Hanson rolled his eyes as he strolled out of his last class of the day. Without having made any progress in the past week regarding his case and having to listen to that moronic history teacher drone on and on about things he kept mixing up and misinterpreting, Hanson was growing impatient and irritable. All he wanted to do was get back to the chapel and relax; maybe even go through the notes on the case again to see if there was anything he missed that would give him a clue as to whom the perpetrator was.
"I'm telling you, I saw her!" Hanson overhead a girl in front him say to her friend as they walked slowly, keeping him from passing them.
"No way. I thought she was dead," the friend said, sneering slightly.
"That's what I thought! But get this, I hear she's workin at a strip joint downtown," the first girl whispered loudly with a wicked snicker.
"No! Really? Ha! Serves her right. Stupid bimbo."
"I know right? I bet the rumor's true, too, then."
"Which one?"
"The one about her living with that druggy Damien, dumbass." Suddenly, Hanson's ears perked up and he stopped trying to swerve around the girls. Maybe this Damien was the guy Hanson had been sent in to find. He ran through the details of the case in his head quickly. There was a kid in this high school dealing drugs, but it wasn't as simple as that. The guy had a network. Even his lackeys had lackeys. It was clear from this detail that this kid was no wanna be dealer; he had to be connected to some real dealers. Normally, Hanson wouldn't be interested in petty gossip like this since more often than not it was just girls getting back at other girls, but with the less than stellar week he'd had, this was really his only lead. Just as he started to hang back and listen more intently to the conversation, they reached the doors at the front of the school and the girls rushed down the steps to their boyfriends.
Exhaling a heavy sigh, Hanson rested all of his weight in his chair at once, causing the old thing to creak quietly. Still frustrated, he lifted his feet up to rest on his desk as he pulled the case file into his lap for review. "Any progress on our drug dealer?" Hanson looked up lazily to see Captain Fuller standing in front of his desk with an expectant look. Running a hand through his hair while taking a deep breath, he rolled his eyes, looking for a good way to spin it. Finally, he patted his desk with both hands and took his feet down as he responded casually, "Not so far, Coach. But I think I got a lead today."
"Good," Fuller replied without much of a reaction. "Follow it as soon as possible. We have more cases coming in and I need this wrapped up soon." With a purse of his lips and a small, unenthusiastic salute, Hanson lifted himself from his chair and headed back out to scope out downtown for any clues as to which strip club the girl might be affiliated with. Lucky for him, there weren't many so as long as he kept his ears and eyes open he should be able to narrow it down to two possibilities if not one. Of course, that was if luck was on his side, which it apparently wasn't. The road he decided to take to get downtown ended up being blocked off because of a collision and he had to sit in traffic for a few hours before finally getting home.
The next day, just when Hanson was getting ready to throw his books on the floor of the classroom and give up, he heard the guy next him whispering to his buddy about what sounded like the same girl. Leaning in closely, he strained to hear as much of the conversation as he could. Although he didn't get much, he did manage a name that sounded familiar and he knew must be the name of the club. "Bada Bing…" he whispered quietly to himself as he hurried down the steps of the school and out to his car. "It even sounds sleazy."
It took a little driving around to find a parking spot, but he eventually found one fairly close to the location and took a deep breath after climbing out of the Mustang. With a quick crack of his neck and after rolling his shoulders back, Hanson adjusted his brown leather jacket and waltzed up to the doors of "Bada Bing." He was surprised to find no form of bouncer around to keep under-aged kids from entering. Quickly surveying the area, he noticed a large number of tables with who knows how many horny boys gawking at scantily clad women walking around serving drinks and cheap fast food. Entirely confused at this point, Hanson finally spotted a door across the room with an "Adults Only" sign over it. Nodding with a faint smirk, he headed over toward it, only to be kept back by the arm of a large, muscular man. "What's a matter, kid? Can't read? Adults only. Go sit down and get yourself a sippy cup," the man chuckled lowly in his gruff voice. Undeterred, Hanson flashed his perfected delinquent smile and headed back to an empty table. The second he sat down, an attractive young woman sauntered up and asked him what he'd like to order. After a moment of not really scanning the menu, he sat up and rested his arms on the table as he order a Coke before adding, "Hey, so what's the deal with this place?" Rolling her eyes, the girl told him she'd have his drink in a minute and walked away. Flicking his eyebrows up and rolling his lips out into a pout, he sat back and folded his hands into his lap. The sudden presence of hands on his shoulders made him jolt into an upright position as he whipped his head around to see a man not much older than him sit in the seat beside him. "Hey, what's up, kid?" the guy asked as he waved to the waitress bringing over Hanson's soda.
"Nothing much," he answered, leaning back into the chair again cautiously.
"Oh?" The man lifted his eyebrow curiously while the girl placed the glass on the table. "Not enjoying yourself at my quaint little establishment?"
