Salvation
Episode 2
Chapter 1: Seven years
Adam Brosco had become a friend of the Louds since taking a special interest in Lynn's case, he himself served as the escorting officer who transported Lynn to a mental health facility after being released from the hospital. Shortly thereafter he was dismissed from the police department amidst accusations of excessive force in the arrest of a known sexual predator since then he had began a new career as an armed private investigator. Within seven years Adam earned the alias 'The Horseman' due to his primary mode of transportation being a custom motorcycle.
"Yes Clark county police department? I need to report a citizens arrest..." The man's voice came through slightly hindered by the density of the neoprene mask he wore over his face. "We're located just outside the strip, the suspect is one Issac Calvin. Thank you." He quickly ended the call on his cellphone then walked toward a battered young couple obviously shaken by a traumatic event.
"The police are on their way, you two can relax now." He said calmly to the couple as he turned his focus to the apprehended man with three other men bound with zip ties and unconscious on the side walk. Quickly the wail of police sirens and flashing red and blue lights filled the night sky. The petrified Issac Calvin then made an attempt to run, the Horseman then swiftly delivered a sharp blow to Isaac's knee with his steel toed boots, an audible 'pop' emerged from his joint. Paralyzed with pain the man fell to the pavement and soon was screaming in agony, with the Horseman looming over him like a predatory bird.
"What the fuck man!?" The assailant cried out as he writhed.
"I told you once to stay put Calvin." He said sternly as he pulled his handgun from it's holster.
The Galley adult club and bar a nighttime hotspot in Seattle has recently became a more popular hangout for men and women, food, beverage, music, and the club's true venue exotic dancers. Lynn Loud has been actively employed at the club for nearly two years, first starting as a dishwasher, then found herself on the floor as a waitress, quickly she became popular with regular customers for her quickness in defending herself and the other employees barkeep and dancer alike, one of her supervisors has gone as far as to give her the unofficial title of door waitress. Lynn had just arrived for her shift as she was approached by a portly middle-aged man before she could enter the dressing room.
"Loud! Get your ass in my office now!" He demanded as his flushed face beaded with sweat.
"What now you fat fuck!?" Thought Lynn as she prepared herself for an inevitable lecture from her shift leader. "Coming George..."
She stepped into the office, the stench of cheap cologne and cigar smoke filled her nostrils and burned an impression into her sinuses. He stammered his way to his desk followed by an attractive woman of her mid thirties wearing a black polo shirt and a pair of jeans.
"How's it going Lynn?" She kindly greeted.
"Hey Shelley." Lynn replied with a mildly annoyed undertone.
George adjusted himself into the comfortable looking chair then sighed deeply. He fixed his thinning hair back into a combover then rested his hands on the desktop.
"Sit..." He demanded.
"Don't I get a treat for being a good doggie?" She said quietly to Shelley, gaining a hushed chuckle from the well kept woman.
"What was that Loud!?" He snipped.
"It's nothing George, go ahead." Shelley replied in Lynn's defense.
George glared skeptically at the two women before grabbing a small stack of papers from a basket on the cluttered workspace.
"You realize we're trying to run a business don't you?" He commented as he leaned forward in his seat.
"What do you mean?" Lynn asked as she played ignorant gaining a coy smile from Shelley.
"This is a hospital bill for the customer's broken nose, he had threatened to sue until I offered to pay for his expenses." His brows furrowed as he clenched the papers in his hand tightly.
"Look I'm sorry, but that prick had it coming to him. He was rude to other customers, he fondled the girls including myself and everyone got fed up with him." Lynn remained firm as she maintained eye contact with her disagreeable employer. "So it was that or you get the club closed down because he decided to have 'fun' with one or two of us."
"Look I understand if it was that time of the month, I have teenage daughters, but good little girls don't need to pick fights with men." The fat man interrupted with his shovenistic remark frustrating both women in the office.
"Say what!?" Lynn gripped the armrests of the chair as she began to stand from her position only to have Shelley pat her hand, attempting to calm her down.
"Careful Lynn..." Shelley said in a warm tone. "George, I gave the girls permission to defend themselves in anyway they can, Lynn did go too far but she shouldn't take the fall for doing her job."
"Oh! I'm not going to fire her, in fact I'm promoting her, tonight she starts as the newest dancer at the Galley! And that'll make us square for the man's bill." He smirked fiendishly as he wiped the wetness from the corner of his mouth.
