Chapter 2: Club
Notes: Caution, adult scenes in this chapter.
She couldn't help giving Elliot a quick, approving glance when she met him outside the club later that evening. Basic black t-shirt, but he was wearing a pair of leather pants that fit him like a second skin. "Looking good, partner," she teased as she caught up to him on the sidewalk.
"Not too bad yourself," he said, looking her up and down. She'd chosen a tight-fitting red cap-sleeved t-shirt that left a tiny bit of her stomach bare, and a pair of hip-hugging jeans with a gold chain belt. The legs flared out over heels high enough to put her at eye level with him.
They paid the twenty-dollar cover charge, got the back of their hands stamped by the guy at the door, and walked in. The guy who had spoken to them earlier was right beside the door, looking at the newcomers, but he was busy checking out another couple, a man and a younger woman, and didn't notice the two detectives slip by.
"Oh my God," Olivia breathed once they got in and her eyes adjusted to the light. "Elliot…"
"I know, Liv. I see it too. No wonder he didn't want us looking too closely at the place."
The place was full of people. That in itself wasn't strange. What was unusual was the sight of half of those people sitting on the floor next to the other half, wearing collars, chains, and leashes. Elliot stared as a man walked casually up to the bar to order a drink, with a naked girl on a leash behind him. She crawled behind him, stopping when he stopped, moving when he moved.
The walls had been hung with heavy black drapes when they had visited that afternoon. Now those drapes were swept aside, and they saw X-frames lining them, some occupied, some not. Elliot narrowed his eyes as he saw a gagged man writhing under the whip wielded by a woman standing in front of him wearing black leather pants.
"How can Jessica want her daughter to come and work here?" Olivia's eyes were skipping around the room, seeing a naked woman openly fellating a man under a table by the wall while said man was talking casually to another. At a nearby table, a woman was bent over the back of a chair being spanked. It was all very open…but the atmosphere, while sexually charged, was very relaxed. None of the patrons looked like they were here against their will. Most looked like they were enjoying themselves.
"Table for two?" Came a solicitous voice at their elbow, and they turned to see one of the waitresses at their elbow. "You're new here." She raked Olivia with a fast glance, then her eyes slid appreciatively over Elliot. "Oh, honey. Looking good tonight. Want a girl?"
"Thank you, no, I have one," Elliot said, sliding an arm around Olivia's waist. She slipped into the role, giggling and snuggling up to him.
"Oh," the waitress said, looking disappointed. "Well, you know how this goes. You want one of us, just holler." She studied Olivia. "You want one of the rooms in back?"
"Maybe later," Elliot said.
'Well, there aren't any open right now, so it would have to be later. But just say the word, I'll be happy," she licked her lips slowly, seductively, "to oblige."
"Mmm." Elliot smiled at her. "And just what would you be happy to 'oblige' me with?"
"Anything except animals, honey," the woman said. "I do it all. Wax, whips, chains, you name it, I'll do it."
"Is Jessica one of the girls?" Olivia asked suddenly.
The woman looked at her disdainfully. "Juicy Jessy. That little drunk ho. She'll do anything for a drink." She drew away from Elliot. "Didn't peg you as the type to like bestiality, but if you do, you're a little more than I can handle. If you want a girl, ask for Puppy Peggy. She'll do the dogs. In fact, she'll be onstage in a few minutes." She walked away as another patron called for a drink.
"Dogs?" Olivia made a face, saw her own disgust mirrored in Elliot's eyes. "What—" she broke off in mid-sentence as the crowd fell silent and that bright spotlight illuminated the stage.
"And now, ladies and gentlemen, give a warm house welcome for Puppy Peggy!"
Leo walked onstage, leading a crawling girl by a collar and chain leash onto the stage. He bent down and clipped the end of the leash to one of the eyebolts in the floor that Elliot had commented on earlier, and snapped his fingers. The girl squatted back on her haunches, stuck out her tongue and panted like a dog.
"Speak!" the command was loud in the quiet room.
The girl barked.
Leo picked up a thin wooden stick, a cane, and stood behind her. "Speak!" she barked…and the cane came slashing down on her bare back. She yelped.
