The River Kings have been a thinly veiled train wreck for the past couple of years, and Tim is surprised that they haven't fallen apart yet. He's surprised that no one else has caught on.
He liked them better when Mike Archer was in charge, and Walter Glass was just the second in command. Archer ran a tight ship, and they had an established pecking order. There was a plan for who would take over if the leader got jailed, if the second in command got jailed, and on down the line.
The Kings were into moonshining back then. Jimmy Duncan had learned from his father, who had learned from his father before him back during prohibition. They had a still in an abandoned factory building by the river. Buck Merrill was their main customer, and he always kept his bar stocked with the stuff. But they also sold to the various drunks in their territory, and there was a rumor that the chief of police himself was a customer, but Tim always knew it was bullshit.
It was a good business while it lasted, but it all went downhill fast. Mike Archer was convicted for murder, even though everyone knew he was framed, and he got sent to McAlester. Walter Glass took over the gang, and all hell broke loose. He got cocky, and he got arrested for stupid, avoidable things more than he should have. He didn't have a rigid set of rules and consequences for breaking those rules like Archer did. He let his boys run wild and walk all over him. Tim should have broken off their alliance then. But they still had their moonshine, and they were really good at pretending to be organized. Plus, he needed every ally he could get against the Packers. So he kept it up with them.
Then their still exploded and burned the building down. It was by the grace of God that no one was inside, and it was pure dumb luck that it didn't get traced to them. But it also meant that they were suddenly without a business, and their leader was just about as incompetent as they came. They should have fallen apart then, but then Faye Louise came to town and saved them. It was perfect timing. Some people have all the luck.
XXX
Tim Shepard throws his cigarette butt out the window of his car and pulls away from the curb. It's not even nine o'clock, but he can tell today is going to be a scorcher. He's wondering why he even bothered with taking a shower. He will have sweated through his shirt by the time he gets to Faye's.
He's also mentally kicking himself for ever striking up a business deal with the Kings. Looking out for each other and guarding territory against a rival gang is one thing, but getting tied to them in matters of money is another. But he wasn't exactly in a great place when Walter Glass offered to get them in on their budding pot business. Tim's endeavor in selling stolen car parts had just gone belly-up, and Dick was quickly drinking away any money that the family had. The Kings were looking like they would get themselves together again, and he was hard up for money. He didn't want to see his family go without food or get the electric cut out from under them, so he agreed. This is what he gets for bringing his heart into the equation instead of just using his head.
He pulls up to a stop sign and lights another smoke. Faye Louise is facing a coup of epic proportions, and he's got money tied into her plants. Internal warfare is what tore the Tiber Street Tigers apart back in the winter, and Brian Cooper was an experienced leader. He knew a thing or two about keeping his boys in line.
But Faye Louise doesn't know much more than how to grow the plants, and she was being generous when she said Walt's boys were dumber than a sack of hammers. Tim's only had his own outfit for four years, since he was sixteen, but he'll be damned if he's going to lose his hard earned money because Walter Glass was stupid. This is as much his problem as it is the Kings', and he makes a mental note to never, ever go into business with another gang again. It's too risky. There's too much he can't control, and that just doesn't fly with him.
XXX
He rings the doorbell, and a dog immediately starts barking. It's Jake, Faye and Walt's Pit Bull. He looks scary, but he's even stupider than the dumbest guy in Walt's gang. He'd help a burglar take the plants out to his car as long as he scratched his belly first. Hell, the dog's best friend is Faye's tiny rabbit, Butterscotch. He wouldn't hurt a fly.
There's a sound of locks scraping, and the door opens. Faye Louise is wearing a slinky nightgown, but she's also holding a box cutter with the blade all the way out. Jake is panting, trying to fight his way out the cracked door.
"Get, Jake," she says sleepily.
When he doesn't budge, she switches into a baby talk voice and says, "go find Butterscotch!"
That makes him leave, and Tim steps through the door. Faye starts fastening the locks behind him. There are no less than seven of them.
"Jesus," he says under his breath.
Faye smirks at him. "I take the safety of my plants very seriously."
"Curly with you?" Tim asks.
But he doesn't need to wait for her answer. Curly comes stomping down the hallway wearing only his boxers and looking tired. Faye gives Tim an exaggerated wink.
"Where'd you go?" Curly slurs. "Shut your dog up and come back to bed."
"Your brother is here," Faye Louise says coolly.
Curly looks up at Tim and gives him a halfhearted wave. "Goin' back to bed."
"You do that," Faye Louise says.
Curly stumbles back down the hall, and then there's a sound of a door shutting. Faye Louise looks at Tim and makes a face.
"He would not shut up last night," she says. "So I crushed up a couple of Quaaludes and put them in his water glass. Sorry, but he was making me crazy."
Tim laughs. "Shoulda' thought of that a long time ago. Would've been a lot less trouble for me."
Faye Louise smiles. "Well, you want some water? I promise I won't put Quaaludes in it. Or I could make you some coffee? Roll you a joint?"
He shakes his head. "Nah. Just wanted to check out my investments. Make sure they were well protected and all."
"Well, you can see all the locks I got on the door. And there's Jake. And keeping up my half of the deal was only part of the reason I brought Curly home with me last night."
"The locks are good," Tim says. "But the guys I'm worried about are well aware that Jake is all bark and no bite. Literally."
She sighs and nods. "I know. That's why I got the box cutter. I don't go anywhere without it, and I haven't for a long time. Walt's gun is in my bedside table drawer."
He grinds his back teeth together. It's good, but it's not good enough.
"We'll work on it," he says.
Faye Louise takes a joint out of her bra and lights it. She intentionally blows the smoke right into Tim's face.
"OK," she says. "That's what you're here for."
Quaaludes are basically an older, more potent form of Xanax.
I hope this is going OK. But I honestly have no idea what I"m doing, so please give me honest feedback. Does it suck? Does it not suck? I'd love some reviews! :D
