Pinky Diamond cruised down a long strip of road in her pastel pink Miata. There were countless things racing through her mind, one of which was the growing resentment she had developed for Strike. She didn't understand just how or why he was so powerful. His reputation was well known; the mere mention of his name could strike terror in people's hearts. She'd seen him a few times at the Diamond Paradise, the club where she stripped occasionally. Perhaps he'd seen her, too, but he'd never let it be made known. When she first laid eyes on him, though, she knew he was trouble to a certain extent, but she would never have imagined just how much. Besides, most of the time, he would be unwittingly surrounded by a slew of the dancers, offering him free lap dances and other 'inappropriate' favors. She'd heard one or two rumors from some of the dancers she was closest to… it wasn't anything too crazy, like him taking girls home with him, but it was enough to make her think.
She looked at the directions printout that Heat had given her. She really didn't want to do this job, but if nothing else, despite the negative aspects of his reputation, Strike was really a man of his word, and she would definitely get her money for it. Besides, this job would actually be a little easier than the 'sniper' assignment she just went through. Pinky just hoped that Strike wasn't planning any unexpected surprises.
Pinky pulled up to her destination, and parked in a nearby deck. She got out of the car, leaving her top down, and admired her reflection in her compact. Her pink hair was down, with her bangs carefully swept to the side, and hanging a little past her shoulders curled upwards in the back. She cautiously applied more lipstick, and lightly brushed down her clothes, a hot pink zebra-print tube top, matching hot pink micro-mini skirt, topped with a patent leather pink blazer. After adjusting her clothes, she made sure her small gun was still tucked safely in her thigh-high pink patent leather stiletto heeled boots. Finally, she gave the contents of her large pink purse a good once-over, and walked to the building, stopping traffic as she made her way across the street.
When Pinky walked into the building, she noticed that it resembled a small law firm in appearance, with cushy chairs, expensive carpeting, and 'soothing' music playing low over high-quality speakers. The reception area was empty, except for a blonde female sitting behind a desk, typing away dutifully on a computer. Pinky read the name on the desktop, 'Kelly Riviera'.
Kelly looked up at Pinky and gave her a sweet smile. "Hi, how are you doing today?" she asked, almost beaming. She had expressive blue eyes, and her hair draped almost ¾ down her back, full of body.
Pinky returned the smile. "Hi, my name is Keesha Somers," she said in friendly manner. "I'm here to see Kinoshima-san."
Kelly looked at her with a little surprise, and flipped through a thick book. "Oh, I'm sorry Ms. Somers," she replied, "but it seems like your name isn't on the list today. As a matter of fact… I don't see your name in here at all."
"Oh, that's okay, I was sent here to give him a gift, and it really won't take that much time," said Pinky.
"Well, he's really busy in a private meeting right now, and I have no idea how long he'll be… would you like to come back tomorrow?"
"That would be really inappropriate for me… I'll just wait if I have to… Say, have you ever had your palm read before?"
Kelly looked at her blankly. "I can't… say that I have, why do you ask?"
"Oh, well, I read palms… I have tarot cards. Actually, I do a lot of fortune telling. Come on, the boss isn't around, and I know you don't want to risk more Carpel Tunnel at that computer. Please, it won't take long," smiled Pinky, genuinely.
"Well…" Kelly looked around… "Sure, why not!" She got up and walked towards Pinky, and they both sat down in two side-by-side chairs.
Pinky smiled, almost devilishly, and held Kelly's left hand palm-up in hers. Gently, she ran her long nailed finger along the assortment of lines on the palm. Surprised by what she saw, she cocked up an eyebrow.
"W-what is it?" asked Kelly, almost nervously.
Suddenly, the lights in the reception area dimmed greatly. "I see… that you have a lot of secrets… and you have a lot of love to give… you greatly desire love… don't you, Gemini?" asked the fortune-teller.
Kelly gasped. "How'd you- how'd you know that?"
Pinky only smiled at her. "You are very creative and demure by day, but another side comes out occasionally. Like most Gemini people, it seems like you have two different personalities."
The secretary looked on in awe.
"I think I need to break out the tarot cards for you, Ms. Secretive," grinned Pinky. She reached into her bags and pulled them out. Kelly kept her free hand up to her mouth, trying to hold in her amazement. Pinky shuffled the cards and instructed the secretary to carefully select three. Kelly made her choices and handed them to Pinky.
Pinky looked at the cards and smiled. She began to explain the cards to Kelly, and explained that she did, indeed, live a double-life, currently unhappy with a lot of aspects in her daily routine. However, because of her fun-loving nature, it was possible for her to find a way to balance everything out and keep a positive outlook.
Kelly blushed, turning red as a beet. "Wow…" she whispered.
"And finally, since you've been so darling and nice to me," said Pinky, pulling out her crystal ball, "I'll let all this go free of charge, and I'd also like to give you this…" Pinky pulled out a small necklace with a gorgeous crystal dangling from it.
Kelly's eyes lit up and she smiled in delight. "Really? Wow, thanks a lot!" She put around her neck happily. Pinky smiled and reached to push some of Kelly's hair back.
"That looks very nice on you!" she cooed.
"Aw, thank you," said Kelly, smiling humbly.
"Now, put your hands on the Crystal ball," instructed the fortune-teller. Kelly obeyed. "I see your future…" Her voice began to carry an echo, and a bright light was cast from the orb. She began to chant softly, and an unusual gentle breeze began to drift through the area.
