Author's Note: *peaks out from hole* I warned you! This chapter is not for the faint hearted!
Your Feels
Born ?
Died - Today
"Your soul is mine!" - Shao Khan
Chapter 45 – Sabbat's Revenge
October 6, 2004 = Wednesday
~Eliza Flores~
When I awoke, I shadow-stepped up to the master bath to take my customary shower while listening to Metallica at full volume. I didn't know which of my ghouls or 'pets' had the heavy metal band playing, but that CD was about to get a daylight restriction, as in 'play it only when I'm asleep.'
Of course, they might not know I was awake yet, having not shown myself, so I figured I'd go easy on them when I saw them. Still, as the songs played, I washed and dried myself before stepping down into the solitude and quietness of my bedroom. Since I had locked myself in, no one was waiting for me or had any clothes laid out, so I went about dressing myself which caused me more consternation. I was meeting the girls from Four-Play, and wanted to fit in with them.
To that degree, I decided to dress in the way Sharron did, putting on tight, low fitting leather pants, and one of the more revealing leather crop tops I found in the far corners of my wardrobe. For shoes, I halted at my choices, before finally donning a pair of high heeled T-backs with about four inches to them. They had a broad heel under them, not the spiky things most women wore when they tried to be sexy, and I figured if I were going to try to be a strip club owner, might as well start training for the part when I was at the club.
It was with that thought that I stood and headed over to put on my pistol. Threading my belt through the loops, I thought about the Sabbat attack last night and that I really needed to be better equipped for a fight. Moving back to my wardrobe, I pulled out my messenger bag dumping everything out on the bed to sorted through.
First thing I put back in it was the Kalashnikov with its spare clip, both were full of ammo. The flamethrower was next, in case I met another Gangrel who was hip with his fortitude powers. I tucked an Uzi into a large side pocket, along with a few spare clips that were fully loaded. The last weapon I packed was the shotgun on a cord under my armpit after slipping it on like a purse strap, then hid it all by putting on my coat and buttoning it up.
I also put a double handful of checks in a pocket, along with several boxes of shells for the various weapons. I was starting to get better with identifying their caliber, and therefore their application, but sealed each pocket with a completely different type to be sure I didn't crossload something. I also packed the shades Duke had given me, in case I lost or damaged mine.
Checking to make sure my phone was in my pocket and my katana was in its place, I moved to the door, slipping my messenger bag over my shoulder as I walked. I might be loaded for bear, but after going hand to hand with a Gangrel and winning only on a technicality because I burned him in his own funeral pyre, I wanted a little insurance if it happened again.
After stopping at the door to put on my glasses, I raised a hand to unlock it before getting a sense of dread. Did I really want to unlock the door, letting who knew into my private room? What Michele told me about diablerie and Eloise had about domination had me a bit paranoid, but I still hesitated. Did I want to risk that?
Shaking my head, I decided it wasn't worth the risk and formed into mist, ghosting through the cracks in the door to the other side. When I was there, I reformed and nearly had a panic attack at seeing several large black drums stacked in the center of the room, wires and electronics hooked into them.
I quickly rushed up the stairs to get the story from my ghouls but the moment I hit the top of the stairs, I slid to a stop. My magical painting had knives all over it. I inched closer, finding more barrels in the master suite and in the dining hall. When I looked into the Great Room, getting a closer look at my painting, there were kitchen knives and bullet holes all through it, and was shocked to see her suddenly drop her paints and moon the world with my ass. She smacked it once or twice, then a sudden thomp as a knife appeared next to it. She turned, flipping someone off before noticing me. She began to make wild gestures, as if telling me to run, but I pulled my shotgun out and came forward, looking around and not seeing anyone. A slight chuckle above me made me raise my head, and I felt a chill run down my spine.
"Looky looky what we got here," Celeste called down, Metallica suddenly going silent in the room as the radio clicked off. I didn't see a remote in her hand, so I suddenly got nervous about a second person being in the room and glanced around, my shotgun remaining on Celeste.
"Oh don't worry," she said, bringing my attention back to her. "We're quite alone here. Just you, me and what remains of your ghouls."
"What did you do, Celeste," I said, wanting to know and wanting to bust a cap in her face.
"Not so much me but the people I run with now," she said, her gaze going to something in front of me. I looked, seeing three covered trays there. I looked up to see her eyeing me, then she gave me a wicked smile. "Go on, take a look at what's left of your friends."
I inched forward, lifting the cover off one to see a plate there containing a pair of eyes and a tongue. I quickly threw the other two covers off, finding two more sets of eyes and tongues.
"Like it?" she said, smiling evilly at me. "Sabbat trick to keep prisoners from running away or getting help."
"It's sick," I told her and she shook her head.
"Come with me now, and you can have the other three back, unharmed," she said, her face serious.
"And if I don't?" I asked her, and she raised her hand showing me an electronic switch. My mind made the connection from watching movies, and I had chills on chills running a marathon up and down my spine.
"Only chance," she said. "You have no power to get out of this, no celerity, no teleportation, no fortitude. I release this and that room you're in will flood you in fire before you can blink."
"You underestimate me," I told her, making her blink. I didn't want to open fire, because I needed to jump out before she release that trigger, but I didn't want to let her release it before I jumped either. We were at an impasse.
"Fine, I'll torture you're little friends," she said, smiling again, figuring she had me at her mercy.
"Only three people live in this house with me," I told her, her smile never fading. "You wouldn't know where to find my other ghouls."
"Thank Strauss for that trick," she said, smiling at me. "My familiar has been stealing books from the chantry ever since I was forced to leave."
"Why do you need books?" I asked her, not getting it. "I can remember every road sign between here and the tower."
"But I'm Tremere," she said as if that made all the difference in the world. "Sorry, I forget you're a rookie. See, we Tremere don't have the infallible memory like the rest of the kindred. It's our curse, like you can't see yourself in a mirror. I actually have to have the book to make sure I get the spell right because my brain won't remember it all. It gets fuzzy if I don't constantly remind myself.
"So, ghouls," she said as we continued our impasse. "I have to say, you have good tastes. I expected a couple of homely things and not top class meat. And that chick that came just before sundown, it's a crying shame she'll wind up as gristle for the next batch."
To say I was pissed wasn't even putting it mildy. I was so far past pissed it wasn't even on the map. My finger tightened on the trigger and I let loose a round out of the shotgun, catching her on the shoulder and making her fall back. I began to rack the shotgun when she threw something over the rail, and with a shock I realized it was the trigger.