A quiet bell rang in Hanson's head and he cleared his throat softly, putting on a smirk. "You own this place? Nice set up you got here," he said with a nod toward one of the waitresses passing by.
"Yup," the man nodded as he rested one arm behind him over the corner of the chair and took a sip from Hanson's glass. "Got my best good girls out tonight."
Figuring he might as well try, Hanson leaned over a little and asked, "What about your best bad girls?"
Laughing, the man ruffled Hanson's hair. "You're too young to go anywhere near them, scout." Just as he was about to add something, a Mexican girl with a notably strong presence tapped him on the shoulder and whispered in his ear. He grimaced and whispered something back to her to which she rolled her eyes and motioned with her thumb to the Adults Only section. "Well, looks like I've got some business to take care of. Sal here'll keep you company til I get back…" he gestured for Hanson to give his name.
"Tom. Tom Russel."
"Sal, Tom. Tom, Sal. Go ahead and become lifelong friends." Sal kicked the man's backside as he walked away, a smile clear on her face by how deep her dimples appeared.
"Don't worry about Marcus," she said to Tom once the man had disappeared into the other part of the building. "He's still a kid at heart who happens to own one of the few 'fantasy friendly' establishments around here."
Hanson chuckled, looking up at the woman and studying her face to find how young she actually appeared to be. Somehow, her demeanor made her seem older at first glance. "Fantasy friendly," he repeated, grinning at the ridiculousness of the phrase.
"Yup. Coined it himself. You all good here?" she asked, motioning to his glass.
Hanson nodded at it, but added, "I would like some company, though."
Sal shook her head slightly. "Cute. I'm working."
"I believe you were told to become my lifelong friend," he replied, tipping his glass at her before taking a sip. Smiling again and shaking her head, Sal sat in the seat Marcus had left. "So…Sal…not exactly the most feminine name out there," he commented, thinking of Blowfish back at Jump Street headquarters.
"It's sort for Salma," she said, twirling her hand to signal to another waitress to bring her something to drink. "Marcus is just too lazy to say two more letters." Tom smiled and was about to ask her about Marcus's age policy for the girls working for him when a loud crash alerted him to a man being thrown out of the Adults Only section and colliding with a table nearby. The boys sitting there got their feet just in time to avoid being knocked over along with the table as the man slid across the floor some feet. Marcus stomped out right after him and pressed the bottom of his boot down hard onto the man's neck, threatening to crush his windpipe. Hanson glanced at Salma quickly to see her eyes locked intently on Marcus, her face almost expressionless.
"I'm gonna say this once so you can get it through that thick, drunk head of yours: nobody, and I mean nobody, is allowed to touch one of my girls without her express permission. You got that, scumbag?" The man tried to nod as he practically clawed at Marcus's boot, trying to make it budge. Satisfied that the man had been punished enough, Marcus lifted his boot and ordered the bouncer to throw him out. Then, with a nonchalant grin, he opened his arms to the room full of gaping people. "Hey, hey! Don't let this little mishap ruin your evening! Free round of pop on me!" At just the mention of the word "free," the entire room returned to the atmosphere it had a minute earlier as though nothing had happened. Perturbed and a bit mentally whiplashed, Hanson watched as Marcus walked over to Salma and asked her to go check on the girl in the back. Salma nodded and without sparing a moment to even acknowledge Hanson, she headed into the Adults Only section to get to the locker room. "Sorry you had to see that, Russel," Marcus said, throwing an arm around Hanson's shoulders. "We may be fantasy friendly, but the one thing I absolutely won't tolerate is seeing a woman mistreated." It took everything Hanson had to keep himself from rolling his eyes at Marcus.
The next half hour was spent engaged in idle chitchat while Marcus rambled on and on about what seemed to be whatever happened to float into his head at the time. Hanson couldn't get a word in edgewise no matter how hard he had been trying. Finally, he thought he saw his chance when Salma came back to tell Marcus that the girl had gone home on Salma's advice. As Marcus nodded, Hanson opened his mouth to ask him the question he'd been bouncing around in his head, but was interrupted by a boom of obnoxious laughter.
"So it is true! You've really become a slut living off of singles!" Everyone turned to see two girls and a group of guys in the doorway. Hanson immediately recognized the girls as the one's he'd been stuck behind the day before. Seeing the anger flicker brightly in Salma's eyes, Marcus slid a protective arm over her shoulders and squeezed her in a quick partial hug. "You brats got business with my Sal?"
One of the boys stepped closer, obviously ignoring Marcus. "Laura...lookin good. How much?" The other boys and the two girls laughed and talked over each other as they offered possible prices. Hanson kept his eyes on the girl as he processed that Salma was the name she used here for work and Laura must be her real name. Laura did not move, not a finger. She simply glared at the boy, a warning in her eye.
