February 2011
34 posts
Dead Drop #28
MY SECRET
I couldn’t tell you. Anyone who’s reading this. Tokyo, or someone else. It was too important, too fragile a secret and I felt if I told anyone it would break in my hands. And then I’d be fucked. Don’t like keeping secrets from you, Tokyo. It went down the day after you brought me the burgers. I still have the note you wrote. It’s in the pocket of my jacket. Weather’s hot,...
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Dead Drop #27
AVOCADOS
“You know, I liked you, you foreign fuck, until you tried to kill me.” I came on strong with Rodeo at the farmers’ market. “You are a child. This is man’s business.” We stood at a stall filled with avocados. Good looking crop. There were a few people shopping, but no one gave a shit about us. “I’m man enough to deal straight. Not like you, asshole. This all started because you...
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Dead Drop #26
THIS GUY SITTING NEXT TO ME HAS NO IDEA WHAT I’M DOING
Look at me, sitting in a coffee shop instead of on top of it. I’m writing this, drinking a cup of coffee like a regular human being. No one would think that I’m about to meet with a guy who tried to kill me. And none of these people are stupid enough to get in touch with a woman who is setting them up for murder and assault. I’m...
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Dead Drop #25
GUILT
One block where she was vulnerable. That’s all it takes. I’ve said it before, girls got to be careful out there. Walking back from lunch, Jasmine was on her cell phone and wasn’t looking over her shoulder. I had found the Santa Monica address for her production company on the internet and followed her out the front door and watched her eat lunch from across the street. On her way back, I...
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Dead Drop #24
SEVEN IRON
No one’s going to believe me now. Cops’ll shoot first and save the questions for my corpse. Tokyo, if you’re reading this, you got to know that everything I say is true. No reason to lie. I’m writing this from the roof of the coffee shop, poaching their wifi. Stole another laptop. You’ll never believe whose this is. Mrs. Nerd. Every fucking time I try to make things better, they get...
Read an E-Book Week - E-Book and E-Reader... →
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Dead Drop #23
SORRY I SCARED YOU
Sons of bitches rolled me out of the condo. That’s what got me back to your side of town. After leaving the college library, I pulled some bills off my shrinking wad for food and ate as I walked back to the condo. I knew something was up when I saw a flashlight bouncing off the walls in the condo next to mine. Stepping closer to investigate means getting caught. I bailed,...
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Dead Drop #22
C4 AND CLAYMORE
Stabbed to death. There was one more article about the Nerd’s killing. They said he was stabbed to death at the park. Rodeo did to the Nerd what the Nerd tried to do to me with the dagger. I keep the knife in my backpack now. Can’t give it up, but I don’t want to be caught by the cops with it in my pants, like I’m the killer still hungry for more. Couldn’t find any more news about...
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Dead Drop #21
IT JUST GOT REAL
I’m fucked. The Nerd is dead. No, I didn’t do it. You really think I did? I have no reason to off him. Sure, he tried to stick me with his dagger and screw me out of my money, but he was just scared and sloppy. It felt good punching him in the jaw, but killing him wouldn’t solve anything. Rodeo’s a different story. The world could be a better place without him. The ...
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Dead Drop #20
BEVERLY HILLS
Can’t remember the last time I had any fun. Back in Ballentine, hanging with the boys, or spanking Rosa, who was my last good lay. No fun in Los Angeles. Only daggers and guns and a lot of motherfuckers trying to off me. Even screwing Mrs. Nerd wasn’t anything to smile about. More like going to the batting cages. But last night. That was fun. And dangerous as hell. I swear I saw a...
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Dead Drop #19
PLAYGROUND BULLIES
You try and make things better and they get worse. Ain’t that always the way things are? Maybe you have better luck. You and I should switch places. You dodge the cops and gangsters while trying to get a slice of the pie and I’ll sit at your desk and answer the phone and take long lunches and collect your paycheck. Want to trade? Didn’t think so. You wouldn’t last a second...
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Dead Drop #18
HOME INVASION
I had to go back to Santa Monica. That’s where all the action is. It started with Jasmine. Like diving back to hell after you’ve climbed out. But I hadn’t made my way to heaven. You want me to just leave it all behind. Keep running away and find another life wherever I land. Is that what you’d do? Run? With less than a hundred dollars on you, two changes of clothes and nothing...
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Dead Drop #17
NOT DEAD
Ain’t easy typing when your hands are shaking. Don’t know how long I’ve been awake. Awake and running. Been running since Ballentine. Tired. Tired of running. Tired of people trying to put bullets in me. Thought it would be different with Rodeo. Thought he was a fucking business man. Guess he is—the kind of business man who wants it all for himself and doesn’t want to pay...
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Dead Drop #16
BALLENTINE
Remember when I said that women get you killed? I don’t take my own advice. But I’m writing this, so you know I’m not dead. And it was worth the risk. For a second I got a cold chill under the fancy dress shirt. What if I picked a day she wasn’t working? Finally in Los Angeles, Trey got lucky. Tokyo was looking fine. Snappy blazer and some ass pants that showed off a sweet...
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Dead Drop #15
THIS DUDE NEXT TO ME IS CRAZY
Battery died on the laptop. Didn’t think to steal the charger, too. I always meant to give the laptop back, my insurance policy if you remember, but I could’ve used it a couple more days. Instead I’m back in the stinky library and there’s a dude twitching next to me like there are fire ants in his veins. I’m jumpy, too. Still have the energy from the meet...
