Kenny and I separated at 'The Spot' and I needed a drink to take in all that information. It was still shocking. I got into my car and drove to the Bottle Grounds which was a nightclub downtown. The air smelt of cigarettes, alcohol, and sweat and if sweaty people making out had a smell, that's how it smelled. I looked around the club, and my eyes met with lots of ladies swaying their hips, desperate to get the attention of the rich old men.
A few couples were dancing on the dancing floor. It had rainbow lights casting shadows on people in the club. The nightclub was a heartbeat on loudspeaker, people dancing to the rhythm. I walked over to the bar section and ordered a few shots of vodka. I cringed at the taste. The vodka still wasn't enough to take the whole information down. A lady in a short strawberry-red dress moved over to me, dancing elegantly to the sound of the music. Maybe I needed a dance.
I stood up, held the lady by her waist, and danced with her. I was able to get my mind off the Dylan stuff, but I remembered the issue about my stocks dropping. I needed to go over to my drug ring tomorrow or something. I stopped dancing with the lady. "What? You don't like it?" She asked, tucking her blonde hair behind her ears and arching her back towards me so I could see her cleavage. I pinched the bridge of my nose. This was getting annoying; I shouldn't have danced with her in the first place.
"We can do more than just dancing if you wish?" She suggested, touching my chest lightly. I decided to be polite with her, "I'm not interested."I took a few more shots, exited the club and went straight to my car, driving to the Balcom estate. I checked up on Alicia to make sure she was still sleeping and she was alright. I walked over to my room, took a quick shower, and slipped into my nightwear. I lay on the bed, desperate to sleep but to no avail.
After tossing and turning for a while, I went to my study and carried out some pending tasks. After that, I dozed off on the chair.
. . .
I woke up with an extreme hangover. The ache in my skull ebbed and flowed like a cold tide, the pain still there. That wasn't the only shitty thing happening this morning though; my neck ached from sleeping on the desk. I staggered to my feet and walked unsteadily to my bathroom to take a shower.
I went to the kitchen and made myself some coffee. I felt much better after drinking it. I checked up on Alicia only to find her absent from her room. My eyes met with a note on the table, which read, "I'm in school already Nico. Pretty sure you're worried already." I let out a small smile.
I whipped out my phone and called Kenny. "Meet me at the drug ring," I said and hung up. I left the house and drove off to the Balcom drug ring.
The Balcom drug ring was in the Balcom estate. It was situated in a hidden area of the estate. Only I and a selected few knew where it was. It was way down in the estate, in a secluded area. The Balcom drug ring had been used for decades by the Balcom family. I drove down to the drug ring and got off my car. Immediately I entered, my men greeted me.
The drug ring wasn't the neatest, but I wouldn't call it clean either. There were lots of rooms marked with different labels of drug names, which were used for storing the drugs. That was on the left side. On the right side, however, there were other rooms like my office, the bathroom and many others. The place smelled awful. The air was mixed with the smell of sweat - which came from my men, cigarettes and liquor. It was bad. The sounds of laughter and people conversing with each other could be heard in the room.
I walked into my office, which was the first room on the right side. I sat on my chair, reviewing the data about the drug stocks. It was even worse now. My father would be so disappointed in me if he was still alive. I could almost imagine him looking at me, shaking his head in disappointment and saying, "You can do better than this, son." I was distracted from my thoughts by the creaking of the door, Kenny walking through it, taking a seat on the chair at the front of my table.
"Nico, I hope nothing is wrong," he said, looking me straight in the eyes. I nodded, turning the computer so it would face him. His eyes widened in shock.
"How did this happen?" He questioned, confusion splattering over his face.
"I have no idea, Kenny. It's even worse today." I answered, standing up to open the blinds since the room was a bit dark.
"What do we do?" He asked and I had no idea what to do.
"I don't know, Kenny. That's why I asked you to come here," I answered him.
"The only person that could be stealing our stocks is the Dawson drug ring, they always have. At the same time, it can't be them because we took them down a long time ago."
"Yeah, we did. With the assistance of the police force. Even General Brown was involved in that case. We took them down thoroughly. It can't be them. We have to think of any other thriving drug rings." When I said that, Kenny went into full thinking mode which involved him pacing around the room, loosening his tie, pulling up the sleeves of his shirt and just, getting lost in his mind.
I waited for him to think for a few minutes, and he finally sat down with a proud smirk on his face.
"I have an idea. I'm not too certain though. It could be them and it could not be them." He stated.
"Who?" I asked. Whenever Kenny finds out something, he always avoids going straight to the point. Why he does that? I do not know.
"The Clapton drug ring." He said and I smiled in agreement.