There, should be working now. If this file is too quiet to hear or broken up, leave a message in one of the drop spots Gina, and I’ll deal with it. It’s been like pulling teeth around here to get batteries to fit this thing. And not adult teeth, either. Worse than when I had to play Tooth Fairy on that consulate’s kid back in ’98 to get him to spill. Fuckin’ Singaporean surplus. Ah well, it’s a minor thing.

I’m almost sad I’ve gotten out of the business, Gina. I’m getting settled in here, laying the foundations for a couple of years of laying low, and I swear… if it was the old days the boys and I could have this place ripped apart by Easter and walking off with paychecks from four different clients by Memorial Day. The whole city is rotten and falling apart. Perfect climate for business.

No, hon, no, I haven’t taken any jobs like that, relax. Though I swear there were a couple of women, or at least people pretending to be women, down at the bar the other night that I wanted to shock, strap, and drag off for a DRC treatment. As out of control as this place is, I doubt anyone would have paid attention to the screams before I snipped the vocal chords and actually got down to play time. But I’m blending in, I swear.

This new ID has been working out pretty treat. The university took me in, no problem, and even got me teaching a defense class to the girls on campus. I’ll wait now while you recover from blowing Coke through your nose.

Done?

Good.

It’s about what I expected. I really don’t get these people, Gina. I just… don’t. Mostly I’ve been watching a lot of old TV shows and movies, trying to copy how I see teachers act and blending as best I can. I feel kind of like someone drying out who’s having to live in a bar, though. Slip ups happen, but I’m trying to keep them under control.

Had a slip last week when the local public schools approached me about teaching there as well. Hey, you know how I feel about those things. They could hire a lot of folks worse than me. Not a pedophile and I won’t lie to the little bastards either. Negotiations just, well, fell back into old habits and now the HR flunkie they sent to hire me starts shivering whenever I see her. Going to need to be careful with that, maybe start going exclusively with hookers. Pumping one of the drunk sisters for info it sounds like my usual style of things would cause way more issues on campus than just beating charges. It could degenerate into something that’s actually annoying.

You know what this place actually reminds me a lot of? The Eastern Block about a year after things fell apart over there. People shooting up on the street, bars doing major business. Hell, the first student I met was lying to cover up that someone close to her is beating the shit out of her. And doing a good job, too. Honestly, pale as her skin is, I’d love to have her strung up for a couple of days so I could paint her. She’d bruise and mark better than that girl back in Nebraska. Good times…

Sorry, kind of tired and drifting, Gina. But yeah, the city reminds me a lot of those post fall cities. Everyone trying to escape, everyone trying to get by or die. An amazing amount of posturing going on. I swear, watching some of the bangers interacting with one another, it’s like high school with fewer metal detectors. And not just the young bucks, either; that I expect. With the way the young girls are acting as well, there’s got to be testosterone and psychotropics leaking into the water supply here. I’ve been sticking to alcohol since I arrived.

I hope you’ve landed on your feet somewhere warm and beachside, Gina. And hopefully this file won’t take too long to wind through the drops. Just keep your head down. Survive.