6
Down on the Ground
“Bugs let us in,” said Nuncio, who fiddled with the old teleprompter mounted under the camera. His cousin Jennifer stretched out on the WWJH anchor desk, resting her head on her backpack. Axle checked the locks on the equipment cages.
Cindy stood in the doorway, flabbergasted by the scene. “Wait’ll I get a hold of that jerk,” she said. “He’s going to get me busted.” Mr. Lee (her media teacher) and Principal Kane (her principal of course) trusted her enough to give her access to the A-V room any time she liked. The privilege didn’t include letting other kids come in.
“You want me to go, like, talk to him?” Jennifer asked as she eyed the pool of drool that she’d left under her cheek. “We’re going out or whatever.”
“Yuck. Seriously?” Cindy said as she looked back out into the hallway then shut the door. “No, I’ll chew out the little scrub myself thanks. We’ve got a mission right now anyway.”
“Aye, we gotta help your little friend again, don’t we?” Axle said. “You know… I gotta wonder how many more times we gotta clean up your mutt’s mess before he helps us go after Mayor Lane?”
Axle’s beef with Mayor Lane stemmed from Colta City’s job-shadowing program. While its name suggested an educational outing, it was anything but. The mayor was abducting kids from the poorer sections of the city, giving them strange powers, then locking them in cells under City Hall. Cindy was the first one to escape, followed shortly by Axle and his friends.
“If the Guild takes over the city, Mayor Lane’s going to be the least of our problems,” Cindy said. She pushed Jennifer’s legs aside, pulled a map from her bag, then spread it out on the anchor desk. “As you can see here, I’ve split the city up into 16 quadrants. I figure if we each take four we can cover the whole city before dark.”
“Pretty smart, chica,” Nuncio said. “But what is it we’re looking for exactly?”
“Thieves,” she said. “You know, nasty guys with crazy eyes.”
“Shame you didn’t give us something hard to do,” Axle said. “Shoot… I think we got more of those kinda folks than normal ones in my neighborhood.”
“Then let’s not start in your neighborhood,” she said, making a note on the map. “I need to know exactly where you guys see them. We might be able to triangulate where their hideout is if we see a lot in one area. Dogboy told me one of the worst guys is riding around in an old carriage so keep an eye out.”
She tore the map along the folds, then passed out the four pieces. “I’ll take Quadrants A–D. Nuncio gets E–H. Jenn, here’s I–L. Axle, you get the rest. Keep in touch and we’ll meet back here to compare notes in—”
The door slammed open. Bright light beams swept the room. A man’s voice yelled at them: “Down on the ground.”
Jennifer, Axle, and Nuncio did as they were told. Cindy stood her ground. “Nice try, Bugs. You aren’t gonna scare me that easy. Now turn off those lights before I box your big freckled ears, ya’ scrub.”
“This is the police.” the voice said. The lights switched off, revealing three Colta City police officers with their sidearms drawn. Cindy put up her hands, offering them a weak smile.
“What’s the matter, officers?” she asked. “I have permission to be here. Just ask Principal Kane.”
“You had permission, Ms. McNeil,” said another voice from the hallway. Principal Kane stuck his head in passed the police, his eyebrows raised so high they almost reached his former hairline. “Unless you want to be expelled before the next term starts, I suggest you start explaining.”
He walked over to Nuncio, nudging him with his foot. “Look at me, son. What’s your name?”
Nuncio kept his nose against the ground. “Yeah, I know that game. I move my head and your buddies gun me down like a n00b on release day.”
Principal Kane sighed. “Officers, put down your weapons. I know this girl, although sometimes I wish I didn’t.”
“Say it ain’t so, Bobby Boy. Who’s gonna help you out if you don’t have me around anymore?” Cindy said, pulling out “helpful, admiring student #3,” a combination of smile and eyes that she charmed adults with in order to make them see things her way.
Principal Kane countered with “disappointed authority figure #7,” a look he only reserved for the most serious student conflicts. “I’ll deal with you in a minute, Miss McNeil. As for the rest of you, stand up so I know whose parents to call.”
Nuncio, Jennifer, and Axle all stood, although they couldn’t bring themselves to look the principal in the eye. He studied them for a moment.
