A Bad Reputation

Karim Kemal is 22 and has a bad reputation. They say that he wins fortunes playing cards…

that he sells drugs, has AIDS….

but that no woman can resist him and that he sleeps with the richest for money.

To top it off, his love for anything and everything from the 1950s…

adds to his bizarreness and discredits him in the eyes of the working class neighbourhood that he has never escaped.

As for Alexandre Barbieri…
he doesn’t play cards, doesn’t take drugs and doesn’t sleep with rich women. He admires Karim no end. He is 17.

Karim! Karim!

What is it kid?

It’s ”#18”...

They can’t manage to blow it up!

For two days now the demolitionists have sweated over taking down the last blast furnace of the Lorraine Ironworks…

the tallest, the most powerful…

the pride of the valley.

But ”#18” refused to lie down…

to the great displeasure of the demolitionists…

but to the great joy of the small group of retired steel workers come to pay a final tribute to a life-long companion.

And why don’t you go down there with the old guys?... You would see better…

Oh no! My father’s there…and I don’t want to see him complaining!

It has been quite some time since Alexandre’s father left the Italian mountains…

like others had left the Ukraine, Poland or Algeria…

to come here to pour the cast iron and forge the steel of this country.

All of them thought they would leave. They stayed. Because, like Alexandre’s father once said,”Da facktory, she grab yoo, she naiver let go…”

8 PM. The huge charge of dynamite stuffed eagerly all day in the belly of ”#18” explodes…

and this time the steel monster, gnashing all its twisted beams, finally takes a last bow.

The old steel workers no longer laughed.

They were once the lords that commanded the fire and steel…

they were no longer anybody.

There…it’s over…
Huh!

Karim!

I..You…Are you going into town?
Yeeeah…But what’s it to you kid, you’re not going to spend the evening with me, are you?

No! No! I was just asking…that’s all!

Karim…
Pfff…what is it now?

I’M NOT A KID ANYMORE!

No joke? What’s your name, then…

Alexandre!

Come on, Alexandre, get on, I’m taking you with me!

Not far from there, in the old ballroom of the Lorraine Ironworks…

the first speakers for the “French National Front” were already hammering out the usual racist slogans that brought the party success.

Seated to the side Dr Raoul Faurissier waits his turn with a smile…

for three days earlier at another meeting…

he managed to get all his supporters to gather in the street…

where they easily overwhelmed a small group of communists from the old union of the “Lorraine Ironworks”.

For a few hours they were the masters of the town.

The following day the incidents made the headlines and today the leader of the party has come here especially to choose the official “French National Front” candidate for the regional elections.

This is why Dr Faurissier waits his turn with a smile.

9 PM…In his motel room Réné Loiseau is getting ready…

when the Highway of the Sun’s toll booth lights up.

Tomorrow this highway will bring him back to his wife…

but for now he’ll cheat on her once again.

And, like each time he does…

he grins in the mirror…

before leaving with a whistle.

11 PM…Alexandre is on cloud nine.

Not only did Karim not leave him behind, but, to boot, they went from café to café, talking about anything and everything, like two old friends.

But even the best things come to an end.
Okay! Alexandre…It’s not ‘cause I’m bored, but I have to go…

Where ya going? Where?

Somewhere that you can’t go in my place! Bye, ‘til next time!

It is 11 PM and Alexandre is on cloud nine…when a screech of tires makes him turn his head…

in spite of the distance he easily recognizes Dr Faurissier with the leader of the “French National Front”...he’s seen them enough times on television.

Alexandre isn’t much interested in politics, but he is sure of one thing…

he hates this guy!

FUCKER!!

Happily the two gorillas are fat and the chase doesn’t last…
WAIT UNTIL WE CATCH UP WITH YOU, SHITHEAD!!

And Alexandre starts through the maze of alleys with a laugh.

The familiar sound of Karim’s scooter freezes him in place.

Good God!

So…it’s true!

Karim does sleep with beautiful rich women…wow!!

Anne had insisted they do it in the car and she shivers with delight when her large naked breasts rub the cool leather of the seats.

So, in spite of René Loiseau taking her from behind,she lets herself slide down…

and when her mouth comes in contact with the soft leather, she spreads her lips and sinks her teeth into the backrest.

