The trio drove for some time, admiring the beautiful jungle. The further along they went, the worse the road got. Going from finely paved to a hole ridden concrete mess, eventually just a dirt path paved in by tire tracks of vehicles that were here before them. Along with poorer roads, the jungle was getting thicker and thicker. After a few kilometers they couldn't even see the city anymore because the jungle was so dense. Eventually, they saw what looked like an abandoned lumber mill in the distance.
-"Thank god, I thought we were fucking lost." Kubo sighed with relief.
-"Doesn't really look like a drug operation." Keanu observed, raising his sunglasses to see if he was missing anything.
-"That's the point." Wayne responded. "You expected neon signs and loudspeakers?"
Keanu smirked. They drove up to a metal gate and stopped their car. Two ocelots dressed in white summer suits walked up to the gate.
-"What's your business?" One of them asked in a threatening manner.
-"We're here to see Ramon." Kubo responded. The ocelots looked at each other for a second, before opening the gate.
-"He's inside the building in the back." The ocelot guided them, pointing at a run down two story building in the far back of the compound. Kubo nodded and drove inside slowly.
-"Malditos lobas." One of the ocelots muttered as they went past, spitting on the ground. Keanu noticed, but didn't say anything.
The entire compound was a sight to behold. There were two buildings. One in the very back of the compound and one on the right of the entrance, it was connected to an area for cutting wood. The left side of the compound was filled with crates and shipping containers. They were color coded and looked ready for shipping. Some ocelots were working on forklifts, some were painting the containers to mark them and there was a few with notepads listing everything and making sure it was running smoothly. Kubo stopped the car in front of the building in the back and the three stepped out. Wayne picked up the suitcase from the trunk, and they started walking to the entrance. An ocelot was standing in front of the door. He opened the door for them, and Kubo thanked him. They stepped inside and another ocelot pointed them upstairs.
On the second floor, they saw a big door, with a golden plate on it that said "Jefe". There was another two ocelots guarding the door. They were holding Uzis.
-"Ramon's expecting us." Wayne told one of them. The ocelot stepped inside the room for a moment, before exiting and pointing them inside. Keanu, Kubo and Wayne walked inside, the doors closing behind them.
The office was really modern. A true contrast from the run down exterior of the building. It had marble floors, tapestry on the walls, beautiful and expensive furniture, golden statues, and even a goddamn chandelier. It was a like a crack house with a heart of gold. And sitting behind a large wooden desk was the man himself. Ramon. An ocelot with a scar across his eye. He was wearing a red suit with a black shirt.
-"You're the boys Araki sent?" Ramon asked, raising an eyebrow. He had a certain look in his eyes. He didn't look aggressive, but he did look goddamn terrifying with that scar.
-"Yup." Kubo responded. "Pleasure to meet you Ramon. I'm Kubo, that's Wayne and the kid's called Keanu."
Ramon chuckled and stood up from his desk to shake their hands.
-"Pleasure's all mine. So, gentlemen,shall we get down to business?" He asked, looking at Wayne.
-"That'd be lovely, thank you." Keanu spoke. Ramon cocked his head towards Keanu, then back to Wayne and Kubo.
-"I'm sorry, the kid speaks for you?" Ramon asked cockily. Keanu wasn't very happy with this.
-"What the fuck did you just ask?" He said aggressively, starting to move towards Ramon. Kubo extended his arm in front of Keanu, blocking him from Ramon.
-"Don't you even start. Not today, not here." Kubo growled. Keanu backed down.
-"Right, that's what I thought. Now follow me, I'll show you the operation, and we can come to a deal." Ramon said, walking out of his office. Wayne looked over at Keanu.
-"Chill the fuck out will ya? We're making a simple deal." Wayne ordered Keanu. Keanu said nothing.
They walked downstairs and into the main room where the entire operation was being held. It was impressive to say the last. The center of the room was filled with big tables where workers were packing up drugs in bricks and taping them together, so they don't fall apart during transport. The left side of the room was filled with chemicals and big vats where the drugs were being processed before being chilled and crushed into a fine powder. And on the far right there were crates getting filled and an opening for forklifts to pass through. Something was off though. Very off. Keanu looked around and felt sick to his stomach. In the entire room, not a single adult. Every single worker was a child. The oldest looked about Keanu's age. They looked dirty, and some had scars on them. They were wearing no protective gear and seemed scared. Ramon looked at the entire thing like a proud father would look at a freshly mowed lawn or a nice barbecue. Even Wayne and Kubo seemed a bit uneasy.
-"Pretty good huh?" Ramon asked, waiting for praise from the three.
-"These...these are all kids man..." Wayne said, clearly a bit uneasy.
-"So? They're orphans. I saved them from a life on the streets. Here they earn their meals instead of beg." Ramon explained, agitated a bit.
-"I-" Wayne tried to speak out.
-"It's an impressive operation Ramon, so,shall we make a deal?" Kubo cut Wayne off, giving him a glare. Keanu watched and didn't say anything. Wayne could see he was angry though.
-"Of course, but... Trust comes first." Ramon spoke. Kubo looked at him confused.
-"What do you mean?" Kubo asked.
-"To trust you completely and go through with this I need to make sure you're really as tough as Araki said you were. You're gonna do a job for me first." Ramon explained.
-"What kind of job?" Wayne asked.
-"A certain someone fucked some of my boys out of a deal. Took off with the product and the money he was supposed to give them. I want you to go over to him and take care of the problem." Ramon continued.
-"Well, if you're into trust so much we need to trust you too. How do we know your product is any good?" Kubo interrupted. Ramon laughed.
-"Alright, fine." Ramon said. He went to a nearby table and whipped out a big Bowie knife. He slammed it into the table next to a child's hand. The child pulled its hand back, shaking with fear. Ramon pet his head and chuckled. He scraped up some powder onto the blade of the knife and walked over to our trio.
-"Well I guess I should sample-" Wayne spoke.
-"No!" Ramon interrupted. They looked at him in silence. "El niño." Ramon said, pointing at Keanu. Keanu walked up to Ramon and stared him dead in the eyes. "Go on, it isn't gonna kill you." Keanu sticked his nose in the powder and inhaled as hard as he could.
Euphoria. Goddamn that was fantastic. Keanu felt like he just conquered the world. He was so full of energy he could climb a mountain and then do two thousand push-ups. His pupils dilated, and he let out a big "Ahhhhh".
-"So, is it any good?" Kubo asked. Keanu turned his head upside down to look at Kubo. His nose was almost entirely white.
-"Fucking exquisite." Keanu said, with a big dumb smile on his face.
-"So, where do we find the guy?" Wayne asked.
-"He's holed up in a motel in Havana, near the beach. Room 201. You come back with the money and the drugs, and then we'll negotiate a deal." Ramon commanded. Wayne and Kubo nodded, and headed outside.
Keanu straightened his head and turned around to leave.
-"Oh, kid?" Ramon spoke. Keanu turned around. "Don't you ever disrespect me in my fucking business again, or I'll grind your fucking bones into hyper drugs and make your fur into a carpet for my office."
Keanu said nothing, and left.
From vacation straight into a job,what will they encounter?