Dangling Conversation

"Hey man, whatcha got goin' this weekend?"
"Oh, I dunno. Not much."
"You wanna hang out at the mall."
"I dunno. I'll have to see what the old lady has in mind."
"Yeah. I get that."
"Which reminds me: do you think you could pick up a couple AR-15s for me?"
"Assault rifles? Whaddya need them for?"
"Oh, I dunno. Skeet shooting."
"Yeah. Heh heh. Skeet shooting."
"Seriously, man. Can you hook us up?"
"Yeah. Okay. And maybe later we can get together and play Pictionary."
This isn't an actual transcript of the conversation that took place in late 2011 or early 2012 between Enrique Marquez and Syed Farook. It is my wondering about how such a discussion would begin. About four years ago, Enrique bought his friend Syed those high-powered rifles without, one would assume, a clue that they would be used in one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history. Four years went by, and there must have been some sort of follow up.
"So, how's the new belt sander working out for you?"
"Oh, I dunno. I haven't really had a chance to use it yet."
"Which reminds me: how are those assault rifles working out for you?"
"Oh, I dunno. I haven't been out to the skeet range recently. Heh, heh."
"Heh, heh."
And so the neighborhood barbecues and the Wednesday Pizza nights continued until the call went out a week ago that fourteen people had been murdered at a community center with those weapons, and suddenly the "doing a bro a favor" facade fell away. No longer in the "favor" category, hopping the fence into "aiding and abetting" along with "accessory." I don't know what the conversations were, but at this point, they don't really matter because what was done is done. It just makes me hope that there will be another conversation between two other friends in the future that goes a little something like this:
"Hey man, whatcha got goin' tonight?"
"Oh, I dunno. Not much."
"You wanna go out and buy me some automatic weapons so they won't be traced to me?"
"Well, no. I don't. Especially because they are illegal and I am sure that the thorough background check required for all firearms purchases would turn you up as a suspicious connection."
"Hey, you know, you're right. I should really consider taking my concerns and grievances to a higher level of discourse. I should look for peaceful solutions to my conflicts."
"Yeah. Sounds good. Wanna play some Pictionary?"