Tales from the Town of Salem
#3: The Price I Pay
The music blared loudly in Salem's biggest nightclub, as strobe lights flashed quickly amongst the crowds of people. The dance floor was completely packed with all types of people, young, old, middle-aged, even young children whom were brought by those who didn't really care too much for parentage. Various alcoholic drinks were scattered amongst the club, in hands, on tables, spilled over the floor, and anywhere else that one might be able to imagine. In short, it was exactly the kind of place that the Bodyguard really didn't find any kind of interest in.
A man in his late fourties, the Bodyguard was a burly man with a bit of hulking frame, and not all of it muscle. His brown, greying hair was neatly combed to the right side, and his brown eyes scanned the club for possible threats. In an attempt to blend in with the crowd, he was wearing decidedly casual attire. A blue hoodie hid his bullet proof vest, and was thankfully long enough to cover his belt loops, which contained the holster for his gun.
Sitting at the bar, he took another sip of his drink, which he had been sure to make sure was non-alcoholic. Next to him, a young lady sat in a man's lap, groping his chest as the both of them laughed uncontrollably, the man spilling his drink. The Bodyguard looked over at the couple for a short minute, then shook his head. Kids... He thought to himself. With a sigh and a shake of his head, he stood from his stool at the bar, and walked towards the door leading to backstage. A man in uniform stood in front of the door, a ballcap with the word Security plastered across it resting on his head. The Bodyguard flashed him an ID, and the Security Guard nodded at him and opened the door for him.
In additon to normal security, the nightclub required the performers have at least one personal guard, just in case of an emergency. Most people believed the practive to be extensive and unneeded, but the Bodyguard found himself in the one percent who actually agreed with the policy. There were some crazy people out there, and he was glad that the nightclub was taking extra precautions to insure the performers' safety. The door closing dulled the noise of music somewhat, though it was still loud enough for the singer to be heard. If that can be classified as singing... The Bodyguard thought to himself.
As he entered the backstage area, he saw four more Security Guards, four performers, and a total of five other guards. Two performers had two guards, the third performer only had one, and the final performer, his performer, currently was alone. The Bodyguard walked past the other performers and their bodyguards, focusing on the one at the very end of the stage. Her brown hair was tied back into a pony tail, and through the mirror he could see her green eyes surrounded by makeup. She had on only a shiny purple top outlined in blue, and a long flowing skirt that reached down to her knees, leaving her mid-section, arms, lower legs, and shoulders completely bare. The performer looked behind her, and smiled.
"Dad! I'm glad I got to talk to you before I went on, how do I look?" His daughter, better known to most of the town as the Escort, asked as she stood up and presented herself. With her mother being a well known actress, Riley had been fascinated by her mother's work even as a young girl, and even followed in her mother's footsteps, becoming a child and teenage star. When she was seventeen, however, she decided it was little too much for her, and settled back down in Salem, taking a job as performer at the comedy club. She still associated herself in bigger productions every once in a while, but not nearly to the same degree. The Bodyguard looked his daughter over with a disapproving glare, then shook his head.
"You look half-naked. Is that seriously what they're making you wear?" He said with as he crossed his arms. Riley laughed and gave her father a playful shove, though he didn't move so much as an inch.
"Come on, lighten up big guy!" She said with a smile. The Bodyguard kept his arms crossed and looked at his daughter with a frustrated look. Does she really not understand what this kind of outfit advertises to young men? He thought to himself as Riley folded her hands together in front of her.
"Don't worry, it's just for tonight anyway." She said with a smile on her face. The Bodyguard sighed and rubbed one his hands through his hair.
"Yeah, I know. I just don't like it when you're made into a sex object." He said. Riley gave him a sympthetic look and opened her arms. The Bodyguard opened up his own arms and Riley walked into them, closing her arms around her father. The Bodyguard hugged his daughter back and gave out another sigh.
"I'm sorry dad. But the Sheriff said that the Godfather might be here tonight. I can't just let him do what he wants, right?" Riley said , still locked into the hug with her father. The Bodyguard closed his eyes and sighed for a third time. He closed his eyes and nodded.
"I know, you're right. I just wish he chose someone else." He replied. Riley pulled away from her father, though she still held onto her forearms, and he held onto hers. Her eyes still carried the full weight of her sympathy, along with her smile.
"Just promise me you'll be careful okay?" He asked. Riley gave a short chuckle, her eyes lighting up.
"I promise. I love you dad." She said. The Bodyguard smiled and gave her a kiss on her forehead.
"I love you too sweetheart." He replied. Riley opened her mouth to say something more, but it was right at that moment the owner of the club decided to put on the girls for the next song. Riley took a deep breath and gave her father a kiss on his cheek before she broke away from him, and joined up with the other performers. A security guard walked up behind the Bodyguard, and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Head out to the front stage. We need you on the lookout for anything out there." The man said. The Bodyguard turned to face him, a thirty something who seemed genuniely concerned about the performers, at least based on the look on his face. The Bodyguard nodded and went for the exit to the backstage. He flashed an ID to another guard, who opened the door for him. As he stepped back into the main area of the nightclub, he noticed it go dark as only a few strobe lights continued to go flash.
