“Nice place you got here.”
“It’ll do, lady.”
Alberto and Stephen stood as bookends with Milton and Mary Lou in between. One stranger wore a cream suit, while the three others had jeans and brightly-patterned shirts. Straight out of Hawaii.
“We’ve been informed you have some product you’re looking to put our way.”
“Reckon you might be right. You a cop?”
“Nope. You?”
“No.”
With formalities over to confirm neither was working for Hoover, they could concentrate on the business at hand.
“How much you looking to pur-chase, mama?”
“We’ll get there, my man. No need to rush to the end. First, introduce me to your friends, so we can all get to know each other.”
He pointed at the other two.
“Silvestre and Barclay. Now we’re buddies. Can we get down to business?”
“Sure, man. We can get this done in a matter of minutes.”
Mary Lou glanced at Milton, not understanding why he butted into her conversation.
“How much you got?”
“Lady, you got this all upside down. You tell me how much you carrying and I’ll say how much product we’re prepared to part with.”
“Five thousand.”
“What the fuck?”
“You heard.”
“You dragged us here to buy half a pound? That’s not worth switching on the lights.”
Why hadn’t Milton said something? And what about Pasquale? They were in a dark and dangerous hole, slowly sinking.
“Listen, Candido. There’s been a small misunderstanding but nothing we can’t sort out.”
“Are you fucking with me?”
“No. I was given false information. Listen: we can turn this round if we work together.”
“Candido, the lady is out of her depth but you and I have history. You know we can make this good.”
Mary Lou shot a fiery stare at Milton, who had undermined her at just the wrong moment. You didn’t need to be a psychiatrist to know trigger fingers were getting itchy. A quick glance at every expression in the room told you all there was to know.
“Stand firm, Alberto. You too, Stephen.”
“On it, boss.”
“Look, if we talk about ten grand does that get us a pound of China white?”
“Still trying to hustle us.”
“Not at all. Just trying to get us back on an even keel.”
“Sounds more like you’re trying to run the show.”
“Your show and no mistake. If you want to, I’ll reach a deal with you. If not then no harm, no foul and we’ll leave you be, straight away.”
Beat.
“No need to go running off, missy.”
“None of us are going anywhere, just yet. Depends on the deal you eventually offer me.”
“You in charge are you, little lady?”
“Yes. I assume that will not be a problem for you.”
“Doesn’t need to be. I’ll let you know later.”
“Waiting on bated breath.”
Beat.
“So have we the makings of some accommodation here?”
“Yes, Milton. A pound of raw for twelve thousand.”
“That’s rich. Too rich for our blood.”
Mary Lou fumed again at Milton’s indiscretion and poor decision making. She did not understand why he thought he should lead the conversation when he was only getting five per cent. The chances of a finder’s fee was fast diminishing.
“Then twelve thousand can buy you a pound and a half.”
“You weren’t listening to Milton. The twelve was too much. We aren’t negotiating over the amount it might buy us. In case you don’t get it, we’re here to buy a pound of your finest.”
“No need to get tetchy, mama.”
“So how much for a pound?”
17
“We’ll take ten grand for one pound. If you come back with a bigger order then we’ll have more room to maneuver.”
Mary Lou knew this was twice the amount Pasquale expected her to spend which meant she was getting fucked by these two strangers. But Milton didn’t appear to flinch at the price. So either he had a side arrangement with Fabio and Pasquale or he had set her up to fail. Neither were good news.
On a positive note, she hadn’t been stupid enough to only bring the exact amount of cash. Mary Lou thought there might be a better deal on the table if she doubled the quantities so was in a good position to close the deal Candido proposed.
She opened her money bag and removed ten thousand. One of Candido’s guys flipped the lid on a cardboard box and pulled out a bag of white powder. Milton took it and Mary Lou handed over the cash for counting.
He produced some scales and vials of clear chemicals out of his toolkit and knelt down to test the product. He weighed out a small quantity from the bag and added a pipette of liquid onto the spoon. He waited twenty seconds and then held the cutlery up to the light. It remained clear.
He scrunched up his face like he didn’t understand what was going on. Then he wiped the spoon clean on a cloth and picked out another peck of powder and added a pipette of chemical. Same result: clear liquid.
Milton raised the vial to show Mary Lou and she nodded by reply. Then she looked at Alberto and blinked once to indicate the seriousness of the situation and to alert him there may be trouble ahead.
“What gives?”
“Huh?”
“You’ve seen the test result. Twice. What are you trying to pull?”
“Nothing. There’s four bags of the China white you asked for and paid for.”
“Don’t treat me like a fool. That’s not heroin and you know it.”
She looked around where they were standing and couldn’t see her money. They must have stashed it in one of the boxes while Milton was testing the gear. He’d told her to stay sharp and she’d fallen for the oldest trick in the book.
“You have yourselves a problem, but it’s easy to remedy. Two options: give me a pound of base or return my money.”
