What You Cost Me

I couldn't remember a time when I was more angry and I'm sure that if it could top this shit then I didn't want to remember it. It was the third time this mutha fucka had been late and everybody knows it's three strikes before you're out. This time he said he was already there waiting for me and yet we'd been standing on the dock for almost twenty minutes. He can't be trusted anymore. He wasn't punctual and that shit was dangerous because I didn't have time to waste. It could've been a fuckin set up. Now I'm gonna have to kill him which means I might have one less connection. I nod Donny over to me. "We gotta take him out." Donny sniffles against the cold. "You sure you want to? He said he was bringing a pretty big load. Plus he works for Marcus Cale." Donny was missing the point. I'd taken a risk I shouldn't have taken and paid in advance. He had my money and I didn't have my shit. "Call Marcus and tell him what's going on." Donny immediately started making the call. He was loyal, my left hand and hadn't let me down in almoat twenty years of friendship. I watched the coast of the bay from the dock waiting for the boat to immerge. I over heard Donny talking to Marcus. "....yeah He hasn't shown up yet. What!" I turn to see Donnys angry face. "Give me the phone." I say to him. I can already feel my blood beginning to boil. "This is Rose, what the fuck is going on?" I listen intently to the deep raspy voice on the phone as Marcus tells me something that sets me on fucking fire. He had sent the mutha fucka twelve hours ago with the shit. It only takes a half hour to reach this side of the city in a boat. So why even call me if he didn't plan to show? "If I see him I'm gonna kill him." I tell Marcus. "No. Bring him to me. He stole from me too." Then I heard the sirens. "You hear that Marcus?! Your boy set me the fuck up!" I end the call and toss Donny his phone. "Let's go boys!" I call to my crew. We run to our cars, the sound of sirens getting closer. I slide into the back seat of my Cadillac. Donny climbs in next to me and before he even closes the door I yell for Rick to drive. He takes off spitting gravel behind us. We ease our way onto the street, the sirens farther and farther away.

After a while Donny asks "What now?" I look out the window at the busy street. "Now we find him. Don't know what I'll do with him. But we gotta find him."

I call Marcus to let him know I want my money back. He tell me to meet him in a week at one of his compounds across the bridge. But we both establish that either way the snitch is dead.

************************************

After about three days of tracking my money and 3500 lbs of coke all around the city we found him. Garrett Sams was hiding out in an apartment right along the border of the next state over. As soon as I got the call I had my boys drag his ass back to the city and up to my room on the twenty seventh floor of the Gasrachi hotel.

I sat alone in the love seat. The rest of the room was dim, dramatic like some gangster movie. Two knocks popped across the door and one of the boys opened it to let them in. They dragged Garrett in, blood dripping from his face, one eye swollen shut. I couldn't help but laugh. "See, it doesn't pay to cheat. At least not in your case." I could see the fear in his one eye. I had a reputation for being ruthless. I dug in my pocket and pulled out a leather glove that I had cut the finger tips off (it looked more rugged that way). The glove fit perfectly like one and I made a show of flexing my hand leaving no question as to what I was about to do. I took a step back. A big one. Balled up a fist and stepped into the punch landing one soundly on his nose. There was a crunch and a scream as his nose broke into about five pieces. "Where's my money Sams? Huh?" I send another one to his chin. "Where the fuck is my money!?" Garrett looks up at me through the strands of dampened hair falling over his brow. "I spent it." He mumbles, his voice heavy and nasly. I know he's lying. "You fucking liar! Where is it?!" A back hand slap to his cheek. "I spent it. I spent it." "You son of a bitch! On what?" He looks up again.

"Huh?"

"You heard me! What did you spend it on?"

He looks around. He's lying.

"A car. I bought a car."

"What kinda car?"

He looks around again....

I lose my patience.

"Call Marcus. Tel him I wanna meet up now."

Donny, who had been standing next to me the whole time pulls out his phone before asking "do I tell him we got Sams?"

I look the squealer in his eye.

"No. Slink him up."

*************************************

"Marcus says to meet him at the Lake Hills Farm in an hour."

That gave the boys twenty minutes to slink Sams until he could smell colors.

