ref: 7f2f5eb9c1a580e7d7fbfb821507cd982b2efcf9
dir: /troff/0223.ms/
.LP .ce .ps 18 .B `86 .R .ps 10 .B tags: 1986, freeway_ricky_ross, piro, tab1, tab2 .R .PP .ps 12 Piro eased back on the throttle and the ship came to a stop. .PP .ps 12 "All right," he said. "We're here." .PP .ps 12 Thomas eyed him. .PP .ps 12 "Let's get started." .PP .ps 12 Thomas' floating head flickered out of view and was replaced by a light rapping on the passenger side window. Piro depressed a switch on his console and the window slid down. .PP .ps 12 "This way, my man," Thomas said, motioning with his thumb. .PP .ps 12 "This is our guy on the inside. Handle: Freeway Ricky Ross. Real name: Rick." .PP .ps 12 "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Rick." .PP .ps 12 Ricky nodded. .PP .ps 12 "We've been making a lot of progress. We did three hundred million last year in uncut bricks. But Ricky's got a line on some sweet chemistry and we've been able to step on these new shipments up to ten times before sending them out to the street. And it sells just as well as the raw." .PP .ps 12 Piro made a low whistle, pretending he understood what Thomas was talking about. .PP .ps 12 "The small-time dealers love it. Maximal return on a minimal investment." .PP .ps 12 "I own five houses," said Ricky. .PP .ps 12 "It's become an epidemic," complained Thomas, suddenly forlorn. "In spite of our best efforts, Crack is still flooding our streets." .PP .ps 12 "But\(em" .PP .ps 12 Piro's face contorted in spite of himself. He couldn't quite make up his mind if Thomas was being sarcastic. .PP .ps 12 He started again. .PP .ps 12 "But you're the ones selling it!" .PP .ps 12 "Not to worry. We fold all of the profits back into our war on drugs." .PP .ps 12 Piro shook his head. .PP .ps 12 "That makes no sense at all." .PP .ps 12 "That's exactly why we need your help. There are still some kinks in the process that need to be ironed out. Something has got to be done about the spread of illegal drugs, and quickly. People are dying out there, Piotr." .PP .ps 12 Freeway Ricky Ross leaned back against the hood of his Impala. He hated this part; waiting for Thomas to make his pitch to some new investor was more boring than going to church. He pulled out his briefcase and mulled over some past due paperwork. This new lawyer... No one could read his handwriting. Ricky snapped the briefcase shut and smoked a menthol cigarette. He suddenly noticed that someone had scuffed his Chuck Taylors. .PP .ps 12 Piro and Thomas had taken a circuitous route around the parking lot. Now they were making their way back towards Ricky. They seemed to still be discussing the preliminaries even as their voices drifted within earshot. .PP .ps 12 "Basically, I bought the Chrysler Building." .PP .ps 12 "..." .PP .ps 12 "Don't look at me like that. We needed the room." .PP .ps 12 "You founded a super-hero team\(emfunded by drug money\(emto fight drug dealers." .PP .ps 12 "Among other things, yes." .PP .ps 12 Piro could feel his eyes popping out of his head. Thomas was almost thirty years old. This kind of self-destructive behavior was inexcusable. But it was true, he .I had .R managed to amass some impressive resources. Piro stared off into the Los Angeles smog, weighing the situation. .PP .ps 12 "Almost nothing about this appeals to me. All right, I'll make an exception for a few of your acquisitions. Did you know that the Chrysler Building is still standing in 4086? Owned by the Crown." .PP .ps 12 "Huh. You don't say." .PP .ps 12 "Actually, I operated out of the 61st floor for several years, myself, training new recruits." .PP .ps 12 "Yeah, I remember that training. Dad really had a hard-on for your teaching methods. He always used to tell the rookies, 'If you survive one of Piro's seminars, you're hired.' Seemed to think that was hilarious for some reason. Of course, years later I told him about your Blythe collection." .PP .ps 12 Piro laughed. "Who do you think got me started on the doll collecting, idiot." .PP .ps 12 Thomas smiled at him warmly. .PP .ps 12 Things were falling into place, just as he'd hoped. .PP .ps 12 "Well Thomas, I'm a little perturbed that you've brought me back in time under false pretenses. Crack cocaine is hardly set to swallow the known universe. But now that I'm here... Well, what the hell. I can see that you've got yourself a heaping full plate. You're going to need all the help you can get dealing with this problem you've unleashed on the inner city. It probably wasn't such a bad idea for you to get me involved." .PP .ps 12 "I'm sure dad would agree." .PP .ps 12 "Please, tell me he doesn't know anything about your drug dealing," admonished Piro. .PP .ps 12 "Relax," said Ricky, flicking his cigarette over the hood of the Impala. "He's in Japan." .PP .ps 12 "The man has full-clearance access to the mesh, Rick." Piro made a face at him, emphasizing the obvious conclusion. "If he hasn't already involved himself in this scheme it probably just means you haven't been paying close enough attention to the books." .PP .ps 12 "I resent that," said Ricky. "We've spent a lot of money on accountants." .PP .ps 12 New York. .PP .ps 12 The Chrysler Building. .PP .ps 12 It felt strange to once again be standing on the 61st floor observation deck. Piro tilted his head so that his bangs partially shielded him from the setting sun. He pondered the circumstances which had led up to this present eventuality. .PP .ps 12 Thomas had fallen asleep in his apartment downstairs. Freeway Ricky had stayed behind in L.A., in order to keep an eye on the business. Someone had to do it, he had said. Consequently, Piro had been able to claim most of the 61st floor for himself. Just like old times. In point of fact, some of his old gear from the 1960s was still locked up in the building's armory. .PP .ps 12 As Piro's gaze drifted across the city below, he wondered if Thomas was aware that he had burned up the remainder of his fuel in the process of getting them back to 1986. As a result, the RAGNAROK was parked indefinitely within the present temporal frame. Its percept drive had run clean out of new perspectives. Face it, there was nothing new to be learned from the past. .PP .ps 12 No matter. It was true there was a lot of work to be done, here, in 1986. It could hardly matter if Thomas had deliberately deceived him. Petty manipulations were not at the forefront of his mind. In any case, it would make little sense for Piro to complain about being lied to at this late stage in the game. .PP .ps 12 So, his plans would change. .PP .ps 12 He willed himself to narrow his focus, concentrating, with some effort, solely on the mission at hand. Stopping the crack cocaine epidemic before it destroyed the country, if not the entire world. .PP .ps 12 Piro checked the logins on his weapons and unlatched his backpack. He withdrew the necessary equipment and prepared to launch himself over the wall of the observation deck. Before he new it, he was once again repelling down the side of the Chrysler Building. This familiar action pleased him, and he accelerated with deliberate speed. .PP .ps 12 The fading sun reflected at right angles against the skyscraper's face as Piro descended its smooth, featureless surface, pacing himself to the rhythm of the city. .PP .ps 12 Down, down, down.