And The Children Shall Lead

by Michael J. Bowler

  Lance suddenly felt choked up and his voice struggled with emotion. “I love you, too, Mom.”

  She released him and both adults gazed at the boy in wonder. He was easily five inches taller than Jenny now and could almost look Arthur in the eye. Lance squirmed under their scrutiny.

  “I shall forever thank God for leading me to you,” Arthur said quietly, his voice raw with emotion. “You have made my life extraordinary.”

  Lance grinned so broadly that both adults laughed. He leaned in and hugged them, the three holding on to each other with deep and steadfast love. Jenny’s thoughts drifted in directions she didn’t want them to go, like how Lance was almost grown and how Arthur’s time with them... No, she couldn’t think of any of that now, so she just focused on loving every moment she had, especially this one.

  Once back in the lobby, Lance waved for the others to follow and then headed straight for the main library. On the way, he told them what the adults had wanted, and Ricky gaped.

  “Mom actually said that?” he asked, astonished.

  Lance grinned and all four of them laughed.

  They found Merlin lounging in his favorite stuffed chair wearing an actual New Camelot tunic and standard leather pants instead of his usual heavy metal attire. He had a large volume in hand and ear buds jammed into both ears listening, no doubt, Lance deduced, to some hideous metal band. The small, thin man looked up as they entered, his pale gray eyes alight with pleasure.

  “Ah, the Native Knights, I presume,” he said with a grin and a slight bow of his head.

  “Hi, Merlin,” Lance said with a smile as he waved his arms at the oh-so-ordinary clothing. “What’s up? Ran out of metal bands to wear?”

  Merlin did not remove either bud from his ears, and merely shrugged. “I tired of that genre, Your Majesty. Sadly, it all sounds the same.”

  Lance’s face dropped in shock and he looked at Ricky. They both cracked up, though Kai and Dakota clearly had no idea why. Lance turned back to Merlin aghast. “It took you this long to figure that out?”

  Merlin smiled and shrugged again.

  Lance eyed Ricky with a smirk and then looked again at Merlin. “I’ll probably be sorry I asked, but what are you into these days?” He tapped his ear to indicate he meant the music.

  “Country and Western,” Merlin answered with a smile of delight.

  Lance’s mouth dropped open again. “Oh, that is so wrong.”

  Ricky laughed and Lance found himself joining in. There was just no figuring Merlin, so why bother trying?

  Merlin’s eyes seemed to twinkle as he observed the two laughing boys. “I trust Your Majesty and Sir Ricky are recovered from your near catastrophe this afternoon?”

  All four boys exchanged a look. How did Merlin know?

  Seeing their obvious confusion, Merlin smiled enigmatically. “So, Your Majesty, how may I be of service?”

  Lance frowned. “You could just call me Lance instead of Your Majesty, Merlin. I’m not the king.”

  “As you command, Sir Lance.”

  Lance exchanged another look with Ricky, a “See, what did I tell you?” look that Ricky instantly understood. Rather than pursue it, Lance explained his suspicions about a spy being in their midst, and the almost impossible task before them of trying to figure out who it could be.

  Merlin considered a moment. “It would seem your meeting with the man of your nightmares proved fruitful after all,” Merlin responded cryptically.

  Lance frowned. “Yeah, well, now I know he doesn’t scare me anymore. But what does that have to do with the spy?”

  Merlin smiled wisely. “Had Richard not requested to see you, the incident that occurred on your route home would not have transpired. Thus, you would still be in the dark, so to speak, about your hidden enemy.”

  Now Lance’s face lit up with understanding and he turned to Ricky. It was clear the other boy understood the irony, as well. Irony seems to run my life, Lance thought as he turned back to the smiling Merlin.

  “You’re right, Merlin,” he said. “But now how do we find him?”

  Merlin paused a moment, and then held up the volume in his hands. It was The Complete Sherlock Holmes. “I’ve found this detective, Mr. Holmes, quite fascinating, Sir Lance. Have you ever read any of his stories?”

  “Yeah, when I’s a kid hangin’ out at the library. But he’s not real, Merlin.”

  Merlin’s thin mouth curled with amusement. “Of course he isn’t, but his methods of deduction are quite ingenious. For example, consider this remark right here. ‘Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth’.”

