At All Cost

by mr. anonymous

Growing up in an Armenian traditional family, Erick was always told to focus on school and work, but after working in a transportation company for 7 years, he realized that he want to pursue his beat making career, but quickly found out that it wasn't all money, parties and fame. After beginning to get heard, he started noticing that the artists that he mostly worked with were convicts and drug addicts trying to tell their street stories to the world, but he could't relate due to his life experiences which were always work, family and school, so he decided to live the rapper life for one week hoping it would make him a better musician and beat maker, but realized once more that it wasn't all about money, parties and fame.

After just 2 days off living the rapper life, he found himself selling drugs in the wrong "turf" as they call it today, they beated him up, took all his money and product leaving him in pain and misery. As he gained composure he had to start looking for ways to make up all the losses trying to pay back the money that was stolen, and also pay for the product that was stolen when he was beaten and robbed. He went to a small liquor store to rob money to payback the losses but unluckily found himself in the same liquor store as a police officer, so he got arrested and send to prison. His first day in prison was the worse, as he got multiple threats from multiple gangs and inmates, but luckily he was sent to a jail cell that held another Armenian man who had respect from all the other inmates. His name was Yuri Petrovic, a Russian Armenian man who was also a Russian Mafioso. As they got to know each other, Yuri started teaching him the survival skills necessary on the streets and in prison, and he also told Erick that he had wealthy friends who were willing to loan him money to achieve his goals for music and help him be a major producer, and hopefully be able to open his own record label making Yuri his manager, and also using Yuri's friends as bodyguards as long as he paid back his loan.

After being incarcerated for about 3 months, he finally got out and as he left the prison, he was confronted by 2 men in suites Aleksey and also Krikor which were Yuri's friends and part of the mob. They had driven to the prison in a Mercedes Benz G-Wagon to pick up Erick, and as he sat down in the vehicle they started driving off. After just about 15 minutes of driving, they stopped at a coat factory and told him to get out of the car and go inside of the coat factory. As he entered the coat factory, he was confronted by another gentleman with the name of George as he introduced himself as the owner of the coat factory, and also one of Yuri's colleagues. He told Erick that the first thing they have to do is get him in a suite, and the second thing was, that he had to give him a check for $500,000 so he can start his music career in beat making. As he slowly started to build himself up again, he got word that Yuri was getting out, but he ended up forgetting. The next day as he was in the studio working, Yuri walked in with a couple of his colleagues and started taking things out of the studio, but when Erick realized what was happening, he asked Yuri, but he did not answer at all as he lit up a cigarette and started smoking.

Erick asked Yuri again what was happening, Yuri blew smoke at Erick's face and told him that he was part owner of the studio, and that he was making room for an office space so that he can started working as a manager. Erick told Yuri that it was no problem, but he needed the equipment to work, but Yuri continued anyway. As one of Yuri's colleagues was taking out a chair, Erick ran toward the chair grabbing a hold of it so they wouldn't take it out, this is when they started pushing him on the ground and beating him up. They picked him up and sat him on the chair as Yuri started to explain to Erick all the terms he had to follow in order to remain in the business that he had started, but unfortunately without his money, so he had to follow all the terms or else he would be killed and the business would be taken from him permanently. He had to hand over all of his masters, he also had to sign all the artists under Yuri's ownership, and he also had to give 60% of all his profit to Yuri leaving him with 40% although he was doing all the work, but the worse term of all was that they wanted to use the studio for their business purpose as well, which was drugs and trafficking females. When Erick asked Yuri why he was doing all this, his answer was "You owe me remember." Erick didn't quite understand the answer as he was cleaning his bloody mouth, but this is when Yuri started explaining what he meant.

Yuri: "Do you remember a couple months back you came to jail all scared and helpless, well I made a deal with all the other bosses and inmates that if they keep you alive long enough, you will make enough money for all of our operations to get back, so here you are, and here we are."

Erick: "So you kept me safe and alive so I can make money for your operation, because you knew I had the talent to do so, in other words I am your bitch, I have to do what you say or what you want me to do, or you will take it all away from me including my life."

Yuri: "Yes exactly, as long as you make music and you make money, everything will be just fine, you will become rich and famous, we will continue our operations, and everybody can live happily ever after."

Erick: "If you guys are so notorious and bad ass, how come I never heard of you guys?"

Yuri: "We've been around for centuries, have you ever heard of the higher power or the illuminati, well you are looking at one of the longest living members, so it's our way or the highway."

He had heard about these people before, but never thought he would be sucked into their games, but quickly realized that it was too late to escape now. Most of his idolized artists were also sucked into their spiral of doom and never made it out alive or remained the same after. All of media and most governmental facilities had at least 5 member of this so called higher power working for them, so there was no room for negotiation or error, it was too late to turn back around, so he started taking drugs and drinking heavily trying to cope with all the stress and fear, and shortly after he overdosed and died. Erick's last words as his family recalled were "at all cost", and shortly after they found him in his room dead, when they checked his life insurance, there was only one name on it that kept reappearing, and the name was Yuri, but when asked by family who that person was, or where he was, no one knew or cooperated, so all his money and hard work was stolen once more, but this time he didn't get a second chance.


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