WEBVTT 1 00:00:05.200 --> 00:00:10.320 Hey, everybody, Welcome to the third installment of Fiction Friday. Tonight, 2 00:00:10.400 --> 00:00:13.199 we're going to read the first a couple of the 3 00:00:13.320 --> 00:00:16.800 first scenes from a book that I've recently read called 4 00:00:16.960 --> 00:00:21.079 No Good Man. It is a book authored by Rebecca 5 00:00:21.160 --> 00:00:24.920 Lee Wesson, who has contributed to this channel in the 6 00:00:24.960 --> 00:00:27.920 way of a short story. If you remember, just a 7 00:00:27.920 --> 00:00:30.640 few weeks ago, I uploaded a video called The hat 8 00:00:30.719 --> 00:00:35.079 Man that is authored by Rebecca Lee Wesson. She's really 9 00:00:35.159 --> 00:00:37.759 a good writer. This book is I don't know the 10 00:00:37.880 --> 00:00:42.039 genre that you would classify this book in, maybe neo Western, 11 00:00:42.759 --> 00:00:46.079 but as I read the book, I'm thinking No Country 12 00:00:46.119 --> 00:00:50.399 for Old Men and Fargo and maybe some kind of 13 00:00:50.439 --> 00:00:57.119 Quentin Tarantino screenplay. It's that good. It's NonStop action. It 14 00:00:57.159 --> 00:01:01.719 has got so many twists and turns. Reader, you'd like 15 00:01:01.799 --> 00:01:04.200 to kind of just get engrossed in a book where 16 00:01:04.239 --> 00:01:05.879 you just have to you have to go to the 17 00:01:05.920 --> 00:01:08.079 next chapter, then you have to go to the next 18 00:01:08.159 --> 00:01:11.319 chapter to see what's going on. This is one of those. 19 00:01:11.879 --> 00:01:15.120 Rebecca and her publisher have given me permission to read 20 00:01:15.200 --> 00:01:19.599 these two scenes. You'll hear in this reading how action 21 00:01:19.799 --> 00:01:23.120 packed this book is. Let me say that this podcast 22 00:01:23.519 --> 00:01:29.439 should be considered not for children. Adult how do you 23 00:01:29.519 --> 00:01:34.359 say it? Parental discretion should be advised. Kids under I 24 00:01:34.400 --> 00:01:37.840 don't know eighteen, probably shouldn't listen to it because of 25 00:01:37.879 --> 00:01:40.959 the language, the violence, and there is a bit of 26 00:01:41.120 --> 00:01:45.519 sexual innuindow, it's not graphic at all. She's very tasteful 27 00:01:45.640 --> 00:01:47.719 in this book with that kind of stuff. There is 28 00:01:47.879 --> 00:01:50.560 language and violence, and to me, it makes it a 29 00:01:50.560 --> 00:01:53.400 good book. So I hope you all enjoy this. All 30 00:01:53.480 --> 00:01:56.840 of the information you'll need to click links and read 31 00:01:56.840 --> 00:01:59.519 a description of the book is just right down there 32 00:01:59.599 --> 00:02:02.560 in the description. Take a look at it. Click the link, 33 00:02:02.680 --> 00:02:06.040 go buy the book. Hope y'all buy a thousand copies 34 00:02:06.079 --> 00:02:08.680 of this book and put her get her in a 35 00:02:08.719 --> 00:02:12.400 place where the algorithm on Amazon catches this book and 36 00:02:12.479 --> 00:02:16.840 really gets it going. No good Man by Rebecca Lee Wesson, 37 00:02:17.280 --> 00:02:27.120 All Right, here we go, Saturday, October fifth, Solemn City. 38 00:02:28.599 --> 00:02:31.680 Jedediah stood in the open door of the Bluebird Saloon. 39 00:02:32.560 --> 00:02:36.120 Despite the rural surroundings, the molded silver heels of his 40 00:02:36.240 --> 00:02:42.159 black snakeskin boots spitelessly reflected the daylight outside. On the 41 00:02:42.240 --> 00:02:45.199 left heel was a cold snake with its head upright 42 00:02:45.919 --> 00:02:49.199 on the right heel was an angel. Her wings were 43 00:02:49.240 --> 00:02:53.479 extended to her sides, and her face was morning. He 44 00:02:53.560 --> 00:02:56.360 pulled his white shirtcuffs down through the sleeves of his 45 00:02:56.479 --> 00:03:00.560 tailored suit jacket, knowing they would be stained red soon 46 00:03:00.840 --> 00:03:03.560 and the shirt would have to be replaced, but he 47 00:03:03.599 --> 00:03:07.120 did not mind. It was not unusual for business to 48 00:03:07.159 --> 00:03:11.000 get bloody. He pushed a lock of gray hair that 49 00:03:11.120 --> 00:03:14.000 had fallen into his eye back into his head full 50 00:03:14.080 --> 00:03:17.879 of black, and adjusted his sunglasses further up to the 51 00:03:17.919 --> 00:03:21.400 bridge of his nose. He cracked his heavy knuckles and 52 00:03:21.439 --> 00:03:24.560 felt the residual aches from