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Chapter 2: You Can Make a Lot of Money

The dude in the jacket took a few steps forward, stopping in front of this rickety wire fence. He checked he had the right guy and said, "I'm Bruce Adams, working for Mr. Lee."

Martin, thinking about that crazy high-interest loan, asked, "What do you want?"

Bruce put his hands on the old fence. "I heard that damn Jack skipped town. Mr. Lee sent me to remind you not to forget your debt. First payment's due next week."

The debt was from Martin's old life, so he had to deal with it. "I haven't missed a payment yet."

"It's just a friendly reminder. Be ready," Bruce said, pulling his hands back and brushing off the rust. He adjusted his belt, and his jacket opened up, showing a gun under his arm.

He grinned and said, "Don't worry, Beast House is full of civilized folks. Mr. Lee always tells us to follow the law."

Martin glanced at the gun, and his first thought was to bolt.

Usually, the way to handle unpaid debt wasn't to pay it off but to run.

But how could he run without cash?

Martin remembered something Elena had said and asked, "Hey, do the dancers at Beast House make good money?"

He recalled that being a dancer was a legit job, and making his own living wasn't shameful.

"If you're lucky, you can make a lot in tips every night." Bruce looked Martin up and down. Martin had a well-built body and striking looks. Bruce's grin widened. "Beast House just opened and needs people. You know the place. If you want to be a dancer, just go there. You got great potential; desperate middle-aged women love guys like you. You could make a lot of money."

Maybe being a dancer could be a backup plan? Martin vaguely replied, "I'll think about it."

Bruce got in his car and left.

From the neighboring yard came a noise; that mischievous kid Hall was still digging a hole.

Martin decided to find the house repairman to ask for his wages to solve his immediate food problem. Although Elena's food was delicious, he couldn't rely on it forever.

Martin carefully recalled that the office of the house repairman, Max Rivera, was quite far from the Clayton community. Walking there would take a long time, and his leg injury hadn't healed, so walking too far would worsen it and cost more money.

He had to take the bus.

Atlanta's public transportation was terrible. A bus ride from the Clayton community to the street where Max's office was located cost fifty cents one way.

Martin took out his wallet, which was empty. The little money he had left had been spent by Harris on medicine for his injury.

Bill Brown only provided veterinary medicine, but since it was free, Martin didn't dare to take it.

Looking at the neighboring yard, Martin gave up the idea of robbing a child. He went back inside and searched, finding only a quarter.

Martin remembered that Elena's father, Scott, ran a grocery store that bought stolen goods and scrap. He looked around the wooden house.

There were only the most basic old sofa, low wooden table, and broken wooden bed. Any valuable furniture or appliances had long been taken by the Carter family to sell for money.

The remaining items were not only broken but also very heavy.

With his leg injury, Martin couldn't carry the sofa or table to sell. He took a pair of pliers with damaged insulation from the drawer of the low wooden table and went to the yard next to the Carter house. He cut the rusty wire fence and rolled it up.

The cut wire had many sharp points, making it hard to handle. Martin went back inside and searched again, finding a rope under the bed.

"Can I sell the Carter family's wire fence to Scott?" Martin thought it should be possible since many houses in the community had similar fences.

Suddenly, a scream came from next door, sounding like Harris.

Martin quickly went outside and walked briskly toward the Carter house.

In the Carter's yard, a bicycle lay on the ground, with a dirt hole next to the front wheel. Loose soil was falling into the hole through a collapsed piece of cardboard.

Harris was sitting on the ground, clutching his arm, tears streaming down his face in pain.

Ten-year-old Hall stood in front of him, mocking, "Get up, you wimp! Don't be such a henpecked!"

Harris yelled, "Shut up, you idiot! My left arm's probably broken!"

Hall's tone softened a bit. "I was just joking, made a little trap. You're too dumb..."

When Martin was a stuntman, he'd seen plenty of broken forearms. After checking Harris out, he said, "Tough luck, man. It's a broken left arm."

"Damn it!" Harris was sweating bullets from the pain.

Hall, feeling guilty, stepped back and eventually fell to the ground.

Seeing that Harris had no other injuries, Martin said, "You need treatment. I'll take you to Mr. Brown. You said he's a skilled doctor."

Harris looked terrified. "Mr. Brown isn't good at treating fractures. If he treats me, there's a one hundred percent chance I'll end up disabled."

"The Carter family will get an extra disability benefit!" Martin added timely. He reminded, "Don't move your left arm."

Hurried footsteps sounded, and the door creaked open. Fourteen-year-old Lily Carter ran out and asked, "What did you two idiots do? Hall, where did this damn hole come from? Did you screw the earth?"

Martin interrupted her, "Go tell your sister that Harris broke his arm."

"I'll go borrow a phone from Mrs. Perez." Lily quickly ran diagonally across the street.

Martin deliberately kept Harris distracted by talking, "Why did you come back so soon?"

Harris, enduring the pain, said, "The Cole Sisters had something come up; they weren't home."

Within a few minutes, Lily returned with a phone and said, "Elena borrowed a car; she's on her way back."

Hearing Elena's name, Hall propped himself up with his hands and scooted backward, trying to get away.

Elena's temporary job wasn't far, so she could drive back quickly.

She was in such a hurry that she hadn't even changed out of her teddy bear costume pants.

Seeing Harris's condition, Elena took out her wallet and checked her money, pulling out a few one-dollar and five-dollar bills, and two twenty-dollar bills. She was losing her composure. "Don't worry, I'll figure something out. There has to be a way!"

Martin, who had just eaten a week of free meals, patted her on the shoulder. "Give me your car keys."

Elena instinctively handed over the keys.

"Wait here. I'll go get the money." Martin took the keys and walked toward the car.

Lily suddenly caught up and handed Martin the borrowed phone. "Take this. If we can't get the money, you can call Elena anytime..."

She extended her longest finger, retracted it, and extended it again.

Martin pressed Lily's forehead and pushed her away.

Getting into the car, he familiarized himself with the gears, recalled a bit, and then started the car, driving out of the Clayton community and heading south quickly.

Max's office was on the edge of the Marietta business district. The road between there and Clayton was old and full of potholes, making it hard to drive fast.

After half an hour, Martin arrived in front of a four-story office building. He parked the car, went inside, and found Max's repair company office on the second floor.

He knocked and entered, where a burly Latino man asked, "What do you need?"

Martin replied, "I'm one of Mr. Rivera's workers. I'm here to discuss work-related matters."

The blinds in the inner office were pulled open, and someone spoke, "Martin, come in."

Martin entered the inner office and quickly scanned the room. There were various sizes of teddy bears on the display shelves and the desk.

Even the two family photos on the desk had large teddy bears in the background.

The photos showed a family of four with happy smiles.

A warm, harmonious, and happy family that loved teddy bears.

Being observant, Martin noticed a few other things.

There were traces of white powder on the edges of the documents piled on the wooden desk. Middle-aged Max frequently sniffed, and a few barely noticeable white specks clung to the nose hairs protruding from his nostrils. His eyes above his large nose were red and bloodshot.

Martin had seen many people like this from the lower class, such as Scott and Emma.

Max, slightly manic, asked, "Is your injury healed?"

Martin said, "My head still hurts from time to time, and my leg is in pain."

"You came for your wages, I understand." Max opened the large drawer in the middle, took out a cash check, and pushed it to Martin. "Here's your pay."

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