Most of the Round Table leadership team was present – Lance, Ricky, Reyna, Esteban, Justin, Darnell, Techie, and Chris – along with Arthur, Jenny, Merlin, Ryan and Gibson. Surrounded by towering oaken shelves filled with books, they were seated all around the room, every one of them feeling tense and uncertain. They’d already spoken with the mayor and police chief via conference call. Both men expressed deep concerns and vowed to give Arthur all the power at their disposal, including reassigning Ryan and Gibson as round-the-clock New Camelot guardians, and offering as much police protection as needed whenever anyone ventured forth from the hotel.
Lance looked straight at Sergeant Gibson, who had asked him again if he could think of anyone he might’ve pissed off. “Sergeant, you know me. I don’t get in people’s faces. There’s nobody I can think of who hates me like that.” Then he shivered. “’Cept maybe Richard or Mr. D.”
Gibson exchanged a look with Ryan.
“Maybe one ’a those guys hired somebody,” Ricky put in with a twinge of hope. If it wasn’t either of them, they were sitting ducks for the real maniac.
Gibson considered the idea, turning it over in his mind. “Possible. Of the two, Diosdado is better connected. We’ll explore that avenue. And we need to keep your phone for now, Lance. The FBI’ll want it.”
“Mom and Dad just gave me that phone for my birthday,” Lance protested, not wanting to part with it. “’Sides, this guy always gets my new number. Even Michael couldn’t figure out where he was sending from.” He glanced at Arthur and Jenny. Their faces were creased with worry. Both, he knew, were in their early thirties, but suddenly they looked older and more tired than ever. He felt terrible, not so much because of the threats against him, but because this whole business was spoiling their wedding plans. And more than anything, he wanted them to be happy.
Jenny offered a tight, but loving smile. “We’ll get you a new phone, honey. Don’t worry.”
Lance tried for a grateful smile, but knew it probably looked more like a grimace of indigestion. Then he looked at Ryan and Gibson soberly. “Nino, Sergeant Gibson, I need you guys to do something for me.”
Then men appeared taken aback, as though Lance might think there was anything they wouldn’t do for him. “Anything,” Ryan said.
Lance looked straight at them. “I need you to clear Michael’s name.”
He heard Ricky suck in a breath beside him, but refused to look.
“Lance,” Ryan began hesitantly, eyeing his partner for backup. “We, uh, we have bigger problems to worry about.”
Now Ricky spoke, his voice tight with barely contained jealousy. “Yeah, Lance, Michael’s dead, anyway.”
Now Lance flashed the other boy such an angry look that Ricky recoiled. “Exactly. He can’t clear his name anymore.”
Gibson cleared his throat. “Lance, if we announce that Michael was innocent of those attacks, that might frighten the public because they’ll know the real culprit is still at large.”
Lance’s gaze never wavered as he fixed his sharp eyes on the detective. “Sergeant Gibson, I’ve learned a lot from my Dad these past couple of years, and one of the most important things is that a man’s reputation is all he’s got in life. I don’t want Michael’s rep to be someone who was just a monster. I want it to be the truth. I owe him that much.”
“I agree with my son,” the king said, casting a look of pride Lance’s way.
Ryan, too, understood the truth of the boy’s words, marveling yet again just how savvy his godson had become.
“Very well, Lance,” Gibson said. “I’ll tell Chief Murphy and the mayor to make a statement to the press, clear Michael’s name.”
Lance grinned now, for the first time since receiving the ominous text. “Thanks.”
He lost the grin as he turned to meet Ricky’s eyes boring into him. His heart lurched at the sad, almost betrayed look on the boy’s face.
Lance felt bad, but knew he’d done the right thing for Michael. He’d work it out with Ricky later, after the meeting ended.
“Okay,” Gibson went on, “here’s how it’s got to be from here on out. This place is on lock-down status. I know those Kabbalogy folks are gonna be pissed, but so be it. No one enters this facility without a complete and thorough background check by us, just like before. No one will leave without armed police escort – either Sergeant Ryan or myself or one of the uniforms the chief will have patrolling the grounds. Justin.” He turned to his son.