"Ladies and gentlemen! For your viewing pleasure, we present to you these absolutely lovely ladies of the night! Say hello to Jasmine, Veronica, Amanda, aaaaand RILEY!" An announcer shouted as a new song began to play. Looking to the stage, the Bodyguard watched as several men and some women began to abandon the dance floor for a better look at the dancers. The performers all slowly walked to the center of the stage, all of them in scanty clothing that left little to the imagination. Ugh... Disgusting... The Bodyguard thought to himself as several of the attendees began to howl and cheer at the girls, more than one of which seemed to be aimed at his daughter. The song continued to grow in intensity, and the Bodyguard knew it could only be bad when the song started with We're the Rebels of the night.
Walking through the mass of people, the Bodyguard made his way to the back of the building, and past several other personal and security guards. Some of them nodded to him, and he nodded to them in return. He settle down and leaned against a back wall as performers gently swayed their hips and other body parts to the music. The Bodyguard could still hear several young people howling with approval, with someone even shouting for the girls to "work it". The Bodyguard shook his head as the song began to grow a little more upbeat, ending in the singer saying Up and Away. At these words, the beat dropped, and the performers, all with smiles on their faces, began to move their bodies in even more provactive ways.
Oh my God... The Bodyguard thought to himself as he rested his head in his palms. He couldn't believe how sexualized these dance moves were. Didn't the owner have any sense of preserving the decency of these girls? He felt filthy watching this. The fact that several people around him were cheering and howling in approval only made him feel even more dirty. Looking back up, the Bodyguard shook his head as he scanned the rest of the club. He nearly finished his scan when he noticed an odd movement on the second floor of the club. Just over the railing, he saw a man in a red jacket carefully observing one of the girls. The Bodyguard squinted and pushed himself off the wall.
Making his way to a set of stairs, the Bodyguard grabbed hold of the handrails as the strobe lights flashed more quickly than ever. People all over the club started dancing along, some of them throwing encouragments to the girls. The Bodyguard ignored this however, focusing instead on the man in the red jacket. He saw him reach down into his pocket for something, and pulled it out, though the Bodyguard could not see what it was. The song worked it's way back to the main part, and the Bodyguard quickly pushed his way through several people.
The man paused for a moment, turning his body, and bringing his hand back up. The Bodyguard noticed a black object in his hand, and wondered just what it was this man had. It was then that he saw a silver flash, and realized that the man had just drawn a large pocket knife. The Bodyguard grew wide eyed, and shoved a young woman out of his way.
"Hey watch it!" She shouted, but the Bodyguard ignored her and rushed towards the man. He drew back the knife and started to aim at someone. The Bodyguard looked back to the stage, and realized that the man was was aiming his knife right at Riley. Upon this relization, the Bodyguard roared in anger, and rushed to the man. Somehow hearing this, the man turned to face him, just in time to see the Bodyguard tackle him to the ground. A couple of people let loose surpised shouts as the Bodyguard pulled back his fist, ready to punch the man. His fist was caught however, and the man headbutted him off of him.
The Bodyguard backed away holding his head, then shook himself clear as a group of people around him backed away, a buslte of chatter coming from them. The Bodyguard focused his attention on the man who had attempted to kill his daughter, only to freeze. The man had two diferently colored eyes, one blue, one green, with unmistakable blonde hair. The Bodyguard knew this person, he was standing face to face with a Serial Killer. Not only that, this one was known for killing young women. To hell with him if he thinks he's touching my little girl... He thought to himself as he grit his teeth. The Serial Killer glared angrily at the man as more disturbed voices joined the mix of music and howling on the floor below.
The Bodyguard roared in anger and rushed towards the Serial Killer, whom stood his ground and waited for the Bodyguard to come to him. The Bodyguard pulled his fist back and, with all his might threw it towards the Serial Killer's face. The man once again caught his fist, and twisted his arm painfully. The Bodyguard gave an agonized scream as the club goers screamed and rushed away from the conflict. The Bodyguard felt the Serial Killer step on top of his arm. Howling in agony, the Bodyguard attempted to rip his arm way. The Serial Killer held firm, and twirled him around, throwing him towards the railing.
The Bodyguard slammed into it, the breath being knocked right out of him. He turned around as fast as he could, and saw the Serial Killer running to regain his lost knife. No you don't! The Bodyguard thought to himself as he rushed to his opponent. He reclaimed his knife and raised it over his head, but the Bodyguard grabbed hold of his arm and kept his arm locked in place. Both men stared at each other with hatred in their eyes, as each of them struggled to gain control in the contest.
