31
The bar looks like a war zone. Overturned tables, chairs on the floor, shattered glasses everywhere and drinks spilled all over the place. I glance towards the staircase, but I can’t make myself go upstairs. I walk over to the connecting door of the strip club, peek inside and also there, it looks like a war zone.
The place is empty and there’s no sign of Ralph. I hear the entrance door slam and crouch down to hide by the counter. My heart is pounding so wildly it feels like it will explode. I raise my head slightly and peek over.
“Charlie!” I cry in relief and stand up.
“Elena?” he looks at me, surprised. “You want to give me a heart attack?” He puts his hand on his chest and exhales noisily. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Looking for Ralph,” I reply, and feel the anxiety taking over me again.
“Yeah, I can’t get him on the phone,” he says, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen the huge man look so upset.
“I couldn’t either.” I pick up a barstool and sit down. “Wait a minute, didn’t they arrest you?”
“Yeah, they did.” He starts washing the glasses in the sink, as if that’s the most important thing to do right now. “But they let me go after a couple of hours. I’m just a bartender.” He winks at me, but I can still see the tension on his face.
“They’ll probably release Liam soon also, right?” I ask hopefully.
“They’re not going to let your boyfriend out so quickly.” He washes another glass and sets it down to dry.
“He’s not my boyfriend,” I say in confusion as I suddenly realize that we’ve never actually defined our relationship.
Charlie laughs and then grows serious as he waves a threatening finger at me. “And that’s exactly what you need to tell them if they question you too.”
“What a mess.” I prop my elbows on the counter and hold my head in despair.
“Bigger than you think.” He puts a bottle of water in front of me. “We need to pray that the crazy German turns up before midnight.”
“Why midnight?” I look at my cellphone and see that it’s already eight in the evening.
“Because the predators will move in at midnight and the bar will have new owners.”
“What?” I sit up, shocked. “What does that mean? Why midnight? Who are the predators? What exactly will happen?” I remember what Liam said to me over the phone, and now I realize how bad the situation is.
“Hey, stay cool.” He opens the bottle and offers it to me. I take a slow sip, but my anxiety won't go. “There are clear rules in our world,” he starts to explain as he continues to wash the glasses. “As soon as the owners disappear from the business, anyone can walk in and take over.”
I feel a lump in my throat. “But the owners haven’t disappeared. The owners will get out soon and come back here.”
“There’s a code of honor that allows the owners to return within 24 hours. That ends at midnight and that’s when the party begins.”
“And that’s why we need Ralph here?” I ask.
“Yeah,” Charlie sighs. “Only the German can save us now.”
The door opens again, and I whip my head around hysterically. The twins walk in, shake their heads and sit down at one of the tables with gloomy faces. The tall brunette comes in as well, looks around, groans and sits down with the twins.
“They let them out, too?” I ask Charlie.
“The police know they’re just hookers. Nobody’s interested in them. They’re not the ones they’re looking for.”
“What a mess,” I repeat and put my head back in my hands. The door opens again and again, and more girls come inside. Even the connecting door to the club is wide open now, and girls I recognize from my evening at the club with Ralph walk through it and sit with our girls.
“What should we do?” I ask when two hours go by and there is no sign of Ralph.
“Keep praying’,” Charlie answers and starts sweeping behind the counter.
“What exactly will happen at midnight?”
“Groups will start coming in. Whoever takes over gets the bar.”
“What groups?”
“The Russians, the French, the Italians.”
“The Italians?” my eyes widen in fear. “But there’s a ceasefire.” I hope I’ll get a different answer from him than the one I got from Liam.
“A ceasefire is all about the war, not about taking over an abandoned business.” Unfortunately, I get the same exact answer, and I lay my head down on the counter, exhausted.
“Will they all come together?” I cringe as I remember what I read about the gangs in the city.
“Not exactly.” He wrinkles his forehead. “If they come together, they’ll all kill each other. They decided on some kind of order at the last organization heads’ meeting. It changes all the time.” He is silent for a moment and then he laughs bitterly. “It’s our turn to go first—”
“Then I have to get out of here.” I sit up and feel dizzy. “The Italians want to kill me. They’ll do terrible things to me.”
“You can’t really run.” Charlie says dryly. “You’d better stay here and keep praying that Ralph shows up.”
“Pray?” I shout. “I’m no good at praying. I need to understand things; I need to deal with reality and try to fix it.”
“It’s all in the German’s hands now,” he declares sadly, and I see Johanna making her way inside. I jump up and run over to her.
“What a mess,” she mumbles and hugs me, my eyes fill with tears.
“It’s a real mess, Johanna,” I say as I tighten my arms around the only ray of light I see right now.
