And The Children Shall Lead

by Michael J. Bowler

  Both boys, especially the excessively reticent Dakota, looked genuinely surprised by her outburst. She reached over and pulled Kai into a hug. Though startled, he gratefully accepted it. Then she pulled back and eyed Dakota. “May I hug you, Dakota?”

  The taciturn boy looked touched by her offer and nodded hesitantly. She enveloped him in a loving hug. At first he seemed unsure what to do and let his arms dangle at his sides. Then he raised them and wrapped them shyly around her back and just let her hold him.

  When she pulled away, Dakota did something none of the group had ever seen – he smiled. “Thank you, Lady Jenny.”

  She beamed at his reaction. “No, thank you. Both of you.” Then her face clouded with worry. “Watch over each other,” she said, suddenly breathless with worry. “Keep each other safe.”

  All four boys assured her that they had each other’s backs and that no matter what happened in Washington, they’d all come home safely.

  Their confidence helped calm her fears, and Arthur’s strong arm around her shoulders also reassured her.

  “Our boys are strong and smart, Jenny,” he assured her with a gentle squeeze. “Remember what you said to me last November? If it came down to our boys against the world?”

  Now Jenny laughed. “I pity the world.”

  Lance and Ricky chuckled.

  Jenny stood a moment and gazed at Lance so intently the boy squirmed a little. “What, Mom?”

  She smiled. “I’m just thinking back to when I first met you at Mark Twain, Lance, and how far you’ve come, from a beautiful shy boy to an amazing young man on his way to meet the president. Wow.”

  Lance turned red at the praise.

  “He’s not so shy any more, Mom, but he’s still beautiful as hell,” Ricky put in with a grin.

  “Fool,” Lance said, which made Jenny laugh delightedly.

  “That part hasn’t changed,” she added lovingly, and then announced like it was a headline, “Sir Lance goes to Washington.”

  Everyone looked at her quizzically.

  “You never heard of ‘Mr. Smith Goes to Washington?” she asked. Their blank looks were her answer. She laughed again and then realized, how would they know something like that? “It’s an old movie I used to watch on TV with my dad sometimes when I was a little girl. This ordinary guy gets elected to congress and shakes everything up in Washington because he’s so genuine.” She grinned at Lance. “There’s no one more genuine than you, Lance. I think I saw that quality the first day we met.”

  Lance reddened again and a laughing Ricky shoved him. “Yeah, well, if this fool has his way, he’ll be running that place by next week.”

  Lance laughed and shoved him back. Kai grinned and Dakota half-smiled.

  Arthur and Jenny eyed the four boys with wonder, and then turned to each other. He leaned in and kissed her.

  “Uh, Dad,” Lance admonished playfully. “There’s impressionable kids here.”

  Arthur pulled his lips reluctantly from his wife’s and grinned at Lance. “I think you’ll survive.”

  The boys laughed.

  But then Arthur lost his smile as he suddenly recalled something. “I nearly forgot, Lance. Merlin asked me to send you to him.”

  Lance frowned uncertainly. He hadn’t spoken with the wizard in quite a while, at least not at any length. “Library, right?”

  Arthur nodded, himself curious about what his old friend wished to share with Lance. But Merlin had always, as the kids of today put it, run his own program, and he would not share his thoughts even now.

  As Lance left the room, Ricky said he’d check their luggage one more time and Jenny went to his room with him. “Just to make sure you’re not forgetting anything.”

  That left Arthur alone with Kai and Dakota. The king eyed them thoughtfully. “You have both been a blessing to me and to the Round Table. I have no doubt God sent you to us to protect Lance and Ricky from harm. Guard them well, my noble knights, and bring them home safely.”

  The boys exchanged a look, and then both bowed their heads respectfully. “Yes, sire,” Dakota answered before Kai could speak. “No harm will come to them. You have my word as a warrior.”

  Arthur smiled. “My wife is indeed correct. You are also my sons.” Then he bowed respectfully and left the room.

  The boys eyed one another uncertainly. Kai shoved Dakota playfully in much the same way Lance and Ricky shoved each other. “Look at it this way, Sir Cloudy Boy. It’ll be our greatest adventure yet.”

