The Case of the Problem Prone Bodyslammers--Part Six
by HA
Mr. Hammond looked closely at the picture of Randy Felder. "My God, you're right. It is Bill," he said, amazed.
Sy Coe and the wrestlers also saw the resemblance. "Yep, I see it now," the ring worker said.
"It's official then," Shirley said, starting to straighten out the contents of the table. "Bill Turner is Randy Felder and he is sabotaging this promotion in order to avenge his nephew's accidental death."
"Wait. I thought the Felders were happy with the cash settlement," Bo said.
"Maybe Uncle Randy wasn't satisfied with monetary compensation," Blake said. "He wants serious payback."
"It definitely looks that way," the Masked Marauder said.
"But it was an accident," "Breaker" Brody argued. "We didn't tell the kid to do that neckbreaker."
"I'm afraid Mr. Turner doesn't accept that logic," Shirley commented as she finished up straightening out the papers on the table. "He wants retribution, no matter how many people get hurt."
"But why frame me?" Marvin Marvelous asked.
"As I noticed before, you make the perfect fall guy, Marvin," Shirley answered. "Your reputation as a practical joker and your alleged discontent with your status in the company are the determining factors."
"What will we do?" Mr. Hammond asked, worried. "The charity event's tomorrow, and I've got some of my guys out, not to mention the rest are scared and are going to quit on me."
"For starters, we have to make it look like no one's been in here," Shirley said, still straightening out the table.
"But we have a motive, not to mention there's got to be evidence that he's behind everything," Bo said.
"True. There are receipts for glue and mini-magnets on this table, but we want admissible evidence," Shirley acknowledged. "Any lawyer can have this thrown out of court if we take anything now."
"So what can we do?" Marvin Marvelous asked.
Shirley took out a paper with a crude diagram on it. "Well, we can thwart Mr. Turner's, or should I say Mr. Felder's, little stunt planned for tomorrow for starters." She showed the diagram to Mr. Hammond, who studied it closely and read the accompanying text.
"Great," he muttered. "I guess I can have someone check everything closely."
Sy Coe also looked at the diagram. "Leave it to me, chief," he said proudly.
"Why can't we just have Bill arrested?" "Breaker" Brody asked. "That way, he won't be able to cause any trouble."
"I don't think that's a good idea," Blake answered. "If Bill knew that we were on to him, he'd just leave. Plus, he could find a way to worm his way out of the charges if he was caught. You know, get rid of the evidence."
"He's got a point," the Masked Marauder said.
"Okay, little lady," Mr. Hammond said to Shirley. "Anything else?"
"Anyone who's still fit to perform must perform tomorrow," Shirley recommended. "After all, the show must go on."
"By gum, you're right," Mr. Hammond said, snapping his fingers. "I can't let some malcontent loon ruin this show. All my fit performers will be there." He looked at Marvin Marvelous especially. "All of them."
Marvin Marvelous grinned. "Thanks, Uncle Arnold."
"Oh, there is one more thing you can do," Shirley said.
"Name it," Mr. Hammond said.
"Give us unrestricted access to everything," Shirley told him. "I believe my friends would like some backstage meetings before and after the matches," she explained with a grin.
* * * * *
Shirley and her friends arrived at the park an hour before the charity event was to start. They learned from Mr. Hammond that the charity event was to be held in Redington's public park if the weather was okay. Fortunately, the sky was sunny with little cloud cover. They showed their unrestricted access passes to the guards and they walked to where Mr. Hammond was. They found him next to a wrestling ring with the Masked Marauder and Marvin Marvelous while people were setting up chairs and port-a-potties for the spectators. They also noticed the ambulance parked nearby. As they walked up to the three men, they saw that they seemed upset.
"What's wrong?" Bo asked them.
"Two more of our guys can't perform today," the Masked Marauder answered glumly. "Rocket Ricardo and Iron Man Mulligan."
"More of Bill Turner's sabotage?" Blake asked anxiously.
