by Mitch Goth
The next day seemed to go by in a blur for the three men. They sat around the lobby all morning and into early afternoon. Waiting for Rain to awaken, waiting for Vin to arrive, but neither ever seemed to show up.
It was just after two o’clock by the time Ben finally called Vin in. It was another half an hour before the man actually got there.
“So,” Vin groaned, sitting behind his desk an expression of obvious annoyance on his face, “someone want to explain to why I got called away from my day off and a pretty decent late lunch for this ‘emergency’?” he looked at the three men sitting beyond his desk in an impatient frustration. “Can’t I trust you people enough to get a day to myself?”
“We got attacked,” Ben explained, “two guys from the KC Devil’s, nobody I really recognized, no high rankers or anything.”
“Attacked? I thought you were going to a rave,” Vin said, seeming more awake.
“We were at the rave, but so were the guys who attacked us,” Ben went on. “We decided to leave because they were eyeballin' us, and they followed us. They caught us in an alley and were gonna shoot all three of us.”
“How’d you manage to weasel out of that?” Vin inquired.
“Rain helped us out there,” Dando spoke up with a shrug.
“Rain?” Vin scoffed. “Rain as in the teenage girl I instructed to get higher than a kite last night? She helped you guys?”
“Not just so much as helped as saved,” Ben admitted.
“Why don’t you go ahead and go through this whole event for me,” Vin instructed, obviously confused by it all. "From the beginning."
“Well, right when the guys drew on us, Rain darted, and I mean fast,” Ben began going through the confrontation.
“I think that was the drug’s doin’,” Joe pointed out. “She was like a damn Olympian.”
“Regardless of how fast she was going, she was outta there quick,” Ben continued. “In the meantime these two guys drew on us and were ready to kill us. They said we were too weak to fight back, they say they’re trying to expand into other territories, ours included.”
“The KC Devils?” Vin stopped the story. “We’re talking about the group of meth-head bikers here, right?”
“Right,” Ben nodded.
“Since when do they think they’re strong enough to take on anybody? They couldn’t topple the damn Girl Scouts,” Vin sat back in his seat, a grimace on his face.
“They were packin’ really new pieces, space age lookin’,” Joe recalled. “I think they’re slingin’ more around the territory they got, that’s what I’ve been hearin’ anyway. They’ve probably got some serious bankroll by now.”
“You didn’t waste any time telling me,” Vin glared at Joe.
“I didn’t think they were savin’ up for a war,” Joe defended himself. “I didn’t think it was important.”
“Jesus Christ,” Vin sighed before gesturing at Ben, “continue please.”
“So these guys were ready to kill us,” Ben did as he was instructed, “and none of us were carrying, so we were pretty much dead. Then these lights just show up down the alley and we all get out of the way just before my Caddy blasts through, taking both of those guys with it.”
“Rain’s driving?” Vin figured.
“Yeah, like a bat outta hell too,” Ben nodded. “She slams on the brakes and tosses these dudes to the ground. One gets rolled over by the car, the other gets thrown into a wall or somethin', and he’s still alive. So Rain gets out, my gun in her hand, she walks over and just shoots the other guy before he even knew what hit him. After that we all got the hell outta dodge.”
“So you’re all fine,” Vin observed, “what about Rain? Where is she?”
“She’s upstairs, sleeping,” Ben replied.
“She’s been asleep for like twelve hours now,” Dando added. “That drug’s gotta be somethin’ else.”
“What’d she think of it?” Vin leaned in, eager for an answer. “Good? Great? Amazing?”
“Something else is a great way to put it,” Ben smiled. “She was gone all night. It looked…spectacular.”
“Good,” Vin grinned, “did she say what it felt like?”
“She did,” Ben nodded, “she said it felt like ‘delicate rain’.”
“Delicate rain? I like it,” Vin laughed.
“She said that stuff is gonna make us millions,” Dando said. “And based on last night, she might just be right, Vin.”
“Looks like a masterpiece,” Joe complimented, “and that’s church.”
“Good to know,” Vin replied with a nod. He never really understood Joe’s compliments, but he figured his expression was a congradulatory one. He turned to Ben, “So, twelve hours huh?”
“Yeah, we haven’t heard a damn thing from her since last night,” Ben explained. “It’s a little insane.”
“She’s gotta wake up sometime,” Dando said. “Maybe then we can figure out how the come down is.”
“Shouldn’t be too bad, I tried to make sure of that,” Vin said. “But, you’re right, if we want to know for sure, we really ought to wake her up. Twelve hours of sleep is enough for anyone anyhow, extremely hungover or not.”
“So we wake her up, then what?” Joe wondered.
“We send her out with you guys to help sell this stuff,” Vin answered. “She needs to stick around for a little bit to be our spokesperson.”
“No offense, Vin, but I ain’t for that,” Joe shook his head. “If last night tells me anything, it’s that she’s unpredictable. We can’t trust her for nothin’.”
“That could’ve been the drug,” Dando observed. “Matter of fact, I’m almost sure it was. Don’t judge a person’s actions when they’re high, everybody knows that.”
“Either way, she saved all our asses by doing what she did,” Ben said. “Unpredictable or not, she did what she needed to so we could stay alive, and look what happened. We’re all alive because of her.”
