Lesson 2: Find Good Help

I figured I should get more people to help me out before I started synthesizing Meth. I mean, not only would it be tough enough to do everything on my own, but I also thought that there would be times where having other people around to back me up would be useful, and there have been. However, while this was true, I didn’t want to have too many people involved; I wanted to have an intimate little group of people I’ve known for a long time, who I could trust. The last thing I needed when drugs and money were involved was someone stabbing me in the back.

The first person I talked to about this was my good friend, Bill. Bill and I went way back, all the way to elementary school. We’ve been close ever since, even though we took different paths in life; Bill never did anything after finishing high school. At this time, he was working some dead-end job in a call-centre, and I knew he was strapped for cash, so I figured it’d be pretty easy to get him on board. I also knew he sold pot for a while a few years back, so he shouldn’t be too opposed to selling some Meth instead. He had a head on his shoulders and, beyond all else, Bill was really loyal; if he got caught for possession, he wasn’t talking. If trustworthy was what I was looking for, Bill was the way to go. Plus, he was a pretty big guy; you never knew when you would need some extra muscle. Just as I thought, Bill came on board without too much discussion.

The only other person I wanted to approach at this time was my other friend, Sammy. I hadn’t known Sammy as long as Bill, but we were pretty close as well. I met Sammy in high school, when we had almost every class together. After high school, he decided to take Chemistry along with me, so I still wound up seeing a lot of him. I considered Sammy not only because I was fairly close to him, but he thought about things in a creative way; while he didn’t always have common sense, he could come up with solutions to the strangest problems. I figured, as long as Bill and I were around to keep Sammy grounded in reality, this would be an asset, plus he would be able to help with the actual synthesis of the Meth. The only problem I foresaw with Sammy was that he was generally nervous in regards to doing something different and taking a risk, especially if he expected jail time or bodily harm, so it might take a lot of discussion before he became part of this project. No matter what, there was no harm in asking him as I knew he’d never tell anyone that I asked if he didn’t take part; he wouldn’t get in trouble. As was expected, it took some convincing, but the money involved was the biggest factor that really helped to get Sammy involved.

At this point, I was basically ready to start, but my conscience got the best of me. After thinking it over for a while, I felt that it would be unfair to my girlfriend, Caroline, to do this without telling her about it. And, really, we lived together, so I’m sure I’d have a hard time hiding it from her. I also felt that she should have the option of not staying involved with someone who’s manufacturing and selling illicit drugs. In hindsight, I probably should have talked to Caroline before approaching either Bill or Sammy, but it was much easier to bring it up with both of them.

We were sitting on our couch at the time, just talking. Well, she was doing most of the talking; I was too busy muddling how I was going to bring this up with her in my mind. In amongst all her random stories she was telling me, she finally looked at me and asked, “Hey, is there something wrong, Maxwell? You haven’t really said much all night.”

You see, Caroline was the only person really close to me who used my full name. It was strange at first, since I was used to everyone calling me Max all the time, but I warmed up to it. I mean, I like my full name. I looked back at her, “Yeah, there’s something I wanted to bring up with you, but I wasn’t sure how to...say it.”

She smiled. I loved her smile, “You know you can tell me anything.” She slapped my leg, “Come on, Maxwell, we should be past this awkward stage by now.”

“I know. This is just,” I paused, to give myself time to come up with the right word, moving my hands around while I organized my thoughts, “big.”

She laughed, “I’m sure there’s nothing you could tell me that could be shocking.”

“Don’t be so sure,” I added.

She paused and gave me this strange look, “You’re not asking me to marry you, are you? I thought we already talked about this.”

I laughed, “No, nothing like that. It’s just...”

Her eyebrows rose, “...Yes?”

“I’m going to start producing and selling Crystal Meth.”

Her face was frozen in the same expression. A smile slowly crept to her face again, “What, really?”

I nodded. We sat in silence briefly, and then I added, “I got Sammy and Bill on board. I already practiced the synthesis in the lab several times, and I’m careful, so you don’t have to worry about me blowing myself or anyone else up. I just wanted to let you know...”

She stared at me. I continued, “You know, if you want to get out, this is the time to do it.”

She looked up at the ceiling, then back at me, smile still on her face, “Okay, I’m in.”

I looked at her seriously, “I meant this is the time to get out of the relationship. I don’t want you involved in this; I don’t want anything happening to you.”

Her eyebrows rose again, “You don’t want anything happening to me? I don’t want anything happening to you. Come on, I’m sure you can use another person helping out. Besides, what am I going to do when you’re at home making it? Sit around? Do the dishes? Bring out the Tang and cheese crackers for Bill and Sammy?”

I smiled. She looked like she was thinking about what she just said, “And, really, who else is going to make sure you all do it right?”

“As long as you’re sure this is what you want.”

She crept closer to me, “Of course it is.”

She kissed me gently on the lips.