Peter Jenkins - Drugged into sin

Jimmy was relieved that it was over and he felt more involved with the gang than he had expected to be, but it was too late now for regrets. An uneasy feeling came over him and he felt that now he was among the marked men, the men that the police searched out in every nook and cranny of the city, even a city as big as New York.

"We'd better stay here until morning," Price warned. "Then I'll start to get rid of the stuff. Quite a few classy people are going to be very pleased!" He laughed wickedly, glancing all around the room.

He awoke in the morning, surprised that he had slept at all and wondered what time it was. He looked around the room and they were all there and Christine had joined them along with one or two other girls.

Price looked at him as he struggled up from the narrow couch.

"Just going to wake you up," he said, "It's time we were going."

He looked up and stared at Christine, thinking how lovely she was and how much he loved her. She smiled down at him and gave his hand an affectionate squeeze.

Jimmy picked up the first edition of the evening paper which Christine had just brought over which meant that it must be after six o'clock. He glanced at the headlines aware of the fact that Christine was following his every movement, then his eyes spotted a tiny headline, "Gang broke into New York Docks last night. Overpowered guard and watchman, stole large quantity of dangerous drugs, escaped. Drugs valued at several hundred thousand dollars."

He read the passage three times and looked slowly up from the paper. The first eyes he met were those of Christine. They were looking at him with the hesitant, shy look to which he had become so accustomed lately. She was waiting for his reaction before she said anything.

"This is us!" he said, holding the paper towards Price.

"That's right," Price answered almost jovially. "We really took them for a big haul this time! We weren't quite sure how you'd take it, so we had to invent the whiskey business until we got to know you better!"

The look of shock on his face must have been obvious, and Christine moved to his side.

"I didn't know, Jimmy. Honestly, I didn't know," she said.

Her eyes looked at him pleadingly, begging for understanding and she was almost in tears as she clutched for his hand.

Dangerous drugs, he thought. That wasn't exactly what he had bargained for, but as he looked around the room, he knew that there would be no way to escape from this web of crime he had become involved in without being aware of it.

"What sort of drugs," he finally had the courage to ask as his face turned an ashen color and he was afraid that he would be sick.

Price reached into his pocket and pulled out a small package which contained a sugar like substance.

"Heroin!" he gasped.

"That's right," Price agreed cheerfully. "It was going to the hospital, but they can get plenty more very easily. Our clients aren't so lucky."

"But that's a federal offense," Jimmy interjected. "It's piggish, you prey on people's weaknesses!"

"Not at all," Price retorted. "We didn't give these people the taste for it. We merely supply their demands."

"Besides, anything worth this kind of money, is a serious offense, as far as the law is concerned!" he added.

Jimmy looked at the others around the room to see if anyone else agreed with him, but he was met with just blank stares. He turned to Christine and her eyes were downcast at the floor.

"Well, it's just not exactly what I had in mind. Sorry fellows," Jimmy said.

"I wouldn't be so hasty in your decision," Price almost shouted at him. "You were brought to us by Christine, even though she didn't know exactly what the story was, and now it's too late to back out. We can't let you out now, you know too much and you wouldn't like anything to happen to your little girlfriend here now, would you?"

Jimmy looked at Price's sensual face and it was the hardest face that he had ever seen. He was in a trap, a horrible web of circumstance from which he could not escape.

"What do you think you can do if I just leave and take Christine with me," he asked.

"The police have a way of finding people once they've been tipped off and it's amazing how the narcotics squad find out about people who try to leave. We can't afford that kind of publicity, so it looks as if you're stuck!"

"Well, what good am I to you now, what good is Christine, now that we know?" he interjected.

"Oh, I see, it's that way," Price added.

Christine was almost cringing in one corner, hoping that Jimmy would shut up, so that Price would not be forced to tell him just what sort of thing that she was involved in.

"The only time when there is honor among thieves is when you are useful to us, and I told you how useful you are as a driver. You didn't lose control or blow your cool last night, so right now, you are valuable to us, and that is your only protection."

He glanced at Christine and her eyes were looking at Price with hatred. It was just a second, but Price caught her hateful look and walked across the room towards her.

His hard, cold eyes were blazing as he looked at her and his hand slashed cruelly across her face and she fell backwards.

"You can expect her to take more of this if you decide to back out now," he quipped, "not to mention what will happen to you!"

Jimmy stood there completely frozen to his spot. He knew that it was no good to try to play the knight in shining armor and avenge the slap, because there were too many of the others in the room and things would only get worse and both of them could be badly hurt or even killed.

Why, he thought to himself, did she get me involved with this type of operation. But then he realized that she, herself, must have been desperate to have approached him. This explained a lot of her moods and hesitant feelings she had had during the past week!

He was unable to say anything, do anything, and Price slapped Christine again, this time across her full, well shaped breasts and she fell limply backwards into a chair.

She began to sob quietly while he looked on. She looked at him understandingly, knowingly and her eyes begged him to remain silent.

He was unable to contain himself any longer and he started to her aid.

"Leave her!" Price commanded. "Mind your own business!"

"But she is my business," he replied and once again started towards the chair where she had fallen.

All of a sudden there were hands holding him down so that he could not move and he could feel a swift kick soundly in his groin and he cringed in pain.

She got to her feet and tossed her head in an effort to show Jimmy that she wasn't really hurt that badly. Her face was crimson from the blows she had endured, but moved to a bed and sat down, her fists clenched, her eyes staring at the ceiling so that she would be able to fight back the tears.

Price looked at her for a moment longer, his mouth twisted in a menacing grimace as he nonchalantly tucked his tie back into his coat.

"All right. Let the gentleman go," he commanded to the other men that were holding him down. "You shouldn't treat class that way."

He walked around to the drawer in a desk and drew out a fat wad of bills and laid them in front of Jimmy.

"That's another little advance," he said. "There will be more when we dump the stuff, so why not just sit back and cooperate like a good little boy." He was laughing sadistically, and went to sit on the couch next to Christine.

She tried to move away from his touch as he reached out to grab her by the knee, but his fingers closed tightly around the flesh of her thigh.

Jimmy looked at him and then at Christine. She was in tears, and trembling.

"Please don't touch me. You've got what you wanted. Why don't you just let us alone!" she said.