| Chapter 3 It had been three days since that eventful night at the races. Three long days. Ginger hadn't bothered to do anything at all about their now slowed operation here. There was already a major pick up in the works since the day after Race Wars that would bring them right up to speed anyway. His head had pounded like someone was hitting him with a fucking mallet for three days, and he'd been hazy the whole time from painkillers. He rolled over restlessly, tangled in the bland white sheet. His head didn't hurt much now, his swollen eye and lip had gone down, but the bruises still remained. Not only on his ribs, stomach and encircling his eye, but also on his pride. He hadn't enjoyed being beaten to a pulp in front of no less than atleast five hundred people. He'd tried to convince himself it wasn't his primary concern, but it continued to gnaw at the back of his skull like battery acid, refusing to let him sleep. He had to do something about it or it would eat away at him until he broke. Downstairs, he could hear Nueto playing his guitar. Lizette was singing along with him. She'd been really shaken up about the fight. Shocked by nearly being hit herself by that massive pillar of muscle. Afraid of losing her brother. Nueto had been good to her, trying to keep her mind off things. This whole mess, this whole ugly fucking mess, was doing Ginger's head in. Sleep had become a privilege. Headaches had become permanent. Medication had become useless. It was one hot motherfucking morning. Ginger's skin was sticky with sweat as he shifted restlessly on the mattress. He was tired of not doing anything. It was time to get a move on. Time was only wasting away the longer he moped around the house. And he didn't have time to waste at this junction in his life. Ginger untangled himself from the sheets and got up. He was surprised when his head didn't begin to pound relentlessly. He walked over to the window, looking out over the pool. Kaylen, DeShaun and Jessi-Jay were down there, the girls basking in the sun in brightly coloured bikini's, and DeShaun lapping the pool. He paused in the water by them and splashed water over the two of them, producing playful screams from both. He smiled faintly. Where would he be without them? "All by yo motherfuckin' self" he whispered in reply to his own question, then walked over to the bathroom. A quick cold shower woke him up and rid him of the stickiness he'd felt earlier. Ginger pulled on some boxers, then baggy jeans that hung off his hips. He picked up a black basketball singlet with a red '32' on the front from the pile of clothes on the floor and pulled it on before proceeding to tuck his 50 caliber double action Desert Eagle into the back of the waistband of his pants. It held a 14 round clip, it was semi automatic, fuck, it was practically an assault rifle. Satisfied it was concealed under his singlet, he moved to his boots. After shoving on his timbalands, he was ready to roll. "Yo, Ginger! Bout fuckin' time you got yer ass outta bed!" Nueto grinned at him from where he was perched on the counter with his guitar under his arm. Lizette looked over her shoulder at her big brother and smiled, jumping up and running over to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he hugged her gently. "Are you a'ight, Ginge?" she asked, looking up at him, her eyes searching his face. He smiled reassuringly and nodded once, "I'm fine. I gotta go see to some shit. I'll come back for lunch, a'ight?". Lizette smiled broadly and nodded, "A'ight". He grabbed the keys to his Mitsubishi from the counter and headed outside. Just standing in the hotel car park was a privilege. To the left, six beautifully suped up street monsters. To the right, a Saab, a Porsche, a Chorvet, a Chrisler, a Cadillac, a Lamborghini, a Mercedes, a BMW, and a Trans Am. Cars belonging to the other occupants of the hotel they were crashing in for the time being. Ginger hadn't found it neccesary to be staying in a rathole when they didn't have to be, and that was why he had chosen this up market place over the shitty little motels further into the city. "Yo, Ginger!" DeShaun called to him from where he was holding the pool gate open for Jessi-Jay and Kaylen, "Where you goin', dawg?". "Business, D. I'll be back fo' lunch" Ginger replied, unlocking the Mitsubishi and opening the drivers door. He glanced at his sisters as he slid into the car. Jessi-Jay wore hot pink to match the pink foils in her midnight black hair, and Kaylen wore bright green which played against her dark skin. "I want to come" Jessi-Jay announced, and Ginger shook his