It was a thirty minute drive to the farm because it was actually a place in the middle of fucking nowhere. Word was that Marcus owned it and that it was where he kept his supplies for the different underground trades he directed. Marcus Cale was rich. Then again so was I but I had decided to spend as little money as possible. The most expensive things I had bought was my cars and a few trucks for my crew. I had also bought a two story apartment that I called home. I was rarely 'home' but I wasn't gonna spend a dime more than I needed to until I was rich enough to put people away.

The field came into view, large, and overgrown. The land was completely flat aside from a few sparcely separated trees and a large house with a large shack next to it. We pulled into the long driveway that stretched up to the front door of the large house. I had brought a car and two truck loads of my guys. I got out of the car and two of my guys pulled Garrett out of the first truck. Including Donny, myself, and the two guys that were dragging Sams their were eight of us going in. The other twelve guys were waiting outside just in case. We were armed, all of us, taking no chances. I dealt with Marcus Cale. I did not trust him. Then again I didn't trust anyone.

The house was as large on the inside as it looked. The entryway was spacious with two staircases leading to the first floor. I was here for business so I pretended not to be impressed.

We were greeted by a butler who led us to a room off to the side and hidden. It was all white with a desk facing the door. Behind that desk sat Mr.Cale himself dressed in a black suit jacket with a red shirt. So formal. I was wearing black skinny jeans, black knee high boots and a black jacket. But I too sported a blood red shirt. The colors were powerful together.

Eric and Blake dragged Sams up to his feet before pushing him to his knees in front of Marcus. Marcus smiled and gave a soft throaty chuckle.

"Where'd you find him?"

"In the next state over."

"Well you've already taken care of him for the most part. Garrett?"

Garrett lifts his head.

"Where's my product?"

"And where's my money?" I ask.

Marcus looks up at me.

"Getting you your supply will be no problem for me. But Mr.Sams here..."

Marcus goes to the wall and pulls something out. A branding iron. An M with a C around it.

"Mr.Sams will be punished until I know where the money and the product is."

He steps towards Garrett.

"It's in a warehouse on fifth street. By the docks." Sams cracks before Marcus gets to him.

"Thank you Mr.Sams." Marcus makes a quick phone call telling someone to pick it up then turns back to Garrett.

"I no longer need you."

He begs. "No please. It won't happen again Mr.Cale. I swear!"

Marcus pulls a gun from his jacket pocket and points it at Sams's head.

"I don't need a snitch. Besides, I have to set an example for my guests."

He pulls the trigger and kills him. His body falls and the blood spills from his head onto the polished hardwood floor. Then he walks to the door and asks that we follow leaving the body and blood to be cleaned by the butler.

We follow him out of the house and into the backyard. He walks us to the shack and pulls open the doors. No locks.

It is huge on the inside, almost a second house. But it is so different. The entire left wall is lined with stables and a closer look shows they aren't containing horses. There are girls in each stable, their ankles chained to the wall behind them. Marcus sees me looking and says

"You can borrow one if you like. Think of it as a gift to compensate your inconvenience."

I don't answer and he doesn't press.

On the right wall is stacks of marijuana bricks sitting next to a heaping pile of cocaine. The whole shack reeks of unwashed women and tons of narcotics.

All the way in the back is an area closed off with a door and he takes us in there. It's a completely wooden room, large with polished hardwood floors and sleek hardwood furnishings. A desk facing the door and a fireplace against the wall.

But on the other side of the room is a man beating one of the girls. He pulls her by long, filthy locks of curly hair then hits her with what looks like a club with a whip at the end. There are marks on her body visible from here.

Marcus takes a seat at his desk and goes through an organized stack of files.

"Let's see. You paid about 25k for 3500 lbs..."

I can hear the girl cry out in the background.

"...I will give you what you paid for..."

The man says to her "Oh I know you won't do it again. I'm gonna make sure."

Marcus continues on like he can't hear them "...and we shouldn't have any problems."

He signals to someone and whispers in their ear. I feel my boys tense. We sit and wait for the okay that we've got what we came for and the whole time that man is beating that girl in the corner. I look at her from my side of the room and she looks right back at me. Her eyes. They're a beautiful hazel from here, almost golden.

"I want that one." I say to Marcus nodding towards the girl.

