Conversation · Logic

"I knew it..." The would-be leader drops his spiked head between his knees...

"It's impossible now."

"No, Andre, it's harder now. This Hard Cop has come to show us how much the fish is and the fish is always so much more... We all know there was never going to be a club for anodic music with the speed lab. Now it has a fighting chance!"

"So there was never going to be a club in there?"

"There needs to be a club for anodic music in there. NEEDS TO! So we won't cook speed in there, we'll do it clean, we'll do it true. We'll do it sober and real and beautiful."

"Right. Let's call this incident crime prevention, but I have my eye on you."

"Okay, we'll try to do it without the drugs." He raises his head from between his knees.

"We'll do a straight up club in there, spinning the maddest reels and nothing but, I swear to god! Okay, Egg?"

"From here on it'll be straight all the way!"

"There needs to be a club for anodic music in there. NEEDS TO! Everyone hates each other. Everybody hates it here, it's all just drugs and we're slaves and I *can't... we are running out of time!"

"We need a win, Andre." He looks at you. "I promise this will be a win! We won't cook speed in there, we'll do it clean, we'll do it true. We'll do it sober and real and beautiful. This will be a victory for the light!"

This will be nothing.

You can hear the ice crack underneath you. Outside the last century waterfront development is crumbling in the wind, a grapeshot row of falling houses. And so is Rue Saint-Gérôme and all the houses on Main Row. The Old Cinema is sinking underneath Villalobos...

"Wait, does anyone feel that?"

"What?"

"Nothing... Let's call this incident crime prevention. But I have my eye on you."

"What's that about a fish?"

"And why did you need me?"

"Like I told you, spooky assholes moved in while I was getting all this stuff together. A month ago the place was empty and now it's all spooked up."

"They're not really spooky, are they?"

"No, man! They're spooky alright. It's just that they would also probably call the police if we started cooking speed in there."

"But the sine was way off too. I couldn't feel the love at all..."

"Not blowing your brains out."

"Okay, man, okay...." You can see his hands shaking a little.

"It was just impossible -- look at us! How are we going to pull a club out of our ass?! We need starter capital, that's all... We were totally going to turn the church into the wickedest club for anodic music in, like, ever..."

"In the fucking world, man!"

"Just like.... before we do we need to earn a bit of dough, do some real work! Get things going, you know."

"Get our fucking foot in the door."

"Sell some fucking speed, okay? Produce and sell speed."

"I've heard enough."

"And then crabman and the programmer lady moved in while you were gathering your shit."

"Exactly! It was going fine -- a month ago the place was empty, then suddenly it's all spooked up."

"I've heard enough."

"So, what happened?"

"We'll see. Now speak."

"Not calling back-up and hauling you all off to the pen -- for starters."

"Okay, man, okay." He raises his hands.

"Things are just so, so hard for an entrepreneur in this city right now! It's not like we lied when we said we wanna turn the church into the wickedest club in East Revachol..."

"Because we do, we totally do!"

"We just... need to turn it into a speed lab before."

"To get our foot in the door."

"I don't really care, I just wanted to crack the case. Do what you want and I'll do what I want."

"Really...?" He sounds relieved.

"Of course not really. I'm a cop! Now tell me what's going on, immediately!"

"Really-really. I wanted to ask you about something else."

"You wanted to just ask me..." he's a bit perplexed now. "About something else?"

"Yes, I did. I'm that kind of person. Now tell me..." (Move on to other questions.)

"Okay!" He sounds very happy.

(Shrug.) "Or you can tell me the plan for the church really was."

"You tell me what's really going on and we'll work from there. I can be lenient."

"What do you mean by lenient?"

(Time for heavy leverage. Pull out your gun.) "Summary execution."

Your hand moves, smooth and lightning-fast, to the holster -- you whip out the gun.

As if you've done it before.

The 9mm Villiers feels surprisingly light in your hand. Almost toy-like. You imagine death, sorrow and the dramatic re-imagining of Andre's face burst out of its muzzle, and it feels almost preposterous...

"WAIT!!!"

(Point gun at Andre.) "Yes? I'm listening."

"You can't just... you can't..." He's mumbling half-incoherently. "We haven't..." Suddenly, he gets interrupted by a voice:

"This is so fucked up..." Egg Head mumbles, looking for the stop button on the tape player. For a moment you can hear the wind howl outside.

"This is NOT happening. Officer, please..." Without his smile Egg Head looks heartbroken and older than you thought.