The Madam Of Suburbia Chapter 9

Chapter 9 - The Price of Life

 

I don't know why I was called here today, but since I left the swamp, I go where the fuck Blue wants me to go. I sit in silence inside the dinner enjoying my blueberry pancakes as I sit across Riese. I find it odd that even though it's 8am, the dinner is empty save the cook. I look at all the vacant beige vinyl booths and black and white tiled floors while thinking this place probably hasn't been this dead since it opened up in the 1950's. As I enjoy probably the best pancakes ever, I wouldn't be focusing on the decor if this place wasn't closed because the food is fucking fantastic. I could be sitting on a milk crate, and still be happy.

Riese finally breaks the silence by asking, "How can you eat that shit?"

I just smile as I finish my breakfast. After what happened to Donnie, I've become almost a mute. I don't know why Gus had to go, but wasn't my place to ask. I don't ask or say anything outside of what I need to know. I wasn't close to Gus, but I will never wash Donnie's blood away. We got to close, and he paid the ultimate price. Right now, I want to stab my butter knife into Riese's throat for what he did, but not the time. He will die at my hands one day, but right now, I still have to unravel the mystery of Madam and Blue. I do promise when I kill this motherfucker, it won't be quick because I want to every fucking second of ending his life.

He's about to ask something when his phones goes off. He glances at it and says, "We have to go."

I pull out a fifty from my wallet, and get up from the table. I follow Riese outside, and see a black, windowless cargo van waiting outside of the diner. Riese climbs into the back through the side door as I hop into the passenger seat. I glance back and almost smirk as Riese almost takes up the entire cargo area. Behind him, I notice a group of four man in black hoods with their arms and legs bounded with rope. I turn back around as the van pulls away.

We drive pass the front of a large, brick building. There's a sign out front that says "Hamnet Butchers". I chuckle a little as their slogan is "Try our German Sausages. They're the wurst!".  A few minutes later, the driver backs the van into one of the delivery bays. The door is opened by someone dressed like Blue, but taller as well as armed with a AK-47. Riese pushes the four men into the warehouse as the armed man marches them deeper into the warehouse. 

Riese motions me to a door to the right of the bay doors and states, "Follow me."

I follow him through a steel door into what I can determine is a break room. The side walls are lined with heavy parkas on hooks and rubber boots tucked beneath steel benches while above the coats are shelves lined with hard hats. On the back wall next to another steel door there's a time clock with a sign above that reads "No entry without proper clothing" along with a few vending machines. Next to the vending machine, I can't help notice an open locker with a massive coat and boots, which I'm assume is Riese's. In the middle of the room is a two rows of rectangle plastic tables lined with plastic chairs.

"Get dressed so we can enter," Riese orders as he heads to his locker. "Also, when you do speak, no real names. You can call me Tiny, and your nickname is Smoke."

We both put on the safety gear, and Riese pulls open the door. I'm immediately greeted by a blast of fucking cold air. I pull my park tighter around my neck and we head into the warehouse. As I feel my entire body go numb, I notice that the massive area we're in is filled with pig and cow carcasses. On the far left, there's a wall of windows showing off the processing equipment. To the right, there's a massive steel door on a solid brick wall, almost like a bank vault. I don't see the others as Riese nudges me towards the rear right wall.

As we enter through the vault door, I almost gag due to the smell of blood that is thick in the cold air. The room is filled with eight tables that have channels of water flowing through them into a drain in the center. Over each table is the four man hanging upside down as another Blue-type character covered in head to toe in black, but inside of a motorcycle helmet covering their face it's covered by a black ski mask while goggles hide their eyes stands in the back of the room holding a pair of butchering knives. To my left, I see Blue sitting at a table against the wall with an empty chair, a steel box to Blue's left, and a bottle of whiskey and four rock glasses in the middle of the table. Beneath blue is two black duffel bags.

"Glad you could make it, Smoke" says Blue. He points to the person in the back and adds, "Today, you get to see a real treat as we watch Butch work. So, please. Have a sit and a drink."

I sit down to Blue's right as he pours me a glass while Riese sits on the steel box.

"Go ahead, Butch."

For the next hour, we sip on whiskey as we watch Butch slaughter the four man. Riese and Blue discuss soccer as I watch with fascination Butch break down each carcass like they're tomorrow's fucking meat special at the local grocery store. My interest peaks as Butch pulls out a rubber bag about the size of a grapefruit tucked behind their intestines. When Butch removed the bag from each body, he quickly washes it off, and places them on the table we're sitting at. I notice that each bag is filled with pills based on the small circular objects leaving imprints in the rubber.

"How we get tantrix in and out of the country," Blue explains.

I nod my head as Butch pulls out one more bag out of the fourth man that is about the size of a half loaf of bread. I figure it's most like money due to the square shaped of this bag. Butch sets it down on the table, and goes back to finish breaking down the bodies to the point it would take days for the police to put them back to together. He whistles as he pulls out their teeth from their severed heads, and tosses them into a bucket. Once all the teeth are pulled, he places all the parts into a large, wheeled plastic tub along with the bucket, and leaves the room.

Blue pulls out a knife, and opens the square bag. He smiles as he pulls out ten stacks of $100 about five inches thick. I look at them, and notice he one is wrapped with a paper band that is labeled "$100,000."  I sit there silently as I witness the death of four men that made Madam a million dollars in cash, and who knows how much more once that tantrix hits the streets. It also shows me that my life to them is only valuable as long as I keep serving a purpose to them.

"Okay, Smoke. I have to go, but more new guys will show up here to take care of the rest. Your job is to escort them along with Tiny to drop off the merchandise to the distributing point," explains Blue as he places the money into one of the duffel bags. "Also, soon, I'm having Butch educated you in the proper way of disposing bodies."

I nod my head as Blue leaves the room. As Riese and I wait inside the vault in complete silence, all I can think about is how today was a display of power. I have served no purpose today besides be a witness to how little they value life, and how much they value money. I could have been texted when the drugs were ready to be moved, but Blue wanted to show me how quickly they can end me, and how fucking insignificant I am overall. Between today and the month in the swamp, I accept that my time is going to run out sooner than later. I need to start digging deeper into this organization, and find the information if I want to survive.

About an hour later, the awkward silence is finally broken as Riese phones goes off. He looks at it and simply says, "It's time."

He gets up, and shoves the pills into the other duffel bag. He hands the bag to me, and we walk out of the room. As we walk back towards the break room, all I can think about is I viewed where my life will most likely end. I rather they end my life the way Gus was handled though. I feel a bullet to the fucking head is a better way to go versus having your throat slashed like one of the pigs hanging inside this warehouse. Whenever my ticket is punched, I hope it's after I take down this entire organization.

As we make it back to the break room, Riese tells me to head outside as he has business to handle. I nod my head, and step outside as Riese slams the door leading to the warehouse behind me, and locks it. I begin to feel uneasy as I remove the parka and boots, and walk out into the delivery bay. I almost shit myself when I see an entire squad of cop cars outside, their guns pointed right at my fucking head. I drop the duffel, and lay face down on the concrete floor. As the cuffs are slapped on my wrists, I accept what today was really about: a fucking set up. As I tossed into the back of a squad car, the cop shoves my head into another black hood. The last time I remember is something hard being slammed against my head.