Page 37 of The Scrooge Effect

I nodded, remembering that from the files.

“The green sacks are for the regular kids. The red sacks have our supplies in them. Everyone working for us will be wearing a Santa hat, and that’s how you’ll know who to pass out the red sacks to.”

“Question,” I said, my hand shooting up. “What if some regular dad shows up in a Santa hat?”

“Don’t draw attention,” Brock hissed.

“If you give a red sack to someone who’s not supposed to get one, I guess you get to follow him home and take it back,” Rocket snapped. “Any other stupid questions?”

This guy was really setting me on edge. Then again, he was a filthy drug dealer, so that wasn’t a real surprise. We got to work hauling all the sacks upstairs and placing them in the staging area. I caught the eye of Sister Margaret, giving her a reassuring nod.

She’d never met me, but I wanted her to feel like we had her back, even if she didn’t know what exactly was going on. All the information Cash had given her was that we’d be present at the charity event, and then we’d make sure they never distributed drugs from her church again.

There was already a line at the doors. Kids stood outside excitedly, waiting for their chance to see Santa and get a sack of toys. It was fucking sad, and it reminded me of my own childhood, how I waited for the presents Santa would leave us, only to find the cheapest shit under the tree that was haphazardly tossed under there without so much as a wrapping.

“You ready for this?” Lock muttered under his breath.

“Yep.”

“Just keep your cool. No cowboy shit.”

“What the hell do you think I’m going to do?”

“Well, it’s Christmas and it’s you. So, I’m not crossing any possibilities off the list.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

The doors opened and families flooded in. At first, it was just regular families, and we handed out a lot of the green sacks. Some of the kids were absolutely filthy, looking like they hadn’t had a bath in days. Others were dressed in rags, but were otherwise clean. And then there were just the normal families, down on their luck.

It really was sad to see so many kids in such a bad situation. Obviously, it wasn’t their fault their parents had lost their jobs or just didn’t work. But when the kids showed up with the Santa hat parents, it was really hard to keep my cool.

“Hey,” I grinned at one kid, getting down on one knee. “Ready for Christmas?”

The kid shrugged, obviously not expecting much.

I handed over the red sack, eyeing the dad with disdain. “Hope you have a good Christmas,” I bit out as he slid the cash into my hand.

His cheeks flushed red as he hesitantly took the sack and guided his kid out of the church.

“You’re not supposed to be making the dads feel bad,” Lock hissed. “The job is just to hand out the sacks.”

“Pieces of shit. Who brings kids along to get drugs?”

“It’s shitty, but that’s the whole reason it works for these assholes. Just do the fucking job.”

I did as I was told and continued to hand out the sacks, but then I saw Moreno show up. He walked in all smug, in his expensive suit and shoes, shaking hands and sucking up to the nuns like he was some sort of saint.

It made me fucking sick.

I continued handing out bags, grumbling and trying my best not to snap at all the shitty parents who showed up for drugs.

A small Scottie dog started yipping at me, sniffing around my ankles as I passed a green bag to a behemoth of a man. “Merry Christmas,” I muttered.

“Aww, look at the little Scottie,” Scottie said, bending down to pet the dog. “Who’s a good boy?”

As he scratched the dog’s ears, the kid tore into the sack, but when he pulled out a broken toy, tears filled his eyes.

“It’s broken,” he whispered.