Throne of Thieves

Chapter 7: The Birth of Black Joker Coffee

With the whole boss thing taking hold in my mind, I began barking orders at Ray, telling him what to clean up and what to get us from the local store. Meanwhile, I started tagging the place with our new symbol. It was going to be a black joker card with the words "Joker" written in the corners. Once I was done, I showed Ray, and he opened his mouth in awe. "You're a good artist too? When did you learn to do this?" I smirked confidently, "A long time ago. I have been trying to get good at a lot of different areas of expertise. Much like the Joker, I am a wildcard. I can pretty much fill tons of roles at once. There aren't too many skills and trades I haven't at least looked into. This was one of the many that I deemed useful should I leave this shithole one day."

Ray inquired, "You want to leave Metro Island one day?" I nodded, "Yeah, I have studied for that reason. I want to get out of here one day; this place is a cesspool." Ray asked, "Where would you go?" I responded, "Anywhere but here. However, I would try to get to America. The land of the free, my friend. I can do anything I set my mind to there. I hope to one day open a business in America; that is my current goal." Ray slapped my back, "Good dream! Then as your number two, I can't help but want to support you with this bat of mine." I gave a small smile, "One thing is for sure." I looked at the dingy place we got to work with and sighed. I added, "We are going to need a nicer place one day, and more manpower, which means we need more people."

I went back inside now that my masterpiece was finished. Ray had set up a makeshift area for us to sell our coffee. A small wooden table we found lying around the base held our new coffee machine, which we both chipped in to buy. The coffee maker ran on battery, so there was no real need to have power at our base. Ray had also cleaned up a bit; the drugs are in the trash, and the area seemed to be in overall better shape. He must clean up for his siblings a lot at home; he was definitely a busybody. I liked hard workers. It was my turn to slap his back, "This is a lot nicer. Good job, Ray. It isn't the best setup in the world, but for what we only have, this is very presentable. Let's start right away."

I ripped open one of the boxes we brought with us. A small box popped out with small capsules filled with coffee that we can pop in our new coffee machine. I popped it in and then asked, "Did you buy the small coffee cups?" Ray nodded, "Right here, boss." I took one from the plastic wrap and began taking out one of the cups. I asked, "The sugar, creams, and plastic spoons?" Ray pointed, "Already on the table." I looked to the far right; sure enough, each of the things I had asked him to buy was set up for me. I began starting up the machine and waited a while for the coffee to get hot. Finally, the coffee poured out. I began making myself a coffee with all the ingredients. Once I was done, I took a sip. It was strong, perfect, but also had a nice mellow flavor. I liked mine sweet, so my tongue was greeted with a pleasant flavor.

There aren't many coffee shops on the island, so if my predictions were correct, this place would boom in this area. We would be successful in taking away business from the Eagles, thus crippling them financially. In order to avoid them cutting us down in relation, I plan on giving this base up and moving on over and over. I was pleased and held out the cup for Ray to taste, putting on a poker face as I did so. I explained, "Don't try to please me; taste this coffee and tell me what you think. I want you to think of what you'd pay for a cup of this." Ray did as he was told and took the cup from my hands.

The American dollar here is virtually worthless outside our country. Shit is outdated, but money is money, and the dollar is about the same as it is in America. Plenty of counterfeits were being let loose for a while, but a certain gang stabilized prices to what they are now. I needed a virtual estimate of what our coffee would be worth to the average person in dollars. Ray began sipping it little by little; it seems he also drank coffee, but not as much as I did. His lips smacked after a little while, "Not the best cup I have had, but the strong flavor perks me up. I would pay no more than $2 for this cup of coffee." I smirked, "Good take. Profit is nice, but it doesn't matter; we just need to sell it. We can lower the price to $1.70 per cup. The taste is perfect for what we only have right here; it will do. A strong flavor is what we need most; we need something that people living here will make feel more awake. We want them to get hooked to come every day for their ritual cup of joe before work." Ray smiled, "Alright then, how will we open for business?"

I added, "Make us up a sign, something flashy we can hang out front; we can't afford anything else right now. You got the plastic and markers right? Need any help creating the sign?" He shook his head, "I got you." I remarked, "Good. I will start with our foot sales. I will use their tactic and post myself out front and get people to come inside. You focus on maintaining the inside of this shithole; I will shovel people from outside." Ray chimed back, "Understood." With that, we both split up the work. I hung outside the building and began waiting for people to walk over. It was around 9:00 A.M., perfect for people walking to work or taking their dogs out. We needed to be patient; the Eagles had a decent spot, so all we needed to do is drag people inside. Once we have them inside, they will be putty for me to get a sale from them, and the more they spend on our coffee, the less they spend on mushrooms.

I wait outside, watching and looking out for potential customers. I spot an older couple walking their dog. I try to call out to them, but they just ignore me. I spot a man in a nice outfit on his way down the sidewalk. I call out to him, but again, I get ignored. I guess they think I am trying to sell them drugs or something. Which, to be fair, this place until a few hours ago was a notorious drug spot. I need to swap up my strategy. After a little while, Ray finally brings out the sign. It isn't anything special, just Black Joker Coffee written in deep black. The sign really is just something we can hang outside to make ourselves known. What I need is to let people know right away what we are selling.

The next person that passed was a tired-looking man with black hair slicked back. He was probably also on his way to his job. I called out as I pointed to the sign, "Hey, Mr., would you like a free sample of our coffee? We just opened up today! On the house!" The man looked at me for a moment, seeming intrigued. "Free?" That was it, I got him. As long as we get him inside, that was all that mattered. I smiled cunningly, "Right, free. Just something to get you through the day, my friend!" The man smiled a little, "Sure, I will give it a try. I still got a bit of time to kill before work."

He walks over to the door, his clean-shaven face and tired eyes made me see dollar signs. Once inside, I yell over to Ray, "Hey, free sample, Ray, you got me?" Ray nodded, "Coming up!" He took out a cup and began to fill it with coffee. The man told him how he wanted his coffee, and right away Ray made it to perfection. The man drank his coffee, his face seeming to clear up once he had a sip or two. He nodded, "Hey, that's not half bad. You'll be here every day?" I nodded, "Yeah, today is our grand opening; you're our first customer." He smiled, "Well, boys, consider me a fan." He popped a dollar on the table, "Consider this my contribution. I will be back. Good luck." He left with his coffee in hand, and I reached over to pick up our first dollar. Ray got excited, "We got our first profit!" I nodded, "Plenty more where that came from. Other people will have seen that interaction, I am sure. Ray, keep the coffee coming; we are gonna have a busy day."

I went back to my post outside and really started pulling in people. It was slow at first, a few here and there, but after a little while, we had people funneling in. I called inside for Ray, and he kept making the coffees to fit the demand. I even stepped inside a few times to make some myself. That was when it hit me; I had to use the can. I called to Ray, "Hey buddy, hold the front line for a second; I gotta use the can. Remember, always start by telling them what we're selling!" Ray nodded, "Will do, boss!" I ran outside; I had seen a porta-potty out here earlier, it was in the back of our little shop. I spotted it and ran inside, not even bothering to lock the door; I wanted to be as fast as possible.

I began going through the motions, but right as I was about to start, the door shot open, bashing me forward a little. A hand wrapped around my neck, and I was being choked, my airway cut off. I clutched the arm with my nails. A man's voice could be heard behind me, "Well, well, well, this is the little shit running around my turf with his ass in his hands. You made a big mistake, kid. I don't take kindly to someone messing with my operation. I wonder what it would take to find a body out here? With no cops and all." My heart sank in my chest; I was in a vulnerable position. I had no real means to fight back, as my neck began to cave inwards.