The Art of Corruption

Delivery Boy

It wasn't a surprise that Eli turned up to the car shop late. He honestly was surprised that he made it at the time he did, an hour later than he'd promised Pablo. He was always thankful that Pablo never minded his tardiness. His other job, however, wasn't so kind to Eli. They almost fired him four times for not being on time, and only really kept him because he'd use puppy dog eyes and pull the 'but I'm broke' card.

There wasn't too much rush at the shop at this hour, around five customers: three needing some gas or window soap, one needing a wash, and one whose bonnet was completely busted and the engine had stopped working. That car would easily take up Eli's entire night. His hopes of getting home early and logging in a couple of hours of sleep were quickly diminished when he saw that man pull up with a tow-truck.

The man wasn't too kind, either. He'd demanded Eli for a grown-up to fix his car, not 'a sixteen-year-old kid who looks like he's going to collapse with those twigs for legs.' Despite Eli's efforts to have a decent conversation with the man, he ended up getting decked in the face. Getting punched was honestly normal with the job, even more so because it was in a shady downtown area with cheap rent so Pablo could afford the place.

No matter how much Eli disliked the man, he had to admit that his car was a beauty. An old Aston Martin, Eli wasn't sure which year it was from.

"You mess my car up more and I'll have you, you hear?" The man said to Eli as he pulled out a wrench from the toolbox on the ground. The shift had barely started and Eli was already covered in grease and dirt.

Eli nodded briskly before inspecting the bonnet. It was crushed, to put it lightly. Eli wasn't even sure how he was going to get it open—his dad had never beaten his cars down to such a pulp. Eli looked up at the man, his hair falling in front of his eyes. "D'you mind if I ask what happened to her?"

The man threw the soda can he was drinking across the garage lazily. Eli said nothing. "Asshole didn't use the blinker. Couldn't get to the breaks in time."

Eli nodded and ran his hand over the car, thinking of whether or not forcing it open would damage it further. "And the guy? He got away?"

The man looked down. "Yeah."

Eli had a gnawing feeling that something else happened, but it wasn't his place to question it. He looked back at the car and sighed. This was far beyond his expertise but thought to attempt to fix it anyways. He turned around to the other man working the shift that night named Steph, Pablo's cousin. He was significantly younger than Pablo, maybe in his late twenties.

"Steph," Eli called. Steph turned away from the shelf he was dusting off. "You mind covering this one for me?" Eli made sure to use his best pleading eyes.

Steph didn't seem to fall for it, though. "Why, rookie?" He laughed. "S'it too tough for you?"

Eli sighed.

"'Knew Pablo shouldn't have hired a kid," he smirked to himself. For a reason that Eli would probably never get to know, Steph hated him.

The man huffed from behind Eli. "Can one of you idiots fix my car or not? She's worth my entire apartment."

Steph looked over Eli's shoulder, analyzing the car . . . or the man, Eli didn't know. His gaze fell back on Eli like a laser—hard and unnerving. Eli felt a chill run down his spine. "I got you," Steph said to Eli before walking past him and to the car.

Eli let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding. "I'll clean up," Eli added, his voice small. He'd seen that stare many times before. Never under good circumstances.

"What's your name?" Eli heard Steph say behind him.

The man muttered a reply Eli couldn't hear as traffic started building up near the garage. Or maybe it was because his head was swimming. It wasn't until then that he realized how tired he was.