Espresso or Macchiato

"Ah. As expected, here they have the best coffee of all," my friend Gary said as he gave his macchiato the last sip.

"I agree," agreed my friend Boe.

We were at Ivory Beans, on Glen Meadow's main Street.

"So you were saying it didn't work out, Spike?" Gary addressed me, "did Jeffrey get caught?"

"I assume so," I answered, "and he'll be stuck for a lot this time, since there was a murder..."

"I heard about the murder. It was in Marshmoore," Boe said as he took a sip of the sparkling water that comes together with the espresso.

"Very dumb, really," Gary observed.

I leaned back in my chair and put my arms behind my head. I remembered what the boss had told me about this Jeffrey guy:

"Boss said he wanted him on the team. If he had been able to raise the money on time, he might have joined the group."

"A joke, right? To join us? Join the Spikey-Gary-Boe? A gangly zombie?"

"That's what boss said."

My friend Gary shrugged his shoulders.

"Well ... I don't know exactly how much the boss understands about mercenary skills. He should know that it is not everyone with a few Newtons of arm force who will be able to do the jobs we do."

I appended:

"And the worst of all is that a newborn zombie like him not only doesn't know what he's doing, but won't even hide his power, either. Stole the money from a jewelry store, can you believe?"

"Pbbbbt!" My friend Boe spat a mouthful of his coffee and burst out laughing.

"Sounds comical, but I'm serious."

Gary, my friend, made a questioning expression, his hand over his chin and his body leaning forward. He asked:

"But why is it that Verde asked him to return the money? If he wanted the money back he should have asked us instead..."

"I think that... Because it was his brother, you know, Alex... It was Alex himself who lost the money to begin with?"

"Even so. No one had ever been given a chance before. Verde is very methodical in these things. If anyone loses money after the deadline..." Gary ran a finger over his throat and made a noise.

We were the mercenary trio: Spikey-Gary-Boe. None using their real names, obviously. My name for instance has nothing to do with Spikey, I'm called Ethan Doyle.

Of the three, Gary was the slimmer with a slightly unshaven beard. He was cheerful and smug. He was very similar to me: same haircut, that is, curved up and straight on the sideburns, and was also around my age.

On the other hand Boe was the full-bodied and round-headed one. Also the oldest and most accomplished. He had a wife and an almost grown son. Not sure why he insisted on working with us.

And the one we called Verde was our boss. We were never sole employees of only one employer, but it just so happened that we were working for him at that time.

I think at this state I owe you an overview of the situation that was the current one that year. I'll be brief, promise:

Sproustown has always been known to have several gangs involved in drug trafficking. In the past it was a problem the civil police could handle. This is, more or less... The trafficking was considered their job because there were just relatively small and inexperienced gangs. They started selling illicit drugs on the the skate park and such.

As entrepreneurs saw that the business was pumping up, they began to structure themselves better, and eventually the same brains who had either more knowledge or more resources to properly hide from the police ended up monopolizing the business.

Since these monopolists were clever, any new competition that appeared was quickly fought, captured by the police, or found mysteriously dead the next day. However, no matter how hard the police tried to capture the brains behind these deeds, they always ended up capturing henchmen and mere mercenaries, but never getting to the root of the problem.

Wanna know the main reason why they were never caught by the police? Because in everything they did, be it organizing their work: delivery dates, transportation of goods, settlement of accounts, etc... In everything they did they employed "paranormal" beings. Since paranormal beings do things differently than humans are used to, when things happened, the cops - who are also human beings - don't understand how the things happened, you see?

To cite an example: After that attack Jeffrey made on Club Jewel, the newspaper couldn't explain how the glass had been broken with one punch. The next morning they wanted to interview the shopkeeper, and they didn't believe him at all. They didn't want to publish the story the way it actually happened. Newspapers do not believe in paranormal beings.

And these "paranormal" beings are us. We are nothing so different, we are normal, but humans classify us as paranormal because they do not want to accept our existence. I could state the opinion I hold about this, but I will leave it for other time. Anyway, a fact I can't deny is that this lack of consideration makes our work easier.

So the current picture of the gang scheme was as follows: there were three main gangs vying for the illegal drug business in Sproustown: the dragons, which are a real gang, Yakuza type... The members even get a tattoo and such, which I find ridiculous. There were also those who worked for Wilkinson. And finally the folks from Verde. And it was with Verde that Spikey-Gary-Boe had been working for some time.

