Futuristic Debts to be paid

[Dirtbear]

When a crime lord, Eutalio "The Collector" Viscusi, finds there's someone that owes him, he tends to get what is his. A smuggler with an unsettled gambling ends next on his list, things get a tad bit out of hand.

 

[Daeus]

Today was a bad day. It hadn't started off bad. It had actually started off rather nicely. Fau had slept in and had awoken without a hangover even after drinking all night at some dive bar. Though this probably meant that they had watered the overpriced shit down. But, Fau had decided not to let that bother her until she went there later that evening to expose the asshole bartender. It would cause a wonderful scene to unfold.


No, today went bad while was out at one of the open markets. She was hoping to find something of value where the merchant didn't know the item's truth worth. It was easy money. She had been an archivist after all so she could identify precious objects that rich people desired to show off their wealth without creating a throne of currency.


She had been haggling with this elderly man over a decently preserved vase. It was something that was worth a couple million credits and he was selling it here at a shack of a stall. However, this had been a trap to lure her. Fau couldn't have been lucky enough to encounter such a prize at such a place. But, her greed had gotten the best of her and she had been too frustrated at the merchant refusing to lower his price to notice the two goons sneaking up behind her before it was too late.


One black bag over the head and a swift pistol-whip to the back of the head and she was a lifeless lump.


Fau wasn't sure how long she had been out. There wasn't some standard time table about such matters. However, when she did awaken she found herself bound quite professionally and still had the black bag over her head. There were a few other bodies in the room with her; she assumed five.


"Oi! Take this sack off my head!"


Most wouldn't have started shouting demands if they were in her situation. Fau wasn't like most. If they had wanted her dead they would have offed her at the market rather than knock her out and tie her up. So, it was a safe bet that even if she was an annoying nag they wouldn't kill her. Oh, they might rough her up, but Fau was willing to take that risk in order to gain some insight into her predicament.


They ignored her. If they were ignoring her completely that meant that she was in some deep trouble with some scary people. Only the truly terrifying had this type of influence to make thugs ignore captives. Fau swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. She couldn't remember anyone that she had pissed off recently. Sure she had a few rivals and enemies but they didn't seem the type to be capable of such an operation. That vase would have been way out of their price range to even use as bait. This wasn't the work of officials. They liked to make their criminal captures public to earn the adoration and trust of their citizens.


Fau wasn't sure how long she had been left to her thoughts when the thugs approached her and pulled her up to her feet. They had bound those as well so they simply dragged as they carried her by her arms by one goon on each side. Two followed behind them and there was one ahead of her.


When they reached their destination they tossed her onto a hard floor and yanked the bag off. She was in a large and elaborately decorated room filled with all sorts of treasures; artwork, artifacts, lush furniture, none of it was under a couple thousand credits.


"Are you done gawking?"


A chill ran down Fau's spine. She recognized that voice. She had only met him once before and it had been a long time since then. She was kneeling on the floor in front of Eutalio "The Collector" Viscusi. He was one of the most feared crime lords around. He had his hands in nearly everything you could imagine. He had earned the name "The Collector" because one of his favorite past times was to collect expensive objects. He was also rumored to have collected people and even a harem.


Fau laughed nervously as she shifted under his gaze. His expression was friendly enough. There wasn't any malice showing on his face and he was smiling at her kindly. This look made Fau all the more terrified. She only has a few guesses as to why she had been brought here. Fau doubted it was for a job since this wasn't the protocol to hire a smuggler. This meant she had either done something he didn't like. What that could be would be impossible to narrow down.


"I am a busy man so I would like to keep this meeting short. I would also appreciate that you do not cry or beg. Acting in such a cowardly manner will only want me to give you a reason to cry or beg. So, let us discuss why you are here. It has come to my attention that you have accumulated a large sum of debt my dear without any attempts to pay it for quite some time. This... displeases me greatly. For owing such a large amount I wanted to speak to you in person since I feel this is the only way for you to understand the severity of your situation."


Eutalio leaned back into his chair and sighed. His happy expression changed to a weary one.


"Even after taking all your current assets your still is still not paid. This leaves me in a predicament. I can't let you go since you are a debtor so you will have to choose a way to repay me. There are a variety of options of course. You could sell your body and enter our brothel. I'm sure you'll appeal to the taste of some men. I can't trust you as an associate so I cannot use your smuggling services. I would also accept a contract of servitude for the entirety of your life... unless you have any suggestions, Miss Fau."


