Chapter 11: Angel's Day Out

The vibrations of his phone on the nightstand roused Angel Dust from his dreamless slumber.

'*Sigh* Damn it.'

He was having a good sleep, but of course, this is hell.

'So it had to end.'

He checked the time before moving to get up, 5:30. With grim reluctance he slowly rose from his comfy spot beside his girlfriend and blearily prepared for the day. He knew he had to head out right away, but not before leaning over and planting a little kiss on his moth's cheek.

No one but no one was awake this early, even the walking bar had turned in hours ago. He didn't bother to get himself an eye opener as he stepped out into the warm morning air, the fresh breeze helping to rouse him somewhat. As he walked he needed something to do, so he went over last night's texts with Cherry. She wanted to meet up sometime today for some trouble, to which he replied that he probably couldn't.

That had made her mad, he had been working non stop lately, when was he going to make some time for his best buddy? Angel hated doing this to Cherry almost as much as he hated doing it to Vaggie, but so long as that purple ball and chain was around his ankles he didn't have a choice. To save some face, he kept the possibility of meeting up later in the day on the table, even if that time would be crumbs compared to what Val took.

As he walked to one of his usual corners he stopped by red castle for breakfast. It was going to be another long day, and he needed the energy. The food wasn't great, as could be said for any given fast food joint in the inferno, but it usually gave him what he needed to get through the morning. Usually. He tuckered in as he walked, throwing away the empty bag as he reached one of his usual corners.

The first john of the day pulled up quickly and after a brief exchange he got into the car.

One Hour Later

The spider straightened his clothes with one set of hands while counting his take with the second. In the past few weeks he had gotten pretty good at calculating how much he needed to take in in a day to hopefully keep his boss satisfied, and he could already see from this first john that working this part of town wouldn't be enough. He got pretty steady work here, but he could tell that no matter how many jobs he did, the amount he got wouldn't make this day worthwhile.

So, changing tactics, he decided to hit up the rich side of town again. After taking a minute to make sure he looked presentable, he started his journey. Making good time, he was almost to the edge of the wealthier districts when a passing car splashes him with runoff as it flies passed.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH! WHEN I GET AHOLD OF YOU I'M GONNA MAKE YOU SHIT TEETH FOR A WEEK!"

Fuck! A single glance at himself confirmed his fears. The outfit was ruined, and famous porn star or no, if he stepped into the rich side of town looking like this, the least that was likely to happen was get his skull cracked open with a billy club. Fuuuuuuuuuuuck! Now he had no choice but to go back to the Hotel! How much time would that cost him, and if he ran into Vags- He didn't want to think about that. With no other choice he took off at a jog, making a beeline for his room.

Some time later the entrance was finally in sight. He stood at a distance as he considered what he wanted to do. While he could just go in and change, if he just walked on in he would definitely get an earful form Vaggie and probably one from Charlie too. If he went in from the side entrance he could sneak around and try to avoid everyone. But there were no guarantees, and he never knew when Nifty might come zipping through. That left sneaking around the outside and going through the window. Eh, not the best plan, but one that gave the best chance of going unnoticed.

Wasting no time he started to slink around the side of the building, being as quiet and unnoticeable as possible until he found his window.

"Come on stupid screen, just pop off so I can get in and change."

"What do you think your doing?"

"GAH!"

Yelped the spider as a dimly familiar voice spoke up behind him.

"Jesus Hardtack, give a guy a heart attack why don't you!"

"Mr. Dust, what are you doing trying to pry open the window like that? That's a good way to ruin the screen."

"Look tin man, I was just tryin' to get into my room so I can change outa' this mess."

"Going through the window?"

…

"*Sigh* I'm gonna level with you Hardshell. I know I'm not supposed to be doin' this but I got no choice. If I go in through the front entrance Charlie and Vags both are gonna tear my head off because of my hittin' the streets, and the insane hours I gotta do it. But I don't do this shit for my health, If I don't keep my boss happy it'll be my ass on the barby. And if I don't get outta these clothes and into some rich dipshit's bed A.S.A.P. I guarantee things are gonna be a lot worse than they are now. Got it?"

Considering his words for a few moments, Tafford responds by withdrawing a multi tool from one of his pouches and effortlessly popping off the screen. He then raises the window without damaging it, opening the way for Angel Dust.

"I'm not helping you any more than that. I won't mention this to the captain or the commander, but if they ask, I'm not gonna lie."

Angel smiles at this before responding

"Well, well, well, lookit' that. The tin man had a heart after all."

"I'm not ignorant of how life is in the inferno. Nor am I a stranger to doing whatever it takes to survive. Now, I need to get back to my patrol. This never happened."

As Angel Dust gave his agreement the armored man walked off, leaving the slender arachnid to hop up and into the room. Quickly stripping out of his soiled suit he washed up a little before changing into a fresh outfit. He almost made it back out the window before a certain grey moth opened the door.