head firmly as soon as the words left her mouth, "No. Stay here. I won't be long". She didn't look happy, but he shut the car door before she could complain, and pulled out of the car park with a scream of Pirelli tyres. * * * Mia looked up at the sound of a loud engine, expecting Dom dropping around to check on her or perhaps Vince here to sweet talk her to death, but it was neither. The silver Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX pulled into the parking lot of Toretto's Cafe and Market, gliding to an expertly smooth stop. Mia closed the Wheels magazine she'd been looking at, butterflies attacking her stomach. She wasn't sure if she should be scared or happy, so she feined confusion, which was in truth how she felt, as she watched Ginger exit his car, the heavy rap beats of Ruff Ryders drifting to her ears from inside his racer. Ginger looked around, not looking for anything in particular, just looking. It had become a habit as of late. Satisfied with his surveillence, he turned towards Toretto's shop, walking inside past a few people sitting at plastic tables, trying to catch a breeze while they ate brunch like good modern civillians should. "Can I help you?" Toretto's sister asked, hands supporting her on the counter. Ginger looked at her and removed his shades, pocketing them. "Mia, right?" he asked, walking over to the counter she stood behind. Mia smiled, offering her hand, "Mia Toretto". He closed her hand and touched fist with her, smiling faintly, "Ginger McVeigh". Mia's smile widened, then disappeared as her eyes fell to the slowly fading bruise encircling his eye, "Are you alright? I mean, my brother, he's not exactly a weakling and...". "I'm fine" he interrupted, then cocked his head to one side, "That's actually who I woz lookin' fo'. He 'round?". Mia found herself feeling disappointed that it wasn't her he'd been after. "Uh, no, he's at the garage with the boys" she replied, leaning on the counter, "He's been moping around since the races and the team aren't letting him forget that it was his bad. I don't know what got into him. He just snapped. I don't know what it was about you, but I've only ever seen him angry like that when our dad and Jesse died". She lowered her eyes, even mentioning his name still hurting as though someone was reaching into her chest and squeezing her heart. "I know 'bout dem, wot happened... I'm sorry" Ginger offered, sitting on one of the stools at the counter and resting his arms on the counter. Mia looked up and forced a smile, "Thankyou. I can, ah, call Dom, if you like. Or I can give you his cell number" she paused and her smile became genuine, "But he should be round here for lunch in about fifteen minutes, if you want to wait here". Ginger nodded once, then shrugged, "Might as well". Mia smiled, finding herself tingling like she hadn't felt since she'd first met Brian, in this very same place. He'd hurt her deeply. Lied to her. Lied to her family and friends. She didn't know how she could ever trust him again, even after he let Dom escape the police in the Supra. And that was why she refused to have anything more to do with him. It had been hard and it hurt like hell for a long long time. But she was slowly reclaiming her life. Even thinking about going back to college. "So, what's your story?" she asked, genuinely interested. He raised an eyebrow, "Wot you mean?". "Well, everyone has a story. Why they're here. What they did. What's yours?" she elaborated. Ginger glanced over his shoulder at the people behind them, but they were all wrapped up in their food or their converstations. He didn't need any involvement from anyone. No ties to anyone or anything here could be made. Come Sunday, he was outta here. "I'm from Hillside" he said finally, looking back to her, "An' I'm goin' home". "When?" Mia asked, a litle quicker than she'd meant to. She didn't want to appear desperate, but he didn't seem to notice anyway. "Soon" was all he responded with. Mia watched him, but it seemed that was all the elaboration she was going to get. The roar of engines was distant at first, but soon became so insistant that Ginger turned and Mia raised her head to look. And in came the Supra, the Maxima, the Skyline and the 240SX, all lining up along the curb perfectly. Letty stepped out of her car gracefully, despite her platformed combat boots. Leon and Vince clambered out of their cars, not bothering to even try to pull off grace. Dom emerged from the Supra, shutting the door with a soft click. Ginger watched the way he moved. As though he was actually that arrogant as to believe that he was