The Whole Package
"What's got your goat? You've been suckin' sour grapes ever since I picked you up." Ace grabbed a beer from his fridge and then leaned back against his kitchen bench to glare at me. "Are you pissed about this morning? Because that little dipshit-"
"How could you nearly kill a twelve-year-old kid?" I looked him in the eyes for the first time that night, and I looked daggers.
"Did he tell you that?"
"He said you held a blade to his throat and almost used it."
Ace's eyes narrowed like a storm was brewing way down deep. "You hear his side of the story, and right away I'm the bad guy because little Chrissy can do no wrong. Well, fuck you, Cassie."
I was taken aback with the realization that I hadn't actually considered hearing Ace's side. "OK, I'm listening."
"That little fuck provoked me."
"Oh, come on," I scoffed at him. "What could he have possibly done? Call you an 'asshole' or something?"
"Worse than that. He knew all the right buttons to push to wind me up and make me do it."
"This is bullshit. You're making it sound like he wanted you to kill him!"
"He did." Ace's stare was so deadly serious that it was hard to believe he was telling anything but the truth. "You ask anyone who was there - even that Lachance kid. Chris had options. He coulda left. He coulda run. But he didn't. Maybe he didn't want it before all the shit went down, and maybe he was relieved to be alive afterward. But, I'm telling you, in that moment, he was ready to leave his scummy, shithole of a life behind, and he wanted to take me down with him."
It was hurtful to hear Chris's life being talked about like that. He'd told me about how unhappy he was at home, and now I wondered if things were ever so dire that he might have had a death wish.
"Chris knows not to fuck with me like that, Cass. But he did it anyway."
I wiped at a couple of stray teardrops with the sleeve of my jacket. "Whatever he did doesn't justify you-"
"I didn't kill him, so stop looking at me like I'm a murderer."
That didn't make any of this OK - at all - but I did feel a little relieved to hear him say that. Chris was alive and well. Ace didn't kill him. Thank God.
"And besides," Ace continued, "I don't see the difference between me pulling a knife on Chris and Lachance pulling a gun on me."
"What?" I was stunned. The imagery blew my mind.
"Lachance was about as close to pulling that trigger as I was to taking Chris out."
"What is it between you two? Why do you hate Chris so much?"
Ace leaned in close to look me straight in the eyes. "He brings it on himself. He mouths off. He gets under my feet. He yaps to people about shit they shouldn't know. You think I'm too hard on him? Maybe I'm not hard enough. 'Cause if I was, maybe he wouldn't keep pulling this shit."
"Chris isn't afraid of you, no matter what you do to him."
"Well, he should be. 'Cause next time he gets me in a rage like that, it might just cost him."
"What on earth were you lot doing to cause all of this... mayhem?"
Ace stared at me. "We gotta get down to business. Now, are you still on board or are you gonna jump and handle all this shit on your own?"
I rubbed my eyes with my palms and took a deep, calming breath as I tried to regain focus - although, my head felt like it had just been blitzed in a milkshake mixer.
"Yeah," I muttered.
"Good, because you're being expected."
Ace disappeared down to his room and returned with a neatly wrapped paper package. He tossed it to me, and I caught it. It was about six-inches long and snuggly fitted into the palms of my hands like a fat, rectangular shaped sausage. I turned it over but couldn't find any markings or clues about what could be inside.
"What is this?"
"It's a quarter kilo – half-pound – of high-quality cocaine."
"Ah... come again?"
"It's cocaine. Coke. Nose Candy. Blow. It's serious business and serious money. And delivering it is your new job."
I swallowed dryly. I wanted to throw the thing back to him like a hot potato. I had always assumed that his plans would be dodgy - I would have been stupid not to - but I never thought he would be into something so extreme.
He picked up a pen and scrawled something on a piece of paper which he handed it to me. It was an address.
"Memorize it then throw it away," he said. "Make sure you don't have it on you when you're walking out there."
"Walking?"
"You don't wanna be seen going in or leaving. That means no cars, and you're only to do it after midnight. Deliver it, bring back the two-and-a-half grand, and I'll give you a cut. I'll save you a piece of my cut too so you can pay off your debt faster, but don't forget, I want it back with interest."
