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He frowns at my suggestion, but he doesn’t rat me out to the server. Instead, he grabs his menu and plops into the chair, sulking. We each order a cheeseburger and fries, though Keys opts for a lemonade instead of the beer I order. I wonder for a moment if he even remembers that he likes beer, but I stop myself short of asking. It won’t help anything if I point out inconsistencies with his former habits.
We eat in silence, and I ask the server for the check. As soon as her back is turned, I hustle Keys out the door and back to our search.
After about twenty minutes on the road, Keys speaks up again.
“We shouldn’t have done that.”
I level a glare at him. “After half a dozen years squatting and stealing with Bunny and the rest of us,nowyou decide to develop a conscience?”
“She didn’t do anything wrong. Now she’s going to get in trouble. Lose some pay, or maybe even get fired. Why did we do that to her?” He meets my glare with one of his own. “The people we stole from before deserved it. They were crooks and assholes. This girl was just trying to make ends meet. What if she’s got kids at home? Or a sick mom or something?”
Great. Brain Damaged Keys has scruples. Just what I need.
“Look, man, what do you want me to do? We have no cash. I can’t exactly go back and pay our tab with the nothing we have with us. Until we get set up in a new Burrow, or at the very least until you remember how to hack into financial institutions, we’re relegated to thievery. Get used to it.”
The level of pouting I get in response is almost enough to make me give him another head injury with my fist. I stretch my legs and pick up the pace, walking ahead a few yards to give myself space to cool off.
Brain Damaged Keys apparently also has a death wish. His voice startles me just before he pops up in my peripheral vision.
“I’m not stupid, Kendrick. I’m not …rightat the moment, but I’m not stupid. I know we don’t have any money on us, and I know things are tough right now. That doesn’t mean we have to take it out on innocent people. We could have just as easily found one of those big chain grocery stores that writes off more than we ate in shrink every damn day. Steal from them, let them tell corporate that a few cans of beans or packages of lunch meat disappeared again. A place like that wouldn’t even notice the theft for weeks. That place we just ducked out on? They’re a small business. Probably family owned, probably already struggling. And we stole fromtheminstead.”
I turn on my heel, ready to tear into Keys, but to my surprise he’s squared up with his hands balled into fists at his sides. He meets my gaze head on, those steely blue eyes boring into mine.
Keys is standing up for himself. Standing up to me.
Maybe this head injury isn’t totally a bad thing.
Summoning all my remaining patience, I take a deep breath before I answer. This is going to be the hardest thing I’ve ever had to say.
“You’re right, Keys.”
There. I said it.
“Huh?” The look of confusion that follows is about what I’d expect. I probably look just as confused from his vantage point.
“You’re right.” Twice in a row. Fuck, I’m never going to live this down. “Listen, tell you what: we’ll find a library. They’ve got computers you can use. We’ll … we’ll see how much you can remember, and if your brain cooperates, we’ll transfer some funds back to the restaurant’s account. From, like, some asshole. Maybe from one of Ramsey’s cover operations. How does that sound?”
For a moment, a light shines in Keys’ eyes, a flash of intelligence. It extinguishes almost as fast as it appears, and he hangs his head. “I can’t. I can’t think right.”
I put a hand on his shoulder. “Yes, you can. Come on. We’ll do it now, before we go back to looking for Bunny.”
Keys nods and follows me, but I get the feeling his heart’s not in it.
The librarian at the front desk helps us sign up for new library cards. I give her fake names and a fake address, but I don’t think she cares much. The place is bordering on empty, so she’s probably just excited someone’s showing an interest.
I stand watch while Keys sits down at the farthest computer from the desk and starts typing. At first he uses the hunt and peck method, but after a few minutes that flash of light comes back to his eyes, and he picks up speed. Soon enough, his fingers fly over the keyboard. I catch glimpses of bank websites, blips of code, and a rapid-fire internet search for the restaurant. Keys finds their bank and transfers funds from a site I don’t recognize.
Then the server’s DMV picture pops up on the screen. A social media page. A PleaseFundMe site.
Fuck. Wedidsteal from a waitress who has a sick mom.
The unfamiliar banking site flickers on and off as Keys fills the PleaseFundMe account, then tops it off with extra. I’m not sure how these sites work, but a flurry of confetti graphics fill the screen as the words “FULLY FUNDED” blink in bright neon lettering.
“Keys … please tell me you’re being careful …” We were just supposed to pay for our meal, not empty one of the Cobra’s offshore accounts. Shit like that will get us caught for sure.
He just grunts and opens a news site. He’s got it searching for the keywords “Summer City.” I wonder what he’s doing until he pulls up an article that has a headline that almost stops my heart.
Local Widow Found Dead in Home. Shooter Remains at Large While Korean Community Mourns.