“I was arrested,” she says nervously. “I explained who I am, but they found the white powder and left me in that filthy place for hours.”
“You poor thing,” I stroke her golden hair. “And it’s much worse than you think.” I pull her over to sit with me at the bar and look at the time fearfully. a half hour passed. I tell Johanna about everything that happened and what's going to happen, and she looks as confused as I feel.
“Charlie, what will happen to all the people who work here when there are new owners?” I ask and groan.
“We’ll continue working here,” he shrugs and pours himself a drink. “I don’t know exactly what’ll happen and I don’t want to think about it right now.”
“Everyone will continue like nothing happened?” I ask and Johanna looks at me in a panic. She sets out a line on the countertop, rolls up a dollar bill and sniffs the powder over my protests. “Johanna,” I scold, “I need you focused.”
“That’s why I fixed myself up with the magic powder,” she replies calmly and rubs her nose.
I close my eyes and pull up the information I filed inside my head this morning. All the information about the rival groups is running through my head and I shiver. I re-file it and beg my brain to take charge. Suddenly, the new information that Charlie gave me is set in a chart.
“I’ll take over.” I sit up straight and can't believe what just came out of my mouth.
Charlie bursts out laughing and even Johanna chuckles, but she stops when she looks at my face.
“Stop laughing,” I raise my voice. “They’ll come here, kill me and take over, and you’ll have to work for a bunch of sadists, rapists and cruel criminals.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.” He pours himself another drink. “Maybe after all you should try and run away.”
“Where?” I ask, without expecting an answer. “They’ll find me. I haven’t got enough money to leave the country.”
“They might show mercy,” he tries to encourage me.
I laugh bitterly. “We both know that’s not going to happen.” When he doesn’t respond I sit up straight again, and this time I’m determined to make him listen to me. I quickly go through all the information in my brain. “The Pole’s girlfriend took over his business when he went away for three months.”
“She’s his wife, and anyway, she’s crazier than he is.” He looks at the bottle of alcohol, debating whether to pour himself another shot.
“She wasn’t his wife,” I insist. “She lived with him, but they were never married.”
“Elena,” Charlie is losing his patience. “Everyone knows that the war broke out over you and that you’re Liam’s woman, but look at you.” He points at me disdainfully. “Your beauty is not going to help us here. You look like a little lost girl who can’t even control herself.”
“So what?” I won't let go. “I have the right to take over my boyfriend’s place, just like the Pole’s woman did.”
“But she’s crazy,” he raises his voice angrily, “crazier than her husband. And the first one who tried to mess with her….” He grows quiet and crosses his arms over his chest.
“I get it,” I say quietly, and challenge my brain to come up with new thinking patterns. I’ve never been sharper. “So, it all starts and ends with image. I can be crazy. I have no choice but be crazy. I’m not ready to die today. I’m not a professor yet.”
“That’s what you’re thinking about right now?” he looks at me in shock.
“Yes.” I slam my fists on the counter. “And you’re going to help me.”
I stand in front of dozens of hookers and strippers who look as miserable as I feel.
“Good evening, everyone,” I say as they continue to chat and ignore me. “Good evening, everyone,” I shout, and the chatter stops. They look at me curiously. “My name’s Elena, I’m Liam’s girlfriend.” I wait for a reaction, and when none comes, I continue. “I own this place now. I’d like you all to help clean up and then get back to work.” After two seconds of nerve-racking silence, the brunette starts laughing and everyone else joins in. “Quiet!” I shout and start pacing. “We have a little over an hour to prove that this place is working as usual and that I’m the legal owner. You can either decide if you want to help and work for me, or at midnight you’ll have to start working for the new owners.”
“You’re just a stuck-up student who’s sleeping with the boss,” the blonde says mockingly. “What do you know about the business? What do you know about us? And why do you think that anyone will let a baby like you take over?” she snorts in contempt.
“I don’t just sleep with him.” I manage to keep calm, “I live with him. Johanna can testify to that.”
Johanna stands next to me and nods to confirm.
“So what?” the brunette shrugs and joins in. “That doesn’t mean anything. I’m not going to risk my job for someone who thinks the sun shines out her ass.” Laughter fills the room again.
“You know that the Russians don’t have panic buttons?” I raise my voice. The girls stop laughing immediately. “You’ll have a great time with them and then you'll have to explain to social services why you’re in the hospital, and they’ll take your children away again.”
She looks at me in shock and says nothing.
