Searching for Ruby, pt. 1
Some time had passed. Jack received a call from Eve about "finding Blondie." Jack was initially amazed that he needed help finding Ruby, as "Blondie" was Eve's nickname for her. But then he remembered that she provided that answering machine tape with that message from Ruby to Sanderville, which happened to be on the same night when the elderly crime boss met his demise.
Now I was getting somewhere. Senator Copeland, along with the Dark Order, offered to help clear my name and record in exchange for finding the mastermind behind this big operation in all of Grant City. It could be anyone, Fahook, Pinnacle, shit, maybe even that guy Dutch Sugarman that Palmer guy told me about. I knew that Grant City has been corrupt for years, but if this could be connected to my old man's murder, then I must be on the right track.
But first things first, I must find Ruby. It's only a matter of time until Fahook finds her and kills her.
Jack pulled up in front of Black Orchid and saw a black car parked in front. Eve stood there in a long red coat this time. Her jacket was open while she wore a rather small black shirt and black pants while she held an HK VP9SK to the window of the door to the driver's side.
"Hey, Jack," Eve said.
"Hey, Eve," Jack said in such a way that he was confused at the sight of what was in front of her. "What's going on?"
Eve looked to her left and lightly tapped her pistol against the window of the car door. The door opened and out came a man with blond hair. This guy looked like hell, like he had been running and hiding for the past couple of days. On top of that, he looked like he hadn't shaved.
"Palmer?" Jack said. "Is that you? You look like shit."
"Fuck you," Palmer said. One would wonder if he had cleaned himself up at all, especially what went down at Sanderville Heights and at Sanderville Manor. "Thanks to you, I've been trying to hide out since all that shit hit the fan."
"Hey, don't blame me, besides, it wasn't me who killed Sanderville," Jack said. "Anyway, what are you doing here?"
Eve interrupted, "It seems that Palmer knows someone who could help you. Also, he is helping me find the man who ordered my brother's murder." She turned to look him directly in the eye. "Isn't that right?" With a touch of sarcasm in her voice, Palmer nodded with a glare of minor derision.
"Okay, Palmer, what do you know? Who do you know?" Jack said.
"I take it you're looking for Ruby Diamond," Palmer said.
"Her name is Ruby Morgan, thank you!" Jack said. Jack figured that the "Diamond" in Ruby's name was used for her work as a stripper and in porn, as he was aware that she partook in those types of movies.
"Hey, I'm helping you out, you could at least show me some fucking respect here!" Palmer said and took a deep breath. "Anyway, if you want to know where to find her, I suggest you follow me inside. I know someone who could help you find her."
Palmer led the way into the massage parlor/brothel. Unlike other nights, it was slow. Not a lot of the masseuses were seen, nor was much clientele to be found. All that was seen was Heather, the bartender at the bar, looking bored and cleaning up the bar area. Heather looked up and saw Palmer.
"Palmer? What do you want?" Heather said. "It's a slow night, we're practically closed." But when Palmer walked up, from behind him were Jack and Eve. Heather had a look of "oh" on her face when she saw them.
"Heather, is Pearl here?" Palmer said.
"Everyone is Pearl's friend. You look like you brought company with you, are you adding some extra action?" Heather said. Rather than feel insulted, Jack and Eve put their hands to their mouths to stop themselves from laughing. The two looked at each other hiding their smiles because what was said was rather humorous to them.
Jack had remembered that there was that hostess Lotus and her two bodyguards from that night when he came here. Was it their night off? No one knew. For all anyone knew, they went to handle other matters.
Palmer, however, looked at Heather like he meant business.
"Relax, I'm just fucking with you," Heather said. "Wait here, I'll look for Pearl."
Jack and Eve stood against the wall, while Palmer waited by the bar and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, opened it, and was about to pull out of a cigarette. Jack looked around. Eve did the same and then she looked at Jack.
"Is something wrong?" Eve said.
"I got a lot on my mind right now," Jack said.
