Chapitre 34: Where's Malcom
Moving back to the ground floor, Keith heard the commotion of some people entering the warehouse, and from the sound, he could conclude that it was his employees along with his car was with them to.
Opening the door he welcomed his new employees.
"Good afternoon everyone, its nice to finally meet you…" He shook the hands of the six people that stood before him..
The two gunners, Victor a tall retired army guard that got caught up in a corruption scandal, which he was deemed guilty of, he even had the look to match his crime… and Eva a woman discontent by the military and its values, she seemed briming with pride in her own accomplishments up intel now, standing taller then any of the other members that had come that day, luckily her pridefulness didn't seem to come from arrogance but confidence.
They would be responsible for the security of the place, at the least having one person there when the mechanic would be active.
On their right were the three drivers, their names were,
Nico, a short former Mexican trafficker who was betrayed by his cartel and turned a new leaf as a solo driver, highly proficient in off-road vehicles.
Kai, a street racer that became head deep in debt, that worked for the mob for a while before turning his life back to the road after he managed to win it all back in one final race, proving him as one of the best drivers on the road, that was also willing to join Keith.
Mia, a rebel, who joined the army but left after her talents weren't appreciated, came back to the streets where she grew up, where she could drive like she wanted to, also apparently a killer behind a motorbike.
Most of them had a past in either a criminal enterprise or the army, but the last one had neither, that being the mechanic he hired, Alex, a short haired mechanic wearing baggy clothes under her overalls, who worked on boosted cars for a living, running her own gig out of her small shop in the hood, before getting caught up in a rival gang war, after which the cops confiscated her equipment, leaving her without the means to make a living.
Molly had apparently selected her because of her skill, both behind the wheel and under the hood, for her, her shooting capabilities were the last thing she needed to worry about.
Their profits wouldn't be to high in the beginning, that was because they were selling illegally stollen cars, but it would still be high enough. If everything would go well ten the profit margin was still immune, the three drivers would get one car a day, for four days, after which Alex, would be done painting them by the end of the week, and with the buyer lined up, they could sell three sets during the weekend, making their income per week around one and a halve million, but expenses needed to be amounted for, taking up around twenty-five percent, give or take a view, making it one point two million a week for the coming future…
Keith suspected that they could continue their practise for a couple of years, at least until the they made all of their investment back, and a fortune with it that is.
Perhaps the cops would crack down on it sooner then later, but that would just mean setting up shop in a different location, it wasn't like they wouldn't have the money to do so.
Keith explained their job, and when and how they would be paid, each person would get a commotion per car delivered, if they missed a car that would affect all of their salary, each one of them would get a commission of two and a halve percent of the sales price, meaning around twenty-five hundred, if they sold all twelve cars then they would have thirty thousand a week, a salary that would amount to over one and a halve million a year… not bad considering they did what they liked to do.
They pay structure seemed to exited most of them, as that kind of money was no joke even compared to similar kinds of jobs… but in Keith's mind it was necessary… their pay was tied to their importance, if they worked remotely without doing anything of interest then they wouldn't be worth much, but with him leading them, they needed to realise that quitting simply wasn't worth it.
In the end Keith himself would only lose around one third of his profits due to expenses, still making it extremely profitable for him.
After explaining everything to his employees, Keith was open to any question they might have.
"Please, just ask…" He had prepared himself to answer some expected questions, sorting everything out beforehand.
"Why is our pay so much?" Eva came right out of the gate with a question that Keith was expecting, for people like then, it seemed awfully suspicious to get paid that much.
"I understand that it might seem strange, considering that currently there is no real risk to our operations, but see this like a start-up, you will be my first employees, and I hope to grow bigger with the employees, most loyal, and what better way to prove your loyalty then through work and getting compensated for that work…"
"What is your angle?" Kai joined in, speaking up in the mitts of the silent that had befallen the room.
"Lets say, that I expand this enterprise… could I manage everything by myself?.. or should I hire someone to manage it for me… no… instead find competent workers, like you, and show them how to operate, build trust, and build an criminal empire…"
"So you are looking towards us for your future businesses?" Nico didn't seem to trust the situation, he had been betrayed before and wasn't ready to experience it again.
"You guys would be responsible for overlooking the business, of course such a rise in position would mean a pay rise, but with that comes responsibility, responsibility and trust… both traits that you have yet to show… however time will tell how well fit you are… now, no more questions?" Keith looked at the others, each shaking their head confirming that they got everything.
Being done with his speech, Keith moved to his car opening the door, halting as he did so.