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Dead Drop #14
DARK KNIGHT
Fucking Blackberry got cut off. Fucking Big Wes. He needs an extra ass kicking. I was half way through writing to you and I lost everything. But it ain’t no thing to a dude like Trey. I upgraded. But I’m not cellular anymore and I had to find a shitty payphone to call Jasmine. It wasn’t easy dropping the change in there. I should’ve made Mrs. Nerd get me a prepaid cell...
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Dead Drop #13
BUY THE RIGHTS
One good thing about Los Angeles is that people want to be seen. Everyone’s putting their name out there, trying to be the next something before they become old news. Jasmine is no different. I Googled her on the Blackberry and came up with a bunch of hits, different places she worked and credits like “Associate Producer” for piece of shit films no one’s ever heard of. I...
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Dead Drop #12
BRICKS ARE HARD
Almost broke my back. The knuckles on my right hand are throbbing like hell. Ribs are tight. My left arm is tingling from the fingertips to the elbow. I was lazy. You almost never heard from me again. From now on, eyes in the back of my head. Forever. It isn’t easy being Trey. Following Jasmine home, I was so focused on her that I didn’t feel the wolves behind me. Sig...
Dead Drop #11
JASMINE
I’ve got to catch you up. Fucking hungry and hurting, but I’ll get this out then find some food. No libraries open this late, but it doesn’t matter. I’m mobile, on a Blackberry. Just hope they don’t cancel the account before I finish this. I’ve seen girls like the mistress before. The same attitude. Nose in the air, the kind of chick that looks right through you. There were a...
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Dead Drop #10
DRUNK ENOUGH TO TALK
Tokyo was right. That restaurant was good. Beer and burgers. Even better because Mrs. Nerd paid. And kept paying as we put away beer, beer, beer. I hoped the booze would lubricate her tongue. There were details I wanted, something about the Nerd breaking the rules of marriage. I knew it would take me to the next level, but she was talking all around it, like she...
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Dead Drop #9
THE SEED
Last night, Mrs. Nerd said something, like a seed, and I’ve got to stick around until she lets it grow. I can’t pry it out of her. She wants to tell me. It’ll take time. And the payoff will be worth it. Her wedding ring had clinked against her glass of wine and she nearly spilled it in the bed. “It’s not cheating if he already broke the rules.” That was the seed. I wanted...
“It’s horrible. Science is the key to our future, and if you don’t believe in...”
– Science guru Bill Nye, on the reticence to teach evolution in high school science classes in the United States. (Bill Nye on NPR)
dear kansas, take note. (also: i love bill nye.)
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Dead Drop #8
CLEANED UP
Nothing like spending someone else’s money. Even when it’s money he doesn’t have. Mrs. Nerd didn’t care. As time passed and there was no call, no contact from the Nerd, Mrs. Nerd took on a thick candy-coated shell. She wasn’t pissed, she smiled the whole time. We went shopping. Sears. That’s what suits me. She thought about some better places, but I’m no douche. Give me...
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Dead Drop #7
IN THE DOOR
Sig isn’t reading this. That inbred motherfucker can’t read. But he can sniff. He’s been circling around this town like a shark in that Valiant. Someone tipped him. Don’t know who, but I have ideas. Sons of bitches. If Sig finds me, it won’t be some lame stab with a Hobbit dagger. He’s all business and I’ve seen him handle a 9mm. And he’s fucking up my plans with the...
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Dead Drop #6
WOMEN
This library is a dump. The last one was nice. Small. Like being back in Ballentine. I found it after leaving Mrs. Nerd alone, so I could figure out my next move. No sense in pushing her, making her scared. She might call the cops, and that means that you don’t get to hear from Trey anymore. I said my polite goodbye to Mrs. Nerd and had no idea what to do next. I found the nice...
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Dead Drop #5
GOLDEN DELICIOUS
$43. That’s it. No wonder the fucker is willing to deal with crooks. The Nerd is broke. Not as broke as me, but for a guy in a suit, who works in a building with security and lives in fancy Santa Monica, $43 is bullshit. That’s all the cash he had in his wallet. He must be one of those dumbasses who lives on credit and lets the bank run their lives. No bank for Trey....
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Dead Drop #4
DRAGONSLAYER
It’s not the first time someone tried to kill me. Won’t be the last. As you can see, I’m still alive. And fucking pissed. Don’t they know that I’m the hardest motherfucker out there? You don’t try to kill Trey. Fools keep coming at me and I keep knocking them down. They gotta learn. I will put them all down. And if that librarian gives me the stink eye again, I’ll knock...
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Dead Drop #3
FIRST DATE
I made him buy me a hot meal. And not another burger. Fish. It was fried, not grilled like my dad and I used to do it, but at least it wasn’t fast food. The Nerd was nervous. He wanted to get to business, but I was holding all the cards, and the thumb drive, so I took it slow. We walked along a pier I had seen from a distance but had never gone to. Wasn’t even summer and...
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Dead Drop #2
THE NERD
Stink eye from the librarian forced me out before I was done. Can’t afford trouble. This ain’t her shift so I might have enough time to finish before going to the meet. And this might be the last you hear from me. But don’t worry. I’ll be set, pockets full of money and weed and hot ass in my car. You won’t recognize me. I’ll be someone new. And it could happen soon. Trey...
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Dead Drop #1
ASKING FOR TROUBLE
I can’t call my dad. He’s getting rained on. No one else up north would accept a collect call. Not enough change for a long distance payphone. No friends here. That means I have to tell you. Whoever you are. My name is Trey and this is the only way I can let someone know. I’ve gotta thank Sarah for telling me what a blog is. A few years ago, in high school, we...