"Angel?!"

"Ah shit."

Before his agitated lover could say anything else he dropped the short distance to the ground and began running, his girlfriend's frenzied yelling chasing him all the while. He didn't want to run out on her like this but he had neither the desire nor the time to listen to her bitch a fit. He ran until he got a few blocks away from the hotel and called a cab to take him into the wealthier districts. It ate just about all his morning's profits but he arrived quickly and with no chance of being splashed again.

Wasting no time he got straight to work, lining up several lucrative jobs back to back, landing him a nice stack of cash in short order. At last things were going swimmingly for the pale spider until, all too soon, things would come to an end in the worst way possible. Several hours into this gainful stint he felt his phone vibrate and a pang of dread wash over him. Taking it from his pocket and looking to the screen revealed a text from his boss.

'Angel, get your ass back to the studio. I want my money.'

SHIT! He hadn't been expecting to hear from Val until tomorrow at the earliest! He would've had the money then, but even bringing it in hand over fist like he had been, he wasn't sure if today's take alone would be enough. But with how Val's mood had been lately it wasn't a smart move to keep him waiting.

With no other option he began his slow walk back to the studio, and hoped he could pick up a quicky or two along the way. Time seemed to go by at a crawl as anxiety and dread rose up within him in equal measure. He kept looking for johns on his way to the studios, not in any rush to reach his destination. Unfortunately his string of good luck seemed to have run out, as the streets and alleyways were either bare or filled with the disinterested. Many emotionally agonizing blocks later the neon sign of porn studios came into view.

'Damn. Well, let's get this over with.'

Thought Angel Dust as he made his approach. Stepping through the front doors he entered the lobby. A roughly oval shaped room that was fairly bare bones and probably the cleanest part of the whole building. A receptionist desk stood In the center of the room, manned by a camera demon that Angel Dust had a passing familiarity with.

"He's waiting for you in his office."

"Yeah, thanks."

Stepping through the doors to the left his senses were once again assaulted by a wide array of sensual stimuli. Grunts, moans, and whines, the harsh glow of neon and stage lights, and a million smells he didn't want to identify all assailed him as he picked his way passed cast, equipment, and crew alike. As he walked down the long hallway to the elevators he passed by studio after studio all doing different shoots simultaneously. He was sure he had been in every one of them at some point, but after so many years the memories had all blended together.

Along the walls hung framed posters of some of the biggest pornos they had ever released, all of it gaudy and tasteless. On he trudged passed break rooms, storage rooms, and a startling lack of janitor's closets, finally arriving at the end of the hallway. The elevator stood before him, pressing a button he entered and punched in his code for the executive floors. Even the elevator seemed to move inordinately slow as Angel Dust's foreboding came to a head as the lift finally stopped.

Val's office was directly ahead and it was all he could do to approach and,

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

"Angel, come in."

Ordered the voice on the other side. Opening the door found Valentino reclining in his oversize office chair, a trail of pink smoke wafting over it's back.

"Sit down."

As the nervous spider took a seat in one of the chairs before his boss's desk, he wondered how many times he had sat here before. There was the same deep purple shag carpeting, the same wall of glass on the far side of the room, same curtains to match the carpet (Giggity). The striped purple and black wallpaper hadn't changed, neither had the wet bar to his left or the TV that practically took up the whole wall to his right. The ebony desk that sat directly in front of him completed the set, tying the room together nicely.

"Now Angel baby, you have something for me?"

"Yes Mista' Valentino"

He said as he threw the entire stack he had taken in that day onto the desk. Only then did the slimy pimp turn to face his slave, snatching the stack off the desk without a moments delay. After a second of flipping it through his fingers he sneered,

"This feels light."

Fuck! Angel Dust was worried this would happen.

"*Sigh* Angel, now you know I've been more than patent with you. I put up with you playin' around with that firecracker in all those little turf wars of hers. I put up with all that redemption hotel bullshit the princess has going on. I even put up with you not comin' in to work for the passed SIX MONTHS! Hell, I even let you keep that little old bug that wondered into your web and now you bring me THIS!

He sighed again, calming himself.

"Angel, Angel, Angel. And after I put up with all of that, you have the balls to come in here and put this tiny, pitiful little sum on my desk? At this point your making an ass out of you and me. How am I supposed to deal with this?"

"V-Val, you know-"

"SHUT! I know, what your gonna say next. Your gonna whine and squirm and make all these cotton candy promises about how your gonna make it up to daddy. But not one of those promises will involve the one thing I've wanted from you for weeks now. So if your not gonna get back on the set or the pole, then get on those streets until you can bring me something worth my time."

"R-Really? That's it?"

"Yeah, that's it. Now get out of my sight until you bring me some real money."

"O-Okay. Thank you, Mista' Valentino."

