Chapter Twenty-Seven

T hey shouldn't have picked Frankie Rollo for as assignment, of course. A junior, Rollo was insolent, a troublemaker. He was a non-participant, refusing to take part in athletics or extra-curricular activities that were so important in the Trinity scene. He seldom opened a book and never did any homework, but he managed to survive because he possessed a native and cunning intelligence. His major talent was cheating. He was also lucky. Under ordinary circumstances, he was the kind of guy Archie took pleasure in assigning, watching him bend or break. All these so-called rough characters melted into ninety-seven-pound weaklings when confronted by Archie and The Vigils The scorn and the swagger evaporated as they stood ill-at-ease in the storage room. But not Frankie Rollo. He stood loose and easy, unintimidated.

" Your name? " Archie asked.

" Come on, Archie, " Rollo replied, smiling at all this foolishness. " You know my name. "

The silence was awesome. But before that silence, a gasp from someone in the room. Archie was careful to keep his poker face, intent on not betraying an emotion. But he was shaken inside. No one had ever reacted this way before. No one had ever challenged Archie or an assignment.

" Let's not have any crap, Rollo, " growled Carter. " Let's hear your name. "

A pause. Archie swore silently. It was irritating to have Carter step in that way, as if he was coming to Archie's rescue. Ordinarily, Archie ran the meetings his way, not anybody else's way.

Rollo shrugged. " My name is Frankie Rollo, " he announced in sing-song fashion.

" You think you're a big shot, don't you? " Archie asked.

Rollo didn't respond but the smirk on his face was an eloquent answer.

" A big shot, " Archie repeated, as if savoring the word, but stalling, playing for time, shifting his thoughts, knowing it would be necessary to improvise, to turn this insolent bastard into a victim.

" You said it, not me, " Rollo said smugly.

" We like big shots here, " Archie said. " In fact, that's our specialty — turning big shots into little shots. "

" Cut the shit, will you, Archie? " Rollo said. " You're not impressing anybody. "

Again that terrible silence, like a shock wave, stunning the room, an invisible blow. Even Obie who had looked forward to the day when a victim would defy the great Archie Costello blinked in disbelief.

" What did you say? " Archie asked, biting off every word and spitting it at Rollo.

" Hey, you guys, " Rollo said, swiveling away from Archie and addressing the entire assembly. " I'm not a scared kid who pees his pants because the big bad Vigils call him to a meeting. Hell, you guys can't even scare a punk freshman into selling a few lousy chocolates. "

" Look, Rollo, " Archie began.

But he didn't have a chance to finish as Carter leaped to his feet. Carter had been waiting for a moment like this for months, his hands itching for action in the storage room instead of sitting there week by week as Archie played his little cat-and-mouse games.

" 'That's enough out of you, Rollo, " Carter said. Simultaneously, his hand shot out and struck Rollo on the jaw. Rollo's head snapped back — snap like a knuckle cracking — and he bellowed with pain. As Rollo lifted his hands to his face in tardy defense, Carter's fist sank sickeningly into his stomach. Rollo groaned and retched, doubled over, clutching himself in disbelief, gasping for breath. He was shoved from behind, and dropped to the floor coughing and spitting, crawling on all fours.

A muffled roar of approval rose from The Vigils. At last, action, physical action, something you could see with your own eyes.

" Get him out of here, " Carter said.

Rollo was picked up by two Vigil members and half-carried, half-dragged toward the doorway. Archie had watched Rollo's swift demolition in dismay. He resented Carter's quick move into the spotlight, the way the guys had cheered Carter on. It had placed Archie at a disadvantage for the first time as assigner because Rollo had only been the curtain raiser, a bit of amusement Obie had arranged to enliven the proceedings. Actually, the meeting had been called to discuss Renault and what could be done about the stubborn freshman who refused to fall into line.

Carter called for order, banging his gavel on the table. In the developing silence, they could hear Rollo being dumped onto the gymnasium floor outside and then the sound of vomiting like a toilet being flushed.

" Okay, quiet, " Carter demanded, as if he were yelling at Rollo to quit throwing up. Then he turned to Archie. " Sit down, " he said. Archie recognized the command in Carter's voice. For a moment, he was tempted to challenge him but he realized that The Vigils had approved Carter's action against Rollo. This was no time to have a showdown with Carter, it was time to play it cool, cool. Archie sat.

" We've arrived at the moment of truth, Archie, " Carter said. " And here's how I read it — tell me if I'm wrong. When a gross creep like Rollo comes in here and challenges The Vigils, then there's something wrong. Very wrong. We can't afford to have guys like Rollo thinking they can screw around with us. The word will spread and The Vigils fall apart. " Carter paused to let them imagine the dissolution of The Vigils. " Now, I said that something is very wrong. And I'll tell you who's wrong. We are. "

His words were greeted with surprise.

" How come we're wrong? " Obie, the perennial straight man, called out.

" First of all, because we let our name get connected with the goddam chocolate sale. Like it's our baby or something. Second of all, like Rollo said, we let a punk freshman make fools out of us. " He turned to Archie. " Right, Archie? " The question was loaded with malice.

