01 FortheBeofMankind002
*
ItwasnotuotheoutsideworldthatSmoothboreheardtheorshadarrivedtoclaimthesupportofthehumancivilizatiohemselveshado,uolivefortablyoh,leftafteroheirfleetof20,000shipshadalreadyvaheendlessos。
Smoothborehadbarelysteppedofftheplanewhenreceivedhisfirstprogorder。
BrotherTeethwarmlyweloothborehomewitharavagainhishonor。Smoothboreaskedtomeetprivatelywithhimafterdinner,sayinghehadmanythiogetoffhischest。Wheneveryo,SmoothboretoldBrotherTeeth,‘Igrewupatyourside。I,youhaveher,butrathermyfather。Iaskyou,shouldIpracticetheprofessioudied?Justsaytheword,andIwillobey。’
BrotherTeethputhisarmaroundSmoothbore’sshoulder。‘Ifyoulikeit,youshoulddoit。Itellyouenjoyit。Don’tworryabouthighroadsandlolewithbrightfutureshateverpaththeyfollow。’
‘Asyousay。’
SmoothboredrewhispistolaoBrotherTeeth’sstomach。Asthesmokecleared,BrotherTeethlookedatSmoothbore。Aflickeristeredinhiseyesbeforeitlacedbythefollowsrevelation。Helaughedfaintlyandnodded。
‘You’vealreadymadesomethingofyourself,kid。’BrotherTeethspatbloodashespokeaheground。
Smoothborderhadspehourofdelayedg,butn。Thettrustedhim。Heplassofliquorahebloodpoolarouhwithcolddetaehourlater,BrotherTeethdrewhislastbreath。
SmoothborehadspokentruthfullywhenhesaidBrotherTeethwaslikeafathertohim。Onarainydaywhenhewasfive,Smoothbore’sbiologicalfather,lividafterahugegamblingloss,demahismotherrelinquisheverysavibookinthehouse。Whensherefused,hesimplybeathertodeath。Ahboretriedtoblockhisfather,themanbrokehisson’snoseandarmandtheheraihborehadsearchedfarandwideforhimwithoutsuccess。Ifheeverdidfindhisfather,themanhadearhepleasureofaslowg。
SmoothboreheardafterwardsthatMrKhadreturnedeverypennyofhissalarytoBrotherTeeth’sfamilyandflownbacktoRussia。Bef,theRussiansaidthatthedayhesentSmoothboretostudyabroad,hekhwoulddiebyhishahhadlivedhislifeonakheoodwhatmadeatruekiller。
&erahejuhelandfilluntilonlySmoothbore’smarkremaihroughthegarbage,buriedinherwork。Shewastooweaktoclaimagoodspotwherucksarrived,andsheakeupforitbywerhours。HerpersisteherewasnoneedforSmoothboretowaitforheroutside。ThrustingSohisjacketpocket,heleftthedheadedstraightforhismarkeheap。
Thereoepidwarmthteu,likehewaswalkingonthebodyofsomee。ithinfourorfivemeterset,Smoothboredrewhisrevolverfromhispocket。
Atthatmoment,aboltofbluelightshotupfromtheeast。TheElderBrothers’spaceshiphadpletedafullorbitarouhaillglowiherheabruptappearahebluesuhegazeofthetwofiguresonthelandfill。Theystudiedthestraarforamoment,andtheeachother。Whe,Smoothboredidsomethingnoprofessionalhitmanshouldeverdo:hehisgunslipoutofhishand。Foraninstant,theshockmadehimfetSed,acriedoutwithoutthiPea!ButsmoothborekwasPea。Fourteenyearsago,hehadwatchedSweetPea’sagoshehadlivedoninSmoothbrowiroensawherinhisdreams,andheimaginedshewouldlookjustliketheyoungwomaninfrontofhimnow。
Inhisupstartyears,BrotherTeethhaddealtirade:hepurdicappedfromthehandsofhumantraffidputthemtoworkiyasbeggars。Ihepubliotyetexhausteditspassion,andtheprovedquiteprofitable,playingnosmallpartih’sacofseedcapital。
&hboreapaherTeethtoreewgroupoffromatraffitheyarrivedattheoldwarehouse,theyfoundfivewaitingthere。Fourofthemsufferedfromitaldeformities,butolegirlwaswholeahy。SweetPeawassixyearsoldandadorable。Instarktrasttothear,wideeyeswerestillfulloflife。Smoothbore’sheartbrokeasherecalledthoseeyesaywithwhichthelittlegirlexamihingarouallyuhefatethatawaitedher。
‘That’sthem。’saidthetraffitingatthefourdeformed。
‘Ithoughtweagreedonfive?’askedBrotherTeeth。
‘Thecarriageaeofthemdid。’
‘WhataboutthisoherTeethpoiS>
&forsale。’
‘Iwanther。Samepriceastheothers。’Thetoneinhisvoicebroument。
‘But…she’sperfee。Howwillyoumakemohher?’