Angel Dust said as he quickly rose and extricated himself from the room. Valentino stared at the door for a few hard seconds while lighting another cigarette. He took a puff before rising from his seat and walking to the elevator, punching in the code to go to the penthouse. When he arrived Vox was there doing something on a laptop. The technology demon watched as he poured himself a drink before sitting down near him.

"What's eating you? You look like your about to skin some extras alive."

"I am done."

"With what? You forget that I'm not a mind reader -tino."

"Angel. I brought him in today and he had the audacity to show up with some paltry little pittance! You know how much he put on my desk? Three Gs, three. Not even half of what he would've made me in a single shift."

"Shit, I can see why you would be pissed after that. But it's not like he's never had a lean take before, what makes this time so special?"

"Because before he wasn't screwin' out on his shifts for a full SIX MONTHS! He didn't always bring in enough workin' the streets, but he always made it up in front of the camera. Until now."

"Well, can't you have him make it up to you now? A few weeks in the studio should have him paid up just fine."

"No."

"No? What do you mean no?"

"If I sent him down to work off his debt like he should that slut would just find a way to slip out. He's done it before, didn't matter how much security I put on the floor either. And I got better things to do than waste my time babysitting his ass."

The TV headed demon stared at his occasional lover and longtime business partner for a few hard seconds. Everything he had said was true, but he knew the overlord of prostitution long enough to perceive there was something else bothering him.

"But that's not everything, is it. Tino, I've known you for long enough to know when something's up, so what aren't you telling me?"

"I've been goin' over this shit in my head, tryin to figure out why he would work himself to death on the streets rather than just come in for his regular shift. And the only reason I can come up with, is the little princess's hotel. All that crap about 'redemption' and 'friendship' might be garbage, but stayin' at our dear princess's flop house is fillin' his head with bullshit."

Vox took a second to absorb that statement before concluding,

"Hmm, you could be right about that. So, what are you gonna do about it? Slippery bastard that he is, there's ways of keeping Angel here. If his staying at that hotel is such a big problem why let him leave?"

"Because Voxy, It's not enough to keep him here making my money, he needs to learn a lesson. I'm about to teach him that it doesn't matter where he goes or what kind of hangups he has, that bitch is MINE. When I say he's in a picture, he' gonna be in front of that camera, when I say dance, he better get his ass on the floor. He needs to re-learn the lesson that he is my property."

"And I can get him anytime, anywhere."

Elsewhere

On a rooftop in a different part of the city two figures sat on the ledge of an abandoned building, an empty pizza box and several beer cans between them. Gazing out at everything and nothing at all, a serious discussion was taking place. One that the taller slander figure was not eager to have.

"Angie you can't keep doing this to yourself, I mean, have you had ANY time off since that party for the hotel's big opening?"

"Can't, I have to keep bringing it in for ol' numb nuts in his ivory fucking tower."

"Seriously!? There has to be a better way to satisfy that greasy pig! You can't keep going on like this or your gonna wear yourself out! And by the looks of it, sooner than later."

"Cherr believe me I'd love to, but the only ways I eva' earned serious money is by working my ass in the streets, or workin' it in the studio, and I ain't doin' that."

"Wha- Is THAT what this is about! Just go back to the studio you fucking idiot! I know life wasn't all sunshine and roses when you were starring in Val's latest gang bang or up on the pole, but at least you weren't working yourself to death!"

"I can't go back to the studio."

"Why not!?"

"Because of Vaggie! I know she hates it when I go out working the streets, but she hates it even more when I go to that studio! I seen her face whenever she watched an ad for my latest picture, or saw tickets to one of my shows. She was mad, and sad, but more than that she was disappointed! I can't do that to her again."

"Angie, I know you care a lot about your G.F., and she hates it when you go in, but she's gonna hate it a hell of a lot more if she finds you dead from exhaustion in a ditch somewhere!"

"I know! But this is the only way. It's not just about Vags either. Aside from you, Charlie is one of my only real friends. How would things look for her and her hotel if I just keep putting out those pictures?"

"Yeah but, trading pornos and pole dances for doin' it with any old loser who pays you is a pretty damn lateral move."

"Yeah, your right. But what else is there Cherry? What else can a guy with my skills do?"

There was a lull in the conversation as Cherry Bomb considered this. A few moments later she returned with,

"Why don't you just, stay at the princess's hotel? It looks pretty safe, and Valentino wouldn't be dumb enough to come after you in a place run by the radio demon. And the princess I guess."

"Tempting. If only I had a dollar for every time Vags told me to do just that. But I know, I KNOW, if I did that Val would just come in and drag me outta there, radio demon or no. And if he did that, I may never see the outside again. So, one way or another, I am royally fucked."

…

"*Sigh* Angie, you know it can't go on like this. Even if you could keep this up, what kind of life is this? Sooner or later something's going to give. What's going to happen when it does?"

Angel Dust lit a cigarette and took a long drag before answering.

"I don't know Cherry."

"I just don't know."