At two in the afternoon, the club was little more than a ghost town. The head bartender took inventory and filled out re-order forms. Victoria was tall, handy with a bottle, and had no problem jumping up on the bar to give a dance in the middle of a hot song. She knew how to get her tips and she took the drunk and horny patrons for all they were worth.
Tables lined the outer regions of the club, backed away from the dance floor. Most of the tabletops were covered in upturned chairs, but one was set up to seat four men. With glasses of bourban at various levels all around, Hunter, Ric, Randy and Dave sat back and stared up at the police officer that gave them a steel glare. None of the men flinched, and neither did the cop.
Detective Chris Benoit watched each man carefully, taking in their easy demeanor and sickening smirks. He spent far too much of his time inside Club Evolution, and none of it was for pleasure. "There are kids dying on my streets," he said, his voice steady, his eyes touching each one. "Three in the past two days and what do you know? Word on the street says the stuff they got all came from here."
Hunter smirked and rolled his eyes. "You been listening to the druggies again, Benoit? How many times do you have to get burned by the doped up freaks out there to realize they're all full of shit."
"Really, man, this is bordering on harassment." Randy Orton ran his hand over his short cropped hair, then shrugged his shoulders. "I think our rights are being violated." He turned to Dave and asked, "What about you?"
"Oh yeah." The big man nodded and leaned back. He reached out and let his fingers tap against the cool crystal of his tumbler. "I think we might have to give our lawyers a call and let them know that the Miami-Dade PD doesn't have enough to do."
The three men snickered, but Ric Flair stayed stoic. He stood up slowly from his chair, pulling his jacket together and fastening a button. "Detective, we're the victims here, in case you didn't get that. Hunter went in and filed a simple restraining order, the third we've had to file this month. There are jealous people all around us. There are bitter people around us. We pay our taxes..." He paused at the muffled snicker from one of his partners, but couldn't tell who it came from. "...and we deserve our money's worth. Stop harassing us and keep those maniacs from infringing on our right to enjoy capitalism."
Benoit smirked. His head nodded slowly, then he clapped. "Very good, Flair. That's the best one this week. Try me again tomorrow, and I might give you a few bucks for your good show."
Flair narrowed his eyes and leaned forward. His hands pressed flat against the cold lacquer of the table. "Remember this, Benoit. I'm Ric Flair. I'm the man, and you... you're just a cop with less clout than my fucking dog. Get out there and do your job, and stop fucking with me."
The two men stared at one another with a burning anger that could heat the entire club for months. Flair couldn't remember a time in the past ten years that he didn't have Benoit or someone like him on his case. Benoit had gone from narcotics to homocide, and both divisions seemed to bring him to his doorstep. It was as though any crime that happened, the first name on his suspect list was Ric Flair, followed closely by the other owners of Club Evolution. They hated each other, and made no bones about it.
The door to the club opened with a whoosh and all heads turned slowly at the interruption. A tall, willowy blonde walked carefully across the floor. Her heels clicked lightly against the floor as her long legs propelled her forward. The three men still seated stood up as she drew closer. Ric stood up straight and replaced the grimace on his face with a grin. His arms went out and the woman's pace picked up.
Stacy Keibler was just one of many children that his wheeling and dealing lifestyle had produced over the years. His spawn was spread all over the country, but Stacy was the only one who lived in Miami. Though she constantly heard bad things said about her father, she could think only good things about him. He had always shown her love, kindness and respect. She couldn't see him as anything but a great, successful man.
She went into his arms with a giggle. Ric hugged her tightly, kissed her cheek, then pulled back. "What are you doing here?" he asked her. "I wasn't expecting you by until tonight."
"I know." She stood back and pushed her hair back behind her ears. "I was just passing by and saw the cars out front, so I thought I'd stop in and say hi."
"Uh huh." He turned to the others. "Boys. Say hi to Stacy."
"Hi, Stacy," they said in unison. Hunter turned towards Benoit and grunted. "Don't you know how to be polite when a lady enters the room?"
Benoit rolled his eyes and looked at Stacy. Though he hated her father, he really couldn't hold anything against her. She was an upstanding citizen who never got into any trouble. She only had two flaws. One, she had the bad luck to be related to Flair. Two, she didn't realize that working for Evolution Enterprises wasn't a sound career move.
He nodded at her. "Hello, Stacy."
"Detective." She returned the nod and sighed. "If you're here to harass my father and his friends, could you please stop?" He just stared and she sighed again. Turning back to her father, she said, "I heard about that guy that came in here last night." Her head fell and she pouted. "I feel so bad for him, Daddy. I mean, Eugene is so sick and the poor thing... it's just driving poor Mr. Regal mad."
"The man's out of his fuckin' mind, that's what he is." Hunter growled. "I'm tired of us getting the blame for everything that happens in this damned city."
"Stop causing bad shit to happen," Benoit told him, "and you won't get blamed."
"Take your accusations and–"
"Stop!" Stacy groaned and put her hands on her hips. "Would you all just stop? The tension is so thick in here I'm surprised Victoria hasn't choked on it." The bartender looked up and grunted. Stacy waved at her, then turned back. "Detective, could you please just... not do this today? We all have things to do and I'm sure there are more pressing crimes going on than whatever you think it is the guys have done. And now, if you'll excuse me, I really did only come by to give a quick hello. I've got to get back to work. The vice president's work at a multi-million dollar company is never done." She gave her father a quick peck on the cheek, waved to the others, then sauntered back out of the club.
The owners of Evolution Enterprises turned their attention back to the detective when Stacy was gone. "You're wasting my time," Randy said. He picked up his glass, took a sip, then put it back on the table. "I'm supposed to meet Trish in less than half an hour and I really don't feel like hearing her shit on top of yours. You won't do shit, anyway, so I'm outta here."
Randy turned to leave and Dave called out, "Wait a sec!" He shrugged his shoulders. "Drop me at the shop. I've gotta pick up my car." He glared at Benoit. "You want a real crime? Find the fucker that bashed in my windows."
"I'm homocide."
"Well, get one of your buddies to do it. Leave us the fuck alone."
Dave followed after Randy, and when the door slammed behind them, Hunter and Flair were left to stare at Benoit. Hunter rose his arm and pointed up. "You see that big glass case up there? Our office. We've got things to do in there. Legitimate things. Business things. Money making things. Don't be jealous that we make in a week what you make in a year."
Hunter turned and started to stalk off towards the office. Ric leaned forward again. He had regained his glare and focused hard on Benoit. "Remember what I said. I'm Ric Flair. I've got more money than The Donald. Don't fuck with me, you useless piece of shit." He stormed off and followed Hunter up to the office.
Benoit was left to stand downstairs. He stared up at the glass and waited until he saw Hunter and Ric enter. Both men stood at the glass and looked down. Benoit rose his arm and pointed to each of them. The men smirked and Benoit turned, his eyes landing on Victoria. The bartender shrugged, then smirked. "Don't look at me," she said, "I just work here."