Chapter 27

When I looked outside the next morning, I saw June’s old car in the drive. We are on the cop’s radar now thanks to Amos and Lucy, I thought. We needed to straighten this out soon, or people would start getting hurt, I thought. June was the best emissary we could possibly find.

Michael and I won the who’s smarter contest, so now we needed to move on. If we could get what we wanted without a shot being fired, that would be a very good thing. I decided on June as an emissary because she was invested in Michael not getting killed in a pot war. We were a soft drug, but when it came to protecting our turf, we used the same tools as the big boys.

“So June, Lucy knows where our headquarters is. She proved that she will use the information last night. Since I knew we were clean, I let the cops search. They had no warrant, but they would just put the place under surveillance until they found a stray leaf. They could also use drones and all that other shit. Right now we are clean, we can go out of business like Amos and Lucy expect us to do, or we can go up on the mountain and cap them both.

“There has to be another way,” June suggested.

“There might be, I need to drive down to the prison farm. June go to the holler and tell Amos I’m coming for him and Lucy, unless we work something out.” I said to her. I drove straight to the prison farm. I met with my friend and adviser. We held our conference at the fence near the woods. There was two minutes of how you been, then we got down to it.

“So, Amos took over your vacated territory,” my friend suggested.

“It might be more honest to say he sent Lucy in to take it over, and she did. You can trap more game with the scent of pussy than steel,” I said.

“Ty what the fuck does that even mean,” the older man said.

“It means he used Lucy to steal a million bucks worth of business,” I said.

“Bullshit, the medical uses for pot are good PR, but they don’t amount to a significant market. At least that’s what I hear.

“Mr Edwards, as far as I know it could be you who are pulling all our strings. The only thing I want is to grow a little pot and sell to a safe crowd. Amos can keep all the non medical people,” I suggested.

“You need to pay for that business somehow,” the old man said. “A percentage of all the sales, and some of the product.”

“Mr E, a bullet is cheaper.” I said and I meant it at that moment.

“I know that killing suits you and your new friend, but it doesn’t fit in with the business plans of the man in Charlotte. He would much rather negotiate with flies than swat them. I’ll see if he wants to arrange a meeting. If not, settle it however you can.” he said.

Michael and I were on pens and needles all the next day. We bought guns and ammunition all over the area as well as worried about the meeting. I preferred the meeting table to guns, but if came to a gun battle, I felt we were better prepared for it.

June called after being gone a day and a half. “I got big news,” she said. “Amos had a stroke last night after dinner.”

Lucy, I thought, but I said nothing. “So do they know yet how much damage he suffered?” I asked.

“We are all still waiting to hear. Lucy has been in touch with the man from Charlotte. He is going to wait and see who he is dealing with a day at a time. He did tell Lucy to stop the police harassment of you and Michael. He doesn’t know yet who all he is going to need,” June explained. “And Ty, I see what you mean, Lucy is a snake.”

“She would give all reptiles a bad name,” I suggested with a laugh.

“You don’t know that she was bragging about how she and Amos stole your business. She would have stolen your farm, if she had the chance. The two of them have been a couple since they were kids,” June informed me.

“Cute, real cute,” I suggested.

“I think after talking to the distributor, she is willing to just give you the medical pot business in Western NC,” June said. “But she is also ready to kill you and step in if you screw her.”

“Trust me, I have no fucking desire to screw her,” I replied. The phone conversation was on a burner. I had given it to her before she left. Her call was to a burner I had given Michael on our end.”

“Come home when you can,” I suggested.

Michael and I stopped by the apartments to check on them. She had been gone about forty eight hours and the messages were backing up. After three days June came home. She left Amos still in the hospital and trying to sit up in bed. I was sorry for him, but there was nothing I could do but put him out of his misery. I hated him too much to do that.

On the third day, like Christ rising from the dead, June appeared at the apartments. After a half hour Michael called me to come join the discussion.

“June you look like hell. Didn’t you sleep at all since you left here,” I asked.

“Thanks, you look good as well. I must have been the only one who has been walking on glass for three days,” she explained.

“So is Amos still alive,” I asked.

“Yes, but he has almost full paralysis. They still don’t know from one day to next if he will recover,” she said.

“Well honey, it couldn’t have happened to a better target. Lucy seems to have done good again,” I said.

“So you think she caused the stroke,” June asked.

“Of course I do,” I stated emphatically.

She is suggesting you sell your pot to only medical people with an understanding it is for patents not joyriders. You can sell from the Virginia line half way to Charlotte. Then from Tennessee to High point NC,” she stated.