The house was dark when we snuck in, closing the door quietly behind us. "Come on, maybe he's already asleep," I whispered, starting up the stairs, nearly falling at the sudden noise from the living room.
"Dude, relax, it's just me," Archie said. I carefully turned around as Sweet Pea pocketed his switchblade. "Sorry, I thought you guys were gonna be back earlier. I must have passed out on the couch. Look, I need your guy's help."
"Can't it wait for the morning?" Sweet Pea asked.
Archie shook his head. "No, look, I don't want my dad to know about this," he said, speaking quietly. "Please."
"Okay," I sighed. "But this better be good."
I curled up next to Sweet Pea on the couch, just a small lamp in the corner switched on for the three of us to see one another.
"So you guys know I've been training at the gym, right? Mr Keller's agreed to train me to box." I nodded, waiting for him to get on with it. "The other day I agreed to a match, I'll get paid good money for it. Half up front, half after the fight. But Mr Keller is saying he won't train me if I go through with it."
"Have you done anything other than hit a punching bag in the short amount of time you've been going?" I asked. "Been up against another boxer at all?" Sweet Pea and I exchanged concerned looks as Archie shook his head.
"But I gotta get in the ring," Archie said. "Otherwise, what's the point?"
"I've seen you, Archie," Sweet Pea said. "There's no way you're ready to go up against someone being promoted as a champion."
"I have to prove myself somehow," Archie said. "Besides, I'm not fighting to win this time. Elio's paying me $5,000 to lose in round three."
This just kept getting better. "You're being paid to take the fall? Why the hell would you do something so stupid?" I snapped.
Archie stood, beginning to pace the length of the room. "Because I need to do something, Abigail. I'm an ex-con who walked out of the SATs. How am I supposed to make a name for myself if I don't do anything?"
"If you go through with this, all you're ever going to be seen as is a punching bag, no matter how much you train," I said. "You have to pull out of the match, let Keller train you, and once you're ready, go for a real fight."
"You think I haven't already tried that?" Archie asked. "I tried to get out of it but Elio's got too much arranged already, he won't let me out. That's why I need your guys' help. You know people, you've gotta be able to pull some strings somewhere."
"Who's the champion you're up against?" Sweet Pea asked.
"Randy," Archie answered. "Randy Ronson."
I didn't recognize the name, but Sweet Pea obviously did, swearing under his breath. "I know him. Or used to. He's the one who taught me to fight on the streets when I was a kid. Then I joined the Serpents and he went his own way."
"Okay, that could work for us," I said, thinking fast. "Sweet Pea, that means you know how Ronson fights, you know what Archie will need to look out for."
"Come on, man, please," Archie pleaded, dropping back into his seat. "I swear, after this I'll do things the right way, I'll get a real trainer, wait 'til they say I'm ready."
Sweet Pea leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees as he thought. "Randy's the kind of guy who's not above fighting dirty, especially if he's already guaranteed a win."
"Yeah, Mr Keller said he sucker-punched one of his opponents. The guy nosedived into his stool and hasn't walked since," Archie said. "I just need to know enough to get me through three rounds and make him look good before taking the fall."
"I know some of his tricks, but Randy's more than likely picked up some new ones since I last saw him," Sweet Pea said. "I can at least keep you from being killed. When's the fight?"
"Sunday," Archie mumbled, not looking at us.
Sweet Pea and I looked at him in shock, not believing he'd waited this long to ask for help. "You're gonna need to get through to Keller though," I said. "He can make sure you're keeping within regulations."
"We don't have a lot of time, so we'll have to start tomorrow," Sweet Pea said, nodding in agreement. "I'll meet you at the gym." He sighed as Archie started up the stairs to his room. "You do realize there's only so much I can do for him, right?"
"I know, but we can't just send Archie out there totally unprepared," I replied. "Granted, he should have come to us a lot sooner, but he's our friend. We have to help him."
Sweet Pea nodded, standing. "You're right, and we will. Now come on, let's go to bed. If I'm supposed to be a construction worker and training a boxer, I'm gonna need my sleep."
The next morning I made a few calls to the Ghoulies I thought we could bring into the Serpents without endangering myself. Unfortunately, only one was willing to meet Jughead and I at Pop's. The last call I had to make before meeting Jughead at the Sheriff's office to talk to FP was going to be the hardest. Something told me I wasn't going to like what I was going to hear.
"What kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into this time, girl?" Fagin asked, answering the phone.
"It's not me this time," I replied. "At least, not yet. You've been in Toledo a while, what can you tell me about my Aunt Gladys?"
The line was silent so long I thought the call had dropped. "She built herself a good business out here, helped out a lot of the younger Toledo Serpents. Not long ago she put Jones Junkyard up for sale and said her and her daughter were headed your direction."
"What aren't you telling me, Fagin?" I snapped. I could tell he was holding back information, and I had a feeling I knew what it was, but I needed him to confirm it for me. "There's more to it than that."
Fagin sighed, almost whispering when he answered. "I can't say much now, I'll call you later. Just be careful around her, Babygirl. Stay on her good side."
"What the hell is going on? What's so bad that you can't just tell me now?"
