"They called him Midnight"

“They called him Midnight”

-1-

“Would you believe me if I said that I honestly don’t want to shoot you?” a cultured voice whispered from the darkness.
Ralph froze like a deer in the headlights of an oncoming vehicle. His mind was racing at a million miles an hour. Had all of his plans and dreams come down to this? Blindsided in an alley so filthy even the hopeless dregs of society avoided it. That’s what made this alley behind Bunny’s Bar and Grill so ideal. It was coated with a type of filth you have to breath to appreciate.
“Bbbbb… Bbbb-boss said this was just a drop and hop man… didn’t say nothing ‘bout meetin’ up with nobody…” Ralph stuttered… damn but how he needed a fix…
“Shut your blubbering pie hole for one Cursed MINUTE!” the voice continued, “Plans change and sometimes you just have to listen for the sound of a whisper. Now do as I say when I say it and we may both survive this masquerade of frozen dreams.” Slowly Ralph nodded his head.
Good. Now if this jive-ass honky mothafucka had half a brain in his pointy little grape everything might be green. Midnight hated the way his thoughts ran ghetto when he was under stress. That was a life he gladly left behind. He had always known that to make it big you had to speak the language of the movers and shakers. The cultured leaders of this great new world had a way of speaking that just conveyed authority. And Midnight had improved upon their unconscious speaking habits. Taking the language to a near hypnotic pattern of speech.
“Slowly now Ralphie boy… Turn around and lets have us a talk. Don’t you recognize my voice? Come on Ralph, how many times have I called you unexpectedly? Hmmm? How many times have you asked me what time it is? How many times have I answered ‘Midnight mother fucker. Always midnight.” Ralphie acted like he had the brains of a four year old but Midnight knew better. The kid might be a little slow sometimes but that was usually the dope talking.
“As we speak they are consolidating a position at either end of this alley. We have to move like the wind, quickly and quietly. I can buy us maybe 5 minutes but when I move you must follow no more than 2 steps behind. Understand?”
“You got it boss. What about the product?” he knodded toward the package he had been carrying.
“Our lives take priority but make an effort to hold onto it ok?”

Ralph nodded. Good. Good. Quickly Midnight opened his phone and spoke one word. “Now.” Then, he hung up without waiting for an answer.
“30 seconds now.” He thought to himself.
Casually he walked across the alley to the opposite wall and began climbing. “Never leave anything to chance I always say.” Midnight whispered. Years ago he had arranged for the bricks in this wall to be subtly changed. If you knew where to look you would find that occasionally there was a brick missing or an extra brick extruding in a seemingly random pattern. But, it was so far from random. This was just one of many quick escape routes in this part of the mega-city. Ralph shouldered the gym bag and followed Midnight up the side of the building.
“15 seconds. Almost there.” Midnight was panting harshly when he rolled himself onto the roof of a building adjacent to bunny’s. As he was reaching down to help Ralph over the last leg of the climb they heard the crystalline sound of breaking glass echo from around front of bunny’s.
“Damn! Bunny is going to be pissed.” Ralph commented.
“No time for that now boy.” Midnight pulled Ralph to his feet. Motioned him to be silent and turned toward the other side of the roof. 10 seconds later he was pulling open a trap door and shoving Ralph inside.
Obediently Ralph climbed down. Just as Midnight was pulling the trap closed he heard the whumpa-whump of an approaching chopper. “Better luck next time succah’s.”

