“Fuck no!”
Nate stops the car by the side of the road and gives him a hard look. “I didn’t ask you to snort it. We want them to think you mean business.”
“I can mean business with weed just fine.”
“Listen, you agreed to help and follow my lead, didn’t you? I know what I’m talking about, so cut the act and buy some fucking coke.”
Owen looks out the window, his blood hot. “Don’t talk to me like that. I don’t have to do this.” He turns to meet Nate’s eyes. “You get me?”
Nate seems taken aback. “Alright, fine. Don’t buy coke. Let’s drag this out for months while some more junkies die.”
“Maybe a better police force wouldn’t have needed to count on me to save the day.”
“You do realize your aunt is with the force, right?”
“She wasn’t the one who asked me to do this.”
Nate pulls out some bills from his pocket. “Just do what you did last time. Fuck if I care.”
Owen slips the money into his pocket and gets out of the car.
It has gotten warmer since they left Van Buren, so he opens the zipper of his hoodie. It takes him about five minutes to reach the house from last time.
“Big-City Owen! I was hoping you’d come back.”
They shake hands. “How’s it going, Small-Town Joe?”
Joe is wearing baggy clothes with too many golden chains dangling on his chest. “Business has been slow this week, but it will pick up. I’m getting some competition from other entrepreneurs, if you can believe that.”
“No shit.”
“Shit and a half, but it’s all good—my products speak for themselves, am I right?”
“I wouldn’t have come back otherwise.”
“Cool. Oh, I practiced the trick you taught me! It went over well with the ladies.”
The door to the house opens. A large man walks out. He has a narrow mustache that seems like a smudge from afar, and his head is completely bald. Owen tenses.
“We’re good here!” Joe calls.
The other man says something in Spanish, then Joe replies as well. They do a back and forth before Joe sighs and asks Owen, “Do you just want weed today or something stronger? He had a buyer that didn’t show up, so we’re willing to give you a good deal.”
“Hmm…”
“Trips, crank, smack, blow…”
“Well, I guess I can buy some blow.” He regrets his words the second he says them, but maybe Nate was right about the need to move things along.
There’s a quick back-and-forth going on between the two men until Joe taps on Owen’s shoulder and says, “Come inside. He wanted to scam you, but I told him what’s what. Only fair trade between you and me.”
“I’m really tight on time, and…”
The other man crosses his arms, giving Owen a look that makes his stomach swirl. “Problem?” he calls.
“No,” Owen hurries to say, his mouth dry. “I can come in for a bit.”
Joe claps. “Sweet.”