Boss' region was the south one. If someone started selling merchandise in southern Sproustown we would quickly find the source and deal with it. Not even the dragons or the Wilkinsons dared step on our territory. Not because we were the big shots. If we were the big shots we would simply eliminate the Wilkinsons and dragons and have a monopoly over the whole city. Instead these three groups in particular had a similar influence. It took people defending the territory and it took more people to do the work. If one group wanted to risk sending personnel to invade other gang's territory it would eventually weaken its people and so the third party would take advantage of the situation and would probably end up taking on the two teams that had engaged in the fight at first.

It was a difficult situation. All the three groups had their hands tied. This way, each one stayed in his own turf and each one didn't let anyone else step on his own turf.

Anyway, after this paraphrase loaded with probably uninteresting information, I get to the main point: the character of Verde. Boss was not the kind to forgive easily. Everything he achieved so far is based on a bond of trust between consumer and dealer. He works hard to always find the goods, ensure proper transportation, product quality and make the transaction at the right time by the correct procedure, taking every precaution so that there is no interruption by the police or any unforeseen events that may harm the consumer. . In return, all he asks is for two things: one, that the payment is made properly; two, that the consumer must avoid referencing anything related to him to those not involved.

The other day we had to deal with this guy who had defaulted, so to speak, on the boss. He was a high-ranking employee of a furniture network, I think deputy general manager or something like that. And then he disappeared from the map. From Sproustown. The boss called him once.

Once.

He didn't answer.

Then he called Spikey-Gary-Boe and we fixed the situation. We didn't recover the money, but the dignity of the boss is safe. Let it serve as an example to the others: they shall know no one outsmarts the verdes.

And last night was the turn of this guy Alexander Sprohic. A single guy. He's not affiliated with any distributor or wealthy businessman or anything like that. Just a lone consumer. And debtor. Did not pay the agreeded value.

What does boss do? Call us again? That's what one would expect, but it was not what he did. Instead he called Alexander's brother Jeffrey, who was literally a walking corpse, and asked him to recover the money in any way he could. I can only say I found it weird. When it came to a big deal, the boss didn't mind taking the life of the debtor client, and now that the debtor is only one guy...

That said, returning to the events of that day, my friend Gary was saying:

"Even so. No one had ever been given a chance before. Verde is very methodical in these things. If anyone loses money after the deadline..." Gary ran a finger over his throat and made a noise.

And Gary was right, that was feeling really off.

"Maybe it's because of what I said before? Remember he said he might want to recruit Jeffrey?"

"It's easier to get him to work for money instead of asking him to recover ir by stealing from anywhere." Boe countered with a condescending gesture with his free hand." The boy had no experience."

I rested my hand on my chin, whose arm was with my elbow resting on the table.

"Yeah, this test is a bit too professional to give to a newborn. Jeffrey, as a zombie, had just been born, no?"

"Not quite, he must have been about two, three years old ... But he spent them all in jail, because they found him when he was born in zombie form. It was his first month as a free citizen only. He just leaves the penitentiary and Alex already loses the money... Then the boss gets in touch with him and all that stuff happens."

"Which feels sorta off," I interrupted, "notice he's a zombie. This way you have to feed on meat. They cannot simply release him as if he had paid his penalty like that! Normally the police would have even annihilated him right after birth."

Gary made a "hum" and then contributed:

"I don't know... Looks like there must be a lot of politics involved. Who knows what goes on in the minds of these human policemen? What I think is really weird is the sudden change in Verde's behavior, you know? Come on! We are verdes! Nobody gets to owe to us... Pals ... I think I'll order another coffee." Gary started to get up.

"Then go..." my friend Boe encouraged

Gary headed for the counter.

I looked at Boe for a moment when a thought came to mind:

"Wanna know what! What if it's not just that the boss wanted to recruit Jeffrey, but he wanted to replace one of us? Even all of us? So he wanted to see if Jeffrey could handle bigger challenges right off the bat?"

"Hey... Are you serious? Replace the three of us? For a dopey zombie like that?"

True... It didn't make any sense.

My friend Boe finished his sparkling water and pushed the saucer with the cup and the glass to the center of the table.

"He may qualify as a paranormal being, but all he has is strength. He'd have no method to do anything. Even if it wasn't the civil police, sooner or later the SAD guys would catch him."

"SAD cops are tough, aren't they? If you are not careful with them..."

"Ye hear one of them beat Alex's brother with one punch?"

"That Jeffrey?"

Gary was already returning from the counter.

"Bam! A single blow. The guy was down."

I stared hard at Boe. It was one thing to beat the zombie. Relatively easy. Any of us could do it. Another thing was to do it with one blow only...

"Ok... And who told you that? They wouldn't have put that in the newspaper or anything."

"Heard straight from Verde. He has the contacts... He knows everything that happens in SAD."

