Free Knockout Games by G. Neri Page B

what you get when you fail your mission. Harsh.
    The shower stopped. I heard Kalvin’s voice in the bathroom—singing. I couldn’t make out the song. I was in his room, his apartment. I remembered him pulling me along, totally out of it.
    His room was just like any young guy’s. Posters of LeBron, rappers and MMA fighters, and of course, swimsuit models. The guys on his wall were all black, the girls all white. Underneath those, there were some framed pictures on his shelf—him and Teacher Man outside a boxing ring. K had a medal around his neck. There was a middle-school graduation picture of him next to it, where he was all dressed up and beaming—the kid next door. And then there was one ripped in half and pinned to the wall. He looked about twelve. He was standing on that roof, with a white man’s arm around his neck, the man’s face torn out.
    I heard a commotion outside and I peeked out the window again. Tyreese was lying on the ground, the other two hovering over him. C-Jay kneeled and propped him up. He was woozy, bleeding from the nose. The guys were cheering him on and slowly, he got up onto his knees. Finally, he stood and shook it off. The crew rushed in, patting him on the back and head—he’d survived.
    â€œHe has work to do, but he’s got spirit,” said Kalvin.
    He was standing right behind me. I could feel the heat from the shower coming off his body. “You alright?” he asked.
    I nodded, a bit woozy.
    He was naked except for the towel around his waist. “Let me look at you.”
    He turned me around to face him. I had to rest my hand on his shoulder to steady myself, but it stung like hell and I pulled it back. It looked swollen.
    He held my hand gently, looking at both sides like he was a doctor. When he touched my knuckles, I flinched. He pulled on each finger, one by one. That didn’t hurt so bad.
    Turning my hand over, he pressed on the top of my palm.
    â€œI don’t know what happened back there,” I said.
    He smiled. “What happened was you finished the job when little Ty couldn’t.”
    K curled my hand into a fist. I winced from the pain. “I had to do something. The guy was gonna smash him with his metal detector.”
    â€œAll I know is you finished that dude off.” He soothed my hand by blowing on it.
    â€œSomeone had to,” I said. But now I was worried. “What if . . . he goes to the police?”
    â€œOh, he’s definitely going to the police,” said Kalvin. “Thing is, when you get knocked out, you don’t remember a thing. Last thing he probably remembers is looking for some old coins or something.”
    â€œOr some strange girl with red hair coming up to him trying to bum a cigarette.”
    He shrugged. “Hey, no one’s ID’d us yet. I don’t think it’ll start with you. Can you imagine him saying he was knocked out by some girl ?”
    That still didn’t make me feel any better. “Do you think he went to the hospital?”
    â€œWhat do you care what happens to him? You don’t know him. He could be a child abuser for all you know.”
    â€œOr he could’ve been a war veteran or something . . .”
    Kalvin made a dour face. “Just stop talking. You’re still probably in shock. Come here.” He led me to his bed and sat me down. “Don’t worry so much about it.” He shuffled through his nightstand until he found a prescription bottle of something. “Percodan,” he said. “Take this; it’ll help.” He handed me two pills and a bottle of water. I did what he said.
    He had an ice pack in a mini fridge by his bed and put it on my hand. “Bruised, but not broken. It’ll hurt for a while. But you’ll get used to it.”
    â€œI hope not,” I said.
    We sat there awkwardly on his bed. I’d never been on a halfnaked guy’s bed before. I didn’t know what to do