I'm finally back off the road trip. Here's part 14. Comments appreciated.
The next run took us near Changtown where I knew there was a New Years Parade starting. I figured we could pick off stragglers and probably stuff the truck from floor to ceiling. I talked Jaeger into putting the two trucks run by Ricky Ruez and McNabb (Dieter’s old crew) under me for a couple nights. I don’t think either Ricky or McNabb minded, since neither one had really good instincts yet and still were working out the crew arrangements. Of course I made it clear to Jaeger that the trims were going to be added to My totals in addition to my 2.5% since I was running the operation. He let me know that if I did it well, this might become a permanent thing. It all depended on how well they followed my instructions. I knew I had to watch them closely.
We pulled the trucks to the curb in a line near the “Happy Fat Gwailo Xiao Chi”, which loosely translated to “Fat White Boy’s Snack Stands”. It’s funny how the Chang in the area still use their own words, but arrange them in the order of Killian or simply mix the dialects. With the cross-culture pollination, even they can get some bad seed.
These were run by a man named Wong Lo who ran this section of town and had dealt with me a few times. He had no problem letting us park our trucks here as long as he got his cut.
I climbed out of the cab with Maab so close on my heels that she ran into me when I stopped.
“Do you mind?” I said and looked back at her. She backed up and quit crowding me.After the other crews assembled, I explained how I wanted them to work the crowds. The whole time I paid a lot of attention to McNabb’s eyes. There wasn’t any sign of malice, just a lot of excitement. It was probably his first time running a truck. Not a good sign.
“Keep it simple like we went over and watch for Shivers. If you’re made, lose them if you can and wait. If they follow you, come back here and Chaz will take care of the problem. Any questions?”
There were nods, but that was about it. We had gone over this three times already because I didn’t want any problems. Everyone was ready to rock.
“Ok then, Once we hit the main drag Ricky takes the left, McNabb takes the right, and I work the middle. If you need me, use your walkie-talkies. Runners carry the messages if you need something else. Ok people, lets do it!”
The members of the two crews slapped hands like teams before the big game. I laughed and turned back to Chaz and Maab.
“Chaz, you keep track of when the trucks are getting full and don’t dis the locals. Maab, you’re with me.”
The red double doors at the front of the restaurant opened and Wong Lo came out flanked by four tough looking guys that were his sons. He was dressed in a clean white suit that was made for a smaller man and fit him like the skin on a sausage. As his entourage came towards me, he smiled holding his hands out as if to hug my face. He speaks Killian with almost no accent and is always smiling.
“Mr. Black! How very good to see you! It has been a long time!”. He kissed me on each cheek and gave me a hug like a distant nephew. I think he has seen too many mob movies since he’s the only Trang kingpin I have every heard of that does this. Of course I only know two, so it may be customary.
“Always a pleasure, uncle. I trust the gift I sent was acceptable?”
“Yes, very generous! You always know what to send me for my birthday. And my children’s, and my wife’s…” He laughed. “It’s too bad that these kids don’t show the same respect.” He sneered briefly at the oldest son to his side and then resumed smiling at me.
“You will be here for a couple of days, maybe three, then we settle up?”
“Of course. I’ll also give you the nightly totals and your sons are welcome to check the cargo each night before we leave if you like.”
“That isn’t necessary, nephew. If I didn’t trust you, I wouldn’t deal with you and you’d be dead!”. He laughed again and I politely joined in.
“Of course.”
I never understood why people thought of my death as something to laugh about. He patted me on the shoulder and began to make his way towards a car. Noticing Maab, he kissed her on the hand, and continued walking away, still laughing.
“Who was that?” She asked, wiping her hand off.
“He owns about half of Changtown. Always be very polite and do exactly as he tells you.”
“Known him a long time?”
“What is it 20 questions?”
“Maybe. I mean, while we walk.”
“Yes, I’ve known him for awhile. We have a business relationship that we find mutually profitable.”
“He seems to like you.”
