A Snake in Texas

Here I am, with the ZRE, for Zaire, sticker on Texas. How she got her name and how I used her to keep people out of an unlocked building, and how I protected her from theft, during the looting, from Grains of Golden Sand:

I drove my own truck, nicknamed “Texas,” against the door to block it. (Zairians give their vehicles brawny names, such as “Jet Engine,” or “Tough Bullet.” Claiming Texas as home base, I deemed it a handle meeting Zairian standards.) Then I called over a guard and showed him how I'd obstructed the workshop door. He pointed out that now my vehicle was vulnerable to attack since it could be seen from the street.

“I know,” I said. I showed him a five-foot African rock python in an aquarium. “And this is my specially trained watch-snake.” I tipped the snake out onto the front seat, closed and locked the truck. The guard's eyes widened in surprise.

“You put a snake in there!” he yelped. A gesture of astonishment, his hand flew, palm outward, to cover his mouth.

“Bien sûr”—Darn tootin’, as we would say in Texas—“and the python will stay there until this is over. You tell the others what I did. I needed you to witness this so you can prevent disaster if someone tries to rip off my truck.”