"Work starts on Monday… a fund will be set up to pay for any damages and the cost to find the cars, oh and I trust you two will figure something out with Alex.. yes?" Their time could be divided however they pleased, but they were their to guard the personnel, not the cars… if they were broken into when no one was there then it would mean getting some things stolen, but if there was someone inside who couldn't fight then it meant that they would either have a death in the crew, or someone who was taken.
"Of course boss." Eva nodded along with Victors word, both agreeing to work it out themselves.
"If anything occurs contact my assistant, if it is life threatening then you may call, ill visit on Friday to make sure that the cars are ready to be sold on the weekend… Alex?" mentioning Friday made him remember something that he was supposed to say earlier.
"Yes?" she looked at Keith as he got halfway into his car, leaving one foot outside while he still made eye contact with her.
"Call me if you don't have enough time to finish the cars, I have experience as a mechanic myself if it is really needed." Keith wasn't above doing something himself once in a while, certainly not when it came to cars or bikes.
"sure boss." Alex smiled. Appreciating the gesture of overing help even before something went wrong, which form her experience usually did.
Starting his car, Keith was in no time back on the main road, heading towards his office, he liked his clubhouse home, but wanted to head back to his office to manage his businesses there, view the profits and the expected profits, maybe investing in some other properties would be the best move… and the place he was looking to buy was the Chinese theatre next to the Dobbler, as he hoped to combined the two buildings, and at the same time making it the biggest theatre in the whole of Los Santo's.
Other places that he was interested in were bars or nightclubs, it was to bad that Tony still tried to keep going in liberty city, as he would be the perfect candidate to host any possible nightclubs.
Perhaps contacting Malcom was the best course of action, while Keith did threaten him, it was with well placed anger at the feeling of being betrayed by someone he trusted, but with more time to think, Keith suspected that there might have been something else at play…
Calling Malcom, Keith once again received no answer… it had been a couple of days since he tried and Malcom himself hadn't contacted him back… so either his phone was gone, or he was dead… or he was in trouble, either way he needed to find out.
Clicking on one of his saved numbers, Keith contacted Lester… the person he knew could find anyone, probably…
And the third ring the phone was answered by Lester, who greeted him as enthusiastically as ever.
["Hi Keith, something wrong?"] Lester wasn't a fool, he knew there had to be a reason for someone to call him, even more so when they were part of planning the biggest heist in the century.
"Hi Lester… I just needed your help with finding someone."
"It isn't about Michael is it?"
"what no, hasn't he been found yet…" Keith was momentarily thrown off by Lester's question, doubting if Michael was alright after leaving it to Franklin and Trevor to solve.
"I found him, but tell me, who are you looking for?"
"A member of the lost… Malcom, he doesn't run with them anymore, but was still a part from what I know."
"Mhh… lets see… found something." Keith was amazed at the speed of which Lester found results.
["Some reports have spread, containing to the disappearance of Malcom… its says here that he betrayed the lost, likely resulting in him being killed or framed for one of their crimes."] Lester's words shocked Keith, who
"Do you know where he is?" Keith was ready to turn his car one hundred and eighty degrees if he had to, fuming after knowing what happened.
He had experienced conflict with the Lost Mc in the past, but their competition was always professional, not going after personal properties, and only hitting the things that were out in public… But now, Keith would change it, causing the competition to change, form a business rival, to an enemy that attacked them.
["no, but I did find three possible locations in the city, ill send you them… and ah.. good luck with finding your friend.] Somehow, the end of the conversation with Lester always turned a little weird at the end, likely due to a lack of social awareness, but while it was weird, it did show the caring nature of Lester, a good trait that while hidden, was one of the things that helped him stand out.
Checking his phone, Keith found that all of them were north of his office, meaning he only had to speed up to get there earlier…
The sun was already starting to lower into the distance, reducing the amount of light that shined on the roads, making him turn on his lights.
The three properties listed in the text were all properties of the lost mc, yet they hadn't been as active as in resent years, as supply had seemingly reduced all around the state, either coming from police crackdowns, or rival gang wars.
Still they would at least have a crew of ten in each building, as the evidence inside could cripple more then a few of their projects in Los Santo's, something Keith was hoping for… He himself wasn't enough to fight all of the members of the lost, that were situated in Los Santo's, but he didn't have to fight them alone… hitting their supply routes and delivery points would lower the amount of cash flowing in, while tipping of the cops, would be a sure fire way to get some of them away from active duty…
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone