"Max, for a ghoul, he's badass," "Black gloves, yellow ride." "Yeah, he's good." "What is this piece of human excrement?" "Nice line!" "Perhaps, I should find myself one or two punch-lines like that." "Is that Rhesus' latest delivery?" "Next!" "Tell that clown to stop jerking us around, dumping these rejects on us." "I think your death bell is ringing!" "No..." "You're up against a vampire with longer fangs than you expect." "Yeah!" "Look at this, Prince." "It's that whore from the Belfort Club." "Our conversation was cut too short for my taste," "I need to relax tonight, and I've got a few things I'd like to whisper in your ear." "Don't worry, kitty cat: when I'm done here, I'm all yours." "You'll see why they call me Max!" "At this very moment, the air takes on the sweet smell of kerosene, at this very moment, I can taste the fear in their blood," "because tonight, we are all going to pay for a dirty crime committed 30 years ago." "And so I go back to the night everything changed..." "The night they turned me into one of their own." "I had just come back from the Army, 12 months of scrubbing the shitters on an aircraft carrier." "It's fair to say that my welcome home was less than warm," "Even so, they had celebrated my return, but the pretext was quickly, brushed aside." "As for me, I was just happpy to be home and back with my, sweet Mary Jane." "I missed you," "Me too." "I've got to go to sleep." "Already?" "The sun is going to rise soon." "You coming?" "I'm just gonna take one more hit." "Will you make love to me in the morning?" "There's a good chance." "How many did you nail?" "Let's say one out of two..." "That's all?" "No, I'm joking." "That's better." "I meant to say one out of four." "Asshole." "Wait a minute." "I love you." "Same," "And that was the last time I saw Mary Jane." "Everybody, was sleepping downstairs, stoned... except for Hugo and Delphes." "They, were drunk off their asses," "I can see the whole picture from there." "The little rebel from..." "Papa-Mama." "Yeah, that's exactly what I wanted to say..." "Mary, Jane was taking a shower downstairs... and I was going to join her, slide in between her warm and tender arms," "We declare war against the real capitalists and the fake proletariats." "Yeah, yeah, that's a good rhetoric." "See?" "That's exactly why I need your expertise." "Hey, Maurice, what do you think?" "They, did not give a damn if I was there or not." "I heard them talking, constantly rehashing the same political bullshit," "I just want the boys to feel concerned by our plans." "You're asking the wrong guy!" "You mean Maurice?" "He's a traitor!" "Why do you say that?" "Because he served in the Army?" "Yeah, this is not a house for fascists spies!" "Our other comrades were able to avoid the military." "I don't know." "It could've been harder for him." "Oh, come on!" "You're going to make me cry." "You sympathize with the baby killer, who just a few days ago was at the enemy's camp." "It's "in" the enemy's camp, not "at"!" "Right." "Maybe he didn't have a choice." "We all have a choice!" "When I came to, the dog was no longer there." "Start the generator." "Your name is Maurice Chienhmord, but we will call you Dead Dog," "You're still flying high, poor piece of shit!" "It's not that I'm happy to see you turn up around here, but it just so happens that we're lacking personnel." "You and I, we're going to have to work together, day and night..." "You've got to understand, the people we work for are not your ordinary folks." "NOSFERATU: signifying nocturnal predator, but let's go by the designation VAMPIRE, which is, and I emphasize, throughout the vulgarization of dark western history, the term most widely used," "The Vampire, as this is our subject, is a Being neither dead nor alive," "feeding on human blood with the assistance of two retractable fangs, fearing sunlight and potentially immortal," "It is evident that the vicissitudes resulting from the previously mentioned photosensibility, confine vampires to the utilization of servants, shall we say, more" "mobile!" "It is here, by the injection of their own blood, they spawn the GHOULS, though not possessing the power of their 'progenitor', do have the advantage of being able to walk in the light of day." "The Ghoul works during the day for the Vampire and drives his prey straight into his master's mouth!" "All right!" "What do we have here?" "The jaw of a Vam of a vampire!" "Let's review." "The Vampire drinks the blood of Man to nourish himself and the Ghoul drinks the blood of the Vampire, so as to be his slave," "Who is at the top of the food chain?" "The Ghouls," "I need the right answer, Dead Dog, not the truth," "I've been working for them for longer than you could