Scratch and Gin

Scratch and Gin

“Hello, Jean. Can I have a word?” Archie said in his charming way leaning over the counter where the young woman sat. She looked up at him with a rather displeased look on her face.

“Not someone I want to see around here, Arch.” She said closing her book and pushing back from the counter. Standing she picked up a clip board and moved around the desk starting down the hallway. Archie was quick to keep pace with her.

“It’ll only take a moment.” He insisted.

“Yeah, I’m sure it would.” She said, “But you see, I’m not really in the mood to give you any words, although I have plenty I would happily say.” She stopped and turned on her heel facing him. “Do you know the cops pulled one of my girls out of a dumpster? The last John she was with was one of the clients YOU sent to me. He wasn’t even the type I would allow near my girls, but since he came by way of you I made an exception.” She gave him a disgusted look, “The last ‘word’ we had cost one of my girls their lives.” Then she turned and started back down the hallway.

“Yeah, I heard about that and I’m sorry. It was dealt with straight away. I do business with all kinds, but not the sort of degenerate that would do that to a young girl.” He explained.

“But you did, Archie. I called and told you that I didn’t trust him, but you assured me that everything was fine. He just wanted a ‘bit of company’ and ‘fun’.” She said in a sarcastic tone repeating what Archie had told her when she called. Jean came to the door and turned the knob going inside and Archie continued to follow her. “I had cops crawling all over this place, harassing my girls when they were still upset about the news.” They walked through a pair of double doors and continued. “If you’ve come to give me another one of your ‘special clients’ you can forget it. My girls trust me to keep them safe and to screen the types that cross my door.”

“Yeah but I also pay the tabs those guys run up the next day, plus a bit of extra for your cooperation and any other expenses that might entail.” He said in his defense. “How many of your customers can claim to be so generous and reliable.”

“Our regulars are actually quite reliable and quite generous . . . and not murderous fiends.” She stopped at a door and gave a knock, as a woman’s voice came from inside. “Judy, you’re going to be late. Get into that new dress and get moving! Your escort is already waiting in the lobby.” The woman acknowledged that she should hurry and Jean continued on her way.

“Escort?” He asked.

“I don’t send my girls out on their own when they’re making a house call.” She said. “I would think you should know that, priding yourself on knowing everything about those you are in business with.” She stopped at the end of another hall and unlocked a door before going inside turning on the light. Archie followed her and closed the door behind. It was apparently her office where she kept all her files and records under strict lock and key. She put down her clipboard and sat at her desk. “You’re damn lucky you found your guy before my boys did.”

“I thought you outsourced such matters my way?” He asked crossing his arms. “Part of the two way agreement we have. I have a client that in need of a bit of fun, I send him your way to be taken care of with no questions and no fuss. You have a problem you give me a call and me and my guys take care of it.” He said reminding her.

“Not when it’s one of your clients I don’t.” She said. “I think I need an impartial party interested in only the money I’m paying him and no hidden mercy that could be used to his advantage.”

Archie half smiled sitting down in the other chair. “That’s what I like about you. A young woman, not even 30 and runs a business empire all her own with an iron fist. It’s amazing really.”

“I’m a Cat House mistress, Archie. No need to make it sound so elegant.” She said unlocking a drawer in her desk taking out an envelope and tossing it on the desk where he could read it before closing the drawer and locking it back.

“What’s this?” He asked taking out the papers and looking them over.

“That is what your last ‘client’ you sent my way is going to cost you. A bill more or less.” Crossing her arms she wait a moment as Archie scanned the contents. After a moment he looked up at her, a bit curious as to the charges. “Funeral, and burial expenses.” She said simply. “Jenna, didn’t have family. She was a runaway from a bad situation to begin with. She was a good girl and part of our family, and she’s going to be buried properly.”

“This is what it’s going to take to get back in good with you is it?” He asked holding up the document she’d given him.

“As if that could make up for it, but it’s a definite start.” The look on her face was dead serious, she was still furious about the entire thing and what she really wanted to do was beat him about the head and shoulders with a baseball bat.

He thought for a moment before giving a nod and tucking the document away in the inner pocket of his jacket. “I’ll have it sent over to you first thing in the morning.” He said agreeing to her terms.

“Good. She’s been laying in the morgue for to fucking long. No one has claimed the body.” She said reaching for a pen and writing down a few things on her clip board. “Now.” She said putting the cap on the pen and turning towards him leaning back in her chair crossing her arms. “What is it you wanted.”

“I have a bachelor party coming up this Sunday for a client and a close personal friend who’s asked me to be his best man. I thought some talented entertainment might be in order for the night. Poor bastard is getting married after all.” He explained.

“Writing this off as a business expense are you?” She asked.

“You’d be amazed at how smoothly business can go when men are full of booze and surrounded by beautiful women.” He said.

“Are you, yourself going to be in attendance?” Was the next question.

“Yeah, I would think since I’m throwing the party and the best man I would have to be.” He said. She still gave him a sly look, not happy about any of it or that he was asking for favors after the nightmare that ensued last week. “Only about 25, maybe 30. Just a small one.” He said answering her next question.

“Just entertainment purposes, or the full package.” She said opening another drawer of her desk and flipping through her files.

“What’s the difference?” He asked. Jean glared at him not really in the mood for silly banter when she didn’t want to book anything for him or with him ever again at this moment. “Let’s have all options available and I’ll make sure the costs are covered and your well compensated.”

“Right.” She said opening the file and picking up a pen. “I can give you Gwen, Jackie, Holly, and Francine. The twins Jessica and Jamie will be free that night, but they tend to run up the cost a bit.” She said looking at him, “How close is this client of yours?”

Archie half smiled, “Throw them in as well.” Jean took a moment and wrote down the order for the evening. “Might as well give him the time of his life, seeing that the unfortunate event takes place at 3 the next afternoon.”

She finished writing down the assignments for the girls, “Alright, just in case you’ve forgotten, I’ll refresh your memory.” She put down the pen and turned towards him. “This is a party event, which means none of the girls leave the premises with any of your clients or friends. They all stay together, on the property. If they want to go into the next room with one or something, fine but no further then that.” He gave a nod thinking that was fair. “I’m warning you now, Archie. You watch your boys. If any of my girls come back with even the smallest bruise or scratch . . . I’m holding you personally responsible. And it won’t be money I’ll be after.” She was completely dead serious. It was a threat that Archie would actually heed coming from this woman. She might have been young, but she had an incredible head for business, and was more vicious then any mob boss or mafia character he’d known. In the criminal world, she was easily a goddess.

