"Charlie, I think we have a serious problem," Vaggie said as she hurried to Charlie's side the moment the blond girl returned to the foyer. "Angel's employer is one of the Overlords."
"An Overlord…?" Charlie replied somewhat confused.
"The one known as Valentino," Vaggie responded. "The leader of the Three-V's Triumvirate. Oh, Hun, this is bad! This is really bad!"
"I've heard of Valentino, and the Three-V's," Charlie said though she did start to wonder. "But, all they do is run the media and entertainment companies right?"
"Yes, but it's worse than that," Vaggie said. "Valentino is the newest overlord of the three of them, but he is not someone we want to cross. If we do it could mean the destruction of this hotel and the lives of everyone in it. "
"But…" Charlie said. "This building was acquired by me and I am responsible for it. If it was destroyed my dad would want to find those who were responsible. Besides, we don't know Angel's side of the story...maybe we should learn what is going on and then figure out what to do from there."
"Sorry to interrupt," Alastor interjected. "But perhaps it would be a wiser decision to cut our losses with Angel Dust before things get out of hand. After all, he has proven to be problematic...spider demons in my experience have always been a deceptive and distasteful villainous sort. It is very likely he has been using you from the beginning, keeping him here would only bring trouble."
"Just a fair warning I would be mindful of your current *guest* if I were you...he can be...shall we call it treacherous."
"He has been jerked around by a lot of people so he's not going to open up and trust you immediately. Still, if there is one thing to be said about him, he is a listener and does pick up on things."
"That's not fair," Charlie insisted. As she remembered Vox's warning to her and the advice that Cherri had offered. "You may be correct that Angel hasn't been completely honest with any of us. But I know in my heart he wants help...he wants *our* help. It goes against the purpose of this hotel to abandon those who need help because of the risks posed. And it goes against what I believe in.
"We are talking about the Three-V's...Overlords." Vaggie pointed out. "If he's associated with them, then how do we know he isn't here because of them."
"I don't think he's associated with them by choice," Charlie said. "Remember when we first met him. He was willing to hear us out, but he wasn't particularly interested in the hotel, especially since redemption isn't something that has been proven. And it's not something that most demons believe in, but he...he still agreed to help."
"Yeah, out of pride" Vaggie pointed out. "I was the one saying that he wasn't cut out to be a candidate and he reacted to it and said he could be whatever he wanted to be."
"Perhaps…" Alastor remarked as though in thought. "Perhaps not...I admit I don't know Angel Dust particularly well and I don't have any interest or respect for his brand of entertainment. However, he is still an actor...as such he likely does play a role to present himself as what he wants the world to see."
"That does make some sense," Charlie admitted. "When I gave him that money...he didn't exactly drop the egotistic act...but it was like something shifted."
"Ha," Alastor let out a bark that sounded like delight. "You took him by surprise. Kindness can indeed be something unexpected here in Hell, particularly by sinners."
"Yeah...I know I'll have to tell 'em." Angel said into his phone. "...No...I don't think they'd kick me to the curb or at least I don't believe Charlie would be open to going that route, she's crazy like that. Though I'm sure she's been told that would be a good idea, considering what sort of dangers come with me being here…..Yeah, it'd be just like that shit-bag to try and take this away from me simply because he can. No...I don't know what I will do if I'm forced to leave…..Stay with you? I don't know, that might be a bit risky. Maybe a day or two until I can find an inn that won't give me too much trouble until I can get a place..… or since you're moving into the hotel anyway, I could move into your apartment, quick transition...oh...your not so sure you want to do that now. Hey, you've gone to the trouble of packing up, the space is good...and the company's okay. Charlie really seemed to like you, and sure the place ain't what I'd call luxurious but it's alright once you get used to it. Yeah...see you soon, Doll Face."
Angel sighed as he got off the phone with Cherri. He had a Voxphone that he kept his personal contact numbers. To avoid suspicion with Val he had listed the account for this phone under the name he had when he had been alive. It felt weird to use the name Anthony again after being known as 'Angel Dust' for over seventy years. But it was all worth it so Valentino didn't track down and hurt those who mattered to him like Cherri just to spite him. Glancing down at the contact list, the numbers had increased by two in the last few weeks. He wasn't ready to call Charlie and Vaggie friends, he was kinda friendly towards them and they were nice to him and all. At least Charlie was.