imagine... and it's always gone well." "Do not screw this up," "After that, we jumped straight into the ppractical work." "From this day on, I stoppped sleeping," "I stopppped eating, stoppped aging." "And I became stronger, more resilient." "I became what they wanted me to be." "I saw myself terrorizing families, filling bathtubs and burying cadavers," "It all became second nature." "Max is the one who trained me, but we all worked for the same guy," "In the circle, we called him The Prince," "It was the Prince's blood in our syringes." "Max distributed the blood," "That is why he took himself for God the Father." "Dufour;" "Jano," "Max and I, we were like living extensions of the Prince." "It was his blood that ran through our veins." "we were cautious, made sure that everything stayed secret." "we took care of any, witnesses." "Pity the poor fellow who happened to hear or see something incriminating, that could give away our existence." "well, maybe I made a mistake a few times..." "And that made Max more angry than ever." "Massacre an entire family, in exchange for what?" "Time no longer takes its toll on you." "The others thought this made them cool." "I did not see what was so cool about it." "Maybe my problem was that," "I have always been a bad dancer." "Go get him Dead Dog!" "We tend to think that everything has an end," "For the first time..." "I started to doubt it," "Because everything kept going," "Because day, and night, I was in the shadow of the Prince," ""The Ghoul drinks the Vampire's blood so as to be his slave"." "That is what they teach you in school." "So, what was wrong with me?" "During each mission, my confusion grew." "Behind each one of my, gestures, I could sense the Prince." "His blood was like acid eating my, insides." "And while this reality was hitting me in the face..." "Max was doing his utmost to remain relaxed, convincing himself that he was and always will be a human being." "Actually he was the worst of the worst." "Time passed and Max keppt on..." "The time passed." "Still, no wrinkles." "No hope on the horizon." "Only more orders to fill." "we had to supply more blood... fill more bathtubs... dig more holes... because they always wanted more." "was it just me?" "Or had everything seriously, become more difficult?" "we were in a permanent state of emergency." "Everything became urgent," "Everything became a threat," "The Prince had an enemy," "If the Prince became paranoid..." "So I, too, became paranoid." "And then, we discovered our enemy;" "the Duke Gael." "The Duke had many servants to do his bidding," "From his mansion, Gael made life difficult for us." "In the middle of this crisis, time collapsed in on itself." "It was one of those sunny days," "I remember having gone to pay a visit to our blood dealer:" "Rhesus." "Here, finish it," "He just killed my thirst." "Don't take it so hard Rhesus." "Anyone can make a mistake," "A mistake?" "For 15 years, I've been running convoys of humans for the Prince." "15 years that He has given me responsibilities that He would never have given you, not even out of pity." "And now, from out of nowhere, you tell me that I make mistakes?" "!" "Hey, good whiskey." "It's aged 15 years." "Mistakes?" "You let your guard down." "Rhesus, any mangy dog in the city, knows convoy 38's schedule." "A little discretion for christsakes!" "Tell me," "I hope it wasn't Daddy Max who sent you to tell me that?" "Leave Max out of this." "As you wish." "It's just that I'm used to dealing with a boss, not a minion." "Yeah," "Max might not handle it as calmly as I am..." "Anyway, I've got your back." "I have arranged everything." "Arranged everything?" "Convey 38 was canceled at the last minute..." "My orders." "What the hell were you thinking?" "Now that Gael is banished from the clan, we can't let our human livestock get nicked right from under our nose Rhesus," "Whoa..." "So, you just canceled convoy 38?" "I wasn't going to let a fuck up like that happen." "Didn't it occur to you that the best way to protect our interests, was killing Gael?" "Yeah, but to do that, we need evidence of his treachery," "And since we've never caught him in the act... our code prevents us... from starting..." "You're beginning to understand..." "Call Max, will you?" "Don't freak out kid." "I'll get your back." "After all, my thirst has returned," "Yeah, hello Max, it's Rhesus." "Don't get pissy, but your young guy, what do you call him?" "Yeah," "Dead Dog, that's it..." "I think he wants to talk to you about tonight's convoy..." "Wonderful!" "My congratulations." "Bravo Gringo!" "When it comes to fuck-ups, blunders and mistakes you've outdone yourself..." "You've set a new world record!" "You should have kept me in the loop!" "Jesus