, I mean, it's something that I was witness to with when Officer Liu threatened Lilith at her own shop, well, the precinct has a portion of its cops compromised. I offered to help sort them out, you know, getting reads and possible impressions, but the Interim Chief has not bit yet."

He then pauses and nods, "I'll keep that in mind. Could probably drag him out for a drink at some point soon. What I'm hoping for though is," The businessman shakes his head slowly, "Is for this to be over and done with. What can we do to make that happen?" Perhaps, he's volunteering his services for this. "Besides weeding out the corrupt cops." His gaze then falls on his vehicle, having noticed Itzhak looking at some of the bullet holes it was peppered with, "My insurance adjuster will be stopping by in a few days. See what they say about the condition of my car.