a king. "Yo Dom" Vince called to him, figuring Dom hadn't yet seen what he had. Dom looked at him, then followed Vince's gaze and pointing arm to look at the silver Mitsubishi parked on the other side of the car park. "Shit" he growled, looking back to the shop. Ginger was just swaggering out, shades hanging from one hand. Dom noticed he wasn't wearing his watch. "What're you doing here?" Dom asked, recognising the question instantly from the night at the races when he'd said the exact same thing. "Haven't slept much, past three days" Ginger stated absently, stopping a few feet away, "Figured I had to get this offa ma chest or I ain't neva gonna get any sleep". Dom remained silent, aware of his team watching Ginger, noting his every move. "So..." he continued, casting his eyes across the other three, then bringing them back to rest on Dom, "I'm here to tell you that I'm sorry 'bout the otha night. I woz pushin' yer buttons an' I woz really askin' fo' it. My bad. No harm, no foul". Dom was shocked, to say the least. He had never, not ever, taken back anything he'd said or done. He was too proud for that. He was never wrong. It took more balls to take something back than it did to say it, and Dom figured if Ginger could do it, so could he. "My fault too" Dom shrugged his massive olive shoulders, "I lost it. You said you wouldn't fight and I ignored you. So, we're even". Ginger cocked his head to one side, shrugging as he closed the distance between he and Dom until their noses were inches apart. Dom was about to tell him to back off, when a noticable pressure on his crotch became apparent. "We're even" Ginger confirmed, squeezing gently, "But if yo try to touch one'a ma sisters again, I'll blow yo fuckin' dick off". Dom nodded, holding up a hand at Vince as he moved to seperate them. The gesture made him stop, but he didn't look happy about it. Ginger winked at Vince, then let Dom go, walking past him. Chapter 4 "There's another race at the Isle tomorrow night" Dom called after Ginger's retreating form. Vince looked at his friend, surprised and a little pissed off that Dom was being such a push over around this guy, especially after Spilner or O'Connor or whatever the hell it was. Letty raised an eyebrow, intrigued. Maybe this was her chance at that beautiful Mitsubishi. "That right?" Ginger answered, turning to walk backwards, so he was still moving towards his car, but was facing Dom, "You really wanna race me?". Dom raised his chin and squared his shoulders. "I should be askin' you the same thing" he answered firmly. Ginger stopped walking and smiled, noticing Mia moving to stand just outside the cafe. "Wot's that?" he asked, feining confusion. "You really wanna race me?" Dom challenged. He was, always had been, always would be, the king of the road. He wasn't afraid of him. "Fuckin' right" Ginger answered, spreading his arms, "Let's go". Dom frowned, "Now?". Ginger shrugged, slipping his shades into his pocket, "Why not?". Dom glanced at Vince, then Leon. They both seemed wary of the challenge. "It's broad fucking daylight. You wanna drive down to the Isle and race right now?" Dom asked, eyebrows raised. Letty smirked. If he turned it down, she would take him up on the challenge. She would risk losing her Nissan for a chance at that Mitsubishi. "Why go all tha way to tha Isle? There's a straight road right..." Ginger turned and pointed to the road the cafe was on, "...there". Dom was shocked further. That road right there? An urban road, in broad daylight? What, was this guy totally and utterly crazy? "Are you fucking insane? I don't have any pending desires to be locked up any time soon" Dom called at him. Ginger looked at him and shrugged, "I'll race her then". He pointed at Letty, and she offered him a twisted grin. Ginger had no gripes about who he raced. He could always sell that Nissan. It would move his operation along alot quicker, which was a really good thing. "No. I'll race you" Dom answered firmly, winking at Vince who smiled, "What's the buy in?". "No buy in" Ginger decided after a long moment. He had a million dollar deal in the works. Things were fine, for the time being. He needed to be able to race at the Isle, which meant getting in with Toretto. And he wanted to play. "No buy in? You afraid you'll lose or some shit?" Dom taunted, folding his arms over his chest. Vince snickered and Leon smiled. Mia brushed some long dark hair from her face and rested her hands on her hips, watching them talk. "Fine. My car against yours" Ginger shrugged, knowing his car was faster than any of those four. "The Supra?" Dom