But it also wasn't like he wasn't avoiding being friends either. Val knew about Cherri's existence and tolerated her. But he had threatened her life before as part of hinted punishments for misbehavior. The moth would tell him horrible things that he could do to her and wanted to do to her, such as brutally rape and torture her all the while forcing Angel to watch. Nuggz was also on his threat list, though those were cruel jokes such as making bacon out of Angel's pet pig or serving him up as pork chops someday.
That was why he couldn't allow himself to be too close with Charlie or Vaggie. While Val physically couldn't do anything to Charlie. That didn't mean he couldn't harm the other people in the hotel. While most of the time if a demon was shot or brutally eviscerated, depending on the extent of the damage their bodies would slowly reform themselves and they'd be back to causing trouble. The only thing that could truly kill a demon was one of the spears that the exterminators would use during the Cleansings. Those were high commodities and sold for thousands on the black market. Val was prone to buying a number of the exterminator's spears from the black market and having them melted down into bullets for his guns.
And he did have a lot of connections and associations that certainly could and would make Charlie's life hell. Cherri was right, they needed to learn what was going on so they at least knew the truth from him. Otherwise, they could hear something from Val. The moth would threaten the hotel and say he couldn't be held responsible for what will come to pass if they don't surrender Angel Dust into his hands.
"I am such a stupid, stupid, slut." Angel said as he gave himself a bitter laugh. "Why did I agree to do this? Was I so full of my pride that I had to insist that I was the best person they could have for this project? I knew I was taking a risk in participating, but if I'd only stopped to consider that I was draggin' more people into my problems. I'd have just gotten out of the car and that would be the end of it. Cherri only knows what's happening because she refused to leave the issue alone. And she's in danger for knowin'. If I'd been think'n I'd have left this place the day Val started poking into my business here. But then what...the landlord was all too happy to see the backside'a me when I moved out of my SRO and started living here. I don't got enough to get a new place to live, and wouldn't it be so appropriate for the Princess of Hell herself to screw me over...why not?... It's not like everyone else hasn't already? The only possible place is the studio...and I don't wanna live there. Particularly since Val would just..." Angel paused and shuddered as the memories of spending unknown periods of days in a chamber with a chain padlocked around his ankle. "
"I guess I'd bettah get this shit done." Angel sigh to himself. "At least Charlie might be willin' to look after Nuggz until I can get somewhere else to live."
Leaving his room he had started down the hall towards the stairs, he could overhear the girls conversing, it sounded like Alastor was with them. And he knew exactly what subject matter was about. ~Oh great…~ Angel mentally sighed. ~First Vox, now Alastor...I really fucking hate Overlords."
"Maybe…" He could hear Charlie say. "But you didn't see what Vaggie and I witnessed. It wasn't an act. I know what I saw wasn't something you can just pretend to be. I don't know what's going on, or why, but I know what I saw...what I had experienced today was real. One of the things a friend of his said to me last night is that he has been hurt by others in the past. I have gotten the impression at times that there are some things he does want to let us know but is unsure of what will happen as a result or how we will take it."
Arriving at the second-floor landing he watched the two girls and the red-haired demon gathered in a small circle.
"Ah-ha," Alastor proudly deciphered. "So the arachnid has a metaphorical psychosis known as 'Porcupine's dilemma'. He doesn't wish to be close or have committed relationships with others since he associates that with pain. So he withdraws in order to avoid being hurt in the process. But things can't change for him unless he does run the risk of being hurt or causing pain to others until a tolerable acceptance can be achieved."
Angel bristled in response. The deer demon wasn't exactly wrong, but it just felt too simple. The Radio Demon didn't know what life has been like for him for the past seventy-three years since he awoke in Hell. It was true he didn't trust others because he had been hurt or betrayed in the past. But it also was foolish to openly trust others. In Hell the only person you could count on at all was yourself. Everyone else used you until they didn't need you anymore. The worst sort were the people who made you believe they cared about you, just when you thought you had people you can actually trust, they stab you in the back both figuratively and literally.
"If you put it that way…" Charlie started to say.
"Ya makin me sound defective, Smiles." Angel interrupted as he stood perched against the second-floor railing. "Though I gather from the conversation you're havin' the jig is up."
