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venusdian · 8 days ago

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Chapter 1

Word Count: 3.8k

Delaney looks in the rearview mirror, making sure he looks presentable to Asani Abdul, a crime boss from Dubai trying to expand his territory internationally. Everyone in the underground scene has been trying to recruit him as a client as that could mean loads of money, so he had to make a good impression and show him that Affinity of Family is a great choice.

This would be his first time meeting with Asani. He’s only ever talked to him over Zoom Calls, no messages. Video calls are harder to trace than messages, and it doesn’t leave a paper trail. But Asani liked Delaney. He didn’t come off sleazy like the rest, which is ironic due to what line of business they’re in, but Asani was looking for one thing and one thing only: a reliable business that can help expand his company, and AoF seems like the right place.

Now that Delaney has warmed up Asani. It was time for Emory to come in and swoop the deal. That’s how they recruit crime bosses all over the states unless they have a rare occasion where Malina must close the deal because the men like good eye candy or have undisclosed Mommy issues.

Delaney takes the tin of altoids in his cup holder and puts two in his mouth. He practices his smile, showing his white pearly teeth. His smile usually wins them over. He brushes his shirt off, making sure there isn’t any hair or dust on his T-shirt. He clears his throat and practices his customer service voice, which he’s perfected after years of working in fast food as a manager. He winks at himself as he knows he got it.

The passenger door opens, and Asani enters. His bodyguard closes the door and gets in the backseat. Delaney holds out his hand.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, sir.” Delaney warmly states, his thick southern accent apparent. Asani looked at his hand, humming to himself before putting his seatbelt on. Delaney awkwardly takes his hand back. He starts the truck. Delaney looked through the rearview mirror to see who was in the backseat.

He was a Caucasian man with pale Ivory skin, which was a contrast from the people living in Arizona, who had at least a pale beige complexion due to the sunny days. So, he knew he wasn’t from around here. He wore an all-black suit, but the fabric he knew was expensive. He also notes that his chest looked a bit bigger than his frame. He must be wearing a bulletproof vest. As he backs out of his parking spot, he looks over at Asani, who is very cold & stand-offish.

Delaney also noted Asani's attire. He could tell he was trying to blend in with the American custom. He wore a plain white T-shirt, a gold Cuban link chain necklace, straight-leg denim jeans, and brown alligator loafers. His hair was styled in a sharp low-top, clean-cut fade, with sleek, straight black hair, having just the right amount of grease for a cool, effortless look. He had minimal facial hair, a light mustache, and a beard, hardly noticeable to the naked eye. His honey-beige skin was complemented by the sun.

After he backs out of his parking area, he speeds down the road.

“So, how are you liking Arizona so far?” Delaney asks, making small talk with Asani. Asani hums and shrugs.

“It’s ok, very hot.” He explains in his thick Arabic accent. Delaney chuckles.

“Yeah, we get that a lot.” Delaney jokes, earning a half smile from Asani. Delaney’s index finger points at the button on his radio. He looks over at Asani, reaffirming his action.

“Music?” Asani shakes his head.

“I prefer silence.” Delaney nods and continues to drive. Asani enjoys silence because it gives him time to think and take note of the scenery around him. He pays attention to street names, iconic buildings, parks, and other key details so that when he encounters them, he has them memorized by heart.

He’s not used to being in America, and if he was, he was always on the East Coast. He honestly prefers doing business in the East as he has a life set up there, but he also maintains one rule, never shit and eat at the same place. Arizona wasn’t going to be home for him. It reminded him of Dubai too much from its weather and its scenery.

When he goes places, he wants it to be a stark contrast from home as home makes him comfortable, and he doesn’t want to be comfortable.

The rest of the ride was silent. Delaney periodically looked over at Asani and his bodyguard, making sure they were comfortable but also to make sure that they weren’t planning anything.