One thirty in the morning…

Dr Faurissier could have slapped himself! Good God, why didn’t he react when the punk threw the brick?...It was a sign!

He didn’t see anything, didn’t understand anything, enthralled by his imminent triumph…

and when the communists, a gang this time, invaded the ballroom…

he was dazed, stunned, while the sky crashed down on his head.

They destroyed everything.

But the worst was the thrashing they gave the party leader.

It was one thirty in the morning and Dr Faurissier no longer smiled: he was no longer the official candidate for the “French National Front”.

So there! All the important players are in place: Karim

Alexandre

René Loiseau

and Raoul Faurissier.

Later others would join in…

in the meantime, the dance begins!

Zzzzz…

Huh!?

Pssst!!...Karim, Good God!!...

They’re deaf, damn it!! I’d better go in!! Shit, I’d better go in!!

I’m going in! I’m going in! I’m going in!!!

I’m going in!!

KARIM!! HE SAW EVERYTHING!! HE TELEPHONED, HURRY!!

Hurry Karim!

Locked!!

The garden!! They getting away through the garden!!

Shit, which one’s the arab?
On the left, the tough one!

Missed, stupid!!

René
AHHHHH

But!...What’s…
By God, a scooter!

You two, after them! You, to the car with me! We’ll corner them down there!!

Karim, Good God!! There are only stairs in front!!

Don’t worry!

René Loiseau liked to be a gentleman in front of women.

That’s why he hurries to open the passenger’s door and accompany her to her front door.

But after only a few steps his true nature comes striding back..

My God…You’re crazy!

My…my parents…are sleeping…

Not after…I…no!...

Not this!

N…

Oh shit!

Shit, shit, shit!!

Look…There they are!
Beeeeep

GO! CHARGE!

THE SCOOTER!! Watch out for the scooter!!!

My car!!

This way, the arab’s hurt…he’s limping!

This way, quick!

There…that car…it’s running…but empty!
When Karim jumps behind the wheel his eye catches the whiteness of the open thighs of the woman between the legs of the Mercedes’ owner…

He silently thanks her.

The roaring of the car’s engine has an effect like a bomb…

And Anne’s whole body spasms so violently that she cannot help but grit her teeth.

But!!...why are you going back?

Don’t worry!

Fabry and Leduc, go home…

Roger…Take Blanchard and Dumont…Find a car and come pick me up…

We are going to find them…If it takes us to the end of the earth, we’ll find them!

Hey, Alexandre…You feel like going on a vacation?

Those pricks want to rearrange my face…and you’d be in for a bit of trouble if they caught up to you…

So I think it’s in our own best interest to put as much space between us and them as possible…

Okay…so, primo: we lose this boat! It’s not very discreet and I sure don’t want cops on our ass as well!

Deuxio: We…

Alexandre!?! What’s wrong buddy?

Hey!?

Shit!

Ah!

C’mon buddy…

Snap out of it!

Karim?

Karim!!!

Sooo, not a moment too soon…

B…but what am I doing here? Where are we? And Faurissier!?

Whoa, slow down…one thing at a time…

Okay…”What are we doing here?” Well take a peak at your right arm…

Oh shit!
It’s not too bad but it’ll be that way for six weeks.

Second qyestion: “Where are we?”...about 95 miles from home, in the “pearl of the Vosges”...These mountains, lakes, trees and the whole kaboodle…

Third question…
Hello Raoul…

Faurissier…
Hi Pierre…

How are you?

FAURISSIER!!

My glasses! I forgot my glasses!!

Who fucking cares!!
But I can’t see a thing!!

Too bad, it’s too late!!

Roger take the service stairs…

Shit!

Hurry! For God’s sake hurry up!

Oh shit, what’s wrong now? It can’t be…
I…everything’s spinning, Karim, I can’t stand up!

No! Leave me…it’s really you they want..get away…

What are you playing at? A hero’s sacrifice like in “Fort Apache”? You see too many movies, buddy…Come on, up with ya!

It’s okay, it’s okay, I feel better…

Is it much further to the car?

What car?
Well…the Mercedes!

There is no more Mercedes Alexandre…this morning I parked it in front of the cop shop…

By now the owner probably has it back…

But then…how are we getting out of here?

