(xciii.)

The little girl dutifully followed Mister Aisquith down the street.

"Hey Mister!"
"What do you want, little girl?"
"When you kill that guy, can I watch?"

He turned, and stared at her, incredulously.

"What?"
"Can I watch?"
"I, uh, you... you want to watch?"
"Well, yeah."
"Wh-why?"
"Are you gonna shoot him, like on TV?"
"Uh..."

The little girl giggled.

"Can I watch? Please please please?"
"And then I suppose you'll want to go out for ice cream afterward, right?"

The little girl's eyes lit up.

"Ooooh! We can get ice cream? I like chocolate! But vanilla's pretty cool too. Have you ever had pistachio? It's got things in it. Like, little nuts or something--"
"Yes. Pistachio nuts."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"And it's green!" She announced, cheerfully.

Mister Aisquith shook his head woefully.

"Little girl, where is your mother?"
"Oh, I dunno. Pro'lly at work."
"Shouldn't you be at home... doing, I don't know, something?"

The little girl just shrugged.

"So, can I come?"

Mister Aisquith sighed. "Fine. You can watch me kill him if you want. Just... don't get in the way. Okay?"

The little girl nodded, giddily.