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Chapter 6 - "I convey a moody persona?"

Donovan leaned against his kitchen counter, staring into his apartment, coffee mug in hand. Part of him knew he could play something, music, podcast, news to disperse the quiet but he didn't. None of those would be able to fill the emptiness of the apartment that seemed to grow a little more day by day.

Checking out Jefferson Private High School had been done and completed. The mold was real, and the reason for the switch in schools was legitimate. The situation with Miguel Alvarez had been dealt with. No problem there. The school alarm had gone off but it was only a test. No issues there.

The little sparks of interest in Donovan's life had flared and snuffed out quickly. He knew, he knew that he should be thankful. Life was better when it was boring. When there were no complications. Life was better. For Link, it was better that way.

Even Carter was turning out to be less of an issue than he first worried about. Almost a full week and she hadn't connected the dots between Link and the President. Donovan wouldn't let his guard down but he felt a little more stable that she might not see it.

But if she did... Donovan didn't feel completely certain what her reaction would be. A week with this girl and he felt as confused about her as he did in the beginning. Did she show signs of being a kind and caring person? Yes. Did she also show herself to be unpredictable, reactionary, and defensive? Yes. The combination of the two meant Donovan couldn't definitively conclude whether she was a threat to Link or not.

Would she share the information, if she knew? Again, he didn't know. She kept people at bay but she also relished having knowledge others didn't and pointing out that she had knowledge they didn't. Her intellect was one of many weapons in her arsenal.

Would she sell it? Donovan didn't know. Her clothes said she could use it. Her attitude said she didn't want it. That didn't mean it couldn't be a point of temptation for her if it was placed in her path. After all, it couldn't be easy was living around others who had so much more than you.

Donovan sipped his coffee which was cooler than he remembered.

He wished she made more sense. He wished she didn't aggravate him with how little he felt he knew about her, even after a week of knowing her.

He wished he could delete the image of her peering down at him and Link as they huddled on the floor.

He should have known it was a test. Of course, the school was running a drill. But he hadn't thought of that. He wanted action, something to make his blood race. Instead, he wound up feeling like an idiot sitting on the floor. Her smile... It had been both a smirk, teasing, and amused. It was infuriating. This girl shouldn't have the ability to make him feel stupid. Not when Donovan had years of dealing with girls. Why should she be the only anomaly?

The coffee Donovan drank was simply cold and he checked the time. Seeing how late it was, he set down his mug, grabbed his bag, and left his apartment. He didn't try to think about how long he'd stood there thinking about someone he should not be spending so much time thinking of.

But he was doing his job. Carter posed a threat, in the sense she was someone who could possibly guess Link's parentage, that meant analyzing her was necessary for his work.

After collecting Link, they headed to the metro. With needing to be at the Museum of American History, decided public transportation would be better than private. They found two open spots and sat though Donovan gave up his position when an older woman entered the metro. Taking hold of the overhead handhold, Donovan placed himself almost directly in front of Link, eyeing the quickly filling car. Though he knew after six years an attack out of the blue was the least likely thing to happen, Donovan still stuck to his job.