I stepped into the shadows just as the barrels blew. I didn't have much on my mind, except to get outside, so I ended up on the front lawn as wood and debris rained down around me. I turned back to see the fireball over my house, and I couldn't help but feel betrayed. Everything that was my human life had been in that house. Save what I was wearing and what I was carrying, it was all gone.
With a snarl, I stood and put the shotgun back under my arm and buttoned up my coat. I had to know whom all Celeste had, my first clue was Sammie's car parked in my drive, half crushed under a piece of my mansion. Anger began to cloud my good senses, but I forced myself to be calm. I couldn't help anyone if I rushed in guns blazing only to get caught in a fire bomb.
I moved to Sammie's car, if only to confirm she wasn't in it and scared out of her mind over my house blowing up. I looked through the busted window, finding the front of the car empty. I was about to pull my head out when I noticed a rosary on the floor of the car. Picking it up, I found it was mine, and until the rear-view mirror had fallen off when the car was crushed, had hung on it. I pocketed it in my messenger bag, then began walking down my driveway, pulling my phone to talk to Walsh.
"Walsh's office," Rochelle's voice said.
"Where's Walsh?" I asked the ghoul, trying to keep my voice calm.
"He hasn't come into the office yet," she told me. "Do I need to take a message?"
"Yes," I said, then looked back to my ruined mansion. "The Pryce estate I was buying from Walsh just went up in a fireball."
"Oh, I loved that place," she said with a whine. "What happened to it?"
"Celeste joined the Sabbat, and she was waiting for me when I woke up," I said, and I heard the sharp intake of breath. "They rigged my house to explode."
"Well, good news for you is we have insurance on the loan in case the property were damaged by tsunami," she said absentmindedly as she processed everything. "In this case, I'm sure we can push it to cover a gas leak. Any deaths?"
"None that were inside the house," I told her, hearing her sigh of relief. "Celeste kidnapped all my ghouls though. I was shown the eyes and tongues of three."
"That's just gross," she said disgustingly. "I'll let Walsh know when he gets in, and I'll get the paperwork processed. Please be in about midnight to sign off on it, if you would, ma'am."
"Sure, Rochelle," I said, and the line went dead. The need to figure which of my ghouls were still alive again filled me, and my brain worked on it. Yukie was most likely to still be alive, unless she slipped out of the hospital without anyone knowing. It wasn't likely so I jumped there, coming out on an empty sidewalk before going into the ER.
"Can I help you?" a dirty blonde haired nurse said from behind a counter.
"My friend came in this morning with two gunshot wounds," I told her as I leaned on the counter. "Her name is Yukie Arita."
"I'm afraid I can't reveal that information due to HIPAA," she said, then I lowered my sunglasses and cast dominate on her.
"Ah, yes," she said, as she looked it up on the computer. "Miss Arita is in room four-nine-five. There is a medical hold though, so we can't let you up to see her."
"What happened?" I asked, and she tapped on some keys to look at something.
"She apparently suffered some kind of psychotic episode at two this evening," the nurse said. "The doctor on duty had to pump her full of tranquilizer to calm her down and now she's on life support."
I nodded, knowing that my blood had probably made her initially resistant to the drugs so the doctor had given her more. The problem was, any form of tranquilizer didn't just make you sleepy, it slowed your whole body down making your mind think it was time to sleep. If you slowed it down too much, your heart could stop. Thankfully, the doctor had caught it as it happened, and Yukie would be alright in the long run, but out of it for the time being.
"Thank you, Miss McCall," I said, getting her name off her name tag. "Have a good evening."
"You too, ma'am," she said as I walked away, somewhat relieved. Yukie was alive, and soon, would be back on her feet.
I called a cab on my phone, and took it straight to Confessions and walked in, finding the place had ten or so people in it. I didn't see Venus, so I walked to the bar and flagged the bartender down. When he came over, it was the one with a neck brace and he seemed happy to see me.
"Hey, you're the girl the boss partnered with right?" he asked me.
"Yes I am," I said, smiling at him to keep him talking.
"I gotta call from Venus," he said, fishing a yellow post-it note from his pocket and setting it in front of me. "She needs you post her bail."
"What happened?" I asked him and he frowned.
"She's apparently not that good a driver and ran a red light, then tried to flee when a cop went to pull her over," he told me, and I lowered my head in relief. Venus was alive, if in jail. My mind went to my last two free ghouls, and knew she had to have both of them. Sharron and Angel had to be the hotties she was referring to, and I could have cried for their loss.
I picked up the post it note, finding it had a woman's name on it; Jeri Croft. "This Venus's real name?"
"It was, or is," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "She's trying to change it. Don't know how far she got."
"Thanks," I said, then looked around. "Can you run things here while I get her out?"
"Yeah," he said, smiling for me. "Tonight we're just playing a local station, not much going on since we couldn't get anyone worth a damn."
"Well, keep it going and Venus will back soon," I assured him. "Be back later."
"Later, gorgeous," he said as I walked out the door.
I got back in my cab, and had him head for Arthur's Bail Bonds in Santa Monica. I didn't know much about bonds, but I at least knew he was open twenty-four-seven. Indeed, the neon lights outside were blazing brightly when we pulled up, and I went in to see Arthur sipping coffee from a stained cup.
"Welcome to Kilpatrick Twenty-four Hour Bail Bonds," he said in a well rehearsed tone. "My name's Arthur, how can I help you?"
"I need to bail my friend out of jail," I said, trying to emulate the way a college girl would act when bailing a drunk friend out of jail.
"We can help you with that," he said, pulling a sheet out and grabbing a pen from a cracked coffee cup. "What's she in for?"
"I don't know all of it, but she said she ran a red light and then they said she tried to run from the cops, so they arrested her," I said, making my voice sound as if distraught. Arthur seemed to accept, his head bobbing as he wrote.
"Sounds serious," he said when he finished writing. "I'll have to call down to the police station and get the full list and see if she's even eligible for bail. Sometimes they don't if the person flees."
"Will it take long?" I asked and he shrugged his shoulders.
"Can't say," he said as he turned to face me. "If she does qualify, bail could be a million," he said and my mouth fell open in real shock. I was supposed to pay that much? "Not that you'll pay that, I will if she doesn't make her court appearance."
