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[CHUCKX53]

Slowly, one after another, the Cliques came forward and began tossing in their weaponery.  Max and Karl searched each one to make sure they weren't holding back.  Up on the Autoshop roof, Jake's mind had gone ballistic. All his plans to take over the school lay in ruins. Pete had exposed his alter-ego.

That goddam little fuck blew my cover !!!!  I'm gonna waste that fucking bastard !!!  NO MORE GAMES !!!!  I'm gonna take this rat-bastard fink out for good !!!

Jake still didn't have a clear shot.  Forcing himself to remain calm, Jake resettled himself and checked through the scope again.

The Rockers were still partly out of sight.  Kurt motioned Tibo over to him.  "Here...Take These", he said, handing Tibo the Air Rifle and two Spud Guns.  "Cut back through the parking lot...They won't be able to see you....Go !  Meet you back at the house."  Tibo took the weapons and snuck away at a jog.  Out of the corner of his eye, on the rooftop, Jake saw him go.

When all the weapons had been collected, they made a huge pile in the large wheelbarrow.  Pete had another surprise in store.  He raised the bullhorn again.....

"MAX...TONY...LAURENT....TAKE THESE WEAPONS OF EVIL DOWN TO THE BASEMENT....AND THROW THEM IN THE FURNACE !!  DESTROY THEM FOREVER !!!"

A huge groan went up at this from the Cliques.  Then the outcries began in earnest.

"SHUT UP !!!!  SHUT UP !!!!!  YOU MORONS BROUGHT THIS ON YOURSELVES !!!!!  THIS ISN'T A SCHOOL, IT'S A WAR ZONE !!!  THIS ISN'T A NORMAL PLACE IN ANY SENSE OF THE WORD !!!!  YOU CORRUPT THIS PLACE WITH ALL YOUR SENSELESS VIOLENCE !!!!  IF YOU WON'T STOP ON YOUR OWN, YOU WILL BE MADE TO STOP, WILL BE FORCED TO STOP !!!!  THIS MUST END, AND END NOW !!!!  WHY CAN'T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG ??"

-----------------------------------------------------------

Getting the loaded wheelbarrow down the steps and through the winding corridors in the basement wasn't easy, but they finally made it to the furnace room, located under the large foyer area in the front of the school.  Grabbing a rag, Tony got the furnace door open.  Flames leaped out at him.  This was a massive furnace, as it had to be, in order to heat the whole school.  It ran nearly non-stop from late October through early April.  Max and Laurent took ahold of the weapons and began throwing them into the fire, where they quickly began to melt down, with the Air Rifles taking the longest amount of time.

Back at the windblown lot at the rear of the school, Pete was still talking....And walking, back and forth, side to side, as he made an impassioned plea for a new era of co-operation in a school without weapons.  Up on the Autoshop roof, Jake finally had the shot he had been waiting for.  Pete had moved far enough back to clear the trees, and Jake, very steady on the trigger, squeezed off a shot.
____________________________________________

[CHUCKX53]

POWTHUNKK !!!!!!!!

Barely heard over the sound of the wind, the pellet sped toward it's target.  Pete had turned toward the low sound, and the pellet hit him in the eye, tearing through the soft tissue and breaking through the thin bone of the eye socket behind. It's momentium slowed, it lodged itself there, a short way into Pete's brain.

Pete dropped both the bullhorn and the Magnum, and fell to the ground.  There was a shocked gasp from the crowd.  Karl the Prefect ran over and scooped up the Magnum, and, scanning the students, began to bark out orders.
 
--------------------------------------------------------

Up on the Autoshop roof, Jake had slipped from the recoil of the Air Rifle.  It was a modest recoil, but on the now slippery, snow covered roof, he began to slide off.  Jake twisted and tried to stop his slide, but to no avail.  Jake slid over the edge, but as luck would have it, fell onto the dunpster behind the building, only suffering a twisted ankle.  Recovering his senses, he rolled off the dumpster and onto the pavement.  He could stand, but was unable to run.  The gunstrap was still wrapped around his arm, and the Air Rifle was undamaged.

He had to get out of here, and fast.  Limping around the building towards the garage doors on the North side, he went to the first closed garage door.  It was locked.  Bracing himself, he empted the round of pellets into the lock to break it, then slammed the butt of the rifle into the door until the locking mechanism was knocked out.  With that, the locking bars released, and he hauled up the door.

Inside, as he remembered, was the Go-Kart belonging to the Shop teacher, Mr. Neil.  Throwing himself into the seat, he hoped the battery was up and the dumb fuck had left some gas in it.  It did, and fired up after a couple of cranks.  Throwing it in gear, he mashed the gas pedal and laid rubber going out of the garage.  Some of the Rockers who had seen him were coming over to investigate, and he ran a couple of them down while fishtailing around.
 