"Well, you can tell me later, right now we have business to take care of," Eve said as she tapped to Jack. Pearl, the same Chinese masseuse/prostitute walked out.
"Well, it looks like the party is just getting started, or are you happy to see me?" Pearl said. Palmer looked up and saw her and then she looked towards the wall. "Did you invite some guests as well?"
But when Jack and Eve looked up at her, Pearl jumped a bit. Although she recognized Jack from that night when he came for information on Marvin Silt, the sight of Eve Adams put her in a bind with her reputation as a hired killer.
"Are you okay, Pearl?" Palmer said.
"You brought these two along?" Pearl said. "What, are we having a 4-way or something? I don't know about her." Pearl said when she looked at Eve.
"Oh, don't worry about me," Eve said. "I only came along for the ride."
"Relax, Pearl, we're only here on business, and not the kind you're thinking of," Jack said.
Pearl took a deep breath. "I see, okay. Follow me." Pearl looked towards Heather. "Heather, we're taking Room 8. If Lotus comes back soon, tell her I'm busy."
Heather picked up a broom, nodded her head, and started sweeping. Jack peered back towards Heather as she started cleaning up the place. For a slow night, things must have gotten messy. No one knew why this place was slow that night, but it was a good time to get the information that was needed on Jack's end.
Once they entered the room, Pearl went and sat on the bed. "So what's the deal? You're obviously not here to score or anything, like the other night. I knew deep down you wanted it, but you wouldn't take it. So you're here for something else."
Jack knew that Pearl was onto him, as well as the rest of them. The expression she had when she saw Eve, it appeared that Eve was known for being an ice cold killer. Although Eve had displayed some trust towards Jack and also had been kind and willing to help him out, Jack had also seen how ruthless she could be when it came to killing people. Those bodies in Sanderville's mansion were evident of her efficiency in killing people, as well as how dangerous she could be. Also, a few nights prior, Pearl was right that Jack may have yearned for sex, especially with a head-turner like her, but he wasn't there for that. History repeated itself as he wasn't there for a massage or sex.
"I'm going to cut right to the chase," Jack said. "Palmer said that you might know something about Ruby Diamond and where she might be."
"You're looking for Ruby? Is that it?" Pearl said. "What makes you think I would know where she would be?"
"Palmer said that you would know, and that you know a lot of things," Jack said.
"Okay, you may be right about this," Pearl said and looked to Palmer. "Hey, give me one of your smokes and I'll start talking."
Palmer passed Pearl the pack of cigarettes and she quickly took a cigarette out. Without hesitation, Palmer lit the cigarette that hung between Pearl's lips. Jack and Eve looked on as this happened.
Eve leaned towards Jack and whispered, "Something tells me that these two know each other well."
"It sure seems like it," Jack whispered back to her.
Pearl took a puff from her cigarette and blew the smoke out. It wasn't long until she set the cigarette on the ashtray next to the bed.
"Okay, Jack Slate, and yes, I knew who you were when I saw you that night," Pearl said. "The disgraced dog cop who had escaped the electric chair. I know you wanted this, but what happened? Prison life caught up to you?"
"Just get to the fucking point," Jack said. "I don't have time for bullshit."
"It seems Ruby has been around a lot," Pearl said.
"You don't have to tell me that," Jack said.
"Do you want to hear it or not?" Pearl said, with silence in her response, all three people looked at her like they were ready to listen. "Ruby had only started working here sometime ago, as she had been a sex slave for some oil prince's operation. However, we knew each other before she started working here because I had taken part in some of Hector Cruz's movies. Recently, Ruby had come back to settle some stuff with Lotus and Fat Chow about some money she was owed, especially after you guys kidnapped her the other night. For some reason, though, she looked pretty timid, like she had been looking over her shoulder."
"Are some people out to kill her?" Jack said.
"I had heard that while she was working here, because though she had been a slave for that oil prince, whose name I forget," Pearl said.
"Fahook Ubduhl," Jack said.
