Heaven's Devils: Party Night(Peter J Barbour) Heaven’s Devils: Party Night
Peter J Barbour


Joe watched Nick jump from the landing and head across the yard into the darkness. Joe leaped after him. When his feet hit the ground, he was already running. Halfway across the yard, the lights came on. Joe was fully illuminated now, no longer shrouded by darkness. He heard a policeman shout from behind him.

“Stop, or I’ll shoot!”

Joe’s momentum carried him forward. He quickly debated the pros and cons of making a heroic dash for freedom across the yard versus stopping as ordered and thereby suffering the humiliation of getting caught, a confrontation with the police, and eventually with his mother. He thought, ‘Can I make it to the wall, just twenty feet away, escape with safety on the other side? The policeman wouldn’t really shoot me, would he? With the lights on, I’m an easy target. If he kills me, how will I explain that to my
Mother? If he just wounds me, my mother will kill me.’ Joe opted for capture and its potential consequences. He stopped running, threw his hands in the air, and shouted.

“Don’t shoot!”

As Joe shouted, the officer fired. Nick had made it to the base of the wall as the lights went on. He jumped over the wall clearing it by a full foot when the gun went off. Joe stood in the middle of the yard. His arms had dropped with the guns report. He clutched his chest. He heard nothing and felt nothing, not even pain.


3 hours earlier:

Joe sat on the stoop in front of the apartment building waiting for his ride. It was Saturday night. As he watched the evening twilight evolve, he enjoyed the cool crisp October air. It was 1965. Joe thought about school, the football team, and, most importantly, how and where he was going to college. He and his sister lived with their mother, a single parent. Their father had abandoned them years before. Joe worked hard at school, and took learning seriously. He had to grow up fast after his father left. As a result he was more focused than some of his peers. Joe was content; his home was safe, secure, and he had his friends. He looked forward to joining them this evening, although he wasn’t always enthusiastic about what they might be doing. They sometimes walked the line between right and wrong and that made him uncomfortable. His mother generally trusted him and always gave him enough leeway to test his judgment with the hope that he would make good choices. She frequently left him with the simple request, “don’t jump off the roof, even if everyone else does.” “Of course not,” Joe always responded. As a result, Joe became the voice of reason with his friends, some called him the fun police; others referred to him as, “mother.” However, when his friends were with Tony, Greg, and Robby, there was no reasoning, only following. Joe might have to choose to jump or not to jump, to be with his friends or desert them; and, by deserting them, he would be denying them his voice of reason, although his unsolicited advice was rarely appreciated. Still, he felt compelled to supplement their judgment. Nick pulled up on time in his mother’s Ford Galaxy convertible. Sitting next to him was Don, and in the back were Pat and Mega Mike. Joe squeezed into the back between Pat and Mega Mike.


Heaven’s Devils:

The meeting place, headquarters, was a parking lot behind the Manoa shopping center. This was their staging area from where they would deploy to cruise the local teen hangouts and look for action. One could find the group at the periphery of the lot, opposite the loading docks and tractor-trailers, out of sight of the shoppers, under a row of lamps that cast a dull yellow light. They all wore the same things, jeans, white socks, converse sneakers, and a madras shirt that had “bled”. They wore their high school letter jackets, rank defined by number letters and sports. They milled about their cars, some sitting on the hoods, and listened to their car radios. They called themselves Heaven’s Devils. The de facto leader of the group was Tony. Tony was referred to as, “The Boss”. That had started as a joke; it seemed comical, especially when he would race to the front of a procession of boys and pretend to lead them in whatever direction they were already going. He enjoyed the sense of power, even if imaginary. The members of the group encouraged Tony’s fantasy. Initially, it was comical to have him lead them about. They began to indulge him by permitting him to determine where they went and what they did. He decided they would be called the Heaven’s Devils, a play-on-words, meant to mirror a real motorcycle gang, the Hell’s Angels. None of the Heaven’s Devils even owned a motorcycle, and any swagger this group of teenage boys had in this peaceful upscale suburban neighborhood was mostly imagined. Tony had printed membership cards in the school’s print shop and handed them out to each member.

“So, what’s happening tonight?” Tony asked Greg, a six-foot tall lineman from the football team and Tony’s right hand man. Greg was not very quick or creative, but his size contrasted well to Tony’s short stature and Greg’s s mere presence added credence to Tony’s position as leader.