Jake fought for control on the slippery pavement, regained it, and went speeding out the gate and down the long drive towards the road, where he made a left turn and again laid on the gas down Vale Boulivard.  Just before the tunnel, he spotted Tibo crossing the street, his back towards him.  Jake ran him down, knocking him out.  He squealed to a stop, backed up, and picked up the Air Rifle that Tibo had been carrying, and sped off towards the Carnival.  He had to get his shit and disappear, the sooner the better.  His cover was blown, and Ace Adams was dead.
--------------------------------------------------------

As they exited the school basement steps, Tony and Laurent saw the Go-Kart tear through the parking lot.  They ran back to the rear lot of the school, followed by Max the Prefect (Who had volunteered for extra duty this holiday only because the Army and the Police hadn't yet recived his application).  Max ran around the boys to help Karl restore order, which would prove to be easy, since the Cliques were now weaponless.  As Laurent stopped to check on Constantinous, still at the steps with a bloody rag pressed to his torn ear, Tony spotted Pete laying unmoving and ran over to him.

Tony slouched down on his knees and gently lifted Pete up, resting him against his leg.

"Pete !! Pete !! Can you hear me ?  Pete ?"
Pete's head lolled around.  Tony could see a slow flow of blood and tissue oozing from his ruined eye.
"Tony ?", Pete said weakly. "Ahhh.....Island......Pirate.....Island......"
"Don't try to talk, Pete...We're gonna get yo some help....Just hang on !", Tony said.
"Island....", Pete repeated.  "Grid.....67....."

Pete mumbled more, but Tony couldn't catch it. Then, Pete passed out.  From somewhere, far away, Tony could hear a bell ringing.  It was Midnight.

Christmas was here.

------{{ END OF CHAPTER TWO }}----------

________________________________________

[Mike_W]

                                                    {Chapter 3}

 Tony awoke excited, it was Christmas.  Tony had all sorts of fond memories of Christmas from when he was a young kid.  However, he soon snapped back to reality.  He began to recall the events from the previous night.  "Oh my god!", he thought, "Where is Pete?".  Through nosing around Tony discovered that Pete had been brought to the emergency room downtown.  In a few days, Tony thought he would pay him a visit.  For the time being though, Tony thought it was best to let Pete rest up and recover.

  Tony began wandering into the common room.  There was a brightly lit Christmas Tree in the corner of the room by the arcade game.  Tony then noticed his best friends, Constantinos and Laurent sitting together on the couch.  As he got closer, Tony noticed a bandage on Constantinos' ear.  "Hey guys, Merry Christmas", said Tony.  "Hi there", said Constantinos in his usual glum way.  "What's up with your ear?", questioned Tony.  "Oh, I got injured in the madness last night.  I was told a small piece of my ear came off, but they were able to sew it back together last night at the infirmary.  I guess I lucked out with all the cold air last night, preseved it they said".  "Here Tony, drink up", said Laurent.  Laurent had apparently been able to get his hands on some liquor.  "No, but thanks", said Tony.  Tony just wanted to stay sober today.  "So, what do you want to do?", questioned Laurent.  "Well, I know this seems strange", said Tony, "but I think we need to go find a certain someone".  "Like who?", Constantinos said, confused.  "Someone that has experience with this school and all of the idiots that reside here.", Tony said firmly. "You don't mean....no, you can't be thinking of...", stammered Constantinos.  "Yes Const, I think you know exactly who I mean", Tony finished.

[Mike_W]

  "We need to go and find Jimmy Hopkins", said Tony.  "Are you crazy!", shouted Constantinos.  "Look, I know that sounds nuts, but I have my reasons", Tony argued.  "Yeah, and what would those be, huh?....wait, what?", struggled Laurent, he was obviously beginning to show signs of being intoxicated.  "The reason", stated Tony, "is that this school may be calm now, but you would be crazy to think that we have entered a time of eternal peace.  You guys know that in a few weeks things will get crazy again".  "Yeah, but why Jimmy?", questioned Constantinos, "Isn't he a crazy killer now?".  "He's only been accused, that means nothing".  "Besides, if anyone could help us, its him", Tony said.
  
   Tony pestered Constantinos until he finally agreed to come with him to town.  Laurent was too drunk, so Tony thought it would be best not to drag him around, at the risk of him getting hurt.  "So, where is he?", asked Tony.  "Um, well, he may be....", said Constantinos as he tried to think of a fake location to stall the mission he really didn't want to do.  "Cut the bullshit Const, you and I both know that you know where he is, so just spill it", Tony said forcefully.  "Okay, okay, he's at the police station downtown.", confessed Constantinos.  "You do understand that you can't just go in and break him out", Constantinos warned. "That place is really locked down".  "How would you know", questioned Tony. "I uh...had a little run in with some comic books last year", Constantinos said as he nervously stroked the back of his head.


