Sex & Drugs & Dungeons & Dragons

E4. Honor Among Thieves

Griffin and Hope rode the train back together and they made out the whole way to Wilmette. They sat with one arm wrapped around each other and the other grasping a steadying pole as they kissed and the train shook beneath them. They held hands as they got off at the Wilmette station and descended the stairs to street level. That's when Griffin saw something that made him freeze.

A gold corvette was parked on the corner. Leaning against the rear bumper, hands in his pockets, eyes obscured by Ray Ban sunglasses, was Hunter, staring right at him.

Griffin kissed Hope goodbye. "Go on ahead, I'll meet you at the Pizza Hut."

"Why? What's up?"

"Just got something I need to deal with. I'll catch up in a bit."

Hope shrugged and then glanced curiously at Hunter. He smiled and waved. She raised her hand in an answering wave. "Don't take too long."

"I won't." Griffin watched her walk away and turn the corner before moving up to confront Hunter.

"That your chick?" Hunter asked, nodding at Hope.

"That's right," Griffin replied proudly. "She's my girlfriend."

Hunter frowned. "Guess you like 'em freaky. What's with all that black make-up and shit?"

"It's her style, it's sexy."

Hunter laughed. "What do you know about sexy?" He put his arm around a Griffin and pulled him into a rough embrace, almost like he was about to give him a noogie. "Dude I get it, best you can do right now. But when you start working with me you'll see what I'm saying. You're gonna be fucking super models, not creepy Adams family chicks like that."

"Fuck you, I'm not interested."

"Whatever, man, to each his own." Hunter unwrapped a stick of spearmint gum and began chewing on it. "So how come I haven't heard from you?"

"Heard from me? What are you talking about?"

"Kids at school. Cocaine. You know."

"I told you I'm not interested."

Hunter stopped chewing his gum and narrowed his eyes. "Wow, you're even a bigger chicken-shit loser than you look."

"I just don't wanna sell drugs, that's all."

"Listen, pussy," Hunter said, "you kinda don't have a choice anymore. Your brother hooked us up, he vouched for you. You fuck me, I take it out on him."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means maybe I cut him off," Hunter threatened.

"Maybe that'd be a good thing."

"And maybe I do something worse."

"Worse? Like what?"

"Use your dorky little imagination. I'm sure you'll figure it out." Hunter stood up, opened the Corvette's door, and slid into the driver's seat. When he did, Griffin noticed a handgun resting in the cup holder. It was a designer gun, something from the pages of "Guns and Ammo", chrome plated with fancy filigree. It was an expensive gun, a gun to show off: the gun-equivalent of Gucci loafers. But that didn't make it any less deadly. Hunter noticed Griffin notice the gun and flashed a shark like grin. "Don't worry, dude, I don't think that's gonna happen."

"Why not?" wondered Griffin.

"Because I'm a good judge of character. You're a pussy, but you're a smart pussy. You know better than to fuck me." Hunter shut the door, started the car, and drove away.

Griffin watched the Corvette disappear around a corner. "I wouldn't count on it," he muttered to himself, the gears in his mind turning.

Griffin stepped into a diner and used the payphone to call Derek. Derek's mother answered the phone and claimed Derek was "away" on a last-minute "trip". She was obviously embarrassed to admit he was in jail. Griffin pried and Derek's mother eventually admitted that me might be gone for "weeks". So then Griffin immediately phoned Cobi and Tony. "We gotta talk," he said. "Meet me at the Pizza Hut."

The Pizza Hut was quickly becoming their semi-official clubhouse. They gathered together around the cash register, where Hope was working. "You were right," Griffin admitted to Cobi, "Derek's dad isn't gonna do shit. He could be in jail for weeks."

"See? We gotta get him out of there!" Cobi exclaimed with worry.

"But how?" Tony wondered.

"We could post bail," Griffin suggested.

"But we've been through this," lamented Cobi.

"I don't got fifty-three hundred bucks," said Tony. "Do you?"

"No. But I might know how to get it," said Griffin.

"How?" Hope wondered.
"Conrad's drug dealer."

"Why would Conrad's drug dealer lend us fifty-three hundred dollars?" Tony asked.

"He wouldn't," Griffin confirmed. "Which is why we're gonna steal it from him."

Cobi could hardly believe his ears. "You wanna steal over five-thousand bucks from a drug dealer?"

"Why not?" countered Griffin. "He's an asshole."

"But he'll fucking kill us," Cobi pointed out. "That's what cocaine dealers do."

"Oh yeah?" Cobi challenged. "How do you know that?"

Griffin rolled his eyes. "Conrad met him at a Grateful Dead concert, for chrissakes." Then he looked each of his friends in the eye. Don't you think it's about time we fight back?"

Tony nodded. "You're right, fuck 'em."

But Cobi was still unconvinced. "How are we gonna steal from this guy?"

"Shouldn't be too hard," Griffin replied, "We just gotta break into his car."

"And who knows how to break into a car?" frowned Cobi.

"I do," admitted Hope.