Tyranny of Need

A Slovakian gangster works for Boss Tom in downtown Banska Bystrica, pulling the electrical power of clients who can't meet their payments. But the suffering and addiction that he sees in his vict

Jozef Sklenár hadn't come to the suburbs looking for a fight, but his trips always seemed to end with someone pointing a gun at someone else.

"Hello Mária." He offered casually, as though he were dropping by for a cup of coffee. His 9mm pistol jabbed outward from behind the zipper of his leather jacket, visible only to the terrified woman it was pointing at. She hesitated at the verge of her door, a dull red apron wound tightly around her thick frame, patchy with cooking stains. She leaned around the doorframe and saw the others behind Jozef; black clad men in leather jackets, their eyes hidden behind sleek black sunglasses.

"Sorry to drop in on you like this love, but it's important." Jozef soothed, glancing nervously over his shoulder and down the street, making sure no curious bystanders were hanging about. "May we come in Mrs. Tichý?" One of the men behind Jozef asked in a deep voice. His blonde hair was close-cropped and his mouth barely moved to form the words. "Yes...yes of course Lukas..." Mária agreed with a trembling voice. She took a step back and let them walk inside, her red apron shifting in the cold breeze. Jozef jerked his head and the thugs joined him inside the chilly Slovakian apartment, their leather boots crunching on the worn out welcome mat.

The light of midday lanced through the westward windows and hung in the dusty air, as Jozef and Lukas followed Mária into her small kitchen. The place smelled of stale bread and whiskey, but the chairs were soft and padded, the walls hung with cute murals of family pictures and cheesy life mottos. Jozef saw one that said Live, Laugh, Love, sprawled across the south-facing wall in poorly translated Slovakian. He regarded it coldly as he slid his pistol back into the pocket inside his leather jacket.

"Please...ha...have a seat..." Mária stuttered in a squeaky voice as she rushed to the cabinet to find a package of assorted biscuits. With shaking hands she slid them out of a wrapping and onto a dirty plate, before dropping the plate on the kitchen table. It clattered onto the burnt, hardwood surface before Mária jumped backwards, leaning apprehensively against the kitchen sink.

"Thank you love, but we're not really here for a visit."

Lukas removed his sunglasses with a gloved hand to reveal his indifferent, grey eyes. "We're here to pull your power."

Maria gripped the edge of the sink with white fingers, stiffening with fear. Jozef's thumbs fiddled uncomfortably in their leather gloves as he leaned against the wall, avoiding her eyes.

"Wha....what?" Mária stuttered pitifully, desperate to not believe what she was hearing. Jozef scratched at his arm and looked away.

"Your bill is long past due love, simple as that. You don't pay, then Big Boss Tom cuts you off." Jozef stuck his hands in his pockets and avoided Mária's gaze, his eyes carrying him far from the conversation as he took in her quaint little home. But he heard everything that was said. He shifted from one foot to the other, scratching absentmindedly at the inside of his arm. He found

his reflection in a far window in the next room, staring sullenly at his own gaunt face. "You can't be serious! We need that power! You know how much the city charges!" Mária protested, but Lukas didn't seem to hear her.

"Well if you and Martin are ready to pay the bill, then we'd be happy to go back to the club and not bother you again. But if you don't have the bill, then I'm afraid that's the way it is."

"Martin and I need to be able to power our freezer; otherwise all the meat will spoil! How are we supposed to pay Boss Tom if we can't run our business?" But Lukas didn't seem to care. He rolled his eyes at the peeling yellow ceiling and sighed.

"Look you either have it or you don't."

Mária stammered, her forehead beading with nervous sweat as she looked from one thug to the other, trying to find a hint of sympathy in their uncaring eyes. Jozef blocked her out and looked at Lukas expectantly, hoping for some direction. His vision blurred and the noise around him blurred too, until everyone's voice was just a distant bass rumble in the back of his head.

"Well...well of course I don't have it! It's the middle of the month and we don't put together our earning until �" "

But Lukas had heard all he needed to hear. He pulled a rusted ring of keys from inside his jacket and flung them at his partner. They hit Jozef in the chest and clattered to the ground, startling him back to wakefulness.

