Of course, doing that is going to totally blow my cover.
I know the kids at school have gossiped themselves into thinking Josh knows some kind of kung fu, but no way am I going to convince anybody that I do, too.
Everybody's going to know that I'm a Wildling.
Chaingang
Damn. I see Vincenzo as soon as I step out the door and figure, this is it. He's tired of waiting on me and he's making his own play. Why the hell did I leave that gun inside?
Josh moves to my side. He glances at me and I guess he sees something in my face.
"Do you know that guy?" he asks.
"No."
It's not a complete lie. I don't know the first thing about Vincenzo, except that he's stronger than hell and he wants Josh dead. But I don't know him. I don't want to know him. I just want him dead.
Fat chance that's going to happen any time soon.
But that doesn't mean I'm just going to roll over for him.
I don't have the gun. I'm still holding my crowbar, but it didn't help me all that much the last time. The only difference is, now I know how fast and strong he is. Maybe I can work with that. Use that speed of his against him. Psyche him out, get him to commit, then hit him hard from a direction he's not expecting.
Times like this, I wish my Wildling aspect were more along the lines of Josh's. A little mouse? Not so scary. A big freaking mountain lion? Now we're talking.
"So why's he looking at us like that?" Josh asks. "Do you think he's with the bandas?"
"I doubt it. And besides, Chico gave his word."
"And how much stock can we put in that?"
"Not a hell of a lot, I suppose."
I've got to tell Josh what's really going down, but this definitely isn't the time or place. Not with Vincenzo standing there across the street, giving us the evil eye. He can probably hear every word we're saying.
Beside me, Josh is still studying Vincenzo.
"He must be one of the real old cousins," Josh says. "I've never felt the Wildling vibe so strong."
"I hear you, bro."
I don't know why Vincenzo's making such a big production out of it. If he's here to finish this, he should just do it. Me? I wouldn't be showboating. I'd step up and do the dirty deed—wham, bam, that's all she wrote—and then I'd be gone. Playing games is for chumps.
But I guess he figures he's got all the odds on his side, so he can do whatever the hell he wants.
When he steps off the curb, I tighten my grip on the crowbar. I want to tell Josh to take off while he can. But the truth is, I'm going to need that mountain lion under his skin if either of us is going to get out of this alive.
I turn to tell him to change right now, screw the consequences, but before I can get the words out, I notice a black SUV coming down South Shore Drive, slowing as it approaches Casa Raphael. Vincenzo waits for it to go by, except it doesn't. It turns into the parking lot.
The windows are tinted, so I can't see inside. I doubt it's any of the Kings coming back for a rematch. It's too soon for that and the only use they have for a vehicle like this is to boost it and take it to some chop shop. Then the window rolls down and I see it's one of the FBI agents who've been dogging Josh's ass. Beside him is the other.
Matteson and Solana.
"How did they find me?" Josh says to me before they get out of the car. "I didn't tell anybody where I was going and I left my phone at home."
They're Feds, I think. They're probably using a satellite feed. But I don't tell him that. Right now I don't care how they found him. I'm more interested in what Vincenzo is up to, but when I look back to the street he's gone.
The Feds get out of their car. The white guy stays by it, leaning on the hood. His partner walks toward us.
"I've been trying to reach you all afternoon," Solana says to Josh.
"Yeah, I forgot my phone when I left the house this morning," Josh says.
"Uh-huh."
"How did you know I'd be here?"
Solana doesn't answer right away. He just looks over at the telephone wires crossing South Shore. On a far pole, a red-tailed hawk is perched.
"Educated guess," he says.
I think about the guy inside the taquería who said he's from some hawk pueblo and give Solana a sharp look. Just what the hell's going on here?
"You're looking better than the last time I saw you," he says. "A couple of days ago I wanted to take you to the hospital, but look at you now."
I noticed that, too. When the shift from his Wildling shape and back saved his life, it also healed every scabbed cut and bruise he'd been wearing before. Until this moment, I hadn't realized how that might be a problem. Solana just seems curious, but I don't like the way his partner is studying Josh. I can almost see the cogs of his mind turning as he tries to figure it out.
"I heal fast," Josh says.
Solana nods. "I guess you do."
"Well, here I am," Josh tells him, not hiding the edge in his voice. "What did you want?"
I'm kind of surprised. Josh is a good kid. He doesn't have the experience of being on the wrong side of the cops for as long as I have, so I'd expect him to at least be polite and a little nervous. Instead he sounds irritated and he isn't trying to hide it.
The Fed seems surprised by Josh's attitude, too, but he tries not to show it.
"The name Rod Harper mean anything to you?" he asks.
Josh shakes his head. "Who's he?"
"One of the Black Key Securities guards who was working at ValentiCorp when you got snatched. He's turned up dead—just like his boss."
I've been trying to figure where Vincenzo got to—you have to be subtle about that kind of thing around cops. Keep looking around yourself while they're talking to you? The suspicion alarm goes up a notch. But the mention of Black Key draws my attention back to them.
"Will you get off my back? You really think I did it?" Josh says.
Matteson steps away from the SUV.
"A little less attitude, kid," he tells Josh.