"Oh, I assure you she'll have the best lawyer I can get when she goes to court," I said, smiling that I wasn't going to lose Venus to the court system. I didn't have Sammie to go over things with, and I really could use her help right now. "I'm afraid I'm all new to this, so what do you need from me?"
"Well, I usually ask about ten percent of the bail, and you'll have to know where to find your friend as much as possible. They can't leave the area, will need to surrender any passport they have to me and weapons they may have will need to find new homes with me or other friends for the duration of her bail. I can keep her out until she's declared guilty or not guilty, but the money you put down tonight you never get back."
"That sounds reasonable," I said, smiling again at the stream-lined process they had. "But you have to find out which jail she's in first, don't you?"
"She didn't happen to say, did she?" he asked me and I shook my head no. "Her name?"
"She uses Venus Dare as a working name, and she's trying to change her name to it," I said and he wrote it down. "Her real name is Jeri Croft, in case she hasn't filed all the paperwork yet."
"I see," he said, then looked back to me. "Can I get your name and a phone number I can reach you at? I know you probably have, uh, things to do," he said, taking another look at me
"I'm Elisa Flores," I said, then gave him my phone number.
"Got a working name you use in case I need to find you the hard way?" he said, and my eyebrows went up at that.
"I used Vixen when I was at Four-Play," I said, thinking of my one hour stint as a clerk for the club.
"Yeah, I heard the place got burned down in some gang war," he said, shaking his head. "And if need be, I can bail you out if they cops ever bust you. They got this down to an art. Two thousand dollars unless they plan to add loitering charges."
"For?" I said, and he gave me a funny look, before covering his mouth.
"Prostitution," he said simply. "I know what Four-Play was known for, but Duke had everyone paid off so they didn't mess with his operation."
"Yeah, I know about the couch," I said, feeling sad about what I let him get away with.
"So, what you do for work now?"
The question caught me a bit off guard, but to buy time as I thought I gave him a shrug. "Whatever I can get away with," I said, not sure I was anything anymore. "I'm thinking about getting the girls at Four-Play back together and start a new club."
"That'd be nice," he said as he sipped his coffee. "I used to go in there, from time to time, but never had the money to go upstairs. But you be careful about working around here."
"What do you mean?" I asked him, and he showed me the paper.
"We got this slasher going around, hung this guy up from a lamp post and ripped his guts out and left him to die," he said, and I felt the butterflies take off in my stomach when I looked at the picture. "Also, some girls have been complaining about being robbed in the area by their johns," he told me. "I wouldn't know about it if I hadn't overheard some girls talking about it at the diner."
I nodded my head, taking a second look at my clothes. My need to fit in with the girls at Four-Play had me in tight, revealing leather and heels, and the only thing that would scream hooker even louder would be if I wore a leather mini, my serious packing of heat not-withstanding. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea, but it did give me ideas on how to keep the masquerade in the meantime.
"You, uh, wouldn't know any good places?" I asked him, leaning in close so he could see down the top of my coat to my ladies. Arthur leaned in close, taking a good look before looking me in the eyes.
"Down by the pawnshop, just down the street from the clinic, is a lamp post lots of girls hang out under," he told me, and I smiled because I had done lots of hunting there, myself. "There's also a convenience store, about two blocks south of here that has outside restrooms, but the place closes up sharp at five in the evening, so no one to complain and a private spot to work."
"Voice of experience?" I said, and he smiled at me.
"Be surprised how many hookers I get in this line of work," he said with a smile. "The bonds low, but half these girls can't break twenty bucks because they spend it all on drugs. I get them out, let them work what they can, and they often tell me where to find them so I don't have to lock them up for not checking in."
"Don't they try to run?" I asked and he shook his head.
"No where to go, no money to get there, and worst of all, they need their fix too bad to risk it," he said, leaning back into his chair. "They work, do what they can, but in the end they'll make their court appearance and often get off with community service or a few weeks in jail."
"Nice to know what to look forward to," I said, then looked back at the paper he had filled out. "I'll be around if you can get her out."
"Sure, might take an hour before I know anything," he said, and I straightened up, and half turned around.
"I'll be waiting," I said, then let my hips sway as I walked out the door. My cab was still waiting for me, and I got in and had him head for Duke's motel where I would meet everyone. I didn't have the cab wait since I didn't know how long I'd be, but looking around, decided that first things were first, and walked to the office.
"Night, week or month?" the older guy asked when I stepped into the office. He got up from where he was watching TV, and I saw he was dressed in a gray T-shirt and black khaki shorts, and I had to peg him for being in his fifties. He stooped a bit, probably from being a fighter for most of his life, but carried himself well.
"I'm Duke's partner," I said, and the guy straightened up a bit taller. "I see he's mentioned me."
"Yeah," the guy said, smiling at me. "He also said your word was next to God around here. Were you there when he got filled full of holes?"
"I was," I told him, setting my face.
"Did you even do anything?" he said, and I could see the anger in his eyes. I unsnapped the buttons on my coat, revealing the shotgun I carried, then reached behind my back and pulled my Glock out far enough to let him see it.
"Duke's own fault for coming to a gun fight unprepared," I said, putting the Glock back in its holster. "I'll be settling the legal matters for ownership soon, so until then, any problems continuing to work for me?"
"Not a bit," he said, his face lacking any real expression since showing my guns. It pegged him as a fighter, probably a former bouncer at Four-Play.
"I take it you were one of the bouncers at Four-Play?" I guessed as I asked him and he nodded.
"One of the originals back when he had first got the property," he said, leaning on the counter with his arms crossed. "I helped Duke start the club, often running triple duty as bouncer, door man, and disc jockey. He put me over here when I started to get too stove up to keep knocking heads."
"Must have been a let down for you, considering what went on behind closed doors," I said, fishing for information that he knew what was going on there and what might be going on here.
"Was never a fan of that," he said, hanging his head. "I'm supposed to carry that over here, he lets me know who and I'm supposed to, well you get the idea."
"So you let them off scot-free?" I asked and he smiled. "We have a hundred and fifty rooms, and they don't clean themselves."
"So they clean rooms here?" I said, nodding my head. That would work. "I can get behind that."
"Good," he said, straightening up with a groan. "It just became official policy. Now if you just had the club for them to get indebted at."
"I'll be starting another club with the girls," I told him, making him smile. "They need to work in the meantime, so I'll ask for volunteers for you. Those that work will get paid, those that don't can wait till the club reopens. I imagine most will work, if only to make something."