Fau felt like a mouse being stared down by a viper that was coiled and ready to strike. She didn't like any of those options he had listed for her. She was also very angry that he had already taken her possessions. Luckily for her though that she kept a secret little storage unit with her most precious things. She wasn't going to hand that over since they would simply take it first and then still tell her she owed more. That was how these little shakedowns worked. They didn't tell you how much you owed so you could never know if your debt had already been paid off.


"Before I give any suggestions or answers or my own I want to know how much exactly I owe with the outrageous interest you are also going to tack onto it," Fau demanded.


The crime lord smirked at her before laughing loudly. He slapped one hand on his knee and the other pressed on his belly as he guffawed. The goons all exchanged looks with each other nervously. Maybe it was a bad idea for Fau to ask but she wasn't going to let them play tis game by their rules alone.


"I do believe you are the first to ever ask that question! I am loath to tell but I shall because of the fact you are the first. The amount you owe is substantial so please do not faint over the numbers; 1.7 million credits."


Fau's jaw went slack. This only caused Eutalio to cackle once again. Oh she was royally screwed. She had been going the a losing streak with her gambling. Though she now suspected the games at certain establishments had been fixed. Fau sighed and hung her head down to keep her expression hidden from crime lord.


"It would be most gracious of you to permit me some additional time to reflect on this matter and see if I can find alternative methods of payment before accepting one of your kind offers," Fau said calmly though she was raging inside.


"I will give you one day."


With that Fau's head was back in the bag and she was dragged off to a cosy little cell where they removed her bindings before tossing her in roughly.


Yup, this was a bad day.


( Hopefully this is alright. I will admit I may have gotten carried away. *Corrected! )

 

[Dirtbear]

*Tick...tick...tick....tick...tick*



​

'That ticking is back again...' Galen thought to himself as he looked over the cell to see a bag along the concrete wall. It was a medium sized canvas bag with two modest sized pockets on the front and a large flap covering the opening strapped, sealing it. He rolled onto his stomach and crawled over a couple paces until he was a foot away from the green canvas bag. He examined it for a minute or two, 'Ohh that's right.... that's mine.... when did it end up here? ' He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling for a while thinking of how it managed its way here. His mind clicked and he rolled back on his stomach and grabbed the bag. 'Oh yea! It was thrown in here with me!' he thought as he scrambled for her.


Unstrapping the flap and digging into the hardened compartment in the back of the bag, he clicked the tab on the bottom and lifted the wall of the compartment. He pulled out a piece of hardware that was hidden in there and smiled, biting his lip. In a low voice without anyone hearing, he spoke.


"Isis, baby. Youse ok? It's a tragedy what's happen'. Got me locked in here for borrowing that hyperdrive. It ain't my fault I forgot where I put it." Galen's voice laced with a heavy highlandish accent.


He powered up ISIS and saw the screen come to life. The circuitry inside buzzing and it showed access points in the place. There was activity all over the main level and Galen tried to hack into the video network. The numbers splurged on the screen and a grin streaked across his face. He tapped on ISIS and mumbled encouragement to her. The first door cam appeared on the screen and it was just outside the cell. They were headed to the door with someone.


'OH no! Can't let youse get caught in the open, baby. Hurry gots to puts you back. Night night dearie.' he said to himself as he rushed to place ISIS back into the hardened compartment acting like the backing of the bag.


There was clattering outside and Galen managed to close the flap and secure the bag. He laid on his back and stared at the ceiling pretending to have never moved. The door opened and men shoved someone into the door and sealed it. The person stumbled into the room and he stared at his new companion. He noticed something intriguing. That his new companion was a woman.


Galen sat up and scooted his way to the wall slowly and kept his mouth shut for a while. His eyes went from her to his bag and back on the door. He looked at the woman and sighed. He was going to have to ask her a question if he was going to find out why she was there. He bit his lip for a second and smiled awkwardly.


"Aye, you. Got yerself in a bind? What's ole fat man want with ya?" Galen's highlandish accent slipping out without any restraint. He couldn't help it. It was a part of him, even though people thought he was strange.

*Tick...tick...tick...tick...tick...*



​

'Damned ticking is back again! I will find youse...' he thought as his eyes scanned the room for the sound.

 

[Daeus]

Fau raged loudly once the goons that had thrown her into this cell had left. Oh, she didn't doubt that they could hear her, that was sort of the point. Being a woman in a crime lord's private dungeon was a bad position to be in. She also just really had to express her frustration at having such rotten luck.


