Oscar and Kevin stared up at the dilapidated front door at the top of the steps in front of them.

'This whole neighbourhood stinks!' Oscar complained. 'And it's full of bums. I feel like I'm gonna get mugged at any second!'

'You shouldn't live in a world of stereotypes, bro,' Kevin advised. 'This is New York City – not all of it is pretty. Besides, you know advanced karate – no one can mug you.'

'Yeah, well... let's just get this over with,' said Oscar. 'You go first.'

Kevin walked up the steps and knocked on the front door, which shook and swayed violently under the pressure.

'Watch out, you're knocking too hard,' Oscar warned.

'I barely touched it,' said Kevin. 'It's almost totally rotten.'

'He probably doesn't even live here anymore,' said Oscar. 'The place looks like it's been abandoned for years.'

Kevin bent down and opened the letterbox; he quickly recoiled from the door.

'Jeez!' he exclaimed. 'It smells like something died in there.'

'Can we go home now?' said Oscar.

'No – I think there's someone living here,' said Kevin, peering through the letterbox. 'I can see through to the kitchen and there's a paper grocery bag on the surface.'

'It's probably been there for years.'

'No, it's clean and fresh and not crumpled up,' said Kevin. 'The sides are all stiff – you know, erect.'

Oscar snorted with laughter and Kevin went slightly red. He let the letterbox drop shut.

'I don't think it's derelict,' Kevin said firmly, as he came back down the steps.

'Just from seeing a paper bag?' said Oscar.

'It doesn't feel empty,' said Kevin. 'When a place doesn't have anyone living in it, you can feel it when you go inside... or see inside.'

'Are you psychic, dude?'

'I don't think so. Maybe we could get your dad to run some tests on me.'

They both smirked and then turned back to look at the house.

'Let's take a look through the front window,' said Kevin.

'Do what?' Oscar asked, sounding rather alarmed.

'If it's really derelict, no one will ever know we did it,' Kevin pointed out, 'but if there is someone living there, there'll be furniture and stuff.'

'Yeah, I guess you're right,' said Oscar. 'But that window's very high up.'

'Sit on my shoulders,' Kevin offered.

'Why?' said Oscar.

'So you can see through the window,' Kevin explained. 'Either that or I'll sit on yours.'

'No, you go on the bottom,' said Oscar. 'You're stronger than me.'

Kevin crouched down and Oscar straddled his shoulders. Slowly and carefully, Kevin stood back up and sidled in front of the window.

'Right a little,' Oscar instructed. 'A little more – this window is filthy! Ah, yes, there we go.'

'What can you see?' Kevin asked eagerly.

'TV, bookcase, standing lamp, dirty old sofa,' Oscar related. 'I think you're right about someone living here, dude.'

'What makes you say that?'

'The TV's switched on.'

'Is anyone watching it?'

'I don't think so, but I can't really see the bottom half of the room. Hang on a sec.'

Kevin winced with discomfort as Oscar squirmed around on his shoulders. Oscar proceeded to grasp the window ledge and pull himself up so that he was perching on top of Kevin's head, half his weight taken by the ledge and the other half by Kevin's spine.

'Oof,' said Kevin, as Oscar started to slip forward over his eyes, 'watch where you're sitting, man.'

'It was your idea to have me on top, dude,' Oscar pointed out.

'Yeah, but I didn't know you were gonna dangle your balls right in front of my eyes!' said Kevin.

'Stop exaggerating,' Oscar laughed. 'It's okay, I can see everything now.'

'Anything interesting to report?'

'Um... oh my God!'

Oscar slipped and tumbled off Kevin's head, landing in a crumpled heap on the pavement. Kevin rushed to help him to his feet.

'Thanks, dude,' said Oscar.

'No problem,' said Kevin. 'But what the hell did you see in there that made you do that?'

'There's a dead body on the floor!' Oscar announced dramatically.

'A dead body?'