The Serial Killer pushed forward, while the Bodyguard pushed against him, leaving in a deadlock stance, neither of them moving in either direction. Finally, the Bodyguard lurched both of them to the right, and they flew over the railing. The Bodyguard threw out his arms as he attempted to break his fall, only to hear a sickening crunch sound. His vision went black for a moment, and the only sounds he could hear were those of horrified screams. Looking up, the Bodyguard saw several security guards rushing over to him, with some of them rushing to the Serial Killer. The Killer quickly got up and threw his knife with deadly accuracy, hititng one of the guards in his neck. Blood gushed out of the guard's fingers as he tried to cover the wound, and the Serial Killer produced another, smaller knife from his second pocket.
Groaning, the Bodyguard attempted to push himself up, and looked up to the stage, seeing the girls being escorted away by the persoanl guards of the other performers. Over their arms, he could see Riley attmepting to shover her way past them. The Bodyguard gave a painful moan as he got up, and placed his hand over his abdomen. Looking back to the Serial Killer, he saw him stab another one of the guards. The Bodyguard began to pull up his jacket, and reached for his pistol. His hand found the handle as the Serial Killer turned to look at him. With a malicious look, the Serial Killer rushed over to him, his second knife at his side. The Bodyguard fumbled with his weapon trying to pull it out in time.
The action came too late, as the Serial Killer sprang upon him, stabbing him below the vest of the Bodyguard.
"DAD!" He could hear Riley scream. The Bodygaurd clenched his teeth as the Serial Killer extracted his knife, and slipped the blood covered blade back into him. And again, the Killer stabbed him, slightly lower this time, then higher. He raised his knife to strike him in his cranium, a malicious smile written across his features.
BANG! The Serial Killer stopped in place, the smile vanishing from his lips. He looked down in horror, seeing that the Bodyguard had raised his weapon to his abdomen. And, based on the fresh blood that was oozing out of his stomach, had fired. BANG! BANG! Came two more shots from the Bodyguard. The Serial Killer backed away, clutching his stomach painfully as he sank to one knee. Fighting through the blurry haze of pain, the Bodyguard rose his handgun to the Killer's head, feeling his strength drain out of him. Gritting his teeth and fighting the pain, the Bodyguard pulled the trigger one last time.
BANG! Sounded the gun. The tip of the Serial Killer's head flew back, a red mist forming as he jerked backward violently, falling to the ground with a silent thud. Panting heavily, the Bodyguard attempted to walk forward, only to driven to the ground, the gun slipping out of his hands. He fell into a pool of his own blood, and felt himself getting weaker and weaker as he heard several people gasping and screaming.
"NO! DAD!" He could hear Riley shout. He heard rapid footsteps approaching, and panted heavily as his vision faded in and out. Suddenly, Riley's face came into view. Tears flew freely down her face, and she was visibly shaking. Her pony tail dangled from the side of her neck, and she placed her hand behind his head. The Bodyguard reached out and grabbed hold of one of her arms. She placed her other hand on his cheek, tears continuing to stream down her face.
"No... No , Dad this can't be happening... Not to you!" Riley shrieked, her voice racked with anguish and sorrow. The Bodyguard coughed a few times and grabbed hold of his daughter tighter.
"Riley... Listen to me..." He said, his voice growing quiet. Riley's eyes grew wide, and she shook her head rapidly. She grabbed hold of her father's hand with hers, and brought it up to her cheek.
"No, Dad, come on... You're gonna be okay,right? W-We just need a Doctor! Someone get a Doctor!" She screamed. The Bodyguard coughed a few more times, and rubbed his daughter's cheek as tears continued to flow out of her eyes. She broke down then, closing her eyes as her body was racked with desperate sobs.
"Please... Dad, you can't die like this..." She said between her sobs. The Bodyguard smiled and attempted to quiet hs daughter, and continued to rub her cheek. She stopped sobbing long enough to open her eyes, tears still streaking her face. The Bodyguard continued to smile at his daughter.
"Riley... I love you... So much..." He said in a quiet voice. His eyes closed, and his hand grew limp in Riley's hand. Riley grew wide eyed, and shook her head slowly.
"Dad?" She said, barely louder than a whisper. The Bodyguard did not respond.
"Daddy?" She said, louder this time. Still, the Bodyguard did not respond.
"DAD!" She screamed as she shook her father. Even with this, the Bodyguard did not respond. Horrified and grief stricken, Riley let go of her father's hand, which fell to his side and hit the ground with a soft thud. Riley began to cry softly, then harder, and harder still until she was sobbing again. She threw her arms around her now dead father, and cried into his chest, as the other occupants of the nightclub stood petrified in horror.
And while this was occuring, not one person noticed as one of the security guards, watching the entire scene, shook his head. No... He thought to himself. This is not the price he pays...