"You here?" Lukas snapped angrily, and Jozef scrambled to grab the keys off the floor. He scraped them up and began flicking through the ring until he found the key he was looking for, ignoring the snide remarks from his partner.

"Go open the box Joe." Lukas muttered, even while Mária was still pleading with him, her hands outstretched in a desperate appeal. Jozef turned away from her with a hunched shoulder, stepping out of the room and heading for the back of the apartment.

"No! Please! Listen to me!" Maria's desperate voice followed him as he fled the room. Jozef heard Lukas arguing with her briefly, before he found the door that led to the back of the apartment. He inched the screen door open before stepping out onto the deck, his eyes searching for the power panel.

Mária and Lukas burst through the back door just as Jozef was turning the key on the small steel box, the lock flinging open with a metallic click. Mária was hysterical, desperately trying to break free of Lukas's leather grip as she pleaded for their mercy.

"Please! Please don't do this sir! I'm begging you!"

"Get ahold of yourself, crazy b***h!" Lukas swore, as Mária elbowed him in the ribs. Jozef flipped open the panel with his back turned to the pair, trying to block out the sound of her frantic voice. He saw the plug that connected her apartment to Boss Tom's power supply, and grabbed it between his thumb and his forefinger.

"No! Please sir! I'm begging you!"

"Just get it done so we can leave Joe!" Lukas's voice commanded from behind him. Jozef hesitated at the edge, his eyes drawn backwards to the struggling form of Mrs. Tichý and her tear-stricken face. His chest tightened when he saw her, his grip on the plug loosening.

"I dunno about this Lukas..." He called back. But then he saw that Lukas had drawn his pistol. Jozef stammered with the keys in his hand, the wind cold on his face. He turned away from Lukas and Mária, cursing under his breath as his eyes locked on the tiny, plastic plug. He pinched the outer jacket and pulled; the socket clung to the cable tightly, but with a loud POP the cord let go and hung loosely in his grip. He closed the box and locked it with the key, stuffing the keyring back into his pocket beside the pistol.

"Done." He muttered into his collar.

"Let's get going then fuckhead!" Lukas snarled at Jozef from the balcony door, before disappearing back into the apartment. Jozef stuffed his hands in his pockets and scowled angrily at his partner, before ascending the stairs. Mária was kneeling at the top of the back deck, her arms wrapped around the old wooden railing.

"Why...why sir..." She sobbed, tears staining her red apron as she knelt on the cold wooden surface. Jozef hid his eyes behind his high collar and wouldn't look at her. He winced when she reached out for him; afraid to be so close, to such powerful suffering.

*

"Martin isn't gonna be too happy...but it's not like he matters. The rest of your monkeys will fall in line after they hear what happens to those who don't pay up." Lukas hammered back a shot of whiskey that seemed to disappear as soon as it reached his lips. He wiped his mouth on the cuff of his leather jacket, before slamming the glass back down on the bar counter. Jozaf slid around on his bar stool, trying to get comfortable with his elbows slipping on the polished counter. He scratched at the leather on his arm, trying to hit the itch underneath the tough fiber. Lukas didn't seem to notice though; he was far too busy sucking up to Big Boss Tomáš.

"I can't thank you enough Lukas, you two have been a good help to me and I appreciate it." Tomáš mulled from behind the counter, his eyes flitting distractedly to the glaring TV screen hanging from the ceiling tiles. Boss Tom had slicked back hair the color of obsidian, and a pressed grey suit that clung to his portly frame with a sad determination. His unshaven face sagged with age but the shoulders of his suit bulged with obvious muscle. He spared a glance at Jozef, his eyes narrowing with concern.

"You okay there Joe? Lookin a little strung out." Tom mumbled, taking a sip from his glass of amber whiskey.

"He's been all quiet-like since we came back from Mária's." Lukas piped in, elbowing Jozef to get his attention. The exasperated thug leaned away from Lukas with an irritated look, shoving his hand away.

"I'm fine. Just tired is all."

"Well maybe you outta go upstairs and get some sleep Joe. You boys have got another job tonight."

Tomáš gestured through the doorway on his right that led to a steep flight of stairs and Joe, feeling a little starved of choice, nodded in agreement.

