"What the hell's wrong with you, Archie?"

My brother remained silent in the backseat of my truck. Not even my cherry car freshener could ward off his awful BO though. Where the hell had he been lying low? In the damn dump? Archie couldn't even provide a good enough defense for the bullshit stunt he just pulled. I was glad he didn't try to either because that would've resulted in a huge ass fight. While I always tried giving him the benefit of the doubt, that blew it for me. I was done being nice with him. If he wanted to fuck up his life, fine. Just keep Everly out of it.

I arrived back at the police station in no time. Archie kept quiet all the way inside, not bothering to apologize for his actions either. It was clear that he didn't care. His only concern was finding his fix. The meth stole my brother away. It turned him into a despicable person who cared about no one but himself. I hated him when he got that way. I just wanted to knock some sense into his ass.

"You're gonna put your own brother in jail?" Archie scoffed as I led him up the sidewalk. "That'll teach me a lesson for sure. Shows that my family doesn't give a fuck about me."

"Look, you little asshole. We've done everything for you, yet all you've done to repay us is get high again. Do you wanna live like this for the rest of your life? Like a dirty bum?" I asked him. "I want to help you get clean again. You can go back to that rehab center–"

"Fuck that place. You'd have to drag my dead body there to get me back," Archie spat.

I rolled my eyes. "You're being ridiculous. But whatever. We won't waste our time and money on you anymore then. I'm tired of your bullshit, I'll be honest. I'll give Adrian a call and let him handle you."

"Real nice. Always pawning me off to Adrian. Is that what you'll do when you get tired of Everly?" Archie smirked. "I'm sure her hot ass could turn him straight."

"You think just because we're in the police station I won't smack the hell out of you?" Gritting my teeth, I wrenched his arm and led him to an empty interrogation room, away from prying eyes. "What the fuck is your problem? Your own life is going to shit, so you gotta poke fun at mine? At least I don't smell like I just climbed out of the sewer."

"Well, I'm not the only one with stains on their clothes." Archie pointed to my uniform shirt. "Fuck even is that?"

"Spit up. But that's not what we're here to talk about."

"Spit up?" Archie frowned. "Like, from a baby?"

I groaned. "Yeah."

"Holy fuck. Did y'all steal a baby?" Archie questioned, eyes widened and jaw about to drop. "Man, I never would've expected that in a million years.."

Massaging my temples, I tried to resist the urge to strangle my dumbass brother. "No. I went to visit my good friend, Larry. He's got a baby and a two year old. Jeez, you're too high to think reasonable."

"That's all you ever gotta say to me anymore. Just bitchin about how I get high. You don't even wanna ask how I'm doing." Archie rested his head down on the table.

"It's pretty clear how you're doing," I told him.

"Yeah, go on. Tell me how I'm the fuck up of the family. I heard that a hundred times already."

"You want me to pity you, and I'm not gonna. I'm not momma or even Adrian. I see through this bullshit. In a few minutes, you're going to beg me for money. But you'll promise it isn't for drugs. You'll want some shampoo and body wash to use at the motel. You'll need some supper money too. They might fall for that crap, but I won't anymore. Want food? I'll go grab something from the vending machine here. Want a bath? I'll take you back to Everly's and hose you down in the backyard."

Archie forced a snicker. "I miss it when you were stupid. Some tears and pleading used to get you to give me whatever I wanted. I don't even bother crying anymore. I know it don't work on you."

"I want to make a deal with you though. Tell me everything about this White Dragon and I'll give you however much money you want," I told him.

Archie froze for a moment, squinting his eyes at me. "What's the catch?"

"No catch. I'm done trying to help you. I'm only worrying about myself here, and Everly. You mentioned this dealer possibly being connected to what happened to her so I want to meet him," I explained.

"Hell no. I told you, he ain't someone you wanna mess with."

"Why do you care? Don't you just want money for your precious drug?" I asked. "I'm offering exactly what you want without any gimmicks."

Archie rose his head off the table, scratching behind his left ear. "I dunno, man. I don't want you going out there and getting your ass killed."

"I won't do anything reckless on my own," I told him.

"You think I'm just some junkie but I still care about you, man. I know I've done a lot of fucked up shit and used y'all for money before." Archie scratched at his left arm. "Look, I'll tell ya everything I know bout the White Dragon. I won't use your money for drugs either, I swear."

I knew he pulled that lie right out of his ass. "Alright. Good. We've got ourselves a deal then. Go on. Tell me what you know."

"We have a meetup spot. Downtown at Magnolia Cafe's alleyway," Archie replied. "He always had Marvin meet him inside though. Dunno why. Anyway, he made a deal with us that we'd help him get some clients and he'd pay us for it. You know I ain't gonna turn down free money. But I didn't realize how hard finding business was. So... I got a hold of Emmett."

"Oh boy," I muttered.

"I thought he might lend me some of his clients. I dunno. He laughed his ass off and offered me a position in his gang," Archie replied. "I denied cuz I wasn't gonna be a two-timer. That gets people killed. Emmett said it was the only way I'd be able to get outta that mess. He said the White Dragon had tricked me. There was no way in hell that I'd ever be able to find that clientele, and that in return, they'd charge me out the ass for my drugs."

I sighed, raking my hand through my hair. "What the hell made you think that was a sound deal, you dumbass? You can't trust gang members so easily. Just get your shit and go. Never buy into their little offers and deals. Not even Emmett's. That man's dangerous as fuck."

"Is that any way to speak about your future brother in law?" Archie snickered. "Nah, Emmett's all right. He tried to help me out. Anyway, I got a hold of Marvin and explained the situation. He suggested we steal their money, so we did. Marvin took most of it though. Couple days later, Marvin dies in that explosion in Swamp Lake trailer park. I've been laying low as much as I can since."

"You've really got yourself in some deep shit," I told him. "Stealing from a gang? For real?"

"I was desperate, okay? I didn't think shit would hit the fan like it did," Archie muttered.

"Well, I guess that leaves me with no other choice then. I'm gonna have to go undercover as an addict to meet this mysterious White Dragon myself."

"I thought you wouldn't do anything stupid. If you get caught, he'll kill you, Adam."

"Don't worry. I'm not as naive as you. Besides, I have my colleagues here to back me up."

After concocting my plan, I ran the details by the sergeant. Davidson was reluctant initially but bringing up how the White Dragon connected to the strand of arson homicides that had been happening more and more lately, he agreed with the plan. It wouldn't just be me and Chris out there though. Davidson made sure we'd have sufficient backup in the area in case things turned south.

I found some spare clothes for Archie, so he could change out of his smelly ones. We used our public restroom to change in. The idea repulsed me more than anything, but I needed to fit the part. No drug dealer would think twice about a man reeking like Archie did being a cop. After everything was over, I'd need to shower for hours.

"You better not have lice again," I told my brother. "I swear, I'll kick your ass."

"I don't." Archie rolled his eyes, folding his arms across the NSPD emblem on the jacket I loaned him.

I checked myself in the mirror, cringing. Tousling up my hair, I then worked on my arms. Using some old Halloween makeup, I followed Everly's tutorial that she showed me last time I went undercover. Making realistic track marks proved to be difficult, but I got it just right. I'd never been more disgusted with myself. Hopefully, the White Dragon would feel the same way.