"Level up," Jimmy said to Alan as he was teaching him how to shoot in an outdoor shooting range in a desert. Alan pulled the trigger over a range of hills. There was a target just down the mountain. Jimmy said, "Hey, homeboy, never got to thank you enough. You did something that no one came to do."
Alan said that it was okay. When they were stealing the raw cocaine cache, Jimmy was supposed to blow up the door. But there was a shooter behind him. As Jimmy turned, Alan shot him and saved Jimmy's life. Jimmy and Alan then both helped blow open the door.
Alan and Jimmy immersed themselves in conversations about the future and life. They talked about the complexity of the rivalries between them and other gangs. Alan then started asking the necessary questions when he understood the right time. He started asking about the narcotic circuit first.
Meanwhile, Nolan was with Alfred and his colleague James. Alfred tried to explain that his position was not optimal and he was in no position to extract him from that warehouse. He explained that he needed to get that cache out so they could start their cocaine farm. Alfred explains to him that they need some concrete evidence.
James explains not to take too much pressure. "Look son I have some experience with these kind of people. Piece of advice, make friends, if you want to survive in this place and live among them like you are one of them. Blend in next time you walk in a room. Walk like you fucking own the place. It's called being gangsta."
Nolan returns to the apartment, where Alan is talking with somebody online. he asks him nicely about what is going on. Alan turned off the terminal and said. What if they made a mistake?
He could see that killing two people had changed Alan from underneath. He never doubted his decisions before. He never had second thoughts. As if it was Alan's fear taking control.
He then explains to Alan that fear is a strong emotion and a tool of survival, We can't live, and we can't definitely live without it. Learn to channel your feelings. Because if we don't channel our feelings into something meaningful, they will make us do something we will all regret. Alan soon came up with a better idea to gather some useful evidence. He then went to the desk and opened a drawer. He took out a small camera.
Alan said, "I meant to tell you about this for a while now. I think we can gather evidence using this. Two days later, they are summoned by Phil to the same bunker outside the city. When they opened the car door, they saw Dante with a bag and followed him into the planning room. When Phil asked why they are here, he poured a huge amount of money from the bag, he said he had knew finally where the money was coming from.
He said that Jimmy and couple of guys forced their way into a place they believed was a weed factory, but there wasn't any weed apart from the ones that they were saving but a lot of cash and cash printing machine.
Phil then called Nolan and said "I need you and Jimmy to look for any more of these potential plants out there. Tell Jimmy everything he will know, Alan, you go to Dragon, tell Phil said we need to talk to Oberon."
Nolan moves out. Before he does, he installs a camera behind the bunker gate so they can see all the cargo brought in through the door.
Before he left, he heard something about an unfinished business between him and Dante. He left with Alan, and he first dropped Alan at the nightclub, then went to their new cocaine farm. Phil had texted the address.
When he entered, he was stopped outside. Then Shin showed up from behind and asked them to let him in and that he was gangsta. When he came in, Shin welcomed him with a smile. He started boasting Nolan as he as shocked he said that he became like a real gangster to them, he is in experienced and he just needs training where Shin said he will help him out. Hearing Nolan felt something he hasn't felt in a long time.
In there Genie was sitting with Alan trying a new organic weed they grew somewhere else and then Genie snorted a large amount of coke with that. He got unconscious. Shin and Nolan entered soon and then Shin checked if Genie was alright, he moved him and slapped him to chack if is okay. "He is out" saying this he loaded another shot in his syringe. Shin went ahead and help him put it down. While he said Nolan is here.
Jimmy was as glad as he finally saw water in a desert. "Finally a real man with a dick" He went to he hugged him. Then he started asking how he was and if there is something he needed. He said that their is something he could do for him as well as dante.
Jimmy went with him readily, and so did Shin and Jimmy took them behind the factory, he knew exactly the place and time cops won't be there so they could sneak in. As they climbed the wall Jimmy bosted Nolan up, luckily he caught the wall just in time. Jimmy pulled him to the other side.
They all get inside the factory and then they start looking for a printing press that had more than the covering necessary and more nuts and bolts than usual. Eventually, they come across something that looks like what is the leftover of the machine and they start to box it up with some cash. Soon a cop arrives outside the room they were searching they leave the box and they hide behind another wall, Nolan could see the reflection of the cop from the window and then he saw the cop turn around and say "Everything is alright here." Soon a familiar sound emerged from the door the cop arrived from. It was the senator of the sate of California, Senator Oberon. Oberon asked, "How long will take to dispose of all evidence, I don't need bad press right now." the cop explains to him that most of the printers are dissembled and shifted of to Utah. "I need better convincing officer, if press or god forbids rival gangs ever found out this place it will be a pain in the ass." said Oberon. Then he continued, "For a long time this was a better way to flush of the excess now I have the others busy if you know what I mean." Soon Kranisinski entered the room and asked Oberon why he needed to see him at this hour.