asked, waving a hand at the orange car as though Ginger wouldn't know which car he meant. Ginger shrugged again, "Which ever. Don't really matter to me". "My car, Dom" Letty said instantly, then looked at Ginger, "I want that monster". He smiled at her, keeping her eyes on her even though he was talking to Dom, "Use her car, Toretto". Dom shrugged, figuring he could win in any car. He was the king of the streets, damn it! "Sure thing" Dom replied, catching the keys as Letty tossed them to him. He walked over to her car and got in while Ginger smiled to himself, sliding into his Mitsubishi and pulling out of the car park. Dom followed him to the end of the street and turned the Nissan around so they both faced the stretch of road. It wasn't quite a quater mile long, but it would do fine. He could race and win in any conditions. "Yo Let, start us off, gurl" Dom called through the open window to her. She smiled, stepping up to the invisible line the two cars were stopped at. Letty blew a kiss at Dom, and he smiled broadly, winking at her. Ginger watched her for a moment, turning up his stereo so that it pulsed through the car. Letty raised her arms over her head and flicked her hair back from her face. Letty stepped up beside Vince to watch. Leon had headed down to the end of the street in his Skyline to see who won. He wasn't sure what happened when they reached the intersection, but he supposed they would figure it out when they got there. They could try to make the turn or run into the houses there. Dom revved the Nissan's engine, feeling it throb right through the car. He looked forwards, not needing to watch Letty as her voice would alert him to the beginning of the race. The word 'go' had barely left her mouth before both cars shot forwards, tyres screaming and engines roaring. Dom grit his teeth, glancing across at Ginger who was keeping up with the Nissan easily. He gripped the wheel so tight his knuckles turned white as he willed Ginger to press the Nos injection. "C'mon. Press it. Press the motherfuckin' Nos" he hissed, glancing again at Ginger. They were quickly nearing the end of the street. He didn't want to press the Nos before Ginger did or he had no chance. "C'mon" Dom begged as he pushed his own limits. He couldn't go much further before he broke out the Nos. Dom swore under his breath and punched it as the end of the street loomed ahead. He figured there wasn't enough space for Ginger to get in front of him now. But he was mistaken. A split second after Dom's car began to leap forwards, Ginger punched his own Nos injection, and the Mitsubishi flew ahead. He pulled a tight left at the end of the street and the tyres shreiked in protest as he flew around the corner, Dom turning the opposite way. Ginger grinned in self-amusement. King of the streets hey? Ginger slowed to a stop then backed up fast, looking over his shoulder for obstacles. As he reached the end of the street where he'd just handed Dom's ass to him, he noticed the Nissan a few meters down the street, just sitting there. He smirked. Big guy was trying to handle the mental breakdown he was faced with after, *gasp* losing! Ginger turned the car and drove back to Toretto's cafe. Dom's man, Vince, was standing next to Mia, arms folded over his chest, not looking happy at all. Mia was smiling, her head turned slightly away from Vince to hide it from him. Letty looked, well, just plain disappointed. Ginger pulled to a stop and got cut the engine before getting out of the Mitsubishi. "Yeah, good on ya, now fuck off" Vince growled as Dom pulled up slowly, followed by Leon. Ginger just smiled at him. He knew that mirroring their disrespect would get him no fucking where. Dom climbed out of the Nissan and sighed before tossing the keys to Ginger, amitting "I've never lost a race". Ginger shrugged, turning to Letty and tossing the keys to her. She caught them, eyebrows raised, her disappointment replaced with surprise. Ginger winked at her, then looked back to Dom, "Now yo next win'll feel like motherfuckin' heaven, dawg. Enjoy". He climbed back into his car and pulled out, pausing at Dom and lowering Dom the window. "Thanks, man" Dom said after a long moment, offering his hand. Ginger smiled at the utter respect in his voice, then shrugged, taking his hand and shaking it, "No big. I'll see y'all tomorrow". Dom nodded, still kinda shocked and confused, as he watched the Mitsubishi pull away. * * * "You lost!" Hector laughed hysterically, putting his beer down on the table before beginning the task of shuffling the cards in his hands. Edwin calmed his own giggles and