"That's for her to decide, not you." Shelley replied sternly.
"Uh... Yeah... Fuck that!" Lynn scoffed. George then became more infuriated with the reaction from the frustrated waitress.
"Then I take it from your pay until I say you're debt is payed." He said with stark disappointment.
"Fine, I'd rather work for free than spin around like an idiot on that pole!" Lynn said bitterly.
"Relax Lynn, go ahead and get ready we have a busy night ahead." Shelley replied with a smile as Lynn exited without hesitation. Shelley then returned attention to her co-worker.
"Care to tell me why you're going over me?" George asked, one eyebrow cocked.
"I think you're forgetting about the surprise drop in from the owners..." Shelley said with a knowing smirk as she pulled her wavy blonde hair back into a messy bun.
"Just get to work..." He said as he exited the office then soon the building.
11 p.m. at Royal Woods, Michigan a now fourteen year old Lola Loud waits outside of the bathroom for her twin as she growled with aggravation. Her lips curled around her braces as she fidgeted.
"Come on Lana! I've got to put on my charcoal masque!" Lola barked as she banged on the door.
"Hold on! One more zit!" Lana shouted, resulting in a disgusted expression from her sister.
"Too much info!" Lola remarked as she she walked away from the door.
"What are you doing?" Lucy mumbled, frightening Lola.
"Gah Lucy! A little more warning next time!" Lola quietly shouted.
Lucy in her usual style expressed her pleasure in terrifying her siblings with a whisper of a smile. Lola held her hand on her chest for a short while as she brought herself down from her scare, she took a deep breath then cleared her throat.
"So Lucy... Why are you awake?" Lola asked as she crossed her arms.
"I'm worried about Lynn..." Lucy said with a sigh, the anxiety in her crystal blue eyes now visible for her family to see, quickly gaining Lola's attention.
"Well, Lynn's in Seattle with Luna... She'll be fine.." Lola assured her gloomy older sister.
"It's not that, the anniversary is coming up..." Lucy said as she gazed at the tattoo on her wrist, a teddy bear with a black ribbon bordering it and the name Lesvia written in script.
"Oh yeah... Yikes... I almost forgot..." Lola lowered her head in disappointment in herself.
"...'Yikes'?" Lucy replied mockingly.
"Lucy you know it's not lady like to swear!" Lola remarked with a flip of her golden blonde hair.
"Coming from the girl who said 'fuck' one hundred times in a week..." Lucy replied with a smirk.
"I did not say fuck!" Lola then quickly covered her mouth as her face became flushed. "I mean, I didn't drop 'f bombs' one hundred times!" An awkward smile filled her blushing face.
Quickly the teens' conversation was interrupted with the sound of flushing accompanied by the creaking noise of door hinges. Lucy and Lola turned to see Lana stepping out of the restroom, a small bandage on her chin covering where a pustule use to be.
"Finally got it! It's all yours princess..." Lana announced as she stretched her muscles. Soon a brown haired girl made her way into the hall, she rested her glasses lower on her nose then rubbed her temples in frustration.
"If I have to stay up this late tutoring another bubbleheaded nincompoop, I'll need to start charging overtime..." Lisa is now twelve years old and one of the youngest college graduates in the nation, she has hosted lectures at the Michigan Institute of Technology, Brown university, even Harvard business school.
"Another flunky from the community college?" Lana implied as she cracked her knuckles.
"Unfortunately at this rate his chances of passing his midterm is highly dubious..." The highly intelligent girl paused at the sound of thuds coming from her bedroom. Soon the sisters witnessed a girl step out of the doorway, her blonde hair messy from thrashing about in her bed.
"Looks as if my favorite subject is still experiencing some insomnia..." Said Lisa.
"Lisa... You're phone is ringing like crazy... Apparently Booth had another question..." The youngest Loud girl stammered groggily out of the shared bedroom. Lily no longer tethered by her limitations as an infant, now nine years old she made her mark as the artistic talent of the house.
"Lily, it's close to midnight... Why are you still up?" Asked Lucy as she tussled her messy, platinum blonde hair.
"Ask the genius... She'll tell you..." Lily replied as she leaned against the wall behind her.
"I only gave her an iced espresso... With my genetically enhanced caffeine added..." Lisa said nonchalantly as the siblings watched in shock at their youngest sister experienced severe caffeine jitters the spells of which lasted mere seconds but still grabbed the attention of her older sisters.