The black 2019 Chevy Silverado 1500 begins to sway side to side as Delaney drives up on the gravel driveway. Once he got to smooth land, he apologetically looked at Asani, who was unfazed. Delaney parks his car in the makeshift driveway. Asani looks at the Trailer home. It is the only home on the land, he slightly smiles to himself. It meant privacy.

“You own this land.” Delaney nods.

“Yes, sir.” Asani hums, impressed. Delaney pulls out his phone and shoots a text to Emory.

“What are you doing?” Asani asks, looking over at Delaney.

“Just letting Emory know that we’re here,” Delaney states, not looking up at Asani.

Meanwhile, Emory and Malina were in the living room. Emory was sitting on the couch, putting on his timberland boots. Malina was loading her black Glock 19 before standing up and tucking it in her waistband behind her. Emory smacks Malina’s butt, earning a yelp and giggle from her.

“Damn, you look so damn good!” Emory exclaims, licking his lips. Malina rolls her eyes.

“Come on so we can close this deal.” Emory gets up.

“Aight, gimme a kiss,” Emory demands, grabbing her cheeks and aggressively smashing his lips onto her. He passionately kisses her and then pulls away. Malina blushes slightly and then rolls her eyes.

“My cheeks hurt.” She playfully complains.

“Oh, you be aight.” Emory unlocks the door. They both come out in unison. Asani immediately notices the girl beside Emory.

Her Almond skin glistened against the Arizona sun. She wore a white spaghetti strap crop top and denim shorts that were rolled up at the bottom, cupping her butt. She was on the heavier side and was short, which were two things that Asani liked. She had big breasts that carried nicely in her crop top and thick thighs that made him wanna grip them. Her lips weren’t too big or too small. The gloss on her lips made them kissable.

Asani was skeptical about sealing the deal, but it meant he got to see her more often. He might accept it. Keyword: Might.

Emory walked up to Asani. Asani was shocked by Emory’s height as he looked taller on the porch.

Emory could be no shorter than 5’9. The boots made Emory face to face to Asani. Emory wore a black silk durag, a white fruit of the loom tank top, and rugged bootcut jeans with golden brown Timberland boots. He was skinny but had an athletic build. His muscles were very apparent. Not too big but not too small. Emory was the lightest of the three, with a honey-brown skin color.

Emory looks at him, his hand held out. Asani looked at his hand, appalled, but Emory was not budging. The bodyguard is about to defend Asani, but Asani stops him by putting his right hand up. He makes direct eye contact with Emory, whose toughened demeanor impressed him. He was a person that demanded respect, and he earned it from Asani.

Asani grabs his hand, and they share a firm handshake.

“Nice to meet you, Emory.” Asani was impressed.

“Nice to meet you, too. Who’s the white guy?” Emory points at the bodyguard.

“Oh, that is my bodyguard, Dimitri,” Asani replies. Emory hums.

“He can’t come.” Emory nonchalantly expresses. Delaney’s eyes widen. He nervously chuckles, excusing the pair before pulling to the side away from earshot.

“What are you doing?!” Delaney exclaims in a harsh whisper.

“I don’t trust bodyguards. So he can’t come! You see how Diddy’s ex-bodyguard is singing like a bird. That shit ain’t happening over here. Out of all of us, he has the least to lose.” Emory explains, slightly irritated. Delaney rolls his eyes.

“This is one of our biggest clients! We cannot lose him!”

“What I say goes. Aight?” Delaney shakes his head, uncertain.

Meanwhile, Asani couldn’t stop staring at Melina, who was leaning against the railing of the porch. Her eyes don’t move away from Asani and Dimitri. Asani politely waves at Melina. Melina gives him a head nod, with no smile on her face.

Emory and Delaney walk back over to the Asani and Dimitri.

“You figured everything out?” Asani questions.

“Yea, lose the bodyguard.” Emory immediately demands.

“Why?” Asani questions.

“Because He has the least to lose out of all of us and I’m not going down if you two have a falling out.” Emory reasons.

