Reed entered the room, his fist extended, ready to greet the shadow on the sofa.
But the latter didn't pay him any attention, instead turning his head to the person beside him and giving a nod.
Getting the hint, an African American stepped forward, grabbed Reed's collar and took a good sniff before shaking his head at Phillip.
"Mother F*ck! You haven't been hitting the leaf lately, huh?" Phillip immediately jumped up at this.
"Phillip, I just haven't been feeling well, so..."
"Did those nutjobs at the club mess you up with some other drugs? Or are you drained dry from banging chicks every day, so you can't manage to hit the leaf?" Phillip didn't wait for Reed's explanation, circling him and looking him up and down as though confronted with something inconceivable.
To Phillip, it indeed seemed inconceivable, knowing that in the past year Reed had come to him for drugs almost every week, rain or shine, without fail.
Everything changed a month ago when Reed vanished. Phillip had casually asked his men about him, and the last he'd heard, Reed was found barely breathing beside a trash can.
After that, Phillip stopped keeping tabs on Reed, even when he heard about his running with the crazy club.
The crazy club, that place that was always bucking heads with him, Phillip. But Philip never took them seriously; he had never heard of an addict fully kicking the leaf. Impossible.
Yet, here stood Reed, looking alive and well in front of him. Phillip swore he'd never seen Reed like this.
Since the day they met, Reed had always been a mouse, timid and cautious.
But look at him now... "What the F*ck?" Phillip couldn't believe his own eyes.
"Phillip..." Reed spread his hands, looking resigned.
"OK~" Phillip stopped his inspection and went back to his sofa. "Now tell me, you're not here to buy the leaf, right? If you are, as an old friend, I can give you a discount."
"No, of course not," Reed inwardly rebelled against everything to do with the leaf, "I've come to make another deal with you."
"Oh~, look at this, our Reed has found himself another line of business," Phillip exaggerated his look to the person next to him, prompting laughter from everyone else in the room.
That gaze made Reed uncomfortable, but he had no choice. To offload the stuff Dean had given him as quickly as possible, Reed had to come to Phillip—after all, who had more clout than him?
"Phillip, I know you need these for business," Reed took out a knockoff phone card, "They are convenient, aren't they? Untraceable, untrackable, just use and throw away."
When Reed took out the cards, Phillip's expression finally turned serious. He had seen these things before; his guys had procured some in the past. What made these cards memorable to him was their cheapness.
Twenty to thirty percent below the official rate, no small discount. A single card might not amount to much, but in the right quantity, the profit was quite another story.
Phillip rubbed his chin, pondering. His gut told him there were staggering profits behind these things. And their origin had to be shady for them to be discounted so steeply.
"Were all those cards that showed up in East Town from you, Reed?" Phillip asked, tilting his head and folding his arms.
Thinking of his brother Dean, Reed nodded noncommittally, "You could say that."
"Great!" Phillip stood up and snapped his fingers. "Reed, I have to admit, you've really surprised me."
"Everyone has a stroke of luck once in a while, right?" Reed shrugged.
"You said it," Phillip slung an arm over Reed's shoulder, "but as far as I know, you don't know anyone from the phone company. So..." Phillip leaned close to Reed's ear, "how the hell did you get these cards?"
Phillip was determined; if he could catch Reed out, he wouldn't mind a bit of underhanded double-dealing.
Reed knew what Phillip was thinking, but he wasn't unprepared.
"Phillip, you should know that my former uncle has some connections, right? He's a Vietnam vet, affiliated with the veterans' association, and the owner of the East Town Himmel hospital is a good friend of his."
"Your former uncle?" Phillip remembered the guy named Bill Dreaper, who had some repute in Youngstown; at least Phillip had heard his name.
"That's right," Reed nodded, acknowledging freely, "You know, he's military, connected with lots of big companies."
"But I heard he went to California a long time ago." Phillip wouldn't be easily fooled, nor intimidated by just any reputation; he was the boss of the whole Haiser Street outside.
"You're well informed, Phillip, but he still has family in Youngstown." Reed was referring to Debbie, his cousin, daughter of Rachel's aunt and her ex-husband.
Although Uncle Bill hadn't contacted them in ages, this didn't hinder Reed from using that connection.
"You mean... these cards come from California?" Phillip asked uncertainly.
"Hmm~" Reed affirmed.
California? That's not easy. Originally, Phillip wanted to suss out the source of the cards and take over the business himself. But now it seemed, Reed still had his uses.
Phillip eyed the phone card in Reed's hand thoughtfully, but quickly signaled to his men with a glance.
"Reed, you don't mind if I check the merchandise, do you?"
"Of course not," Reed handed the phone card to one of Phillip's men.
The African American didn't go far; he just used the landline in the room to check the balance immediately.
