Read Parker 05 - The Darkness for Free Online

two-bit street demon with a habit and a
    ten-dollar bill will be aching for a taste of this."
    "You do have the streets," the woman said. "And that
    is commendable. Very nineteen eighties. But to be honest,
    I'm thinking a little higher than street level."
    "What you mean?" Culvert said. "Higher, where?"
    "That's not important. I'm just glad you enjoyed the
    product."
    "Enjoyed?" Culvert said. "Man, I'm gonna buy ten
    grand worth just for my own personal enjoyment. What
    do you say to that?"
    Malloy shrugged. The woman did not move. The other
    man stayed quiet. He looked uncomfortable.
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    "Who is this dude?" Culvert said, nodding to the
    quiet man.
    "This," the woman replied, "is Detective Sevag Makhoulian of the NYPD. He's our liaison inside the department. He will keep us apprised of any police awareness
    of our operation."
    "Smart bitch, you is," Culvert said. "So, let's make a
    deal."
    "Sorry," the woman said. "No deal."
    Culvert looked like he'd been punched in the stomach.
    "What do you mean, no deal? You gave me the product
    to test, I tested it, and now I want to take it to the streets.
    We all make money."
    " We make money," she said. "You don't."
    LeRoy Culvert jumped from the couch, his chains
    clinking, baggy pants fluttering. "Listen, bitch, I want my
    stash. Business or not, I got to have more of that stuff.
    Those rocks are life, man."
    "I'm glad you're satisfied with our product," she
    said, "but that does not change the fact that this transaction is done."
    "Man, fuck y'all," Culvert said. "You gonna be like
    this, I'm gonna have to take over your operation. Buttercup, gut this bitch."
    Buttercup went for the gun in his waistband, but before
    his hand ever got there the woman ripped a blade from
    inside her coat and ripped it through the soft meat of Buttercup's throat. The wound yawned open a ghastly red,
    and Buttercup made a choking sound as he dropped to the
    ground, flailing. Blood poured from the severed veins.
    The woman wiped her hand on the couch.
    LeRoy Culvert stared at the bloody mess. "What the
    hell are you doing?" he said. "We're partners!"
    40
    Jason Pinter
    "Yes, we are," the woman said. "You're going to help us
    get the word out about our product. I'm just sorry that your
    corpse is going to be the vehicle for delivering the message."
    Suddenly Malloy pulled two machine pistols from his
    coat, and in less than two seconds shredded Culvert's bodyguards in a hail of bullets. Blood and pillow feathers spattered the apartment, which was lit brightly by the gunfire.
    When Malloy had stopped firing, he paused and saw
    LeRoy Culvert cowering behind one of the couches. He
    was muttering sweet Jesus, sweet Jesus over and over
    again as he rubbed a gold cross hanging around his neck.
    "Jesus won't save you," the woman said, walking over
    to the cowering man. "But give him my best."
    With one thrust, she buried her knife up to the hilt just
    under LeRoy Culvert's jaw. He tried to open it, instead
    aspirating a cloud of blood. When Culvert's eyes rolled
    back in his head, the woman pulled the knife free.
    Culvert's body toppled to the ground.
    The woman looked at the bloody knife in her hand.
    "Three days," the woman said to her associates. "Once
    Paulina Cole does her job, and the police tie this into it,
    we'll have enough product on the street to saturate the
    entire city in less than a week."
    Malloy stood there, staring at the bodies. He made the
    sign of the cross. The woman turned to Malloy and put
    her arm across his shoulder.
    "I know you're thinking about him," she said. "But I
    promise you, he won't have died in vain."
    "Thursday," Malloy said. "I've been waiting for this
    day for twenty years."
    "Me, too," she said. "Now come on, we have some new
    recruits coming in. I want this room to look like something
    out of Stephen King's nightmares."
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    41
    The woman took the knife and drew it across the wall,
    leaving a bloody smear. Just a few strokes later, the F