He gave a nod and reached in his pocket taking out a slip of paper handing it to her. “This is the address. The party starts at 9pm, but it would be alright if they were fashionably late. Let it be a surprise, you know.” She took it and opened it writing down a few more notes, before she closed the file and tucked it away back in her desk. “You’re welcome to come if you’d like.” He added.

“I’m retired, Archie. You know that.” She added before locking the drawer.

“Retired? At the age of 27?” He said thinking that a bit strange, but understandable. She owned this entire establishment and a few others. There was no need for her to work the beds anymore.

“Being a man, I’m certain you can’t appreciate how tedious faking it becomes.” She stood to walk him back to the front as she reached for the door and they exited the office. She closed it and locked it walking back up the hallway.

“Really.” He said with a devious look on his face, “I had no idea you were such an incredible actress.” Jean’s footsteps slowed to a stop as she looked at him slyly as she stepped close.

“How would you know, hmm?” She asked extremely close to him as she looked into his eyes. “You’ve never seen me fake it.” After a moment she turned and continued, he grinned and followed after her.

“They’ll be there at 9:30, you can have them for six hours. I think that digs into your pockets enough for one evening.” She said walking him into the lobby and stopping. “Make sure everyone is aware of their manners. If the word ‘no’ comes out of their mouths, or tears start to fall the party is over. My girls are extremely good sports, but if that happens it’s gone too far.”

Archie took her hand raising it a bit, “Always a pleasure, Jean.” He said before kissing the back of her hand and leaving. She watched him disappear a moment.

The relationship between Jean and Archie was always a bit of cat and mouse. They were painfully attracted to each other, but both were professionals in their respective businesses. On occasion there was no controlling it and they ended up ravaging each other for hours. But when the fun was over, they returned to their professional relationship and no personal feelings were allowed to interfere. The flirting between them was merciless but that was as far as it went.

Archie was a gangster, but didn’t call it what it was. He was into drug trafficking, dodgy property deals, intimidation of course, protection rackets and all other sorts of little nasty things that the criminals of the world required to live and thrive. Yet he referred to his dealings as ‘business’ and himself a ‘business man’. Yet very few business men were well armed, with armed guards, and guns in every nook and cranny for easy access.

Jean was in a different business, yet the same set up. She ran an establishment that in some places was referred to as a ‘gentleman’s club’ or an ‘escort service’. To date, she had her establishment expanded into five very posh and extensive locations, and 78 young ladies under her direction. She had inherited her business before she built it into the empire it was. It belonged to her aunt that Jean started working for when she was only 15. Her aunt was a life-long heavy chain smoker, and she finally smoked the last coffin nail that put her in the ground. Jean was only 19 then. She’d always been incredibly intelligent, and started making profitable changes and add-ons to the business when her aunt first fell ill. In the four years she worked as an employee, she’d learned volumes about the sort of women who worked there, and the sort of clients that they received. From there, the small business her aunt owned and ran bloomed and grew nearly 80% from what it had been into the empire she now controlled.

It was an explosive combination to be certain, and between her and Archie they made a considerable corner stone in the criminal underground.

Parties

The Bachelor party, needless to say, was an impressive event. Archie had gone all out for this occasion, and the girls were some of the most beautiful to be had. Then of course there were the twins, two beautiful blonde numbers with green eyes, milky white skin, and the curves of goddesses. They were one of the top paid acts in Jean’s employ and cost a pretty penny.

Now, some time had gone by and the groom had adjourned into another room with the twins, and everyone else had either gone into the corner with the other girls or had had enough to drink that they were slumped over a glass taking a short nap to recharge a bit. Things had definitely winded down a bit, and Archie sat on a sofa with a drink in his hand.

Then a figure walked around the sofa, and sat next to him catching his attention. “Neither three sheets to the wind, nor in the company of a lovely young lady . . . you know what people will say about you don’t you?” Jean reached over and took his glass from his hand taking a drink. Archie hadn’t expected her to appear after their meeting earlier in the week.

“Not if they want to keep their tongues and not catch a cold they won’t.” He said with a small smile. It was a welcomed surprise to see her, and she was beautiful. Dressed in a black gown, with her hair done up in combs, and four inch black stiletto heels. She was lovely. “Bored or just checking up on me to make sure everyone was behaving themselves?”

“The rest of my girls have the weekend off. Jenna’s funeral was yesterday. She meant a lot to a lot of people. They needed some time to grieve.” She looked at him, “These girls are the only ones working tonight.”

“I appreciate that.” He said knowing that she had serious doubts about doing business of any sort with him. “So then this a social visit?” He asked.

She had a sly smile on her lips as she took another drink from the glass.

Noise

Archie lay beneath Jean as she rode him hard and deep. His hands clutched to her hips until he could hardly stand it any longer. He reached up and slid his hand through her hair pulling her down into a hungry kiss before rolling them over onto her back where he took over their vigorous activity, thrusting deep within her as he consumed her mouth greedily. He reached down and caught her thigh in his hand pulling her leg further around his hip as he went deeper still causing her eyes to flutter slightly as he found her mouth and kissed her again.

Her hand clung against his back and the other ran through his hair returning the anxious and vigorous affection. After a moment, she tore her mouth away from his and moved to his neck kissing once or twice before she sunk her teeth into his shoulder. He grunted slightly in pain and pleasure all at once before he grabbed her jaw and pushed her head back down to where he could ravage her mouth again. This went on for quite some time before they had to stop and rest from sheer exhaustion, then once again falling into a primitive sexual frenzy.

Hours after it began, Archie laid watching her getting dressed and fixing her hair back the way it was. “You don’t have to rush off you know.” He said, having gotten dressed somewhat as well pulling his trousers back on and undershirt.

“I believe you’re the one who has a wedding today. Depending on how much ‘fun’ your groom had last night, you may need to get an hour or two rest before pouring him into his tux and getting him to the church on time.” She said picking up her dress and standing dropping it over her head so as not to mess up her hair again and pulling it down fixing it so it was straight.

“I don’t have a date; maybe you could fill that position.” He said leaning his head back. It was a silly thing to say, as they had also kept their personal relationship out of the public eye on purpose. Neither was the type that could show their weakness to those they worked with. It would make them appear to have a soft spot where they couldn’t afford to have one.

“You’ll have your hands full already.” She said as she tied the sash in place before walking over and picking up her purse. She opened it and took out her cell phone to see if she’d been called for anything important while they had been occupied. “Keeping the mouths of any of those hung over guests from letting something about ‘twins’ slip in ear shot of the bride.”