grinned, "Told you that dawg would beat yo ass, man". Dom rolled his eyes, unamused by their taunts. He didn't know why he'd bothered to tell them at all. They were the two most likely people in the world to tease him about the loss. Hector began dealing out the cards for a quick game of poker. "Oh, but hey, you gotta take the good with the bad, eh esae?" Hector became serious, but a grin soon broke out, "In your case, the real motherfuckin' bad!". Edwin laughed loudly with him this time. "Yeah, alright. I shouldn't have told yous" Dom said, holding his hands up in surrender, "Go ahead. Laugh it up. But I need yous to do somethin' for me". Hector soon calmed himself somewhat and Edwin followed suit. "Wot you need, dawg?" Edwin asked, forcing seriousness. Hector didn't bother to try, but he listened to Dom's request anyway. Leon and Vince were sitting in the Toretto's lounge, watching some low budget horror movie, each with a Corona in their hand, and a few empties on the floor at their feet. Letty was sitting on the floor between Mia's legs with a bowl of popcorn in her lap while Mia did her hair in a loose plait. "I need you two to find out what you can about this guy. Why he's here. What he's done. I want everything. Go all out. I'd get Jesse to do it...but..." Dom trailed off, swigging from his beer instead of finishing. They nodded, knowing what he meant. "Ginger.... mmmm.... McVeigh, right?" Hector asked, looking at his cards. He struggled to keep his face straight so they couldn't tell what kind of cards he'd ended up with. "Yeah. McVeigh. Good man" Dom muttered, looking at his own cards. They weren't bad. Two pair. "Why you wanna know 'bout him anyways?" Edwin asked, always the one to volunteer with stupid questions which usually got him sarcastic answers. "Coz I wanna know who I'm dealin' with, man" Dom replied, "After Spilner or O'Connor or who-the-fuck-ever, I need to know who new-comers are and what the hell they're after". Dom wasn't gonna lie, Ginger wasn't half as bad as he'd thought he was. And seeing as he was being truthful, Ginger's sisters- woah, being with them would be heaven, especially all at the same time. But he had a gut feeling there was more to the team than met the eye. And he always trusted his gut feelings. "Smart move, homes" Hector commented, putting his cards down on the table, "Three of a kind". Dom sighed in frustration and dropped his now useless two pair on the table top. Edwin's cards were even worse. "Don't you reckon that was so sweet of Ginger to let you keep the Nissan?" Mia asked absently, tying an elastic band at the end of the plait she'd done in Letty's hair. "Yeah, I 'spose" Letty shrugged. She hadn't thought much about it. She'd been too busy moping because of her lost chance at that Mitsubishi. "Coz, like, he could've just sold it or something. Easy eighty grand" Mia continued, taking a handful of popcorn from Letty's bowl, "And he was sooo cool about apologising to Dom. I mean, could you imagine Dominic Toretto going back on something he'd said or done? I think not! That takes more balls than he's got!". "If this Ginger guy's got more balls than Dom, maybe I'm fucking the wrong guy" Letty grinned, and Mia smacked her shoulder playfully, "No way!". "Why?" Letty challenged, and when Mia was silent, she looked over her shoulder at her, "Why, Mia?". "Coz you're with Dom" Mia shrugged. The idea that Letty might be after Ginger had shocked her into defense mode for some reason. "Jeezuz, Mia" Letty sighed, shaking her head, knowing exactly what was going on. "What?" Mia asked, almost clueless. Her feelings were confusing her lately, so she'd decided not to trust or take much notice of them. "You think he's hot" Letty accused, eyeing Dom's sister. "Nuh-uh" Mia defended, shaking her head. "Who does Mia think's hot?" Hector called from the kitchen. Conversation had ceased around the table, so the girl's voices had drifted to them. "She thinks..." Letty began. "Shutup Let!" Mia cut in before she could say it. Dom would not be happy with her if Letty got out the full sentence. She still felt like he blamed her for Brian being able to work his way deep into their lives through her. "C'mon Mia. We ain't gonna laugh atchoo gurl" Hector got up after laying his useless cards on the table and leaned on the doorframe, smiling at her reassuringly. Mia knew the smile was as fake as his words. He would laugh at her no matter what she damn well said. "No, Let! I don't like him!" Mia protested as Letty opened her mouth again, "Please, don't". Letty smiled and pushed her playfully, "I'm jus' playin'". "Who's she