Pool_2

Marcus finally pleaded, "Anyway, how you know all this stuff?" "The scar. That's part of the gig. Lots of learning. Lots of pitfalls to know. Mines to not step on. Know the enemy. Know what he'll steal before he does." "The army?" Mac asked. "You know about the army?" Jake showed surprise for the very first time. "Just the word. Heard it in bits of conversation. No idea what it is. Guns in the cellars? Gonna rise up and shoot whitey? Gonna shoot me, Jake?" Mac nudged. "You're safe. Not that kind of army," Jake assured, "It's called tenthing. The talented tenth. It's a Du Boise concept. Goes all the way back to the Niagra Movement ... that turned into the NAACP, eventually. We try to pick out about one tenth of our kids who show extra promise in areas of need. You know, math, business sense, literary skill, healing, whatever. They gotta get through college. The money is the easy part. Keeping them intact, is the hard part. We draw lines around these kids." Marcus startled. His face drained of all color. He never heard that term outside his own family conversation, "Lines?" Jake gave the, don't play dumb, look. "You know what I mean! Lines! Nobody crosses those lines. Those kids will be given extra special attention to assure we get some quality talent into real places! Law, congress, medicine, business, big business, big ass big business, banking and - not the least - writers to sing the praises of the rest! Me." Regaining some circulation, "Kind of narrow, no?" "No. We're not in a vacuum. This is what WE do. Others do other stuff. Your daddy was a big fan of Walter White. Oh come-on, don't give me that blank look. Oh man. Walter White? He was a writer who vividly detailed the brutal lynchings of black folks in