'Yeah... well, a lifeless body anyway. He's just lying there in the middle of the floor.'

'Do you think it's Jose Rodriguez?'

'It could be. I mean, he looks like that could be his name, yeah.'

'He could still be alive,' said Kevin. 'We have to get in there and check it out.'

'Yeah, I guess we do,' said Oscar. 'You lead the way, bro.'

Kevin ran back up the front steps and started jiggling the door handle; the rotten door rattled and shook but it did not come open. Kevin started to hurl himself against it; it was clearly starting to give.

'Wait a sec, dude,' said Oscar, coming to the top of the steps, 'let me try something.'

Kevin stood to one side as Oscar narrowed his gaze at the door. With one quick, fluid motion, he aimed a kick at a carefully selected point just below the door handle. The lock mechanism groaned and juddered, before giving way and allowing the door to swing open.

'Yes!' Oscar yelled in triumph. 'Nailed it!'

Kevin clapped him on the back before leading the way inside. He skidded into the front room and got his first sight of the prostrate figure, lying on its back in the middle of the floor and looking very worse for wear. The television was showing grainy home video footage of a Hispanic couple indulging in an outdoor celebration of some kind with several young children.

'Jeez!' Oscar remarked, covering his nose as he entered the room. 'What a dump!'

Kevin was already kneeling beside the unconscious man. Oscar scanned the room and bent to pick up a small bottle from the floor.

'Dude,' he said, 'look at this.'

Kevin looked over to see Oscar holding up an empty aspirin bottle. There was a pile of about six more by his knees.

'Oh my God,' Kevin muttered.

'He's taken an overdose,' Oscar remarked, as he shuffled over to join Kevin. 'I think he's killed himself... or tried to.'

'Give him mouth-to-mouth or something,' said Kevin.

'What?' said Oscar, sounding utterly horrified. 'No way, I'm not doing that!'

'Why not?'

'I don't know what to do! Plus he's all yucky and covered in vomit!'

'Get out of the way and I'll do it, then.'

'Are you sure you know how?'

'Yes – I've done a course!'

Oscar drew back from the unmoving figure as Kevin leant over it. Then Oscar saw something that made his eyes open to their widest extent.

'Wait, don't do it!' Oscar said urgently. 'He's still breathing.'

Kevin pulled away and looked down at the man's chest, which – sure enough – was very slowly and shallowly rising and falling.

'Jeez, good spot, man,' said Kevin, shuffling back from the prostrate figure. 'I saw a phone in the hall – you call an ambulance while I put him in the recovery position.'

Oscar obediently hurried from the room to carry out Kevin's instructions. Kevin carefully went through the motions of preparing his patient to be moved into the recovery position. Oscar returned to the room with a look of panic in his eyes.

'I don't know where we are!' he announced. 'I need that scrap of paper with the address on!'

'It's in my back pocket,' said Kevin. 'Reach in and get it.'

Oscar quickly did this. He stood back and watched with wide eyes as Kevin performed the remainder of the procedure, grunting with exertion as he hauled the limp body over onto its side.

'You need any help?' asked Oscar.

'It's okay,' said Kevin, 'I've got it. You just get that ambulance here, man.'

Oscar dashed from the room once more to resume his conversation with the emergency operator. Kevin finished arranging his patient as best he could; he nodded with satisfaction to see that the man's breathing seemed to be improving. A few seconds later, he coughed and brought up some more vomit. Oscar was just coming back into the room; he retched and turned away.

'I think he's waking up,' said Kevin.

'Madre mía,' the figure mumbled, looking up at Kevin with an expression of bewilderment.

'It's okay, man,' Kevin said in what he hoped was a reassuring tone, 'we've called an ambulance for you. Er... no se preocupe, una ambulancia está en camino.'

'You need to work on your pronunciation, kid,' the man laughed weakly, managing a small smile as he did so.

'I know,' said Kevin. 'I don't get as much chance to practise my Spanish as I really want.'

