Which made it a perfect site for us to meet.
I dropped my pack down on a bench and looked around. The guy hadn’t showed up yet, which wasn’t too surprising. They didn’t like to linger as much as possible. I couldn’t blame them.
I stripped off my shoes and socks and laid them out next to me in the sun to dry. I looked around at nature slowly reclaiming the campsite and wondered if the whole world would look like that one day, half man-made and half natural. The weeds would grow beyond just weeds, into full-fledged plants, and would wind their way through dead-wood structures until everything man-made was rotten and everything nature was green.
Not long later, I heard a car. I watched as a black sedan pulled down the dirt road and stopped at the other end of the site, not wanting to risk coming in any farther. Once, early on, a guy had driven his car all the way down to where I was sitting, and he had gotten stuck in mud. Not only did I have to smuggle drugs that time, but I also had to push a car free.
Two doors opened and two men climbed out. I watched, a little surprised, as they walked toward me.
The man on the right was bald and wore a black suit with dress shoes and sunglasses. He could have been twenty or he could have been forty: I had absolutely no clue. But he looked strong and he walked with an air of confidence that was unmistakable. He was definitely the muscle.
The guy on the left was new. There were two or three people that usually showed up, but none of them looked nearly as nasty or professional as this guy did. His face was scarred down one side and he had a constant scowl. I stood up as they approached.
“Why no shoes?” the scarred man asked.
I stared at him. “What?”
He nodded at the bench. “You took off your shoes.”
I almost laughed. “I had to cross a river to get here. I’m drying them off.”
He nodded as if that were the most obvious thing in the world.
“Who are you guys?” I blurted out.
The scarred man smiled. “I am Rigley. This is Jenner. You will always speak with me. Pretend like he does not exist.” Rigley waved his hand at Jenner, dismissing him. Jenner didn’t move an inch, just stood there like a statue.
“Okay, Rigley. What happened to the other guys?”
“Change of leadership. Now you deal with me.”
I sighed inwardly. I hated dealing with gangsters. I especially hated dealing with new gangsters I didn’t know or understand.
“You got the stuff?” I asked him.
“Yes, but not so fast. We have not met, you and I. Your name is Reid?”
“People call me Climber.”
“Why is that?”
I shrugged. “Not sure.” I didn’t feel like explaining my past to him.
“Okay then, Climber. We have new changes for you now.”
“I don’t like change.”
He smiled. “Nobody does. But it is a fact of life.”
I nodded, needing to be careful. “Okay. What’s happening now?”
“Now, you will deal with me. If I am not here, you do not deal. Understand?”
“Fine.”
“Also, you will be carrying more. Not too much more, but more.”
I frowned. “I’m already pushing it. Carrying too much can kill me.”
He laughed. “Kill you? No, no, that won’t happen. You are strong American boy, you’ll be fine.”
“Is that all?”
“That’s all. Very simple, yes?”
“Let’s get this over with. I have a long trip back.”
He laughed again. “Climber, so eager. Okay then.” He nodded at Jenner, who walked over and handed me a bag.
I unzipped it and looked inside. It was full of the usual pills. I looked back up and nodded as I began to fit the contents into my pack.
“That it?” I asked.
“That’s it. Pleasure meeting you, Climber.”
“Same,” I grunted.
They turned and walked back to their car. I watched as they slowly pulled away, reversing back the way they came.
I shivered as I slowly put my socks and shoes back on. I’d be getting them wet again soon, but that was fine. At least they’d be semi-dry for the short hike before I hit the river.
Those two guys had given me a bad feeling. Jenner was eerily quiet and intense while Rigley seemed almost jovial. Still, all these changes meant something, but I didn’t yet know what it was.
I hefted my pack into place, frowning. It was heavier than usual, but I’d manage. I began the hike back toward home, a stone lodged in my gut.
Worry and more worry. As I crossed the river and kept moving, the sun beginning to sink down in the west, I was unsure of what the changes really meant.
Worse, I was afraid I was in deeper than I realized.
Chapter Nine: Rebecca