The Paladin Prophecy (26 page)

“And he needs to leave
you
alone,” said Will.

“That’s the spirit, kid,” said Dave.

“We’re not talking about me,” said Brooke. “I’m talking about you. They’re probably on their way up here
right now
.”

“So?”

“So haven’t you read the Code of Conduct? Do you want to hand them a reason to kick you out of school?”

“What reason?”

Brooke’s eyes went wide with alarm: “Your
cell phone
?!”

“Oh, right.” Will took it out and held it up to her. “Here, you take it.”

“No! Will, they can search the whole pod if they don’t find anything in here—”

“Better listen to her, mate,” said Dave.

“Lyle has the authority to do that?” asked Will.

“Yes, and you’d know that if you’d read the manual. Why is there water all over your floor? Get a towel—”

The front bell to the pod rang repeatedly.

“They’re here,” she said. “I’ll try to stall them. Toss that phone out the window. Lock the door after me.
Now
.”

She rushed out of the room. Will closed and locked the door. He looked at the phone in his hand, then looked at Dave, who hadn’t budged from his seat at the desk. He didn’t look particularly concerned.

“I really need to hang on to this,” said Will.

“Roger that. Better find a place to stash it, then,” said Dave.

Dave rocked back and tapped his boot on the floor. Will was surprised to see that nearly all the spilled water had disappeared. He dropped to his hands and knees for a closer look and realized the remaining water was draining into a nearly invisible crack between floorboards under the rear left leg of the desk.

He heard raised voices in the great room: Brooke, possibly Nick.
Definitely
Lyle and Todd. They were already inside.

Will shifted the desk a few inches over, then knelt down and felt around the edges of the crack, digging in with his fingernails. He grabbed hold and pulled; the board shifted slightly upward but wouldn’t give any farther.

He retrieved his Swiss Army knife, opened the thinnest blade, and wedged it between the boards. He levered the loose board up a fraction of an inch until he could grab hold, then yanked it out, a three-by-six-inch chunk of wood, clean edges, finely cut. Seamless. Undetectable to the naked eye.

“Nice craftsmanship there,” said Dave, leaning in for a look.

Below the gap in the floor was a hole a foot deep and half a foot wide.

There was a pounding knock on his door.

“Open up, Mr. West! Right this minute!”

Lyle Ogilvy
.

Will set the cell phone and charger in the hole, then replaced the loose board and wedged the heavy desk back on top of it. “Feel free to pitch in anytime,” whispered Will to Dave. “You’re doing aces, mate.”

“I have a master key with me,” said Lyle. “And I’m going to use it as soon as I count to—”

Will unlocked and opened his door. “Ten?” asked Will.

Lyle stared down at him, livid with anger. Todd stood behind Lyle, glaring, hands on his hips, flanked by the two lugs from the running team who’d tried to take him out on Suicide Hill. Both had multiple cuts and scrapes on their faces from the spill they’d taken. Behind them in the great room were Brooke and Nick, who was cool and unconcerned, tossing another log onto the fire.

“You
can
count that high,” said Will. “Can’t you, Lyle?”

Lyle held a copy of the Code of Conduct in front of Will’s face and thumped it for emphasis: “Page five, section seven of the Code of Conduct,” said Lyle. “Suspected possession of contraband objects or materials is grounds for immediate search of said student’s entire residential area.” He turned to Brooke and Nick. “You two open your doors, sit down, and do not
move
until I tell you to.”

They did as they were told. Lyle lowered his shoulder and brushed past Will into his bedroom. Todd and his posse swept in after him, Todd pausing long enough to eyeball Will with a sneer. Dave had moved from the desk; he leaned on the edge of the bay window, watching calmly. None of the newcomers noticed him.

Just then Ajay came in the front door. He stopped when he saw Will in his room. Will caught his eye, mimed holding a phone, and slowly mouthed, “Call Mr. McBride.”

Ajay nodded, backtracked out, and silently closed the door behind him. Will turned to Lyle and the others, who had begun methodically tearing apart his room. Todd rifled through his desk, while the other two checked the bathroom and closet. Lyle flipped over the mattress, feeling for sinister lumps in the bedsprings.

#65: THE DUMBEST GUY IN A ROOM IS THE FIRST ONE WHO TELLS YOU HOW SMART HE IS.

