Fadder (in toto)

Fadder  I sez 

I sez  Fadder  Ey appreciate ya meedin wid me

Ya probably not really likely ta know me  Dou ey know ya   Yaknow neighborhood taktak  Ey know ya gotta job

sez ya gotta listen ta da taktak  But ey tink ya aint really all about knowin us hard  Ya know us in da bigger sense   

as ya been taut  as weeben taut ta expect from ya   at de   at de      Ey know des           Ah    De seminary

Strange  Ey tink  Semen-ary    Don know bout you  souns funnyright ta me

But ma point  ya bout ministering souls

Da life heer   is hard

An fok heer too  hard

But wees all cut aint wee  everwhar  sa ya sez     ada same clothYea 

  

Mebbe ders cleener cloths    but dey da same kinda cloth

Yea

Yea   Ey tink so

  

Anyway

So tankya Fadder

Ey appreciate ya meedin wid me heer   In ya house yer Fadders house

Round us  dis city round us

Yaknow

Isa shithole been a shithole ey tink when ya com  Taktak sez ya was an older man when ya made heer

Ya began older

Mebbe   called late eh

Ey don tink a younger man woud wannit

But      Thars a reason why ya cam  Eym not innarested why ya heer  But mebbe   mebbe if ya lookin for a lil sumptin    perhaps a touch a sainthood

Mebbe   ya can hep me an ey can hep ya

Ey hope  dis shithole  my wards don offend ya   Eym a big believer in callin tings wha dey are

Ey aint offended eys born in dis shithole  But namatter

                                          

Ey wannata meet ya   as ey sezs on da fone   Ta offa ya a proposition  if ya woud

An if ya woud  as by any legit proposition   Eyd make it wort  ah  da Churchs while

  

But yad hafta com out a heer  Out a dis house

   

Ta hep me  hep ya

Innarested

     * * *

Ey ned a lil hep  Fadder

Ya believe in Gawd

Den ya believe in evil

Ey don yea  Ey believe in bad  Yea  even badder bad

Ey believe in da supernatural

An given wha eyve read  priesty stouf   ey believe ya got da juice ey ned for a bad aspect eyve discovered

Ey ned lots ey tink   lots an lots ifan eym right

Ifan eym wrong  well   ya can hep yasef to it long as it flows eh   Unless acourse ya havent a lang spell in yer bag

Den eyd be botherin ya fer repeeted blessins

Or it don wark  an den my badder bad disappears me   Eyve no problem disappeared

Peeples in shitholes disappear all da time  Our wirth aint wirth da while ta find out whar wees gone an it easier

ta tink wee left fer greener pastures  as it weer  eh  Funnyright ta me  Dou ey tinks lots a life is funny

Like Hendrixs Along the Watchtower   who feel dat life is but a joke

Man  if only he rolled onto his face when he vomited

but den wee may have been disappointed as he grew old 

Woud be hard to be a disappointin artiste  eh

Sorry eym whilin round an round tinkin aloud boren ya   Sorry

So Fadder  ya com out ta me place

Tink it oer

 

Ey tink yer my best chance  Yer jewjew  ha  better  den otter fadders ey tink

Ya worry hardest  yer brow sez sa  An ey ned strong jewjew warked strong

Ey don know ifn eym askin sumptin hard  an ey ned ta know  frankly  reel quick

An den ya too coud tink ey left fer greener pastures

Escaped dis shithole

Eyd wancha ta tink ey escaped 

Dat be a nice tought eh  a nice tought Fadder

Eh Da

* * *

he set the meeting late spoke innocuously of safety in numbers

they were four

and he was he

Far ta one odds ta dem  Nah shabby

he gamed they saw him a long shot  likely realising few would back his horse

though  if he had worked it out right

took out the strongest two first

the other two  cheapy facilitators  hanger-ons  taken by surprise

might be like plucking ripe cherries fresh from a limb

                                                                                     if he worked fast  and deliberate

hed seat the big two at the front door

theyd impede the other twos escape

he choreographed it

practiced

danced spun it turned it and dipped it till its hair swept the floor

until it showed up in his dreams

when you dream what it is youre doing in real time

youre ready

Fadder went along with his part in the play

he was irritated  latently bemused  that he refused to confide in him  --  him  a priest  --  his intentions

