Logansport

It really isn't a "small town," so to speak, but after Chicago, anything feels small. And I get some bad vibes from small towns.

These guys apparently call themselves "The Gobblers." They've got a semi-run-down shack with a sign on it and everything. After talking with the employees for a bit, I got the notion that they were having numbers issues, as none of them seemed very adept at math. This notion was verified when I talked with their boss, a squat, pudgy lady whose office smelled too much like alcohol for my liking. 

What she gave me was one of the worst numbers assignments in the lot. I don't really want to go into specifics, but it's not exactly ethical and it involves a population sweep. It shouldn’t freak me out as bad as it does, as it’s essential to the organization, but I could never stomach these particular assignments.

Anyway, the next day I took a ride with the boss and her "chauffeur." He was a young kid, with short, brown hair, glasses, green t-shirt, jeans. In any other context he would have been the perfect example of an invisible high schooler. Except he looked like he had already seen a war and was working as a driver for a group that deals with monstrosities. I really felt sorry for him.

The population sweep we did was simple enough. Drive around town and count. Something even the less intelligently gifted among them could accomplish. But I had the feeling they weren't counting right, or just not counting enough. And the kid looked like a fish out of water when it came to this. He kept looking in all the wrong spots. I began to have the sinking feeling that he was new to everything.

Once the sweep was over, I compared notes with the boss and gave her tips on how to count more efficiently. I also decided to explain the process to the kid, since it's better that he hear it from an outsider rather than one of the other hooligans. I don't think he took it well, to be honest, and I don't think the boss could give a fuck about him. She just sort of left him outside while he freaked out.

I wish I could have stayed and helped the kid adjust, but I've got two more cities to visit before heading back to Chicago, and I'm already halfway to the projected finish time, so I've got to pick up the pace. Maybe the kid will get lucky and snag a transfer before he's roughed up too bad. One can only hope.

- Have a Nice Day