The Darkness - Jason Pinter [76]
both lost our jobs, money's hard to come by."
"Don't I know it," Morgan said. Theo shot him a look.
"Fifty for three," Theo said. He took another small
plastic pouch from the briefcase, containing three small
black rocks.
"How do you...do it?" the guy asked.
"Two ways, either a pipe--same way you'd smoke
weed--or you can crush it up, cook it and inhale like that.
They're both pretty potent."
"Gotcha." He handed Theo the bills, and Theo dropped
the pouch on top of the cocaine.
"That it?"
"That's it until my unemployment check comes at the
end of the week. Thanks, fellas."
Theo didn't say a word. Morgan followed him out the
door. When the elevator door had closed behind them,
Morgan said, "That was impressive. Not sure if I would
have remembered all of that."
"For your sake I hope you do. I'm not gonna be doing
all the talking at every stop."
The elevator began to go down, but then there was a
screeching noise and the car ground to a halt. Morgan
looked up at the display. The light had stopped between
the second and third floors. They were stuck.
"Just perfect," Morgan said.
"No," Theo said softly, an undercurrent of anger in his
voice. "No! Goddammit, come on!"
"Hey, man, take it easy. I'm sure we'll get going in no
time."
Theo kicked the elevator door hard, leaving a small
dent in the metal. "Let's move this crate!" He jammed his
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thumb against the emergency button. When he released
it, he jammed it in again.
"I think they heard us," Morgan said.
"Are you kidding? Roach motel like this, I bet the
super doesn't even live on the premises. We could be
stuck here all day."
Morgan looked at the roof of the car, hoping there
might be some easily opened hatch where they could boost
each other out onto the roof, then find a ladder or escape
hatch that would lead them to freedom. Sadly, Morgan
realized, those kind of things only existed in Die Hard
films, and the roof of this car was one solid piece of metal.
"Okay," he said. "Maybe we can pry the doors open."
Theo kicked the door again, widening his boot imprint.
"I don't think that's helping."
"Listen, asshole," Theo said. "Every second we're
stuck in here, there are other folks selling product. And
when they come back at the end of the day with higher
receipts than us, you tell me then to calm down. I'm not
in this to lose, Morgan."
Morgan stood there, nodded, figuring anything he said
would only enrage Theo more.
Five minutes went by. Ten. Theo stopped kicking.
He tried his cell phone, but they didn't get reception in
the elevator.
Theo was shaking. His hands were trembling, knees
knocking against one another. A sheen of moisture appeared on the young man's lip, and he licked it away, his
eyes darting around the car looking for some way out.
"Theo, you okay?"
"Shut up, I'm trying to figure out how we can get
out of here."
"I don't think..."
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Jason Pinter
"I said shut the hell up."
Morgan moved into the corner of the elevator, looked
at his watch and hoped for a miracle.
Finally, after fifteen minutes, Morgan felt a jolt and the
elevator began to move.
"Oh, thank God," Theo said.
Morgan held his breath until they reached the first
floor, then as soon as the doors opened the pair bolted into
the lobby before the elevator could change its mind.
"Holy crap, man," Theo said. His hands were shaking,
and his brow was covered with sweat. "I was worried
we'd be stuck in there until the cleaning crew came by or
the thing just detached from its cables."
"Well, we're out now," Morgan said. "We can get back
to business."
"Next stop," Theo said, still breathing heavy, "you
handle all the talking."
"No problem. I'm a fast learner."
"You might be a fast learner, but I've already learned."
Theo looked at Morgan with a cocky smile, letting him
know that they weren't just partners, but competitors.
Theo wanted to move up the ranks just as much as
Morgan did, and the longer it took Morgan to catch up
the farther ahead Theo would pull. His reaction inside the
elevator