America 1982-Chapter 60 - 16: Summer in Kingston (Part 1)
Opposite the government building in the capital of Saint Vincent, Kingston, a second-hand fast food truck with a fresh coat of paint was parked, with Tony Leon’s girlfriend, Ashley, standing on it, frying up all sorts of snacks. A conspicuous sign hung at the pickup counter:
"Cash only in US Dollars, no checks accepted. If you’re short on cash and need a loan, please contact our Prime Minister Tommy Hawk, with fair interest and quick disbursement."
Next to the food truck, two sun umbrellas were set up, under which Tommy Hawk, dressed in casual beach shorts, lay on a sun lounger, holding an icy cold beer in his hand.
"How’s business, Ashley?" Tommy Hawk lazily took a sip of his beer, gazed at the azure sky, and asked.
Dressed in an orange fast food uniform, Ashley kept turning the food with her hands non-stop and replied with a laugh, "Where did you find such a bunch of rich kids, Tommy? The money I made today is enough to buy your brother enough Trojans for ten years."
Tommy Hawk replied with a smile, "Sounds like you and Tony are using quite a bit, Ashley. I thought you’d use the money you earned to prepare for a wedding or something. I didn’t expect your plans to be so explosive. Ten years... my God, how’s Tony’s back holding up?"
"If he dares to complain, I’ll dump him," Ashley said with a laugh as she packed up the fried chicken nuggets, onion rings, and other foods into a portion and placed it on a small table next to Tommy.
Ashley had been dating Tommy Hawk’s brother Tony since she was fifteen. Ashley’s father, Mr. Hurl, was also old man Hawk’s close pal. Tony inherited his parents’ fidelity, and even though he liked to flirt, he never really messed around with other girls. Just a wedding and a ring short, Ashley Hurl would become Ashley Hawke.
Knowing the Hawk family for so long, Ashley could talk naturally and unguardedly with Tommy since both families already knew about her and Tony’s situation.
"Defense Minister Catherine said she needs ten servings of cream ice cream, five snack platters, to be delivered to the commander of the Special Forces, Frank, and the rest is your delivery and tip," Catherine followed by four beautiful young black women, emerged from the government building with heads held high, walked up to the food truck, and took out fifty bucks to hand to the black assistant by her side, who then approached the food truck and handed it to Ashley, saying,
Ashley quickly pocketed the cash, "Pleasure to serve you all, no problem at all."
The next second, she shouted, "Tommy, get rolling with the delivery!"
"My subordinates and the citizens are looking on here; can you show me some respect, Ashley?" Tommy said with a sullen face and a sigh, "I just got back for a breath."
"Fine, Prime Minister, for the sake of fifty bucks, go hop on your bike and roll away to deliver the food!" Ashley amended her address.
Tommy looked helplessly at Catherine, who sat down under the umbrella next to him, "Queen Catherine, may I ask what else you need the Special Forces to do for you? You should know that the Special Forces are just a reserve militia, and they are only called special because they are trained a bit more in firefighting knowledge and skills than other militias."
"Dennis’ policemen show me no respect. When I went to inspect the station, they didn’t even salute me. I plan to send in the Special Forces to throw them in jail," Catherine took a sip of juice passed by her assistant and said with an icy tone, "This is really a good place, a box of snacks can make countless people risk their lives for me."
"Your Majesty, I seriously need to remind you that within just a day and a half of taking office, Frank’s Special Forces have already been dispatched seventeen times on your orders, the prisons have been filled to capacity nine times, fifty-three students at the summer camp, with thirty of them having already experienced the taste of imprisonment, and half of the capital’s population has been scolded by you for not performing a chest salute. I fear at this rate, you won’t have a chance to overthrow the Queen of England but will indeed be overthrown by the angry public. As the Prime Minister, I must seriously warn you that if you keep this up, I..."
With a hundred-dollar bill clasped between her fingertips, Catherine waved it at Tommy, "Think carefully before speaking, you poor wretch." 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞
Tommy immediately got the hint, shut up, and with a smile on his face, reached for the bill: "As your loyal comrade, Tommy Hawk will always stand by your side. I was actually about to write a report to help you apply for a peace medal. It’s their good fortune to have an official like you in this country."
After finishing his last sip of beer, Tommy Hawk mounted the bicycle lent to him by Prime Minister Madoff, took the takeout food handed to him by Ashley, and headed Knowledgeably toward the Special Forces Command Center.
...
In the office of the Minister of the Interior.
Blinking behind his spectacles, the Minister of the Interior, David Schafer, said, "Chris, I’ve got an idea. You see, I know some black guys in Georgia who commit crimes to make money. When the amount is a little more substantial, they can’t put it into a bank; it’s dirty money. We could clean it for them here, take a fee, and Stephen, Mr. Wealthy, won’t be interested, but we could collaborate, as long as you go along with me..."
"I’m not interested in making a little money for myself; I prefer to think about how to make some money for this incredibly poor country. There’s nothing here to boast about, other than bananas and sugar cane. At times like this, I consider opening up offshore finance. But that’s just something I’m considering, not sure if it can be realized," said Chris Ferguson, wearing a cowboy hat and a cigarette dangling from his lips, with a playing card nimbly flipping in his hand.
"You’re not interested in making money? Buddy, do you realize what you’re saying? How can anyone not be interested in money? Are you like Mr. Wealthy, with a grandfather covered in tubes, just waiting to take his last breath?" David Schafer’s face was one of sheer disbelief: "At the very least, we should at least make back our summer camp fees, right?"
With a puzzled look, Chris turned to David, "How poor were you before, David? Poorer than a pauper? Coming here for a vacation and still thinking about making money?"
"If I had the brains of that pauper Tommy, I wouldn’t need to resort to such petty schemes to make money. That guy came up with this damn summer camp just to line his own pockets, see? Look at me, I’m the Minister of the Interior, and I have to borrow money from him just to buy an ice cream, and then that bastard has the nerve to calculate interest for me!" David Schafer said, frustrated by the mention of Tommy.
Chris shrugged, "Anyway, I’m not interested. I want to study the tax system and then finish a report on the experience. That’s all."
"How about a casino?" Seeing Chris was not interested in his own suggestion, David Schafer’s eyes rolled, coming up with another idea: "All the students are rich. We open a leisure casino, take a big chunk from them. I’ll be in charge of attracting customers, you’ll be in charge of fleecing them, we split the take fifty-fifty. You might not be interested in making money, but you must be interested in playing cards, right? After all, you’ve been playing poker since you were five."
Chris’s eyes immediately lit up, but he gave a reply that made David’s expression instantly blank: "That’s a good idea, and I can tax the creator of the casino heavily—that’s you. It’s a good idea, it will help the country earn some revenue."
"So you mean, I give you fifty percent, and then you turn around and hit me with a heavy tax on my remaining fifty percent? Taking a large cut again?" David asked, coming back to his senses.
"Yes, I am the tax minister, so it’s my indubitable responsibility. That’s decided then, you run the casino, and I’ll be your dealer and tax you," said Chris, pressing down the brim of his cowboy hat.
