Ace
"Just like I said, Al, you know that I would rather have your boys close to me. I am giving you an opportunity to live in the city instead of this," I waved my hand around at the endless desert and the dark world they live in.
"Ace," he took a deep breath and looked around at his people, "these are my people. I have to ask them before giving you any word. And I can't give you my word without any guarantee. I will not make them have hope in something that doesn't look real."
"Since when my word is not an enough promise, Al?" I added.
"I trust your word. But I am old now and I have my prestige in front of the people I am creating a living for. These people trust me with their lives, I told them once to live in the desert and they followed me, with their people, their families, and their kids. And if I tell them we will move into the city it will be a promise, a sword on my neck. I trust you at work, in the SP dealing, in business but I won't give you my neck if I don't have proof."
I nodded and looked at the kids playing and the women laughing and thought, how can people live happily in the desert that doesn't provide a home for anything other than vicious animals? And how can all these people follow a word from someone like Al and put their lives in danger for his happiness or even for money?
"Fine," I looked back at him, "I will come next visit for proof and for a place to show you where all your people will move in."
"Now you get me, Ace." He smiled, showing me his yellow and stone teeth. I smiled back.
"Just do what I say, Joe. Find the owner of the house next door and tell them we don't want the house only, we want the land. Find out what they want in exchange and come tell me. Don't argue or anything, I just want information. And I will do the rest."
He nodded and left the room.
"Ace," Niko entered the office, pointing behind him, "Alfie is here, he said he was called for an appointment or whatever–"
I interrupted him saying, "yes yes, let him come."
"Hey, Ace." He walked in and sat on one of the chairs in front of me. I took a sip of my whiskey glass.
"Whiskey?"
He let out a soft laugh and shook his head, "you make me feel like whiskey is just orange juice for you."
I nodded, "when you get used to something, it doesn't affect you anymore."
I took a glass from the tray next to my desk and filled it with the half empty bottle.
"Yeah, you're right." I placed the glass in front of him.
"What do you want, Alfie? Your meeting was in two days. Why are you here today?"
He took a sip from his drink and nodded, "there is a problem, Ace." I placed my drink down, giving him my full attention. "A lot of the usual big gangs this month aren't responding to distribute the SP. They are not giving us an okay to take them. They were usually the ones running after us to buy the pills."
I closed my eyes, knowing exactly why.
"I am suspecting that this has to do with Fox."
I nodded, agreeing with him. "Yeah," I took a deep breath and leaned back in my chair.
"What are we going to do Ace? This will affect us so much, not only in the money but in the name of the pill too. If it stops being provided, it will lose its importance and the people will find a new drug."
"Alfie, what did Fox give them that we weren't?" I stopped his rambling.
"What do you mean?"
"What did Fox give them to stop business with us? We need to find this out and we need to provide them more than what Fox gave them to make them pick our side, not his."
He shook his head, "I am not sure."
"Great," I picked up my glass again and took a sip, "find out how much he gave them and double it. they will sell him in a heartbeat."
I followed him on the way out and saw Romeo and Joe helping the men fill the cars with the pills to go give it to the dealers.
"Good job, boys. Faster, faster." Romeo yelled. I leaned on the door, crossed my feet together and took a sip of my almost empty glass.
"Romeo," I called. He looked at me and walked closer. "Be careful, Romeo, we still don't know what Fox is up to."
"Don't worry, Ace."
I gave him a single nod. He turned his back to me and walked to the car.
As I watched the car disappear behind the gate, a voice caught my attention, "Ace." I turned to face her, to look into her eyes and hear the words she was yelling at me with her mouth closed. I tried to push the gulp that raised in my throat. She looked away and I knew that whatever made her call me made her decide to keep it for herself. She took a deep breath and looked around.
"Uhm– Do you have more meetings today?"
I raised my eyebrow and smirked, "don't you have my calendar?"
She nodded, avoiding my eyes.
I stepped closer and pushed her chin up with my free hand to make our eyes exchange words our mouths couldn't again. We stayed in the same position for a couple of minutes before she looked away again.
"What's wrong Talia?" I caught myself caring. Caring about how she felt. Caring about what she was thinking. Caring about how she saw me.
"Nothing," she gave me a soft smile and a challenging stare, telling me that I knew exactly what was wrong with her. I did know but I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what I should have done. If I went back in time I would have kissed her again and again. And I would also tell her it meant nothing for me when she came to ask. Because this is me, this is who I am.
"I didn't know kisses meant so much to you," I pressed more just to open a conversation with her and with an annoying smile, I got under her skin again.
"It's not a kiss, Ace. What bothers me is what is meant behind the kiss that you can't admit."
My heart dropped. She was the only girl that was able to read me without talking. She was the one person to speak with my eyes and know the secret I kept buried from the entire world. I looked away, feeling like my eyes were revealing to her things I would rather keep to myself.
"Talia," my tone changed from soft to harsh and she smiled, knowing again that this change was simply a self-defence to keep what I want to myself, "don't act like you know me. I told you this kiss meant nothing. Unless you want it to mean something," I smirked, trying to get under her skin again but she was unbothered. She smiled back, shook her head and walked away. I bit my bottom lip, wondering how in hell was she able to get under my skin when I wanted to get under hers. It didn't anger me, it excited me. It created scenarios in my head I wasn't, for the first time, brave enough to act on them. Scenarios of pinning her and whispering in her ear that no matter how much she gets under my skin, she will never be in control. She will never win.