“And you.” I point at the blondes. “I thought that after you killed that bastard who beat you up, you wouldn’t want to give up your freedom so quickly.” She curses and falls silent and I realize that I've got her attention. “For the French, you’ll be just another piece of meat to sell, like in the market. How many girls who work for them were sold to a pimp who hits them and makes them work the streets?” I lower my voice. “I would have thought that you, more than anyone, would protect my right as a woman to claim what’s mine.” I can’t believe I’m using feminist statements to persuade hookers and strippers, but to my great surprise, she stands up and turns her back to me. “No son of a bitch is going to sell me.” She tells her friends furiously. “I decide when and how I use my body. And I say, fuck ’em all. Let’s help the stuck-up bitch.”
I ignore her name calling and hurry to her side.
“We don’t really want to work for the Poles or the French, either,” one of the twins speaks for both of them, and I feel a spark of hope.
“If this doesn’t work, they’ll kill us all,” the brunette insists.
“So you'd rather end up like the Russian’s wife?” I play my last card, and everyone looks at me in horror.
Johanna is standing on my other side and slowly more girls start to get up.
“Look at her,” the brunette yells. “Who’s gonna believe that she can run this place? Who’s gonna believe that she’s crazy enough to take over?"
“I believe that can be arranged.” This unexpected support comes from a well-groomed and delicate-looking man with feminine features. “Victor, what do you say?” he asks his friend, who is combing his greasy hair. “Can we transform this sweet duckling into something crazy?” He uses his teeth and hands to imitate a cute lion roaring and his friend stands up, and moves his head from side to side as he looks me over.
“Oh, Leo!” he starts jumping up and down, clapping his hands. “I just love challenges like these.” He stands next to me and strokes my curves. “We’ll give her a makeover. I see her in the style of Frida Kahlo, the Mexican artist, combined with a seventeenth-century noblewoman.”
Leo nods enthusiastically. “But without the unibrow and mustache. We’ll give those a pass.” He chuckles, looks proud and adds seriously, “There’s a reason they hired us as head designers at the club. We’re magicians.”
I nod in thanks and they run to the club.
“Does it look like a game to you?” the brunette is still objecting. “Do you understand that our lives depend on this?”
“Then help me.” I walk over to her. “Help me, because I’m in this with you. If I lose, that could be fatal for you.”
“You can’t even call us by our names,” she shakes her head in disappointment.
I stare into her eyes. “Amber, I may be a stuck-up bitch, but I’m the best chance you've got right now.”
She looks at me silently for a while and suddenly throws her head back, lets out a shout and stands in front of me. “Fuck ’em all. Let’s do it.” The girls clap their hands enthusiastically, and she starts firing instructions. Who should clear what, where everyone should go and even what to wear. I look at her quietly and she mutters venomously, “This is just because I need to look out for myself. So, you better pull off this suicide mission.” I swallow loudly as she begins to rearrange the chairs. The girls run around the bar and the strippers return to the club.
I feel myself turning to stone with the pressure, and order myself to get my act together. I walk over to the counter, cross my arms and look at Charlie intently.
“It won’t work,” he mumbles.
“I swear I’ll tell Liam everyone helped but you.” I bare my teeth and he looks frightened. “Good,” I smile, as if he’s just given me his approval. “Now call the bouncers and spread the word that it’s business as usual.”
He hisses a curse but picks up his cellphone and starts dialing. “Oh God…” he raises his head to the ceiling, “make the crazy German appear.”
I go upstairs with the two feminine men, walk into the office and to my dismay discover the mess there. Scattered papers, smashed bottles and overturned furniture.
I take off my clothes and allow the guys to dress me in a lot of weird clothes. One nods and the other makes a face, they undress me again and try something else. This goes on until I start losing my patience. Finally, they both clap enthusiastically.
“Don’t look yet,” Victor points his finger at me in what’s meant to be threatening. He asks me to close my eyes, and spends a long time applying my makeup. After that, he combs my hair and I bite my lips but don’t say a word. All I can see right now is my goal. Leo shoves my feet into shoes that make me eight inches taller and they walk me towards the bed and open the door of the closet next to it. There’s a mirror inside the door.
“What the hell have you done to me?” I ask quietly and look at the image reflected in the mirror. I’m wearing a tight, buttoned down blouse. The buttons reach the top of my neck, making me look swan-like. There’s a thick belt with a gold buckle around my waist, holding up a gorgeous linen skirt. The layered skirt adds volume and weight. My straight, thick hair is greased and shining, parted in the middle and drawn up into a bun at my nape. My eyes are smoky and look bigger than ever. My cheek bones are defined with delicate blush and my lips are red like blood.
“Tiger!” Leo squints and claws the air with his fingers.
“Duchess,” Victor corrects him, and Leo nods enthusiastically and looks at my straight posture proudly.
I smile in embarrassment and they both shake their heads in a panic. “Not like that!” Leo gasps. “Like this,” he fakes a stern expression that I try to copycat.