‘Youass。Afewfinishingtoucheswilldoit。’
AsBrotherTeethspoke,heunwoundhissawfromhiswaistaaeofSweetPea’sdelicatecalves,openingagapingwound。BloodgushedoutaPeashriekedandshrieked。
‘Binditupandstopthebleeding,butdoibiotieedstofester。’BrotherTeethihbore。
SoSmedtheSweetPea’swound,buttheblooduedththelayersofgauze,alegirl’sfacegreale。HesnuckherafewdosesofErythromydSulfamethoxazolebehih’sback,butitwasPea’swoued。
Twodayslater,BrotherTeethseobegoheeffectproducedbyherpatheticexpressionandcrippledlegimmediatelyexceededBrotherTeeth’sexpes。Odaysheearhousandyuaheweekthatfollowed,sheierday。Odayo,afookoherandhandedherfourhundredUSdollars。Despitethis,Sardedwithasingleboxofspoiledfoodperday。ThiswasnotjustmiserlihepartofBrotherTeeth,butadeliberatereservethechild’sstarvedappearahborelygivehersderthecoverofdarkness。
Oneevening,asSmoothborewerieveSweetPeafromthecurbsideonwhichshebegged,thelittlegirlleaohisearandwhispered,‘Brdoesn’thurtanymore。’Shelookedcheerfulaboutthis。
&forhismother’sdeath,thiswastheohboreberg。SweetPea’slegdidnottroubleherbecausethenerveswerealreadydead。Hereurnedbladshehadrunahighfeverfortwodays。SmoothboreotbeartofollowBrotherTeeth’sordersanylonger,andhecarriedSweetPeatothehospital。Thedothatitwasalreadytoolate:thegirlhadbloodpoisoning。Shepassedawaylatethe,edbyfever。
Fromthatmomenton,Smoothbore’sbloodrandjustasMrKpredieverwarmedagain。KillingothersbecameapleasureforSmoothbore,moreaddianydrug。Helivedtosmashthedelicatejadevesselscalled‘humans’,towatchtheredliquidedwithingushoutandperature。Thataloh–thatallthewarmthinthatliquidwasonlyeveracharade。
*
Thejunkwomanstood,slungheroversizedsackoverhershoulder,andslowlyturwasnotSmoothbore’sarrivalthatpromptedherdeparture。Shehadheheldinhishand,andagihiswell-dressedmanmightbearaoherself。Itlytimefo。AstheElderBrothers’shipsahewesternhorizon,Smoothborestoodmotiohelandfill,watgherfigurevanishintothefadi。
Smoothbuntoitsholster。HedrewouthiseanddialedZhuHanyang’snumber:‘Iwahyou。Thereissomethioask。’
‘Nineo’eplace。’ZhuHanyang’sanswerwasunfazedandcise,asifhehadexpectedSmoothbore’scall。
*
&eredthePresidentialHall,SmoothborediscoveredthattheeeeandingitteeofthecilforLiquidationofSocialWealthwasalreadyassembledthere,theirsterngazesfohisownperson。
‘Pleaseaskwhatyoucametoask。’saidZhuHanyang。