The Shady part of The Loop on a cold Chicago night. It had been a couple of days since Burnett's failed drug deal with Carlo so he lied low for a couple of days and waited for the heat to die down before making his next move. He was headed towards a bar, outside there were a couple of hookers offering their services and one of them approached Burnett.

She was a brunette on the wrong side of thirty, makeup smeared all over her face, and was smoking a cigarette.

"Twenty for a good time. Fifty for a fun time."

 He didn't mind hookers but he had STANDARDS. Burnett let her down the best way he could.

"Keep walkin skank."

Burnett made his way inside the bar it was filled with the usual crowd cat burglars, the small time drug dealers, and muscle looking for work he found Carlo sitting on a stool smoking a cigarette. Burnett took a seat next to him and ordered a drink.

"You've got a lotta nerve showing up here after that shitshow the other day."

"Whatever pal. What about my meeting?"

"That meeting? It ain't happening Sineya doesn't meet with newbies from the street in fact she doesn't touch drugs at all."

Burnett was furious

"Then why the hell am I wasting my time?"

"Because I'm the only guy in this town who is willing to give you a shot and I need to earn back my twenty grand worth of coke."

"Then where do we start?"

"There's this guy runs some hot dog stand over in Oak Street beach. With the cold not many people show up this time of year to the beach. So he runs a side business he sells coke during the winter months. There's a catch though he only sells one large package once a week. Hands it off to whoever shows up first."

Carlo looked at his watch

"If we hurry we might just get there in time. You drive."

He hands Burnett his car keys and they head outside where a 1929 Lincoln model L is parked. Burnett starts up the car and they pull off. Burnett is driving though traffic with Carlo barking at him to not scratch his car or he's dead.

"This thing just so much gets a scratch you'll be floating at the bottom of Lake Michigan understand?"

"Yeah yeah whatever. So you carrying any protection? Showing up to a deal without any heat is just asking for trouble."

"Relax I got us covered."

Burnett looked over and saw a Colt 1911 sitting on Carlo's lap.

"Hey eyes on the road!"

He almost ran over an old lady.

"Jesus first you lose me twenty grand of coke, then you can't drive and almost get us killed. Anyway we should be coming up on the place shortly."

The Drake hotel was overlooking the Oak Street beach. Burnett saw the hot dog stand and as they drove next to it Carlo rolled his window down and someone through a large bag of drugs into the car. Carlo opened it up and tasted it he smiled.

"Turn around kid, roll down your window, and give them this."

It was a suitcase probably filled with money. Payment for the coke these things aren't free. Burnett turned the car around rolled down his window and with his left hand threw the suitcase at the person waiting at the hot dog stand. Burnett then drove the car towards the Drake hotel and stopped.

"So this is how it works here in Chicago huh? I could get used to this."

"We'll see now we gotta go find a buyer for this stuff. I'll see you around if I have any work I'll call you."

Burnett got out of the car and lights a cigarette as he watches Carlo drive away.