the scuffle a minute ago 53 00:03:24.599 --> 00:03:28.919 fade from his right hand. Behind him, outside on the 54 00:03:28.960 --> 00:03:32.400 gravel were the bodies of eleven men, Each of them 55 00:03:32.439 --> 00:03:35.800 wore blue jeans and matching black polos with the logo 56 00:03:36.000 --> 00:03:40.879 of a private security company over the left breast. On 57 00:03:40.919 --> 00:03:44.080 the ground in the distance, a security drone with the 58 00:03:44.120 --> 00:03:48.919 same logo blue sparks erradically. Four of its six propellers 59 00:03:48.960 --> 00:03:52.280 were smashed from its fall to Earth minutes before, and 60 00:03:52.360 --> 00:03:55.759 the camera on the underbelly looked like a shattered robotic 61 00:03:55.879 --> 00:03:59.520 eyeball that had fallen out of its socket. Four of 62 00:03:59.599 --> 00:04:03.159 jetted die as men stood over the limp bodies, watched 63 00:04:03.240 --> 00:04:07.840 him and waited instructions. Two more set their sniper rifles 64 00:04:07.919 --> 00:04:11.680 back into the padding of their hard plastic cases, snapped 65 00:04:11.719 --> 00:04:16.480 them shut, and joined the others. Horace the seventh Man 66 00:04:16.680 --> 00:04:19.519 leaned against the driver's door of his black Lincoln truck 67 00:04:19.600 --> 00:04:23.800 with his arms crossed, looking privileged and resentful about that 68 00:04:23.920 --> 00:04:27.680 for some reason. Like Jeddediah, his men had been given 69 00:04:27.800 --> 00:04:31.680 many nicknames over the years, but the Desert Parish Boys 70 00:04:31.839 --> 00:04:36.600 was the only one that stuck. The DPBS had shaved faces, 71 00:04:36.920 --> 00:04:40.560 cropped haircuts, and wore tailored black suits with a silver 72 00:04:40.680 --> 00:04:44.360 snake pennant pin to the left lapel. If they had 73 00:04:44.399 --> 00:04:48.720 a dress coat. Horace lazily abided by it. He wore 74 00:04:48.759 --> 00:04:52.040 black jeans and a leather jacket. His hair was long, 75 00:04:52.079 --> 00:04:55.319 and his face needed a shave, and his attitude needed 76 00:04:55.360 --> 00:05:01.040 an adjustment. The Bluebird Saloon in Solemn City, Texas, was 77 00:05:01.120 --> 00:05:04.680 three hundred and fifty miles mostly west and a little 78 00:05:04.759 --> 00:05:08.120 south of Dallas. It sat alone on a plot of 79 00:05:08.199 --> 00:05:10.480 dirt as big and white as the eye could see 80 00:05:10.519 --> 00:05:13.759 in any direction, and was too far from anywhere to 81 00:05:13.800 --> 00:05:18.600 get any business. There was no stoplight, no gas station 82 00:05:18.720 --> 00:05:22.439 within twenty miles, and no jobs, not even at the saloon, 83 00:05:22.879 --> 00:05:26.439 which had invite only customers just three times a year. 84 00:05:27.600 --> 00:05:30.920 Three times a year, a security cable buried three hundred 85 00:05:31.000 --> 00:05:33.759 yards east of the saloon under the dirt at the 86 00:05:33.879 --> 00:05:37.160 end of the gravel drive notified the twelve security guards 87 00:05:37.240 --> 00:05:41.040 posted in and around the saloon if vehicles were approaching. 88 00:05:42.040 --> 00:05:45.839 Three times a year, security cameras and a security drone 89 00:05:45.920 --> 00:05:50.680 helped with the other directions. Three times a year, a Corvette, 90 00:05:50.800 --> 00:05:55.639 a Maserati, two Mercedes G five fifties, and two Rolls 91 00:05:55.800 --> 00:05:59.600 Royces arrived and parked on the northern side of the saloon, 92 00:06:00.040 --> 00:06:04.920 their collective width wider than the establishment itself, but the 93 00:06:04.959 --> 00:06:08.959 security precautions were redundant. A half blind man could see 94 00:06:08.959 --> 00:06:12.319 a person or vehicle approaching for miles away, and a 95 00:06:12.360 --> 00:06:15.120 shrewd one would learn to hear them way before that. 96 00:06:16.480 --> 00:06:19.360 This far out in the flatlands, the only sound on 97 00:06:19.519 --> 00:06:22.759 such a weather free day was a light wind. Once 98 00:06:22.839 --> 00:06:26.120 that was taken out of the equation, hearing a trespasser 99 00:06:26.399 --> 00:06:30.439 was simple arithmetic near silence minus the sound of a 100 00:06:30.480 --> 00:06:33.399 light wind plus the distant sound of rubber on gravel 101 00:06:33.480 --> 00:06:39.480 equals uninvited guests. Nevertheless, the twelve security guards were Texan, 102 00:06:39.720 --> 00:06:43.319 which meant they were