"Sounds like you got it all figured out," he said, flexing his back. "Need anything else?"
"A room," I said, sighing. "My house was also hit by the same gang."
"Ouch," he said, then took a key card from a rack and began setting it up for me. "Top, middle or ground floor?"
"Whichever one can get me left alone," I said, thinking of Jean. "I won't need someone cleaning my room during the day, as that's when I sleep, so think you can arrange for it to be cleaned at night?"
"Eh, sure," he said, after thinking it over. "I've got you on a ground floor, round back. Just hang your card when your in and don't want to be disturbed, and use the privacy locks for extra precaution."
"Thanks, mister?" I prompted, when he handed me the card.
"Oh, Jimmie, Jimmie Briscoe," he said with a smile on his face.
"I'm Eliza Flores," I told him. "Now, I guess I better go face the girls."
"Best of luck," he said, grimacing before he turned back to the news. I was about to turn away when a girl's picture was flashed on the screen, and my heart sank.
It was Constance, her face bruised and covered with small cuts.
"A teenage girl was found dumped along Interstate Four-Oh-Five," the newscaster said. "Officials have yet to release an official cause of death, but an anonymous source at the coroner's office said it was likely due to the tongue being ripped out and the young victim drowned in her own blood. Officials ask anyone with information about the girl to come forward with any knowledge so they can bring the girl's killers to justice."
I turned away as he went on to the next story, almost stumbling my way out the door. Poor Constance didn't need her life cut short, and anger filled me at what the Sabbat had done. The only thing that kept me from jumping to Walsh's office right then was I came out the hallway to find my room I was swamped by the girls of Four-Play.
They were all dressed in bathing suits, some wet, and all had golden tans to attest what they'd been doing while waiting. Even the bouncers were lined up and shirtless, and I let my bad mood drift away while I dealt with this. They pulled me out to the pool area where they had a full party going on. I managed to get to my room long enough to shed my clothes and don a two piece bathing so the girls could get me a 'bottle' tan, laying on a towel in a chaise lounge as the rubbed the lotion into my light tone. I saw the coolers full of beer, whiskey bottles and other paraphernalia for mixing drinks, and figured they were having a full on blast.
"Alright, alright," I said, trying to be happy even though I was tore up inside. The lotion didn't seem to set well though, but finally rubbed in enough to get me back to looking more like my living self.
"Now that we have me tanned," I said and the girls cheered, "Let's get down to business. To those that don't know me, I'm Elisa."
"I'm Ruby," a young girl with bright red hair and white highlight said, dressed in a green and black two piece bathing suit.
"I'm Ella," another girl said, this one with golden hair and a pure black two piece bathing suit that barely contained her set of double 'D's.
"Stripperella," one of the brown haired girls snarked, making them all laugh. The girls then introduced themselves one by one, each one by their dancer name, or had to be their dancer name. If not, it was the oddest set of names I'd ever heard.
"Now, first question," I said, after the girls had finished. "Are those you real names?"
"No, they're our stage names," Ruby said brightly. "We don't use our real names around customers. It helps us from being stalked."
"That works," I said, and another girl, a platinum blonde with a set of real 'D's named Diamond spoke up.
"If you're going to lead the club, maybe you should have a stage name too," she said, sounding shy even though she at least had the confidence to speak up. "You'd be surprised at who might stalk you and how threatening they can be."
"I've only used Vixen at the club, and that was right before the fire happened," I said, not wanting to reveal the truth about what all had happened. "By the way, we seem to be two short. Angel and Amber?"
"Oh, they said they had to go somewhere at about two today," one of the brown haired girls whose name was Lacey said. "Don't know where, but they said it was important."
"Okay," I said, acting like I was writing it off but knowing they had to be coming to see me because of Constance's meddling. "Well, in the meantime, any ideas for a new club name since we'll be moving to a new location and starting over."
"How about the 'Foxhole,'" a girl named Saba said from the back with what had to be a triple 'H' boob job. "Kind of a play on your name Vixen, and the fact it will your place."
"I thought foxes lived in dens," a red haired girl in a string bikini called Scarlett said in her southern bell accent.
"It's a synonym," a Asian woman in a silvery blue one piece named Star said. "And depends on where you call home which one you use."
"Well, in the deep south, we called them dens," she groused. "Damn foxes were always getting in the chicken coup.
Another raven haired woman of Eastern European descent named Jade broke them up. "Settle down, you two, or I'll dump you both in the pool to cool off."
They did, and I had the feeling Jade probably would do it given the shade she was casting at the pair. I looked around at those gathered, and most of the group had their eyes on me, but I felt uneasy about how to proceed.
"Foxhole is an idea," I conceded, if only to say something. All the eyes on me had me nervous. "Any others?"
Several were offered, most variations on my chosen name, and the Hen House, offered by Tessa whose stage name was Gabriela. Eventually, one of the large guys in a Hawaiian shirt named Cable spoke up. "What about drinks? Most of the people that come are going to want mixed drinks. That means a bar, cooler and freezer," he said, naming them off on his fingers.
"Which we will get," I said, getting a cheer from the group.
"I don't want to be the Debby Downer of the group," Diamond said, leaning over to look at her sandals. "But how are you going to pay for all this? A new place, a hundred thousand in equipment alone, probably a remodel, signs," she said, then finally looked up. "It could take months to get the insurance from Duke's place."
"I don't need the money from Duke's place," I told them, smiling. "I'm wealthy enough on my own to afford it. Including keeping everyone paid and working until the new club is open," I said, making everyone cheer. "We do still have things to do, so bouncers, bartenders, are you ready to work?"
"Always," Cable said, his smile going across his face.
"Go to the club called Confessions in downtown LA," I told him. "Bring the rest of the guys with you. They need everything."
"Sweet," he said, fist bumping the guys with him.
"Any ladies that want to work there and help out with waitressing, cleaning up and keeping the party going, speak up now," I said, getting several volunteers, including Diamond.
"I would," Cherry groused, but shook her head sadly. "Not old enough yet to party with the big girls."
"That's fine," I said, and she looked up with a smile. "We also need to keep the motel clean, so anyone left over can get with Jimmy in the mornings to clean the rooms."
"What if there's not enough work to go around?" Star asked, moving closer.
"Just have Jimmie split the rooms among those that are willing," I said, figuring it was the fairest way. "Those that continue to work, get paid. Those that don't know the drill."
