The Black Market

by Kiki Swinson

  Terrell looked at me and then he shook his head as if he was appalled at my actions. After he threw the business card back on my dresser, he looked at me and said, “So your boss is really making millions selling prescription drugs?”

  “That’s what the DEA agent said.”

  “Damn! That’s some good money. If I was into that game, I would surely hit them up.”

  “Stop, Terrell, this isn’t funny. It’s some serious shit going on at my job and I really don’t want to work there anymore.”

  “Quit.”

  “That’s what I’m trying to do. I applied for a couple of jobs in the area, so hopefully I’ll get a new job soon,” I told him even though I had already been on an interview today and was given the position. I figured if I told him about the job offer then he’d know that I agreed to help the DEA agent bring Sanjay and his brother down.

  “Are you gonna tell your boss that the DEA agent wants to rat him out?”

  “No, I am not. I’m trying to stay away from this thing as far as I can. I don’t want him to know that I talked to the DEA agent and I don’t want the DEA agent to know that I told him what they said. It will be in my best interest if I let the chips fall where they may.”

  Terrell and I talked for another thirty minutes or so after we got off the subject of the DEA agent’s business card. We ended up going back into the living room. I thought that I was going to have to push him out of my apartment, but surprisingly he got a phone call and left. The person that called him sounded like a woman. After he got off the phone, I asked him about it, and he denied it, of course. I laughed at him because he just told me that he’d changed, but in reality, I didn’t care who called him. My point was proved and that’s all I needed.

  20

  I’M SO OVER THIS SHIT

  I called Agent Sims the following morning and told him that I would help, but he had to guarantee that I wouldn’t get charged with anything. He sounded very pleased to know that I decided to give him a helping hand. “What’s your lunch schedule for today?” he asked me.

  “I normally go in around eight, but today I don’t have to clock in until eleven,” I told him.

  “Good, that’ll give us two hours to work with,” he said.

  “What do you mean? What happens in two hours?”

  “We’re gonna need to come by your house and wire you up.”

  “I wish there was another way of doing this. I mean, why can’t you put cameras on the inside of the store?”

  “If we did that, then we wouldn’t need you.”

  “How long is it going to take to plant the wire and camera on me?”

  “Not long. Twenty minutes, if that.”

  “So, what time are you guys coming over here?”

  “We can be there within the hour, so be dressed and ready to go.”

  “Okay,” I said nonchalantly and then I hung up.

  * * *

  The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. As soon as I got out of the shower and got dressed, both DEA agents, Montclair and Sims, and a female wire specialist arrived at my front door. She was a little Caucasian woman who resembled a little boy. I’m talking no breasts or curves at all. After they greeted me we settled in the front room of my apartment, they introduced the woman to me as Gail Horn, and she started the process of wiring me up.

  “I’m gonna tell you something right now, but I don’t want you to get alarmed,” Agent Sims said.

  “Why do I feel like I’m about to get alarmed?” I replied while the woman began to cover my waist area with a wire that was connected to a camera that looked like a small button.

  Agent Sims sat on the edge of my sofa and said, “We’ve got reason to believe that Sanjay has either been kidnapped or is dead.”

  A sharp pain shot through my heart and I instantly became weak as my knees buckled. The female agent grabbed me by the arm. “Are you okay?” she asked.

  “Just give me a minute,” I said and pushed her away from me. I sat down on the love seat and buried my face in my hands.

  “I’m sorry I had to spring this on you like that. But we just got the intel late last night. And we couldn’t call you and tell you on the phone because that’s not our protocol, which is why I thought it would be best if I told you in person,” Agent Sims said.

  I looked up from my hands. “Tell me the truth, is he dead or alive?”