By train, natch!

But Karim…what if there’s not a train home for a couple of hours?

Right! Except we’re not going home…at least not directly anyway…first we’ll grab a train…

any train…the first to leave…

And unless he’s divine I promise that this time Faurissier won’t find us as easily!

Except for two girls in the seat at the back, the train is empty.

The are seats everywhere..So when the girls come and, without a word, sit right in front of them…
Alexandre, buddy, I think we’ll have to really watch out for Faurissier…

Alexandre acts like a stunned seal.
Because he’s smart…look how quickly he figured that our scooter crash…

might lead us to seek medical attention, and…

What’s your name?

Sophie

May I offer you a drink, Sophie?

A DRINK?!
buble: Gladly.

A drink!...Whatever!!!

So what? There’s nothing wrong with having a drink, is there? Or are you saying that because my friend is an arab?

BUT THERE’S NO BAR ON THIS TRAIN, MORON!!!

Perfect, we’re seven minutes early.

Here’s the plan, it’s very simple

Blanchard and I will go to the head of the train… as soon as it arrives we get on and search…Roger and Dumont, you stay on the platform, one on each side of the track to grab them in case they notice us…

Then when the train leaves Roger will get on that last car…

and Dumont, you take the car and meet us at the next station in twenty minutes…got it?

Yup! And when we have them on the train, we beat the taste for our women out of that camel-jockey…
No!

We wait until the train reaches top speed…open a door…
And out we throw him…Cool!

And I throw him out!

So…what are you doing there, Alexandre…Don’t tell me Elodie chased you away?

Wouldn’t surprise me, she’s a real bother!
And you’re a slut!
Well, welcome to happy hour!
Karim…I..excuse me, but…

What is it, buddy?

Excuse me for bringing this up again but if Faurissier is that smart don’t you think he had someone at the train station?

FUCK!!!

THERE WERE ONLY THREE AT THE HOSPITAL!! AND THE FOURTH!? WHERE WAS THE FOURTH?!

AT THE STATION, IDIOT!! AT THE STATION!!

I’M SO STUPID! DAMN, AM I A STUPID SHIT!!
Hey…are you crazy?!

Good thinking, Alexandre, good thinking buddy!!

But what’s your plan then, you two?
Don’t worry…Tell me, are there roads that go where this train is going?

Of course…It even faster since they built the new highway…
Uhhh…

Fine! Let’s go…anyway, there’s no other way out..

Yoo-hoo, Marc!

MMMMM, ‘lo baby…
Twenty minutes! The delays for this train are worse and worse!!
But not at all!!

It’s because of two lunatics who pulled the emergency brake and took off!

I’ll get you camel-jockey! In the name of God…I’ll get you!

I’LL GET YOU

Hey! Let’s go, it’s open!

Rise and shine! It’s morning…

Fuck, what I wouldn’t give for a good shower…

What’s up…not too talkative this morning!
Karim…

Yes..
How the fuck do ya do it?!

How do I do what?
With women?

AAAAHH!! That what you’ve been pondering since we got up!

Of that, my friend, I won’t say a word! That’s top secret stuff…

Don’t be like that, I was joking!

I’ll tell you later…when we are in less of a bind…

You’ll see..It’s not a mystery!

Damn…what you young’uns doing out in this godforsaken place at this hour? Broke down?

Take the sleeper, big boy…I only gots one seat…

Shhh!
“Johnny 57” to all my buddies…WARNING!!

The smokies have a trap at Darcourt…on the other side…

THOSE BASTARDS!!

Ya don’t understand what bastards they is. They sits there in the dawn’s early light near the cement works an’ the boys are half-asleep and easy to catch…

Over there…the third car!

Shit, would you look at those bastards! Shit, Ah cain’t stand ta look at ‘em!

*TARDS!!

“_uckoo88” to “Johnny 57” Thanks good buddy…Revenge was mine!

“Cuckoo”?

Well, yeah…it’s muh handle!

But why “Cuckoo”

‘Cause ah’m like a cuckoo…I lay my eggs in other nests!!

There, you’ll get everything for a 50 kilometre radius.

I put you on the truckers’ bandwidth.