Christ, Dead Dog!" "Who do you think you are?" "An elite solider?" "You're just a peon, shit for brains." "You can thank Gandhi, Elvis, Joan of Arc and all the cretins that live in heaven, that we are short on personnel and that it is in our interest to keep you alive," "What did you say?" "Sorry!" "I'm hoping that you won't be as soft in the head as him," "I wanted to warn you about a possible situation at the Belfort Club tonight." "What sort of "situation?"" "The type when we hunt the wildebeest and skin the bloodsuckers!" "Vampire killers?" "Thank you, Mister Einstein." "So "Zip the fly", dust off the artillery and keep your eyes wide open!" "What's our game plan?" "Capture, Torture and Confiture." "And, Dead Dog, do not let me down." "That's it." "Dancing, boozing, and cut the crap so we can get out of here." "What?" "What do you want?" "Nothing." "I love your style." "Is that so?" "Where are we in the kitchen?" "Jano?" "Jano?" "Nothing to report." "Dufour?" "No, nothing on my end," "Wait!" "We've got a slight problem." "Shit!" "Siegfried is here..." "What?" "He's hitting on some babe in the lounge," "You've got cocker spaniel eyes." "You're like a little puppy." "That's enough." "You gonna hound me all night?" "I've got better things to do..." "A puppy!" "Sieg!" "Siegfried..." "How's it going?" "A storm is brewing tonight." "The Prince, Gael..." "All that, you know." "For your own safety..." "Get your hands off me!" "And let me drink in peace." "No, but, it's cool, Please excuse me..." "Don't be upset." "I wasn't trying to be an asshole." "I'm a little nervous." "I snapped." "You're just like every other guy!" "Hang on." "We don't even know each other, and you're already coming on to me." "If that's how you act, you won't ever come across anyone better." "I wasn't talking about that!" "Then, what are you saying?" "That's it." "Go get her." "Girl on girl." "Whores!" "Not possible." "I was just saying that you're not necessarily better than the guys that push you around." "Okay, so you feel belittled by your entourage, but when someone tries to be nice to you..." "I just meant that you don't act any better than the others." "Do we know each other?" "How did you come up with all that?" "Looking at you, it's obvious." "I don't know who you are, but you're different," "And you can be nice when you want to be," "You see?" "See what?" "You see that you're a little puppy." "Dead Dog!" "Calm down Max!" "I shot the second guy!" "You shot the second guy?" "!" "Broken neck!" "What did I say before "Confiture?"" "What?" "What did I say before "Confiture?"" ""Capture and Torture."" "So what are we going to do, Stupido?" "Siegfried is dead!" "And I know a Prince who is everything but the Love Symbol," "He's going to call me in five minutes demanding results!" "Results about what?" "We're going to have to trace their tracks." "Otherwise, it's going to be Hiroshima up our asses, and the Ride of the Walkyries in our faces!" "And then, there's the girl,.." "Which girl?" "Don't play saint of all saints with me, you piece of shit." "The girl who was trying to pick you up!" "She wasn't involved, Max." "She tricked you, moron." "And you know it!" "I said, "zip the fly!"" "Max!" "The Prince just called!" "Mother of God..." "Dead Dog, we've got to go." "You have the rest of the night to find me this whore," "Capiche?" "This is your last chance, Dead Dog!" ""Your last chance,"" "The girl could have easily, disapppeared, and we would never have found her." "But when you're a junky, everybody knows you." "Even though I took my time, it took me less than an hour to find her." "Good evening Baby!" "Dead Dog, go prepare the bathtub!" "You know, you have beautiful eyes!" "Who hired you for the job?" "Why were you at the Club seducing Dead Dog?" "Don't move!" "I said don't move!" "Come on!" "Idiot junky!" "You're going to get your shot alright junky!" "The big shot from Uncle Max!" "Come here!" "You're going to feel it deeply!" "This is it." "For a brief moment, I refused to believe it, and yet, it could only end like this," "My, last thought was for the girl..." "I know Max was taking her away." "Something in me refused to die." "Drink my blood, Drink my blood..." "Drink!" "Here we are Dead Dog, together again!" "Max!" "To tell you the truth, I am not Max." "Look at this fucking face, and this fucking language." "No thank you, not for me." "Max has influenced you so much over the last few decades, that his image is embedded deep in your brain," "It's my only way to communicate with you, for now." "Where are we?" "Inside your head, Dead Dog." "Inside your head..." "And as you can see, your head is as empty as a used and broken condom," "But I'll replant the seeds of your memory." "What's