Throne of Thieves

Chapter 3: Caffeine Conspiracy

As we got our meal from Tony, I began explaining my thoughts to a confused Ray. "Listen, you saw the symbol outside of this bar, right?" Ray chowed down on his mac and cheese and nodded. "Yeah, so it's the Laughing Reapers' symbol, right? What's so special about that?" I nodded. "It means they have put their claim on this bar as a business under their control. Tony owns this bar, but not really; a decent percent of the bar's total funds go to the Laughing Reapers. In exchange, the gang provides them with protection. Hence why this is a safe place for us to be right now."

I took a sip of my sweet-tasting coffee, imported from mainland Japan; it's Blue Mountain. It really calmed my nerves. I continued explaining, "Basically, every gang has one thing in common: they rely on business to fund themselves. This coffee is our key into the game. Gangs like the Laughing Reapers get their business by basically just existing. However, small gangs like the Silent Eagles must make their money other ways. I mean, they can't infringe on the Reapers, right? Hence why they have to make their money in a more subtle way. Otherwise, they may stir up the hornet's nest that is the Reapers into action."

Ray looked at me with wide eyes. "How do you even know any of this?" I shrugged. "Anyone would by just paying attention. Anyway, that brings up my point: we need to find how they're making money and steal their customers." Ray mocked, "Hey genius, we don't even know what they're selling; how is coffee going to come into play?" I smirked. "Well, if you let me finish, I was going to say I have a pretty good idea what they're selling. Given they primarily have to sell goods on the street and the fact they are recruiting people, I can only imagine they are selling drugs."

I held up my coffee like I was offering a toast. "And would you look at that, we happen to have some drugs of our own." Ray looked at me puzzled. "Coffee?" I slammed it down a bit forcefully. "A+ for you, yes, coffee. More precisely, caffeine. We'll get their clients hooked on this stuff, and we may be able to sway them away from other more unsavory products. Caffeine is pretty addictive, so our plan should be to open up a small coffee shop near one of their territories. We are going to suck them dry this way." Ray, still looking confused, frowned. "How do we find that?" I added, "Remember, they mark their territories; they have to let people know where they do business after all. With no police to step in, why even bother hiding their drug trading locations? Oh, and not to mention, given this island is almost lawless, we can take any old building we want really. As long as the Reapers don't own it, we can take it."

Ray, still frowning, asked, "I mean, do we really have enough coffee for that?" I shrugged. "We will be aiming to make money; the start will be rough, but once we get established, it will be smooth sailing. With the small shipment Tony has, we need to make this coffee strong. Our clients need to get addicted on their first cup or two. It's a little underhanded, but our coffee needs to be loaded with caffeine." Ray seemed to finally break into a smile. "That's a lot better than my plan of smashing their heads in." I laughed. "Your brute strength will be a big part of the plan. Should we encounter any unsavory lot inside one of the buildings we want to take over, well, that will be your job." Ray nodded. "You can count on me to send them flying, and I will count on you for the business details."

With that thought in mind, I shouted to Tony, "Hear that? He loves your mac and cheese; says it's the best he has ever had. Same with the coffee. Mind if we take home that batch? He loved it so much; it'd feel bad if that was all we had." I buttered Tony up, hoping I could snag that shipment of coffee for free; we needed it for our plan. Tony returned from the kitchen. "He did? He has good taste then! Also, yeah, don't be a stranger. We don't sell coffee at the bar; take the whole shipment. We got a couple boxes after all." I smiled. "Thanks, Tony, for everything. You're the best." I looked back at Ray. "Care to help me move four of these boxes?" Ray put his hand on his muscles. "Leave it to me. Should we leave them at my house?" I decided, "Yeah, we'll carry them to your house. Is it close?" He responded, "Yeah, it's on the east side of town, but it's not that far from here, really." I added, "We can start the plan before school tomorrow. Today, let's just get the product back to your house. I will need time to brainstorm."