"Nah," Marvin Marvelous replied. "Rocket got off the wrong side of the bed and twisted his ankle and Iron Man slipped in the bathtub and broke his leg. Pretty much bad luck."
"They were supposed to be these two gentlemen's opponents in a tag team match," Mr. Hammond explained, pointing at the Masked Marauder and Marvin Marvelous. "I've got it scheduled so all the participants would wrestle only once, and considering how much beating my guys go through in a match, the guys like it that way."
"So you can't get two other wrestlers to participate in this tag team match without upsetting anyone," Shirley said firmly.
"Yep, and this is the main event," Mr. Hammond explained further. "I can't just throw in anybody. This match needs my four top headliners, and no one else in my company can compare with them."
"I see," Shirley said with a nod. "You seem to have quite a dilemma."
"Oh yeah," Mr. Hammond said. "If we don't get some good men to be in this match, I'll have to cancel the whole thing, and a lot of little kids will be disappointed."
"Kids?" Bo wondered. "What charity are you doing this show for?"
"We're doing this show for the orphanage on Maple Street," the Masked Marauder answered. "They're in need of serious repair work, and all the proceeds go to helping them out."
"The kids from there will be here watching the whole thing," Marvin Marvelous added.
"I know about the Maple Street orphanage," Bo said. "They could use the money."
Shirley looked thoughtful. "May I ask you a question, Mr. Hammond?"
"Sure. Go right ahead," Mr. Hammond said.
"Bo and Blake have told me of the 'Big Three,' the three biggest and most popular wrestling organizations, and I know we have our own smaller wrestling promotions." Shirley paused before continuing. "I was wondering how your group, one of the smaller independent companies in the United States, became involved with this charity event instead of any of these promotions or one of our local promotions."
Bo and Blake looked for any signs in Mr. Hammond's face that he was offended by Shirley's inquiry. They knew how straightforward the young detective was and how she did not care if she offended anyone or hurt people's feelings.
To their amazement, Mr. Hammond just laughed lightheartedly. "Miss, you're quite the sharpshooter," he commented. "Actually, someone called me and asked me if I could come to Redington and do this show."
"Who?" Shirley asked.
"Nathan Knight," Mr. Hammond answered.
"Who's Nathan Knight?" Bo asked curiously.
"He's the head of the Knight Foundation," Mr. Hammond answered.
"The Knight Foundation? Never heard of them," Bo admitted.
"The Knight Foundation?" Blake recalled something. "It's a company that manufactures computers and other hi-tech stuff. I should know. My mom has a calculator made by the Knight Foundation."
"I've come across the name when I skim the newspaper," Shirley said. "I usually find it in the business section. I don't know much about it except it's a global conglomerate based here and that Nathan Knight's been compared to Bill Gates and Ted Turner. He's also been involved in a lot of charity work in Redington."
"You know, we would have noticed if we had a big company in our town," Bo said.
"Well, we tend to pay attention only to what we consider important," Shirley said. "My ignorance of professional wrestling is a prime example." She returned her attention to Mr. Hammond. "So Nathan Knight contacted you?"
"Yep. Via telephone," Mr. Hammond answered. "He said he heard good things about my group and that he was looking for someone to do this charity event he was planning for the Maple Street orphanage. He knows how wrestling is so popular these days and he wanted to do a wrestling show to raise money for the orphans. He also said that he knew that we needed some positive publicity and more exposure, so he made us an offer we couldn't refuse."
"And the other wrestling companies...?" Shirley asked Mr. Hammond.
"Considering what those guys do in their matches, I don't blame Mr. Knight for not asking them. As for not hiring the locals, I guess he felt we needed a big break."
"So the Knight Foundation's behind this charity event?" Blake asked.
"Yep," Mr. Hammond said. "Come to think of it, Mr. Knight did mention that his company co-sponsored a talent contest over here recently. They put up most of the prize money for it."
"I've heard of it." Shirley knew what talent contest Mr. Hammond was talking about.
