Jackal

by Jeff Stone

  Keng leaned close to Hú Dié. “Hey, honey. Long time, no see.”

  “Leave me alone, Keng,” she replied. “We are done.”

  I stared at Hú Dié in disbelief. “You know this guy?”

  “Know her?” Keng said. “I dated her!”

  “I would not call it that,” Hú Dié said, and turned to me. “Keng lives near my bike shop, and we went to a couple races together. He is good on a road bike, but useless on a mountain bike.”

  Keng’s beady eyes gleamed. “Good thing for me this is a road bike race.”

  Phoenix opened his mouth to say something, but then he closed it again. I noticed that his hands were balled into fists.

  Keng looked at him. “Hey, I remember you! You are the guy who likes to kick guys like me in the groin, right? We are going to have fun out there today, pal. Count on it.”

  “You attacked me in Kaifeng last month!” Phoenix said. “I was minding my own business when you tried to steal my backpack!”

  “So you say,” Keng said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “I do not have time for this. I have a race to win.” He walked off.

  Phoenix stared at Hú Dié with the same disbelieving look I probably still had on my face.

  “You actually dated that slimeball?” Phoenix asked.

  “We raced together,” she replied, “not dated. But even if I did date him, so what?”

  “Never mind,” Phoenix said, and looked away.

  Hú Dié nodded. “That is what I thought. Mind your own business, Phoenix, and put your opinions aside until after the race. We need to be focused.”

  “Here, here!” Ryan’s mom said. “Get focused and stay focused, gang. I think this is going to be a short race.”

  “How short?” I asked.

  “It hasn’t been officially announced yet, but there are rumors of it being a criterium. I can’t believe Mr. Chang hasn’t released the race details yet. I’ve never heard of such a thing. This clearly isn’t a sanctioned race, but no matter. It is what it is. You can’t afford to let your minds wander.”

  “No way,” Ryan said. “Look who’s coming.”

  I turned to see SaYui, or Shark, headed our way. He used to work for DuSow, and he also raced against us in California. With him were Lucas and Philippe, two Frenchmen who had also raced against us in California and worked for DuSow. Hok’s dragon bone antidote had saved all three of them from certain death, which converted them from our enemies to instant compatriots.

  “Hello, friends!” SaYui said.

  “Yes, bonjour!” Lucas and Philippe said as one.

  “Hi, guys,” Ryan said. “We didn’t know you were going to be here.”

  “Mr. Chang wanted to keep it a surprise,” SaYui said. “He thought it would be fun for us to race alongside you again since we went so close to the wire last time.”

  “Mr. Chang is full of surprises,” I said, “but I don’t mind. We beat you once; we’ll do it again.” I winked.

  SaYui laughed.

  Ryan’s mom cleared her throat. “Nice seeing you guys again, but I’m afraid you’re going to have to leave the kids alone now. You’re welcome to come back after the race to chat.”

  “Of course,” SaYui said. “We mean no harm. We will see you at the end of the race, when perhaps one of you is on the podium! Best of luck!”

  “Best of luck!” I shouted back, and I grabbed my new road bike. Ryan’s mom made us do some warm-up drills on stationary trainers that Ling had brought, and then we cooled down. I was feeling pretty good. I’d rather have been on a BMX bike or even a mountain bike, but this was fine. My friends were happy, and that made me happy. They looked all rested, too. We’d talked a bit on the train, catching each other up with what happened with Lin Tan and all that, but we’d spent most of the time getting some shut-eye, which was key. Jet lag was at the front of everyone’s minds, and we hoped it wouldn’t play a role in the race today.

  At ten a.m. sharp, we lined up with the other riders and strapped on our helmets as we listened to the rules. It was going to be a closed-course criterium through select streets here in downtown Shanghai, just like the race in California had been, except this one was taking place in daylight. We would race around a three-mile loop for an hour, at which time a bell would sound to indicate that there was to be one final lap. Whoever crossed the finish line first without being lapped would be declared the winner.

  “Riders ready!”

  “Here we go!” Ryan said excitedly.

  “Take your mark!”

