°°° Interrogation °°°

       "Hey Mom," Sean slumped into a sofa in the living room, earphones plugged into his phone.

"Sean… "How are you doing?" His mom’s voice came through the speakers.

"I’m great. How are you? How’s work?" He smiled, staring at the ceiling.

"Hey, I called you..." "I'll be the one asking the questions here," Kate replied, sounding stern, before bursting into a round of laughter, making Sean laugh at her inability to pretend.

"How’s the hood?" Sean shuffled into the leather sofa. "Hope no burglar came knocking?"

"Well, one did last night. "He said he needed your help to break a friend out of holding," she replied, successfully pulling off a serious tone. "I told him you’d get back to him when you returned from your current jailbreak in Kentucky."

"Damn ma… "You've been practicing!" Sean laughed. "Your lying skills are getting really good."

"What can I say… "I learned from the best," she chuckled.

"And who’s that?" Sean asked with pride in his voice.

"Who else? "Your father, of course," Kate laughed, knowing what he’d expected to hear.

Sean joined in the laugh, which slowly died down as they both began to think about his father, Kevin.

"So…" Kate cleared her throat, snapping out of her thoughts quickly. "How’s Louisville?"

"The weather is quite nice up here." Quite a nice neighborhood... "Don't you think I have heard any sirens in like, three hours now?" Sean praised the city.

"You know what they say—where the white man dominates, order resonates," Kate said with a tone that made Sean think twice before replying.

"No one says that," he chuckled, still unsure if it was an actual saying.

"I got you, didn’t I?" Kate laughed.

"Yeah," Sean joined in. "You did. "You are getting really good," he praised her.

     For some reason, they had decided to become master liars in case they ever got pulled over by the cops. It was a challenge that later became a teacher-student relationship, with Sean being the teacher.

"Well, I just wanted to hear your voice." Gotta get back to work." Kate’s tone was now more reserved.

"I miss you too," Sean replied, knowing what was coming next.

"I hope you won’t be bored alone."

"Yeah..." he stopped and looked out the window. "Jason and Andrew just stepped in... "There is no need to worry."

"Love you."

"Love you more, Mom," he smiled, and she cut the call.

Sean had barely pulled his earphones out when Jason ran in.

"Dude… What the hell was that? this morning… "You, Karen, what, how?" Jason spewed.

"Calm down, jeez," Andrew threw his hands in the air. "Good afternoon, Sean," he said.

"Hey, man," Sean nodded at him. "Lunch is in the fridge. "Putit in the microwave; by the time you have changed out of your uniform, it should be ready," Sean advised the lad, who immediately ran to do as he was told.

"Dude, I asked a question!" Jason shouted.

"More like a dozen questions!" Andrew taunted from the kitchen.

"SHUT UP SHIT FACE!" Jason yelled at his brother.

"Calm down, man," Sean laughed. "I’ll answer you after lunch." Go change."

"Like hell, I will," Jason slumped into the three-seater chair backing the dining space.

"You know he’s older than you, right?" Andrew shouted again from the kitchen, slamming the fridge door shut and taking a foil-wrapped plate to the microwave oven.

"By what, a year?" Jason frowned.

"Still older!" Sean laughed.

"Yeah whatever. You and Karen "Fill me in," Jason leaned forward.

"I ain’t tell you nothing till you shower," Sean smirked and turned on the television.