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@Wyatt_H_Knott Her name is Dawn Shaft, no relation. She writes crime novel, w/ extremely inept protagonists, under the pseudonym Ray Daybreak. Protagonists are drawn from the experiences of her klutzy pupils (see below). John Shaft is a huge fan of Ray Daybreak, assumes Ray's a guy.

John Shaft works in a cheese company warehouse, just bought by an evil dude. Shaft lost his job as a worker there by backing a forklift into the evil boss's evil car, doubtless a Tesla.

Dawn is actually a mastermind behind a crime-fighting syndicate, obliquely referred to above, complete with a mansion-type lair, w/ lovely walnut trim, & many large rooms. She is after the evil boss, & wants to get someone inside of that cheese place to get photos of his records. She's tried before at his other ventures without success.

She prefers inept warriors. Book sales pay for her mansion & syndicate. The funnier, the better. Profitable, but it does slow down the crime-fighting at times.

John and Ray, aka Dawn, meet at one of her book signings inside of a crowded bookstore. He shows up early. He's making a racket running into people and tripping.

Dawn dresses as a man at book signings.

Shaft wants her to sign his favorite book by her, "There Was Nothing Left," aka foreshadowing. He leans on her folding table & collapses a leg. Impressed, she tells him if he sticks around until the signing is over, she will give him a private reading. He accepts. After it's over, she gives him a card with her lair's address on it. They can meet that night.

He takes a Lyft to her lair. Product placement. He & the driver argue about incense, which the driver loves. After the ride, he thanks the driver. The driver flips him off & leaves angrily, nearly running over a foot. A running gag is born.

At her lair, she reveals that she is not a man, but is, indeed, a woman, by dropping her hair & removing the tape holding her boobs to her chest. Obligatory nudity for an appropriate rating to lure the kids to this mess. She explains about her syndicate. She wants to train him. She'll match what he was making at the cheese warehouse. He has no job, so he accepts.

He starts in her dojo, where he is trained by the finest martial arts masters. After 2 weeks, she tests him & knocks him cold w/ her roundhouse kick.

When he comes to, Dawn decides he will, unfortunately, need weapons, revealing a super high-tech device which expands into a huge gun, but can be carried in a shirt pocket. It doubles as a cigarette lighter.

She wants him to get his old job back at the cheese warehouse. Shaft is thrilled. Paid double-time!

He gets rehired because they hadn't found anyone to replace him yet, but he is acting funny, and nobody trusts him. They discover his weapon, but he manages to convince them it's just a cigarette lighter. They were skeptical, but gave it back so he could prove it. They wondered why he carried a lighter when he didn't smoke. He explains, "For the babes, man." Everyone nods, understandingly. "Oh."

One fateful night, they let him close the cheese warehouse, and watch to see what he does.

He clumsily breaks into the boss's office, despite the key being left in the doorknob, & starts taking photos of records. They confront him with weapons drawn. He panics and pulls out a cigarette lighter. He tosses it & pulls out the big gun, which astounds everyone as it expands.

A shootout commences. He's blasted backwards whenever he fires. He consistently misses all of them, but is pulverizing the building. They have trouble seeing him through the dust cloud.

At some point in the shootout, he realizes he took a Lyft to get there, & orders a ride back to Dawn's lair. He has to wait 60 seconds to get driver details. Then it's another 4 minutes before his driver will arrive (dropping off a ride). So he has to keep blasting away.

By the time his ride gets there, the building is smoldering dust. The bad guys are regaining consciousness. He calmly walks out, flicks dust off his shoulders, & gets in by the passenger-side rear door, the safer one to avoid COVID, you see. He takes no chances.

The Iraqi driver doesn't speak much English, but loves Mariachi music. They try to make small talk through loud music, but the driver angers, as he thinks Shaft is insulting Mariachis. More running gag.

By now, Dawn, having bugged him, realizes he's contacted Lyft and is bringing the bad guys to her. She sets a trap.

Shaft finally arrives. He gets out, thanking the driver, who is cursing him, & who drives off angrily, flipping him off, nearly running over a foot.

Shaft whistles a little tune, & slowly uses his phone to leave a nice tip for the driver.

He saunters to the front door of Dawn's lair as everyone inside is yelling "HURRY UP, MAN" & "HE IS SUCH AN IDIOT"-like things, which he can't hear.

He rings the doorbell. The door abruptly opens. He's grabbed and dragged inside.

The door slams. The bad guys arrive.

Be sure to watch Episode 2: Ashes to Ashes, Goodbye My Lair!

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