A Score to Settle in San Diego

My best friend betrayed me by investing my money in his startup and disappearing - I decided to bring

it all back to San Diego this spring. The air in San Diego smells different than anywhere else.

It's a mix of salt spray, eucalyptus, and expensive sunscreen. It's supposed to

smell like vacation. It's supposed to smell like relaxation. But as I stepped out of the Uber

and onto the sidewalk in front of the Pendry Hotel in the Gaslamp Quarter, all I could smell

was the distinct, metallic scent of a score to settle. It was mid-April. Spring.

The season of rebirth, blooming flowers, and apparently, tracking down the scumbag who used

to be my brother. My name is Mark, and six months ago, my life was on a very different trajectory.