“Hiya, Danny. Starting training for the fight? You only got two weeks.”
Jabbing at a punching bag, Danny answered, “Yeah, I know.”
Ralph looked bigger than ever in his gym suit. He towered over Danny. “C’mon back here, behind the bags. I’ll show you a few things.”
For the next half-hour, Ralph showed Danny how to use his elbows, his knees, and his head to batter and trip up his opponent.
“All strictly illegal,” Ralph said, grinning broadly. “But you can get away with ’em if you’re smart. Main thing, with Lacey, is keepin’ him off balance. Trip him, step on his feet. Butt him with your head. Grab him and give him the elbow.”
Danny nodded. Then suddenly he asked, “Hey Ralph… where can I get a gun?”
“What?”
“A gun. A zip’ll do. Or at least a blade….”
Ralph’s smile vanished. His round, puffy face with its tiny eyes suddenly looked grim, suspicious.
“What do you want a piece for?”
“For getting out of here, what else?” Danny said.
Ralph thought it over in silence for a minute. Then he said, “Go take a shower, get dressed, and meet me in me metal shop. Two floors down from here.”
“Okay.”
Danny took his time. He wanted to be sure Ralph was in the shop when he got there.
The metal shop smelled of oil and hummed with the electrical throb of machines that cut or drilled or shaped pieces of steel and aluminum. Boys were making bookshelves, repairing desk chairs, building other things that Danny didn’t recognize.
There was a pair of men in long, shapeless shop coats wandering slowly through the aisles between the benches, stopping here and there to talk with certain boys, showing them how to use a machine, what to do next. Back in the farthest corner, Ralph was tinkering with some iong pieces of pipe.
Danny made his way back toward Ralph’s bench. No one stopped him or bothered him,
“Hi.”
Ralph looked coldly at him. “I just been wondering about you. Asking about a gun. Somebody tell you to ask me?”
Danny shook his head. “What are you talking about?”
Ralph whispered, “I ain’t told nobody about this. But I’m showing it to you. If you’re a fink for Tenny… you ain’t just going to see this, you’re going to feel it.”
Keeping his eyes on the closest teacher, who was several benches away, Ralph bent down slightly and reached underneath his bench. He pulled and then brought his hand out far enough for Danny to see what was in it.
“Hey!” Danny whispered.
It looked crude but deadly. The pistol grip was a sawed-off piece of pipe. The trigger was wired to a heavy spring. The barrel was another length of pipe.
“Shoots darts,” Ralph whispered proudly. He took a pair of darts from his shirt pocket. They looked to Danny like big lumber nails that had been filed down to needle points.
“You made it all yourself?” asked Danny.
Ralph nodded. He put the darts back in his pocket and tucked the gun inside his shirt. It made a heavy bulge in his clothing.
“Now I got to test it. There’s a spot out in the woods I know. No TV eyes to watch you there. If it works, then tonight I go sailing out of here. Right through the front gate.”
Danny gave a low whistle. “That takes guts.”
“With this,” Ralph said, tapping the gun, “I can do it. Now, you start walking out. I’ll be right behind you. Don’t go too fast. Take it easy, look like everything’s cool. And remember, if you peep one word, I’ll test this piece out on you.”
“Hey, I’m with you,” Danny insisted.
They walked together toward the door, with Ralph slightly behind Danny so that no one could see the bulge in his shirt.
They threaded their way past the work benches, where the other boys were busy on their projects. The two teachers paid no attention to them at all. They got past the last bench and were crossing the final five feet of open floor space to the door.
The door swung shut.
All by itself. It shut with a slam. All the power machinery stopped. The room went dead silent. Danny stopped in his tracks, only two steps from the door. He could hear Ralph breathing just behind him.