Chapter 6 - Reno

   The group's buffalo mounts were quite the spectacle as they paraded through town toward Reno's home. Still, the residents were kind and gracious as they gave Bradacus directions.
   When they reached the farm, Reno was hunched over tending to a crop of green tobacco.
   “Hail, you hoser!” Bradacus shouted across the tobacco field.
   Reno's head popped up, not believing his ears.
   “Bradacus!” he yelled squinting against the setting sun. “Friends! After all this time!” He dropped his hose and hastened toward his ushanka-ed friend. “What brings you all to my neck of the maple trees?”
   “You mind if we talk inside? Wilko's arm could use some attention.”

   Reno welcomed his friends into his home and sat them at a cozy table made from maple wood.
   “Aural?” he called to his wife. “Think you could stitch up Wilko's arm? He was mauled by a cougar, eh.”
   “I'll gather my things,” Aural said from another room, her voice rivaling Wilko's in sheer sex appeal. When she entered the room, she brought a needle, thread, cotton, and a bottle of alcohol. As usual, she was draped in a long cloth that covered her entire body including her face.
   That was the peculiar thing about Aural. No one in the Glue Crew had actually seen her. She was always concealed by her garments so that only her eyes showed.
   Hell, Brad wasn't sure if even Reno had seen Aural behind that sheet she called clothing. Her appearance was a total mystery.
   But when Aural spoke, all listened, for none could resist the silky caress that was her voice.
   Perhaps it was for this reason she chose to hide herself. If people caught sight of her, they might not be able to resist her captivating allure. As a public service, she hid her beauty, ensuring no one other than Reno could be completely enraptured by her.
   “Drink this,” she instructed Wilko, handing him a measure of the alcohol.
   Wilko grumbled. It was no cosmopolitan, but it would have to do.
   She dabbed the cotton to the bottle and began cleaning Wilko's arm. The friends all made small talk while Aural busily inserted stitches into Wilko's cuts.

   “As great as it is seeing you all again, I know you didn't drop by for a friendly visit,” Reno pronounced, getting down to business.
   Bradacus sat back in his chair and flashed him a wide grin.
   “Glue production, eh? What else would it be?” Reno stood up and paced about the kitchen. “I must tell you, I'm a farming man now,” he explained, motioning toward his acres of tobacco and assorted crops outside. “Very little interests me more than the fine tobacco I'm growing. I gotta keep it safe, you understand.”
   Pancake nodded knowingly.
   “Hell, I've even given up the gun.”
   “Given up the gun?” Brad asked incredulously.
   “Yup, just using throwing knives now.” He motioned to the full array of knives he wore on his body. He reached for a knife from his belt and threw it expertly at a photo mounted on the far wall. The blade went directly through the picture's eye.
   “I'm sorry you came all this way just for me to turn you down, but I've got a new livelihood.”
   Bradacus was prepared for this possibility. He knew Reno's answer might not be not no. But, he'd been friends with him a long time and knew precisely how to pique his interest.
   “You sure the sound of hundreds of horses being turned to liquid profits doesn't appeal to you?” he asked, just warming up.
   “'fraid that's the case.”
   “What about the squeals of said hundred horses as we extinguish their miserable lives?”
   “Not even that,” Reno replied, though his eyes glowed in reminiscent pleasure.
   Brad shifted in his chair. “Well, I guess I'll have to stop El Rota by myself then, seeing as he's the one guarding all those horses.”
   Reno stopped his pacing. “Pardon me, did you say Rota was guarding the horses?”
   “That's right. Rota and his Beast Rebels of the Hellscape have gone into protecting horses.”
   Reno snorted in contempt. “Protecting them? Those horse lovers!” he shouted. “I bet they fuck them too!”
   Bradacus smiled inwardly. Reno was in.
   “Oh, my Aural,” Reno turned to his wife. “I'll be leaving for a while. Take care and all that.”
   Leaking Pan raised an eyebrow. “That's how you say goodbye to your wife?”
   “She abandoned me for several weeks visiting the Galapagos Islands. She deserves it.”

   The matter settled, Reno gathered his things and together the Glue Crew departed on the three day journey to Chuparosa—but not before Zee managed to sneak a few shots of Aural's alcohol. Mmm, it had a refreshing maple finish.