“The world ain’t much more than a bargain system that got outta control.”
“Before credits and cash there was sweat and trade.”
“And everyone had the currency they would accept for their labor. Whether you were giving meat for protection or sex for drugs, everyone had somethin’ to peddle to get what they wanted.”
“But soon enough it wasn’t enough to trade one for one, soon enough you could get more than you gave.”
“And that lead to a little thing we call debt.”
“A hole you dig in the ground that you can’t climb outta until you fill it to the top with somethin’ that your debtor wants in their pockets. The bigger your payday the larger the shovel and the deeper you dig.”
“Everyone owes a debt to someone and you’re expected to pay it or end up buried in the very hole you dug.”
“Arcadia’s a mess of holes and shallow graves of people trapped beneath the weight of their own arrears where people were unable to climb their ways out.”
“And I gotta tell ya, I’m lookin’ at three new holes in need of fillin’.”
“See Drexl? You, Draco, and Fidel all think I’m a man in a hole he dug with a big fuckin’ shovel, that I owe the three of you somethin’ for what you’ve given me.”
“You want me to stack somethin’ in there to climb out in your eyes, don’t ya?”
“Drexl wants ten of my boys stacked up like a staircase of corpses so he can get his dues paid back in blood for ten chewy whores.”
“Mr. Fidel is more than keen to try and get a bit of my soul as a rope to loop at the entrance and climb my way outta this pit.”
“And lord only knows what Draco wants outta all of this with the pile of credits I left in his shithole shop.”
“Each and every one of you thinks I should grovel at your feet for the holes I dug, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. I ain’t owe you three shit.”
“Because I paid for your whores up front, Drex. I paid for meat, you supplied it to me and my boys. Just like I paid Draco for your location, just like I lent Fidel a favor.”
“The truth of the matter is, boys, I ain’t diggin’ these holes for myself. I’m diggin’ them for you.”
“All three of you are in debt to me. Drexl threatened me and tried to take more than his fill for our deal.”
“Draco is meddlin’ in my deals long after I gave him his cash.”
“And Fidel ain’t done his part of the deal, he only fucked me outta endin’ Drexl and settlin’ his debt.”
“I’m puttin’ y’all three in the ground, boys.”
“So either get busy payin’ me what I’m owed.”
“Or get busy learnin’ how to swim through land.”
“Because the deadline’s here.”
“And one way or another?”
“The devil always gets his due.”
“Now lemme go ring that dinner bell.”