accustomed to courtesy. They expected that 103 00:06:43.399 --> 00:06:47.199 if Jedediah Warcrep paid the Bluebird's Lune a visit, he 104 00:06:47.199 --> 00:06:51.680 would use the driveway like a gentleman. But the guards, however, 105 00:06:51.839 --> 00:06:55.800 cultivated by Texan etiquette, were not good at math, and 106 00:06:55.839 --> 00:06:59.399 in the hills freckled with shrubs. Five hundred yards north 107 00:06:59.439 --> 00:07:03.959 and south of the saloon. Two sniper trained dpbs, lying 108 00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:06.680 on their stomachs with their eyes in the scopes of 109 00:07:06.720 --> 00:07:09.639 their M two's did not give them a chance to 110 00:07:09.680 --> 00:07:14.160 retry the equation. The third time that year the saloon 111 00:07:14.319 --> 00:07:18.199 saw customers. The snipers each fired a single shot from 112 00:07:18.240 --> 00:07:23.560 their locations. When the first two guards fell simultaneously onto 113 00:07:23.600 --> 00:07:27.000 the gravel in front of the entrance, more security guards 114 00:07:27.000 --> 00:07:30.199 were alerted and then imprudently ran to check on their 115 00:07:30.240 --> 00:07:34.639 comrades and fell shortly after. This continued for the first 116 00:07:34.639 --> 00:07:38.759 minute until the four internal security guards also alerted and 117 00:07:38.839 --> 00:07:43.079 went into the open. All four were shot upon exiting 118 00:07:43.120 --> 00:07:47.319 the saloon, but only three met the gravel. The fourth 119 00:07:47.399 --> 00:07:50.680 leaped back inside, while the sniper in the south swatted 120 00:07:50.720 --> 00:07:53.319 the scorpion off the lens of his scope that had 121 00:07:53.360 --> 00:07:55.480 caused him to hit the man in the upper thigh 122 00:07:55.680 --> 00:07:59.839 instead of the head. By minute two, there were thirteen 123 00:07:59.879 --> 00:08:04.639 spent bullets, eleven big dead bodies, one dead drone, and 124 00:08:04.720 --> 00:08:08.319 a more or less clear entrance for Jedadiah, who drove 125 00:08:08.399 --> 00:08:12.240 his blacked out Bentley Moulson down the long driveway several 126 00:08:12.279 --> 00:08:17.160 minutes later like a gentleman. Unless the wounded security guard 127 00:08:17.199 --> 00:08:21.000 had maintained an extraordinary sense of calm and dexterity in 128 00:08:21.079 --> 00:08:24.319 the situation, in which case he may have been invited 129 00:08:24.360 --> 00:08:28.639 to become a DPB. Jedediah expected the man to react 130 00:08:28.680 --> 00:08:32.279 predictably and out of fear, which is exactly what he did. 131 00:08:33.960 --> 00:08:37.480 Somewhere around minute four, when Jedediah was out of his 132 00:08:37.639 --> 00:08:40.519 vehicle and two steps from the entrance of the saloon, 133 00:08:40.879 --> 00:08:43.000 the guard jumped in front of him from behind the 134 00:08:43.080 --> 00:08:47.039 doorframe with his gun pointed, eyes wild and mouth screaming. 135 00:08:47.960 --> 00:08:51.279 Jedediah grabbed the nose of the gun, yanked the man forward, 136 00:08:51.559 --> 00:08:54.360 and knocked him out with a train punched to the temple. 137 00:08:55.120 --> 00:08:58.080 The guard fell to the floor inside the saloon, where 138 00:08:58.279 --> 00:09:01.039 around minute five, he died in his sleep from the 139 00:09:01.039 --> 00:09:05.080 bullet he took to his femeral artery. From the open 140 00:09:05.080 --> 00:09:08.279 door the saloon, Jedediah could tell the establishment was a 141 00:09:08.360 --> 00:09:11.960 prop It had everything someone would expect to see if 142 00:09:12.000 --> 00:09:18.639 they accidentally wandered in. Everything besides customers. It was windowless 143 00:09:18.679 --> 00:09:21.600 and lit in a way that suggested it was always 144 00:09:21.759 --> 00:09:25.320 six o'clock at night. On the southern wall to the 145 00:09:25.399 --> 00:09:28.279 left of the entrance was a polished wooden bar top 146 00:09:28.360 --> 00:09:32.200 with a handful of red pleathan swivel stools underneath it. 147 00:09:32.759 --> 00:09:36.000 A square TV VCR was mounted in the corner of 148 00:09:36.039 --> 00:09:39.200 the ceiling where the southern and western walls met, and 149 00:09:39.360 --> 00:09:43.679 was playing a college football game recorded about forty years earlier, 150 00:09:43.960 --> 00:09:47.360 judging by the attire of the coach talking to the players. 