Page 157 of Rags's Awakening
“Wrong fuckin’ answer.” Rags tightened the shirt collar against his throat.
“I can’t breathe,” he gasped.
“You can breathe just fine. But if you keep lying, you’re a dead man.”
“Show yourself, you fucker.” Tank’s hard voice bounced off the walls.
The room went silent except for the loan shark’s ragged breathing.
“There’s three of us and one of you, so the odds of you walkin’ outta here alive aren’t great,” Tank said, eyes locked on the darkcorner. “But we can guarantee the fucker at the desk dies first. And you? You’ll either join him or be so fucked up you’ll be lucky if you ever make it outta rehab.”
“They’re serious,” the loan shark croaked.
“Fuck yeah,” Chas muttered while Rags grumbled in agreement.
“We don’t want any problems with you guys,” the hidden man squeaked.
“Too late, you already got them.” Rags slammed the loan shark against the wall. “If you and this asshole wanna end this, you got less than a minute to decide. After that, it’s fireworks time.”
“I’m counting.” Chas smiled, though it didn’t reach his eyes.
“I don’t want no trouble,” a high-pitched voice said.
“You already got it. Don’t make it worse. Show yourself,” Tank growled.
“The longer we wait, the more pissed we’re gonna get,” Rags added.
A tall, lanky guy in his late twenties stepped into view.
“Hands up!” Tank yelled.
The second the guy raised them, Tank was on him, patting him down. Chas crossed the room and slammed the butt of his Glock against the side of the younger man’s head.
“That’s for being a stupid shit,” Chas said.
“Does he got a piece?” Rags asked, still gripping the moneylender’s collar.
“Yeah. Nine mil.” Tank leaned close. “Good thing you didn’t do anything stupid with this, ’cause you wouldn’t have walked outta this room.”
“I wasn’t gonna use it,” the guy muttered.
“Yeah. Sure.” Tank shoved him forward. “Get your fuckin’ ass over there and sit down.”
Rags threw the loan shark against the desk. Holding his throat, the man collapsed into the chair, sucking in air.
Tank moved back toward the corner. “There’s a door here.”
“Is that how you snuck in to spy on us?” Chas asked.
The younger man shook his head, his shaggy brown hair falling into his face.
“I know I checked out the room when we walked in,” Tank said, crossing the office.
“We all did,” Rags replied. In their world, it was instinct.
“Why’d you sneak in here?” Chas asked.
“I usually do if it takes Benny too long to collect,” the young man muttered, looking down at his hands.
