Part 13- Building Steam With a Grain of Salt by DJ Shadow

Todd walked into the body shop, rubbing at his left eye and twisting his head back and forth. When the bitch had pinned him to the wall, she had used the greater part of her upper body strength against his neck to hold him in place. She was strong and fast, leaving a sore, throbbing ache pulsing from his shoulder to his jaw. He had noticed she was fit, but he didn't think subduing her would be much of a problem; however, she had controlled the situation quite more easily than he had anticipated. He didn't like the element of surprise, and much like his aching neck, his pride was bruised.

Todd made his way to the back of the shop, not making eye contact with anyone. When he reached the broad desk, he stopped and finally got the courage to bring his eyes up to peer at Bones Darley. He sat behind the desk, fiddling with a piece that might have once been in a car, but now lay scattered and dismantled. He worked while sweat bubbled up on his face and traveled down to soak into his shirt, his eyebrows puckering together over his glasses.

"Help you?" The portly man asked, his head still down.

"I wanna buy some guns," Todd said matter-of-factly.

Bones instantly stopped what he was doing and looked up at his potential customer. The man was fairly young, perhaps late twenties and obviously a doper. He had that look, and the fact he had dried blood caked all over his face and a fine bruise forming around his nose and under his left eye, Bones didn't bother giving him the benefit of the doubt. He also didn't expect this man to have much dough on him, so he decided to make this transaction as smooth as possible by nicely telling him to get the fuck out.

"'Fraid I can't help you, son. Why don't you try somewhere else."

"I think you can," Todd said, placing two thousand dollars in front of him on the desk. After the girl had handed him the bag of money, and he saw how much cash she really had, he had contemplated taking off with it. Before he could process this thought completely though, she had grabbed hold of him again and pushed her face just inches from his own. For a brief moment, he thought things might be turning around and he'd get what he really wanted from her, but when he felt the blade of her knife against his skin again, his hope dissolved quickly and so did his impulse to run off with her money. She was…scary, as childish as it made him feel to think of a girl that way, and he didn't know what to make of that. He decided the safest way out of this was to do what she wanted and get five hundred bucks out of it. At least that'd be enough to support his "habit" for the next few days.

"Don't disappoint me, Mr. Lunsford. Depth perception is an important thing," she had threatened. His eyes traveled down from her eyes to the collar of her shirt. He had also decided that having two eyes was important to him too.

Bones' eyes widen as his eyebrows shot up, he looked back and forth between the money and Todd. His mood seemed to lighten incredibly.

"Well, don't let me keep ya waitin'," he said, grabbing the cash and getting up from his desk. He walked over to a wall, decompressing and turning a knob that blended into the wallpaper and opened up a large door to a hidden safe. Inside, guns hung suspended on the interior of the safe walls, powerful and beautiful. Todd's eyes glittered.

"This here," Bones said as he took out a gun, and placed it in front of Todd, "is a beaut and a beast. A Dan Wesson 10MM Razorback with a comp, an RZ-10. Makes you feel like you're carrying your own little army in one fuckin' hand."

Todd eyed the dangerous toy in front of him as Bones swung back towards the open door of the safe and grabbed another handgun.

"This baby is a 500 Smith and Wesson .50-caliber Magnum. A real sweetie let me tell ya. It's a double-action revolver, five chambers, and it's definitely one of a kind… I'd call this killer the king of handguns," He gently placed it down on the counter in front of them, keeping his eyes locked on Todd who marveled at both pieces.

"These both good guns?"

"I'd say they're both top of the line. It'll cost you a little more than two thousand for both, I'm afraid."

"Got anything smaller?"

Bones gave Todd a hard look, before turning back to the safe, producing a small, black and silver handgun, "NAA Guardian .380. Small, convenient, but gets the point across; easy to carry on ya without a holster too. Runs at about five hundred."

Todd nodded his head, looking at all three guns. He wasn't exactly sure what this chick wanted. She had specifically told him to get the best Bones Darley had to offer and these seemed good enough to him.

"I'll take them all," Todd said and pulled out another thousand from the girl's bag.

"Come on now, boy. How much you really got in that bag of yours?" Bones asked, leaning over the counter towards Todd with a defying glare.

"How much will all of this cost?" Todd swallowed back a chocking lump in his throat. He tasted the metallic saltiness of his own blood and grimaced.

