Luis

Immediately he was taken away from the area and after some minutes of walking on the lonely road, they got to his house which was a 3 story building with white paint that seemed faded and has not been used in a long time. They saw a group of guys who were about five in number just chilling and smoking weed while listening to music.

"Hey Ese, what is going on?" One of the guys asked Luis as the other guys started hailing him.

"Nothing Ese, just found a young boy who was lost here. His parents were killed by a gang." He said as he held his shoulder and Javier nodded at them greeting them.

"Ese, I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your parents but don't worry, Luis will take care of you very well so don't worry about that." He said as he gave him a reassuring smile. He then thanked him and they entered the building.

"You seem like a big-shot around here Luis?" He asked him as they climbed the stairs. Luis then let out a little chuckle.

"Whatever you say Ese, whatever you say." He said as they got to the third floor where his apartment was and when he opened his door, the smell of marijuana hit him like a bomb as he saw a small sitting room with two cushions, a ceiling fan, a television and a home theater that was playing music and there were guys who were just chilling and playing fifa on his playstation one Immediately they all stopped what they doing and stood up.

"These are my boys and they work with me." He said as he shook the hands of each of them who seemed happy to see him.

"Who is this young boy you brought here Luis?" One of the boys asked as he eyed Javier who felt uncomfortable. Luis then told them everything that happened and immediately, they drew him closer to them and comforted him. The guy who asked the question was named Fernando and he was a short but burly young man who looked like he was in his twenties and the other guys were Juan, Gabriel, Hernandez and Antonio.

After some persuasion, he agreed to play games with them after freshening up and he was served some Ensenada-style fish ceviche served with tortilla chips and a cup of water. He immediately started gobbling it up like a hungry lion as they all watched him like he was a new creature that they discovered but he didn't care about all that.

After he was done eating, he went into the kitchen and washed the plate after thanking them. Gabriel then took him to the room they all slept in which was dark, with two beds and he was given the bed to share with Juan.

They then started talking to him and asked about Zona Norte and he answered them. Though he was filled with sadness, he found these guys very interesting to be with and soon it seemed like all of the memories of that night had vanished. He then found out that Luis was 32 and was divorced from a wife who cheated on him and was a drunk.

After a few hours, everyone went to sleep but Javier was awake and immediately, the events that happened to him in the space of some hours started playing in his mind and he started crying silently so that the other guys will not be woken up by him and soon he fell asleep.

The next morning, Javier woke up and was looking for Luis as soon as he brushed his teeth and bathed and he could not find him anywhere and while he was still searching for him, he saw Gabriel in the kitchen cooking.

"Hey Javier, good morning to you." He said with a wide smile.

"Hey Gabriel, I am looking for Luis; Do you know where he is?" He asked.

"Luis went to his office with the other boys this morning. I was meant to go with them but he told me to look after you. Would you like some tea eh ese?" He said as he offered him a cup.

"Yes thank you I really appreciate that." He said as he collected the cup from him with gratefulness. They then went into the sitting room and Gabriel turned on the television and put a CD into the DVD player and they started watching a James Bond movie.

"You know; I don't get this type of day off regularly. I am always working for Luis every time and I rarely get a day off and I even miss Christmas with my family sometimes." He said with a happy tone like a kid who just got a very nice gift.

"That is crazy: I have never missed any holiday in my entire life." He said as he marveled at what he just heard.

"You have not become a man yet my boy; There is a point in your life where the troubles of life won't even let you remember talk less of celebrating certain things. The life of a man is hard and filled with a lot of troubles and tribulations." He then placed his hand on his shoulder and squeezed it. He then brought out marijuana, lighted it and started smoking it and he seemed to enjoy every puff he took in as Javier watched.

"You want some smoke ese?" He said as he offered him the marijuana.

"I'm sorry but I can't smoke." He said as he respectfully declined the offer.

"Come on my friend it is not that bad; It will help you to relieve all the sorrow you are facing right now and you will feel so happy when you are high." He said to him with a friendly smile but Javier insisted. After trying to persuade him, he finally agreed to take the smoke and after a puff, he laughed and after some smoke he felt so happy inside him and he started joking with him and he felt like every sorrow that he has felt had just magically disappeared.

After some time, the high had already cleared and he went to take a siesta and he woke up in the evening and when he checked the time, he saw that it was fifteen minutes after six and he immediately went to the sitting room and saw the other guys sitting on the couch and playing mortal kombat and smoking. He then sat on the floor after greeting all of them and they all looked at him and smiled.

"Hey ese, you seem like you took something today. I hope you are okay and you didn't go crazy today?" Luis said in an amusing manner as he tapped him on the shoulder as the other guys started laughing as he also joined them to laugh.

"So it was Gabriel that gave you that weed; Gabriel, you are a very bad boy and you cannot be influencing this young man negatively." He said in a mocking tone as everyone were looking at him like he just achieved a new feat. Gabriel then started laughing and gave Luis weed and lit it up for him.

Javier then went to play games with the guys and he took some more weed and everybody was jolly and were high.

After sometime, Luis told him that he wanted to see him alone and he went with him to the balcony and Luis then lighted a cigarette and started smoking.

"I know that you might be wondering why I called you to be alone with me here right?" He asked him as he looked at him eye to eye.

"Yes I am." He said as he wondered what could make him call him for a private talk.

"I want you to be part of our business Javier." He said as he took another puff.

"I will be happy to be part of your business sir." He said with an excited tone.

"Well what we do is not for the weak or fearful ese. We sell drugs at day and rob at night." This hit Javier like a bomb and he almost fell to the ground with shock at what he just said.

"You do what?" He asked with a low voice and at this point he just wanted to get out of this place as soon as possible.

"I said what I said Javier and will really want you to be part of this. I know that you might feel like this is wrong but when you have nothing and there is an opportunity staring at you face to face, you might have to take the chance. This business will bring you a lot of money as long as you are careful and very ruthless in all your dealings. I will leave you to think about it and you can tell me your decision anytime ese." He then left a shocked Javier standing there frozen to the ground. After some minutes, he finally left the balcony and went immediately to the room. The other guys were preparing for the robbery that night and as he laid his head on the bed with a lot of thoughts flying all over his head. He was having thoughts of leaving the house and start living on the street but he thought about what Luis did for him and he started considering joining Luis to repay him for helping him.

"Besides he has made some money and he is doing well for himself. He definitely means well for me." He thought to himself.

The other guys then went out of the room dressed in black clothes without saying a word to him and left him to his thoughts and soon he fell asleep.