12
In the Den of Thieves
Dogboy meets Andrus. Talking with Sister Francine. The flood. Welcome to the Guild of Thieves.
Bronson couldn’t see a darn thing. Once they’d arrived down in the sewers they’d walked in silence for a few minutes before coming to a door marked SERVICE TUNNEL. Once through the door Hot John had ripped his mask off and placed a black bag over his head. They’d tied his hands in front of him and Hot John slung him up over his shoulder. They moved through the service tunnel into what sounded like a big open space. They tied him to a chair and he sat there in silence for several minutes until the faint sound of a shuffle-scrape came into the room.
“Ah, there he is,” a voice said, “the famous Dogboy.” The black bag was pulled off Bronson’s head and he saw a man in a black hood standing over him.
“Why don’t you take off that hood? You took my mask,” Bronson said. “It’s only fair.”
The man—Andrus—laughed.
“Do you think life is fair, Bronson?” Andrus asked.
Bronson was startled. “You know my name,” he said.
“Trust me,” Andrus said, “you are important. You matter. I’d be a fool if I didn’t study up on the infamous Dogboy. Humanity has been diverted onto a darker path. Stand with us and help arrest this regression.”
“What the heck are you talking about? I don’t even know you, mister,” Bronson said.
Andrus leaned down and put his hand on Bronson’s shoulder. “But I know you. A child. Lost. Alone. Hopeful that somebody will notice you long enough to realize that for all the confidence and bravado you are scared. You need a mentor…a guide. And anybody who could be that for you has cast you aside. Or left you. I know you, Bronson, because I’ve been where you are.”
Bronson turned his head away from Andrus. “I don’t need anybody. I’m doing just fine all on my own.”
“Ah,” said Andrus, “but who’ll care that you’re missing now? Will anybody notice when you don’t go home? Will anybody notice if you don’t make it to school tomorrow?”
Bronson turned and spit in Andrus’s face. He was mad, mostly because Andrus was right. He didn’t want him to be right, but he was.
“You don’t know about my life,” Bronson said.
“I was abandoned once. Cast aside in favor of somebody stronger. Then I found my brothers here in the guild. Now I don’t have to be alone and neither do you.”
A tear rolled down Bronson’s cheek.
“You can still stand strong alone, sir,” Bronson said.
“But haven’t we tried?” Andrus asked. “And haven’t we failed in spite of the trying? Nobody should have to go through this life alone, Bronson. Least of all a boy like you. With your gifts. You are needed. You—young, intelligent, powerful—you can help us.” Andrus leaned in and gave Bronson a hug. “We can be each other’s family, Bronson. You have a home here if you want it. We can teach you.”
Bronson leaned into Andrus’s shoulder and cried. About his parents. About Uncle Randolph. About Cindy and Bugs and living in an alley.
“There, there,” Andrus said. “Don’t worry, Bronson. Not anymore.”
“But you’re a crook,” Bronson said. “I can’t let a crook be my family.”
“Things aren’t as black and white as all that,” Andrus said. “Come. I’ll show you.”
Dozens of thieves sprawled across the floor of the main meeting room. Andrus pushed a path through them. Dogboy followed close behind. They came to the back of the room where an old thermal blanket hung on the wall. Andrus pulled it back and led Dogboy into a smaller room.
Sister Francine slept in the corner on top of a pile of dusty sleeping bags. A slew of clutter sat next to her: Old fast food wrappers, a few magazines, markers, and coloring books. Andrus shook her awake.
“Wait a second,” Dogboy said. “She robbed my friend’s shop a few days ago.”
“Ay, it’s Junior,” Francine said. “I knew it was you. Big hero, throwing acid in my eyes like ya’ did.”
“I don’t think I want to talk to her,” Dogboy said to Andrus.
“Hold on,” Andrus said. “Let her speak.” He leaned down and patted Sister Francine on the shoulder. “Don’t be afraid, sister.” He looked behind her back. “Don’t you be afraid either, son. Did you ever want to meet a real-life superhero?”
