The Kings of National City

Dirty Drop

The cars rolled up and we could see three opposing cars parked. We were about 20 minutes away from the house. Elmer once said, "No one expects you to do business in your own backyard." Nick stepped out of the car and shut the door behind him. Elmer got out of his side door and I followed. My hands were starting to sweat. The headlights from the car were blinding so I couldn't see anyone's face standing in front.

"Hermano." Elmer walked into the blinding lights and I again followed. Once we passed a certain point we could see the people we were meeting. Several men posted up ready to fight if anything went awry. The man Elmer was talking to had on a nice grey suit. The man to his right looked the opposite. He was wearing baggy clothes but his most defining feature was the snake tattoo that slithered across his face. It went from his chin through his sideburn to the center of his forehead. I wanted nothing more than to look back and see if I could still see Nick but I didn't want to move wrong and start something. After all, that is why Elmer brought me instead of Chris tonight.

"Let's get this going Amigo." Elmer was standing tall so I posted up to look tough too.

"Alright, alright. No time for formalities I see." He was tugging Elmer's patience. One of their guys brought over a duffel bag and tossed it in a middle-ground area. Elmer clicked his tongue and someone from our side did the same. Elmer looked at me and tilted his head towards the bag. I hesitantly started walking towards the duffel along with another guy. This guy was twice my size in weight and towered over me in height. We both grabbed our new bags and went back to our side.

"Check it," Elmer said quietly. I unzipped the bag and saw a bunch of dime bags of different powders and crystals.

"It's good," I said back. One of Elmer's friends took the bag from me and tossed it in the car. Some of them started hopping back into their cars. I took a step back thinking we were good until I heard an angry voice.

"Why are you trying to short us?" The man yelled at Elmer.

"It is all there." He stood firm.

"My right just counted it. Are you saying he is lying to me?" He was walking towards us which I wasn't a fan of. I only hoped Nick was still out of a car watching over me.

"I counted it myself. It is all there." Elmer wasn't mean just matter of fact in his delivery.

"Looks like we have ourselves a little problem." Without even taking a breath there was a gunshot that echoed. It made my ears ring with pain. Elmer put his hand on my shoulder and reversed me. We ran to the nearest car and hopped in. The driver sped off.

"Nick!" Was all I could yell after I finally gathered words.

"Go. Go. Go." Elmer was looking back to make sure we weren't being followed.

"Where is Nick?" I said again. I reached for my phone in my pocket only to remember I left it at home. "Fuck." I cursed out loud.

"Drive. We got one." I looked back and saw a car following ours. The hot car also made more sense now that we were fleeing from the scene.

"You good?" Elmer started touching all over my body.

"I'm good. I'm good." I said breathing hard. My unbuckled body flew around the car as the driver took sharp turns. Elmer rolled his window down and popped off a few shots.

"What the fuck." I covered my ears. A headache started growing through my skull.

"I think we are shaking them." Elmer got back into the cab. Our driver slowed down a little bit and we all got settled. "Here call for Nick." Elmer handed me his phone from the floor. I called one of the other car drivers and asked if Nick was with them. He wasn't. I called the other one and no one picked up. "We are all going to the meet-up spot. We regroup and distribute there. I bet he'll be there." I sat back and looked out the window. Some run-down buildings passed by before we ended up in a weird industrial park that was abandoned. The other two cars were already there. I hopped out without waiting up for Elmer.