20. Working Girl
Chapter 20
Working Girl
T he Pink Pussy - Las Vegas, Nevada
April 17, 2018
(4 Days Before Death)
The backstage area was a stark contrast to the glitzy pink and lavender illuminated front part of the club. Sonya found the black walls of the corridor, ceiling, and floor almost coffin-like in its dimly lit claustrophobia. The working girls who toiled over their preparations for the nighttime customers filled the darkness with their murmurs. The Pink Pussy was one of the few clubs that never opened during the day. It was a sundown joint, from sun-down to sunup only, which added to its allure and exclusivity, attracting a particular type of member.
Sonya reached the double doors. She took a deep breath before she pushed them open and stepped inside. A tall, stern-looking woman, who appeared to be expecting her, greeted her. The burly woman led her to a small, worn locker.
“This is yours,” the woman said in a strong Russian accent. “Put stuff here. Keep locked. Sophie don’t tolerate slackers, so be on best behavior.”
“That is fine,” Sonya agreed. She placed her bag in the locker and secured it. As she turned, a group of girls approached. Their faces a mixture of curiosity and caution. They were of all ethnicities, some looking too old for the profession and others too young.
“You’re the new girl, right?” A petite blonde in Daisy Duke shorts and a pink tube top asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Yes, I’m Sonya,” she replied and tried to sound unbothered. Their innocent curiosity reminded her of the girls she once led to clubs like this, then fed to men who were the worst in the community. Innocent at first, dark shadows of themselves after. The comparison made her stomach clench.
“Listen,” another girl said, her eyes darted around with nervous energy. “You need to be careful around Sophie. She’s... different. Some girls who cross her end up… gone.”
“Damn, Gina! Would you shut up? She just got here. Why would you tell her that?” said another girl, older than the others. She popped the gum in her mouth and extended her hand. Her hair was yellow, and so were her nails and the thong bikini she wore. “Name’s Bambi. Welcome to the Den.”
“Den?” Sonya asked and shook her hand.
The girls chuckled.
“Yeah, that’s what we call it. It’s our safe space. Look,” Bambi nodded up. Sonya glanced at the security cameras. “Big brother is always watching but can’t come in and play. One of Sophie’s rules. Over there is Greta. She’s the den manager. She’ll leave you alone and keep the weirdos from getting in, but once you’re on that stage, it’s every girl for herself, you know?”
Sonya nodded.
“Hey…. I know you. I saw your videos on YouTube. You’re Seraphina. Creole Seraphina, right? You do the handstands on the pole. Wow! I heard Sophie drop your name a week ago. I really like how you work. Wish I could’ve seen you do your thing out there.”
“Why didn’t you girls come out and watch me perform?” Sonya asked. “I have a routine we could do that could include you. Ever try three on three on the pole?”
The girls exchanged glances. A few looked excited, but none of them asked about the opportunity. Several walked away. Bambi pointed to a sign on the wall. Sonya looked over.
“Sophie’s Ten Commandments,” Bambi explained. “I suggest you learn them. Rule three forbids girls to team up or perform together. Hey, where are you staying? Me and Tootie got a place close. You can crash with us?”
“One show and I’m out. Just a guest appearance for the big announcement of the new club,” Sonya told her.
“Oh? Yeah. That place. Gives me the creeps.” Bambi shuddered.
“Why?” Sonya asked.
“It was an old factory where many workers burned to their death. Sophie wants to turn it into a club. Weird.”
Darkness attracts Darkness…
Sonya ignored the voice in her head.
“Well, since we’re giving warnings, I’ll give you the best one. Sophie is harmless; she’s tough, but she keeps this place clean and helps the girls. Most of them have horror stories about how they ended up in Vegas until Sophie found them. Yeah, now and then some girls go missing. But this is Vegas. That’s not Sophie’s fault, right?” Bambi asked.
“Right,” Sonya mumbled.
