Vicious Minds (Children of Vice 4)

My eyebrow rose and I snickered. “Am I supposed to report to you? No, I am not. You are supposed to report to me. Nevertheless, I came to town. I didn’t even let my men know we weren’t invited to your little clubhouse today. They would feel a little insulted. Now that you know, how do you feel, Greyson?”

“It hurts, boss,” Greyson replied.

“Tobias?”

“Very insulted.”

“Hurt, very insulted…that’s how they feel. How do you think I feel, Miguel?” I asked him, craning my head to the side to look at him.

“I didn’t want to waste your time—”

“Yet, here it is being wasted. Sit with me, Miguel,” I nodded my head to the seat beside me.

He kept that grin on his face and turned back to his guards.

“Bring us some drinks,” he told them before walking to the seat beside me.

I stayed silent, watching nothing. There really was nothing to see. It was like looking out into a void, completely dull and not worth my attention. We all sat just there and the longer I didn’t speak to him, the more nervous he seemed to be. He sat on the edge of his seat and clasped his hands together.

“It seems there is a misunderstanding—”

“Why do you all get tattoos of gorillas on your hand?” I asked randomly, looking over to him. “It seems moronic to me.”

“It’s the symbol of Rocha. All the men get one.”

“I know. That’s why it’s moronic.” They thought it was a symbol of pride, but it was simply a way to show they belonged. Why the hell would you want people to know you belonged to a cartel? “You let the world know you belong to Rocha, so the world knows you are coming. They can spot you from across the room, but when everyone is watching you it makes it harder to move, no?”

“Or people just move out your way. They show you respect, they know immediately you are not to be messed with.” He snickered, lifting his hand and forming a fist. “Because if you mess with one, you bring the whole pack out.”

“Ah,” I nodded, now getting it. “It is a symbol of your weakness.”

“It is not—”

“You are weak, you are small, you are insignificant on your own, so you tattoo yourselves to let the world know you aren’t alone, you’ve got a pack, and therefore they shouldn’t mess with you. I understand. Thank you for clarifying. All this time I thought you were all just mentally incompetent.”

He clenched his fist tighter and luckily for him, his drinks came. “What are you having? I had them bring out our very best, our newest bottles, they haven’t even been opened.”

I perused the bottles and snickered. This was best? How sad.

“Tell me about the drug you added to the bag of cocaine you sent me,” I said, picking up a random bottle, undoing the cap myself. I smelled it before pouring myself a glass.

“It’s a spice, my boys in the kitchen added it by accident. Completely natural. We found it growing next to the coke in Colombia. It’s the same color and texture; it was mix up that it got into the batch, but woah!” He slapped his hands together. “We call it el ángel caido, the fallen angel. This shit has people waking up in heaven, so high they think they are kissing baby Jesus, but oh hombre, it is magnífico.” He kissed his fingers before drinking.

“That explains the angel part, what of the fall?” I asked, drinking as well.

He grinned, sitting up on the edge of his chair. “That is the best part. Just like the angels, once you wake up surrounded by the shitty stained world that is earth, you remember, just like the angels did, how good it was in heaven. They

crave more, el pordioseo, begging for more ángel caido. It doesn’t make them remember the high the coca gave them, it lingers in them.”

“Have you put this in any of my shit?”

“No!” he said vehemently. “We may be stupid for the tattoos, but we know the rules, no one messes with the product without getting the okay from the boss. Me and my people tried. I sent it to you so you know what your consumers will eventually want before they find this shit themselves and start looking elsewhere.”

“There is no elsewhere, Miguel.” I reminded him.

He nodded, tapping his head. “This is the country of capitalism, my friend. If there is a demand, eventually there will be a supplier. You know this—what the?”

He was cut off when all the lights abruptly went out. Tobias and Greyson immediately pulled out their guns and aimed at him.