Scene Two
Chad sits on the sofa with a beer between his legs. He is sleeping. On the coffee table there are assorted beer bottles and a half empty bottle of whiskey. On the floor of the stage are broken pieces of a smashed cell phone strewn around. Demetrius, followed by the two bikers, enter the room. Demetrius smiles. He prepares to take his former seat on the recliner.
Demetrius – (To one of the bikers) Wake ‘em up.
The biker walks over to Chad and slaps him. Chad jumps and stares wildly around the room before his eyes land on Demetrius. He looks back at the clock and then to Demetrius.
Chad – I still have some time.
Demetrius – If you still need time then you too late son. You ain’t left the house since I been here, so’s I think you ain’t takin’ this serious-like.
Chad – What the fuck was I supposed to do? I had nowhere to go, nothing I could have done! I was fucked from the start!
Demetrius – I knew you wasn’t the enterprisin’ type, but I thought you might still got self-preservation somewhere in there.
Chad – I guess not.
Demetrius – (Looks around) Where your butterfly at? She done left you too, huh.
Chad – That was you.
Demetrius – How you figure?
Chad – You called me out about the brakes!
Demetrius – So the brakes was fine! Son of a bitch, I knew it from the moment you ran that stop sign! So you ain’t tell her the truth neither?
Chad – I couldn’t, she would have left me before now.
Demetrius – So you blamin’ me for you fibbin’ to your old lady?
Chad – You could have just taken me to court or something, you didn’t need to show up here.
Demetrius – I ain’t from ‘round here. My pops figured the best way for me to get my teeth cut was to go off on my own, take responsibility, and grow the family business. Family business bein’ scratchin’ someone else’s back so they gots to scratch yours. For my shit to work, everyone’s got to take responsibility for theyselves though. Sounds to me like you someone who don’t know much about that.
Chad – Listen, it was an accident, I can try …
Demetrius – That was no accident. Accident implies that there is no fault. You was at fault, pure and simple. What was you doin’ anyway?
Chad – Smokin’ a joint.
Demetrius – You dropped that shit didn’t you?
Chad nods.
Demetrius – (Laughs) Damn! Wish you would have saved that shit now, huh!
Chad – I guess. Look, I’ll do whatever I can to pay you back, I just can’t take care of it right this second.
Demetrius – You had two months to reach out to me nigga! I ain’t heard boo from you for two months! Now you want to work out somethin’. Naw, it don’t work like that. See, I know you, I know your type. Unless someone backs you into a corner there ain’t nothin’ you gonna do to rectify the problem. You know Greg Stevenson?
Chad – Yeah, but how …
Demetrius – Used to be your best friend, right? Cat told me you owe him fifteen hundred he lent you to buy your car. What about your ex, Chelsie Barnard?
Chad – Where the fuck …
Demetrius – That broad couldn’t didn’t know how many times she bailed your ass out on rent, electric, or cable before she dropped you like an Acme anvil. Then there’s your old roomy, Andrew Peer. Dude covered the rent for both of you for six months straight before he realized you ain’t gonna pay shit. Your landlord Michael Mosley had to let you stay in that apartment for four months to get a court order when you refused to leave ‘cause you was evicted for not payin’ rent. Those just the ones I remember off the top of my head.
Chad – How the fuck do you know all of that?
Demetrius – I study people, it’s what I do. I gots money, I gots means, and I gots to know who needs my help so eventually they reciprocate. I also need to who the worthless fucks is. When you smashed up my Lexus, I started asking ‘round ‘bout you. Not a single damn good word could be heard. You, dog, are a worthless fuck.
Chad – Fuck you!
Demetrius – Fuck me, huh? This ain’t ‘bout you and me no more, holmes. I ain’t got no need for your money. I call my pops and tell him some jackass totaled my car, he’ll ship me a car or transfer the cash. Naw, this is ‘bout a favor for the peeps you done fucked, I’m settling their score. Fiddy grand is what you owe them, after interest. I ain’t even countin’ whatever burden you put on your butterfly. If you had the money or the car right now, your accounts with them and me would be settled. If you put in some effort, I might have worked with you on the rest. You ain’t done nothin’ to make this better but sit here and drink your life away. You want to say fuck me cause I called you a worthless fuck, but that’s all on you nigga.
Chad – We can still work something out!
Demetrius – (Ignoring Chad’s plea) I’m surprised you haven’t mentioned my boys that been with me. You should recognize them, they bar is one of your digs.
Chad – I don’t …
Demetrius – Rocket and Rattlesnake, they club owns Outlaw Saloon. A lot of the people you fucked are regulars at their establishment. You got a tab a mile long there. Shit, I usually gotta pay these hard hitting motherfuckers for they services, but not tonight. Tonight, they said it’s they pleasure. Tonight, I ain’t even gotta do nothin’, I just planned this shit, and what happens after. They doin’ the heavy liftin’ though.
Chad – (To the bikers, on the verge of tears) Please, I will do whatever you want me to do to make this right, I swear to God!
Demetrius – You be trippin’ if you think they’s gonna talk to you right now. Naw, they’s in character. You already a corpse to them boy.
Chad – Demetrius, please, is there anything I can do? I swear, I can change I can …
Demetrius – Short of handin’ me fiddy grand, there ain’t shit you can do.
Demetrius looks at the clock and stands up.
Demetrius – (To the bikers) It’s ‘bout that time boys. You figured out who’s gonna do it?
The bikers nod.
Demetrius – (To Chad) I’m sure you heard this before, but this ain’t personal, it business. You ain’t gonna take care of your debts, you ain’t nothin’ but a burden. All there is to it. (To bikers) Try not to make too much of a mess. I got Mace comin’ by to clean up, but he’ll be pissed if he got too much work to do. When you done I’ll meet you down by Walt’s, he’ll take care of the rest.
Demetrius takes one last look at Chad and shakes his head, and exits stage right. The two bikers move into position facing Chad in front of the coffee table. One of them pulls a gun as the stage goes dark or the curtains come down. A gun shot goes off.
The End
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