" Let me see!" I said inching forward in my chair.He raised his shirt up a little showing his bra and then did the same with the skirt showing his pan...ies. He was so adorable."Here, sit, and let's chat," I said, holding out a chair, which he sat in."So what's your name sweetie?" I asked."Uh, Brooke" he shyly answered."Brooke, is it. You been doing this long?" A couple years now, been taking things that my sister has been donating to the Salvation Army and keeping them for myself and hiding them. I could probably get the internship without doing anything with this loser. So there was a moment I almost turned around and walked away. My weeks and weeks of planning and preparing for this gone. But it was just a moment, then I let the smile spread, the smile that my Mom had told me seemed to spread just a bit too far. My mischief smile. His office had no windows, and it was the small office of a man who has been in the system his entire life. Beige walls, fading color prints of outdoor. I almost didn't have to rinse out the razor, it was so light weight and sparse. He suckered me into washing his hair so, to pay him back a little, I picked the sweetest smelling shampoo there was in the cupboard to do it. Whether he wanted to or not, he'd smell like a girl until the next time he took a bath. I'd never given a kid a bath before and, strangely enough, we both had a good time doing it. He giggled at being shaved under the arms and washed after. I dunked him when I did his. The killing zone sloped upward into a nebulous boundary some 200 yards distant. Although inhabited by the humilde, los narcos ruled past that part of the bluffs. Even the coyotes knew better than trespass. A young woman volunteered as the ‘attraction.’ Or rather, if matters went awry, sacrifice. Maria was her name. One more Mary in a remorseless country full of suspect virgins. When not working second shift, the 22-year-old serviced Grady the plant manager. Short, bird-thin, strong features.