These prepaid phone cards could be used anywhere, on either home or public telephones. One only needed to dial the phone company's service number, then enter the card number to proceed.
Phillip might not use landlines much, but that didn't mean his establishment was without one.
Soon, the results were in, and the African American nodded at Phillip.
"Very well, Reed, now let's talk about this deal." Phillip showed some interest in these phone cards.
Selling leaves surely makes money, but he was just a small-time drug dealer. There were bigger players above him, and the commission he made from selling leaves might not be much higher than the profit from these phone cards.
"How many cards like this do you have on you?" Phillip asked hungrily.
"Sort of like this," Reed lifted a $50 phone card in his hand and gave it a shake, "about a hundred or so, just the first batch."
Phillip's keen eyes caught the term "first batch," it seemed like this could be a long-term gig.
"The price?"
"70%," Reed replied with the same number that Dean had used.
Phillip laughed, "Reed, do you fucking take me for a fool? You offer 70% to those scums out there, and the same to me? Do you believe I can ban you from ever setting foot in East Town again?"
Everyone in the room silently gathered around as Phillip lost his temper.
Reed was panicked inside, but he could only force himself to remain calm.
"Phillip, I'm talking about the standard price. Of course, there's an extra discount if you're buying in bulk."
"F*ck you, do you fucking think I was talking about just a couple of cards, ah?" Phillip seemed deeply insulted.
"What?" Reed was taken aback, he seemed to have misunderstood.
"Humph," Phillip snorted coldly, then tilted his chin at his men.
Then, to Reed's shock, a stack of hundred-dollar bills was thrown onto the table in front of him.
"As long as the goods are fine, I'll take it all. So..." Phillip propped up his arm and stared straight at him, "I'm giving you one more fucking chance to set a price!"
Damn, these scumbags are fucking loaded!
"50%!" Without hesitating, Reed gave his lowest price. He didn't want to quibble over the price as long as he could get rid of all the cards.
"That's more fucking like it," Phillip was very pleased with the price, but he then realized that Reed's cost for the goods was even lower than he had expected.
Swipe, swipe, swipe, it wasn't long before twenty-five hundred-dollar bills were laid out in front of Reed.
Honestly, it was the first time Reed had seen so much money. To say nothing of $2,500, he rarely ever saw a hundred-dollar bill in usual times.
The most commonly used bills in everyday life were $5, $10, $20. He had hardly ever handled hundred-dollar bills before.
Since the money was already there, Reed directly took out the cards he had on him. Seeing this, Phillip didn't waste any words but instructed his men to check the goods.
Although he was a leaf seller, he was also a businessman. Businessmen value their credibility the most. If he cheated for this little amount of money, it would be underestimating Phillip.
Of course, what was more important was that Phillip saw the potential in Reed's ability to supply over the long term. If the phone card business could continue, the profit would be no less than that from selling leaves.
After a while, once all the phone cards were confirmed to be fine, Reed pocketed the twenty-five hundred-dollar bills and prepared to leave.
However, before he could reach the door, two black guys blocked his way.
"Phillip, are you fucking trying to rip me off?!" Reed turned around furiously and asked.
"Don't get me wrong, Reed." Phillip suddenly had a shiny silver dagger in his hand.
"You know, in our line of work, you have to be one of us to be trusted. So..." Phillip waved the dagger at his men, and soon, a bag of white powder was passed to him.
Seeing the contents of the clear plastic bag, Reed's face turned pale.
"No! Phillip, don't do this! You know I've been in poor health recently, so I need some time to recuperate."
"Recuperate?" Phillip laughed as if he heard a great joke. Holding the powder in one hand and the dagger in the other, he spread his arms wide and laughed heartily.
"Come on! The leaf is the best supplement, there's nothing more effective in the world."
"No! Phillip!" Reed wanted to back away, but the two black guys had already grabbed his shoulders.
"Reed," Phillip cut open the clear bag with the dagger, then scooped a bit of the white powder with the tip of the blade under Reed's nose. "Snort this, and then you can leave with the money. We'll do the phone card business together from now on."
"Phillip!" Reed shook his head continuously, recalling the month he spent in the Tranquility Club.
The convulsions from withdrawal, the vomiting, and the anguish of his bones being gnawed on by countless ants, he definitely didn't want to go through that again.
He had knelt at his mother Caitlin's grave, swearing never to touch leaves again. He was nearly successful; Anna had even said he was the quickest to "sober up."
But now...
"Reed, enjoy it, this was something you used to crave."
Losing his patience, Phillip stuffed the cut-open bag into Reed's mouth, kneading it hard before finally letting him go.
"Cough! Cough~! Cough!" Kneeling on the ground, Reed coughed violently while he frantically scraped at his mouth with his fingers.
"Haha~ look at this guy, wasting so much precious stuff." Phillip's triumphant laughter echoed non-stop in the room.