1.p.
Bright yellow
stars burned through the black and white.
Dale Breaker The
Deal Breaker was choking him. Mr. Jones
struggled to get free but could not dislodge his attacker’s hands. He tried to speak but talking was impossible while
his larynx was being crushed. Mr. Jones
bucked and thrashed but Deal Breaker held on tight.
“Oh, I’m
afraid this is it, Corporate Man.
Tanya boxed
Dale’s ears and kneed him in the face. One
of her eyes was swelling shut and blood from her nose smeared her mouth and
chin.
“You all
right?” she asked, though she didn’t actually risk a glance in Mr. Jones’s direction. She pounced on Deal Breaker and elbowed him in
the back of his head. His teeth and
tongue scraped against the floor. She
slipped a knife from her boot and brought it to his throat.
“No,” Mr.
Jones said, his voice raspy and strained.
“We have to
end this,” she said.
“You’re
right. But not this way.”
Tanya
reluctantly removed the knife from Dale’s throat.
Mr. Jones
leaned down in front of Deal Breaker.
The man’s eyes were rolling around but he was conscious.
“I broke your
grandfather’s back, didn’t I?” Mr. Jones said.
“You crippled
him,” Deal Breaker said. The words
stumbled from his mouth over a swollen tongue, two broken teeth, and a lot of
blood. “He couldn’t shit on his own
because of you.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You’re
sorry? That’s it?”
“I can’t
change the past,” Mr. Jones said.
“Yeah?” Dale
said. “Well I can fix the future. I’m gonna break this deal.”
“What deal is
that? There’s no deal, Dale.”
Deal Breaker
narrowed his eyes and bit his lip. He winced as the jagged points of his broken
teeth punctured through. “But I… you know, the deal. I’m here to break the deal.”
“Dale, if
there’s a deal, I’m not part of it,” Mr. Jones said.
Dale’s head
sagged to the floor. “But what about the
bull? The china shop?”
Mr. Jones
shrugged. “Couldn’t tell you. It was only a few short hours ago that I
rejoiced in the company of spit and my world revolved around the pleasures of
urination. The only contract I can see
in this situation is the one your grandfather accepted when he signed on as the
original Deal Breaker. You could fulfill
his function and break that.”
Deal Breaker
lifted his head and his eyes widened.
“Yeah. I… I guess I could break
that deal. That would be the ultimate
deal to break, wouldn’t it?”
“I think so,
Dale,” said Mr. Jones.
“Then call me
Donald. That’s my real name. And as of this moment the Deal Breaker deal
is off.”
