Friday, 9 June 2023

Jim's Subway 21: The last Toddy for the evening


That man is a wretch.  And he is scum...
  This is what Jim was thinking as he walked away from the street where Ivan had just collard him.
  Jim was still a little shaken by the unpleasant encounter.
  He thought he needed a stiff drink to steady his nerves, but he figured he was too angry to drink.
  That's right  You heard it heard first.  Jim was too busy being angry at Ivan that he coukldn't even find the energy to drink!
  What a revelation indeed.
  Eventually the voice in his mind started to rage something along the lines of this:
  I don't hate Ivan as much as I ever hated Jon, not by a long stretch, I am glad that man is dead, but I would rather share a drink with DC Peddler than that weird stuffy white-coat wearing maniac.  Who does he think he is, going around like his Boris Karloff playing the mad scientist role in some dusty antiquated horror movie.  He's a caricature!  He lives in fantasyland!  He was a curiosity before, but now I find myself not liking him very much.  Grabbing me in the streets and throwing threats in my face!  I am not his slave nor will I ever be!  Damn the man!  But I have to be careful of him...  We know what he is now...   We know what he is really capable of.  These are dark times indeed.
  And then he thought:
  What have I done?  What have I gotten myself into?  
  And all for the love of the taste and the feel of the G-Juice.  Nothing like the feel of the G-Juice living in ones veins!
  Is it worth it?
  O Yes it is!
  Jim thought.
  Just at that moment Toddy stepped up out of the shadows of the Subway.  'I thought I would pop in to say goodbye,' he said.
  'How nice of you,' Jim replied.  'Goodbye it is then.  It was nice meeting you, once.  O, and thank you for saving my life back then...  Without that whiskey I surely would have had a seizure and died.'
  'Yes indeed,' said Toddy. 'Now listen up, I have a word or three for you.  Rod's a fine man, he might be a useful companion to you in the future.  He's also rich.  It's very important to have rich friends here in Fenwick, for better or worse - you will find that out one day.  And if you have to drink G-Juice, which I know you will, again, and again, and again, do it slow - take it in, inch by inch.  Appreciate it, saviour it - don't get drunk on it, not at least in the first five minutes.  Give yourself a chance to get drunk.  You will find things go better for you if you take these cautious measures.'
  'Thank you for the advice,' said Jim.  'Yes I remember Rod.  I will pay him a visit sometime.'
  'Good man,' Toddy replied.  'You won't regret it.  So is there anything else you would like to talk about?'
  'Not really.  O I guess I don't mind sharing with you how much I really hate Ivan.  Yes, I really hate that man.  He killed Jon.  DC Peddler thinks I am the murderer, but I need to convince him otherwise.'
  'That's going to be hard,' said Toddy.  'Peddler is not an easy man to convince about anything.  I mean his own mother couldn't convince him that he could tie up his own shoes and he pays people to do it for him this day.  Now listen up.  Peddler is not a nice guy, I know, but Ivan is worse, and definitely far more dangerous.  Take my advice, I know Fenwick and its folk, and you should keep Peddler on your side.  You do hat by keeping him sweet.'
  'And how do I do that?'
  'Dig around for dirt on Ivan.  I bet with enough effort you can grab a fistful of the stuff!  And when you have a good amount of that super filthy dirt in your hand spread it all over Mr Peddlers face.  Spread it fast and furious, let him take it in, let him smell it, stuff it right up his ugly nostrils so that he cannot ever avoid the smell!  When the smell is finally bad enough our man will take action, and reel your other man in.  And that will be the end of it.'
  Jim thought about it for a few seconds, but then a huge lump of doubt knocked on his head like an acorn falling from a tree.  'NO Ivan will mean no G-Juice...  And we can't have that.'
  And as if he had heard his voice Toddy pipped up in answer:
  'Then steal the recipe,' he said.  
  He spoke quite casually about it.
  Jim didn't know how to respond so he just stood there where he was and looked and confused and useless.  (Yes, he was all those things right then).
  'Don't look so dumb, Jim,' Toddy continued.  'You are indeed a fool as most people are, but I know inside my gut that you are not a COMPLETE fool.  There is some energy in you, I can feel it, I can also see it in your actions.  I mean you have survived as a complete stranger in Fenwick this long, you have got to have something about you to pull that off.'
  'So stand up and be proud of yourself, Jim.  'The city of Fenwick is yours for the taking!  You can grab it, and milk it for all it is worth.  You can wake it up, shake it about and shake every penny out of it.  But you have to want to do it!  And I think you do, Jim.  That's why you took the train here.  You wanted to escape your dead end job and find your fortune.  And here you are.  And your fortune is there but you need to fight just a little bit to get it.  And G-Juice is the key.  You like it.  Other people will like it also.  You can sell it to them, Jim.  Wake up, idiot, and be that thing you know you can be in your mind.'
  'But... I can't steal... '
  'Yes you can,' Toddy pressed on.  'Are you a nice person Jim?  Is anyone out there in the streets of Fenwick really a nice person?  I think we both know the answer to that one, eh?  So wake up, lad, and do your business like everyone else.  Yes?  Do you hear me?  Good!  Now before I slink back forever into the swamps of the Subway remember, it's you vs everyone else - forever!  Do what must be done...'
  Jim listened to these in stone silence, and when he decided it was time to reply he turned round and found that Toddy was gone.  
  Gone forever!
  But Jim knew now what he had to do...
  VERY WELL -
  Said the voice in his head:
  I SHALL LEARN TO STEAL...

  (Remember!  All spelling errors and grammatical mistakes are intentional - the author 😆)

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