Joki, II

“Hey mate,” Joki says to the bartender. “Can I use your phone?”

The barkeep points to a table at the far end of the bar. Joki walks past the jumpy, sawed off Hispanic guy drinking off a coke binge and two useless twats with mesh hats watching the Cubs game.

“Is this line secure?”

“Hello to you too, Lesley.”

“Is this line secure?”

“Sure.” Talking to Lesley on the phone made Joki feel like he was auditioning for a role already cast.

“We have a situation.”

“OK.”

“Are you calling us from a pub? I thought you said this line was secure. We gave you a phone, correct?”

“Sure, and you’re lucky I keep the beeper handy.”

“Daedalius has been kidnapped.”

“What?”

“Yes, you see? Call us from a pay phone.”


At a McDonald’s down the street, Joki dials headquarters.

“He joined a rock band. And now he’s gone.”

“I thought you said he was kidnapped.”

“Yes, this is a kidnapping. We lost the primary.”

“He’s with his band.”

“And we don’t know where they are.”

“Where do I start?”

“The band’s MySpace page.”

“This sure is a lot of exposition.”

“He’s not a great writer. What do you expect?”