up to him. Besides, he could really use that $20,000. Keith hadn't done too badly at
school, and he'd always got decent grades, but his family was way too poor to send him
to college.
He tried taking classes at the local community college for a while, but it didn't leave him
enough time to earn a living, so he was left with no choice but to drop out and find full-
time work. If he took the citizen's award money, he could think about going back to
school, or maybe even starting a business of his own. And the most important thing, the
best part of it all, was that he had the system with him now.
He gave Quinn a puzzled look. Wow, I mean, that's great and all, but you could have just
called me to tell me all that. Why'd you come all the way here by yourself?
After thinking about it, he was surprised. He had caught a serial bank robber, which was
a great achievement, but after all, he was still just an outsider. He wasn't even a real
police officer, and the idea of the award was pretty huge.
Quinn, however, was his sergeant. She was highly qualified, she'd been in the team for
years, and she'd risen through the ranks at an unprecedented speed. Naturally, she
would get the highest credit, so had this respected officer come all the way here to thank
him, but found it so embarrassing that she'd made up an excuse?
When Quinn noticed Keith looking at her with a faint smile on his face, the tips of her
ears turned red, but she quickly looked away and said in a low voice, I owe you a favor.
Now, if there's nothing else, I'll be on my way. She turned and left along the same path
they'd just come down.