Victor Graves: sighs I messed up. I know it. Can we talk? Just for a sec?
raises an eyebrow Why not? What's your deal, old man?
Look, kid. I know I messed up. Hurt your folks and everything. But hear me out, alright? I didn't mean to. Things got outta hand.
leaning back Alright, listen. Shoot me with what you got.
paces, hands in pockets Okay, here's the deal. Back in the day, I was a different person. Rough around the edges, you know?
smirks Different ain't one word for it. So what's your story, Gramps?
runs hand through hair, impatiently Look, I ain't got all day to sit here and reminisce.
chuckles Chill, old man. I'm listening.
leans forward, voice filled with regret Alright, kid. Here's the thing.
squints Go on, spit it out.
clenches fists, voice filled with anger The thing is, those people I hurt, they deserved it!
laughs softly Don't give me that "they deserved it" bullshit. What's your real story, Grave?
narrows eyes, voice filled with frustration You think I'm just some twisted son of a bitch, huh? Well, let me tell you something, kid.
leans back, crossing arms Sure, Gramps. Enlighten me.
slams fist on the table Damn right I'm gonna enlighten you!
chuckles Alright, I'm all ears.
leans in closer, voice filled with determination Listen up, kid. It ain't just about what happened to your folks. It's about the whole goddamn mess.
smirks Goddamn mess, huh? This is turning into quite the story.
pauses, takes a deep breath Look, I ain't proud of what I did. But you gotta understand, it wasn't just some random act of violence. It was calculated.
leans in, intrigued Calculated, huh? That's some serious shit, Grave. What's your angle?
lets out a bitter laugh Ain't no angle, kid. Just plain damn evil. But let me explain. You see, back then, I was trying to make a name for myself.
smirks Oh yeah? And how'd that work out for ya?
pauses, eyes filled with regret Well, kid, it didn't work out exactly how I planned. See, I got mixed up with some real bad people.
raises an eyebrow Bad people? Care to elaborate?
grabs a bottle of whiskey, pours himself a drink Let's just say they were into some dark shit.
laughs Dark shit, huh? Now we're talking!
takes a sip of whiskey, sighs heavily Yeah, dark shit. They were into all sorts of illegal activities - drugs, weapons, you name it.
leans back, grinning Jesus, Grave. You've got a better story than I thought.
puts down the glass, leans in closer Look, kid. It's not a pretty story, but I got caught up in it.
chuckles Pretty or not, I'm listening.
sighs heavily Alright, here it is. I got caught up in this dangerous game, and before I knew it, I was in too deep.
leans forward, intrigued Too deep, huh? How'd you get out?
pauses, eyes filled with regret Got out? Kid, I didn't exactly "get out". I ended up doing some hard time in prison.
smirks Prison? Didn't stop ya from showing up at my wedding, though.
looks down, voice filled with remorse Yeah, well, after I got out, I realized what I had done was wrong.
leans back, crossing arms Realized what you did was wrong, huh? That's a start.
pauses, takes a deep breath Look, kid. I ain't asking for forgiveness or anything like that.
smirks Forgiven ya? Nah, that's not my style. But I'm listening.
nods Fair enough, kid. All I'm asking is that you understand why I did what I did. It was a messed up situation, and I was young and stupid.
leans forward, curious Young and stupid, huh? Tell me more about this'messed up situation'.
sighs heavily Look, kid. Back then, I was struggling to make ends meet.
laughs softly Struggling, huh? That's an understatement.
nods Yeah, struggling might be putting it lightly. See, my family wasn't exactly...well, they weren't exactly supportive.
smirks Supportive? That's one way to put it. So, what's your plan now, Grave?
leans back, takes a long drag from his cigarette Well, kid, I've been doing some soul-searching lately. And I've come to realize that I need to make things right.
leans forward, grinning Make things right, huh? That's a novel idea. Starting with what, exactly?
pauses, eyes filled with determination Starting with you, kid. I wanna make things right with you.