going on?" "What's happening to me?" "You're drinking a new blood now." "That's fighting the Prince's blood, which they've injected you with these last few decades." "Obviously, it's stirring things up inside." "It's stirring things up inside." "It's going to continue for some time, but for you, it will feel like an eternity." "And at the finish line, you'll once again be a good puppy dog for your old granny." "But if you're not Max, who are you?" "Too many questions!" "Drink!" "Here, time doesn't make any concessions." "Drink!" "Drink!" "Mother of God, Dead Dog, who do you think you are?" "Who is at the top of the food chain?" "What would you have named her?" "Failure!" "How would you have raised her?" "Deprivation!" "How would you have loved her?" "Incest!" "What did you really want her to be?" "Stillborn!" "There is no more time, no more space!" "Yes." "More time!" "More space!" "Maurice, my belly is hurting me..." "Maurice, my belly is hurting me..." "Clean up all that shit!" "We will call you Dead Dog." "Isn't there something that rhymes with...?" "Treason." "Looks like I'll keep my scar." "This is just a job," "It's all about discipline." "And tact," "If you fail, we cut your balls off!" "You're just a peon!" "No, that rhymes with..." "Disappointment." "Maurice, are you trembling?" "Who is at the top of the food chain?" "Dead Dog, finally alone!" "Hey, are you the father?" "Come on little lady!" "Breathe." "Breathe and push!" "There you go." "That's good." "Keep going." "I can see the head." "Come on, breathe, breathe." "Breathe!" "Push!" "Come on, we're almost there!" "Oh, shit..." "I missed you." "Are you coming with me?" "You, bastard!" "Do you think he's ready?" "Of course not." "But the hour is not yet ripe for action." "Soon it will be time." "In fact, it's already started." "Now you recognize your Master!" "On Air, in 5, 4," "Welcome to the Super Max Show!" "Good evening to all." "Revenge is a sweet dessert, but it must be," "WELL PREPARED!" "Dying is useless!" "Aim to," "KILL!" "Yeeesssss!" "Today, we have an exceptional guest with us," "He's killed dozens and dug hundreds of graves." "Freshly back from purgatory." "Please welcome, just as he is, Mr. Maurice Chienhmord." "Good evening Maurice!" "Good evening Max." "Are you pleased to be with us tonight?" "Um...yes," "Give a round of applause for Maurice!" "What is this all about?" "It's a way to finish the process." "I am using a pre-existing framework in your sub-conscience." "This must be a recollection of your vampire education, but in a modern context." "All right Maurice, we've come together tonight to try to understand," "what has happened to you, a Ghoul, for the last 30 years, right?" "Precisely." "And while exploring these wounds from the past, my dear Maurice, the show's team will try to win you "One revenge for two", worthy of the best box office hits!" "But first a word from our sponsor:" "Parasite!" "For our dedicated viewers, let's first review the situation:" "Poitier, France." "This city in the West, appearing on the surface, calm and carefree, in reality, is governed by obscure, supernatural forces;" "Vampires!" "These Vamppires, you don 't know who they are, and yet, each night they pump your blood in secret." "Well, it's more like once, maybe twice a week..." "So, Maurice, you are familiar with this Vampire universe," "because you are what we call a Ghoul, isn't that right?" "That's correct." "Can you explain exactly what it means to be a Ghoul?" "I am kept alive by the blood of the Prince, and my job is to drive the human cattle to my masters..." "Your masters?" "You mean the Vampires?" "Is that so?" "Yes, the Vampires." "I also erase certain traces..." "Hum, The real work of a boy scout!" "Yet Maurice, during our team's investigation, we discovered that the inner workings of the Vampire society," "are not as well greased and harmonious as it may seem." "And that leads us to our special section "Did You Know?"" "And yes, as in every social system, ambition, desire, and power often rhyme with treason." "Our case of interest tonight is inspired from some of the greatest spy films." "The case in question is the Yersinia Affaire." "In this case, Duke Gael, a Vampire with a gift of telepathy, as powerful as the Prince's, discovered that his two trusted sidekicks, Siegfried and Foss, were betraying him, by working for the Prince," "their sole intention of undermining his investigation, and making a fool of him." "The Prince then banished Gael from the clan." "Foss is with us tonight." "So Foss, proud of yourself?" "What?" "That's the game!" "Ah, Holy Foss... you should be shaking in your boots, because if Gael has only one wish today, it's definitely to get revenge." "That why he