like?" Edwin asked, looking up at Hector, who shrugged, "I dunno. Won't say. But you know who I like? Them three chicas, eh homes? Sisters too. Imagine that. Not really my type though". His type, whatever that was, didn't include a girl who looked barely over eighteen, a girl that Dom had his eyes on, or a girl that was related to someone who could beat Toretto's ass in any way, shape or form. "Fuckin' oath. They my type, them three" Edwin grinned, "Nothin' better than a piece'a black ass". "Damn right" Dom smiled, vaguely remembering Ginger's words of warning regarding his sisters earlier. "What was that Dom?" Letty asked, coming up in the doorway with her arms folded over her chest to stand beside Hector, who looked at Dom and grinned, "Oooh, boy, you in trouble now". "Aw, c'mon Let. I was jus' lookin', that's all" Dom sighed, collecting up the cards strewn across the table. She nodded her head slowly. "Oh, right. So, it's OK for you to check out skanks, but when I'm tryin'a talk to some guy, you come up and punch him in the mouth for no fuckin' reason" she said, "Sounds real fuckin' fair, Dom". "Let, jeezuz, I told you I was sorry" Dom replied, putting the pile of cards down on the table, "Wot more do you want?". "I want you to pay me as much attention as you pay them fucking skanks, Dom!" Letty cried, "I'm your fucking girlfriend!". With that, she feined spitting at him, then stormed upstairs. Dom lowered his head and swore under his breath. "Shit, Dom. Jus' ain't yo day, is it?" Edwin asked, then looked back at Hector with a grin, and the two of them began laughing again. Chapter 5 "Ginger, jus' leave it! We're havin' a family meal here" Kaylen complained as Ginger got up to take the call on his cellphone. "I can't, babygurl. I'll jus' be a second" he replied, stepping away from the seat then walking along the edge of the hotel pool, pressing connect then putting the phone to his ear. "Yeah?" he asked, the number not being recognised. "How's it hangin', G?". Ginger's blood ran cold, and he glanced out of habit towards the others. They talking amoungst themselves, passing the bread or the salt, fixing up the umbrella so the sun wasn't shining in Jessi-Jay's eyes. "Wot you want, man? Last I checked, it wasn't a Sunday" Ginger answered coldly. This was not what he needed or wanted right now. He'd been cruising for their first week in Los Angeles. He wanted to continue that way. Looked like that wasn't gonna happen though. "I'm jus' checkin' up on you. How you gettin' along?". "Fine. I got a pick up in about half an hour for seven figures. I'll have yo money by Sunday, like I promised" Ginger replied, keeping his voice low and continuing away from his team. He passed a wrinkled, rich old prune in a black one piece, stretched out on one of the banana lounges by the pool. She opened one eye as he passed, blocking her sunlight, and grimaced at him. "Good to hear, brutha". Ginger itched to hang up. Toss the damn cell in the pool. Throw it on the ground and stomp on it. He couldn't stand the friendly tone, the chummy questions, the praise. It was driving him insane. Drilling into the back of his head and pouring in battery acid until he felt like screaming. "Yeah. Woteva. I'll see you Sunday" Ginger answered quickly, "One". He hung up, cutting out any chance of a reply. Ginger stared at his cell phone for a long moment, then sighed, pocketing it, and walked back to the table. "Who woz it?" Lizette asked, looking up at him. He didn't answer. Ginger looked to Jessi-Jay as he sat, and she lowered her eyes to her plate, knowing exactly who it had been. "Oh" Lizette said softly while lowering her eyes, catching on. Kaylen watched her brother in tense fear, waiting for the news. "He was jus' checkin' up. That's all. It's a'ight" Ginger assured her, rubbing his thumb over Lizette's knuckles as he took her hand in his, "I won't let anyone hurt you". Lizette smiled bravely and nodded, "I know". Ginger pulled her against him and kissed the top of her head, then looked at his mostly empty plate. "We should get goin'. Latrell won't be happy if we late" he announced, and DeShaun nodded, rising from his seat. "Want me to come?" Nueto offered, watching Ginger get up as well. He shook his head. "No. Stay here with the girls. We'll be back soon" he answered, and walked over to where DeShaun was waiting for him at the pool gate. * * * "You got my money?" Ginger asked. DeShaun stood about two feet behind him. Ginger's cousin Latrell's yellow Hummer was about twelve feet behind DeShaun. "Yeah, I got it. You got my shit?" the Asian guy replied. Another Asian