The Black Market

by Kiki Swinson

  “Oh no, I’m good,” she said and sank her teeth into the sandwich.

  “I’m so sick of bills.”

  “Aren’t we all?” she commented between chews.

  “The only bill you have is for your cell phone,” I replied sarcastically after I dropped the cable bill down on the counter and turned around to face her.

  “What is that thing on your shirt? Is that a broach?”

  “Oh yeah, I need to take this off,” I said and then I removed the camera from my shirt. After I laid the camera down on the countertop, I lifted my shirt so I could pull the tape and the wires from my waist. When Jillian saw this, her eyes grew wide.

  “Is that a fucking wire?” she whispered as if someone else was in the apartment.

  I placed my finger over my mouth, giving her a signal to be quiet. So she stood there in silence and watched me as I gently pulled the tape and wires away from my body. After I had the case in my hand, I turned the switch off and then I placed it down on the countertop.

  “Can I talk now?” she whispered as she walked slowly toward me.

  “Yeah.” And then I smiled.

  “Did the DEA agent give you that to wear to work?”

  “Yeah.”

  “How did it feel to tape that to your body like that?”

  “It was uncomfortable. Plus, I felt self-conscious while I was around Sanjay’s brother today.”

  “It isn’t bulky. I didn’t even know you had it on you until you lifted up your shirt.”

  “That’s good to know, because I was a nervous wreck when I walked back into the pharmacy after my lunch break and saw those same two guys were hanging around the supply closet.”

  “Oh my God! Did they say something to you?”

  “Yeah, one of the guys did.”

  “What did he say?” Jillian pressed me for more information. She had become intrigued.

  “The guy that sparked up a conversation with me was named Ahmad.” I told her about the conversation.

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  “No, I’m not.”

  “And what did Amir do?”

  “He didn’t do shit! That guy shut him down.”

  “Damn!” Jillian said and then she changed the direction of the conversation. “Where was Sanjay when all of this was going on?”

  “If I tell you, you gotta promise that you will not tell anyone else. This information cannot leave this kitchen,” I instructed her.

  “I promise. What is it?”

  “The DEA agent said that Sanjay owed those men a lot of money. Unfortunately for Sanjay, he couldn’t pay them fast enough so they kidnapped him. Now the pressure is on Amir’s back, so if he doesn’t deliver what’s owed to those guys, he’s going to come up missing too.”

  “Yo, this is some Italian mob-boss type of shit here.”

  “Call it what you want. But let me tell you what Amir said when I asked him about Sanjay.”

  “Go head.”

  “Okay. So, when I went to work this morning, I asked Amir when was Sanjay coming back to work? And he slipped up and said that Sanjay wasn’t ever coming back. When he said that, his words hit me like a ton of bricks.”

  “Are you fucking serious right now?”

  “Yes, I am. So check it out.”

  “What?”

  “When I asked him to repeat himself, he wouldn’t do it. He tried to act like he didn’t say what he said.”

  “Do you think you heard him wrong?”

  “Fuck no! I can hear really good. I caught him off guard and he tried to clean it up, but he couldn’t.”

  “So, what are you gonna do?”

  “I’m not gonna do anything. I’m gonna work at that pharmacy for the next couple of days and then I’m out of there.”

  “But wait, you said you was going to let us hit it up before you resign.”

  “Look, it’s gonna be nearly impossible for you to get drugs, because every time the shipment comes in the front door, Amir and those other guys are taking it out the back door.”

  “Well, let’s rob the UPS guy.”

  “Are you stupid? You’re really trying to go to jail, fucking with a UPS truck.”

  “Well, we can rob the guys coming out the back door.”

  “Who is we?”

  “I’m talking about my homeboys.”

  “If your boys are trying to rob the pharmacy, they’re gonna have to do it in two days.”

  “What happens in two days?”

  “That’s when the next shipment comes in.”

  “What time?”

  “It always comes in the morning. That’s when our UPS guy delivers to us.”

  “We can’t rob it in the morning time, unless we are already in the store when they get there. We can act like we’re waiting on a prescription.”

