Chapter 35

4 p.m. Monday

Andy walked into the apartment and was confronted immediately by three shirtless men. He had dropped his backpack and prepared to fight them before he recognized them.

"What the fuck, Tomas?" he asked angrily. It took him a second for the fear and rage to clear from his mind. When it did, he saw that Tomas looked different than he did a few hours earlier.

"I'm stitching them up," Camille said from the dining room table. Rico was sitting in a chair while Camille patched up a cut on his arm.

"I couldn't think of anyone else in the building who was likely to have washed their hands this week," Rico said with a smile. It was difficult because half of his face was already swollen.

"Lupe is home safe," Andy said.

"I never doubted it for a moment," Rico said. "Thank you, my brother."

The salutation caused Camille to look up sharply. Andy gave her a slight shake of his head but the look she wore promised they would discuss this situation later.

"Did you run into problems?" Rico asked.

"None," Andy said. "One of my friends asked a few of the black football players to ride over with me. We formed a ring around Lupe and walked her right out of the school. They're going to meet us out front in the morning to take her to school – but I can't pick her up tomorrow night. I have to work and I called off last week."

"No, I understand," Rico said. "You've done more than your part. I'm glad you used your head in extracting her from danger. I don't want you to think I value you less than her. But you are better prepared to take care of yourself if the need arises. I thought about sending some guys to join you but decided an overwhelming show of force here would serve our purposes better."

"Did it?" Andy asked as he sat heavily on the couch.

"Does it look like it?" Camille asked angrily. She had found the boys stationed on her doorstep when she got home. They had not demanded that she tend to them but instead asked politely if she would be willing to help them out. Rico had brought a well-stocked first aid kit with him and it was clear they needed someone with some sense to patch them up.

"Are the Kings still in existence?" Andy asked, ignoring his mother. He knew he would pay for it later.

"For now," Rico said. "We made it clear that their continued existence depends upon how they deal with the problem."

"Andy?" Camille said. "What is going on?"

"It's nothing, Mom," Andy answered.

"Does this look like nothing?" she asked in a loud voice. "Rico, don't you involve my son in your shit!"

"I involved myself, Mom," Andy said. "In fact, I'm the one who started this whole thing. Don't be mad at Rico. Be mad at me."

"What in the hell have you done?" Camille asked. It was clear that she was at the end of her rope.

"I'll explain everything in a few minutes," Andy said.

"He helped a young girl who needed help," Rico answered for him. "That is all he did. He acted valiantly and courageously by standing up to seven young men who planned to sexually assault a girl from this building. That is the sort of man you've raised, Miss D. I'd be proud of him if I were you."

She looked at Andy – who looked away.

"He's a good guy," Tomas added. It was a lot for him to say.

"Andy?" Camille asked. It was clear that this wasn't going to wait any longer.

"The girl I drove to middle school has been having problems with a gang at her school," Andy said.

Camille shot a murderous glance at Rico – who conveniently ignored the fact that she held a sharp object just inches from his carotid artery and looked placidly forward.

"He had no idea when he asked me to drive her to school," Andy interjected. "She kept it from him – because of what happened. She thought she could deal with it on her own. She couldn't. I saw that immediately. I didn't think I could deal with it on my own so I came back and told Rico what was happening. Then some friends of mine and I made sure she got out of the school safely this afternoon. I trusted Rico to handle the manner in the way he thought best."

"I handled it in the only way I know how," Rico admitted. "Whether it was best, we'll have to see. Still, I believe this will keep Lupe safe until she can head to a better school in the fall. I am a bit concerned that you and Andy might be in some danger but I think that is unlikely. If I find it is, I'll find someplace to keep you safe. I do have some cash available."

"Did you break into my car and put some money in the pocket of my tux?" Andy asked out of the blue. Rico had looked away from him when he talked about money and Andy found that strange.

"I thought a man should have some cash in his pocket if he needed it when he was going to such a fancy event," Rico said with a touch of chagrin. "I wish you had not asked but I will not lie to you about anything."

"Then thanks for the air conditioning," Camille said as she stuck Rico a little harder than she needed to. His upper lip twitched slightly but otherwise he gave no reaction. "And don't give Andy any more money. I told you, I don't want him into your shit."

Rico's placid smile returned. Andy wondered if he had already dipped into the ready supply of pharmaceuticals in the building.

"It was a gift from one man to another," Rico said. "We can consider it his graduation present, if you like. He's the first person in this building to be accepted to college in my memory. We have a few who have diplomas but not many. To be accepted to the schools he has, it makes me proud to know him. I told him this morning that I've often wished you were my mother too. I meant it. That is why I called him a brother. It isn't because I wish for him to be involved in my 'shit.' In fact, I wish him – and Little Lupe – to be as far away from my shit as I can get them. But, please know this: There is no one I trust with Lupe's safety more than your son. It is not because I believe him to be part of my group. It is because I knew he could think on his feet and keep her safe without coming to harm himself. He's proven that again. I would not have considered asking people from outside the neighborhood for help."