"I suppose he was bragging?" Bo asked.
"Not really," Mr. Hammond said. "I asked him if he did any charity functions before, and he just mentioned it as an example. He said he's a patron of the arts and he wanted kids to be encouraged to continue doing their artistic talents. Come to think of it, he didn't strike me as the bragging type. He sounded sincere and modest when he talked, especially when he said he does his charity work in a low-key fashion."
Marvin Marvelous cleared his throat with an "ahem." "Uh, I hate to break this up, Uncle Arnold, but what are we going to do about the main event? All the other guys are already assigned to their matches, and I don't think it'd be believable if Sean and I wrestled each other. Two heels fighting each other for no reason? Doesn't make sense to me."
"That and we already practiced for this match," the Masked Marauder added. "Wrestling may involve ad-libbing, but we can't work a new program at the last minute. So we can't use any of the ring crew."
"Well, we can make you a face right now, Sean," Mr. Hammond suggested.
The Masked Marauder shook his head. "Nah. We need a strong heel in that ring. Marvin's great at annoying people, but we need someone in there to strike fear into people."
Shirley thought over this latest development. Then, she had an idea. "I know of two individuals who are perfect for the main event." Grinning, she looked at Bo and Blake.
Bo realized what Shirley was suggesting. "Oh, hold on there..."
"Wait a minute. You want us to...?" Blake started to say, still taken aback.
"Become these two's opponents," Shirley completed, motioning to the Masked Marauder and Marvin Marvelous.
"What?" Mr. Hammond said, shocked.
Marvin Marvelous looked Bo and Blake over. "You want us to wrestle two kids?" he asked in disbelief.
"They are excellent physical specimens," Shirley stated. "Bo has played football and also plays basketball. Blake is a martial arts expert."
"She's right," the Masked Marauder said. "Blake's been practicing martial arts ever since he was little."
"Did he practice with or without underwear?" Bo quipped with a mischievous grin.
Blake blushed slightly, then elbowed Bo lightly in the chest. While Bo winced, the Masked Marauder covered his mouth to hold his emerging laughter and Shirley smiled at Blake.
Mr. Hammond studied the two boys closely. "Well, you two look like you're in good shape. I guess you're acquainted with how matches work."
"We sure do," Blake answered.
"Definitely," Bo added.
Mr. Hammond rubbed his chin. "I've had guys from the audience volunteer to take on our guys before, but they were big, muscular sons of a gun, and even they got hurt. Are you guys used to pain and such?"
Bo recalled in his mind the many cases he and Shirley went on that involved physical danger. The ones that stood out were when he and Shirley investigated the series of fires set by arsonists and the two incidents involving ENIGMA. "Oh yeah," he replied, glancing at Shirley. "Will you excuse us for a moment?"
Bo motioned to his friends, who huddled with him. "Shirley, are you out of your mind?" he asked the young sleuth in a low voice through clenched teeth. "Those guys are big, not to mentioned well-trained."
"Why, Bo, you surprise me," Shirley replied. "You claim to be a big wrestling fan, yet you are hesitant to actually participate in an event."
"Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa," Bo said, waving his hands in front of him. "It's one thing to cheer the wrestlers on the sidelines, watch all the pay-per-views, and buy the magazines and merchandise. It's another to actually wrestle. The outcomes may be planned, but the pain is real. Very real."
"To be honest, Bo, this is an ideal opportunity to experience the excitement of wrestling ourselves," Blake said. "We might not have another chance."
"Uh, Blake, look at the other side," Bo said, pointing to Marvin Marvelous and the Masked Marauder, who flexed their arms to tease them. "They'll cream us."
"Actually, the faces are going to win the main event," Mr. Hammond revealed. "Children are in the audience, you know."
"Great, then we'll get our butts kicked around the ring before we win," Bo said.
Blake laughed and slapped Bo on the shoulder. "Come on. We've watched all the big moves and studied how they're done. We'll do fine."
