wild star| ongoing

forty-one

CHAPTER 41:
February 25th, 2016
• • •

Keith had been uncharacteristically harsh since his last encounter with Brandy, and Veronica and River's departure seemed to have worsened his state of mind. 

Behind him, Maverick attempted to peel him away from a man he had cuffed and restrained beneath his frame, his knee placed directly between the man's shoulder blades. He couldn't even recall what crime the man had committed, just that he'd been cruising by and noticed a few of them causing a ruckus out on the street. So he took it upon himself to separate them more violently than necessary. 

"Get off me, man! I didn't do shit!" The young man squirmed desperately, trying to free himself from Keith's unyielding grip.

"Shut your damn mouth!" Keith roared, grinding his knee deeper into the man's flesh.

"Please, man, you've got the wrong guy!" he pleaded, his voice trembling with desperation. "I was just walking by!"

"Save it!" Keith spat out, his face contorted with anger. "You think I don't know trouble when I see it? You and your buddies were causing a damn commotion out here!"

He knew their type. Suspicious looking. He'd arrested plenty of them before.

"I swear, I don't even know those guys!" the young man protested, his voice trembling. "I wasn't doing anything!"

Maverick, growing increasingly concerned by Keith's excessive use of force, stepped forward and tried to reason with him. "Keith, come on, man. Ease up. We need to handle this the right way."

But Keith was blinded by his anger, his face red with fury. "The right way? This scumbag deserves to be taught a lesson!"

The young man's eyes darted from Keith to Maverick, searching for a lifeline. "Please, officer, you have to believe me! I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Keith, if you don't let him go right now, I'm gonna report this. We can't treat people like this."

Keith's grip tightened. "You're threatening me, Maverick? You're supposed to have my back!"

"I will have your back when you do the right thing," Maverick replied firmly, staring him down.

For a moment, the tension hung heavy in the air, the young man's fate hanging in the balance. Finally, Keith released his grip and stood up, his face still flushed with rage. "Fine. Whatever. Get fucking lost, kid!"

The young man scrambled to his feet, rubbing his sore shoulders, and shot a grateful look at Maverick. "Thank you, officer. I appreciate it."

He nodded, his expression stern. "Don't make me regret this. Go on, get out of here."

As the young man hurried away, Maverick turned to Keith, his voice low but forceful. "We need to talk about this, Keith. You've been on edge these past few days. What the hell is going on with you?"

What the hell wasn't going on in his life? He had foolishly listened to his mother and filed for full custody, effectively destroying whatever was left of his relationship with Brandy. Meanwhile, he couldn't even take care of River without his mother's help. He was only just realizing it now, but Brandy was the only one who knew what to do with their kid. He was at a loss of how to be a father, and he was fucking tired of being one too. He just couldn't deal with kids anymore. Unfortunately, however, his frustrations had spilled over to work. 

This past week, he had made more arrests than usual, issued more tickets and fines, and was laser-focused on finding a way to connect Ace to the shipment that had happened in December. He wasn't looking out for his ass any longer. Since everybody had decided to betray him, he would betray them too. He would put Ace behind bars.