I can't say about you."He touched a key and my mouth was forced open. "Say A"I couldn't help myself, but I said "A". A small item entered my mouthan... I smelled burning flesh."Say A again." A." This time the voice sounded much higher."Better. Next say "I am a pretty girl who loves to kiss all theboys.."I wanted to break him in half but I had to do what he instructed me todo "I am a pretty girl who loves to kiss all the boys.." Good. There are no deviations in vocal quality and I bet you. If not, it was back to the streets. Maybe this time an elderly pensioner coming home from the late movies, or a newsstand operator going to work. But wherever, however, he would get what he needed to keep him flying for another day. There was never any choice for a heroin addict.The door opened as they stepped onto the covered front porch and a fortyish woman wearing an expensive-looking robe ushered them in with a salesgirl's smile. "Come in, Officers, come in. I'm so glad you got here. But as the swirl speeds up, it gets louder, like a toddler banging pots in a fit of rage. The goggles burn like a motherfucker and I’m yanked further into the swirl. And, as a testament of confirmation to my continuing shit luck, it turns out the grinning smile isn’t ole Lady Death’s. It’s his. And it’s reversing quickly into a hideous snarl of petulant rage.The Shadow throws what looks like a grenade at me as the tinnitus plateaus with a volcanic boom and I start projectile vomiting. The. The band struck up a jolly tune - German I guess, something about my father being a vanderman. The dance floor rose four feet on silent hydraulics to form an apron stage as the velvet curtain parted to reveal a gingerbread house set in a surreal forest. Two figures lay sleeping on a grassy mound center stage."Hansel and Gretel," whispered Laiya. "Brother and sister. Really!"Gretel was the first to wake up. Her costume was intended to make her look like a young m"dchen. Her firm round breasts.