  “Yeah, I think that plan works better,” I began to say, and then I looked Jillian in the eyes and said, “You are not gonna be anywhere around the store, right?”

  “I’ll be in the getaway car,” she said and cracked a smile.

  “Jillian, no you are not. So, stop it. This is not a laughing manner. Not only are we trying to take a huge shipment of drugs from the pharmacy, we are also robbing the men that my boss owes a huge amount of money to. And let’s not forget, if I don’t turn off my camera and the wiretap, all of it will be recorded while the DEA is outside waiting around in their black van,” I explained to her.

  “Oh shit! I forgot about the camera and wire.”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll tell the agent that I’m gonna switch it off every time I go to the bathroom.”

  “Perfect excuse,” Jillian said with excitement.

  “How much you think we can take out of there?” Jillian pressed the issue. She was more concerned about the value of the prescriptions drugs than the possibility that someone could get hurt if the mafia guys refused to give up the drugs.

  “All I know is that the take away from the shipment could be anywhere between two hundred and fifty thousand to half a million dollars.”

  Jillian’s eyes grew bigger. “I can’t wait to get my hands on those pills,” she said as she rubbed both of her hands together.

  “I’m stuck on the money part of it.”

  “Me too,” Jillian agreed.

  Jillian and I retreated to the living room so we could talk more. But I was doing the most talking. After I told her about Terrell’s shenanigans, I told her that my mom wanted me to come by her house and eat dinner with her for her birthday.

  “Who’s doing the cooking?”

  “She said she wanted to.”

  “On her birthday?”

  “Yeah, that’s what I said.”

  “Is her boyfriend going to be there too?”

  “I’m sure he is.”

  “How do you feel about him?”

  “I don’t feel anything. He’s there to make her happy. Not me. You know she told me that Grandma didn’t love her the way she loved your dad?”

  “Yeah, I heard about it.”

  “What was your reaction when you heard it?”

  “I’m like you, that’s not my battle. So, I don’t have any feelings either way you look at it. But let me ask you a question.”

  “Go ahead. I’m listening.”

  “Do you think your mother likes me?”

  “I’m sure she does.”

  “I don’t think so. I think that when she sees me, she sees my dad, and she can’t get past it.”

  “Hmmm, I never thought about it that way. I can ask her the next time I talk to her.”

  “No bother,” she said, while her cell phone started ringing. She looked down at the caller ID and said, “Wait, give me a minute, this is my homeboy.”

  I sat there on the sofa and watched Jillian as she brought her homeboy up to speed about the upcoming robbery.

  “When you talk to those guys later on, I don’t want you telling my name. It’s bad enough that they know that I work there,” I instructed her.

 
“Why are you acting so paranoid? No one is going to rat you out. We are going to handle everything perfectly,” she tried to assure me. But I wasn’t buying it. When Jillian was high, she talked like a fucking know-it-all. She had all the answers. She needed to be reminded that what we’re about to do would be dangerous. This was not a game. There was no turning back once we rolled the dice. I just hoped she was ready. More importantly, I hoped those guys were ready too. There was a lot of money and drugs involved, so someone could lose their life. And that someone wouldn’t be me.

  25

  ONE LIE AFTER THE NEXT

  Immediately after Jillian left my apartment, I hopped in the shower, bathed really quickly, and then I called it a night. I thought I was going to get me some rest tonight, but it didn’t happen. Like all of those other times, I tossed and turned the entire night. It seemed like everything crossed my mind at one time. It felt like it was all jumbled up and couldn’t be fixed. I couldn’t tell if I was coming or going. What a mess my life had become.

  * * *

  In no time, I was back at work at the pharmacy. Amir had called the pharmacy and said that he had a family emergency, so he wasn’t coming in today. Not only did he make my day with that public service announcement, I felt a huge relief lifted from my gut.

  But this change of plans did not sit well with Agent Sims. In fact, he was livid when I called his cell phone and told him what Amir said. While I was talking to him, I watched the van he was in, parked across the street, drive off. I didn’t ask him where he was going because I didn’t care. But in the back of my mind, I knew Amir not being here today alarmed him. It wouldn’t surprise me if he and the other agents were heading over to Amir’s home.