A general groan rose at that, and I held up my hands to quiet things down. "What happens when those that are working at Confessions are doing more work than at the motel?" Jade asked, and I shrugged my shoulders.
"I can't stand around all day and night keeping track of who does what," I told the group. I looked at them, when an idea hit me. If it weren't for recent events, I might have enjoyed the idea, but I hesitated a moment before mentioning it. "How about one of you? Is there anyone you can all agree on to be fair and oversee things?"
They all looked at each other for a minute, before Saba spoke up. "How about Jade? She tends to control things and stop fights."
"Yeah, and she has her favorites and enemies, too," Star said.
"Do not," Jade said, cocking her nearly bare hip.
"Oh please," a red haired girl named Scarlett said, backing her friend up. "Everyone remember the chocolate cake incident?" Heads nodded all over, even from the guys, and Jade just shook her head.
"Fine," she groused, sitting down on a lounge chair. "Who's your pick?"
"I'd rather have Diamond do it," Scarlett said, and heads nodded. "She's a hard worker and has helped most of us avoid Duke, plus she's almost got her law degree."
"Really?" I asked and Diamond shrugged her shoulders.
"It's what I like doing," she said. "I want to finish my law degree and become a defense lawyer."
"Altruism doesn't line your pockets, sweetie," Scarlett said sympathetically.
"And dancing nude on people's laps is a life I can share with my kids?" she said, standing to face the redhead. How about you, Dallas? Going to share how mommy dances for a living with Timmy and Carrie?"
"Absolutely not," the woman I had talked with the night before said, going red-faced.
"What we do carries a stigma that we can't escape from," she said, and everyone seemed to cow down under her gaze. "So is it wrong for me to seek a way out? To tell my kids one day that I'm a good person, and have them emulate me as a lawyer rather than a floozy?"
"Hey!" Cherry said, smacking Diamond's shoulder. "Dancers aren't bad people!"
"But people lump us in with all the other undesirable trash of society," Diamond told the auburn haired youngster. "Why do you think strip clubs are categorized as a sex-oriented business?"
"Because you dance in the nude?" Cherry said, her voice getting smaller with each word.
"We're lumped in the same category as brothels and sex shops," Diamond said, carrying on as if this were an old argument.
"Along with Playboy and Hustler," Scarlett said with a mischievous laugh.
"My point is, I don't consider it bad to want a better life," Diamond said crossing her arms. "I'd help anyone that wants it escape this life, but I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy."
Everyone fell quiet, and I decided that if we had a quorum, they had a leader. I still felt a tug of regret at what my obligations to the Camarilla demanded and what my heart wanted. I didn't want to ghoul the woman, but she was bound to figure out my secret if she worked with me for any length of time.
I stood, raising my hands to get everyone's attention, and steeled myself. "Any objections to Diamond being the leader?" People looked at each other, at Diamond, and all just sort of shrugged their shoulders before nodding in acceptance. "Well, by the power vested in me, as I have the deepest pockets, I carry the motion. Diamond, you're in charge."
"Thank you," she said, smiling and giving me a hug. "I'll try not to let you down."
"If I could get a word in private?" I said, and Diamond followed me into my room. The desire to ghoul her to protect my secret and what had recently happened continued to war within me. Shutting the door, I finally decided to hell with it.
"Diamond, you do know what you're doing, right?" I asked her and she nodded slowly.
"I was with Duke for four years," she said, her smile fading. "I got a fake ID when I first went to work there, but he knew. He knew I was desperate for money to provide for my sister. Our parents died in a boating accident just after my eighteenth birthday. We didn't own the house we lived in, mortgage payments were due, no equity, no savings; we were screwed. I heard about the girls here making lots of money, but you had to be twenty-one, so a friend forged an ID for me."
"You never told your sister what he did to you, did you?" I asked and she shook her head.
"Or what he made us do to the customers," she sobbed, shoulders heaving as she cried in her hand. "She doesn't know how I kept the house or got her braces installed. What I had to agree to so I could afford to send her on a Caribbean cruise with her friends."
"Hey," I said, sitting beside her and putting an arm around her shoulders. "Cherry is your sister, isn't she?"
"Yeah," she sobbed, wiping at her eyes. "She found out I danced a few years ago. Wants to join me at Four-Play when she's old enough."
"You don't want her dancing, do you?"
"I wish I could do something to stop her, protect her from the degenerates out there, but she always wanted to be just like me."
"That's what I'm offering now," I said, and she looked at me, tears still filled her eyes. "The chance to be the manager, not just an employee. To start pushing her into a top college while she's still young. And the money you get to pay for it all will be clean and not cost you your soul."
"I know," she said, hanging her head.
"Is this something you want to do?" I asked her. "I can always look for someone else."
"No, this needs to happen for the girls," she said resolutely. "I doubt any of the other girls would be as fair as I would. You see how they reacted to Jade."
"And how they reacted to you," I said. "Well, let me ask you another question. Would you be interested in doing this long term?"
"Like what? For the rest of my life?" she asked, turning her head to look at me.
"Something like that, yeah," I said, nodding my head a bit. "I don't have the time to deal with everything, even the gang attack that destroyed the club, I was just a blip on the radar. I need someone who's willing to shoulder the bulk of the load and put their name on it."
"Someone to be the public face when there's a problem," she said, going along with my line of thinking. "That's a lot of trust to put in a stranger you just met."
"Well, there's more to go with it," I said, putting more faith in my decision. "My first question, and please understand, there's no going back past this point. Duke raped you girls and made you think there was no way free of his control. What I'm offering, you'll wish Duke were still alive if you cross me."
"So it isn't trust, it's control," Diamond said, looking at her sandaled feet.
"It's all about control," I said, holding her close. "Do you want to run the club? That means you're going to be prone to some very nasty secrets, some of those I must keep. If you agree to this, you must keep those secrets too. There's no middle ground on this. There's no backing out once I start spilling. If you accept, you can never back out, even if you leave the club behind."
"How bad is it?" she asked me, look over at me. "Can I ask that much before putting my life on the line?"
"You mean, how many laws am I breaking and how much trouble could you ever be in?" I asked and she nodded. "For the most part, very few laws. I don't run guns, or drugs, and I don't force people into prostitution," I said, adding a silent 'anymore' in my head. "If everything goes to plan, you'll never be involved in a murder, nor will I, and you run everything legally, lawfully, and ethically."