“I don’t know,” Greg responded. “What do you know, Robby?” Robby was also a member of the football team, brighter and more cleaver than Greg or Tony. He enjoyed indulging the boss, although he thought the whole Heaven’s Devils thing was a lot of posturing. He liked to manipulate Tony into doing the nonsensical.
“I heard there’s a party at Kenny Q’s. Probably won’t be any alcohol,“ Robby replied. “But, I don’t think there will be any parents.”
“No parents,” Tony said contemplatively.
“No parents,” Greg repeated mimicking the boss.
“No parents,” Robby said again. “Louie told me about it. Betsy is going without him.”
“Without him?” Greg asked.
“Yea, I think she dumped him, but I don’t think he was ready to be dumped. He’s been moping around.” Robby added.
“Dumped him.” Greg said trying to fully grasp its meaning.
“I’m not sure what other options we have. I’ve heard of two or three other parties but none sound as promising as this one. Kenny won’t stop us from coming into the house, no parents; we could help reunite Louie and Betsy. Sounds like a sure thing,” Tony opined.
“You’re the boss,” Greg replied.

Tony caught the glare of a car’s headlights as it made the turn into the parking lot. Tony immediately recognized the car.
“Ah, Nick’s here. We’ll see if he knows anything about what’s going on.” Tony said.
“Yo, Nick! What’s happening?” Tony greeted Nick as he pulled up and immediately surveyed who was in the car. He acknowledged Don, Pat, and Mega Mike.
“Not much, “ Nick responded. “Got an agenda for tonight?”
“Robby, heard about a party that sounds promising. What is your pleasure?”

Tony admired and respected Nick and Don; each had their own charisma. Neither ever backed down from a challenge; both were independent. They enjoyed the camaraderie of the group. However, Tony had little fondness for Joe who made it obvious that he did not embrace the concept of Heaven’s Devils nor the boss. Joe bucked Tony’s authority, real or fictional, and that was not appreciated. Everyone loved Mega Mike. Pat would rather have been on a date and decided to split the scene on foot, and headed to his girl friend, Z’s, house. Joe thought about joining Pat, but he’d be a third wheel there. He remained concerned that travelling with the gang might bode ill. In the end, he stayed, unable to abandon his friends, and unwilling to be thought of as not part of the crowd. He rationalized staying by thinking that he could observe. He didn’t have to actually participate. Tony and Nick discussed the options for the evening and both agreed that the party at Kenny Q’s was the best prospect, even if there was no beer. They viewed it as an opportunity to liven up what would certainly be a dull affair without them. It would also offer an opportunity to give Betsy a chance to make up with Louie. Everyone was tired of Louie’s moping about.

Tony jumped onto the hood of Nick’s car, raised his arms, and called for everyone’s attention.
“Party time at Kenny Q’s house! Follow us,” he shouted.

Everyone got into their cars and revved their engines. Greg, with the boss sitting shotgun, pulled his car out of the lineup first. Nick followed. Seven cars followed Nick and formed a caravan that proceeded out of the parking lot and wound its way through the streets of the town, towards its center, and Kenny Q’s home. In the neighborhood, the streets were narrow and tree-lined. The trees had shed their leaves, and leaves were everywhere, adorning lawns and streets. The caravan eventually arrived at its destination. Cars emptied amid the sounds of opening and closing car doors, rustling of leaves, and sneaky malicious laughter in anticipation of mischief to be had at poor Kenny Q’s expense.


The Party at Kenny Q’s:

Tony stood at the head of the walk to Kenny’s front door. He turned and addressed his minions in a loud stage whisper.
“Does anybody know Kenny?”
Mega Mike answered. “Yea, He’s in my math class.”
“Good, “ said Tony. “You go knock on his door and invite yourself and some of your friends in.”
Mega Mike walked up to the point. The group filed in behind. Mega Mike approached the door and knocked. A girl in a sweater, skirt that ended just below her knees, knee socks, and penny loafers answered the door.
“Uh, Kenny, there’s some guys here.” She called, then turned back to Mega Mike and said. “I didn’t know you were invited.”
“Sure we were.” Mega Mike replied with a big friendly smile on his perfectly round face, and he stepped into the house. Kenny emerged from the next room. Mike waved to him with an impish, innocent, friendly, disarming smile.
“Hi, Kenny,” said Mega Mike.