I nodded as I rolled the package over in my hands. I was nervous and yet mesmerized by having something so illegal, forbidden and expensive in my possession.
"If you have to call it off for any reason, like if you think you're being followed, then just go home. 'Cause if you get caught delivering that shit, then we could all get done for distribution and supply, and we don't want that, do we?"
"No. We definitely don't want that."
"Now, I want you in and then outta there. Don't hang around. No fucking chit-chat. You got it?"
"Yeah... I'm going to a drug-dealer's house. I'm hardly going to stay and try to make friends."
Ace eyed me skeptically. "Let's go."
-2-
Vince's place was just a few streets down from the address that Ace had given me. Ace needed to see Vince anyway for some reason, and so I began my lone walk from there in the dark.
Walk there, walk back, that's all there is to it.
I did my best to focus on that simple thought and forget about the abundance of illegal substance that was bulging in my jacket pocket.
Luckily it didn't take long to reach the edge of the semi-rural side of town where my destination was supposed to be. I noticed that the properties there had larger land areas than those closer to town, and so there were huge gaps between the houses. Street lights were only at every corner and huge dugout drains striped the sides of the roads instead of sidewalks.
Following Ace's vague directions, I eventually found the right street and then the number on the letterbox. The house was dead silent, and I couldn't see any lights on inside. I hoped it was because they were being discrete and not because I had the wrong place.
Ace had instructed me to deliver at the back door, and so I tread cautiously down the driveway. Thick, bushy pine trees bordered the backyard and were so tall they blocked out the moonlight. I suspected they would be useful in keeping the back entrance hidden from the neighbors.
I felt my way up the back steps and then took a deep breath for confidence before softly knocking on the door.
The sound of a key turning made my heart thump so hard I could literally hear it. The door opened a crack, but I couldn't see a face.
"Who are you?" asked a slightly husky voice.
"Ace sent me." I was doing my best to keep my nerves from showing.
The door opened a crack wider, and I could just make out the guy's short, dark hair and stubbly face in the dim light glowing behind him. "Where's Eyeball?"
"I have no idea..."
"No-one said nothin' to me about someone else coming."
"But, Ace told me you're expecting me."
I heard a sharp exhale, and the guy took a step sideways, pulling the door open a fraction more. "Come in."
I shuffled past him, relieved that he didn't send me away, or my nervous trek would have been for nothing.
The guy gave the door a cool flick to swing it closed. He just stood there for a second as he scanned me from head to toe. His round shoulders and bulgy biceps were heavily tattooed from the elbows up, and a simple white singlet showed off his broad, well-built chest. But, what mesmerized me was his eyes. They were strikingly similar to Chris's big blues, and I soon saw the resemblance to both Chris and Eyeball. Ace once mentioned that they had an older cousin, and I wondered if this was him. Any which way, this guy was above average eye-candy as far as I was concerned.
"You got something for me?" he asked.
"Um... yes. Yes, I do. Um..." I was suddenly all thumbs and fumbled with the zipper of my jacket. I got it stuck and could feel my cheeks turning tomato red as I struggled to loosen it. One final downward yank freed it, and I pulled the package out and tossed it to him.
"Thanks," he smiled with his blue Chris-eyes still scanning me. "Come in and I'll get you the money."
I followed him into his living room and gazed around at his little lair. With a giant stag head hanging above the open fireplace and a bear-hide rug sprawled across the wooden floorboards, the place had the rustic feel of a log cabin, and it was also comfortable and homely. I noticed the thickness of the drapes covering the windows which explained why I couldn't see any light from outside.
"Take a seat," he said, gesturing to one plush, suede-like sofa while taking the other for himself. The two sofas faced each other, and there was a beautifully carved, wooden coffee table between them. Ace told me not to stay, but I didn't understand why, and I thought a few minutes wouldn't hurt.
The guy tucked the package away, down between the cushion and the sofa arm, and pulled out a wad of cash. He tossed the fat roll to me and I caught it.
Two-and-a-half grand. I'd never seen so much money in all my life, and holding it made me feel slightly giddy. I tucked it safely away inside my jacket.
He picked up a half-full bottle of whiskey from his coffee table and poured himself a nip. "You want one?"
"Sure... why not? Thanks."
