Page 71 of Darkness

I let out a half laugh. “It could work. We have to get Trixie on board. Let’s go find our club girl.”

In search of Trixie, we head for the kitchen. As always, she’s inside, whipping up something fucking good as we approach.

“Trix, you got a second? We wanna run some shit by you.”

She stops stirring. “Sure, Pres. What’s up?”

Atomic leans against the countertop as I fold my arms across my chest. “The club’s in a jam. We need some help moneywise.”

“I’m not following?”

“What if the club were to create munchies, something delicious and packed full of green? We could buy a store where you can sell your baked goods, maybe even a small café like you’ve always wanted, but then we could store and sell the gourmet munchies for a higher profit and start bringing some income to the club rather than dealing in packages. Of course, the more ‘gourmet’…” he uses air quotes, “… products would be hidden from the public. This would mostly be a word-of-mouth, dark web venture.”

“Pres, you gonna buy me a café?” I wink at her. “That’s all well and good, but where are you getting the weed?”

That’s part we haven’t thought about yet!

Atomic pushes off the counter. “The back part of the lower bunker next to the Cell is unused. It’s full of junk. We could brick it off and turn it into a lab. Sure, it’s not the size of a warehouse, but it’s big enough to keep us in crop. We could have plants growing at different rates, so we always have product. All we need is some good quality lighting, air and water circulation, hydroponics, and then harvest.”

“I can brick the wall off, so if we’re ever raided. It will look the same as the Cell.”

“Exactly.”

Trixie squeals. “Sounds perfect, I’m so in. I’ve been wanting to make pot gummies, brownies, and lollipops… but what about savory? I wonder how it’d go in a quiche…”

I glance at Atomic. “Get everything we need. We have to kick this off as quickly as possible. Obviously, our crop won’t be viable for a while, so get on the line to Alpha from Los Angeles and have whatever we need shipped down from him. Tell me when the wine transport truck is in town, and I’ll make sure to send a couple of brothers out to the meeting point with the van to bring in the product.”

“Sure thing, Pres. I think this is gonna work,” Atomic offers.

Trixie bounces on her toes. “Me too. I’m excited to trial the recipes and see what I can come up with.”

“This isn’t your typical trap-house brownies, Trix. We need to think outside the box. Maybe find someone who can give us some idea of what works in the underground edibles industry.”

“Alpha might know someone,” Atomic adds. “I’ll make the call.”

“Leave it with me, Pres, and thank you. I can’t believe I’m getting my own café!”

Those California brothers really know how to hide shit. Just like I hide bodies behind walls, they hide their bodies inside of pigs. People might think I’m strange, but at least I don’t keep pigs as pets for them to eat people. Who am I kidding? If I had pigs, I’d probably do the same damn thing. I guess we Defiance brothers aren’t all that different.

Right now, though, I need to find Void and tell him the good news—that I’ve found a way to bring money to the club. I should have run it by him first, but Void’s been distracted lately. Sometimes, one of us has to make a call for the good of the club.

I figure if Void is anywhere, it will be with Ivy, but as I approach her room, he’s not there. Ivy is on her sofa, watching television by herself.

I tip my head at her. “You know where Void is?”

“Haven’t seen him today. He’s gone back to one-word answers and is avoiding me after he came in here last night. I don’t know what I did wrong.”

Yeah, right. I’m pretty sure I know what’s happening. Void doesn’t like to emote. If he’s started to feel something toward Ivy, and he has realized it, he’ll be shutting down. Closing off his emotions.

Getting back to being Void.

No one really knows why he does this, but if he is shutting down, I need to find him before he drinks himself to death.

“Void’s a complicated beast. I’ll find Eva and send her down.”

“I’m fine, honestly. There’s something about this place that calms me.”

Ivy likes living with the dead. She’s one twisted fucker, even if maybe she doesn’t fully comprehend what she’s saying.

---