It was just after 5 p.m. when the white van rolled into the cannery. Everyone got out, and Beeks began unloading the haul.
Aaron was overflowing with adrenaline; he walked circles to contain himself. "That was incredible!" he said, high-fiving Needles. "What a rush!"
Souther had been waiting for them. He dumped the contents of one of the fat duffel bags onto a table.
Cash… piles of it.
"Good job, boys," he said. He counted out several stacks of $100s for his thugs, then picked up a bundle of $5 bills and tossed them to Aaron.
Aaron caught the money with both hands and his eyes bugged out. "Whoa," he said. "What's this?" He figured he held $500 in his hands.
"That's your cut," Souther said, as if it were obvious.
"You're kidding," Aaron said. He certainly hadn't expected to get paid today, and $500 was more than his family's food budget for a month.
"You earned it," Souther said. "There's plenty more where that came from if you play your cards right." He stuffed the rest of the cash back into the duffel bag. "Let me know if you want to blow some of it on a whore, okay? I can arrange it."
Needles and Beeks laughed knowingly, but Aaron only gave up a sheepish grin.
Souther could back his statement up, of course, having spent countless nights over the years in the company of hookers, and he proceeded to share some of his titillating whore stories with the group.
Aaron was riveted, gripped by a raging torrent of hormones, and he lapped up every last syllable. Souther got a charge out of seeing his reactions, and he teased him with ever expanding layers of graphic detail.
– Souther concluded his thrilling monologue with an anecdote that had even Needles and Beeks blushing. Then he paused — he had left out one very important detail regarding his knowledge of the business of prostitution. A secret he'd been keeping (even from Needles and Beeks) for nearly ten years, now. But he decided not to mention it — not yet at least.
"I'll bet your mother could use some cash of her own," he said at last, looking for another reaction from Aaron.
The left-field comment confused Aaron and left him feeling queasy, his enthusiasm shriveling. "What's that supposed to mean?" he said.
"Forget about it," Souther said casually. He had gotten what he wanted.
Aaron felt a sudden aversion toward the money. He tossed the bundle of bills on the table like so much rotten meat.
His cell phone lay on the table. Souther picked it up and handed it to him. "Here," he said. "I believe that's yours."
The odd gesture only served to confuse Aaron further. He searched Souther's eyes for a long moment then slipped the phone into his pocket.