are the food that our people need, and one good fish can feed
everyone. Understand? We just have to find the right one.”
“Well, you’ve been here for a while,” Harvey said, “Catch any big
ones?”
Hopkins hung his head. “I tried, but they all got away,” he
admitted. “I think I need some help.”
“Maybe that’s what we’re here for,” suggested Harvey, indicating
himself and Vlad. Vlad had gone down to the water’s edge and was
now throwing rocks as far as he could.
“Well I certainly could use some help,” said Hopkins, extending
his hand. The two shook hands while Vlad flung a rock at a whale of
an idea. After it bounced harmlessly off, the behemoth swam away. It
was just as well, as it was far too moby for even the three of them to
handle.
Dreamwalker, who had been watching them from a small hut on a
cliff high above the water, smiled and laughed. In the Dreamtime, as
in the more familiar version of reality, everything was always pretty
hysterical if you looked at it in the right way. He shook Bob’s big
donut box full of change and laughed.
Ha ha ha.
CHAPTER 31
When Victoria and Shiva returned to Pangaea, they found Don Wong
sipping a cup of instant coffee and looking glum. The lousy drink
tasted bitter on his lips, but not as bitter as the defeat and frustration
that stuck to his ribs, a defeat superseded by the fact that he had put
Vlad into a coma. The MLF would not allow him to be admitted to a
hospital, else risk exposing their entire operation. He lay there, still,
on the couch, uncharacteristically quiet and peaceful-looking. Jewel
sat beside him, stroking his fine hair.
“What’s wrong with him?” Shiva asked.
“The machine. It don’t work. This is what happens.” A tear made
its bumpy way down Don Wong’s craggy face.
“I’m so sorry,” she said in Jewel’s direction. The Madam didn’t
answer. Victoria sat down next to her old friend and held her tightly.
Shiva took Don Wong’s sad face in her hands and kissed away the
tears. She led him into a back room where she embraced him, trying
H O L Y S H I T !
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