Free Sleight by Tom Twitchel Page A

disgust, but I couldn’t tell if he was disgusted with himself or with the message he’d been asked to deliver.
    The message confirmed what I’d been suspecting. Not that it was going to make a huge difference. I still wanted to nail it down. “So what does Baffle have on your girlfriend?” I asked.
    That got his attention. “Don’t tell him I told you!” he gasped. I marveled at Baffle’s lack of sophistication. The kid could make a computer dance, got great grades but he wasn’t swift enough to realize that the message he had asked to have delivered would immediately reveal who had sent it. Dumb, in a common sense kind of way.
    Nodding, I said, “Don’t worry. I have a plan for how you and I are going to work this out, and you can go along with your life.”
    “You’re not like he said you were. He said you were kind of dumb.” He winced as he said it, realizing that dissing someone who had you taped to a chair wasn’t the smartest thing you could do.
    I laughed. “Yeah, that sounds like him, and so does the blackmail.”
    Flexing his arms and shoulders he gritted his teeth and sighed again. “So, what’s the plan?”
    “First, I’ll un-tape you, but if you try to take a swing at me I’ll put you down again. Cool?”
    “I guess.” He frowned.
    “Second, you’re going to tell Baffle that this whole thing worked just the way it was supposed to. You roughed me up, gave me the message and that was it. When I get back to school I’ll back your story if it ever becomes necessary. Okay?”
    “Yeah.”
    “The third thing is something for the future and you’ll need to think it over carefully before you agree, because if you do agree to it, and you mess me over, I’ll make you regret it. But I don’t want it to come to that. You and I are sort of on the same side. Baffle does his best to get over on people and use them. But it won’t stop. He’s got something on your girlfriend? He’s gonna keep messing with you until you and your girlfriend get out from under it. So, here’s what I’m proposing...”
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

ELEVEN: DROPPING EAVES
     
    BY THE TIME I finished up with Trey and planted the seeds for dealing with Baffle it was late in the afternoon and close to dinner time. The hand pie and latte had been forever ago and I was starved. Here’s a problem that’s specific to a teenager living without parental supervision: the fridge and pantry are never stocked, and if they are it usually isn’t anything all that healthy or filling.
    It was getting dark outside and one of my personal rules was to avoid being caught out at night alone. But, there was a new sandwich shop just two blocks away and I figured that my stun gun and my knacks would keep me safe. Besides, I was feeling pretty proud of myself for the way I’d taken down Trey. As I thought about another trip downstairs though, I grimaced. How many in one day would that make?
    Making it to the lobby as quickly as I thought safe I was in front of Breno’s door in record time. He took his time answering.
    Cracking the door a few inches he peered out at me. “Hi Benny.”
    “Hey, I was just checking in on you and making sure you were okay.”
    His eyes travelled a slow lazy arc and came back to rest on me. “Yah. I’m fine.”
    “You, sure? You have anything for dinner?” I asked, wondering why he was being evasive.
    “Oh, yah. I got soup. And I got crackers,” he said, brightly.
    “Alright. I’m going out but I’ll be back.”
    Without even saying goodbye he closed the door. If I hadn’t know him so well I’d have sworn he was acting guilty, but he did deserve his privacy and I hadn’t smelled even a hint of smoke. I promised myself that I would visit him on my way upstairs after I got back. I was feeling confident as I turned to walk down the hall toward to the street. It was a bit chilly outside and I wished that I’d put on a heavier jacket but I wasn’t willing to