  Lance exchanged looks with the others. The blank expressions on their faces told them they didn’t get it either. “So. What does that mean?”

  Merlin tilted his head slightly and fixed his gaze on Lance alone. “Eliminate everyone who is impossible and thus whoever remains, however improbable he or she may seem, must be the one.”

  Lance eyed the man discerningly, considering his words. “I suppose that makes sense,” he admitted thoughtfully. “But that means going through a lot of impossibles first.”

  Merlin’s eyes seemed to dance beneath the glittery chandelier lights overhead. “Ah, but consider, Sir Lance, that these attacks began some time back and were once attributed to your friend Michael, if you recall.”

  Lance’s eyes widened with sudden realization. “Shit, Ricky, he’s right!” he blurted, and then clapped a hand over his mouth. “Sorry, Merlin. Didn’t mean to cuss.”

  Merlin smiled. “No offense taken.”

  Ricky was looking at Lance intently, as were Kai and Dakota. Lance rubbed his fingers over his chin as Arthur often did when contemplating a dilemma. “That means the newer knights who joined after those early attacks on me could be considered ‘impossibles’.”

  “My thoughts, precisely, Your Ma––Sir Lance,” Merlin said, correcting himself with a grin and a shrug.

  Lance smiled. “Thanks, Merlin. As always, you rock.”

  “Except your taste in music,” Ricky threw out with a grimace of distaste.

  He and Lance chuckled as Merlin shrugged and returned to his reading. As the four boys left the library, Lance realized that once again Merlin could hear their every word without removing an ear bud, for which he was grateful since he disliked country music even more than heavy metal.

  †††

  The Native Knights headed for the Computer Lab to consult with Techie. As always, they found the young man seated at his workstation as though it were his throne, with Ariel propped into another chair leaning up against him, her head on his shoulder as his fingers flew almost magically over the keys like he was a concert pianist.

  The Vietnamese knight didn’t even glance up from his screen as Lance and the others approached. “Hey, guys, another close one today, huh?”

  That surprised Lance and he stopped up short, his suspicions instantly flying into overdrive. “How did you know about that?” He tried for calm, but his voice came out tight and guarded.

  The tone was not lost on Techie, who stopped typing and looked up at Lance, his eyes wide with uncertainty. “Reyna told me,” he answered, nodding his head to his right.

  Lance looked up and spotted Reyna and Esteban seated several stations down, eyeing him curiously.

  Shit, Lance thought angrily, now I’m suspecting Techie? Is this what that guy is turning me into?

  He looked abashed at the computer whiz. “Sorry, Techie. I’m a little spooked.” Then he acknowledged Ariel with a half-smile. “Hi, Ariel.”

  “Lance,” she said, but her look was directed at Ricky. “Hi, Ricky.”

  Ricky lowered his eyes. “Hey, Ariel.”

  Lance shifted with uncharacteristic discomfort. “Um, Ariel, we need to talk to Techie. Alone.”

  Her smile faltered and she suddenly looked embarrassed. “Oh. Okay.” She leaned in and kissed Techie on the cheek and then rose to move past Reyna and Esteban to a stati
on at the end of the row.

  Lance watched her go, feeling like crap for his paranoia and hating anew what he was becoming because of this stalker. Reyna met his eyes and he gestured for them to join him.

  As they rose, Techie turned from watching Ariel retreat to eye Lance with annoyance.

  Lance shook off his shame. No time for that. “Everybody gather round,” he told the group, and all rolled chairs over and clustered around Techie. Only Lance remained standing.

  He quickly filled them in on his conversation with Merlin while Techie sat and sulked in an uncharacteristic way. “I’m sorry, Techie, I’m sure Ariel and Bridget are fine, but we promised Dad no one outside the leadership team would know anything except what we make public.”

  “It’s true, Techie,” Reyna chimed in. “I heard him.”

  Techie nodded, but was clearly unhappy with the arrangement. He looked up at Lance dutifully. “So what do you need me to do?”

  Lance sighed. “Can you keep track of any knights who use these computers and go on the Internet?”

  Techie considered a moment. “I guess I could use programs like the big companies have to monitor their employees’ use of email and Internet.”

  Lance leaned in closer, his voice hushed and cautious. “Can you focus on knights who joined right when Michael did?”