“There’s only one problem. And his name is Shakespeare. He loves the new girls. Avoid him. No matter what, resist any temptation to even speak to him. Check out rule number six and remember that one most of all.” Bambi winked and walked away. The girls went back to fixing wigs on mannequins and stitching costumes. Sonya walked over to the sign and read Sophie’s rules:
1.Tardiness Is Not Tolerated
2. All personal items remain locked in the locker.
3. Every girl is for herself. No partnerships.
4.Fees Collected M-W-Sat
5. Day Hours are Den Hours / Night Hours Work Hours
6.Do Not Speak to Shakespeare EVER!
7.Contract Irreversible
8.Permission for Privileges
9.Stealing Not Tolerated
10. Cellphones Remain in Lockers
Sonya glanced back at the women. The few who looked her way had plastic smiles on their faces. It was their eyes that showed them either to be enchanted into doing sex work or terrified to reveal their authentic emotion. She glanced at the cameras focused on them and understood why.
There was no humor to match the fake smiles. No minor arguments or taunts. No music to get the girl’s hyped. Just a dull routine among them.
Before she could ask questions, a wave of nausea hit her hard. She stumbled back and placed her hand to her mouth to keep from vomiting. Sonya looked for the bathroom. She spotted the symbol for ‘woman’ over a door. She ran for it. Several girls’ brows rose in alarm, but their smiles did not dim. Greta didn’t even glance up. And no one followed. In the Den, it was every girl for herself.
Once inside, she went to the first stall and dropped to her knees, vomiting until she dry heaved. She coughed and hacked, which left her weak and faint. She closed her eyes and prayed for release. Inside the bathroom, she soaked in the pain. A power which the guardian had gifted to her when entering her soul.
Sonya had several flashbacks of terrified girls, running to stalls and crying, some even praying, all of them looking for an escape. The fear and pain of their lives as strippers at the Pink Pussy went over her like a tidal wave.
There was no defense.
Sonya? Sonya, do not take it in at once. Sonya? Hear me Sonya?
She opened her eyes, her body slumped against the stall wall. Sweat poured down her face, and her skin burned from an internal fever.
Sonya. You are okay if you absorb the pain slowly, not at once. Come. It’s time we talked.
“What? Come where?” Sonya said to no one.
Her eyelids fluttered but could not remain open. Disoriented, she reached and touched the toilet. She caught a breath and saw her surroundings. Vomit was everywhere. Had she gotten the flu? Sonya struggled to her feet and flushed. She did her best to snatch off tissue from the roll and clean up her bile. Dizzy but able to walk, she stumbled out of the stall to the sink. She turned on the water, and clarity returned. The bathroom was small, with only three stalls and two sinks, but it was tidy.
Are you better now?
Sonya’s head shot up. Her reflection greeted her. It stared back at her in its purest form. She had never seen herself as beautiful. She thought she was cute and sexy, but never beautiful. The woman she had become bloomed into a renewed identity. Not by the conventional standards of long hair, or certain Euro-centric features. Only in the natural sense. A clear, unmarred natural beauty. The real her.
Hello Sonya. Now we meet. I’m Kaida.
“Oh, umm, hi,” Sonya said.
The vomit is normal. To purge the darkness, you have to do so both physically and metaphysically. It will take some time. This place feeds off the old you.
“Yeah, tell me about it,” she mumbled.
I would not have connected with you so abruptly, but we are out of time. Dolly and Darlene are in trouble.
“Something has happened?”
Yes. Something will continue to happen if we are not intentional in our actions. So, we must change plans once more. It is unfortunate that I will ask this of you. Know that. I may not have chosen you to be my vessel, but I now understand why the universe did. I, too, need to be worthy of you, Sonya. Because you are worthy of me.
“What do you need me to do?” Sonya asked in a wary tone.
The consiglieri Shakespeare will see your performance. I will join you for the show, and when I do, he will pick up on your scent and know not just who you are, but what you are.
“A guardian?”
That is correct, my child. One from the Chosen, and one his Draca would have wanted and desired as food or mate but could never have. Do you hear me, Sonya? The consiglieri have a deep-rooted blood lust for Guardians. And we can be tempted, too. So be strong.
“No. We agreed that was not the way we would handle this. Nzinga said to be discreet until we get the information we need and then gain access in secret to rescue Dolly?—.”
