Dead Ringer

Chapter 7: Avoidance

Keon put a hand over his mouth, trying to contain the yawn threatening to escape his lips. He made it a point to leave at the ass-crack of dawn every day to help at the bar, even though Lucky had told him many times not to show up before noon. It had been days since the election, and so far he had avoided more than a few seconds of conversation with Cassius.

         It was a struggle to sneak out of the house, and his master had almost caught him many times. Yesterday, Cassius must have just gotten up from a nap, sweatpants on with a baggy shirt, blonde hair a mess, eyes tired, glasses on but falling down his nose. He stopped Keon in the doorway, surprised etched into his features.

         Keon made up an excuse about having to stop at the convenience store to get dog food and threw on his sneakers before running out the door.

         The results from the election had come in and instead of handling it like an adult, Keon did what he did best. He ran away.

         He tried not to remember the look of hurt on Cassius's face, the distress that came off him in waves.

         "I know it's not my business, but--"

         "It's not." Keon waved his hand as if to shush Lucky away.

         "Pouting solves nothing, my dear friend." Lucky wrapped an arm around him. "You can always do what normal people do and I dunno, talk to him."

         Lucky's put his heavy weight on his friend's tired body. "You're damn heavy. Get off."

         "Stop trying to change the subject."

         "If you stop being an asshole."

         "Someone has to set you straight. Stop being a brat and talk to the guy. You know how he gets when you ignore him." Lucky was right, and Keon hated to admit it.

         The last time he avoided Cassius, he had followed Keon halfway to the bar and insisted on them talking it out. He must have looked crazy with his disheveled clothes, coat half on and mismatched shoes that pounded the pavement after him.

         As a public figure, he stood out even among the humans. Being on the side the clones or not, a flashy human like him roaming the streets, clueless and alone, made for easy prey. He wasn't a nobody like Keon. He had a future to think about.

         "Are you even listening to me?"

         "Yeah, yeah. I guess--Hey, ow! Did you just bite my ear?"

         "Serves you right."

         "You're such a f***in'--"

         The bell rang then, signaling the door opening. They both perked up and stopped arguing. Lucky's weight disappeared, although his ear was now throbbing in pain. He was going to pay for it later.

         Keon lifted his head, his people-person smile plastered on his face ready to greet the guest, curved lips slipping as soon as cerulean orbs landed on the person of interest.

         Coon.

         He sighed.

         Keon grabbed the forgotten rag and started cleaning the dishes from earlier, eyes downcast. They say if you ignore someone long enough, they will eventually go away. It had yet to help him, but he hoped his luck would someday change.

         He wanted a break, but it was the one thing he would not get.

         "Keon," Lucky said. His voice was tight.

         He glanced up, thrown off by the urgency in Lucky's voice.

         "Can you follow us upstairs?"

         Up the stairs was the conference room. It wasn't in use most of the time, but occasionally, Lucky used it for meetings. The room was of moderate size and contained a long table that was covered in papers and takeout boxes. Crumbs adorned the surface and Keon thought he had seen ants crawling around once or twice.

         Annoyed, Keon brushed past their recent visitor, eyes locking with Coon's for a few seconds before he tore his gaze away. The bell chimed a few more times, a plethora of clones entering the bar and following him. The stairs creaked under the pressure of their weight, footsteps heavy as they made their way.

         Upon entering the room, he spotted a few of Lucky's men, a few sitting and others standing around, chatting. A couple looked familiar, while others didn't. The low lighting made it impossible to point out who belonged to what gang as the room filled.

         Keon found Blue and Bait in a corner of the room minutes later. Seeing as how Lucky had become busy with Coon, he walked over to his friends.

         Blue's warm smile welcomed him.

         "Keon, so glad you're here." Her hand found his and gave it a light squeeze.

         "You too, Blue." He squeezed back. She looked good, no dark circles under her eyes and no fake smile to hide behind.

         Keon's gaze then landed on Bait. It had been a long time since they last crossed paths. Blue rarely let him tag along.

         "Hey, brat," said Keon. Out of habit, he flicked the kid's forehead, smiling.

         "Ow! What was that for?" He pouted, arms crossed.

         "I'm surprised they let you out of your cage." Keon teased him relentlessly about how they babied him. Bait turned his head and ignored him, pouting.

         "So, what do you think is going on?" asked Blue. "It's been a while since Lucky called all of us here. I'm worried." She pulled Bait close to her and wrapped her arms around him. His face scrunched up, but he didn't make a move to leave.

         Keon agreed with her. Lucky only ever had him help with gang related events a few times in the past. Bait and Blue helped more often than not. Although it wasn't abnormal for children and teens to join up with the local gangs and be in on their day-to-day operations, it was strange for Lucky. Speaking of odd, as he scanned the room, he didn't see Snap anywhere.

         "Has anyone heard from Snap?" It was rare for him to miss out.

         "He's running late," Lucky said, coming up from behind him. "I don't have a lot of time before the briefing starts. Keon, I hate dragging you into this s***, but you trust me, right?"

         Keon didn't need to think about it. "Yeah."

         "We have an important mission tonight. I called you guys here because I need people I trust."

         "For what, exactly?" asked Keon. The tone of his friend's voice sounded heavy.

         Lucky sighed and ran a hand through his hair, stress coming off him in waves. "I'll go over this with everyone in a minute, but we're breaking into an adult foster clone care facility. They plan on executing some clones tomorrow. And us? We're going to save them."

         Keon's heart sunk. His chest felt heavy at those words. Memories came flooding back to him. A room of total blackness, thin air that choked you with each breath, indistinct murmurs of those in the surrounding rooms as they prayed to a god that wouldn't help them.

         A hand gripped Keon's shoulder. He looked up to see Lucky's eyes boring into him.

         "Is that why Coon is here?" asked Keon. He swallowed, adams apple bobbing. He had to get his thoughts together.

         "Yeah, and trust me, I'm not a fan of it either. But he gave us the details and we need more people than I got."

         At times like this, Keon wished he wasn't so blind to what went on around him. Those who wanted to fight thought out the plan and decided upon it.

         "Are you in?" Lucky squeezed him hard before letting go.

         There were unspoken words in his touch. Lucky knew Keon didn't want to get involved in the political battle between clones and humans. With so many things changing, the clones felt powerless. This was the only way for them to feel in control.

         Lucky always looked out for him, which made it impossible to turn him away when he asked for a favor. They're like brothers. It would be a dick move to walk out on him now.

"I'm in."

Lucky grinned and pat him on the shoulder before walking away.

"All right everyone, listen up!"

         Keon's inner thoughts drowned the rest of the mission details out. Standing on the sidelines kept him out of harm's way, and he feared the consequences of jumping out of his comfort zone. Those who wanted to make a change surrounded him, yet he stayed stagnant.

         The ground below was like quicksand, and with each moment that passed, more and more of him became swallowed up. He wanted to escape, but his legs were heavy, like an anchor was tied around his ankles and then thrown into the sea.

         There was no hiding that he was a coward.

         Blue appeared beside him with Bait holding her hand. She grabbed onto Keon's, eyes still forward as Lucky spoke about the details of the mission. The floor, which had swallowed him up, receded as his feet became grounded once again.

         Then, around him, voices erupted. Words of those ready to fight for the change they wanted to see in the world yelled out. The clones that filled the room were prepared to fight and die for what they believed in.

         Keon gripped Blue's hand harder.

         What made him different from them?