Free Pay Up and Die by Chuck Buda Page B

plenty of distressed houses in the area, probably all those folks that bought too high in the market and when the bubble burst, they lost the homes to the banks.
    The debt collector threw the bus in park and turned off the engine. He stood up and towered over Andrew’s limp body. His head tilted down to keep from smashing his skull into the roof of the bus. He pulled a folding knife out of his back pocket and crouched down in the aisle of the bus. He studied the peaceful expression on the kid’s face. “Your Dad should have kept his mouth shut, kid. You know what happens to little boys who have father’s with big mouths? They get punished. They got locked in basements and have to share their supper with rats.” Tears were brimming his eyes now as he relived his past. “Boys need to pay for the sins of the father. You see, the pain comes down like a lightning rod. But you get used to it eventually. You take it in. You absorb it. You own it.” A tear dripped down his cheek. He used the knife and began to cut. “That which doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. Remember that. It will keep you warm at night while you sit in your own shit in the dark. It will comfort you when all the others won’t believe what you tell them about how stupid your father is.” More cutting. “It will keep you alive when they try to take your life.” He raised his hand to brush some messy hair out of his eyes when he noticed the blood on his fingers. He stopped speaking and sniffed his fingertips. Then looked at the boy. He stuck the fingers in his mouth and tilted his head up in a euphoric moment of ecstasy. Removing the fingers from his mouth they were cleaned. He began to smile and his white teeth were now pinkish from all the blood in his mouth. It tasted delicious. “The sins of the father must be cleaned.” He breathed so fast now he was nearly hyperventilating. “The sins of the father must be cleaned.” He repeated the mantra and got back to work.

Chapter 17
     
     
     
     
    “Hey, Michael? You have a minute?” Michael had just passed Derrick’s office when he was asked to come in. He was a little surprised at how friendly Derrick sounded since things were much more tense last time they spoke.
    “Uh, sure.” He looked around and then entered Derrick’s office.
    “Sit down, sit down.” Derrick motioned him to a chair. He closed the office door and then sat back down behind his desk. “Look, I just want to clear the air and make sure we’re good. I wasn’t myself the other day and now that I’ve had some time to reflect I realize I was out of line.” He apologized emphatically.
    “Wow. Thanks, Derrick. That’s gracious of you. I have to admit I was stunned by what happened and I felt really, betrayed, considering our long relationship.”
    “Yes, betrayal. I know how that can hurt a man.” Derrick shifted in his chair. He leaned up, his elbows on the desk. “I know that you spoke with Larry and now the company wants to look further into the matter.” He soaked in the shock on Michael’s face.
    “I did? I mean, I did but it was just confiding in a co-worker. I don’t intend to do anything about it.” He reddened as he instinctively backpedaled. No balls to stand up to Derrick. “I asked Larry to keep things confidential. I’m sorry that he didn’t keep his word to me.”
    “Yeah, well Larry is a great guy but he can’t be trusted with these types of, situations. So he got nervous and confided in his boss who decided that a formal investigation would be necessary to protect the bank. And you, of course.” Derrick turned his gaze out the window. “There’s nothing we can do about that now except answer their questions and show them that things are square between us. We do want to bury this, don’t we?”
    Michael followed Derrick’s gaze out the window and then looked back. “Well, I certainly want to put it behind us. But, I think we need to handle the collections differently. We can’t attack good