Carl: Okay, be careful. Then get out of there. I have a bad feeling about all of this.
The line outside the Outreach Guild was now gone, but Prepotente remained, waiting for any last-minute stragglers. He was sipping on one of his sodas.
“How’s it looking?” I asked.
“I believe nobody else will be taking a deal,” Prepotente said. “There’s less than three hundred of us left, Carl. A somber day indeed.”
“What about Osvaldo?” I didn’t know why I was bothering. I would’ve received a notification if he’d left. He had not.
“I’m afraid not. I guess I’ll be going to my vehicle now.” The caprid paused. “You know, the ending of this floor feels a little anticlimactic compared to the rest. Usually it’s a big fight, but I have analyzed your plan, and I do feel it’s going to work quite well, and this final race will be a nonevent.”
“Prepotente, darling,” Donut said, “I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, and I want you to know that I am telling you this with nothing but love in my heart. But please kindly shut the fuck up. Don’t ever say anything like that out loud again.”
I had my hands over my ears in time. The scream still startled a food vendor across the street, who stumbled and glared at us.
I laughed and patted the goat on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, buddy. I’m sure something horrible is going to happen at any moment.”
He nodded sadly. “Okay, then. Let’s do our good-race hug and get on with it.”
“Uh,” I said as Prepotente wrapped his arms around me.
[ 80 ]
“Is your flamethrower working properly?”I asked Jamal as he awkwardly backed himself into the truck.
“Oh yes, Mr. Carl. It is quite primed and ready to cause much melty inconvenience to any nasty cars who attempt to get to the finish line before us.”
“Okay, good.”
I turned to Hedy. “Thank you, Hedy.”
The little gremlin smacked me in the ass.
“Why you sayin’ goodbye, boss? It sounds like I ain’t going nowhere if you actually win. You’ll be stuck with me for the next floor, too.”
I smiled sadly at the small gremlin. I patted her on the head. “Nevertheless, thank you. You’ve been a great asset to the team.”
Elle: Ah, hell, guys.
Carl: What’s wrong?
Elle: We just got a notification that the Bleak Congregation left the realm. It says a new team will replace them for the final heat. This screws up all our math.
Donut: THAT MEANS THE MINISTER OF BLOOD-LETTING GOT ACCEPTED INTO THE UNHOLYCHOIR! HE’S BEEN WORKING SO HARD! I KNOW THIS IS A BAD THING, BUT I’M VERY PROUD OF HIM.
Elle: You do realize that dude was evil incarnate, right?
Donut: JUST BECAUSE SOMEONE DRESSES LIKE A FUNERAL PROCESSION EJACULATED ON THEM, IT DOESN’T MEAN THEY’RE BAD. HE WAS A VERY NICE PERSON FOR AN UNDEAD NPC. HE SAID WE CAN DO A DUET IF HE EVER RECORDS HIS “REQUIEM FOR THE VILE” ALBUM.
Elle: He would change the lyrics to his songs so they were about sacrificing babies to the dark lord.
Donut: HE TOLD ME THAT WAS A METAPHOR.
We watched Bruna step from the garage and move toward the starting line, Osvaldo sitting stubbornly on the back.
“Do you think anybody told him the plan?” Donut asked.
“Most of his friends are dead or have taken a deal,” I said, watching the man. “He got a bum deal, and it really sucks. But he had a way out, and he refused to take it. But, yes, Donut, I would guess he knows the plan.”