Children of the Knight (64 page)

W
ITHIN
The Hub, Arthur and his leadership team met well past midnight, after sending the others home with a warning to be ready early in the morning. Someone would contact them with instructions. There was much heated discussion and debate on how best to hit the crack houses and meth labs. Most were, the kids informed Arthur, just regular homes in their neighborhoods. Most people wouldn’t even know what went on inside, “’less you live round ’em,” Jaime put in.

Esteban was all for firebombing every one with Molotov cocktails, which he assured Arthur were easy to make.

“Nay, Sir Este,” Arthur commanded, once again wishing for and needing the calming presence of Lance. “We do not seek bloodshed, merely justice. We are warriors of right and canst not risk such fires spreading and killing the innocent.”

“What about smoke bombs?” Reyna suggested. “We could smoke ’em out and then grab ’em.”

“Grab ’em how?” piped up Darnell, who sat twiddling his cornrows. “They got guns, Lady Reyna.”

Reyna just shrugged and threw up those lovely eyebrows of hers. “I don’t know. Drop a net on ’em?”

Arthur lit up at that suggestion. “I believe the lady be on to something,” he said. They discussed that option and reasoned that kids could be above an exit, or right outside, and when the “druggists” bolted, “Bam! You throw a net on ’em an’ catch ’em like fish,” Duc finished, laughing excitedly.

“Then what, Arthur, we wrap ’em up and give ’em to the mayor?” Esteban asked.

“We shalt have a gift for the mayor, but methinks I have a better plan for these druggists, as ye hast called them.”

Many of the boys said getting or making smoke bombs wasn’t hard—they had connections, but buying nets could cost big bucks. Reyna solved that problem by offering the six thousand she’d been given by her parents to not vacation with them. Plus, Arthur still had a lot of money in the bank and his ATM card.

They agreed on a limited area of coverage because they wanted the operation to go off this very day. The mayor was planning an event to unveil the mural tomorrow, and they wanted to trump his card. The leaders figured they could hit at least a hundred of these places at once and be ready by nightfall.

“What about Mr. R.?” Justin asked nervously. “He’s badass—sorry, he be dangerous, Arthur. Got some Chinese dude with him. I think they be Mafia, you know?” The others nodded, though Mafia meant nothing to Arthur. “I think he wasted Dwayne, guys, cuz I hain’t seen ’em since that day we run ’im out the ’hood.”

Arthur leaned forward. “Ye say ye know where to find these men?”

“Yeah,” Justin answered. “It’s a big warehouse downtown. That’s where a bunch of the sh—the drugs are made.”

“I say we firebomb that one place, Arthur,” insisted Esteban, his face hard and serious. “Otherwise he’ll just stay in business. If we take down his operation, maybe he won’t get it back up.”

Arthur agreed, so long as the firebombs Esteban talked about were thrown through the upper windows to allow anyone within the building time to escape via the ground floor. Esteban and Jaime agreed that was okay by them.

They settled on teams and who would lead each one. That meant a hundred different teams, so they went through all the names of knights they thought most capable of handling a leadership role. Each team would be comprised of six members for a total of six hundred kids mobilized at once, the teams scattered throughout the main parts of the city.

Because Arthur wanted all of his knights to rendezvous at City Hall to meet with the mayor, the more outlying areas like the San Fernando Valley, San Pedro, the Westside, and South Bay Areas would not be targeted at this time.

All teams would remain in contact with Arthur via cell phone. Esteban would be temporary First Knight for this operation unless Lance returned in time. It troubled Arthur immensely to even consider someone else in the role, but the boy had given him little choice. Besides, he reasoned, this type of crusade was more suited to Esteban, who knew better the people they’d be up against.

Each team member would have his or her own specific responsibility when the operation commenced, and at least one must be assigned the task of filming the druggists and their drugs for use as evidence to give the authorities.

When all had been planned and settled, everyone returned to their respective neighborhoods to begin assembling their teams first thing in the morning and preparing them to be ready by midafternoon. Arthur and Reyna would take a few of the kids who lived with Arthur in the tunnels in her parent’s Escalade to purchase the netting and rope and other supplies they felt they would need.

Operation Drug Lab was scheduled for dusk, and the knights felt giddy with anticipation.

Jack had said nothing much during the meeting because his thoughts were elsewhere—on Mark, of course, but also on Lance. His mind replayed images of Lance over these past months, of the times they’d spent together, both happy and sad, of the connection they’d made, of how good it felt just to hold him in his arms. How perfect that seemed. His chest swelled with emotion as he pictured the most amazing boy he’d ever known in his life, and Jack knew he couldn’t lose him. No way. In some ways, he realized with breathless abandon, losing him would be even
worse
than losing Mark….

He knew he should volunteer to lead a team. Hell, he could easily have been the football team captain before everyone found out he was gay. After his outing, however, the only title he’d been given was team pariah. He shoved that memory away and replaced it with Lance. The boy’s beautiful face, that oh-so-engaging smile that made Jack fantasize about what it would feel like to kiss him, that easy laughter when they’d be working out, all sent shivers of joy and fear coursing through him.

He knew he
should
volunteer, but Arthur hadn’t asked, and so he remained silent, cradling Chris as the small boy slept with his head in his lap. If Lance wasn’t back by morning, with or without Arthur’s permission, Jack would go out and find him.

J
ENNY
had prepared herself to begin lessons that same morning, but Arthur had called early and asked her to wait until tomorrow. The knights had a special mission to complete today. That worried her because he didn’t say what it was. She knew the cleanups were being restructured to accommodate schooling, so that wasn’t likely the reason. No, something was wrong. All her instincts told her so. And Lance was still missing, Arthur had said. Yes, he’d been texting the boy, but had gotten no response.

“Did you text that you love him?” she asked.

There had been silence on the other end. “Nay.”

“Then do it, and call me the second you hear from him,” she insisted sternly.

Arthur promised to do so and hung up. As she sat with her morning coffee, gazing out her living room window, the bad feeling increased, crept all the way up her back, and lodged itself deep within her heart. If she didn’t hear anything more, she would go to Arthur’s place directly and find out what was going on for herself.

W
HEN
Arthur hung up with Jenny, Chris had needed help getting ready, and Arthur’s plan to text Lance slipped momentarily from his mind. Then Reyna arrived to pick up Arthur, and Lance had still not returned nor been heard from. Both Arthur and Jack were convinced that something had happened to him. Reyna said she’d texted him also, but the boy had not responded.

Arthur knew he had to focus on Operation Drug Lab, but Lance remained uppermost in his mind.
I canst not lose thee, my Lance….

Jack made sure Chris was fed and ready to accompany Arthur and Reyna and then threw on a clean red tunic and grabbed his phone. He strode up to them.

“Arthur,” Jack announced, “I’m going out looking for him.”

Arthur nodded, his mind on Lance.

Reyna leaned in to give Jack a kiss on the lips. “Give that to Lance for me.”

Jack actually blushed, and she laughed gently.

“I’ll let you give it to him,” Jack told her with a small smile.

Reyna turned serious now, unusual for her. “You tell my beautiful brother that I love him and need him here with me. You tell him.”

Jack nodded. “I will.”

Arthur looked grave, graver than Jack had ever seen him. “Tell him I… also need him, Sir Jack. Hast thou any idea where to look?”