A little boy peeked out from behind her. He waved at Dogboy. Dogboy waved back.
“There are other kids here?” Dogboy asked.
“Of course,” Andrus said. “Children are very important to the cause. None quite as important as you, of course, but we have several and we treat them quite well. Liam here already helps us on the street. Don’t you, Liam?”
“Uh-huh,” the boy said.
“How old are you, Liam?” asked Dogboy.
Liam looked at his mom. Sister Francine nodded.
“I’m 5… I think,” Liam answered.
“Francine, tell the boy how you and Liam joined us,” Andrus said.
“He’s the enemy, ain’t he?” Francine asked.
“Not anymore,” he replied. “Dogboy is family now. Go ahead.”
“Andrus has provided for us in so many ways. When we had to leave, after he… after my husband hurt our other son… Andrus found us. I was in a world I knew nothing about. The pain of remembering what he did was too much. I didn’t want to remember. I would surely end my life if I thought about it too much. I left my family, my friends, my home, my garden, and my dog. Chasing a means of survival that’s not even real… money. Everybody out there judged who was important and who is not by how much we got or don’t got. These folks took us in. They’ve taught me so much. Taught me how to survive. I’d be nothing and nowhere if it wasn’t for this man. Liam and me… we owe him our lives.”
“Isn’t there anywhere else you could go?” Dogboy asked. “A den of thieves doesn’t seem like the safest place to grow up.”
“First of all we are thieves but we have honor,” Francine said. “We are not criminals. We are freedom fighters. You’ll see.”
“He will, sister,” Andrus said. “Thank you. And thank you, Liam. Sleep well.”
Andrus walked Dogboy down to the drainage pipe that spat out at the south wall of the cavern. A few people sat in a circle around an old man. The man played an acoustic guitar and sang Spanish lyrics. An old bent woman spoke the words in English to the group:
Black storms shake the sky
Dark clouds blind us
Although pain and death await us
Duty calls us against the enemy
The most precious good is freedom
And we have to defend it
With faith and courageRaise the revolutionary flag
Which carries the people to emancipation
Raise the revolutionary flag
Which carries the people to emancipation
Working people march onwards to the battle
We have to smash the reaction
“So what do you think?” Andrus asked.
“Everybody seems so… normal,” Dogboy said. “If I didn’t know where I was I’d think they were just regular people.”
“They… we are regular people, Bronson,” Andrus said.
“I know, but you’re also crooks, right?”
“Sit down,” Andrus said. Dogboy did as he was told. “Bronson, society has told these people every day of their lives that those lives are worthless. All because they didn’t have the same chances others did. Money is the root of all evil and that is no lie. It gives some people confidence that was already inside them and turns some to a life of crime because of feelings of inadequacy. That is not this, Bronson. We do not feel inadequate. We are better than they think we are. When we are all equal and fully capable of supporting each other without money being the status by which we are all measured we can finally rest.”
“But why do you have to steal from people?” Dogboy asked.
“By taking from them we teach them that money isn’t important. When Independence Day arrives they’ll understand that—”
White noise overtook Andrus’s voice. The old man with the guitar jumped up.
“Everybody up,” the old man yelled. “It’s happening again!”
Water trickled out of the drainage pipe in the wall. Andrus grabbed Dogboy’s hand and ran.
“Quick,” Andrus said, “to higher ground.”
The crowd in the cavern panicked. People ran into each other and over each other as everybody climbed up on anything they could.
“What’s happening?” Dogboy asked.
“Every few months they drain the waste from that big drug factory by the river,” Andrus said. “Everything flushes out right through here.”
“Well shouldn’t we go make sure everybody knows? It’s the middle of the night.”
“Let’s get somewhere safe then we can assess the situation,” Andrus said.
Andrus lifted Dogboy up onto a concrete pillar then climbed up himself. The noise became deafening. A thick pink frothy liquid like a strawberry ice cream float left in the sun too long poured from every pipe in the place.
