High Steaks: A Bjorn Trilogeé Adventure

Chapter 4: Abe

As night fell over Western Europe, the sky gracefully faded from aqua, to red, to black. The McLaren sped down the highway heading south toward the French Riviera, Abe had been on the road for a little over five hours and his back was starting to ache. He had already gone through half of his current CD stash; the Monkees, the Animals, the Byrds and the Beatles have all graced his speakers on this night. Now it was time for the big guns, he turned the volume up to maximum before popping in Bob Segar's 'Stranger in Town' album. He pressed the gas pedal down harder as the cool night air whipped in through the open window.

After passing through some farmland and stopping only briefly to allow a small herd of cows to cross the road, Abe could finally smell the Mediterranean Sea. It was 9:30 PM and he was about to arrive at his destination; the city of Nice ... and soon the Spur du Moment Cowboy Bar. This place should not be difficult to locate, for the Spur du Moment may be the only 'authentic' Texas barroom this side of Lyon. It was also the only place that Abe was guaranteed to find the next victim on his G.O.Y.I.M. hit list, a Gasoline tycoon that goes by the name of Philippe Pouvoirs.

About two years ago Abe was commissioned to escort Mr. Pouvoirs to a secretive meeting in the Netherlands. Evidently many powerful and important figures were going to be convening at some fancy hotel. Philippe Pouvoirs had recently escaped a close call with a disgruntled associate and the higher-ups wanted to ensure that he would arrive in the Netherlands safely. Abe recalled Mr. Pouvoirs mentioning how he has been supplying free and unlimited power to a secret facility in the United States and that some of his investors were getting suspicious. He also recalled the gas man mentioning how he loved to "mo-zee on down to ze Spur du Moment and obtenir une Coors, la Silver Bullet!"

Luckily for Abe, he remembered to bring his disguise kit. He did not want Philippe to recognize him. The element of surprise is always a great tool to have. This particular situation called for the large bushy mustache, it just seemed very 'Old West'.

The orange city lights glimmered off the black coastal water as Abe cruised the coast. He was not quite sure where he was going. He passed many fancy bistros, expensive shops and welcoming cafes ... but no cowboy bar. Abe traveled further up the main drag and took a right onto a narrow side street. Off to his left Abe spotted a policeman sitting on a Vespa reading a newspaper. The policeman resembled Charles De Gaulle and puffed eagerly on a Virginia Slim.

"Excuse me sir. May I bother you for some directions?" Abe said rolling down the window. The officer looked up briefly and then returned rudely to his reading. After a moment, he responded in a think French accent. "Juz allow me to finish deez article. It eez about ze sudden popularity of hamburgerz in France ... disgrace!"

Abe twirled his thumbs for a few a moments and waited. Finally the officer put down the paper and peered into the window. "You know, there was a time when zeeing a hamburger in France was as rare as zeeing a black man." The policeman shook his head in disapproval.

"Well, that was sort of racist," Abe said.

"Oh, no, I didn't mean it like that. I meant that it was rarer than zeeing a person with the last name of Blackman," The officer answered.

"Ok, um...anyway" said Abe, "I am looking for a place called the Spur du Moment. Do you know of it?"

The officer's eyes widened and he sucked in some air through his teeth.

"Whew. The Spur du Moment huh? Well, that is not a place that many people ask about. In fact I have never even been in the place myself. You see, it is in the bad side of town. On the wrong side of the monorail tracks. It's a place so vile that not even I will venture there..."

"You are a policeman right?" Abe chimed in.

"Yes...and?"

"Never mind, carry on."

"As I was saying," The officer continued, "That area is so vile that the average property value is barely 1.5 million dollars. I mean can you imagine!? I have even heard that there is possibly a blind child that lives there. Uhh, just the thought makes me sick. Well, anyway it's your funeral not mine. Just follow this avenue and turn left, go pass the tracks, follow the old road and eventually this ...bar..." he spit out that last word in disgust, "...should be a short ways on your left."

Abe nodded his thanks and suppressed the urge toshoot this prick in the face. The McLaren drove on, passing the tracks andfinally rumbled down a cobbled road. The establishment was indeed hard to miss.Sitting precariously between a jewelry store and a tea shop was the Spur duMoment. The outside resembled a shack that you would find in the deep woods ofMississippi and the door looked as if it were hanging off of its hinges. A handpainted sign saying 'come on in partner' sat on the front lawn.