The tall African-American knight sat up straighter in his chair and focused on his father. “Yeah, Dad?”
Gibson eyed his son with obvious pride, realizing just how far the boy had come since meeting Arthur, and how much their own relationship had improved. “Get as many of the older knights as you can back on 24/7 patrol duty inside this house and grounds. Triple the numbers if you can. I want every window and door on the ground floor checked at five minute intervals, and the outside gates at three.”
Justin felt great pride in himself that his tough, reticent father trusted him with so important a task. “Yes, sir.”
Gibson met his son’s eyes, and offered a slight grin of approval.
“What about the wedding, Sergeant?” Reyna asked anxiously, sitting on Esteban’s lap, the two of them buried within an enormous stuffed chair.
Gibson turned to Arthur and Jenny. “Anybody coming who’s not part of the Round Table already?”
“Uh, my friend Karla from school,” Jenny said, leaning forward in her chair. “A couple of friends from the gym I used to go to. That’s about all.” Reyna nudged her. “Oh, and Reyna’s parents.”
“Father Mike and Pastor Tom,” Lance added quickly.
Gibson digested this information. “That’s it?”
Reyna glanced at Lance and raised her brows.
“Oh, yeah,” Lance said sheepishly. “My bud Harry and his One Direction guys are coming to perform.”
Gibson and Ryan exchanged a startled look. “Has this been made public?” Gibson asked anxiously.
Lance shook his head. “I told Harry not to tweet about it or tell anyone till afterwards.”
The two detectives exchanged another look of concern. “Those kids have paparazzi up the wazzu, Ry,” Gibson said. “Word gets out and we’ll have a thousand girls crowding around outside.”
Ryan sighed. “Looks like double the uniforms for the wedding.” He turned to Arthur. “Maybe hire a private security firm for the day too. I’ll get clearance on a few agencies and let you know.”
Arthur offered a grateful smile. “Thank you, James.”
The meeting wrapped up shortly after that, with Ryan, Gibson, and Justin setting off to establish their base of operations within a sector of the Computer Lab, and to begin mobilizing the needed patrols. In addition, Gibson would contact the FBI and have them send over the agents assigned to the San Francisco bombing to retrieve Lance’s phone.
Reyna gave Lance and Ricky a hug each, and Esteban placed a thick, heavy hand on each boy’s shoulder. “They want you, carnales, they gotta go through me.” He grinned, and the boys returned it.
After they left, Arthur turned to Merlin, who’d sat attentively during the entire meeting without saying so much as a word. “Any thoughts, old friend? Does your sight offer any answers?”
The ageless wizard sat pensively in his favorite stuffed armchair, clad in a Metallica tee, with the ever-present ear buds dangling down the front of his shirt. “Alas, Arthur, I see very little ahead.” Then he frowned, chewing his bottom lip absently.
“What?” Arthur asked.
The wizard frowned. “But I sense deep sadness and loss.”
Lance sucked in a breath.
Arthur sighed gravely. “Nothing more than that?”
Merlin’s almost otherworldly features crinkled and his pale gray eyes glossed over a moment in deep thought, and then he shook his head. “No.”
Arthur stood slowly, feeling the weight of so many lives on his shoulders. Jenny stood with him, taking his
hand in hers and offering an encouraging smile. “If you do see something, Merlin, would you tell me?”
Now Merlin’s face went blank and expressionless, his eyes unreadable. “You know the answer to that, Arthur. I am not permitted to interfere, merely to advise as I see fit.”
Arthur nodded sadly, flashed a tight smile at Jenny, and then both approached the boys.
Lance and Ricky stood to face their parents. Both boys were taller than Jenny, but still felt small and lightweight next to the towering Arthur.
“We will endure, my sons,” Arthur said with conviction. “Many a man tried to take me down in the past, and all failed. And no one shall hurt my boys. No one.” His eyes burned with anger even as his heart burned with love.
Impulsively, the boys leaned in and hugged the man, Lance reaching out to pull Jenny in. “I know, Dad,” Lance said against the man’s tunic. “And we got your back too.”
Arthur smiled at Jenny. Such amazing boys, he knew, such a blessing they’d been given. They were a family, and they would prevail.