"Close your eyes and concentrate… and sleep… sleep," said Pinky gently.
Kelly's eyelids grew extremely heavy… Involuntarily, her head began to nod, fighting the lethargic feeling overwhelming her…
As she dropped into a very solid slumber, Pinky grabbed her upper body and pushed her back into the chair so Kelly wouldn't fall over. She looked around to make sure no one was there, and walked to Kelly's desk to study Kinoshima's planner. She'd seen a few of those names before, a lot of corporate bigwigs she'd heard of from other jobs she had to do in the past. A meeting this big had to mean something huge was going on… oh, well, that's what she was there to find out. She pulled a small device with a keypad out and affixed it to a secure spot on the underside of the desk, carefully attaching a few cables to the computer's hard drive unit. A light on the keypad flashed twice, to which she entered the code 1-0-6-1-0-8. The light turned off, for security purposes. Wow, Heat thought of everything when it came to concealment.
From there, Pinky stood up and readjusted her clothes. She walked cautiously to a door that was feet away from behind Kelly's desk. Looking around, she slowly opened the door to see a long hallway. Pinky continued her cautious stroll down the way and listened carefully for activity in any of the rooms. When she got to the third door on the left, she smelled cigar smoke and heard hearty laughter. She smiled, adjusted her clothes again, and let herself into the room.
There was a round table in the center of the room, with nine suited men sitting around smoking and laughing. In the chair closest to the large window sat a middle-aged looking man, no more than 40, with soft dark brown hair, dressed in a sharp looking navy blue suit. In front of him sat a laptop. Despite his laughter, he had a very worried look on his face. Hmm…
Pinky Diamond cleared her throat and made her presence known. All the gentlemen looked at her, a fine mix of different races, though mostly Asian. Their eyes almost bugged out of their heads, staring at her from head to toe.
"Greetings, gentlemen," she said, flashing them all a smile that seemed to light up the room.
The gentleman in the blue suit said "Excuse me, ma'am, this is a private meeting--"
"Aw, lighten up, 'Kino', said one of the Asian suited men.
"Yes, please do," said Pinky, sauntering all the way into the room and closing the door behind her. "I have a surprise for a man named Kinoshima." She pulled a small stereo out of her bag. "I've been sent here by somebody who's really concerned about you and says he sends his best regards."
All the gentlemen began to look in the blue-suited man's direction, sending him knowing smiles. "What's the meaning of this?" asked an African American gentleman, cocking up an eyebrow.
Pinky set her sights on the blue suited man. "Baby," she purred, "this one's for you!" She started playing a CD in the stereo. Instantly, loud, bass-heavy, upbeat music began to blare from the speakers, and she began to dance for them.
The shocked quietness in the room turned into loud cheers and catcalls. Pinky sashayed across the room, playfully removing her jacket and swinging it around above her head.
Kinoshima was shocked, but he was quite happy. All the gentlemen cheered happily. "Lucky duck!" one screamed in his direction.
Pinky put on one of her best shows; strip teasing and showing off her moves like the pro she was. After she was down to her thong and wonder bra and boots, she sat comfortably in Kinoshima's lap and gave him an outstanding lap dance. Needless to say, he was shocked, but very pleased. As she undulated in his lap, she grabbed the underside of the table to support herself. In her right bracelet was another smaller device with a tiny microphone. The stripper rolled her body and looked back at the other gentlemen, smiling and loving her work, and looked back to the almost drooling Kinoshima. Carefully, Pinky concentrated on placing the tiny device under the table, still dancing and smiling, giving her lap provider seductive looks. When she was comfortable with her placement, she continued her show, and stood up on the table.
From one end of the table to another, Pinky danced rather gracefully, and finally removed her bra.
The men went wild, and 10, 20, even 50-dollar bills and an assortment of yen was being waved in the air for her. Once her thong came off, the dollar amount increased. She even smoked on a cigar, putting on more of a show for the men.
Forty-five minutes and hundreds of dollars and such later, Pinky kissed Kinoshima's cheek lovingly as she put her clothes back on. "Thank you for your time gentlemen, and I hope I brightened your day a little," she cooed.
The gentlemen agreed heartily. One of them even asked if she could come back the next day. With the way they were flashing money, it may have been worth a go… But she'd wait that one out. She collected a few business cards and a few more tips, and then left as quickly as she'd popped up.
"Ahh…. I think I'm in love," said one of the Asian gentlemen.
Kinoshima was blushing insanely. Wow… what a show. He began to wonder who was thinking of him during this rough time in his life… Perhaps it was Strike… He was nice enough to try to even find his daughter… maybe he was thoughtful enough to offer this wonderful stress relieving performance. Hmm…
When Pinky got back to the reception area, she flashed her crystal ball and awoke the inert Kelly.
"Oh… what… what happened?" moaned Kelly, disoriented.
"Girl, you passed out!" said Pinky. "Do you feel alright?"
Kelly looked around. "Well… I… I guess so…" She pulled herself up from the chair, and carefully walked back to her desk. "How long was I out?"
"Oh, a few minutes…Well, look, I think I'll just wait until tomorrow, okay, I have an emergency to tend to… thanks for your time, and make sure you wear that crystal as often as possible- it has healing energies to counter your nervousness, okay?"
Kelly nodded and smiled, holding her head. "Thank you," she said.
Pinky hurried and left, and ran back to her car. She drove away, beyond pleased with herself, with very fat pockets indeed.