Chapter 1: Chaos

People are swarming everywhere. This place is like a giant pit of bodies, moving around, pretending that they're dancing. Who can dance in this place? There's no space, the music crummy, you can't see anything and from what I've seen, none of the guys here are worth looking at.

The only reason I'm even here is because I've been ordered to be. By who? Who else? Arvin Sloane of course. Not that I objected to this trip. I needed to be here. I had to get what I came for. And what I came for didn't concern Sloane in the least. I scan the crowd, trying my best to differentiate between all the faces that loom in front of me. I keep my gun nestled in the small of my back and it is reassuring for me to know that it is there. I feel safe every time I take a step and feel it jab against the small of my back.

I walk out a side door and smile at a guard. "Excuse me, can you point me to a restroom please?" I smile as prettily as I can, showing off my dimples and hope to God that he's straight. He is and winks as he points to his left. I sashay in front of him and head off in the general direction he points to. But as soon as the shadows cover me, I run off to a corridor that branches from the main one of the dirty club.

My footsteps are quiet as I race off down the corridor, something I find myself doing a lot, and I realize just how quietly I am breathing. I slip into a doorway and find myself facing him.

"Hello," I say in a clipped tone.

"You're late. I was expecting you half an hour ago. Don't you want what you came for? Don't you want it real bad?" His voice is husky and deep and I know he is riddling every word he says with innuendos on purpose.

"Cut the shit. I've got what you want. Where are the codes?"

He grins, noticing my own unintended innuendo, and winks at me. I want to scrape out his eyes but I keep myself calm. "Oh, is that what you're calling them now?"

My temper flares and I fight to keep it under control. "We're working on the same fucking side Horace. If you don't give me what I came here for, I promise you that you'll regret it."

For the first time, I see fear run across his face and I nearly smile, glad that he knows what I'm capable of. But he's not smart enough to heed threats and he leers at me once again. "How about I want to change the price? Maybe I'll even lower it. . . if you're willing to lower something of your own."

Time's up. I lift my leg and bring it crashing down onto his head; not enough to knock him out but hard enough so that he gets the point. In a second I'm on my knees, bringing the gun to his throat. "I am sick of playing these games. You WILL give me what I came for. Or you will never be able to give anybody anything again. And don't start with your macho "I'm not afraid of death" speech. Maybe I'll keep you alive. Maybe I should aim elsewhere hmmm?" I lower the gun until it is level with his crotch. "Are you willing to risk it Horace? What kind of man would you be then? Oh, you'll make your harem cry when they find out. Or do you fear the taunts of the other men more?"

He gulps and gives up. Nodding silently, seeing me as a danger instead of a piece of meat, he hands me the envelope with hate in his eyes. Sorry I had to rid you of your masculine pride bitch. But I can't wait for this nicely anymore. I throw a wad of cash at his feet and leave him there on the ground.

I walk out of the side exit more quickly than I should have but I can't wait. I get into my car. Putting the key into ignition, I drive to the motel I checked into an hour ago. The Discount Inn. Wearily I pull off my strawberry blond wig and wipe off the excess makeup of my face before walking up the path to my room and turn the key.

After turning on the lights and sitting on the bed, I am finally ready. Hands trembling, I look at the envelope in my hands. It is thick. I know that part of its contents are the fake codes I made Sloane believe he had to have but the rest of it is for me.

Okay, I'm ready. It's going to be okay. I pull out the stack of pictures from inside the envelope and flip through them. One after another, they all show the same face. Thin, gaunt, bruised. Vaughn.

My heart breaks. But he is still alive. And that means I still have time to save him. And I will. Because if he dies, I will too.

TBC. . . review!