whose world is this [elegant]

t r e y .

"the world is yours"

Declan had made himself clear, but Trey had to write it down anyway. Just so he didn't forget. He looked down at his notes and squinted as he read. Younger than eighteen. Minimum fourteen. By tomorrow night.

He tried not to think about what would happen to them.

I don't see nothing. It was true. He simply dropped them off, took his money, and went. He spent his money on booze and weed and watched the world melt at his fingertips. Then he forgot who it was he had even dropped off. Their face simply melted behind the chemical storm that swam before his eyes. He didn't see nothing. He didn't know nothing. He just did his job.

Still, Declan had given him some task. He didn't hang out with fourteen-year-olds -he didn't hang out with anyone these days- and a fourteen-year-old was hardly going to be found in a bar or trap house. So, that night, he'd stared at the stars and tried to think. They still had to be someone that couldn't be tied back to him. He'd considered finding someone younger from school. Too risky.

And just when he had been on the verge of giving up, the idea struck him like a bullet in his skull.

The next morning, he'd found an old radio he owned. Something Smiles had given him as a spoil of their antics together. He'd got it for being a lookout when they robbed a store; it was one of the first things he'd got from that crew. Every kid wanted a radio, especially one with these speakers, but they were so damn expensive that the only people who got them were people like doctors or professors. He'd go to a spot, find someone who wanted to buy it, conveniently 'forget' a chord and lead them back to Declan's to get it.

Easy.

He'd set off with high hopes but a heavy heart buried in denial. He carried the radio in one hand and a large kitchen knife in his pocket; people would kill for a radio like this. He prayed he didn't have to use it - he didn't want to be a killer like Smiles. He found a hangout spot (one far from where Smiles and his crew liked to be) and stopped there. Some people were around, a few youths close enough to his age Perfect.

He stood in wait, counting his heartbeats that were as loud as cannon fire before clearing his throat.

"Anyone wanna buy a radio?"