Without even a chance to stop and change clothes, I drove straight to the address Rowan texted me. It was odd that we were meeting before the crack of dawn, but what had my skin burning with curiosity was why I was summoned.
The only person I ever interacted with was Rowan. He met with whoever was in charge and relayed the information. But apparently the people from upstairs had requested my presence.
I parked next to an uneven rubble of an abandoned industrial unit. The sun was still below the horizon and my surroundings were silent. So quiet I heard my heart pounding in my chest, but the calmness was deceptive.
Was it actually a meeting or had they figured out that I was feeding information to Detective Nunes?
A part of me wanted to turn my car around and hit the gas, yet another was tranquil, keen to find out what these people wanted.
I took a deep breath and left the car.
I stepped into a wide spaced room covered in every shade of gray, from washed-out concrete to almost steel-blue. Every line was straight, every corner sharp and there were chairs lined up in two rows. Seven chairs were filled and no one turned when I walked in. I strode forward, focused on keeping my gait natural and my palms dry. I sat on a chair in the last row. I couldn’t spot Rowan anywhere and the silence was nerve-wracking. Then my eyes flickered to the left as a group of four people entered from a back door. Rowan was one of them. The other was a well put together blonde in heels that clicked on the dusty floors. The other two dressed in all black appeared to be bodyguards.
“I’m sorry to have woken you up this early,” the woman spoke loudly and authoritatively. Her words echoed throughout the space. I inspected her face sensing a familiarity. I felt as though I’d seen her before. I just couldn’t remember where. “As you know you’ll be driving the cars to Mexico through our secured entry. And once there, you’ll receive the cargo, and return in the same manner. Collectively, you’ll be transporting close to a quarter of a million dollars in heroin and cocaine. Needless to say, your discretion is very important.”
I looked at Rowan confused; I had no idea what she was talking about. With a hand gesture, Rowan told me to calm down and wait.
“You will leave now. The cars are already outside, but I wanted to remind you that what you are doing is not a bad thing. You’re doing what you have to in order to survive and feed your children. Speaking of family, I also want to remind every single one of you that I know where you live. I know where your children go to school. I know where your wives, sisters and mothers go grocery shopping. If any of you dare cross me, I won’t hesitate exercising my wrath on any or all of them.” She clasped her hands together and smiled as if she hadn’t threatened all the men staring at her. “Any questions?” Before anyone could say a word, she added, “Excellent. Let’s get moving people.”
The five men in the front row stood and headed towards the exit with Rowan on their heels.
“Ezra,” the woman crooned. “Come here.”
Reluctantly I went to her.
She wrapped her arms around me and pressed me in a tight hug. I didn’t react. She pulled back and her lips held the form of a warm and welcoming grin.
“It’s so nice to meet you. I’m Chichi.” Upon sensing my indifference, she let me go and stepped back. “You must be wondering why you are here, right?”
“Yes.”
“I’ve heard a lot of wonderful things about you and how you’ve helped my business. I believe you have a future here and I have plans for you.”
My eyebrows drew apart. I had no interest in what she was proposing or rather informing me. In this line of business choices were a luxury. “I’m not interested.”
“Sure you are.” She stepped forward with a smirk on her face and a gleam in her eyes. “Do you want me to repeat the speech I gave those men?”
I inhaled containing my temper. “What the hell do you want from me?”
“What is this attitude? Rowan said you were compliant.”
“Compliant?” I scoffed. “You just threatened my family.”
“Nonsense.” She rolled her eyes. “It wasn’t a threat. It was a friendly reminder. You Americans are so dramatic.”
She spun on her heels and motioned for me to follow. I trailed behind. The shadow of the two bodyguards loomed over my shoulders.
Hidden amongst the rust, dust and stale smell of beer was a metal door beneath a staircase. Chichi punched in a code and the door unlocked. I tried my hardest to grasp the code. There were four digits. I only saw the first. It was eight.
“This is where we keep some of our stock.”
The strong chemical odor coming from behind the door hit my lungs and made me cough.
“Here.” Chichi offered me a handkerchief that was tucked into her waistband. “Put it over your mouth and nose.”
Quickly we entered and took the stairs leading to a basement, bypassing a group of men and women in air masks cooking meth. The stench was so strong my eyes watered. Once we were underground, I could breathe normally again. Another door was opened but this time we entered an office. Chichi asked the bodyguards to wait outside.
Once again, I was stunned by the amount of cocaine, heroin and meth stacked up against a wall. They had been separated into piles and labeled. I was able to read a few tags before Chichi got my attention.
“Beautiful isn’t it?”
“It’s not beautiful. It’s lives that are going to be ruined.”
“Ezra,” she said, taking a seat behind her desk. “No one is forced to do anything in this life. People consume drugs because they want it. Because they yearn for it.”
“And you make it available.”
“We make it available,” she corrected. “But we don’t force anyone to buy or consume it. Now enough of that, come here I want to show you something.”
She typed a few keys on her computer and opened a list with bank accounts and their respective amounts. I did a quick estimate looking at the numbers to be close to eighty million. Thus far, I’d never been in contact with such high sums. Rowan would give me cash—never over a hundred grand—to clean but these accounts were the heart of the entire operation.
Surprised, I fixed my gaze on her familiar face. “Why are you showing me all of this?”
“I want you to get an idea of how profitable my business is. I will reward and compensate your efforts, very well. Nothing you do will be in vain.”
“Why me?”
“Why not you?”
“I’m not a criminal and this is getting out of hand. I don’t want to be involved with any of this.”
“But you see, you are already involved, and whether you like it or not, Ezra, you are a criminal.”
My guts revolted with guilt and anger. As much as I wanted to deny it, I couldn’t. I was a criminal.
The sun was rising by the time we left the basement. I was cold to the core. It felt like a block of ice rested heavy on my chest.
Chichi gave me a brief rundown of her empire. Although she had a few legitimate enterprises, eighty percent of her revenue came from drug money. I was impressed by how organized and meticulous she was. I silently took it all in, soaking in as much information as possible to pass it on to Detective Nunes.