Ey woudnt wan ya ta be fingered for yer innocuous  --  big ward  huh Da  --  part in dis play

itsa passion play ifn ya like Da

Ya don mind Fadder  I call ya Da    Do ya

he had a shabby apartment   a shabby water closet in it

the toilet was ironstained

Ey sweer its cleen it only looks dirty  It looked dirty when ey let it  Dou itsa stout mate an wen yar up an don  stouter

Whaddasay  ah  fort-tified     Ey hope ta tell ya  Da  ey do

he heard them coming up the stairs

heavy lads

the stairs groaned and bitched plenty
he always took them two or three at a time  trading off on the treads figuring theyd last longer
landlord was a cheap motherfucker
so he spoiled them
 

these four  obviously  were working them one tired tread at a time

 

the crying was pitiful

with any luck they could wipe their tears away  relax  not think of them again

  

steps couldnt be interrogated

no one in their right mind would think of that

anymore than anyone would think of using a door buzzer

 

his cheapskate landlord  a droll stereotype hed agree  hawked its benefit

Pleasant sound huh?

he answered by rapping sharply at the door

Souns empty  Ey ned a secure door man  Itsa a shithole neighborhood A shithole

You moving expensive stuff inside  he tried arguing

Lemme tink   Ah

Yea  Me

Ya can disconnect da bell save on electricity fer everone who dat tinkin a leanin on it

An den  oer time  yall save up da money ya spent on my reel dar

A solid bloke  eh   Oak stout 

  

Ey suspect  like da dar ta yer home in da buildin  Stout too  eh

 

Yea  Eyll take one like yers

Deel

Nawont even go inside

Take har sight unseen

Eym a trustin sonofabitch

Nareally

Ey know whar ya live

his smile verged on a leer

Dat tears it  he thought

Da oafs rang da damn darbell

Da mans losin money  Lardie

opening the door the bigger men stood side by side  the light in the hall the light behind them eclipsed their heads

and shoulders

he was blind to their faces

Ah boys  Expectin ya  Com in

two slackers slipped in behind them on their shadows like snails from the obliterated light his overhead ceiling fixture cast

Itsa a shithole of a neighborhood eh  Sorry  An ya see as wee agreed  its ya four  an me

they didnt answer in words  mumbled  nodded

Fine den

Gents  A seat

the big ones followed his extended hands to the larger chairs on the wall near the front door  three smaller chairs

were deeper into the room   far too small for their sumptuous asses

comfort should never be underestimated

he  he wouldnt sit with his back to a door even if it meant sitting on an inverted three-legged stool

the conversation went as he thought it might

he could be counted on as a procurer

he convinced them he knew who wouldnt be missed  wouldnt attract attention

convinced them they were ample  readily available blood

Don tell me ya cant heer it surgin from whar ya sittin

Warm  blue  pipin hot in der veins

Certainly boys ya can smell it

they grunted

appetites shouldnt be underestimated either

they were sidetracked

he thought he heard their bellies gurgle

the idiots beside him rocked in glee  hadnt they said

Didnt we say  they said

he stood

Gents  please excuse me  nature begs  Breathe dep  Enjoy da whiffs in da air  Delicious eh

Eyll not steer ya wrong  Gawds ward

Ha  Humor nah

he went past the edge of the kitchen table at his back into the bathroom slightly closing the door so not to arouse any suspicion

 

in the chipped and tarnished sink sat a swollen red rubber hot water bladder he dipped into the holy toilet water

Fadder blessed earlier

it was worth the coin he donated to the Church

Fadder said he was munificent

Hmm  Da  Eym gonna hafta look dat won up

Don tell me

Ey like strange wards an wha dey mean

Itsa how won lerns  How ey lern

   

the iron-ruined toilet and red hot water bottle were incongruous  odd    unseemly    

heads stuck on pikes so you couldnt look away or not notice

 

Namatter

he neer woud ave tought dis up hisself  an he weer damn certain dey coudnt peer inta his dreams

