Work Text:
The abandoned water treatment facility in Central Park was using electricity.
Frank squinted suspiciously at the numbers on the computer screen. The new system they'd updated to had been implemented ahead of schedule, so he hadn't had time to finish reading up on it. But he was pretty sure those numbers meant it had flagged power usage that shouldn't be there.
And because Frank was the one on the overnight shift when the flag came in, it was his problem.
With a deep sigh, he pulled the records for the old facility to see when its last inspection had been. Maybe whoever checked it last made a note of something that needed to be fixed, that had gotten ignored for the past couple years.
To his surprise, he found neat, consistent records of yearly inspections going back a few years. All passing, with no notes that any kind of deeper inspection was needed. All by the same guy.
"Donny Hamato," Frank muttered to himself, pulling up the guy's employee record.
No picture, but there was a phone number and email address. Looked like Donny got a lot of the crap abandoned building assignments. Still, a water treatment facility was different enough, he might remember it.
With another deep sigh, Frank pulled out his phone and flipped it open, then typed in Hamato's number. It rang for a few moments, then there was a barely-audible click and the ring tone changed slightly. After a few more moments of ringing, there was a louder click.
"Mngh, wuzrong, April?" mumbled a tired voice. He sounded younger than Frank had expected from someone whose employment record went back a couple years.
Frank chuckled. "Definitely not April, kid."
There was a sharp inhale on the other end of the line, then he whispered, "How'd you get this number?"
"Relax, it's in yer record," Frank said, leaning back in the creaky POS chair that was single-handedly ruining his back. "This is Donny Hamato, right?"
"Y-Yes? Who is this? What record?"
Oh right, as far as this guy was concerned, he'd been called at random by a voice and number he didn't recognize. Probably didn't give out his number often, given how shocked he was to hear from someone who wasn't this mystery "April" person. "It's Frank Martinez from ConEd. I'm lookin' at yer employee record."
On the other end of the line, he heard a thump before a gruffer voice than Donny's growled, "Th' sh—hell're ya doin' yappin' on the phone, Don? M'tryin'a sleep!"
Donny's voice was slightly muffled when he replied, like he was covering the phone. "It's someone from ConEd."
"Wh— Why's ConEd callin' ya as ass o'clock in th' mornin'?"
"That's what I'm trying to find out, Raph! Shh!"
"You shh!" Raph muttered petulantly, before there was another thump that probably meant he had closed the door behind him.
"Sorry," Donny mumbled. "Uh, Frank? While I hate to admit it, my brother had a point. Why are you calling me this late? Or looking up my employee record, for that matter?"
"System flagged one'a the properties you inspected last," Frank explained, pulling up the Central Park water treatment facility again. "Usin' way more electricity than an abandoned buildin' should, y'know? You remember seein' anythin' weird when you were there?"
There was silence on the other end of the phone, then Donny murmured, "Hang on, I'm going to sign in remotely. There shouldn't have been anything flagging the system."
"No problem. Jus' make sure ya log th' time so ya get paid. It's still work even if it's after hours. More so since it's after hours." Frank was a proud UWUA rep for region 1, no way was he letting some kid do unpaid labor to help him out.
"Sure, sure," Donny muttered absently, then a few moments later, "What the…? Why—? The new system wasn't supposed to go up until next week!"
"Tell me about it," Frank said, rolling his eyes.
"The one time they're ahead of schedule on something," Donny grumbled to himself, and Frank snorted in amusement.
"Prob'ly two explosions in one year 'cause'a old equipment scared th' shit outta someone higher up an' they didn't wanna risk gettin' blamed fer another accident," he speculated.
Donny sighed. "That makes sense. Doesn't mean I hafta like it."
"You an' me both, kid."
Frank stared up at the ceiling for a while, listening to the faint tapping sound of Donny typing on a keyboard. At least he assumed that's what he was doing. Then he looked a little closer at the power usage flag. The numbers were surprisingly familiar, more consistent with a residence than what a place as big as a utility plant would usually use.
Over the phone there was a soft sound and then a quiet voice said, "Donny, what are you doing up this late? You need to get some rest."
"Leo!" Donny hissed. "I— My job's on the phone."
"Your…job?" Leo asked, sounding baffled.
