Moving Pictures (Discworld 10)

'Ah-ha!' he said. 'The lovebirds surprised, eh?'

Victor gaped at him. 'The what?' he said.

'The what?' said Ginger.

'Been looking all over for you two,' said Dibbler. 'Someone said he'd seen you come up here. Very romantic. Could do something with that. Look good on the posters. Right.' He draped his arms around them. 'Come on,' he said.

'What for?' said Victor.

'We're shooting first thing in the morning,' said Dibbler.

'But Mr Silverfish said I wasn't going to work in this town again-' Victor began.

Dibbler opened his mouth, and hesitated just for a moment. 'Ah. Yes. But I'm going to give you another chance,' he said, speaking quite slowly for once. 'Yeah. A chance. Like, you're young people. Headstrong. Young once myself. Dibbler, I thought, even if it means cutting your own throat, give 'em a chance. Lower wages, of course. A dollar a day, how about that?'

Victor saw the look of sudden hope on Ginger's face.

He opened his mouth.

'Fifteen dollars,' said a voice. It wasn't his.

He shut his mouth.

'What?' said Dibbler.

Victor opened his mouth.

'Fifteen dollars. Renegot'ble after a week. Fifteen dollars or nuffin'.'

Victor shut his mouth, his eyes rolling.

Dibbler waved a finger under his nose, and then hesitated.

'I like it!' he said eventually. 'Tough bargainer! OK. Three dollars.'

'Fifteen.'

'Five's my last offer, kid. There's thousands of people down there who'd jump at it, right?'

'Name two, Mr Dibbler.'

Dibbler glanced at Detritus, who was lost in a reverie concerning Ruby, and then stared at Ginger.

'OK,' he said. 'Ten. Because I like you. But it's cutting my own throat.'

'Done.'

Throat held out a hand. Victor stared at his own as if he was seeing it for the first time, and then shook.

'And now let's get back down,' said Dibbler. 'Lot to organize.'

He strode off through the trees. Victor and Ginger followed meekly behind him, in a state of shock.

'Are you crazy?' Ginger hissed. 'Holding out like that! We could have lost our chance!'

'I didn't say anything! I thought it was you!' said Victor.

'It was you!' said Ginger.