  “We’re trying to find that out right now. We do know for a fact that he has been kidnapped, which is why he hasn’t been back to the pharmacy. See, Sanjay owes a lot of money to those guys you saw beat him up. But apparently, he didn’t get their money to them fast enough so they decided to kidnap him. Now that Sanjay is gone, Amir is left with the task of coming up with the rest of the money his brother owes, which is why he’s taking huge boxes of prescriptions to pay off the ransom. And we figure that if he doesn’t come up with it soon, they may kill Amir or his family next.”

  “What’s gonna happen if Sanjay’s dead?”

  “We’re going to take action and bring the perpetrators to justice.”

  “If he’s dead, do you know who killed him?” I spat. I was about to blow a fuse. I mean, how could these fucking idiots drop this bomb on me like this?

  “We’re trying to find that information out right now.”

  “Okay, let’s just say he was kidnapped, do you have any idea who kidnapped him?”

  “We’re thinking it was probably those guys you saw shoving the gun in Amir’s back as they pushed the store.”

  “I take it they’re part of the mafia from DC?”

  “As far as we know, yes.”

  “And you want me to get information from guys like that! Are you out of your fucking mind? Those guys will kill me if they find out that I am wearing a wire!”

  “Misty, what you need to do right now is calm down. Sanjay may not be dead. . . .”

  “Oh yeah, he may be kidnapped!” I replied sarcastically.

  “Yes, exactly.”

  “But you’re acting like being kidnapped isn’t a serious matter. No matter how you look at it, those people are fucking dangerous. And I want no parts of this,” I roared, and then I stood up on my feet.

  “I’m sorry, but you have no choice. I mean, if you prefer to go to jail for two to five years, then by all means. But if you wanna stay out here on the streets then you’ve gotta do your part,” he threatened me.

  My eyes turned fiery red. My blood started boiling. I wanted to hawk and spit in his face. The disregard for my safety was not his concern. All he wanted me to do was wear a fucking wire so I could help him bust two Middle Eastern guys who’re dealing illegal drugs. I’ve definitely been dealt a shitty hand of cards. “As soon as I get the information you guys need to arrest those fuckers, will you leave me alone once and for all?”

  “Yes, we will.”

  “Come on, lady, hook this shit up so I can get out of here,” I instructed her and then I held my arms up.

  I stood there with my eyes closed, beating myself up as I thought about how I got myself into this bullshit. All I wanted to do was work in the pharmaceutical industry and become a pharmacist. I’d had this dream since I was a child. Helping people with pain management issues was and would always be a passion of mine. So, to be caught up in this bullshit by stealing fucking prescription pills makes me so mad with myself.

  Immediately after the woman finished taping me up, she gave me a tutorial on how the wire and camera worked. “The broach is your camera, so you don’t have to worry about that. It looks fashionable, so Amir won’t suspect it. As far as the wire, I hid it behind the broach, so while the camera is filming, the wire will serve as the recorder.”

  “Is it secure? Because if it comes off while I’m standing around him, he’s gonna know what’s up,” I pointed out.

  “It’s safe and secure, so don’t worry yourself.”

  “Easy for you to say. You aren’t wearing it.” I sucked my teeth.

  “Misty, you’re gonna be fine.
We’re gonna be set up in a van outside the pharmacy, so we’re gonna see who comes in and who goes out.”

  “Am I supposed to feel safe knowing that you guys are outside? It only takes a second to pull a gun out and shoot someone in the head with it. By then, it would be too late for me.”

  “Don’t worry, you will be fine.”

  “Yeah! What the fuck ever. Tell me anything.” I gritted my teeth.

  21

  MY FIRST DAY WIRED UP

  Before the agents left my apartment, they gave me more instructions about how to maneuver around in the store and how to act when Amir and I exchange dialogue.

  “Just act normal and you’ll be fine,” the woman said.

  The last instruction the agent said to me was, “Don’t forget to inquire about Sanjay’s whereabouts.”

  “You know perfectly well that guy isn’t gonna tell me shit. He acts like he barely wants to talk to me.”

  “Ask him anyway. We wanna see his body movement and facial expression when you ask him this time around.”

