Trigger Warning
Some people seemed to get all sunshine, others get all shadows, and I'm unfortunate enough to be the latter. Fitting since I spent much of my time in the darkness, skulking along with the other degenerates. The metal scaffolding of a fire escape became much too comfortable for the amount of times I've done these stakeouts, curled up with one eye on my target and one on a crossword. The night had long since arrived and the assholes of Hell's Kitchen were on the prowl.
The day was spent hunting down and gleaning information in the good old fashion way of googling and bullshiting. One thing about crime lords, no matter how much they try to stay out of the spotlight, there was always something I could dig up about them. Dimitri Christos may be a charming and successful businessman, but had one hell of a violent history according to a police report from his youthful twenties. Being born into money kept him from prison, lucky him. Combining criminal charges and his ownership of several hotels, and I had one hell of a lead to finding Karen's missing lawyer, especially when my target of the day led me from some posh five star hotel to a sleazy place like the Nymph's Hotel. Creep needed a better imagination that was for sure.
The black sedan rolled up the front of the hotel, catching my attention as Dimitri stepped out, brushing aside nonexistent dirt from his sleeves. Pretentious prick was practically wearing money with that expensive slacks and jacket getup. He would have been mugged had it not been for the pistol handle poking out from under his jacket or that giant of a man walking at his heels. He and his lackey stepped to the hotel's doors without hesitation, slipping inside without the fanfare I saw when he made to do business in his previous establishment. A quick phone call to his naïve secretary at the time was all I needed to know about his visit to Nymph's and plenty of time to get here while he worked.
I folded the puzzle and jammed it into my pocket, sliding down the fire escape as quietly and quickly as possible. Landing on the ground, I ruffled my hair into a tangled mess, opened my jacket to reveal the V-neck beneath, then took a deep swig of the alcohol from my flask. If this hotel was what I suspected it to be, then the best way in would be to look like one of their many victims. As far as they knew, I was just some drunk ass girl looking for a place to crash, exposed and vulnerable to any slimy shithead that I would be unfortunate enough to meet.
Sliding out from the alley, I allowed myself to sway, purposefully angling my boots into a perfect stumbling act. Stretching my mouth into a goofy grin, I crashed into the door, taking a few seconds to fumble with the handle before swinging the door wide and tripping inside. Swerving left and right, I managed to land the top half of my body on the front desk, peering up at the hulking man of a receptionist with the biggest shit-eating grin I could manage.
"Hey there," I slurred my words, making sure to slap my flask in front of me against the counter, "Got any—"I let out a long belch just to drive home the point "—room for me, heh."
The receptionist raised his brow on me, disapproval and disgust clear in those brown eyes. Any other day I would tell him to fuck off, but tonight I ignored it with batting eyelashes and a widening smile.
"I'm sure we have plenty of room for a… lady like you," he said with a smirk, reaching for the phone on the desk.
"Awesome," I giggled before squirming left and right in a little dance and giving him my best pathetic, drunk girl doe eyes. "How much do I owe you?"
"Free of charge. Can't let a girl like you run out in your condition. Go ahead and wait over there and I'll send someone to help you get settled in."
"Oh, thank you! You're such a sweet heart," I purred, letting out another belch. Then I shoved away from the counter and made for the group of cheap plastic chairs set aside for waiting customers.
Slumping into the seat, I allowed my head to loll to the side, giving me a perfect view of the scumbag receptionist. What a load of shit these people were, pretending to give a damn so that they could take advantage of girls who were either too stupid, naïve, or fucked up to know better. By the end of the night, I had a feeling that the lawyer wasn't going to be the only one I try to bust out of here. Fucken great.
I stared at the receptionist as he murmured into the phone, watching me with a predatory gaze and slimy smile. I turned my attention away and towards the lobby. It was just as gross, with cracked tiled floors, leaking ceilings, stained walls, and the sounds of rodents scuttling around out of sight. Even the plastic chair beneath me, with its sickly orange padding, made me want to burn my clothes and shower in scalding water once this was over. After burning this shit hole to the ground of course.
From the hallway down the left of the reception desk another man emerged, as muscled bound as his coworker, the way he eyed me up and down made me want to bash his skull in. Instead, I kept my relaxed form, allowing him to draw closer and reach a grubby hand for my arm.
