But the Dead Men Walking? I could do something about that.
I buzzed with energy all day, running scenarios through my head. Oberi met up with me after class.
I need to find Marcus,I told him.
I thought you were headed to your factory shift,Oberi said.You’ll be late.
I have some time,I replied.This is more important.
Oberi huffed, but he dutifully pressed his nose to the floor. He sniffed around until he caught Marcus’s scent. We found him in the Villain’s Den with Rishi, working on homework. Thank the ancestors he was alone.
“You shouldn’t be here,” Marcus hissed. “If the Dead Men see me with you—”
“Then let’s take a walk,” I suggested.
“To give them more chances to spot us?” Marcus balked. “No, thank you.”
“I don’t want to be overheard,” I said.
Marcus went silent for several beats. I must’ve intrigued him. After a long pause, he shuffled his papers and stood. He didn’t say anything until we left the Villain’s Den and were walking across the prison yard.
“What is it?” Marcus asked. “What’s so important that you’ll risk the Dead Men seeing us talking?”
“You don’t have to worry about them anymore.” I smiled.
“What do you mean? Of course I do.”
“I found a solution to our problem.”
“Okay. I’m listening.”
“We have to get rid of Bones,” I stated confidently. It would work.
“We have to—?” Marcus choked on his sentence. “Are you insane?”
“Think about it,” I said. “Bones is the leader of your gang. The Dead Men answer to him. If he’s gone, the gang crumbles—”
“Or someone else takes over,” Marcus shot back.
“And who would that be?” I challenged. I’d met a handful of the Dead Men. None of them were smart enough or brave enough to take on Bones’ role.
“I…” Marcus paused. “You might be right. Bones preys on the vulnerable. The rest of them are idiots, even Big G. They can’t run an operation this complicated. No one else will be able to fill his shoes.”
“Right. And once he’s gone, the Dead Men will stop rigging the fights. We can pin the whole thing on Bones, and no one has to know you had anything to do with it. If he’s gone, he won’t be able to defend himself and turn it around on you.”
“What if one of the Dead Men talk?” Marcus questioned.
“If they expose you, they expose themselves,” I pointed out. “You weren’t out there making deals with fighters to get them to throw their fights, were you?”
“No,” Marcus admitted. “The other guys handled that. We all played our part.”
“No one’s going to talk, or they’ll incriminate themselves,” I assured him.
Marcus seemed hesitant. “How would we get rid of Bones, though?”
“Easy,” I said with a smile. “How’d I get rid of Digger?”
Marcus stopped in his tracks. We must’ve been close to the siren pond, because the grass turned to sand beneath me.