Wait until that one’s finished before speaking.
“Cuckoo88” to “Johnny 57” Thanks good buddy…Revenge was mine!

Go ahead…don’t forget to push the button as you speak.

To all friends…to all friends…It’s Adeline’s father speaking…Yesterday my girl was assaulted by two punks..They raped her…They beat her…She’s in a coma…

MY GOD…IS THAT TRUE!!?
Oh yeah!

The two punks are close by…A redhead with long hair and a cast on one arm, and an arab in a light- coloured suit…Help me find them before the cops do…

SHIT, THEY DESERVE TO HAVE THEIR BALLS RIPPED OFF, THOSE SCUM!!
Help me…I beg of you! Out.

...beg of you. Out.

GET AWAY, YOU FREAKS, GET AWAY!!

THIS ISN’T HAPPENING, FUCK!!

HEEY!!

NOOOO!

DIRTY PIG!
DIRTY PIG!!
DIRTY PIG!!!

Sonofabiiiitch…The hell is he doing in the middle of the road?!

Hey, buddy!

That it! He’s snoring…your buddy…
About time!
Zzzzzz

What are you laughing about?
Zzzzz

I’m imagining his face when he wakes up 150 kilometres from home…
Zzzzzz

Zzzzzz

Zzzzz

Oh shit, it’s white!
Yeah, but no more red-head with long hair…

Yeah, but it’s WHITE!
That! Well, no margin of error with peroxide!

But it suits you…

Now all you need is to lose a bit of this…

And I promise the women will be all over you!

GOOD GOD!

Karim Kemal in jeans! I must be dreaming!

Whoa, slow down, not just any jeans…

The same jeans, jacket and shoes that James Dean wore in Rebel Without A Cause…1955! It’s only the shirt I not too sure of!

Zzzzz

Tell me Karim, where does this fixation for the 50s come from? Your place is almost a museum.
And you weren’t even born then!

Pfff…who knows?

The way it is, that’s all.

I didn’t know you had a car.

Actually, it’s not really mine…I’ve never driven it…

And…could we keep it?
Impossible Alexandre…First because it’s not very discreet…then because we need money more than the car!

Oh, it’s you Kemal…What time is it?

EIGHT O’CLOCK!! FUCK, ARE YOU CRAZY OR WHAT!!!

Oooh, look at that…your friend stuck his head in a bucket of peroxide!

Cool!

See! I told you it was too white!

Watch out, man! I did the same thing at your age…look what happened!

Oops!

You didn’t get me up just to make fun of me, Kemal?
No

I came because I figured you’d like it back…

You didn’t damage it, at least?
Never even drove it!

Hmm, yeah…

Okay! But I still don’t have the 90 000 I owe you

I thought not, go figure…how much can you give?

20 000
30 000! And a car in good shape…that runs!

Deal…the bank opens at 9:00…Come on, I buy you a coffee…

HEY “COWBOY”!

So…you’re out and about…whassup?

I just got my “_hrysler” back. See ya, Dédé!
No shit…

I’m telling you…the arab is at my place and needs money…I got it for a third of the money I owe him…

Arab? He wouldn’t be with a long-haired redhead who has a cast on one arm, by any chance?

Almost! Except he had short …

bleached…

Why do you ask?

Shit. What’s taking that asshole so long? He’s been gone a whole hour!

There they are!

Shithead! What took you so long!! Did you hold up the bank or what?
I…

Ha Ha Ha..What a kidder…No, my banker was hassling me about a loan I need for my place…to expand…

Okay, okay! The car already

Well, just take this one…
This piece of trash!

I’ve been driving this trash-heap, as you call it, for two months…those tires are invincible!

Anyway, it’s the only one with plates…

Papers are in the glove compartment…I signed them over…

Man, don’t you have a few minutes for a drink?
No!

You’re in a big hurry…troubles?
Mind your own business!

THEY JUST LEFT…I COULDN’T KEEP THEM..THEY WENT TOWARDS THE HIGHWAY!!

Thanks buddy…I’ll owe you for this…

Uh, sir? The arab has my 30 000 in his pocket…

I’d like to get it back…
No problem!

Another thing…they won’t get far…I gave them a bad car…

THE GAS TANK IS LEAKING!! IT’S GOING TO EXPLODE!!

