xp_logs | Madin, Kyle and Liam: Further repairs. This is getting to be a theme.

xp_madin posting in

With the windows covered and immediate hazards cleared, Madin, Kyle and the newly returned Liam are able to start planning the big ticket repairs.

Liam stood with Kyle and Madin ready to work, but only the two older people had clipboards. Unfair. Most of the destruction left by the new girl was cleaned up, if you counted plywood and tarps as such. There was a lot of work still to do, but now that Christmas was over, he was back to do it. He'd even brought back his tool belt and some of his preferred tools under the guise of wanting them for working in the shop. Telling his parents they'd essentially been attacked was definitely not okay.

Kyle watched Liam glance from one clipboard to the next one, and then back, and finally laughed. "If you really want one, go run down to the toolshed and get one, geez." He took the pencil he'd stuck behind his ear out, looked at the list, put the pencil back and flipped pages. "Jesus. Well, the kitchen's fucked until we get a contractor in. Mads, you got all the north windows covered, right?"

"Yeah. They let me just ... order new ones. The guy is coming to measure up but it's going to take a while because they're all custom sizes, apparently. We've got the carpet stripped off the main stairs, too. Um."

"Mansion has a net 30 account with like, God, the hardware store, the window place, two different gardening places, a chef supply store. It's nuts, right?" Kyle said, more an explanation for Liam - Madin had clearly just gotten to experience the weirdness of going through the Home Depot and handing the cashier a corporate account card. "It's why there's that sign in the toolshed that's all 'save your receipts. Kay, Liam, how are you at pulling gutters? Our new resident didn't do much to the upper floors, but the windows going out took about half the rain gutters with them."

Liam nodded, following along. He'd never had to deal with corporate accounts and the like but he was familiar enough with his dad. "Gutters, got it," he nodded, mentally making a list of tools. He was even more grateful he'd brought his tool belt now. "Probably want to get a roof guy, too, to check that."

Madin groaned. "Urgh. Really? Now I gotta find a roof guy? How do I find one? Can we just ignore it?"

Kyle shook his head. 'We gotta roof guy, he's in that list I sent you. He's cool, self-levitator." He paused, pulled out his phone, tapped several times, and then shot a text to Madin. "There, sent you his deets, but I can make that call if you want. He works under the table, so cash only, I think he's from, shit, somewhere down south, one of the guays - Paraguay, Uraguay, I dunno. Good dude, cool powers, really into arena soccer."

"Roof leaks cause a ton of damage and if the gutters were affected, then a roof inspection is a good idea," Liam stated, "since they're attached. Besides, the inspection is usually free and they can use drones for safety," he was speaking from experience. "Alright then. I'll go grab a ladder. There's a lot of gutter. This place is huge."

"Hold it!" Madin snapped, before turning to Kyle. "Yeah. Can you please call him? This shit is way too much."

They turned back to Liam. "I don't think we have ladders that tall, bro. It's like, four stories. We need a flyer, or use the attic windows but everything up there's gonna be covered in like snow and shit."

"I got it," Liam replied confidently, "At worst, I'll need grippy socks. Really thick grippy socks I can ruin. And waterproof." Because snow was cold and wet, but he had claws on his feet as well as his hands. And very good balance.

"There's safety points up there, you're also gonna belt up." Kyle said absently. "It's cool, I've been up there like four dozen times, Gar and I installed safety harness clips a couple years ago." He checked a line off on his clipboard. "I got the call, Mads, but you good if I introduce you? Just so he knows both our faces? A lot of this is gonna be us removing and then contractors coming in, but look, I wasn't expecting to hire you guys and then get you thrown into a fuckin' debris field. Anything we can do, we should, but I'm not expecting you guys to take over anything you don't know how to do."

"Do I have to talk to him?" Madin asked, slightly plaintively. "I'm supposed to just be the assistant."

Kyle made a face, clearly working through options in his head. "If I'm not busy, no, just like, send him to me, but." He waved his pencil at both clipboards. "We're gonna have like four contractors at once in here, the odds of you avoiding all four are low. Look, anyone we hire is a mutant, or has mutant family, and everybody is vetted. Nobody's gonna give you shit, and if they have a question and you can't answer, then grab me, but sometimes they're gonna be "Hey, where should I put this big fuckin' box of tiles" or "Can I use the can?"

Madin sighed. "Fine. I'll talk to him."

"You want me to?" Liam offered, "My dad did contract work and stuff, he does custom cabinetry and stuff," not that he went to job sites. His help was in the workshop only.

"No, I can do it," Madin said. "I just don't want to."

That was a whole ass mood. He nodded, "Sure. Okay, I need a harness and rigging rope.... We got this."

Kyle let his head drop backwards as he stared up at a clear sky that had no right to be blue and cloudless. It was cold, his entire personal kitchen was full of food from the catering freezer and his assistants were sixteen and overly worried about falling off a roof twenty four and petulant. "Revised plan. I'll handle contractors, you guys just text me if one has questions. Mads, you're on stripping the fucked tile in the kitchen, Liam once you're done pulling the gutters down, you're on raking. There's eight billion nails and splinters and other sharp bullshit still in the grass from the windows blowing out."

Giving a mock salute, Liam headed to grab the rest of the tools he'd need and get to work.

Madin sighed with relief. "Thanks, Kyle. I can do that."