"What? What's up?" Asked Lily as she seen her siblings laboriously avoidant of the sparatic effects she endured.
"Nothing..." The four sisters said in unison.
A busy night at The Galley, the parking lot filled to capacity with some customers having to walk as far as the next few blocks, the doorman turning away blacklisted customers and welcoming regular and new guests alike. Inside the building, the heavenly aroma of The Galley's fare filled the air, accenting the ambience of hospitality and sensuality that had escalated the club's popularity in recent years. The dancers entertained all who came to watch the hypnotic display by these young women, while the waitresses seen to the comfort of each customer.
"Woooo! Take it off baybay!" The inebriated man shouted with a heavy slur in his liquored voice. Lynn and another waitress waited at the station for the next slew of orders to take to the eager patrons, Lynn glared at the obnoxious customer as he continuously sounded out cat calls and guzzled his drinks.
"Well, Hank is in a good mood tonight..." The waitress remarked with a sigh.
"More like annoying... If I hear him say 'take it off baby!' One more time..." Lynn growled as she paused to adjust her bikini top.
"Hey shorty! Where's my food!?" The drunkard Hank shouted as he loosened his necktie.
Lynn and the other girl looked on with sharp glares but withheld opinions, soon the club's cook approached the window with a platter of hot wings.
"Here Candi... Just please shut him up..." He said as he quickly returned to his work station.
"Hey, if you need me just shout, I'm gonna serve drinks..." Lynn said to Candi as she turned to go to the bar.
"Thanks Lynn." Candi replied as she walked confidently with the tray of wares.
Lynn looked at the full figured girl and for a brief moment felt nostalgic, the girl beared the strange blend of her sisters Leni and Lucy. A smile crept across her face before she shifted her attention to Shelley, serving drinks to the patrons seated at the bar.
"Hey Lynn, I need you to take this to table three..." Shelley said as she placed a pitcher full of beer on the empty tray, then soon placed clean glasses beside it.
"Got it..." Lynn replied as she took the tray holding the lip with her right hand and kept the weight of her cargo balanced on her shoulder. Quickly she arrived at the table and seen to the needs of the four occupants.
"Enjoy guys!" Lynn said with the same warm smile that earned her the favor of her customers. Quickly Candi approached Lynn with a look of great agitation.
"Okay... He's pissing me off..." Candi said bluntly as the two young women approached the bar.
"What did the dumbass do now?" Asked Lynn as her smirk quickly turned to a frown.
"Hank made a pass at me... Again..." Candi remarked as she leaned against the bar table. Lynn's eyebrows furrowed and her teeth gritted as she heard Hank's voice bellowing over the music played on the amplified speakers.
"Woo! Take it off shorty!" Hank yelled obnoxiously.
Acting on the moment Lynn grabbed a shotglass and hurled it at the drunken man, before the receptacle could make contact with Hank's forehead he dodged the glass projectile narrowly. The event attracted the attention of the club.
"Say it one more fucking time Hank! I have plenty of ammo!" Lynn shouted angrily as her clenched fist trembled.
"Fuck you freckles!" Hank retorted between his overindulgence fueled hiccups.
"Girls... just ignore him, he's trying to piss you off..." Shelley kindly coaxed the two frustrated waitresses out of a potentially explosive event. Hours pass by seemingly in the blink of an eye, Lynn began her outfit change in the dressing room replacing her navy blue short shorts with the same pair of jeans she worn the previous night, and her bikini top replaced by a more comfortable sports bra, over it, a Detroit Lions jersey. She looked into the mirror briefly gazing upon the dark rings around her eyes, she realized just how much stress she had endured over the past seven years and what toll it had taken on her.
"Hey Lynn? Would it be cool if I bum a ride off you?" Candi asked sweetly.
"Sure thing girl, I'll be out soon..." Lynn smiled in response to her co-worker's request.
As Candi walked away Lynn grabbed her bag and felt around for her keys, upon finding them she sat up and prepared to walk out, when in her peripheral view she seen the reflection of an ominous figure in the mirror standing just behind her. She quickly turned to look behind her, the apparition was gone nothing else behind her besides the partially empty hangar rod.
"The hell?" Lynn said with reserved anxiety. She then left the room and made her way to the exit.