  Dakota allowed the tiniest hint of a smile to split his lips. “And whatever happens, you’ll laugh about it.”

  Kai laughed.

  †††

  Lance found Merlin in the library in his usual large, comfy stuffed chair, a tome of considerable age spread open in his lap. As always, the man had ear buds stuck in both ears, but instead of his usual heavy metal t-shirt, he was attired in something so weird Lance stopped and gaped in astonishment. He wore a black “Sons of Anarchy” bathrobe!

  The man didn’t even look up from his book. “Your Majesty’s mouth is hanging open, a clear invitation for flies to enter.”

  Caught off guard, Lance clamped his mouth shut and crossed the room to stare in wonder at the man seated so casually, legs crossed, eyes glued to the pages of the book. “How do you do that?”

  Finally Merlin looked up and shrugged. “As I’ve told you, Your Majesty, it’s my gift, or my curse. I take it you find my attire amusing?”

  Lance shook his head as though to clear cobwebs. “No, it’s just, well, do you watch that show?” He, himself, had only seen bits and pieces of it. He watched almost no television these days except the news to get updates on the CBOR from around the country.

  The older man smiled, crinkling his face into almost troll-like contortions. “I sometimes amuse myself and have it on the television as I read and listen to my music.”

  Lance’s mouth fell open again. “You can do all three at once?”

  “Of course.” The wizard’s gray eyes almost twinkled. “Can’t everyone?”

  Befuddled, as always, in the presence of this peculiar man, Lance also knew his quirkiness belied a wise and sensible person. “My Dad said you wanted to see me.”

  Now Merlin’s face lost the smile, and the twinkle. “Yes. It’s about your trip to Washington.”

  A chill ran up Lance’s back right into his throat. “You saw something? Something that’s gonna happen to me?”

  “Never anything so clear as that, Your Majesty,” Merlin replied with a sigh. “Merely bits and pieces. Hints, if you will.”

  Lance waited, nervously fisting his t-shirt. “And?”

  The wizard looked him right in the eye. “Bring your skateboard with you. And have Sir Ricky bring his. You’ll have need of them.”

  Lance waited, but the old man said nothing more. “That’s it? Bring our skateboards?”

  Merlin nodded.

  “Why?”

  The wizard shrugged. “That I do not know, but having them may well mean the difference between life and death, Your Majesty.”

  Lance sucked in a startled breath. “Did you tell this to my Dad?”

  “Is he traveling to Washington?” Merlin asked with raised salt and pepper eyebrows.

  Lance shook his head. A sudden fear engulfed him, not from the warning, but from the wizard’s salutation. “Why do you keep calling me ‘your majesty’? I’m just Lance.”

  Merlin eyed him soberly. “Are you not the king’s son and heir to the throne?”

  Lance nodded.

  “And does not the protocol of courtly chivalry require the king’s wizard to refer to the king as ‘Your Majesty’?”

  Lance shrugged. “Yeah, but I’m not king yet.”

  Merlin smiled. “Indeed.” Lance frowned, but the wizard went on before he could say anything. “Heed my warning. Bring your skateboards and carry them with you whenever possible.”

  Lance felt great trepidation assail him. “Okay, I will. We will. Thanks, Merl
in, for the heads up.”

  “Merely doing my duty.” And then the wizard’s eyes lowered to his book and he resumed reading.

  As Lance turned to exit the library, something occurred to him and he looked back. He’d been right. During their entire conversation, the old wizard had never removed his ear buds. Not even one of them. And yet he heard everything Lance had said, even over that obnoxious music he listened to. With a sigh, the boy hurried from the library to tell Ricky what he’d learned, feeling certain that he’d never understand this odd man.

  †††

  “Our skateboards?” Ricky said with an astonished look on his face as Lance lay on his bed beside the boy and told him Merlin’s warning.

  Lance nodded. He also told Ricky about the wizard calling him ‘Your Majesty’ the whole time and how it creeped him out. “I mean, Dad’s not going anywhere, so what’s Merlin up to?”

  Ricky could see how unnerved Lance was feeling and grinned broadly. “Maybe he’s just setting you up for your real title––King Dumbass.”

