| "How about a bomb?" said Warren.Gus rallied, | | | | sure the bomb went off at the exact moment the |
| straightening a finger at him. "That might be more like | | | | bike hit the bloke. Wouldn't we? I mean, we wouldn't |
| it, Wozz.""How about a nail bomb?" offered Col.Gus | | | | want it go off early, would we? Not even by a few |
| said, "I tend to think not. I like to think of myself as | | | | seconds. Because then you'd have the farcical |
| a bit of a gentleman bandit. A nail bomb, that's the | | | | situation of this flaming fucking skeleton just rolling |
| type of thing could give us a bad name."Blue said: | | | | towards the guy at about two miles an hour. And |
| "What about a suicide bomb?""Expand," Gus said."You | | | | what sort of statement would that make? Frankly, I |
| know. You just drive right up to him in a van packed | | | | doubt the bike'd even stay upright. Even if it did, the |
| with explosives.""I'm listening Blue -- provided you're | | | | bloke could just step out of the way of it."He |
| not referring to my Kombi.""It doesn't even have to | | | | pensively tapped the hotplate. He was vexed. "By |
| be a van, Gus. You can do it in a ute, whatever. I've | | | | the same token," he slowly went on, "we wouldn't |
| even heard of some freak doing it on a motorbike. | | | | want it to go off too late, either. What would we be |
| The bomb was actually strapped to him."Gus was still | | | | looking at then? This cat on a motorbike just ploughs |
| interested. "You've got a bike, Blue. You volunteering | | | | into the wall of the guy's house or office or |
| to be the freak?"Here Blue's enthusiasm tapered off. | | | | whatever... And then he just sits there waiting to |
| He looked solemnly down into his beer. "I can't Gus. | | | | explode. Assuming he's survived the stack. And then |
| My licence got suspended mate. I took a joyride | | | | maybe ten minutes later or so he blows, by which |
| while I was pissed."Gus chuckled dismissively, moving | | | | time our target'd pretty obviously be well out of |
| back over to the hotplate. "As if that matters, you | | | | there. Or is Blue meant to dismount from the |
| spastic." He was turning the steaks again. How many | | | | wreckage and just sort of run after him till the thing |
| sides did he think a steak had? "Mind you," he said | | | | goes off? Fuck me. This is actually a lot more |
| thoughtfully, "your bike'd most probably lead the pigs | | | | complicated than it sounds, isn't it? It's fair dinkum |
| straight back to us. And your body, for that matter. | | | | giving me a headache."He laid down the tongs and |
| Of course we could always claim you were rogue, I | | | | massaged his troubled skull. Finally he sighed with |
| suppose. Acting off your own bat. Or maybe -- I'm | | | | resignation."You might be in luck here, Bluey. I'm |
| thinking aloud here -- but maybe we could just strap | | | | starting to think we might have to shelve this one. |
| that much gear to you that you just get friggin' | | | | There's too many imponderables. I mean, what |
| vaporised.""Then they'll just use his dental records," | | | | exactly are we meant to prang the bike into, for |
| Col pointed out.Blue looked on with mounting | | | | starters? Just the front wall of his house? It doesn't |
| concern."Not necessarily," said Gus. "What if we | | | | vibe right. There's no class to it. His office? How do |
| broke into his dentist's beforehand and taxed all his | | | | we get the bike up there? In the lift? It's bloody two |
| X-rays? I've often wondered why nobody does that. | | | | storeys up. But what other option have we got? I |
| That way they'd have nothing to go on to make the | | | | mean we can hardly just mow the guy down as he's |
| i.d., would they? Or you could -- and I'm just talking | | | | walking along the street, can we? That'd be ludicrous. |
| speculatively here, Blue. I'm just thinking out loud. But | | | | Why bother with a bomb at all, if you're already |
| you could knock all his teeth out, couldn't you, before | | | | going to be creaming the bloke with a motorbike at |
| he strapped on the gear..."Gus fell into a ruminative | | | | top speed? You can't kill the guy twice. But then if |
| silence. He tapped his tongs rhythmically against the | | | | you've got no bomb... If you've got no bomb, the |
| hotplate. Blue watched him with deep unease, saying | | | | whole political element of it |
| nothing. Apparently his fear of displeasing Gus | | | | goes out the window. Basically you'd be looking at |
| outweighed, for the moment, his fear of becoming a | | | | an everyday hit and run. The only political ingredient |
| strap-on motorcycle bomber."But let's think about this | | | | being that the bloke on the bike has maybe got no |
| properly," Gus said. "Let's think about the whole | | | | teeth. |
| logistics of it. For one thing, we'd have to be dead | | | | |