Disclaimer: What other title could I pick?

Let's Get Dangerous

Note: Part 02 of Meh Chapter 28

Dockworkers Compound, several years before present:

Adam tried to stay calm as he waited for the interviewer to arrive. This was it, he told himself. This was the day their luck was going to turn around.

"Bill Watkins got into a car accident," a tall balding man announced as he stepped into the room. "I'm sorry to keep you waiting, I didn't find out that he was supposed to do an interview until about two minutes ago."

"No problem," Adam replied, trying to sound casual.

"You applied to the mechanic job, right?"

"Yeah, but . . ." Adam took a breath and let it out. "It's not for me. It's for my girl, she's really good with tools but . . ." he swallowed. "Just give her a chance and I promise that she can deliver."

Adam's heart sank when the interviewer frowned. "She too shy to come herself?"

"No. She's . . . she's a she," he said lamely.

"Figured we'd toss her application if it came in with a woman's name on it?"

"It's what all the other shops did," Adam admitted. "We didn't start getting call backs until I started applying for her and just about everyone else has shown me the door the second I admitted that I wasn't the one applying." Two shops had told him that they might have positions for her, depending on what she looked like and what she was willing to do for a paycheck.

The interviewer nodded. "She the one waiting for you outside?"

"Yeah," Adam agreed.

"She have her own tools?"

Adam resisted the urge to jump for joy. "Yeah. Well, mostly. I don't think she has any specialty stuff."

"Alright."

Adam's heart sank when the man stood up. "Sir, I-"

"No sense not going direct, right? Would you mind introducing us?"

"Sir, I don't know your name," Adam admitted.

The tall man froze. "I didn't introduce myself?"

"No, sir."

The man's shoulders dropped. "Sorry, I didn't realize. Danny."

"Adam."

"Would you mind introducing me to your lady? We're always looking for good people and I think that I can find a place for her if she's as good as you say she is."

"Thank you, sir." It seemed as if every muscle in his body untensed as a wave of relief rushed over him.

"You looking for something yourself?" Danny continued as he walked towards the door.

"Uh . . . are you offering?" Adam asked cautiously.

"Depends on your skill set," Danny stated. "I've got some strings I can pull if I can't find something for you here."

"Really?" Adam perked up.

Danny shrugged. "Why not?"

"One big reason in this town," Adam stated.

"Ah." Danny nodded as he opened the door. "Yeah, them. Fuck'em. We'll talk."

Adam followed the interviewer out to the corridor where his girlfriend was waiting. The look on her face was heartbreaking, it was clear that she didn't expect to hear good news.

"Sherrel, this is Danny. Danny, Sherrel."

His girlfriend rose to her feet, nodded and offered a hand. "Pleased to meet you, Danny."

"Pleasure's mine," Danny said cheerfully. "I understand that you're a mechanic?"

"I am," Sherrel agreed.

"Internal Combustion? Small Engine? Diesel? What?"

"Cars, small engine, and a little diesel," Sherrel said, getting a bit of liveliness.

"Good. That's one of things we're short of," Danny said cheerfully. "I've got dozens of welders and machinists and more diesel mechanics than I know what to do with, but I don't have near enough internal combustion. Where'd you learn?"

A small smile appeared on Sherrel's face. "I worked in my daddy's garage when I was growing up until . . ." she faltered. "Until he lost it." She swallowed. "And I've worked on cars since then for friends and anyone who was willing to pay."

"Great." He turned to the heretofore silent secretary. "What do you think, Shelia?"

"She's polite," the secretary said.

"Alright." He turned back to Sherrel. "You're hired if your skills check out. We'll decide on pay after you show what you can do. Deal?"

"Deal," Sherrel said quickly.

"Talk to Shelia about getting your paperwork done."

"Thank you!" Sherrel said tearfully.

"Over here, dear," Shelia said, taking charge of the new Dockworker.

"Thank you, sir," Adam felt his eyes prickling.

Danny grinned. "Thank you for bringing me another mechanic. Now, do you have time to talk about your skills or do you want to schedule something for later?"

"Now's fine," Adam replied quickly.

"Great. What can you do?"

"I have a degree in business management and I'm most of the way to becoming a certified public accountant."

Danny snorted. "Sorry, I'll explain later. I don't mean to come across as rude, but why are you having trouble getting a job?"

"I . . ." Adam's shoulders dropped. "I have a record."

"For what?"

"Possession with intent. I pled down to avoid time, but everywhere else I've applied has shown me the door after they found that out." The ones that had been willing to talk to him in a town full of skinheads anyway.

"Alright. I want to see your credentials, but I think I can use you too. You're hired if everything checks out."