  Techie sighed. “I’d have to filter names through the program, but Lance there are so many kids I don’t even know ’em all or when they joined.”

  “But you can try, right?”

  Techie suddenly looked exhausted and world-weary, older than his eighteen years, as though, like Lance, he felt the weight of the world on his shoulders. Shoving his sliding glasses back up the bridge of his nose, he sighed again. “Yeah, I’ll do what I can.”

  Lance smiled gratefully and then disbanded the meeting with the order to all of them to “Keep your eyes and ears open for any suspicious behavior from anyone.”

  “Even you?” Reyna replied with a smirk, arms folded across her chest.

  Ricky laughed. “Especially this fool.”

  That seemed to evaporate the tension and everyone went to a station to work on the CBOR. As Lance and Ricky started toward their own stations, Techie said, “Lance, can I talk to you a minute?”

  Lance turned to Ricky in surprise, but the other boy smiled, patted him on the shoulder and moved a few seats down to sit at his computer.

  Uncertainly, his heart suddenly thumping, Lance took a seat beside Techie and gazed long and hard at this young Asian who was the lifeblood of New Camelot. Had he ever told the boy how grateful he was?

  “What is it, Techie?” He dreaded the answer.

  Techie lowered his eyes shamefully. “You know how I put off college, Lance, to help you with the CBOR, and cuz I wanted to travel the country with you?”

  Lance nodded. They’d talked about this last summer after Techie graduated. “I know, and I love you for it, Techie,” he said gushingly, and meaning every word. “I don’t know what I’d do without you. You’re amazing.”

  Techie smiled shyly. He paused a moment, as though afraid to continue. “I’m, uh, well, I’m enrolling in UC Santa Barbara for next spring, Lance,” he blurted before he could chicken out. “I want to be close to Ariel and I want to major in computer science.”

  Lance felt the weight of advancing time press down on his thumping heart and fearful soul. They were all growing up, not just him. And they wanted lives of their own. He didn’t trust himself to speak for a moment. “I understand. You gotta do what’s best for you.”

  “I have a replacement in mind, though,” Techie offered with a half-smile.

  Lance eyed him in surprise, and then realized he shouldn’t have. With Techie nothing was unplanned. “Who?”

  Techie pointed down the row of computers to a small, skinny Caucasian kid with jet-black hair, short and curly, wearing a pale blue tunic, wire-rimmed glasses and hunched over his keyboard. Lance struggled for the boy’s name, but it frustratingly eluded him. The boy was a regular, he knew now that he took the time to look. So why don’t I know his name? He knew he couldn’t ever let himself get so busy that he neglected the needs of his knights.

  Sir Phillip! That’s his name!

  “Sir Phillip is as techie as you?” Lance asked, relieved that he didn’t have to ask the boy’s name.

  “Just about. And he’s only fifteen, so he has at least a couple more years of high school to go.”

  Lance listened as he watched the younger boy type. Small for his age, he noted, like I used to be. “What’s his story?”

  Techie frowned. “He got caught up in some Aryan brotherhood group out in Lancaster and wanted to get out.”

  “How come his parents didn’t just move away?”

  Techie looked disgusted. “They were the ones who got him into the group in the first place.”

  Now Lance recalled when the boy had joined them–last summer when they’d passed through Lancaster checking out the neighborhoods. Phillip had begged Arthur for the opportunity to join, and rode back with one of the Secret Service guys. Ryan had checked out the kid’s story and found out it was legit. When he’d sent officers to the boy’s home in Lancaster, it had been empty, cleaned out. Everyone had split in a hurry and moved their racism elsewhere.

  As an interesting twist of fate, since Justin and Gibson spent most of their time at New Camelot, Gibson’s ex, and soon to be current, wife, Sandra, had agreed to foster Phillip, despite the swastika his parents had tattooed onto his shoulder. It seemed to be working out well for everyone. Phillip went to school near Sandra’s house, and then hopped a bus for New Camelot where Techie had discovered his skills and taken him under his wing.

  Lance smiled at Techie warmly. “No one could ever replace you, Techie, but thanks for training him.”

  Techie smiled back. “No prob. I figure we can leave him in charge of the lab when we travel.”

