Click.
There’s nothing spectacular about the scene. We see a tall, folded ladder is propped up against a wall with Drexl stood under it – a typically formidable look carved upon his face.
“Welcome to The Bleak, where the stench of desperation hangs heavily in the air.”
Drexl takes a big inhalation.
“My name hisses through these streets like a curse to those seeking salvation from the claws of fiscal torture. The very same streets I was raised in, and scarcely survived.”
The Real Shark places a hand on the ladder, looking it up and down.
“In this perilous world of life and death, the ladder plays a distinguished role. To most Arcadians, it represents progress.”
“A means to reach greater heights.”
“But for yours truly, it serves as a shrewd instrument to lure those as desperate as I once was by entrapping them in a vicious cycle of debt.”
Drexl moves the ladder away from the wall and immediately snaps it open.
“My ladders are but slippery slopes, cleverly disguised as lifelines. They promise temporary respite, while ensuring a lifetime of servitude.”
“To ascend my ladders, one must first surrender their dignity, their freedom – their very, fucking soul.”
Drexl places his foot on the first step.
“On this twisted ladder of mine, people are mere rungs; each one a stepping stone towards a higher level of power and control.”
”They arrive at my ladder with their dreams shattered. Forged from fine print and blood contracts, I offer them a ladder as a way out.”
“As a pledge to lift them from the abyss of their economic woes.”
Big Slim sneers.
“Little do they know, however, that my ladders only function to plunge them deeper into a bottomless void of indebtedness, from which escape seems nigh impossible.”
Drexl holds on to each side of the ladder and begins his ascent.
“With each loan I finance, my grip tightens. The ladder becomes steeper and the notches more treacherous, as debtors find themselves descending further into my grasp.”
Arriving at the top of the ladder, Drexl turns to sit on its upmost step.
“Reaching the apex of my ambitions did not come without hardships. As the ladder climbed higher, so did the risks.”
“There have been those who have dared to challenge me and defy the inevitability of their own fate; to break free from the shackles of their fiscal obligations and reclaim their lives from the clutches of my fated ladder.”
Big Slim sniggers, shaking his head.
“Only these efforts to topple me and my prosperities merely fuel my determination to remain where I truly belong.”
“Atop the ladder.”
Drexl stands, looking as towering as ever before.
“At Titanfall, the ladder which presents itself to my enemies as a symbol of hope and aspiration will swiftly morph into a vision of their worst nightmare.”
“One by one, they will each become crosspieces etched upon my journey; ones that I shall tread triumphantly as I climb to the summit of the ladder.”
“Of Olympus.”
“Of Old School Wrestling.”
“Because sooner or later, everybody pays.”
The Real Sharl smirks – his gold tooth glistening amongst the whites.
“And Saturday night’s payday, motherfuckers.”
Click.