A/N: First Repo! The Genetic Opera story I ever wrote, the idea coming in the middle of the night.
Disclaimer: I obviously do not own Repo! or anything in it.
Graverobber wondered at first if the man was drunk.
He'd never seen him before, and the way he was stumbling it seemed likely. That or he was sick. Alcohol was going out of fashion, after all. That's why Graverobber was selling Zydrate. And an awful lot of people were sick… Either way, he seemed to want Graverobber's services. One of his customers, a girl named Autumn, was leading him into the alleyway by his arm. It was weird. Males didn't come to see him as much. They weren't as interested in surgery.
"Look what I picked up," Autumn announced as soon as she had gotten close. Her voice was dripping with pride. She let go of the man's arm, skipping over to whisper in Graverobber's ear. "Possible new customer, he is."
"You want surgeries?" Graverobber asked, grabbing for the satchel he kept joints in. This guy did not seem the type.
"Not really," the man's voice was quiet and cracking. He really did look sick, "She just told me… it was a painkiller."
Autumn gave Graverobber a gloating look, leaning in his ear again, "The man's wife just died. He's at his most gullible," she giggled, "I was able to convince him this would help."
That would explain why he looked so sick. Graverobber had been about to direct him to GeneCo's surgery and artificial Zydrate. "Well, when it comes to painkillers there's none better," he smirked, pulling out a glowing blue tube to show off.
The man's eyes widened, and he stumbled forward. "That's it?" He was obviously about to make a grab for it when Graverobber swatted his hand away.
"I'll give it to you on two conditions. First, tell me your name." He jumped on the lid of the dumpster, holding the tube far above his head.
"Nathan… Wallace," he murmured, eyes fixated on the Zydrate.
Graverobber blinked. The name sounded vaguely familiar. Wasn't he the one who'd taken Rotti Largo's fiancée away from him? "Second, there's payment."
Nathan winced. He had obviously been dreading this moment. "See, I don't have any money right now… but I just got a job… I was hoping I could pay you back later."
"No money, no product." Graverobber jumped from the dumpster. Well, that went that. No male customer.
"Aww, come on, Graverobber." Autumn grabbed his arm, clinging, "He'll get it soon enough." She turned to Nathan, "It's all right, darling. There's ways to pay in the mean time."
Graverobber stopped in the middle of his grab for the satchel. He glanced slowly to Nathan, whose eyes were darting between the two people before him. He looked absolutely befuddled.
"I'll do anything," he replied slowly, suddenly more cautious.
Autumn's giggle was painfully high-pitched as she scurried over to Nathan and grinned drunkenly in his face, "Anything?"
Graverobber straightened up, looking over at Nathan with narrowed eyes. Why was Autumn doing this? Was she trying to impress him by recruiting new clients or something?
She didn't give Nathan any time to respond, shoving him over to Graverobber. She winked. "Show him what you've got, deary. It's easy."
It hit him then. That girl wanted him to have sex with this Graverobber guy? Maybe it wasn't worth it. Wasn't that just an insult to Marni in the end? Marni… A way to kill the pain… He felt like grabbing his head and screaming.
Graverobber grabbed Nathan's hand.
Maybe just once…
Autumn whispered words of encouragement in the background. He tried to throw images of Marni and Shilo out of his head. They couldn't care. Shilo couldn't know. He would do anything.
Nathan barely registered as Graverobber shoved the glowing tube into his pocket to give to his client when it was over. There was something strangely composed about the dealer, but Nathan could tell he wasn't happy. Buddies in misery, they were.
In the end, Nathan just gave in, letting Graverobber do whatever he pleased with him. He couldn't help but wonder why the guy was even doing this. He obviously needed money more than sex. Was there some chance he actually felt bad for the widower? No way.
After a strangely liquid passage of time Nathan felt something in his hand. Oh. Graverobber had given him the Zydrate. God, how had he ended up on the ground? Nathan was sure he had felt the wall against his back earlier. Shaking his head as if to unclog it, he let Graverobber help him up. Apparently the dealer saw how confused he was, because he tossed him his clothes, too.
"Well, there you go. Zydrate, as promised. Do you need my help injecting it?" Graverobber was leaning against the wall, eyes slightly concerned.
Autumn was gone. Funny, Nathan hadn't noticed her leaving. Blinking, he nodded to Graverobber's question. He didn't know the first thing about injecting drugs, aside from medical ones. Not Zydrate, in any case.
Graverobber took the vial back, shoved it into some sort of gun, and set it off against Nathan's thigh.
It was over in a second.
When he was able to think again, Nathan couldn't help but ponder how he'd become a murderer, drug user, and whore in only one week.