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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. ¨¨¨¨^«\§¤&
¤§\«^¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨^«\§¤
&¤§\«^¨¨¨¨ ############################## ¨¨¨¨^«\§¤&
#&¤§\«^¨¨¨ ¨¨¨^«\§¤&#
##&¤§\«^¨¨ 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. ¨¨¨¨^«\§¤&
#&¤§\«^¨¨¨ ¨¨¨^«\§¤&#
##&¤§\«^¨¨ ############################## ¨¨^«\§¤&##
###&¤§\«^¨ ¨^«\§¤&###
##&¤§\«^¨¨ 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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