"Hey soldier, lookin' for a good time?"
Trip Tucker turned slowly from his drink to look at the woman who had called to him. He looked her over for a moment and was about to tell her no, but changed his mind at the last second.
"Yeah," he said as he tossed back his drink and threw some money on the bar. "I am."
Those were the only words he said to her as he got off his stool and followed her to a dingy little room in the back of the bar. He nodded and blindly agreed to pay what she wanted before handing over the money and starting to strip.
She took him in with a practiced ease and in the back of his mind he began to wonder what had happened to even make him think of seeking comfort from a whore.
He pushed the thought from his mind soon after, not really wanting to dwell on it.
Later that night, he hurried through the dirty little city back to his apartment. He needed a hot meal and shower, more so the shower than anything else. He laughed bitterly to himself that he was starting to feel guilty about having sex with a whore.
He wondered why he decided to take comfort from someone who only wanted the money in the first place. And the he wondered a little about why he felt guilty about anything as he unlocked the door and ducked inside.
"Don't look at me like that," he muttered to a picture on a nearby table.
He quickly placed the frame face down as he continued on his way to the bathroom.
A dark cloud seemed to settle over him as he thought about the picture and he decided that he wouldn't repeat his behaviour of tonight again. He turned the water on and stripped before getting in.
"Have you heard anything from Trip?" Jon Archer asked Hoshi as they shared a drink over dinner. She shook her head.
"Not in a couple of weeks. I'm starting to get a little worried about him."
"He's gone off like this before," Archer said. "To the dark side of town." He swirled his glass around a little. He had been to the dark side of town a few times, a few more times than he cared to admit.
He was a little confused as to why Trip even went there, since Archer had never known Tucker to be one to indulge in such . . . activities.
"But never for this long. Usually a day or too and he turns up in his apartment, more hung over than should be possible." Hoshi played with her own drink as she glanced around a little.
"He's fine Hoshi. He's a big boy, and he can take care of himself."
"That's what I'm worried about," she muttered as she finished her drink and poured herself another one.