  Tony thought for a moment. "Who guards that place anyways, which officers?", asked Tony.  Constantinos told Tony how officer Williams and officer Morrison were the ones who worked at this station most of the time.  "Okay, so what do we know about these officers, we need to distract them somehow", said Tony.  "I know, officer Williams is black right? We could lure him with a giant watermelon, and maybe some grape soda!", Constantinos said excitedly.  "You fucking retard, that's just a stereotype.  Besides, he's a cop.  If this goes wrong, the last thing we need is to be charged with some sort of racial hate crime", Tony said angrily.  "Anyways, about officer Morrison.  I hear that he likes music and the club scene", said Constantinos.  "So what do you suggest, we lure him away with pop music?", said Tony in a sarchastic tone.  "Maybe....", said Constantinos sheepishly.

   Tony just figured that they would try things on the spot, improvise, and motioned for Constantinos to follow him through the front doors of the station.

[Mike_W]

  Tony and Constantinos wandered through the front doors of the station.  Each of them carried a backpack full of items they each thought would be of use in breaking Jimmy out of jail.  As they made their way forward, they looked around the corner.  There was officer Williams, standing in front of a door that led to the cells.

  "I'll be back", said Constantinos, "I'll distract him, go forward when the coast is clear".  Constantinos then dissappeared from sight as he climbed up into a neaby heating duct.  A few minutes later, Tony saw something that both made him angry and fear for his life.  Constantinos had carefully opened a vent above the officer and then proceeded to lower a giant watermelon slowly towards the cop.  "Son of a bitch, I told that bastard not to use the damn melon", Tony wispered to himself.  Tony watched as Constantinos raised and lowered the tastey fruit on the string, pulled it up just as officer Williams was about to grab it. Tony could not believe what he was seeing, the cop was actually falling for this horseshit.  Just then, Tony held his breath, the string snapped and the melon fell, hitting the floor with a THUD.  Miraculously, the fruit did not break, it rather began to roll down the corridor.  The building was so old that the floors had settled and become uneven over the years.  Tony watched as the watermelon began to pick up speed and roll down the hall with officer Williams in hot persuit. 


   When the coast was clear, Tony began to venture down the hall towards the cell block.  Constantinos soon caught up with Tony and proceeded to smile a large teethy grin.  "How'd I do b-, I mean Tony?".  "You got lucky", said Tony.  After a few minutes, the pair found themselves outside the door to the cell block.  A large sign read: "Law Officials Only, Beyond This Point".  Peering through the little window on the door, Tony spotted officer Morrison.  "I suppose you know how to appropriately handle this?", Tony said with a hint of aggravation.  "Yup, I think so", said Constantinos somewhat confidently.

   Tony watched as Constantinos rummaged through his pack and pulled out a boombox. "Oh sit...", Tony muttered as he slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand.  Constantinos then popped in a disk and pressed the play button.  The musical stylings of Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" soon filled the air.  Officer Morrison began to sit up.  He could here the catchy tune playing and began to move with the rythim.  "I wonder if its okay to go dancing in my uniform?", he asked himself.  "Quick, Tony, hide in this locker. I'll walk down the hall with the music and leave the radio in the entrance room.  I'll try and make it back somehow and help you", Constantinos said assuringly.  As planned, officer Morrison opened the door and began dancing down the hall in the direction of the music he so loved.  Tony was quick, leaving the locker, he stepped into the cell block.  Jimmy Hopkins sat directly in front of Tony in a dimly lit jail cell....

[CHUCKX53]

"So....We meet again", said Jimmy.

"Right", said Tony, remembering their brief encounter a few months ago.

"So, whatta doing here ?", asked Jimmy.

"We come to bust you out", answered Tony.

"Really ?  How come ?", Jimmy quizzed.

"We need your help....Rather, the school needs your help.  Just consider it a Christmas Present",  Tony said absently, looking around.

"It would sure beat the shitty green sweater I got for Christmas last year", Jimmy remarked.

"How do I get the cell door open ?", asked Tony, still looking around for some keys or something.

"It's an electronic lock.  Look for the box with the release switches down the hall there...."  Jimmy pointed down the hall where Officer Morrison had gone.  "Only.....Get ready to run....A loud buzzer is gonna sound once you hit that release switch."

Tony felt his way along the wall until he saw the large box-like control panel.  It was marked with the cell door numbers on it, left to right.  Shit...He had forgotten to find out the cell number.

"What cell are you in ?", Tony called back in a stage whisper.

"FOUR !", Jimmy called back, in the same kind of whispery voice.

Tony put his finger on the toggle switch marked '4' and hesitated just a bit. 

In for a penny, In for a pound.  He flipped the switch.

BUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT!!!!