151 00:09:48.159 --> 00:09:51.039 The grainy footage was cut off by black and white 152 00:09:51.120 --> 00:09:54.320 horizontal lines that pushed and pulled each other over the 153 00:09:54.360 --> 00:09:58.039 screen for a few seconds, then disappeared and showed the 154 00:09:58.080 --> 00:10:01.120 game again, the teams now in the middle of play. 155 00:10:02.480 --> 00:10:05.440 Behind the bar was a wall stocked with unopened bottles 156 00:10:05.480 --> 00:10:08.720 of liquor. Next To it was a refrigerator with a 157 00:10:08.759 --> 00:10:12.320 transparent door that displayed bottles of beer that were likely 158 00:10:12.399 --> 00:10:15.639 warm because someone in the props department had forgotten to 159 00:10:15.639 --> 00:10:20.120 plug it in. The western and northern walls were covered 160 00:10:20.120 --> 00:10:24.840 by framed Doseki's mirrors, and underneath them were square tables 161 00:10:25.279 --> 00:10:28.799 like the bar top had probably been polished once years 162 00:10:28.840 --> 00:10:32.519 ago and not since. On the top of the table, 163 00:10:32.600 --> 00:10:35.919 closest to the door was a remote control for the drone, 164 00:10:36.440 --> 00:10:39.200 and next to it was an open laptop that relayed 165 00:10:39.240 --> 00:10:43.840 the drone's footage until its robotic eyeball was shattered. Three 166 00:10:43.879 --> 00:10:46.399 of the chairs around the table had been pushed out, 167 00:10:46.639 --> 00:10:49.360 and the fourth had been tipped over completely. When the 168 00:10:49.399 --> 00:10:54.200 men sitting in them rushed outside. Jedediah stepped over the 169 00:10:54.200 --> 00:10:57.759 guard's body into the saloon and felt the hollowness of 170 00:10:57.799 --> 00:11:02.039 the wooden floor underneath his feet. He stood still next 171 00:11:02.039 --> 00:11:05.840 to the overturned chair, listened to the quiet, and waited. 172 00:11:07.279 --> 00:11:10.720 After a long empty pause, a muffled voice came from 173 00:11:10.759 --> 00:11:15.320 underneath him. Jedediah scanned the wooden floorboards in the room 174 00:11:15.360 --> 00:11:17.639 and then walked behind the bar and lifted the black 175 00:11:17.720 --> 00:11:20.919 rubber floor mats one by one until he found a 176 00:11:20.960 --> 00:11:24.840 metal handle, and when he pulled it upwards, a rectangular 177 00:11:24.919 --> 00:11:28.200 wooden door lifted with it, exposing a wide and well 178 00:11:28.279 --> 00:11:33.320 lit stone staircase. The basement of the Bluebird Saloon was 179 00:11:33.440 --> 00:11:37.559 handsomely decorated and five times the size the bar itself. 180 00:11:38.759 --> 00:11:43.440 The floors were stoned and stained oak. Wainscoting covered the walls. 181 00:11:44.159 --> 00:11:48.120 A giant iron and frosted glass dome light was mounted 182 00:11:48.159 --> 00:11:51.360 in the center of the ceiling, where the wainscoting continued 183 00:11:51.399 --> 00:11:55.840 in egg shell white. On one wall, six polished steer 184 00:11:55.960 --> 00:11:59.960 horns were mounted into oversized coat hangers. Each one held 185 00:12:00.080 --> 00:12:03.799 one cowboy hat and one jacket, several of which were 186 00:12:03.879 --> 00:12:09.000 leather and beaded in Southwestern patterns. On two other walls 187 00:12:09.000 --> 00:12:13.240 were framed paintings of cowboys doing heroic things, and underneath 188 00:12:13.279 --> 00:12:16.799 them were tall leather seats angled toward each other with 189 00:12:16.960 --> 00:12:21.960 circular side tables in between. Opposite the staircase was a bar, 190 00:12:22.360 --> 00:12:26.639 and behind it was a timid looking female bartender. In 191 00:12:26.679 --> 00:12:30.120 front of the bar and plasticy short skirts were five 192 00:12:30.200 --> 00:12:34.480 more young women. Judging by the emotional drain on their faces, 193 00:12:34.799 --> 00:12:39.200 Jedediah assumed they were not there by choice. In the 194 00:12:39.240 --> 00:12:42.440 center of the room was a circular poker table with 195 00:12:42.519 --> 00:12:46.159 a green felt cover. It was scattered with poker chips, 196 00:12:46.360 --> 00:12:50.559 cigarette trays, and six sets of folded playing cards, and 197 00:12:50.639 --> 00:12:55.240 six tumblers with ice cubes melting in brown liquor in 198 00:12:55.279 --> 00:12:59.120 the matching armchairs surrounding the table where the imperious gray 199 00:12:59.159 --> 00:13:03.159 haired men as the Big Boss six at their third 200 00:13:03.279 --> 