Valin approached the newsstand, grabbing a bottle of water from the shelf.
“Hey, boss, give me a pack of cigarettes.”
“Help yourself,” the owner replied without even ncing up from his card game.
Valin took a pack of cigarettes and asked, “How much for all this?”
The owner gave him a quick look and said, “Two dors.”
Valin handed over a hundred–dor bill.
The owner frowned, “Got anything smaller?”
“Let me check,” Valin said, pulling out a wad of cash totaling ten thousand dors from his pocket.
The owner’s eyes widened in shock. He nudged one of hispanions with his foot and subtly gestured toward Valin.
The men around the newsstand noticed the cash, and their eyes lit up.
One of them chimed in, “Hey man, no problem. I can break that hundred for you.”
Valin gave an embarrassed smile.
“Thanks a lot, buddy. I just got my annual bonus. I don’t have any small bills yet.”
The newsstand owner asked curiously, “Where do you work, buddy? That’s a nice chunk of bonus.”
“Ah, just hauling cement and bricks on a construction site. It’s hard–earned money, barely enough to get by.” Valin replied with a weary smile, perfectly ying the role of a weatheredborer.
The man who had offered change exchanged a hundred–dor bill for smaller denominations, and Valin
handed five dors to the newsstand owner.
The owner gave him back three dors in change and chuckled.
“That’s tough work. Now that you’ve got some extra cash, <b>why </b>not y <b>a </b>few hands with us?”Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org.
Valin nced at the card game and the money on the table, swallowing hard before shaking his head.
“<b>Nah</b>, I’m terrible at cards. I <b>never </b>win when I y with my coworkers.”
Sensing Valin’s desire to gamble, the newsstand owner smirked and offered his seat.
<b>“</b>Come on, sit here. This spot’s lucky today. I’ve already won 200 dors. We y small stakes, just three to five hundred at most.”
Valin hesitated, wearing a conflicted expression.
“I don’t know…”
“Scared of your wife, huh?” a bald guy taunted, using reverse psychology.
Valin’s face turned red with indignation.
“Bullshit! I run my house, not her. I’m not afraid of anyone!”
The men exchanged knowing nces and smirks.
The bald <b>guy </b>continued provoking, “If you’re not scared, sit down and y a few hands with us!”
Valin took a deep breath and plopped into the newsstand owner’s chair.
“Alright. But if you guys lose money, don’t try to keep me from leaving<b>!</b>”
The bald guy lit a cigarette, exhaling a cloud of smoke.
“Don’t worry. We don’t have <b>any </b>rules like that. You can leave whenever you want.”
Valin ced his stack of cash on the table, catching the men’s undivided attention.
The bald guy looked at the newsstand owner.
“Get a <b>new </b>deck of cards!”
Meanwhile, Sirius had a much easier time. He didn’t even bother buying anything. He simply asked to join
their game.
While Valin was still getting settled, Sirius had already won two hands, pocketing enough for a quick meal.
Benjamin sat in the car, smoking a cigarette.
Suddenly, the convenience store owner emerged and knocked on his window.
“Hey, where are you from, and why are you parked in front of my store?”
The man bore a <b>scar </b>at the corner of his mouth–a detail that confirmed his identity to Benjamin. This was Lothar Roberts, one of Jalen’s enforcers, known for maintaining a tight grip over this territory.
Benjamin responded with a friendly smile.
“Do you have any slot machines here?”
“You haven’t answered my question. Where are you from, and what are you doing here?”
Lothar’s expression hardened, suspicion growing in his voice.
Forcing a <bugh</b>, Benjamin tried to steady his nerves.
“I’m here to pick up my cousin’s kid from school.”
“Your cousin’s kid? Which ss? What’s their name?” Lothar continued to probe.