-2-
Ralph stayed with Midnight for the better part of a week. During that time Midnight would dissapear for hours on end. No explanation required. That was the way to do business in this world. Respect. No questions asked.
About three days later he returned from one of his excursions with a video disk. Looking severely pissed off Midnight pulled out a metal folding chair and motioned for Ralph to have a seat.
The video was often blurry and tended to jump and skip but the repercussions were perfectly clear. The video followed Ralph as he walked from the pickup point to the drop behind bunnies. Every so often the camera would shift and you could see the same figure following from a discreet distance. At one point his coat flipped open enough to see a security badge.
“How could you have been so oblivious?” Midnight put as much scorn into his voice as he could muster. Truth was that staying angry with Ralph was like stealing a baseball from a mental defect. It just didn’t happen.
“But I didn’t know, it wasn’t my fault, you see how sneaky he, look it’s like this, aww shit I dunno what happened…” a litany of half formed excuses spewed from his mouth. They were nothing more than gibberish to Midnight. What he was looking for was in the eyes. He wanted to see realization. And there it was. The “I fucked up” look. Unmistakable once you know to look for it. And following that was hope. The ‘what can I do to fix this’ look… excellent. Now for the game.
“My dear boy, you fucked up royally. How else can I say it? You very nearly buggered the whole works.”
“Bbbbut boss, it wasn’t my fault…” Ralph tried to say. However he didn’t get past his stutter before he found himself flat on his back. Somehow Midnight had managed to flip the chair over taking Ralph with it. He stood with his boot in Ralph’s neck trying to intimidate him. And it appeared to be working.
“Have you ever heard of a turtle my boy?” Midnight continued uninterrupted. “hmm… whats that? Don’t try to speak fool. Just nod your head.”
Ralph nodded enthusiastically.
“Good… every turtle no matter how careful it is will occasionally get turned upside down. This can be a very sad state of affairs for any animal. But it’s horrific for a turtle. You see a turtle carries his home with him wherever he goes. He carries it on his back and when he’s turned turtle as we say the pressure is unbearable. Everything he has ever had in his entire Fucked Up Life is suddenly in jeopardy. And your ignorance put all of us in extremely dire straights.”
Slowly he removed the foot from his windpipe. Ralph’s eyes were streaming tears. Midnight carefully reached down and helped him up. This was the moment he had been waiting for. As he watched the boy gather his composure Midnight was looking for one small thing.
“One small choice that I’ve left to him,” He thought, “but it’s the choice between life or death.”
Midnight Darkly waited for that subtle glint of anger or resentment but it never came. Ralph was the perfect employee. He was always willing to help but never ambitious or proud. He was humble enough to understand he fucked up and brave enough to do whatever it takes to make it right. Good boy Ralphie. You’ll do for now.
Midnight picked up the overturned chair and sat himself down in it.
“We have lot’s of work to do Ralph. Just be glad we got away with the product.” He said as he heaved a sigh of relief. Midnight dropped his head into his calloused hands. “I’m getting to old for this shit. I’ve got to find a better job.” he mumbled.
“How ‘bout music boss?”
“Damn but I forgot about his hearing.” Midnight thought to himself. Several years ago Midnight Darkly had paid to get Ralph’s hearing enhanced. It wasn’t a casual gesture. Midnight considered himself a good employer and the kid had busted his eardrums in a work related incident.
Midnight tried not to laugh at the suggestion but he just can’t help it.
“Nah I’m serious bossman… Musicians make a fuckload of cash… I was gonna get into the bizz myself but my Mom got pissed at all the noise… Plus I can’t play to good. I mean ever since that huge fuckin guy crushed my hand… gotta get that fixed first but I got some killer fucking ideas…”
“Music huh?” The kid had gotten Midnight thinking. And if Midnight was thinking that meant he was scheming. A legitimate business idea, hmm, maybe not music itself exactly. But, management… now that’s something Midnight Darkly had a flair for. He could become the biggest talent promoter this town’s ever seen. And he could do it all legitimate too. Just need to get a little startup money that’s all. Speaking of which it was time to go.
“We can talk of that later Ralph right now I have a job for you.” Ralph’s eyes lit up at the talk of business. “But maybe this weekend you could introduce me to some of your musician friends if you please.”
“Sure thing boss.”
“Ok. Good. We have about 3 hours until our next pickup. Here’s what I need you to do. . .”

-3-

And that was how it all came to be. Crisp shiny daydreams from the mouth of a complete stoner had just changed the entire history of human events. Thanks to Ralph the world would soon witness the end of Midnight’s dangerous career as a smuggler and the beginning of Darkly Bright Entertainment. Oh, it may have taken him a few years to get one business slowed down and the other sped up. It may have taken some time to get a feel for the music industry. But before long he could spot talent from a mile away.
However the strangest thing happened to Midnight Darkly. Would you believe that being a legitimate business man would be more dangerous to his health than smuggling? Would you believe that from these humble beginnings an entire conglomerate of talented individuals soon found their way in? But, that is a story for another day.
THIS IS NOT THE END.
NOR IS THIS THE BEGINNING.
NOR IS THIS THE BEGINNING OF THE END.
THIS MY DEAR FRIENDS IS THE END OF THE BEGINNING.