“I don’t trust her, Vin,” Joe stayed firm. “She’s trouble, I promise you. She needs to get outta here quick.”
“It’ll only be a week or two more tops, Joe, calm down,” Vin assured. “And I must agree with Ben, I’d be three high ranking dealers short today if she didn’t kill those men. I personally don’t understand how you can suggest we toss her out so callously after she saved your damn life just a few hours ago.”
“I’m just lookin’ out for the business is all,” Joe replied. “It could be bad keepin’ her around here for too long, I just hope you know that.”
“I will keep that under all my possible consideration,” Vin said, obviously condescending his employee. “Now, if you don’t mind, I would like it if we went and woke the girl up so I can see how the come down of that pill is and hear its effects first hand. Then I want to go enjoy the rest of my day off. So, any more questions or grievances?” he scanned the room, nobody made a sound. “Alright, let’s go.”
Vin lead the way upstairs. His eagerness showed in his unusually speedy gait. The others struggled to keep up with as he sharply turned corner after corner, working through the dilapidated maze to reach Rain’s room.
Before he even had time to stop in front of the door, he was knocking lightly on it. No response came. He knocked again, slightly louder.
“What?” Rain’s voice came weakly through the door.
“Can I come in?” Vin wondered through the door.
“Who is it?”
“Its Pablo Escobar, who do you think it is?” Vin replied in a sarcastic impatience.
“Who the hell is Pablo Escobar?” Rain’s low voice wondered.
“I’m with her, who the hell is that?” Joe inquired.
“Jesus,” Vin groaned at the two of them, pushing open the door and walking in.
The group walked in to find Rain sitting up on her bed, fatigue showing heavily in her face and eyes. Ben, Dando, and Joe stalled, waiting for either Vin or Rain to say something.
“God, what time is it?” Rain w
ondered, looking around for a clock.
“It’s a little bit short of three o’clock,” Vin answered.
“Afternoon or morning?” Rain asked in disorientation.
Vin only pointed behind her to the window on the far wall. Despite the drapes being drawn on them, a hefty amount of sunlight came through. Rain turned to look at the window and looked at it for only a moment before turning back, not saying a word. It seemed she was ashamed for sleeping so abysmally late.
“Answer your question?” Vin inquired smartly.
“Yeah,” Rain nodded, rubbing her head, “anyone have some Tylenol or ibuprofen or something?”
“I have some in my car,” Ben replied.
“Head hurt?” Dando asked, seeing the answer in her pained expression.
“Its like a bunch of elephants are just stampeding nonstop in my head,” Rain groaned. “Worst hangover ever.”
“That’s not a good sign,” Dando pointed out.
“But, was it worth it?” Vin approached her.
Rain looked up and stared Vin straight in the eyes, “You’re Goddamn right it was. That was the most amazing night of my life. Well, it was up until…” she trailed off.
“Excluding that of course,” Vin stopped her.
“Unbelievable,” Rain shook her head with a laugh, “that stuff is gonna make you rich. Or, richer than you already are. You need to sell that stuff quick before anybody steals that recipe.”
“I think I need to name it first,” Vin chuckled.
“Have you come up with a name yet?” Ben wondered.
“I think I have, yeah,” Vin turned to Ben and smiled before turning back to Rain, “I think, based on her explanation, I ought to name it Delicate Rain. Seems fitting.”
“It is,” Rain looked up at him with a warm smile. “But you should really come up with a cure for this hangover. If you can sell those pills and an anti-hangover pill, you’ll be the richest man on the planet,” she finally stood up, weakly at first.
“That’s what businessmen call vertical integration,” Vin pointed out.
“Whatever it is, do it,” Rain instructed, walking slowly over to the others.
“What cures a hangover for you normally?” Dando inquired, smiling at her highly disheveled look.
“A greasy bacon sandwich and a lot of coffee,” Rain responded quietly. She didn’t want to speak too loudly or move too swiftly in fear of angering the elephants still hopping around in her head.
“I don’t know where to find a bacon sandwich,” Ben laughed. “But I know a good coffee place not too far away. I’ll take you.”
“Oh my God, thank you,” Rain hugged him as they wandered out the door and down the hall.
“So,” Joe watched them stroll down the hall for a moment before addressing the other two, “what do you think?”
“About what?” Vin asked, confused by the vague question.
“About her, man,” Joe elaborated only slightly.
“She seems fine to me,” Dando shrugged. “She ain’t hurtin’ nothin’.”
“Once again I have to agree against your favor, Joe,” Vin walked towards the door. “Rain seems to be beneficial right now. She’s certainly doing no harm to this business.”
“Yet,” Joe corrected, looking down the hall, “she’s not doin’ any harm yet. The time is gonna come, and that’s for sure. When it comes what you gonna do, Vin?”
“If it comes, we’ll figure it out then,” Vin left the room without another word.
“What’s up with you, man?” Dando asked at Joe, an expression of concern on his face. “You’re actin’ all paranoid.”
“She’s dangerous, I don’t know how you all don’t see it,” Joe growled. “We’ve done a lot to build this business, and its in danger now.”
“She’s just a girl, Joe, she’s not gonna do that much damage if she does any at all. Besides, what do you expect to do if she does?”
“We killed a lot of people building and protecting this business,” Joe said darkly. “What difference would one more make?”
13
