Aces

(Video clip of this scene -- 53:56 to 59:48)

You and your partner stand in a yard, facing a week-old dead body hanging from a tree. Your eyes are on the harness suspending it. Wondering if you really could just... shoot it down. Nearby, a boy and a girl watch you work. You do not look at them. You pretend you don't hear them shrieking obscenities at the two of you.

"Take the shot, lieutenant -- what's the worst that could happen?"

"I'll blow his head off," you answer.

"Take it! TAKE THE SHOT!"

"Yeah, take the shot, Cuno wants some of that shit."

You don't react. With your elbows sharp, you unzip your jacket and produce a lightweight firearm: your Kiejl A9 Armistice. You drop a paper cartridge in the barrel, separate the scouring stick and give the cartridge five tucks. You then step back and assume the Falostesse position, taking aim. The corner of your eye twitches, your finger is on the trigger...

"Shoot that motherfucker down," your partner urges you.

The girl cuts in with a shrill, "He's gonna fucking mi..."

Her voice is drowned in a shrill blast that echoes off the walls of the surrounding tenements. A cloud of smoke slowly parts in the air, as you step back slowly and say to yourself, "God damn it."

You should have known. With your eyesight, and such a narrow target...

The gremlin-like girl erupts into giggles. "FUCKING IDIOT! Mulkkupää asshole!"

Cuno joins in with the jeering. "Cuno could've hit it easy, but then -- Cuno's not fucking handicapped, is he?"

"It's okay, man." Your partner sounds sympathetic.

"Cuno's sorry too. Cuno feels sorry for the binoclard." That last word sticks you, like a prickly thorn. You don't say a word.

"Can I have the gun? I should try," the detective suggests.

"It's bad as it is -- us shooting firearms like punks..." You pause, then shrug and proceed to load the pistolette. "Go ahead, I'm not stopping you. Just don't lose it." The piece shines in your outstretched hand.

"They only have ONE GUN!"

"This is the sorriest pair of pigs Cuno's ever seen."

He takes the gun from you.

"Yeah, take it you fucking banaanipoika. Take it and shoot yourself in the mouth! The fuck are you waiting for, Cuno? Tell him to shoot himself in the mouth!" As the girl heckles him, your partner examines the gun and takes aim. "Why don't you just shoot yourself in your f****t mouth? At least you won't miss."

You have a feeling you know what the girl really wants the detective to do, but fortunately for everyone present, he ignores her.

He shoots. It hits. The buckle explodes into tiny pieces, coming loose with a whirr. The body slumps down. For a moment, it looks as if it's kneeling. Then the rigor in his muscles gives up, and he smashes sideways into the spring mud, letting out a horrid stench.

"How did I do that?" your partner marvels.

"By being a damn good shot -- Ace's High!" You raise your right hand, waiting for him to slap it. The High arrives with a sharp slap. As he turns around, he holds out his hand for the follow-up: an Ace's Low. You answer with furious precision, slapping his waiting hand. You would never leave an Ace's Low hanging.

"I knew these guys were f****ts." Cuno's voice is deeply approving.

"Yeah, we're f****ts, got a problem with it?!" your partner barks back, having finally lost his patience with the creatures.

Cuno cracks with laughter -- sounds like someone strangling a seagull. It's clear he enjoys himself.

"I knew they suck each other off."

Memshare: Aces

Aces