Kenny smiled back and exchanged the salutation. Then Kenny’s face turned pale, as the rest of the troop filed past him, each saying a friendly hello, and giving him a friendly pat of thanks for inviting them to his party. His only response in his state of panic and disbelief was to offer an ineffectual and barely audible reply. Joe walked in towards the end of the procession. He saw the look of fear in Kenny’s eyes, and the humor of the setting gave way to concern that their intrusion was not fun except at Kenny’s expense.

“But, you all can’t stay,” Kenny said.

Kenny Q’s home of was not very large. The addition of more than thirty people made it crowded. The main floor of the house contained a living room entered from the front door. The dinning room was entered from the living room. From the dining room one could enter the kitchen or a family room off to the left. There was an exit from the kitchen through a utility room, which contained a pantry, to the garage. From the family room there was an exit to the back yard. The home was a modest one, decorated in no particular style. Kenny’s family was comfortable but in no way extravagant. The party had been centered in the family room, but with the arrival of Heaven’s Devils, the party spread throughout the down stairs. Kenny scurried about frantically trying to maintain order, and, at first, order was maintained. Some of the gang settled into flirting with the girls and dancing. Louie found Betsy, and with the help of Tony, Greg, and Robby pleaded his case, but she, nevertheless, rejected him. Louie took Betsy’s not-so-subtle hints to leave her alone and moped away. Greg, and Robby stayed by his side encouraging him to go back and continue to pursue her. Tony, on the other hand, decided to attach himself to Kenny, put his arm around his shoulder, and, in his most fatherly voice, assured Kenny that all would be well.

Nick, Don, and Mega Mike headed to the kitchen looking for food. As they passed through the family room, they found a coffee table with popcorn, pretzels, and a cheese dip. Joe entered the family room several minutes later looking for Nick and Don. He was thinking that he would ask them, if it might be a good time to leave. Mega Mike sat next to the coffee table, a fist full of popcorn in one hand, pretzels in the other. His hands moved towards his mouth rapidly as he stuffed and chewed continuously. Nick and Don stood over Mega Mike marveling at his consumptive efficiency.

“Mike, you must be starved. I bet you haven’t eaten for at least 2 hours?” Joe said sarcastically.
Mega Mike looked up, not at all amused, by Joe’s sarcasm, popcorn on his chin and chest, another fistful of pretzels headed mouth-ward, as he still chewed the last entry. He stopped chewing.
“Absolutely right, always hungry, and this isn’t going to cut it for me,” he replied.
“Maybe we should check out the fridge?” Don suggested jokingly.

A mischievous grin crept over Mega Mike’s face. Without another word, he stood and marched into the kitchen. Nick, Don, and Joe followed Mega Mike close behind. Joe was curious what Mega Mike had in mind. Mega Mike walked through the kitchen and into the pantry. There he found a box of chocolate chip cookies. The box was summarily opened and its contents quickly consumed. Don and Nick sat down at the kitchen table and watched Mega Mike with intense fascination. Joe joined them at the table equally fascinated, but fascination mingled with a mounting concern. They were unsure of what he would do next. Robby and Greg walked into the kitchen. Mega Mike sat down at the table with the others. He looked forlorn.

“Mike, what’s the matter?” Robby asked.
“Thirsty.” Mega Mike replied.
Robby scouted out the refrigerator, and found a bottle of cider that he placed in front of Mega Mike. Joe went to the cupboard and found glasses, hoping he could prevent Mega Mike from drinking directly out of the bottle. Greg looked puzzled.

“Really, Joe, why dirty glasses.” Greg said with distain and took the bottle of cider from the table, drank from it, and passed it to Mega Mike. Joe feared that things would quickly get out of hand. Joe wanted to leave, but chose to stay, observe, and not participate; besides, a part of him found the unfolding spectacle funny in a dark humorous way.

