Race (39 page)

I felt a lump in my throat.
 
I thought about his wife and his children, specially, about Noel with his crooked teeth and metal braces.
 
He was a good kid with so much potential.
 
What would happen to him after he saw his father go to jail?
 
Maybe he’d drop of
out
school and end up a drug dealer.
 
It would be ironic, like father like son.

***

Ms. Zee said, “When the tablet made contact with your sweat it dispersed into your skin.”

“You mean it went into my body?” Marcus nearly screamed.

“Don’t worry, your skin didn’t absorb all of it.
 
I’d advise you to remove it from your hand immediately.”

Without realizing it he wiped his hand over his coat.
 
A white powdery paste attached itself to the fur.

He screamed.

She couldn’t help but laugh.

His bodyguard pulled out a cloth and tried without success to remove the residue from the fur.
 
He made it even worse by smearing it.
  
Marcus cursed and shoved him aside.

Ms. Zee was now laughing harder.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying this,” he spat.
 
He glanced over at Kong, whose face stayed the same the entire time.
 
“At least someone doesn’t find this funny.”

“He doesn’t find anything funny,” Ms. Zee answered.

Martin straightened up and faced her.
 
He needed some of the drug so it could be analyzed and copied.
 
He knew people who’d be happy to help.

“We need to test the drug,” Ms. Zee said.

“What’re you talking about?” he said.
 
“Didn’t you see what just happened?” He lifted his right hand.

“
Nex
was not meant for sweaty palms. We need to see the effect when it is placed on the tongue.”
 
She knew he was satisfied.
 
But she wasn’t.

He eyed her hard.
 
He then motioned his bodyguard.
 
The bodyguard hesitated; he didn’t want to leave his boss alone with them.

“I’ll be all right,” Marcus said, turning to Ms. Zee. “We’re business partners now. Isn’t that right?”

Ms. Zee hated his smugness but didn’t say anything.

The bodyguard left them.

***

From my spot I saw someone come out of the building but I couldn’t tell exactly who.
 
He went around the corner and disappeared.
 
I got out and crossed the street, careful not to get too close.
 

The man came back, and I realized it was the bodyguard. Another man was with him.
 
They went inside the building.

I immediately turned around and went back to the car.
 
Something was happening inside, but I had to wait for RACE to come out.
  

***

The door of the laundry room swung open and in came the bodyguard with a short skinny man.

The bodyguard went to Marcus and whispered something in his ear.
  
Marcus nodded approvingly.

“We have a volunteer,” he turned to Ms. Zee.

She eyed the short man.
 
He was wearing a ragged jacket that was so stained that no amount of washing would do it any good.
 
He had stubble on his chin that looked more like dirt than hair.
 
His eyes were vacant, as if he didn’t know why he was here.

“Give it to him, then,” she said.

Marcus gave the bottle containing the tablets to his bodyguard.
 
He wasn’t going to touch it again.

The bodyguard reluctantly took it.
 
He then offered it to the short man.
 
The man’s eyes widened.

“No way, man,” he said.
 
“I am not taking no shit.
 
You guys cops? I don’t do drugs, man.
 
I’ve been clean for months.”

Ms. Zee said, “We’re not cops.
 
We just want you to try it.”

He looked at the bottle.
 
“Not for twenty bucks,” he said.

Twenty dollars? Ms. Zee shook her head.
 
Here they were on the brink of something enormous and Marcus was being cheap.

“I’ll give you a hundred dollars if you try it,” she said.

“Hundred bucks?” he said.
 
“Sure, I’ll try anything for a hundred bucks.”

“Your hands dry?” Ms. Zee said.

The man wiped his hand on his dirty coat and then showed it to her.

She nodded to the bodyguard who dropped a tablet on the man’s hand.

“Do not swallow,” Ms. Zee said.
 
“Place it on your tongue.”

The man held the square tablet between his two fingers and then stuck his tongue out and placed it on it.
 
He wanted to follow her orders precisely.
 
He wanted his hundred dollars.

Instantly he grabbed his chest.
 
He closed his eyes so tight that deep lines etched his face.
  
He fell to his knees.
 

Agonizing seconds went by as the man, with his head bowed close to his chest, stayed still on his knees.

Then he lifted his head and a smile curled his face.
 
He opened his eyes.

“What happened?” Ms. Zee demanded.