hired two killers, to take down Siegfried at the Belfort Club." "The nightclub where you serve as bouncer, isn't that right, Maurice?" "I prefer the term physiognomist." "Right, but you were there, and so you'll be able to answer our first question." "Hey, I'll do my best." "Well then, Maurice, it's time for..." "MaXishovel!" "Max-MaXishovel-Max-MaXishovel..." "Maurice, can you please give us the name of the girl, who seduced you during the brawl at the Belfort Club?" "Three seconds," "Pussy Cat!" "That is correct." "And it's even more impressive because you shouldn't have known it, given that she never told you!" "Pussy Cat!" "The Belfort whore..." "At this very moment, she's rotting away in a cage." "And since you pulled yourself out of that bathtub, you'll have the chance now to watch how good I can make a slave behave," "When I am finished with her, you'll need to dig a grave... for two." "It's time to continue on with the game." "Where were we?" "Ah, yes!" "Are you still in a fighting spirit, Maurice?" "Yes, more than ever, Max!" "Moving on to the second question." "The Prince is victorious in the duel with Gael." "He banishes him from the clan, accuses Joseph, who is also telepathic, of Siegfried's murder, destroys him, and thus the Prince becomes the one and only telepath in the Vampire community, exercising his power on his fellow creatures." "But a King never reigns alone," "He needs subjects and serfs, and that is where you come back in, Maurice." "In fact, the Prince is having some problems replacing you." "He's trying his best, but it's not easy to find a rare pearl like you." "So, my second question will be very easy:" "Why did the Prince choose you for the job 30 years ago?" "Three seconds," "For my discretion!" "That is incorrect!" "I was hoping for:" "conscientious work, guaranteed obedience," "total absence of morality." "Guaranteed obedience, total absence of morality?" "What does that mean?" "I was taught that the Ghouls obey the Vampires because the power of their blood turned us into slaves." "And that's what happened, because you decided to believe it." "You never questioned the premise." "All these years, I had the choice?" "Really Dead Dog." "You never considered it?" "How could you rebel against someone like Max?" "The choice..." "Obey or perish, That's already a choice." "But there's a third possibility, which will free you from the others, and I believe you've already made your decision!" "So there you have it." "Back where we started." "I enter the warehouse," "The smell of kerosene vanishes." "In an instant, I see everything." "Duke Gael perched on the mezzanine," "Max's heart beating as he looks for his Prince," "I found myself in a forest." "In Gael's arms, the world suddenly seemed different." "I know exactly, what's going to happen." "Dufour is going to escape with the truck, and Jano is going to jump on me." "Here and now, everything is tied together." "I can smell Pussy, Cat beyond the emanations of death." "I can feel her exhaustion and purity, as she lies unconscious in her cage." "Time to put an end to all this madness." "Look who's cme to see us, Jano!" "The old man's mutt scrounging for some scraps!" "You're going to dig your own grave, Dead Dog." "Foss!" "So happy to see you here," "You've got no business here, Gael." "Gael, the arrogant, Gael, the noble..." "You were banished, duchess!" "Listen carefully Foss," "I'm going to shatter your cortex, but I'm going to do it calmly, so that you won't be completely destroyed, and thus will suffer for eternity." "You're up against a vampire with longer fangs than you expect." "Round 2 Dead Dog," "Let's see you try your Kung Fu shit." "Hijo de puta!" "You're going to regret being dead!" "You can keep crushing that carcass Dead Dog, but it doesn't change the rule." "I was, and remain your master!" "It's one blood that keeps us alive, one blood that connects us." "And that leaves you only two possibilities:" "Obey, or perish." "I admire your determination young pup, but your vengeance is in vain." "Max was only a smoke screen." "Your torturer, the object of your hate, isn 't a verbose Ghoul wearing black gloves." "Your real torturer, the one who humiliates you every second of your life, who tortures you more and more each day... is your reflection in the mirror." "Your spine bent over in submission, your down trodden eyes," "your entire being is a constant reminder that you are not only a bastard," "but that you are weak," "immature, insipid," "ridiculous," "and above all replaceable." "In the end my darling, I think I'll keep you close to me," "I will make you my Queen." "But you see, I am already... the King," " Translation by Evyenia Wilkins-Mainguy" " Revision by Kimberley Kates"