As the two proceeded downstairs, Alistair continued to converse with his sister—asking her specific questions so he could be sure it was actually his Sunshine he was talking to.
While doing this, he also made sure to observe the luxurious house he was living in.
'It was a five-bedroom duplex, with interior decoration befitting a king. It had the ground floor, the first floor, and another upper floor that served as the penthouse. Everything was clean, immaculate, and in completely pristine conditions.
… Almost like it was brand new.
'And it is,' Alistair's thoughts deepened. 'Based on what I've managed to decipher from my conversation with Sunshine, it seems we just moved here last week, and this is her first day of school.'
Everything about their life miraculously changed six months ago, when he got a job somewhere, and was steadily promoted until he got transferred to Beverly Hills, where he got a new place and brought his sister to her new school.
'So at least six months have passed since I made that wish…' Alistair concluded as he and his sister walked out of the house and into the compound, where her driver was waiting.
'HUGE!' was the first thing Alistair thought when he saw the man.
The buff man was nearly seven feet tall, with his bulging muscles evident even with the pristine suit that he wore. He seemed to be half-asian, and his appearance was pristine—too pristine to be a mere driver.
The moment he saw Alistair, deep shock played on his face.
It was followed by fear.
However, he quickly suppressed these emotions, bowing very deeply and respectfully.
"Boss! It's an honor to meet you!"
"Yeah… same, I guess." Alistair was puzzled by the way he was being addressed, especially since this man was nearly twice his age. 'Did he notice Amon? Why does he seem so frightened?'
Ever since he left his room, Amon followed right behind him and his sister.
He was like a shadow trailing behind them, the only evidence of Alistair's wish which made all of this possible.
… And a grim reminder of the undesirable consequence he was still ignorant of.
'So far, everything seems to be going great, though.' Alistair thought. 'I have money, my sister is comfortable and happy, we seem to be stable, and my employee respects me enough to the point where I feel assured nothing will happen to her.'
All in all… it was great.
However, this was what made Alistair even more nervous.
'I don't know what the consequence is! I need to find out, which means I have to get my sister out of the way and begin investigating…'
Since Amon was proving to be uncooperative, he was on his own.
"Bye, big bro!" Sunshine waved Alistair farewell. "Also, you got a call from Uncle Gideon. He said he'd call you back."
"Oh, okay. I'll call him back!" Alistair replied, despite not knowing who this 'Gideon' person was and why his sister called him 'uncle.' "Make sure you have fun in school, okay? Call me if anything happens!"
"Okay!"
"And you… make sure she's safe." He looked at the driver this time.
"I swear on my life!" He said, nodding with determination.
'Wow! So intense…' Alistair was taken aback once again. 'As long as he takes the job seriously, though, I guess there are no problems.'
He watched as the car left the compound, his eyes taking in the lush gardens and security officials that littered everywhere. They all nodded and greeted him with utmost respect, and they all seemed like top-of-the-line personnel.
They even had tasers—and guns—on them.
'They're all working for me… but who am I?' Alistair considered asking one of the guards, but he decided against it and returned to his house.
Not long after he did so, he heard the house telephone go off.
He went ahead and picked it up.
'It's most likely this 'uncle Gideon' character…' He frowned. 'I wonder what this is all about.'
Whatever it was… he had to know.
"Hello."
The moment he spoke, an overwhelming silence swept through the room and even the world at the other end of the phone.
It was like the calm before the storm.
"Boss… it's me, G-man!" A voice echoed in his ears, unfamiliar, rough, and most importantly… dangerous.
Alistair had lived on the streets most of his life.
He understood the lingo, character traits, and defining qualities associated with the thug life. This person… whoever he was… definitely had such ties.
Why was such a person calling him boss?!
"There's a bit of a problem that needs your special attention." He continued. "It's about the snitch that made us lose our last shipment and compromised the whole operation."
'Huh? Snitch? Shipment? What?' Alistair was confused.
However, he couldn't afford to display such ignorance—especially to the person he was on the phone with.
"What about it?" He asked.
"We've caught the snitch, boss! It was Ratface all along..." G-man's voice seemed to be filled with anger, one that stemmed from betrayal.
However, that wasn't Alistair's primary concern at the moment.
In his mind, there was a storm.
A torrent of thoughts assailed him as he listened to the details, his heart racing mildly as he felt an eerie sensation course through him.
'All of this is sounding eerily similar to—'
"Turns out he was two-timing… working for a rival gang while snitching on our operation so they could reap the benefits."
"What benefits?" Alistair asked.
"Boss… you already know the details of—"
"What benefits?" He repeated, his grip on the phone growing tighter. He already had a feeling, but he needed confirmation.
"Our established turf and the Fetty Distribution Chain on the southside…"
The moment Alistair heard this, heart sank.
Fetty… also known as Apache, Goodfellas, Dance Fever, TNT, and many others, but it was especially known to Alistair as the hard drug that ruined his mother's life and caused her downfall in the end.
It was Fentanyl… the most notorious drug in Los Angeles.
'And it looks like I'm its Distributor.'
It all made sense now.
This was how he was able to get such absurd wealth in just six months. He was dealing drugs, and from the looks of it, he seemed pretty high up in the hierarchy.
'That's why my employees seem to fear me, and I can command such respect despite being so young.' His eyes widened in realization. 'I'm at least on the level of a Distributor.'
No, perhaps even higher.
Alistair sank into a nearby sofa, millions of thoughts running through his head as he kept the phone close to his ears as silence pervaded the living room.
"Hehehe! I told you that you'd find out eventually!" Amon snickered, looking at Alistair with an amused face.
"So… to grant my wish of money, power, and fame… you decided to make me a drug lord."
It followed all of Amon's conditions.
Something of this scale, while unbelievable, was still plausible and it computed with reality.
'It also perfectly fulfills my wish, since I wanted to be rich and powerful… and I am… just not in the way I want.'
The fact that he was able to reach such a height in the drug trade, to the point where he could afford a place in Beverly Hills—the most luxurious place in LA—also showed how famous he was.
Whether it was as Alistair Desgarron, or a Drug Lord… it made no difference.
"So, this was the undesirable consequence." He sighed. "I have always avoided getting into drug trafficking due to how dangerous it is, yet I now find myself smack dab in the middle of it."
It was indeed very grim and dire.
But—
'If this is what it takes for me to ensure the best life for my sister and have my revenge, then I don't mind.' He scrunched his fist as his eyes glowed with sheer determination.
'Bring it on!'