Chapter 42: Leo

During Safehaven events Sara and I would often sneak out to smoke weed in Sara's car. We would take a few bong rips from a bong we stashed in the backseat. Then we would have the mission of sneaking back into the club without being detected.

The head of security Leo was very quiet and dressed like a cop. He even had a gun and a bullet proof vest. He was a clean-cut Mexican man in his 50s that looked a little like the actor Jimmy Smits.

For the first few months we went to events we tried to avoid Leo as much as possible. We were not sure if he was actually a cop or not. We knew Mistress Azule was not a fan of weed and if her security guard made a complaint, it would cause problems for Sara at work. We tried to plan our trips outside to smoke when Leo appeared to be on his break or busy with something inside.

One day as I was walking in the door, Leo just happened to be standing outside next to the entrance. He took a deep inhale as I walked by. Like he was smelling me. I definitely did not imagine it. I panicked for the remainder of the event thinking I was going to be in trouble.

Then as the event is ending and everyone is walking out Leo sees me by the door.

"See ya later buddy." Leo said to me while reaching out to give me a high five.

My first thought was this guy never talks to me why is he saying goodbye to me all of a sudden. I reached my hand out towards Leo. As we high five he hands me a crumbled piece of paper and winks. I grip it in my hand tightly until Sara and I get to the car. Once I was sat in the car, I unfolded the piece of paper to find a small bag of weed.

The following week I went out of my way to bring Leo some of my finest weed. The weed Leo had given me was ok, very nice as a free gift but not really up to my high standards. I wanted to show him I smoked the best. I put the weed in a small baggie and then stuffed the baggie into a mint container.

For the next month or so Leo and I kept secretly exchanging nugs at the end of each event. Leo remained ever watchful at his post, and I kept up my duties supporting Sara. We never talked the entire event it was like our secret game. Sara even thought I was making it up at one point because she had never actually seen Leo give me the weed or talk to me.

"More weed from your secret admirer, the security guard?" Sara would say sarcastically.

Then one night as Sara and I were smoking in Sara's car during an event, Leo came up to the window and asked:

"Let me get a rip really quick."

Sara looked shocked. I was stoked. Sara unlocked the car and I started packing Leo a rip. He jumped in the backseat, and we packed him a bowl in a bong we had stashed in the car. Leo took a long hit like a pro and coughed out a cloud.

"I have to get back before Mistress Azule notices me gone for so long! Thanks for the hit my friends." said Leo.

Before Leo could even turn around Karen the dungeon's handy woman was sniffing at the window. Leo hurried back to his post at the venue's front door. Karen gave us a dirty look and mumbled something under her breath about stoners.

"Fucking stoners. In my day we stoned stoners."

We pretended we were getting something from the car before heading back in smelling like cologne and perfume.

Later that night Leo approached me inside. He sat next to me and said:

“In all the time I have been working at the dungeon, I have given a few people weed before. You are the first person to give me weed back. I own a weed grow operation not too far from here, you should come check it out sometime. I will give you the grand tour."

Leo and I exchanged phone numbers. A week or so later, Leo invited me over to his grow op. Sara was angry at me for some reason and refused to give me a ride over there. I ended up riding my bike two miles to the bus station at our local mall.

I had never taken a bus alone before. I did not even know what bus to take. Like an inexperienced idiot, I just asked every bus driver that stopped if they went near Leo’s cross streets.

Eventually I found a bus that went there. Unfortunately, I did not realize you need exact change for the bus. I asked the bus driver if they had change for a ten-dollar bill. At this point he was already sick of me and just told me to get on for free.

I got off the bus on Hawthorne and Manchester in an area that was not considered one the nicest at the time. You may have heard of Inglewood.

I rode my bike another three miles from the bus stop. I knew I was in a bad neighborhood and in the back of my mind I was nervous and ever vigilante. The chain on my bike decided to keep coming off and this made the start stop journey through dangerous lands that much longer. Eventually I found the address. It was a warehouse in an industrial section of the city. I called up Leo outside what I assumed was the building and he let me in.

