Page 34 of Wandering in Darkness
He seems to take that as a compliment, which he really shouldn’t have. “You think they just let some random person in and go, ‘Here, enjoy all of the secrets of our trade’?”
“Yeah, of course.” I’m well aware I’m just being stubborn at this point.
“I honestly believe it’s just marijuana. I think they’re just testing the waters by selling it to this group.”
“Why send us?” I ask. “It’s clearly a risky situation.”
“Because he’s confident they’re trying to fuck us over.”
“How so?”
Grayson is quiet and I consider reaching back and choking the information out of him, but before I can, I see a guy step out of the building, hands in his pockets. He stares at us, making me wonder if they’re suspicious of us because we aren’t exiting the vehicle.
I straighten. “Antonio, stay here. Keep the car running and ready. Do you have a gun?”
“I do not.”
“Grayson, give him your gun.”
Antonio holds up both hands. “No, I truly don’t know how to use a gun. My mom showed me how, of course. But let’s just say she was highly disappointed by my inability to hit a target.”
“Just point and fire.”
He shakes his head as he stares at me in disbelief. “It’s not that easy!”
“Is so. Go on, Grayson.”
“I only have one gun.”
“Now you have none,” I say, prying it out of his hands and putting it into Antonio’s. “Point and shoot. You do know how to take the safety off, right?”
“I do! She told me it was the only thing I was good at when it came to shooting.”
I leave him to it as I get out, and I notice that Antonio has parked in a way that will allow him to quickly leave the area without requiring him to turn the vehicle around or back up.
“I will actually do this all myself. Grayson, you keep Antonio safe,” I decide.
Grayson doesn’t seem pleased by that. “Why don’tyoustay with Antonio?”
Without listening to a word he says, I head toward the back to grab the box of heads—which I’ve now decided it is—but he opens his car door so fast it blocks my path. I try pushing the car door into him and he pushes it back.
And now we’re like two children pushing a door at each other for absolutely no reason at all.
“Guys, I really think that you two are doing a phenomenal job getting in and out quickly,” Antonio calls. “Like fastest drug deal ever. Strangely enough, most drug deals are done in a timely manner because they don’t like dragging it out. Gives the police more time to figure out what’s going on.”
“Right,” I say as I let go of the car door.
Grayson hurries to the back where he grabs the box before heading off to greet the man.
Following behind him, I eye the man who is casually waiting for us. He has a gun at his side, but it’s hidden by his shirt. His entire demeanor seems relaxed, but that doesn’t always mean anything. He nods inside. “Come on.”
Grayson follows him into a dark hallway. The only light leaking in is coming from a broken window on the other side of the building.
“You guys were late,” he says.
“Not sure how,” Grayson replies as the guy pushes a door open and goes in with us behind him. Inside the room are two other unimposing guys, one of whom is playing on his phone.
“Can we check it?” the guy who wasn’t playing on his phone asks.
