Chapter 8

URIAH

A one-night stand with an Omega in heat wasn’t going to take my focus away from where it needed to be. I was becoming a father. The stress wasn’t anything new to me. Not when I knew that there was a problem headed my way and I needed to solve it.

The pleasant night I spent with Bryce quickly became a thing of the past. I woke up that morning and got back out on the streets. While Sanders was busy back at the station, I knew that the answers I was looking for were back where I was the night before.

The West Bay was still a dangerous place even during the daytime. Police didn’t patrol much in the area, so all of the gangs, thugs and biker clubs didn’t hesitate to put all of their business out in the open. The answers I was looking for were out there. I had to start somewhere…

I walked down the street and kept my head down. The gang members never paid much attention to people who walked by them as long as they minded their own business. I could feel their eyes on me as I moved by them. Every punk. Every thug. Even some of the homeless were eyeballing me. I did my best not to make it look like I was staring.

I have to find someone… Someone who could know something about Rivera.

I stood at the street corner and looked around. The hood of my sweatshirt over my head and my hands in my pockets, I kept a low-profile. I kept searching until something suddenly caught my ear.

I turned toward the noise coming from down one of the alleys behind a bar. I headed down the alleyway and the noise only grew louder. Shouting. Cheering. Whatever was going on, there was something happening.

I headed into the back alley parking lot of the bar and saw all of the bikes and cars parked outside. A circle of people had gathered around. They pumped their fists in the air, yelling and cursing at whatever it was they were looking at.

It wasn’t until I looked over their shoulders that I saw what the fuss was all about. Two gang members were getting into it. One of them looked like a club member. The other just a typical thug from one of the local street gangs.

Amazing.

The police never bothered to police crimes in the West Bay, so they definitely weren’t going to do anything about this. Not with the amount of action going on. Nobody seemed to care that I was looking at everybody else in disbelief.

The fight was brutal. Two men, bare-chested and bare-fisted, swinging at each other like they were trying to put the other in the hospital. They were going at it so hard. The sweat dripped along with the blood. The commotion kept going until finally one of the fighters was victorious. A combination of cheers and boos erupted from the crowd. It wasn’t enough to stop the action though. The two men were cleared out of the center and two men replaced them.

Not what I’m looking for.

I stepped away from the chaotic scene of the fight. I was heading back down the alley when I saw a couple of men slouched up against the wall. They looked like what I would expect to find in this area. Destitute. Dirty. Down on their luck. They both had their heads down like they were too weak to stand up but not tired enough to fall asleep.

One of them slowly turned their heads up toward me. He gave me a chipped-tooth smile.

“How are you doing, sir?” he said. “Spare some change? Anything’ll help.”

I knelt down next to him and pulled out a few bills from my pocket. He took them from me. His eyes sparkled like a child on Christmas morning. The enthusiasm he saw was enough to make me smile.

“Check it out,” he said as he nudged the man next to him. “We can go get something to eat.”

The other man rolled his head and saw the money I’d just given his friend. The smile on his face grew just as wide.

“Thank you,” the other man said. “I really appreciate it.”

“Don’t mention it,” I said.

“You hear to fight?”

“Who? Me?”

“Yeah. You look like you know how to handle yourself.”

I looked back at the barbaric scene behind me and shook my head.

“No,” I said. “Not looking for a fight.”

“Shame. A scrap is a good way to make some money in these parts.”

“It seems that way…”

I thought what he said for a second then it hit me.

“…There is another good way to make some money,” I continued.

“Drugs,” one man said.

“How did you know—”

“The docks are right there. It’s not exactly the biggest secret in the world. There’s a dealer on nearly every corner in this part of town. I’d never mess with the stuff though.”

“Money not good enough?” I asked.

“Money’s good just not worth it. You get caught dealing on the wrong corner and the gangs will make you pay for it. Territory is divided up. You’ve gotta know the boundaries. Too much work, in my opinion.”

“Right… Say, fellas, you wouldn’t happen to know where I could find one of these dealers, could you? Not a hand-off but an actual dealer.”

They both looked at one another then raised their eyebrows at me.

“Why?” one of them said. “You lookin’ to score some dope? You seem to be put together pretty well. Why would you wanna mess with that stuff?”

“Not for me. You said the money’s good.”

“Bad idea,” the other man sighed. “But if that’s what you wanna do, I ain’t gonna tell a man what to do with his life. You wanna check out Lansing Drive.”

“Anywhere specific?” I asked.

“It’s a few blocks from here. You’ll know what you’re lookin’ for when you find it.”

“Thanks.”

I reached into my pocket and pulled out a few more bucks for them. They took the money from me, their enthusiasm beaming at this point.

I headed out of the alleyway and back out onto the street.

