Forgetting Adaline

Chapter 02 - Skinny Love

I am not a forgiving person.

The only thing that infuriates me more than incompetance is disloyalty. And the asshole due to arrive any second is both of those things and thus, a dead man. Even though he doesn't know that yet.

I should be at Fantasia right now. Enjoying the myriad of intoxicants, both chemical and female, that my club has to offer while supervising our expansion into live music. Instead I am here dealing with this useless low-life who erroneously assumed he could get away with stealing from me. Overcharging for product and syphoning the profit.

I'd intentionally allowed it to go on for a few weeks as an experiment to see how cocky the idiot would get before I exposed him. Greed had forced his hand, and my own, when instead of just pocketing the profit from his increased prices he had started dipping into my profit margin too. Sloppy fucker. 

I am waiting in one of my warehouses with Eli, my second in command, hidden in the shadows awaiting the opportune moment to reveal himself. I rarely do my own dirty work. Perks of being the boss. But I do enjoy watching the man do what he does best. Eli is brutally creative. A macarbe artist of the deadliest persuasion. It is almost comical to think that he was once a man of the Law. One of Melbourne's finest. If only they could see him now - a phoenix risen from the ashes to take on his true, gruesome form. 

The bang of a metal door announces Aiden's arrival. The man saunters in with self-assured confidence. He is one of my best dealers and his loss will need to be replaced quickly. However street dealings now make up only a small portion of my overall business and, while lucrative, is not really needed in the grand scheme of things. I have moved on to much larger financial ventures. Perhaps I am holding on to some nostalgia for how my empire began. He is dispensable and yet too egotistical or too dense to see it. I almost allow myself to smile thinking of how he was about to be so thoroughly put in his place.

"Tell me, Aiden, why my best dealer is consistenly coming up short in his weekly payments?" Straight to the point. His face remains impassive but I notice his shoulders tense. Did he really think his shortcomings would go unnoticed? I pay my men well. Ruling by fear alone is a quick way to deception and betrayal. You catch more flies with honey and all that bullshit; so I line their pockets and provide as safe a working environment as possible, given the nature of the work.

"Street prices are dropping sir. I deemed it necessary to sell at a lower price in order to still move the week's worth of product. I planned on waiting to see if it continued before bringing it to your attention." A fucking outright lie. And a terrible one at that - so easily disproven. I run the drug scene here - my cartel holds the city's illicet drug trade in a vice-like grip. Any new players in the field trying to undercut my prices would be dealt with immediately and as such I am able to dictate street cost exclusively. Either he thought me too ignorant or busy to notice.

"So why is it that you are the only one experiencing this issue? I do not tolerate thieves Aiden." His eyes widen and he tenses further. His gaze flicks towards the door; a sure sign he's going to make a run for it. Moron.

Eli, perfectly timed as ever, emerges silently from the shadows behind Aiden. For a man of his height and mass I am always impressed at how quietly he can move. I am tall, at 6'2" but Eli tops my height by several inches. His long hair, beard and scar through his left eyebrow give him a wild, feral appearance which works wonders for intimidation. He is also built like a fucking tank and even though Aiden was not lacking in that department he stands no chance against Eli's bulk and skill.

With speed that belies his size Eli grasps Aiden in a crushing headlock and drags his protesting form to a metal chair already set up for this purpose. It is bolted to the floor and sports cuffs on both arm rests and legs. In a matter of seconds Aiden is restrained and gagged; his face red and angry. Eli's smug, amused grin only making him appear more fearsome.