Page 14 of Justified
“See you later.”I ended the call and booted up his laptop, opening up the search engine.I needed to look for a place where the rent was cheap.I checked out some apartments, but opted for private lofts instead.If I was going to be exiting and entering in costume, the less people having a chance to see me, the better.I settled on three locations I was going to check out.The one I wanted the most, I put first.It had a large garage door for inside parking.That was sweet as hell.No sooner than the printer spit out the paper, Jordan walked through the door.
“You’re still here.I brought food,” he said, wagging a bag I knew was filled with yummy goodness.
“What did you bring me?”I asked as he started removing the food out of the bag, putting it on the table.
“I brought you a lot of fatty, greasy shit you shouldn’t be eating.”
“Good.”I reached out, snatching one of the wrapped bundles that had the grease staining the paper.Unwrapping it, I moaned when I saw it was a gyro-burger with bacon and cheese.Shit was about to get real.I palmed that bitch and took a huge bite, savoring the mixture of flavors.“Perfect decision.”I saluted Jordan and he laughed, shaking his head.I rose and grabbed my jacket from the back of the chair.
“I’ll be back later,” I said, then took another bite.
“Be careful.”
“I will.”I left and walked to the bus stop.One of the reasons we wanted a bigger score was so we could buy a damned car.This public transportation shit wasn’t going to cut it much longer, especially not if I was trying to save a motherfucker dressed like some damn superhero.I finished my burger just when the bus pulled up.After paying my fare, I took a window seat and made sure to look away when we passed the restaurant where police were still canvasing and investigating.What happened was on the news that morning and there was a crude sketch of my face.Luckily, I was so much better-looking than the drawing, so I hoped no one would make a connection.
I also wondered if they purposely gave a bogus description of my face to throw police off.There wasn’t even a mention of another man being with me.I mean, if they were trying to protect me, I truly appreciated it.But I wasn’t going to take any chances.Moving was definitely on my books.
On the way to the first location, I called the landlord, letting him know I was on my way to take a look.So by the time I made it there, he was waiting on me.“Thanks for being able to meet me on such a short notice,” I said.
“No problem,” he replied around his stogie.
He looked like the Daddy type; leather pants, wife-beater, and beard.He was stocky and hairy, but in a bear sort of way.Jordan would give him a go.I followed behind him as he led me inside the one-story loft.This really was my first choice and if I didn’t like it, then I’d visit the others.So far, so good.It was in a loft district mixed with warehouses and not much traffic.I didn’t see many street cameras either, which was another good thing.
“Would you be opposed to me setting up extra security in the form of a password entry?”I asked.
“As long as you’re willing to install it and maintain it, no.Don’t expect me to lower the rent, though.”
“Seven-hundred and fifty dollars a month, right?”
He nodded and gestured around the loft.“As you can see, you have nice, large windows and though it doesn’t look like it from the outside, you have a second level where the bedroom is and an extra bathroom.Large, open concept.The appliances aren’t modern and I don’t have any of that granite shit in the kitchen.But the counters are made of good solid wood and everything works.”
I walked into the kitchen.He wasn’t lying, there wasn’t any flash to be seen.But at least everything was here and we didn’t have to supply our own.I continued my inspection, checking out the bathrooms.One had a shower and the other, a tub.Again, nothing fancy, but functional.I let the water run, getting the rust out of the pipes a little.
“Water and heat are included,” the landlord called out.
Yeah, I bet.In this neighborhood, one couldn’t be too picky.The crime rate was high as fuck.I was half expecting to get robbed while checking the place out.I kind of didn’t want to move here for Jordan’s sake, but he’d only argue that this was exactly where we needed to be.Where I could clean up the streets, and he’d be right.I finished my inspection of the place and met back up with the landlord.
“I noticed there isn’t a washer and dryer, can we supply our own?”I asked.We didn’t have any at the moment, but I certainly wanted them.
The landlord nodded.“There’s a place to install them in the kitchen by the pantry.”
I took a quick look at the cubby area and returned to him.
“When can we move in?”
“We?”he asked, one eyebrow cocked.
“My friend and I, we’re roomies.”
“Just roomies?”
“Sometimes we fuck, is that going to be a problem?Our money is green and has probably been up some stripper’s ass just like everybody else’s,” I remarked with probably more attitude than what was needed.
“Hey, calm down.I don’t care who you fuck, it’s strictly from a business point of view for me.Roommates tend to break up, then paying rent becomes an issue.If you were a married couple, I’d feel better, but I’ll let it go.Also, I’ll have to go up a hundred and fifty dollars for more than one tenant,” he said.
Shit, nine-hundred dollars a month?Looked like Jordan was going to have to get a legit job to cover the costs.Me, maybe I would get lucky with my new line of work.“Fine, not a problem.So that’s what…eighteen hundred for the first month to cover rent and security?”
He nodded.“Once you pay that, you can move in whenever you want.Any changes you make to the loft needs my approval, though.”
