"Repercussions"

## Synopsis

After losing money in a drug trade altercation, Alexandre tries to seek revenge on Travis but is accidentally hit by a 13-year-old boy named Peter. Following Peter to an underground mall, Alexandre meets a group of people, including Nailmen, a science teacher with mental illness, and Mia, who takes care of him. Despite his initial disdain for the area, Alexandre decides to stay and learn more about the people living there.

## Plot

At the age of 17, Alexandre's behavior became increasingly egotistical and rude. He would often pick fights with other drug dealers in the alleyways and had a desire to shoot gang members and get away with it. His behavior earned him respect from Wonk, who was proud to have him in his company. Upon arriving home, Alexandre found his mother who had finished working as a prostitute, as he made leftover dinner, he calls his mother for dinner. During dinner, Soon-ja explained that she needed money from him as she had spent all her earnings on dresses and sex toys. Alexandre rejected her request, but an angry Soon-ja grabbed his hair and threatened to abandon him if he didn't comply.

Alexandre reluctantly agreed to give her $200 Canadian dollars, which angered Soon-ja even more. Alexandre left the table and went up to his room. As he counted his earnings from selling drugs, he received a phone call from a rude customer he had previously traded with. The customer accused him of using fake drugs, claiming that it smelled like sand. Alexandre argued with him and threatened to kill him if he kept talking shit, before hanging up the call. Despite receiving a note from his mother Soon-ja stating that she was going to Montreal for a week, Alexandre chose to engage in drug trading instead. He met a guy named Travis, with whom he had a physical altercation and lost. Travis took Alexandre's money from the drug trade. In an attempt to seek revenge, Alexandre roamed around the city with a loaded gun to shoot Travis. However, he was accidentally hit by a 13-year-old boy named Peter, who was frightened by Alexandre's appearance and the gun he was holding. Peter fled the scene, leaving Alexandre alone.

While walking, Alexandre encountered a group of skinheads armed with bats. One of them insulted him, and Alexandre responded with sarcastic jokes, angering the leader of the skinheads. A fight broke out, and Alexandre managed to knock the leader down with a bat. In the midst of the chaos, Alexandre ran into Peter again, who was running away from the skinheads. Initially, Alexandre refused to help him, but ended up fighting off the skinheads to save himself. Despite Peter's gratitude, Alexandre was annoyed and walked away. Alexandre arrived at the mall in search of Travis. He found a man in a hooded sweatshirt who he thought was Travis, but upon grabbing him, realized it was someone else. He threw the man out of the store, causing a scene. The woman who had yelled at him turned out to be his ex-girlfriend, Alya Nedaivoda.

Alya was surprised to see Alexandre, and they talked outside. Alexandre apologized to her for the incident and explained that he was looking for Travis, who had stolen his drug money. Alya shared her struggles with her job and abusive boss, Elsa Floyd, who often yelled at her in public. Alexandre listened to her and laughed at her joke about wishing to pee in Elsa's cup. He offered to help her by talking to Elsa and trying to resolve the issue. Later, when Elsa found Alya, she yelled at her to get back to work. Alya agreed to return, but before she left, she gave Alexandre a note with her work schedule and a message asking him to come visit her at 12:55pm when mall closes. Alexandre smiled with joy and thanked her before they parted ways. Alexandre ran into Peter, the boy he had accidentally bumped into earlier. Peter was happy to see him, but Alexandre made some racist comments, trying to get Peter to go away. However, Peter wanted Alexandre to come with him to his place, which turned out to be in the mall basement. Peter was homeless, and his makeshift home was hidden underground. Despite feeling hesitant, Alexandre decided to follow Peter to their underground space. Once they arrived, Peter offered him a chocolate bar as a token of gratitude for saving him earlier.

After following Peter to the underground mall, Alexandre encountered Nailmen, a man who became angry with him for disturbing his bed where he had hidden his weed. Zo Lionel intervened to calm Nailmen down, while Nailmen's daughter, Mia, apologized for her father's behavior and took him away from Alexandre. Alexandre then met Chris, Zo Lionel, 18-year-old Jessica and her son, Michael, Ching, a gay Singaporean who had been kicked out of his home country, and Eastern Russian refugees Ignat and Luiza Tatars, who had lost their daughter, Maria, and her boyfriend, Ivan, to public execution. Alexandre expressed his disdain for the underground area, mainly due to the homelessness he witnessed. He made a rude comment thanking Nailmen, who he perceived to be a crazed war veteran. Peter explained to Alexandre that Nailmen was a science teacher and unstable genius who had multiple mental disorders but refused to take his prescribed medication. He also revealed that Mia had to take care of her father like an 8-year-old since their family became homeless after their house was destroyed and Nailmen's wife had passed away, leading to his mental illness. Despite feeling hesitant, Alexandre decided to stay and learn more about the people living in the underground space.