"You like it neat? Or I think I've got some coke-"
"It's fine." In my opinion, that was the only way to drink it. He poured me a double-shot in a glass and I sipped on it eagerly, hoping it would help calm the flurry of nerves that were going on.
"So, what's your name?" he asked before tossing back his drink.
"Cassie or Cass."
"Is that short for Cassidy? Or..."
"Cassandra."
"Cassandra, hey? That's a really pretty name."
"Thanks, but I prefer Cass. Cassandra sounds way too... not me."
"I think it suits you perfectly." He gave me an irresistible grin that exhibited a perfect set of pearly whites.
Gorgeous and charming. Shit.
"Well, I'm Keith. Assuming you didn't know that already."
"All Ace told me was that you were expecting me... or, at least, supposed to be."
"I wouldn't blame him," he said, relaxing back on his sofa. "Eyeball was probably meant to let me know, and he ain't always... reliable."
"Oh, I see."
"So, are you and Ace..." I saw his eyes do a downward flick, and I went all aflutter.
"No..."
"What's your deal then? Why are you doin' this?"
"Just to... make a little extra money," I shrugged.
He absentmindedly scratched his inner-thigh, making his bicep flex. An enormous amount of willpower was required not to let my gaze drop further down, anywhere near that upper-leg area.
"I'm gonna be frank with you," he said. "Not even most of Ace's boys know about this shit, and yet, here you are. So, you wanna tell me what's really goin' on?"
I added 'smart' to the rapidly growing list of notable details.
"Not really, no."
He nodded with a smirk. "Cute and secretive. You gotta watch those ones."
I blushed more, and his eyes wandered over me with undisguised interest. I wondered how old he'd be. Maybe 22, 23... Definitely within my age range.
"You seem to think you can pry into my life, so let's hear about yours," I said.
"What you wanna know?"
"You're Chris's cousin, aren't you?"
"You know Chris?"
"Yeah, he's a good kid."
Keith paused. "Hey... you're the chick that helped him stick it to the teachers at his school."
"You heard about that, huh?"
"That was a gutsy thing you did for him, and damn, it makes me wonder why I never did it myself."
"You and Chris get on, then?"
"Most of the time," he shrugged.
"So, are you a..."
"Chambers? Yeah. And proud of it. Hey, I know the shit that goes around town about us, but I'm gonna change all of that. Pretty soon, I'm gonna have the Chambers name up in lights, baby."
"Oh, how's that?" I asked with increasing interest.
"I'm a musician. That's my gat over there; my pride and joy."
I looked over my shoulder to see a pristine and polished guitar perched on a stand next to an amplifier.
"It's a Gibson Les Paul," he said, "and it's got the new humbucker pickups instead of the regular P-90s. Traveled all the way to LA to buy that thing."
"Wow, it's nice! Looks... expensive."
"Never would've been able to afford it if it weren't for this shit." He thumbed towards the stash in the side of the sofa. "I know it's not good to be dealing it, but sometimes you've gotta take a chance in life if you wanna get somewhere."
"Everyone has their reasons. I won't hold it against you," I joked.
Keith laughed. "Yeah, you know where I'm comin' from."
"So, you're good then, huh?" I said, nodding at his guitar.
"Baby, you ain't seen nothin' like me. Me and the boys have got a sound goin' that no-one's even heard before. Everywhere we gig, people rave about us, and it's only a matter of time 'til some bigwig picks us up for a record deal and then we'll be flying. Can't fuckin' wait."
"You'll have to show me sometime."
"Yeah baby, for sure," he grinned. "Maybe... I'll even serenade ya." He gave me a playful wink. "I gotta good voice too."
"Oh yeah? Let's hear it then."
"My love must be a kind of blind love. I can't see anyone but you." He sang in perfect tune with the slight husk in his voice melting every word.
"I love that song! And wow, you are good."
"Music's my life." He poured himself another nip and downed it before relaxing back on his sofa again. "So, you wanna go out sometime?"
I admit, he caught me off guard. "Um... sure. I mean... um... yes... sure." Just when I was starting to feel comfortable around him, he had me blundering again.
"What you doin' tomorrow night?"
