Sunday, June 25, 2023

Day 176 - The Aftermath

 The Aftermath
 Matthew Ryan Fischer

 
“Are you insane?”
“It was a business opportunity.”
“The men we work for – they’ll come for you.”
“They have no idea it was me. Not unless you told them.”
“You have to get out of town. Tonight.”
“And leave mom?”
“I’ll take care of her.”
“I’m sure you would. Look, Vik, I’m not afraid. The men we work for have no idea what’s about to happen. Their day is done.”
“You think they’ve never fought rivals before? You think they’ve never been in a gang war before?”
“I don’t think they have any idea what they’re facing. It’s not me or a gunman or even twenty. There’s a tsunami about to hit and they barely even felt the first tremor.”
“This is ridiculous. When gangs go to war it’s people like you and me that get hurt. I don’t want that. You shouldn’t either.”
“You’re the only one who saw my face. Keep it that way. Do it for the old lady. You don’t want to break her heart. When the time it right, meet Arch. Listen to him. He’ll tell you what’s coming and we’ll both get rich.”
“I don’t want another boss.”
“This is different. We’ll be bosses ourselves.”
“You believe his promises? Enough to risk all our lives.”
“Trust me. Help me. I’m your family. You and I are pawns right now, but we could be more.”
“I’d have to betray everyone.”
“But you’d betray me?”
“No. But you had other choices. You didn’t have to do this.”
“There’s no money in a chicken restaurant. There’s barely any more in driving those girls. You’re thinking small. I’m tired of small. Mom isn’t getting any better and we aren’t any younger. I’m willing to take my chances and see if we can all live well for once.”
“What about the women?”
“Arch has some. Some got away. We can find them if you want. Put them back in the life. Or just let them run.”
“They’ll be killed if they’re caught.”
“Arch won’t do that. I promise. Vik, I’m your brother. That’s your mother in the back room there. Maybe not by blood, but that’s what we are. We need you. Don’t throw that all away for some prostitutes. Who cares about them? This is about us. The three of us. This is our life and our world we need to protect.”
Vik nodded.
“I’ll keep your secret.”
“Good. Trust me, we’ll meet Arch and you’ll see. Change is coming and you want to be on the right side.”

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