It was true that the boss got information from various locations in Sproustown apparently out of nowhere. And SAD was one of those places. But saying he knew 'everything' that was going on inside was a piece of exaggeration. Sometimes Boe could go overboard. I decided not to comment anything. I looked over at our friend Gary pulling his chair back to settle again.

"Now I also want one more espresso," I said then went to the counter.

(Replace the three of us? For a dopey zombie like that?)

Spikey-Gary-Boe had done great things not only in Sproustown under the boss's orders, but since back when we were part of a mercenary group in northern Canada. Comparing our achievements with an unsuccessful theft of a newborn zombie was an insult. But it would make sense if the boss was aiming to cut spending. Although we were working for him at that time, we were not officially part of Verde's group. Could it be that he was looking for paranormal actual followers? Boss wanted reliable people instead of having to pay strangers for every job? Could he had even already hired one or two? We didn't spend much time with our employer and we didn't know much about him except when he called us to talk about specific jobs. Who knows what he hid for himself.

I'm not attached to anyone, but I won't deny that if this were the case I would be in a bit of trouble until I could find another employer in the same area. That is, another employer of paranormal mercenaries in Sproustown who inspired confidence ... So I couldn't help but to worry about that subject was brought upon.

Carrying my espresso in hands, I returned to the table and heard my friend Boe enthusiastically telling Gary something I didn't know:

"Really, Gary! He told me himself! Everything was arranged so that Alex would lose the money on that day."

"I don't get it... What does Verde win losing the money?"

"I mean... He wins that he gets to recruit Jeffrey, that is, if he hadn't been caught by the police in the first robbery he ever tries."

"What are you guys saying about losing money?" I asked as I sipped the best hot espresso in town.

They looked at each other.

"Tell him, Boe."

"So... I was saying... Jeffrey's brother Alex didn't lose money that day... He was robbed."

"Oh yes, I already knew that much. It was two guys in an suv. A big haired one and a hefty one. They hit him, took his suitcase, and left him lying on the curb." I sat and took a sip at my creamy hot coffee.

"Yes. And it was Verde himself who hired the robbers."

I almost spat my expresso.

"Say what?"

"It's what I'm saying. He hired them both just to make Alex owe him... And then he went straight to Jeffrey telling his brother was owing money. Rumor is that's why he ran away from jail."

"Did Jeffrey... Run away?"

That was a quality handful of information I didn't know, that what Boe was revealing. To begin I thought Jeffrey had gotten out of jail "before" Alex lost the money, and it just coincided that the boss gave him a chance to get the money back. Second, there was that part of the boss himself having set it all up from the hiring of the robbers. Third, I had never stopped to think about why, but I just assumed that he had been released and not ran away. But now my friend Boe tells me he was not released from prison but fled; and he did it precisely because his brother lost the money and therefore needed to get it back.

"But Boe, tell me something: where did you hear tall that?"

"It's what I'm saying... I heard it from Verde himself!"

"He told all that... To you?"

"No, no... I was there after that furniture guy's day, remember? I forgot the Tar Lights and went back for it. After work he was talking to a fat old man which looked all rich. That guy is a sponsor of his business. And they happened to be discussing it..."

Whenever Gary took a sip, it seemed to me the macchiato tasted better than the espresso. I Almost wanted to order one more.

"Okay... You were eavesdropping when you came back for the cigarettes."

"By chance, Spikey... By chance..."

If what my friend Boe was saying was not one of his exaggerations, that should confirm my theory about the boss looking for more paranormal power for his group, which didn't necessarily mean he wanted to get rid of paying for our services, but it could mean. Due to the quality of our services we were not exactly the cheapest professional trio... With this concern, I decided to share my opinion with them both:

"If what the boss told the fat man that day is true ... He might be willing to get rid of Spikey-Gary-Boe, right? I mean ... Might be trying to save money... Hard times. What do you think? That would be bad since we are unlikely to find any employer here in Sproustown other than Dragon or Wilkinson ... And they could probably already know we are involved with Verde..."

Boe didn't answer right away and didn't look straight at me when he did. He thought for a moment and then decided:

"I don't think so ... For the boss to swap three "paranormal" beings like that overnight... The simple comparison between us and Alex's brother is ridiculous. He knows we are professionals. And if that wasn't enough, there are three of us. If he wants to get rid of three of the group at the same time ... I mean... He has to stay very weak compared to the firepower of Wilkinson or Dragon."

"Yeah... You must be making a storm in a teacup," Gary added.

Besides, if he really wanted to cut off the relation... As our boss he would have warned us in advance, he didn't have to keep it secret.

