Prologue
The
alleys of New York City seldom saw sunlight, and I am sure that is
why the Gangs are always there. They are night types - or they're
just smart. Only someone with out their street smarts would rumble in
the plain daylight, where they could be seen by cops. I suppose there
are times when I've heard about fights going on in the bright
afternoon, but it was more or less of an emergency, a need to defend,
nothing like a planned rumble. But they like the dark, it's
their weapon. It's anybodys weapon, but the Gangs use it and need it
the most.
Being the only daughter of Lt. Schrank, I hear a good
amount about Gangs at the dinner table. The way that Daddy describes
them makes them seem like some sort of dangerous animal roaming the
streets, about to tear our whole city apart. He makes them sound so
vile and cruel and wicked. I know they are not
all of that. I know there's something that made them fight and swear
and do bad things, and I admire them. My brother, Charlie, he's such
a good boy. He never does anything wrong, never picks any fights,
never curses. He would be scared to death if he had to rumble with
another fellow. But those boys are fearless! They look death right in
the eye and challenge it, they take life by the neck and use it to
their advantage. They aren't hoodlums to me, they're...well, Knights.
Knights protect, and I think that the Gangs protect us.
And I know for sure that there is another side to the Gangs. I know that they aren't all bad and mean. I just don't let Daddy or Charlie know, and when I come across some one who belongs to a Gang, I don't act any differently that I'd been told by my father. I've never talk to a member of a Gang, I've never done anything to provoke them in anyway. Oh, but I wish...
I should be at Doc's. Charlie asked me to pick up soda's and a pack of chewing gum on my way home from visiting a friend, and I forgot. Charlie will be home any minute, and I'd hate to dissappoint him.