Part One

Kingpin

She woke to the foul and vulgar odor of Collins’s breath. The awful and disgusting stench that escaped his mouth had a serious bite of stale liquor. Quickly she determined that her movements wouldn’t threaten waking him; obviously he had passed out. As usual on a weekend, his apartment was filled with a mosh pit of bodies. Now in the low of the party, they were sprawled everywhere in their incapacitated state. Quietly, she climbed out of bed, stepped over the guests, and made her way to the bathroom.

Looking into the mirror, she gazed at her reflection and thought, I look like hell. She reached down and turned the handle on the faucet, cupped her hands and placed them under the rusty colored water until it spilled over, and then she leaned down and splashed her face. Unsuccessful in finding a towel, she used the extra cloth at the waist of her shirt to pat her face dry. Again, she stared at the image reflected in the mirror. She didn’t even recognize herself anymore. Several minutes past in silence before she whispered, “I am Lizzy, I am Lizzy!”

Thankful it was Sunday; she jotted a note and left it on the pillow beside him, before returning home. They lived a mere five minutes apart. Lizzy pulled her old, beat up, ’78 Honda Accord under the carport and headed toward her apartment door. The keys jingled as she searched the ring for her key along the way, that sound was like a cat calling. A mangy and malnourished feline was soon tangled around her feet and darted into the apartment as soon as Lizzy swung open the door. The stale air in her place assaulted her senses. The living room was empty, void of real furniture or personal belongings and mementoes. Lizzy turned back and locked the door behind her, then bee lined straight to the fridge. She couldn’t pass up the smokes that were lying on the counter; she picked up the hard pack and removed one, wishing more than anything that it was a joint. She lit it and drew the first few puffs in disappointment as she shuffled toward the fridge. She took out a beer. Trying to unwind a bit Lizzy collected her drink and ashtray before retiring to her bedroom.

Entering her room, she set the things in her hands down on the box that was used as a nightstand. Before she made herself comfortable in bed, Lizzy slipped a hand between the two mattresses and retrieved her hidden journal and a pen. Just as she settled in, she heard a high pitched whining noise coming from the other end of the apartment, and smiled. Not really being much of a ‘pet person’, she appreciated Taz for his talents as a mouser. Taking another long draw on her cigarette and placing it on the lip of the ashtray, she opened the journal and made the weekend’s entry.

March 16th

Our trip was short. We were back in time to sample some of the goods Saturday night. Collins should make a quarter of a million off this weekend’s trade. I met his contact this weekend, Anne, and she is not what I expected. Wednesday we’ll travel to Seattle for a drop.

Anne must be a go between. Over the last three months, I have learned a great deal about Collins. He is certainly not the mastermind of this ring, and after meeting the seemingly sickly Anne, I refuse to believe she is either.

Tipping the bottle up, she emptied the last of the golden brew and dropped the bottle onto the floor alongside of her bed. The room echoed with a clunk as it hit the floor and rolled along the uneven, unfinished, wooden floor boards and stopped somewhere under her bed.

Lying there in the abyss before sleep, her mind and heart ached for her family. She missed them all. She wept tears of sadness for her eldest sister, Jane. Exhaustion turned to sleep, and sleep turned to the reoccurring nightmare. Dreams are unpredictable and in this particular dream that haunted Lizzy, she was always her sister Jane. It came as if she was actually there on that horrifying day, as if she were walking in Jane’s shoes.

Employed with the United States customs office on the Canadian boarder, Jane went to work everyday. She loved her job and worked hard to hold her position. It was a bright and sunny day in September, just six months ago. Lizzy could feel her mind narrating this nightmare and tried to force herself to wake, but failed in the struggle. An employee had called in sick that morning so Jane, as the supervisor, covered the shift inspecting cars. In a random sequence, she pulled a recreational vehicle over for routine inspection. After asking the driver and all passengers to exit the vehicle, Jane entered it. Lizzy’s breathing became erratic and she began tossing and turning as she pictured herself as Jane that day entering the RV. Taking a few steps up into the back of the vehicle, she looked around for anything unusual. She was in a kitchen area and reached down and opened a few drawers but found them empty. Turning to her right, she proceeded to take several more steps and entered the living area. She reached above her head to a cupboard and again, it was empty. Every once of intuition was telling her to call for back-up, as things felt wide of the mark. Unhooking the phone off of her belt, she beeped her supervisor. There was just one shot, “BANG!” Lizzy woke, sat up stiff as a board. She had tears flowing down her cheeks from her red swollen eyes. Although she was awake, her mind finished out the images. He had been hiding in the bathroom, Jane had walked right past it when she moved to the front of the vehicle. When he heard her opening drawers and then calling for backup, it’s assumed, he thought she found the drugs. With her back to him, he shot her. Lizzy couldn’t control her erratic breathing; her chest was tight and hurt. This dream always chilled Lizzy to the bone. She wasn’t prepared to die.

The drive from Bellingham to Seattle was about two hours and Collins was looking forward to the time alone with Lizzy. He pulled up outside of her apartment and honked twice. Lizzy came bounding out of her place and hopped into the car with him. She leaned over and gave him a long and lingering kiss, and then they were off.

The day was gorgeous, high sixties, sunny, cloudless blue sky. He found himself analyzing this relationship. A woman of average height, her dark, curly hair and brown eyes made her more attractive than he had hoped for in a significant other. Today she was wearing khaki’s with a black T-shirt that drew his attention and held it. He feared that she was too good to be true.

“You are the best thing that has happened to me in a long time.”

Avoiding eye contact, she let a moment pass and then cleared her throat and changed the subject. “So tell me about the craziness today.”

