TEN SECONDS , The Kenny Ackerman Story BOOK ONE~ ORIGINS ,by Melly O'Hara

LEVI

Livin' with some loser she'd jus' met? What was she thinkin'? Had the world gone nuts? It didn' take me long ta find Levi's room; a shithole in the poorest part o' town, right near the mine so's ya breathed in the soot, jus' by walkin'. The guy at the front desk jus' emminated sleeze. This was not a guy that gave a damn 'bout the goings on of his tenants, jus' the rent. Ya could die in one o' his rooms an' he wouldn' care 'til the money stopped a comin'. An' it weren' the mos' respectable folk that lived there; a combination of whores, racketeers an' the coal miners called this place home.

"Kuchel an' Levi", l barked at him. "Where's their room?"

He smiled, "Oh yeah, that pretty young thing and the the new boy. Yep, she sure is a looker!"

I grabbed his collar, pullin' his face close ta mine. "Do ya know who l am?" l growled.

"Nup, sorry", he answered, as cool as a cucumber.

"Does the name, Kenny the Ripper mean anythin' ta ya?" I snarled, pullin' out Silver Lady.

"Oh, yes sir! Sorry sir, I mean no disrespect. It's just that l didn't expect Kenny the Ripper to come into a dive like this. I'm sorry sir", he blubbered as sweat trickled down his face.

"Well, now we're introduced, you'll keep in mind that, that 'Perdy Young Thing' - Kuchel, is my SISTER an' keep your digustin' pig eyes ta yourself - unless you be wantin' me ta take them out permanently!" l finished. " Now, where are they?"

"Room 16, Mr. Kenny Sir. First floor, room six (on the right)".

"Fine, fine", l said, smoothin' his jacket.

Takin' the stairs two at a time, l looked ta my right. Room six he'd said, yeah room 2...room 4.....Ah, here it was, room six.

I knocked on the door an' heard Kuchel's voice ask who it was; light an' happy. Not that scared voice she usually had.

"It's Kenny.... Your brother - remember me?" l answered.

I heard movement behind the door as she shuffled across the room ta open it. She flung it open, with a smile as big as Wall Sina an' hugged me.

"Kenny", she beamed." I'm so glad to see you! Come in, come in! I've got so much to tell you.........an' someone l want ya to meet!" she exclaimed, grabbin' me an' draggin' me inside the small, barely furnished room. She'd done her best, I'll give her that, but all her cleanin' an' the droopin' flowers on the table couldn' make up for the peelin' yella wallpaper, the mould creepin' its way 'round the ceiling an' the broken glass o' the winda panes.

"Yeah, yeah, I know all about you livin like some whore with Loser Levi! So let's jus' cut the crap right now. I'm takin' ya home", l said, grabbin' her hand.

She shook me loose an' stood her ground. "Kenny", she said, her voice shakin' with anger. "How dare you! Who the hell do you think you are, coming here and speaking to me like that?! You just get this straight, Kenneth Ackerman, I'm not going any where with you! I'm staying here with Levi. He's a good man and l love him. And as for 'living with him like a whore', we're getting married as soon as l turn eighteen. How DARE you!

"Married?! Are you out of your mind?! Don' be so naieve, Kuchel. If he wanted ta marry ya, he woulda done it by now. He's usin' ya for his whore!" I snapped back, waitin' for the penny ta drop.

"Of course we're not married, Kenny! I WAS UNDER EIGHTEEN AND YOU, AS USUAL, WEREN'T HERE! There was NO ONE who could give me permission to marry! OTHERWISE WE WOULD BE BY NOW!" she shot back.

"Shit, Kuchel, I'm not gonna LET ya marry this loser! You've gotta be kiddin' - 'a good man'! Hell, he's younger than me an' ya barely know him! What's all this fairy – tale crap? An' if HE'S such a 'good man', then why can't he provide betta than this shit-hole? An' where the hell is he anyway? Leavin' ya alone all night in a dump like this?" I sniggered.

Her face grew dark an' her eyes flashed, like I'd never seen before. Raisin' her voice, she said," Levi has gone to work. Night shift pays more than day shift. And why we live here? Well, that is because, this is what HONEST people can afford.... And as for ' leaving me alone'! You aught to talk! I've seen more of Levi in the past six months, than I've seen of YOU in the past three years! At least l know that he'll come back to me each night when his shift ends. At least with him, l know, though it be covered with soot...his money is clean! Not like the BLOOD- MONEY you bring!!"

She stopped only 'cause I slapped her face. I couldn' think o' anythin' 'cept how hard I'd tried ta protect her, how it'd all gone so wrong, how if it weren' for her, l wouldn' even BE Kenny the Ripper – it coulda been me! I coulda had a chance ta be good an' clean, like Levi.

"GET OUT!!" she screamed. "Get out! I never want ta see you EVER AGAIN! EVER!!!"

I stumbled back, with the force of the hate in her words; tears of anger an' fear an' confusion rushin' ta my eyes as she pushed me beyond the threshold an' slammed the door in my face. I stood there for a moment or two, not knowin' what ta do 'Til all I could think 'bout was gettin', rotten, stinkin' drunk.