The Darkness - Jason Pinter [74]
"My uncle," he said. "Used to use. Never dealt, but got
friendly with one of his dealers. I used to be a major
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pothead, and I started buying from his guy after my uncle
quit. Pretty soon I couldn't afford to buy, so my man
asked if I was going through tough times. I told him what
had happened, and he offered to make an introduction for
me. I'm not above this. To me, it's all the same whether
you're selling junk, real estate or stocks. In the end you're
giving something to somebody that they think will make
them happier. And whether it's financial, emotional or
chemical happiness, who the hell are we to judge? Are
the people who get strung out on dope any worse than
people like me who lose everything on some bad bets? I
figure if I can do something to get myself out of this
mess and make some coin, why not?"
"I know what you mean," Morgan said.
"I bet you do."
Theo and Morgan got off the train at Twenty-third and
Park and headed east. The Manhattan neighborhood of
Gramercy tended to be full of young professionals who
enjoyed the area's local bars (both dive and trendy).
Morgan used to come here often for the movie theater at
Kips Bay, and noticed that over the last few years the
population appeared to grow a little more affluent, likely
due to doctors working at Bellevue and small business
owners who moved into vacated storefronts.
They walked side by side, matching briefcases slung
over their shoulders. If anybody looked at them, it was
only because they might have been slightly jealous that
two younger guys had weathered the economic storm,
as that could be the only explanation for their attire and
accessories.
Morgan took out the cell phone from his coat pocket.
It was old, nearly an antique, and he was amazed that this
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piece of junk still even worked. Still, Leonard had given
it to them for a reason.
Right after they'd packed up their briefcases with
specific quantities of various drugs, Leonard had given
them each a cell phone. And this was how it worked.
Before they left the warehouse/club, they'd be given
an address. The address was of their first customer of
the day. The customer had called somebody, probably
some sort of switchboard at another location, and
placed an order. That order was relayed to one of the
courier teams, who were then dispatched to the
location. The customer would also have placed an order
and they were also quoted a price. Once arriving at the
location, Leonard said, they would make the transaction
with the customer.
Once leaving the customer's address, they would call
the number programmed in the cell phone as Home.
After confirming the deal, they would be sent a text
message with the address of their next transaction, as
well as the price quoted to the customer for whatever
they'd requested.
Obviously there would be a little flexibility, as sometimes the customer would buy more than they'd initially
requested. And sometimes, of course, they would buy
less, often because the customer didn't have enough
money to pay for the goods.
It was a regular business, Leonard said.
All orders would be kept track of, and Leonard's
people also knew the exact quantities of drugs given to
the couriers as well as their value. At the end of the day,
Leonard said, just like any other business they would
make sure the goods matched the receipts, and confirm
that all the money was handed over.
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Assuming Theo and Morgan were honest, they would
have no problems. If there were ever any payment issues,
or they'd taken in more (or less) money than expected,
all they had to do was relay the information.
The quicker they worked the more money they made,
the more stops they'd be able to hit during the day. You
wanted to take a two-hour lunch? Your take would suffer.
Get caught in traffic? Tough shit.
The only people who moved up in this world were the
ones who fully dedicated themselves. You want vacation
days? You got 'em. Only your creditors don't really