The Legendary Junkmaster

Chapter 24: Brand Identity (4)

"Boy! Get your arse up! I know you've recovered! We've got work to do!" Harry bellowed at the top of his voice while he scratched at his muttonchops beard.

Harry sighed while he sat at the kitchen table and studied the new tool he had just bought. He thought about the nightmare he had two nights ago. He somewhat felt that it had influenced his decision to buy this strange yet wonderful new tool. He fitted one of the tool bits to the handheld part and turned the crank a couple of times. He felt pretty pleased to see it working smoothly without making a noise.

"What a strange thing you are. Why hasn't anyone made something like you before?" Harry sighed as he thought about the amount of salvage that he could have gathered more easily throughout his life if he had this sooner.

Harry had tested it right after he got home with the purchase. Surprisingly, he discovered that he only had to apply light pressure to the crank and its internal components turned it into a greater force. This allowed him to easily remove stubborn bolts and such that he usually would slightly struggle with. Secretly he could not wait to gloat to his grandson about his newest and most treasured tool.

"Haha, maybe it will inspire him to work harder so that he can afford one." Harry lightly chuckled at the thought. "Oi! Boy! Did you not hear me? Get the fuck up!"

Harry snorted when he finally heard some movement from Jason's room. It was a little earlier than when they would usually head out, but that was because Harry had somewhere specific in mind for their target today. It was a place that he had discovered in his youth, but no matter how many times he returned there, he could never open the heavy door. Harry gripped the tool in his hand as if it were the key he had always been searching for.

"Yo Gramps, long time no see," Jason grumbled as he finally made his appearance in the kitchen. 'Damn geezer. You kept me waiting long enough!'

Jason had been desperate to get outside for a while, but there was no point in going too far alone. He still had to rely on his grandfather's expertise for any areas outside of Highrise's area of influence. Just as Jason was about to give Harry a mouthful, his eyes suddenly went wide with disbelief as he recognised the tool in Harry's hand.

"Oh? See something you like?" Harry chuckled as he brandished the tool in the air between them. "It's a pretty expensive new tool that just hit the market yesterday. You should count yourself lucky to even see one right now."

Jason stared at his grandfather in disbelief as his eyes wandered between the old man and the tool he was so proud of owning. Eventually, Jason slapped his own forehead and began laughing! He had never imagined that one of the first people to buy his inventions he had just sold yesterday would be his own grandfather!

'Expensive, my ass! It's cheap enough for any mediocre scavenger to be able to afford it! Don't think you can fool me, old man! I bet you were planning on charging me more than what it's worth if I asked you to buy me one!' Jason could not help himself and showed a triumphant expression towards Harry, who looked utterly bewildered. This was not the reaction he had been expecting at all!

Jason unsheathed his own copy of his tool from its place in the rear of his tool belt. He originally wanted to keep it from his Gramps because he knew the old man too well. He was sure to have asked him to make him one for free. Either that or his would have gone 'missing' at the same time Harry just so happened to 'buy one.

"No! What?" Harry yelped as he stared at an identical copy of his new treasure in Jason's hand. "How! I know I haven't giv ahem you haven't earned enough to afford one!"

Jason grinned at the shock and outrage plastered across Harry's face. He enjoyed the sensation he felt from getting one over on the old coot for a bit before dropping his bombshell. "Is it really that weird for the creator to have a copy himself?"

Harry's mind went blank as it struggled to digest what Jason had just said. In the end, Harry's face went bright red, and in a fit of rage, he stormed towards Jason!

"Who did you steal that from, boy! You better tell me right now before I give you the beating of a lifetime!" Harry's short and sturdy figure quickly moved to cross the distance between them.

Jason cursed internally as he panicked. He never imagined that his grandfather would react this way! To be fair, he could understand why the old man had jumped to the conclusion that he had stolen it. Jason had never shown any natural talent in creating things, and Harry always underpaid him for his share of the salvage they gathered. Logically speaking, it could only make sense if he had stolen it from somewhere!

Jason fumbled with his Riot that he had attached to his belt. He got the feeling that Harry was going to give him a beating anyway, so he may as well give the old man the shock of his life! Jason raised the Riot in front of him to fend off the inevitable strike that Harry was going to make.

Harry only became more livid when he saw that Jason intended to defend himself instead of accepting his punishment. It would take more than a bit of steel pipe to stop this old man! Harry lashed out with his tail, intending to use it to grab the weapon and rip it from Jason's grasp. Just as his tail wrapped around the weapon, Harry paused when he noticed a smirk upon Jason's face.

Harry immediately realised that something was wrong with that situation as a humming noise filled the air. Before he got the chance to think about it, an electric shock ran through his body! Pain instantly wracked Harry's body as he tried to let go of the strange weapon. However, it was like something was forcing his tail to stay connected to it.

Harry realised that he no longer had any accurate control over his tail as the pain forced him to his knees. His body jolted as he collapsed to the floor and released saliva from his mouth. Creating a small puddle around his head. His eyes rolled into the back of his head as he struggled to make sense of what was going on.

Harry's tail went limp and fell away from the Riot while his body spasmed on the kitchen floor. He was still conscious and could clearly hear Jason walking towards him! Harry gasped for air as he stared at his grandson in horror. He had never expected him to have something that could take him down!

Jason crouched next to his head and stared into Harry's eyes while slowing tapping the now inactive Riot against his open palm in a threatening manner. He waited a few moments just to make sure the old geezer was fully capable of understanding him.

"Listen here, Gramps. If you try to move, I'll give you another taste of what my baby here can do. Nod if you understand." Jason's voice was full of venom as he threatened his grandfather. Harry slowly nodded to show that he completely understood what would happen. "Good. Now let us get this straight. I didn't steal anything. I made both that tool and this nifty little thing. You can either accept that or receive another dose of what you just experienced. Your call."

Harry shivered at the apparent threat, but he could not do anything in this situation even if he wanted to. He still did not believe that Jason had not stolen the items, but he had no way to punish him right now or confiscate them. All he could do was agree for now, and hopefully, he could find a way to solve this problem afterwards. Harry managed a slight grimace that showed Jason that he was willing to listen.

Jason sighed when seen that. It was the face that Harry always made when he did not believe a word that someone was telling him. 'Guess I'm just going to have to tell him a few white lies then.' There was no way that Jason would reveal his power to this hothead after this recent display.

Jason proceeded to tell Harry that he had worked on the items for some time in secret. Just in case his mutation did not pan out the way he wanted it to. He then continued to offer to prove it by accompanying Harry to the stall that sold the tools. The owner could confirm that Jason was, in fact, the person that supplied them. Failing that, he could also get Al to vouch for him.

All in all, the talk with his immobilised grandfather lasted for quite some time. The look on Harry's face went from disbelief to excitement and eventually to practically having dollar signs in his eyes. Even Harry could not escape the truth when names were mentioned that could vouch for Jason's words, no matter how unbelievable they were. However, Harry was only considering how much money they should be able to make now.