“But, I trust him.” Asani calmly argues, but Emory isn’t budging.

“I don’t. Look, I don’t know how them other niggas do it out here, but over here we do shit a certain way. Either lose the bodyguard or find another nigga to help expand your business.” Emory firmly states, which causes Delaney to recoil, embarrassed by Emory’s arrogant attitude. Delaney confidently knew that they just lost that deal right then and there.

Asani thinks for a moment. Is Emory playing mind games with him? How could be so calm but yet so rigorous? Asani thought for a moment. He could see Emory was not budging. Delaney, he could get some leeway with, but he knew he didn’t want somebody to give in to whatever Asani wanted due to his power and money.

“Ok, that’s fine,” Asani says with a smile. Dimitri looks at his boss, worried.

“You sure?” Dimitri asks. Asani nods.

“It’s his land, his rules. I must respect it. You can hang out with—” He points to Melina.

“Oh, Melina doesn’t mind keeping Dimitri company.” Emory agrees.

“Aye, Mel!” Emory calls out and turns around, gesturing for her to come over to them. Melina furrows her eyebrow, confused, but follows the command anyway. Asani watches Melina come down each stair. Her thick thighs shake with each movement. Once she reaches the ground, he watches as her hips sway, putting him in a slight trance. As Melina was in front of the men, Asani had a grin that struggled to be erased. Delaney noticed Asani’s infatuation with Melina and took note of that. Emory was too focused on getting this show on the road.

“Hey, give Dimitri some southern hospitality.” Melina hums and nods.

“Come on, Dimitri. You like iced tea and lemon bars?” Dimitri looks over at Asani, unsure. But Asani insists he goes with Melina, doing a slight head gesture. Melina takes Dimitri’s hand and leads him to the trailer home.

“Aight, let’s go talk in the shed.” Emory walks ahead of them. Asani and Delaney follow.

Melina and Dimitri enter the house. Melina gestures to the sofa.

“I just want to let you know—I’m not attracted to black women.” He says in his thick Russian accent, which didn’t faze her.

“Thank god, I’m Afro-Latina.” She teases, going into the kitchen. She opened the fridge, grabbing the glass pitcher filled with Lemon Iced tea. She places it on the counter. She grabbed the tray of lemon bars and closed the fridge with her foot.

“Are you allergic to honey?”

“No.”

“Good, I use honey a lot. Since we also do beekeeping.” She explains as she grabs two glass cups out of the cabinet. She walks over to the dining table and places the cups there. She walks over with the pitcher in one hand and the lemon bars in the other and places them on the table.

“Don’t worry. You’re not my type anyway.” She winks at him. She pours the Iced tea into two glasses and unwraps the plastic seal.

“Enjoy.” She hands him the glass. He hesitates taking the glass but out of respect, decides to do so. She begins to gulp down the iced tea.

“Damn! I put my foot in this shit!” Melina exclaims with a slight chuckle. She looks over and sees Dimitri not drinking the tea.

“I’m not gunna kill you nor knock you out, because if I wanted to? I would,” Melina says with a warm smile. Dimitri snorts, trying to hold back his laughter. She was a heavy-set woman, he arrogantly thought. All he had to do was outrun her or shoot her before she could shoot him.

“What’s funny?”

“No offense. What could you possibly do to kill me?”

“Hmmm, easy question. You’re wearing a bulletproof vest. That’s supposed to be undetectable, but by the look of your body shape and possible measurements, it's not as undetectable, hence why you’re wearing all black to fool the naked eye. Then you probably keep a gun behind your back, tucked in your waistband, and then you have a smaller handgun tucked underneath your trousers and another gun tucked in your front waistband… Hmmm— I’ma say on your left side because you look ambidextrous, but your right hand is stronger by a bit.” Melina explains as she grabs a lemon bar, confidently taking a bite out of it.

Dimitri sat there stunned as she was right, confusing him even more.

“How do you know?” He asks. Melina shrugs.

