The Counselor Page #6

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doesn't it?

That's not what greed does.

That's what greed is.

When the axe comes

through the door

I'll already be gone.

You know that.

That's fair enough.

You're in trouble.

Yeah, probably.

I don't want to lose you.

There.

I know.

Are you hungry?

I'm starving.

F***. F***!

Sh*t!

Intercept him!

We want him alive!

Got it!

F***.

No!

What the f*** did you do?

Do you know where Reiner is?

Nope.

He doesn't answer his cell.

And the phone at the club

is no longer in service.

Where are you?

I'm at home.

I'm surprised to hear

you're still there.

Well, I won't be in an hour.

An hour.

Yeah. Where are you?

I'm not at home.

What am I supposed to do?

What are you,

a mental defective?

I can't advise you, Counselor.

Call a cab.

Listen,

if your definition of a friend is

someone who will die for you...

then you don't

have any friends.

I gotta go. You take care.

No!

Are you all right here, sir?

Sorry?

Can I bring you something?

Would you do something for me?

Yes, sir. Of course.

Here's my card.

I'm a guest at the hotel.

What I wish you

would do for me is go

to the desk and see

if I have any messages.

I know you're wondering

why I don't go myself,

but I've bothered them so much

I think they're beginning to figure

me for some sort of nutcase.

Sure.

I'm afraid

they'll stop looking.

You got it.

Abogado Hernandez?

I need your help.

Can I come see you?

No problem. Tomorrow.

Thank you.

Upstairs.

All right.

I have made the call.

You understand?

If it is all right,

it is all right.

Don't put me in the center.

Okay?

"In the middle."

In the middle, yeah.

What do I owe you?

You owe me nothing, Counselor.

We are friends.

Just a handshake.

Thank you.

It will be a yes or no.

I will do what I can do.

But you must know that this is

a long shot.

I know.

Thank you.

Look, the last time I spoke to them,

they were in Midland, Texas.

That was about two days ago.

So, I called up the Sheriff

there and I asked him,

had they found any dead bodies

along the side of the highway?

And he said that they did.

And I said, "Thank you," and I hung up.

I know you think I'm kidding.

But I'm not.

And I'm not out.

That's right.

And I'm not kidding about that either.

Really?

No, I know where the truck is going.

I always did.

Really?

Well, I think that falls under

the category of "tough sh*t."

We're all done here.

Here.

Thanks.

In the last two accounts,

we're only an hour different

but it's another day.

It's tomorrow.

See, I love that. I love that.

So, what have we got?

625 kilos?

Yeah, something like that.

Sh*t. You know,

of all the people

you and I should

know if electronic money

earns an extra day of interest

when it crosses

an international date line.

Right? I'm just saying.

That's a good question.

Why is there a fourth drum?

No reason.

It's just convenient.

Convenient?

Mm-hmm. Yeah,

maybe we have a traveler.

Like somebody,

you wish for them to go away

so, you send them to America.

That's all.

Can I have a look?

You want to look?

Yeah.

Sick bastard.

Do you know who he is?

No. F***, no.

He's some pinche pasajero.

A passenger?

Yeah. An immigrant.

Oh!

So, it's just a way to

get rid of a body?

Yeah.

From Mexico?

No, no, no. Colombia.

He came all

the way from Colombia?

Mm-hmm.

- What are you going to do with him?

- Nothing.

He just goes back in the truck?

Yeah. Goes back in the truck.

Then what?

Nothing. It's just normal.

But they think

it's a f***ing joke.

They think it's funny,

so they do this sh*t to me, you know?

But in this business,

you gotta have a sense of humor, or else...

So, what happens to him?

Nothing. I told you,

they go back

together in the truck.

He's inside, they paint it,

he rides around.

They try to sell it at auction maybe,

maybe not.

He rides around some more,

sucking up the sh*t.

Hey, welcome to America.

Yes, but I can only tell you

what I already told our friend.

There is no one to talk to.

Could I come to The Florida?

The Florida is closed.

I would do

whatever you suggest.

I have no suggestions,

Counselor.

We could meet someplace.

We're meeting now.

I'm not sure you

understand my position.

But I do, Counselor.

Actions create consequences

which produce new worlds

and they're all different.

Where the bodies are buried in the desert,

that is a certain world.

Where the bodies are simply left

to be found, that is another.

And all these worlds,

heretofore unknown to us,

they must have always been there,

must they not?

I don't know.

Will you help me?

I would urge you

to see the truth

of the situation

you're in, Counselor.

That is my advice.

It is not for me to tell you what

you should have done or not done.

The world in which you seek to

undo the mistakes that you made

is different from the world

where the mistakes were made.

You are now at the crossing.

And you want to choose,

but there is no choosing there.

There's only accepting.

The choosing was

done a long time ago.

Are you there, Counselor?

Yes.

I don't mean to offend you

but reflective men

often find themselves

at a place removed

from the realities of life.

In any case,

we should all prepare a place

where we can

accommodate all the tragedies

that sooner or later

will come to our lives.

But this is an economy

few people care to practice.

Do you know

the words of Machado?

I know his name.

Lovely poet.

Machado was a schoolteacher

and he married a young,

beautiful girl.

And he loved her very much.

And she died.

And then he

became a great poet.

I'm not going to

become a great poet.

No, perhaps not.

But even if you were to do so,

it would not help you.

Machado would have

traded every word,

every poem,

every verse he ever wrote

for one more hour

with his beloved.

And that is because

when it comes to grief,

the normal rules of

exchange do not apply,

because grief transcends value.

A man would give entire nations

to lift grief off his heart

and yet,

you cannot buy anything with grief.

Because grief is worthless.

Why are you telling me this?

Because you continue to deny the

reality of the world you're in.

Do you love your wife so much,

so completely,

that you would exchange places

with her upon the wheel?

And I don't mean dying,

because dying is easy.

Yes! Yes, damn you!

Well, that is good

to hear, Counselor.

What are you saying?

Are you saying

this is a possibility?

No.

It's impossible.

You said I was that man

at that crossing.

Yes. At the understanding

that life is not

going to take you back.

You are the world you have created,

and when you cease to exist,

this world that you have created

will also cease to exist.

But for those with

the understanding that

they're living

the last days of the world,

death acquires

a different meaning.

The extinction of all reality

is a concept

no resignation can encompass.

And then, all the grand designs

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