"Yeah, I had heard the name, but never saw what he looks like, said to be one tough asshole," Pearl said. "Anyway, she had been everywhere, working with some 'big-time criminals.'" Pearl did the finger gesture when enunciating that term. "It appeared that Lotus and Fat Chow had owed her a lot of money for some reason. Don't ask me why, but something tells me she's got something up her sleeve."
"Like what?" Jack said. "If Fat Chow and that hostess owed her a lot of money, not sure how much she would need if she were to have to some of those, how you put it, 'big-time criminals' after her. Ruby may have a record and stuff, but she doesn't have the brains to outsmart guys like Fahook Ubduhl or John Sanderville. It makes me wonder if she tried to scam Fat Chow out of a lot of money if she didn't try to steal from him first."
"Jeez, you sound like you know this girl," Pearl said.
"Let's just say we have some history," Jack said. "Do you know where she might be, though?"
Pearl took another puff from her cigarette and blew the smoke out. "No, I may have known Ruby and we were okay, but we weren't that close. She seemed too closed off for some reason, at least for the past few months, but I think I know who could help you find her. Apparently, this nerdy guy came here a few nights ago after the breakout at Iron Point. He had been wanting a piece of me and her so badly. He came by last night, said he wanted to apologize, but I could tell by the look in his eyes that he wanted to get his dick wet. He was asking Lotus for me and Ruby, but I was out with a regular, and Ruby, well, after that night when you took her and Silt away, she hadn't been working. She only came here to talk turkey with Lotus about the money she was supposedly owed."
"Does this nerdy guy have a name?" Jack said.
"He said his name was Tim,'" Pearl said. "But he likes to be called Wireboy."
"Wireboy? That guy?" Jack said. "What would he know?"
"Maybe you should go talk to him to find out," Pearl said. "I heard he helped you with your grand escape."
"Man, some people just don't know when to keep their mouths shut," Jack said.
"I'm only telling you what I heard," Pearl said.
"Where would I find him?" Jack said.
Palmer cut in, "Last I saw him, he was at the Beer Barn in Traintown."
"He's at that place? Damn," Jack said.
"Have you been there?" Palmer said.
"It's a long story," Jack said.
"Okay, well, maybe you might need me to get in," Palmer said. "Come on, let's go. You two can follow me."
As the two men left the room, Eve and Pearl made eye contact. Eve nodded her head, while Pearl nodded with an expression that exhibited fear in her system. It appeared that a lot of people in the Asian community were familiar with Eve. Maybe Pearl had witnessed Eve killing someone she knew and/or saved her life. Eve may have been a dangerous killer, but it was clear that she had her own set of standards.
TRAINTOWN, A HALF HOUR LATER
As Jack followed Palmer in his car to this area, the memories of that night came back to him. He remembered that he came out to the Beer Barn as a means for dangerous bikers to kill him. Considering he was a cop at the time and that cops weren't welcome at a place like that, it was suicide for Jack, and that may had been his intention.
It was exactly how Jack remembered it – the bar was at the center of the train yard with motorcycles parked in front of it, as well as train cars and tracks surrounding the bar. Jack saw the exact same spot where he was jumped by the Death Riders. If it wasn't for Chris that night, he would have been dead already.
All of these feelings of déjà vu hit me like a hard punch to the gut, the same type of punch that those bikers gave me the last time I was here. Jack thought. I know that Grant City has its share of lowlifes and criminals, but these people were among the scummiest as they come. Why on Earth would Wireboy hang out a place like this?
"Something wrong, Jack?" Eve said as she looked over at him.
"No, nothing is wrong," Jack said. "Anyway, you said something back there about Palmer and Pearl."
"I have a feeling that something was going on with him and that girl, like they have more than just a client and hooker relationship," Eve said. "If she was willing to talk, then something must be up."
"I noticed something about you," Jack said. "You have a way of reading people and figuring stuff about them, do you?"
"What do you mean?" Eve said.