"Up!" The girl rose to all fours and barked again as the cane slashed down on her ass. Olivia swallowed and averted her eyes, scanning the room to see what the reactions were like. Most of the guests were watching avidly, titillated by the sight. Several men were masturbating openly; several women also had their hands down their pants or up their skirts. She turned her attention back to the stage.
The caning was over, apparently, and the girl was alone onstage. Not for long, though, apparently; soon, the audience could hear panting, and moments later, two Great Danes burst onstage, yanking at their leashes. The handler let them off the leashes, and they swarmed the girl eagerly, sniffing and licking, then they…
"Let's go," Elliot took Olivia's arm, and they both headed for the door…only to find their way blocked by the large, bulky, muscular form of Leo James.
"Going somewhere, Detectives?"
"So this is what you were hiding when we stopped by earlier," Olivia burst out.
"Detectives," Leo held up a hand. "If I'd tried to explain, you wouldn't have understood. Law enforcement tends to take a rather dim view of what happens in here, but I assure you, there's nothing illegal here. Just some consenting adults meeting to satisfy their urges with other consenting adults."
"Can you prove it's all consensual?" Elliot demanded.
Leo nodded. "All members who want to participate and play here have to sign a consent form at the door. It's a standard one, all it says is that they agree that nothing here is offensive and they're here of their own accord. My girls have signed the agreements too. I can let you look if you're interested."
"Yeah. Yeah, we would." Elliot and Olivia followed Leo around the perimeter of the room, down a short hallway at the back of the bar, and into a small, slightly cluttered office. "Right here," he said. "I have signed consent forms from all of my girls, stating that they're willing to submit to whatever the clients want. Each form lists activities the girl is willing to perform. I never allow a client to violate the agreement. Clients with preferences other than what a girl has listed are referred to a different girl, or they're free to mingle with the other clients and try to find a partner among them."
"Is Jessica Ross one of these girls? Do you have a consent form for her?"
Leo went to a nearby file cabinet, rummaged for a moment. "Yes I do. Here it is." He was silent as both Elliot and Olivia looked it over, and finally said, "If you're satisfied, detectives, I do have a club to run…"
"We're going. Thanks," Olivia said as she handed the paper back.
She got to the hospital at nine the next morning, just in time to see Jessica and Via cross the hospital lawn and sit down at the bus stop by the curb in front of the building. "Via!" she called, hurrying up to the girl.
"Hello, Detective," the girl said as Olivia caught up with her. "Is everything all right?"
"Yes, I just wanted to talk to you. Did you get to work last night okay?"
"Yes I did."
"Were you all right at home all night?"
The girl stopped. "I worked all night, Detective," she said. "My boss said he would pay me the overtime because one of the other cashiers called out. I picked up my paycheck and now we're going to go home. I'll drop Mom off and go pay the landlord."
"Is it just the two of you? What about your dad?"
"I don't have a dad. It's just mom and me."
"Do you know what Leo's is?"
Jessica broke in. "Yeah, she's been there with me a few times. Why are you asking all these questions, Detective?"
"My partner and I checked out Leo's bar last night, and we didn't like what we saw. Everyone there might be consenting adults, but Via's only sixteen. She's not old enough to consent, and not old enough to work there. If we see Sylvia working there, Child Protective services will say you're endangering her, and they'll take you away from her. Don't take her there, Jessica."
Jessica drew herself up indignantly. "The nerve of you, telling me what I can and can't do with my own child! I'll do whatever I want, Detective—"
"Not if you don't want to go to jail, Ms. Ross," Olivia said firmly. "Here's my card, there's my number. If you need anything, please, call me." Her smile was more for Via than for Jessica.
"Yeah. Right." Jessica tossed the card aside, sneering. "Come on, Livy." The bus was pulling up, and she turned to face it as the door opened.
Via stooped wordlessly and picked up the little card from where it lay on the ground. "Thank you, Miss Benson," she whispered before she turned and followed her mother onto the bus. The card disappeared into the pocket of her jeans.