90 000! My God! But how does one play cards for so much money?

Usually you can’t but the “Cowboy’ is a real moron! We could have taken his house…

SHIT!!

Oil!
We’ve got them!

The prick!...we’re out of oil!

THE ENGINE’S GOING TO SEIZE!

The exit is just down the road! We’ll pick you up! Don’t let them get away!!

Calling all buddies…they are on the Highway of the Sun at Belleville…The arab has a red shirt on!!!
I see them!

THEN GO FOR IT! RUN THEM DOWN!! KILL THEM!!

KARIM, JUMP!!

Hey guys, get in!

Get in I said!!

I WANT TO HELP, DAMN IT!!

KARIM!!

Okay…Now, take it from the top…what is this mess?

They’re okay guys…My friend is going straight to Marseille… We’re meeting up tomorrow at seven…

Know what? First we’ll have a bite to eat then I’ll take you home…How’s that sound?

THE TRAP
Here’s where we meet every morning after loading the trucks…

Rotten neighborhood but at least it’s ours…No one to hassle us…

Ah! There’s my friend Dédé…he’ll be taking you from here.

Hey everyone…Here’s the “package” I told you about…

So, assholes, looking to bash some arabs?

See, “Ugly”...your friends put the taste of blood in my mouth…bad mistake because now I’ll never let you go…

It’s just as if you were dead, “Ugly”.

We’ve gotta go Karim…the cops are gonna arrive…

Oh! Was it you making that racket in the garden?...Hey, Looks like the prey put up a fight!

First the slut!!

Now for “Ugly”!

BIG TITS

Alexandre
What?

Your eyes!

What’s with my eyes?

They’re going to pop out of your head…

I’ve learned two things from this: your contact lenses work fine…and you have a weakness for big tits!

PFFF! AND YOU DON’T I SUPPOSE?

Blech, no! I’d have the impression of making love to a cow!
Whatever!

Man!...What was I thinking?

It’s true that mister’s type is more the “screamer” kind…

like the one last night for example…good for the “Guiness Book of Records” that one…

Must have heard her all the way to the Italian border!

What do you want…That kind of chick…

needs to tell the world she’s being screwed
Hey, you wouldn’t be a tad misogynistic, would you?!

Excuse me, I’m sorry…Umm, no I’m not, I just hope you’re not hurt because I kinda did it on purpose…I’d like you to play with us…

That is…no, I…My arm is broken…A BROKEN ARM! And…I…ummm…no

Too bad!

NO WAY!

A REAL LOOKER! HE JUST HAD TO GET UP!!! AND HE LETS HER GO!!!I MUST BE DREAMING!!!

Don’t be that way…”Big Tits” will be back tomorrow

Shit Karim! I swear…that kind of girl isn’t for me!...She’s…too good looking!

And me, I ain’t good looking!
Wrong!

I have a big nose…
Yup!

I’m too fat…and anyway, what do you want me to do with this?

EH!? WHAT SHOULD I DO WITH THIS!!?

SHIT, I’VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS THING!

HAD ENOUGH!

ENOUGH! ENOUGH!! ENOUGH!!!

MY ARM!...IT’S SO SKINNY!!

I’VE GOT GANGRENE!!

I still say it’s gangrene…

We’ll have to get you one of those things with springs you squeeze to work those muscles…
Or bone cancer…

Hold on, I have a better idea!

AND YOU LET HIM?

Here…does the same job as the springs…and it’s free!

Hey! Did you leave the window open this morning?

SHIT!!
THE MONEY!!

Oh, shit!

SHIT! SHIT!! SHIT AND SHIT!!!

Okay…Nothing to do but take off, right? The landlord will be by shortly…

And where to?
Home!

And Faurissier?
To Hell with Faurissier!!

A “D.S.” TO BOOT! COOL!!
DID YOU SEE THE PLATE: A 54!! HE’S GOING TO OUR TOWN!!

It’s a 1957 isn’t it?

Exactly!

Wow! And she’s like new…bravo!

Excuse me…your plate says 54…are you going all the way to Nancy?

Of course…I live there…

But you, you’re not from Nancy?

Why? Do we look that much like paisans?

Not at all? It’s just I’ve never seen you…and a looker like you is quite noticeable!