Those arguments also made sense.

I was probably imagining things and the boss was thinking of something other than that. I couldn't help but to find his behavior a little off, though ... Hiring robbers and inciting zombies to escape prison like that

My friend Gary had almost finished his mug and I hadn't even got started on my espresso.

"My pals... I think I'm ordering one more."

"Then go!" Boe encouraged.

I was unsure whether I should order the typical Ivory Beans macchiato or color myself satisfied. Boe just yawned and started:

"Well... lunch time's almost over... We'll have to get back..."

"Wanna know what! What if we called the boss and asked?" I tapped the cup on the table.

"Asked what?"

"What was he thinking of when he hired the robbers to mug Alex. We have a right to know, right? After all it could imply that he was trying to replace us... Even if we just concluded that we didn't, we could have concluded otherwise; so we have the right to demand the truth!"

For some reason I had to be sure.

"You crazy, boy? I just overheard Verde and the fat man that day by chance. He didn't speak anything directly to me."

"Um, you're right ... But then in that case, to be sure... We could tell him we were intrigued that he gave Alex's brother one more chance and thus we got this idea that he no longer wanted our services. How about it? We could formulate the question on behalf of this excuse!"

My friend Boe stared at me for a moment then finally agreed:

"I guess so... The best would be to ask him directly instead of keeping speculating ... But why so much interest, Spikey? Are you that afraid of losing your job?"

At that moment my cellphone rang. To my surprise it was the boss.

"Speaking of the devil..."

"Is Verde calling?"

"Hi," I answered.

"Hey Spikey, where are you?"

"Boss ... We were just leaving. Just finishing here then we are heading toward."

"Alright, fine. It's just that I must tell you something... Personally."

"Is it about Jeffrey?"

A silence.

"No ... It's something else. Sprohic's matter has already been dealt with."

"So you sir are not staying with him then?"

"Staying with...? What do you mean?"

"It's just that... We were speculating, you know... You were giving him a chance to get the ... The merchandise back. He even dropped the soap and everything ... And since he is a... You know..."

Verde interrupted me with a bad pun:

"Hey, hey, Spike ... Don't go up throwing phrases like 'stay with him' when it comes to me... Someone might get the wrong idea, haha."

- Haha. Ha!

A silence.

The boss resumed his serious tone:

"Yes... I wanted him, but it didn't work... You must have seen the news."

"Yeah, to be fair we were wondering... Me, Gary," Gary, by the way, was coming back to the table with his new macchiato, "Boe... We were wondering... If you are willing to recruit new... You know... New workers ... So maybe you are... Thinking of getting rid of our services?"

I realized I might have spoke too directly. He didn't answer. I tried to make it a little better:

"I mean ... Not that we have anything to do with... I mean, we don't mean to tell you how to handle business, but... We'd like to be warned if... Anyway we were wondering if that were the case, if you could warn us in advance. And if possible... If..."

"You guys wonder a lot heh? You three. You, Gary..." Verde yawned, "Boe..."

He paused shortly then amended:

"Here's the thing: I just wanted to see the quality of a creat... Of someone like Sprohic. That's it."

"I see..."

"Don't worry, I'm going to warn you if you I'm thinking of anything. Good policy, I know. I won't lose a thing by warning you beforehand if the day comes I don't want your services anymore, so if that day comes I'm going to let you know, ok? You can rest still... I'm still going to 'stay with you', haha."

"Ha..."

A longer silence.

"Anyway... I just called to remind you... We need to talk. It's something I can't talk on the phone. You understand."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Then, see you."

I was going to answer, but he himself answered himself in another intonation, as if answering on my behalf:

"See you, bye."

And put the phone down.

I gave my two friends a glance.

"So?" Boe asked.

"Boss says everything is fine with ... He wants us to do a new job."

Boe was gritting his teeth and Gary, oddly enough, was in the last swallows of his third cup

"Well..." Gary said, "if the boss says we are ok... Then there must be nothing to worry about."

"I told you, "Boe amended, "you're thinking too much. Verde wouldn't prank us like that. At this point Spikey-Gary-Boe is essential in his work."

"Yeah. You're right."

But for some reason something was bothering me and I couldn't exactly pinpoint what, and no matter how much the boss and my two friends told me everything was going normally... Something about the whole Sprohic brothers story made no sense...

Finally my friend Boe got up, stretched and invited us:

Shall we be going? If Verde wants us to do a new job, it's better to hurry and get ready. Who knows by when he wants this one to be solved.

"True," I agreed, "better get going."

"Wait, my pals..."

"Huh?"

"Think I'll get another last coffee."