"Two, one for me and my buddy." Tom replied. He looked over his shoulder, getting more than a little nervous. "You see, we need two, because-"
"Aw, kid, I don't care. Just give me the money."
Tom gulped and did as he was asked. He took out a brown envelope and tried to subtly pass it over to Rick, who snatched it and instantly ripped it open to count the cash inside. Once he finished, he licked his teeth and stared at Tom. "You're $50 short."
"What?" That couldn't be right. Tom had hidden away a lot of money to pay for tonight. He had tucked away his allowance, lied to his parents and stolen from his sister to pay for tonight, and most of the money was going on these stupid IDs. "I- I was told tha- I mean, I don't have any more money to pay for them!"
Rick gave a wheezy laugh, the sort that could turn into a cough at any second. "Kid, I've been selling these for a while now, and I've never had anyone buy one of these who didn't plan on using it straight away." He looked at Tom's pocket, the exact one that had his wallet in. "How much you planning on spending tonight? $100? $200? It's going to be a big night, but it won't happen without my help." He gave another wheezy laugh.
Ah. Now Tom understood. This guy must have seen him and figured Tom for some sort of spoilt rich kid, the kind who wouldn't think twice about spending a little extra if he was told to. Well, while it was true that Tom was from the better off part of town, there was no way he was going to get conned by some thug, by some criminal!
Tom smiled at the man to hide his anger. "Come now. You and I both know that I've paid what's fair. A gentleman's agreement. And if you break your part by trying to charge me extra, well, I might have to break my part and let certain people know how I found you." Tom raised his eyebrows, waiting for a response.
Rick stared at him in stunned silence. Good. Then he started to laugh. "OK, kid, I misjudged you!" He took out a cigarette from his shirt pocket and lit it. "You got moxie. It's almost enough to get me to like you," He took a long drag on his cigarette, the dim fire flickering in his sunglasses. "Almost. Fine, here you go." With that, Rick took out a brown envelope and threw it to Tom, who caught it with only a bit of flailing.
Tom looked down at the envelope, trying to not let the relief show on his face. "Good man. You know, I've got some friends who are also looking for IDs, I'll let the know about..." Looking up, Tom realised that he was talking to himself. Rick had gone. Good riddance.
He began to walk down the street, keeping an eye out for anyone else. Couldn't trust these sorts of people, they may send someone to follow you, beat you up and take your stuff. No one seemed to be following, so at least Rick wasn't too bad. Unable to wait any longer, Tom tore open the envelope in his hands. Inside, he found...