“In this game, the three key things you need to be: Alert, Observant, and Confident. If you lack one of those three things, you will fail. So, do you want a lemon bar?” Melina asks again. Dimitri takes one and bites down into it. He cautiously chews it, taking in each flavor, making sure it doesn’t have anything or taste like it does. To his shock, it tasted like a regular lemon bar. Melina shakes her head.

“Told you.”

Emory locks the door to the 2-story Shed with a garage at the bottom. The sunlight coming through the windows shows the shed to be an office. An L-shaped wooden Desk was against the wooden wall. A brown office chair at the corner of the L. There were computers on the desk and a couple of files. There was a silver metal file cabinet and paper shredder beside it, empty.

Delaney goes to the file cabinet and pulls out his key. He unlocks the file cabinet and pulls out a manila folder. Then slams it shut, walking over and placing it on the desk.

Emory takes a seat at the desk and opens the manila folder.

“You keep things in a file?” Asani asks, very skeptical. Emory chuckles.

“We shred it then, burn it. Nothing is traced.” He assures Asani.

“Anyways. Let me explain to you how this works. Affinity of Family is our Butcher shop. We are legally a business—”

“So, the IRS knows you exist?” Emory nods.

“It’s because we would rather have the IRS on our side than against us. If we operate as a legitimate business, we are less likely to attract attention.” Delaney explains Asani was still uneasy.

“Wouldn’t that make it more likely for us to be caught if we’re in the database?”

“Yes and no. We prioritize what's visible and only prove what's necessary on our taxes.” Asani looks at them, even more confused.

“What?”

“We are not your typical business that the IRS would suspect of money laundering. We operate under the disguise of a farming business that also processes and sells meats and dairy products. Our unconventional front makes us less likely to attract attention from individuals looking to engage in illegal activities. Our advantage over our competitors lies in our understanding of what the IRS is monitoring and our ability to conceal our operations effectively. Additionally, we have connections within the IRS to ensure that we remain undetected.” Asani nods, impressed with Delaney’s explanation.

“Ok, continue.” Emory nods. He pulls out a piece of paper with three squares and lines. Emory points at the red square.

"We, AoF, need to create invoices for every import and export that goes through our shop to appear legitimate. We work with 5 manufacturers, which are all registered business fronts in the IRS system, making everything look legitimate.” Emory pulls out another document and Delaney takes over.

“Our distributor in California operates a beekeeping business that sells and distributes honey. This is also the place where we buy our marijuana and meth. While we engage in beekeeping ourselves, it's more challenging in Arizona due to its dry and humid climate, so we obtain our honey from California.”

“We have two companies in Mexico from which we source our chickens and some of our pork products. In return, we provide them with melons, greens, deer meat, and corn, as they can never have too much corn. We also receive heroin and cocaine from them.” Emory explains.

“We have two distributors: one in Brazil and the other in Colombia. The Brazilian company is a meat manufacturer. We supply them with animals, which they then slaughter and process to make the sandwich meats we sell. The Colombian company is a fruit vendor that provides us with exotic fruits for the season. We often sell the fruits as a side venture.” Delaney jumps in to explain. Asani nods, processing all the information.

“AoF produces two invoices. First, we produce the IRS invoice, and then we create our actual invoice. The personal invoice is given to the company from which we are purchasing products. They ask for a flat 20% cut, which is automatically deducted. Then, the IRS invoice results in a check being issued to us for the cost of the products. Once we receive the check, we obtain the products and distribute them in our butcher shop. When the products are sold, we request a 15% cut, and you must also comply with the 20% distributor cut, meaning that 35% of the profit goes to us. This process is then repeated.”

“35% of profit is absurd!” Asani argues.

“Well, We’re not cutting into our 15%. So, I suggest you put your ego to the side and get over it.”

“Well, Silas offered us a flat 20% rate with them covering the cost of distributors fees.” Delaney chuckles, shaking his head.

