Sex & Drugs & Dungeons & Dragons

F1. Loot

Conrad led the group all the way to the South side. As the neighborhoods changed, so did the culture. The upper-class northern suburbs transitioned to blue collar townhomes and taverns on every corner. Old couches were set out as lawn furniture, and broken-down appliances like washing machines and television sets were left outside until their owners could afford the parts and time required to repair them.

"I thought you said Conrad's drug dealer was a college kid?" Cobi asked nervously as he craned his neck to see what was wrong with a broken streetlight.

"He is," Griffin insisted.

"This doesn't look like a college town," Cobi replied, as he peered at the graffiti-covered brick walls of apartment buildings.

"Pull over, he's stopping," Tony said, pointing at Conrad's car. Conrad had parked down the street in front of a White Hen Pantry.

Cobi pulled over and the group watched as Conrad stepped out of his car and walked into the twenty-four hour convenience store.

"Hell of a time for a slushie," Cobi grumbled.

"Maybe that's where he's meeting the dealer," Tony surmised.

"That's the dude's car," Griffin agreed, pointing at a gold Corvette parked in front of Conrad's Scirocco.

"You sure?" asked Hope.

"Yeah," said Griffin, "I've seen it before."

Suddenly there was a knock on the car window. A skinny old man, his arms skeletal thin and his ethnicity obscured beneath a face full of wrinkles, peered at them. "You kids wanna see a bear?" he croaked, his voice cracked by decades of cigarette smoke. He wobbled as he tipped back a can of Colt .45.

"A bear?" Tony asked, unsure if he heard the old man correctly.

"Show it to ya fer five bucks," the old man nodded. "You got a gun I'll letchya shoot it." He held out his hand like a gangster hit man. "Ever killed a bear before?"

"Uh, no thanks," stammered Cobi.

"Actually," Hope interjected, "we could use some help." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a bill. "We'll give you twenty bucks if you go in there and tell us what's going on."

The old man narrowed his eyes. "Sure you don't wanna see a bear?"

"No, we're sure," Cobi insisted.

The man considered for a moment and then nodded. "Awright, buy me a pack of smokes and we got a deal."

Hope added a five dollar bill to the twenty. She rolled down the window a crack and pushed the cash toward him.

The old man took the money and staggered across the street, weaving drunkenly until he disappeared into the convenience store.

"You guys are gonna pay me back, right?" Hope asked.

"Yeah, of course," Griffin assured her.

"You really think he's got a bear?" wondered Tony, obviously intrigued.

"No, dude, he's lying!" Cobi scoffed.

"Yeah, how could he possibly have a bear in the middle of the city?" Griffin agreed.

"I dunno maybe it escaped from the zoo or something. Maybe it's the bear we saw last night.

"Trust me, he was just trying to scam us," Cobi insisted. "There's no bear."