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looked him over. “Never seen this before,” he muttered, and Sonny knew everything was going to be all right.

12
    I T WAS MORE THAN Starkey had ever imagined, just the two of them, sitting on ring stools at a spindly card table, under a single naked bulb in the middle of the gym. They were eating barbecued ribs that Horace had sent over from his restaurant. Sonny ate the ribs carefully, turning them almost delicately in his big hands as he nibbled around the bone. Starkey tried to copy Sonny, but his fingers were not as nimble and the ribs slipped in his hands.
    So close to Sonny that he had to remember to breathe. He tried not to stare. Sonny’s face seemed softer than in the poster on Starkey’s bedroom wall, his jawline not so bony. There were small scars around his eyebrows and mouth. But his eyes were as deep and dark as they were in pictures. The teeth picking at the meat on the ribs were large and white. His knuckles were scuffed.
    There were a million questions he wantedto ask, but Sonny seemed closed up into himself, focused on eating. Athletes are like that, Starkey remembered reading somewhere, able to zone in on whatever they were doing and shut out distractions. They miss a lot, but they get the job done. A Warrior Angel is a kind of athlete.
    â€œSo what’s a Warrior Angel?” The rib, dripping sauce, was poised at Sonny’s lips.
    Thinking out loud again, Starkey. Now you better think fast. Another defining moment. But this may not be the time to go for it. Be cool, be steady.
    â€œWe help people.”
    â€œHow?”
    â€œSupport them in their strengths, protect them from their weaknesses.”
    â€œWhat’s that mean?” Sonny’s brow was wrinkled. He looked like he wanted a real answer.
    â€œIf you’ve got a killer left hook, learn how to use it even more effectively. If your chin’s weak, learn how to protect it.”
    â€œTrainers do that.”
    â€œRight. Now take that beyond boxing, to the whole person.” Starkey thought, Easy here,don’t want to spook him. “Say you’re good at setting goals and never quitting till you get there. It’s important that you set the right goals or you’ll be off wandering on worthless journeys. Say you’ve got a tendency to be negative. You need to be reminded of positive things.”
    Sonny nodded and went back to the rib.
    Well done, Starkey. When you are cool, you are in control. Could have babbled on and blown it. But the fistful of pills he had swiped from the Family Place wouldn’t last forever, even at the half dosage he was taking. To stretch it out I’ll have to cut back to a quarter dose soon. Then the Voices will start drifting back. Got to get the job done before I run out.
    Sonny glanced up. “What job?”
    â€œGetting you ready for The Wall.”
    Sonny seemed to like that. “You told Johnson you had a plan.”
    â€œMind and body. Both have to be in better shape. For starters, this is the last dinner of ribs till after the fight.” Starkey loved the easy authority in his voice. The Archies would be proud. “The Wall wasn’t prepared for you last time, took you lightly. He won’t make that mistake again.”
    â€œIt was a war,” said Sonny. He put down a half-eaten rib and wiped his mouth. “I was pissing blood and seeing double for a week. And I was ready last time.”
    â€œNot so ready,” said Starkey. “You were distracted. All the stuff on the Reservation. Remember, somebody tried to shoot you. That can take you out of the zone.”
    Sonny nodded. He was listening!
    Starkey felt an electric surge. He was getting through. “Rocky’ll get your rhythms and combinations back, and we’ll work on focusing your head. Turn on the lights. Clear out the fog.”
    â€œYou think I’m a head case?”
    Careful, Starkey. “I think you let yourself get down, the same way you let your