"Hey-y-y," I smiled, shoving myself up and onto my feet. I took an extra step for balance, flailing my arms around to seem like I was trying to keep balance when in reality It kept the asshole from touching me.
"Good evening, girly," the man smiled, "Your room is all ready for you, come along."
He grabbed me this time, not caring as I tried to struggle out of his grip. Dragging me along, he brought me down the hall and into an old elevator, stepping inside and hitting the button for the fourth floor. I tried to yank my arm from his grasp, using only enough force to make him think I was just some weak little girl to take advantage of. In response, his grip tightened and smile widened as he jerked me to stand in front of him, hands switching so as to allow him to run his fingers down my side. I hoped that was only his gun pressing into me from behind.
"S-Stop," I cried out. It was easy to act nauseated when the feeling was real.
"No whining sweetheart, it ain't going to get you anywhere."
I clenched my eyes shut and gritted my teeth to keep from swinging. Knocking him out here was a bad idea, no matter how much I wanted his paws off my ass. It was a relief when the elevator doors finally opened, revealing a threadbare hallway with rows of doors on either side. The man stopped his groping to shove me forward, frog marching me to the third door on the left. Closing it shut, he threw me onto the queen size bed, falling on top of me and pinning my arms above my head.
Leaning down, his rancid breath overwhelming my senses, he whispered into my ears, "This is how it's going to work, girly. You're our product now. You're going to entertain your guests, do whatever they ask of you, and all that without bitching, got it? Course, you'll need some training," he chuckled, keeping one hand on both my wrists while the other slid down, "and I'll be happy to show you."
"Sure you will, asshole," I snarled, slamming my knee as hard as I could into his crotch.
He let out a strangled gasp as he collapsed, releasing my wrists as I shoved him off and onto the floor. Drawing my jacket tight against me, I shivered for a second when I glanced down at the piece of filth on the floor, giving him a good kick to the rib, satisfied at the resulting cracking sound. Then I reached down, grabbing the gun tucked into his belt and making sure those dazed eyes watched as I bent the muzzle. The man's eyes widened, fear overriding pain as he tried to scramble back. But I didn't give him the chance. Shooting out a hand, I grabbed a good handful of his greasy hair and jerked his head back so that he could get a good look at my pretty pissed off face.
"Much better," I said, flashing him a smile as I continued, "Now, this is how it's going to work, asshole. You answer my question and I don't break every bone in your body."
"Fuck you freak," he spat.
I punched him in the gut. "No thank you, I'm not into scum. Shall we try again?"
The man glowered, "What do you want?"
"How many girls do you have here?"
"I dunno—"
"No lying," I added, giving his head a good shake.
"Like three! That's it, I swear. It's all we got left since that shit went down with Dante and Mason."
"And are they on this floor too."
"N-no, they're Dimitri's girls. They stay in the suite at the top."
"Anyone else you keeping here?"
"No—"
I grabbed him by the collar of his jacket, using that and my grip in his hair to raise him in the air. "Why do I get the feeling that you're lying again."
"I-I'm not l-lying," he gasped, hands grabbing at my wrist as his feet scrambled for the ground. "That's the o-only pr-product here."
"What about someone who isn't one of your products?"
"J-Just one, some guy."
"Where?"
"The b-boss's with him t-two floors up, below the top where the s-suite is."
"Thank so much for the help," I said before slamming his head into the nearest walls.
He crumpled to the ground, out cold and another search through the room allowed me to find a pair of handcuffs among other sex paraphernalia in the dresser drawer. I snapped it in place around the guy's wrist, threaded it through the bedframe, then locked it around his other wrist. I then grabbed one of the ball gags, wrapping it around his head as tight as I could make it. With the receptionist thinking this guy was busy having his way with me, there should be plenty of time for me to get those girls and the lawyer and get out before anyone knew any better.
Straightening my clothes and swiping my hair from my face, I fought the urge to take another drink from the flask. When I get out of here, I'm going to get plastered at some bar with Karen footing the bill. She owed me after going through this shit.