Bo looked at the two wrestlers. "I'm not sure..."
"Do it for the orphans, then," Blake told his friend.
"Yes, Bo. For the orphans," Shirley added.
"Yeah, Bo, do it for the orphans," the Masked Marauder said, joining his former babysitting charge in a mock pleading look.
Bo groaned. "All right, all right. If I'm going to get my butt kicked, I might as well do it for charity."
Marvin Marvelous slapped Bo on the back, sending the school athlete forward a little. "That's the spirit! And don't worry. Me and the Marauder will go easy on you," he said with a sly grin.
"Goody," Bo muttered. He saw that Shirley was watching everything with amusement. "What will you be doing while me and Blake will be risking our butts for the orphans?"
Shirley motioned to Bill Turner, who was walking up to the small group. The security chief walked up to Mr. Hammond. "Sir, everything checks out. No signs of problems with the ring."
"Good work, Bill. Just do a final sweep and we'll be ready," Mr. Hammond said.
"I just hope someone's been on his best behavior," Bill Turner said, casting a sideways glance at Marvin Marvelous. "Or else," he added before leaving.
Marvin Marvelous stuck out his tongue behind the security chief's back. "Well, I'm hoping this plan of yours works," he told Shirley.
"Has Mr. Coe done his part?" Shirley asked Mr. Hammond.
"He's going to," Mr. Hammond pointed to Sy Coe, who was checking the ring along with the other members of the ring crew.
"And the other participants?" Shirley asked.
"They know their parts," Mr. Hammond said confidently.
"Excellent." Shirley looked at Bo and Blake. "Looks like you two have some quick learning to do about the match."
"Oh yea," Bo said dryly.
"Oh, don't worry, Bo." The Masked Marauder grinned and pointed to the parked ambulance. "We're ready for anything."
"Besides, we'll put extra padding in the ring just for you," Marvin Marvelous said, smiling.
Everyone laughed lightly at Bo's expense. "Hmph," Bo responded, wondering if he would survive his first wrestling match.
END OF PART SIX
by HA
Mr. Hammond looked closely at the picture of Randy Felder. "My God, you're right. It is Bill," he said, amazed.
Sy Coe and the wrestlers also saw the resemblance. "Yep, I see it now," the ring worker said.
"It's official then," Shirley said, starting to straighten out the contents of the table. "Bill Turner is Randy Felder and he is sabotaging this promotion in order to avenge his nephew's accidental death."
"Wait. I thought the Felders were happy with the cash settlement," Bo said.
"Maybe Uncle Randy wasn't satisfied with monetary compensation," Blake said. "He wants serious payback."
"It definitely looks that way," the Masked Marauder said.
"But it was an accident," "Breaker" Brody argued. "We didn't tell the kid to do that neckbreaker."
"I'm afraid Mr. Turner doesn't accept that logic," Shirley commented as she finished up straightening out the papers on the table. "He wants retribution, no matter how many people get hurt."
"But why frame me?" Marvin Marvelous asked.
"As I noticed before, you make the perfect fall guy, Marvin," Shirley answered. "Your reputation as a practical joker and your alleged discontent with your status in the company are the determining factors."
"What will we do?" Mr. Hammond asked, worried. "The charity event's tomorrow, and I've got some of my guys out, not to mention the rest are scared and are going to quit on me."
"For starters, we have to make it look like no one's been in here," Shirley said, still straightening out the table.
"But we have a motive, not to mention there's got to be evidence that he's behind everything," Bo said.
"True. There are receipts for glue and mini-magnets on this table, but we want admissible evidence," Shirley acknowledged. "Any lawyer can have this thrown out of court if we take anything now."
"So what can we do?" Marvin Marvelous asked.
Shirley took out a paper with a crude diagram on it. "Well, we can thwart Mr. Turner's, or should I say Mr. Felder's, little stunt planned for tomorrow for starters." She showed the diagram to Mr. Hammond, who studied it closely and read the accompanying text.