[CHUCKX53]

Hidden safely away on this Christmas day, in the In & Out Motel, Jake stood in front of the bathroom mirror.  He had, once more, escaped undetected.  But, once more, his plans had failed, brought to ruin by the interference of others who were trying to keep him from his rightful destiny. 

After running down Tibo, he had returned one last time to the Carnival.  He had taken his weapons stash, his clothing stash, and most importantly, his lockbox containing over $ 7,000 in cash.  His cover as Ace Adams exposed, he could no longer stay there.  Loading up those items on the Go-Cart with a bit of difficulty, due to the sprained ankle, he had half-expected that someone would soon be along soon to arrest him.  But no one showed up, no Cops, no one from the school, which made him think that there was something else at work here....If not Karma, it was secrecy, corruption, malfeasance.....Jake didn't have time to dwell on it.  These were things to figure out later.  Right now, he had to have a place to hide out.

Hooded in a heavy coat, a wrap-around scarf, and a sock hat, he made his way on the Go-Kart back through the deserted towns,  pulling into the In & Out Motel.  He had to have some shelter from the weather.  The proprietor, an Indian-looking guy, wasn't too happy about being roused to provide a room, but when Jake flashed a $ 100 tip in addition to the room rate, he suddenly became real cooperative.  After unloading his stash, he had ditched the Go-Cart over behind some warehouses to the East.  He nearly froze his ass off limping back, but for now....For the time being, he was safe.

Looking at his image in the mirror, he knew he would have to alter his appearance once more, and take on a new persona.  Just who, he hadn't had time to decide.  Only a day ago, he had been poised to take over the school.  Now....Now he would have to start over.  Again.  But this time, no one was gonna get in his way, he vowed.  Nobody.
__________________________________________

[CHUCKX53]

 "This had better be important", said the tall, well-dressed man.  "It was a real pain getting over here in this kind of weather.  Not to mention it's a goddam holiday."

"Sir, I apologize for having you come, but this is serious", the man in the white lab coat replied. "There was an....Incident....over at the school last night."  

"So how is that my problem ?", the first man said."That Idiot Crabblesnich should be handling it.
Why are you bothering me with this ?"

"A boy was seriously injured", Lab-coat man went on. "In fact....He's in critical condition."

The man glanced sharply at the Technician. "It wasn't Derby, was it ?"

"No, sir...It's a boy named Pete Kowalski", Lab coat man replied.

"Kowalski....Hmm....That's the boy that Old Goat was using as a Mediator, wasn't it...."  He shook his head.  "I told that fool this was a bad idea....Those little brats are animals....They don't need a Mediator, they need to be locked up.  Goddam Paupers."

"This boy sir....He needs more help than we can provide....An operation...", Lab coat said.

"How bad off is he ?", the tall, ell-dressed man asked.

"He has a pellet in his brain, sir....He's in a coma....He could die", Lab coat answered.

The man swore. That couldn't be allowed to happen.  There would be questions....An Investigation.....Just how much did this boy know, he wondered, given the position that dunderhead Crabblesnich had afforded him ?  He couldn't afford to take any chances, not with that Hopkins kid still stonewalling about those missing documents.

To the Technician, he said, "Call Capitol City.  Get a Medical Transport.  A Med-Copter, if they can.  Roads are impassible right now.  I'll get you the access codes for a line out."

"What about his family ?", asked Lab coat man.

"Kowalski's an orphan...Ward of the state. Won't be any trouble there.  I'll take care of that."

"There's....One other problem, sir", Lab coat said.

"What the hell else could there be ?", the tall man said, irritably.

"There's another boy who was brought in", Lab coat continued.  "With a concussion....He will recover....But...."

"Spill it man....What is it ?" The tall man was becoming angry now.

"Uhhh...It's that Algermon boy....The one who had his....Testicle....removed a couple months ago, in that....Er....Explosion.....At the Comic-Store....", Lab coat said nervously.

"Too bad for him", the tall man said. "So why is that our problem ?'

"Seems he....Er....Engineered the attacks on the students this past month", Lab coat answered.

"ALL of them ?", the tall man asked, unbelievingly. "By HIMSELF ?"

Lab coat nodded. "Looks that way.  He's back there now, babbling...Calling for his Mother."

The man swore again, more forcefully.  Why couldn't Crabblesnich keep his house in order ?  They were just a bunch of malcontents, for the most part. How hard could it be ?  He cursed the day he had hired the pompous stuffed-shirt to run the Academy. A trained monkey could have done a better job.  But...He was stuck with him now.  Crabblesnitch knew far too much, and had too many contacts of his own.  

"Sir...What should I do....About the second boy ?", Lab coat asked.

A sudden thought occurred to him. "Babbling, Eh ?  A clear danger to himself, and others, I'll wager.  The boy should be....Put Away, so he can't hurt anyone else.  Call the Asylum people to come pick him up.  We'll have him committed.  I'll have the Judge sign the paperwork."

