BANG! BANG!
Someone was at the church doors. Garvey stopped and the noise continued. The guards at the door looked as though they didn’t know what to do.
“Police!” the banging people outside screamed. “Open up!”
The guards blocked the doors, until the cops finally gave up. There was a period of silence. And—BOOM!
It was the thunderous sound of a battering ram, slamming the doors open. People instantly began to flee in various directions as the cops barged through the splintered wood and dust, screaming and swinging their night sticks to threaten us into dispersing.
“Okay, okay,” Garvey said from the stage, trying to calm people down, but everybody fled anyway.
Jay grabbed me by the arm and took me away from the pews, deeper into the church. I looked over my shoulder and recognized a face among the older cops—a junior cop.
Cannon Cleary, dressed in a hat too tall for him, was smacking a nightstick against his hand. “Show’s over, Commies!” he screamed, just as he made eye contact with me.
Jay pulled me through a door behind the church stage. Back here was a corridor of old brick, hidden in shadows.
Cannon weaved around the running crowd to pursue us. I followed Jay down the corridor, wondering how he knew this structure so intimately. This passageway seemed to have been half discovered by the builders of the place. It felt like it was indoors, but it was also open to the sky. It was a secret exit, which connected the church to the building next door.
We stopped at a ladder embedded into the wall of the neighboring building. Jay jumped on it and began to climb. I followed behind him, but when I was halfway up, I looked down and saw Cannon climbing up after me, the megaphone hanging from around his neck.
“You’re under arrest, Clumsy Nick!” he screamed, as if this were all a joke.
The rungs were slippery, but I climbed as fast as I could, as wind swept through the channel and threatened to throw me off.
Jay reached the roof and turned to pull me up. I was on my feet on solid ground seconds later, and we ran across this roof, dodging the various pipes and chimneys sticking up from it.
Harlem extended before us like an industrial obstacle course. Roofs of varying heights and powerlines, like jungle vines, invited us to swing. Jay jumped between two buildings, rolled to standing, and sprung to his feet as if an audienceshould give him a round of applause.
“Jump, Nick!” he screamed.
I hesitated and assessed how much damage I’d take if I fell. There was definitely a chance I’d suffer a spinal fracture.
“Freeze, Clumsy Nick!” Cannon screamed.
“Jump!” Jay shouted.
I took a few steps back, said a little prayer to Jesus—we were friends in moments like these—and I jumped! For a moment, the slick alley dangled underneath me, and my arms were level with the telephone wire. Suspended in air, I thought of everything I’d ever done, everything I wanted to do!
And then I landed on the next roof across, my toes brushing the edge of the building.
Jay reached forward and pulled me closer to the center, his manner intimate, as if we’d been friends for much longer. Cannon jumped too, but he didn’t make it. He was half hanging on the side of the building when I turned around, and Jay pretended not to see it.
“Do we help him?” I asked, stopping.
“Not at all,” Jay said calmly. “Cannon’s joining the police force. He should have the training to help himself! Isn’t that right?”
As we watched Cannon claw and slip on the roof, I wondered if letting him fall to his doom was really worth it. And I decided it would make me miserable, even if I didn’t like him.
I moved to turn back to help, but just then he finally made it and rolled over on his back. I sighed with relief as I watched him, thanking the stars he was still alive.
“Dear God,” he said, eyes closed, breath heavy. “I know in my loyal heart that you’ll punish these ridiculous radicals for almostkilling me! Ireleaseit to you!”
Jay cupped his hands around his mouth and screamed, “You’re a bootlicker, Cannon!” He snickered and pulled me by the arm, toward the edge of the building.
“One day you and your conman father will pay for your crimes!” Cannon screamed after us, his voice fading.
Jay swung onto the fire escape, his shoes clanging against metal as he vaulted over the railing and slid down the ladder. I scrambled after him, my pulse hammering, hands gripping cold iron. The wind rushed past us as we leapt onto a narrow platform, then barreled down two flights of steep stairs, the whole structure rattling under our weight.