00:13:07.600 and final poker game of the year. Five of them 201 00:13:07.799 --> 00:13:12.440 looked anxiously toward Jedediah and the four dpbs, who entered 202 00:13:12.440 --> 00:13:16.639 the space unhurriedly. The six Man craned his head over 203 00:13:16.720 --> 00:13:20.080 two layers of neck fat to see the uninvited guests 204 00:13:20.120 --> 00:13:24.000 behind him, and then scoffed and lit a cigarette jet 205 00:13:24.240 --> 00:13:28.799 did the devil of the desert himself? The fat man said, 206 00:13:28.879 --> 00:13:32.120 with smoke billowing out of his mouth and nose. I 207 00:13:32.200 --> 00:13:35.320 see that ugly face of yours survive the estate fire. 208 00:13:35.720 --> 00:13:38.399 I heard your folks burn till their flesh fell off 209 00:13:38.399 --> 00:13:42.960 the bone. Jedediah took his sunglasses off and put them 210 00:13:42.960 --> 00:13:45.720 in the inside pocket of a suit jacket, and then 211 00:13:45.840 --> 00:13:49.600 stood by patiently while the fat Man continued, Have you 212 00:13:49.720 --> 00:13:52.679 been a busy boy? Haven't you in the hospital for 213 00:13:52.720 --> 00:13:56.279 a whole year? Then taking care of your daddy's affairs 214 00:13:56.320 --> 00:14:00.559 around the world after that, how's it feel to wear pants? Uh? 215 00:14:00.720 --> 00:14:05.279 Think you handle all that responsibility? The fat man chuckled 216 00:14:05.480 --> 00:14:09.080 in the silver bolo around his neck absorbed into one 217 00:14:09.120 --> 00:14:13.440 of his chins, which wiggled when he spoke. I'm surprised 218 00:14:13.519 --> 00:14:16.440 you didn't come to visit us sooner. We've been waiting 219 00:14:16.679 --> 00:14:20.240 what three years for this moment, hadn't we? The fat 220 00:14:20.279 --> 00:14:23.159 man asked the older man at the table, who exchanged 221 00:14:23.240 --> 00:14:30.399 nervous glances. Jeeddiah grin. How's my sister jal She's crazy 222 00:14:30.440 --> 00:14:33.240 as hell, fucked in the head like you, the fat 223 00:14:33.279 --> 00:14:36.279 man said. I hate the bitch, but I agree with 224 00:14:36.320 --> 00:14:40.360 her on one point. What's that The six of us 225 00:14:40.440 --> 00:14:42.279 will be a hell of a lot richer once you're 226 00:14:42.320 --> 00:14:45.600 in the ground. The fat man dropped his right hand 227 00:14:45.720 --> 00:14:49.080 under the table. He brought it up quickly again, holding 228 00:14:49.120 --> 00:14:52.799 a revolver. The others at the table recoled as he 229 00:14:52.879 --> 00:14:56.200 tried to turn and shoot Jeadiah behind him, but his 230 00:14:56.320 --> 00:15:01.200 bulging stomach kept him from aiming properly. Dead he moved 231 00:15:01.200 --> 00:15:03.600 his arm as far as it would go in Jedediah's 232 00:15:03.679 --> 00:15:07.559 direction and fired, sending a bullet into a wall, nowhere 233 00:15:07.600 --> 00:15:10.960 close to its target. He tried to shoot again, but 234 00:15:11.039 --> 00:15:14.039 his finger got wedged in the trigger guard and prevented 235 00:15:14.080 --> 00:15:17.360 it from resetting. You fat son of a bitch. A 236 00:15:17.440 --> 00:15:20.519 man on the other side of the table hissed, may 237 00:15:20.559 --> 00:15:23.799 as well throw your cards, adding fuck you Pickney. The 238 00:15:23.879 --> 00:15:27.120 man hissed back, and then squealed in pain when the 239 00:15:27.200 --> 00:15:30.600 DPD twisted the gun out of his hand. You must 240 00:15:30.679 --> 00:15:35.000 be weighed Huckabee Section five, Jedidaiah said to the fat man, 241 00:15:35.080 --> 00:15:38.960 who cradled his finger into his chest, which makes you 242 00:15:39.120 --> 00:15:43.720 holt Rollerson Section six, Jededdiah said to the man on 243 00:15:43.799 --> 00:15:49.879 Hukabee's left, Glenn Marshall section one, Earl Pinckney section two, 244 00:15:50.120 --> 00:15:54.480 Roy Clement section three, and Jim Allen Section four. The 245 00:15:54.519 --> 00:15:58.600 six men followed Jedediah with their eyes their expressions full 246 00:15:58.639 --> 00:16:02.120 of dread and contempt as he passed clockwise behind them 247 00:16:02.279 --> 00:16:04.480 and tapped his finger on the back of each of 248 00:16:04.519 --> 00:16:07.759 their chairs. Are you touch any of us? And you 249 00:16:07.879 --> 00:16:11.360 got the entire Texas police force in every chapter of 250 00:16:11.440 --> 00:16:15.399 the Texas Hell Hags to worry about, Hukerby said, angrily, 251 00:16:15.559 --> 