  That drew a grin to Lance’s pensive face and he yanked Ricky’s hair playfully. “Yeah, and you’ll be Queen Dumbass,” he offered with a chuckle.

  Ricky’s exasperated expression was so comical Lance busted up and shoved him. Ricky slipped into a grin and all was perfect with the world.

  †††

  The president had arranged for a limo, and Chief Murphy armed police escort to LAX for early the following morning. That meant Reyna and Esteban blew in at six a.m., Esteban lugging Reyna’s three bags to his one up the front steps and depositing them outside the double doors.

  The limo was a Lincoln stretch version, sleek and long and gleaming black. It looked magnificent as it pulled slowly up to the curb in front of New Camelot. So as to not call even more attention to them than they had to, all the boys dressed in casual clothes, including beanies to hide their all-too-familiar long hair, and Arthur and Jenny chose not to accompany them to the airport.

  Everyone gathered on the front steps and said their goodbyes with lots of hugs and smiles, especially Chris, who refused to let go of Lance or Ricky.

  “How come I can’t go?” he asked for probably the hundredth time.

  Jenny lovingly took one of his hands and Arthur the other. “Because then we’d have nobody here to keep us company,” she said.

  Chris scowled. “It’s not fair.”

  Both Lance and Ricky squatted down before their little brother. “We’ll bring you some cool souvenirs, Chris, and send lots of pix to your iPad.”

  “Okay,” Chris said with a sigh. “I guess somebody’s gotta watch mom and dad so they don’t get in trouble.”

  That made everyone laugh.

  Gibson hugged Justin and advised him to be careful. “I envy you, son. You get to meet the president.”

  Justin grinned. “I’ll tell him you said what’s up.”

  That made Gibson laugh. Then he turned to Ryan. “How come you get the fun jobs?”

  “Must be my rugged good looks.”

  The two men laughed and shook hands.

  As everyone piled into the limo, Lance noticed that fewer and fewer picketers and Cultists were loitering out front. As The Boy Who Came Back, he had engendered a massive, worldwide following, both positive and negative. Some thought him messiah, others devil. Atheists figured the whole “death and resurrection” thing was nothing but an elaborate hoax. But that had all started over a year and a half ago and, as was always the case with human nature, people had short attention spans, so the obsessive fascination for The Boy Who Came Back aspect of Lance had waned. He’d noted over the past few months that he was now more frequently referred to in the media as The Boy Who Wants To Amend The Constitution, and found that appellation much more to his liking.

  Upon first entering the back of the limo, Lance felt a wave of panic assail him because the last time he’d been inside a car like this had been when he and Jack were prisoners of Mr. R. He forcibly shook that memory off as the car pulled away from the curb and he joined Ricky at the window waving to his parents and Chris.

  Once out in traffic, the excited young people chattered on about the trip, especially Reyna who wanted to go clubbing in Washington with Esteban. Esteban laughed and winked at Lance.

  “That’s me, right, Lance? Gangsta to Sir Club Rat.”

  Lance laughed and Reyna punched Esteban in the arm.

  Lance and Ricky discussed their speech to Congress for the entire journey to the airport. They’d been working on it ever since the invite had come in, with input from their parents, and both almost had their parts memorized. Lance didn’t want to be one of those guys who just read off the paper because he’d discovered from all his press conferences that making eye contact with people was the best way to keep their attention.

  Air Force Two awaited them on runway 24L at LAX, and because Secret Service agents were at the airport to greet them the group went through a private security screening, including their baggage, before they were allowed out on the tarmac for boarding.

  Everyone eyed the plane with wonder as they approached. It was a C-32 jet, they were informed later, a modified Boeing 757 airliner, not nearly as large or swanky as Air Force One, but fancier than any plane these kids had ever seen, with the exception of Reyna. Her parents never traveled in anything less than First Class and Reyna could recall trips as a child where they’d only stay in the most expensive hotels. For her part, she enjoyed experiencing opulence through the eyes of the man she loved and her adoring brothers. It made her feel more a part of them, rather than separate.

