“Mr. Shelton, follow us.” That’s all they said and I didn’t ask them anything else.
We wove our way through crates and containers and reached a building that was well lit. The door was open so I followed them through it and we ended up in an office in the back of the building. Jainukul sat behind a desk and there were several other men present.
“Ah, Mr. Shelton. Shall we begin?”
I just nodded and smiled. No introductions were made, but I made a mental note of what everyone looked like. I had a nearly perfect eidetic memory so it wouldn’t be a problem for me to recognize these guys again.
“I have decided that I would indeed like to expand my heroin distribution into the U.S., namely the Los Angeles area.”
You have got to be kidding me. Are you an idiot?
“Mr. Jainukul, I understand how appealing that market might seem to you, but I was thinking something less conspicuous to start with, such as Seattle or Portland.” I had to say that. If I didn’t, he’d know right away I didn’t know my shit. I didn’t really care where he wanted his crap. It wouldn’t get there anyway if I had any say in all of this. I fidgeted and folded my hands together, rubbing my knuckles with my fingers and thumbs, making it appear that what he suggested made me nervous.
“Mr. Shelton, you must understand my position. I want L.A. It’s huge and offers me the most potential.”
Now I rubbed the back of my neck and looked around the room, acting as if I were gauging the others present. Again, I could give a rat’s ass about them.
“Mr Jainukul, you must realize that L.A. is controlled by the Juarez Cartel. They would not take too kindly to someone invading their turf.” I gave him a shaky smile.
I was greeted with a solid stare and dead silence.
“Surely you understand the importance of turf control, Mr. Jainukul?”
He slammed his hand down on the desk so hard, I actually jumped. It startled me, as I hadn’t expected it. He was not as mild mannered as I had initially thought. I knew he was hardened, but I had made an error here.
I narrowed my eyes and said, “Mr. Jainukul, is L.A. worth shutting down all possibility of ever getting product into the U.S.?” Then I shut up.
We had a stare down. He realized I knew my stuff. I knew the first person to speak would lose, so I clammed up.
After several extremely long and uncomfortable minutes, he finally said, “No. But I want it. So what do you propose?”
“One small bite at a time. We start with Seattle, then Portland then south to San Francisco. Then, before the Juarez Cartel knows what hit them, we are firmly ensconced in L.A., stealing all of their fucking business. Not only heroin, but whatever else you wanna sell. How does that sound Mr. Jainukul?”
He slammed his hand down on his desk again, only this time it didn’t startle me. This time I smiled. “Do we have a deal?” I asked.
“I think we do Mr. Shelton. How will you get product?”
“Oh, I won’t be getting product, you’ll be sending it the usual way. We can work out the details. Is that good with you?”
“That is good with me. How long are you in Bangkok?”
“Another week. Is that enough time?”
“More than enough.” He smiled.
Then I smiled. I rose to my feet and let the bodyguards escort me back to my taxi. My job would be done in a week. Then I would be in the wind for a month. That was how we operated. We would disappear. I had so many aliases, so many passports, birth certificates, driver’s licenses, social security cards that I kept them filed in a safe at my home in Montana. I carried several sets with me when I traveled but they could be destroyed at a moment’s notice. After next week, Mr. Shelton, would cease to exist. When I disappeared, there were only a couple of people that knew how to find me, Pete being one of them. I usually went to large cities where I could blend in with the people, where no one would notice me.
I left Bangkok ten days later, after Mr. Jainukul, his front men and his connections had been arrested. I traveled to Katmandu, then back to Delhi, and I ended up in Istanbul for a while. When I figured it was safe, I booked a flight to Washington D.C so I could spend some time with my mom. Then I decided it was time to go to Seattle. It was time that my sister Caroline and her husband saw the wedding pictures that they thought their photographer had lost.
Chapter 3
Ava
“Jeez, Melissa, don’t break it! That’s my fine china in there.” She was slinging my boxes I’d filled with china like they were filled with air.
“Oops. Sorry,” she said sheepishly. “I don’t own anything that’s breakable.”