Solana holds up a hand. "I've got this, Paul. Nobody's thinking you're good for it," he adds, directing his attention back to Josh. "You're not even on the radar."
"Then why are you telling me about it?"
"Use your head," Solana says. "Maybe the Sheriff's office isn't looking at you—and I know our office isn't—but that doesn't mean the surviving members of that Black Key team aren't going to consider you."
"Oh, come on. Seriously?"
But he doesn't look like he's joking and neither does his partner.
"Okay," Josh says. "So you're serious. What am I supposed to do about it?"
"Be careful?" Solana says.
Josh nods. "And you came all the way out here to tell me that?"
"Well, I would've called but you …"
He lets the words trail off.
"I left my phone at home," Josh finishes.
"We're just saying, maybe you consider lying low," Solana says. "Stick close to home. Don't go anywhere by yourself for a while—not even to school."
Josh is shaking his head halfway through what Solana's telling him.
"Look, I appreciate your letting me know," he says, "and I'll keep an eye out for these guys, but I'm not going to just stick my head in the sand until this all goes away."
"Try thinking straight," Matteson tells him. "These Black Key guys trained as soldiers. They're ex-marines and SEALs. If they're hunting you, you'll never even see them coming."
Josh nods. "Oh, yeah, and my house is like a fortress that they couldn't get into, right?"
Matteson frowns. "Listen, kid. I don't appreciate your pissy—"
Josh holds up a hand. "I'm not mouthing off. And I'm grateful for the heads-up. I'm just pointing out that the only way I could be safe is if I was in some little holding cell with an army of guards protecting me. That's not living. And how long would I be stuck there?"
"You're not going to change a damn thing, are you?"
Josh shakes his head
. "But I promise I'll be extra careful."
The Feds exchange looks. They're like an old married couple who don't have to talk to communicate. Matteson lifts an eyebrow and Solana shrugs.
"Okay," Matteson says. "But can I have a word in private with you, Josh?"
He walks away, to the other side of the car. Josh hesitates. He gives me a look, then shrugs and follows after. He knows as well as I do that my Wildling hearing will let me follow the conversation.
I do another quick scan for Vincenzo. Still nothing. Not knowing what he's up to is making me more nervous than seeing him standing there across the street did.
"Do you know who you're running with?" Matteson asks when Josh joins him. "His brother runs the local Crips and he's got a rap sheet."
"I know."
"You're not doing yourself any favours hanging around with a guy like that."
"I don't know about that other stuff," Josh says. "I just know he's my friend."
"Who takes you for a little ride into the River Kings' turf? Come on, kid. You're just lucky you haven't run into any of the bangers yet. Friends don't put friends into situations like this."
Josh just shrugs.
"Jesus, kid," Matteson says. "I'm trying to do you a favour here. Don't you think you've seen enough trouble with that ValentiCorp business? You really want to get caught up in gang crap now?"
I keep scanning for Vincenzo while I listen to them. Then I become aware of Solana and realize that I wasn't being as subtle as I'd like to think I was.
"Expecting someone?" he asks.
"Well, you know. I don't really have the home-ground advantage around here."
Solana nods. "What are you doing here?"
That's when it occurs to me that the Feds might decide to take a walk into the taquería, and then we're really going to be hip deep in crap.
"We're supposed to meet a guy with a board Josh is looking to buy. But he's late. Maybe you scared him off."
I see Josh's head go up and know he's listening to us at the same time as he's listening to Matteson, who's now listing off all the crimes I'm suspected of having committed. It's an interesting list. Most of the stuff is pure bullshit. I figure he's just making crap up to scare Josh off.
"And you were planning to haul a board back on this bike of yours?" Solana is saying.
"And that's weird because?" I ask.
Solana's getting irritated with me.
"Why'd you come here?" he calls over to Josh.
"To buy a board," Josh replies. "Guy was supposed to show up with a vintage Dogtown, but we've been waiting for an hour now. Looks like he's a no-show."
"A board?" Solana repeats.
Josh nods. "Yeah, a skateboard. Why?"
"No reason."
Solana turns back to me. I give him an innocent look that he doesn't buy.
"I need to roll," I tell him. "You got anything else you want to discuss?"
They wind it down quickly after that.
"Agent Matteson doesn't like you," Josh says as we watch the SUV pull out of the lot.
"You think?"
Josh doesn't answer. Instead he looks back at the taquería. Disbelief washes over his features and he looks kind of innocent, like he used to.
"What was I even thinking?" he says. "Do you know anybody else as stupid as me?"
It wasn't the brightest move, letting all the Kings see his Wildling shape, but it's not like he had a choice.
"It worked out okay, bro," is all I say.
"If Tío Goyo hadn't stepped up," he says, "I think I would have killed them all."
"Or at least the ones I didn't."
He looks at me. "And that doesn't bother you?"
"Should it?" I ask him. "Someone comes after me and mine, I've got only two words for them: no mercy."
"And you don't think about them? They don't haunt you?
I shake my head.
"I do," he says. "That woman in the lab? I think about her all the time."
"Do you think about what she was going to do to you? What she already did to those other kids? Do you think any of that ever kept her up at night?"