That’s enough! Stop beating around the bush! What do you want?

Well, I find you extremely seductive and I thought that you and I could…if you wanted…

LISTEN UP MAN!! I’ve spent 25 years trying not to puke at the idea that fa…homosexuals exist…Now I’m better…BUT DON’T PUSH IT, understand!!

I…I thought…Oh my God…I’m sorry… Excuse me…

Okay, okay!! Don’t make a big deal out of it!

Excuse me but I’m very tired and I’d prefer to stop here…

I don’t dare offer to share my room, but be cool…

Promise that if you don’t leave you’ll sleep in the car…I’ll leave it unlocked, okay?

Say…I’ve got the idea that you’ve been holding something back for a while?

All right buddy! You won’t pick up a “screamer” here tonight!

But you’ve got a reservation with the waitress…she’s DEVOURING you with her eyes!! And a looker to boot!
Huh? Where!? Where is she?

Pfff…I think that’s it…we’re stuck here…
Back to the car?

Okay but on one condition: Tomorrow you sit in front!

That’s it…He just needs to pull the trigger.
Go ahead my lamb…shoot!

Shoot…Blow off his beautiful little dark head!

BLANCHE
Blanche has the rhythm down and every evening parks her van in the spot Raoul Faurissier chose…

where he has to simply adjust the mirror to track all the comings and goings of the station’s clients and miss nothing.

Ohhh…how my lamb is strong!

How he loves his Blanche!...HOW HE LOVES HER!!!

In a minute or two the fat wench will collapse on him with a groan…

and she’ll go back to her job in the restaurant…

where she’ll keep spying for him.

Only then will he sleep a bit.

It’s been over a month that Raoul Faurissier has been waiting…

He waits for the arab to return home to kill him…

But lambykins, there are dozens of stops like this one…why would he absolutely stop here? It makes no sense!

Besides, they might already be in Timbuctoo, your two birds!

The fat wench repulses him…

She is debauched…

After, he will kill her…

like the slut…pow!

But first…”Ugly”...

fatty, after!

The first days, before he realized that he owned the arab,...

were terrible!

And because he drank cup after cup of coffee in an effort to stay awake, to above all not miss him…

he finally noticed the fat waitress had a thing for him.

He dragged out the story of his raped daughter…she bought it wholesale…

That very evening he took her in the restroom.

Two days later she borrowed a van from a friend…

changed to the night shift…and he could finally sleep a bit.

LAMBYKINS! LAMBYKINS! HIS HAIR IS ALL WHITE! IT’S THEM!

And so…he has just to pull the trigger…

Go ahead my lamb…shoot!

Shoot…blow off his beautiful little dark head!

Oh my lamb…kill him now…quickly!

B..BUT WHY AREN’T YOU SHOOTING!?

SHOOT YOU WORTHLESS PRICK!!!

So, “Ugly”...I told you we’d meet again, didn’t I?

You are going to die!

BUT NOT NOW!!!

You are going to die…

Uhh…

Next time!

Or the time after!

Ha-ha-ha…

Anyway you’re going to die!! But only when I say so! When I’m tired of seeing you breathe!!!

Open!

What the fuck…are you crazy?!

HEY SHITHEAD! Hurry up..Get your stuff and come on…we’re leaving!
DON’T FUCK AROUND ALEX! HE’S CRAZY!

Note, I say i won’t kill you…but if you try to make a break for it…
Pow! Right in the back!

Ha-ha-ha…But I’m only kidding! You’ve only been scared for five minutes now!

AND THAT’S NOT LONG ENOUGH, BASTARD!!

You’re walking? But you don’t walk when you’re scared! YOU RUN!!

No!
RUN!

RUN I TELL YOU!!!

Hunh!?

Look at him, thinks he’s so smart he’s getting away!

BUT YOU’LL NEVER GET AWAY FROM ME BASTARD! WHERE YOU GO I’LL GO! I’M YOUR DESTINY, YOUR CURSE!...YOU’RE MINE!!!

GET IN GUYS…GET IN!

SHIT, THIS GUY’S NUTS!!

There’s a police station at the next exit!! I’ll leave you there!!

No, no cops!

