"We get a lot of kicks," the boy said eagerly. "You'll see. We have dogfights with the other gangs. With copters. We only got one, that ain't so much. But we're figurin' on gettin' some PF's next year, if we can collect enough dough in the treasury...." "That'll be great," Ron said. Then he dropped his hand on the other's arm. "Listen--is there any chance of takin' a trip? In the copter?" "Yeah, sure," the boy said warily. "Only you gotta ask for it in advance. I mean, it's Rocket property, and you gotta sign for it. And even then, if Shock wants to use it--well...." "Why?" Ron said. "Why's that? Because he's the leader?" "Sure," the boy said simply. "That's the reason." Ron looked across the room at the card players. "How do you get to be the leader?" "I dunno. Shock's the leader 'cause he can lick anybody in the Rockets. That makes sense, don't it?" "Yes. I suppose so." He chewed his lip. "Listen. Let's say _I_ was leader. Could I use the copter then? Any time I wanted?" "Sure. I mean, if you're the leader, who's gonna stop you?" "Yes," Ron said. He stood up and walked to the table, watching the cards as they were slapped on the wood. "Hey, Shock," he said. The tall boy didn't look up. "What is it?" "You cheat." A thrill ran through Ron's new body as he said it, and he muttered a small prayer that his guess about Shock's power was correct. "I _what_?" "I've been watching you play, and you cheat. You don't even cheat good. You cheat sloppy." The tall boy stood up slowly, and the other chairs were scraped back in anticipation. "Now that's something," he said. "That's really something! The kid's here ten minutes, and right away he wants to be buried." His face became grim. "Boy, we've had 'em wise before, pal. But never like this." Ron planted himself in front of him. "So?" he said. Shock's face clouded. "Say, are you kidding? You really like trouble that bad?" His right hand lashed out, while the left headed for his jacket pocket. But it wasn't the right that Ron avoided. Both of his short arms shot out towards the tall boy's left, and stopped the descent of the arm. Shock's right hand thudded against Ron's shoulder, the blow only stinging him. "Hey!" Shock cried. "Hey, you--" It was a triumph for Ron. He had been right about the electrical circuit woven through Shock's clothing, the circuit he couldn't complete without his left hand tripping the mechanism in his pocket. With the power off, Shock's weapon was useless. He was caught by surprise, and Ron's quick-moving hands tumbled him to the floor. Before he had a chance to do anything else, Ron was upon him with an upraised chair. He closed his eyes before he swung. The sound of the crash might have sickened him in other circumstances; now it sounded good and satisfying. Ron looked around the room, panting. "I'm the leader now," he said. "Understand? I'm the leader!" The looked at each other uncertainly.