"Well, I can throw in a second RZ-10, say… half off, 'cause you seem like a nice guy and all. A couple of holsters, plus bullets and the other guns… I'd say around forty-five hundred dollars. You got forty-five hundred dollars worth of people to kill?"

Todd looked down at the guns, assuming paying this much would be okay with the girl considering there was a lot more than forty-five hundred dollars stashed in the bag. He pulled out twenty-five hundred and handed it to Bones, giving him an extra thousand. He added it to the stack Todd had given him earlier and started bagging up the guns and other supplies.

"I think you'll enjoy these. Good fuckin' merchandise, I tell ya. And you're a good customer, a man who knows what he wants. I promise with pieces like these, they'll be sure to help with any bully who dares to cross your path," he said with a sarcastic grin, looking over Todd's face.

"They aren't for me," he said, giving Bones a hard glare.

"Hey, I'm just tryin' to get help out a good customer like you, mister… Whadya say your name was?"

"Todd Lunsford."

"Lunsford… Who're you buyin' these for?" Bones asked, sliding the money behind the counter and handing Todd the bag of guns. He wasn't necessarily keen on the fact that this Todd Lunsford guy was in here buying his good merchandise for some unknown person. He always liked to know who he sold his stuff too. Liked to know his customers were worthy of a purchase. Apparently, they were ample enough to buy forty-five hundred dollars, plus a little extra thousand, worth of valuable guns off of him. Yet, in a business like Bones ran, he had a lot of liabilities and one fuck up could cost him a lot. He didn't know why he trusted Billy and his nazi, dimwitted friends with his shit half of the time.

"A friend," his reply was short.

"Ain't my business then," Bones gave him a contemptuous grin.

Todd gave him one last glower before turning away and making his way towards the door.

"Oh, Toddy boy!" Bones called tauntingly, bringing up a shotgun from behind the counter and cocking it. Todd stopped mid-step and slowly turned back to look at the big man. "This little number here is the Remington 1740 double-barreled pump 12 gauge shotgun. You know how it's made, Mr. Lunsford? With two side-by-side Remington 870's. One shot and you can say hasta la vista to any limb it's aimed at. Now, you look like a guy who could really use his arms, somewhere and some way to stick your needles in ya. I shouldn't be expecting any trouble outta you and your mystery friend, should I?"

Todd gluped, shifted on his feet and shook his head, keeping his eye on the gun Bones held up.

"That's good 'cause if ya cause me any trouble, and I mean any kind of fuckin' trouble, I know your name, I know your face and I'll fuckin' find ya. Whatever brawn your friend has over you," Bones said, pointing at Todd's bloodied face, "will be like a fuckin' day-parade compared to what I can do to you."

Todd couldn't believe it. His eye had already been threatened, almost carved out of his fucking head, now he had to worry if he was gonna have an arm blown off by Bones Darley himself. Trusting this chick not to doing anything stupid was gonna be a major risk. He was beginning to think five hundred dollars was hardly worth the trouble, let alone the effort to keep his ass alive.

"Ya have a nice day now, and please, come again!" Bones laughed as Todd hastily made his way out the front door.

"Nice working with you, Todd," I said, handing him the rest of what I owed him. He snatched it from my hand, looking me in the eye.

"What are you gonna do with all of this shit?" He demanded.

"I hardly think that's any of your business," I snapped, ironically finding it rude for him to ask me such a question.

"No, I think it is. Ya see, if you decided to go on some shooting rampage or some shit and the cops find out you got these guns from Bones and come bustin' down his door in the middle of the night, he's gonna fuckin' put the blame on me. Personally, I like havin' two eyes, but I also like the benefits of having two fuckin' arms, too! Kinda makes livin' a bit easier," Todd replied in a frezy, working himself up. He was breathing heavily and he was fidgeting nervously. He also looked kind of pissed. I didn't really know what he was talking about when he mentioned having two arms, but I assumed Bones must have put a threat on him somehow.

"I really don't think that's my problem. We made an agreement before you even went in there, you got your money. If you're so worried about it, leave town. Sorry there weren't any warnings before," I picked up my bag and started to turn away before he caught my arm in a tight grasp and yanked me back to him. His fingers dug into my arm, trying to burrow their way through my clothes to my skin underneath.

"I won't hesitate to tell him you're the one I went in there for," he turned the threats onto me. I was hardly fazed.