That maniac just wants to scare us…

WHAT!!? BUT KARIM HE’S GOT A GUN NOW, FOR FUCK’S SAKE!!!
Doesn’t matter!

Whatever, man, whatever…

Okay…chill Bill…we won’t get messed up ‘cause of that bad scene!

Let’s roll a great big one…the stuff is in the glove compartment…Go ahead, man!

Allow me to introduce myself: “Daniel” for my mother…”La fleur” for everyone else…

That’s leather you smell…you’re sitting on it! I get it in Spain…In the winter I make bags…
and other stuff that I sell to tourists…I live off this.

You know, I can’t drop you off with that other nutbar around…

I’m taking you with me…

and where we’re going, neither he nor the cops will find you! I guarantee it!

“La Fleur”

Up already? Not one to loaf in the sack, I see.

You either, it seems…

Oh can’t sleep in the daytime…

Ah, there you are!
Him too!?

Holy shit…we could start an insomniacs club, the three of us!

Well, it’s just my stomach was growling…it woke me up!

Go ahead and eat! Eat! But I warn you: the bread’s fresh from the freezer and there are no croissants, sorry! But the baker hasn’t come up here for five years..

“You understand Mr La Fleur” he said to me, the asshole…”There’s just the two of you left…”

The village is empty now…

It just costs me too much!!

“Empty”? ‘ow come, “empty”?
Empty…dead, deserted, abandoned!

WHAT!? YOU MEAN YOU LIVE HERE ALL ALONE!!?

Huh…at least ther’s noboby to hassle me!
But…that’s impossible! Why do you stay?
That’s a long story, my friend…care to hear it?
Well, yeah!
Okay…You’ve never heard of the commune movement, I suppose?

Uhh…what’s that?

And…and May 1968, you’ve never heard of that either?
Well, no…sorry…

Oh shit…I feel so old!!

Okay! I see you’re done…

Let’s take a walk while I explain things to you, and it could take a while…

You’re not coming?

No, sorry…I need to think a bit…

Whatever, buddy, whatever suits you.

[bold headline] discovery
[small headline] burned body in BMW not that of Dr Faurissier

[bold headline] Macabre discovery
centre article Dr Faurissier and his victim, Mr Yann Leguet
[text of article] It took all the wisdom and experience of the investigators from Metz Station to not jump to obvious conclusions.
The corpse was found at the wheel of the car and had a bullethole in the temple. All evidence pointed to Dr Faurissier having shot himself in the head, thereby leaving his vehicle to plunge into the ravine where it caught fire after the violent collision.
But one crucial piece of evidence was missing: the gun. It was while searching the roadside following the car’s path that Lieutenant Bonnin noticed that the branches and brush flattened by the car were also burnt or singed. This signifies, of course, that the car was already aflame before it went down the incline.
[small bold headline] Dental detail
It didn’t take much to raise the suspicions of the officers from Metz. Captain Didry ordered a second evaluation.
The body was identified: not that of Dr Faurissier but that of a Mr Yann Leguet, a homeless 58 year- old, whose disapperance was reported by his fellow itinerants.
Formally identified by a dental particularity, the victim was also noticably smaller than the person he was supposed to replace.
Apparently the author of this atrocity is none other than Dr Faurissier himself. He intended to have this macabre scene convince authorities of his suicide, after having murdered his wife.
He is still at large.

The first winter the twenty-odd villagers watched laughing while our goats died…

Ten years later our goats no longer dies but everyone had left: the commune and its inhabitants…

In 87 there was just me, my wife and three old folks…

Two died that fall and the third hanged himself during the winter…

In the spring it was my wife who left…

With the baker…So, buddy, still set on leaving?

More than ever…

Fine…Listen, you see the Renault 5 there…

It’s my friend J.P.’s…the only one who visits from time to time…

Imagine that when he was here last spring he fell off the roof while doing repairs…resault: a busted-up leg and a cane for his remaining years…

Anyway, he lives in Lyons which is on your way…

So, you could bring him his rusty clap-trap back…

And you do me a favour…okay? I’ll slip you a few bucks for gas…

Karim…

What if we kept the car?
WHAT?!

Wait…you…you’re serious?
Well…yeah!

But…you’re disgusting!

