QUOTE : I think I’m under control, that I’ve stripped away all weaknesses. That committing to my mission has made me impervious. I’m wrong. The thought of Barrons smiling brings other thoughts.<br /><i>Barrons naked.<br />Dancing.<br />Dark head thrown back.<br />Laughing.</i><br />The image doesn’t “gently swim up in my mind” in a dreamy sort of way, like I’ve seen in movies. No, this one slams into my head like a nuclear missile, exploding in my brain in graphic detail. I suffocate in a mushroom cloud of pain.<br />I can’t breathe. I squeeze my eyes shut.<br />White teeth flashing in his dark face: <i>I get knocked down but I get up again. You’re never gonna keep me down.</i><br />I stagger.<br />But he didn’t get up, the bastard. He stayed down.