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##£¤£*/~:¨ Orange-Clad Train-Climber Crew, Moving ¨:~/*£¤£##
###££*/~:¨ Along The Rusty Cargo Cars Like Some ¨:~/*££###
#¤*/~~::¨¨ Species Of Ferrophage Insect. Up And ¨¨::~~/*¤#
##£¤£*/~:¨ Down The Train, Checking Bolts, Oiling ¨:~/*£¤£##
¤*****/~:¨ Joints, Drinking Coffee, Smoking ¨:~/*****¤
£££*~¨¨¨¨¨ Cigarettes. ¨¨¨¨¨~*£££
£££/:¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨:/£££
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##£¤£*/~:¨ We Were Going South Through Finland At ¨:~/*£¤£##
££*/~:::¨¨ The Time, Sleeping Close To The ¨¨:::~/*££
##£¤£*/~:¨ Furnace, Watching The Aurora borealis. ¨:~/*£¤£##
###¤£*/~:¨ Twenty-Something Members Of The Crew, ¨:~/*£¤###
##£¤£*/~:¨ Most Of Which Were Mechanics, Or ¨:~/*£¤£##
##£¤£*/~:¨ Loaders, With Large And Hairy Hands ¨:~/*£¤£##
##£¤£*/~:¨ That Could Swallow My Entire Body. And ¨:~/*£¤£##
##£¤£*/~:¨ Me Featuring As The Cute And Asocial ¨:~/*£¤£##
#£¤*~:¨¨¨¨ Radio Operator, Stationed In The Back ¨¨¨¨:~*¤£#
££¤£**/~:¨ Of The Kilometer-Long Train, Which ¨:~/**£¤££
££££**/~:¨ Served Me Good And Well. ¨:~/**££££
£££¤£*/~:¨ ¨:~/*£¤£££
#¤£/:::¨¨¨ And Then One Night, There'S A Missile. ¨¨¨:::/£¤#
###£¤£*/~: We Would Routinely Pick Up New Cars At :~/*£¤£###
¤¤¤**/~~:¨ The Tail, And Drop Some Off, As A Way ¨:~~/**¤¤¤
#££¤£*/~:¨ Of Earning Some Extra Money. But A ¨:~/*£¤££#
#¤**/::¨¨¨ Missile, And Appearing Silently In The ¨¨¨::/**¤#
##£¤£*/~:¨ Middle Of The Night At That? Not ¨:~/*£¤£##
###££*/~:¨ Entirely... Comfortable. ¨:~/*££###
##£¤£*/~:¨ ¨:~/*£¤£##
###¤£*/~:¨ I Call It In On The Walkie-Talkie. Not ¨:~/*£¤###
##£¤£*/~:¨ Many Others Awake, They Know Nothing ¨:~/*£¤£##
##£¤£*/~:¨ About It, And Appear Concerned As Well. ¨:~/*£¤£##
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£¤*~~~¨¨¨¨ ££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££ ¨¨¨¨~~~*¤£
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##£¤£*/~:¨ When I Fall Awake In The Afternoon, ¨:~/*£¤£##
#£££*/::¨¨ Karl Is There, Smiling At Me. "Hey ¨¨::/*£££#
#££*~¨¨¨¨¨ Boy," He Says, "Wanna Help Me Make A ¨¨¨¨¨~*££#
##£¤£*/~:¨ Call?" ¨:~/*£¤£##
#¤£*~~:¨¨¨ ¨¨¨:~~*£¤#
££¤¤£*/~:¨ After He'S Brought Me Coffee, I Dial ¨:~/*£¤¤££
##£¤£*/~:¨ The Frequency From His Notebook, And ¨:~/*£¤£##
##£¤£*/~:¨ After A While There'S A Reply In ¨:~/*£¤£##
#¤**/:::¨¨ Pan-Slavic. Karl Laughs And Makes A ¨¨:::/**¤#
££*///~~:¨ Reply In The Same Language. Even Though ¨:~~///*££
££££**/~:¨ We Both Have Headphones I Can'T Follow ¨:~/**££££
££*~~~~:¨¨ At All, But I Hear The Word "Missile" A ¨¨:~~~~*££
¤**~~~::¨¨ Few Times. ¨¨::~~~**¤
##£¤£*/~:¨ ¨:~/*£¤£##
##£¤£*/~:¨ I'M Almost Snoozing Again At The Time ¨:~/*£¤£##
##£¤£*/~:¨ Karl Puts Down The Headphones And Slaps ¨:~/*£¤£##
##£¤£*/~:¨ Me On My Back. "Allright Boy. I Just ¨:~/*£¤£##
#¤££//::¨¨ Sold A Missile." He Practically Beams ¨¨:://££¤#
££***~~¨¨¨ At Me, Teeth Filed Sharp. "Wanna Make A ¨¨¨~~***££
#¤¤**~¨¨¨¨ Detour?" ¨¨¨¨~**¤¤#
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