Marcus chuckles. "Would you like something to drink? Maybe some wine?" I accept the glass he's filled and wait for him to give me a knowing look as he sips the same wine before taking a sip myself.

"Her? You sure? She's not yet broken in and she can't do oral worth shit. The only thing she's good for is being fucked and even that's dry."

I couldn't tell but I said nothing. He knew what I asked for.

"You want her for the night or the week?"

"How much is she?"

"Ha! You can have her free two nights as a gift."

The man cracked down on her again only this time she made no sound. Blood and mud covered almost every inch of her thin body. Her naked skin stretched taut over ribs and spine and other bones I wasn't supposed to be able to see.

"How much indefinitely?"

Marcus Cale let's an echoing laugh escape his throat.

"I don't sell my girls Ms.Rose."

"But theoretically if you did sell that girl how much would she be worth?"

"Theoretically, that girl is worth about..."

He eyes her. Bloody, malnourished, nearly broken.

"Three thousand."

That was bull shit. Behind me Eric snickered. Donny looks at me questioningly.

"Shave it off my supply."

"No no no. That's not how this works. I told you I don't sell."

Even though she's down the man hits her again. I keep reminding myself that I can't tell him to stop because he doesn't work for me. But if he hits her again...

He does.

"Can you tell your guy to stop hitting her so I can see her?"

Marcus calls out. "Ziggy!"

Ziggy looks up.

"Leave her."

He backs away from her.

Calmly I look back at Cale.

"I'll pay any price."

He laughs again.

"I do honestly hope it's not because you pity her. I can almost garauntee if the roles were reversed she would not take pity on you. She would leave you here like no second thought and not have one at all."

I glance at her. She's so small. She looks so young.

"How old is she?"

"I believe she just turned nineteen."

"Name your price."

"Tell you what. Because I'm fair I'll do you a favor. You pay a thousand now and I'll let you keep her for a month. After that month if you still want her you come back here, pay the other two thousand and then she's yours. But I can garauntee you will want to be rid of her within the week."

I was curious as to why he had suddenly changed his mind. But if didn't matter.

I put out my hand to make another deal with Marcus Cole.

"Very well."

He shakes it.

"Ziggy clean her up."

I watch as he drags her limp body out of the room. Her eyes are barely open.

"Maybe you should pick her up. She's bruised enough."

I say to Ziggy who looks at Marcus. Marcus nods. Ziggy half ass picks her up but I don't say more. He drags her to an empty stable, throws her in the gets a hose to hose her down. Immediately she screams, trying to get away from the water.

"What did she do that was so bad she got beat like that?"

"She just doesn't listen. She's too stubborn." Marcus says scratching at the thinly trimmed hair around his jaw.

The blood has started to clear and now she looks worse because you can see every cut and bruise. Most on her body. She sports a huge bruise on her torso the size of a dinner plate.

Marcus's men ask him where they put the bricks and Marcus looks at me. I call one of my guys to bring the trucks around.

They start to load up my truck and I'm just praying none spills onto the black seude of my trunks.

After they are done everything is packed except the girl.

"No refunds." Marcus comes up next to me.

"I know." I mumble before turning to see the girl standing, shaking in an oversized T-shirt and flip-flops. She's still dripping wet and hasn't been bandaged so she keeps bleeding too.

I get Donny to ask for a large bag. The boys rip it open and lay it over my seat as a cover so her body never touches it.

I say my respectful goodbyes to Mr.Cale then hop in the car next to the girl. Donny slides in next to me and just before we take off Ziggy knocks on the window. I roll it down and he tosses me the whipping tool he beat the girl with.

"You're gonna need that."

We head home.

I look at her and she looks straight ahead. I wonder if she was conscious when Marcus and I discussed our deal. If she knows how long she's mine for. If she can see that I don't want to hurt her.

*************************************

We drive a few hours to my home city and I want her to look around at the lights but she's fallen asleep fifteen minutes in. When we get to my apartment I tap her to wake her up but she's knocked out. I can't blame her. I pick her up and carry her up the steps to the front door of the building. Frederick, the door man opens the door and fives my guess a puzzled look. I don't even try to explain. I just keep walking to the elevators. We go up to twelfth floor and I get Donny to pull the key out of my pocket so that I don't have to put her down.

