DEMOLITION LOVERS

Make Some Noise

'Hello?' Fun said, knocking on the door for the millionth time, but nobody answered.

Maybe Danny was just playing, seeing if he was someone he could trust.

Maybe he shouldn't have trusted Danny either. What if he was linked to BLI? What if he was after information, looking for him and the Killjoys?

But then, the garage door opened, and he heard someone calling. 'Frank! Over here!'

He followed the voice and got in the garage, but he couldn't help thinking he was walking into a trap, and that Danny worked for Korse and was taking him back to Battery City.

The garage was dark and he almost tripped before the door closed behind him, and the lights went on. And from behind a bookshelf, Danny came out laughing, causing Fun to jump on his spot.

'What are you so afraid of, boy?' Danny asked in his usual raspy voice. Frank knew it sounded familiar, but it couldn't be, so he just let it go.

'I just –,' Frank looked around, pretending he was cool, but his face was red of embarrassment.

'No one here's going to hurt you,' the man in the wheelchair assured him. 'But that doesn't mean you have my complete trust, kid.'

'I know.'

'For all I know, you could be working for BLI.'

'I –'

'I know you're not. You're too young, and you still have that spark in your eyes that tells me there's a soul in there. BLI workers don't have souls.'

Frank knew that.

He'd been with a lot of them. And he still had nightmares about it.

'And my daughter trusts you. That's enough.'

'Thank you, sir.'

There was a long silence, and Frank could feel him analyzing him, wondering how much he should trust him. 'Now what I do here is top secret. So no running and telling your family. If they ask, tell them you help me around the house and to organize files. Which you'll probably end up doing.'

Frank was okay with that.

'And I don't know if I could pay you, but you'll have the satisfaction of helping an old man.'

Frank nodded.

'Okay, let me show you around.' The garage was filled with boxes and bookcases full of records. Art supplies and bags of clothes. It reminded him of his childhood, back when things were normal and his grandma had antique shop. And in the far corner, there was a record player, right next to a setup with a microphone and some kind of mixing table.

What did Danny do here exactly?

Frank knew better not to ask.

And Danny wasn't sure if he could tell him yet.

He just made Frank check the boxes, and write down the names of all the records in there, before putting them in one of the bookcases.

On the first day, he sat on the dining room, while Danny worked in the garage. He only finished one of the boxes, with a short break to eat – Danny told him he could grab anything from the kitchen, but all he could find was cans – but it was a nice change from cooking at the diner or escaping from Draculoids.

He just sat and made lists of records, categorizing them by year and genre. He lost all sense of time, and when he least expected, Maddie was calling his name. 'Hey –,' she said. 'My dad says you can go home.'

'What time is it?' he asked, all disoriented as if he had just woken up.

'Almost six in the afternoon. I just got home from work.'