  “Let’s show them who deserves to be on a billboard!” I shouted.

  BANG!

  The starter pistol fired, and we were off.

  We started in the front row, but so did Keng’s team and SaYui’s team. The starting line was very wide, so there was plenty of room for us all, but it meant that none of us had any excuses. If we won, it was simply because we were better than the others.

  My teammates and I formed the familiar peloton, or line, that we’d drilled for weeks in California. Ryan rode in the lead position, blocking much of the wind for the rest of us with his wide, powerful body. Phoenix rode behind him, followed by Hú Dié and then me. In a normal road race lasting several hours, we would rotate every few minutes, each of us taking turns in the lead. However, in a short race like this, we’d let Ryan pull until his legs gave out. Then he’d fall off to the end of the line and hang on until either his strength returned or he simply stopped trying to keep up with us.

  This team approach meant that Ryan wouldn’t win the race, but neither would Hú Dié or I. Phoenix was our designated sprinter, and it was everybody else’s job to keep his legs as fresh as possible for the final sprint to the finish line. He’d burned up too much of his energy too early in the California race, and Hú Dié and I had passed him. I doubted he’d make the same mistake today.

  Our team took the early lead out front, blasting along Shanghai’s closed-off streets, but I soon heard people pulling up behind me as I was riding caboose. It was Keng’s team. Keng was in the number two position, just like Phoenix. It didn’t surprise me. I did my best to ignore their entire team as their lead rider latched on to my rear wheel, which allowed him and his entire team to be pulled partially along by me, in my slipstream. It wasn’t the least bit illegal, and professional teams did it all the time. Sometimes there were more than a hundred riders in a single peloton. The trouble was, the more riders you had drafting off of one another, the more likely there was to be an accident, usually a large one. Keng’s lead teammate clearly knew that, because he purposely bumped his front tire against my back tire five times in an effort to throw me off balance.

  “Yo!” I shouted. “Step off! You don’t want a piece of me!”

  “What’s wrong?” Hú Dié asked from in front of me.

  “Keng’s lead knucklehead is bumping my back tire.”

  Hú Dié said something in Chinese that sounded a lot like cursing, and she shouted, “Falling off!”

  “What?” I said.

  Hú Dié pulled out of our line and stopped pedaling, slowing until her front wheel was in line with the back of mine. I sped up and latched my front tire to Phoenix’s rear tire, which should have left plenty of room for Hú Dié to slide in behind me. However, Keng’s entire team began to speed up, closing off the space that Hú Dié clearly planned to occupy.

  Hú Dié wasn’t having any of it. She cut her front wheel in front of Keng’s lead rider, and the lead rider freaked out. He obviously hadn’t expected her to do that. He swerved to avoid Hú Dié’s front tire, and he slammed into a hay-bale barrier wall that had been constructed around the entire course for situations just like this. Keng swerved expertly around his fallen lead rider, and the two guys behind Keng swerved successfully as well.

  Keng’s team’s swerving slowed them a bit, and SaYui’s team pulled up next to them.

  “Is your guy all right?” SaYui asked Keng.

  “Who cares?” Keng replied. “He deserved what he got.
Rookie mistake. He has no business riding with us.”

  “That’s pretty harsh,” SaYui said. “Do you think that you are a pro now, kid?”

  “Sure,” Keng said. “Watch.” He got out of his saddle and began to sprint, pulling ahead of SaYui and letting SaYui latch on to his rear wheel.

  “Impressive,” SaYui said in a sarcastic tone. “Let’s see you do that forty-five minutes from now.”

  “Why wait forty-five minutes when we can test one another’s skills right now?” Keng said, and slammed on his brakes.

  SaYui plowed into the back of Keng’s bike.

  And Lucas plowed into the back of SaYui’s bike.

  And Philippe plowed into the back of Lucas’s bike.

  And Philippe, Lucas, and SaYui all went down in a heap.

  Keng’s bike swerved wildly, but he managed to just barely steer clear of the barriers and regain control of his bike. That was the most insane move I’d ever seen anyone do on a road bike. Somebody could have gotten killed. As far as I could tell, SaYui and his teammates were still alive, though they all likely suffered broken bones.