“We have to go see if anybody needs help,” Dogboy said.
“This stuff killed people last time, Bronson. I’m not going to let you go in there,” Andrus said.
The levels continued to rise. The chemical runoff licked at their feet. It surged up over the edge and knocked Dogboy’s feet out from under him. His head went under. The force of the water turned his mask sideways so he couldn’t see. He ripped it off then looked around for something to grab onto.
He felt something pull at his feet. His head snapped back as he got pulled into an undercurrent. He pumped his arms and legs as hard as he could but couldn’t escape it. His lungs demanded air. He let go of his mask. It faded into the pink swirl around him. Darkness.
Light blinded Bronson as he came to on a ledge above the cavern. Andrus faced away from Bronson as he looked out over the chaos. He held his hood at his side.
“What’s going on?” Bronson asked. Andrus pulled his hood back over his head then turned around.
“We almost lost you,” Andrus said. “You’re lucky I know basic CPR.”
“You saved me?” Bronson asked.
“Of course,” Andrus replied. He leaned back against the wall.
“Thanks,” Bronson said.
“Help us! Help us!” came a voice from down below. Bronson looked down over the edge of ledge. The voice belonged to Sister Francine. A big clump of branches and leaves that the pink sludge must have dislodged pinned her against the wall below. She curled her arms around her son to protect him.
“Quickly,” Andrus said to Bronson, “lean over the ledge. I’ll hold your ankles.”
Without a moment of hesitation Bronson leaned his torso over the edge of the ledge. Andrus grabbed Bronson’s ankles then lowered him down. Bronson held out his hands to the trapped pair.
“One at a time. Hurry. Grab on and we’ll pull you up,” he said.
Francine gave her son a hug and a kiss on the forehead, then she offered him up to Bronson.
“Go on, honey,” she said, “take his hand. It’s a superhero here to save you.”
The boy grabbed Bronson’s hand. Andrus pulled them both back over the ledge.
“Ok, ready for one more round?” asked Andrus.
Bronson nodded. He went down over the ledge one more time. Francine reached out with both her hands and grabbed Bronson’s. Andrus yanked on Bronson’s ankles. Andrus couldn’t move him. He teetered on the edge as he tried to get his balance back.
“I’m stuck on something,” Sister Francine yelled as the water began to rise again.
Bronson let go of her hands. “Get loose,” he screamed.
The water rose even quicker. Sister Francine shook her head at Bronson as he felt himself being lifted up. As he made it back onto the ledge the water went up above her head and she disappeared under the current.
“You gotta go get her,” her little boy said to Bronson. “You’re a superhero. It’s your job.”
Bronson hugged the little boy. “I’m sorry. She’s gone. She’s been under too long. I tried—”
“No, no, you can help,” the little boy said before he broke down in tears. Bronson hugged him as the water rushed below them.
A few hours later the cavern was dry again. Bronson rested in Sister Francine’s room with his new friend Liam. Liam was curled up on the bed asleep.
Andrus came into the room and knelt down beside them.
“How is he?” Andrus asked.
“Tired,” Bronson said.
“Here, we found this,” Andrus said. He handed Bronson his Dogboy mask. Bronson took the mask and sat it on the ground next to him.
“Thanks,” Bronson said. “Look, I’ve been thinking about what you said. About being family. I… I’ve missed that. I think I want to stay… on two conditions.”
“That’s great, Bronson,” Andrus said. “But what are the conditions?”
“One: This kid gets taken to an orphanage or something. He doesn’t belong here, especially without his mom.”
“Done,” Andrus said.
“Two: I need to go back up above ground tomorrow to say goodbye to some friends and get the rest of my stuff. And I need to go alone.”
“How do I know you won’t just go to the police and never come back?” Andrus asked.
“If you’re that worried about it just wait until I get back to get the kid to safety, okay?”
Andrus considered it for a moment then nodded his head. “Fine,” he said, “but get some sleep while you can. When you get back your training begins. Welcome to the Guild of Thieves.”
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