  “I’m telling you right now, if that guy touches me, I am going to go the fuck off! So, be ready to bust that damn door down.”

  “I told you not to worry.”

  “And I believe you less than I did the other times you said it.”

  Agents Sims and Montclair and Gail Horn walked toward the front door and I opened the door for them. Horn and Montclair walked out of my apartment slowly, giving Sims time to catch up with them. But he walked over the threshold and then he turned around. “Smile and you’re gonna be fine,” he said.

  “Man, if you don’t get the hell out of my face—” I said, and right before I closed my front door, I heard a voice so I looked over Agent Sims’s shoulder and saw Terrell walking across the grass.

  “Don’t leave. Stay right there,” I heard Terrell say. And boy was he pissed off.

  “Isn’t that your ex-boyfriend?” the agent asked me.

  “How do you know that?” I replied.

  “Believe me, I know a lot of things.”

  “Oh my God! What does he want?” I uttered softly.

  “Don’t tell him why we’re here. It would blow our investigation.”

  “Too late, he already knows,” I said quickly before Terrell could hear me.

  “So, is this the DEA agent you were telling me about?” Terrell asked after he stopped directly in front of us.

  “Yes.” I glanced at the agent to get his reaction.

  “So, you want my girlfriend to snitch on her boss, huh?” Terrell asked boldly as he poked his chest out.

  “No, not exactly.”

  “I’m not your girlfriend, Terrell.”

  “Look, let’s not talk about that right now,” he said and then he turned his focus back on Agent Sims. “Then what do you call it? ’Cause when you get a person to help arrest somebody, that’s what it’s called,” Terrell continued sarcastically.

  “Terrell, let’s not do this now. He’s trying to leave.”

  “Not until he tells me what he wants with you. Now you already told me that he wants you to help him get your boss down at the pharmacy locked up. So, why can’t he say the same thing to me?”

  “Because now is not the time nor place,” I reasoned and then I grabbed his arm and tugged on it.

  “I guess my time is up here. Call me if you need anything,” Agent Sims said.

  “Nah, don’t leave now! If you man enough to ask my girl to snitch on her boss man, be man enough to tell me about it too,” Terrell yelled.

  “You are fucking embarrassing me. Do you think I want my neighbors to know what’s going on? And are you trying to get me killed?” I snapped, and then I tried to slam my front door in his face. He blocked me from doing it and then he pushed his way into my apartment. So I stormed down the hall toward my bedroom.

  When I walked into my bedroom, he blocked me from closing that door too. I had no other recourse but to go into my bathroom and lock the door. He stood on the outside of the bathroom door while I sat on the edge of the bathtub.

  “Look, baby, I’m sorry if I embarrassed you. But you told me last night that you weren’t going to help them. You said that you were gonna call them today and tell that dude no. So how do you think I should act when I pull up and see those motherfuckers coming out of your apartment?”

  “I understand what you’re saying, but that still doesn’t give you the right to cause the scene that you did.”

  “Misty, those fucking agents don’t give a damn about you. All they care about is locking niggas up and throwing away the keys,” he continued.

  “Terrell, don’t you think I know that already?”

  “You don’t act like you do.”

  “Well, I do,” I yelled through the bathroom door.

  “Are you gonna help them or not?” Terrell pressed the issue.

  “I have no choice.” I began to sob lightly. I didn’t want him to hear me.

  “Yes, you do have a choice!” he yelled back through the door.

  “I stole some pills from the store and they know about it. They said that if I didn’t help them, I would go to jail for two to five years.”

  “You did what?”

  “I stole some Percocet for Jillian and they found out. They’re using that against me.”

  “Why the fuck did you do that?”

  “You know she had that surgery a while ago and her doctor stopped prescribing the Vicodin. He stopped giving her pain meds altogether, so I’d take a few pills here and there so she wouldn’t hurt anymore,” I said, but what I told him wasn’t the whole truth. I figured if I told him the real amount that I took from my job, I wouldn’t stop hearing his mouth.