"Great," he muttered. "I guess I can have someone check everything closely."
Sy Coe also looked at the diagram. "Leave it to me, chief," he said proudly.
"Why can't we just have Bill arrested?" "Breaker" Brody asked. "That way, he won't be able to cause any trouble."
"I don't think that's a good idea," Blake answered. "If Bill knew that we were on to him, he'd just leave. Plus, he could find a way to worm his way out of the charges if he was caught. You know, get rid of the evidence."
"He's got a point," the Masked Marauder said.
"Okay, little lady," Mr. Hammond said to Shirley. "Anything else?"
"Anyone who's still fit to perform must perform tomorrow," Shirley recommended. "After all, the show must go on."
"By gum, you're right," Mr. Hammond said, snapping his fingers. "I can't let some malcontent loon ruin this show. All my fit performers will be there." He looked at Marvin Marvelous especially. "All of them."
Marvin Marvelous grinned. "Thanks, Uncle Arnold."
"Oh, there is one more thing you can do," Shirley said.
"Name it," Mr. Hammond said.
"Give us unrestricted access to everything," Shirley told him. "I believe my friends would like some backstage meetings before and after the matches," she explained with a grin.
* * * * *
Shirley and her friends arrived at the park an hour before the charity event was to start. They learned from Mr. Hammond that the charity event was to be held in Redington's public park if the weather was okay. Fortunately, the sky was sunny with little cloud cover. They showed their unrestricted access passes to the guards and they walked to where Mr. Hammond was. They found him next to a wrestling ring with the Masked Marauder and Marvin Marvelous while people were setting up chairs and port-a-potties for the spectators. They also noticed the ambulance parked nearby. As they walked up to the three men, they saw that they seemed upset.
"What's wrong?" Bo asked them.
"Two more of our guys can't perform today," the Masked Marauder answered glumly. "Rocket Ricardo and Iron Man Mulligan."
"More of Bill Turner's sabotage?" Blake asked anxiously.
"Nah," Marvin Marvelous replied. "Rocket got off the wrong side of the bed and twisted his ankle and Iron Man slipped in the bathtub and broke his leg. Pretty much bad luck."
"They were supposed to be these two gentlemen's opponents in a tag team match," Mr. Hammond explained, pointing at the Masked Marauder and Marvin Marvelous. "I've got it scheduled so all the participants would wrestle only once, and considering how much beating my guys go through in a match, the guys like it that way."
"So you can't get two other wrestlers to participate in this tag team match without upsetting anyone," Shirley said firmly.
"Yep, and this is the main event," Mr. Hammond explained further. "I can't just throw in anybody. This match needs my four top headliners, and no one else in my company can compare with them."
"I see," Shirley said with a nod. "You seem to have quite a dilemma."
"Oh yeah," Mr. Hammond said. "If we don't get some good men to be in this match, I'll have to cancel the whole thing, and a lot of little kids will be disappointed."
"Kids?" Bo wondered. "What charity are you doing this show for?"
"We're doing this show for the orphanage on Maple Street," the Masked Marauder answered. "They're in need of serious repair work, and all the proceeds go to helping them out."
"The kids from there will be here watching the whole thing," Marvin Marvelous added.
"I know about the Maple Street orphanage," Bo said. "They could use the money."
Shirley looked thoughtful. "May I ask you a question, Mr. Hammond?"
"Sure. Go right ahead," Mr. Hammond said.
"Bo and Blake have told me of the 'Big Three,' the three biggest and most popular wrestling organizations, and I know we have our own smaller wrestling promotions." Shirley paused before continuing. "I was wondering how your group, one of the smaller independent companies in the United States, became involved with this charity event instead of any of these promotions or one of our local promotions."
Bo and Blake looked for any signs in Mr. Hammond's face that he was offended by Shirley's inquiry. They knew how straightforward the young detective was and how she did not care if she offended anyone or hurt people's feelings.