“Lansing…”

It only took a few minutes for me to arrive at my destination. And it took even less time to realize what the two men were talking about. There was a man near every alleyway.

They didn’t do a very good job of hiding what they were doing. Subtle handshakes with passers-by. Conversations without making eye-contact. It had all the makings of what I was looking for.

Find the right man.

I headed down the street without making too much eye contact. I stopped when I got next to a man who was leaning up against the wall. He had his arms at his side, his head moving back and forth on a swivel like he was afraid someone was looking for him. His long-coat looked suspicious in this kind of weather. But even without that, the look in his eye was enough to give him away.

Stay calm.

I walked up next to him but didn’t look at him.

“You think you can help me out?” I asked

He didn’t respond immediately but I knew I’d gotten his attention. He looked down the road just as a group of bikes rode by us.

“Maybe,” the man said. “It depends on what you’re looking for.”

“You know what I’m looking for,” I replied.

“You got the cash?”

“I got the cash.”

The man moved away from the wall and finally looked at me. He sized me up, his eyes shifting up and down. I stood my ground and nonchalantly shrugged as I waited for him to say something.

“All right,” the man said. “It’s 20.”

“Right…”

I reached into my pocket for the money. I moved slowly. There was no telling what this guy was up to me. Cash in hand, I slid my hand up toward his so he could take it.

It’s all right. You’ll get your answers. Just stay calm.

I looked into his eyes just before my money hit his palm. But then something happened.

He narrowed his eyes at me. Then they widened suddenly like the realization had hit him.

“What—”

He suddenly turned around and bolted down the alley.

“Dammit!”

I muttered to myself and quickly chased after him. The man was big but he moved a lot faster than I expected him to. It didn’t help that I didn’t know my way around.

“Freeze!” I shouted. “Police!”

I couldn’t risk pulling a weapon out and trying to stop him. Not when I didn’t know who was around me. All I could do was try to chase the big man down.

I gritted my teeth and ignored any of the fatigue that might’ve been setting in. The adrenaline was pumping too hard in my veins. It wasn’t long before I eventually managed to catch up to the man.

A chain link fence blocked his path down the next alley. He started to climb it just as I caught up to him. I grabbed his coat from behind and with all my strength, pulled and slammed him to the ground.

“Don’t move—”

A hard right hand connected against my cheek. He wasn’t interested in listening to anything I had to say. I stumbled back a few steps but maintained my footing.

He struggled to get back up to his feet but when he did, I was ready. I grabbed him again. I held him down. He threw another punch but I moved out of the way and cracked him right where he hit me.

“Stop struggling!” I said. “You’re not in trouble. I just want some answers.”

“Yeah, right.”

“I’m serious. I don’t care about you. I just need to ask you a few questions.”

“You must be out of your mind if you think I’ll say anything to you.”

“You can either spend your time talking to a judge before they throw you in a cell or you can give me the answers I need. It’s up to you.”

He glared at me, his jaw clenched. But he stopped struggling and eventually relaxed.

“What?” he muttered.

“The drugs. Where’d you get ‘em from?”

“You really expect me to answer that?”

“We had a deal, remember?”

“…Out of town. Where do you think they come from?”

“Who?”

I grabbed him by the collar and shook him when he hesitated to respond.

“Who?” I repeated.

“Rivera. Rivera, all right!”

“You know, Rivera?”

“Come on. Everybody knows who Rivera is. He’s supplying 90-percent of this stuff.”

“How can he do that? Rivera isn’t even in Snow Falls?”

“Not yet. But he’s coming. Next week.”

“Next week?”

“He’s got a meeting. I don’t know for sure. Just rumors.”

“A meeting with who?”

“Who do you think? Rivera doesn’t do all this shit by himself.”

“Where?”

“I don’t know. I don’t make the stuff. I don’t even know where they come from. I just sell it, okay? That’s all I know.”

I looked into his eyes and searched for something more but I knew that was all I would get out of him.

“Okay,” I sighed.

I moved off of him and helped him back up to his feet. He dusted himself off and straightened his jacket.

“Now you plan on arresting me?” he said.

“We made a deal. Just wanted some answers.”

He headed back down the alley, a look of disgust on his face.

“Stay out of this part of town, pig. You’re gonna get yourself killed.”

I calmed myself down the best I could and went over everything in my head.

Rivera already had his product out on the streets. And he was coming in a week. I didn’t have much time to prepare for him. I had to be ready when he arrived.

Before my thoughts could wander, my phone vibrated in my pocket. I looked at it and saw the message from Bryce telling me he wanted to meet me.

I was about to refuse when I realized that it was probably for the best that I left this part of town. There was no telling what the locals would try to do with me. Spending time with Bryce was exactly what I needed at the moment.