"So why the secrecy?" she asked, and I grimaced.
"I run with a very select group that doesn't want the world to know they exist," I said, and her jaw fell open.
"Illuminati?" she asked, but I shook my head.
"Even more secret. You've never heard of us, and we want to keep it that way."
She thought about it for a bit, then asked, "What really happened with Duke. What you can tell me, at least."
"There's another group, like mine, that hates us," I told her, getting a nod that she understood. "We're working on kicking them out of the city, and between us there's a bitter blood feud. What happened at Four-Play was that they found me, they came for me, and they tried to kill me. I ordered Duke to get everyone out, and me, him and another stood to make sure the girls and the patrons got away safe. Duke died, my friend Yukie took two bullets, and I managed to survive."
"So, will that happen again?" she asked, but I just shrugged my shoulders.
"Can't say," I told her truthfully. "Hopefully I can get my group to stand with me and we'll run them out in the next week. In a perfect world, they'll all be gone."
"And in an imperfect world," she asked, standing up to go to the sink to freshen up her face.
I sighed, and shook my head. "Part of my offer is a partnership," I told her, as the water ran. "I'll make a large deposit to your bank account so you can handle things, and everything gets run in your name. I become the quiet partner who sometimes stops by to hang out."
Diamond came back in to the room after freshening herself up, and eyed me. "You didn't answer the question," she said, shaking her head.
"If you don't see me in the next few days, you likely never will again," I said, hunching over my knees. "I'll leave you a signed check with a large amount of cash made out to you. If I don't come back, take the money and run the club however you want."
She looked at me, and then nodded, moving to sit on a chair by the window. "I guess all that's left is for me to decide whether I want to be party to what you're doing," she said, laying out the towel to sit on. "If there's anything going on that I don't like, can I complain?"
"What do you think will be going on that you don't like?" I asked her, looking her in the eyes.
"Anything illegal that will get me in trouble with the cops," she began, then looked at her sandaled feet. "Rape, forced prostitution, all the things we were forced into by Duke. Murder..." she said, then gave a sob as she put her head in her hands.
"You see anything like that I want you to call the cops immediately and get a report going," I said, and she looked up at me. "Murder, I'd sooner never have to kill someone. Those that I do have to kill, well, that's part of my protected side. As far as drugs in the club, I won't push it, or require anything of them. I know several girls use them, and I won't say yay or nay on the issue."
"They make what we do more tolerable," Diamond said, wrapping her arms about herself.
"Then I leave that to your more experienced hands," I said. "For the most part, I just want the club to make money, but there's things about my life you have to stay quiet about."
"I wish I had some clue," she said, shaking her head, when I had an idea. I stood, and went to where I had my messenger bag by the door. I picked it up and slid it beside her on the table, along with my Glock. She recoiled at seeing the gun, but calmed down when I moved to sit back on the bed.
"Go ahead, open the bag and find out for yourself," I told her, watching as she gently pulled the bag closer and edged the pistol away. She opened the bag, and pulled out the weapon that was on top and held it like she was picking up a carcass.
"What is it?" she asked me, eyeing the small weapon before leaning against the other chair.
"A Kalashnikov," I told her and she gave me a puzzled look. "An AK-47. Fully automatic assault rifle."
"Aren't they illegal?" Diamond asked me, and I nodded.
"Yes, but that's like the limit that anybody will ever prove if they tried," I told her.
"So there is more?" she prompted, and I shrugged.
"It's all on me and not for you to worry about," I told her, and she again looked to my bag.
"But, if it went to court, would I ever know enough to be labeled an accomplice?"
"Why would you be an accomplice?" I asked her, smiling. "You run the club, and my orders are for it to be run legally and lawfully. I just don't want you telling people about me and those I work with and the things I do. It should never affect you, and what does, I'll bail you out with the best ways possible so that you are never affected."
"Sounds like there's lots of benefits," she said with a wry chuckle.
"I could give you an even longer list, but after recent events, I'm not really wanting to offer them," I told her. "When you know more, you can decide for yourself with eyes wide open."
"Guess I'm in," she said with a shrug.
"Are you sure, because after this, there's no going back," I warned her and she nodded her head.
"I'd do anything to protect my sister, and what you're offering sounds like the perfect way to keep her from being foolish," she said. "As the club manager, I could keep her from dancing."
"At least in our club," I said, and she winced at that. "But maybe we could limit her interaction with a peep show or something," I said, and Diamond brightened at that.
"Keep her behind a pane of thick glass where she does a little dance and finds out from a distance what pigs some men can be," she said thoughtfully. "I like it, but you don't normally find peep shows at a strip club."
"All you have to do is make it cheap, and I guarantee some guys will eat it up," I told her, thinking of the customer who came just to watch. "At least this way, she makes money, stays safe, and never gets forced into sex against her will."
"Thanks for caring," she said, giving me a smile. "So, yes, I'm in."
"Follow me," I told her, leading her back to the bathroom and it's large mirror. To me it was a cheap trick, but effective.
Once I had her in the bathroom, I turned on all the lights, and stepped behind her. "What do you see?"
"The room, the lights," she said, then I put my hands on her shoulders.
"What about me?" I asked and she squinted into the mirror.
"Must be a trick mirror," she mused, and I looked at her quizzically.
"Okay," I said, turning her around. I was going to have to get more direct. "Then explain this," I said, dissolving my body and letting it collapse to the floor. Diamond gasped before bending over to test what she was seeing, and I saw I was some form of inky puddle. I looked up to the ceiling, moving that direction and saw the puddle of me she was holding form into a ball and rise from her hand. She looked up in terror, before I reformed my body and fell to the floor.
"What the..." she started to say, backpedaling to the sink before slipping under it for protection.
"I'm a vampire," I told her, letting her have her space to absord the knowledge I had just given her.
"But, but you said you don't murder people!" she nearly screached, terror making her voice high.
"I don't," I told her, keeping calm. "I don't have to kill to feed, I just pull some blood through the skin like a mosquito when I need it. And I can't even feed from you, anyway, so you're safe."
My words seemed to calm her somewhat, but she still stayed huddled at the sink. "So, what do you want from me?"
"I just need you to keep quiet about me being a vampire," I told her, keeping it simple. "Often, I may have to tell you some of the things that are happening in our world so you can defend the club, but for the most part, you will never enter my world. Hopefully, I will be the only vampire you ever meet."