  “Yee-haw!” Keng whooped. “Isn’t that what those Yankee boyfriends of yours shout when they are excited about something, Hú Dié?”

  She didn’t reply.

  I heard Ryan begin to puff like a steam engine up front, and we began to pick up speed. Keng slowed and pulled in between his two remaining teammates behind us.

  “Did you see that?” I asked Phoenix. “That Keng kid is out of his mind.”

  “I saw,” Phoenix said. “Let him try that garbage with me.”

  “I think Hú Dié may get to him before you,” I said.

  “I heard that!” Hú Dié said. “You are right, Jake. I have your back if he tries to pull anything against us.”

  We zoomed past the start/finish line, having completed one full lap. Keng’s team had lost one rider, and SaYui had lost his entire team. At this rate, there wouldn’t be any riders left by the end of the race.

  Ryan kept us going at a blistering pace, and the crowd seemed to appreciate it. Most of the people watching the race were concentrated at the start/finish line, and every time we passed and were still in the lead, they cheered louder. Things continued really well until a full fifty minutes into the race, when Ryan shouted, “Falling … off!”

  The poor kid hardly had enough air left to complete the sentence. He was completely spent, and it was no wonder. He’d pulled us so fast for so long, we’d lapped more than half of the other teams, and they were all adults.

  Ryan pulled out of our line, and Keng’s team took this as their opportunity to strike. They rushed forward, still in their peloton, and their lead rider latched his tire on to the back of Hú Dié’s rear tire.

  Ryan was blocked out.

  Hú Dié began to slow, forcing Keng’s team back, while Phoenix saw what was happening and began to hammer in front of me. I hammered as well, and we opened up a nice space for Ryan between the back of my rear tire and the front of Hú Dié’s front tire.

  But it was all wasted effort on our part. Ryan was toast.

  “Sorry … guys,” he huffed. “I’m … done.”

  “Don’t quit!” Hú Dié cried.

  “I … won’t,” Ryan said. “I just can’t … run with … you big dogs … anymore.”

  “You’re the biggest dog in the pound!” I shouted. “You pulled us like crazy for fifty minutes! We’re going to win this for you!”

  “Thanks,” Ryan managed to huff, and he began to slow until he was out of sight.

  “Very touching!” Keng shouted from behind us. “I think it is about time we got this party started.” He pulled out from behind his lead rider and began to sprint. When he neared Hú Dié, she swerved in front of him, trying to make him swerve out of control, but he easily avoided her aggressive maneuver.

  “I was expecting that, pretty girl,” Keng said, blowing her a kiss. “Now stay in the back of the train where you belong.” He sprinted again, passing Hú Dié. The kid might be as skinny as a toothpick and as nutty as a chestnut tree, but he was strong.

  Phoenix began to pick up speed in front of me, and I shouted, “Fall off, Phoenix! Let me pull you to the finish.”

  “No, I got this,” he replied. “There’s not much time left.”

  “Don’t be stupid,” I said. “Fall off!”

  “If you want to be ahead of me so badly, pass me,” Phoenix said.

  What an idiot, I thought. Well, it takes one to know one.

  I pulled outside of Phoenix and began to sprint as we crossed over the start/finish line yet again. This time, a bell sounded, and the crowd roared. Just one more lap, and it was over.

  I hammered with everything I had and managed to pull ahead of Phoenix.

  Keng was off to the side and slightly behind my stubborn best friend.

  “Very nice sprint, Jake,” Keng said. “Perhaps you should have remained in Phoenix’s slipstream until the final straightaway.”

  I wanted to reply with something sarcastic and clever, but I didn’t have the breath for it. My lungs were now burning as much as my legs. Sprinting ahead of Phoenix was incredibly stupid, but it was his best chance to win. I didn’t care about becoming China’s poster child for cycling, but Phoenix did. So did Ryan and Hú Dié. Ryan had already made his mark. There were cameras positioned all around the course, and more than a billion people had had the opportunity to watch him pull his team for nearly the entire race. Any cycling team on the planet would be happy to have him, especially since he was only fifteen years old.