I had helped out Jason with his plants. That was about the size of a bedroom. I had seen little plants over at Carson’s house and pictures he had taken of the farm. John and I had that plant in his backyard.

Leo’s grow op was like nothing I had ever seen before. Leo gave me the full tour. He seemed genuinely excited and interested in all my reactions and feedback. The grow op was essentially a giant warehouse that was dry walled off and separated into five different grow rooms. There was also an office with a desk and several chairs including a lazy boy recliner. Obviously, that was Leo’s chair.

Leo explained to me the layout as he walked me around.

"The larger rooms are currently dedicated to the vegetation stage. Those rooms are on a special light timer, nutrients, and water schedule. Vegetation stage is basically used for growing plants to their full needed height and age before we change the light cycle and trigger the flowering stage in the other rooms." said Leo.

Leo opened the door to the vegetation room and waved me inside. I was greeted by the steady hum of fans spread out through the room. There were rows and rows of weed plants. I walked up and down the aisles taking it the sights and smells of everything.

"What strains are you growing?" I asked Leo.

"Blue dream and Jack Herrer." Leo replied.

"Definitely smells like Blue dream." I said.

"The flowering rooms are where the magic happens. The plants start to produce the buds we love so much." Leo continued.

"Follow me." Leo said while leading me to the next rooms.

Leo stopped in front of a door.

"Welcome to Jurassic Park!" Leo said as he opened the door to the flowering room.

My jaw nearly dropped. This was the room that really took my breath away. There was an overpowering odor of weed with the slight smell of blueberries. This room made the first room look like crap. Beautiful buds crowned the top of every plant placed neatly in rows.

Leo walked up to a plant in the middle and stopped.

"See this plant? Come over here and put you hand on the stem here and squeeze it carefully between your fingers." Leo instructed.

I followed his instructions and walked over to the plant. I squeezed the stem carefully.

"Now smell your fingers." Leo added.

My fingers smelled like dank weed.

"This is what the weed will smell like when it's properly dried." Leo told me.

"How many plants do you have here Leo?" I asked.

"At last count we had over 700 plants in veg and flower combined." Leo casually bragged,

Leo showed me a third smaller room that was used for drying plants. Strings hung from wall to wall and numerous spots on the ceiling. Attached to the strings were various branches of drying weed. Leo walked over and grabbed a branch and untied it from the string.

Leo led me over to the office and plopped down into his lazy boy chair. He reached over onto the desk and grabbed a pair of small scissors. Then he handed me the dried weed and the scissors.

"Let's see if you can trim." said Leo.

"If you have all this, why do you work security at Safehaven?" I asked Leo bluntly.

"Last year my wife and I were in the process of trying to buy a home and I needed some type of legit legal source of income. I can't exactly report these earnings to the IRS. There is a grow supply store that shares the parking lot with Safehaven. I was there buying some equipment, and I ended up talking to Karen in the parking lot. She told me they were looking for a security guard for parties on the weekend. I had no idea what I was getting into so I signed up." said Leo.

"Mistress Azule knows what I do. She actually asked me to give her son Peter a job here. He's a bit lazy though and constantly has to go outside on breaks to smoke cigarettes." Leo added.

Leo had three regular employees who worked there including Mistress Azule's son.

"One of my biggest customers is someone I met at the dungeon believe it or not. Do you know Charlie B?" Leo asked me.

Charlie B was a world-renowned rope bondage expert. He made the occasional appearance at Safehaven now and again. I knew who he was, but I did not know him personally.

"The rope guy?" I asked.

"Yea, Charlie has been fighting cancer for close to a decade. The only thing he claims keeps him alive is Butane Hash Oil. I give him a very compassionate price on the weed, and he uses it to make the oil. He always gives me a little of the oil for free. If the cancer doesn't get him, he might end up blowing himself up making that oil." Leo told me.

