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SPACERThe entire room was alive with the early morning gossip of a high school homeroom. Mr. Taber was doing last minute corrections to his roll call book as the usual stragglers found their way in. The bell had rung many minutes ago.
SPACERThree seats remained conspicuously empty: the huddled trio of 10th Street were no where to be seen.
SPACERAt the back of the room sat the Knights in their usual positions, sunglasses always on. J-Dogg was listening to Mack tell another story about the weekend and Tank sat behind him, head dropped forward in an early morning nap.
SPACER"Well, I think it's safe to assume everyone's here who's coming," Mr. Taber announced.
SPACERThe room quieted except for a few final snickers from Mack at the rear of the class.
SPACER"Mr. Mack..." Silence. "Thank you. Now if you'll--"
SPACERTaber was cut short by the jingle of his doorknob and the loud, heavy creaking of his classroom door. Papito entered from the hallway, eyes focused on the back of the room.
SPACER"You're late, Mr. Guitterez," Taber stated the obvious. "Again," he added.
SPACERBut Papito paid him no heed. He walked passed all the staring faces toward the rear of the room where the Knights all sat, unnoticing. Mack and J-Dogg were involved in a private conversation that involved chuckling and smiles. tank snored on.
SPACER"Mr. Guitterez?" Taber began to sense something was amiss when Papito passed his own seat and continued on toward the Knights.
SPACERThe silence awoke Tank with a start. Papito walked closer to stop directly in front of Mack and J-Dogg. Tank put a hand on Mack's shoulder, eyes fixed straight ahead. Mack's words broke off mid-sentence as he turned to face Papito. J-Dogg also focused in on the silence and the Hispanic boy now standing in front of them.
SPACERPapito stood there, three paces from the two Knights and stared.
SPACERJ-Dogg turned and gave Palo Guitterez a dismissing glance. "What the fuck do you want?"
SPACERIn one fluid motion, Papito yanked open his flannel shirt, snatched out a belted 9mm pistol, and fired it point blank into J-Dogg's chest. Blood hit Tank in the face and splattered the blackboard beside him.
SPACERThe rest of the students screamed. A few ran for the door. Taber hit the intercom above his desk and yelled for security.
SPACERBefore Papito could turn the gun on either of the remaining Knights, Mack was up and on top of him. He ripped the bandanna off Papito's head and grabbed a fistful of hair. With his other hand, he gripped the shooter's wrist. Mack turned Papito's frightened face to look him in the eyes, now two fiery red orbs twinkling to complement the toothy grin on his face.
SPACERAlmost effortlessly, Mack shadowed the boy's grip, aimed Papito's gun at his own throat, and fired. More blood splattered everywhere, along with chunks of skull and brain matter.
SPACERTank was under J-Dogg, holding his head. He looked up to see Mack and the mess he had made out of Papito's body. He glanced at the classroom and could hear somewhere far off someone was calling security. The two Knights glanced back to each other.
SPACER"Run!"
SPACERIn a flash, Mack dropped the faceless corpse that had once been Palo Guitterez and tore out the door. -
SPACERTank looked down at the fluttering eyelids of his friend's face. His eyes were red underneath and reddening more by the second.
SPACER"Shit, man!" Tank begged. "Not here..." He jumped up, dumping J-Dogg's head to the bloody tile. He grabbed the purse away from a girl three seats away and dumped its contents onto her desk.
SPACERTank sorted through the purse's contents: mirror, lipstick, phone book, some pens, a rubber...there! He snatched up the cellular phone and dialed on it.
SPACERHe paused, looking frantically about. Taber had fled the room, as had the rest of the students, but he could hear him directing the heavy, hurried footsteps he knew to be security guards in Mack's direction down the hallway. He heard him say the words 'calm', 'ambulance', and 'punk' as they ran on. Tank heard the phone pick up. He punched three digits in and threw the phone to the floor.
SPACERTank made his way over to his fallen companion and sat over his bleeding body. He slapped at J-Dogg's face a few times.
SPACER"Dogg? Dogg, wake up, man! We gotta get the hell outta here!"
SPACERJ-Dogg sat up instantly, breathing rapidly. "Fuck!" he cried out. "I'm gonna kill that little spic-fuck!"
SPACERTank gathered his wounded cohort up off the floor and threw one arm over his shoulder.
SPACER"Too late," he said.
SPACERThey made their way passed the late Palo Guitterez to the door. -
SPACERThe two security guards followed the frantic teacher's instructions. One of them was an ex-cop by the name of Bennie Lawrence; an old black guard who knew all he wanted to about the Knights. Racist pricks, he had called them. The other was a young female: Shannon Townes. She had turned twenty-five last Monday. Shannon had never worked in a high school, sticking mostly to warehouse and delivery security. She never expected to be running after a homicidal teenager.
SPACERThe guards caught sight of their perpetrator bounding into a stairwell. they heard a yell, then a curse from the stairs. The two pursuers continued down the hall to the double doors that opened to the southeastern stairs.
SPACERPausing to cover one another, firearms drawn, they threw open the doors to find Mr. Shell waiting for them. he was out of breath and his massive chest was heaving.
SPACER"I scared him (pant) coming up the stairs...(pant) He went up to the cafeteria!"
