Swipe

you know how to knock someone out? You practically do it to yourselves all the time.”
    “Yeah, but we never actually do it,” Tyler said, as Eddie punched him in the face.
    “Well, whaddaya want me to say? Clock him in the head with something. I don’t know.”
    “I’m afraid I’ll crack his skull. I’m afraid I’ll kill him.”
    Blake rolled his eyes. “Fine. Use this, if you have to,” he said, and he handed Tyler a vial.
    “What’s chlor . . . chlor . . . chloro . . .” Tyler struggled to read the side of the glass.
    “Chloroform, stupid.” Blake tapped the label. “Just drip some on the front of the bag.” Blake snapped his fingers. “It’ll knock ’im right out.”
    Tyler uncapped the vial and started waving it around Eddie’s face excitedly, announcing the rules of his “new game.”
    “Careful with that!” Blake said. “And don’t waste it!”
    “Where’d you even get this?” Tyler asked, wide-eyed.
    Blake let out a small laugh. “Think of it as a gift. From our good friend Trenton.”
    “Last we’ll be getting from him!” Eddie laughed.
    “Shut it, skinflint.”
    Tyler stared reverently at the liquid. “Still won’t be easy,” he said.
    “Well, that’s why you’re a professional,” Jo butted in, exiting a side door of the building. “So start acting like one. And clean up your stingy nose.”
    Tyler sniffled and realized he was bleeding out both nostrils.
    “I won!” Eddie said. Then in childlike singsong, he added, “ I-I-I get to ba-a-ag him!”
    Tyler wiped his nose. “Fine, but I drip the juice.”
    “So what’s the situation?” Blake asked Jo.
    “Dim lighting, loud music. Easy to hide.”
    “That’s good,” Blake said.
    “Yes. But he’s got a ton of friends in there. Once he’s in the crowd, it’ll be impossible to get him alone.”
    “You’ll have to be creative,” Blake said.
    “You gonna wait out here?”
    “Yeah. Make sure the coast stays clear. You come right out this door, okay?”
    “Where’s Meg?” Jo asked, looking around.
    “At the Fulmart. Tied up.”
    “Why the Fulmart?”
    “That’s where we’re headed. You’ll need a wheelbarrow to get Dane all the way to the warehouse, but I sure wasn’t about to bring one here.” Blake looked at his watch. “Concert’s almost through. You know what that means.”
    “Showtime,” Jo said. And she slipped back into the building through the emergency exit, pulling Tyler and Eddie along with her.
    3
    “This is impossible,” Erin said to Logan. “I can’t see. Anything could be happening in this crowd.”
    The room was hot and humid with sweat, and dozens of arms and shoulders knocked Logan violently as he walked through the mosh pit. The music was so loud it pressed against his chest, and very little of what Erin was saying had registered.
    “No sign of the Dust,” she yelled. “That’s good, at least.”
    “That’s worse,” Logan said. “That means they’re outsmarting us.”
    Just then the members of another band, still waiting to perform, passed through a side door and into the gym, scowling at the Boxing Gloves as they did. Logan realized he was looking at the backstage entrance. “This way,” he yelled, and Erin followed. “We’ll meet him the second he comes offstage.”
    But getting there wouldn’t be so easy.
    “Can I help you kids?” a man shouted, stepping out from the crowd and blocking the door in one swift motion.
    “Just like to get through,” Logan yelled.
    But the man shook his head. “No can do, kid. Sorry.”
    Logan stood for a moment, stumped. “Look, I’m not really asking you,” he said, finally. “I’m telling you.” As far as Logan could see, this guy had no real authority whatsoever, and Logan didn’t have time to waste.
    The man narrowed his eyes at Logan. He wore a dull knit sweater and khakis, and by this point he stood with his legs spread and his arms folded, practically daring Logan to push his way through.
    “Hey, why don’t we take a walk,” Erin whispered, suddenly but calmly, right into his ear. “Just walk with me for a second, okay?”
    But Logan wasn’t having it. “Look, mister. My friend’s up there in that band onstage. He’s about to finish his set, and I need to be back in this wing when he does.”
    The man stared at Logan, more intensely now, and as Erin stood there, he began eyeing her too.
    Erin leaned in to Logan and grabbed his arm with both hands. “Logan,” she pleaded. “Can you please come