"Hey, Lincoln." Clyde's voice rang out, snapping Lincoln out of his thoughts. "Hey, Clyde. It's been a while, huh buddy?" Lincoln smiled and got up from the swing. "How's it going out there?" Clyde eyed Lincoln from head to toe, observing his injuries before responding. "Well, we'll definitely be able to sell all the stuff we've got. Should have no issues like last month." Lincoln raised his eyebrow. "We've nearly sold it all? there's still a week left before I need to deliver the money to them and get the restock." Clyde gave a smile. "Well... I may have been working overtime this month to make sure what happened doesn't happen again." Lincoln was slight for a moment before giving Clyde a grin. "Thanks, buddy. I appreciate it. But don't worry, it'll all go back to normal after this month." Clyde responded with a nod. "Oh yeah, Jordan has been doing a lot of work too. She's a big reason why we sold everything so quickly. You should... thank her when you see her." Huh. Lincoln knew Jordan had been helping out with selling but didn't know she had put actual effort into it. "..I will."
Lincoln couldn't lie, he was nervous. His hands were shaking slightly and his forehead was beginning to sweat. The time of the month had come by again, and despite the protests of his family, Clyde, and Jordan, he had insisted he be the one to give the money to Carl and restock. Still, now that the time approached he kind of wished that anyone else but him would go. But no. He wouldn't put his family or friends in the presence of that little psychopath. If someone had to do it, it'd be him. A text from his phone interrupted his thoughts. "Same place, same time." Lincoln stared at the message for a moment before turning his phone off and taking a deep breath. "Let's get this over with."
Walking down the familiar streets towards Gus Fring's games and grub was making his heart race quicker with each step. He knew that Carl would undoubtedly have that bat with him and that he'd reference everything that happened last time to try and get a reaction out of him. Lincoln clenched his hands together, trying his best to compose himself so that Carl wouldn't see his anger. One more block, Lincoln thought to himself. "Nearly there..."
Once more, Lincoln was standing in front of Gus' games and grub, the place closed down for the night. Behind this building, Carl was going to be waiting for him, baseball bat in hand. "..Calm yourself, Lincoln." he said to himself as he slowly walked down the alley toward the back. "Right on time, Loud." A voice spoke, freezing Lincoln to the spot. He looked around, searching for Carl but couldn't seem to find him. Suddenly, a gust of wind touched his cheek as Sergio the parrot flew past him and landed on the nearby fence. "You're not light this month, I hope?" Lincoln stood there in silence for a moment, calming himself down. "Sergio. Where's Carl?" The annoying parrot moved off the fence and landed on one of the boxes that lay a few feet away from Lincoln. "He had other matters to attend to this month, Loud. It's just you and me." Lincoln felt a considerable amount of stress leave him instantly. He hadn't realized until this moment that he had seemingly gained a fear of Carl and the fact he wasn't here made this easier.
"Oh. Well, I won't waste your time." Lincoln pulled out a large envelope that seemed to be packed to the brim. Sergio quickly snatched it out of his grasp and flew back to the boxes of drugs where he opened it. He spent a few minutes, counting the money and occasionally glancing back up at Lincoln who awkwardly stood in place while the annoying parrot counted. "..Well done, Loud! You didn't disappoint this month." Another feeling of stress left him. Now, he just had to wait for Sergio to fuck off, and then he could go home. "I knew that you'd pull through. Carl and I had a difference of opinion when it came to your payment." Sergio dropped the envelope for a moment to fly near Lincoln. "Carl even suggested paying a visit to your house, to give you more incentive to not be light. He had to be talked out of it." Lincoln felt dread but mostly anger rise within him at the thought of that sicko in his home. "I believe he wanted to take one of your sisters for a while... keep her close while you did the work." He was just trying to rile him up. Just keep calm and ignore it, Lincoln told himself inside his head as the parrot continued to taunt him. "Oh, that does remind me. Carl was talked out of it but he still demanded there be punishment until he feels like you've become reliable again."
Lincoln's body tensed up. "..Punishment?" Sergio nodded at him, that smug fucking smirk across his beak. "Yep. So, starting from next month until Carl sees fit, our cut is now 95%." Lincoln couldn't stop himself. "95%?! You're leaving me with basically nothing! You can't just up the cut we agreed upon!" Sergio who had turned his back on Lincoln stopped midflight and turned again to face him. "We make the deals, Loud. If we say 95% then that is what it is. If we say it is 100% then that. Is what. It is. You opened your mouth to Carl last month and it seems you've still got that attitude and that glare." Sergio flew closer to Lincoln's face, staring into his eyes. "Since you've not improved your manners... You leave me no choice but to tell Carl to go through with his plan." Fear and panic rose within Lincoln, his hands clenched so tight that his knuckles had gone white. "Y-You... You can't-" Sergio interrupted. "We can't? We fucking can't? You think you have any power at all to say what the Casagrandes do or do not do?" That smug smile turned into an evil grin. "I will tell Carl about this, and he will hold onto one of your sisters until you learn some respect. Maybe that Lucy girl-"
For a moment, his brain hadn't registered what he'd just done. Lincoln had no control over his body, he hadn't meant to do it! Sergio who had fallen to the ground flew back into the air, shock on his face as blood ran from his mouth. "...You've fucked yourself now, Boy. You and your whore sisters." Sergio wiped away some of the blood from where Lincoln had just punched him. "You've attacked a member of the Casagrande family. I'll see you hanged by your balls for this, Loud. You are your family are done! FUCKING DONE-" Lincoln swung his fist again, knocking the parrot to the ground once more. Before Sergio could react to anything, Lincoln had stomped down onto his wing, crushing it and causing Sergio to scream out in pure agony.
"STOP! S-STOP! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THE FUCK YOU'RE DOING?! YOU'LL BE TORTURED TO DEATH FOR TH-" No more. Lincoln would hear no more of this bird's grating voice. His anger had fully taken over his body and now Lincoln was kicking Sergio repeatedly against the wall, the parrot was now coughing up blood and gasping for air. "P-Ple-" Lincoln continued to pound and kick and stomp on Sergio, releasing all of his anger, rage, pain, and hate onto him. Lincoln took deep breaths as he finally stopped his assault. He looked over at Sergio who was now nothing more than a crushed bloody feathery heap on the floor. He was dead. Finally, the realization came to Lincoln. "...Oh fuck."
To Be Continued
