**This is a story set slightly in the future. I wrote this one a few years ago after creating a character I call Mr. Unhappy (in this one he is called Mr. Reaper). This one is a bit dark, but I hope you like it. I'll post the next part soon.**
The streets had once been
a quiet place to be during the day; most people would have been at work, but in
the present economy they were cluttered with the jobless going shop to shop
looking for work, fruitlessly.
Among them were the lower creatures of society, roaming
from place to place looking for an easy way to cheat, or hurt someone. One such
man was Ridley. His typical means of generating a life was to go from person to
person, bumping into them and checking their pockets for something of value.
This had also become a fruitless endeavor; most people had little in their
wallets of value. He usually had better luck at night when less people were
about giving him the opportunity to forcibly take, and when you used force,
people typically gave you things you couldn’t pickpocket like rings, necklaces
and phones. But as he would never commit to criminal behavior in daylight,
others would.
The screeching of tires sounded up the street. Ridley
looked up to see a familiar car, an old beige classic Nissan 300, come brailing
forward. His eyes widened and he turned knowing that the car had come for him.
He bolted down the street, frantically pushing people out
of the way. His lungs pumped stinging air in and out as he gaped over his
shoulder at the car seeing a figure leaning out of the passenger’s window
holding a hefty square object, a brick!
Said brick was arched back and released as the old sports
car zipped past. The hard sharp edges slammed into Ridley’s back, square
between his shoulder blades, right behind his diaphragm. His already straining
lungs quivered then promptly refused to take any more air. He dropped the
ground gasping like a man in a vacuum, reaching for nothingness around him.
The car jackknifed and returned. He heard the tires
squeal to a halt and doors being slammed shut. He peered up, grasping his back
and moaning, while squinting through the sunlight at a tall thin man grinning
down at him. The man kneeled down and laughed in Ridley’s face.
“Geoff!” Ridley gasped. “Please, I didn’t…”
“Ah, shaddup!” the man, Geoff, said slapping him across
the face. “You most certainly did!” The man grabbed Ridley’s chin and forced
him to look the in him in the eye. Those blue eyes were cold yet brimming with furious
lightning ready to lash out. The face was young yet gritty from lack of shaving
and some light scars, probably from fighting. The thin lips opened revealing
yellow smoker’s teeth in a grin that, surprisingly, also looked like a rage
induced snarl. “Oh-boy are you in trouble. What goes around comes around little
man, time to pay up!”
Ridley heard footsteps on his other side. Someone grabbed
him behind the arms and lifted him up. He guessed it was one of Geoff’s
buddies, most likely Walt, a burly hairy brute that enjoyed hurting almost as
much as Geoff.
“Let’s go for a ride.” Geoff said. Ridley felt his feet
leave the ground. He seemed to soar through the air for a moment before being
thrown into the back hatch of the car. The hatch hit him on the head as it was
dropped shut. He tried to stretch out but there was very little room in the
back of these 300s; he propped himself up on his elbows to look forward out the
front windshield but found his neck quickly becoming stiff, so he gave up and
lay down in a crumpled ball.
The car started moving. Ridley craned his head up again
only to look down the barrel of an automatic pistol aimed at him by the bearded
mug of Walt. “Where are we going?” he whimpered.
“Docks.” Geoff’s voice answered. He was driving looking forward
down the road. “Boss wants to talk to you. But before we get there we’re going
to have a few words too.”
“Big Bo?” Ridley said. Bo was the owner of a strip club
who originally employed Geoff as a bouncer until he discovered the man had
other talents. “Is this about the money?”
“You’ll find out when you get there, if you get
there.” Geoff said. “That depends on me, because I want something too.”
Ridley knew he would at least make it to Bo despite
Geoff’s threats. “What do you want?” Ridley asked.
Geoff glanced over his shoulder at the crumpled man.
“What do you think it’s about? Come on, guess.”
“Your sister?”
“There we go; I knew there was a brain cell still working
in the polluted skull of yours. Want to explain to me where she is?”
“I don’t know, she left my place at, like, four in the
morning.”
“I take it you fed her garbage again.”
“We were just partying!”
“That’s a yes.” Walt translated.
“And you have no idea where she is?” Geoff asked.
“She’s probably still partying.” Ridley answered knowing
Geoff’s sister.
“Oh man, you are so dead,” was Geoff’s response. “You and
I are going to have a grand old time when Mr. Big gives you over to me. You
won’t ever be seeing my sister ever again.”
“She can make her own decisions…” Ridley began.
“Obviously not.” Geoff barked. “I would keep your mouth
shut if you know what’s good for you.” Geoff said and looked back at the man
shaking his head. “You are in big-big trouble.”