He shakes his head. "But I'm still not sure that gave me the right to take her life."
There's not much I can say, so I give the area another quick scan. Still no sign of Vincenzo. But that doesn't mean anything.
"Are we done here?" I ask.
Josh gives a slow nod.
"You sure?" I ask. "You don't want to stick around to see if that guy shows up with the vintage board?"
That gets me a twitch of a smile.
I straddle my bike and start it up. I love the sound of that engine, deep and throaty.
"Get on," I tell him. "We need to talk. Nobody will be able to hear us over the sound of this, especially if we're moving."
"Who do you think is listening?"
"Would you just get on."
"Okay, okay," he says. "But I need to get back to school to meet Ampora, so we can pick up her sisters."
"Nobody's gunning for them anymore," I say as we pull out onto South Shore.
"Unless they didn't get the memo."
"There's that, bro. So tell me. What's the deal with these hawk uncles?"
"I'm not really sure," Josh says. Then he tells me about his conversation with Solana earlier this morning outside of Ampora's house. "You buy any of that?" I ask when he finishes.
"You saw how the Kings reacted to Tío Goyo."
"I guess. But shaman warriors, bro? What's going to show up next? A bunch of zombies? Maybe a vampire? Gotta tell ya. I'm not rocking the Creature Feature vibe."
"If we can exist—Wildlings, I mean—who's to say what else is out there?"
Vincenzo for one, I think, but I don't say that. I was going to bring Josh into the loop about Vincenzo, but I've changed my mind. First I want to see what Marina was able to find out from Cory. Maybe I can take the sucker down before I have to tell Josh about him.
"I don't get any kind of a Wildling vibe from Solana," I say.
"Me, neither."
"So what is he?"
"What he says he is, I guess," Josh says. "A guy who's seen a little deeper under the skin of the world than most people have."
"I don't trust him."
"I think I do."
"Be careful with that, bro."
"I'm more worried about these ValentiCorp guards. If they're really after me, what's to stop one of them from coming after me with a sniper rifle?"
"One thing at a time," I tell him. "Check in with Ampora. Make sure things are cool with her little sisters. We can hook up later and do some brainstorming."
"I appreciate—you know. Everything."
I think to myself, are you really going to appreciate me when Vincenzo gets his way?
But all I say is, "I told you a long time ago that I'd have your back."
As we approach Sunny Hill, there's still an hour before classes end for the day, so Josh asks me to let him off a block away. He looks around when he gets off the bike, his gaze going high, scanning the telephone poles and trees—for hawks, I guess. I look for Vincenzo. Neither of us sees what we're looking for.
"You sure you don't want some backup?" I ask. "In case the local yokels haven't got their new orders from Fat Boy yet?"
"No, I think I can handle some kids."
You're just a kid, I think, except I'm beginning to understand that he's a lot more than that.
I just nod. "Later, bro."
I ride a couple more blocks, then pull over into an alley to send Marina a text. I kill the engine under the shade of a Jacaranda tree and put the bike on its stand, but before I can get off, Vincenzo is beside me. He shows up out of nowhere. One minute I'm alone, the next big ugly's in my face.
"The boy is still alive," he says.
Right to the point, no small talk. But that's fine with me. The less time I have to be around this freak, the happier I am.
"Look," I tell Vincenzo. "I did the best I could. I led him into an ambu
sh and the Kings freakin' killed him."
That earns me a frown. "Do you take me for a fool? I saw him walk out of the taquería with you."
"Yeah, well, the dying part didn't take."
"I don't find this amusing."
"And you think I do? I'm stuck between making sure some innocent kid gets offed or you killing my family. The last thing I want to do is piss you off."
He studies me for a long moment, then gives a slow nod.
"Tell me what happened," he says.
"There's not much to tell. One of the bangers shot him point blank, blew a hole in him the size of a fist. He goes down and there's blood everywhere. Then he changes into a lion and gets back up and the bangers are out of that place like the devil's on their ass."
He's nodding as I talk.
"I saw them come streaming out of the taquería. But how did the boy survive? Are you sure he was dead?"
"Not dead enough, apparently, but man, you don't just get up and walk away after getting hit the way he did. I heard him take his last breath. I heard his heart stop. But then he gets up all the same. I've never seen anything like it."
He's still nodding. "But there was no blood on him—on his shirt—when he came out with you."
"Yeah, we made some old guy in there give us a shirt."
"What old man?"
"How would I know? Just some old guy eating lunch. Go look for yourself. There's no way they've cleaned that place up already."
"This complicates everything," Vincenzo says.
"Look, you want me to keep going after the kid, I will."
"Let me think on it first."
"And the deadline?"
"Everything is on hold. I'll get back to you."
"Yeah, but my family?"
"They're all right for now. Unless I find out you've been lying."
And then he's gone again. But I know the trick he's using. He didn't just vanish. He stepped into the otherworld—the same one we ended up in when we did that frontal assault on ValentiCorp. I still haven't figured out how to make the sidestep into it, but then, I haven't been trying. Now I'm thinking that might be a useful trick to have hidden up my sleeve.