¨¨:»^*£&£@ @£&£*^»:¨¨
¨¨¨:»^*£&£ £&£*^»:¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨:»^*£& &£*^»:¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨:»^*£ £*^»:¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨:»^* *^»:¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨¨:»^ 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?" ^»:¨¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨:»^* *^»:¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨:»^*£ £*^»:¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨:»^*£& &£*^»:¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨:»^*£&£ £&£*^»:¨¨¨
¨¨:»^*£&£@ @£&£*^»:¨¨