"What about the Mother ?", Lab coat asked. "We haven't notified anyone yet..."

"Don't worry about the Mother.  I'll have the Good Doctor deal with that, if it becomes necessary. In the meantime, just follow my instructions."

He strode to the phone.  Picking it up, he punched in a series of codes, then spoke into it, verifying them. He then turned to Lab Coat man.  "There.  You have a half hour access.  If there's nothing else, I'm going back home. Take care of this, Today."

"I'll get right on it, Mr. Harrington", Lab coat man said.
______________________________________________

[CHUCKX53]

“Hey Tony”, whispered Constantinos from behind.

“GAAAAHHHHH !!!!” yelped Tony.  “Don’t sneak up on me like that !!!  Shit !!”, he said holding his chest.  “About give me a heart attack.  Where’s the guards ?”

“Morrison is dancing, and Williams is eating watermelon”, Constantinos replied. “But not for long’, he added.

“We got to run, Man”, Said Jimmy, now out of his cell.

“Where To ?”, Tony asked.

“We can’t go out the front !!”, Constantinos said.

“Naw”, Jimmy said. “Out the back.  Been in and out of here enough times, I know the way.  Flip that switch marked “R”, would’ja ?”

Tony looked and found the switch, and flicked it. There was a another Buzzing noise that sounded from the rear of the building. “That’s it….Lets go, boys !”, said Jimmy.

All three ran down the corridor toward the back. At the end, there was a turn, then a place with a steel door set in it.  The door was ajar. Through that, was another turn, then a large alcove, with two roll-up doors.  

“This is it, Boys…..Get ready”, Jimmy warned.

“Why ? Ready for what ?, asked Tony.

“You’ll hear why”, said Jimmy, and flipped a switch in the center of the two doors.  The left door began to roll up.

RRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNGGGGGGGG !!!!!!!!!!

An alarm went off, a rather loud one at that.  An escape alarm. The Officers wouldn’t miss that. The three boys scrambled under the door.
  
“Quick…”, yelled Jimmy, pointing to a ladder attached to the side of the building.  Climb Up to The Roof !!”

“The ROOF ?, Tony yelled back. “Are You NUTS ??”

“It’ll Work….Trust ME !!!, Jimmy yelled, and began to scamper up the ladder. The other two boys quickly followed.  “Lay Flat, And Keep Quiet !!”, Jimmy instructed.

Over the ringing of the alarm, the boys heard a commotion below them, then the sound of Police Cars being started up.  The cars quickly left the lot, with lights and sirens blaring, heading different directions.

“Boy, that was close !”, Tony said, and started to get up.

“Stay Down !!” Jimmy hissed, pulling Tony back down.

“What for ?”, asked Tony. “They already left !”

“Just wait, and you’ll see”, said Jimmy.

In less than a minute, the Cop Cars reappeared, passing each other and driving off again.

“They’ll keep that shit up for hours, driving in circles”, Jimmy said. “That’s how dumb they are.  We’ll be safe up here, long as we stay outta sight.”

“So, they won’t think to look up here ?”, asked Tony.

“Shit, No”, said Jimmy. “I hid up here lotsa times, and the dumb fucks never come up the ladder.  In fact, they’re so outta shape, they don’t like to climb on much of anything that’s higher than they are.”  Jimmy turned to face Tony.  “There’s all kinds of places you can get up on, to escape them, and they won’t come up to get you.  Hell”, he laughed, “You can even assault them with weapons, if you have any, even knock them out and run. Those stupid Prefects over at the school are the same way.  I used to do it all the time.”

“Wow”, Tony said.  Learn something new about this place nearly every day.  “So…How long do we have to stay here ?” he asked.

“Till it gets dark, the heat will die down”, Jimmy answered. “Then we can sneak off.”

“Dark ??” Constantinos moaned.  “Noooo…I’m cold already !”

“Suck it up, Pussy….Be a man.  Boy, you ain’t changed a bit, have you ?”, Jimmy remarked.

“I got a place to hide you out for awhile”, Tony interrupted.

“Yeah ? Where’s that ?”, inquired Jimmy.

“The In And Out Motel”, said Tony.

“That old dump ?  Shit, it’s all closed up !”, exclaimed Jimmy.

“Not any more”, Tony answered.  “They refurbished it and re-opened it last fall.”

“I’ll be dammed”, Jimmy whistled. ‘You know, I saw this old movie once…’Hide In Plain Sight’….Guess it’ll be just like that. I’ll have to change my appearance, though.”

“We’ll help you with that, don’t worry.  Long as you can help us out at the school later ?”, said Tony, questioning.

“You help me, I help you…Is that it ?”, asked Jimmy.

“Yep”, Tony answered. “We got a deal ?”

“Deal”, Jimmy grinned.

