McDougall's sat in the dark holding a beer in his hand. " I hate
waiting" he said for about the fifth time.
"They'll be here soon enough" James said from the darkest region
of the room. "You packin'?"
McDougall patted his coat pocket "Always" He took another slug of
his beer, placed it on the coffee table, stood up and stretched.
"I'm getting too old for this shit"
"That's BS and you know it" James said "you do this every time."
He leaned forward into the pale glow of the street light. The scar
on his forehead showed darker then the rest of his ruggedly
handsome face. "I'm the one who should be thinking about quitting.
Last time I nearly died!"
McDougall spit out a short bark of laughter. " You got careless
and you got a wee booboo on yer head." He shook his head "almost
died my ass!"
"Well, it hurt a lot...and it bled a lot. 13 stitches! I thought
I was going to kick it for sure. That nurse sure was cute though"
He stood up and peered out the window silent and lost in
thought."Funny that there is still power across the street"
"Funny strange? Or funny ha ha?"
"Just sayin'" he made his way to the fridge and got them both a
beer. " just seems strange that this side of the street has no
power" He handed McDougall a fresh beer.
"Just the way the grid goes I guess" He twisted the top off his
bottle.Sucks that it happened while I was playing my ACDC cd,but I
don't think it's any kind of nefarious plot against us"
"I wouldn't put it past them. They probably have someone on the
inside of the power company. Probably hates ACDC"
McDougall rolled his eyes in the darkness "Everything is a
conspiracy to you isn't it?"
" I calls 'em like I sees 'em." James said "A little paranoia goes
a long way in my universe"
" I can go get the tinfoil if you need a new hat"
James said nothing, lost in thought. After a minute of silence he
said "What was the name of that woman that almost took you out
last time?"
"Gretchen" McDougall said
" Yeah, the fiery redhead. She was good! almost handed you yer
ass"
"That she did. Feel bad for having to put her down."
"It was you or her dude, you or her"
McDougall sighed. " I told you I'm getting too old for this shit.
I'm starting to feel sorry for my adversaries, and that is going
to create a distraction"
" You gotta get back in the zone man! We are going to see action
in a bit and I need you sharp and focused!"
"You're right" he said standing up and rolling his shoulders. His
face tightened and a fierce look claimed his eyes. "No Mercy!"
"No mercy!" James repeated toasting with his beer.
A rumbling sound approached the house.
"That's them" James said "You ready?
McDougall patted his pocket again "Lets do this"
James opened the door just as an ageing school bus pulled up,
brakes squealing. The could feel the uncomfortable gaze of dozens
of people on them as they approached the bus. The door of the bus
squeaked open and the interior lights flickered on.
They found themselves facing a small portly man with a sour
looking face, wearing a hat in the shape of a duck decoy on his
head. He was holding on to the wheel and gave them a glum look.
"Welcome to "Lucky Ducky's" annual pub crawl and Dart tournament"
he recited in a bored voice " Help yourself to a free hat" He
pointed to the box beside him.
Both of them grabbed a hat and donned it. They stood at the front
of the bus. Dozens of faces stared at them, all wearing duck
decoys on their heads.
The silence was suddenly ended by the sound of someone softly
chanting "McDougall! McDougall!" it spread through the bus until
everyone was calling McDougall's name.
He walked towards the back of the bus as they chanted, fist
bumping and high fiving as he went, James behind him shaking hands
and hugging old acquaintances.
They were about three quarters to the back of the bus, when
someone stood up, blocking the aisle. The bus suddenly went
silent.
A small woman with fiery red hair stood there, green eyes
sparkling with mischief.
"McDougall" she said
"Gretchen" he returned, "Lovely to see you...you packin"?
"Always"she said patting her coat pocket.
"You think you can take me this time?"
" I've been practising all year just for this day" She turned and
looked at James. "Well it it isn't "Crazy Legs" Malone!. Planning
on some table dancing with your pants down again this year?"
James blushed and touched the scar on his forehead "Naw...I think
I've learned my lesson. Though thanks for asking!"
She turned back to McDougall. " Your hat's on wrong" she said.
Reaching up, she took his hat and turned it around So that the
ducks head was at the back. " That's much better Asshat."
The silence was almost deafening. McDougall suddenly grinned.
"Damn I missed you!" he said and hugged her, she hugged him back
smiling. " I missed you too you big palooka!"
The bus erupted into cheers.
Larry, the bus driver, watched all this via the rear view mirror,
waiting for them to take a seat. when they did he started to pull
away from the curb as he let out a heavy sigh." I gotta get a new
job"
The bus pulled off into the night and dissapeared down the road.
There was silence for a few seconds. Somewhere a dog barked. The
lights on McDougalls side of the street flickered on as the power
was restored. The sound of ACDC at full blast started to set off
car alarms.