"Ah Angel," Alastor said nonchalantly "We were just wondering about you."
"Il bastardo mi mette comunque alla prova. (The bastard tests me anyway)." Angel growled under his breath as he started down the stairs. He didn't bother with plastering any fake smiles or trademark smirks. Mentally he assessed those gathered. Husk and Niffty were minding their own business though Husk did cast a critical eye towards him. Alastor continued to regard him with that infuriatingly self-righteous smile. Vaggie sternly regarded him, her expression betraying no emotion. Only Charlie seemed to regard him with any sort of compassion.
"We need to talk," Charlie said, choosing her words carefully. None of them wanted to say it but they all knew once things were in the open, everything would change.
"I know," Angel calmly said. He maintained a calm facade, internally he could feel his emotions racing a mile a minute. This was happening way too fast for his liking, even Cherri had been his friend for several years before he finally admitted to her about being smacked around by Val.
"I'm not going to force you to reveal anything you are not comfortable or ready to say," Charlie stated emphatically. Angel crooked the brow of his darker eye questioningly. Was she giving him an out? Was she honestly saying he didn't need to go through with this...at least not at this moment. Even Vaggie seemed to regard Charlie with a 'What are you doing?' expression. "If you would feel more comfortable having Cherri with you, she is free to be here. But we do need to know what is going on outside this hotel. I want to help in any way I can, but…"
"You need to hear it from me," Angel finished the statement. He closed his eyes and shook his head in frustration. "I'll admit that I don't want to do this...but we're here now. Let's just get this shit over with already. However, I'll only say what I'm going to say once...and only to you two." Angel pointed at Charlie and Vaggie since both girls were management. Alastor didn't protest or argue, he just respectfully nodded as though confirming the other man had made a wise decision and trapesed away without a care.
The three of them had gathered at the front office. Charlie had taken her place behind the desk, the subject matter was not something that made her comfortable. But she needed to know what was going on so she could assess and prepare for what challenges lay ahead. Vaggie was standing close behind Charlie. She wanted to understand what was going on as well as she didn't want Charlie to wind up hurt by it.
Angel Dust sat before them. He didn't hide the fact he was uncomfortable with what he was about to reveal, but it was better said now... than later by someone else. Especially when the truth could be twisted by someone like Valentino.
Even all this was a lost cause, even if he could never actually escape Val. Perhaps, the hotel would be willing to help him save others...start with the brothels and get other people Val kept under his chains. Maybe two or three at a time, get them out as he could so there would never be another demon who was treated as he was. So there would never be another demon given the label of "Valentino's personal whore".
Eventually and hopefully he could get Summer and Dia out at some point. He may not be fond of the two of them, but that didn't mean he didn't feel guilt during the moments he was forced to watch as Valentino hurt one or both of them. The moth telling him that they are suffering because he displeased him and that he would have to live with knowing he brought pain on them by his actions.
Charlie may not be able to redeem any of them, but she'd be able to keep 'em safe for a time. Help them find better lives here in Hell. He longed for a cigarette at that moment, but Charlie had made it clear the office and foyer were non-smoking areas when he moved in. If this was to be his last night here he could light one anyway. But he wanted to show that he at least had some respect for their rules even if he didn't really like to play by them.
"Where would you like me to start?" Angel asked cautiously. He couldn't really wear his mask of cynicism now that the proverbial cat was out of the bag. But that didn't mean he was ready for them to really see him for who he truly was just yet.
"How long had this been going on?" Charlie asked. The question wasn't angry or disappointed but still demanded an explanation.
"How long have I been with Val?" Angel inquired tilting his head slightly. "Or how long have I been in the sex-trade in general? I mean it's been a rough ride, either way, I'll give ya that. I guess the best answer I can give for both questions is ...a while. Valentino's not the first person to have ground me into the dirt, there have certainly had a number of douchebags who have used and abused me before I met Val. Fortunately, you don't gotta worry about any of them, but Val...Val ain't someone you want coming here. And Vox, don't get me started with him, he's not as ruthless as Val but he's just as bad. He and Val are kinda like off and on, and Velvet is like their psychotically insane daughter" He closed his eyes, it was so much easier to reminisce on the painful memories if he didn't have to look into Charlie's eyes as he spoke.