The boys began talking, trading on their experiences and problems at Bullworth, to pass the time.  Constantinos mostly laid there, teeth chattering, waiting on the long hours until dark.
__________________________________________

[Mike_W]

  The time on Tony's watch was 9:00 P.M.  and the sounds of the sirens faded as the police cars went off to search The Vale for a while. "Now's our chance", said Jimmy.  The three began to quietly climb down the ladder and make their way down the alley that sat behind the row of shops.  "Wait!", exclaimed Constantinos, "We need to cover our tracks somehow."  Constantinos was right, with all of the new snow they couldn't afford to leave footprints leading from the police station to the motel, it would be too obvious.  Especially when considering that the three were some of the only people to walk the streets today.  "Here Tony, we could use this!", Constantinos said as he pointed to the lid of a trash can. "What the fuck do you plan on doing with that!?", questioned Jimmy.  "We could use it as a sled!", exclaimed Constantinos.  Tony thought for a moment, but found Constantinos' idea to be perfect. 

   The three boys huddled together on the lid of the can and slid down the ramp in back of the old theater until they reached the parking lot of the motel.  "Well, here we are", said Tony.  "I'll go in and rent a room in my name", said Constantinos.  "I could get used to this", remarked Jimmy as he walked into his temporary new home.

[CHUCKX53]

The phone was ringing in the school office.  Miss Danvers, draped in a blanket, emerged from the Principal's office, and scooped it up.  Listening for a moment, she said, "Of course, Sir, I'll put you through right away."

Inside the Principal's office, the Good Doctor Crabblesnitch was standing near a space heater gazing out the window.  Though there were two heaters running full out, there was still a heavy chill in the air. Melting the weapons in the furnace had seemed to be an excellent idea at the time (even though there hadn't been time to take a more rational course), but an unforeseen result had been to plug up the gas jets with molten metal, witch when cooled somewhat, hardened and clogged up the entire works.  Ergo, no furnace and no heat.  And nobody to fix such a thing on Christmas Day, nor for the next week, it seemed....Mr. Luntz had left for his vacation right before the blizzard for parts unknown, and wouldn't be back until after New Years.

What a Clusterfuck this year had turned out to be, The Good Doctor was thinking.  Last year, it was that maniac Gary gumming up the works, and so far this school year, there had been those bombings, and now a boy had gotten shot on school grounds and nearly killed.  He still might die.  And one of the good ones, too, not even the one of the Riff-Raff that seemed so prevalent at his school now.  A public-relations nightmare if any of this ever got out to the outside world.  So far, all of it had been contained, but......

Miss Danvers poked her head back in the doors. "Doctor, You've got a call from Mr. Harrington."

"Put it through, Dear, and give me some privacy ?", Crabblesnich replied.

Miss Danvers disappeared, and the phone line buzzed.  Crabblesnich sighed and picked up the phone. "Dr. Crabblesnitch here."

"Crabblesnitch !!! Just What Kind Of MAD COW Operation Are You Running Over There ?? The Bombings And Now This ??  Are You TRYING To Fuck That School Up, Or Are You Just A Total Incompetent IDIOT ??  I'm SICK Of Having To Clean Up Your Messes !!!  You Best Get Your Shit Together, Old Man, Or You'll Be Out On Your ASS !!!  I Don't Care What Kind Of Connections You Think You Might Have, Your Career Will Be Over, You Will Be Ruined !!  When We're Done With You, You Won't Be able To Get A Job Teaching Drunks In An Alcohol Class !!!!!"

With a loud click, the line went dead.
________________________________________

[CHUCKX53]

What a Christmas this has turned out to be, he thought. I should have stayed in New York.

He didn't have time to dwell on the matter, however, as the phone rang.  The caller I.D. identified it as the Chief of Police.

"Yes", he answered,  "What is it ?"

"Hopkins has Escaped !!!", the Chief said urgently.

"WHAT ?  How in HELL did that happen ?  You Morons are supposed to watch him when he's in your custody !", he said angerly.

"We...Uh....Think he must have had some help breaking out....Somebody may have snuck into the station, and.....", the Chief began.

"And What ?  Just waltzed back into the cellblock and turned him loose right under your noses ?  What kind of Imbecile Officers have you got working for you anyway ?  Or are you just an Idiot yourself ?", he ranted.

"Hey, remember who you're talking to....", the Chief began.

"Listen, you Fuck, it's your job to clean up this mess. That's what you get paid for.  Don't write up any arrest reports either.  Keep this on the Q.T. and not a word to anybody else, understood ?  I want Hopkins back in a cell, chained and manacled, and this time you better not screw up, or it's going to be YOUR PIG ASS on the platter, GET IT ?", he screamed.

He slammed the phone down and began to curse.

