"Adam, if you don't have my money, you lying little sack of shit, I'm going to get your balls," Pedro Alvarez said menacingly as he looked at the stocky, dark-skinned young Haitian man who stood before him. Even though it was an unseasonably cool morning in early June, Adam Gustave had begun to sweat profusely. Pedro's acolytes, a portly Mexican guy named Oscar and a tall, lean and tattooed Asian dude named Chan, laughed at their boss humor while eyeing Adam coldly.
Adam had just come out of Royal Barbershop, a spot where he'd been going for years, and he'd crossed the street, intent on checking out the new Indian restaurant. After getting his hair cut, and chatting with his favorite barber, the young brother was feeling good. Unfortunately for him, the restaurant was closed. And then he got the urge to take a leak, and went behind the restaurant to do his business. That's when he ran into Pedro Alvarez, leader of the local thugs, to whom he happened to owe about a thousand dollars...
"I'm sorry, Pedro, I don't have the whole thing, if you could just give me more time," Adam mumbled, and he was abruptly cut off when Pedro decked him, square in the jaw. Adam went sprawling against the wall, and was so dizzy that Chan and Oscar had to help him up. Shaking his head, Pedro pulled out his switchblade, and held it inches from Adam's face.
"You're fucked, Adam," Pedro said nastily, and Adam looked into the Latino gangster's eyes and saw cruelty and grim determination. Without hesitation he did the first thing that came to mind, and swung his leg at Pedro's crotch, catching him squarely in the nuts. Doubling over in pain, Pedro dropped his blade, and Adam shoved his way past the stunned Chan and Oscar, and slipped away.
"Dude left me no choice," Adam said to himself as he ran across McArthur Avenue, one of Vanier's busiest streets, and made his way past a certain Asian restaurant where he'd dined a few times. Glancing the park in the distance, he made his way there, hoping to lose his pursuers. Chancing a glance backwards, Adam saw that Pedro and company were still after him, and they were rapidly closing the gap between them and their prey.
Adam crossed the park and made his way to Donald Street, and ran as fast as he could. Earlier that day, he'd walked on Donald Street as he made his way to Soleil Des Iles, a neat little Haitian restaurant that served the best food, in spite of its ghetto location. After eating some tasty Haitian food while chatting the cute dreadlocked and big-bottomed Haitian gal working behind the counter, Adam left the restaurant and walked to McArthur to get his haircut. That's when everything started to go wrong...
As Adam ran and ran, he came across a large building with a fence around it. Any port in a storm, the desperate young man thought as he made a mad dash across the building parking lot. He saw a door that was slightly ajar and made a bee line for it, intent on hiding inside until he could call the cops or something.
Adam had no love for the guys and gals in blue, but that day, he would have kissed them if they were around to save him from Pedro and his thugs. The Latino gangster had a bad reputation, even for a loan shark. Pedro Alvarez was the new breed of gangster, the type who took no prisoners and rather than strictly working along ethnic lines, he had everyone from fellow Latinos to Asian guys and even Jamaican guys working for him.
Pedro Alvarez was one dangerous son of a bitch, rumor has it that he cut off some dude's fingers for making a pass at his girlfriend Rosita one night at a club downtown. Adam wouldn't have gone to him unless he was truly desperate. Ever since he split from Sarah Sloane, the young white chick he'd been dating/living with, Adam had fallen on hard times. Sarah moved out and in a desperate attempt to hang onto their Barrhaven apartment, Adam took out a loan which he couldn't repay on time. Adam grabbed the door and went inside, and promptly shut it behind him.