This guy risks life and limb to help us and you, all you can think is…Oh, that’s sweet, congratulations!

Fine, fine…I didn’t say a word…not a word…

And I already told you I didn’t want the cops on our tail TO BOOT!

Oh yeah…you’ve got something against pigs!

YEAH, SO WHAT?
Nothing, nothing…

I bet you’d like to know why!

You got it!

Well, when I was 12 I stole a comic book…The salesclerk called the cops. At the station they forced me to eat pork, just for kicks…until I puked…then they pushed me aorund and threw me down a staircase…fractured skull…broken wrist…
Being born an arab, what an idea!

Oh shit, one of the projects…we’ll never find the right place!

Of course, no map!
Hold on, there’s kids over there…

Hey, “Snow White”!

Do you know Namur Street?

Which street?
Namur…

Hey, Momo! Ya know Hammer Street?
NA-mur…

Yup! My uncle lives there!

But don’t go there, brother…there’s a whitey that killed an arab kid with a rifle ‘cause of the kid’s noisy scooter…

The kids, they went crazy! They’ve been destroying everything for a coupla hours now…The cops are comin’ from everywhere…

Don’t worry, Momo…Get in..you’ll show us the way…

Fuck…It looks like Beirut!! Check it out!

Drive, Alex, drive…Let’s not get mixed up in this!
Wow!

There…park in front…

Well, you don’t get rich from living in a commune! Check out this place!

Wait for us, son…we’ll be just a minute or two.

Okay…Door “C”...

Second floor..

Door on the left.

Who is it?

We would like to see J.P….on behalf of “La Fleur”
Just a sec…

What does that dumb little pissant want from me now?

What? “La Fleur” didn’t call you? We brought back your car!

My car? What the hell are you talking about? And who are you?

LISTEN ASSHOLE! “LA FLEUR” ASKED US TO BRING YOUR CAR BACK TO YOU!!!

We brought it back!...NOW GO FUCK YOURSELF!!!

WHAT A SHITHEAD!! UNBELIEVEABLE!!!

SHIT, SHIT ,SHIT…WAHT IS THIS SHIT!!

What’re they doing?

Nothing…they’re slowly walking away…There’s a kid with them…

THEY’RE COPS, I’M TELLING YOU!! And the car…?
Looks like the right one…

It’s a fuckup, damnit!

YES?!

WHAT HAVE YOU FUCKING DONE THIS TIME !?

Your leg?...You broke your leg…and you can’t drive…

WHAT!!? YOU GAVE 2 K’S OF COKE TO TWO GUYS YOU BARELY KNOW!!?

I SURE HOPE YOU DIDN’T LET THEM IN ON IT, ASSHOLE!!

Shit!...Listen to me, “La Fleur”...nothing better have happened to the dope…

Or else you better be ready for very…very rough time!!

MANIAC!!

Louis..go get the dope…I need to know…

What about the cops?

We’ll take that chance…

Where is it?
In the spare tire…

Shit! Talk about cold, man!!

All the same, Daniel… he’s intelligent, this “J.P.”... he’ll never swallow that!
Oh, but he will!

He will swallow it! He’ll swallow it whole!

It’s a bit much, no… you don’t find?
You think!!

This asshole thinks I’m such an idiot that he’ll never think it’s me!

F—flour! It’s flour!

THEY’VE NICKED THE COKE! THAT ASSHOLE’S BEEN CONNED! I’M SURE OF IT!

I’M SURE OF IT!

SURE! SURE! SURE!

And if it was “La Fleur”?
Impossible… he’s too stupid! No, it’s those two shitheads… So, you run and find Pedro and you two bring them to me…

But, “J.P.”... if they’re pros… they must be far away by now!
I SAID RUN!

AND WATCH OUT FOR THE ARAB, HE’S A WORM!

AH SHIT! WHAT’S THIS ABOUT?...

Y’hear that Pedro?... I think we’re dealing with jokers here…

They tax us for 2 K’s of coke… and they ask us what this is about… they’re jokers, I’m telling you…

WHAT!!?

You know what Pedro? We’re not going to bring them to “J. P.”, the jokers… ’s no need…

Because they’re gonna tell us right away where they stashed the coke!...

Huh! They’re gonna say it right away…

The jokers!?...