00:16:21.039 with a cigarette pointed at Jedediah, who ignored him. Slavery, 252 00:16:21.559 --> 00:16:26.799 drug and weapon trafficking, murder, and corruption, theft, Jedediah said, 253 00:16:27.240 --> 00:16:30.639 listing the things from their collective resume as he passed 254 00:16:30.679 --> 00:16:34.919 behind Huckaby's chair. Again, Oh, for fock's sake, you're no 255 00:16:35.039 --> 00:16:37.879 better than us. I heard you threw a man off 256 00:16:37.919 --> 00:16:41.000 his own skyscraper in Tokyo because the deal didn't go 257 00:16:41.120 --> 00:16:44.799 your way. Huckabee said, Did you come all the way 258 00:16:44.840 --> 00:16:48.960 to Solemn City to compare negotiations strategies or is there 259 00:16:48.960 --> 00:16:54.279 a point of this fucking visit? Jedediah stopped behind Rollerson again, 260 00:16:54.840 --> 00:16:57.759 smiled agreeably, and looked at the men around the table. 261 00:16:58.559 --> 00:17:03.799 Where is it? He asked politely. Hookyby charted, come on, Jed, 262 00:17:03.879 --> 00:17:07.160 we both know you ain't getting the rock. My offer 263 00:17:07.400 --> 00:17:11.920 is three million dollars, Jettadiah said, are you out of 264 00:17:11.960 --> 00:17:16.039 your mind? Hookerby asked, with his eyebrows raised in amazement, 265 00:17:16.640 --> 00:17:20.240 how much are you worth? Boy? Forty fifty billion, he 266 00:17:20.400 --> 00:17:24.039 pretended to count the fingers of his injured hand, by 267 00:17:24.119 --> 00:17:28.640 my calculations minus half. Your sisters cut to us that 268 00:17:28.839 --> 00:17:32.119 rock's worth at least twenty billion. So unless you're going 269 00:17:32.160 --> 00:17:34.519 to offer us a fair value. Go in and kill 270 00:17:34.559 --> 00:17:38.720 yourself already. We'll throw the stone in your grave for free, 271 00:17:38.920 --> 00:17:41.119 take our cut of your state, and be done with 272 00:17:41.160 --> 00:17:44.960 you and your bitch sister. What do you say? Whoever 273 00:17:45.039 --> 00:17:48.519 tells me gets to live, Jeadiah said to the group. 274 00:17:48.920 --> 00:17:51.720 Now wait a fucking minute. Now, Huckabee said, with his 275 00:17:51.839 --> 00:17:56.720 bloated hands in the air, Holt Rolison won today. Half 276 00:17:56.759 --> 00:17:59.160 the stone is on its way to his place in Abilene. 277 00:17:59.319 --> 00:18:02.839 Earl Pinckney blurted it out. Alan's brother keeps the other half, 278 00:18:02.880 --> 00:18:06.160 but we don't know where. Pickney looked down at the 279 00:18:06.200 --> 00:18:09.880 table and avoided the glare of the other men. Rollerson 280 00:18:09.920 --> 00:18:12.680 threw his stack of chips and cards across the table 281 00:18:12.720 --> 00:18:15.000 at him, and Jim Allen put his face in his 282 00:18:15.119 --> 00:18:19.680 hands and shook his head. Damn you, Earl Rollison shouted, 283 00:18:20.119 --> 00:18:24.079 if anyone puts a hand on my Darla, Holt, everyone 284 00:18:24.119 --> 00:18:28.200 has put their hands on Darla, Huckabee said, laughing heartily. 285 00:18:29.200 --> 00:18:34.599 Rollerson scowled, damn you, Wade, he said. I would have 286 00:18:34.680 --> 00:18:37.640 hung you next to them Mexicans when I had the chance, 287 00:18:37.920 --> 00:18:40.200 but you'd have broken the damn tree in half, you 288 00:18:40.400 --> 00:18:44.920 fat fucking pig. Rollerson stood up and grabbed a bolo 289 00:18:45.000 --> 00:18:47.880 around Huckaby's neck and then pulled it until his face 290 00:18:47.960 --> 00:18:52.480 turned blue. Jedediah watched them momentarily and then turned to 291 00:18:52.519 --> 00:18:57.319 one of the dpbs behind him, Asom tell Horace it's time, 292 00:18:58.119 --> 00:19:01.039 and the biker a some asking his cell p onto 293 00:19:01.079 --> 00:19:06.079 his ear. If he's there, he dies Asom nodded. Another 294 00:19:06.319 --> 00:19:10.119 DPB walked behind Rollerson and dragged him back into his 295 00:19:10.160 --> 00:19:13.160 seat by his collar, and Huckabee pawed at his neck 296 00:19:13.200 --> 00:19:17.240 to loosen the bolo Asum ended his brief call and 297 00:19:17.319 --> 00:19:20.119 dropped the phone into his pocket. Then he joined the 298 00:19:20.200 --> 00:19:23.319 three other dpbs, each of whom stepped behind one of 299 00:19:23.319 --> 00:19:28.400 the men at the table and stood patiently. Jedediah removed 300 00:19:28.400 --> 00:19:32.079 a large revolver from his belt and stepped behind Huckabee, 301 00:19:32.119 --> 00:19:34.160 who craned his neck to see what was going on 302 00:19:34.359 --> 00:19:39.160 behind him. Then he started to protest, you cycle path, 303 00:19:39.480 --> 00:19:42.039 You're going to start a war over a fucking rock. 304 00:19:42.559 --> 00:19:46.920 We're a fucking empire. You can't do this. Jedediah pushed 305 00:19:46.920 --> 00:19:49.200 a gun into the back of Huckaby's head and pulled 306 00:19:49.200 --> 00:19:52.799 a trigger. The rest of the men at the table flinched, 307 00:19:53.000 --> 00:19:55.519 and the women at the bar screamed and huddled together. 