Outside Ravi’s, the sun was contemplating killing off some upstart cloud. Slowly.
\nOutside was only half a street. The one side was walking in shade. The other side didn\u2019t have a footpath. Georgieva and Petrov wandered off to find their car. Zdravko and Rusim stayed put on the sidewalk looking around like they were already in the wrong place.
\n\u201cThis weather is really fucking up my plants,\u201d said Rusim.
\n\u201cWhat plants?\u201d
\n\u201cSome plants what need to be watered.\u201d
\n\u201cLike which plants?\u201d
\nRusim turned to Zdravko. \u201cLike the ones that need watering.\u201d
\n\u201cLike grapes.\u201d
\n\u201cGrapes don\u2019t need watering.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat then?\u201d
\n\u201cHerb garden. Don\u2019t you know nothing about plants?\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\n\u201cYou must be about to starve then.\u201d
\nZdravko figured they\u2019d walk on the side of the road with sun and no footpath.<\/p>\n
On another street, the sun disappeared behind the buildings.
\n\u201cWe need to let Gomenko know what\u2019s going on,\u201d said Rusim.
\n\u201cWe need to think a little bit carefully before we do that.\u201d
\n\u201cAbout what?\u201d
\n\u201cOur prospects,\u201d said Zdravko.
\n\u201cYou mean Gomenko wants rid of us? I told you that already.\u201d
\n\u201cWe got till Friday. He can\u2019t get rid of us.”
\n“Like who else is gonna fight off them evil birds? What\u2019s he got apart from two knights in aluminium?\u201d Rusim waved his fist in the air.
\n\u201cActually, stainless steel?\u201d
\n“Stainless steel. Whatever.”<\/p>\n
They walked into an even dimmer street. Another street. The sun was back again. Outside Ravi’s, the sun was contemplating killing off some upstart cloud. Slowly. Outside was only half a street. The one side was walking in shade. The other side didn\u2019t have a footpath. Georgieva and Petrov wandered off to find their … Continue reading
\n“And if we don’t find this Gjoeb I’m gonna kill Petrov,” said Rusim.
\n“Maybe I’ll come along, just to watch.”
\n“Skapanyak<\/em>. Killed the only guy who knew anything.”
\n“I doubt Antonov knew too much.”
\n“But maybe something.”
\n“Don’t worry about Petrov. He’s so stupid he’ll get himself killed one day.”
\n“Fuck. We got nothing.”
\n“You know what they say about people like us? Get killed or get moved on. Well I aint moving on.”
\n“No? How bout them fish that no one’s ever eaten? What about the one true love of your life who happens to be living in Swaziland?”
\n“Maybe. But I’ll get there my own way. Jet lagged if possible. For the moment, we’ll find Gjoeb. I can’t wait to meet him.”
\n“You want to meet him?”
\n“Yeah. I want to know why. Why he needs someone’s perfect sixteen hand horse to go to the pet factory. Why he wants to go to prison. Why he wants to get out of prison. Why he’s not scared of people he ought to be scared of. And then, why they do nothing and let him off the hook. That’s the puzzling thing. I mean, the court documents and Georgieva’s report from the prison tell us nothing. I just want to know.”<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWhere would you be now if you were Gjoeb?\u201d asked Zdravko.
\n\u201cI dunno. America or somewhere, given that horse story.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d
\n\u201cYou know exactly what I mean.\u201d
\n\u201cWell I\u2019m not no powers that be.\u201d
\n\u201cMe neither.\u201d
\n\u201cBut Gomenko is.\u201d
\n\u201cGomenko is,\u201d said Rusim resolutely.
\n\u201cAnyway, if they really wanted to find him in America, you know, they probably fucking would.”
\n“Maybe not for a horse.”
\n“Maybe not. Depends.”
\nZdravko\u2019s feet came to a stop. He looked across the street. Across the street was a shop selling god knows what. A big sign clung to the front of the building. The kind of sign so crass it could’ve run for parliament. THE THING MAN.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s it,\u201d said Zdravko.
\n\u201cWhat\u2019s it?\u201d
\n\u201cThat sign there. That\u2019s our lead. That Thing Man.\u201d
\n\u201cYou are mad.\u201d
\n\u201cThat I am not.\u201d
\n\u201cYou are kidding me!\u201d
\nZdravko said nothing.
\n\u201cSo how\u2019re you gonna follow this lead?\u201d
\n\u201cFor a start, we’ll need to know everything there is to know about the Thing Man.\u201d
\n\u201cNow I really know I\u2019m back in Sofia.”
\n“You got some better idea?” said Zdravko walking off.
\n\u201cNo. Just say it all over again.\u201d
\n\u201cSecond hand junk\u2019s the only lead we got.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"