"Todd, do you really think I haven't thought of that?" I pulled out my pocket knife and slammed it into his abdomen. There was a sickening ripping sound as his eyes bulged and the pressure from his grip instantly faded. Blood rolled out of his mouth, wetting the already dried blood that was lathered on there. I yanked the blade out of his stomach and he fell backwards onto the pavement.

"What the fuc-What the fu-," he couldn't finish his sentence. His hands and shirt were coated crimson and the deluge that poured from his abdomen made me think of am emptying dam. His eyes slowly fluttered shut.

I stood there, horrified that I had actually killed him. I had killed him. He wasn't moving, and that meant I had killed him. I grabbed my stuff and ran; ran as fast as I could away from there, tears blurring my vision. I hadn't planned on killing Todd. The thought hadn't even crossed my mind until I found myself involuntarily reaching inside my coat pocket, feeling that micarta handle.

I was shaking badly by the time I reached my car. I was nearly convulsing, my teeth chattering, when I parked in my driveway. I made my way inside and locked myself in the basement. I plopped the duffle bag on the floor and sat in front of it, trying to steady my nerves. I couldn't believe I had actually killed a man. The air around me was stale and I thought how Todd would never again have the pleasure to breathe. I hugged my legs to my chest, clawing at my scalp.

Why should I feel guilty, remorse or sorrow at his death? He wasn't a good person. He was a wanna-be thug, rapist, probably a murderer himself. I was ridding the world of one more of the billions of flaws that walked it. Why should I feel so horrible about it? It wasn't even necessary for me to kill him. Whether he told Bones about our exchange or not, Billy and his boys already knew plenty about me. After my encounter with him a day ago, I knew I was walking a tight line. They had caught on fast. I had been too reckless when I was snooping around, and now the lives of my friends and family were in danger. I couldn't let them have the chance to get close to them. I was willing to risk my life as long as they got to keep theirs. I didn't need someone like Todd complicating things. I wiped the tears from my cheeks.

I opened the duffle bag, peering inside at the heavy artillery. I took one gun out and boy was it heavy. Todd hadn't bothered elaborating what gun was which or what exactly they did, not that I gave him the chance. I'd have to rely on the manuals they came with.

"Fair enough," I mumbled to myself. I took the others out and examined them as well. They were different from the guns I had handled at the shooting range. A lot more powerful it seemed, but I would have to get use to them and quickly. I wasn't wasting any more time. Tomorrow night, I had decided, I was going to kill the Darley gang. I knew I wouldn't be shedding any tears for them.

Bones had followed the little faggot outside, keeping a distance so that he wouldn't hear his heavy footsteps and notice him. After pushing his way through the fence gates, Todd had crossed the street and disappeared behind a building.

"Fuck," Bones mumbled to himself, before scuttling to the other side of the scrap yard. He stopped at the fence wall, and tried to look around the corner of the building across the street. He spotted a scraggly, hunched figure that could be none other than Todd's as well as an additional one. This one, however, was short and petite with dark, curly hair. Bones' inquisition suddenly became a whole lot more interesting. He was working for a woman?

He didn't have time to speculate much more on the matter as he saw her unexpectedly lunge at Todd, stabbing him in the gut. He fell backwards, clutching his stomach and tried to push himself backwards with his feet. Bones couldn't see her face that well, but she looked satisfied as he finally fell still and she grabbed the guns, taking off down the street.

"Fan-fucking-tastic!" Bones mumbled under his breath, going back inside his office. He should have known better than to let that dumbass buy his guns off of him for someone else. He didn't know who this woman was, and she had to be into some heavy shit if she felt the need to kill her little helper. She must have plenty at her disposal, as easily as she had killed him, without a second's thought. Her unknown identity and eagerness to kill had Bones on edge and the mystery of what she was up to also had his aorta ready to burst. She could be a part of any of those fucking rivaling gangs around here, fighting for the ultimate power and control over Columbia. He didn't like the feeling of vulnerability and that was where he was.

Never indirectly sell your shit, he mentally yelled to himself. Now he had some trouble on his hands and the only person he knew to castigate had already bled to death across the street. He ranked the receiver of the telephone off of his desk, punching in a number.

"What the fuck do you want now?" He heard an annoyed voice demand on the other end.

"Billy boy, I got some trouble you need to take care of."