Reaching over Archie took out a cigarette and lit it before putting his lighter back down. He inhaled before letting out a stream of smoke looking at her again. She was so incredibly beautiful. Seeing her with her hair hanging about her shoulders, holding her body against him in the darkness, kissing her soft lips in the heat of passion, her beautiful eyes glowing in the darkness, it was a side of her that no one saw anymore. She dressed conservatively, her hair was almost always completely up to give the appearance that she was older then she was. She learned early on that youth didn’t get very much, if any, respect from anyone. Even with the reputation she’d built up by herself, if they saw her looking like a teenage tramp, they wouldn’t take her seriously. It was quite the transformation to witness. When she was naked and lay beneath him, she was a completely different person. Now with her hair up and her clothes back on, she looked years older, more sophisticated, and mature with her business personal firmly in place.

“So, what’s the damage?” He asked, looking at his watch. “The girls would have all left three hours ago.”

“I’ll let you know once we get back.” She said checking her messages.

“Get back?” He questioned.

“From Dr. Hogshead.” She answered.

“Is that old goat still lurking about?” Archie had had some dealings with him in the past. He was a doctor that would keep quiet about his patients and completely confidential if you paid in cash and never used his name.

“Mostly retired these days, but has seven doctors on his staff now that are very talented and good at what they do.” She closed her cell phone and put it back in her purse walking over and picking up her jacket putting it on. “I have a standing deal with him, and all of my girls get seen and checked out at least once a month. They are provided with birth control and the like. The ones who do contract something are taken care of and given the proper treatment immediately to avoid anything serious.”

“You think that these ones contracted something that you’re rushing them to the doctor right away?” He said thinking that a bit excessive.

“Once again, Arch.” She said looking at him, “You checked out these men, I didn’t. My criteria for clients is somewhat different and more through then yours.”

“No wonder these girls work for you and seem rather happy despite their line of work. Not many mistresses would offer such a good health plan.” He pointed out taking another puff on his cigarette.

“Most of these girls couldn’t afford it, and would become fatally ill if they didn’t work for me. They don’t have anywhere else to go, and they use their bodies to earn their wage. It’s only fair that they are able to care for themselves properly.” Picking up her purse she slipped her cell phone in her pocket. “I’ll have your bill ready by this evening.”

“Drop by tomorrow morning and have a look shall I?” He said.

“Bring your checkbook.” She said turning and leaving the room. Archie smiled to himself before taking another drag off his cigarette.

New Employees

Jean sat across from the young woman who’d come in looking for work. She was wearing worn and tattered clothing, she had bruises on her legs and scratches on her arms, with her she carried a tattered old dingy purse. She’d washed her face and hands in an attempt to look presentable but she had obviously been living on the streets on her own for a while.

“What’s your name?” She asked wanting to hear it again.

“Star.” She said in a soft voice.

“What’s your real name.” Jean asked knowing that wasn’t what she was born with. Many women when they entered into this line of work adopted some sort of sudo-name. Not wanting to use their own for various reasons.

The young woman hesitated a moment before saying “Bobby.”

“How old are you, Bobby?”

“18.” She said quickly without even hesitating to hear the whole question. The look on Jean’s face said she wasn’t buying it and the girl crossed her arms over her middle embarrassed before correcting herself, “16.”

“You should always be honest with me, Bobby.” Jean explained, “I can’t abide liars, and I can’t help or protect you if you can’t tell me the truth.”

The young woman looked up at her, “You’ll take me on then?” She asked.

“Yes. But there are some things we need to get straight before you begin working for me.” She said. “First, we need to get you cleaned up and checked out. Make sure you’re all healthy and ready to work.” Jean had quite a few under age girls in her employ. They were ones that had come to the end of their road and were forced into that line of work. At least if she took them in, they were paid a proper wage, given a place to sleep, and looked after so they were safe and protected. If she didn’t take them in, a pimp might take them but he’d exploit them completely and they would be in worse shape in worse conditions. Or they would just practice independently, scraping to get by, with no protection whatsoever, and often sleeping on the street or being thrown into jail and entered into the system.

The young woman looked excited not having expected to be so lucky and was anxious to agree to any terms that Jean set. “Also, no drugs.” Jean said sternly. “If you’re on them, tell me now because you’ll need to get off them before you begin working.”

She shook her head quickly, “I’ve never touched them.” She promised. Jean gave a nod of approval.

Drugs were always bad news. People ODed on them way to easily, and when Jean was a working girl, there were quite a few who overdosed on purpose just to escape their miserable existence. It also made their judgment hazy and left them vulnerable to all sorts of bad things. If a girl in Jean’s employ was addicted and could kick the habit, then they were kept on. However if there was one that was a habitual user that simply would not cease, they were fired and cleared out the same day. Another plus to working for Jean, was that if a girl wanted to leave behind the lifestyle, they could do so. They could leave the business at any point and wouldn’t be punished or forced back into it. In fact, it was encouraged that they find their way into other fields of work, and if they chose to go to school, their schedules could be worked around to accommodate it.

“The first two months, you’ll be taught how we do things here. You’ll have a roommate that will show you the ropes, help you get started, and answer any questions you have. After that, you’ll be given your own room and start seeing clients.” The young woman nodded listening intently. Reaching over Jean pressed a button and another woman came in. “This is Rachel. She’ll show you around a bit, and get you cleaned up and fed a decent meal.” Jean stood and Bobby stood too clutching her bag close. “Welcome aboard. I’ll see you in a day or two to see how you’re fitting in.” She shook her hand and Rachel led her out of the office.

Jean sat down and sighed putting the pages in her file and putting it away in her desk drawer. This was the fourth new girl that had come in this week. Fortunately it was the youngest. She was always wary about taking in young girls like Bobby. Not only were they underage but sometimes they were runaways from abusive homes where the abusers came around looking for them. She didn’t take in every girl that came to her. Ones like Bobby had been on the street for a while, and had already started in prostitution or there was no other option for them and they would be in it regardless. The ones that came in and were not yet into it, or they were temporary runaways that were just confused teenagers unhappy with their home life, they would definitely not be taken in and put on a payroll. She’d send them home, or somewhere else they could get help.

Having been in the situation herself, she was unhappy from the first day she was put to work. It was a miserable life, filled with miserable horrible things that you had no choice but to deal with. It was a look at the nasty side of humans that ‘nice girls’ would never see, and disgusting behavior of men that wouldn’t be seen or practiced anywhere else except on a whore. It was bad enough to have to be exposed to all that without not knowing where you were going to sleep at night, where your next meal was coming from, or if you had gotten some horrible wasting disease that you couldn’t afford medication or treatment for.

It may have sounded like Jean was an incredible philanthropist with a heart of gold, but she was a fierce business woman. All the things she provided for the girls in her service, worked to another advantage besides keeping the girls happy. It made them more desirable to customers knowing that they were clean, healthy, discreet, and talented in their profession. The higher class of men with more wealth gravitated towards Jean’s business, and they paid whatever price was set for the services that were provided.