Alexandre followed Peter to his room, which was cluttered with leftover cans. However, Alexandre rejected the room, as he was not there to visit, but rather to find Travis. He made a comment about Peter's living situation, but Peter didn't seem to care about Alexandre's words and still welcomed him. Peter, who was a Christian, tried to make Alexandre feel more comfortable with everyone in the underground mall, despite Alexandre's initial rejection of Peter due to his homelessness. Meanwhile, Jessica asked Peter for help changing her son Michael, and Alexandre walked around the underground mall. He met Ching and Zo Lionel, who were trying to start a fire. Alexandre decided to help and used his lighter to start the fire. While everyone was gathered around the fire, Chris asked Alexandre if he was a gangster due to his appearance, and Alexandre responded that he was a drug dealer who was in the mall to find Travis, who had taken his drug money. Alexandre even showed Chris his gun, which surprised him. Chris, a former drug dealer, shared his own experiences and joked about quitting the business due to its dangers.

Jessica was intrigued by Alexandre's appearance as a gangster and asked him to show his tattoos as proof. Despite feeling uneasy around homeless people, Alexandre agreed to show his tattoos to everyone, which surprised them. During his time in the underground mall, Alexandre also met a Russian couple named Ignat and Luiza Tatars. The couple had lost their daughter and her boyfriend to public execution. They shared their traumatic experiences with Alexandre, explaining that their daughter had been caught watching German movies, which she had hidden from the police. This had led to her and her boyfriend's arrest and execution, which had left the mother heavily traumatized. Ignat explained how he and his wife had tried to get to West Russia, where his sister and niece were living, but they ended up in Canada. Alexandre sympathized with the mother's loss and offered his condolences, recognizing the deep impact that trauma can have on individuals and families.

As Peter continued to talk about how Alexandre saved him from skinheads, Alexandre grew increasingly annoyed. However, their conversation was interrupted by Ching, who was helping Jessica make a bed for her son. Alexandre offered to assist with the task, and Ching struck up a friendly conversation with him, complimenting his jacket. While holding her two-year-old son Michael, Jessica asked Alexandre if she could smoke cigarettes with him to impress her baby. However, Peter expressed concerns about the potential health risks associated with smoking around a child. Despite this, Jessica initially dismissed Peter's concerns. Alexandre respectfully declined Jessica's offer, explaining that smoking around a baby was not only unhealthy but also uncool. He was genuinely concerned for the well-being of her child and understood the risks associated with smoking around infants. His priority was to ensure that the child's health was not compromised. Initially, Jessica was upset by Alexandre's rejection, but he calmly explained his reasoning to her. As a teenage mother, Jessica needed to prioritize the health and safety of her child. Alexandre's actions were a reminder that making responsible choices was crucial, especially when it came to the well-being of others. Eventually, Jessica came around to Alexandre's point of view and appreciated his concern for her and her baby's health.

After initially rejecting Peter's offer of water bottles, Alexandre explained that he was searching for Travis to retrieve his stolen drug money. He feared losing respect from Wonk if he failed to recover the funds, and even mentioned that he would kill Travis if he found him. Peter sympathized with Alexandre's situation and offered him a map of the mall, just in case he needed it. While in Peter's room, Alexandre noticed a picture of a mother and son, prompting Peter to open up about his own difficult past. He shared that he was homeless because his mother had died of an overdose two years ago and his foster parents had abused him. Peter even revealed a traumatic experience of being raped by a homeless man he had trusted while he was sleeping, causing him to break down in tears. When Alexandre walked out into the hall, he was met by Mia and Jessica, who both confronted Peter and offered their support.

As Alexandre listened to Peter's story, he was able to relate to Peter's trauma and shared his own experience of being raped by a military male client when he was just 11 years old. Despite growing up in a low-income family, Alexandre assured Peter that he was not alone in his experiences, and that they could support each other through their shared trauma.

Later, Alexandre went outside to smoke cigarettes and saw Nailmen carrying his bed, which had weed in it. Alexandre decided to help Nailmen and smoked cigarettes with him. During their conversation, Nailmen revealed that he had multiple mental disorders but refused to take his prescribed medication. His wife, Karina, had urged him to take his medication, but he often acted like an 8-year-old trapped in a 45-year-old's body.