Outside his Father's study door, an eavesdropping Derby Harrington had heard every word.
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[CHUCKX53]

Through the blinds of his room on the South arm of the In And Out Motel, Jake watched the three boys enter a room directly opposite him on the North arm of the Motel.  Two of the boys he recognized right away.....That cheating, stealing fuck Tony, and his little pussy sidekick, Constantinos.  The third boy he didn't know, but he looked like a Townie of some sort.  Jake squinted.  It appeared that the boy was wearing an orange jail uniform, and had to be very cold with his bald head and no coat.  He also noticed that the boy seemed to have been more or less hiding until  quickly entering the room while Tony and Constantinos seemed to be casting watchful glances all around before also entering the room.

Jake moved back from the window, brooding in thought.  What were those shits up to ?

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Tony told Constantinos to stand guard, which he was more than happy to do, the heater being right under the window where he could warm up from his long ordeal on the roof.  He felt like he was absolutely frozen.  Tony began to tell Jimmy of what had happened at Bullworth since his arrival just four months ago....The bombings, the attacks, his talks with Pete, and all about Jake, as much as he knew before his disappearance.

"This Jake sounds like a real bad seed", Jimmy remarked. "Just like Gary."

Tony had heard the stories about Gary Smith.  "Yeah, same psychotic bullshit...Take over the school, control the cliques....."

"Seems like this Jake isn't that smart", said Jimmy, "Seeing as how he tried to run you over in front of witnesses."

"He lets his anger get the better of his judgment, that's for sure", Tony reflected.  "Still......"

He shook his head. "Tell me about what happened to you last summer....I've heard stories....You didn't......", Tony hesitated.

"Kill anyone ?", smiled Jimmy wirily. "No....I'm a tough asshole, but I ain't no killer.  Gary Smith and Edgar Munsen were both killed by the same guy, all right....But, it wasn't me.  It was...A guy I never seen before last summer....."

Jimmy began to tell the story of how a new person had appeared among the Townies in Blue Skies about mid-summer.  He was big, strong and tough.  Somehow, he met Gary over there...Gary had Fled to Blue Skies soon after being expelled from Bullworth.  And Gary was seeking revenge.  He befriended the new guy just the way he had Jimmy.....But his plan was to have the new guy take over the Townies so he could control them from behind the scenes, and thereby have them attack the school.  Soon enough, with threats and intimidation, he had the new guy bully a majority of the other Townies over to his side and attempted to take over the entire group.

Jimmy had been over in Blue Skies then, mostly staying with Zoe, his main girl that summer.  When he had heard of a battle brewing, he had gone to see Edgar, to offer to stand with him, as Edgar had helped him save the school from Gary.  Jimmy hadn't known that Gary was involved in sparking the battle, since Gary was a master of staying out of sight and only popping up where one least expected him.  And here is where Jimmy saw him now, his gloating face close behind the big guy (Bigger than Russell !), boxed into a corner with Edgar in the shadows of the Chem Plant, Gary's insane laughter urging the big guy on......

FINISH THEM OFF !!! Gary was screaming, FINISH THOSE COCKSUCKERS OFF !!!

But something had gone horribly wrong then, very wrong for Gary.  He had grossly underestimated the big guy, perhaps thought him to be a dumb twit like he thought of everyone, Gary always thought he was smartest of the bunch, smarter than anyone.  But this time, he had gone too far.  With an ugly smirk on his face, the big guy had turned towards Gary, then suddenly reached down and grabbed a suddenly surprised Gary by his ankles and hoisted him up like a sack of feathers.  Swinging Gary like a baseball bat, he had used him like a weapon, attacking Jimmy and Edgar.  Jimmy's reflexes were quick and he managed to duck, but Edgar wasn't as lucky.  A swinging Gary's head connected with Edgar's skull with a huge crack, blood and matter spewing off the point of contact like globs of sweat off of a punched boxer.  Then the big guy had hoisted the now-limp Gary up over his head, and slammed the body at full force into Jimmy, knocking him out.

Jimmy had come to in a jail cell, charged with Murder. 

Tony had listened to Jimmy's story in silence.  He now asked, although he was pretty sure he knew........"What was that big guy's name ?  Do you know ?"

"I never knew his real name", Jimmy said, "But Zoe told me that everybody called him....Big Darrell."
__________________________________________   

[CHUCKX53]

Come the morning light, Jake was up and busy with new plans.  The first on the top of the list was a new Identity.  This wasn't going to be a problem, since while he was at the Carnival, he had learned how to dummy up passable fake I.D.s.  He searched in his bag, and pulled a number of them out from a secret concealed pouch.  Flipping through them, he selected one that he especially liked....The names of two characters from his favorite video game that he used to play, before coming to this hellhole. 

The name on this card read "Leo Cash".  It would be perfect for what he now had to do.....Go to the Bank and rent a safety-deposit box.  He could alter his appearance later, with a new hair style, and coloring.  He had enough money on hand to last for quite a while, and he intended to rent a place in the area, but for now he needed a spot to stash all his goods.....And what better place than right under their noses ?