“Todd, buddy,” said Will. “If you’re this serious about busting my chops, you should check out my awesome hiding place. Under the desk. You’re practically standing on it.”

Todd stopped long enough to scowl again. “You think I’m some kind of
idiot
?”

Dave nodded, winked, and gave Will an enthusiastic thumbs-up.

“Hey, just trying to help,” said Will.

“Go in the living room and wait with your roommates,” said Lyle. “Per the Code of Conduct, page nineteen, subsection six—”

#96: MEMORIZE THE BILL OF RIGHTS.

“No. I’m not doing that.”

“Sorry,
what
?”

“I’m staying here to watch,” said Will. “Per the Bill of Rights, Fourth Amendment. Protection from unreasonable search and seizure. In case any contraband ‘accidentally’ finds its way into my room.”

Lyle glared at him. “Are you accusing me of planting incriminating evidence?”

“Just make sure nothing falls out of anybody’s pocket.”

The goons came back from the bathroom empty-handed and Todd shook his head. Frustrated, Lyle picked up Dad’s rules from the bedside table. “What is this?” asked Lyle as he paged through it.

The sight of his father’s book in Lyle’s hands enraged Will.

#30: SOMETIMES THE ONLY WAY TO DEAL WITH A BULLY IS TO HIT FIRST. HARD.

“That’s
private property
,” said Will, walking over to him. “I don’t care what your damn rulebook says. The next time you decide to get all gestapo up in here, bring a warrant signed by a judge. Because if you
ever
come in here again without one? I will roll up my copy of the Constitution and knock your teeth out with it.”

All four intruders froze. Will ripped the rules out of Lyle’s hand. Lyle turned pale, livid spots blossoming on his cheeks.

Dave hopped down from his perch in the window and went into what looked like a touchdown dance.

“You can’t talk to him like that,” said Todd, stepping between them.

“What are you good at, Todd?” asked Will.

“
Excuse
me?”

“What are your big talents in life? I mean, aside from ‘second fastest’ and ‘inheriting’?”

Todd’s eyes went as red as brake lights; his whole body vibrated. Lyle put a hand on Todd’s shoulder, but Todd shook him off and got in Will’s face.

“You are so completely gone from here,” said Todd.

#76: WHEN YOU GAIN THE ADVANTAGE, PRESS IT TO THE LIMIT.

“Get out,” said Will. “Now. All of you.”

Will stood chin to chin with Todd, who flexed his fists, then reached over and knocked the photo of Will’s parents off the bedside table. It crashed onto the floor, and the glass cracked. Fury spread through Will like a time-lapse sunrise.

I’m going to wipe that smirk off your face
.

Wild energy rumbled through Will’s chest and throat, an electrical charge firing up his spine, but just as he was about to let loose, Dave leaned in beside Todd and blew lightly into his ear. Todd swiped at his head, completely spooked, spinning around to look for whoever or whatever could have done that to him.

“What the hell …?” said Todd.

Will saw a puzzled, inward look steal over Lyle’s face.
He has no idea what to make of it—but he
felt
Dave’s presence just then
.

“Search the other rooms,” said Lyle.

Todd put his head down and stormed out. His running mates fell in behind him. Lyle leaned toward Will and levered his face into a gruesome version of a smile. Will caught a whiff of foul breath and sour body odor. Lyle’s voice was raspy and dry with adrenaline, spittle forming at the corners of his liverish lips.

“I’ve got you all figured out,” said Lyle.

“Do you?”

“You think being
good
is all that matters. That
goodness
and
virtue
have something to do with
value
. That’s the false comfort losers always fall back on. The pathetic fallacy of the weak.”

Will’s heart beat faster. The blood drained from his face.

“We don’t like you,” said Lyle softly. “We don’t like what your being here means: charity for nobodies. The false promise of a ‘level playing field.’ This field isn’t level. It never has been. It isn’t
supposed
to be.”

“Who’s ‘we’?” asked Will.

“Your superiors,” said Lyle viciously. “You’re an
oik. Oiks
don’t belong at the Center. And you won’t be here for long. Count on it.”

Lyle straightened his jacket over his slouched shoulders and left the room. Will followed him out. Brooke and Nick were watching the others try to open the door to Elise’s room. Lyle took out his master key and headed over to open it. Will picked up the nearest black phone and pushed the button.

