I want to stay like that with her, locked in that moment. But then Hub yells down to us.
“Yo, Robin! You got a drop in the District. Move it or lose it!” Self-conscious, Robin pulls away. She fumbles in her bag, checking her gear, not looking at me.
“Tonight?” I say. “Can we talk tonight after work? At the alleycat?”
“Yeah,” she says. “I’d like that.” She pulls her bike around, gets on and is ready to go. She looks at me. “Just don’t do anything stupid, okay? Be safe.”
By the end of the afternoon, I’ve burned through a million possibilities for Robin and me. A million what-ifs. I still make my deliveries without screwing up. But my mind is totally on her. Not on the job. The hours seem to drag on forever. The day finally grinds to an end. I grab a hot dog from a stand on the street and check the time. Almost seven o’clock. Time to start the dead run.
I don’t know what goes down in the Diamond Club. Maybe it’s gambling, maybe worse. Whatever it is, they don’t want to draw attention to themselves and their customers. The place is almost impossible for me to find—no sign on the street. In fact, it’s just a door with a buzzer. And a big guy in a UFC shirt standing beside it. I push my bike up to him.
“Viktor sent me.”
The bouncer is all muscle under his shirt, a pale scar across his cheek. He nods, then opens the door and pushes me into a dark, hot hallway. There’s the stench of old cigarettes and spilled beer. Far away, I can hear the dull thump of a bass. I start to walk down the hallway, but the bouncer stops me with a grunt.
“Nyet. You don’t go all the way in. Just take this.” He shoves something into my arms. “Now get out.” I fumble the canvas package into my messenger bag.
I’m relieved to be back on the street, free again in the cool night air. As I ride away from the club, it hits me hard. Robin was totally right. I’ve got to get out of this deal before things get worse. Tell Viktor I’m done. Maybe he wants to work with these clients. But I don’t.
I’m into midtown and headed for the Five Continents Imports building when I see the big clock on the City Bank billboard. 7:45 PM. How did that happen? I’m way behind. There’s no way that I can make the drop and still get to the start of the alleycat. Crap. I think about my options for a couple of minutes, weaving down street. Then I pull a U-turn.
Viktor and the clients can wait this time. I’ll run the alleycat with Robin. Then make the drop. Nobody will ever know the difference. It’s a dead run—no one is there to check when it arrives. And if Viktor does find out, so what? Maybe Robin’s right. Maybe I need to make a choice, do things for myself.
I run a red light, putting some speed on.