Conversation · Bird's Nest Roy

"Anyhow, it's yours now..." He slides the tape closer to you on the counter top.

"Not very. I need to funk it up."

"You're quite invested in this." He looks at the bundle of tape in front of him. It shimmers under the shop's dazzling light show.

"No, that's the thing -- you can't believe how unbelievably thin the beat is. There's nothing to it, no bass! It just goes bzoot-bzoot-bzoot. But this tape could make it hard core.

"I met some young ravers near the place. They want to turn the church into a nightclub and play some weird neo-disco beats there. I promised to help them with that."

"I met some young enthusiasts down the coast. And they play this weird neo-disco music..."

"Wait, but you tinker with film tapes all the time. Isn't that the same?"

"No, it's different... those film tapes actually mean something to me, but this is just a worthless bundle of old tape."

"Hmh, maybe you can help me some other way, then."

"Sure..." he mumbles as his eyes once again start following the light show around the pawnshop.

"Do you recognise net worth in here? I have a lot of it." (Show him the certificate.)

He scans the document in your hand. "This is--" He's interrupted by a sudden cough. "I certainly wouldn't pass up the opportunity to acquire something that can make princes out of peons."

"Owning shares -- that's where the proper trade is. Far beyond the pittance I deal with in here."

He seems down on himself. Offer a bit of positivity and you might put him in a more benevolent mood.

"What's wrong with your shop? I like it in here."

"Nothing's wrong with it. The shop suits me fine. It's just..." He changes tack. "We all need a bit of luck in our lives, you know? A lottery win."

He's hiding something.

"Is there something you're not telling me?"

He lets out a long sigh. "I'm in debt, officer. I've felt stuck for a long time." He looks at the paper in your hand. "Those stocks -- they could be my way out."

The pain written in the creases of his face... sheesh! This is a man who's been trying to catch falling knives for years.

"This debt -- is it the drugs?"

"Yes and no. It started when I had a bit of extra cash on me after acquiring the shop. Could do anything I wanted with it. So what does a young man do in that situation?"

What doesn't he do?

"I sure as hell didn't know. All I could think to do was pump it into the relief effort. I had to do something after I left the frontlines... for them, but also for myself."

He was already scarred...

Something just shuddered up his spine.

Mauled by a nightmare. Bite marks in his bones.

"That doesn't explain how you got into debt..."

"No... I soon started searching for other ways to cope with the mental trauma. Being cooped up alone most of the day was exacerbating it -- just my own head to consort with."

"A friend of mine knew of a way to deal with that. That's when I started riding the pyro, as they say. That did help -- a lot, actually. But it was another monthly outgoing... still is."

And now he needs it just to exist...

"Sounds like you'll just get into debt again even if you do pay it off..."

"No chance. I've got a better grip on my finances these days. This is a mistake from my younger days that just won't go away."

"But that's enough of my sob story. Let's get back to business," he says, as if this conversation has changed nothing between you.

"Man, you've really been through the wringer."

"Yeah. But that's enough of my sob story. Let's get back to business," he says, as if this conversation has changed nothing between you.

"Sounds like you've had it hard."

"No... Being cooped up alone most of the day wasn't healthy for me -- just my own head to consort with. But a friend of mine knew of a way to deal with that."

"It helped but it was another monthly outgoing... still is. It would have been fine but I was naive back then. Didn't think I'd ever run out of money..."

"Did it help?"

"For a little while. But I soon started searching for other ways to cope with the mental trauma. Being cooped up alone most of the day was exacerbating it... just my own head to consort with."

"A friend of mine knew of a way to deal with that. That's when I started riding the pyro, as they say. It helped -- a lot, actually. But it was another monthly outgoing... still is."

"For a little while. Being cooped up alone most of the day wasn't healthy for me... just my own head to consort with. But a friend of mine knew of a way to deal with that."

"It helped but it was another monthly outgoing... still is. It would have been fine but I was naive back then. Didn't think I'd ever run out of money..."

"I sure as hell didn't know. So I pumped it into charities to help the less fortunate. I had to do something... for them, but also for myself."

"How did you get into debt?"

"After I acquired the shop I had a bit of extra cash on my hands. Could do anything I wanted with it. So what does a young man do in that situation?"

"That must have taken its toll on you."

"Yeah. It's surprising how haggard years and years of stress can make you. But that's why it's one of the biggest killers in the world, I guess."

Let him hide.

"Onwards and upwards." (Give him a thumbs up.)

"Something like that, officer."

That didn't work? He must have sunk pretty low.

The bric-à-brac man looks at you from behind two layers of polished glass. It is nearly impossible to read any emotion. He sways slightly and itches his cheek.

He hides his struggle well, just like he does the scarred walls of his shop -- concealed behind stacks of dusty merchandise.

The bric-à-brac man looks at you from behind two layers of polished glass. It is nearly impossible to read any emotion. He sways slightly and itches his cheek.

If there is any struggle in him, he hides it well, just like he does the scarred walls of his shop -- concealed behind stacks of dusty merchandise.

"What can I trade for these shares then? Everything?" (Proceed.)

"In theory, yes, you probably have enough to afford it all. However, I don't plan on selling up and joining the mastodons of La Delta just yet."

Shades here is certainly junked up enough to fit in with the big dicks swinging wild and free across the river.