I hesitated. I wasn't even supposed to be talking to this guy letting alone going out with him. I didn't know what trouble I'd get myself into if Ace found out that I had directly disobeyed his order. But... if he didn't find out... "Umm... nothing, as far as I know."
"You like pizza?"
"Who doesn't?"
"I got this friend in Chamberlain; his family owns the best pizza house in town."
"Yum, can't wait," I grinned.
"I'll pick you up at seven."
I scribbled my address on a notepad that was on the coffee table and didn't forget to finish my drink before heading to the door.
"Wait on; let me get that." He pulled it open just a crack and leaned on its edge as I passed close by him.
"See you tomorrow night," I said.
"Lookin' forward to it."
I stepped outside and smiled as I patted the wad of money in my jacket, feeling it safely tucked away inside. I was looking forward to finding out what my cut was – out of two-and-a-half grand, I was expecting to get a sizable chunk.
After a less paranoid return walk to Vince's, I arrived to find that Ace wasn't at his truck. I figured he wouldn't be in the house since all the lights were off, and so I climbed into the cab and waited... and waited. I lay down across the bench seat and closed my eyes, soon sinking into an indulgent dream where Keith was the star of the show.
—
The slap of a firm hand whacking my jean covered backside woke me with a start. I groaned at the deep throbbing sensation left by the sharp sting and tiredly sent my hand there to rub it.
"How'd it go?" Ace asked from the driver's seat, next to where I lay.
I wearily pushed myself up to sit and saw Vince's house in the faint light of early morning.
"Fine." I drew the zip down on my jacket and grabbed the wad of bills to hand to him. "What took you so long?"
"Got caught up." He thumbed through the money, counted out a few bills and handed them to me.
"This is two hundred and sixty bucks..." It wasn't quite the sizable chunk I'd been expecting.
"The amount you get depends on how much Keith orders. He usually gets a quarter kilo twice a week."
"So, I'll get roughly five hundred bucks a week? Ace... that's amazing, but I need thirteen grand by the 22nd of next month. Six deliveries in three weeks that's... 15-16 hundred bucks? I'm betting you're not gonna lend me 12 grand every month."
Ace laughed to himself and pulled a cigarette from a pack on the dashboard. He shook his head as he lit up. "Not even if I had it."
"So... what then?"
Ace took a puff and then coolly blew a stream of smoke out the open window. "I've got something else for you. Something bigger. Something I'll really need to trust you with."
"OK... so how much are we talking?"
"That depends on how hard you're willing to work."
"The hardest."
He smirked with that rough grin that I secretly admired. "In that case, you could be pulling in two and a half grand a week."
"Fucking hell, Ace – are you serious?" I blurted out. "I mean... sorry. Are you serious?"
Ace nodded. "And, if this next deal works out, maybe more."
I did the sums in my head and worked out that, all up, I could get close to $2800 per week. "And you'll lend me the rest?"
"But don't forget-"
"You want interest," I said, rolling my eyes. "I know."
I may have seemed contemptuous about the whole interest thing, but really, I wanted to reach over and hug him. The money was within my reach, and that's all that mattered at that moment – not even details mattered right then. I decided I didn't want to know what I was committing myself to anyway, not until it came down to it. It wasn't like I had a choice in whatever it was, and I thought knowing would be unnecessary pressure. Because, surely, a phenomenal amount of cash did not come without a phenomenal amount of risk.
-3-
Sleeping in Ace's one-star accommodation left me feeling too tired to work, but I slogged through it anyway. Every penny counted. The whole day, Keith was on my mind, but not in a good way, unfortunately. I regretted agreeing to go out with him. Now that Ace had given me figures, the deal with him finally felt real; this was happening, and I could not afford to screw it up.
Work finished and the evening drew near. If I had had Keith's phone number, I would have called him and cancelled. That would have been the easy thing to do. And Ace didn't want me to be seen going in there, so I couldn't break it off in person either. Instead, I would have to wait for him to show up, all ready and organized and expectant... and then cancel on him. What a cruel thing to do, I thought. And with no explanation, he'd either think I was a bitch... or he'd ask questions. I couldn't have him asking questions.
