(Untitled)

[still_shotgun]

Eventually Dean and I lost Dad's trail. I guess subconsciously I knew it was going to happen. We still got the occasionall call from one of Dad's old acquaitances, and we read the newspapers, and drove to whatever place was calling us. A vampire in the Midwest, some kid raised a zombie in Massachusetts. Old tricks. But now there was no driving

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[died_once]

After the hit in Kyoto didn't go as well as my employer had hoped, I decided to duck out of the business and find myself a real life

[still_shotgun]

I noticed the woman when she came in and sat down, but it didn't really register on my radar as anything out of the ordinary. She was striking, yeah, in a whole other category from the giggling college girls by the other wall, but really, just another person

[died_once]

"Ah, the old blank stare line. You have no idea how often girls get that one. Lucky for you, I believe you

[still_shotgun]

Well, that was sort of... overwhelming.

And I thought Dean and I could be perceptive. When we needed to be. I wonder what she does that's made her that way. Where she learned to notice things like that.

But also, she was intimidating as hell, so I doubt I'll be asking anytime soon. If ever.

I smile apologetically at the nervous-looking barista as she places a slice of coffee cake in front of me. She eyes me and practically runs away. Great, now I'm the scary one too. But the strange woman's right, the coffee cake does look - and smell - great.

But that still leaves a number of unanswered questions.

"Thanks," I say, and clear my throat. "But, uh - do you always do this? Usually, if there are people staring at me, I just ignore it until they go away." Or shoot them if they don't. "Not that I don't appreciate it, of course. The sandwich did kind of suck."

[died_once]

"No, I don't always do this to people who stare at me...usually it's worse."

I grin teasingly, though...there is a small truth to this statement, not that he knows that.

"...but it must be your lucky day, cause you caught me in a good mood."

I continue gazing down at the paper in front of me, despite the fact that I had already read everything I wanted to read from it, but giving the aura of slight disinterest gave me some advantage in this conversation...and God knows I love an advantage.

I flip the page.

"So, since you so obviously just blew into town, might I ask where you've come from?"

[still_shotgun]

Oh, good. Now I can let out that breath I've been holding.

No, really.

This girl... woman... she's kind of scary.

I take a bite of my sandwich, gazing out of the window, because she looks disinterested now and I'm just confused. Besides, I don't want to look intrigued, because she might shank me or whatever else she does to people that space out in her presence. But her voice startles me. I thought she was done with me.

Guess not.

"Uh, everywhere, actually," I admit, setting down the sandwich. "My brother and I, we're kind of on the road a lot. Our business takes us all over."

[died_once]

"Ah, a traveling man. My job has taken me all over as well."

Travel the world! Meet exotic people! Kill them!

It's lucky for the newspapers that people like me weren't in charge of writing the classified ads.

I smile, probably not too warmly. Smiling was a foreign thing to me most of the time, and I rarely had a chance to do it. A shame that one of those rare occasions just happened to be terrorizing some guy in a coffee shop. Oh well, to each his own.

"Oh...and for future reference," I nod towards his bag on the floor, "...if you want to be less conspicuous, pull the holster pin so you can break your shotgun down into three pieces instead of two, it's less obvious that you have a weapon on you. Though, judging by the way you handle your sandwich, I'm assuming you don't get to fire it too often."

[still_shotgun]

"Yeah? It's not all it's made out to be. Spending your whole life on the road, it's..."

Lonely, I was about to say, but I stopped. No need to give this woman any more ammunition against me. I can't figure her out. She's being helpful, and then she's being intimidating, but she started talking to me and she's still talking to me, so... what's the deal?

I wish Dean were here. He's better with being intimidated. I'm better with the sensitive stuff. And this woman is sensitive like a stick of dynamite.

"Exhausting," I finish lamely.

Her gaze travels to my duffel bag, on the floor at my feet, and I flush and kick it further under the table. Man, I hope she's not a cop. Dean and I... well, between the credit card fraud, the impersonation of federal agents and the tracking demons stuff, we didn't exactly get around to applying for carry permits.

"Often enough," I say shortly. "A sandwich isn't a gun, miss." It strikes me that I don't know her name. Which is probably for the better. "You've got a great eye for... details."

[died_once]

"A sandwich isn't a gun, miss."

"No, that's true. But it's funny, isn't it? They serve dual purposes. You eat to live, you use a gun to deliever death. So while they are remotely nothing alike, they are linked by their very opposition of nature, and the way we handle life...well, you'd be surprised how often it is the way we handle death."

I pause.

"...so, I guess no, a sandwich isn't like a gun, not exactly, but they are similar in the respect that you will always view them just a little bit differently when they are in someone else's hands."

I stir my coffee casually and then drop the spoon onto the napking adjacent to the mug.

"Yeah, I guess you could say details are my thing. Even if it does for me to become the lunch time philosopher of deli products."

I crack a smile. Been a while.

[still_shotgun]

Her speech leaves me... speechless. There's really no better way to put it except 'this woman is intense'. And I thought Dean and I had the whole detail-oriented thing down. I bet she could teach us a thing or two

[died_once]

"Any girl who doesn't appreciate a good sandwich is a girl who doesn't appreciate life. These girls that are afraid to eat on dates, men should really be weary of them. Because a girl who hides the fact that she likes to eat, which is a basic human function...well, she probably is gonna hide a lot more than that later on."

I smile, this conversation was making me somewhat hungry. I probably would grab a bite on my way out. Nothing like the to-go container.

"...as for guns, my Daddy was in Big Businesses...that should really tell you all you need to know."