ICY KNUCKLES is back with a new story. This is my first rated M story, but I can guarantee that you'll love it.

Now see your determination,

It over exceeded your high education

And instead you became a street scholar

You bet, broke bread, as you knew the other 3 would follow

But now you're mind, your aura: melancholy

Your reign over Station Square begins

Sonic, Knuckles, Shadow, and Silver

Sonic's POV

Shadow, Silver and I sat in our hotel room, getting ready for the exchange. There was silence between us as we got our pistols ready. Two things you learned in this trade was to always be prepared and never trust anybody. A total of six guns lay out on the table. We all grabbed our pistols and started making preparations. Silver and I both had chrome 9 mms, and Shadow carried a black .45. As we sat there, we all made sure that we had fresh clips. We assumed that Jack was doing the same at the drop location.

I looked out of the window and started thinking of all the events that happened up to this point. I was starting to doubt that this was what I wanted to do with my life. Then, I started to worry. As I looked up at the cloudy sky, something deep within me started to shiver. It felt like a bad omen, but I continued preparing for today, not knowing what today would bring to me.

Warehouse 59…

There's a small place in the pit of my stomach that only reveals itself in times like this. I should be used to this by now. This was a routine that I knew too well. Shadow, Silver, and I have been through this too many times to count. Maybe I felt like this because this time, someone was missing. Still, something's not right. The pit never lies.

Shadow, Silver, and I all stood in front of a warehouse door. Shadow was carrying a briefcase full of the exchange money. We were all wearing our "business suits", which consisted of executive-type suits with a trench coat. We all wore the same kind of suits. They only differed in color. Silver's was gray, Shadow's was black, and mine was navy-blue.

The door was raised slowly. We waited patiently as the door rose, never showing any signs of emotion. The worst thing you could do during an exchange was allow the other exchange members to read you. By remaining emotionless, you show just how experienced and hard you really were. We did not move until the door was fully raised. Then, we simultaneously walked into the warehouse with our guns lowered at our sides. It's too late to turn back now.

Jack and his other three crew members were all sitting down at a table inside the warehouse. Jack was a Cuban hedgehog that wore a leather jacket. His three crew members were all Cuban hedgehogs as well. They all had very dark tans. Jack took a puff from his cigar and stood as we approached the table where they sat.

"Hey, aloha. What's up, fellas?" greeted Jack. Cigar smoke came out his mouth as he spoke.

"What's up….Jack," I said, keeping my cool and blank expression.

Jack pointed at the briefcase that Shadow was holding. "Is that the money?" he asked.

"It ain't my laundry," I replied.

"Well, then, let's see it," he said.

"The shit first, papi," said Silver.

"You're cautious, huh? I like cautious." He turned to one of his enforcers, who was also holding a briefcase. "Pedro, show them the shit."

One of the hedgehogs undid the buckles on the briefcase and revealed 20 keys of yayo. (That's 20 kilograms of cocaine.) After he was sure that we had had a good look, he closed the briefcase.

"Why don't you hedgehogs do what you do best and show me the money," he demanded as he took another puff of his cigar.

I looked at Shadow, which gave him the order to do so. Shadow undid our briefcase and revealed our 14 million dollars of cold, hard cash.

"It's all there," I said.

Jack took a look at the money. Then, he took a look at Shadow.

"Yeah, your money's good, but your partner here looks like he has a problem. What are you so nervous about, homes?" he asked.

Shadow did have an unusual look on his face. He looked angry. Even with that look, Shadow replied in the calmest of ways. He simply said, "It's all good."

One of the Cuban hedgehogs that had a scar on his face gripped his semi-automatic Uzi a little tighter.

"Silver, check the shit. Let's get the fuck out of here," I said.

The Cubans all stepped to the side and allowed Silver over to the table where they had set their yayo. Silver set down his gun and began the tests. The tests were to make sure that the yayo was pure.

Silver had set his gun too close to a bottle of Samuel Adams beer that was also on the table. The bottle began to rock around the table in a circular motion. Everything seemed to be going in slow motion as I saw the bottle fall down onto the table. I could hear my own heartbeat as the bottle slowly rolled towards the end of the table. I looked to my right to see Shadow biting his lip quite rapidly with that same angry expression on his face. He had broken out into a cold sweat. Silver stopped the tests and looked over at the bottle as it fell to the floor. It appeared to fall so slow to me that I could watch it fall every inch accurately. Then, it shattered. The next thing I heard was gunshots.

They say that life comes down to a series of moments, and in those moments are choices. Decisions that we can make that could affect our lives forever. We were in one of the worst fights that we had ever been in, but all I could think about was one question. It was a question that kept entering into my mind. The question was "How did we get here"?

That's chapter one of my new story, Emerald Avenue. The first part was a little piece of poetry that I threw in there. I hope you liked it. The first chapter may seem confusing, but I promise you that all things will be made clear once the story progresses. Be sure to review. Please!

ICY KNUCKLES