“Shit.
 
That was awesome,” he said, showing his stained teeth.
 
“Can I get another?”

She pulled out a hundred dollar bill and shoved it to him.
 
He took it, but said, “Please, just one more.”

“That’ll cost you now,” said Marcus, seeing a business opportunity.

“Just give him another and throw him out,” Ms. Zee said.

“Outside,” Marcus waved to his bodyguard.
 
He didn’t like seeing goods being given away for free.

“So what do you think?” Ms. Zee said once the two had left.

Marcus spoke with superiority.
 
“It has potential.
 
Fifty-fifty sounds reasonable.”

“Let’s stick to our deal.
 
Shall we?”

“Thirty-seventy it is,” he said, realizing who had the upper hand.
 
“When will I get a shipment?” he said eagerly.

“Within forty-eight hours.”

“That long?”

“The process requires time.”

“All right, all right.
 
Just as long as I get the first shipment.”

Kong and Ms. Zee left.

When the bodyguard came back, Marcus said, “He swallow the tablet?”

“Yeah.”

“And?”

“He wanted another one.”

A huge smile crossed Marcus’ face.
 
Even his deal with the police officer fit into his plans.

TWENTY-EIGHT

When Ms. Zee and Kong were inside the Lincoln,
Hause
turned and said, “We’re being followed.”

“Who?” Ms. Zee demanded.

“The black officer whose house we burned down.”

Jonny
Rupret
, she realized.
 
What’s he doing here?

“Where is he?” she said.

Hause
motioned to the back.
 
Ms. Zee turned slightly and saw a gray car parked in the distance.

“How long has he been there?” Ms. Zee asked.
 

“After you went inside.”

“Try to lose him.” She hoped the officer hadn’t recognized her.

***

Two people came out of the building.
 
I couldn’t see clearly but I had a hunch it was the bodyguard with the same man I saw going in.
 
A few minutes later two more people came out.
  
I squinted, trying to get a clearer picture, but they quickly entered a white Lincoln.
 

I couldn’t believe I had missed the Lincoln.
 
It was right there in front of me.

I started my car and waited.
 

The Lincoln backed up and turned in the direction of the street I was parked on.

I ducked, then peered over the dashboard, and saw the Lincoln enter
Gerrard
and drive past me.
 

I did a U-turn and followed.

The Lincoln sped ahead.
 
I was only half-a-block behind.
 
I didn’t accelerate.
 
I didn’t want them to think they were being followed.
 
My purpose was only to find out where they were going.

They continued on
Gerrard
, passing Broadview then Greenwood and then they turned left on
Coxwell
.
 
They were going north when they turned right onto O’Connor.
 
It was when they entered
Eglinton
that I realized we were going toward Scarborough.

They went left, right and then left again.
 
I had a feeling they were trying to lose me.
 
How could that be possible?
I hadn’t even been close to the building.
 
I’d been so far away that I couldn’t even see anyone come in or come out.

I kept chase.

They entered a one-way street and accelerated.
 
I did, too.
 
They turned into another street but I was right behind them.
 
A highly qualified parking enforcement officer was following them—me.
 

We’d done this cat-and-mouse chase for almost fifteen minutes when they exited onto a main road and began going at the required speed.
 

When we were back on
Eglinton
I found myself getting a familiar feeling.
 
My Civic was only two cars behind when I recognized where we were.
 
The LLPM Import & Export building was a traffic light away.
 

Maybe RACE
did
do operations at that building.
 

I expected the Lincoln to turn left into the building’s parking lot, but instead it turned right.
 
What the…?

Hesitantly, I did so too.

The Lincoln went into an alley beside a shop.
 

It hit me like a thunderbolt.
 

They went behind the BUBBLE T SHOP.

What was RACE doing at my—now
favourite
—tea shop?

I found a parking spot in front of the shop and got out.
 
I pulled out my cell, ready to dial a number, but stopped.
 

I wasn’t going to call
Beadsworth
.
 
I was now certain he was part of their operation, maybe not as a full-fledged member but as an accomplice.

I wanted to call Aldrich but first I had to be sure this was where RACE was operating.
 
What if Marcus gave me the wrong information? What would happen if I called Aldrich and he came down with half the force only to find out they weren’t producing
Nex
but making delicious bubble tea?
 
How would I save face then?