* * *
They reached the docks. Walt lifted Ridley out of the car
and threw him to the ground. Geoff stopped by to kick him in the ribs, hard.
They dragged him over to a warehouse owned by one of Big
Bo’s friends. There were rumors that the warehouse and its shipping business
had just come under the ownership of Bo, but no one knew for sure.
Along the side of the warehouse by a service door, two men
lingered draped over the railings smoking cigarettes. They observed the
approaching men lazily. One tapped at the door and spoke to someone inside.
Geoff and Walt dropped Ridley before the staircase and waited until a large man,
in both size and girth, stepped out. He straightened his tie and descended the
steps stopping in front of Ridley who was still rubbing his sore back.
“You owe me a lot of money, Ridley. The extra services my
club has been providing you with are not free, you have racked up a hefty tab.”
Bo said looming over the little pickpocket. “That and you’ve been feeding my
girls too much candy.”
“Look, Mr. Big. I’ve been trying to get some money for…”
A heavy boot kissed the side of his face. The owner was
definitely Geoff.
“Geoff, please…” Bo said. “I need to hear this.”
“It’s just a bunch of excuses. Might as well turn him
over to me now.”
“Geoff…”
“Alright, alright.”
“Ridley, I don’t like excuses.”
“I know sir, I’m sorry, but I don’t have enough money to
pay all my debts.” Ridley began.
“That’s not good, son.”
“But…But I do have some cash. I’ve been hoarding some loot at my place for…you know…”
“I can guess.”
“You can have it, all of it.”
“Oh, I didn’t need your permission Ridley; I just need to
know where.”
“There’s a loose board under my bed. It’s under there.”
“Good boy.” Bo straightened and looked at Geoff.
“Can I have him now?” Geoff asked.
“He’s to be let go,” answered Bo.
“What?”
“He’ll never pay me if he’s dead, and he is going
to pay me, aren’t you Ridley?”
Ridley nodded solemnly.
“Yes, you’re going to be working for me from now on.
Everything you do is going to be for me, every wallet, every mugging and…
you’ll also be providing people with my new product.”
Geoff starred at his employer. “What new product?” he
asked.
Bo gestured back at the warehouse with his thumb. “You
know I now own this facility. We’re in the shipping business now. I know you
have issues with drugs, Geoff, but I suggest you get over them.”
Geoff’s jaw muscles hardened as he glared down at Ridley.
“Where do you want me to bring the money?” Ridley asked.
“Don’t you worry about that,” Bo said. “Some of my boy’s
will pick it up.” He pointed at two of the men slouching behind him. They
jumped to their feet and hopped down the stairs for a car parked along side of
the building. “They’ll be looking all over your apartment of course, so I would
expect a little tidying up will be in order when you get home. Now, get out of
here. I suggest you get to work paying me back right away.”
Ridley scrambled painfully to his feet and began to pace
away, quickly, but someone called out his name behind. He turned to receive a
clenched fist to the nose. “You stay away from my sister,” Geoff hissed. Ridley
ran away.
Geoff returned to Bo’s side and blinked at the man.
“We’re selling drugs?”
Bo, who was about to turn and return to the warehouse,
regarded Geoff impatiently. “Yes, I’m in the business of making money. The club
is doing well, but I want to expand, we’re able to get away with so much in
this town, considering this state of things. Society is falling apart, which
leaves us open to do whatever we want. So sell drugs? Why not?”
“But…”
“No buts boy, I’m the boss.” He gave Geoff a pitying
look, sighed, walked over and patted him on the shoulder. “The club’s not going
anywhere. You’ll still be my number one man there. I need someone to look out
for the girls, make sure the Johns pay and take names if they hurt my girls. I
swear, you won’t have to do anything for my other little businesses.” He nodded
to Geoff and turned back to the warehouse. “Anyway lads, I’ve got lots of work
to do, so…”
Geoff nodded at Walt and they returned to his car. He
started the engine and gave his friend a glance. “Did you know about this?”
“Yeah,” Walt answered.
“Going to let me know about it?”
“Didn’t want you getting pissed.” Walt shrugged. “I guess
I should let you know that I got a proposition from Big Bo to help him out with
the new direction.”
Geoff shook his head. “Bloody hell Walt! Drugs? Come on
man, what goes around comes around!”
“The world is going to hell in a hand basket, Geoff. I
got to take care of myself, so keep that old saying of yours to yourself.” Walt
slapped Geoff in the arm. “Come on, what kind of thug are you? You need to sort
out your place in the world, man.”
Geoff groaned “Drugs… You don’t know. You should see what
they done to my sister.”
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