24.

  “Johnny, Johnny?” Tabby gently shook her brother’s shoulder. After tripping all over the house and babbling incoherently about mallards, murder, and general mayhem. Johnny passed out in the hallway. Danny and Tabby had lifted his body and dragged him to the couch to hopefully let him sleep it off.

  Johnny’s eyes did their best to pry themselves open, “Tabby,” He said, looking at his fully clothed sister, “Ah, my fucking head, what happened? How long was I out?” Johnny asked.

  “A while man, it’s about 11:30,” Danny said, sitting on the Lay-z-boy chair across from the couch.

  “Holy shit, that was fucked up experience,” Johnny said, getting up, stretching He walked over to the kitchen and turned the faucet on. He splashed some cold water in his face and took a deep breath.

  “What were you saying, you were rambling, you weren’t making any sense,” Tabby gently rubbed her brother’s shoulder.

  “I saw a lot of shit sis, I don’t know what half of it even was, but I think I know why I saw it,” Johnny looked up and out of the kitchen window.

  “Are you going to be okay,” Tabby asked.

  “Yeah, I’m going to be fine,” Johnny began to make is way back to the living room, passing the kitchen garbage, and quickly turning, bending over and grabbing the rim of it before proceeding to vomit the entirety of his stomach’s contents into the basket.

  “Gross man!” Danny said, covering his eyes as Johnny got sick.

  Johnny wiped his mouth and looked up, “It’s okay, it’s okay, there’s no blood in it, I’m fine,” Johnny said before walking back to the sink to get a glass of water. He rinsed his mouth and spat what was left of the vomit taste in his mouth down the drain. He then took a glass and filled it up, washing his mouth out and drinking as much water as he could as fast as he could.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” Tabby asked again.

  “No, I mean, Yes, I mean, fuck, yes I am okay, I am physically okay,” Johnny said, holding his hand up to Tabby. He walked over to Danny.

  “You do look a lot better man. You took at least four hits, you must have been flying. I can’t imagine the shit you saw,” Danny said.

  “Thanks for sticking with me buddy,” Johnny said, patting his friend’s shoulder, “You can go now, I’m fine, I promise,” Johnny said.

  “Are you sure man?” Danny asked.

  “Yeah, listen, call the group for me,” Johnny said.

  “What? Why?” Danny asked.

  “Tell them if they want to buy any shit they need to be here today and get as much as they can,” Johnny said.

  “What do you mean?” Danny asked.

  “I’m getting out of the game man, I can’t begin to go into detail about the massive amount of fucked up shit I just saw, but I have to get out, I’m not going to sell drugs ever again,” Johnny shook his head and looked away, off into the distance.

  “You’re getting out? After all the money you’ve been making? What do you mean?” Danny asked.

  “I mean I’m getting out, I’m done, I don’t want any part of this anymore,” Johnny said.

  “Wait? You’re going to quit weed?” Danny asked.

  “What?” Johnny shook his head, “No, Jesus, fuck no, I’m not going to quit smoking it. I just, you know, I don’t want to sell it anymore. Speaking of selling, what happened to the acid jug?”

  “That’s gone, you knocked it down while you were rambling about a talking duck. Also, you grabbed the vials we did have and smashed them on the floor.”

  “You know what, good, one less problem to deal with, I’ll reimburse you man don’t worry, just take however much weed, within reason, you want from my closet before you go,” Johnny offered to Danny.

  “That sounds fair,” Danny shook his head, “Thanks man,”

  After Danny collected just slightly more than a reasonable share of Johnny’s cache, Johnny saw him out. “We good run for a while there. It was wild, are you really out?” Danny asked.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  “Yeah, I’m pretty sure I am,” Johnny rubbed the back of his head.

  “What about us? Everyone else I mean, you know, the Cartel,” Danny asked.

  Johnny laughed. It seemed ridiculous when he thought about it. He started a cartel, and he was so excited about the idea at the time. How could he have been so stupid? To aspire to begin something as mad as a drug cartel? Looking back, when he started forming this idea, researching just how drug cartels worked. It should have started raising some red flags for him when every story about a cartel ended the same way, everyone in jail, everyone killed, and a lot of people with slits in their throats. Johnny didn’t want to go down any path that got even close to one of those results. He thought of ghosts that he saw and prayed to God that they wouldn’t be haunting him for an extended period. He looked up.

  “You guys do whatever you want, we have plenty, you can sell for whatever price you want, Wallace had the right idea. You have cheap weed, use it, have a ball,” Johnny said.

  “But we were making so much money, how are we supposed to do that without you leading us?” Danny asked.

  “Anyone could do what I did,” Johnny laughed, “It’s just business, business is easy,” Johnny said.

  “But you’ve taken all those classes, you know how this shit works,” Danny said.

  “Let me tell you something about those classes, they’re easy as fuck, all you need to know is Jr. High-level math and grade school common sense,” Johnny said.

