Chapter Twenty-Four

Y ou're in trouble, " Brother Leon said.

You're in trouble, not me, Archie wanted to answer. But didn't. He had never spoken to Leon on the telephone before and the disembodied voice at the other end of the line had caught him off balance.

" What's the matter? " Archie asked cautiously, but knowing, of course.

" The chocolates, " Leon said. " They're not selling. The entire sale is in jeopardy. " Leon's breath filled in the gaps between the words as if he'd been running a long distance. Was he on the edge of panic?

" How bad is it? " Archie asked, relaxing now, stalling. He knew how bad it was.

" It could hardly be worse. The sale is more than half finished. The initial push is over. There is no momentum. Half the chocolates haven't been sold yet. And the sales are virtually at a standstill. " Leon paused in the recital. " You're not being very effective, Archie. "

Archie shook his head in grudging admiration. Here was Leon with his back to the wall and still he was on the offensive. You're not being very effective, Archie.

" You mean the finances are bad? " Archie taunted, launching his own offensive. To Leon, it may have sounded like a shot in the dark but it wasn't. The question was based on information Archie had received that afternoon from Brian Cochran.

Cochran had stopped him in the second-floor corridor and motioned Archie into an empty classroom. Archie had been reluctant. The kid was Leon's book-keeper and probably his stooge. But the information revealed that Cochran was no stooge for Leon.

" Listen, I think Leon's in deep trouble. There's more than chocolates involved here, Archie. "

Archie resented Cochran's familiarity, the use of his name. But he didn't say anything, curious about what the kid had to say.

" I overheard Leon talking with Brother Jacques. Jacques was trying to back him into a corner. He kept mentioning something about Leon abusing his power of attorney. That he'd overextended the school's finances. That was his exact word 'overextended. ' The chocolates came into it. Something about twenty thousand boxes and Leon paying cash in advance. I didn't hear all of it… I got out of there before they could find out I was around…"

" So what do you think, Cochran? " Archie asked, although he knew. Leon needed at least twenty thousand dollars to draw even with the school.

" I think Leon bought the chocolates with money that he wasn't supposed to use. Now, the sale's going lousy and he's caught in the middle. And Brother Jacques smells a rat…"

" Jacques is sharp, " Archie said, remembering how Jacques, had acted on Archie's anonymous tip about the word " environment" — making the class look ridiculous, Obie among them. " Good job, Cochran. "

Cochran beamed at the praise. Encouraged, he drew some sheets of paper out of a book he was carrying. " Take a look at this stuff sometime, Archie. It's facts and figures about this year's sale and last year's. And it's all bad. I think Leon's on the run…"

But Cochran really didn't know Leon, Archie realized now as the teacher's voice came vibrantly over the line. Leon had ignored Archie's taunt about finances and had resumed his offensive.

" I thought you had influence, Archie. You and your…friends. "

" It's not my sale, Brother Leon. "

" It's your sale in more ways than you realize, Archie, " Leon said, sighing. It was his phony sigh, his usual act. " You played games at the beginning, Archie, with that freshman Renault and got yourself involved. Now, the game has backfired. "

Renault. Archie thought of the kid's refusal to sell, his ridiculous defiance. He remembered the triumph in Obie's voice when he'd told him of Renault's action — it's your move, Archie baby. But it was always Archie's move anyway.

And he moved now. " Just a minute, ", he told Brother Leon. He put down the phone and went to the den where he removed Cochran's data from his U. S. History textbook. Returning to the phone, he said, " I've got some figures here about last year's sale. Do you know they barely sold all the chocolates last year? Kids are getting tired of selling stuff. Last year, it took a lot of prizes and bonuses to get the kids to sell only twenty-five boxes at one dollar a box. And this year they're stuck with fifty boxes at two dollars each. That's why the sale is falling apart — not because of games being played. "

Brother Leon's breathing filled the line, as if he were some kind of obscene phone caller.

" Archie, " he said, whispering, menace in the whisper, as if the information he had to impart was too terrible to be spoken aloud. " I don't care about fun and games. I don't care whether it's Renault or your precious organization or the state of the economy. All I know is that the chocolates aren't being sold. And I want them sold! "

" Any ideas about how? " Archie said, fighting for time again. Funny, he knew Leon was in a precarious position and yet there was always the danger of underestimating him. He still had the authority of the school behind him. Archie had only his wits and a bunch of guys who were all big zeroes without him.

" Perhaps you should begin with Renault, " Leon said " I think he should be made to say 'yes' instead of 'no. ' I'm convinced, Archie, that he's become a symbol to those who would like to see the sale defeated. The malingerers, the malcontents — they always rally around a rebel. Renault must sell the chocolates. And you, The Vigils — yes, I'm saying the name aloud — The Vigils must throw their full weight behind the sale…"

" That's quite an order, Brother. "

" You've spoken the correct word, Archie. Order — it is an order. "

" I don't know what you mean, Brother. "

" I'll make it clear, Archie. If the sale goes down the drain, you and The Vigils also go down the drain. Believe me…"

Archie was about to respond, tempted to let Leon know that he had learned about the financial trouble, but he didn't get the chance. Leon, that bastard, had already hung up and the dial tone exploded in Archie's ear.