He then explained to him that some of his rivals found and trashed this place he had to send reinforcements. And then tells him to hide the money that is produced and all the money that he invested into this factory. He then leaves and turns back only once to say "No one should know about this."
After they leave they escape the factory with a box and Nolan tells Phil everything on the way. Shocked, Nolan knew this was the right to call an Ambush via James because before he left James and Alfred, James told him that he could told him that whenever he felt the time is right he could, call him and send an ambush to extract him immediately, same for Alan,he then reached in for his Phone, the car stopped suddenly and they had to get out of sight before the patrol cars find them.
Jimmy then sees an empty minivan, and he pulls them towards it soon they get inside it, and then Shin hotwires the car. They hide behind while Nolan drove because officers didn't know him and if they got held up they could easily pass through.
That happened exactly as predicted. They got away. Nolan felt a rush through his body, a sudden relief of his life being saved after being in a dangerous situation. They celebrated and included Nolan as one of their own. Nolan felt a sense of belonging with them.
After returning from a situation like this, he knew he had to inform Alfred and James of what happened and start planning their extraction.
A few days later, Phil called him to the nightclub, and he arrived there through the back door just like before. But when he entered the place, something was strange. The cargo space was empty. There were no trucks and boxes. Soon, he ascended to the office. It is a lot cleaner than the last time, and Dante was reading the bible. The walls looked slick and sophisticated, and it smelled expensive there were expensive chocolates where once were pornographic magazines.
He didn't understand what was wrong with this place. Dante soon called him from behind. He then went to him and asked him how he was doing, Nolan said he never took him for a religious person.
Dante said "Religion keeps you in order and it keeps you straight, that was always the point of it. But nobody understands that now and it breaks my heart when. All they seem to think is that religion is old and boring and adopt this new propaganda, This keto and studio yoga shit, where you are basically going off to be high and show off your ass." then he continued "Yoga is a sacred practice carried out by enlightened folks, that is a way you connect to the fucking universe, religion is just the cookbook to a disciplined and structured life son, through discipline there is enlightenment and through enlightenment you find peace."
It was weird for Nolan to see Dante as suddenly religious and at peace when he knew about his other destructive and angry self.
Phil entered and said, "Son of a bitch was lying,." Dante made no reaction as he put his book down and witnessed his outrage.
Dante calmed him down with his voice, and then they started brainstorming on how to get them back. They could simply shoot down one of Krasinki's men who were part of the rival gangs. But Dante said that they needed patience to carry out this job.
Something that Phil was lacking for a couple of days. He then suggested a way to make them crippled from the inside, Nolan then suggested that why don't they just rob them rob them out. They need to go two steps behind. So they pull each other and then go four steps above them. "If they are out of money they will have nothing to put in their factories they will go back to being savages."
Dante then reasoned with with Phil that most of the money they spent came from one bank "Morgan P.S." which was under Senator James Oberon. Nolan never knew this. The money was laundered in these counterfeit cash factories, but only 40 percent of it. the rest of it went to Krasinski's men on the West Coast who keep the Narcs at bay and bribe the customs to get their drugs out of the country if they are robbed completely, the whole network will crumble they might even have to shift their factories and meanwhile, Dante can sell their products locally and export from their private bay after bribing the custom officers himself.
Phil and came up with an idea of giving the money to the thrift stores. No one would ever no where the money disappeared over night. They come to a final decision to rob Morgan P.S. Dante finally was going to do something never done before.
Phil was anxious as usual, he praised Nolan for this idea but Nolan had an entirely different feeling, he fell he finally had a voice in something, even thought he wasn't a real gangster but they supported his decision like one.
Phil then said he had a lot of potential and then offered him to come with him and Jimmy on some series of locations, trade offs and worst case scenarios shootouts. Nolan agreed Phil then told Paulie that he had done a nice job with the Office, not a single drop of blood anywhere.
Paulie explains that he had to get new carpets and some plastic film for the office and now he needed a raise Phil gave him some money and said "Take these, buy something beautiful for your daughters."
After leaving the nightclub they went to the methfarm to see how much product is ready. During entering the place Phil asks, he needs his full cooperation and some insurance if one day he decided to double cross him.
Nolan turned it around on Phil and asked him if he only he could make him a promise "If, its you and me and a few more people more or less, you will never shoot first.". Phil grins and Nolan said that he wanted insurance that's his insurance some good faith for a man in whose he was giving his life to. When he asked why, Nolan simply replied "because you might kill the wrong guy."
They exchange and the deal was done. Nolan wasn't confident on this deal but he knew someone was not going to die, just because they were in the wrong place when Phil was angry.
Phil knew that he was not that innocent and stupid, he had a life before, where people had betrayed him and some losses were dealt with when his life was being saved from someone else.
Nolan remembered Carly, if she was alive, she would kill herself if she knew the truth how the power is manifested in the hierarchy of this dirty system called socielty.