  As for Hú Dié, she could obviously hang with adult guys. More than that, put her on a mountain bike against any man, woman, or child on the planet and she’d emerge victorious. She could write her own ticket as well.

  But Phoenix, he absolutely had to win this race. I wasn’t about to let him beat himself by burning out too fast like he always did.

  Keng began to pick up speed until he was neck and neck with Phoenix. I expected him to throw a punch or kick or something at Phoenix, but he didn’t. Instead, he just rode beside Phoenix, staring at him with those beady eyes.

  We rounded a curve, and I realized that we’d already ridden three-fourths of the final lap. We were flying. I needed to do something to tire Keng out. Fast.

  I looked over at him and huffed, “Hey … Keng! Why are you … pacing Phoenix? I’m … the one to beat!”

  Keng laughed. “You cannot even breathe, Jake! Give me a break.”

  I ground my teeth and willed my legs to push harder. I imagined I was propelling myself up the world’s tallest BMX ramp, where I needed to reach maximum speed or risk coming up short on the far end of the jump. In a lot of ways, it was the perfect analogy.

  I felt my speed increase, and I heard Keng laugh again. “Well, what do you know?” he said. “I guess I have been dancing with the wrong partner, after all. Let’s see what you have, blondie!”

  I continued to push with every ounce of strength I had, keeping my mind focused on that imaginary BMX ramp, blocking out everything else.

  I heard Keng groan and noticed that his speed increased just a hair.

  But only a hair.

  He was riding beside me on my left, and I risked a glance behind. Phoenix was still latched on to my rear wheel, being pulled along in my slipstream. He was breathing hard, but I’d heard him in much worse condition before. I smiled around my open mouth. This was going to work.

  Phoenix and I locked eyes, and I nodded my head ever so slightly to my right. Phoenix nodded back.

  I began to slowly veer to my left, toward Keng. He was breathing very hard, and his eyes were glued to the road directly in front of him. He was in the zone. A bomb could go off beside his head and he wouldn’t notice.

  I heard the crowd roar and saw that it was time for Phoenix to make his move.

  “Now!” I shouted, and Phoenix veered to his right. It would be a tight squeeze between me and the hay bales bordering that side of the course, bu
t he could just make it if he was careful.

  I continued to give everything I had, but there wasn’t much left. I felt myself begin to slow as Keng continued to drive forward at his blistering pace. He was approaching the start/finish line at a nearly incomprehensible speed.

  But Phoenix was going faster.

  I stared openmouthed as Phoenix absolutely blew past Keng to finish more than a bike length ahead of him. I’d seen it for myself but still couldn’t believe it. I’d never seen anybody finish with such authority. I couldn’t have been prouder of Phoenix.

  The crowd erupted with cheers like I’d never heard, and as I stopped pedaling to coast to a third-place finish, somebody blew past me.

  It was Hú Dié!

  She wailed like a banshee as she crossed the finish line, temporarily stealing some of Phoenix’s limelight.

  I rolled across the finish line with an entire field of adult men hot on my tail. I steered as best I could toward Phoenix and Hú Dié, who were hugging one another. It was great to see.

  Keng was nowhere in sight.

  I joined Phoenix and Hú Dié in a group hug, and we turned to watch Ryan pedal across the finish line. He hadn’t quit, and he was far from last. Many professionals who’d done what he had done would be in the back of an ambulance by now, sucking on an oxygen bottle.

  Phoenix, Hú Dié, and I abandoned our bikes and pushed our way through the cyclists to meet up with Ryan. His head hung low, and Hú Dié punched him in the arm.

  Hard.

  That got his attention.

  “Hey!” he shouted. “What was that for?”

  “For being awesome!” she replied, and she kissed him on the cheek. His already red face turned the color of a ripe apple.

  “Heck yeah, bro!” I said. “You da man!”

  “You sure are,” Phoenix said. “We couldn’t have done it without you!”

  “Done what?” Ryan asked. “I was too far back to see the end of the race. What happened?” He looked at me expectantly. “Did you win?”