Timing Is Everything

Chapter 27: Jay

Ugh.

My head hurts.

More than my least favourite night three and a half months ago when Alex punched me in the face. But this time my left temple- FUCK!

The last thing I remember is- oh shit.

Shane's the mole.

And he knocked me out and somehow dragged me into the middle of a football field in northwest Calgary. Far away from downtown where Brook is. Without a phone. With just my funeral suit in the middle of winter in Canada. My balls have retreated so far into my body, I think I feel them in my lungs whenever I breathe in too deeply.

I start walking towards the main road to see if I can convince someone to let me borrow their phone. Thankfully I've memorized every phone number of every person I care about so when a middle aged woman lets me borrow her phone, I know exactly what number to call. Alex picks up on the first ring.

"Hello?"

"Alex, it's Jay."

"Jay, I don't have time for this. Are you and Shane almost at the building, I'm gonna need-"

"Alex, Shane is the mole." I shout into the lady's phone. She gives me a look and I turn around for a little privacy.

"Shane?"

"Yeah, he knocked me out and ditched me in a field." I explain briefly.

"Damn, it's freezing out there. Your balls must be-"

"Yeah." I comment with a wince. "Where are you?"

"On my way downtown to get my girlfriend back and stop the war that our rivals will declare on us tonight."

"How are you going to do that?" I ask.

"Oh, didn't you hear? Father emailed the Downtownies this morning telling them that I was the new leader of the family drug business." Alex says sarcastically.

"No way." I say incredulously.

"Well, I'll have to deal with him later. For now, I'm going to use my new power to trade my girlfriend, her safety and postponing a war for The Golden Nuggets."

"Alex no! Not the Nuggets!" I exclaim. I then glance around at the weird looks I get from people waiting for a bus and lower my voice. "We've worked years to get those Nuggets. Without those the business will fail!"

"I'm not giving away all of them, just as many as it takes for their leader to make the deal."

"We only have fifteen Nuggets, Alex! They're going to want all of them!" I whisper.

"Only you, me and Mike knew about the last five and those are the most important ones." Alex argues.

"Just be careful, bro. Do you need backup?"

"You're stranded somewhere probably far away from everything so I'll pass. And the peace agreement they made because of Mike's death expires tonight at sundown so this is just strictly a business meeting."

"You are kind of good at this, Alex." I comment.

"Don't remind me. If I don't text Bailey in an hour, call the cops to the address I sent her."

"See you in a bit." I say before hanging up. I give the middle aged lady my best sweet smile and then dial Dallas' phone number.

"Bro, I was just about to call you." He answers, clearly drunk. "Dean texted, asking why you were standing in the middle of a football field a block from his work."