LCP : Last Chance Penitentiary

Chapter 24: Maggie (Approx half a year ago) (Part 3)

"Did you not read my file?" Tanner asked with serious concern, and she frowned at him.

"No. I didn't want to know anything about you, only your crime and prison behavior records. Allen did the rest of the background work and only let me know something if it was pertinent."

"Well then, have you ever juggled something sharp or on fire? Held two women up on your shoulders that weighed less than one of your arms and tossed them? Or had a person fly through the air a few stories up that trusted you to catch them? It requires precision and rhythm, all of them, as does fighting. I was a circus performer."

A sound escaped her that she hadn't known she had in her anymore. It was a laugh, and it rolled through her so hard that she leaned forward and had to cover her mouth just to contain herself. It was so much different than the small sound she'd once made to Allen. When she eventually regained control of her faculties, she turned to Tanner and he was glowering at her.

"You're huge," Maggie said, defending herself.

"I lifted, caught, and threw people. You need a lot of upper body strength for that."

Maggie pushed his knives toward him and he sighed heavily. Reaching slowly, he pulled the two of them out of the holsters. It was actually quite entertaining to watch him spin them in his hand, up until he threw them. It startled her, and she backed to the armrest away from him.

Almost immediately, Tanner crumpled to the opposite side of the couch and gripped the armrest in fear again.

"You told me to show you how they are used," Tanner said in a hushed voice.

Hopping up from the couch, she was jittery, but she looked at the knives that had found purchase in the wall across from them. They were so neat, one right above the other by no more than a few millimeters. Tanner was not kidding about the precision thing. In an attempt to free them, her hand slipped off the flat of the dull end.

A hand came over her shoulder and she turned to Tanner, who froze for a moment until he noticed she was calm. Gripping the knife, he wiggled it gently and then pulled it out in one yank, followed by the other.

"You pull them out like it's so easy," Maggie said, hopping back over to the couch they were sitting at. Tanner was still standing and spun them in his hands again. It was an interesting nervous tick, but it looked like the action made him feel more comfortable. "I imagine before your incarceration you kept those on you all the time... like I do mine."

"Yes." Tanner came over and set them on the table, sitting next to her. "It's calming, knowing they're within my reach. It's not even like I am happy that I have a weapon or anything. The sleek feeling of the metal across my hands is comforting. I've had them my whole life and throwing them is relaxing." Tanner paused, looking her over. "What do you do to relax?"

Beat guys up, sometimes kill them.

Maggie stared at him and frowned, unable to say that.

"I see." Tanner smirked, as if he knew what she was thinking. It made her solidify her frown, angry that she was that easy to read for him. "If you put your blades down, I can show you some easier ways to fight against someone who is bigger than you."

"I've been fighting people who are bigger than me for years," Maggie argued but he let out a breath of almost disdain.

"Killing men who are bigger than you, and fighting them, is different. If you don't want to, it's all right. I like living." Tanner wasn't kidding on the last bit, and she shoved his arm in annoyance. It startled him, but he calmed when he realized she wasn't actually accosting him.