Success, Opulence and Power by Hebru Young (best novel books to read .TXT) 📗

profit from their investment. We’ll move the cocaine ourselves out of a motel in Alicante Grove. I already have a few customers lined up, and since this is not Sin Nombre territory, we’ll have no problem selling there. These guys aren’t your average junkies. Some of them are professionals. There’ll also be some gofers buying coke for their D-list celebrities. We’re definitely going to be able to sell everything you have within six weeks,” Raphael said.

“So, what role do we play in all this, Uncle Raphael?” Eddie asked.

“You guys will bag up the coke in twenty- and fifty-dollar baggies. I will deal directly with the customers and the money, and you guys will take turns being the look-out at the window of the room. Next time we do this, it will be best if you guys go to the motel directly. I also need to figure out a new way to move the drugs from your house to Alicante Grove. I don’t like what happened with the cop and the taxi this time, so we’ll look for a different way,” Raphael said.

“Okay, I agree. Things did get really tense this morning,” Eddie replied.

“Oh, there is one thing that I forgot to mention. We will need some muscle while we’re doing what we’re doing in Alicante Grove. Drugs deals tend to go wrong; it’s the nature of the business. We can’t trust anyone completely, so we’ll need a couple of guys with guns for security. The daily rate for the two guys I have is two hundred dollars each. There’s also the fee for paying the receptionists on duty to allow us to operate without calling the cops, another hundred per day. The payment for all this will come from each of us, so that’s about $166 each. Everyone okay with that?” Raphael asked.

“We’re okay with it, Uncle Raphael,” said Eddie.

“Good, because we don’t have a choice anyway. We need the security plain and simple. The two guys will be meeting us at the motel,” said Raphael.

“No problem, we’re all on the same page.” Eddie said.

“Okay, even with the muscle I’ll be carrying a pistol while we’re there. Any of you know how to handle a gun?” Raphael asked.

“I do—you have a spare one for me?” Eddie said.

“You do?” asked Raphael.

“Yes, Uncle Raphael,” Eddie replied.

“Wow kid, I don’t even wanna know. I’ll be giving you the piece when we get there. Okay let’s go, we’ll take my car. Oh, if we have even the slightest hunch that we are about to be raided by the cops, we flush everything down the toilet, got it?” Raphael said.

“Absolutely!” Eddie replied.

“Good,” said Raphael.

The guys loaded up the trunk of Raphael’s car and headed for the motel in Alicante Grove. They decided to stick to the school debate story in case they ran into the police again. Luckily for them, the backup story wasn’t required. They eventually pulled up to the One in a Bed Motel, a rundown cesspool in the most corrupt part of Alicante Grove. The massive florescent sign was very old and missing several lightbulbs. In the surrounding neighbourhoods, all they could see were rusty old cars. Almost all the homes looked dingy, with overflowing trash cans and old furniture out front.

After Raphael parked, he asked the boys to remain in the car while he paid for the room. He stepped out of the car and scanned the area, but things were quiet at that time of day. There were a few hookers hanging around looking for clients. They looked at Raphael, but something about him let them know that he wasn’t to be approached. The girls looked like they were on drugs. Raphael knew the area well—they wouldn’t have any problem moving cocaine here. What he wasn’t sure about was how much raw coke would sell or how fast. Crack was mostly the drug of choice for users in the area. However, most drug heads would generally make do with whatever they could get their hands on, even if it meant buying a more expensive baggie of raw cocaine. Raphael and the boys would not have problems with the police, because every receptionist working during their hours of operation would be paid off. The hookers knew better than to call the cops, because that meant putting their own lives in danger. Besides, they needed the convenience of being able to buy drugs without having to travel too far. There would be a tiny bit of competition in the area. Nothing too substantial though, because the guys that dealt drugs there were small timers and generally didn’t have enough product to move.

Raphael paid the receptionist, and she gave him the key to room 406. He had the boys put the suitcases in the room. The guys who were going to provide security had arrived earlier, parked in a white pickup. Raphael signalled them over, and they had a conversation about securing the room. One of the guys would remain outside the room door, while the other guy kept an eye on the wider area of the motel.

After getting the suitcases into the room, the boys unpacked the drugs and started to bag them. Raphael had already spoken to his contacts to get the word out on the streets to let people know they had high-quality cocaine for sale. While the boys were busy packaging the product, he handed a pistol to Eddie as promised. Eddie tucked the gun behind his back, under his shirt just like his uncle did.

It had been a couple of hours since they had bagged the drugs, but there was not a single customer in sight.

“So, is it just me or does it feel like we’re not going to sell anything today?” Eddie asked.

“It might seem that way, Edwardo, but trust me— this business is different from the restaurant business. People don’t use drugs at a particular