Free Scarcity (Jack Randall #3) by Randall Wood

centers will say they’re treating them anyway. What would the cartels do?”
    “Fight it. It’s the last thing in the world they want. They would funnel all the cash they could to anyone willing to speak out or vote against it. It would destroy their business overnight and they know it.”
    “Wouldn’t there still be a black market?”
    “Nah, do you see a black market for beer? How about liquor? Legalization would just pull the price so low that there would be no reason for a black market. There’d be no profit in it, a waste of time. No huge profits means no business. There’s no need for dealers, no more shoot-outs over territory, no cops or judges being corrupted. All of the inner city kids who fall into the business now have to find legitimate employment. And we could refocus the prison system to boot.”
    “How so?”
    “The last numbers I saw said something like sixty percent of federal prisoners were in for drug-related offenses. But you and I both know that hardly any of them serve their full sentence due to overcrowding. With the drug related prisoners out of the way, the rapists, murderers, robbers, sex offenders, child molesters, drunk drivers, and thieves can actually serve their full time. We can also make the penalties for drug related crime really stick. Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol can now have a penalty that’s worthy of it. Commit a crime under the influence and some time can be added. It would work to change the mindset of the casual user, which should have been our target all along.”
    “You think we should hit the demand side of the equation more?”
    “Absolutely. Even if we don’t end up legalizing dope. We’ve been gearing everything toward the supply side since we started. The casual user accounts for the largest portion of drug money by far. They’re the people putting the big money into illegal drugs. You will never make any headway if you ignore the demand side. If the casual user knew he’d lose half his assets, his car, his career, and a serious chunk of his freedom, he’d think twice about those few lines he does on the weekend.”
    They sat in silence for a few moments and sipped their scotch. Both of them were thinking the same thing. The politicians would never have the balls to propose it.
    “Sucks, doesn’t it?” Lenny stated, not really expecting an answer.
    “Yup.”
    “If it was 1920, we’d both be committing a federal offense right now.”
    They both fell silent as they contemplated the drinks in their hands. It seemed silly, yet it was true. Jack broke the silence.
    “What do you think we should do with the extra eighty billion?”
    Lenny didn’t have to think about it.
    “Spend it fighting big tobacco. Fucking things are killing me.”
    •      •      •
    The Major watched through the window again as the nurse injected something into the boy’s IV line. Miraculously, he was still alive and even showing some signs of improvement. He made a note in his ever-present notebook before spinning on a heel to return to his small office. There he saw the company mortician waiting for him. He shut the door behind him and rounded the desk to his chair.
    “What is it?”
    “Do we have anything?”
    “Not right now. What’s your hurry?”
    “I only signed up for a year in this mountaintop hell. I’d like to make my pile before the time runs out.”
    “You and me both, but the customers just aren’t placing orders. This isn’t fucking McDonalds here, ya know.”
    “I know that. But you’re telling me we got nothing pending?”
    The Major pulled out the notebook and leafed through it.
    “We need a liver, type A, but the only one we got in there is damaged. If he dies we can harvest what’s left and sell it maybe. But the customer is at the edge of the time allotment. It’d be a gamble. The kid is AB negative and I’ve got a few customers with that blood type waiting. We need a heart and two kidneys. Problem there, is