My Predator System

The Exchange

Melvin hardened. "Maks, if you could just let me...focus on my driving, I'd be thankful, please?"

He hardened when Melvin avoided eye contact.

He grinned and turned up the radio.

They stopped at the house and Maks exhaled, his heart churning at the long-forgotten topic. What happened to Emily?

Melvin left the jeep first and he met Doreen at the pavement and kissed her.

He snorted at them. Elvis wet himself on the car seat. He lurched facing him and groaned.

...

"Dad!" Jessica giggled running into his arms. He swung her around. Hoisting her up and kissing her cheek.

Maks dabbed the backseat, this was worse than cat pee. He nearly threw up spraying the car until the scent of lemon filled the air. He wheezed.

Elvis whimpered.

"Don't look at me like that." He pointed at him and walked back into the room griping. He stopped and did a double take on Elvis when he realised something.

"Wait...how did you know a hellhound was close?"

Elvis whimpered and faced the street distracted. Then he scratched his ear with his leg.

...

Doreen gazed at Melvin lovingly while he clung to Jessica.

She listened to him croon a song about the navy and guard duty.

"Come on in." Maks urged softly and Elvis walked inside liberally and gratefully.

Doreen fumed at him. "What is that?"

"Oh, it's Elvis." Maks pointed with his best poker-face.

Jessica perked up and squealed. "Puppy!"

Melvin cleaned his ear. "It's okay, Doreen, he's just staying for a few days. Isn't that right, Maks?" His green eyes flashed.

"Oh, right." Maks drew in a breath.

He grinned evilly when Jessica's eyes were starting to glaze with hope. She kept waving at Elvis to get his attention.

He was staring at the flower vase and his tongue fell out settling down.

...

The next morning, Maks whistled and flipped a pancake. He wore a grey shirt with black sleeves and grey pajama pants. Cutting out a piece and eating.

Doreen walked inside with her brown hair tousled, she griped when he greeted her.

"How was your night?"

"Great. I lost my phone again." She patted her head. Trying to remember.

"You can always check the drawers." He said with a full mouth and swallowed.

She stared back at him drily. "Very funny."

He shrugged. "I'm just being specific. I'll leave you on a good note...I think I saw Jessica taking it down to the basement..." Gulp*

Her eyes widened. "Oh no!"

He held his stomach and laughed when she rushed off and coughed returning to stir frying when Melvin walked in.

"Morning dad."

"Are those...?" His eyes rounded and Maks passed him a plate cheerfully.

"Maple syrup?" He suggested with a smirk.

"Ah. Don't mind if ah do." Melvin rubbed his hands together.

He spewed it over the pancakes masterfully and Melvin jerked up when he heard Jessica screaming.

...She sounded distressed.

Doreen emerged soaking wet, her mascara forming blots under her eyes. Her blue suit damp. She had Elvis by the scruff of his neck and he whimpered holding a pair of shoes in his mouth.

Maks was just surprised that her shoes were spotless.

[ After all I've done for you. ] He thought.

"That is it!" She confessed angrily.

Melvin tried to calm her down. "Honey, it's just a misunderstanding_"

"No!" She glared at Maks who stirred the pan.

"My, Dora. Are you alright? What happened down there?" His voice getting softer and lighter. He controlled the impulse to smile.

She held up her phone dripping wet.

"Look at me. Do I look all right to you? Nevermind, Jess said you were the one who did this."

He shrugged as innocently as he could. "Me? Shucks, Dora, I had no idea, she wanted to clean up the phone, I didn't know she would take it so literally."

Jessica responded with a pout. Her eyes teary from receiving a hard end of the spoon. "I did not!"

"This is an insult!"

"Doreen, listen, I'll talk to_"

"I have a meeting this afternoon. What am I supposed to do...all my documents were in here and I was supposed to make my entry today!"

Maks gulped. [ Did not think that through. ]

"This was obviously your doing!" She pointed at him.

"Me?"

"You_ are_grounded." Melvin whispered through clenched teeth.

"But I have work today_"

A lump formed in his throat.

"I'm sure you can d******d these files from the cloud_" Melvin prompted quietly.

"That will take twice as much time. I'm already late for my presentation. Firewalls will be up in...an hour." She said ominously.

...

Maks frowned. He tossed a tennis ball against the wall of his room. Griping.

Elvis watched it bounce and he skittered after the ball.

Maks felt a sting of guilt but he took that route and he was going to stick by it.

He shook his head when his mind rebounded back to the present and the ball hit him on the head.

Elvis whimpered and put his left paw on top of the ball, his mouth opened panting.

Make quirked an eyebrow at that strange pose. Wait a sec_

His phone rang. "Hailey, how's it going?"

He felt warmth trickling down his chest at her voice.

"I'm sorry Maks, you were fired indefinitely."

She shrugged.

His lip quirked in trepidation. "Ugh! No, tell him I called in sick, hurry." His green eyes paled.

"Are you?" She questioned drily flipping a notepad to scrawl orders.

"Yes, I happen to be..." He scratched his hair in frustration when her silence stretched on the line. He sighed sitting back. "Okay...How much do you want?"

Elvis barked.

"Shh." He pushed a hand to his face.

She raked her hair. "You know the school dance is around the corner?"

He turned red. "No?" He blurted and scoffed. "No, of course not."

She leaned on the counter.

***

Maks grumbled inside his hawk costume. "Real mature, Hailey." He flapped his winged sleeves and grunted. He was not so surprised that Prescott High School's mascot was a hawk...

He felt a sting of embarrassment when a few high school seniors in flashy tuxedoes huddled up moving past him laughing and crying like Native Indians.

Reyayayaya!

"This is not an eagle!" He pulled out his costume and groaned.

"Great going."

He jumped at the girl with shades, her hair was blonde and curly. She wore a pink puff-sleeved dress, leggings and heels. Her pale skin was a dead giveaway.

"Hailey?" He adjusted his hawk helmet. "Was this your idea of a joke? It smells like a thousand sweaty gym socks in here." He flapped a wing when he thought he saw chewing gum.

"You agreed to run on my terms. No complaints." She put a lolly in her mouth.

He heaved a sigh. "Is this necessary? What are you doing here?"

"I lost a bet. Someone thought it would be funny if I waltzed into the 'wrong' event." She made air quotes and Maks's eyes stirred in sympathy.

Hailey pulled up her shades. "Good luck."

"What_?"