New World Order

The sun was going down, and she knew that he would be leaving soon. She hated it when he had to go like this. She always worried about him. She knew he could handle himself, but when dealing with the people he had to deal with, anything could happen.

She watched as he dressed. The part of town he was going to visit wasn=t a good place to be, especially after dark. There were too many people looking for it, and most of them would be willing to kill.

His clothing consisted of dark pants, a dark shirt, boots, and a wrap-around bandanna. He wanted to look the part of the people he was going to visit. For safety, he also tucked a hand gun into the waist of his pants. When you=re dealing with illegal substances, and large amounts of money, there=s always guns involved.

Once he had completed his dressing, he slipped out the back door of their apartment. He made his way to the communal parking garage and without a sound, slipped their vehicle out into traffic. All the way across town, he questioned the wisdom in what he was about to do.

About a block from the park where he was to do his business, he parked the car in a secluded area. Looking around and seeing no one, he made his way over the low wall into the park. He took less care with being seen inside the park because the cops never came in after dark. They knew what kind of folks inhabited the park after dark and the attitude the cops had was >let them all kill each other=. He was hoping tonight wouldn=t have that result.

It wasn=t long before he saw his connection, under the same bridge as always. Making his way through the shadows, he checked again to be sure he hadn=t been followed, and that no unwanted eyes were watching his connection. Once satisfied, he made his approach. AHey, Luiz.@ He whispered hoarsely. The man in the shadows turned to face him. AYou get anything interesting this week?@

AIt=s always interesting. What you looking for?@ Each was unwilling to cross the line, to commit before the other had. Each was still holding cards unseen in their hands. He felt the satisfying weight of the gun tucked into his waistband, and resisted the temptation to touch it.

AThe usual, you know.@ The other man nodded slightly. Looking around for unwanted company, the other man began to show his wares. When he had completed, the shopper browsed for a short while, then made some selections. AHow much?@

The other man reviewed the selections, and made a fast calculation in his head. AThat=ll be two.@ Satisfied at the price, the buyer took out two crisp one-hundred dollar bills and gave them to the dealer. The dealer examined the bills, and passed the merchandise back to the buyer. AEnjoy, but remember, the next boat in from The South isn=t due for a week or more, so don=t go through that too fast.@ The buyer just nodded, impatient to return home and enjoy the effects of his new purchase.

Walking back to the side of the park where his car was parked, he was accosted by two young hoodlums. Feigning fear, he let them get close enough, then took out the gun and calmly shot them both through the head. ANo one steals my stash.@ He muttered. Stepping over the bodies, he continued on his way. In the darkness that enveloped the park the gunshots announced another untimely demise, but no one came to investigate. They would arrive after sunrise, and collect all the bodies at once. After all, there would be more, many more, tonight.

Making his way to the car, he checked around again to be safe, and being satisfied, he started the car and drove home. By the time he arrived at the apartment, his elapsed time to consummate the deal had been around four hours. It was late, but still time to enjoy his contraband before going to sleep. He could get to work late in the morning. Nothing else mattered once safe in his home.

Brushing his young wife with his lips, he hurried to the back of the apartment with her following close behind. He tossed the gun on the bed, stripped off the dark sweatshirt, now aptly named, and pulled off the dark pants. From inside his underwear he pulled the merchandise he had been out searching for. When her eyes caught the glint of light reflecting from the small package, she smiled. Waiting until he was ready, she offered a match to light the first small, badly rolled cigarette. The match flared, and the end of the cigarette caught. He drew the smoke into his lungs eagerly, passing the cigarette to her. Before it was half gone, both were encompassed by the haze of the drug.

Even before the coals from the cigarette had gone cold in the ashtray, the front door of the apartment exploded inward, followed by a large contingent of uniformed people. Before either of them could react, the two were lying face down on the floor, hands cuffed tightly behind them. Trying to shake off the drug=s influence, he looked around from the floor. The police were tearing the apartment to shreds. Soon, having found everything there was to find, the officers turned their attention to the couple on the floor.

AGonna tell us where you got it?@ one of the officers asked. All of them knew the answer would be not forthcoming, but the question had to be asked anyway. AYou ought to go ahead and tell us. Between the gun, those old adult magazines, and the tobacco, you=re in a lot of trouble. You=d think you Nic-heads would figure it out. We could smell the smoke all the way down the stairs.@

Life had gotten somewhat more complicated ever since the congress had decided that the American public didn=t have enough common sense to run their own lives. Shortly after the bank collapse that almost ruined the country, toward the end of the twentieth century, laws were passed to protect the ignorant citizenry. Before the twenty-first century began, Americans found many things illegal that had before been perfectly acceptable. Besides alcohol, hand-guns, sports cars, and >adult= oriented literature, tobacco was outlawed, resulting in an underground economy that was readily accepted by the previously existing drug-culture.

Drug dealers found it easier to obtain products from the Carolinas instead of South America. They also found that dealing in black-market firearms became more lucrative than ever expected. People that smoked cigarettes in their favorite bar, while complaining bout the large amount of money spent on the ineffectual drug war the week before, found themselves dealing with the very people they had been wanting to see executed.

The drug dealers, with a perfectly defined distribution system already in place found that adding liquor, tobacco, pornography and firearms increased their bottom line by a factor of a thousand. Where millions had been spent before combating the importation and use of illegal drugs, trillions would be spent in trying to police the entire population of the United States, protecting them from themselves, and making the world a better, more perfect place to live.

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