“Elena,” Victor rearranges my hair again. “I really hope you can act. Because no matter how good our costume is, it’s all up to you now.”
“I’ll do my best,” I try to reassure them calmly, but there’s a storm deep inside me.
“Don’t let them see any weakness,” Leo applies more blush to my cheeks. “And act crazy.” He rubs the brush over my nose.
I walk to the dresser by the bed and find what I'm looking for. A small pocketknife. I lift my heavy skirt and slip it inside my panty’s waistband. I find another pocketknife in the desk's drawer and shove it under my belt. I have no idea why I’m doing this, but it seems to calm the panic raging inside me a little. Victor and Leo wait for me to finish and hook their arms inside mine as we go downstairs. They stop at the last step and out of a bag he is holding, Leo takes out a black hand-held fan, and snaps it open dramatically. “If you feel that your face is giving you away, this will help.” He pushes it into the other side of my belt, and I exhale heavily.
I look around me in surprise. The room looks perfect, as if nothing happened the night before. Three bouncers are standing around with their weapons drawn, and the girls are standing still and staring at me.
“Duchess Elena,” Victor announces and bows to me, as I keep a stony expression on my face. “See?” He turns to the girls in excitement. “The show is on.”
I choose not to correct him. I’m not acting, my body is paralyzed with stress. I go to the connecting door of the club and peek inside. The club also looks amazingly tidy, but there are no customers.
“Charlie, where are our customers?” I ask him angrily.
“Nobody will come,” he says in frustration. “Nobody sane would risk coming to a war zone by choice.”
“So, what are we going to do?” I ask and start pacing. “Don’t you have any friends who owe you a favor?”
“There are no friends in our world. Just interests.” He wipes the counter.
“We have to make it look like business as usual,” I mumble, and stop in front of Victor and Leo. “You must have some friends,” I narrow my eyes at them tensely.
“Of course!” Victor laughs, “We have a lot. Our community is huge.”
“Would they agree to do you a great personal favor?”
“Sure,” Victor is still laughing. “We do so much for them.” He winks at Leo.
“Good. Then get them here.” I order.
“Are you crazy?” Now Leo is laughing. “What would our friends do in this place? They’re not into tits, they prefer…”
“Shhh,” I hush him. “Nobody needs to know what their sexual orientations are. Just get them here to try and act the part.”
“Oh, this will be hysterical,” Victor says to Leo. “Can you imagine them sitting here with the girls dancing around them and shaking their big tits at them?” they both grimace in disgust and laugh nervously.
“Leo,” I raise my voice and they both try to look serious. “We don’t have a lot of time. Do what you can.” They rush to the club and I sit on a barstool and close my eyes. I have a half hour before chaos begins and I don’t really know what I’m doing. I’m putting everyone at risk… they’ll be onto me in seconds and what will I do then? I’ll just start crying like a little girl. I take a deep breath and try to calm my pounding heart.
There are fifteen minutes left, and I'm staring at the door, muttering every prayer I remember for it to open and for Ralph to enter.
“Duchess,” Victor calls me from the connecting door and signals me over. I sigh and stand up. He swings the door wide open and I see about twenty men in fancy clothes, sitting around on the couches, giggling.
“Amazing!” I say in excitement. One of the girls is giving a private dance to a short, chubby guy, and he closes his eyes and raises his hands in horror. “Victor!” I scold furiously, “Tell them to act like they are straight.”
“But they can’t,” he answers in frustration.
“Turn off the music,” I shout and walk inside. The music is off, the girls stop dancing and the men look at me curiously.
“Thank you for coming,” I press my hands together and bend forward a little, “but for us to succeed in our complicated mission, you really do need to play the part.” They look at me and nod enthusiastically. “Imagine you’re all horny, pathetic straight men,” I say, and they burst into laughter. “No laughing!” I raise my voice angrily and they look embarrassed. “Lie back on the couches comfortably, like you own the place.” They do as I say. “Remember, you’re a group of rude guys who think that every dollar you give the stripper lets you do whatever you want to do to her.” They look at the girls sympathetically. “I want to hear cursing, I want to see your hands all over the girls' bodies. From now on the only thing you care about is tits, tits, tits.” Now they look disgusted. “Smoke and drink. It’s all on the house,” I yell to the bartender. “And most importantly, don’t giggle.” They all put on a serious expression and I place my hand over my heart and pant in distress. This will never work.
I go back to the bar and see that there are only two minutes left. I stare at the door. “Ralph, come on!” I mutter and clench my hands.
“Midnight!” Charlie calls out and there is silence. I think that my heart stopped beating, that there is no air in my lungs, but my brain is razor-sharp.
The door starts to open, and I sit down quickly on a barstool. “Pour me a drink,” I request quietly, as two men enter.