closer to Frankie for the sake of the Order, not because his stomach fluttered with the possibility of
making Frankie smile.
Kissing Frankie goodbye was bittersweet; the affection felt like a lie on his lips as he headed into
Cheap Trills. Mandy directed him into the back to find Rees, and Snod had to blink several times to
fully accept what he was seeing.
Rees was wearing black pants, black heels, and a brilliant purple turtleneck sweater dress that was
several sizes too large for his slim body. He had on a black beanie, black hoop earrings, and
sunglasses despite the early evening hour, scoffing, “What? Isn’t this how you’re supposed to dress
for criminal activities?”
“Your sweater is purple,” Snod noted.
“I didn’t have anything black that was clean,” Rees protested. “This is fine.”
“It’sbrightpurple.”
“Fuck off.”
“You look like that little purple creature from the fast food restaurant...”
“You look like somebody whose teeth are about to be on the fucking floor.”
“Are we ready?” Snod griped.
“Yes, sweet thing. We are ready. Come on.” Rees strolled to the back of the bar and led Snod out
through the rear exit. “I got everything we need in the van.”
Stopping short, Snod was left gawking at a worn-down ice cream truck. In spite of the rust, the colors
were still obnoxiously bright and tacky. There was a large clown head on top, its cracked face leering
cheerfully down at them. It was ancient and it didn’t look as if it had run in decades.
“No,” Snod said immediately. “This is not going to work.”
“You said a van, I got a van!”
“I said an inconspicuous van. Do you understand what the word ‘inconspicuous’ means?” Snod
hissed.
“Do you understand what ‘kiss my fabulous ass, this was free’ means?”
“This is insane.”
“It’s the only thing I could get on such short notice that the stupid fucking desk would fit in,” Rees
growled angrily. “Next time, I’ll just call 1-800-Inconspicuous-Vans-R-Us and rent something more to
your taste, okay?”
