Volume ninety-nine, Issue Ten
Sleep of the Just: Chapter Ten
Scott Bartz | Staff
I try to make a habit out of not us-
ing guns, they’re messy, obvious,
and unpredictable. Throw a fire-
arm into any situation and sud-
denly you will find it difficult to
predict the outcome. I don’t like
that loss of control in my life, that
instability. But right now? Look-
ing at my savaged assailant laying
at my feet as my own blood drips
onto him, all I want in my hands
is every fucking kind of gun I can
think of. I want him dead and I
want him hurt and I want him out
of my face.
But as he begins to get up, rec-
ognition strikes. I hadn’t had a
chance to really look at him while
he was kicking me in the head,
but now my mind is beginning
to focus and I start to notice his
features. He is a large man, per-
haps once large with muscle but
I’m An Idiot
now a generic kind of bulk, and
a tight, sour face; a face used to
scowling and a face used to being
hit. I recognize him as a regular
from Corrigan’s bar. His name is
Phil Chandler, and he’s spent the
last few months under the employ
of Meredith Badru. As he gets
up, he looks me in the eyes, and
he knows I remember him. With
recognition comes familiarity,
and with that comes peace. The
fight leaves his eyes and I offer
him a drink as I go to try and sal-
vage my nose.
Within minutes a sense of nor-
malcy has been established. Chan-
dler is sitting on my couch with
a glass of whisky as I attempt to
bandage my nose with the shoddy
first aid kit I keep under the sink
in the back room. The damage
done to my office goes unnoticed
Undercover Sugar Bear By Adrian Binakaj, Nexus (Camosun College)
DIVERSIONS 11
as we talk about what’s going on.
Chandler confirms Meredith’s
story from last night; he’d been
trailing Helena for months, look-
ing for something that Meredith
could use against her; instead
they found me. Chandler had rec-
ognized me as a regular at the bar
and reported our meeting to Mer-
edith, suspicious that Helena was
Flickr.com, Creative Commons, 2009.
hiring a P.I. of her own. Not want-
ing to take any chances, Meredith ya, Chris! Merry just wants you so I can pick up my goddamn car.
sent Chandler to my office to do outta the picture, you’re a snoop, The L is way too depressing for me
a bit of investigating of his own, y’know that? I was gonna just right now. Fact: Chandler is going
looking for any counter-intel- take you somewhere… y’know, to take his money from Meredith
ligence I might have uncovered safe. Out of the way ‘til this whole and walk away from this whole
for Helena. She has no idea I’d thing blows over.” I walk over to situation; the contract is up. Fact:
just drunkenly met her last night; Chandler and finish his drink for If anybody asks him, Chandler
Meredith thinks I was working him, and then I tell him the facts. has no idea that I’m about to pay
for Helena. Fact: There is a viciously mur- Meredith Badru a visit at home.
Chandler and I sit for a moment dered girl who is crying out for These are the facts.
with our drinks, and he explains vengeance. Fact: Chandler is go-
himself. “I wasn’t tryin’ to kill ing to drive me back to her place Continued next issue
xkcd.com
Political Cartoon By Lauren Douglas, The Navigator (Malaspina University-College)