To their amazement, Mr. Hammond just laughed lightheartedly. "Miss, you're quite the sharpshooter," he commented. "Actually, someone called me and asked me if I could come to Redington and do this show."
"Who?" Shirley asked.
"Nathan Knight," Mr. Hammond answered.
"Who's Nathan Knight?" Bo asked curiously.
"He's the head of the Knight Foundation," Mr. Hammond answered.
"The Knight Foundation? Never heard of them," Bo admitted.
"The Knight Foundation?" Blake recalled something. "It's a company that manufactures computers and other hi-tech stuff. I should know. My mom has a calculator made by the Knight Foundation."
"I've come across the name when I skim the newspaper," Shirley said. "I usually find it in the business section. I don't know much about it except it's a global conglomerate based here and that Nathan Knight's been compared to Bill Gates and Ted Turner. He's also been involved in a lot of charity work in Redington."
"You know, we would have noticed if we had a big company in our town," Bo said.
"Well, we tend to pay attention only to what we consider important," Shirley said. "My ignorance of professional wrestling is a prime example." She returned her attention to Mr. Hammond. "So Nathan Knight contacted you?"
"Yep. Via telephone," Mr. Hammond answered. "He said he heard good things about my group and that he was looking for someone to do this charity event he was planning for the Maple Street orphanage. He knows how wrestling is so popular these days and he wanted to do a wrestling show to raise money for the orphans. He also said that he knew that we needed some positive publicity and more exposure, so he made us an offer we couldn't refuse."
"And the other wrestling companies...?" Shirley asked Mr. Hammond.
"Considering what those guys do in their matches, I don't blame Mr. Knight for not asking them. As for not hiring the locals, I guess he felt we needed a big break."
"So the Knight Foundation's behind this charity event?" Blake asked.
"Yep," Mr. Hammond said. "Come to think of it, Mr. Knight did mention that his company co-sponsored a talent contest over here recently. They put up most of the prize money for it."
"I've heard of it." Shirley knew what talent contest Mr. Hammond was talking about.
"I suppose he was bragging?" Bo asked.
"Not really," Mr. Hammond said. "I asked him if he did any charity functions before, and he just mentioned it as an example. He said he's a patron of the arts and he wanted kids to be encouraged to continue doing their artistic talents. Come to think of it, he didn't strike me as the bragging type. He sounded sincere and modest when he talked, especially when he said he does his charity work in a low-key fashion."
Marvin Marvelous cleared his throat with an "ahem." "Uh, I hate to break this up, Uncle Arnold, but what are we going to do about the main event? All the other guys are already assigned to their matches, and I don't think it'd be believable if Sean and I wrestled each other. Two heels fighting each other for no reason? Doesn't make sense to me."
"That and we already practiced for this match," the Masked Marauder added. "Wrestling may involve ad-libbing, but we can't work a new program at the last minute. So we can't use any of the ring crew."
"Well, we can make you a face right now, Sean," Mr. Hammond suggested.
The Masked Marauder shook his head. "Nah. We need a strong heel in that ring. Marvin's great at annoying people, but we need someone in there to strike fear into people."
Shirley thought over this latest development. Then, she had an idea. "I know of two individuals who are perfect for the main event." Grinning, she looked at Bo and Blake.
Bo realized what Shirley was suggesting. "Oh, hold on there..."
"Wait a minute. You want us to...?" Blake started to say, still taken aback.
"Become these two's opponents," Shirley completed, motioning to the Masked Marauder and Marvin Marvelous.
"What?" Mr. Hammond said, shocked.
Marvin Marvelous looked Bo and Blake over. "You want us to wrestle two kids?" he asked in disbelief.
"They are excellent physical specimens," Shirley stated. "Bo has played football and also plays basketball. Blake is a martial arts expert."
"She's right," the Masked Marauder said. "Blake's been practicing martial arts ever since he was little."
"Did he practice with or without underwear?" Bo quipped with a mischievous grin.
