Maintaining Me

Chapter 9

“There is nothing here!” Keegan bangs his head on the island. I lean back on the kitchen counter and hide my smile with my mug of coffee. I had stuck it in the microwave to warm.

John was out running errands.

“Maybe you aren’t cut out for this,” I suggest. He clenches his fists, but smartly stays silent.

He made copies of the documents and has been circling them and highlighting information with a red Crayola crayon.  

John even went out and bought Keegan his very own red mug. John had an obsession with shopping, it only came in handy a few times.

I smirk at the understatement.

“Are you even trying,” I step over to the island and lean closer to him.

“I just,” he groans, “I feel like this is a waste of time!”

“Now you are acting like those dumb FBI cops on television shows or something,” I snort and he bangs his head on the counter.

“Hey,” I say eyeing the counter. I didn’t want him denting anything or getting blood on the counter. I was on kitchen duty today and I planned not to clean.

“This is the real world, not a soap opera. You won’t find anything deeply hidden under lies and field investigations. You pay attention to the obvious, and you find your target. Then you dig up the proof. That is how it works around here,” I explain, “otherwise, evidence would never be found.”

“You’ve done this before?” He raises an eyebrow.

“I grew up here, babe,” I scoff. “We have our own system, and it can be surprisingly fair. The government doesn’t even step foot near us, we are trash to them. They would put us on death row in a second flat if given the chance.” I sip my coffee and notice the fear in Keegan’s eyes.

“Don’t worry,” I calm him down. “This place has its own system to avoid complete anarchy. The gangs are pretty by the book when it comes to this. I mean yeah, we have those few anarchists like every other society, but we do well for ourselves,” I try to comfort him.

Keegan drops his crayon and hides his face in his hands.

“I didn’t even know they ruled by their own book,” he cries.

I sunk in a breath. He must have come from Pluto or something.

“Well you are in for a new awakening,” I reach over and pat his shoulder.

“There is just so much I don’t know,” he stresses. His eyes water and I take a step back. What am I supposed to do with a crying man?

“Hey, you’ll learn,” I rush, “just calm down will you!”

“You think I will?” he implores.

“Yes, I’ll help you,” I ramble. “Just calm down,” his tears were on the verge of falling.

“Thanks, May,” he pats my hand and stares intensely at me.
“Yeah,” I say slowly, slipping my hand from his. “Spare me the waterworks,” I narrow my eyes at him.

I felt like he manipulated me or something, but I couldn’t handle fireworks.

“So do you enforce a lot around here?” He asks me.

“Not really,” I reply slowly.

“Then how are you so good at giving directions?” Keegan leans forward with interest.

“I am just,” I ponder the word, “smart like that.” I shrug one shoulder.

I know how the system works. I dated Blake for goodness sakes!

Blake was practically the judgment for everything. His boss may have sparked ideas, but Blake was the one getting it done.

I never met his boss, but I knew how the third world ran. It molded me into the brutal, manipulative woman I am today.

“Maali?” Keegan called.

“Huh?” I focus on Keegan.

“I asked what your thing is for murder around here,” he repeats.

“Now that,” I chuckle, “is a complicated process. Hopefully you avoid something like that.”

“Well what about you? Do you kill a lot?” he interrogates.

I gasp at the accusation. Does he really think I am that bad of a person? I kill when killing needs to be done, like everyone else around here. It is not done for pleasure.

The robber that threatened Keegan and I in the alley was my first kill. Before that I hedged the deed. That one home town girl that hadn’t blatantly killed somebody. 

Someone drove me to this, and I will find them.

“Why don’t you get back to work,” I spit and take my coffee to the couch.
I wasn’t going to let a goody two shoes degrade me in my own home. I wasn’t going to let him make me feel guilty.

“Yeah,” Keegan hunches over the documents. “Ithink I found something,” his eyes meet mine innocuously, “something about a Benjamin Belman.”

My jaw slacks and I lean over Keegan’s shoulder too check his information.

“Ithink we got something,” Keegan says to John as he enters with grocery bags. I lean against the counter and my eyes connect with John’s.

He drops the bags and sobers up at my expression.

“What is it?” he says grimly and I smirk.

“Two words,” I taunt spitefully and glare.

“Benjamin Belman.”

 QQ

I already have the next chapter done. Um...so posting should be soon. I don't really rush it because I don't really know who to rush this for XD anyways, I hope you enjoy. 

:3