"That night when you took me to Hildy's place," Jack said. "You were able to see right from the get-go that she was worried about me a lot, among other things. You had also told me that you were hired to kill me. What made you change your mind? I must ask, is your name really Evelyn Yang like you said?"
"Yes, that's my real name, I didn't lie to you," Eve said.
"Amazing how you put all this trust in me like this," Jack said. "I know you have been helping me, but why? I saw all the bodies that you left in your wake at Sanderville's mansion."
Eve took a deep breath. "I didn't lie to you about anything, but because I knew who Palmer and Dutch worked for, as well as Marvin Silt, I had my own motivations. Yes, I am able to read people and when I get hired for a contract, I always research my targets. I had done a lot of my homework. I knew you were trying to find out who murdered your father and was set up to take a fall. If you're wondering how I am able to read people, I had taken psychology in the past when I was in college, but then I quit school. The skill stuck with me. I know I've killed my share of people, but most of them were bad. You're a nice guy, Jack. I don't kill nice guys."
"You're not so bad yourself, Eve," Jack said. "But what made you also so sure that I was not worth killing."
"Like I had told you, I already knew about your father's murder," Eve said. "You and I have similar goals, because I have to take out the man who killed my brother, and the man who ordered it."
A knock was heard against the window. Jack and Eve looked up. Palmer signaled to them with a gesture of "Come on, let's go!" Both Jack and Eve got out. They left Shadow inside the car. The two followed Palmer to the door. Once they got inside, the place had some Motorhead blaring from the jukebox, people drinking at the bar and others playing pool and darts. The moment they all walked in, some of the patrons looked up, stopped dead in their tracks, particularly at the sight of Jack and Eve. Sure, Palmer may not have had the right type of attire to blend in with this crowd, but several people looked at Jack and Eve with hatred in their eyes. Palmer led the two towards the bar where the bartender/owner Andre stood, who looked at all three of them with the same type of expression that the other patrons had given the trio.
"You again? What do you want?" Andre said.
"Is Wireboy around?" Palmer said. "We need to talk to him."
"You gonna give me that same 'Cherokee Draft' shit like last time?" Andre said. The phone right behind Andre rang, and then he picked it up. "Oh, okay, yeah, I'll let them pass."
Andre hung up and looked at the trio. "Follow me."
Andre held the door open as he let Palmer, Jack, and Eve walk in. They walked in. Jack looked around. The desk had some porno magazines lying around. Wireboy had a big setup with computers. Oddly enough, this room had a poster of Hildy from her time as a stripper as it was on display on the wall. Someone from the Den of Iniquity probably had this up already.
Eve looked up at the poster and whispered, "Hey, Jack, isn't that...?" Jack nodded in response.
"Hey, Palms, what's shaking?" Wireboy said and then looked ahead. "I see you brought some…Holy shit, Jack?"
"Hey, Timmy," Jack said.
"Don't call me Timmy, call me Wireboy, damn," Wireboy said and saw Eve. "And who might you be?" He said it in an attempt to sound smooth.
"That's for me to know and you to find out," Eve said with such attitude in her voice.
"Okay, okay, say no more," Wireboy said. "Anyway, what brings you by?"
Palmer said, "Slate here wants to know if you could find someone."
"Is that so?" Wireboy said and then shifted his attention to Jack. "Listen, Jack, I know you watched my back while we were in jail and I know I owe you big time for this, but is this really what you want from me?"
"Seeing as you have skills with computers and stuff, I was wondering if you could be able to track down someone I am looking for," Jack said. "Besides, you got out before I did, while I was at the electric chair and waited for the power to go out before I had to make my escape. So the least you could do is try to find who I'm looking for."
"What's the name?" Wireboy said.
"Ruby Morgan," Jack said.
"Hmmmm, why does that name sound a little familiar?" Wireboy said.
Jack looked at the desk with all of the girly magazines and stuff, but then saw something else that drew his attention. There were two VHS cassettes on the desk. They looked like they were of pornography. One had artwork that had a woman named Roberta X on the cover as the name was scribed on the artwork over the woman, as if she was top-billed for that film. The other had a picture of Ruby on the cover with the name "Ruby Diamond" written over her on the artwork. Both VHS copies had a logo for a production company called "Zeus X Prod." on the box art. Jack picked up one of the VHS copies.