"Just like that?" Adam asked in disbelief.

"You're not the only one here with a record," Danny said with a grin. "Yours is one of the least impressive if I'm perfectly honest. I'm not going to worry about what you did in the past and I'm not going to worry about what you do off duty so long as it doesn't affect your on duty time. None of my business unless . . . well, there are a few crimes I care about but possession isn't one of them."

Dockworkers Compound, the present:

Danny looked up from his paperwork when his door opened to admit his secretary.

"What's up?"

"PRT's here. They say they want to ask you some questions about the tinker tech we're installing in vehicles without PRT authorization," Shelia announced with a smirk.

Danny rolled his eyes. "Don't let them through the gate and tell them to talk to Carol," Danny replied.

"Armsmaster is demanding that we allow him entry, sir."

"Of course he is." Danny sighed. "Tell him to talk to Carol and ask him if he has a warrant. Tell him to leave after he admits that he doesn't have a warrant."

"Sure, Danny."

With a frown, he picked up his phone and dialed his wife. "Gonna be late tonight, gotta stop by the bar. Love you too."

There was a knock on his door, odd since just about everyone on the compound would just walk in. "Come in?" His eyebrows raised when his head of hiring and one of his shop foremen sheepishly walked in. Why in the hell had they knocked? Just what in the hell was going on?

"Danny." Adam licked his lips. "We've got something to tell you."

The union head gave them his full attention. "Yes?"

"It's," he looked at his other half. "We're . . . uh-"

"I'm Lady Truckula," Sherrel admitted.

"And I'm Winning Streak," Adam added.

Danny blinked.

"Say something, chief," Sherrel begged.

"Uh, was I not supposed to already know that?" Danny asked sheepishly.

"You know? Then why the hell didn't you ever say anything?" Sherrel demanded.

Danny shrugged. "I told you when you started, it's none of my business what you do in your off time so long as it doesn't affect your on time."

Sherrel's teeth ground together. "I've been worried sick and you don't care?"

"You're Dockworkers. Sorry, I can pretend to be shocked or disappointed or something if you want."

Sherrel sighed. "No it's just . . . never mind."

"Okay," Danny agreed. "Glad we had this talk. Was there something else you needed?"

Adam snorted. "That's why we love you, chief, you don't sweat the small stuff."

"I want to upgrade your car," Sherrel interjected, not wanting the conversation to get off track again. "Your buddy roasted a couple gangers alive. They're not going to like that."

Danny opened his mouth, shut it, and nodded slowly. "My wife's too, please."

Sherrel's eyes widened in shock. "You're not going to argue?"

Danny shook his head. "Why argue when you're right? This a one off thing or are you willing to give Bond cars to more people?"

"Uh . . ." Sherrel glanced at her husband.

"Adam?"

Adam shot his wife a look of betrayal. "Some of the guys on Sherrel's crew might not be driving stock vehicles anymore."

Danny tilted his head. "Do I need to look into updating any of the training standards for the heavy equipment?"

Adam licked his lips. "Uh . . ."

Sherrel grinned widely. "Nah, guys already know how to handle the extras."

Danny nodded. "Alright. Thanks for letting me know."

"That's it?"

"That's it," Danny confirmed. "You're Dockworkers and what you do in your own time is your business. Why do I have to keep repeating that? We stick together"

"Love you too, boss," Sherrel said cheerfully.

Tanaka's Czech Biergarten, Four hours later:

Danny sat down at the bar and didn't have to wait more than ten minutes before he was joined by one of the Dockworkers' bigger customers.

"Danny," the man said calmly.

"What the fuck was today about, Colin?"

"New US attorney doesn't like you for some reason," Colin said calmly. "I'm not sure if it's because they're corrupt or because they think that you're a gang leader or because they're not happy about something else." The man waved at the bartender. "In any case, expect us to go through the motions of harassing you for the foreseeable future."

Danny let out a slow breath. "Why PRT?"

"The new US attorney suggested that one or more of the toys you sell might be NEPEA-5 violations," Colin stated, taking a sip of his drink.

"They're not. Hell, a lot of them predate the appearance of parahumans."

"I know." Colin smirked. "Unfortunately, I am going to have to buy a number of things from you before I am convinced of that fact."

"Whatever it takes to pad the tinkering budget, I suppose," Danny laughed. "What happens when you don't find anything?"

"Obviously I didn't buy enough samples from you for evaluation and will need to buy more," Colin stated calmly.

Danny snorted. "What's the director think?"

Colin shrugged. "I wouldn't be here and I wouldn't be sharing this if she objected."

AN: Another collection of scenes that's been gathering dust in my HD.

Typos by gthesob