Conversation · The Hanged Man

"Bitches fighting."

He feels bad about it. About his eyes mostly, just having bad eyesight -- probably from a young age. Whatever you do, do not console him.

Say nothing.

"Easy does it, partner."

"Take the shot, lieutenant -- what's the worst thing that could happen?"

"I'll blow his head off."

"Take it! TAKE THE SHOT!"

"Yeah, take the shot, Cuno wants some of that shit."

"I don't know how. Maybe it's better not to..." (Back off.)

"What else can we do?"

"Actually -- don't. It has bad idea written all over it."

"But... what else can we do?"

"Maybe we could shoot him down?"

"Yeah!" The enthusiasm is unrestrained. "Bang bang time, pigs! Shoot his head off!"

The lieutenant remains unaffected. "How?"

Where the buckle ties the rope to the branch -- that's a good spot to aim.

(Point to it.) "There. The buckle holds the belt together."

"Where?" He corrects his glasses. "Ah, yes. I see. If the shot hits that there might be a chance to release the belt..."

"Yeah, now we're talkin'. Entertain the Cuno with some shit."

"They'll miss. The pigs will miss, Cuno!"

The lieutenant is undecided. On one hand he wants to shoot some gun -- on the other, it's an awfully stupid idea.

"Just shoot the belt, the bullet will break it."

"It absolutely will not, officer. That's not how physics work. It will maybe cut one thread loose."

"I don't know, just, you know -- shoot up there maybe?" (Point towards the branch.)

"Yes..." He corrects his glasses. "The buckle -- where it ties the cargo belt to the tree. If the shot hits that then there might be a small chance to release the belt..."

"Seems like a lot of hassle, let's not do it."

"We're not getting him down already. Not getting him down is a task that's already accomplished. Sadly, it's not our job to keep him up there, but to get him down."

Just pull his rotting head off. The meat's cooked anyway, give the boot another yank and it's done.

"Let's just pull his head off."

"It's tempting. But decapitating him might be against regulations."

"It's tempting. But decapitating him will make it impossible to ascertain whether he was really hung. The damage to the neck would make coronary work pointless."

I don't really want to pull his head off.

How do you plan to get him down then? With social sensibility? Are you going to educate him down?

"I can try to shoot him down myself."

"This had better not turn into another demonstration of yours."

No, of course not -- this time we shoot someone else!

"I'm gonna need your gun for this."

"They only have ONE GUN!"

Oops...

"This is the sorriest pair of pigs Cuno's ever seen."

"Officer, why do we only have one gun?" he asks -- carefully loading his pistolette.

"I think someone has stolen it from me, stolen my gun. Gun is stolen."

"Extremely unfortunate. You need to contact your station about it as soon as possible." The piece shines in his outstretched hand. "Try not to lose this one, please."

We're not off to a good start. This missing gun business is making your hand tremble.

Take the gun.

"Yeah, take it you fucking banaanipoika. Take it and shoot yourself in the mouth!"

Point the gun at the belt.

The buckle comes into focus in your sights. You stand with your feet planted firmly in the ground and your left hand supporting your gun arm...

"Why don't you just shoot yourself in your f****t mouth?" she hisses. "At least you won't miss."

This isn't mere boundary pushing. There is a true suicidal rage in the kid as she's provoking you.

Say: "Shut up."

"Or what? You gonna fuck me?" Her voice is almost a whisper now: "You wanna fuck me, pig? Is that what this is about?"

Close your left eye first.

Your field of view narrows. The branch slowly moves, becoming entirely two-dimensional. The metal buckle glimmers, slick with the falling rain. The corpse slowly rotates...

The slow movement of the branch in the wind and your shoulders directing the gun sync up, dancing hypnotically.

As you wait, your breathing slows down. Some mosquito-like organism buzzes in your peripheral:

"Look, he's crying! You gonna cry now, fucking fägäri?"

Your field of view narrows. The branch slowly moves, becoming entirely two-dimensional. The metal buckle glimmers, catching the morning light as the corpse slowly rotates.

Your field of view narrows. The branch slowly moves, becoming entirely two-dimensional. The metal buckle glimmers as the corpse slowly rotates.

Your field of view narrows. The branch slowly moves, becoming entirely two-dimensional. The metal buckle glimmers, catching the evening light as the corpse slowly rotates.