“I had a little cocktail already, want some?” He asked, while shaking a pill container he’d taken out of his shirt pocket.

She reached over and grabbed the container, took the lid off, rolled a few pills into her palm and popped them in her mouth. Looking back over at Collins, she smiled. “It doesn’t get any better than this, does it?”

“It certainly doesn’t.” He said smiling back at her.

On the radio, Disturbed’s Intoxication came on and Collins cranked the volume. Slapping his hands on the wheel to the rhythm, Lizzy sang along with the band.

Now you tell me you like it
You tell me you want it
You’re mine
And you don’t need another one
Come on and tell me you like it
Tell me you want it
You’re mine
And another one to me

And the world will get high

What can you take from me
That which you cannot buy
Exhilaration
Laughing and turning away
What will you take from me
Now that you are inside
Intoxication
Now are you feeling

Enough, to villify what I live
To sanctify all I hate
Endowed with the need”
To carry over the life I lead

Intoxicating

They listened to the station for some time before Collin’s turned it off. “It looks like we’ll be a little early, so what do you say. Want to make a stop?”

“Sure.”

“I have a great place in mind.”

“Oh yeah?”

“It’s not far from where we are going, it’s on Roosevelt. Have you been to The Monkey Pub?”

“It’s across from Dante’s?”

“Yeah, that’s it.” A few quiet moments passed and then he chose to broach the subject of business. “Tonight you’ll meet some new faces. They’re fly. Follow my lead and everything will run smoothly, got it?”

Lizzy responded with the nod of her head.

The afternoon flew by and in what seemed like no time at all, they were in the University District neighborhood. There was only on-street parking in the area. Luckily, they managed to find a spot a few blocks away. After parking, they got out and walked at a good pace stopping only once to light cigarettes before they entered the building. In one of the dark corners they found an empty table and took it. The cocktail waitress spotted them upon entering and followed them to their table. Once they were seated, she welcomed the couple before taking their order. “What’ll it be for you tonight?” she asked while smacking her gum.

“Bring a pitcher of the root beer.” Collins ordered.

“Thank you,” Lizzy added before the waitress turned and walked away.

Thinking to himself how beautiful Lizzy was, and how proud he was that she was his, he reached out and grabbed hold of her hand. He was a man with low self esteem, but having Lizzy with him, made him feel unlike any drug he’d done. The euphoria of this relationship was the best high. With his free hand, he swiped at his long, dirty blond bangs that had fallen down into his eyes. Making eye contact, he declared, “I love you Lizzy. Thank you for spending the day with me.”

“I love you too.” Lizzy muttered in return.

The waitress reappeared with a pitcher in one hand and two highballs in the other and set them on the table next to the bowl of nuts. The waitress didn’t speak, instead, she lift her pinky to her mouth using her nail to loosen something caught between her teeth, then turned and left. Lizzy reached for the pitcher and poured their drinks. While doing that, Collins noticed once again the scars on her forearms. They had discussed them in the past and he knew that she had once been a cutter. The pain tolerance she has must be incredible. Momentarily, he felt empathy for her. It was clear she had a hard life. His path, however, he had chosen.

At the age of eighteen, he met Lady Cat (as most called her), she had saved him. She brought him into her family and that changed his life. He was forever grateful to her. Painfully shy as an adolescent and slow academically, he felt unclear of a future. Working as a runner for Lady Cat, allowed him endless lucrative means, and a positive outlook on his future. She was confident that he would do well in this business and she was right. The thoughts of his past made him wonder just how Lizzy became involved in the lifestyle.

“I know I have asked before, but it seems the conversation has been cut short.” He fell quiet and turned slightly in his seat to face her. “What lead you here? What lead you to the Pacific Northwest?”

Lizzy was Canadian, or so he thought. He also thought that she had no family left except for her estranged brother, William.

Cautiously she selected her words, she chose to tell him only what she wanted him to know. “I came to the states with my boyfriend at the time, he was an aspiring musician. One night we partied too hard and he overdosed on PCP. He died. I had no better place to go, so I stuck around.”

“He overdosed?”

“Yep.” With her hands on her glass, she fidgeted a bit before continuing. “It was also a bad batch of PCP that took my mom.”

Shaking his head in sympathy, he asked, “You told me that your dad left you when you were young. Have you ever heard from him?”

“No.” She stared straight forward. Little emotion crossed Lizzy’s face as she confided in Collins. “My brother helped raised me. I lost touch with him when I left home a few years ago.”

“Where’s he now?”

Turning to look him in the eye, she replied, “I think he may be in this area actually.”

“Really! Why do you think that?”

Taking another long draw on her beer, she set her glass back down on the table with an overzealous slam. “I need something.”

He took the container out of his pocket once again. He dropped his hands below the tabletop while he distributed a few pills to her. The tone of the conversation changed after that. Once they finished off the pitcher, it was time to leave. It was time for the drop.

Collins was right. In a matter of minutes, they were pulling into a driveway of a seemingly empty warehouse. Surprisingly, after entering, it was a happening place. They were greeted and provided with drinks. Lizzy could feel the vibrations under foot from the bass music of Tommy Lee that blared on the stereo system. At the bar, a crowd of people were snorting lines and they were invited over. Collins did a few upon the offer. As the attention turned to her, Lizzy took some and added it to her drink. She knew that this was not a common way to take the drug, but that was her choice. She gazed at the white powder floating on her beer for a second and then took a large gulp. Once she no longer felt she was under the limelight, she moved from the bar back to the couch near some of the other guests. Collins went about handling the evening’s transaction.

Lizzy reflected on the evening, trying to remember exactly where they had been and what she had observed tonight. She took note to every little detail.