I thanked Tony for the snack and coffee again, and we left the bar carrying the boxes with us; it was pretty heavy. Ray carried his stack almost effortlessly, but I would be lying if I said I could say the same for myself. I followed behind him as he led me towards his house; this would be a chance to gauge what kind of situation he had at home. I wouldn't stay long, but I would at least be able to see the inside of his house. He lived pretty close; it would seem to myself the entirety of Metro Zone 7 wasn't all that big. Most places could easily be walked to; hence, there wasn't really a need for cars. I noted the various spray-painted gang signs around the town and the territory they marked. Finally, we got to Ray's house. I wasn't terribly surprised at what I saw.

Ray's house stood modestly among the rows of similarly worn-down buildings in the east-side neighborhood. Its exterior showed signs of age, with peeling paint and weathered wood indicating years of neglect. The windows were covered with makeshift curtains, offering glimpses of the dimly lit interior within.

As we entered, the scent of musty air greeted us, a testament to the lack of ventilation and upkeep. The furnishings were sparse and worn, with a threadbare couch occupying one corner of the small living room. A coffee table, littered with old magazines and empty food wrappers, stood in front of it.

The walls were adorned with faded posters and photographs, hinting at past memories and aspirations. A dim overhead light flickered intermittently, casting eerie shadows across the room. Despite its humble appearance, there was a sense of warmth and familiarity, as if the house had witnessed countless moments of laughter and companionship amidst its worn walls. A little dirty blonde-haired girl was sitting on the couch watching TV, and next to her, a similar but slightly older boy with black hair sat next to her looking bored. The girl was around 4 or 5, and the boy next to her was older; I would wager around 11. They were watching a kids show probably aimed at toddlers like the girl, so it was easy to see why the younger boy was bored. The boy has red eyes like his brother and wore a rangy t-shirt with messy hair, and ripped jeans. The girl had pink pajamas on, with pink bows in her blonde hair tied into pig-tails that complemented her deep blue eyes. She was holding a small ripped-up teddy bear, but other than her slightly rough appearance, she was cute.

Ray introduced us, "Misty. Kane. We have a guest." They both looked at me in unison; the boy Kane looked surprised. The toddler looked excited like she had just found a new playmate. Kane asked, "A friend? You made a friend?" Ray looked at me and then back at Kane, "Don't act so surprised; I can make friends too." He said it so naturally I was surprised friends? I hadn't really considered it. I really never had anyone I would call my friend. Tony was more like a father than a friend, same with our teacher. Was Ray really my first friend? I nodded in response, "Nice to meet you both; Ray is very prideful about you two." Ray frowned, "You don't have to say that, man; jeez." He blushes a little which is surprising given his rough personality I guess when it comes to these two he's a bit weak.

I laughed a little, "Whoops; maybe I said a little too much." Both of the children laughed. Misty adds, "Big brother has a new playmate? Yay!" Kane smiles, "I never thought I'd see Ray make a friend; please take care of that meat head. My brother doesn't always think before he acts." I set down the coffee in his living room and responded, "Don't worry; I will keep him out of trouble." With that exchange, I looked back at Ray who was still embarrassed, "Alright Ray; that shipment will do it. Keep it safe, and I will come get you in the morning." I whispered the next part, "We'll be skipping school; they know where we go to school. We can't have them ambush us on the way. I will come by early tomorrow to start our plan, ok?" Ray nodded, "Got you, Leo; what time?" I responded, "7:00 am; be ready. We will have to do everything in our power to set up our plan before they get wise to it." Ray smiled, "Alright then; tomorrow it is. That will mark start of us silencing the Eagles for good." I raised my hand as I walked out the door, "Get a full nights rest we got a big day tomorrow. We'll be the snakes that wraps itself around the eagles." With those final words, I left Ray's house. With the pieces of our plan falling into place, I held my breath, unaware of what tomorrow would bring for both of us.