Jean did have her rules that were set in stone however, and if there were any infractions, any ‘bending’, or just simply ignoring them all together, the perpetrator was then dealt with quickly and harshly before being banned for life. There were no exceptions, no excuses accepted, no second chances. Over the course of the years she was owner, a number of individuals had disappeared or their bodies turned up in a most unpleasant state.

That, is where Archie came in. Jean and Archie had known each other for quite some time. They had actually met by way of Archie’s old boss and mentor, who was no longer with us. The rumor was that it was discovered the informant on their side of town which sent them all up for some stretch of time over the years, was indeed the man that had them all cowering in fear that had ‘contacts’ in ever place and controlled everything in the city. None of the men who had been sent up were happy about it, and Archie took care of the matter himself. The body still hasn’t turned up.

It had all happened right before Jean’s aunt died. Archie’s boss had been a long time client of the escort service, and a personal close friend of Jean’s aunt as well as a regular. Jean never liked him, the slippery way he was, feeling that he could intimidate anyone and by anything he wanted like everyone was for sale. Not to mention he had to be in his 70’s and he constantly made passes and meetings with women a third his age. It made her skin crawl. The deal that Jean and Archie had was similar to the arrangement that was in place before each of them took over their respective businesses. It simply continued with a few changes, minor additions and numerous benefits for both parties.

Jean did have a staff of security guards of her own on hand, escorts to go with the young women who were scheduled for house calls, and to remove unruly clients from the premises. Archie and his men were called in for the extreme cases. The ones were the clients were dangerous, harmed any of the young women, or were simply pests that didn’t understand when they weren’t wanted even after they’d been given numerous warnings. On occasion, he would be called in to deal with people who were harassing or terrorizing the girls. That wouldn’t include a death sentence so much as an ‘attitude adjustment’. Archie had ways of getting the point across rather clearly that it wasn’t a good idea to press their luck.

In return for his services, he sent clients to her on occasion on his own personal credit on a ‘no questions asked’ bases. They usually came with an alias as they were members of high standing the city, or simply wanted to be completely discreet in their excursions. Archie did pick up the tab on expenses incurred but at an incredibly reduced rate, once again in turn for his services as a problem solver. It was a profitable arrangement for them both and of course there was the attraction between them that made life particularly interesting.

Jean finished up the file she’d started for the new girl and put it away in the desk files with the others locking it up tight. It was getting late, and she would soon have to do the rounds to make sure everyone was back in safely and collect the reports and payments that were collected. Most of the girls were back in by 4am, and everyone was to be in no later than 5am for curfew. It was nearly 4:45 now. Running her hands through her hair she stood and headed out to start her rounds.

Touch and Go

Archie was interested in Jean for numerous reasons. Of course on a personal level, finding her very attractive, incredibly intriguing, intelligent and stimulating. She wasn’t just a pretty face with no brain and an incredible body like so many of the women who ran in the circles he did. She was different, and unique. Not to mention possibly the only woman on earth who was as dangerous, if not more so, then he was. And he admired her greatly for the care she pains-takingly took with the girls she employed. If she didn’t provide so much for them, she could be putting three times the amount of money in her pocket from what she was making now. But she was more concerned with the wellbeing of the girls then making a huge profit. Most people wouldn’t do that, and would cut corners in every direction just to squeeze every dime they could out of it. She still made a pretty penny from profit, but put more of it back into taking care of the girls then she kept herself.

There was a running joke among those in the criminal world that they were ‘the happiest bunch of whores ever”, and it was true. Knowing they were well taken care of, safe, food to eat, and a place to sleep took pressure and stress off of them that would quickly turn them cold and bitter.

Never indulging himself since he came into power, his men and clients made frequent visits to Jean’s establishment, more the pleased with the service and environment. It was one thing to pay a prostitute for a throw in a car, a back alley or some dingy roach motel that rented rooms by the hour and a different matter all together when they were pampered, spoiled and treated like royalty during their stay. Definitely worth paying the higher price.

Archie’s tastes ran a different direction, and although somewhat significantly older then Jean, she was the woman he wanted. Her services were paid for on his behalf only once, shortly before his boss’s demise as the flirting and looks between them had been noticed.

The reality was that they both came into power a bit suddenly, and near the same time. Making them alleys and comrades having to deal with many of the same issues and struggles where no one else would understand. They knew things about each other that no one else in the world did only strengthen their business and personal relationship that much more. For instance, he was the only one who knew of the scar behind her ear, and the ones on her side. He knew she had received them when she had once been attacked and pushed out of a third story window the third year she was working for her aunt. The only reason she wasn’t injured worse or dead was because there was garbage and rubble below the window she was pushed from that broke her fall. If it had been directly onto pavement, she would have had shattered bones, or simply been killed. Her Aunt was far less picky and strict about the types she let in, and almost not concerned with the women in her employ at all. Not even her niece whom she put to work at the young age of 16. They were left to fend for themselves, and were abused on a regular basis.

What Jean knew about Archie was a bit less drastic, as things had happened to him in prison that no one knew but her. Archie was a tall, tough, and scary individual in his own right, but none of that mattered when a group of six or more men decided to jump him at the same time. It was damaging to a man’s ego and self worth and even though over time he dealt with each and every one of his attackers, the damage was done and no amount of blood could wash that away.

They were friends, enemies, allies, rivals, partners, and nemeses all rolled into one. But when it came down to business, both of them were deadly serious and didn’t fool around. A lethal combination to say the least.

Problems

“JEAN!!!” A young woman burst into Jean’s office without knocking, with a panicked tone in her voice and horror written across her face. “It’s Bobby!” At once Jean followed the young woman up to the room that Bobby had been given as her own.

When they arrived, two other girls were on either side of Bobby who was a bloody mess. It looked as though she had been beaten thoroughly, and even cut in a few places. “Jesus.” Jean said seeing the state she was in. “Go wake Nancy, she’s graduating nursing school in two months.” She told one taking her place and picking up a nearby t-shirt holding it to Bobby’s head trying to stop the bleeding. “Go get the first aid kit from my office, it’s in the black Cabinet.” She said handing the other young woman the key to retrieve it. Bobby was a bit out of it, and obviously had a concussion and severe blood loss from her injuries. Her eyes started to close and Jean spoke to her in a loud voice, “Bobby, honey I need you to keep your eyes open and stay awake. Can you do that for me?”

She glanced up at Holly who had been her roommate and partner the past two months, and she looked as though she was in some shock herself. Her clothes were smeared with Bobby’s blood and there was a black circle forming under her eye. Right now, what was important was getting Bobby stabilized enough that they could get her to a doctor and taken care of. She’d have to ask questions and find out what happened later.