SPACERThe younger guard waited for no instruction from her senior partner, and raced up the stairs after him. Bennie keyed his radio. "He's on the fourth floor, entering the cafeteria. We've got the southeast stairwell. Don't let him cross the bridge!" -
SPACERTank kicked open the door and startled Taber in the hallway. faces were pressed in every classroom doorway, peering about for signs of the situation they were sure would be worth talking about on the bus ride home. Taber had been trying to get them back into classes and calmed.
SPACER"Where the hell do you think you're going with that?" he said, nodding at J-Dogg's bloody form. the red stains had oozed down his chest and jeans, leaving streaks on the otherwise clean tiles.
SPACER"I', getting him outta here, Tabs," Tank said coldly with a stare that dared Taber to try and stop them.
SPACER"But you can't just--I mean--he's..."
SPACERTank ignored Taber's words only because he didn't take the dare. He continued down the hall, half-dragging J-Dogg's body to the stairwell. -
SPACERMack had nearly broke his ankle trying to stop mid-leap when he saw Mr. Shell's obese form charging up the stairs at him. he reversed himself and bolted for the fourth floor, reaching the top stair even before the other two guards had caught up.
SPACERMack smashed through the door out into the cafeteria. The open area was full of people eating and talking. No one seemed to notice the determined look on Mack's face.
SPACERMack broke into a run for the bridge that connected the east and west sides of his high school. As he rounded the corner, he caught the full weight of a third security guard that knocked him back. the guard lost hold of the radio he was carrying. At this, the cafeteria erupted into gasps of shock and cheers of rebellion.
SPACERShannon broke through the stairwell doors just as Mack was getting to his feet. the guard he had collided with attempted to draw his firearm. "Hey, you! Stay where you are!"
SPACERMack ran for the other stairs across the cafeteria's length, passed staring faces and cheering troublemakers.
SPACER'Home free,' he thought to himself. -
SPACEROnce down the six flights of stairs that stood between them and the outside, tank pulled J-Dogg through the front doors of Hutch Tech's hallowed halls. He looked around the downtown community. No one seemed to notice his bloody, bleeding companion. He could hear sirens in the distance.
SPACERTank laid J-Dogg down and slapped his face a few more times. "Are you with me, Big Dogg?" A deep moan replied. "Does it hurt?"
SPACER"Yea, it fuckin' hurts! I got shot in the fuckin' chest, you asshole!" His grating voice was pushing through clenched teeth.
SPACERThe familiar roar of Bryce's 'Cuda made Tank look up from his friend's face. Bryce got out of his car, leaving the engine running, and walked briskly over to his fellow Knights.
SPACER"What the fuck is going on here, ladies?" he asked. His expression changed when he saw the blood seeping between Tank's fingers that he had placed to try and stop the wound. "Shit," he said, flicking away his cigarette. "Get him in the car and let's get the fuck outta here." He paused and, as if in afterthought, asked, "Who did this?"
SPACER"Papito," Tank answered as helped J-Dogg to the vehicle and opened the passenger door.
SPACER"I shoulda known that fuckin' spic woulda tried something...big balls for a little shit like him." A puzzling, almost hopeful look crossed Bryce's face. "He is dead though, right?"
SPACER"Yea," Tank replied. "He's dead."
SPACER"So where's Mack?" Bryce asked looking around. -
SPACERMack thought smugly of himself, having outrun and outsmarted three incompetent high school security guards. All he had to do is get out of the building. Tank should've called Bryce by now. He was close to the double doors that led to freedom and thought the chase was over.
SPACERMack's thoughts fell away and his face frowned when Bennie emerged from the double doors, gun pointed straight at his head.
SPACER"Freeze!"
SPACERMack did freeze. The guard he had knocked over was up now, weapon drawn. The female also moved in, trying to surround him. He looked about for another route of exit, but saw none. Mack scanned their faces. His eyes met Bennie's for a moment.
SPACER"C'mon, kid..." the female called out. "It's over."
SPACERNot yet it ain't, he thought. I didn't win...
SPACERHis eyes fell back to Bennie.
SPACER"I told you I'd nail you one day, punk," Bennie said with a grin. Mack grinned back. He stepped up onto the nearest table, much to the surprise of its occupants.
SPACER"Put your hands on your head," the third guard called loudly, "and get down on the floor!"
SPACERMack looked to the enormous cafeteria window to his right, only fifteen feet away. He could see the familiar black Plymouth sitting out front and Tank loading J-Dogg into it. He looked up at Bennie and grinned wider still.
SPACER"Do it now!" the guard reinforced. All was silent. Even the rowdiest students held their breath.
SPACERMack burst into a run across the table, kicking up beans and coleslaw as he went. He ran across its length as surprised diners slid their chairs back and away from the table-racing menace. He hit he window at full speed. Mack plunged into and through the fourth floor window of Hutch Tech High School's cafeteria and out into the atmosphere beyond. -
SPACERThe crashing glass behind him answered Bryce's question. He saw the shards fall parallel to the form of the final Knight. He smiled and climbed calmly into his driver's seat. He turned his head just in time to see Mack's body hit the ground. He turned to look at Tank nursing J-Dogg in the back seat.
SPACER"We're outta here, brothers." Bryce peered back out his window and yelled at he boy who raced across Hutch Tech's front lawn toward his car. "C'mon, Mack! Let's go!"
SPACERMack climbed into the 'Cuda, short of breath. The two of them looked at each other and smiled. Bryce put the black car in gear and squealed its wheels as Mack screamed a final whoop out the window. -