"Or should I say Ruby Diamond?" Jack said as he held up the VHS as he stared Wireboy directly in the eye.
"What the…?" Wireboy said. His eyes widened and couldn't say a word after that.
"Couldn't get Ruby for yourself, huh? So I suppose you needed to jerk your dick off to her," Jack said.
"Do you know her or something?" Wireboy said.
"I do, or did, at least," Jack said.
"Fuck," Wireboy said. "First off, who told you that I had a way to track down people or where to find me?"
"Palmer here had me talk to Pearl," Jack said. "She told me some shit about Ruby, and I know that she is in trouble, or is about to be in deep, deep shit really soon."
"You talked to Pearl? What has she said about me?" Wireboy said.
"Not a lot, only that you have the ways to track down stuff," Jack said. "Remember the stuff you told me in prison? I know you have the skills to track down people. And judging from these tapes, I know that Hector Cruz produced these tapes. Did you buy these off of him?"
"That's none of your fucking business, Jack," Wireboy said. "Come on, I know I've been out of prison longer than you, but it's hard getting action. I mean, come on, I'm sure you got some action yourself. You have this hot lady right here." He said referring to Eve.
"That's not the point," Jack said. "All I want is for you to find any phone numbers and trace the calls that Ruby might make, maybe find out where she is staying, because I need to find her as soon as fucking possible. You got that?"
Wireboy was at a loss. It was clear to him that Jack was not messing around here.
"Okay, I will see what I could do," Wireboy said. "But you're going to have to give me a number to reach you at."
"Fine," Jack said and found a piece of paper to write a couple of phone numbers. One was the number to the landline that was in that penthouse suite where Augie Blatz used to live. The other was the cellphone that Jack had been using as of late.
"Okay, I will let you know if I could find her," Wireboy said. "In the meantime, you could try to look for her at the Blue Fly Club or the Chaud Laupin Club. I know the Blue Fly is where Hector Cruz has his porno studio, at least somewhere in that building."
Jack remembered that Hector Cruz ran the Blue Fly Club and the Chaud Laupin Club, a dance club and a strip club respectively. These clubs were connected as they were located not far from one another, just like how Augie Blatz owned both the Den of Iniquity and the Flaming Mamba Lounge. In fact, they were on the same street, but it appeared that the Blue Fly was the front for Zeus X Productions.
"I'll go look over there," Jack said. "Call me if you find something." And then saw the poster of Hildy again. "And I'll be taking this with me." He then took it down.
WARDEN AIR FORCE BASE
Inside an office, Fahook sat at his desk. The office had a rather ornate layout with statues, a large clock on the wall, and a mirror that was on display between two glass windows that overlooked the outside onto a helipad. It would mean that when this Air Force base was still commissioned that it was for the five-star general and/or any high-ranking official. It would also mean that this office was located near an airplane hangar and the airstrip.
In front of Fahook were Meeshaka and Shadraka, the twin bodyguards who primarily served as Fahook's personal security, despite having mercenaries working for him at the base and at Dock 765.
["Ladies,"] Fahook said in Arabic. ["I want you two to help Patch and some of our men to find and kill Jack Slate, as well as find and kill Ruby. I have a feeling that she stole from us after the other night when all of those ladies left us."]
Meeshaka responded, ["We will do that, Fahook."]
["You have our word,"] Shadraka said.
["Good, because we don't have a lot of time,"] Fahook said. ["Dutch told me about trying to look for David Palmer, but he is not our problem. However, he told me about an Eve Adams. I want you to find and kill her, too."]
The twins looked at each other with confusion. They remembered that she was shot that night at the Sanderville Manor, but it turned out that she survived.
["We'll take care of her, too, Fahook,"] Meeshaka said.
TO BE CONTINUED.