†††
Later that night in Lance’s room, Ricky lay sprawled out across Lance’s bed, head once more atop Lance’s lap, as Lance sat propped against his headboard. Both had been trying to study, but found they could not. The weight of the threat against them frayed their nerves and they finally set down their textbooks and just lay there lost in thought. Lance toyed with Ricky’s thick strands of hair while Ricky held Lance’s other hand and played with the long, slender fingers.
Lance sighed. “I know you wanna talk about Michael.”
Ricky released his hand. “No, I don’t. Somebody’s out to kill you and all you think about is Michael.”
“Do you understand why I want his name cleared?” Lance asked almost desperately.
Ricky sighed heavily, finally turning his eyes to meet those of Lance above him. “Yes, but…”
Lance frowned. “But what?”
Ricky sat up now, and Lance’s lap instantly felt empty, almost lonely, without him in it. Their eyes met.
“Am I always gonna hafta compete with the ghosts of Michael and Jack for the rest of my life?” Ricky finished, his voice barely above an anxious whisper.
Lance reached out and cupped his face, forcing their eyes to lock. “No. You’re the one I love. The only one.”
Ricky smiled, warmth filling his heart. “For now and always?”
Lance returned the smile. “For now and always.”
He leaned in and sealed the promise with a kiss.
†††
The next week passed rapidly. Justin stepped up the patrols as ordered, uniformed LAPD officers patrolled the perimeter of New Camelot, and more protestors massed outside the front gates. Besides the Lance Cultists who believed he was the new messiah, there were also parents’ rights groups protesting the CBOR, as well as anti-gay groups protesting Lance and Ricky with signs reading “Gay Boys Burn in Hell” and “Queers Can’t Be Role Models for Our Kids!”
In addition, plans for the wedding and the attendant security for the event also moved forward. Reyna pulled out all the stops, wanting it to be the biggest event of the decade. Jenny had to restrain the younger woman’s excesses lest the entire hotel be overrun with flowers, and the kitchen staff overburdened with extreme demands.
More and more comments and suggestions came into their website and Facebook page about the CBOR, and Lance was especially pleased to get emails from Mark’s dad in Washington and Jack’s mom in Idaho pledging their support. Lance asked them to head up the creation of “Yes On CBOR” groups in their hometowns, and both agreed at once.
The only big event that week prior to the wedding was the appearance of Lance and Ricky on The Ellen Show. Ellen had arranged to do a live broadcast and to fill the studio audience with teenagers so they could ask questions of the boys. Because the show would be live, word had gone out to every media outlet, and billboards popped up throughout Los Angeles advertising the event. Unfortunately for Ryan and Gibson, this meant the taping would be a likely target for the person or persons stalking Lance. Security would have to match that of a presidential visit, if not surpass it.
The show was recorded on Stage 1 of the Warner Brothers Studio back lot in Burbank, and the day of the boys’ appearance probably freaked out everyone who worked there. Cops with bomb sniffing dogs arrived to sweep the stage and surrounding areas. The entire soundstage was searched repeatedly from top to bottom, with officers standing guard all day checking on everyone who entered or left. They even recruited the television crew members to scour the area, including all rafters above the set, for any defective or loose lighting fixtures or anything else that could be potentially lethal should it fall.
Finally, the studio audience of one hundred fifty excited, chattering, boisterous teens dressed in everything from ties and skirts to skin-tight jeans and muscle shirts filed into the seating area under the watchful eye of Ryan, Gibson and uniformed officers strategically placed at each entrance.
Lance and Ricky stood nervously off in the wings. They were dressed in their finest knightly tunics, pants and boots, with both sporting shimmering regal-looking circlets round their brows, their long vibrant locks almost possessing a life of its own.
They scanned the enormous set spread out before them – beautiful, gleaming reddish wood floor and walls, with plants scattered about and decorations on the walls. There was a table that looked like a slice of tree trunk surrounded by three enormous red chairs. The back wall was a huge flat-screen currently projecting the biggest image Lance had ever seen of himself and Ricky, taken the day they’d kissed in front of the entire world. This shot had them grinning broadly, hands clasped and raised triumphantly into the air. Lance nudged Ricky and pointed to the image. Both boys giggled nervously.