"Yeah all right...I'll see about it." He mumbled half-heartedly, sliding out of his seat and shoving his hands in his pockets, before trudging past his comrades with a tired yawn.

"See you later boss." He called, waving a hand behind him. Tom turned back to the TV screen and waved without a word.

But Joe didn't head straight for the upstairs; he crossed the bar and went into the restaurant, stepping around the silken tablecloths with their precisely placed silverware. He rubbed his right arm with a shaking hand as his boots made a storming sound through the wide, empty dining room. He reached the elegant urbane door as white as porcelain, before turning the brass handle and stepping outside.

Jozef skidded across the dry pavement, hiding his exposed neck from the cold wind behind his tall jacket collar. The streets of Banská Bystrica were empty and frosted over with rimes of ice, broken only by the wail of distant car horns and the skidding of rubber wheels. His heavy boots rapped against the sidewalk as he shuffled hastily down Sliač Street with a determined air. It wasn't long before Jozef found himself ducking into a narrow alleyway off of Sliač, slipping into the darkened passage without a word. Waiting for him at the end of the claustrophobic lane, was a hunched man in a hooded sweatshirt.

"Jozef...didn't expect to see you so soon." His unbalanced voice sounded like a broken saxophone in the tight confines of the alleyway. He grinned a blackened, toothy smile from underneath the lip of his fraying hood. Jozef eyed him warily, but stepped up beside the man without hesitating.

"I need another one." He stated flatly, without humor. The man's grin disappeared.

"You got the money?"

"Jozef reached a shivering hand into his coat pocket, making the man jump backwards with a start. But after Jozef had searched through the folds of his jacket for a moment, he produced a wad of wrinkled euros between his chilled fingers.

He shoved the money at the man, not daring to touch the grungy stranger. The hooded figure scooped up the money and counted it, before nodding away to a satisfied beat.

"Looks good man...looks good. Alright here you go." The hooded man slung a small, leather bag off of his shoulder, the metal buttons unclipping as he opened it. He reached in and took out a small Ziploc bag with a blue seal, stuffed full with refined white powder. Jozef snatched it from his fingers with a quaking hand, before stuffing it inside his coat.

"Thanks..." he mumbled, before turning on his heel and putting his back to the man.

"You best be careful bud, don't wanna get hooked!" The figure called back to Jozef, as the young thug stomped away in a sour mood. Jozef felt the bag against the inside pocket of his jacket, sitting against his breast as he raced back down the alley. He chattered his teeth in the cold wind and his veins burned with a blistering need.

*

When Jozef got back to the restaurant late that evening, it was with a calmer, more controlled step to his walk. His limbs no longer shook and his face was icy and composed in the soft snowfall, as he rapped his cold knuckles on the smooth white door. His nose was beet red, but it wasn't from the cold. His left nostril burned like hot glass; but his sensorium had finally found some peace.

The door creaked open and a hand gestured for him to come inside. He took a cautious look down each street, his paranoia still fresh and functional, before he rushed through the gap and into the restaurant.

The lights were off and the restaurant was cast in the darkness of feeble dusk, the white tables a pale shade of grey in the twilight. The door closed behind Jozef as if by itself and he rubbed his eyes as he tried to adjust them to the darkness.

"Why's it so dark in here?" He muttered, scrubbing his retinas with a gloved hand. "We need to talk Joe." Came a deep, graven voice from out of the severe darkness. Jozef felt a pang of cold fear shoot up his spine as the lights flickered on above his head.

The sudden light illuminated Boss Tomáš in its harsh glare, as well as the heavy automatic pistol held rigid in his grip. Lukas was behind him, his arms crossed as he glared across the room at his partner. Jozef looked around the restaurant; a half a dozen Street Raptors were assembled in a semi-circle of callous judgement, their uncaring eyes all aimed his way.

"...the f**k is this!?" Jozef almost yelled, but it came out as a hoarse yelp in his parched throat. His hands immediately came up in surrender, his bottom lip twitching with a sudden confusion. "We know you're using Joe." Lukas warned shaking his head, looking away with a disappointed frown.

"What? Using what?"

"The drugs."

Jozef rolled his eyes. "Yeah, so what? Not like it's new to you."

