Chapter 341: The Golden Circle
The little drama Ron mentioned was, of course, the "sleeping together" incident he, Rajesh, and Penny had gotten tangled up in.
But before heading back, he had something else to handle: getting little Carl back to school. Fiona had just called him; Carl had ditched class again. Ron didn't even need to guess where—he knew Carl was hanging out with old Hannibal.
For some reason, Hannibal always seemed to hold a strange fascination for little Carl.
Well, although Ron knew that the eccentric old man and the troublemaking kid together must have caused quite a few problems, he figured it was beneficial for Carl to learn some hands-on biology outside the classroom.
"Ron, you have to make Carl understand that he absolutely has to go to school. We didn't have the resources in the past, but now, even if we don't expect him to become a genius like Lip, at least he can't become a screw-up like Ian who only knows how to hook up with guys!"
Fiona was increasingly speaking with the authority of a family matriarch.
"I don't think cutting class occasionally is terrible. Yesterday I even saw Hannibal teaching Carl about human anatomy with a skeleton model, and Carl was surprisingly focused. You know, Carl has never paid attention in class before. Maybe he just has a natural aptitude for this? Maybe he'll become a doctor someday, what do you think?"
Ron said on the phone as he pushed open the biology lab that Hannibal had converted from the basement storage room. Carl was indeed there.
"Fiona just called me. Starting tomorrow, you'd better attend class properly. If I catch you skipping again, I'll dock your pay!"
Ron shoved Carl into the car. School had already let out, so Ron could only take Carl home first.
To everyone's surprise, as soon as Carl sat down in the car, he picked up the crime scene photo from the passenger seat and started examining it. "Sick! Ron, what's this?! Are we going after the Golden Circle now? That's awesome!"
"The Golden Circle?" Ron glanced at Carl in surprise. He never expected that the intel source he had written off at the beginning would give him such a pleasant surprise, but he still played it cool. "You know the person in the photo?"
"Nope."
"Then who is this Golden Circle you're talking about?"
"I'm talking about this," Carl pointed to the chest area of a dead man in the photo, where there was a circular emblem—a detail Ron had overlooked. "Everyone says that this circle is solid gold, so they call them the Golden Circle. They're the suppliers of the highest-grade drugs in the city right now.
Heroin, meth, ecstasy, weed... they've got everything you can think of, but their flagship product is heroin.
A few of my classmates from rich families at school use their stuff, and they act so damn superior every time they talk about it. I really wish I could pop them in the face!"
"Drugs are divided into high-end and low-end?" This was the second time Ron had heard this today.
"Hell yeah!"
Carl gave Ron a condescending look, a look that made Ron want to smack him upside the head, and of course, he did just that, knocking Carl on the skull with a thump: "Watch your tone!"
"Yes, boss!" Carl snapped to attention: "Actually, the classification is pretty straightforward. Because the whole organic and natural concept is trendy lately, people have started thinking that purely synthetic drugs like meth aren't healthy.
And some drug dealers have jumped on this bandwagon for marketing, claiming that heroin is a pure natural botanical extract from plants, pfft~" Carl's disgusted expression was exactly the same as Ron's.
Ron's expression was one of complete disbelief. What kind of drug dealers were these? They were using marketing tactics from the organic food industry! But to some extent, that wasn't entirely wrong; heroin really was extracted from poppies.
However, its original form was opium, and this further processed heroin was significantly more addictive than opium. Once it hit the streets, it quickly replaced the first generation of drugs, which were primarily opium-based.
"Who doesn't know this is just paying extra for bullshit? Only rich idiots fall for this kind of scam. We South Side kids know that meth is way cheaper than heroin... Ow!"
Carl was speaking enthusiastically when he received another knock to the head.
"I said, none of my people are allowed to touch that garbage, not one, not ever. If I find out someone has, I'll fire them on the spot. Tell me, have you touched it?" Influenced by his upbringing, Ron deeply despised drugs.
"I swear to God I absolutely haven't!" Little Carl immediately raised one hand to swear.
"You're not going to class tomorrow. Fiona will take you to get tested. I need to see your test results—urine, hair follicle, the works!"
Ron kicked Carl out of the car.
He started to feel uneasy. If he initially chose this drug case to collect more revenue, he now realized something was seriously wrong. The scope of this case seemed far too extensive.
Even at his peak, Gus only operated in the Southwest, but this organization called "Golden Circle," as described by Carl and Gus, seemed to control over 80% of the drug trade in the entire US.
Although these dealers couldn't all be their own people, the ability to consolidate these diverse operations with their competing agendas was something even Ron, with his experience, had to admit: they were seriously talented.
Although it might sound paranoid, Ron never believed that an organization capable of consolidating such power was merely selling drugs. To maximize profits, they must have bigger interests at stake.
In other words, this outfit was definitely planning something major!
Ron thought for a moment and immediately dialed Toretto's number: "Dom, how many of your crew never touch drugs?"
"I don't know. Although I keep telling them not to touch that crap, you know, in America, there are very few people who never touch anything." Toretto slid out from under the car, answering with his greasy hands as he switched the phone to speaker.
Ron understood perfectly and cursed under his breath, "Damn American culture!"
"Why are you asking?"
"I think we're about to step in some serious shit, so I need to find some reliable people. And my definition of reliable is someone who never touches that garbage, you understand?"
Ron took a breath, mentally planning his next moves.
Hank, a former DEA agent, despised drugs and was absolutely trustworthy. Toretto, despite his illegal street racing, bar fights, and tendency to bash people's heads with a wrench, Ron knew he was solid...
(End of Chapter)
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