Another boy stepped forward, seeing that she refused to respond, but not seeing the anger rising within her. "If we both pay, do we get a discount?" The group roared with laughter. "Two for one?" Laura opened her mouth to snap at them, but closed it abruptly when Hanson stepped in front of her.
Leaning his foot out he pretended to study the toe of his boot. "It's funny. I didn't know you were so desperate, you had to negotiate for a good time." Pulling his foot back to stand up straight, he looked up at the boys who simply stared back at him. "S'a matter? Cat got your tongue?" He pulled out his wallet and licked his first two fingers before taking out five singles. "Here. Go buy yourselves something pretty."
"You think you're real funny, don't you, new guy?" the first boy said as he hit Hanson's hand, causing the money to fall to the floor.
"Nah. I think I'm a gas," he responded with a smirk as he stuck his hands in his pockets.
The other boy lunged forward with his fist ready to swing, but Marcus stepped in and caught his fist. "Now I -know- you ain't givin my boy Russel trouble. I'd sure hate to have to rough you up for assaulting one of my customers." A light snap of his fingers called forth the bouncer and another large man from the other section of the building. The men stood on either side of Marcus and Hanson, staring the boys down.
Undeniably shaken by the thought of what would happen to them, the boys scoffed. "Psh. We don't need this." The whole group turned and made to leave the club. "We'll see you in school, Russel," one boy said before the door closed.
As soon as they were gone, Marcus turned back to Laura with a reassuring grin. "Never a dull day with you, huh, Sal?" Hanson looked in time to see Marcus's grin break the anger in Laura's look as she smiled back. "Alright, alright. Show's over. Back to work!" With a whistle and a wave of his hand, the waitresses went back to what they were doing before the small commotion. "Nicely handled, Russel," Marcus said, messing up Hanson's hair further. "Knew you two'd be fast friends."
"Take your own advice, won't you, Marcus?" Laura said, taking hold of his arm and pulling him along. "You gotta find a girl to fill Sara's place tonight."
"I'm goin, I'm goin," Marcus said, dragging his feet toward his office.
Hands on her hips, Laura shook her head and clicked her teeth before shouting after him, "I already have one boy to look after, I don't need another!" After a moment, Hanson cleared his throat to get her attention. "Ah! Sorry about that. And thank you."
"No problem." An awkward silence set in as Hanson tried to think of a way to talk to her enough to get her to reveal something about the drug dealer she might be involved with. Suddenly, Marcus's voice rang out, "You idiot! Check the time!"
In an instant, Laura's eyes shot open and she grabbed Hanson's arm to see his watch. "Damn! I forgot!" Before Hanson could say anything to keep her around, she ran into the other part of the building to get to the lockers. Purse in hand, she ran back passed him, calling back, "See you tomorrow, Marcus!" Hanson looked around, feeling like his head was spinning after the way she hustled passed him. The feeling of Marcus using his shoulder as a crutch to lean on brought him back.
"That's our Sal. Always busy." Standing up straight again, Marcus shouted, "Alright! You don't gotta go home, but you sure as hell can't stay here! This part of business is closed! Head on home kids, it's a school night." With a heavy smack, Marcus patted Hanson's back. "Come by anytime, kid. You're good people. Now git."
Trudging along with heavy footsteps, Hanson made it over to his car, falling into the driver's seat with a thud. He let his head fall back against the headrest as he sighed. No progress. At least he knew she would be there again tomorrow and that it wouldn't be weird for him to show up since the owner seemed to like him. Still, after so long without any leads, to walk away from this with nothing to show for it was frustrating. A quiet grunt escaped his lips as he slammed the door shut and stuck the keys in the ignition. Resting his arm out the window as he cruised along down the almost entirely empty streets, he glanced out at the sidewalk and almost came to a screeching halt when he saw Laura. Walking beside her at thigh height, holding onto her hand tightly, was a young boy, about four or five years old by the looks of it. Hanson slowed down slightly to get a good look. Was that why she wasn't in school anymore? She had given birth? But she looked so young. Speeding up again as they turned the corner, Hanson ran his hand through his hair and over his face. He just wanted this case wrapped up as soon as possible, but something inside him knew it just wasn't going to be that simple. No matter how much he wanted it to be a straightforward drug case, he could tell things were going to get hairy. It was just a matter of when and how much. After pulling in to the parking lot behind Jump Street Chapel, he turned the engine off and rested his forehead on the steering wheel before summoning the energy to go up and report to Fuller before heading home to plan out how he'd go about visiting Bada Bing again the next day. It had to be casual. He couldn't give himself away. That was his least favorite part of the job: the waiting, the patience, the finesse required. All things he was terrible at. "Deep breaths, Tom. It'll be over before you know it."