  “How did they find out?”

  “I don’t know. I’m thinking they got cameras in a few places around somewhere.”

  “Damn, Misty, I’m so fucking mad with you right now.”

  “Yeah, well join the fucking club because I’m still mad at you about some shit you’ve done too,” I said as I wiped the tears that were falling down my face.

  “What did they say they want you to do?”

  “Just to plant a bug near Sanjay’s office and near his computer,” I lied. I couldn’t tell this negro that I was wearing a wire and camera. I wouldn’t hear the end of it.

  “When do they want you to plant it?”

  “Tomorrow when I go to work,” I lied once again. I couldn’t tell him that I was starting my informant job today. He would want to know more specifics and he’d even ask could he see the bugging device I would plant. He was a very inquisitive man. He would question me all day if I’d allowed him.

  Terrell and I talked a little bit more, but I came out of the bathroom not too long after I calmed down and pulled myself together. On our way out of my apartment, he tried to give me a hug but I pushed him back. I couldn’t chance him feeling the wire taped on me. He did ask me for a kiss on the cheek and I allowed him to do it. Someone would probably look at that and think that I was going to get back with him, but that’s not what that was. With all the mess that was going on around me, I needed to feel a sense of love. And that’s to say I wanted Terrell to love me, I wanted to feel the touch of someone other than the hands of the white lady that just left my apartment. Feeling alone in this world isn’t a nice feeling. Hopefully, after all this is over, I can take me a nice trip somewhere, to clear my head.

  * * *

  I was nervous as fuck when I walked into the pharmacy. I was scared shitless, especially after finding out that Sanjay was kidnapped and that he also might be dead. I couldn’t believe what I’d gotten myself into.

  As usual, Amir was standing by Sanjay’s computer like he was working on something. My only thought was that he was either ordering more drugs or processing prescription orders. I’m sure he thought I was going to say hello to him, but I refused to do it this morning. With all the shit I knew about him and his brother, I was not the least bit concerned about getting along with him. And Amir was playing a
very dangerous game with those mafia guys, so I wanted to stay as far away as I possibly could.

  “There’s a few prescription orders online, so fill those and then I’m gonna need you to go to the bathroom and clean it up.”

  “Clean up the bathroom? Sanjay has a cleaning crew that does that.”

  “Sanjay isn’t here anymore. So you’re gonna do it from now on.”

  “Wait a minute, did I just hear you say that Sanjay isn’t gonna be here anymore?” I asked, because I wanted him to repeat himself. I even turned around toward him so that the camera and wire I was wearing could get him in full scope.

  “No, I didn’t, now get back to work,” he instructed me in a very disrespectful way.

  “Yes, you did. You just said that he wasn’t going to be here anymore so it is my duty to clean up the bathroom.” I pressed the issue while I became nauseous. This guy just confessed to me that Sanjay wasn’t going to be here anymore. He said it out of his own mouth. And now he was trying to make it seem like I was hearing things.

  “Don’t question me, young lady. Get to work or this is your last day,” he threatened me.

  I wanted to get away from this place as fast as I could. If it were up to me, today would have been my last day. And I would have told Amir to kiss my ass.

  I tried to stand there behind my computer screen and block out what Amir had just said. It made me sick to my stomach. I hated to say it, but the DEA agents were right. I figured that Amir had taken over Sanjay’s debt, and if he didn’t come up with the money that he owed those guys from DC, then his life would be taken next. What a scary thought.

  While I stood there and pretended to work, our UPS driver walked into the store with four huge packages. He got Amir’s attention instantly.

  “Hello, good morning,” he said to the UPS driver.

  “Good morning to you, sir,” the UPS driver said and then he handed Amir his digital pad to sign. Immediately after the driver left, Amir took the boxes to the supply room and then he closed the door behind him. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what he was back there doing. He was going to take the bulk of the prescription drugs out of here and leave a small amount. I recorded his every move.