“He likes everyone that makes money for him. Are you finished? We’ve got a job to do.”
Maab nodded and fell in beside me, quiet for only the moment as usual. I usually can’t get to a count of ten between her questions before the next one is fired off. This time I got to six. Apparently she’s becoming more patient.
“So you wasted Dieter?”
“Yes.”
“You ok about that. I mean-“
I cut her off. “You mean did I cough my guts up afterwards? Yes I did, it just happened a little later after I went after Macy.
Why?”“I just wanted to make sure you were ok.” She seemed genuinely hurt.
“Thanks.”
The next eight hours were hectic as I played mother hen for the other two crews and made sure no Shivers made us. I had never managed three crews before, but things seemed to be running smoothly. About midnight, Chaz called me on the walkie-talkie.
“Hey bossman, you there?”
“I’m here. What’s up?”
“We can only take a few more and that’s it.”
“Okay. I’ll let them know and we’ll end it this run.”Maab did a good job of running between the three stations and within the next thirty minutes, we had filled the trucks to capacity. We pulled out without any of Wong Lo’s men asking to check us out and headed back to the center. I figured that some of the trim in the rear wasn’t as sedate as they should be since I could hear noise.
“We out of sedatives? I hear commotion back there.” I looked at Maab.
“Nope. I knocked all of ours out cold, but some of the newbies might not have stocked up. I’ll ask them when we stop.”
We made it into the processing center and took our normal spot at Dock 2. Since all three trucks were with me, the other two filed into docks 3 and 4. Very few trucks would have come in yet, so we had our run of the bays. Of course very few of the other trucks could have filled up this quickly. Yeah I have connections, but I can also read a calendar and know to hunt in crowds.
Within an hour or two we restocked and headed out for two more runs. The final run ended as the morning light chased the revelers from the streets. I had kept rudimentary lists of the night’s take and scribbled out a copy as the other two crews came back. Maab climbed into the truck grinning.
“Nefrew, Frat happy Man here to see ru, Missa Brak!”“Don’t do that. If they hear you, they’ll chop off your head. Besides your impression sucks.”
She laughed and stuck her tongue out at me. Yeah, despite some rough days the old Maab was back apparently to stay. Wong’s oldest son waited patiently near the rear of the truck as I climbed out to meet him. He bowed his head slightly, being more traditional than his father. I returned the gesture and handed him the tally sheets.
“Here are the totals. Uncle will get reimbursed as soon as I do and it will take a couple of days after the last night.”
“That is acceptable Mr. Black. I trust you had no problems avoiding the ‘authorities’?” His accent was almost invisible and he spoke Killian like an educated SLA corporate. His eyes were as dark as polished coal.
I smiled. “None at all. They were mostly absent, thanks to Uncle’s influence.”
“Very Good. I’ll speak with you tomorrow night.” He turned and carefully folded the tally sheets as he started towards the restaurant. I felt that he didn’t approve of our actions, but knew he couldn’t really stop us. Pulling in a healthy profit probably softened the ethical pain he felt.
“One more thing,” he said turning back. “The girl you have as an assistant. How much for her?”
I was a little shocked by the request, but managed to conceal it.
“She isn’t for sale, but if you want to work a ‘rental’ out you’ll have to talk to her.”
“Thank you,” he said and headed into the restaurant. When I climbed back into the truck, Chaz started the engine and we pulled out. Maab looked at me then broke the silence before I reached a count of four.
“Did it go ok?”
“Yeah, there weren’t any problems. He wants to buy you though.” I looked at her and her eyes had widened. Short silence, about a count of three.“He what?” she asked incredulously.
“I said he wanted to buy you.”“And what did you say?”
“That you weren’t worth much, but I needed the spare change for coffee.”
She punched me in the arm, and when she noticed Chaz quietly snickering, she hit him two.
“Jerk.”
We drove back to the center without any problems beyond the occasional dirty look from Maab. It turned out to be a very good night.
My truck was #1.
Comments to rw