“Good evening, how may I direct your call?” said the operator.

“Send an ambulance to Greenwood Hall,” said Will loudly. “Fourth floor, pod three. Right away. There’s been a terrible accident.”

Lyle, Todd, and their two goons stared at him. Will picked up the black phone, hefted it in his hand, testing its weight and feel. Seeing that, Nick lifted an iron poker from the fire pit and tapped it into his palm.

Todd took the key from Lyle and inserted it into the lock. Elise threw open her door from inside and blocked his path. She held her field hockey stick, spinning the blade in a confident, businesslike way.

Emboldened by the others, if not quite as committed, Brooke picked up a pillow from the sofa. Reared back. Totally prepared to throw it.

“Excuse me?” asked the operator.

“One sec,” said Will. He lowered the phone and made a show of counting Lyle, Todd, and the two goons
—one, two, three, four
. He lifted the phone again: “Make that two ambulances.”

Todd signaled his sidekicks. Both lunged at Elise. With the reflexes of a cobra, Elise smacked their wrists, a sharp precise crack from her hockey stick. They backed away, shaking their hands in pain. Everyone tensed, both sides waiting for the other to react, the prospect of violence heavy in the air.

Standing in the doorway to Will’s room, Dave took out a cigarette lighter, fired the wick, and held it in the air like a concertgoer listening to an ’80s hair band. He disappeared a moment later when the front door burst open. Dan McBride hurried in, followed closely by a breathless Ajay.

“What’s going on here?” said McBride. “Mr. Ogilvy? Please explain.”

“Searching the room for contraband, sir,” said Lyle.

“On what basis?” asked McBride.

“He doesn’t have one,” said Will.

“I do so!” said Lyle, eyes blazing with anger, then he seemed to instantly regret that he’d said it.

Will could read it in Lyle’s eyes:
He’s seen something but he can’t reveal how. There’s more to this creep hassling me than just bullying. Maybe a lot more
.

“Let’s hear it, then,” said McBride.

“I’m afraid I can’t prove anything,” said Lyle, backing down.

“Yet. Let’s call it a misunderstanding.”

Lyle gestured to the others and they quickly followed him to the front door. Nick, politely, opened the door for them and waved as they left.

“Ta-ta,” said Nick quietly. “Have a safe trip back to Douche-bagistan.”

Todd gave Nick a last poisonous glare on his way out. McBride headed after them into the hallway. “I’ll be right back,” said McBride as he left. “Hello? Mr. West, are you still there?” said the operator.

“Mr. West?”

“Sorry. Wrong number.” Will hung up the phone.

“Da-yem, that was classic,” said Nick.

He asked for a fist bump. Will gave him one. Brooke dropped the pillow and wrapped her arms around Will, who didn’t object. Leaning against the door frame, twirling her hockey stick, Elise offered a crooked smile and a raised eyebrow.

“
Two
ambulances,” she said. “Nice.”

“Nice?” said Ajay, jumping around. “
Nice?
Are you kidding me? That was totally fa-rouking
awesome
!”

McBride came back into the room. “Will, step outside with me for a moment,” he said.

WAYFARER

Once they were in the hall, Dan McBride confided that this wasn’t the first complaint he’d heard about Lyle Ogilvy. He explained that the Center gave provost marshals authority because it reflected their philosophy of students governing themselves. This had occasionally led to a few marshals abusing their position. McBride promised to bring the incident to Headmaster Rourke’s attention.

“I’m glad you called me, Will. You let me know if he troubles you again. You’re certain you have no idea what Lyle could be looking for?”

Will felt bad about lying to him but didn’t see an alternative.

“No, sir.”

McBride bade him good night. Back in the pod, Will found his roommates seated at the table. Elise sat apart from the others, staring at the ceiling. He realized they were waiting for him to speak first, and he took a deep breath.

“Anybody have a problem with how that went down?” he asked.

“You’re clowning, right?” asked Nick.

“I know you’re afraid of Lyle,” said Will. “For good reason. He’s messed with you before, and he’s going to keep messing with you.” He made a point of not looking at Brooke when he added: “The same goes for his pit bull, Todd, and those other chuckleheads.”

“Tim Durgnatt and Luke Steifel,” said Ajay.