The man coughed some more. Oscar tumbled over the sofa as he drew even further away from the scene on the floor.

'Just try to lie still, Mr Rodriguez,' said Kevin. 'You'll be okay. Bro, can you wait outside and flag down the ambulance when it arrives?'

'Yes... yes, I should've thought of that myself,' said Oscar. 'Yes, I'll go and do it right now.'

'You said my name,' Kevin's patient told him in accusing tones. 'Who the heck are you, kid?'

'I'm Kevin Rivera,' said Kevin. 'You knew my grandfather... at least that's what I was told.'

'Al...' Jose Rodriguez muttered weakly, as his eyes began to close again. 'Al...'

The sound of sirens in the street outside was now clearly audible.


A short time later, Kevin and Oscar were sitting side by side on plastic chairs in a hospital reception area, looking rather shell-shocked. A nurse approached and furnished them with a warm smile.

'We've given Mr Rodriguez a stomach pump and he's going to be fine,' the nurse explained. 'You two boys saved his life; there's no doubt about that.'

'Is he awake?' asked Kevin.

'Yes, but he's not saying much,' said the nurse. 'We've been asking him why he tried to kill himself but he won't tell us anything. He's saying he'll only talk to Al's grandson – is that one of you?'

'Yeah, it's me,' said Kevin.

'I know you've already been through a great deal and you might not feel up to it,' said the nurse, 'but if you don't come and speak to him right now then we'll have to get the psych department to take him away.'

Kevin immediately rose to his feet, and Oscar promptly did the same. The nurse led the way along the corridor.


'Here's Al's grandson for you, Mr Rodriguez,' said the nurse. 'Why don't you tell him all about your suicide attempt, hmm?'

Kevin went up to the hospital bed and stared at its occupant. Jose Rodriguez opened his eyes; a smile spread slowly across his face.

'What's your name again, kid?' he asked.

'Kevin,' said Kevin.

'You look like him, Kevin,' said Jose. 'Like Al, I mean. You have his nose.'

'So I've been told,' said Kevin.

'I never met another cop like Al Rivera,' Jose sighed. 'He did so much for us – to protect us, I mean.'

'Who's us?' asked Kevin.

'Us, Kevin – our people,' said Jose. 'People like him, and me, and you.'

'Oh, I see,' said Kevin.

'New York hasn't always been kind to us,' Jose went on. 'Oh sure, things are much better nowadays, but there's still a lot of hate out there.'

'I know that,' said Kevin.

'Not just for Hispanics, either,' put in Oscar.

'That's certainly true,' Jose said sadly. 'We live in a cruel and unfair world. Do you know why I tried to kill myself today, Kevin?'

'No,' said Kevin.

'Do you want to know?'

'Um... yeah, I guess so.'

'Five years ago today, my wife and son were killed in a car accident,' said Jose. 'They were ripped away from me in one sudden, cruel moment and there was nothing I could do about it. Do you know what that feels like? Do you know what it's like to carry that kind of pain around inside you for five years? Do you have any idea, Kevin? Well, perhaps you do...'

'I think I have some idea,' said Kevin, 'but I don't think I could possibly know exactly how you feel.'

'If only the doctors had that attitude!' Jose spat. 'If only those damned psychiatrists knew that they don't really know anything at all!'

'Oh my,' said the nurse. 'I think perhaps we had better let them take you upstairs after all, Mr Rodriguez.'

'There's no need for that,' said Jose. 'I won't try to kill myself again, thanks to Kevin.'

'Why thanks to me?' Kevin was at a loss to understand.

'I thought my life had no value,' said Jose. 'Not without them. But Kevin, you've reminded me that my life did once have value – to Al, I mean, and to the communities he kept safe.'

'Everyone's life has value, Mr Rodriguez,' said Kevin. 'Potentially, at the very least.'

'You're right, Kevin,' said Jose, 'and that's why I've decided that my life can be worth something again, and it will be. I've decided to register as an official informant with the NYPD, if they'll have me. Just because Al's not around anymore, doesn't mean there aren't still good cops who need good information from a guy like me.'

