Famous was not what I was going for but I figured infamous was more where I was headed.
I went in search of Sniff and Roam and found them in their bedroom.
I stuck my head in and said, “I want you both here all day. Later, we’re going to talk.”
“Hey Law,” Sniff called. “Fuckin’ cool what you did last night.”
I gave him a look. “Stop saying f**k,” I told him.
Sniff grinned.
I looked at Roam. He was smiling at me.
I couldn’t help myself, I smiled back.
* * * * *
It was nigh on impossible to get any work done. Kids and colleagues alike approached me. Some asked flat out if what they’d heard about last night was true (those were my kids). Some skirted the issue and looked at me like I might be a touch crazy (those were my colleagues).
I did my best to talk it down, making it sound like your normal, average, everyday drive through town in the middle of the night when you coincidentally find yourself running into two drug dealers and confronting them in an alley with a Glock (though I didn’t mention the Glock).
Furthermore my mind kept racing forward to that night, when I was going out with, and then getting laid by, Vance Crowe. I still hadn’t come up with a delay tactic and the flight to Nicaragua was looking more and more appealing as the day wore on.
I took two appointments with kids, called a couple parents, did some paperwork and, along with the talk of my adventure last night, I heard the whisperings that the kids thought it was so cool some of them wanted to try it out for themselves. This was regardless of my warning to Martin and Curtis.
I wanted to ignore it and hope it was all talk but it was beginning to become clear that I wouldn’t get that choice.
May approached me after lunch. “Hon, you’re gonna have to say somethin’. You can’t ignore this. You tell them not to do it, they won’t do it. They look up to you. They’ll listen to you.”
I looked at her not certain she was right. The kids never listened to anyone. My word might be law in the Shelter; it didn’t hold the same weight when it came to the street.
Then I looked across my cubical to Andy, the other full-time social worker. He heard May and silently nodded his head. That’s when I knew May was right.
Damn.
I pushed back my chair.
The rec room was still packed when May and I entered it and, again, everyone’s eyes swiveled to me.
May clapped her hands and announced, “Quiet, ya’ll. Eyes on Law. She’s got somethin’ to say. Clarice, you turn off that TV. We need your full attention.” When Clarice, a heavyset, sixteen year old black girl that I’d pulled from The Mall a few months ago flipped off the TV and all eyes had locked on me, May turned to me and said, “Go on, hon. Tell it like it is.”
I didn’t know how to tell it like it was but I looked at the kids staring at me and I knew I had to try.
“All right, folks, listen up,” I started. “We hear you talking about going out, thinking to avenge Park, but I’m telling you right now, you’re not going to do it. I see any of you kids on the streets, getting into different kinds of trouble than you normally find, I’ll shut you down myself. Got me?”
I was channeling Crowe Speak to make my point. Nothing gets the word across like talking like a badass mother when they thought you were a badass mother.
They all just stared at me.
“Got me?” I snapped.
The door opened but I ignored it thinking that it was just more kids arriving.
“Where’s Shard?” someone called to me. “He ain’t on the streets. Is Nightingale torturing him?”
“Yeah, you bring ‘em down and the Nightingale guys take ‘em in and make ‘em pay. Is that how it is?” someone else threw in.
I looked at the ceiling then I looked at May then I looked back at the room. Where did they get this shit?
“No, the Nightingale Investigation Team is not torturing Shard,” I answered.
At least, I didn’t think they were.
“Where is he then?” another kid called out.
“I don’t know, maybe at church, praying for his sins,” I replied.
Some kids laughed. One kid called out another question.
“You flip Jermaine like they said? Kick him in the nuts?”
“I’m not discussing what happened last night,” I said in my word-is-law voice.
“She did, it was f**king awesome,” Curtis called out, ignoring my word-is-law voice.
“Yeah and she shot at Clarence, right by his foot. Swear to God, he jumped like a spider. He was all freaked out. Thought he’d shit in his pants,” Martin added.
“Boys, quiet. Curtis, don’t say f**k. Martin, don’t say shit.” Then I addressed the entire room. “This conversation is over.”
I was losing their attention. Something had caught it and several of the kids were looking toward the door.
I forged ahead to finish my point. “I’ll say it one last time, not one of you goes on the streets looking for trouble. You do…” I hesitated, not used to badass threatening then I remembered what Vance said to me when I aimed at his Harley, “there’ll be consequences.”
They weren’t paying attention at all anymore. Most of the kids were staring at the door, some with wide eyes, some with mouths hanging open.
“Sweet baby Jesus,” May breathed from beside me.
I looked at the door. Vance, Lee and Luke were all standing there.
Vance was wearing a black turtleneck, faded jeans, black cowboy boots and a black leather jacket that hung over his hips. His hair, as usual, was pulled back in a ponytail at the base of his neck and, above all, he looked hot.
He also looked like he was about ready to burst out laughing.
Lee was standing next to him, wearing an olive drab v-necked sweater, a white t-shirt under it, jeans, boots and a clay-colored suede jacket.
Luke was next to Lee wearing head-to-toe black, a tight black t-shirt that you could see stretching across his pecs under his black motorcycle jacket, black cargo pants and black boots.
Lee and Luke also looked highly amused. It was clear they’d heard every word.
“God dammit,” I muttered under my breath.
The boys advanced into the room coming at me. The kids watched, mesmerized, their heads moving with the progress of the Nightingale Men.
“Hi boys,” I said when they arrived.
Luke half-grinned. Lee’s eyes crinkled. Vance smiled at me flat out.
“Law,” Vance said.
I rolled my eyes at him for using my street name. If it could be believed, he looked even more amused at my eye roll.