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willing participant.
    James followed Will out onto the frozen lake. “What the fuck was that, Will?” he hissed.
    “I don’t what you’re talking about. I was tying that asshole’s line.”
    “That  asshole  is paying me good money to help him catch fish and you’re screwing it up.”
    “Then maybe I shouldn’t be here.”
    “Maybe you shouldn’t.” James spun around and stomped back to the shack and opened the door. “Mr. Peterson, did you get your line into the water?”
    Will ran a hand through his already semi-frozen hair. Fuck, it was cold here. He trudged the fifty feet back to the shoreline. He wasn’t sure he’d ever get used to walking across a frozen lake. James had to convince him it was safe, but Will expected to fall through at any moment. No matter how many times James showed him all the safety precautions he took to make sure that wouldn’t happen.
    What Will needed was a strong cup of coffee. He reached the front door and closed his eyes. The images of the fire were back. While he was thankful they appeared less often than before, now they were more intense. The heat of the flames burned his skin. The images of the children had more detail. Fear filled their eyes while their screams filled his ears. Their palms banged on the glass; the  thud, thud, thud vibrating through his body. And standing behind the screaming children, he swore he saw a blond-headed boy. Only the boy stood silently staring at Will, his face expressionless.
    That’s when Will knew he’d stepped over into madness. There were no blond children in the carnage. Only dark-skinned, dark-haired Iraqi kids, whose mothers wailed and moaned, rocking their burnt children in their arms. What the hell was he doing here in a fucking shit-in-the-wall town in Minnesota? He needed to get himself on a plane back to Iraq and let the families of those kids deal with him.
    His stomach rolled, remembering the sight. What Will needed was a drink. It was already two o’clock, so no harm in having a beer. He stomped his feet on the front porch before he went inside, James’s words running through his head.
    Then maybe I shouldn’t be here.
    Maybe you shouldn’t.
    What Will really needed was to find a job. And fast. He opened the fridge, hanging on the door as he studied the beer bottles. Not drinking a beer was probably the first step in the right direction. But since the night Will had shown up on James’s sofa weeks ago, he’d realized that only way to sleep without the images in his head was to get good and drunk first. It was a hard crutch to give up.
    The phone rang and Will considered letting it go to the answering machine. Even though James used his cell phone as his business phone now, a few clients hadn’t made the switch over yet. Will had learned that it wasn’t unusual for some clients to call at the last minute. A missed call could mean the difference in getting a job or not. And after fucking with James’s current client, the least Will could do is help secure a new one.
    Will answered on the third ring. “Buckner’s Guided Tours.”
    “Buckner, I need you for a job.”
    The no-nonsense voice caught Will by surprise. It wasn’t the usual laid-back client tone he was used to. “What did you have in mind?”
    There was a pause. “So you’re open to it?”
    The hair on Will’s neck stood on end. “What kind of job are you talking about?”
    “The usual, nothing too messy. I know you said you’re out, but I can’t find anyone close enough to do it with this late notice. Besides, you owe me for my latest tip.”
    What the hell was this guy talking about? “How much are we looking at?”
    “If you’ll agree to do it tonight. I’ll double the usual fee.”
    “Which is….?”
    “Don’t play stupid, Buckner. One thousand dollars.”
    Holy shit. One thousand dollars. What the hell had James done for this guy? Probably something Will could do. “All right. I need details.”
    “Tonight at the Pine Knot Motel