a Conversation that could get you killed, pt. I. ch. 7

(Ernst Kirchner, "Konigstein Railway Station" - 1917)

Jean Jacques decided to move into the woods. He could visualize the steps and gestures of the attack, but it was still vague, obscured by some missing fact. A far more indepth and meticulous study of the movements of bears was needed to bring the shadows to light. He packed his camping gear and told Jean Francois he didn’t know how long he’d be gone. Jean Francois drove his partner to the bus station. They shook hands and nodded at the gate. Jean Francois lit a cigarette, his first in four months, and watched the bus pull away – an empty express to the outer rim of the Canadian wilderness.

Alone, Jean Francois lingered in the filthy corridors of the bus station. He watched the busses pull in and pull away. He ate a stale slice of pizza and smoked another cigarette, his second in four months. He busted a punk kid for jaywalking. Then another. Nothing helped. He drove home, got in his pijamas, and watched reruns of C.S.I. New York – the gloomiest of the three.