“Man, I cannot believe how crappy this week has been.” Ed sighed to himself as he cruised down the highway at a brisk 70mph. “I mean, people these days. What happened to the hearty American values of respect and human decency?”

Ed, a middle-aged man with a shaggy beard and bent glasses, is not your ordinary thruway driver. In fact, he is a serial killer. Not just an ordinary run-of-the-mill serial killer either, but one who made the FBI’s “Most Wanted” list.

This week has been especially rough for Ed. If it is not one thing, it’s another. He's gotten two paper cuts this week right in between his thumb and pointer finger. He even got a flat tire the other night, and while he was fixing it, someone driving by threw their 42oz. cola out the window and stained his brand-new trench coat!

As Ed sat muttering about all his misfortune since the week began, he noticed a hitchhiker on the side of the highway. With a smile crossing his face, Ed said, “Hmm, perhaps my luck is changing. This guy looks like he might be my next victim.” Pulling the van to side of the road, Ed opened the door and called the stranger over.

Little did Ed know that the man he had invited into his car was none other than the infamous serial killer, Broderick. Broderick, a tall and shifty figure of a man, was wanted in 15 states. He had killed numerous people, but was also known to pop the balloons of small children without warning.

He was a vile person and as he was walking along the highway he vowed to kill the first person who picked him up. Ed just happened to be that person.

As Broderick pulled himself into the vehicle he gruffly said a quick “Thank-you” to Ed and introduced himself. “Are you heading to New Market?” Broderick asked.

“Heading there?” Ed replied. “I live there.”

“Fantastic.” But as Broderick mumbled his response he could not help but think that this was going all too well. Soon enough, he would kill Ed.

Meanwhile, Ed was sharing similar thoughts. He could not help but think that this Broderick fellow seemed careless. Didn’t his mom ever teach him not to ride with strangers? But it was all the better for Ed. Soon, he would kill Broderick – taking special care not to stain his new carpets.

As the two men talked some more, they decided that they would go back to Ed’s place to share a couple of Root Beers. Soon enough, Ed’s vehicle pulled into the driveway and he and Broderick made their way toward the house.

The two men quickly made their way to the kitchen, and Broderick, as polite as he is evil, commented “I love your carpeting, Ed. You keep it so clean!”

“Thank-you!” Ed exclaimed. “I had it imported from Italy.”

“So, how about those root beers, friend?” Broderick asked.

“Oh, that’s right! I keep them down in the basement fridge. I’ll run down and grab those for us.”

“Do you mind if I come along too?”

“No? Not at all…”

“Okay, great!” Broderick shouted, a little too enthusiastically.

As they both walked down the steps, Broderick could not believe this guy. First, Ed invites him into his house. Now, they are walking into the basement together and he still does not suspect a thing. In just a few moments he would kill Ed in his basement.

Presently, Ed is thinking the same thing. This Broderick guy is as dull as a spoon. He doesn’t suspect a thing, and in a just a moment I am going to kill him in my basement.

Both men reached the bottom of the steps and tensed up in anticipation for what was about to happen. Broderick, pulling a knife out of his waistband, lunged at Ed. At the same time, Ed pulled out his own knife and pounced at Broderick.

“WHAT!?” Both men exclaimed.
Ed spoke first, “You were going to kill ME all along? I was going to kill YOU!”
Broderick, looking shocked, could scarcely answer Ed except to say “Yeah, that’s it.”
“Do you want to team up?” Ed asked.
“You would want to do that? Even after I was going to kill you?”
“Yeah, of course. I think we would make a great team!”
“Gee, thanks Ed.”
“No problem, friend.”

Both men embraced each other right there in Ed’s basement. However, as Ed stood hugging Broderick, he pulled his knife out once again. Smiling crookedly, he said “Oh, and one last thing….”