Greg and Mega Mike returned to the pantry. This time they returned with a box of crackers and a jar of peanut butter. Robby, seeing this, headed to the refrigerator and brought back jelly, soda, and a loaf of bread. They consumed that. Mega Mike was up again, and this time emerged from the pantry with boxes of Cornflakes and Cheerios. Robby found the bowls, spoons, and Greg found the milk. Robby wasn’t content eating breakfast food without making it a complete meal. Having been to the refrigerator now on several occasions, he had obtained a full inventory of its contents. He reported that there were two-dozen eggs and a pound of bacon, as well as, sausage links in there. Robby was designated chef, Greg his assistant. In a flash eggs and bacon were prepared. The smell of frying bacon wafted through the house; and, like bees to honey, others began to join them. Once breakfast was consumed, they moved on to lunch. Another loaf of bread, rolls, lunchmeat, and cheese found their way from pantry and refrigerator to their bellies. They became a pack of locust, frenzied sharks, as they ate and ate. The milk and juices were gone. Hot water was put up for tea, coffee, and hot cocoa. Don, Nick, and Joe sat passively watching the exhibition of consumption around them. Joe assumed innocence as he sat and just observed. He wasn’t participating after all, but by the same token it wasn’t right, and he, began to wonder, by virtue of his inaction was he culpable? Even Nick, who loved a little mischief, looked on with some concern. Things had truly gotten out of hand. Don never thought that Mega Mike would have taken his suggestion to check out the fridge so seriously, and now others had joined him. They looked at each other as the last bits of food were swallowed. Robby gave his status report on the refrigerator. The refrigerator was empty.

“Well, big fella, still hungry?” Someone called to Mega Mike, who hadn’t moved from his chair.
Mega Mike looked up with a pitiful expression, his massive body spreading over his seat. He emitted a long low eructation and smiled. “Always hungry.”
“Robby, “ Greg called, “Mike’s still hungry. Isn’t there anything left in the fridge?”
“Only fruit and vegetables.” He called back. Then from behind his back, he pulled a five pound roast. “But, I found this little puppy in the freezer. It’s still frozen. Maybe someone knows how to defrost it.”

Greg was laughing uncontrollably as he tried to explain a method of defrosting the roast when Kenny burst into the room.
“What is going on here?!” He cried frantically as the horror of empty boxes and wrappers strewn across, counter, table, and floor confronted him.
“Hey, Kenny, great party!” Greg shouted.

Kenny turned quickly and stormed out of the kitchen muttering something about leaving and getting help. Greg took the roast from Robby and a pot from the pantry. He filled the pot with hot water and placed the roast in the pot, turned to Mega Mike, with a clever smile of pride in a job well done.
“There, that shouldn’t take long,” Greg said.
“Not more than 2 or 3 days,” Joe said disdainfully mixed with his ill ease as he finally reacted to Kenny’s feelings of frustration and concern. The whole affair had lost its humor, but Joe didn’t suggest that Greg should stop or that perhaps they’d gone too far.

Robby had returned to the pantry and came back with onions and potatoes to roast with the meat. Mike sat at the table with a look of delight as he watched the preparations.
“Ah, real food,” Mike muttered softly.

After some further debate, Robby and Greg decided that the pot of hot water would do no better than just cooking the roast as it was. So, they placed the roast, onions, and potatoes on a pan. They salted the meat, argued about the appropriate temperature at which to cook it all, and finally decided, because the meat was frozen, that the hotter the better. They were about to put the meat in the oven when Tony burst into the room.

“What have you guys done?! Kenny is beside himself. He says he’s going to call the police.” Tony shouted at them.
“I’m not leaving until I get my roast.” Mega Mike said emphatically.
“I think it’s time to leave, now.” Tony said, turned and headed for the front door.
Mega Mike called after him. “Alarmist.”
Greg always loyal to the boss, followed Tony from the room, and tried to explain that they were just hungry. Robby decided to slip into the family room in order to deflect guilt and put himself in position to escape should the police actually come. The others remained at the table with Mega Mike.

Joe was alarmed. “What if he did call the police, Nick. Maybe we should get out of here.”
“You always worry, Joe,” Nick said as he looked toward the dining room. “We’re just watching. We didn’t do anything wrong.”
“We’re here, Nick, and we shouldn’t be,” Joe said. He wondered why he was there. Was he on the roof or had he already jumped with everyone else?

As Tony approached the front door in his attempt to flee the scene, he heard a knock. Kenny was already there and opened the door. Standing in the doorway were two policemen. Tony quickly turned and ran for the back door yelling.
“It’s the cops!!”