  Lance grinned. “Great idea.” Then he looked past Techie and saw Ariel watching them closely, clearly wondering what was going on. “I think Ariel is getting impatient. Can you start gathering your data as soon as possible. Just don’t tell her you’re doing it.”

  Techie looked appalled. “You mean I need to watch her too?”

  Lance blanched. That wasn’t exactly what he meant, but… “Well, I meant don’t tell her about any of it, but, well….” He paused with embarrassment, and then quickly shook it off. I have to lead, and that means making the hard choices. “Techie, she was there that night… the night someone tried to poison me.”

  Techie looked horrified, and anger flashed across his narrowed brown eyes. “You don’t think Ariel––”

  Lance put a hand on his arm to stop him. “No, I don’t. But someone could use her to get information on us and she’s so sweet she wouldn’t know it. We just have to cover all the bases. Okay?”

  Techie visibly relaxed. “Okay, you got it, Lance.”

  Lance flashed his most disarming smile. “Thanks, man.” Then he rose and moved down the stations to sit beside Ricky. The other boy looked over questioningly, but Lance just reached for his hand, which Ricky gladly offered up. They sat in silence, Ricky waiting for Lance to speak, and Lance contemplating the realities of getting older, and not being able to trust your friends anymore.

  †††

  In the days and weeks that followed, Lance found himself eyeing every knight differently, whether at gatherings, in the Training Centre, classrooms, or the Computer Lab. Could he or she be the one was his most frequent thought, and he hated himself each time it passed through his mind. I’m becoming paranoid, he realized, and had to fight the urge to question everyone before those urges destroyed him. He’d even asked Techie a few days after requesting computer monitoring of his brothers and sisters if the tech genius could get access to everyone’s phone records. Techie nearly gasped aloud in dismay.

  “You want us to turn into the government now?” the young man said in shock.

  That’s when it hit La
nce like a slap to the face. My God, is that what I’ve become? “You’re right, Techie, forget I said that.” Then he tried for a small smile. “Can’t let the bastard get to me, right?”

  Techie nodded solemnly, but Lance knew the young man was troubled by him even considering such an invasion of privacy.

  Lance had walked away determined not to do this anymore, not to be so suspicious of everyone and everything. I’m doing this for Ricky, he told himself, to keep him safe. But how safe would either of them be if they trusted no one, had no friends or family watching their backs because he had alienated them all by his paranoid snooping?

  And then he realized he was going against his own bill of rights! Most of the knights “under surveillance” were also under eighteen years old. Wasn’t he acting just like the grown-up world, just like the government? Kids are dangerous! Kids are property! Kids should have no rights because they can’t be trusted! He sadly understood during those ensuing weeks that he’d fallen into the same mistrustful trap. Due to the actions of one, he’d condemned the many. Exactly what the adult world had done throughout the country with its “anti-kid” laws.

  No, I can’t become them. If I do, then everything I’ve fought so hard for is meaningless. There are just some risks we have to live with for the good of friendship and trust.

  Having made this decision, he continued to consult with Techie on a daily basis, as did Arthur, for any suspicious computer activity, but steadfastly refused to expand the surveillance any further. Especially after his Internet snooping uncovered some of the knights trolling “adult” sites, including Dakota and Kai. Recalling the uncertain questions regarding sex that his Native brothers had asked of him and Ricky, Lance suspected they were looking for information and maybe visuals. There was a filter on the system that supposedly blocked such sites, but Lance knew from his time at Mark Twain that such filters were never one hundred percent effective. In order to not embarrass the boys, Lance asked Techie to delete those sites from the list he’d show Arthur, and Techie readily agreed.

  Ultimately, nothing anomalous turned up from the daily computer logs, and his stalker didn’t bother texting Lance to gloat or lament over the trash truck incident. In addition, the date to begin their Once Upon A Time in America Tour was fast approaching. The plan was to leave in early June right after Lance and Ricky earned their diplomas with the rest of New Camelot’s first graduating class. The boys were anxious to get on the road, but it made sense to get high school out of the way so they could focus on securing the support of states they really needed. And they had to be part of that first graduation since they were figureheads for the entire crusade, and examples of how well it was working. Jenny was planning the graduation while Reyna and Esteban plotted out the road trip, and the excitement for both events began to build throughout that spring.