As 5pm became 6pm and later, I messed with my hair, curling it a little, then I put on a touch of makeup to accentuate my hazel eyes. All the while, I was still deliberating on what to do. It wasn't until I heard a car pull up the driveway that I made my decision. I wanted to go out with him. Damn, did I want to go out with him. The thought of him being right outside – now I knew why girls used the term 'heart-throb'. My heart was throbbing so hard, I tingled all over. It would be easy – I thought - I could just jump in the car and be whisked away, and Ace would never know.
I quickly stripped and threw on a pastel-yellow harley dress that I had spied and bought a month before; I had quietly hoped that a night such as this would come along one day soon. I checked myself in the mirror and then went for the front door.
It opened by itself before I reached the door handle. Ace always did have a tendency to let himself in uninvited. He leered at me, leaning in on the doorframe, his eyes tracing from my white heels and upwards. "Ooh, Cass," he said, and he let out a low wolf-whistle.
I froze and just stared at him guiltily. My stomach was now throbbing as well as my heart. All I could think was, Cass – you stupid idiot. I waited for it – I waited to be pounded down by his voice while he told me exactly that.
It took a second more for the penny to drop – once he stopped eyeballing me and came to his senses. "Fucking Keith," he shook his head. "One night and already he's tryin' to get into your knickers."
"Do you have to be so crude?" I said lowly. Ruefully. "We were only going out for pizza."
"I told you-"
"I know. I'm sorry. It just happened. It's been so long since... I just want a good night out."
I lifted my head from hanging there glumly to look at him and see if that verbal pounding was on its way. But he didn't have anger in his eyes; to my surprise, he looked more defensive than aggressive.
"I give you good nights out..." he said.
"Yeah... you do," I couldn't deny that, "but stealing and binge drinking isn't quite what I had in mind for tonight."
"What did you have in mind?"
"I dunno, something normal for once?"
Those leering eyes drifted over me again and he smirked to himself. "You wanted to get laid."
"No!" I said, feeling heat in my cheeks. "I just wanted to get away from things – to forget about the money and about how much shit I'm in."
"Well, that ain't happening tonight." Ace folded his arms and widened his stance as if to block the doorway. "Forget Keith; you're comin' out with me." I could tell he wasn't offering to take me out instead – he was all business. And I was suddenly very nervous.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"You've got a lota dosh to earn. Better get started, don't you think?"
I did think. I really did. I took a breath and a moment to clear my head and get into the right mind frame. Looked like it was crunch time.
"What am I gonna tell him, though?" Just as I asked the question, another car rolled up the driveway and parked behind Ace's with a slight squeal of the brakes.
"As little as possible."
Footsteps could be heard coming up the steps, and then Keith came into view. He was dressed smart and yet casual in a collared shirt and clean blue jeans. I had to quickly tuck my tongue back into my mouth or I would have drooled all down the front of my new dress.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"Beat it Chambers. Me and Cass have got plans."
"I'm so sorry, Keith," I cut in, my cheeks reddening with the shame I was feeling. "Something important has come up. We'll have to do it another time, okay?" I smiled at him as Ace grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me towards the door.
"Cass," Keith said, and I dug my heels in. "You look beautiful."
I sighed like a smitten school girl and Ace hauled me out to his car.
"You didn't need to be such an ass about it," I said as we drove through the streets in Ace's soft top.
He looked my way, and his eyes took me in before he put his game face back on and looked to the road again. "The closer you get to someone, the more they wanna know, and I want him knowing nothing. I'm about to let you in on something big here. So, until we're done, I don't want you seeing anybody and especially not him. You'd better tell me you've got that straight or I'll drop you off right here and you can sort out your own fucking problems.
"Yeah. I got it. I got it."
"That means you're off the job. You got that too, right?"
I winced to hear it, although I had half-expected it. In a way, I wanted to fight his decision, but I didn't feel like I could change his mind. And it could have been worse. I felt relieved he was keeping me around at all. I had to take it all on the chin. I had to suck it up and put my life on hold for a few months – that's just the way things were.
I looked out to the houses that were whizzing by and concentrated on letting the breeze cool me down. I felt so sorry for Keith. I'd never stood anyone up before, and he took it like a gentleman. I admired that. I just hoped that one day, I could get to know him better. But for now, if I wanted Ace's help, I'd have to play by Ace's rules.
