Chapter 18:
Everyone clambered into their cars and followed Catherine and Shannon as they made their way to the other end of Tropicana Avenue. There, just on the edge of town was a small club called Heaven Cent. A few large neon stars gracing the two-story building glowed faintly in the dim morning light.
Catherine explained a friend of hers, Penny, another former stripper, owned it. She'd dubbed the club with her old stage name as a joke and it just seemed to stick.
A formidable looking bouncer stood guard at the door and she walked right up to the mountain of a man, cutting in front of a dozen people, and pulled him into a hug.
"Beauregard. Still knockin' heads and bustin' balls?"
"Mon cher! How you doin' girl?" He said in a sweet Louisiana accent. "Here for pleasure and not business, I hope?"
She smiled and kissed his cheek. "Purely pleasure, Beau. I'm out with a bunch of co-workers looking for a good time. You think you could let us in?"
"For you mes petite, anythin'. You want me to tell Penny you here?"
She gave him an affirmative and dragged everyone in as Beauregard unhooked the rope and flipped open a cell phone. Catherine was practically mowed down when she made it in. She and Penny talked and hugged for a few minutes before introductions went around.
"You're timings impeccable as always, Cath. It's Ladies' Night…or I should say Day." She said as she glanced at her watch. "I'll take the guys to the bar. All you girls go have fun."
The women waved the men off and headed for the dance floor. When Catherine hopped up on stage, Shannon and Tasha quickly followed while the rest looked on questioningly.
"Come on! It's Ladies' Night. That means we can dance up here with the band."
Sam, Jen, and Alex needed no further invitation and climbed up on the expansive stage while Olivia and Sara hung behind. The other six women egged them on until Jen and Alex jumped down and bodily hauled the reluctant females up with the rest.
They finally gave in to the pulsing music and danced with gusto and waved at the men. They dutifully waved back with the exception of Greg and Nick, who managed to climb on the stage with them and dance for a bit before Penny and another bouncer fireman-carried them back down to the main floor telling them it was strictly ladies only.
Everyone was having fun and Olivia and Sara were even laughing at Jen and Tasha's antics when a hand snaked up and stuck a twenty in the top of Catherine's pants.
"Take it OFF!"
The eight women immediately stopped and stared at the man.
"Excuse me?" Catherine said.
Another man reached up and stuck a fifty in Shannon's pants. "You heard him. Take it off!"
Tasha slapped at the first man's hand as he tried to stick money in the top of her skirt and Shannon and Catherine threw the bills back at them. They weaved drunkenly for a second before their faces screwed up in anger.
"Why you bitch!" They cried as they grabbed Shannon and Catherine's ankle.
They each drew back their other legs to kick at the offenders just as Sam and Olivia's fists crashed into the men's jaws. The businessmen crumpled to the floor.
Shannon stomped her foot. "Hey! He was mine."
Three other men in similar business suits and equally as drunk made their way over to help their friends.
"I don't think that's gonna matter in a minute." Olivia mumbled as she scrambled back up on stage with Sam.
Across the room, the guys noticed they were in trouble and started to make their way across the room just as the women lashed out in self-defense. Nick, Greg, Brass, and Grissom grabbed two of the drunks and hauled them off the stage just as the third yelled out.
"FIGHT!"
There was no stopping what happened next. The dance club turned into a free-for-all in three seconds flat. The law-enforcement officials each pulled out their respective badges except for Alex (who was just a lawyer, after all) and began to pull people off one another.
This had practically no effect and the fight continued until Shannon pulled her clutch piece from her ankle holster and shot it at the ceiling.
--BANG!--
That got everyone's attention.
"Alright people! This is the police. Now either shape up or I'll have Mr. Beauregard ship you out like these assholes."
Shannon motioned at the five passed out businessmen that Beauregard and another bouncer had started to drag out of the club. Catherine apologized profusely to Penny and everyone headed for the parking lot, also apologizing.
The ride back to the station house was uneventful and they all stood in the parking lot looking a bit bored after that whole ordeal.
"Looks like the night's ruined." Warrick said.
"Not necessarily. We could have our own little party." Alex supplied.
Greg tugged at Nick's sleeve. "Holy shindig! You know what that means Batman."
Nick pumped a fist in the air. "To the Batmobile, Robin!"
They both dived for Nick's car, calling out the window that they'd be back soon with beer and the like.
Shannon turned to Sam. "So how about we get some munchies Hawkgirl?"
"Sounds good to me Supergirl. What say you, Wonderwoman?" She turned to Catherine.
The redhead held up her keys. "Let's go find my invisible jet."
Everyone else just snickered and Grissom even grinned as they headed back to the basement.