When she heard an accented male voice ask her a question she turn her hazel eyes in a glare at them. She didn't even get a private cell! She was pissed enough that when she got out of here she was going to write a very sarcastic letter to the prick in charge about a few things. Though that would only serve to anger him even more she wanted the guy to be so frustrated at her that he has a heart attack.


"Oh, don't worry. They just shoved me in here to spy on you," she answered sarcastically.


She didn't trust anyone; that attitude comes from her early smuggling days. The days when she had been nearly killed a few times. The days when she was been betrayed. A good smuggler was a smuggler who didn't trust. People in this business could see it in your eyes; your inexperience.


Fau sighed and chewed on her lower lip as she stood there pondering her situation. She had a day to either get the hell out of here alive or suffering a life of some form of servitude to a man that was seriously terrifying to her. The odds weren't in her favor currently. The only trick she had up her sleeve was that they hadn't unarmed her completely. Goons weren't the smartest bunch and easily overlooked small details. Now if she had been grabbed by a bounty hunter she had been thoroughly searched and probably left in only her shirt and pants.


She flopped down onto the floor and proceeded to take off both of her black combat boots. She pulled out the lined padding of each boot before pulling out a small blade and a small lock picking case. The case only had a few small and thin tools she could use but it was better than trying to scavenge for something. The blade was small and wouldn't do much damage unless used properly in a one-on-one situation. She could shove it into a throat or slit a throat and it would be effective enough.


"I knew I should have worn the other pair," she muttered under her breath.


Her other pair of boots not only had this little tricky stash but small blades that could pop out of the toe of the boot. That pair would have given her more attack options. But she would make due with what she had. Once her had replaced the liner in her boots and had them secured back on her feet she stretched out all her limbs. Being bound for a long period of time made her muscles ache.


Her eyes slid over to her cellmate.


"You make a peep about this and you'll regret it," she warned.

 

[Dirtbear]

"Peep."



​

Galen let out that silly noise and laughed a bit as his nerves were a little rattled. He peered over to her boots lying on the floor and didn't want to say anything but... he was having a hard time with the stench. He blinked his eyes a bit to clear away some of the tears it surged to his eyes. He pointed to her case and noted the purpose and laughed awkwardly, "Ya know... there ain't a keyhole in here right? He ain't much for antique doors. High level security in this place." He said then pointed his thumb at his pack, "Though... I gots here my beauty, Isis. She's a doll and could have that door open in a giffy." Galen smiled widely.


He really didn't know her and didn't think he wanted to get to know her. She was rambunctious and terrible with her temper it seemed. He didn't really think on what he just said to a stranger. Now that he mentioned something about the door, he got nervous and thought of what to do next. He didn't exactly plan this one through. She had a weapon and a drive to get out. It wasn't a great position to be in, especially having no experience in combat. He slowly sat up and scooted to the wall.

'Tick...tick...tick...tick...'



​

Galen jumped up and stared at the corner of the room, passed the spy woman, and shouted, "BLASTED TICKING! YOUSE GETTING ON ME LAST NERVES!" He reached down and grabbed his pack and threw it at the corner. The back thudded loudly against the wall and echoed in the concrete room. Galen calmed down and immediately shrieked and ran to his pack. He fumbled with the latch to the lid, cursing himself. 'Sorry love.... so so sorry.... forgive me.... damned ticking it was... ' he muttered as he popped the compartment button and lifted ISIS and cradled her in his arms.

 

[Daeus]

Fau shot a death-glare at the stranger that was her cell companion. He seemed to be mentally unstable and she didn't want to be in his presence longer than necessary. She rolled her eyes at him when he made the comment about there not being a keyhole. However, he catch her attention when he mentioned someone or some thing named Isis that could open the door. The less work for her the better. However, he could also be completely insane and simply think he can find a way to open the door.


This thought felt more affirmed when he suddenly jumped up and threw his bag screaming about ticking. Then he proceeded to mutter apologies to an inanimate object. Had they tortured this guy to the brink of insanity or had he been left in here this long he's lost his mind and has an imaginary friend which just so happens to be his pack.


"If you can open the door, prove it," she challenged.


As she stood there staring at him she crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently. She had a limited time frame to get out of this place. She knew that breaking out was a bad idea, but breaking out would also give her the chance to find a way to pay off her debt and interest as well as the 'I-am-sorry-I-escaped' fee.