When we get in the boys are tired and crash down on the couches on my living room. I carry the girl to my room and lay her down on my bed. She gives a little snore when her back makes contact with the bed.

"What are you gonna do with her?"

Donny had followed me looking for answers I barely had.

"Take care of her."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

She doesn't wake up the next morning but I do hear groans of pain at around three pm. I go to my room (I had slept in the spare room with a few of the guys. Nothing wierd there). She's in a fetal position rocking slightly. I go to get a first aid kit. I softly turn her over. She hasn't opened her eyes but I know she's awake. I pull out the kit and go to work. Cleaning her open cuts and bandaging the wounds. Applying ointment to the bruised areas. Then I tuck her in and and go back downstairs.

*************************************

My territory stretched over twelve different cities. Each city was divided into four wings like a house. North, South, East, and West. I had a hotel room reserved in each city and occasionally would go to a different city to do business. I was a leading dealer, I sold knock off brand clothes, electronics and weed. I had actually just recently moved into the heavy stuff. They were good business but the one that made the most money was selling firearms. Most of them went to small gangs looking to settle a score or large groups fighting over territory. My territory that I had subdivided into smaller territories for the groups I supplied with product. If they decided they wanted more territory I decided I wouldn't organize them again. If they want to fight over space then whoever wins wins. The only thing was I did occasionally supply one or both sides with firearms. Of course I had the power to stop them whenever. Every now and then I did have to just to make sure no one got over confident and tried to over throw me. Not that anyone knew I was the head of this large opperation. That is except my boys. A group of little over twenty that I trusted enough. They weren't like random street thugs. These guys were professionals at what they did. Ex military and martial artists who studied ninja techniques. Maybe five of them were off the street, amazing fighters with instincts that came through hardship since day one. My boys were my security and as far as I knew they were loyal. I always five in the same area as I was and when going anywhere important all of them.

They surrounded me now as I scrambled eggs for breakfast arguing over which of them were the better shot. I fixed plates and sat them on the table. They raced in like little boys grabbing at the plates a mumble thank yous around mouthfuls of food. I was jus about to sit down and enjoy own when I heard a thump coming from upstairs. Everyone else heard it too. I simply thought my guest was awake but they all had alert looks on their faces. I got up from the table and started for the upstairs. Two of my guys followed. I opened the door to my bedroom expecting to see her sprawled on the floor. Instead she had tied my sheets together and linked them out the window.

Stupid bitch.....We were on the twelfth floor. I looked out the window to see her inching along a windowsill one floor below us. I looked toward the direction she was inching and saw what she was headed for. An open window on the eleventh floor. I turned to the guys Kamron and Larry.

"Go get her." I tell them. They race out of the room and down to the eleventh floor. I look back out the window watching her but saying nothing.

Five minutes later they call me. She had been gotten into the room but had taken the elevator to the lobby. They were chasing her out into the street.

I turned to Donny.

"Go get her please."

He nodded then went off to do as I asked. I knew he would bring her. And without making a scene.

*************************************

Thirty or so minutes later Donny drags her into the apartment. Kamron and Larry following. "Nice going guys." I say sarcastically to them.

"The bitch is fast." Larry pants. He's not ex militia. He's ex hood.

"Thank Don." He nods at me and tosses her at my feet.

She falls to her knees.

"Get up." I say

She stands. I grab her by her wrist and pull her to my bedroom.

As soon as I let go to close and lock the door she falls to the floor. Cowering into a corner as she watches me grab the whipping tool.

I know I have to use it on her or she'll think I'm easy and try it again. I step to her, ready to just hit her once.

"Please don't hit me" she whispers in a voice so filled with absolute terror that I knew I couldn't. But I didn't let her know that.

"I'll deal with you later."

Then I turn around and leave the room.

I just go to the bathroom and take a shower trying to scrub off the bad feelings crawling on my skin. My back facing the faucet, I'm rinsing, just about done when I feel hands around my arms. For a second I think it's Donny. He's done this before and I'm just about to chew him out when I turn around and see the girl. He eyes are red from crying. She's naked and shivering even though the water is hot. "What are you doing?!" I ask her actually relieved that I wouldn't have to turn Donny down again.