Tony led the charge as the partiers, guests, and crashers, joined the stampede through the living room into the dining room via the kitchen to the family room, and out the door to the back yard. Don, Joe, Mega Mike, and Nick were still sitting at the table in the kitchen as the procession passed. They watched the panicked exodus as if detached; but, as the last person passed, they realized that there actually were policeman in pursuit. Don, Mega Mike, Nick, and lastly Joe headed for the back door.

The escape door lead to a small cement landing without rails, there were four steps to the lawn. The backyard was completely enclosed by a six-foot privacy fence, and it was dark. Thirty feet across the lawn from the house, the fence was brick and separated Kenny’s family’s property from their neighbors’. Don sprang from the landing, ran across the lawn, and jumped over the fence. Mega Mike was close behind and motivated by fear of capture, propelled his rotund body over the wall with surprisingly little effort. Nick was safely over the wall, when the officer had discharged his weapon. Don and Mega Mike were waiting for Nick on the other side. They looked at each other, horrified, even more so when Joe didn’t appear. Don, Nick, and Mega Mike tried to peer over the wall, but were afraid they’d be seen. They listened intently trying to figure out what just happened.

Joe stood in the middle of the yard, lit, as if by a spotlight, he slowly looked down where his hands clutched his chest. He saw no blood. He was still standing, and greatly relieved as he quickly surmised that he hadn’t been shot.
“I stopped! I stopped! Don’t shoot!” Joe called without turning around.

The officer was by his side now.
“I could have shot you. You shouldn’t have run,” the officer said. The officer shined a bright large flashlight in Joe’s face. He noted a bruise from football earlier in the day. “Nice bruise, kid. How’d you like a matching one on the other side? Why don’t we go back inside and find out what is going on here.”

The officer escorted Joe back into the house. Joe was not happy about his situation. It was apparent when he re-entered the house that everyone else had gotten away. What had he done? Had he jeopardized all his hard work, violated his mother’s trust? The policeman brought him to Kenny.
“I caught this one running away. Do you know him?” The officer asked Kenny.

Kenny looked at Joe and, at first, was hesitant to answer. Joe looked into Kenny’s eyes. He hoped Kenny would not betray him, although he realized Kenny owed him nothing. Maybe Kenny would show him more compassion than he, by association with his gang, had shown Kenny. By his lack of participation, Joe found himself culpable, perhaps more so for his passivity. Even though they were not friendly in the past, they were classmates. But, a few moments before, that hadn’t meant much, as the group, including Joe had come into house and shown Kenny no respect. Joe hoped for a reprieve, but knew he deserved none. He held his breath as Kenny deliberated.

Kenny looked at the officer. “Yeah, I know him. He’s okay.”

The officer made a little grimace, obviously not believing Kenny. Joe, who was trying to figure how many years he’d be going to jail for party crashing and trashing. He hoped it would be long enough to sufficiently delay a confrontation with his mother while she was still acutely angry. Fortunately, with Kenny’s response, the situation appeared to be improving.

The officer and Joe turned to Kenny. Joe continued to look into Kenny’s eyes but with a softened expression. He was surprised, puzzled, and grateful for the unexpected and undeserved reprieve.
“Were you invited?” The officer asked Joe.
Joe didn’t hesitate, but responded unconvincingly, still taken aback by Kenny’s show of kindness. “Wasn’t I, Kenny?” ‘I was?’ He thought.

Kenny looked from the officer to Joe and back to the officer. “Yeah, sure.” Kenny finally said. It would have served no purpose to vent his anger on Joe. He had achieved his goal in getting those bullies out of his house and regaining control of the situation. Besides in showing Joe this benevolence perhaps Joe would be his advocate in the future.

The officer looked back at Joe again. “Next time, kid, don’t run.”

Joe thanked the officer for his advice. The officer gave Kenny one more frustrated glance and then he and his partner left.

Once the policemen left, the Heaven’s Devils, having hidden in the neighborhood, returned to their cars and took off to the local diner to get something to eat. Joe lingered at the party long enough to thank Kenny Q for vouching for him, he offered to help clean up, but Kenny thought it would be best if Joe just left. Joe felt ashamed for what he’d been a part, grateful for Kenny’s reprieve, and committed to distancing himself from the Heaven’s Devils. Nick, Don, and Mega Mike had taken off with the rest of the crew. Joe decided to head on foot to Z’s house where he hoped to find Pat.

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