Unprecedented

"Hey Reggie," Anthony replied stoically, "We need the room now, so you gotta leave."

"I just wanted to hand you something first." a proud Farugio replied while handing Anthony three hundred dollars in cash, "Consider this tribute from my first big payout."

Anthony grabbed the money and counted it. "I guess it's not bad for a young'n." Anthony said with a forced look of impressedness on his face, "Which racket did you make this from?"

"There's this new high school crew that I'm shaking down," said Farugio with the same proudness on his face, "They're paying up on their earnings."

"Interesting," said Anthony, this time being genuinely impressed, "a high school gang actually making enough to pay up. What percentage are they paying up?"

"Actually," Farugio began to say, "they're paying a flat amount of a grand. Their boss said that doing the math every month would be troublesome. Plus, with just a percentage, we might get much less some months. With a set amount, we're guaranteed to get a grand every month."

Anthony put his hand on Farugio's shoulder while shaking his head. "You're still naive, my boy." Anthony said with a light chuckle, "Why would anyone give you a higher fixed amount rather than a lesser amount that they can afford? Whoever this other kid is, he was able to convince you that you're actually getting a good deal. He's got a good head on his shoulders. No wonder he's making money even as a teenager. Introduce him to me sometime."

The look of pride that was previously on Farugio's face turned to one of shame. "Alright, Reggie," Anthony continued, "we need the room now."

Farugio fixated his stare on the ground. He sulkingly nodded his head, acknowledging his uncle's command to leave, and exited through the back door. When he walked outside, he saw that the men that had been sitting with him at the table were waiting for him.

Feelings of embarrassment and shame fostered within Farugio. He felt that a mockery had been made of him by Mayr. As the seconds passed, Farugio's rage grew. He aggressively grabbed one of the men that had been sitting with him at the table. "Go to that Youngsville crew and tell their boss that I want a meeting with him next week!" Farugio growled with a furious look in his eye.

The man simply nodded, acknowledging the instruction.

-

A week passed and school was back in session. It was lunchtime, so Mayr and Nesh were sitting in the cafeteria. "Everything is running smoothly now," said Nesh while eating his sandwich, "everybody's working, no other gangs are bothering us. I'm just a bit worried about Kashi. That girl, Juna, is dating one of his guys now. Apparently, the guy asked Kashi if there was an issue with this and Kashi just told him not to involve her or tell her anything about the business. As long as he can do that, Kashi doesn't mind them dating."

"Kashi's smart enough to handle his business," Mayr replied, "so, I'm gonna leave all decisions regarding his crew to him. Besides, regulating everyone's personal lives is sure to spell disaster."

"I guess you're right." said Nesh, "You got that meeting with Farugio today right?"

"Yeah, at 5." Mayr replied, "He probably just wants to see if he can make more money off of us."

"So what are you gonna do?" Nesh asked. "If we give him more money he's just gonna keep coming back for more. I'll probably ask for something in return for an extra two to three hundred dollars, just to let him know we aren't just gonna give in to his demands."

-

The clock hit 3pm and the final bell rang. The crew made their way to their respective locations, while Mayr and Nesh went to the Muay Thai gym, as usual. It had been a few months since Nesh started going with Mayr and had become competent when it came to fighting.

The two trained for about an hour. After that, they both got cleaned up and exited the gym. It was around 4:30 at this time. Mayr and Nesh began making their way to Farugio's neighbourhood, the location where the meeting was supposed to take place.

As the two were making their way to the meeting, Mayr's phone began to ring. It was a call from Kris. "What is it, Kris?" Mayr asked into the phone. "Where are you?" Kris asked frantically. "Is everything ok?" Mayr asked worriedly noticing the anxious tone. "Can you come to my location?" Kris asked anxiously, "it's about Robbie. I th-think I k-", "Stop!" Mayr said aggressively after he realized what Kris was about to say. He did not want Kris to admit to any crimes over the phone.

"I'm coming." Mayr said with urgency, "Make sure you are at a place where no one can see you. I'll be there soon."

Mayr hung up the phone and turned to Nesh. "Nesh, I need you to go to the meeting without me." said Mayr, grabbing both of Nesh's shoulders. "I know that more than anyone else you can handle this. I need to get to Kris immediately, it's crucial!"

Sensing the seriousness of the situation, Nesh did not hesitate for a moment and acknowledged Mayr's instruction. Mayr gave Nesh a slight smile and ran off.

In about 20 minutes, Mayr arrived at Kris's location, but Kris was nowhere to be found. The weather was freezing and the streets were almost empty. Mayr walked around for a few minutes looking for Kris. As Mayr was walking, he saw a man standing in front of an alleyway. Upon closer inspection, it was Kris's partner for the cigarette sales operation.

Mayr walked up to him and noticed that he was startled. "Are you okay?" Mayr asked worriedly, "Where's Kris?"

The boy simply pointed in the alleyway. When Mayr walked into the alleyway, what he saw was something he hoped he didn't have to see. Kris was sitting with his back against the alleyway wall with his head in his hands and in front of him lay the lifeless body of his former step-father.