that looked like an exact replica of this one stood a little to his right. Ginger supposed they were twins or something. He couldn't remember ever seeing Asian twins before. "In the Hummer" Ginger pointed over his shoulder at his cousin's car. It had cost Latrell a large motherfucking packet, but Ginger refused to take the Mitsubishi when he was making a pick up. He was the one taking the risk. He was the one putting his ass on the line. He was the one who had to watch for cops and deal with the customers face to face. Latrell's side of the job was all hushed up and out of public eye. There was almost zero risk involved for him. That was why he only got 1/3 of the profit. "Unload the truck" the Asian, Simon or Tyson, Ginger couldn't tell them apart, waved at the three blokes to his left. They moved off towards the Hummer to unload the heroin packed neatly in the boxes that were piled in the back. "And the money..." Ginger prompted. Simon or Tyson looked at the other Simon or Tyson, said something in Asian, and the other walked away, further into the abandoned factory. DeShaun was getting fidgety, Ginger noticed. That meant he was nervous. He was shifting his weight every two seconds, casting his eyes back and forth over the empty expanse of the building, shoving his hands into his pockets only to pull them out again after the whole of five seconds, and shove them back in three seconds later. "D. C'mon man" Ginger said firmly, his friend's fidgeting getting him on edge. DeShaun looked at him, then folded his arms to control his own squirming and stared at the floor. Simon or Tyson came back with two heavy metal briefcases. He dumped them both on the old workbench the other Simon or Tyson was leaning on, and opened each one. DeShaun was looking at the money inside with wide eyes as he moved over there, but Ginger was more concerned with telling the twins apart, for a reason unknown to him. He was just really preoccupied with finding a way to tell them apart. He couldn't use their attire to his advantage. Both wore the same clothing. Baggy black pants and a silk shirt with Chinese embroidered dragons on the back. They were around the same height and build, both had the same slanted ebony eyes and each had slicked raven black hair. "How does yo Moms tell yo apart?" he asked while DeShaun got to quickly counting the money in the cases. "That's Tyson" the one leaning on the bench and doing most of the talking responded, pointing to the other, "I'm Simon". "But how does yo Moms tell yo apart?" Ginger repeated, genuinely interested. Tyson looked at Simon, a bit confused by Ginger's fascination with them being twins, when there was a rather large matter of a 1.5 million dollar drug deal going on. "Well..." Simon turned his head so that Ginger could see the tattoo that snaked up from under his shirt and across the back of his neck to just under his right earlobe and pointed to it. Ginger nodded, satisfied he could now tell them apart no matter what they wore. "All there?" Ginger asked DeShaun, finally paying some attention to the matter at hand. His interest in the twins suddenly lost. "Uh huh. Looks like it" DeShaun replied. All he'd done was work out how much was in each bundle, then count the bundles. Wasn't no way he was gonna sit around and count each and every note in both the breifcases. Simon looked up from the two black guys and called to one of the men unloading the heroin from the Hummer in Asian. The one he'd called to put down the box in his hand, and cracked it open, then carefully took out a bag and made a small hole, and tasted the white powder inside. He called back to Simon in Asian. Simon nodded. "Very good. I'm impressed" he said, smiling apraisingly. Ginger just winked at him. He wasn't looking for anyone's praise or approval. He just wanted his damn money. "A'ight then. Let's roll. There's a race tonight an' you know it'll take the girls a few hours to get they makeup right" Ginger told DeShaun, shutting one case and picking it up while DeShaun took the other. "Gentlemen, it woz a pleasure" Ginger said, waiting until Simon smiled and nodded once, then turned towards the Hummer. He had to drop the car back to Latrell, give his cousin his five hundred thousand share of the one and a half million deal, pick up the Eclipse and the 300ZX, then hightail it back to the hotel, grab up Nueto and the girls and get his ass moving to the Isle. He'd spent a little longer than intended at Latrell's, and was now running late as a result. Things were good though. This deal had impacted on his operation nicely. Things were going well. |