Archie didn't say anything. He was suddenly in a roomful of strangers and he decided to do nothing at all. When in doubt, play the waiting game. Watch for an opening. It would be ridiculous to disagree with Carter, of course. Word had been spreading throughout the school — the kid had refused to sell the chocolates in direct defiance of The Vigils. That's why they had assembled here this afternoon.

" Obie, show us what you found this morning on the bulletin board, " Carter said.

Obie was eager to comply. Reaching under his chair he withdrew a poster that he had folded in two. Unfolded, the poster was about the size of an ordinary kitchen window. Obie held it up for all to see. The poster proclaimed in scrawled, scarlet letters —

SCREW THE CHOCOLATES

AND

SCREW THE VIGILS

" I saw the poster because I was late for math, " Obie explained. " It was on the bulletin board in the main corridor. "

" Do you think many guys saw it? " Carter asked.

" No. I'd shot by the bulletin board a minute before on the way to my locker for my math book. And the poster wasn't there. Chances are hardly anybody saw it. "

" You think Renault put it up? " someone asked.

" No, " Carter snorted. " Renault doesn't have to go around putting up posters. He's been saying screw The Vigils and the chocolates for weeks now. But this shows what's happening. The word is spreading. If Renault can get away with defying us, other people are gonna try. " Finally, he turned to Archie. " Okay, Archie. You're the brains of the outfit. And you also got us into this mess. Where do we go from here? "

" You're pushing panic buttons for nothing, " Archie said, voice quiet and casual. He knew what he must do — regain his previous status, wipe away the memory of Rollo's defiance and prove that he, Archie Costello, was still in command. He had to show them that he could take care of both Renault and the chocolates. And he was ready for them. While Carter had been making speeches and Obie flashing his poster around, Archie's mind had been racing, probing, testing. He always worked better under pressure, anyway. " First of all, you can't go around beating up half the kids in the school. That's why I usually lay off the strong-arm stuff in the assignments. The brothers would close us down in no time and the kids would really start sabotaging if we started hurting people. " Noticing Carter's frown, Archie decided to throw him a bone — Carter still ran the meetings and as Vigils president he could be a dangerous adversary. " All right, Carter, I'll admit you did a beautiful job on Rollo and he had it coming. But nobody gives a damn about Rollo. He can lay in his vomit till kingdom come and nobody'd care. But Rollo's an exception. "

" Rollo's an example, " Carter said. " Let the word spread about Rollo and we won't have to worry about other kids acting wise or putting up posters. "

Anticipating a deadlock on that topic, Archie changed directions. " But that doesn't sell chocolates, Carter, " Archie said. " You told us The Vigils are linked up with the sale. Then the solution is simple. Let's get the goddam sale over with as soon as possible. Let's sell the chocolates. If Renault's turning into some kind of rebel hero because he's not selling the chocolates, how the hell is he going to look when everybody in the school is selling, except him? "

Murmurs of assent came from the members, but Carter appeared doubtful. " And how do we get everybody in the school to start selling the chocolates, Archie? "

Archie allowed himself the indulgence of a quiet, confident laugh, but closed his fists to hide his moist palms. " Simple, Carter. Like all great schemes and plans, it has the beauty of simplicity. " The guys waited, spellbound as always when Archie began to outline assignments and plans. " We make selling chocolates popular. We make it cool to sell the things. We spread the word. We organize. We bring in the class officers, the homeroom officers, the student council, the kids with influence. Do or die for good old Trinity! Everybody sells! "

" Not everybody will want to sell fifty boxes, Archie, " Obie called out, disturbed because somehow Archie had taken charge again — he had them eating out of his hand.

" They will, Obie, " Archie predicted, " they will. Do your thing, they say, Obie, do your thing. Well, we're going to make selling chocolates the thing to do. And The Vigils will come out on top as usual. The school will love us for it — getting rid of their chocolates. We'll be able to write our own ticket with Leon and the brothers. Why do you think I pledged support to Leon in the first place? " Archie's voice was gentle with assurance, the old gentleness they all recognized as Archie's hallmark when he was sailing high, wide and handsome. They admired the way Carter had employed his fists to demolish Rollo but they felt more secure with Archie in command, Archie who was capable of surprise after surprise.

" How about Renault? " Carter asked.

" Don't worry about Renault. "

" But I do, I worry about him, " Carter said, sarcastically. " He's making patsies out of us. "

" The Renault thing will take care of itself, " Archie said. Couldn't Carter and the others see? Were they so blind to human nature, to developing situations? " Let me put it this way, Carter. Before the sale is over, Renault will be wishing with all his heart that he had sold the chocolates. And the school will be glad he didn't. "

" Okay, " Carter said, banging the gavel. He always banged the gavel when he was unsure of himself. The gavel was an extension of his fist. But feeling that Archie had somehow eluded him, had somehow won a victory, Carter said, " Look, Archie, if this backfires, if the sale doesn't work, then you've screwed yourself up, do you understand? You'll be all done and it won't take the Black Box. "

Blood stung Archie's cheeks and a pulse throbbed dangerously in his temple. No one had ever talked to him that way before, not in front of everyone like this. With an effort he made himself stay loose, kept that smile on his lips like a label on a bottle, hiding his humiliation.

" You'd better be right, Archie, " Carter said. " As far as I'm concerned, you're on probation until the last chocolate's sold. "

The final humiliation. Probation.

Archie kept that smile on his face until he felt his cheeks would crack.