  My day wasn’t all that productive since we didn’t have a lot of opioids to give out to customers who really needed them, but I made the best of it.

  As my lunchtime approached, I realized I couldn’t head out for my break because I was manning the store by myself. So I picked up my cell phone and called Jillian to see if she could bring me something to eat.

  “Hey, where you at?” I asked her after she answered her phone.

  “Me and Edmund are at the store picking up some flour for Grandma.”

  “Think you could stop off the Taco Bell and pick me up a couple of supreme tacos?”

  “What’s wrong with your car?”

  “Nothing. I’m at work by myself today. And I can’t leave. So, are you gonna do it or what?”

  “Yeah, I can do that.”

  “Bring me a Sprite too.”

  “A’ight, I gotcha,” she assured me.

  “Who was that on the phone?” I looked up, and sure enough, that rude question came from Terrell. Shocked by his sudden appearance, I looked at him like, what are you doing here?

  “I came to see how my future wife is doing,” he said, smiling from ear to ear.

  Before giving this fool my attention, I said to Jillian, “Thanks. See you soon.” Then I gave Terrell an evil glare. “First of all, I could never be your future wife. And you couldn’t care less about how I am doing. Because if you did, we would never have broken up. Now, tell me the real reason why you’re here.”

  “I came to see if I could holla at your boss right quick.”

  “Holla at my boss for what?” I wanted to know. His presence was irritating the crap out of me.

  “I want to see if he and I can do a business deal before your peoples lock him up,” he continued as he leaned over the counter.

  “Are you out of your fucking mind?”

  “No. I’m good. But I think you are,” he said sarcastically.

  “Get out right now!” I roared.

  “Oh, you’re scared that your boss may hear me?”

  “He’s not here, Mr. Fucking Know It All!” My pitch got louder.

  “Where is he? On lunch break?” Terrell guessed as he looked down at his watch.

  “Get out right now!” I screamed.

  “What seems to be the problem?” a male voice boomed from the front of the store.

  Terrell and I turned our focus toward the front entrance of the pharmacy. I gasped for air when I saw Ahmad, one of the mafia guys, walking toward us. I swear, if I had magical powers I would instantly disappear.

  “Who are you?” Terrell asked Ahmad.

  “No, my friend, the question is, who are you?” Ahmad said confidently as he approached us. I wanted so badly to tell Terrell to shut up, but my mouth wouldn’t move. I looked at Terrell’s body movement and what he was going to do next. See, Terrell has a huge ego, so having me there with him wasn’t going to make the situation better. I knew that he was going to tell this guy to leave, or insult him like he’s beneath him. And not for nothing, Ahmad wasn’t going to have it.

  “Hey look, we’re not gonna play his game. Me and my fiancée is trying to have a conversation, so if you trying to buy something then you need to leave,” Terrell replied sarcastically.

  “Misty, I thought you said you didn’t have a boyfriend,” Ahmad asked me, right after he took his last step. We were face-to-face.

  “I don’t have a boyfriend. He is my ex-boyfriend though.”

  “Oh, so now you want to disrespect me in front of this nigga!” Terrell’s voice became louder.

  “Terrell, will you please leave?” I warned him. He had absolutely no idea what this man was capable of doing. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t listen.

  “I’m not going anywhere. I’m trying to get this nigga out of here and you want me to leave?” Terrell boomed.

  “That’s what she said,” Ahmad told him.

  Terrell chuckled while he looked at me and Ahmad. “Oh, so I get it. You must be related to the motherfucker that owns this store. And now you’re trying to flex your muscles,” Terrell said.

  “Correction, I own this store,” Ahmad told him with finality.

  Terrell looked at me, puzzled. “Oh, so you’re the new owner? Because you were not the owner when she first started working here a few months ago.”

  “I don’t care who was the owner a few months ago. I am the owner now, and that’s all that matters. Now get the hell out of the store before I force you out of here,” Ahmad said, and then he pulled up his shirt, revealing a huge-ass gun in the waist of his jeans.

