Keats ran into the computer lab where Dan Cooper was busily filing a report.
"Cooper, can I get the address of Delveccio's girlfriend?" She asked, hopping onto the desk. She squeezed Cooper's arm and grinned at him, telling him without words that she hadn't forgotten his friendship.
"Keats, one of these days you're gonna owe me big time." He said, printing out the information.
"What do you want as payment? Perhaps a crate of floppy disks?" She joked. She knew he hated them with a passion. He was a flash drive sort of guy.
"Let me think it over. Then I'll let you know." He said, handing her the paper.
Keats exited the elevator of the building where Keeley Causby lived and breezed down the hallway looking for apartment 3F. When she found it, she knocked on it nervously.
She heard laughter erupt from the inside and waited for someone to answer the door.
A drunk-looking girl with jet-black hair opened the door, smiling lazily.
"Are you the pizza?" She asked. Keats shook her head.
"No, I'm new in this building. I was wondering…"
"Babe, who is it?" Another woman's voice asked. This woman was blond and quite tiny.
"Keeley Causby?" Keats asked. The blond nodded.
"Who are you?" She wondered.
"I'm Deb Friedman. I'm a new tenant. I just wanted to meet a few of my neighbors." Keats said in her best hyperactive preppy voice.
"Forgive my mannersh…I'm Donna…this is my loooover, Keeley. We like binge drinking and barhopping as Sailor Moon." The black-haired girl slurred, hanging on the door for support.
"Shut up, Donna." Keeley snapped. She regarded Keats with a cynical eye and held the door open for her to come in.
"Wow, I just love lesbians!" Keats squealed. She had no doubt about her talents as an actress.
"Who doesn't?" Keeley said with a weird expression. She gestured for her to sit down, and Keats complied.
"So how long have you guys been together?" Keats asked.
"Two yers…" Donna said with a hiccup.
"Although sometimes it feels like ten." Keeley said, casting disdainful glances toward her partner.
"Do you live together? That is soooo romantic!" Keats said. Keeley nodded reluctantly and Keats wondered if she had enough information to warrant a closer inspection of Tony Delveccio.
"Sometimes it is. Other times it's a regular pain in the ass." Keeley muttered. She took out a flask and drank heavily from it.
"Well, I ought to get going, but do you want to get together sometime?" Keats said, rising and slowly making her way to the door.
"Yeah, sure…what was your name again?" Keeley asked.
"Deb Friedman. Apartment 3B." She said, proud of her excellent improv skills.
"Wait a second…Phil Levin lives in 3B. Who the hell are you?" Keeley stood quite close to Keats' face.
"3B? I meant 3C." Keats muttered.
"Old lady Biggerstaff is 3C." Keeley said, coming closer to Keats. She could hear sirens in her head and wondered what to do.
"Erm…3D?" She asked timidly. Keeley shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest.
"You must be that Sorrel bitch that's been checking up on us." She said. Keats made a mad dash for the door. But unfortunately Keeley had latched onto her elbow and she swung around.
Her face connected with Keeley's fist rather easily and she staggered backward from the force of her punch.
"I'm not Sorrel." She said, fingering her tender cheekbone.
"Then who are you?" Keeley asked. Keats tried to think fast.
"A Jehovah's Witness?" Keats mumbled. She had gotten herself into an awful mess, but Keeley seemed ready for her to leave. Keats was more than obliged to respect her wishes.
Keats slumped into the Lab with papers explaining that Keeley Causby's apartment was also Donna Benton's. They rented it together and split every payment down the middle. They were also lovers.
Tony Delveccio's alibi of being with his 'girlfriend' was a deliberate set-up.
She limped over to the desk where Delko was filing paperwork alongside Ryan. Without a word, she tossed the papers over to Eric and gave him a nod of triumph.
"Remington, what the-"
"Relax, I'm okay. It took more effort than I thought to get my proof, though." Keats murmured. Her cheekbone was dark purple, but she was glad to have prevailed.
"Keats…" Ryan sighed. He was at a loss for words. She was completely out of line. Her stunts often got her into hot water and Ryan was afraid that someday she might get worse than a punch in the face.
Her enthusiasm and quest for justice were some of the things he truly loved about her. But at what cost did she succeed? Today getting knocked around, tomorrow getting a bullet through the head…
Ryan pushed the thoughts out of his mind. He would simply have to watch over her more closely, or at the very least have a talk with her about being more careful.
"I know I do things a little differently than everyone else, but I get the job done." Keats said. She hated the look on Ryan's face. It was one of exasperation and helplessness. Of being quite fed up.
"You don't have to change, Remington. But try not to get yourself killed, all right?" Delko said before the moment could get any more tense.
"Sure thing." She said, leaving the two men alone to finish their paperwork.
Ryan threw his pen down after several minutes of total silence.
"I hate this. I need to put her in a plastic bubble." Ryan muttered. Delko looked at Ryan and did a strange thing. He began to laugh. Quite loudly in fact.
"Will you just marry her, already? When she's your wife, then you can tell her not to play Nancy Drew. But until then, she has no incentive to listen." Delko said.
"You think she won't take me seriously until I marry her?" Ryan asked. It stood to reason, but…
"Just do it, man. Whisk her away…" Eric said with a grin.
"I will. I just want to wait for the right time." Ryan replied. Delko rolled his chocolate brown eyes.
"You're pathetic, man. What are you so afraid of?" He asked.
Ryan rubbed the back of his neck.
"I'm afraid she'll say no. She hated being married to me before…and she's still just a kid. If I ask her to marry me at the wrong time, I'll risk losing her. I don't want to think about that happening."
"She never hated being married to you before." Natalia said, suddenly walking in on the conversation. She stood behind Delko, her hands on his shoulders.
"What?" The two men asked at the same time.
"She hated the fact that you treated it as a joke. She didn't think you were serious." Natalia explained. Ryan's eyes widened in realization.