When yer dreams weave wha dey do  dey ave ya dead ta rights

Ya don question dem

Dey occur far a purpose

Ya buy inta dem wholesale  lock stock an barrel

Dey wont leed ya astray

Deyve got as much skin in da game as ya  an cling ta liefe  tenaciously

as ya ta yer own

he thought  Wees der fackin meal ticket  An ya don ever play fast an loose wid yar meal ticket  Na do ya

the toilet chirped like an untuned canary

he relieved himself heavily  noisily  thinking if they could smell blood in peoples veins theyd have a noseful of urine

the knob of the hot water spigot squeaked

the drain gurgled

the soap lathered

the drain gurgled as he rinsed his hands

the spigot squeaked again as he turned it off

the cheap hand towel sounded rough

* * *

while sitting in the livingroom conversing he leaned back on occasion in the straightback chair  ever so slightly rubbing his shoulder  subtly grimaced  suggesting  it a minor annoyance or discomfort 

as he exited the bathroom with the swollen bladder in hand 
the biggest one at the door stood

wary 
Ged fer hem  he thought  heed be wary too
 

Ma shouders actin op  Was better it aganst da wall den my hed  eh

Hmm    
           unconvinced

he thought  Fack em hard  Was never much a liar  as he continued towards the threshold now untwisting the bottle cap

the standing one took the first gout in the face from the bottle of holy toilet as he stepped to meet him  he pivoted right from the horrific scream and doused the second before he could stand
horrific screams in stereo

it was a blessing to have two ears

their heads were consumed with a violent red rash  it peeling their scalps back  seething with something more nebulous than steam and less than smoke
their eyelids retracted
eyes  black like serpents 
syphilitic boils gagged out of their twisted purplish flesh   glycerine bubbles ulcerated

the mooks  as he hoped  sat unmoved

Shocky  slurred in his thought behind his strides towards the two whose hands still bothered with their ruined faces

he slammed a sharpened spike deftly between the big beasts ribs  which were no match to protect his heart
he Gobbed at the air   
                                    a strange sound 
he went ferociously at the second biggie  its bright synapses trying to kick in to avert its killing 
                                                                                                                                                          brains like dreams 
a meal ticket was a meal ticket

its hand came up  talons extended
the raw spike slammed through its center  invigorated enormously by Life  pinning it to his chest and his heart beneath 
 

he snatched up the coffee table off the bare wood floor  it speckled by bloodied invective Rorschachs
and used its broad edge lip as a bludgeon to their skulls against the wall
their skulls against the floor

FACK! 
   

            that must have been his voice

the choreography  the dance  was nearly complete

he witnessed the rest as if an automaton had stepped in for him
creepy  jerky  head motions
hands  he didnt recognise as his own for the blood and gore

in one steady ironhand a straight razor

the mooks were up 
they had nowhere to go

the other hand snapped and snapped and snapped until it closed on a mop of hair
the face under it was distended  gaping eyes  it gullet open and screaming   silently
maybe it wasnt silent
Namatter 
he didnt hear anything 
then a heavy puff breath prickled with aerated blood blew into his face
their hands going to its sliced  ruined  throat

the other mook collapsed numbly in the corner
a different automaton governed his body 
negative panic  surprisingly  had a beatific expression
there was no need to grasp his scalp 
he put a crooked index finger to his docile chin  tilted his head back gently
he took his finger away 
his head remained back
his jugular throbbed 
a bluish blush at the skin 
a mole  a beauty mark sat quietly reverently atop the vein
X marks the spot
he slashed it
it gaped  surprised for a moment  looking at him 
a severed tube
                         it gave him respite to step back  and away
then it nearly seemed as if his blood didnt want to be left alone

it leapt at him

leapt out of this pale china doll with staring glass eyes

 

he opened the apartment windows

from the closet beside the front door he took out several filled gas canisters
doused the bodies  letting them stand open when he set them down

he stripped naked in the middle of the room

left his bloody clothes on the floor

he took a canister into the bedroom 
set it on the bed
took a plastic bag of clothes into the bathroom then returned  doused the bed and left it emptying itself on the mattress
   

he took a shower  not bothering to pull the curtain around the ring to keep the water from the floor 
for once the water was hot when he wanted it hot

bathed  he dressed in the clothes from the bag

the apartments wooden floor was old and it sucked up the gas like mothers milk

the fumes smarted his eyes

the stairs would be happy with him
hed spring over most of them

he struck one match and tossed it on the bed

he struck a second match and tossed it on the floor between the two mangled vampires

some time  as he bound down the stairs
his hearing returned

  

behind him it sounded like popcorn popping and gunshots

2105,  Thursday,  12  3. 15

2350,  Saturday,  14  3. 15