Empty Bargains ~Jason McCann~

~11.28~

    The guys sat in the main room, spread out on bean bags and a few chairs as I put the last of a crazy amount of food in a container.  With Thanksgiving the day before, I’d forced myself into overdrive with sending different people for various foods and cooking until my arms ached.  Jason told me they’d never really celebrated the holiday as a group, but I refused to hear any of it.  The last Thursday in November was a day filled with food that no one deserved to miss.  Their eyes almost fell out of their heads when I put all the platters in front of them, and I finally was resting the day after.

    I slid the filled container between two others in the fridge, noticing that the leftovers would last us at least a week.  Taking in a deep breath, I closed the heavy door and made my way through the kitchen.  I joined Jason on one of the giant bean bags, leaning into him as his arm rested around my shoulders.  They were talking about encounters with different people over the last few days, most of which I found interesting.  The people in and around Oakland were the same, yet very different from where we used to live.

    “He pulled a knife on me before I even looked at him,” Carter rolled his eyes.  “Son of a bitch didn’t have a chance.  His arms were too short to reach me, and one punch to the side of his head had him spinning.  Pathetic, really.”

    “Everyone’s territories are so screwed up here,” Blondie shook his head.  “All overlapping and squeezing between others — you can’t even tell whose guys are where.  If you’re on good terms with one person, a guy from a different group could nail you in the same vicinity.”

    “It shouldn’t happen to us,” Jason cut in.  “Most of the guys on our side — Uriah, Isaiah, Thomas — all border each other.  There shouldn’t be confusion if all of us are where we’re supposed to be.”

    Carter shrugged.  “I took a detour.  At least they know they can’t take me out that easy.”

    “Speaking of Crowe,” Blondie said.  “When are we getting that going?  I don’t like being here without some kind of connection to him.  Leaves us way too open, especially being as new as we are.”

    “Leo’s going tonight,” Jason answered, nodding at him.  Leo returned the gesture, a sign that they’d talked about it previous to the discussion.  “By tomorrow I should have another time set up to talk with Uriah.”

    “What kind of deal are we talking with him?” Blondie continued.

    Jason shrugged.  “Just business.  Drug money, different kinds of trade, other kinds of things.  With Uriah it really could be anything.  He’s a good ally to have.”

    I could admit I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of Leo going out alone tonight.  He’d become like a brother to me in the past three months, and to say I’d gotten a little protective of him would be accurate.  I’d never been a worrier, but the dangers of meeting Uriah’s guys alone made me uncomfortable for him.  The guys hadn’t stopped sending him for tons of stupid tasks, and I had yet to figure out why.

    “How many guys do you think he’ll send tonight?” Tyson chipped in.