"So I don't have to bring you victims or anything?" she asked and I shook my head.
"No, and you can forget what the movies have told you about us," I told her, and that seemed to scare her more. "For the most part, we don't interfere with normal human lives. We have our own underground society hidden in plain sight and we follow the laws like everyone else. In point of fact, if you ever see a vampire kill someone or use their special powers in public, I need you to tell me about it so we can stop it."
Diamond huddled under the sink, then inched forward. "So, I'm safe right? I just have to keep the fact you're a vampire secret to keep living?"
"Pretty much," I said, extending a hand and helping her back to her feet.
"You're not how I expected a vampire to act," she said, dusting herself off. "I figured you'd be more Gothic or something."
"From what I can tell, vampires are just as varied as the humans we hide among," I told her. "Bikers, billionaires, actors, homeless, all have a place in our society."
"So," she said, as she was lost in her own thoughts as she moved back to the room's sitting area. "How does this work? With the club, I mean."
"I'm just going to be the silent partner, mostly," I told her, sitting in the other chair after leaning the Kalashnikov against the bed. "I'd rather you were the front for the place, and as such, I'll fund everything through your bank account. You do have one, don't you?"
"Doesn't everybody?" she said. "So, essentially, it's my club we're building. How do you profit from this?"
"Every so often, bi-weekly or monthly, you make a payment for a portion of the profits," I tol her, getting a hmm of appreciation. "As with Confessions, no profit, no payment."
"And I'm under no compulsion to do anything illegal," she said, more as a statement than a question. "Sounds like I hit the lottery. What about your secret though, what happens if I talk?"
"Then I'll show up and kill you," I told her, hanging my head. "I don't like having to do it, but the group I'm with, if I didn't make sure the secrets stay secret they'll kill me too, after killing you."
"Oh," she said, hand covering her mouth. "So, no one can ever know. Will anyone ask?"
"Shouldn't," I told her, thinking that no one should ever come looking for me as a kindred. "They'll either ask for me specifically by name or they might ask for my corporation. All you have to do is relay it back to me as if I were a friend or business associate."
"Alright," she said, nodding her head. "So, how much are you going to give me to start things out?"
I took a pen and a check from my bag, writing it out for two million. When I gave it to her, her eyes bulged. "Wow," she said breathlessly. "You really do have money."
I signed off on another, writing this one out for three hundred million. "When I leave here tonight, I have to go avenge a friend and try to get some others back. One thing about being me is I won't leave a corpse behind when I die. So this," I said, handing her the check and she nearly fainted as she looked at the amount, "Is for if you don't hear from me in a few days. Take the money, start the club, care for your sister and the girls and enjoy your life."
"Thank you," she said in a whisper, then looked at my heavy hardware. "I don't normally like guns or hurting people, but," she said, pausing as her eyes hit the Kalashnikov. "I wish you luck in finding your friends."
"Thanks," I said, standing up to put the Kalashnikov back in the bag and get dressed.
I looked to where my clothes were laid on the dresser, and back to Diamond, seeing the woman was still staring at the millions of dollars she held in her hand. Feeling somewhat comfortable, I peeled off my borrowed bikini, and began to redress in my leather outfit. It seemed almost a crime to cover up my new tan, but I couldn't walk around with a shotgun hanging off my bare back.
As I slipped my coat back on my shoulders, I felt eyes watching me and saw that Diamond had finally recovered from her shock, and folded both checks and stuck them down her cleavage. "Do you wear makeup?" she asked me and I nodded.
"The ghoul that I normally have to do that was kidnapped today," I told her, hanging my head at the thought. "She'll never be able to do it again, but I won't leave her to those depraved maniacs."
"I'm sorry," she said, standing to join me. She took the motel pad and pen and wrote out an address in Hawthorne. "That's my house in Santa Barbara. If you need me, I'll be there."
"Thanks," I said, giving her a hug. She tensed, but returned it, and then seemed to relax when we broke apart. She seemed sheepish, and blushed a bit.
"I thought you were going to feed from me," she apologized.
"Being that close, I could have," I confessed, smiling at her. "But taking your blood would do nothing for me. Only the blood of other vampires can feed me now."
I was about to leave, my messenger bag slung over my back and my hand on the door handle, when a thought him me. "You don't know where Amber took my Ninja, do you?"
"No, but I know she hangs out at a biker bar in Long Beach," she said, following me. "It's called the Ride or Die club. The have their own mechanic and tire shop"
"Sounds quaint," I said, closing the door behind me. "And thanks. If I make it through, I'll get my bike out to ride."
"Sounds fun," she said, following me into the dark hallway away from the ongoing party.
"Well, off to see if I can get any help," I told her, smiling in the faint light coming from the parking lot. "Be safe," I told her. When she nodded, I shadow-stepped to the lobby of the Camarilla, then turned to head for Walsh's office. I found him sitting behind his desk, reading from a binder.
"Miss Flores," he said, setting the binder aside. "I heard of your most recent attack. You have my condolences."
"Where are they, Walsh?" I asked him, making him frown.
"In an area too secure to hit," he told me. "We have a group pinned down in a warehouse in Long Beach, but I nearly lost a deputy trying to get in. They aren't afraid to use heavy firepower and we are bound by the masquerade."
"Where?" I asked him, getting angry. The lights in the room dimmed, and Walsh shrank back as he gave me directions.
"You do know they will kill you," he said as I stepped to the door, my shadows fading to allow the light to fill the room again.
"They will try," I said before shadow-stepping out of the office to the sidewalk below.
I pulled out my phone and called a cab. While waiting for it, I got a call from Kilpatrick. "Hey," I said, when I opened the line.
"I found your friend Venus," he said. "Bail is five hundred grand. Apparently she resisted arrest, as well."
"I'm on my way," I said as my cab pulled up.
"She'll be waiting," he said, and the line went dead.
I got in the cab, and had it head straight for Kilpatrick's Bail Bonds. Being late, about eight-thirty or so made for good time, but it was stop and go once we got off the freeway. Soon though, we were at the place, and I stepped out and paid the man, using my card from Walsh to pay for it before going inside.
Venus sat on a plastic chair, wearing a black netted top over a black bra with a leather mini to go with it. She looked disheveled and she wouldn't look me in the eye. I approached and Arthur met me.
"This her?" he asked, and I nodded.
"So, fifty grand is what I owe you?" I asked and Venus flinched as I named the amount. She hunched over, pulling her knees up to her chin.