Explanations

Dr. Jameson, one of Dr. Hogsheads subordinates stood next to the hospital bed where Bobby lay. She’d taken quite a number of stitches and was let go to sleep with sedation once they had scanned her head and took x-rays to make sure there wasn’t any damage. “She’s banged up pretty bad.” He told Jean in a soft voice so as not to disturb Bobby. “She’s going to need to stay here for a few days, she’s lucky to have come out of this alive.”

“What’s the damage.” She asked.

“A fractured femur, a broken wrist that both had to be set with screws, an array of stitches from the wounds and gashes she had, and too many bruises to count. She has a couple broken teeth as well, but I didn’t find any structural damage to her face.” He reported. “It’s going to take time, six months recovery minimum.”

“She’s only 16, Doc. Is any of this going to be permanent?” She asked.

He was silent for a moment before he sighed, apparently having bad news. “I don’t know yet, Jean. I need to run some more tests. We’ll see how her recovery goes but . . .” She just stared at him waiting for him to tell her what seemed to be the worst of it. “I ran a rape kit. She’s a mess. It’s possible she won’t ever be able to have kids, but what I’m more concerned about is if she was exposed to any STD’s. I won’t know until the kit results come back.”

Jean shook her head, “Jesus Christ.” She said looking towards Bobby’s face which was clean now but had bandages over the wounds that were now stitched and treated.

Out in the waiting room, it was quiet. This wasn’t exactly a regular hospital, and there was only staff that was used to dealing with such things like nurses and doctors about. Jean sat with Holly, Nancy and Rebecca who had all come to the hospital with her. Holly tried to recount everything that had happened, and by the sound of it she was lucky to get away with the bruise on her face. She wasn’t the one they were after, they were after Bobby.

“Who were these assholes?” She asked as Holly was in tears, having been terrified to witness what she’d seen and almost watching Bobby dying in her arms.

“I heard Bobby call one, Shred. They were talking like they’d been sent by someone . . .” She tried to remember the name having a headache and being exhausted from everything that had happened. “Ramón? Bone?” She said trying to talk it out. Jean sighed and shook her head.

“Big Rhone?” She asked. Holly instantly nodded. “Christ Almighty.” She said. “That fucker? “ Holly nodded and reached up wiping the tears from her eyes. That was all she needed to know before the entire picture became clear. “Take her back home, let her get cleaned up and get some rest.” She told Nancy and Rebecca. “I’ll stay with Bobby a while.” The two young women nodded and they stood helping Holly to her feet as they headed out.

Jean went back to Bobby’s room and watched her sleep. Poor kid, what a fucking mess. Taking out her cell phone she dialed a number and stepped outside the room leaning against the wall. “Dr. Hogshead’s clinic. One hour.” Was all she said before clicking it off and putting it back in her purse. Turning back towards the room, she leaned on the doorway just watching.

Bounties

Archie stood in the hallway with Jean after he’d arrived and been in Bobby’s room seeing what sort of shape the kid was in. It was disgusting that anyone could do that to a kid.

“How old is she?” Archie asked.

“She’s 16. I checked into her background, she was in the foster system since she was 6. Doesn’t have any family of her own, and had a record of moving in and out of foster homes every year. Was the sort of kid who attracted the abusive you could say. Until she finally just had enough of being moved around and hurt all the time that she ran away. She was on the street almost two years before she found her way to my door.” Jean explained.

“What the hell prompted this sort of attack?” He asked.

“I wasn’t the first she came to for help. Remember that small time pest, Rhone? Pops up on your neck of the woods from time to time I believe.” She said.

“Yeah, a loud mouth annoyance, big into drugs. Buying, selling that sort of thing.” Archie had definitely run across this trouble maker a few times.

“Apparently he’s branched out into the skin trade. The fact that he refers to his ladies as ‘ponies’ and his backroom ‘his stables’ should give you some idea of the mentality of this idiot. But it doesn’t stop there. He takes in confused and lost girls at the very end of their rope like Bobby and introduces them to drugs. Gets them addicted hard so that they keep coming to him to get more, and do whatever disgusting little thing he has for them and takes all their money, feeding them drugs instead of the cash they earn and need to live. He’s also the sort that doesn’t let the girls leave, unless it’s feet first in a body bag. He simply gives them an overdose and leaves their bodies to be found, the needle still in their arms so it seems like they did it to themselves.” Archie listened finding a sense of anger growing the more he learned. “From what I understand, Bobby ran off the first time he tried to inject her with heroine. Once she got a good understanding of what sort of business he ran she was scared enough to want out.”

“How big is this scum bags operation?” He asked.

“Small. He has maybe 8 to 10 girls in his web. I’d rather not see him grow it further.” Jean’s voice was low and quite serious. “Put him out of business Arch. You can gift wrap his balls as a present for my birthday next week.”

“What about the others. The ones he’s still got that didn’t get away?” He asked.

Jean sighed and rubbed her eyes slightly. She was exhausted, but there was simply too much to do right now. “Send me the ones that are salvageable, I’ll see what can be done for the girls that can still be helped.” The cold hard truth of it was, girls that had been treated like that for a long period of time were beyond saving. Their bodies and brains would be so fried from all the drugs, they couldn’t be brought back no matter how much treatment they were given. Heroine was especially damaging, and Meth . . . meth was a point of no return. She took out a folded piece of paper and handed it to Archie. “Here’s his base of operation. Rhone and Shred have outlived their welcome.”

He gave a nod and slipped it into his jacket pocket. “What’s going to happen to her.” He said nodding towards Bobby’s room.

“Doctor says he won’t know the extent of the damage until all the tests are back. She’s never going to have kids. Depending on whether or not her recovery goes well she may not have full use of the wrist that they repaired. That’s what happens when they crush bones with a hammer.” There was a dark look on Jean’s face. Archie had a feeling that she would happily participate in the demise of these low life’s herself. But Jean wasn’t foolish, and knew that sending a professional like Archie was simply better all around. “Fifty for Shred, Seventy-Five for Rhone. A hundred if you don’t rush and take your time with the bastard. Twenty for however many of his thugs you take down in the process.”

“No negotiation? Usually you try to whittle down my rates, rather than pay almost double them.” Archie said knowing that it was because of how incredibly angry she was.

“You haven’t been around since Bobby came to work for me.” Jean began. “She cleaned up right pretty, was real smart too, had a lot of potential. Her two month trial was up and she was supposed to start work next week. I really liked her. Just a nice kid who had the world’s worst luck.” Jean shook her head. “She would have died, horribly if Holly hadn’t been able to get her back to us.” Her eyes moved back towards Bobby’s room. “Chances are, she’ll wish she had.”

“I’ll call you when it’s done.” He said as he started to turn to leave.

