Caesar filled the last patch of soil onto the makeshift grave containing Berk's dead body. He threw the shovel away and faced Rola.
She seemed a bit fazed about the whole thing. Caesar just killed a man and there was not a change in his face at all. Had he done this before, Rola thought.
"What are you going to do now?," he asked her.
"I…I don't know."
"You don't know? You are responsible for the lives of your subordinates. This is not the end. The Krabers and the Capo gang will seek revenge."
Rola was still processing what happened. The fact that she couldn't kill Berk in the end made her doubt her abilities as a leader. If Caesar had not done what he did, then only a grim future would await them.
Was this the right decision, still? Should she have killed him herself? What if they find out that Berk died near the orphanage?
Those thoughts kept rolling around in her mind, muddling her thoughts.
SLAP
Rola slapped both of her cheeks, freeing her from her useless thoughts. She should not worry about the things that already happened. What she needed to do now was to plan what they had to do next.
"We need to get out of this place. Move out of this town for good. That's the only way we'll survive," Rola said, clenching her fists.
"And how are you going to do that? Do you even have money to get out? What about the rest of the orphanage? Are you going to move them out too?"
"I'll manage. I'll make enough money to bring everyone to a new place."
Caesar shook his head. She might have said those words easily, but it was another thing to actually do it.
"Do you think the church will do nothing as you kidnap everyone? And even if you manage to do that, can you protect everyone?"
Caesar's question pierced directly through Rola's false confidence. She didn't know where she would get enough money to accomplish that; she didn't even have the confidence to do it.
Caesar smiled as he saw Rola's silence. Now was the perfect time to strike.
"I'll help you."
Rola looked up at him. There was a sense of hope in her heart.
"Work for me in one week. I'll give you 1 million Parou."
Rola's mouth opened. She didn't know that Caesar would be this rich. So much so that he was willing to give 1 million Parou for only one week of work.
Even when she worked for the Capo gang, the most they would get for 1 month of work was P80,000. During that time, they had to do all the grunt work for the Capo gang; selling Joy, attracting customers, and punishing those who wronged the gang.
This was a good opportunity, but maybe a little too good. She had just gotten out of a slave contract with the Capo gang, so she was hesitant in accepting Caesar's offer.
Rola looked at the shallow grave they had just made for Berk. That could be her future by affiliating herself with Caesar. He was more than just a mysterious person; he was dangerous.
"Don't worry. This is a simple transaction without any strings. You won't be my subordinate, I won't order you to do things you don't want to do."
Rola still look unconvinced, but her defenses lowered a little.
"My task is simple. You sell my Joy for one week. After that, you can decide if you want to work again. I can even give you the 1 million coins in advance."
Selling Joy was something that Rola and her group was familiar with. They must have sold hundreds of kilograms for the Capo gang without a problem. They knew where to sell them and who to sell them to.
The problem was that they were now being hunted down by the Capo gang. They couldn't simply sell them in the most popular hotspot for Joy like Trough street or any of their affiliated clubs.
"Think about it. This 1 million Parou will be enough to solve all your problems. 300,000 for a new place. Another 200,000 to pay off the priests to let the orphanage move. Another 100,000 to ask forgiveness from the Capo gang, and 400,000 to appease the Krabers."
It was hard to disagree with Caesar's words. The quote 'money solves everything' fit perfectly in this situation. It was a way out of this situation cleanly without any more blood being shed from both sides.
This was the deal of the lifetime, but when she looked at Caesar, with his hand extended and his smile bright like the moon, she felt like it was the devil himself tempting her into selling her soul in exchange for everything she wanted.
Should she really trust him? She didn't know. But this was the only way out.
"Deal."
—---------------------------------------------
Mitre and Ybarra looked at the bag of pure Joy in their hands. They had only seen a glimpse of this pure Joy back then, but now, they could take a good look at it.
It was unlike anything they had ever sold before. It was glaringly red, smooth like liquid, and it also smelled good with a seductive fragrance.
They knew first hand how people rioted and pushed each other just to get a taste of the impure Joy that the Capo gang created. They even saw a man trying to sell his own liver just to buy a few grams of Joy.
But Caesar's Joy was on another level. If people reacted that much with the impure Joy, then what kind of chaos would this pure Joy create?
"Remember, you are to sell only 2 grams for one person. With 300 grams, you should be able to sell those to 150 people," Caesar said.
Ybarra and Mitre meekly nodded at Caesar's words. They avoided his eyes, seemingly afraid of him. They of course witnessed his cold blood murder of Berk when they secretly followed the two.
They didn't think they would have the guts to do that if they were the one in that situation. So, they were thankful that he did what they couldn't.
"Rola, can we try this just this one time?" a man with droopy eyes said.
"No, we only deal, we don't use. Do you understand, Uver?" Rola said, reprimanding him.
Uver was one of the 20 people in Rola's group in charge of selling Joy. Most people would think of him as always sleepy because of his droopy eyes.
"Hai, mam!" Uver said sarcastically.
Rola then spread out a map on the table. This was a crude recreation of the San Morio town, with just the basic shapes and most recognizable landmarks.
She then used a marker to black out a large portion of the map where Trough street was located.
"Do not ever go here. Or here. Or here."
She started to cross out the places where the Capo gang could have eyes on. There were also some parts she blacked out which were part of the Krabers' territory. She didn't want to risk meeting anyone from the Krabers even if they still don't know what happened.
What was left was a small island right in the middle of the town. The Kraber's territory almost encompassed the whole map, so the places where they could sell were limited.
"Remember, only sell small. It doesn't matter if it takes the whole day. Do not ever get caught. Safety is your number one priority," Rola said.
The twenty-one members, including Caesar, fitted inside the orphanage's abandoned playroom, all nodded to Rola's words. Then, she started to distribute the 300 grams of Joy that Caesar gave her.
There were 20 of them, so each had 15 grams that they needed to sell. Just as Rola was about to get her own share to sell, Mitre and Ybarra stopped her and took it for themselves.
"15 grams is not enough. I'll take care of your share," Mitre said.
"Yeah, Rola. You go where you need to go." Ybarra said.
Rola was silent for a second, but she understood that it was not only her who was worried. All this time, she wanted to visit Theresa in the hospital, but she couldn't just abandon her group while they were risking their safety selling Joy.
Rola stayed behind as their group left the orphanage to sell Joy.
—----------------------------
"I can't believe it sold out that fast."
"Yeah, some even tried to fight me for more. Thankfully, Ybarra was near me, so they were scared away."
It was now late in the afternoon when all of them returned back to the orphanage. They followed Rola's procedure and sold the Joy at a cautious rate. But even when they were selling low-key, people still caught on to them.
The pure Joy's reputation skyrocketed as it reached 150 people today. And these 150 people will tell at least 5 people about this new pure Joy that was miles better than the original.
In truth, they would have sold out in one hour if they had not been afraid of selling the Joy. They were still afraid that the Capo gang would find them.
But surprisingly, everything went well. They could even sell more tomorrow at an even faster rate.
Caesar looked down at his hands and saw the fruits of their labor. 300,000 Parou in cash, laid out on the table.