part 2

Afterwards I wash my hands in the gore-splattered sink. It doesn’t do much good.
This one was a mess, I didn’t do enough damage with the first shot, and he thrashed around a bit before whatever was keeping him moving gave up. Made a real fucking mess. As I step out of the washroom, the bartender already has the police on the line. I wave my badge at him and grab the phone from his hand.

“Jensen, King County Bureau of Resurrections. Can you get me cleanup on the line?” The guy swears, I don’t recognize his voice. Apparently he already sent out a car, but he promises to redirect them and he gets John on the phone for me. Seattle law enforcement are good guys, they generally work with us pretty well. We don’t have our own buildings out here, so we have to use bits and pieces of theirs. Federal doesn’t give us much because the way our lines are located, Canada and Oregon do most of the work. We’ve been having more trouble lately in the city, and we could really use a space of our own, but good luck getting any cash right now. Not with the budget the way it is. The hold music cuts out and John picks up. He sounds groggy, probably sleeping at his desk.
“Who the fuck is it?” I answer and he groans. “I’m on my way.”

I hang up, give the bartender back his phone. He’s new, some blonde kid, mid twenties. Grad student is my bet, with fat black earplugs and a truly lame cobra tattooed on his arm. I think about bitching to him about calling the police, but he’s just a kid, and he hasn’t asked me about the tab yet. So I perch on a battered stool, inspecting the damage to my coat. It’s just a shitty khaki trench I got at the Goodwill, but you get attached to things. It’s also the only trench I’ve found that doesn’t give me a fucking cape. No one makes clothes for short guys these days. Should have taken it off first. Brain is hard to get out of cotton. It’s another 25 minutes before John shows up with the van. I pass the time by watching the bar kid comfort Patty, who appears far more upset than is plausible. She sobs into his shoulder as he reassuringly feels up her back. I turn away and think about cigarettes until John gets there.