“I mean it Archie.” Jean added, “I want every ounce of humiliation and suffering that can be squeezed out of his worthless carcass. As long as it takes.” Archie gave a nod before leaving the clinic with his men.

Last Warning

The doors of the lift opened, letting Archie and two of his men step out. He walked towards the small group of men at the other end of the dock warehouse. “You enjoying your stay here boys?” He asked as he came to a stop next to the two figures who were strapped against boards with hoods on their faces. “I know how much you love a good party.” Archie motioned to his men and they jerked the hoods of the two men.

On one side, there was a young black man with short shaved hair on his head and a tacky tattoo that wrapped around his neck spelling out the word in razors “Shred”. The other was white man about the same size, even more tacky tattoos, and muscles in every direction. One of the types that worked out nonstop for whatever reason he thought it was necessary. He had hair that was the same color as a horse’s main, hence the name “Rhone” he went by. They’d already been here for a while, enjoying the experience of professional water-boarding and other little fun tortures that were usually tools to get someone to talk. But not today. “What the fuck is this! Who do you think you are!!” Rhone roared at him, “Me and my boys are gonna tear you apart!”

Archie gave him a look when he said that. “I warned you didn’t I.” He said. “Didn’t I tell you the last time you were getting out of hand to tone it down or else we might have to have a little sit down?” He asked looking between the two of them.

“WE DID!” Rhone roared, “We backed off your territory, and started paying!”

“And how is brutally raping and nearly beating to death little girls even remotely close to keeping a low profile?” He asked looking between the two.

“That bitch had it comin’ man.” Shred said.

“She thought she could just steal from me and leave? I don’t fucking think so, no bitch leaves my stable without my say so. It’s not your fuckin’ business anyway!” Suddenly Archie backhanded Rhone so hard it slammed against the bored he was strapped to.

“It is now.” Archie said. “See, you two fuckers think your bad ass, going around doing what you want, disrespecting everyone and everything. Think it makes you cool, makes you something special.” Two guys started to tightened the straps around Rhone and snapped a hook on the harness it made. “See, the problem is . . . Bobby stepped up a few rungs on the food chain when she sought employment elsewhere. Good hours, job security,” He stepped closer, “And a great health plan. For example, to insure her future good health . . . you two are out of warnings and out of chances. Be grateful though chaps that I’m the one called in on this. Had she done it herself your lives would have come to a much worse more humiliating and painful end.”

A gag was tied in Rhone and Shreds mouth, as the hoods were pulled back over their heads and Rhone was the first to be lowered down into the Themes River below. The water was freezing, and the animals that inhabited it? Carnivorous.

“She still might.” Archie and the others turned to see Jean standing near the lift leaning against the wall. Needless to say, Archie was surprised to see her. She’d never been here before; he’d never told her about it much less where it was located. It was a little unnerving. Jean pushed herself off the wall and walked towards them, coming to a stop just passed Archie. She stood in silence, just waiting. It was clear to Archie what she had come for. To see their demise personally. He gave a nod to his man who hit the remote and lowered him down into the river.

It didn’t take to long. It was not only cold, but the crawfish infestation was quite alive and active this time of year. After Rhone’s half eaten carcass was cut free and dropped back into the river, Shred was lowered and fed to the creatures as well.

Jean stood near the edge and watched every moment until they stopped twitching as Archie stood next to her seeing the cold stare in her eyes. She was so furious about what had happened, what was done to that girl. He’d never seen her like this, on the brink of obsession. He wondered why that was, why Bobby invoked such strong feelings in her. Usually she could be objective and keep enough detachment to get what needed to be done, done.

When it was over, Archie’s boys started cleaning up after the event and preparing to collect what was left, if anything, and dispose of it. Jean turned and started walking back to the lift and Archie walked with her. “Afraid I wouldn’t do it?” He asked.

“Of course not.” She said. “I just wanted to see them feel some fraction of what that girl felt.”

“What’s up, Jean.” He said, “You seem even more upset then when I saw you at the hospital.”

Her steps slowed and she sighed coming to a stop. “The doctor doesn’t think she’ll ever have full use of her hand again, and they had to do a full hysterectomy. There was to much damnage and they couldn’t control the bleeding.”

“Jesus.” Archie said knowing how serious this news was. “Has she started to speak yet?”

“A little bit. Not to us, she more or less mumbles to herself and Jameson says that she cries each time she’s allowed to dwell on what happened.” Jean hated this whole thing. There was no real reason for this to have happened. Rhone said she had ‘stolen’ from him. What he meant by that was that he’d fed her for a day or two, and apparently to him that meant he owned her. “I’ve never understood how human beings could treat others like they’re less than human, as though they themselves are better somehow.”

“It doesn’t matter now, where those two are concerned. They won’t be hurting anyone else anymore.” Archie had noticed that things like this were starting to take a toll on jean. The pure and simple fact of it was, she liked people. She liked the girls that she employed and cared for, and she was like a lioness when it came to protecting them. If she chose to marry, she would have been a wonderful mother to her biological children. Perhaps that was the result of her childhood. She never really had someone to protect her and care for her when she was a kid. When she was sent to live with her aunt, it certainly wasn’t anything like a loving family relationship. She was put to work almost straight away, to earn money and learn her trade. Most people wouldn’t want their daughter or niece or female relative to enter such a line of work. This woman saw Jean as another girl to be exploited and didn’t miss the chance to get the money she would bring in with her pretty face and young but quite mature body. It must have been a nightmare from the time she set foot in England from America.

“You should go home and get some rest.” Archie said. “You’re exhausted. This is taken care of, and Bobby’s started to recover. You try to keep this pace up and you’re going to get sick.”

“Archie,” She said, “Tired or not . . . . I’m not sure I can even close my eyes to try to sleep.” She rubbed her forehead slightly. “There’s just too many things on my mind.”

“Well, lets see what we can do about that, hmm?” He wrapped his arm around her waist and he walked her into the lift.

Liquid Libation

Jean sat on Archie’s sofa, with her shoes off and her legs pulled around underneath her as she held a glass in her hand, and leaned her elbow against the back of the couch. He sat on the other end with a drink as well but she was ahead of him at least two to one.

“I have three graduating from Nursing school in a month or two. As soon as they get a job, they’ll be able to support themselves and start their new lives.” She said softly. “I’m really proud of them, they studied hard and went after what they wanted to do. They wanted to help people, now they’ll do it every day.” She took a deep drink from the glass, and he reached over taking the bottle and filling it again. Her eyes were starting to become a bit glassy, but he thought it best that she have enough to help her sleep and unwind.

“You help people every day.” He said pointing out that she was incredibly important where she seemed to think she wasn’t. Archie freshened his own drink before putting the bottle back down on the table. “Without you those girls would be living in hell, a lot of them wouldn’t have even survived this long. You know that world, you’ve been there.” He said.

