“Right, blind devotion,” Simon muttered, “the blind leading the blind.”
“I’m not blind,” the first man snapped, getting even more belligerent.
“No, of course not.” Simon looked at him and stated, “I was just leaving, and I really don’t feel like getting into an argument with you.”
“Too bad, you’re in my space, so that means an argument’s about to happen.”
“Well, we could just avoid it,” Simon replied quietly. “I really don’t want to hurt you.”
At that, the homeless guy’s jaw dropped. “You think a little namby-pamby like you is gonna hurt me?” He snorted and nudged his buddy right beside him. “Did you hear that? He seems to think that he’s a threat.”
The other guy snickered. “Maybe he’s got some money on him.”
“Oh, so it’s not just about the alleyway?” Simon muttered, straightening up. “It’s all about stealing. So is this a mugging? Is that what you think this is all about?”
“Hey, we have to live too.”
“Sure, you do. You could try a job. You could even try a homeless center and lay off the drugs and the booze and get your shit together.”
At that, the first man glared at him. “Nothing’s wrong with us,” he sneered. “We’re doing just fine.”
“Right, as long as you can accost a few people, and you get to eat for the rest of the day, is that it?”
He shrugged. “We all do what we have to do,” he stated, stepping closer. “Now just hand over whatever money you’ve got on you.”
“Nope, ain’t happening,” Simon stated, “so don’t even bother asking.”
“You think I’m kidding?” And, just like that, he pulled out a switchblade.
“Ah, so it is a mugging and soon to be a stabbing. But you don’t really care about any of that, do you?”
“I really don’t,” he said. “Assholes like you made my life hellish.”
“Nope,” Simon argued. “You were on your own journey down this pathway without me.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” the man yelled.
“Maybe just get him to not talk so much,” the other guy suggested nervously.
“Why? In case I say something that might make sense to you?” Simon asked, looking at him with interest. “I mean, you’re with this loser, so obviously you’re okay with his methodology.”
“Well, we want the alleyway,” he repeated. “We need it. With everybody here, it’s all about turf.”
“Maybe, but that knife is not about turf. That knife is about power, about hating the world around you. That knife is about, ‘Hey, you got something that I want, and I don’t want to go work for it, so I’ll just take it off you instead,’” Simon explained, focusing on the less aggressive male.
At that, the guy glanced around nervously.
Simon went on. “Don’t you realize, in this place, it’s pretty easy for you to be seen in the act of committing a crime? Cameras are all over.”
The second man stepped back nervously. “Maybe we should just leave him alone.”
“That ain’t happening,” the first man snapped.
“But he’s not like our normal guys.”
“No, he isn’t. That’s why it’s important that we teach him a lesson, so all the other guys like this realize they can’t just talk to us any old way they want and expect us to back down and do their bidding.”
“Yeah? Exactly what bidding did I ask you to do?” Simon asked, crossing his arms over his chest. He rested nonchalantly against the wall, waiting for them to make a move. The knife wasn’t an issue, but the weird look in the knife-bearer’s gaze definitely was. This guy was high on drugs of some kind; Simon wasn’t so sure the second guy was though. He looked over at him. “Are you as drugged out as your buddy here?”