Leo showed me a glass jar filled with the oil. It was black like pen ink. He removed the lid of the jar and handed it to me.

"Smell it." said Leo.

It smelled like weed. Leo then pulled out a glass hash pipe. I had never used anything like it before. He poured some of the oil into a special chamber on the pipe. Then he grabbed a cigar torch and a glass rod off the table. He lit the torch and used it to heat the end of the glass rod. After about a minute the rod was glowing red.

Leo handed me the pipe. When I was ready, Leo pushed the glowing glass rod into a hole on the hash pipe. The heat from the rod burned the oil and gave me a hit like nothing I had ever hit before. The taste wasn't great but the high was like smoking weed again for the first time.

"Be careful, you start hitting this stuff too much and the fumes might get to your brain like old Charlie." Leo joked.

When I had finished trimming the branch of weed Leo had given me earlier, he bagged it all up in a Ziplock sandwich bag and said:

"Take it home with you and tell me what you think next time I see you."

It was easily an ounce if not more.

I soon became a regular hanging out at the grow op and attempting to help out in my free time. I always came over with the intention to volunteer to do work. I really wanted to learn firsthand. Every stoner dreams of working in the cannabis industry and I wanted to make the most of this opportunity.

Leo always had me just come and hang out and talk about weed in his office. We would split a six pack of beer and smoke an eighth of weed between us. Take a few hits of the oil. We would talk about the latest popular strains I had seen in dispensaries and online. My ideas for new products and edibles. Leo listened to every word I said.

Everyone who worked at the grow op hated on me and harbored resentment over my special treatment, but I swear I came to work.

I was constantly asking Leo to show me things and let me help the others. Leo just wanted me to be his friend and then gave me free weed to take home after every visit as if he was paying me for service.

At the time I failed to realize my knowledge in the culture was worth more to Leo than labor.

I had spent years exploring different dispensaries in Los Angeles and I knew all the most popular strains. Leo started growing the strains I suggested, and his bud sold more often and for more money. Some of his usual clients even doubled their orders.

Leo was literally the same age as my dad. I liked to think of him as my weed mentor. We started hanging out at all the events and I was often thought of as the backup security at the dungeon. By now Sara had an entourage of followers and there was always someone else who wanted the "privilege" of cleaning and watching her toys.

Despite Leo giving me free weed from time to time, I was still regularly buying weed from this trendy dispensary in Downtown Los Angeles now and again.

It was at this shop that I got my first proper dab. As I was waiting in line for my usual flower I noticed people over to the side at what resembled a bar.

There were bongs and torches and a bud tender was giving out hits similar to the oil hits Leo gave me.

Except the oil they were smoking was golden and beautiful not black. It was not even really the consistency of oil either. It was more like ear wax. I had to try it. As I was checking out and paying I asked how much it cost to get a hit of the oil. The bud tender told me the hits were free with any purchase.

I eagerly lined up and then took my hit. The whole process was different than Leo’s way of doing it. They had a special metal bowl piece they heated up with what looked like a welder’s torch. They gently placed the concentrate into the metal bowl and then placed a glass dome over it. At this point you hit it.

I thought Leo’s oil was good. This was way better. The taste was good. The high was good. I went home and texted Leo about it.

On my next visit to the dispensary I purchased some of their wax and the special bowl equipment you needed. I brought it all over to the grow op and Leo and I figured it out for ourselves.

I went first to demonstrate and act as the unofficial test dummy.

"Damn that is good, Jordan!" Leo said after getting his hit.

"That's really good." he added.

This was the first time I thought Leo ever look visably faded. His eyes went red instantly. He leaned back in his lazy boy with his eyes closed.

“You are always asking me for ideas for new products? This is what we need to be making!” I told Leo.

Chapter 43: Bondcon