I was going to be hungry anyways. Anna bought them their food. I watched her. She was stiff backed and trying to keep her distance. All her body language screamed rigidity and fear. They were talking to her. A lot quieter now but it wasn't anything good. Watching pinheads face told me that. He was talking shit and probably getting a hard on doing it. Thats when I saw the other one go for the grope. Anna jerked back, called him a faggot in Spanish, and hit him.
He came up and out of the booth like a rocket and punched her in the chest. That knocked her back and into the tables running down the center of the restaurant floor. I heard her cry of pain and saw the other pinhead grin. I looked at my watch and saw I had time to kill before my meeting with my client. I ate another fry, wiped my mouth, and stood up.
The pinhead who hit her was standing up and was in her face screaming bad shit. I really don't like it when people scream. Especially when it's bad shit like that. I got up out of my booth with my spoon and fork in hand. I slipped the fork into my back pocket and kept the spoon in my left hand.
They saw me coming. About this time stepfather came running out of the kitchen with his big chicken chopping cleaver. The pinhead who was facing me hadn't moved. He was just sitting, grinning, an eating chicken. As far as he was concerned it was show time. He twisted around a bit and told stepfather "Get your ass back in the kitchen you illegal fuck." Then he flashed a badge. That froze stepfather in place. I kept coming. As I did I tapped the spoon on each booth as I passed it and then flipped it up in the air and caught it.
The pinhead who was in Anna's face dug under his shirt and came up with a semi automatic handgun. No surprise there. I grinned at him and kept walking. He yelled at me "Sit your fucking ass back down." I shook my head and told him "You going to fuck her? Because if you don't I will." I was almost to him. Two taps and three flips and we would be face to face. What I said jammed his mind. I ignored what I saw pass over Anna's face out of the corner of my eye. I kept coming an ignored the weapon. Instead I looked into pinheads eyes and watched as he smiled. He thought we were kin. We weren't.
The last step to him was a spoon flip. It went a little higher than the other flips. He looked up to watch it. I caught it a little higher up than the others. It was a bit of a reach. Not to much. I'm tall and have long arms. I caught it by the spoon part with the handle extended from my hand. I drove that downward into his eye. Deep. Then I shoved him hard with my right hand and let the left hand which had held the spoon continue down into the arm that was holding the gun extended. He dropped the gun. Not as much because of the force of forearm hitting. Rather it was the desire to pluck the spoon out of his eye. Perfectly understandable I suppose. The scream was too.
He went down. I watched as he fell backwards out of the corner of my eye. Unfortunately it wasn't face first. The other pinhead was looking up at me. I liked the surprise I saw appear in his eyes. I was going to like the pain even better. Stepfather decided his moment had arrived. He came charging up screaming bad shit too. At least his was in Spanish which made it more tolerable for me. Then he buried the chicken cleaver in our remaining diners head. That done he stepped back, looked down at pinhead spasm and jerk, and then whispered "Oh shit."
"Nah. It's cool." I told him. I pulled the fork from my back pocket and drove it into neck. "See." I told him. "He's done."
Nobody got the punch line. I figured it was a cultural thing. I picked the badge he had flashed off the tabletop and showed it to Anna. "It's a Special Security badge. These guys aren't cops." Both of them were just staring at me. I sighed and told Anna "You might want to go lock the front door and put out the closed sign." While she walked towards the door I helped myself to some of the fries an asked stepfather "You wouldn't have a walk-in freezer would you?"
Been waiting for more Gardner and Co. while you were on Vac...
ReplyDeleteBut I think I'm going to like this guy too, he must be Gardner's long lost kin...
:-)
Hey Nova, where do you see this guy in the burner hierarchy (if there is one)? Leader, follower, somewhere in between. Apart from Freya's leadership, I could see the burners as just being semi-organized rioters with a touch of 21st century connectedness. Flash-mobs gone wild, if you will.
ReplyDeleteOr maybe he's a mythological archetype? A hero (or anti-hero) that comes along in response to a new reality.
But, no need to answer, especially if it's premature. Maybe he's not anything, yet. More has to happen before his life and actions has any specific meaning. Assuming there is any greater meaning.
It'll work itself out in time as his character develops. It's just one of those things I ponder when reading your prose.
D^2,
ReplyDeleteI don't know. All of the above sounds good. :]
nova
I looked at my watch and saw I had time to kill before my meeting with my client.
ReplyDeleteWICKED double meaning there, Nova.
I pulled the fork from my back pocket and drove it into neck. "See." I told him. "He's done."
Also good stuff.
Hey Nova, where do you see this guy in the burner hierarchy
I see him getting eaten by dogs before he makes it to the burners, but it could just be a naming coincidence.
Anon,
ReplyDeleteYeah. I can't seem to write kinder, gentler, types...
Bobn,
There is a couple year gap here between the two events...
Yeah, I was happy writing that time to kill line...I liked it.