"Well, to be honest, I didn't think of it either," Andy admitted. "Elizabeth Pena had the whole thing set up and they were waiting at my car. The smallest guy was like 6-feet-3 and 240 pounds. It wasn't like I could tell them 'no' when they insisted they were coming with me. The little turds hassling Lupe scattered like the wind when we rolled up. At least I convinced Elizabeth to stay behind. I considered that a victory but it was the only one I earned today."

"Still, you were smart enough to accept defeat gracefully," Rico said. "I believe the Kings leader will pull them aside and explain the error of their ways. If he doesn't..."

He shrugged.

Camille had finished stitching a wound on his arm and he looked at it for a moment.

"Thanks, Mom," he said as he stood.

He gave her a wink and stopped to shake Andy's hand again.

"We're out," he said. "Thank you again. I truly mean it. If either of you need anything, a single word will be all it takes."

Camille looked away but Andy nodded. At least she waited for the door to close before she lit into her son.

"What were you thinking?" she asked.

Andy had dreaded this almost as much as he dreaded the call he was going to have to make to Regan. He was positive Elizabeth had called his girlfriend as soon as Andy drove off.

"I did what I had to do," Andy said simply. "Mom, I wasn't kidding. The little bastard told me to my face that he was going to attack Lupe as soon as he got the chance. What was I supposed to do?"

"Tell a teacher!" Camille insisted. She had gone to a suburban high school that had exactly two non-white students in her four years. St. Mary's was pretty much the same.

"The fucking principal was standing right beside me when he said it!" Andy shot back angrily. "He didn't give a shit. Lupe told me that sort of stuff happens all the time in that school. The teachers turned away when the little bastards started circling her. I could have helped her out – or watched her get raped and then tried to explain to Rico why I didn't at least try to stop it. That would have been pretty. Now wouldn't it?"

"Damn it," Camille hissed. "We've lived here for almost three years without you getting involved in this stuff. We're on our way out and you're getting mixed up in gang shit. I won't have it, Andy."

"I'm not mixed up in a gang," Andy said. "Lupe is not a gang girl. I'm not in the gang. We're not carrying drugs. We're not shoplifting or turning tricks. Rico expects us to do nothing more than get good grades and stay out of trouble. Stay. Out. Of. Trouble. He was pissed that I stood up to the little pricks on school grounds. He warned me not to put my future in peril – to let the people with no future do the heavy lifting. If I tried to get into his gang, he'd beat the shit out of me. No, that's not even right. He would drag me to you by my ear and watch you beat the shit out of me. He wants me in that gang even less than I want to be in it."

Camille nodded. That fit the idea that she had kept in her head for years.

"I just get scared," she said. "Look, Evan said he has a suite at the Renaissance. Why don't you go stay with him until I find us a place to live?"

"Yeah," Andy said dismissively. "And leave you here alone at night? That's not going to happen. I'll consider it if you go with me. After I get Lupe to school in the morning. I gave her my word that I would be there for her. I won't go back on my word – not even if it pisses you off. Mom, that girl was terrified. So until school is out, I'm going to do what I have to. I'm going to give her peace of mind. She trusts me for some reason. I've only really spoken to her a few times. Maybe it's because I'm going to college. That impressed her."

"More likely it's because Rico has pointed you out as an example of something good," Camille said with a heavy sigh. "And he's right. You are a good man, Andy. You're brave and you're compassionate. But those traits scare me to death in this neighborhood. Five hundred years ago, bards would be writing about you. Today, it just marks you for danger from people who have neither bravery nor compassion. Rico is a savage. I know it's because it's survival of the fittest in his world. Andy, we have got to get out of this world."

"After I get Lupe to school tomorrow, we can move to the hotel if you want," Andy said. "I'll have to come back to help her fill out the application on Wednesday evening. But, Mom, if something happens to Rico, I will watch out for her. I will not throw her to the wolves to save myself. I couldn't live with myself."

"No," Camille said. "Do you think something might happen to Rico?"

"The Kings are tough," Andy said. "They won't take today lightly. They're not smart enough to know they can't win but they are smart enough to know that Rico is the brains behind this group."

"Do they have a name?" Camille wondered. "I mean, you talk about the other gangs in the neighborhood and call them the Kings or the Devils or whatever. When we talk about Rico it's 'the group' or 'his crew.'"

"Their called the Deuces on the street," Andy said. "The building is 222 22nd Street."

"Yeah, I'm the one who filled out our change of address form," Camille pointed out. "Just be careful. And call Regan. She's worried about you."

"God damn that Elizabeth," Andy muttered.

"What?" Camille asked. She had heard him but didn't understand the context.

"Oh, Elizabeth must have called her as soon as I left the school," Andy groused.

"Well, maybe," Camille said. "But she called me about three o'clock. I could tell she was worried about something. She said it was because you didn't call her at lunch like you usually do but I could tell it was something else. Give her a call – but don't let her know that you stood up to a gang this morning."

"She'll know," Andy said. "News like this is too hot for Elizabeth to stay quiet about."

He stood but Camille took his hand.

"When you came in, you were going to fight Tomas and his guys, weren't you?" Camille asked.

"I could think of only one reason a group of guys would be in the apartment," Andy admitted. "I wasn't sure if you were home. I was so focused on getting Lupe inside that I didn't look for your car. But I knew you might be in danger. So, yeah, I was going to fight them – and I was going to kill them if they'd hurt you or die trying."