The Mugger

He existed and was born out of the turmoil of New York City in the 1970s and 80s. These were not good years for New York as the murder rate had climbed to levels that were previously thought unimaginable. Besides the murder rates, the overall crime  had spiraled out of control to the point that your life would be in jeopardy if you took a subway or walked the streets at night. There were also many areas of the city that you simply could not go at anytime of the day. 

​For Percy Ruins he was a child that lived in one of the toughest areas of New York. An area that was full of gangs where to survive you either learned to run or fight. There was also no economic opportunity as the only job one could get was that of a grocery clerk or a delivery boy. Percy knew that any type of post secondary education was a dream so he decided to drop out of school just like everyone else in his neighborhood. For awhile Percy stole things but it was very hard to get any money for the items. If he stole a watch that was worth 1000 dollars he would be lucky to unload it for fifty. What he needed was cash so he decided the best way to get it was through mugging people. Originally he thought about being a pick pocket but he was not slick enough. Percy was a big man that was a lethal brawler and had gorilla-like strength. 

His technique was simple. He would eye his subject, usually a business owner or someone that looked like they would be carrying cash. He would stalk this person and then when the subject was vulnerable he would come up behind them and wrap his massive arm around their neck and start to squeeze and whisper into their ear, "Give me your money."

The victim would nearly always comply but even so Percy knew that because New York was such a violent city many people were carrying weapons; usually a blade or a gun, so he had to be careful. A couple of times his victim got wise and wouldn't give in and pulled out a knife. Things escalated and a battle usually ensued and on both occasions Percy killed the man. He would then look in the paper the next day to see if the killing was mentioned but nobody cared. This was New York City in the 80s. 

Over time word got out on the street about a killer mugger. There were many muggers in New York, but Percy was the most prolific and feared. Even the muggers feared him. As New York became more violent and dangerous less people went out at night and Percy had to alter the way that he stalked and attacked people. He had to be careful because mugging in crowded in areas was risky. There was always a very real chance of an undercover cop being in the vicinity and the cops were trigger happy at this particular point of time in New York's history. So Percy decided to head to subways late at night to see if there was anyone who was muggable. Percy didn't like the subway because of all the addicts who were unpredictable. He also hated all of the needles on the ground. 

Percy lurked on the subway platform looking for a victim. He then saw an older man in a suit come down the stairs and stand on the platform. Percy stepped out of the shadows to prey on the old man but he didn't see the strung out junkie staggering down the stairs with madness in his eyes. And just as Percy was about to mug the old man the junkie ran screaming towards Percy pushing him in front of the oncoming train.