“No offense, they have only 2 or 3 distributors, and they took our leftovers. The companies we work with have been in the game for a long time and provide us with high-quality products.”

“And besides, Silas will gladly cheat you out of your money and make you think that you scored a deal. There’s a reason why everyone goes to us and not to them. They don’t have our connects. They don’t have our power.”

“Well, if you have so much power, how come you haven’t got rid of them?”

“Because we like competition.” Emory arrogantly states with a grin. Asani hums.

“Who are all your connects?”

“Well, Have various police forces on our side.” Emory starts.

“We have a few people on the border patrol, who let us pass,” Delaney adds.

“We also have a couple of people in the IRS & state on our payroll, as well. Do we need to continue?” Asani leans back, impressed.

“You also carry out hits as well?” Asani asks.

“Yeah, and we ask for 50 upfront, then 50 once the job is done.” Asani hums, nodding.

“Clean kill?”

“We’ve had people come to us when Silas & his crew fucks up a hit. We don’t miss.” Emory boasts. Asani nods.

“Alright. Do you plan on expanding overseas?” Emory nods.

“Yeah, we’re talking to people overseas and trying to work out some deals with them. So we can expand.”

“Alright, well what do you need from me?”

“We require a $50,000 down payment. Once we receive this payment, you will get the products and won't have to worry about the 20% cut, as we will deduct that from the $50,000. However, you will still need to give us our 15% cut. You will collect it at the shop. Just say, "Have you gotten the fresh lamb in yet?" and we will understand what it means. Please avoid saying it when customers are in the store, as we do not actually sell lamb.” Emory explains.

“Do you take checks?”

“No. Cash only. We only take checks for distributors.” Asani nods.

“I’ll get the cash for you.” Emory smiles.

“Great. Once you get the cash, we’ll take your order of what you need and have your delivery at the butcher shop.” He nods.

“Alright.” Asani gets up with Emory and Delaney. Emory holds his hand out, and Asani takes it, doing another firm handshake. They all exited the shed and headed to the trailer, which wasn’t too far. They entered through the back door, where they could hear laughter. They walked up to the living room. Where Melina and Dimitri were laughing and playing cards.

“You cheated!” Melina exclaims, laughing.

“No, you said I could put a red draw 2 over the four-plus, right?” Dimitri argues. Asani was shocked to see Dimitri so relaxed and smiling. Nobody can ever break Dimitri like that.

“Aye, Mel, we done.” Melina looks back and smiles.

“Ok.” Dimitri quickly switches from his happy demeanor to a stern & serious one. He gets up and adjusts his outfit.

“Ready to go?” Dimitri asks Asani. Asani nodded, but his eyes were slightly glued to Melina.

“Alright, You owe me a round when you come back.” Melina teases patting his back.

“Well, I’m going to take them back,” Delaney says, opening the front door.

“Ok.” Emory nods farewell to Asani and Dimitri as they all three leave, closing the door behind them. Melina looks over at Emory.

“You got the deal.”

“When he gives us the 50k that’s when I say we do.” Melina hums.

“What the nigga ain’t bring money?”

“We wanted to write a check.” Melina nods, understanding.

“Got it.” Melina wraps her arms around Emory’s waist from behind. Emory looks back and smiles.

“You Try—” Before he could finish, his phone vibrated. He pulls his phone out and sees a familiar number. He pulls away from Melina.

“I gotta go handle some business.” He says, shoving his phone in his pocket. Melina nods.

“Well, let me go with you.” Emory shakes his head.

“Nah, I need to go alone. I’ll call you when I’m there.” Emory says with slight urgency, grabbing the keys off the coffee table and rushing out of the home. Melina sighed, plopping on the couch and staring at the UNO cards on the coffee table.

“Welp, I guess I can catch up on How to Get Away with Murder.” She mutters to herself. She grabs the remote and turns on the TV, hoping the show can make her forget she’s home alone, yet again.

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