He had lost his teaching job and their house had been destroyed in a fire that was caused by chemicals or flammable materials stored improperly in the basement. Nailmen blamed himself for not being there to prevent the fire as he had left the materials unattended overnight. His wife, Karina, had died in the fire, leaving him and their daughter homeless.

The conversation took a dark turn as Nailmen revealed that he had mentally broken down and started running as he believed he was responsible for his wife's death. Alexandre intervened when Nailmen attempted to drown himself in the lake, saving his life. Mia, Nailmen's daughter, arrived just in time to see her father being pulled from the water.

As Nailmen was being taken away by Mia for treatment, Zo Lionel assessed his critical condition due to low medication levels, causing Mia to cry and worry. Though relieved that he had saved Nailmen's life, Alexandre's relief was short-lived when he realized his phone had died. He needed to inform Wonk of the situation but had no way of doing so. Peter appeared and offered to help.

Together, Alexandre and Peter called an ambulance and waited for it to arrive. Suddenly, Travis appeared, wielding a gun and determined to take down Alexandre. A gunfight broke out, causing chaos in the mall. Alexandre and Peter took cover in a clothing store with Alya. Alexandre asked Alya to keep an eye on Peter while he went to fight Travis. Alexandre and Travis fought on a mall bridge, with Travis attempting to overpower Alexandre. Despite the odds against him, Alexandre refused to back down. He wanted his money back from Travis.

Travis gave Alexandre his money back instead of asking for drugs. However, Alexandre had planned to kill Travis, a criminal who only wanted to kill him. Travis ran into a toy store, throwing a doll to distract Alexandre. He uploaded his gun in the cashier area and began shooting at train sets as Alexandre shot back. Travis and Alexandre ran out of the toy store and into a playground, where they struggled to get their guns in the ball pit. Travis almost shot Alexandre in his left arm, but Alexandre managed to shoot him first.

While chasing Travis, Alexandre found Peter hiding in a corner. Travis took Peter hostage and tried to escape. Alexandre pretended to surrender, giving Travis a false sense of security. However, Alexandre sprang into action when Travis tried to take Peter with him. Peter bit Travis's arm, but Travis shot him in the leg. Alexandre tackled Travis and saved Peter. Travis tried to grab a gun from a water fountain, but Alexandre got it first. Although he intended to kill Travis, Alexandre hesitated. He remembered the pain and trauma that brought him there and didn't want to become what he had been fighting against. Instead, Alexandre spared Travis's life, feeling a sense of relief that he had made the right choice.

Alexandre and Travis engaged in a hand-to-hand combat duel, but despite their wounds, Travis emerged victorious. Enraged by his loss, Travis turned his gun towards Alexandre and fired, missing him narrowly and hitting the mall's walls instead. Travis had initially planned to kill Peter, but his anger towards Alexandre led him to start shooting at him instead. Alexandre fought back and managed to defeat Travis, freeing Peter in the process. After beating Travis and taking his money, Alexandre insulted him before leaving him lying on the ground.

Nailmen was rushed to the ambulance while Alexandre and Peter received medical attention. Despite the chaos, everyone in the mall worked together to ensure Nailmen received the help he needed. This incident brought everyone together and made them realize the importance of looking out for each other. Alexandre called Wonk and lied to him about the drug money being gone, blaming Travis for selling it. Wonk was disappointed, but still gave Alexandre another chance to handle his drug trades. Alexandre gave half of the drug money to Peter, which turned out to be only $800 Canadian dollars. Alexandre thanked Peter and told him they would see each other again someday before walking away as the police arrived and took Travis away.

As the dust settled, Alexandre felt content and considered himself lucky to work with Wonk. The episode ended as Alexandre met with his ex-girlfriend Alya in a closed mall, and they had sexual intercourse on Elsa Floyd's boss's office desk.

### Characters

* Alexandre Choi-Moon (main)
* Nico Ackers
* Travis Brown
* Elsa Floyd
* Alya Nedaivoda
* Wonk (mentioned, voice)
* Nailmen Jones
* Mia Jones
* Jessica Parks
* Michael Parks
* Ching Wu
* Zo Lionel
* Ignat Tatars
* Luiza Tatars
* Soon-ja Moon

As he continued to walk around downtown, he entered a mall and ran into his ex-girlfriend Marie-Claire,

At the end of episode, the mall closed, Alex and Claire who in clothing store. They had sex in the clothing room.