"We don't give a f**k if you shoot up now and then, but it's starting to get to you boy. You're going all... loose, on us." Tomáš's words gouged like razors in Jozef's ears and he winced.

"Oh and who told you that eh? Lukas? Lukas did you say something?"

Lukas shrugged. "It's not like you're doing a bang up job hiding it."

"I'm fine Boss!"

"Sure you are."

Jozef scoffed angrily. "I am! I'm on an edge every now and then but it's not like I'm chirping for a fix all day. I'm still good! "

Tomáš eyed him suspiciously. "You're a liar Joe."

Lukas chuckled to himself, like he found something funny. "Yeah you say that Joe. But we see you better than you can see yourself. You're wasted. Strung out. Like a doll on its last strings." Jozef's body trembled underneath him, livid rage bubbling up from his stomach. He glared at Lukas with hatred brimming in his eyes.

"You sonofabich Lukas! Backstabbing mother �""

"Didn't need Lukas to tell me this was happening. I could see it with my own eyes. Been seeing it happen for a while now. Thought you were smarter than that Joe."

Jozef's mouth opened and closed like a mute fish, but no words would come out. Jozef pleaded, his eyes carrying around the room, trying to find a shred of sympathy in the hard faces.

"You all drinkin this bullshit smoothie too?" He asked, no one answered. He growled under his breath and his eyes strayed downwards until he was staring at the floor.

"So what then...some of us need a good high to get going every now and then."

Tomáš shook his head. "You don't need that s**t Joe. No one does. People think they need it, but it's a lie."

"You don't understand." Joe spat, refusing to look at his Boss. But Tomáš had seen enough. He stepped forward, his pistol still levelled at Jozef's chest.

"I don't understand do I? Boy I've been pushing drugs on these streets for thirty years, you don't think I know what it's like? To need something? To crave it? To feel the poverty of it, pushing through you bones? I know it all, up and down. And it's a b***h. But it's all a f*****g lie."

"Look I'm sorry...okay? I'll get clean. I'll cut it out."

Tomáš shook his head no. "Too late for that I'm afraid, I want you gone."

Jozef balked at him, his eyes wide with surprise. "You...you gonna let me go? Over this? What the f**k Tom!"

"You got a problem Joe. A big one and I can't let it be our problem too."

Jozef felt beads of sweat on his forehead, felt tightness in his throat. "Jeez Tom, if it's that bad I swear, I'll stop! Just don't drop me, I need this job!"

"Need, need, need...that the only word you know Joe? Get the f**k out."

"Tom please...please..." Joe stammered pathetically, his hands out in a silent plea. But Tom wasn't having it. He pushed the pistol forward and glared into Joe's red stricken eyes.

Out. Now. And don't come back boy, not until you're clean." Jozef looked around the room, but found no sympathy in the expressions of his comrades. His hands fell to his sides as his shoulders drooped, his heart sinking. He glowered at Tom, but averted his eyes, filled with shame. He tried to turn to leave, but his legs were rooted to the spot, some deep part of him refusing to leave.

"You f****n hear me Joe? I said get out!" Tom bawled at him, his pistol shaking a few feet from Jozef's face. Joe snapped out of it and backed away, out of the restaurant door now held open for him. He lost his footing as he stepped through the doorway, tripping and falling backwards onto the sidewalk with his hands still held in the air. The door slammed in his face with the stern looks of the men who used to be his friends, watching him fall backwards into darkness.

Jozef groaned and rolled over onto his side, pushing himself up off the frozen pavement. He kicked his legs out and sat on the curb for a moment, feeling the hot shame welling in his chest. Jozef spat and wiped his eyes, forcing down tears of panic with a harsh gulp of his dry throat. He felt around his leather jacket, searching frantically with cold fingers.

He found the bag in his inner pocket, empty except for a light dusting that still clung to the inside of the thin plastic. With a curse, he realized he didn't have any more cash on him. A man passed him by on the street, some lonely stranger in a tight-fitting trench coat. Jozef reached out his gloved hand, still shivering with the cold and beseeched the strange man.

"Hey bud, got any spare change?" He stammered, his throat parched in the dry, freezing wind. But the stranger recoiled away, afraid to be so close, to such suffering.