&quot;Nothing is certain except Death and Taxes.&quot; John looked up from the his hunched seat at the bar and glared at the looming figure. &quot;Sure that's easy for you to say...&quot; he started to say, but the other raised his hand then pulled up a stool. &quot;Please, there are many excuses you can give, many sorrows you can attempt to drown in...&quot; he plucked Johns glass from his now limp fingers. &quot;Cheap whisky. But your time is up my friend. You failed and that's all there is to it.&quot; John grabbed the glass back and knocked it back, savouring the burning shock as it slammed down into his already roiling stomach. &quot;Look tell the man I can pay him.&quot; &quot;Now? I'm surprised. I wouldn't expect someone who can pay his debts to have skipped town in the middle of the night.&quot; John looked into the cold eyes of the other man. A million tales, plans to make back what he owed, boiled up in his mind but he could see no home for them in those flinty depths. &quot;No. Not now.&quot; &quot;I thought not. One more? On me.&quot; John nodded and waved the barman over. 2007-06-13T02:09:43Z http://ficlets.com/feed/story/3253 <p>Enjoyed this!</p> http://ficlets.com/stories/3253?basename=2840 2007-06-13T02:09:43Z YodaOnCrack http://ficlets.com/authors/yodaoncrack <p>Good job, open for a sequel. Nicely written but a touch boring.</p> http://ficlets.com/stories/3253?basename=2184 2007-05-24T22:24:42Z Saint Chuck http://ficlets.com/authors/chuck_thelove