'A good guy like you?' Oscar prompted him.

'I've never claimed to be a good guy,' Jose smiled ruefully, 'but I'm a guy who can help to make good things happen.'

'That's the same thing, man,' Oscar informed him.

'I... I'm glad you've made this decision, Mr Rodriguez,' said Kevin. 'If I've helped you to reach it, that means in some way I've carried on my grandfather's work, and that makes me feel close to him... closer than I've felt – closer than I've been allowed to feel – for almost ten years.'

Oscar noticed that tears were forming in Kevin's eyes, so he put an arm around his shoulders. He felt Kevin move closer to him as he did so.

'Then I guess it's fate that the two of us met today,' said Jose. 'Perhaps things have worked out exactly as we both needed them to. I just hope the NYPD will fall in with my plans – I do have a moderately alarming criminal record, I'm ashamed to admit.'

'Ask for Lieutenant Fancy at the Fifteenth Precinct,' said Kevin, reaching into his pocket. 'I think he'll help you. This is his card – I'll leave it under the water jug on your little table here.'

'Did you write down his details yourself?' asked Oscar.

'Yeah, they're in my pocket address book,' said Kevin.

'Thank you,' said Jose. 'Thank you for everything, Kevin.'

He held out his right hand, and Kevin grasped it. Then Jose's eyes began to slide shut, so the nurse started shooing Oscar and Kevin out of the cubicle.

'Come on, bro,' said Oscar, 'we have to go now.'

Kevin allowed Oscar to lead him away.


Kevin slumped back down into the plastic chair he had occupied before, and Oscar sat beside him. Silence prevailed for a few seconds.

'You know, dude, if you ever want to talk about anything,' said Oscar, 'like your family, or Hispanic prejudice in the United States, you can talk to me about it. I can't really help you practise your Spanish, though... well, you can speak some to me whenever you want but I won't understand it.'

Kevin smiled and punched Oscar on the arm. Oscar smiled back at him, then his expression clouded slightly.

'You should be really proud of what you did today,' said Oscar. 'You were awesome; much better than me!'

'What're you talking about, man?' Kevin said in surprise. 'We saved his life – both of us.'

'You saved his life,' said Oscar. 'I was a coward – I actually sat there and refused to try and save him! My karate instructor would be ashamed of me. You're really brave, dude.'

'I was ready to do mouth-to-mouth on a man who was still breathing – I was gonna pump his chest up and down and everything,' said Kevin. 'If you hadn't stopped me, I might've damaged his heart or screwed up his breathing or broken his ribs or something. You're the one who really saved his life, man.'

'I guess we did it together.'

'Of course we did.'

'Are you gonna write up this whole sequence of events for your project?' asked Oscar.

'Oh, I don't think so,' Kevin smiled dryly, 'but I'll include some of the stuff that Jose said.'

'There you two are!'

Kevin and Oscar looked up to see Carl sweeping across the reception area towards them. He looked angry and worried.

'Hi, Dad,' said Kevin. 'Thanks for coming to pick us up.'

'What the heck have you two been up to?' Carl demanded. 'The last thing I knew you were going out for a walk round the block, then two hours later I get a phone call from a doctor saying you need to be picked up from the hospital!'

'It was a receptionist,' said Kevin, 'not a doctor.'

'Don't quibble with me!' Carl snapped. 'Just tell me what on earth you've been doing!'

'We saved a man's life, Dad,' said Kevin. 'I hope that's okay with you.'

'Saved a man's life?' Carl repeated.

'Jose Rodriguez,' said Kevin. 'He's –'

'I know who he is,' Carl cut in. 'Come on, let's get out of here – you can tell me all about it in the car.'


The next morning, Oscar was sitting at the computer in the living room reading through a Word document. Kevin stumbled downstairs with his guest's holdall and guitar case, deposited them in the hall and then entered the living room.