"ConEd," Donny said quickly. "The new system flagged power usage h— A-at the old water treatment plant. In Central Park. The one I inspected."
There was a wealth of understanding in Leo's voice when he said, "Oh."
"Yes, 'oh'. So I have to figure this out." Donny cleared his throat and added quieter, "I'll go right to bed after, Leo. Don't worry about it, I've got it under control."
There was a long moment of silence, before Leo sighed. "Okay, Don. Just let me know if…you need anything."
Frank frowned as he listened in. That sounded like a lot more concern than a call like this should warrant. Did Donny think he was gonna get fired for this?
Narrowing his eyes, Frank looked at the power usage numbers again. He saw numbers like those frequently at places with large families. Donny, Raph, Leo…
"Hey bro, why's Donny's room the hot new hangout?" a fourth voice asked.
"Because apparently I'm not allowed to have any privacy when I'm working," Donny snapped.
He was stressed. And living with at least three other people.
Frank was toying with a suspicion and he really didn't want to be right about it.
"Yeesh, so-rry," fourth voice said. "I can tell when I'm not wanted."
Donny groaned. "Mikey."
"At least Klunk still loves me!" Mikey said dramatically, voice fading with distance.
There was a moment of silence before Leo chuckled and Donny sighed.
"I'll leave you to it," Leo said. "Just…keep me updated."
"Yeah," Donny said quietly.
Frank waited until it sounded like everyone had left before speaking up again. "Lotta roommates?"
"Oh!" Donny sounded like he had forgotten Frank was still on the phone. "Um, no. Well, sort of. My brothers."
"Big family, then?" Frank asked.
"I guess so? Us and our father. It's the only family I've ever had, so it's just normal for me."
Five people living together, that would do it. Feeling mean, but needing to know, Frank asked, "Ya think I should send someone else ta inspect th' place?"
"No!" Donny blurted. "You can't! I-I mean, you don't—There's no need."
Silence stretched loud and looming between them, and Frank slowly sat up in the POS chair.
"Donny…" he said quietly. "If I sent someone to inspect the abandoned Central Park water treatment plant, would they find something that shouldn't be there?"
Even through the phone, he could hear the kid's breathing speed up.
"N-No," Donny whispered. "Just…broken glass and rats. I-I mentioned it in my report. There's… There's a couple broken windows. It's normal for a building that's been abandoned that long. N-Nothing unusual."
Now that he was listening for it, the kid sounded even younger than Frank had originally thought. And he sounded like he was one wrong word away from crying.
Donny Hamato wasn't someone hired straight out of high school and given all the crap jobs.
Donny Hamato was a clever kid who was probably really good with computers and had given himself all the crap jobs. So no one would go looking at some of the city's many abandoned buildings and find someone trespassing.
An entire family trespassing. He'd said he lived with his brothers and father.
Shit.
Frank let out a deep breath through his nose and closed his eyes. When he opened his eyes again, he pulled up the flag and stared hard at it.
"Hey kid?" he sighed.
Donny made a sound that wasn't quite a whimper and definitely wasn't a sob, but they probably saw each other at family reunions.
"Now that I'm lookin' closer, I figure it's probably a system glitch. Y'know? New system, still got some bugs ta work out. Sorry for botherin' ya so late." With a few clicks, he had marked the flag as resolved due to system error. "I'm sure yer inspection was just fine."
"Th-Thanks, Frank," Donny whispered hoarsely. "I mean, thanks for catching that bug. I'd hate for anyone to waste their time coming all the way out he— There. Going, all the way out there. It's…far."
And that pretty much confirmed it. "Yeah, kid. Good thing we got ya to keep an eye on it."
"Yeah…"
"I'll let ya get back ta bed," Frank told him. "I'll clear things up here, don't worry about it."
"Okay… Take care of yourself, Frank."
"You too, Donny. G'night."
With that, Frank ended the call and sat back in the chair, listening to its familiar creak and whine as he moved. Staring up at the ceiling, he considered the situation.
He couldn't un-know what he had discovered that night, but he could certainly do his best to prevent anyone else finding out. Frank may not have been good enough with a computer to make an employee record appear out of nowhere, but he knew how to edit one.
Within the hour, Donny Hamato's employee record had been updated to list Frank Martinez as his direct supervisor.