“Look see, little lady. You got matters all upside down again. Your money’s gone - right, Silvestre? - and there’s no heroin round these parts for me to give to you. The only thing you and your compadres can do is to walk out and keep going.
“The options you’re offering ain’t gonna happen, so you gotta decide how you want to end this.”
“Listen to me carefully. I do not intend to repeat myself and I need you to be clear I mean what I say.”
“I’m hearing you.”
“Good. The money or the smack. That’s all you got left to choose.”
Alberto shifted his stance slightly but everybody else remained perfectly still. Mary Lou eyed Milton, who checked on Stephen. Alberto and Stephen gazed at Candido, Silvestre and the third guy. They soaked in every inch of how they stood and what they did.
Candido took a pack of cigarettes lying on a shelf and lit one, throwing the rest of the packet on the floor. Silvestre stood straight and tall like he was somebody, but Mary Lou knew he was nothing more than a hired hand.
A hush descended on the room and, for the first time since their arrival, Mary Lou heard the ticking of a clock.
“Stash or cash. I’ll give you five seconds to decide.”
Candido blew smoke rings and smiled a cheesy grin, looking to all the world as though he didn’t care what Mary Lou said or did.
“One.”
Milton put his drugs paraphernalia back into his toolkit. Stephen and Alberto stood firm.
“Two.”
Beat.
“Three.”
Milton finished clearing his stuff from the floor but hadn’t closed his toolkit - a hand drifted near the opening, resting harmlessly. A finger or two drooped inside.
“Four.”
The corner of Silvestre’s mouth twitched and a bead of sweat plummeted from his nose onto the floor. Candido stared straight at Mary Lou and Alberto kept st
aring in front, not even blinking.
“Five.”
A SLUG RIPPED THROUGH Candido’s shoulder causing him to fly sideways with the force of the impact. Mary Lou hit the dirt as Alberto added a bullet to Candido’s back.
Milton whipped out a gun from his toolkit and blasted in the general direction of the three men, but not one shot reached human flesh. Stephen stepped to one side, behind the corner of a shelf and took aim at Silvestre. A red pool in between his eyes showed the trajectory of Barclay Valdez’s slug and Stephen keeled over.
Alberto maintained his shooting rate at Candido and Mary Lou focused her attention on Silvestre, who refused to go down. Milton opened a barrage of fire at Barclay until bloody holes appeared across his torso and he collapsed dead.
That left Silvestre who was scurrying along the floor, trying not to be in anyone’s line of sight. A bullet popped into a box and a ball of powder erupted out. Holes plastered the wall and Silvestre cowered round a corner in a pitiful attempt to escape the shower of firepower aimed at his body.
Mary Lou aimed square at his chest as the hail of bullets descended around him and pop. He went down as one of her slugs entered his torso and ripped through his heart.
An eerie silence took over the room as Mary Lou surveyed her people to see who was left alive. Only Stephen had bought it. The rest stood up and headed toward the bodies to ensure they were goners.
They picked up the spare guns and Mary Lou walked around systematically checking the boxes to find the real China white they’d come for. Alberto recovered her money from a box near Candido’s corpse.
After fifteen minutes searching, they had uncovered twenty four bags which Milton confirmed contained heroin and two bags of more or less flour.
“Six pounds of smack for zero dollars. Nice work if you can get it.”
They removed Stephen’s body and dumped it in Alberto’s car then returned for the money and drugs. If there’d been any gasoline, Mary Lou would have torched the place but there was none. Instead, they shut the door on the way out and relied on the fact that few would worry about the absence of the inhabitants for quite some time.
Alberto knew to drive to the far side of town - south and still further - and bury Stephen in the desert where no-one would find him. Mary Lou and Milton returned to her house, coming in the back way, past the summerhouse. Cindy was playing with the kids in the living room.
While Milton stayed in the summerhouse out of sight, Mary Lou scurried upstairs and took a shower and changed her clothes. The dirt and dust from their earlier escapade clung to her like a shroud. Then back to the summerhouse.
“You want to freshen up before we shift the gear?”
“Thanks, don’t mind if I do.”
She stayed with the white while he popped indoors and sorted himself out. Mary Lou took the opportunity to put her money away.
“You ready?”
They walked out the front of the house and transferred the bags into Mary Lou’s car - at her insistence. She wasn’t sure why the situation had gone so awry, but she was damned certain she hadn’t caused it. Until she figured that out, she needed to keep an eye on Milton. And have a conversation with Pasquale too.
18
Back in the room with Pasquale and Fabio, but this time Mary Lou was not in a good mood. Milton sat next to her and knew she was angry based on the silence in the car on the way over. She hadn’t said a word since he came down from the shower in her house.
“What kind of stunt was that to pull?”
“Did you strike a deal?”
“We’ll come to that in a minute. Answer my question first.”
“You appear quite emotional right now. Do you need a coffee to calm down?”
“I’ll take the coffee, but you need to explain why you let us walk into a situation where the vendor wanted twice as much as we were prepared to pay. You brokered this deal and it went south almost before I opened my mouth.”
