AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He shrugs. “Sure.”
“Then I’m good, thanks.”
He hands me an old sports watch. “Breakfast is about seven. I make enough scrambled eggs for everyone. If you don’t like that, you can scavenge in the cafeteria.” With that, he disappears into the communal room down the hall.
Inside my room sits an old bed with an old brass frame. It seems to be in good repair, and I’m grateful that it doesn’t squeak too much when I put my weight on the firm mattress. It’s loaded down with piles of pillows and blankets, most of which I end up taking off and setting on a chair across the room. The Burrow’s AC seems to be on the fritz, or maybe they’re trying to conserve electricity. Either way, I’m a bit warm as it is, and I can’t sleep if I’m too hot.
I ease into the bed, taking care not to move too quickly. My ribs protest, and I wish I’d had the presence of mind to ask Kendrick for some pain medicine before he went to bed. Didn’t Bunny say he helped their doc to stitch me up? That must make the big guy some kind of nurse, which means he probably has access to the med locker, or whatever passes for one in this place. I sigh and make a mental note to ask for some in the morning.
Exhaustion battles my nerves for a few minutes before it finally wins, and I’m out.
Chapter 5
Doc
Kendrick’s gone when I wake up, so I get up and go to check on my patient. I shouldn’t be surprised that Neil isn’t in the med bay anymore; beat up as he was, he’s still mobile. He could be wandering the Burrow, or he could have just walked out. When I see his wallet still in lockup with his phone, I breathe a sigh of relief. He can’t get too far without those in this town.
A quick check of the dorm hall confirms that Neil hasn’t left the building, and I shut his door as quietly as possible to prevent waking him. Bunny and Keys are both sleeping in her room when I peek in, leaving Kendrick as the only one MIA. A few minutes later, I catch him in the café, nursing a cup of coffee that’s long since gone cold. I grab a soda from one of our refrigerators and walk over to join him.
“Can’t sleep?” I ask as I sit next to him, taking care not to lean too heavily on my right cheek.
“Nah. I wandered around a bit, found the new guy in the control room—I guess Keys let him in there—and showed him to a bed. Then I came here to kinda think for a while.”
“You worried about Ramsey?”
Kendrick stirs his cold coffee with a thick finger. “He’s gonna be trouble. Bun’s not worried about him, but she should be. This new kid’s got us mixed up in some bad shit. Ramsey’s known for being psychotic when it comes to Candy, and then you add in the fact that Bunny cracked the skull of one of his men? Yeah. We’re in deep.”
I take a swig of my drink. “Don’t forget that she shot another of his guards. That’s not going to win us any points, either.”
“Fuck, I forgot that guy. Still, that one wasn’t fatal, I don’t think.”
“Do you think that’ll matter to Ramsey?”
Kendrick sighs. “Nope. He’s going to count that against us, too.” He shakes his head. “I wish Keys hadn’t sent us to Club Viper last night. This whole thing reeks, but I can’t quite figure out why. I talked to Bunny before she went to bed, and I guess this Neil guy was invited out by his coworkers. It all seems on the up-and-up, just a freak coincidence, but I can’t shake the feeling that something more is going on here.”
“Keys checked him out, Kendrick. He’s just a gamer geek. He even codes them for a living. Nothing too exciting about him. I doubt there’s some big conspiracy with this.”
“That’s another thing that’s bugging me: Keys knows a little too much about this guy, even for Keys. Like, it’s suspicious as fuck that he knew about the coworkers before Bunny could question the guy.”
I shrug my shoulder. “Keys plays video games. He probably knows the guy from that. Maybe he just doesn’t want us teasing him about the gaming.”
“Like Keys gives a shit if we tease him.”
“Keys is more sensitive than you think. Sure, he puts up a good front, but I think deep down he’s got issues. Like, more than the rest of us. He’s always buried in the control room, scoping out the city for people who might need Bunny’s unique style of help, playing into her vigilante fantasies. I think he’s trying to escape reality just as much as she is.”
“Just what we need.” He sits back and scrubs his beard with his hands. “You think Neil is another Keys? I mean, he’s a gamer and coder. All he’s missing is an addiction to lollipops.”
I bark out a laugh. “I only saw the guy when he was unconscious and sedated. I wasn’t trying to analyze his personality at the time.”
“Good point.”
We sit in comfortable silence for a while, just enjoying each other’s company. I appreciate Kendrick’s ability to know when I want to chat and when I just want tobe. So often I have to play the chatterbox with Bunny, who unfortunately doesn’t do well with silence. And Keys? Keys doesn’t do silence at all.
When his cup is finally empty, Kendrick clears his throat. I wait patiently for him to say what’s on his mind.
“This new guy’s gonna change the dynamic.”
His tone is sad, almost morose.