  Terrell chuckled once again. “Oh, so you think you’re gangsta, huh? Show that shit to the feds because they’re watching your ass, nigga!” Terrell hissed.

  “What did you just say?” Ahmad asked him.

  “He didn’t say anything,” I interjected and grabbed Terrell by his arm. I couldn’t afford to let Terrell repeat himself because things would get really ugly. Not only would he be jeopardizing my life, he could mess up the DEA’s whole investigation.

  “No. Don’t push him. Leave him alone,” Ahmad instructed.

  Shaking on the inside like a leaf dangling from a tree, fear engulfed me as I stood there next to Terrell. Ahmad took another step toward him. “Repeat what you just said,” Ahmad demanded.

  Terrell looked at me first before he opened his mouth. I gave him a look of caution and fear, hoping that he’d take heed because there was nothing else I could say. The ball was now in his court. “I said, don’t be showing me your gun because it ain’t that serious. I’d rather do business with you more than anything,” Terrell finally answered.

  Boy, what he just said didn’t sound like anything he said before, but hopefully it worked. Ahmad stood there quietly, looking as if Terrell was lying to him.

  “So, can we do business?” Terrell continued, trying to deflect what he really said.

  “What kind of business are you talking about?” Ahmad asked him, even though he looked as though he was still mulling over what Terrell actually said to him.

  “Misty told me you sell Xanax and Vicodin for dirt cheap. I could move a lot of that shit for you and make you a killing,” Terrell uttered enthusiastically, as if he was giving Ahmad the pitch of the day.

  “Misty, you told him that I could sell
him some Vi-codins dirt cheap?” Ahmad looked at me with intimidation.

  “No, I didn’t. I told him no such thing,” I replied, giving Terrell the most disgusted look I could muster up.

  “Why you lying, Misty? You did tell me that shit,” Terrell protested.

  Fire was brewing up inside of me. I couldn’t believe I was standing here with Terrell while he was telling Ahmad this bullshit. For one, Ahmad is not the one who was selling the drugs, it was Sanjay and Amir. And two, they were not actually selling the drugs, they were paying a debt to Ahmad, which was why Ahmad said that he owned the pharmacy. Every prescription drug of value coming through that pharmacy belonged to Ahmad and whoever else Ahmad worked for. It was as simple as that. So, to be standing here with this dumb-ass nigga while he was digging a deep-ass hole for us, my blood was boiling. “Listen, Ahmad, the only thing I told him was that Sanjay was giving me a few pills here and there so I could make some extra cash. That’s it,” I finally said, hoping this lie would work, considering Sanjay wasn’t here to refute what I just said.

  “Oh, so why didn’t you just say that?” Ahmad said as he cracked a smile.

  Terrell smiled too. Then he gave Ahmad a handshake. To see them both defuse the situation was a huge sigh of relief. “Hey listen, give me your number and I will call you,” Ahmad instructed him.

  Giddy like a kid in the candy store, Terrell started calling out his cell phone number so Ahmad could program it into his phone. “Terrell, I’ll give him your number,” I said. I just wanted Terrell to leave. He had already caused enough drama. And giving Ahmad his number would be a disaster if they ever talked on their own, away from me.

  “A’ight, cool,” Terrell agreed.

  “I’ll call you later after I get off work today,” I told him, even though I was lying. I was saying everything he wanted to hear so that he would leave.

  “Don’t forget to give him my number,” Terrell reminded me as he headed toward the front door of the pharmacy.

  “I won’t,” I lied once again.

  After Terrell finally exited the pharmacy, it felt like there was still an elephant in the room. In my mind, I didn’t think Ahmad believed what Terrell said when he asked him to repeat himself. I also believed that he might put me on the spot and force me to tell him the truth. But guess what? I couldn’t do that. Not when there were other people involved, like the DEA. I was pissed off at myself that I let Terrell in on the secret. He was a loose fucking cannon and he might have done damage to an already fucked-up situation.