273. My town

“This is my town,” Brad Wesley tells the Four Old Men. “Don’t you forget it.” And it’s true, as far as the numbers go. Brad Wesley got the mall, the 7-Eleven, the Fotomat—Christ, JC Penney is coming there because of him, you ask anybody, they’ll tell you. What do his opponents have? Red Webster’s Auto Parts? Not anymore. Strodenmire Ford? Not anymore. The Double Deuce? Only because Wesley granted it a reprieve and called off the fight between Wade and Jimmy. Emmett’s horse ranch? It won’t surprise you to learn that it’s next on his hitlist. Granted, there’s Big “T” Auto Sales, the nameless old man’s auto parts store, and an entire network of greasy spoons and dive bars, plus the boat store we can see from the Double Deuce’s parking lot, but as far as we know the Four are the only people who’ve put up any fight against Wesley’s protection racket. It’s a numbers game, and the odds are in Mr. Wesley’s favor. As of this moment, Jasper has been remade in his dark image. For Dalton, this means events will accelerate and escalate at an alarming pace as the transformation struggles to complete.

Tags: , , ,