“Good. I’ll send out a tweet with your final ten,” Caryn said.
“Who’s the extra one?” I asked.
“Kentucky,” Caryn said.
She pulled out her phone and showed us a picture with the three of us in our Lincoln High jerseys, grouped together. Lily must have Photoshopped it. Around us were the logos for the twelve schools. She would have to remove Texas and Florida. I showed it to my two teammates, and they both looked shocked. In essence, I’d just announced we were a package deal. I could see Wolf was a happy boy.
“Fix it and send it out,” I said to Caryn.
◊◊◊
During the morning, we practiced. Today was the big game, and it seemed the coaches didn’t want to leave anything to chance. Once baseball practice was over, I gathered up some of the guys, and we joined my Lincoln teammates to practice some football. I was happy to see Wolf and Tim work out with us.
A front had come through the previous night, so the ground was damp, but it was ten degrees cooler. It was great for running around and honing our skills. What would make it perfect would be having a place to go swimming outside. The hotel had a pool, but it had been overrun with older people here for a seminar.
Finally, Coach Kingwood made us pack up and get on the buses to go back. I was met in the lobby by my dad and Fritz. From their look, I could tell they had good news.
“They caught the men who tried to kidnap you. The bodycams helped point to the owner of the vans, and from there, they found everyone who participated. The police are still going to keep an eye out and provide security. I also have five extra men I’ve brought in. What I want to know is what you did?” Fritz asked.
I looked at Dad for some help, but he just looked at me stone-faced. Fritz pointed to six men who resembled the starting line for the Chicago Bears.
“Tony,” I said. “He must have sent them.”
I waved them over and saw one of them was a little older than the others. When I looked into his eyes, I froze. It reminded me of the first time I met Fritz. This man was dangerous. I was surprised when Fritz did his ninja bit and was suddenly between us. The man got the ghost of a smile on his face as he measured Fritz. I wasn’t sure who would end up on top if they tangled.
“David?” he asked.
“Yes, sir. How can I help you?” I asked.
“I’m Nicki, Little Tony’s cousin. Pia asked that I come down and make sure you and your family are safe. The men I’ve brought have worked security for the Giovanni family for years, and Pia can vouch for each one. I suggest you make a call to confirm it with her. I wouldn’t expect you to just accept my word,” Nicki said as he eyed Fritz.
He had a good point. I pulled out my phone and called.
“David, has help arrived?” Pia asked.
“Yes. He said to call, and you could vouch for him and his men,” I said, never allowing my eyes to leave Nicki.
“Good, Nicki’s there. If anything should go wrong, make sure Nicki’s at your side. He’ll make sure you get out of the situation without any problems.”
“Okay,” I said and hung up.
“Pia says we’re good. This is Fritz. He’s the head of my security and in charge. Please talk to him and tell Pia ‘thank you.’ I feel better knowing you’re here to watch my back,” I said, and then went upstairs.
I left Fritz and Nicki eyeing each other. Dad was smart and followed me.
◊◊◊
Mom planned a trip to an open-air market. We had the afternoon off, so Coach Kingwood thought it would be a good activity now that we had plenty of security. Halle and Brook wanted to go shopping. Pam showed up at my door.
“David, I was thinking Coby needed a few things,” she said as she pulled me out of the room.
I’d decided that shopping wasn’t something I wanted to do, but it seemed that Coby needed things. If these were the usual things he needed, like a new phone or a designer purse, I was sure I should be there to reject them. Maybe when he grew up. I found two buses parked in front of the hotel. When I got on, I saw everyone ready to go.
“Good. I was afraid we’d have to send Cassidy in to get him,” Brook said.
It turned out the open-air market was as much fun as I imagined. While it had been nice this morning, the temperature had soared since then. I was ready to leave after about five minutes. The market wasn’t nearly as nice as the ones I’d seen in Cuba. It was set up in what they called ‘El Antiguo Recinto Ferial,’ or ‘the old fairgrounds,’ which was basically an open dirt lot with what appeared to be two sections. One was nicer and had what looked like permanent booths. The other seemed to be where anyone could set up and hawk their wares.
What struck me first was the smells. Someone was cooking something that smelled delicious. Thankfully, Phil was the voice of reason.
“Remember the last time you ate Mexican food? These are street vendors. How sick do you think you can get?” he asked.
I felt my stomach roll. Dad had told me that when he was younger, he’d gotten drunk on Southern Comfort. To this day, all he had to do was smell it, and he’d feel woozy. Phil reminded me of being sick, and suddenly the food didn’t have quite the appeal it had a moment ago. That didn’t slow down the other guys, though; they had street tacos. Deep down, I hoped they got sick.
The girls decided they all wanted jewelry, hand-painted bowls, and blankets, so that was my cue to move on. I gave Pam money and told her to make sure Zoe got something as well. I wasn’t worried about Tracy, Halle, or Brook. And I gave Cassidy some cash since I knew she wouldn’t let Pam buy her anything. For some reason, Cassidy wasn’t shy about asking me to buy her stuff. I don’t think she spent a dime of the money her dad gave her for the Cuba trip.
I asked Cassidy to keep an eye on Pam. Not that Pam would overspend, I just worried about her in a crowd. I didn’t want her freezing up and something bad happening.
I gathered my guys, and we wandered off to the sketchy side to see what we could find. Nicki and his team split off with us. It looked like Fritz was sure that we’d be okay with them.
“We have to get those,” Phil said as he excitedly pointed at a booth.
At first, I wasn’t sure what he was talking about, and then I saw them. In Mexico, they have a version of professional wrestling called ‘lucha libre.’ The wrestlers wear colorful masks while in the ring. Phil had spotted a booth selling masks.
I was getting myself some of these. A young girl was in charge of the stock.
“How much are they?” I asked.
“For you gringos, two hundred each,” she said, puffing up.
“Good luck,” I said and began to walk away.
“Hold on, Mister. These masks are made by my grandfather. All the top wrestlers buy from him. You will only find cheap knock-offs anywhere else.”
“Does your grandfather know you’re selling his masks?” I asked.
“Of course he does. You wouldn’t accuse me of stealing from him, would you?” the girl asked in a huff. “On second thought, I can’t sell to you.”
“That’s just as well. I’m not paying that much for a mask.”
“Have you never negotiated before?” she asked like I had two heads or something.
“I might go ten each,” I offered.
“Good. We’ve established you want to buy masks. Now we just have to come to an agreement on price.”
While I haggled with the girl, the rest of the guys wandered off to search for other treasures. I checked out the masks, and they were all made well. She told me how her grandfather hand-stitched each mask, and it took him almost a week to make each one.
I could tell that most were machine-stitched because the stitches were evenly spaced. The girl wasn’t happy when I pointed out flaws in a few of the masks. There were a handful that looked to be much better quality than the rest. Those I might believe her grandfather had made.
“Some of these aren’t worth more than five bucks,” I pointed out.