The last phase of the plan was marching JJ visibly past the vengeful carnies, making a big show of his "arrest" so that ideally no one would report all this to Gonko. "Trying to ruin our show?" Jamie yelled. "You're a disgrace to all clowns."
"Come here and get what's coming to you," said Dean.
"But it was just an overly zealous prank," said JJ, "with no actual intent to undermine the show with any broader view to exploiting and or learning about its vulnerabilities! The shame I feel is surely punishment enough."
They took him into the clown tent, made some convincing sounds of a thrashing—thumping the mattresses with wood while JJ squealed and begged for mercy. Tomato sauce was liberally applied. Curls popped his head in to see Dean and Jamie standing over a shivering bundle beneath a blanket. "You kilt him?" said Curls.
"Not quite," said Jamie, "but he won't pull that stunt again."
"No, sir, I won't," JJ said, coughing. "I have learned via savage beating that there are limits to the ways in which one should express one's devil-may-care attitude, and music box theft is a big no-no."
Curls grunted. "Don't tell Gonko about it, all right? I'm in charge here; he'll have my nuts. And I need 'em!"
"You got it."
Dean and Jamie exchanged a look that served as a high-five. "Happy with how that went?" said Dean.
"Food for thought," said Jamie. "Talk to you later."
Without a clown show—Jamie didn't attempt a one-clown act, and JJ had to recover from his "thrashing"—there wasn't quite as much harvested as yesterday's show, but the other attractions made the difference negligible. Emerald filled several buckets herself as her gypsy minders crooned their approval (and handled her sulks.) The freak show outdid itself—in fact overdid itself: Fatso ate his way into retirement.
His depression had grown, since no one bothered to tell him why he was no longer with his friend Wallace the Walrus and could no longer hear the mermaid song he'd come to love. His act was not ever intended for several consecutive show days; he needed days off to munch protein powder and heal the bites. Well, after the last trick had been sent below, Fatso ate, and ate, and would not listen to a word anyone said. He twice bit at hands that reached in to stop him. His eyes were bright with hunger; blood flushed from his cage. His legs were soon gone, bones and all. His left arm was no more, his right remained in place only to help scoop the meat from his torso. Soon he'd consumed himself up to the waist. Panting, lunging forward with growing eagerness for one more bite, he gasped, "People always tell me I got bad taste." He ripped a chunk off his chest. "Now, I can prove 'em wrong." Fatso swallowed, sending the morsel plopping out the other end of his severed torso where it joined the pile of red chewed lumps and spilled-out organs. And those were his last words. Fatso shivered, fell back, and was no more. Those who were witness to the last bite staggered away, retching.
"Fiddlesticks," said the severed head.
***
14. BELOW
Below was no safe or easy time for anyone perceived as part of the circus hierarchy. Shalice and the Matter Manipulator wisely stayed in their dens, watching from windows, and waiting for order. Gonko warned the other clowns to avoid Sideshow Alley, though he himself strolled through on occasion to gauge the mood. It was simmering. His promise of payment alone probably kept the general hostility to glares and whispers. Some time later the bolder carny rats would need to be reminded of their place in the grand scheme, and Gonko took note of certain names and faces. Every time he went out of sight of George's trailer for more than a few minutes, a small crowd of carny rats gathered there, only to scatter when he reappeared. He considered letting Kurt out of his cage, but held off—it would need to be clear to the big bosses below exactly who was running the failed circus, or else they may just grab Kurt along with George if he were running around giving orders.
Gonko also itched to return to the surface and make sure the show up there did its job. If the tricks came down here and started making good with the dust . . . but then, odds were decent the carny rats would just help themselves to whatever they saw, with no one but Gonko to stop them. And of course, he'd let them help themselves.
His pocket watch alarm shook and bounced in his pants. The show above was almost done. Fuck it, he thought. He was going to risk a quick trip up there. He armed Doopy and Rufshod with axes, and set them at George's trailer. He hid Goshy under a tarp, and then waited til the tricks began to arrive. It looked like about half the carny rats were up for the job today; fewer calls than the usual "Step right up!" and so on. Only a couple of the rides had their flashing lights on and their mechanical growl of starting engines.
Curls and two others at last came through, the exit gate pieces in their arms. "Set 'em up now," said Gonko. "I'm going up. Oh, and Curls? Don't let anyone whose up there come down just yet, not til I debrief them. Got it?"
•
Curls searched Gonko's face, trying to see what this order portended, but he could read nothing in the hard lines and creases, in the black smile-shaped curve painted over the background of white.
***
15. ABOVE
Gonko found them picking through the grass for the night's takings with cigarette lighters and lanterns. He took JJ and Jamie aside and said, "You two, get below. No need to worry about George seeing you now."
"Kurt's back already?" said JJ with cheer so false it made Jamie cringe.
"Not yet, but today's the day. JJ, a private word?" Jamie watched the pair of them from a distance in quiet conversation and he could not say why it made him so uneasy. After, Gonko went around to every other carny and told each of them the same thing: "It ain't safe down there yet. You been marked down as runaways, and you know what that means. Don't you worry, I'll smooth it over real gentle. Stay put for a couple of days, then I'll send for you one by one."
With that, Gonko headed for the gates again. "Hey, Gonko," Jamie called as he jogged over. "Dean—Deeby—and Emerald. Is it okay if they come back with us? They're kind of friends of mine, and they've been eager to see the real circus."
"Is that so?" said Gonko. His eyes were thin slits, following Emerald as she breezed across the ground at that moment with her veil tossed back. As usual, heads turned to follow her; even now Jamie felt the pull of her enchantment. "Ain't she a pretty little number," said Gonko. "You know what, just those two, they can come down. But no one else. Keep her wearing that veil. You don't want Kurt or the MM to get too smitten with her. And she sure as hell don't want that." Gonko leaped through the gates without another word, and Jamie thought, Why do I have the strange feeling I just saved Dean and Jodi's lives?
A finger tapped him hard on the shoulder. JJ grinned from ear to ear. "Get this! Gonko's gonna kill everyone up here, except for you and me. Makes you feel pretty special, huh?" JJ laughed at a joke only he could see.
"So that's why," said Jamie.
"And he wants me to help him do it. He would've asked you but thinks you'd back out. Best part is, he's not even mad I came up here. He didn't want me to see any of this, he told me, but he says he knows he can trust me now."
"Why's he want you to help him kill everyone? Actually I'd feel better if you don't answer that. Dean and Jodi are coming with us below. When's he going to do it?"
"After he's sure George has gone for good and he doesn't need these carnies anymore. He's been paying 'em so well, he figures when they get back to normal wages below, they'll get the idea of setting up on their own again. That's what he says, anyway."