The Lotus Crew Read Online Free PDF

connections. Chu knows a major player who’s going to do us a lot of good. Not on the supply end. I have my uncle’s people for that. But the ShyWun can see to it that we don’t step on toes or draw excessive heat. Forget about us selling to existing crews. The cash in this business is in retail. What we need is protected space where we can run our crews. These brandname scores are run like conservative businesses; workers get a commission on a per-bag basis, except for touters and lookouts, who’re on salary. Green Tape comes out of the basement our man René ran into on Eighth Street, although sometimes it shifts to a doorway, a van parked on the street. Sometimes you see the bagman sitting in a parked car in broad daylight feeding the runners as if he had a license. No one seems to notice. They rarely get busted, never ripped off.”
    â€œAnd Black Mark?”
    â€œOne of our people told me the Mark walks over in a baby carriage. Never the same girl pushin’ it, and no idea with who or where it’s dropped off. Seems to change. A tight ever-evolving system. Very complex; procedurally repetitive but confusingly unpredictable. Obviously the work of a highly developed criminal computer of some sort.”
    â€œJumpin’ Jesuits!” Alvira said. “Order one for me!”

Shy Wun
    THE SHYWUN don’t go near the street, babies,” Chu said, looking at his blanco associates with a smug sparkle. “Bu’ I see wh’ I c’n do.”
    The meet was made for that evening, in Hartford, Connecticut. T drove them out in the Jag, enjoying the erotic feeling of commanding the car’s awesome weight and power with one finger and one toe.
    Chu directed them to the cemetery, where a huge black van was waiting to take them to the ShyWun.
    The van’s smoked glass afforded no view, so when they were finally unloaded they had no idea where. A small private estate, thick hedges on all sides. A huge imposing wooden house with a wide verandah stood before them. It looked more like a sea-resort rooming house fallen from juicy times than a New England dwelling.
    They were led into a large room lined with oak, and sat down near a coffee table piled with Remy, cocaine, reefers, and even coffee.
    Chu introduced them to Valentino and Israel Martaan. The ShyWun’s private guard.
    Finally, the big man himself walked in. His entrance was a shock, as he wore a black silk mask over his face. He greeted the blancos with a stoic nod.
    Alvira found himself focusing on the only man in the room he could not see. He could tell from the shape of the mask that the man had a huge head. Below the black silk he wore Type A trappings of feudal dominance: a conservative, dark vested suit with a beige silk shirt and dark tie, soft brown wing-tipped shoes. The hands were covered by white gloves. As he leaned forward, a platinum and diamond stickpin could be observed glistening upon his tie just above the huge belly line. Opulence effervesced in that overstated way one expects from royalty; a man born to a throne in some nether region, but that does not detract from his absolute rule. Alvira had the feeling he was observing a highly evolved voluptuary. A score of buttered virgins must accompany this quiet masked man to bed each night.
    The man spoke softly, in clear English. “Chu tells us you are thinking of selling heroin in Alphabet City.” Amazing how the voice came through the mask with such distinction. “If this is so, it is good that you come to us. Others have moved in without consulting us. But you have the wisdom, the respect. For that alone, you can consider yourselves among friends.”
    â€œA friend would show his face,” Tommy blurted impulsively.
    â€œA friend would not ask to see. I have made fortunes for men who have never seen my face.”
    â€œSorry,” T said. “I’m not used to—”
    â€œNo harm is taken. You are playing a game with no