Jake watched through the blinds as Constantinos left the room on the other side of the motel.  Where was that little fuck going now ?  Probably on some errand for his Master, that thieving jackwipe Tony.  Then a revelation hit him.

Jake let out a soft laugh.  He understood now that he had been going about things in the wrong way.  His plans had failed because there was still unity in the Cliques.  That trust needed to be destroyed.

He had tried the Enemy Without....Now it was time for the Enemy Within.
___________________________________________

[CHUCKX53]

After Constantinos had left to bring back a change of clothing for Jimmy, the boys continued their talk from last night.  Tony related to Jimmy what he knew of the assault on Zoe, and as he did, Jimmy's face first showed shock, and then anger. 

"Who the HELL did this to her ?", he asked, hotly.  "I'll tear that asshole apart !!"

"From what little I could find out from Trent, it was that Big Darrell fuck and some of the Townies", Tony answered.

"Trent ??  What's that queer shit got to do with it ?", questioned Jimmy.

"He helped save Zoe, from what I've heard, along with the Bullies, the Jocks, and a new group known as the Rockers", Tony went on.  "She got assaulted, sure, but she could've gotten killed by them, probably would have, if all those guys hadn't helped.  And, Jimmy....You oughtta know...Trent and Zoe are together now...."

"WHAT ??  You gotta be shitting me !!", Jimmy exclaimed in amazement. "Trent....And Zoe ??"

"Yeah", Tony said.  "Everyone thinks it's kinda weird.  I gotta feeling that something happened, something that brought them together...Some secret shared...."

"Whatta mean ?", Jimmy asked.  "What kinda secret ?"

"About a week after the assault, Big Darrell disappeared.  Trent clammed up when he got to that part of the story, even though to get what I got from him, I practically had to beat it outta him", Tony reflected.  "Seems like nobody's talking, nobody knows nothing.....But Trent knows, I'm sure of it....And Zoe knows too."

"Whoa", Jimmy shook his head, laying back on the chair to take it all in.  After a while, he asked Tony to tell him more about Pete.  Tony detailed his relationship with Pete, from meeting him through his final stand in the back lot of the school on Christmas Eve night.  Jimmy had been stunned to learn of Pete's serious, near-fatal injury, and now he had some farther questions.

"Where did Pete get a Magnum ?", was Jimmy's first one.  "The Harringtons and The Spencers don't allow guns here. Even the Cops aren't allowed to carry them."

"I think Pete lifted it from Crabblesnich's office, maybe sometime earlier.  Maybe as Insurance, I don't know.....Pete knew a lot of things that maybe he shouldn't have."  When Jimmy looked at him quizzically, Tony added, "I know all about the files, Jimmy....And about that special file, too.  The ones you gave Pete for safekeeping, told him to get rid of.  Pete told me he buried it someplace, away from the school."

"He did, Huh ?", Jimmy seemed to consider for a moment. "So...Seems Pete had confidence in you....Trusted you, Huh ?"

"I sorta helped him out of a bad scrape", Tony replied, and proceeded to tell Jimmy of the Bogus charges leveled against Pete that he was a pervert, and how he had found out the truth.

"This Jake again", Jimmy said, amused.  "Seems to be good at this sort of thing, setting people up.  It's funny though....Everybody knows Pete's a straight arrow.  It's Burton who's the big pervert at that school.  That fuck once paid me to go swipe some panties from the Girl's Dorm for him."  Jimmy caught Tony giving him a funny look.  "Hey, it was good money !  I don't give a shit what that old perv does to get his rocks off.....I just did it for the cash !"

Tony laughed and shook his head.  "I can't talk....I done some strange things for money since I been at this school, too.  Kinda hard not to, if you wanna survive."

"Got that right", Jimmy said. "This is the weirdest school I ever went to, alright."

Tony checked the cheap clock on the bedside table.  "Constantinous oughtta be back soon.  We'll get you outfitted, and decide what our next move is gonna be."

"I'm not staying here", Jimmy announced.  "I gotta place to hide out at. Much safer than this."

Tony looked at him in surprise. "What, some kind of secret place ?"

Jimmy laughed. "You might say that. I found it accidently last summer. Got to poke around every inch of this crazy place, so I thought....But if it hadn't been for banging into a wall, I woulda never found it at all."

Jimmy could see Tony had a lot of questions.  He waved a hand.  "From what you told me, Pete put a lotta trust in you.  Anybody Pete can vouch for is good enough for me.  I'll take you to it, but only you....Nobody else can know, understand ? Guess I'm staying, help you work things out...A deal's a deal.  I might as well be comfortable while I'm doing it."

"Where is this place ?" Tony asked.

"Well....You might say, it's in the mountains", Jimmy laughed. "Like, really IN the mountains."
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