protest

"go on, do it if you have to. this is stupid. you're a bloody fool."

"don't be like that. look, i'll just do it quickly. and if i don't do it soon, you'll get a parking ticket. they're all over this quarter about now."

we'd stopped the car right by one of his posters and in a huge puddle. i had to stretch my leg over it to get to the pavement. in the end the drizzle was just fine because it had softened the layers underneath where it had seeped in. i couldn't help myself but i had to look up and down the street before i tore the damn thing down. it's better not to look, to try to be completely natural so as not to attract the attention of anyone who might be keeping an eye on the area. at least Paris doesn't have anywhere near as many cameras as London or Berlin

it came off in three thick, soggy layers of paper and glue which i crumpled up as best i could and fumbled my way as nonchalantly as possible to the car boot. Ariane opened the boot and in they went

the car had got a bit steamy while waiting. Ariane always turns off the engine and aircon, bless her. i just had to do the romantic Montmartre thing and lean over and kiss her. i just couldn't help it. "what about that woman behind, sitting outside the cafe? the one who looks a bit english... a bit trippy-hippy?"

she looked in the rear view mirror like a pro. "her? no...she's ok. if someone was watching they'd pretend not to be interested but she's interested in everything. a tourist, i think. sometimes watchers have kids with them, but never a teenager. they're just too unreliable. she's legit, for sure."

she sparked up the engine and we left.

later on, back at the camp, i took a good long look at the poster. 'Be Safe, Happy and Thrive', it said, and further down 'Remember to report any suspicious activity to your local Neighbourhood Caring Committee'. i'll hand it to to them, getting people to spy on their neighbours under the guise of caring for each other was one of his - Loquax's - masterstrokes. it was a serious offence to tear down one of these posters and we'd just done 30 layers in one fell swoop. all of them had the ludicrous face of that bastard and some similar message with a sinister double meaning, but in a nice shiny wrapper. he gave most people the creeps but it was either him or that nasty bastard. there wasn't much of a choice of President and i'd rather have a clown like Loquax than that other guy, because he's even worse and he knows what he's doing. it's bad enough as it is for us artists

the internet was working. i took a look at facespace and there was something about another protester getting arrested. they all looked the same - an evil, redhaired clown - and i think it was organised in some way, because everyone knows you're not allowed to impersonate the President