I stalked out the room, glancing up and down the hall for anyone I needed to bullshit, but this floor was near empty aside from the two hotel patrons exiting their room. I waited until the couple disappeared into the elevator before pressing the button to summon it myself. As I stood waiting, I considered my options. My gracious host said Dimitri was busy with some guy, the one I suspected to be Matt. If I tried to go after him first, there was no guarantee I could get to the other three girls. And if I tried to help those girls, it may possibly screw Matt over in return. Damnit.
I stepped into the open elevator, slamming a fist against the button for the top floor, glaring at the numbers flashing above the door while the elevator jerked up. I needed to be quick, get these girls out and safe then go straight for Matt.
The elevator doors slid open, showing three doors in a short hallway; two leading to the suites and one for the fire escape. I knocked down the first door, the one closest to the elevator on my left, revealing a small living room ahead and a kitchenette to the left. As I stepped inside, keeping on alert, I searched the room for the three girls. The kitchen and living room was empty, but the hallway to the right was promising. The first door revealed a small bathroom with the basic sink, toilet, and mirror setup. Passing a closet, I went through the door at the end and into the master bedroom beyond where I found the girls.
Two of them sat at a small table against the wall on the opposite end of the room, wrists handcuffed to the armrest of the wooden chairs. The third laid in the bed, another pair of handcuffs connecting one wrist to the metal headboard of the bed, her eyes glazed and staring unfocused on the white walls beyond. Clad in nothing but skimpy tank tops and shorts, all three looked haggard with tired eyes with deep bruises beneath. The two at the table watched her with wide eyes, shrinking into their chairs as if they could melt into the background and out of sight.
I went slow, not wanting to scare them any more than they already were. Approaching, I whispered reassurances while I reached a hand for the first girl, wrapping my fingers on either side of the cuff and wrenching the jaws open. The girl jerked back, knotted hair falling in front of her face as she leaned down to stare at her raw wrist, one hand rubbing at the sore. I moved on to the other two, releasing each of them the same way. Helping the one up on the bed, I tried to snap her out of whatever trance she was in.
"T-They gave her something."
"Well, she's needs to get moving," I said, telling the girl who spoke up. "and you three need to go and take the fire escape out."
"But they're going to come after us," the second whimpered.
"Don't worry, they're going to be distracted with something else."
I shoved the girl from the bed, helping the other two support her before leading them out of the suite. Pushing them through the emergency exit door, I watched them carefully step onto the metal frame outside, shivering when their lack of decent clothing did nothing to protect them from the chill. While the three began to descend, the girl who first spoke stopped and turned around to watch me as I allowed the door to close between us.
"Thank you so, so much," she said seconds before the door slid shut.
I smiled. Then shook my head. I don't need any damn encouragement for this type of shit. This was going to be the last time. No more sob stories, no matter how much the client looked like the ghosts of my past. Hitting the button for the second to last floor, I mentally prepared for the shit show that awaited me.
The doors opened to another hallway and more doors. Only this time I wasn't lucky enough for another empty hallway. There was a huge man, the same one who had entered the hotel earlier with Dimitri, that spotted me from where he stood guarding the first door to my right. I ran forward, swinging my arm at him and flung him into the nearest wall. It was enough to knock him out, his body leaving a nice dent in the wall. With him out, I slammed the door open, knocking it off its hinge to reveal the gutted hotel room beyond. It was cleared of all furniture, leaving only a single metal chair at the center below a naked bulb. Occupying the seat was a figure clad in a rumpled suit, slumped over with head hanging against his chest, a mess of brown hair crusted together with the rusted color of dried blood. His arms was drawn behind him, wrists handcuff together and each leg tied to the chair by rope. My body relaxed, my arms dropping from their ready position and to my sides. I was expecting Dimitri to attack me, not the lawyer I was searching for.
I should have known better than to think it would be this easy.
My leg gave out beneath me, searing pain piercing through my thigh as my ear caught the too loud sound of a gunshot. Vision blurring, I let out a snarl and ignored the pain to push myself back on my feet, twisting around and slinging an arm towards the nearest body. My attack didn't land, not when my whole body stiffened into spasms as thousands of volts of electricity raced through me from the bullshit that was a taser to the chest. I tried to push past the pain again. Didn't work, not when the douchebag hit me twice more, enough to drag me into the world of unconsciousness.
AN: Have another chapter. Matt finally shows up, kinda?
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Until the next update.