"Hello is...is Gustavo Fring here?" I asked the lady at the reception. My hands were trembling. It must have looked like I was a tweaker.
"I'm sorry sir but may I ask why?" She replied with a fearful smile.
Goddammit I have to calm down. I can't let that Cop encounter get me so twitchy. There was a million dollars in line! I can't fuck it up.
I took a deep breath.
"His phone number will suffice. He offered me a job here, I was supposed to be meeting him here today.
"Oh I'm sorry...we're not supposed to give his personal number-" I raised my hand and waved her off, "No I get that...sorry for wasting your time."
I turned back.
"Not at all sir." She said with a wide smile, happy that I wasn't pestering her any more.
Shit now what...I got a 60 pounds of product in my trunk-
Just before I exited the building, a guy obstructed my way.
Oh shit...that's right! That's how it went in TV show.
"59 Pounds, 2.1 million dollars, truck stop two miles south of exit 13 on the 25. One hour."
The shock hadn't worn off, I was still speechless.
"One hour. You in or out?" He repeated again.
"Truck stop, two miles south of exit 13 on the 25....one hour." I nodded in confirmation.
"One hour. If you miss it don't ever show your face here again." He warned me with a blank stare and walked away. It felt like a random NPC encounter, the whole thing left me standing there alone. Confused and wondering what had just happened.
I calmed myself before I got an anxiety attack.
"Alright, Lets do this."
________________________________________________________________________
I was there in the dusty abandoned Gas station. It was like the set of a 70s cheesy horror movie. With tumbleweed's rolling on the ground and a long stretch of sand inducing a sense of loneliness within me.
My back was against the car, waiting for the guy to get here. The faster this was done the better. I was 10 minutes earlier than I was supposed to be. I hoped Gus would appreciate my punctuality and be convinced that I could be trusted to keep his little secret.
A Black Van pulled beside me.
Guess it's them, alright put your game face on.
The other goon from the show, Tyrone. He's the guy who got blown to bits by Salamanca along with Gus.
"You got all of the 59 pounds."
I nodded and opened my trunk.
"It's all in there. You can weigh it if you want."
"We will." He promised. There was a hint of hostility in his voice. Two other guys came out from the Van and approached the car.
"Not before you give me the cash." I interrupted their stride. The other two guys looked at Tyrone. He gave me a blistering stare but then finally relented with a reluctant nod.
The men went back to their van and brought out the money in the form of four huge duffle bags. It looked really heavy.
Good!
They threw it near my feet and proceeded to collect the product from the trunk of my car.
Once they were satisfied with the weight, they got back into the van and left promptly without saying anything.
I looked at the bags.
"Just like that?"
_______________________________________________________________________
I counted the money and it was all there. 2.1 million. It was all there. I rubbed my eyes once more. It was that easy. I was a millionaire now....just like that. I couldn't contain my excitement and I yelled in Triumph.
"YEAHHHH BITCH!"
________________________________________________________________________
I was in the usual meeting spot. The dusty lonely road where I usually gave Mr. White his share of the profits. Today was no different.
"What's taking him so long?" I said to myself. It was weird, he was always a stickler for punctuality and he never came late for a payment. Never.
After another good ten minutes, I was about to leave but then I saw Mr. White's Pontiac Aztek speeding towards me.
Oh boy here he comes.
He had a panicked look on his face. I wonder what his problem was now? He rolled down his window as it got closer and said, "I'm sorry Jesse! My wife went into labour and I got caught up in that. Did you make the..."
He finally saw the smile on my face and realised what happened.
"You got the money? Really? Just like that! They didn't try to frisk you or short change you or anything like that?"
I smiled from ear to ear. He let out a small laugh in disbelief.
"You have my share?" He smiled all teeth showing.
"I do. All one million and fifty thousand of it."
He sighed in relief and put his head on the headrest with his eyes closed.
I got out the car and opened the trunk and took out the bags. I could hear his door open and Mr. White's footsteps heading towards me. I opened the zip and gave him a glimpse of the fat stacks inside the bag. He silently held the money.
"It's all there. I counted twice." I still couldn't believe it was that easy.
Mr. White held the money and started smelling it.
Yeah seeing that much money will do that to a person.
"This will help with everything now that the baby's here."
"Oh yeah, congratulations Mr. White."
He looked at me, slightlymisty eyed and said, "Thank you."
Guess it's been an emotional day for him.
I helped him with the bags, it was the least I could do for him. This man single handedly made me a millionaire. I don't have to work for another day. Of course I didn't intend for that. I had huge plans for myself. I would accomplish all the things I couldn't in my previous life.
For the first time in all of my time here, Mr. White actually seemed to be happy with how things turned out.
I didn't let him know about the officer incident. No need to damper the good spirits.
"So...we're millionaires now huh!" I said with a huge grin.
He smiled shyly and said, "It's only the beginning." There was a glint of ambition in his eyes.
I guess this is where it happens.
"That's gonna be a No for me chief."
He was still smiling but there was a small flash of disappointment on his face.
"Where's your drive, Jesse? We just made a million dollars and what do you want to do? You want to ride off to the sunset?"
I looked at him with a grin and replied, "You bet your sweet ass I do."
He stared at me for a few seconds confused.
"Look Mr. White...this is it. This is the last time we're ever gonna see each other. As discussed before, we go no contact after this."
I extended my hand to Mr. White one last time. He was grinding his teeth in frustration but he was in a good mood with getting the million so he didn't want to ruin the moment. He silently shook my hand.
"It's been nice cooking with you, Mr. White."
"Yeah, Jesse.....Yeah..." He said begrudgingly.
"I'm sure Gus Fring will contact you if he wants your services. I suggest you don't do that and walk out with that million dollars but...something tells me you won't do that."
Mr. White looked like he was caught red handed.
"The baby, Jesse...the baby complicates everything! I need the money." He said in a low tone.
I knew that the baby was just an excuse for him to continue cooking. If it wasn't for the cancer then he would use his family as a reason. In the end, Heisenberg didn't care. He didn't care that he would ultimately fuck everything up. He was addicted to the product and not in the way you think.
"I understand that Mr. White but...If that's the case we can't be meeting up any more."
"Jesse, we can make millions more if you-"
"Thank you for that. I really mean it! Thank you but I think I'm okay where I am."
"You sure."
I turned to the look at the huge bag stuffed with cash and let a small smile come to my face.
"Yeah. I'm sure."
He looked at me sadly, "Alright. How about some brunch?"
I smiled. This was the like first time that he ever asked me to hang out after working hours. Usually I would be the one who would be offering. It was funny for some reason.
"Nah Mr. White I have to go. I have a date with my girlfriend."
"Girlfriend?" He asked inquisitively with a small smile.
"Yeah, look any ways Mr. White I gotta bounce. Good luck with everything." I waved goodbye and got in the car before he could say anything. I knew it was rude to do that but I still needed to do that. It was important that I immediately distance myself from him now before shit went south. I glanced at him for the final time in my rear-view mirror and he had this bewildered look on him. Hopefully this was going to be the last time I saw him.
I hit the gas and got the hell outta there.
Before I go back to home to Jane, I had to settle some debts with certain people.