"I met Val…oh I don't know...a handful of decades ago." Angel continued. "I had been working at this casino where a previous...I guess I'd call him a boyfriend had bartered me into the winnings and the house won. So there you go, an automatic job you never really asked for and no more boyfriend so he's out'a the picture. I had been working there as part of the "entertainment" I guess you can call it. Fortunately, they tell you how much you have to scrape together so you can buy your way out. It takes a few years and some of the other people put in the same position do try to swipe from you if you ain't careful. But I had managed to get the money needed to buy myself out...except when I go to give it to the manager. He tells me I have been sold to somebody, but he still takes the money as payment for my time there. And that's how I met Val, in the car ride to the studio he had told me he saw me worken' there and thought my face looked like star material. That he had plans for me...big plans, bullshit like that."
Angel grit his teeth as he felt tears threaten to well up in his eyes. He wouldn't cry, he forced himself not to cry. There was more pain coming, and he didn't want to show weakness by breaking down now. The only person he trusted enough to see him in tears, from the sound of things had just arrived in the foyer. He could hear what sounded like Alastor enthusiastically weirding her out by making her acquaintance.
"And yeah he made me a star... '' Angel forced himself to continue the story and ignore what was going on just beyond the door. "Or what people saw on the surface as one. Behind the scenes, it was a different story. I wasn't too thrilled about thinkin' I had earned my freedom only to have it all snatched away from me. And Val made it clear that I was expected ta use my body to make the money spent on me worth it. When I asked how much I needed to make before I had paid him off, he responded by saying 'Until *they* don't want you anymore.' Abuse became part of the everyday norm, beatings, starvation, isolation, threats of violence, and worse punishments if I fought back or resisted. Even when I did everything he wanted he'd still rip me knew one just because he felt like it. He never went for the face much- since bruises and shiners aren't really all that marketable. But that doesn't mean he couldn't make me hurt for days on end. Some years after this started I met Cherri.
Like you, I didn't tell her what was going on. Val had a thing of seeing me broken and miserable. He enjoyed watching all his employees suffer, but I was the one he took particular pleasure in tormentin'. So if there was anything I liked, anything I cared about...he'd take it from me. And yeah, he has teasingly threatened to serve Nuggz up as dinner more than once if I misbehaved. So having someone I cared about really made him smile. When Cherri came into my life, I didn't want her to know...I didn't need her involved because she'd only get hurt. We had been besties for a good number of years before she started to notice some things were going on. Eventually, she pulled me aside and demanded to know what was happenin' because she knew something was going on at my job. That's when I finally told her about all the abuse that had been taking place. She was horrified and immediately wanted to get me out of Val's clutches.
The only reason I'd stop her was that Valentino did not take losing credibility lightly, and anything that pissed him off he'd take out on me. I knew from experience that if she acted against him he'd possibly hurt or kill her as a means of spiting me. At least I wouldn't put it past him to do that. But I knew for sure, he'd hurt me and punish me out of principle...you know in case I was colluding with her or something. So I never let her go after him because if one of us had to get hurt in all this it was better that I was the one taking it. It's a really shitty and cowardly thing to go after someone you care about, and I didn't want to give that bastard an excuse to.
Cherri also was the first person that really got me to question, why did I allow this shit to happen to me? Why do I put up with it? In the past, I had always used the excuse that this was how things were because that was how this world was like, that I had no choice but to do it. But that's also why I fought Val and some of the shitheads before him. Because something in me knew this wasn't what I wanted my life to be. I guess that's what attracted him when he first laid eyes on me, he saw me as something he felt he could control...something he wanted to break into submission. I'd been broken decades ago...and I sometimes had given in to the 'just let 'em do what they want' way of think'n, but I just refused to let it all destroy me."
"Oh my god!" Charlie let out a cry of horror when he had finished."Angel...I...I don't know what to say." She had felt there was something that wasn't happy with what he was doing in his life. But she never knew how unhappy he really was. Given all this, it was a wonder he was even sane given how long this had been taking place, even for demons...there had to be a breaking point.