308 00:19:56.359 --> 00:20:00.599 Huckabee's large body leaned forward over the table. Dreams of 309 00:20:00.640 --> 00:20:03.400 blood from the back of his head, traveled down his jaw, 310 00:20:03.440 --> 00:20:07.200 in his chin, and dripped onto his playing cards. Away 311 00:20:07.720 --> 00:20:11.119 Pickney pleaded from across the table. You said I'd get 312 00:20:11.160 --> 00:20:16.960 to live. Jedediah stepped behind Rollerson and nodded at the DPBS, 313 00:20:17.519 --> 00:20:20.599 and before any more complaints could be heard around the table, 314 00:20:20.920 --> 00:20:24.200 they shot them in in front of them. When five 315 00:20:24.240 --> 00:20:26.839 more bodies leaned over the card table and turned the 316 00:20:26.880 --> 00:20:30.920 green felt top red, two of the dpbs hoisted their 317 00:20:30.960 --> 00:20:34.920 guns and walked to the women. The first DPB dug 318 00:20:34.960 --> 00:20:39.039 into his pockets. He removed two car keys, four keyless 319 00:20:39.200 --> 00:20:41.880 entry fobs, and two glocks he had taken from the 320 00:20:41.880 --> 00:20:45.000 dead security guards, and then placed it all on the 321 00:20:45.000 --> 00:20:50.039 bar top. The second DPB added Wade Huckabee's revolver and 322 00:20:50.119 --> 00:20:53.519 three more glocks to the pile, and then he addressed 323 00:20:53.519 --> 00:20:57.680 the women. These are fully loaded glock nineteens. The other 324 00:20:57.759 --> 00:21:01.079 ones a double action revolver with fivellets in the cylinder 325 00:21:01.519 --> 00:21:06.680 point and shoot any questions, he asked. The women exchanged 326 00:21:06.720 --> 00:21:10.000 glances and shook their heads, and after a long pause, 327 00:21:10.039 --> 00:21:14.119 the bartender took their stilettos off and stood up. She 328 00:21:14.160 --> 00:21:16.759 grabbed a key and a gun, and then walked hesitantly 329 00:21:16.799 --> 00:21:19.480 past the table of dead men and up the staircase. 330 00:21:19.960 --> 00:21:23.200 The other women did the same. The men listened to 331 00:21:23.240 --> 00:21:26.200 the sound of their bare feet running across the ceiling 332 00:21:26.240 --> 00:21:29.119 above them, and when they heard the sound of luxury 333 00:21:29.240 --> 00:21:33.160 vehicles leaving in a hurry, Jedediah pulled a cigar from 334 00:21:33.200 --> 00:21:36.559 his breast pocket and lit it. He put the revolver 335 00:21:36.720 --> 00:21:39.480 back on his belt, took a long puff of his cigar, 336 00:21:39.519 --> 00:21:43.440 and drew a large knife instead. Then he lifted Huckabee's 337 00:21:43.480 --> 00:21:47.240 head up by the forehead. A few minutes later, his 338 00:21:47.440 --> 00:21:51.119 white shirtcuffs were stained red and the shirt would have 339 00:21:51.200 --> 00:21:54.839 to be replaced, but he did not mind. It was 340 00:21:54.880 --> 00:22:00.640 not unusual for this business to get bloody. Vit drive 341 00:22:00.799 --> 00:22:04.440 of the Rollerson estate was shaded by a canopy of 342 00:22:04.640 --> 00:22:09.839 long established live oaks. Their branches were like interlaced fingers, 343 00:22:09.880 --> 00:22:13.480 with leaves so thickly woven together they blocked out most 344 00:22:13.519 --> 00:22:18.319 of the fading sunlight as horror drove underneath them. Near 345 00:22:18.359 --> 00:22:20.759 the white stone mansion. At the end of the drive, 346 00:22:20.880 --> 00:22:23.920 the tall trees turned into a manicured lawn that was 347 00:22:24.000 --> 00:22:29.079 painted yellow orange by the dying October. Light. Trimmed hedges 348 00:22:29.119 --> 00:22:32.480 framed the mansion bright orange and pink latanna filled in 349 00:22:32.680 --> 00:22:35.759 every gap, and surrounding the home as far as the 350 00:22:35.799 --> 00:22:39.279 eye could see was a green acreage dotted with evergreens 351 00:22:39.359 --> 