Esteban and Reyna hovered nearby, he with his sword and she with her bow and arrows. Their eyes scrutinized every crewman and even the camera operators for any suspicious behavior.
Lance gave Esteban the chin nod as Ellen’s assistant approached and told the boys the show would be starting in two minutes. Ellen would enter, do her opening routine, and then introduce them. “Remember, boys, the show will be live,” she admonished, sounding like an elementary school teacher. “There will be a five-second delay, but please no profanity.” Then she walked away to speak to one of the camera operators.
Lance and Ricky exchanged a look. Profanity? When had they ever cussed on TV before? Reading his mind, as always, Ricky smirked. “She’s probably thinking of when you cussed out them reporters in January.”
Lance flushed red with embarrassment. He’d forgotten that less-than-princely moment. Then he grinned. “Yeah, but I’m not hung over this time, so when I do cuss it’ll be on purpose.”
Ricky returned the grin and they nervously shoved each other back and forth. Then Ellen’s opening music came on and the assistant was back, shushing them as the show began. When her back was turned, Ricky stuck out his tongue and Lance had to clap a hand over his mouth to keep from busting up.
Ellen entered through the audience, singing and dancing her way up and down the aisles as the excited teens clapped and whooped. Once on stage, Ellen joked with the kids about them having ditched school for this live taping and how “I won’t tell your parents if you don’t.” That got a big laugh from the crowd and Ellen mugged for the camera. “Oh, yeah, we’re live. They probably already know. I’ll let you all sneak out the back door just in case.” Another big laugh.
Lance was impressed. He’d never watched her show, but he’d been on before talking about Proposition 51, and she was good with the crowd, natural and easy-going. That’s why he and Ricky agreed to this gig – they felt comfortable with Ellen, as all these other kids obviously did too.
Suddenly she was introducing them. “And now, ladies and gentlemen and all of you out there in live TV land,” Ellen said excitedly, “the moment everyone has anticipated for the past two weeks. I think we all saw the most famous kiss since Rh
ett Butler kissed Scarlet O’Hara––yes, kids, there was one more famous than Bella and Edward.”
The audience laughed and clapped.
“So, without further adieu, I present Sir Lance and Sir Ricky of King Arthur’s Round Table. Let’s give it up.”
She waved her hands at the crowd and they burst into thunderous applause.
The assistant practically shoved Lance and Ricky forward, embarrassing them even further. Stepping out onto the burnished wood of the stage and into the bright klieg lights shining down on them from above, the boys were caught off guard by the crowd leaping to its collective feet and chanting their names.
“Long live Lance! Long live Ricky! Long live Lance! Long live Ricky!” Over and over they chanted as the applause grew to a frenzied pitch.
The boys waved shyly to the audience as they stepped toward Ellen and the waiting chairs. Normally, Lance didn’t feel this nervous in front of a crowd anymore, but these were peers, and the topic of conversation would be his personal life. That combination almost froze the breath in his lungs.
Ellen beamed, clapping and pointing at them as the crowd went wild with more applause. She shook each of their hands and invited them to sit. Lance ended up in the seat closest to Ellen, with Ricky on his right.
Ellen looked casual and relaxed in her off-white, corduroy pants suit, sneakers, V neck white shirt, and glittery necklace as she smiled warmly at them. “I have to tell you boys, that kiss, oh my God, I almost melted when I saw that.”
The boys blushed, and the kids in the audience cheered loudly, prompting Ellen to encourage them. “Am I right, was that a beautiful kiss or what?”
The audience cheered and whooped some more and one girl’s voice could be heard calling out, “Kiss me, Sir Lance!” causing another round of laughs and cheers.
Lance eyed Ricky and reddened again. This was already embarrassing and they’d barely started!
“So, Sir Lance and Sir Ricky, can I just call you Lance and Ricky, is that okay?” Ellen went on in that ebullient, hyper-kinetic manner she often adopted.
The boys both nodded simultaneously, and Ellen grinned. “Cool. Now, you two are a couple, correct?”
And The Children Shall Lead Page 7