Cafe Rouge


Last night I spent the night in Cafe Rouge. A cafe, hotel and everything else for your average criminal. I wanted to see how they thought. Wanted to know if they planned the foul things they did or they just did it because they weren't doing anything else. To my surprise it was a little of both. Some guys did it because it was the only way they knew to make a living. Some guys did it because they didn't want to do anything else.

Last night I saw a man with a record longer than a CVS receipt cry. I thought he was a cold hearted bastard. Turns out his daughter is sick. Robbing and stealing was the only way he could pay for his daughter's operation. She wasn't doing well after the most recent surgery. It's taken a toll on him. Spilling tears in his drink he was comforted by a few other known goons comforted him. Their kids play together. I'm not sure why I never considered they might have families at home. I supposed they're more human than I am in that way.

Last Night I watched a woman rob no less than three men. She didn't pull a gun on anyone. She made them fall in love. One after another. They'd buy her a drink, spend seven minutes in heaven with her. She'd collect her money and make her way out. A few hours later she'd come back; different wigs, different clothes and pick her next target. I'm sure they knew what she was doing, the wardrobe changes were more for her. They didn't care. Doesn't seem like any of those men had felt a woman's touch in years.

Last night, I started to understand a little more. The criminals I've spent the last decade chasing aren't some subhuman monsters. They aren't an underground threat. They're people just like I am. Some more human than others. But they're all human. I won't stop chasing after them. I might be a little easier next time I run into some of them. But they're human still.

Last night, I spent the night in Cafe Rouge. It opened my eyes to a lot of things. Nobody in there was doing crime for the sake of doing crime. It's because they weren't doing fine. Somewhere along the line life dealt them a bad hand and they had to react the only way they knew how. They're just doing the same thing the rest of us are. Even if they are doing it a little different.

 
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