"Yeah," he said, and I pulled out a check and filled it out for him. "Also, need your driver's license."
I handed it over, and he wrote down my information, then copied it on a copier before handing it back to me. When he was done, he came over and addressed the both of us.
"Now, since this is both the first time for you two, let me make it clear," he said, having my attention and Venus's as well. "First off, no leaving LA without notifying me and getting permission to go. Check in every day at noon until I say otherwise, and no guns," he said, more for Venus's benefit than mine. "Now, I'm not going to go to your house and search it unless you give me reason, and since there's no drugs I'm not going to order a drug test. If you fail to check in, you better have good reason, because if I feel you won't show for your trial I will throw you back in jail, and no, you don't get a refund."
That last had been directed at me, and I nodded. "She'll be there," I told him.
"I'll do whatever it takes," Venus said, her voice soft and tired. Jail hadn't been good to her it seemed.
"Good. For now, you're free to go," Arthur said then walked away.
"Come on, Venus," I said. "We need to talk."
"Yes'm," she said, standing and following me as I left. I hadn't held the cab, so I called one, being told it would take five minutes to get there. When I looked at Venus, she seemed scared.
"I'm sorry," she said, apologizing when she realized I was looking at her.
"No," I said, and she flinched. "I am. It wasn't me that called you to Malibu. I didn't think she would ever try that."
"Who?" she said, starting to stand taller now that she knew she wasn't in trouble.
"Her name is Celeste," I told her. "She can manipulate blood, even the blood of others to do what she wants. She sent you a command to come, and you followed. If you had made it, you would have been kidnapped and had your eyes and tongue ripped out."
"That girl?" she asked, putting a hand over her mouth as her face paled.
"Was one of my pets," I told her, confirming her fears. "Her name was Constance, and was just a kid in high school. It's making me really wonder if I want ghouls."
"Why? Are we such a bother?" she asked, and I shook my head.
"Those I keep close to me are a liability, and having my blood in you makes you a remote controlled threat."
"A threat? How?" she asked, then seemed to pale more when I turned to face her fully.
"Let's say I renege on our deal," I began. "I force you to come to my home, tend my house and do my makeup and laundry. Because you are so close, Celeste can use you to kill me and never have to step foot in my home to do it."
"That's horrific," she said, finding her voice finally. "I never knew that could happen."
"And you didn't get much of a chance to learn before I gave you my blood," I told her. "I'll give you a chance to stop taking my blood now, before your in so deep you can't get out easy."
"It does feel nice," she said, wrapping her arms around herself. "It's a love I haven't felt in years running all through me."
"It's a false love, sweety," I told her. "I can use it to force you to do things that would make what you did with Boris seem tame, and you'll beg for more. I can use it to make you carve flesh from your own body, cook and eat it while praising the gift I have given you."
"In that light, maybe it would be best if I stopped," she said, shuddering.
"Are you cold?" I asked and she nodded. "Here," I said, undoing my coat. I had it off before realizing my shotgun was exposed, then pulled the sling off and hung it around Venus's neck, then let her put on my coat and buttoned it up.
"Thanks," she said, enjoying the warmth my coat offered. "I guess once you get used to the heat here, more normal temperatures in the twenty degree range don't seem so warm."
"Twenty?" I said, then realized she was talking Celsius and not Fahrenheit. "Wouldn't know since I grew up here. So, when you feel like you want your fix, let me know. I'll make sure you don't get it and help you through till you can function again."
"Your too kind," she said, as our cab pulled up. We got in, and she took a moment to arrange herself on the backseat so that the gun wasn't visible. I joined her, so we could talk if we wanted.
"I do have bouncers, bartenders, disc jockeys, waitresses and a few girls to just party headed your way tomorrow night," I told her after I told the cab driver to head for Confessions in downtown.
"Sounds like you have enough people to run an entire club," she remarked after recovering from her initial shock.
"It was," I said, looking out the window at the passing scenery. "They used to run Four-Play. But since the club burned down, they need a new place to work."
"Well they can work all they want for me," she said, regaining her usual composure. "I've got two guys at the bar that couldn't mix a Bloody Mary if they tried."
"Well, the guys coming in can do it in their sleep," I told her. "Use them how you see fit. Maybe they can help you get your club back on its feet."
"What do we do about my, uh, upcoming arraignment?" she asked, and I shrugged my shoulders.
"Start using your days to screen a lawyer," I told her, shaking my head. "Try to get a good specialist," I told her, fishing in my bag for a pair of checks. I signed one, leaving the rest of the information blank and then signed the other, listing two hundred million on the amount. I then handed both to her. "Use the blank check for lawyer bills," I told her, then she switched to the other and her jaw dropped. "If you don't hear from me within a few days, deposit that into your bank account," I told her, shaking my head as I turned to look out the window. "If you don't hear from me by then, I likely don't survive what happens tonight."
"What are you going to do?" she asked me, and I shook my head.
"Go find the others that were taken from me," I told her, leaving unsaid a lot in case the cab driver was listening in on us.
After that, the conversation died between us on the trip back to Confessions. I dropped Venus off without further word, then gave the cab driver the directions to the warehouse. I continued to think on ghouls, more specifically, my ghouls. The likelihood that any of them were salvageable was slim, not after seeing what they had done to the three they had captured in my house. Sharron and Angel were likely under some compulsion from Celeste and her dominate ability, but that wouldn't have held forever.
The last person I though of was Sammie. Celeste had said she would be gristle for the next batch, and I wondered if that meant she would be turned. Thoughts of that led me to thinking if she were turned, who did the turning. There were a number of clans that seemed to have standing in the local Sabbat, but Gangrel and Tremere were the standouts. If Sammie were either of them, she might hate herself.
I'd still help her though, I thought, as we continued through the dark night. I thought back to my Trial, and that the prince had granted clemency to me in exchange for a boon. Maybe if I took Sammie straight to him, begged him for his clemency he would spare her as well.
I felt the car slow, as we approached a car with flashing red and blue lights, knowing that this would be my stop. It was time to face the Sabbat, and not just the fiends and one kindred. This time, I would be facing lots of men and kindred with guns and kindred with powers, all inside a fortified building men with guns and kindred with powers couldn't breach. I had an ace in the hole though, I could shadow-step and start the fight hand to hand before they could grab a gun.
It was time to start the ball. Midnight was approaching.
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