When he reached the clearing, Reynaldo could see the porch lights on. He stood and looked at the serene surroundings. He had never really seen anything like this farm in real life before they came out here. In movies, sure, but he hadn’t believed that places like this existed, any more than he believed the Death Star in Star Wars existed. It was make-believe, these farmlands where kids could walk for miles and play in sandlots and come home to Ma and Pa and do their chores. Now he knew the land was real. The happy stories, however, were still the stuff of make-believe.
He had his orders, but first he headed to the barn to check on his chocolate Labrador retriever, Bo. As always, Bo ran out and greeted him as though he hadn’t seen him in a year. Reynaldo smiled, scratched behind his ears, and made sure Bo’s water bowl was full.
When he was finished taking care of his dog, Reynaldo made his way to the farmhouse. He opened the door. Titus was there with Dmitry. Dmitry was Titus’s computer whiz kid with the bright-colored shirts and knit cap. Titus had decided to decorate as the Amish did. Reynaldo did not know why. The furniture was all quality woodwork—sturdy, heavy, plain, unadorned. There was nothing fancy. It all gave off an aura of quiet strength.
There was a bench press and free weights in one of the upstairs bedrooms. They had originally set it up in the cellar, but after a while, no one wanted to go into anything underground. So they moved it up.
Reynaldo lifted weights every day, no matter what. He also had a steady concoction of performance-enhancing drugs in the fridge and cabinet. Most he self-administered with a needle in the upper thigh. Titus supplied them for him.
Six years ago, Titus had found Reynaldo in a garbage dump. For real. Reynaldo had been working a corner in Queens, undercutting the other hustlers by charging only fifteen dollars a pop. A john didn’t beat him on that day. His competition did. They’d had enough of his horning in on their territory. So when Reynaldo got out of the car—his sixth car that night—two of them jumped him and beat him senseless. Titus had found him there lying on the ground, bleeding. The only thing Reynaldo could feel was Bo licking his face. Titus had cleaned him up. He had taken him to a gym and taught him about lifting and ’roiding and not being anyone’s bitch anymore.
Titus had done more than save his life. He had given Reynaldo a real one.
Reynaldo started toward the stairs.
“Not yet,” Titus said to him.
Reynaldo looked back at him. Dmitry kept his face in the computer, concentrating a little too hard on the screen.
“Problem?” Reynaldo asked.
“Nothing that can’t be solved.”
Reynaldo waited. Titus walked over to him and handed him a gun.
“Wait for my signal.”
“Okay.”
Reynaldo jammed the gun into his waistband, covering it with his shirt. Titus inspected it for a second and then nodded his approval. “Dmitry?”
Dmitry looked up over his pink-tinted glasses, startled. “Yes?”
“Go get something to eat.”
Titus didn’t have to tell him twice. Dmitry was out of the room in seconds. Reynaldo and Titus were alone now. Titus stood in the doorway. Reynaldo could see a flashlight bouncing about in the woods. It came into the clearing and up the steps.
“Hey, guys.”
Claude was in his fancy black suit. Titus had two guys working transportation. Claude was one of them.
“So what’s up?” Claude asked with a big smile. “Do you need me to pick up another package already?”
“Not yet,” Titus said in that soothing voice that even made the hairs on the back of Reynaldo’s neck stand up. “We need to talk first.”
Claude’s smile started to falter. “Is there a problem?”
“Take off your jacket.”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s a beautiful suit. It’s a warm night. There’s no need for it. Please take it off.”
It took effort, but Claude managed a casual shrug. “Sure, why not?”
Claude took off his suit jacket.
“The pants too.”
“What?”
“Take them off, Claude.”
“What’s going on? I don’t understand.”
“Humor me, Claude. Take off the pants.”
Claude sneaked a glance at Reynaldo. Reynaldo just stared back.
“Okay, why not?” Claude said, still trying to pretend that nothing was wrong. “I mean, you’re both in shorts. I might as well be too, right?”
“Right, Claude.”
He slipped off his pants and handed them to Titus. Titus hung them neatly across the back of a chair in the far corner. He turned again toward Claude. Claude stood there in his dress shirt, tie, boxers, and socks.
“I need you to tell me about the last delivery.”
Claude’s smile flickered, but managed to stay on. “What’s there to tell? It went smoothly. She’s here, right?”
Claude forced up a chuckle. He spread his hands, looking at Reynaldo again for some kind of support. Reynaldo stayed still as a stone. He knew how this was going to end. He just wasn’t yet sure of the route.
Titus stepped closer, so he was only inches away from Claude. “Tell me about the ATM.”
“The what?” Then seeing that wasn’t going to play: “Oh. That.”
“Tell me.”
“Okay, look, it’s cool. I know you have rules, Titus, and you know I’d never break them unless, well, I absolutely had to.”
Titus stood there, patient, all the time in the world.
“So, okay, right. I started driving and then I realized like an idiot—well, not like an idiot. An idiot. I was an idiot. No like about it. A forgetful idiot. See, I left my wallet at home. Stupid, right? So anyway, I can’t make the journey without any cash, right? I mean, it’s a long ride. You get that, don’t you, Titus?”
He stopped and waited for Titus to respond. Titus did not.
“So, okay, yes, we stopped at an ATM. But don’t worry. I kept it in state. I mean, we were still within twenty miles of her house. I never got out of the car, so there was no way the surveillance camera could see me. I just kept the gun on her. I told her if she did anything, I’d go after her kid. She got the money—”
“How much?”
“What?”
Titus smiled at him. “How much money did you have her take out?”
“Uh, the max.”
“And how much was that, Claude?”
The smile flickered one more time and went out. “A thousand dollars.”