Blake blushed slightly, then elbowed Bo lightly in the chest. While Bo winced, the Masked Marauder covered his mouth to hold his emerging laughter and Shirley smiled at Blake.
Mr. Hammond studied the two boys closely. "Well, you two look like you're in good shape. I guess you're acquainted with how matches work."
"We sure do," Blake answered.
"Definitely," Bo added.
Mr. Hammond rubbed his chin. "I've had guys from the audience volunteer to take on our guys before, but they were big, muscular sons of a gun, and even they got hurt. Are you guys used to pain and such?"
Bo recalled in his mind the many cases he and Shirley went on that involved physical danger. The ones that stood out were when he and Shirley investigated the series of fires set by arsonists and the two incidents involving ENIGMA. "Oh yeah," he replied, glancing at Shirley. "Will you excuse us for a moment?"
Bo motioned to his friends, who huddled with him. "Shirley, are you out of your mind?" he asked the young sleuth in a low voice through clenched teeth. "Those guys are big, not to mentioned well-trained."
"Why, Bo, you surprise me," Shirley replied. "You claim to be a big wrestling fan, yet you are hesitant to actually participate in an event."
"Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa," Bo said, waving his hands in front of him. "It's one thing to cheer the wrestlers on the sidelines, watch all the pay-per-views, and buy the magazines and merchandise. It's another to actually wrestle. The outcomes may be planned, but the pain is real. Very real."
"To be honest, Bo, this is an ideal opportunity to experience the excitement of wrestling ourselves," Blake said. "We might not have another chance."
"Uh, Blake, look at the other side," Bo said, pointing to Marvin Marvelous and the Masked Marauder, who flexed their arms to tease them. "They'll cream us."
"Actually, the faces are going to win the main event," Mr. Hammond revealed. "Children are in the audience, you know."
"Great, then we'll get our butts kicked around the ring before we win," Bo said.
Blake laughed and slapped Bo on the shoulder. "Come on. We've watched all the big moves and studied how they're done. We'll do fine."
Bo looked at the two wrestlers. "I'm not sure..."
"Do it for the orphans, then," Blake told his friend.
"Yes, Bo. For the orphans," Shirley added.
"Yeah, Bo, do it for the orphans," the Masked Marauder said, joining his former babysitting charge in a mock pleading look.
Bo groaned. "All right, all right. If I'm going to get my butt kicked, I might as well do it for charity."
Marvin Marvelous slapped Bo on the back, sending the school athlete forward a little. "That's the spirit! And don't worry. Me and the Marauder will go easy on you," he said with a sly grin.
"Goody," Bo muttered. He saw that Shirley was watching everything with amusement. "What will you be doing while me and Blake will be risking our butts for the orphans?"
Shirley motioned to Bill Turner, who was walking up to the small group. The security chief walked up to Mr. Hammond. "Sir, everything checks out. No signs of problems with the ring."
"Good work, Bill. Just do a final sweep and we'll be ready," Mr. Hammond said.
"I just hope someone's been on his best behavior," Bill Turner said, casting a sideways glance at Marvin Marvelous. "Or else," he added before leaving.
Marvin Marvelous stuck out his tongue behind the security chief's back. "Well, I'm hoping this plan of yours works," he told Shirley.
"Has Mr. Coe done his part?" Shirley asked Mr. Hammond.
"He's going to," Mr. Hammond pointed to Sy Coe, who was checking the ring along with the other members of the ring crew.
"And the other participants?" Shirley asked.
"They know their parts," Mr. Hammond said confidently.
"Excellent." Shirley looked at Bo and Blake. "Looks like you two have some quick learning to do about the match."
"Oh yea," Bo said dryly.
"Oh, don't worry, Bo." The Masked Marauder grinned and pointed to the parked ambulance. "We're ready for anything."
"Besides, we'll put extra padding in the ring just for you," Marvin Marvelous said, smiling.
Everyone laughed lightly at Bo's expense. "Hmph," Bo responded, wondering if he would survive his first wrestling match.
END OF PART SIX