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quite noticeable body odor. Mr. Grimes clearly had no head
for operating at even the slightest disadvantage.
“My destination.” Again, I hoped for the smallest possible
exchange. If the man had indeed abandoned his bid to kill
me, I wanted to be able to enjoy the coming thunderstorm in
peace. Unfortunately, my brevity didn’t deter him.
“Well, only thing I know of that’s a-ways up north is New
Victoria, and I know you can’t be wanting to go there.” After
he realized I had no intention of responding, he added, “But
what do I know, eh?”
I decided to do away with pretense in order to achieve
the silence I required. “You know that I am dangerous,” I
growled. “You know that I’ve disabled your traps. You know
that I might kill you. However, on the last count, should you
take me where I desire to go, you will have nothing to fear—
provided you remain quiet for the rest of the journey.”
Again, he transgressed the silence. “So, what? You got a
gun, or something? That some kinda weapon on yer back?”
He was testing waters best left untried. “Look, yer a big guy
and all, but do you really think yer gonna just stare me into
doin’ what you say? What’s to stop me from just comin’
back there?”
As I directed my gaze at him through the mirror, I knew
his memory conducted my earlier glare to the other side of
his eyes. A well-deserved fear of me now lived within Mr.
Grimes, and he understood. After some quiet deliberation,
he sloughed down into his dirty seat and took out a cigarette.
“Mind if I smoke along the way?” he finally managed.
“Roll down the window, please,” I said, feeling
accommodating.
“You got it, chief.”
Thunder soon filled the killer’s bus, and lightning made
terrible things of the shadows, possibly illuminating ghosts
of Grime’s victims still in the process of digestion, deep
within the rusted bowels of his demon-machine. My would-
be killer was oblivious to it all, preferring to divide his
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