'You done?' Kevin asked.

'Just one more sentence to go,' said Oscar. 'Okay, now I'm done.'

'Thoughts?'

'It's excellent, dude. I especially like the way you put in that bit at the end about your own personal feelings.'

'Yeah, I'm not sure if the new teacher will approve of that,' said Kevin, 'but I just felt I really had to do it, y'know?'

'You shouldn't ever let a teacher repress your emotions or your creativity,' said Oscar. 'That's like having a vacuum cleaner that spreads dirt all over the place. Do you want me to print this for you?'

'You didn't find any mistakes?'

'No, it's fine.'

'Yes, then.'

'It's the Epson, right?'

'Yes... no, it's the Canon!'

Kevin rushed over to the computer but it was too late; Oscar had already sent through the print command.

'You've sent it to the wrong printer!'

'Sorry, dude. But you did tell me to, you know.'

'Quick, we have to go get it!'

Kevin dashed from the room and Oscar followed him. They entered the dining room to see Carl removing four sheets of A4 paper from the Epson printer on the sideboard and studying them with close scrutiny.

'Argh!' Kevin exclaimed in alarm.

'Kevin, Oscar's mom is here!' Beth's voice suddenly announced from the vicinity of the front door.

'Coming, Mom!' Kevin called back. 'Just give us a minute.'

Carl was reading through the contents of the newly printed pages, his eyes wide with surprise. Kevin opened his mouth to say something, but then he closed it again and steered Oscar back out into the hallway.

'Don't you think he'll like it?' said Oscar. 'It's about his dad, right? He should be pleased.'

'Yes... well I suppose he might be,' Kevin said doubtfully. 'But I just know he won't approve of all the parts about prejudice and stuff.'

'You think it'll strike a nerve?'

'Yeah.'

Dana was now standing on the other side of the open front door. Kevin and Oscar each picked up a piece of Oscar's luggage and walked towards her.


Carl and Beth watched from the front steps as Oscar slammed the boot of Dana's car and turned to Kevin, who was standing beside him.

'Bye, dude.'

'See ya, man.'

They shook hands and clapped each other on the shoulder, then they simultaneously threw their arms around each other. Carl's eyes widened and his mouth dropped slightly.

'Does that look like a manly hug to you?' he whispered to Beth.

'Carl, don't!' Beth hissed.

'I'm going to fetch Kevin back here!'

'Don't you dare! Just leave them alone.'

'They're still at it!' Carl persisted. 'Manly hugs should only last a couple of seconds – this one must be going on fifteen!'

'Don't be so Neolithic,' said Beth. 'You do realise what an incredible thing they did for your dad's old friend yesterday, don't you?'

'Yes, I realise that,' Carl sighed heavily. 'It's just... jeez, they're still hugging!'

Kevin and Oscar drew apart and smiled at each other, each with a slightly downcast gaze on his face.

'Come up and see me soon, dude,' said Oscar.

'You bet, man,' said Kevin.

Oscar opened the front passenger door of the car before turning to punch Kevin on the arm. Kevin punched him back, and then Oscar got into the car and closed the door. Kevin waved as the car pulled away, and returned to his parents when it was out of sight around the corner.

'Son...' Carl began.

'We're really glad you and Oscar enjoyed your visit together,' Beth interrupted quickly.

'Yeah, we sure did,' said Kevin, smiling wistfully.

'I, er... I read your paper, son,' said Carl.

'I know; I saw you,' said Kevin. 'Look, Dad, I'm sorry but –'

'You don't need to apologise, son,' said Carl. 'It's a very well written piece of work. I, er... I hope you get an A.'

'Thanks, Dad.'

'Look, son, about Oscar...'

'Yes, Dad?'

'I, er... I'm glad you had such a good time together, and I'm proud of what you did for Jose Rodriguez.'

Kevin smiled and ran back into the house. Beth gave Carl a look, and nodded at him.