“I’m still there if you haven’t noticed.” She said honestly. “I never left.”

“You stepped up. You’ve used your experience and your talent to turn around and improve the lives of those who were at the end of their road.” He added. She half smiled looking at him.

“I don’t think you know me as well as you assume you do.” She said.

“That’s funny, I happen to think I know more about you then you know about yourself.” Jean gave him a look before taking another deep drink. She leaned her head against the back of the couch a moment before lifting it back up and focusing on Archie. “You’re the opposite of everything that you were raised by. You don’t tear anyone down and go out of your way to see that those girls feel good about themselves. Not feel as though because they’re prostitutes therefore worthless gutter trash. I’ve known quite a number of pimps in my day and I can tell you, they aren’t concerned in the least how their girls feel. All they’re worried about is having money in hand, on time.”

“Most people who are in my line of work do it for the money. It’s actually a very lucrative enterprise. Even more so if you take most of the girls money and make them work in horrible conditions, or even use drugs to keep them under complete control and obedient.” She took another deep drink from her glass. He could see sleep trying to overtake her, but she was still fighting it. “My Aunt was a particularly harsh mistress and a strict landlord. If someone didn’t make enough that day to pay their rent, which was always quite a bit higher than it should have been. Considering the building we lived in was a dirty rat infested shit hole, they were out on the street along with all their stuff. Didn’t matter if they had any place to go, if it was raining, snowing, freezing . . .she didn’t care. I was locked out once or twice until I could get enough money together to get back in.”

“The old bird wouldn’t do the world a favor and die.” Archie said reaching for the bottle, “Her and Lenny must have been soul mates.” He filled her glass and decided it was the last time he would do so. Letting her make herself sick was a definite step in the wrong direction.

“I didn’t know Lenny that well.” Jean sort of jumped track and switched subjects slightly. She was feeling the alcohol now, and her face was a bit flushed as she unbuttoned the top few buttons of her blouse and readjusted the way she was sitting so she could lean against the couch a bit more comfortably. “He was sort of an old pervert, that lecherous old fart.”

“Made a pass at you a time or two did he?” Archie asked.

“You were there.” She said, “Didn’t you ever wonder whose bed springs he was creaking?”

Archie just looked at her for a moment, “What?” He said leaning forward a bit surprised, “You mean you?”

“Never look at me the same way again, will you.” She said taking another drink from the glass. It was a shock to be sure, he knew she was a working girl back then, but Lenny? Christ the man was in his 70’s.

“I knew you had clients, Jean. I just didn’t know he was one of them.” He added. There were volumes of things that Archie had learned about Lenny since his demise, changing the view and respect that he had for the man considerably. This was just another new bit of information to be thrown on the pile.

“Not many girls would work pro bono so to speak. But considering I was her Niece, she had no problem throwing her friends a bone free of charge now and again. And Lenny, was a very close personal friend.” She explained.

That was just to disgusting on so many levels. He didn’t hold it against her, Jean’s Aunt was a black widow of the worst kind. Conditions in that particular whore house were not nearly as pleasant as they were now to say the very least. When Jean took over, everything changed considerably. But she was the one who lived in the worst conditions when her Aunt was running things.

“Well, both of us were promoted so to speak around the same time.” He held up his glass, “To new regimes.” She half smiled and held up her glass clicking it to his in a toast before they both took a drink. Jean leaned against the couch and closed her eyes for a moment. Now, she was relaxed and perhaps far enough into a bottle that she could sleep. Reaching over, Archie took her glass and set them both down on the table before standing from the couch.

She started to stand, but he quickly swept her up into his arms and she leaned her head against his shoulder as he carried her into the bedroom and lay her down. She rolled over, her head against the pillow and he pulled the blanket and covers up to keep her warm.

Sitting down next to her, he reached up and pulled the combs and clips from her hair putting them aside letting her curls cascade down over her shoulders so she could rest more comfortably. God, she looked so beautiful. Even in an exhausted and sleepy alcohol induced state. Deciding to let her get some much needed rest, he stood and walked out turning off the light before closing the door carefully.

New Programs

“Hey.” Jean said seriously to quiet down the group of girls as they settled finally and took seats. “Pay attention, I mean it.” She sat at the back of the room as an instructor came in.

“Hello ladies.” A man walked in and stood at the front of the room. “This course is going to cover all sorts of self defense techniques. Three days a week, and there are going to be four different classes you can sign up for. We’re going to do some testing and put you in the classes that play the best to your strengths.” He said.

One of the girls raised her hand, and he called on her. ”When are we supposed to practice? Use our John’s as dummies if they try to stiff us?” The girls all giggled at the double intender.

“There will be an hour or two between classes where you can get all the practice you want.” He answered. “Jean has already made arrangements for you and the rest of her staff to have training over the next six months. So pay attention and you’ll benefit from what you learn. You’ll be able to defend yourself.”

“That’s what our escorts are for. To defend and protect us.” Another girl said.

This time Jean took it up, “When you’re on a job, Karen.” She said, “When you are on your own time, or if your escort can’t get to you immediately and has to go through a locked door or some such thing, you’ll be able to protect yourself.”

“Are there any other questions?” The instructor said, when no one answered he continued. “Good. Let’s get started.”

Business Propositions

“I don’t have time for this.” Jean said starring at the real estate agent. “Either name me your price, and we get down to business or I will take my interests elsewhere.” She said in a stern tone having had enough of the over the top pitch she’d been assaulted with. “What do you want for this old, run down, pile of rubble.” She demanded.

The real estate agent cleared his throat, “I assure you that this is premiere property, and the building is in good condition . . .” he began preparing to give her another line.

“Bullshit.” She said wanting to put a stop to it before it began. “The roof is going to have to be entirely replaced, the wiring is substandard, and it looks like most if not all of the pluming is going to need to be redone and upgraded if I don’t want a line of outhouses dug in the back.” It was clear that she had experience with this sort of thing before, obviously considering how well her business had expanded and this would be the seventh location in her investments. She had five up and running full bore, another that was being remolded and repaired that would be open in just a few months, and now she was considering this one. “So, lets see. Aside from all of the rundown and limited functionality left in this place, that is 300 rooms, two ball rooms, a large dining room, and a swimming pool in the basement, along with office space in the back of the first floor and the majority of the 6th floor.” Jean listed the summery of the property. “Shall we discuss prices or have you wasted an entire afternoon of my time that I could have put to better use?” She asked.

The man was definitely out matched. From having seen she was a woman and how old she was, he had come unprepared for this where she had done her homework. “Of course.” He said with half a smile as he indicated they should go and look over the paperwork and begin negotiations.

