Dockingboys

Chapter Twenty Five [End]

At first, Declan was shocked, not because Oliver was here, but because Oliver was here without a gun pointed at Declan's forehead. He didn't know much about Oliver's past, but anyone could tell he's worked there before from the way he was standing in front of all the dockingboys from the South Docks, with a wiry boy standing next to him.

Tess was shocked as well. She'd merely gotten a glimpse of Oliver at the Emerald Elite, but that was enough to remember him.

"What're you both looking at, huh? It's me," Oliver said. The wiry boy next to him actually giggled at Declan's expression.

"Don't worry, man. Oliver here doesn't want your head anymore," the boy said, and introduced himself as Jesper, Oliver's best friend, apparently.

Declan unconsciously backed away. He could barely form any words in his mouth. "You. You killed Jaxon. Rake. Almost killed me."

Oliver frowned. "Jaxon? That wasn't me. I'm seventeen, Declan. I'm not that capable yet. And Rake? He's a boy. The only person I ever tried to kill was you."

Declan tilted his head. "But you went to Jaxon's house and killed him, then..." He paused. There really was no evidence against Oliver. But that couldn't be right, could it?

Oliver frowned. "Did Jawa get to you somehow?"

Declan swiveled his head. "What? Jawa...I was with a few criminals. Uhh, Mack and Xavier, I think. And Pitts. They were planning on visiting Jawa for information. That's when you attacked us. What's this about Jawa?"

Oliver looked at the wiry boy, then understanding dawned on him. "Roy's gone rogue. And that means...Jawa's working with him!"

"What, what, what?" Tess complained.

"It was Roy all along! He never followed my plans..."

"Plans? Plans for what?" Declan asked urgently.

"Plans to get the container. And kill you. But every single criminal with enough shit in their head knows about how Jaxon killed my father. It's the perfect way to set me up."

"I talked to the captain on the telephone. He sounded rogue. He was planning on killing me and Declan as well," Tess added helpfully. "He somehow found out you'd be there and told me my revolver was fully loaded. It was empty."

The wiry boy shrugged. "Hey, I know this is all bad. But we have bigger problems right now. There's a group of angry criminal masterminds just over there, waiting for a container that will never get there."

Declan frowed again. "Where's the container though? I thought Oliver had it."

"I still do. It's stashed in a secret location. But Jesper's right. We have to deal with the crimelords first," Oliver replied curtly. "I have a plan."

Suddenly, one of the larger boys, a Lycian, spoke up. "Does it involve the Wrecker?" And a few other boys all spoke after him, talking about something called the Wrecker.

Oliver held up his hand, and Declan was amazed at how fast the boys all shut up. "Yes. It does involve the Wrecker."

~~~

Apparently, the Wrecker was a crane. The largest one in the South Docks. It was called the Wrecker for a simple reason: there was a huge wrecking ball hanging on the hook. According to the wiry boy standing next to Oliver, whose name was Jesper and was Oliver's friend, the Wrecker was used originally to demolish the temporary housing structures that the construction workers of the South Docks used to build it. But over time, nobody really remembered to take the Wrecker apart, and it just sat there.