You may be thinking, other than greasing a few cops, how big of an operation could it really be? What if I told you, cabbies, concierges, palm readers, baggage handlers, mailmen, and cooks for a start? Yes, cooks. Who better to introduce an ongoing diet of powdered glass to cause an eventual seemingly natural death to the one who is designated as a hit. It is clever, but I cannot claim it to be my idea originally. There is nothing new under the sun, it is just recontextualized, updated, or modified. In this case, on occasion, a female slave would use this stealthy tactic in the kitchen to get retribution on the master. As far as the other positions mentioned, realize that there will always be visitors, the smooth polite designation, coming to Leveetown for vice as a repression outlet. It is clever, but I cannot claim it to be my idea originally. There is nothing new under the sun, it is just recontextualized, updated, or modified. The appetite remains, even is heightened as the rest of the country legislates the so-called new and right moralities into existence. When the sucker asks the cabbie or concierge for a recommendation, he is likely directed to one of my people or underground establishments, because there are an unwieldy amount of hacks and hotel folk who are on my payroll, the way we have carved up the business. Sometimes the suckers are given a few options, but that is no more than an illusion anyway, since it is often just the same people with a different name for each phone number. Who else did I mention? The baggage guys and mailmen, look, do you think they pocket the constant valuables at the airport or a bag of mail on their own? Sure, if they are stupid, because I do not abide by freelancers. A foolish lone wolf who is not breaking off the large piece of the action for my generous profit will not only willingly be given up to the authorities as the patsy to have any other similar open cases pinned on him, but also used as an example of the corruption supposedly being weeded out. It is to be expected. Name a business person fined, closed down, jailed, or hassled, and I will show you someone who did not take care of the right people for the right amount. As far as luggage and mail, that is all arranged. The supervisors are also in my pocket, and only so much is taken at a time. My point is that there are many eyes out there who want a little extra tax-free money.

On the subject of taking care of people, the businessmen, politicians, and cops have really come to expect the moon. If there is not a steady supply of admirable flesh for the hunting and fishing camps as well as the stag parties, then connections cannot be kept. Of course, all of this has been going on for quite a while, but there are just more people at the trough. I always have an eye out to procure, have a knack for it, especially now, appearing to be so genial. Anyone can spot the girls from Slidell, Gulfport, just off the bus from the Midwest, and hitched from Texas. They are the pent-up wild ones, hungry for action, shrewdly innocent beneath the attitude, with kinetic energy not disguising the scrutable small-town-faced vulnerability. They know they have only one form of currency to deal in, you see it in the walk, and there are so many willing to lend a hand with a severe welcome. You initially thought that I was just a loquacious matronly grandmother, but I have worn my costume well. Realize, you are here in the Quarter, where the heartbeat of the old business pulses. My cunning advantage is understanding that a woman knows another woman’s mind and is always tougher on other women, which is what these girls want, or at least they do when they see the cash that comes with it. You initially thought that I was just a loquacious matronly grandmother, but I have worn my costume well. Realize, you are here in the Quarter, where the heartbeat of the old business pulses. Do you know how many cars disappear off of these streets? All the movies and TV shows have people thinking that the snatched vehicles go to chop shops, warehouses under the bridges or in certain neighborhoods, with parts sold there. Sure, there are some small time operations doing that, but the serious business is using the port for export. What my people do with cars is to label the parts, disassemble them, and ship only the like parts together from several vehicles. They end up in Latin America, then as each shipment arrives, the cars are rebuilt. Instant car for sale. Do you think a fucking VIN number means anything in Paraguay? Another little trick is to buy a bunch of used cars as inexpensively as possible, while being somewhat recent makes and models. Then we send the boosters, the neighborhood kids who can jack with haste, thank goodness, because none of them are discreet, around looking for new or lightly used cars that match up to our cheap used ones by identical make, model, and color. Once we have a pair of twins, we pop off the VIN and plates from the cheap car, put them on the stolen car, then sell the newly-created vehicle for cash out of a business parking lot on a busy street, evenings or weekends only, so that the potential customer is not able to contact any government agency to confirm the vehicle’s authenticity. The phone number on the windshield rings to a non-traceable trac phone that is thrown out after the car sells. You might be amazed at some of the specialists around here. I have a guy down in Violet who boosts nothing but construction equipment. Dump trucks, cranes, front-end loaders, that is his thing. Who suspects that a crane poking down St. Bernard Highway is hot? He is careful not to hit sites certain construction companies are running, of course, we try not to step on toes around here.