"So when we met you," Vaggie inquired "You were offering yourself on the street because…"
"It's one of the things Val expects me to do," Angel growled bitterly. "You honestly think I'd be out there because I actually like the taste of some rando's dick in my mouth. Trust me, honey, you've been doing this for several years they all start tasting the same. What's even worse is how much Val stiffs me in all this. The shoots, the shows, the performances, they usually net about fifty to a hundred grand each, serving as an escort for a private function or servicing exclusive clients, that's around ten-grand a night. Out of all of that...all of that! I typically earn about 1% tops maybe 0.5% depending on how generous Val is feelin'. When there's nothing on the schedule, Val needs me to do something aside besides hanging out at the studio just for the "fun" of it. So he has me out turning tricks on the street. On a good night, I'd make about a few thousand, on slower nights maybe about five hundred if I'm lucky, most of which of course goes to Val.
The day I met you two...I had been scheduled for a film shoot. And I had overheard Val talkin' about a drug deal going on with some shitty cartel and he needed someone to handle it. You see...most don't know this about me but I'm kinda connected to crime. Not just to Val and shitbags like him...I do literally have family connections to well a crime family. I was never interested in that lifestyle, still, that was the world I was raised and exposed to when I had been alive. But I thought it didn't seem like such a big deal, I knew how these kinds of transactions went, and if I was gonna be stuck with Val I could show him there was more to me than just being a two-bit whore. So I took the chance to tap into my Mafia roots and prove myself. Unfortunately, Val found out what I was up to and wasn't too happy about it. So as punishment he had me offerin' myself on the street to make up for the work I missed.``
"So we found you purely by chance," Vaggie stated.
"Maybe it was chance," Angel sighed and opened his mismatched eyes again, though they remained focused introspectively on the floor. "The truth is I had been wanting to leave Val for a while. As I had told you, Cherri's been wanting to get me out...she would love it if she could do that. And a couple of years before I met Cher...I actually did try to run for it. I had been holding on to what earnings so I could save up for a bus trip to another city in Hell. I didn't care where I wound up, it could have been Imp City for all I cared. Just so long as it was far away from Val. Unfortunately, the boss kinda has eyes everywhere. Resources, associations, things like that...his relationship with Vox also makes things easier for him. So as you can possibly imagine I was pulled off'a bus and was smacked around by Val until I lost consciousness. When I woke up I was tied down to a metal table and was given this gold tooth here." Angel pointed a finger at the single gold fang. "Val told me it was to mark me as personal property and to remind me of what happens if I do stupid stuff like trying to escape. That's why Vox being here bothered me...you see Val does know about this place and that I had agreed to be a part of all this. If I did anything that was honest since meeting you Charlie...it was that, because that was a choice I made on my own. I mean the whole pitch about demon redemption and all that...it was...far-fetched. Still, after I got out of the car following our talk, I actually had this feeling I haven't had in ages...a feeling of hope. A belief that I'd finally be free from Val and everything associated with him. Since he knows I'm here, Val has been sorta grillin' me to make sure I'm not tryin' to run for it again. I've been tell'n him that I've been foolin' the two of you into believing that I'm being good just so I have a rent-free space to live in. He's buyin' it...sort of or at least keep'n tabs to make sure I'm doing exactly what I've been saying I'm doing. And he's probably assume'n this whole thing will fail since he would be more of a problem if he does get the notion that redemption is possible."
"And he's not going to let you go easily in either case." Vaggie sighed.
"I ain't saying I'm not a good choice for all this," Angel stated. "But I do come with a lot more baggage than you girls probably expected. And if...if this continues...you should be warned that sooner or later Val is gonna come looking for me. And he could burn this entire hotel down if that's what it takes. If that's too much of a risk...I can leave, save you the trouble of me bringing disaster upon you. But now you two know what's been goin' on."
I do have a vocal recording I did of Angel Dust giving his explanation and can be found on my youtube channel.
I don't quite capture Angel's voice and I know the series version of Angel Dust would be more likely to wait until more shit hit the fan before spilling his guts if he figures it's best he do so. But I do manage to accurately display how he would act if he had to be in that situation which would be starting out with a "I don't want to do this, but we're here now so let's just get this shit over with." attitude, become steadily emotional as things progress though still trying reign it in, and then making the mature offer of leaving if they feel that his presence is too much of a risk for the Hotel to deal with.