None of that matters now. The Brothers are reuniting at the Bellagio. Supernatural’s are plotting against the vampires and may strike as well. You will need to act. Fight. Tonight. Defend yourself but allow Shakespeare to take you in. Liora cannot serve the sisters without my help. She is doing her very best to keep them safe. But they have picked up her scent. It is a matter of time before they seize her. And we must be with her when they do. We must join them. Now.
“But why? What has changed so fast?”
Vittorio hasn’t picked up on the twins’ existence. But there is another player here we did not consider. A force as strong as his, hurting you. We are not sure why he hasn’t acted yet.
“Charmaine said there was someone watching us when we arrived at the Circus Circus hotel. She said she could feel his hatred. It spooked her,” Sonya said.
There is so much I must teach you, but we have no time. Whoever it is, my instinct says he will come tonight for you as well. So, you perform as planned. Change into the clothes you packed the moment you leave the stage. Take the back door exit. One of Nzinga’s people will leave it open for you. Escape through the alley to the street. Shakespeare will pursue. And I will protect you. We will defend each other. Do you understand?
“What about Sophie? She will pick up on my scent as well. What if she comes after us?” Sonya asked.
We cross that bridge when we come to it. If we cannot use Shakespeare, then it ends for him tonight. If Sophie gets in the way, it ends for her tonight. I don’t wish that for Sophie. Her suffering is the greatest thing I’ve felt since I entered this world. But I have no time to save her. The Bellagio is your mission. The only mission.
The house manager’s voice crackled over the intercom. “Creole Seraphina, report to the office.”
Sonya looked up at the speaker in the bathroom. “I’ve got to go. They probably want me to sign the contracts.”
I am with you. Trust your instincts. And do your best not to absorb the pain of others.
“But how? I didn’t do it unintentionally….”
It is through your touch. When you entered the bathroom and knelt where others had knelt and touched the walls, you picked up on their aura and absorbed their stories. Don’t touch others. Especially Shakespeare. He carries too much pain for you to understand. It could harm and weaken us both.
“Can I ask you a question? Why are you constantly inflicting pain on me? The headaches, the vomiting… why?”
I am in defense of the pain that comes for you. You are the one inflicting the pain on yourself when you disbelieve in the light. Trust yourself and forgive yourself. You will find the transition more agreeable if you do.
She was gone.
The door opened, and Greta walked in.
“You come! Now!” Greta demanded.
Sonya nodded and followed. They stopped to get her license and then continued. She did as she was told. When they entered the dark corridor, the unearthly shrill shrieking of a captive girl greeted Sonya. She froze. Every muscle in her body tightened. Two men carried in a screaming, feral young black woman who fought for release. Every fiber of Sonya’s being wanted to intervene, but thanks to her guardian’s lesson, she held back the impulse. She did possess a power. The young woman was from New Orleans. Her name was Rachel. And she was now a vampire.
It is too late for the young one. Only twenty-two years old and now cursed with the Draca like Sophie. I sense Lucio is responsible for this terrible act.
“Why would Lucio do that to her?” Sonya asked.
He has a habit of acting impulsively, and those around him that he senses are pure often suffer because of it. The Draca corrupts him and turns his pain and longing to be normal and good into some of the most terrible acts. If he were ever free of it, he’d be a better man and worthy of the twins. But that is not his destiny. The darkness, no matter how much Dolly and Darlene try to prevent it, will consume him. He was born for it.
“Are you sure? I am healing from my darkness. I am becoming a better person,” Sonya thought.
I don’t have all the answers, only history and my experience in the realm. I have never seen a Draca calmed by the love of the Chosen. That is why the consiglieri, and guardians suffer because they can mate, but it never ends well when they do. Dolly and Darlene are different. Perhaps there is a way through Julia Brown’s curse. But we may not have the time to discover it.
“Come! Now!” Greta ordered.
Sonya nodded and followed, the girl weeping and begging for her Master to feed her echoed in her ears. Screams of thirst filled the air, and Sonya fought to block out the sounds of her suffering.