"Okay, okay. Look, she's trying to build an alliance with someone very powerful in Riverdale," Fagin said carefully. "And don't take any candy she offers you."
Before I could say anything else Fagin hung up, leaving me with his coded message to figure out. I hadn't gotten enough sleep to figure this out right now. In an attempt to distract myself, I got some office work done before leaving.
Jughead had already started telling FP about Gladys's suggestion last night when I got there, closing the office door behind me. He'd already taken the only chair in front of FP's desk, so pulled myself onto the windowsill, letting him continue.
"The Ghoulies, they're a drug club," FP said shortly when Jughead was done. "They can't be housetrained.
"That's the Gargoyles, Dad," Jughead protested. "The Ghoulies just need a strong leader. Dad, I can be that."
"You sure about that?" I asked skeptically. FP raised his eyebrow in curiosity while Jughead shot a glare in my direction.
"But I'm going to need a carrot that only you can provide," Jughead continued. "It would be a lot easier to get the Ghoulies to join us if I could say that we had immunity from the law now that you're Sheriff."
"You're joking, right?" I asked. "You don't know the Ghoulies like I do, Jones. The last of them in town would wreak havoc on Riverdale in an instant given that kind of privilege."
FP gave Jughead a knowing look. "Did your mom put you up to this?" He didn't wait for Jughead's answer before continuing. "Not even in town a week and she's already making moves."
"Coming to you with this ask was my idea," Jughead said. "And I know it's risky, but if we don't bolster out numbers, we're going to go extinct. Abigails' reaching out to those she can. I need to be able to offer something to them."
"By tomorrow," I said. "They agreed to meet at Pop's."
FP leaned back in his chair, running a hand down his face as he thought. Jughead was focused on his father so I took the chance to get FP's attention. I held up a finger to him and he gave a small nod. "As long as I don't have to sign anything, yeah, you can tell 'em Sheriff Jones hasn't forgotten where he's coming from. It'll be live and let live."
"Is that immunity going to extend to all Serpents?" I asked. "Some of us have more riding on that than others."
"It, uh..."Jughead stammered, pulling out his phone. "We'll have to figure that out. Sorry, I gotta take this."
Once the door closed behind Jughead, I moved over the chair across from FP. "So much for being a strong leader," I said.
"He's trying, Babygirl. He just needs to find his own way to lead."
"And how long is that gonna take?" I asked. "As it is, Jughead's nothing more than a figurehead. Toni wants to be queen. I'm ready to overthrow Jughead and bring her in. But back to my original question. How far does that immunity reach?"
FP shook his head. "I don't know yet. But I don't know why you're so worried. There's not a file in this building with your name on it," he said with a wink. "And I hope that gesture earlier meant there's only one Ghoulie willing to show up tomorrow."
"It did," I replied, standing with a smile. "Is that what made your decision?"
"Mmm-hmm. One last question for you though," FP said, stopping me at the door. "Do you know why Reggie Mantle's been parking his car at Tent City the past few days?"
"I don't, but I might be able to find out," I said as all the pieces fell into place. I knew what Fagin had been trying to say.
Leaving the Sheriff's office, I made my way to Pop's, letting myself into the Speakeasy. The place was empty aside from Reggie who was busy restocking the bar before they opened for the night.
"So, Reggie," I said, taking a seat at the bar. "Is there anything you want to tell me?"
I bit back a laugh as a look of fear flashed across his face. "I, uh, about what?" he stammered out nervously.
"Let's start with why your car has been parked at the Serpent camp the past few nights," I said.
"That's where she's been?" Reggie asked anxiously, pushing his hands through his hair. "Oh, God, Bella's not meant to be driven off road."
I raised an eyebrow at him. "Okay, we'll come back why you named your car Bella of all names, but since when do you let anybody borrow your car?"
"I didn't really have much of a choice," Reggie sighed. "When we met up with that buyer last week, we gave her the money like you said to do and she was cool with it. Said we'd work out some kind of payment plan for the rest of the money."
"And Bella was taken as collateral," I guessed. "Okay, so now you can tell me who this anonymous buyer is."
Reggie groaned. "I thought you wanted to know about the car. Can't we talk about that instead?"
"Who did you and Veronica meet last week?" I asked slowly, not taking my eyes off him.
"There were two of them," Reggie said, "but only one of them spoke. She introduced herself, didn't tell us the other guy's name."
"And her name was..." I prompted.
I could see Reggie arguing with himself as he ran a hand through his hair. "I–I can't tell you," he finally said in a rush. "She made us promise not to tell Jug."
"Then it's a good thing I'm not Jughead, isn't it? Now spill, Mantle."
"She said her name was Gladys. Gladys Jones," he admitted, not looking at me.
"That's all I need to know for now," I said, hopping off the barstool.
"Wait, where are you going?" Reggie called after me as I made my way up the stairs. "Abigail!"
I ignored him, heading straight to the Jones trailer, forcing myself to feel no emotion. I didn't bother knocking before letting myself in.
"...or my mother, I'll tell your son and niece that you're hoping to take over the drug trade," Veronica was saying.
The two looked up in surprise as the door closed behind me. "Thank you for confirming that for me, Veronica. Too bad the rest of this conversation won't be so easy," I said, flipping the lock on the door.