Shi brushes away her bangs from her eyes and pulls out a bandage roll from inside her jacket. She starts to wrap my bleeding arm. She’s good at tending to our wounds after fights. She also has the intel on the latest medicine available in the mercado. Shi’s our doctor when there are no doctors to be had.
Even with Nena sobbing, I’m glad they’re here. My family.
“You’re living the life,” says Smiley. “At least you got a bed.”
Smiley rocks a black eye and a couple of stitches above the other. I bet the person got it worse under her hands.
“I look and feel wrecked,” I say. “I’m dying of thirst.”
Nena runs out the room before being told to do so.
“So, how long have I been here?”
“Two days,” says Smiley. “My chillas on the inside gave me the lowdown. I made sure you were being well taken care of.”
They tell me I’m in one of the healing centers located near the Towers. Toilers can never afford these places. Neither can crews. After battles, we patch ourselves up and hope for the best. Buy or steal whatever makes us feel better. Why am I in this healing room? Is this a prelude to the LMC moving to the Towers? A little taste of what’s to come? I hope so. The room is not as opulent as I expected. It’s still better than any room I’ve slept in.
Nena returns with water. She’s no longer crying. Her eyes jump from Truck to Shi to Smiley and then back to me. She’s nervous. So am I. Two days lying on this bed. Who knows what machinations have occurred outside this room with regard to our livelihoods.
The silence continues until Smiley can’t stand it. She’s the opposite of Shi. Smiley will talk to the point of dizziness.
“What else you got in here? Any good drugs?” Smiley says. “We can use a few happy pills. Am I right? Especially after dealing with those Deadly Venoms.”
It doesn’t take long to notice my crew is keeping secrets. Even when Smiley tries to make light of the situation by telling a joke of how she conned an old lady into giving her food, she can’t face me. No one wants to break the news. Whatever apprehensions or fears they are feeling, they won’t say.
I give Truck the look. This is a conversation I must have with her alone. The rest of the LMC take the hint and leave. It’s time for real talk between me and Truck. I need to know what’s the deal before anyone else decides to surprise me.
Truck closes the door as they exit. Concern is written all over her face.
“Tell me,” I say.
“You messed up. You got beat down by a lazy, no-good trick in front of everyone,” Truck says. “Not only that, but you punked out. As if this was your first time throwing down.”
She’s not holding back.
“The Deadly Venoms. It was ridiculous!” Truck raises her voice. “What the hell was going on out there? You lost focus. We swore to get even in the name of Manos Dura. The rest of your crew held their own. You were too busy paying attention to I don’t know what.”
Truck wasn’t privy to Déesse’s plan. She’s got every right to be mad. My dream to live in the Towers is her dream too. I sold it to Truck first. When we both left the training camp, we did stints with other crews to see if we wanted to join them. None of the leaders of those crews had any real plan for the future. They only concentrated on how to hold on to their small section of the city. I could fight. So could Truck. We had mad skills. It’s not enough. I knew we needed to join Déesse’s elite soldiers to ever be invited to live in the Towers. If I was going to make that my goal, then I had to build a crew who would follow me there. I pushed them harder than ever before. We are almost there. She can’t even see it. Why else would I be set up in this healing center?
“You told us we had an in for the Towers. This was the fight for us. I plowed down those Deadly Venoms to make room for you. You think it was easy? What do we have to show for it? Nothing. We’re back to zero.”
I close my eyes and wait. I need to know what happened after I blacked out. Did the ANT reach Santo?
“Are you done?” I whisper. Every move hurts. “Did the ANT say anything to her?”
“ANT? What ANT? To who?” Truck says. “What are you talking about?”
“The one who was trying to speak to Santo. Didn’t you see him?”
Truck flashes me the expression she reserves for sueño addicts. She thinks I’m losing it. It doesn’t matter. The ANT was probably tossed to the side. Good. We should be in the clear.
“What’s the word on Déesse?” I ask.
Truck hesitates.
“I heard she’s disappointed. We are on the wack list. The Deadly Venoms are on top,” she says. “We need to go, Nalah. My gut tells me we’ve got to leave.”
Without waiting for a response, Trucks gathers my belongings. She opens the drawers and finds my clothes. She does this in rapid formation, understanding there isn’t much time for us to leave before facing the inevitable letdown from Déesse. I can’t go. There’s nowhere to go. Besides, I lost the fight. That was what Déesse wanted. Santo promised I would meet with his mother. I’m so close to the Towers.
“Stop.”
Truck doesn’t listen. What is it with lying down on this bed? Everyone ignores the patient.
“I’m facing the future as a fighter,” I say. “I don’t run.”
Defeated, Truck lets the clothes drop back to the drawer. She knows I’m right.
“So, tell me one thing. What happened? That wasn’t you fighting,” Truck says. “You could have broke the heifer in half. Be straight with me. What’s going on?”
No one gets to question my leadership, not even my best friend. With what strength I can muster, I sit up.
“Listen, soldier, you and me are tight. No doubt. Get this straight—I won’t explain my strategies to you,” I say. “There is a why for what happened in the throwdown. Now is not the time for me to break it down. I will when I will. Till then, I need you to keep your side clean. I’m Chief Rocka. That makes you my right hand. Be my right hand, soldier, and don’t ever question my moves again. You got me?”
Truck opens her mouth to curse me out. She stops. “Yes, I got you, Chief Rocka.”
It’s not in me to keep much from Truck, not when it comes to the crew. I’m asking her to go blind on this one. Plus, I’m pissed off. She’s not the one who got thrashed by Destiny.
“Toss me my clothes,” I say.
Tucked inside a hidden pocket is the Ashé necklace right where I left it. This will help us. I’m riding on it. I put on my pants and store the necklace safely inside. I hope I’m right.
Truck walks over to my side of the bed. She places a hand over mine and gently squeezes. There is anger and confusion. There is also tenderness.
“I ride or die with you,” she says. “For as long and as far as you want.” Truck understands and I’m grateful.
There’s a knock at the door. Smiley sticks her head in.
“Déesse is heading this way,” Smiley says. “And la fea is with her.”
This is it. I’m going to find out our fate. Did the ANT create havoc? Did throwing the fight mark an entrance into the Towers? Or am I right where I was at the bottom?