In a basement gym a teenager stood with his feet parted and his hands up. One, two, three. One, two, three. His knuckles were calloused and his hands rough from all the hours he had spent with his old punching bag. One, two, three. One, two, three. His hands flew and then the teenager added in kicks. With a snap the bag fell and ripped.
"Fucking shit!" The red head cursed. He had already been cutting it close time wise and now he had to rush or he'd be screwed.
He had already been in trouble once that day and now he was going to be in trouble again. Keith was due to meet with his uncle in thirty minutes and he still had to shower and put the equipment away plus walk the path to Altru Inc. Instead of cleaning up all the way, Keith swept and pushed the broken bag into a closet. He'd do something about it later.
...
...
...
After showering and changing into respectable clothes and running a brush through his hair, Keith made his way to Altru's headquarters. He greeted the receptionist and took the elevator to the top floor. He knocked on an office's door and a man's deep voice responded.
"You may enter."
The red head entered the room silently and waited for instructions. Despite knowing and respecting Blake Hall, Keith was still intimidated by him. He wasn't scared, it wasn't that, it was just the knowledge that this was the man who had opened the largest building and business in Almia would be enough to awe and intimidate anyone.
"Sit down, Keith." Blake Hall was standing behind his desk with a stern look on his face. Keith sat as expected. He was used to obeying Blake Hall and now was no different.
Keith. Keith Hall. It was the name his Uncle called him. It was a name fitting for the next CEO of Altru Inc. and it was what everyone at Altru had always called him. Keith wasn't even sure if the workers knew that he had another name, a name that he still knew himself as. It didn't matter in the end because to everyone else Keith Daze was dead and Keith Hall lived.
"Keith, you know why I've called you here. You spoke out of turn to one of my managers, one of your mentors, and now I have to have this talk with you." Blake Hall was cold even to his heir. Demanding, harsh, and unforgiving were all words that described the man Keith knew.
"Yes, Uncle." Keith responded.
"I have decided you will be transferred. You know of Team Dim Sun and with your knowledge and skills I have decided you will benefit the team."
"Will I still be the heir of Altru?" Keith asked his uncle. He had worked for years to meet and go beyond Blake Hall's high standards and now he was being transferred and his position was being threatened. Keith kept his tone polite and respectful and waited as patiently as he could for his uncle's answer.
"Of course." The CEO answered. "You're the one I've groomed to take over after me and you will keep that position. Now, I want you to start seriously practicing with the Miniremos. It is crucial that you learn all the details for the plans will go into motion soon and I will need you to be perfect."
"Of course Uncle." Keith responded. "You mentioned a team?"
"You will be a part of the Sinis Quad. You already know Ice and you've met Lavana briefly. You'll meet Heath in a few days. You will report directly to me while the others report to Kincaid. Keith, I want you to make sure everything runs well. If there are any problems…" Blake Hall trailed off, the threat lingering in the air, and Keith nodded.
"I will make sure there are no problems." Keith declared under Blake Hall's intense gaze.
"Yes, I'm sure you'll do your duty. Your admin codename will be Rohan. Now, go practice. Ice should already be in the basement working with his Miniremo. You are dismissed."
...
...
...
Training with Ice was as tense as always and Keith let out a sigh of relief when it was over. Now he had only one more thing to do before he could return home for dinner. With quick strides he made his way out of Altru and headed toward the Ranger school. Keith was to talk to Kincaid and Isaac about the possibility of Isaac working at Altru after his graduation. If all went as planned Keith would get an invitation to attend the graduation ceremony and he could act both as a sign of goodwill from Blake Hall and as a spy to see the Rangers who might be a threat to Team Dim Sun's plans.
It was early evening when Keith reached the school. He entered and greeted Mr. Kincaid and Miss April and asked to see Isaac after a few minutes of small talk.
"He's upstairs with some of the other students. Do you want me to fetch him, or will you go up to talk to him?" Miss April asked Keith.
"I'll go up." Keith said. He turned and headed up the stairs. The teenager paused at the top to scan the room full of Ranger students. Some as young as fourteen and others up to eighteen. He searched out Isaac and found him chatting with three other people. Keith made his way over to them and waited till their conversation lulled to speak.
"Isaac," Keith held his hand out in greeting the blonde boy, "my name is Keith Hall. I believe you were told I'd be visiting today?"
The one of the girls was staring at him with big, awestruck eyes, and the honey haired girl elbowed the blonde to gain her attention. The dark haired boy in the group was frowning at Keith but the red head ignored those three. He kept his gaze on Isaac who was now shaking his hand.
"Um, y-y-yes," Isaac stuttered, "I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting you till later."
"Well, do you have a moment to talk?" Keith asked. Sweeping his gaze around the crowded room he added, "In private?"
"Yes, of course." Isaac led the way to a side room after giving his friends a grin.
...
...
...
On his way out Keith was stopped by the honey haired girl. "Yes?" He asked her curiously.
"Did you offer Isaac the job?" She asked him, her blue eyes shining and a smile on her lips.
Keith hesitated for a second and then responded with a little smile, "Yes, he has the job."
The girl jumped and nearly squealed with joy. She closed the distance between them and hugged Keith tightly. "Thank you! He's been so excited about this job interview and I was hoping he'd get it!"
Keith had frozen when the girl hugged him and now he awkwardly wrapped his arms around her. His next words were more of a question than a statement. "No problem?"
"Oh, sorry, I'm Katalyn but everyone calls me Kate!" The girl - Kate - told Keith as she pulled away. She was kind of cute, Keith noted, with her hair pulled into two spiky ponytails on either side of her head and her big blue eyes. Plus she had a nice smile.
"I'm Keith." The heir to Altru responded. "It's nice to meet you."
Keith's phone buzzed in his pocket and he fished it out and answered it. He gave Kate an apologetic smile and turned away.
"Yes, I'll be home soon Mom. No more than twenty minutes. Yes. Yes. Ok, goodbye." Keith hung up and slipped his phone back into his pocket. He turned back to Kate and his hand went to ruffle his hair. "Well, I have to be off now. It was a pleasure to meet you Kate. I guess I'll be seeing you at graduation?"
He was rewarded with another blinding smile and a nod. Kate waved and called goodbye to Keith as he left. He didn't turn back, but if he had Keith would have seen Kate lingering to watch him leave.
Sooo... This story was boring. Totally boring. I decided to delete the original chapter one and put this in instead as a time skip to the current events. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and please review! Reviews make the world go round :) -Light1172