Page 13 of Feint

CHAPTER 6

KORDELL

Another day passed,and it was my time to go lock down some of the new clients for the MC. I kissed Rosalie in the kitchen before grabbing my helmet off the counter and walking outside to my bike. Today, I knew who to go to first. The Kkangpae. They were a small street gang that hung out in Koreatown, and no one else probably knew that they dealt firearms to the other gangs around LA from the club besides me. And I knew exactly where to go to find them. I rode down through the city, and for once, besides some lane splitting, I didn’t break every traffic law in existence.

I pulled up to a little mini-mart gas station on the outskirts of the territory. Parking my bike at a pump, I walked inside. An older Korean man stood behind the register. I went to the counter and pointed to a single pack of Reds—a cigarette brand—the older-looking man grabbed them down and turned to me.

The man glanced at me as he scanned it. “Are you sure you want this brand?” he asked as my total flashed.

I nodded. He sighed and grabbed his phone and dialed a number, saying something I couldn’t understand in Korean over the phone.

“It’ll be a few moments. Please, take a seat outside.” He gestured to a bench outside of the shop doors.

I left the store and walked over to the bench, placing the cigarettes next to me. I pulled out my phone, shooting off a text to the president.

Kordell

Hey, I’m working on a few deals for us. When they pay off—and they will—you can tell everyone else to shove it up their asses. The VP role is mine.

Damien

What kind of deals? What are you doing, Enforcer?

Kordell

Don’t worry about it. I’ve got it all handled.

I tucked my phone back in my pocket, and a few moments later, footsteps from the side of me started coming closer. They stopped in front of the bench, picked up the cigarette pack, and sat down. I glanced over to see a man in his twenties, wearing a red sports jacket. I knew he must be the guy I had been told about by his blue eyes mixed with jet-black hair. He definitely looked half Korean.

“What are you in the market for?” the man asked me as he opened the pack and pulled out a smoke, placing it to his lips. He pulled a lighter out of his pocket, and I saw the embers glow as he took his first puff. He might be young, but he talked with all the authority in the world.

“I’m looking to talk business. Not sure if this is the best place for that, being out in public.” I turned toward him, making sure he saw my enforcer patch.

He looked at it and then waved half-heartedly around the front of us. “No one in this area will talk about my dealings here. This is fine.”

Mmm, so it was confirmed. He was not just a seller; he wastheseller and the buyer. Perfect. This was exactly what I needed. If I could secure this deal, my problems would fade away completely. The sergeant of arms could kiss my ass.

“Fine. I’m here to talk about being the new supplier for your business. And I think you get that I’m not talking about your little mini-mart. I’m talking about the kind you have secured to your side, under your arm.” Yeah, I had seen the faint outline of a sidearm there. I had his attention, so I continued, “And the kind I can provide, well, let’s just say they don’t have ways to track previous owners or who sold them to the person they seized them from. Keeping your name off their record.”

I could see his mind working. I knew how difficult it could be to get unmarked chrome in the city, and having a big supply of it would be beneficial.

“What kind of products can you get? I have clients all over, which means a wide variety of tastes.” The man took another puff, his eyes narrowing as he talked to me.

“Whatever you need. I even know a guy who can get things that can do a lot of damage to an entire street. Things that would get you on a watch list if you tried to look them up. But outside of that, we have zero issues in getting all of your standard sides and primaries.”

I opened my jacket so he could see my firearm, and take in how flawlessly the serial number had been removed from it. Looked like it never had one in the first place.

“Mmm… not bad craftsmanship. Why should I go with you and cut ties with my current supplier? They’ve been reliable. What’s the cost of doing business with you?” He got to the point.Putting out the cigarette on the side of the bench, he tossed it in the garbage can next to us.

“Because we can get you the things they can’t. I’ve asked around before. There are certain things the Kkangpae can’t provide right now, and I know the Barons gang are about to take their business elsewhere because you can’t provide what they want. We can change that. And I bet we can beat whatever prices you’re paying now by ten percent.”

We always marked up our costs in our transactions, and, sure, while Damien might not be thrilled about the ten percent off the top, if it meant a solid consistent business partner in the city limits, she wouldn’t bitch for long.

He reached into his jacket pocket and handed me a card. I flipped it over in my hands to make sure I wasn’t missing anything because all it had was a simple number on one side, and that was it.

“What’s this?” I asked as he stood up.

“Call that number tonight, and you’ll get a location. Bring a sample of your stock, and we will talk further.” He walked over to a red Camaro with twin black stripes running from the front to the back. Getting in it, he drove out of the parking lot.

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