  “I failed Jr. High math,” Danny said.

  “Well, watch some PBS, you’ll pick it up,” Johnny said.

  “Asshole,” Danny laughed, then extended his hand for a handshake.

  “Have fun,” Johnny said, taking his hand and giving Danny a firm, manly handshake.

  “You’re a legend, Johnny Vincent,” Danny smiled.

  “Infamy is nothing compared to fame,” Johnny said.

  Danny left, holding a satchel of schedule one and got in his car and drove off.

  Tabby walked up behind Johnny as he stood at the door, deep in thought.

  “Is that true?” Tabby asked.

  “What?” Johnny turned to his sister as the two walked back inside.

  “Are you really out? Like, is the weed price in school really going to drop?” She said.

  “I don’t know what’s going to happen to the price, and I don’t care,” Johnny said, “I’m out.”

  “The guy who has, three pounds of weed in his closet is out?” Tabby asked.

  “I’m going to get rid of it,” Johnny said.

  “How are you going to move this much weed? I mean, if you kept selling it, over the rest of the year, with all the end of the year parties, graduation parties, and prom, of course, you could probably get most of it out. But, let me be candid, you have a shit load of weed, I assumed you got this much so you could start selling when you went to college.”

  “I know a guy, at least I think I know a guy or at least a guy who knows another guy who would want this,” Johnny said.

  “What are you talking about?” Tabby asked.

  “One last score,” Johnny said, “My friends will get however much they need tomorrow, the rest of it, I’m going to make one last big sale to get rid of it,” Johnny said.

  “To who?” Tabby asked.

  “Hector, he has a cousin, a cousin that’s known for selling this stuff, not to the Reagan high, but to his own clientele. If I can survive one deal of him buying it from me, I’ll be clean,” Johnny said.

  “What do you mean to survive,” Tabby said.

  “He might be in MS-13,” Johnny said.

  “Tomorrow, I need you to go to a party, any party you can find,” Johnny said, “I don’t want you here for this,” Johnny said, out of concern for his sister.

  “You want me to go to a party?” Tabby said.

  “I don’t want you here for this. I mean, I know you’ve done some fucked up shit, but I have done way more fucked up shit than you,” Johnny said, looking at his sister. “I’m just trying to look out for you, I’m about to invite some dangerous people to our home, I’m not driving with this much shit in my car again, I did before, and it sucked,” Johnny said, “So I need you to leave, and not see the shady element I’m going to bring here.

  “Fair enough, but I’m taking some of your weed,” Tabby said.

  “Done,” Johnny said, immediately agreeing to Tabby’s terms, “two more ounces,” Johnny said, “If you’re not as much of a degenerate as I think you are, that should be plenty to get through the school year,” Johnny said.

  “Umm, I go to a lot of parties,” Tabby said.

  “Fuck it, four ounces I don’t give a shit,” Johnny said.

  “If you don’t give a shit, can I get six ounces?” Tabby asked.

  Johnny rubbed his brow, “Sure, fine, whatever, under the condition you never tell Mom and Dad any this, I mean it, you don’t tell them any of this, not the acid trip, not the selling, nothing that’s happened since they left,” Johnny said.

  “A deals a deal,” Tabby smiled as she made her way to Johnny’s room.

  While Tabby was digging in his closet, Johnny went to the phone. He picked it up and dialed Hector’s number. He leaned against the wall as he contacted Hector. “What’s up Hector?” Johnny said, “It’s Johnny Vincent, I know that your cousin likes moving green, I have a ton of it, and I want to sell it, and I want to sell it for cheap,” Johnny said.

  “How cheap?” Hector asked.

  “Very cheap, we’re talking at cost here, do you think your cousin would be interested?” Johnny asked.

  “Let me give him a call, you better have a shitload if you want me to bother him,” Hector said.

  “I do,” Johnny said, “You know I do,” Johnny said, confirming to Hector.

  “How do you want to do this? I can get my cousin in, but he has some conditions,” Hector said.

  “Look, just have him come to my house tomorrow, and I can get him all he needs,” Johnny said.

  “How much are we talking?” Hector asked.

  “Three pounds,” Johnny said.

  “We’ll be there,” Hector said as he hung up his phone. He closed his eyes and leaned back on his couch, looking down, his hand on Tiffany’s head as she sat on her knees in front of him, pleasing him.

  “Was that about getting more coke?” Tiffany asked.

  “Don’t worry about more coke babe, I’ll get it, just keep doing what you’re doing,” he said.

  “You better,” Tiffany said before going back to work.

  Johnny hung his phone out and sat on his porch. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a package of his Pyramid cigarettes. He lit it took a long slow drag. The drag felt like that good first drag of the day you take right after you wake up. Johnny would have killed for a coffee right now. He closed his eyes and slowly exhaled the smoke into the air. Before taking another drag, he took a deep breath of clean air and rubbed his eyes. “God, let me just get out of this,” he said.