The Darkness - Jason Pinter [75]
of them that way.
The first stop was on Nineteenth and Third, off the
corner of the avenue, a brownstone wedged between a
cellular phone store and a diner. Morgan walked up and
pressed the buzzer for 5A, taking a quick look around
them to see if anyone was watching.
"You need to relax, man," Theo said. "Ain't nobody
thinking twice about us."
"Who is it?" came the scratchy voice.
"Delivery," Morgan said.
"I didn't order... Oh wait, yeah, come right up."
Another buzzer went off and the door unlatched. They
entered the lobby and went over to the elevator. It was not
a particularly nice brownstone. The floor tiles were
chipping, and it looked like with just minimum force he
could have pried open any mailbox he chose.
The elevator arrived and they took it to the fifth floor
in silence. Morgan held his briefcase, feeling the plastic
crinkle through the leather. Theo watched him do this but
said nothing.
When the door opened, they turned left (A-D) and
rang the doorbell for 5A.
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"Who is it?" the familiar voice said.
"Delivery," Morgan said.
"Oh yeah, right, come on in."
The door opened, revealing a tall, thin guy in his
mid-thirties wearing pajama bottoms, a loose T-shirt
and slippers. The apartment behind him was sparingly
furnished. There was a cot covered in faded blankets,
an old twenty-four-inch television, and a bookshelf
with textbooks. Morgan looked closer. The textbooks
had odd titles like Principles of Economics and Finan-
cial Management: Theory and Practice. The books
looked well used.
The man had a three-day beard growth and his hair
looked like it hadn't been combed since the last time
he'd shaved. His eyes were red-rimmed, and his breathing was quick. Morgan had no doubt the man had a
serious coke problem. He supposed that's why they
were there.
The man moved out of the way and ushered them
inside, waving his hand like he was shooing away an unpleasant smell.
"Two of you," he said, looking at Theo. "Is he like your
bodyguard?"
Theo simply replied, "One eight ball. That right?"
The man nodded his head vigorously and reached
out his hand.
Theo placed his briefcase on a small wooden coffee
table, stained with circular rings and other substances that
couldn't even be guessed. Theo undid the lock and rummaged through the case, eventually coming up with a small
plastic pouch containing white powder. Marked on the
outside were the numbers 1/8, for an eighth of an ounce.
The man's eyes went wide.
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"That's a hundred and fifty," Theo said.
The man reached into his pockets (it didn't occur to
Morgan that they made pajama bottoms that had pockets)
and pulled out seven crumpled twenties and two fives. He
handed them over to Theo like he was getting rid of toxic
material. He put out his hand eagerly and Theo dropped
the pouch into it.
"Pleasure doing business with you," Theo said.
"Hey, man, one sec," the guy said, his eyes rimmed
with red. "I heard about this new drug, dark something."
"Darkness," Theo said.
"Yeah. Supposedly it'll mess you up right. You ever
tried it?"
Morgan shook his head. Theo said, "No."
The guy stammered, almost embarrassed. "You wouldn't
happen to have any, would you?"
"Matter of fact," Theo said, "we do. How much do you
want?"
"I'm not sure," the guy said. "How much is enough for
a few good hits? I don't want to love the stuff and have
to call you right back."
"Three rocks," Theo said. "We have an introductory
offer, and it's enough for a few hits."
"And how much is this introductory offer?"
"Three rocks? That'll run you fifty bucks for the first
purchase. Call it a beginner's discount. After that it's
twenty-five a pop."
"S'not bad," the guy said. "Can I try the intro offer?"
"Let me see the money."
"Yeah, money, hold on one sec."
The guy walked out of the living room and into a side
room. Morgan heard him rummaging around and cursing.
Then he came out with five neatly folded tens.
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"My old lady'll kill me if she knows I used this. Supposed to be for emergencies