THE GENTLEMEN'S CLUB

"Good evening, residents of Ravenchester..." came the cheerful voice of the radio host.

Far too cheerful for such a gloomy city.

Marcus sat in the passenger seat, smoking a cigar as he watched the city's buildings pass by through the window. Gary was behind the wheel, driving through the dark streets.

"So... who are we doing business with?" Gary finally asked.

"You'll find out soon enough," Marcus replied, taking a deep drag from his cigar before slowly exhaling a cloud of smoke.

The car continued down the road until it eventually turned into an alley.

Another car was already waiting there.

Several men stood outside, smoking cigarettes. Gary immediately recognized one of them-a bald man with a tattoo of a dog covering the left side of his face.

The man stood casually against the car, taking a drag from his cigarette.

"That's Ronan Shaw..." Gary muttered.

He looked at Marcus.

"Jesus, Marcus! You're doing business with the Silver Knives?"

"It's time we moved up in the world, don't you think?"

Marcus casually opened the door and stepped out.

"Damn it..."

That was all Gary could mutter before opening the dashboard and pulling out a pistol. He tucked it into his waistband before getting out of the car.

"You're late," Ronan said casually, taking another drag from his cigarette.

"Traffic," Marcus replied. "You got the goods?"

"You got the money?"

Marcus gave Gary a signal.

Gary walked toward the trunk, opened it, and pulled out a bag. He tossed it onto the asphalt.

Ronan dropped his cigarette and crushed it beneath his shoe. He walked over and opened the bag.

Stacks of cash filled it.

A grin spread across Ronan's face.

He gestured toward one of his men.

The man opened the trunk of their car and tossed another bag onto the asphalt.

Marcus opened it.

Several dolls were packed inside.

He pulled out a knife and cut one of them open.

Inside was a small packet of purple pills.

Marcus smiled.

"What do you call it?"

"Aphrodite," Ronan replied.

Marc