Bonus Scene from Shadows of the Fathers: Drug Dealer

What follows is a bonus scene from my upcoming novel, Shadows of the Fathers. I wrote the story from the perspectives of various characters, often when they have the most to learn or the most to lose. In this case, we get a glimpse into one of the main characters in the story as seen through the eyes of a street-level drug dealer.

Drug Dealer

Thursday - Day 2

São Paulo, Brazil

Leaning against the alley wall and exhaling purple smoke, he only glanced at the girls. He couldn’t help it. The blonde and brunette looked like sisters, and they were hotter than the afternoon city heat.

At first, he hadn’t noticed the short guy in the tan jacket walking half a block behind them, but the guy sure saw him. After the girls walked by, the guy stopped talking on his cell and stared him down for a second before speaking again. Passing, he glared, venting about lost horses into his phone. The guy scowled again as he and the girls entered the back of the restaurant.

He was buzzing on edibles and grape vape when the guy in the tan jacket hurried back outside. The guy, who had to be in his early twenties, was now trailed by a muscular ape of a man in a black suit. The ape’s twin approached him in the alley from the other direction.

Before he could stand from slouching on the wall, the apes had him pinned, and the guy in the tan jacket was standing on his toes, pointing his finger at him. He was too relaxed despite the adrenaline, and the apes were too strong, so he wasn’t going anywhere.

He swallowed. “What is this?”

“What the fuck were you staring at those girls for?” the guy in the tan jacket asked. “You made them uncomfortable! You a fuckin’ creep?”

“I wasn’t staring,” he said, acting confused. “I was just chillin’ and I ain’t no creep neither. What the hell is this?”

“I saw you staring! Must’ve been mistaken, huh?! You look like a creep!” The guy in the tan jacket twisted a silver ring on his middle finger and hit him with a solid cross. He tasted blood and felt around with his tongue for loose teeth. They survived, but his lip was swelling.

“What the hell? I was about to dip out. I didn’t do anything!” He protested, and the guy in the tan jacket rewarded him with another punch to his open mouth. A sharp “clink” accompanied the ring connecting with his front tooth, knocking it into his throat along with a spurt of blood. He coughed a red spatter as the tooth flew onto the pavement.

The guy in the tan jacket backed up. “Get rid of this piece of shit,” he said, now rubbing his right hand. “I’m going inside.”

“Yes, sir,” an ape grunted.

Too dazed to react, he still understood the words. He was just having fun and biding time before getting to work. He’d been hit before and was surprised this time it hurt very little, especially with his tooth being knocked out.

It was weird to see the tiny white piece of enamel lying on the concrete as he leaned against hands attached to enormous arms that pinned him against the wall. His tongue found the hole in his gums, and he swallowed blood. He almost coughed the tooth and blood on the guy in the tan jacket, and that was probably why he left.

The blood was salty and dripped onto his shirt. He couldn’t work like this, so he’d have to go home to change. Rafi would be pissed, but he was bleeding, so it couldn’t be helped.

A blinding thump hit his head as sunlight above turned crimson for an instant, then black.

CC