  The plane was white along its top two-thirds and bright blue along the bottom. The two engines and front of the tail were the same blue and the tips of each wing curled upwards at an angle. In bold letters above the single row of windows was written “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” and the tail sported an American flag.

  Lance and Ricky walked alongside Dakota and Kai as they approached the moveable air-stairs leading up to an open door. The four boys eyed the plane with a mixture of awe and dread. Two Secret Service agents in dark suits and wearing the standard earpieces stood at attention at the bottom of the stairs. Despite the presence of Sergeant Ryan, as well as Reyna and Esteban who were nineteen, and Justin who was eighteen, Lance instantly understood that he was considered the leader of the group despite being only sixteen and a half.

  “On behalf of the president and vice president,” the one on the right said in a deep, serious voice, “welcome aboard Air Force Two, Sir Lance.”

  Lance studied the man’s face for any sign of mockery like he’d gotten from the FBI guys, but there was none. The man was serious. “Uh, thanks.” He flashed his smile and they remained expressionless. Man, he thought, these guys could give Dakota lessons in blank looks.

  He glanced at Ricky, hoping the fear churning around inside him wasn’t visible on his face, and then gingerly ascended the steps. Ricky followed next and the rest trailed after. Last up were the two agents. The presidential seal was affixed to the inside of the open doorway, but Lance barely glanced at it as he stepped into another world. There was a lounge of some kind in front of them with its door cracked open so he could see the sectional sofa lining the walls.

  A female Secret Service agent indicated that the group should follow her. They walked alongside one row of porthole-like windows on their right, with rooms for lounging or meetings on their left. The meeting rooms sported large black leather chairs surrounding wooden tables. After passing the final large meeting area, Lance was shown the rows of seats at the rear of the plane.

  “Make yourself comfortable in any seat, Sir Lance,” the agent said with the crispness of a new dollar bill. “And the rest of your party, as well. We’ll be underway in ten minutes.” Then she left them to return to the front of the plane. Everyone gathered around Lance to survey the seats, all wide-eyed from their walk through the opulence of the plane.

  “And this isn’t even Air Force One,” Reyna said with a sha
ke of her head. “Can you just imagine what that looks like?”

  Lance nodded, reaching once more for the safety of Ricky’s hand. Both boys eyed the seating arrangements. There was a row of single seats alongside the windows, and then double rows of seats in the center.

  Reyna grabbed Esteban’s hand and dragged him toward the window seats, but he balked. “Hell, no,” he said with a shake of his head.

  She turned to him, exasperated, and was about to offer a snippy retort when she realized. “Oh, no, you too?”

  He just stared at her, and Lance noted the fear in his eyes.

  “We’re ghetto boys,” Lance nervously told Reyna. “We don’t do planes.” That brought a slight smile to Esteban’s face as Lance added, “We’ll sit in the middle.”

  He dragged Ricky by the hand to the first two seats in the middle and directed the petrified Kai and Dakota into the two directly behind them. Esteban pointed to the third row.

  “That’s where I’m sitting, Reyna, right behind them.”

  She sighed and looked disgusted. “Oh, all right.”

  She followed him to the third row and they sat.

  Justin looked at Ryan. “I been in a plane before. I’ll take a window seat.”

  Ryan looked at the obviously nervous Lance, whose gaze kept flitting from the carpeted floor to the windows and to every exit within view. “I’ll join you,” he told Justin as they picked out two window seats and sat.

  Lance looked at Ricky and Ricky at Lance. Both tried to reassure the other with “the look,” but this time it didn’t work. They were way too nervous. Glancing back over his shoulder, Lance saw Kai and Dakota were wide-eyed, with that deer-in-the-headlights expression on their faces. He smiled as comfortingly as he could and turned back to Ricky.

  “I have a feeling this is gonna be a long flight,” he said with a tight little grin.

  Ricky shoved him. “Fool.”

  That, as always, made Lance smile.

  The female agent returned and instructed them to fasten their seat belts. Then the two male agents joined her in finding seats behind Reyna and Esteban.

  The captain’s voice came over the loudspeaker instructing everyone to fasten seat belts and make sure electronic devices were powered down for takeoff. The kids had brought their phones and iPads, but these were already turned off and inside their backpacks beneath the seats.