Ryker turned off the shower standing there for a moment while he thought about the long shift ahead of him. He requested a double so that he could eat and sleep in a decent place for at least one night tomorrow. A little treat for himself since his birthday had now officially passed a week ago. The water dripped off his curly brown hair and down his back as he reached for a towel. The last month had been a wreck for him. He was fined for sleeping on a bench, which he thought was completely unfair. He didn't qualify for any of the shelters or they were all full. If he had a kid with him he'd have found a place to stay by now, but where was he going to find a child to play his brother or even his son? He wrapped the towel around his waist and stepped out of the tub. He wasn't sure if the shower even helped. The room was full of mildew and he was sure the water and soap provided just spread the germs around.

He put on his uniform, collared black shirt with black slacks. A pair of non slip shoes to match. He clipped on his bow tie and tried to pat out the wrinkles that seemed to be permanent. This was as good as he was going to get. He was lucky to have found a place that would be willing to pay him cash after every shift. He was never sure when he would leave, so he couldn't wait around for pay checks. He put his room key in his pocket and headed for the door. Just as he opened it a woman stood there ready to knock.

"Are you Ryker Johnson?" she asked quietly he could barley hear her.

"Yeah, who are you?" he replied a little skeptical.

"Please sign here," was all she said.

He hesitated a moment and then gave his signature. She handed him a large orange envelope and turned on her heels to leave. Ryker closed the door and opened the package. He pulled out the documents and his heart dropped to his stomach. He was greeted with a picture of his mom...at least it looked like her. He ran a finger over the picture as he read the papers on her.

[img]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/85/0d/58/850d584a5c2ce38155949b2f4c3c01f0.jpg[/img]

Her name was Lillian Stone-Mason. She was 23 in the picture. Ryker sat down on the bed as his darted from picture to her story. She got pregnant at 16 and had him when she turned 17. His father's name was unknown on her records. His mind drifted back to the day she had left him there. He was all alone. She hugged him goodbye and promised to come back, but she never did. According to this file she was running from someone. The believed it to be his dad, but she never gave up who he was. Even after she was shot by him she never said his name. He finally had a picture of his mother. After all these years he had a name and face to the person who had given birth to him and then abandoned him in the middle of nowhere.

Ryker couldn't bring himself to read more about her. There was another picture. The guy he called father, but apparently he wasn't even that. Blonde hair and gray eyes. He could never forget that, but in this picture his hair was shorter than Ryker remembered.

[img]http://s1.favim.com/orig/11/actors-cam-gigandet-easy-a-models-Favim.com-177320.jpg[/img]

The guys name was Lucas Mason. He was 35 in this photo. According to the file he was a long time friend of Lillian. Helped her escape the abusive ex boyfriend while she was still pregnant. He told the police the guy showed up out of nowhere shortly after they left the child by the road. He claimed they left the kid for his own safety. That the people near the drop off were nice and he would grow up without fear. It looked like Lucas lived a longer than Lillian, but only by a year or two. He managed to kill Ryker's real father, but that got him sent to prison since there was no witness to actually cover his story. Lillian died from the gunshot before she could confirm or deny Lucas' story. He was found hanging in a prison cell.

Ryker looked up from the papers and saw the clock. He was 20 minutes late already. He hadn't realized how much time he spent just staring at the pictures of the people he used to know. He couldn't confront them or forgive them. For all he knew the whole thing was made up, except for the photos. Then he pulled out the little letter that had been stuffed to the bottom. 

[center][i]Greetings Mr. Ryker Johnson,

You have been selected to participate in an interview with Silent Wheel, Inc. Please arrive tomorrow at 9:00 PM promptly, at the address listed below. Ring the bell three times. Dress code is casual. Duties and compensation will be discussed over cocktails and dessert.

6200 Belladonna Drive
Leyden City, PA

Warmest Regards,
[img]https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/quiz/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2014/05/20140531-govbeat7.png[/img]
Silent Wheel, Founder and CEO[/i][/center]

He looked the letter over a couple times before he used the motel's phone to call out of work until further notice. The manager on the other end didn't seem all that surprised. He was just happy that Ryker gave him notice. 

"I guess I'll use my remaining money for one more night here," he whispered to himself as he began to undress.

[hr]

Ryker walked about 3 miles from the bus stop to get to this house. The way it looked startled him a bit. He'd never been anywhere so fancy. He hiked the book bag up on his shoulder and walked up to the door. It was 8:55pm. The moon was shining, and it looked like nobody was home. His boots skid to a half as he reached the front door. He saw a women standing there and he cocked his head to the side a little confused. Was she the one who requested his presence? He wasn't quiet sure. All he knew was that he felt a little under dressed with his ripped up jeans that hung loosely around his waist from lack of food and a shirt that a hole or two around the stomach and combat boots. 

He waved slightly as he looked her up and down. She didn't seem like the kind of person who would have sent him the package, but what was she doing here.

"Hi...I'm Ryker. Are you the person I'm supposed to meet?" He asked with a small crack in his voice.

[@Inda]