Milton nodded agreement, but he couldn’t bring himself to look Pasquale in the eye. He shuffled again in his chair as though he hoped somehow to vanish from sight and leave Mary Lou on her own with her anger and Pasquale.
“Mary Lou, I respect what you achieved in the past - back east - but please remember that we judge you on what you do now. And at this point, you are not speaking to me in an appropriate manner. I have forgiven you so far, but my patience is wearing thin.”
“Listen to me and understand: you set us up this morning and I want you to give me an explanation. If you can’t do that, just let me know and I’ll be outa here. Along with my six pounds of smack.”
“Six?”
“You heard me.”
“We can come to that later.”
“You betcha.”
“Candido and his crew have been a thorn in my side these past few weeks and I was hoping you could sort them out. One way or another.”
“We sure did. But you could have told me beforehand. I don’t mind doing someone else’s dirty work. I prefer to be told in advance.”
“Think of it as a small test of your mettle, if you like. For your bank job, you were surrounded by many gang members. We needed to be sure you could handle yourself.”
A smirk spread across Fabio’s mouth as he glanced at Pasquale every few seconds.
“What’s your problem, motherfucker?”
Mary Lou jabbed a pointing finger in Fabio’s direction. He sneered back, not caring what she thought or what she said. The coffees arrived and one of Pasquale’s men placed them on the table. This interruption defused the tension but Mary Lou continued to glare at Fabio as he ignored her and sipped his piping hot drink.
“We appreciate your efforts, Mary Lou. Truly. If you suffered any inconvenience then we can discuss any necessary compensation.”
“A bunch of flowers sent to Stephen’s widow would be a good start.”
“Just the one fatality?”
“Yes.”
“Consider it done. We will look after the family directly. Milton: my condolences to you and those who mourn. He was a solid fella. Rest in peace.”
Milton, Pasquale and Fabio made the sign of the cross in front of their upper bodies. Classic Catholic auto-response.
“On the positive side, Stephen was not the only death. Candido and Silvestre will no longer be a problem for you. They breathed their last.”
“Good news. That explains the volume of product in your possession. And I assume your stake is intact?”
“Sure is.”
“Excellent. Pleased to hear it.”
“Not as much as me.”
Pasquale allowed himself a brief smile. The tension was diffusing as the two protagonists eased into their conversation.
“Probably not, but they had been costing me plenty - ever since they moved into the area Christmas time.”
“And now we have freed you from these concerns.”
“More or less.”
“How so?”
“Well, as much as Candido was a pain in the ass, he was the front. A guy name of Sancho Mendoza was backing him and will no doubt look to replace the fella with another. Until he does, we have an opportunity to take over his territory.”
“We?”
“Your hard work from this morning deserves to be rewarded. Assuming you can lay off the six pounds, we can go into partnership on a more extensive basis.”
“Partnership?”
“The fifty-fifty deal we agreed when last we met.”
“That still alive?”
“Always has been. I like working with professional operators like yourself.”
Mary Lou nodded to receive the compliment.
“Once we have the operation up-and-running, we can discuss the financial terms of the partnership. I am expecting to show you appreciation moving forwards, but if this business is as profitable as I believe it is then I should be able to own my own facilities sooner rather than later.”
“The future is all to play for. Let us focus on the Mendo
za matter and we can deal with the rest afterwards.”
“Okay.”
“You will need to convince Mendoza to relinquish his control. Either by giving up on the territory or by drawing his last breath. Either is acceptable to us.”
“How far back does the bad blood between you and Mendoza go?”
“A matter of months. This is business and is nothing personal. I have no desire to see the man dead, but I don’t care whether he is alive. What matters to me is that he ceases to impede my business interests.”
“Got it. And will I need to use Milton’s firepower or will you be able to offer more tangible support on this occasion?”
“My resources are at your disposal. All you need to do is let Fabio know your needs and he will get it for you. We want you to succeed because your success is our profit too.”
“How many men does Mendoza have?”
“Around ten or twenty. They run the north of Palm Springs but there's a sizeable operation in LA. That is where I’m keeping my eye on. The local operation is useful to obtain only in so far as we can leverage it against his main area of control.”
Mary Lou contemplated what Pasquale had told her. Chances were he was honest with her and they set her up as a test to see if she could handle herself. And she had passed their exam. But she wondered if she’d have been lured into such a stupid situation if Frank had been by her side. In her eagerness to get back into the game, she’d forgotten how easy it was to be suckered into a dumb plan.
“Let’s take the fight to Mendoza, Pasquale.”
MILTON AND MARY LOU had a bite of lunch in a local restaurant. Nothing fancy: a bowl of pasta and a glass of wine. Simple Sicilian fare.
“Did you know what would go down?”
“Not in the slightest. I was as surprised as you.”
“I see. Next time we cut a deal with my money...”
“Yes?”
“When I say to leave me to do the talking: I mean it. You spoke for me back there before we shot them full of holes.”
“Did I?”
“Yeah, sure did. If you want to carry on working with me, you need to listen to what I say. And act on it.”
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