“I don’t recognize any of you. You mean to tell me they aren’t even my students?” he asked Cindy. Before she could answer, he continued. “Needless to say, your A-V room privileges are officially revoked. I’ll also be having a talk with Mr. Lee and no extracurricular programs when school starts back in a few weeks.”
“But I can still do stuff for the TV station, right?” Cindy asked.
“Interning at local businesses like WRDB is reserved for the best of the best here at Woodrow Wilcox. With this little stunt on your record, I doubt you qualify. What are you kids doing here anyway?”
“We got a little club, sir. Kid stuff,” Axle said. “She never even told us we wasn’t allowed in here. Don’t worry. We ain’t gonna come back here. That’s for sure. In fact, I think me and my friends might be looking for a new leader anyway.”
“What’s the club called?” Principal Kane asked. “If it has some sort of educational value, I might be willing to reconsider.”
“That’s the thing,” Axle said. “She hasn’t even bothered to think one up.”
“If you kids didn’t know any better, I can’t in good conscience punish you. Officer, can you escort them out?” Principal Kane said, waving an officer over. “Miss McNeil, come with me to my office. We have a phone call to make.”
“WRDB?” Cindy asked.
“Your mother,” he said.
“Even worse,” she replied.
Axle ran in place next to him. “Or some kid in a stupid mask. You ever think maybe she’s playing us? I mean none of us have ever met Dogboy right? How do we know they both ain’t working with the mayor to keep us in line?”
“No, I never thought that. Know why?” Nuncio said, pulling on two leather gloves with the thumb, ring, and pinky fingers cut off at the knuckle. “Because I look for the best in folks. My dad always said, ‘The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them’.”
“Yeah, but it’s been weeks, and we ain’t no closer to stopping the mayor now then week one. Where are the results, Nuncio?” Axle climbed on the dumpster then scaled the steam pipe running to the top of the building.
Nuncio followed. “Yo, you trying to say something?” he asked.
“I’m saying she’s had her chance. Maybe it’s time I lead you punks.”
“You? The little chacho who wet himself in the third grade?” Nuncio said. “I don’t think you can handle it, man.”
“That was a long time ago, dude. I can handle it, trust me.”
Axle climbed over the ledge onto the roof. Once Nuncio made it over, they crossed to the other side. The buildings rose from the short two-story bodega they stood on all the way to Stonehouse Towers.
“See?” Axle said. “It’s like a big set of steps. I betcha we can make it all the way up.”
“You were right. Respect. Seems like it could take awhile though. Aren’t we supposed to be on a mission?”
“Nah, let’s forget it. Once I’m in charge, maybe I’ll let Cindy and her pet superhero help us clean up their mess.”
“Yeah, but you ain’t in charge yet,” Nuncio said.
“I ain’t? If we put it to a vote, your gonna vote for me, ain’t you?” Axle said. He grabbed Nuncio’s collar and pulled him close. “Yeah, you will. We been best friends since we was both in diapers. You ain’t gonna leave me hanging.”
“Yeah, but what about Jenn? Her and Cindy are getting pretty tight, and she ain’t your biggest fan since you stood her girl up neither.”
“She listens to you,” Axle said. “You could talk her into it easy.”
“I got my doubts, yo, but I can try,” Nuncio said, although the look on his face implied he didn’t want to.
“That’s all I’m asking. Why don’t we go ahead and try this run, then we’ll go by your cousin’s crib tonight and have a little chat.”
They both knelt down, taking in a few deep breaths. Axle took off first, launching himself through the gap between the buildings then rolling into his landing on the other side. He popped back up on his feet, then jumped, slid, and ran over the obstacles on the roof like a dancer navigating a familiar stage.
Nuncio followed, keeping pace with Axle before he breezed past him. Axle had learned the art of parkour first, but Nuncio was innately faster. He arrived at the opposite side then jumped to the next roof. His foot caught on the ledge, sending his body falling headfirst between the buildings.
“Nuncio,” Axle screamed. He looked over the edge to see Nuncio laying silent on the pavement, his eyes closed but his chest moving.
Axle jumped down the fire escape on the side of the building. He was already running when his high tops hit the street. By the time he made it around the corner Nuncio was gone, but his muffled voice called out from the black carriage as it turned at the end of the alley.
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