00:22:43.799 and desert willows. It looked like a postcard, Horace thought, 352 00:22:44.000 --> 00:22:48.839 wondering how many bodies were buried underneath it. The driveway 353 00:22:48.920 --> 00:22:53.240 curved into a massive circle, wherein the landscape center circular 354 00:22:53.440 --> 00:22:58.079 topiari surrounded a fountain of baby angels pouring infinitely from 355 00:22:58.160 --> 00:23:01.480 a golden pot of water. At the top of the circle, 356 00:23:01.559 --> 00:23:04.480 in front of the entrance was a Harley Davidson patch 357 00:23:04.759 --> 00:23:09.640 together with used replacement parts. The Texas hell Hogs had 358 00:23:09.720 --> 00:23:12.720 more than enough money to buy the newest models, but 359 00:23:12.799 --> 00:23:17.279 Horace knew that wasn't their style. He entered the circle 360 00:23:17.440 --> 00:23:21.519 counterclockwise and part behind the bike, somewhat relieved by his 361 00:23:21.599 --> 00:23:24.759 assumption that the hell Hogs had sent a prospect or 362 00:23:24.799 --> 00:23:28.960 someone insignificant to make the delivery. But when he turned 363 00:23:28.960 --> 00:23:32.640 his engine off, his hands began to shake anyway. He 364 00:23:32.720 --> 00:23:36.279 closed his eyes to steady his breathing, and then counted 365 00:23:36.359 --> 00:23:41.640 to seven. One he was eleven years old. Again, the 366 00:23:41.720 --> 00:23:44.480 rusty hinges on the screen door down the hall from 367 00:23:44.480 --> 00:23:48.599 his bedroom squeaked and rubbed together disagreeably in a low 368 00:23:48.640 --> 00:23:53.039 to high pitch, waking him up. Two, the cry of 369 00:23:53.119 --> 00:23:56.759 hinges reversed from high to low, and the plywood frame 370 00:23:56.839 --> 00:24:00.680 closed again. He pulled his blanket up to his his 371 00:24:00.759 --> 00:24:04.039 heart beat so intense it made little waves in the thin, 372 00:24:04.160 --> 00:24:08.960 tattered material. Three he stared at the dim light pouring 373 00:24:09.000 --> 00:24:12.160 through the bottom of his closed bedroom door. He could 374 00:24:12.200 --> 00:24:15.359 hear a thumb trying to start a lighter repeatedly, and 375 00:24:15.400 --> 00:24:18.799 then heard the sound of a cigarette being inhaled. The 376 00:24:18.839 --> 00:24:21.799 tape on the bottom right of the NASCAR poster next 377 00:24:21.839 --> 00:24:25.240 to his door lost its stick, and the corner curled 378 00:24:25.359 --> 00:24:31.799 up and bobbed freely. Four the footsteps dragged forward slowly 379 00:24:31.920 --> 00:24:35.079 down the hallway, and the corner of the poster flooded 380 00:24:35.119 --> 00:24:38.000 like a paper hand, beckoning Horace out of bed and 381 00:24:38.079 --> 00:24:41.640 out the window to safety. But any movement he may 382 00:24:41.799 --> 00:24:45.519 now had to be calculated, or the old metal springs 383 00:24:45.559 --> 00:24:49.240 in his little bed would object and squeak and ruin everything. 384 00:24:50.480 --> 00:24:55.200 Five He rolled off the mattress silently and slid under 385 00:24:55.240 --> 00:24:58.640 the bed. The footsteps shuffled closer to his door, and 386 00:24:58.640 --> 00:25:01.559 he held his hand over his mouth. He would not 387 00:25:01.680 --> 00:25:04.960 let himself cry. If his daddy came into the room. 388 00:25:05.200 --> 00:25:10.160 Maybe this time he would fight him. Six. The shadow 389 00:25:10.160 --> 00:25:13.839 of his daddy's shoes stopped outside the door, and Horace 390 00:25:13.880 --> 00:25:17.960 bit into his hand to hold back a whimper. Seven 391 00:25:19.039 --> 00:25:22.079 his daddy coughed and mumbled to himself, and the shadow 392 00:25:22.119 --> 00:25:25.400 of his shoes shuffled forward into the living room. And 393 00:25:25.440 --> 00:25:28.440 when Horace heard the TV switch on, he let out 394 00:25:28.480 --> 00:25:32.319 a quiet sob of misery and relief. For the first 395 00:25:32.400 --> 00:25:37.240 night in a week, he would be okay. Horace opened 396 00:25:37.240 --> 00:25:40.880 his eyes again, feeling calmer than before. No one was 397 00:25:40.920 --> 00:25:44.559 pointing a gun at him, and the property was still serene. 398 00:25:44.839 --> 00:25:47.759 He opened his door, stepped down from the truck, and 399 00:25:47.839 --> 00:25:50.359 drew his gun, and then looked around as he walked 400 00:25:50.440 --> 00:25:54.319 up the stone path to the pillared entrance. And in 401 00:25:54.400 --> 00:25:58.680