Dinner Engagements

The underground criminal business lords had a tendency to meet on occasion for dinner parties, or other gatherings where more contacts, contracts, and connections could be made among them. It took Jean some time to be let into this somewhat exclusive and misogynistic group. Yet it wasn’t long after she took over her Aunt’s business that she proved herself a force to be reckoned with.

Archie approached her with another man and waited until she turned towards them. “Nice to see you dear.” He said kissing her cheek in a greeting. Personally, Archie couldn’t be more proud of her. She got ahead and to where she was now on her own. A definite accomplishment from where she started out at. “Johnny Quid, Jean Gracie.” He said introducing them. “Of course you might already know of each other.”

“Johnny Quid, have a couple of your albums. You have quite the fan base among the ranks of my girls.” She said shaking his hand. He smiled and kissed the back of her knuckles with a charming smile.

“Jean Gracie, a legend in her own right.” He said with a wink. “Actually, one of your girls was my introduction to the world of females. Is Regina still on your roster?” He asked.

“She’s moved on to bigger and better things. She works as a paralegal and has two boys.” Jean answered.

Archie smiled seeing how well they were getting on. Johnny was Lenny’s boy. Or Step-son rather. Their relationship was not exactly a loving one either. Lenny had a tendency to beat Johnny on a daily basis after his mother killed herself. Johnny however, turned out rather well. He was on the drug scene for a while, but he was a class act and a charming young man. Both Johnny and Jean were around the same age, and could relate in a number of ways. “Johnny is coming up pretty quickly himself. I thought I should introduce the two of you, since you’ll no doubt we working together sooner or later.”

“Oh?” Jean said looking at Johnny.

“Archie’s told me how generous you can be and how good your establishments comforts are for the morale of his men, as well as the spoiling of clients.” He admitted.

“Well we aim to please.” She answered. “I’m sure it’s been awhile since you’ve had a visit. Why don’t you come around sometime this week and have a walk through. See if you’ll get your money’s worth.”

“I’ll do that.”

Evening Visits

Archie rolled over when he felt the bed move and saw Jean sitting up stretching her back preparing to leave. “Where you off to?” He asked.

Jean turned and looked at him, “I thought you were asleep.”

“Just resting.” He started to sit up as well and slid closer to her. “You’re not running off already, are you?” Archie asked wrapping his arms around her and kissing her neck. “You haven’t even been here that long.”

“Have a meeting with the contractor today.” She said looking back at him and leaning her head against his shoulder. “I’m sure he has some sob story about why he’s four months behind on the current project.”

Archie kissed her deeply, resting his fingertips against her jaw. Then he kissed her a second time before she reluctantly reached down and picked up her undergarments and started to pull them on. “I heard you just made a deal for another one.” He said guessing that he should probably get up as well. “How much do you think this one will be to open.”

“If I play my cards right, I think perhaps 5 million in repairs, if my contractor doesn’t get off his ass and get to work then I’ll have to make arrangements with someone else.” She said reaching behind her and hooking her bra. “It’s the largest one I’ll have. I think I might make it my headquarters if everything goes as planned.”

“Think you’ll be able to fill 300 rooms?” He asked. Jean slowed her movements and turned towards him arching a brow.

“Checking up on me, are we arch? Or did I steal it out from under you and that’s a tone of irritation in your voice I’m hearing.” She asked looking at him slyly. He half smiled just giving her a look before pulling on his boxers. “It’ll be 150 rooms by the time the renovations are finished, and if you’ve been paying attention my payroll is growing every day.”

“Yeah, I have.” He said seriously looking at her. “There’s a lot of other people whose been noticing as well.”

Jean sighed and turned around crawling over to him on his side of the bed. “If they’re clean, and willing to adhere to my rules then I see no reason why they shouldn’t be given jobs.”

“A lot of girls are leaving their old jobs and wondering your way. It’s creating a lot of grudges and bad feelings that aren’t going to end well for you, Jean.” He said deadly serious.

“I can’t help if it if working for me is more appealing than trying to survive in a lot of the hell holes other people run, can I. Besides,” She leaned over his shoulder and whispered in his ear, “That’s what you’re here for.”

Archie turned back towards her, “I can only do so much, love.” He said. “Don’t rely on me being able to protect you if some bad types get an itch. These Russian’s that have come over in the past 10 decades for example. They don’t do things the way we do, they don’t respect the food chain or the way we practice business. It’s a whole different ball game with them.”

“Archie, I’m sure some deal can be made with them. They are more civilized then the Ukrainian pigs we ran out of here a few years ago. You know as well as I do that people wanting to work for you gets 120% better results than forcing them to work for you does. It works for everyone all the way around. I pull in more profit, the girls are happy and cared for, and the clients are impressed and happy which makes them inclined to toss obscene amounts of money our way. Everyone is taken care of, and quite satisfied.” She said. “Why should I be as bad as the rest of the world, be as miserable and unhappy as they are just looking out for themselves.”

Archie looked at her for a moment, “Are you happy?” He asked knowing full well that she wasn’t. She never really had been from the very first time they’d met. What reason did she have to be? When she didn’t answer he reached up and cupped her cheek in his hand, as her eyes turned away from him. Misery was simply the state that she’d lived in from the time that she was sent to her Aunt. It’s what she was used to, and to be honest, she wasn’t sure if she would ever know anything else. Archie leaned forward and kissed her gently. After a moment or two she kissed him back, and he wrapped his arms around her laying her back on the bed beneath him, as they kissed again.

Unfortunate News

“For fucks sake.” Jean said just wanting the endless outpour of excuses to stop. “I’ve been out to the work site, and every single time I am do you know what I see?” She said looking at the contractor, “1 out of every 5 of your guys actually doing something. No matter what time or day of the week it’s always the same.”

“We’re going as fast as we can.” The man said, “It’ll probably be another few months before we can even get the materials we need . . . .”

“Stop.” She said wishing people would stop operating under the assumption that she was a complete idiot. “You have the materials you need, every time you need something it’s there by the next day. Stop handing me a line of bullshit or else we are finished. You’ll be out and I’ll get someone in who knows what the fuck they are doing and won’t try to screw me over at every turn!” She threw him a file, “Now get back to work and I had better damn well see some impressive results by next Sunday or you and I are going to have a problem.”

The man quickly got up and left the office and Jean leaned back in her chair running her hand over her face. Things seemed to be so incredibly hectic lately. Ridiculously so. Her empire was expanding at a break neck speed, there were a few problems here and there like the Bobby situation, some other unruly customers that disappeared off the face of the planet, and a wave of theft that was more annoying than irritating.

Family Ties

Jean lay against her headboard going through mail and entering some information on her laptop going through other bits and pieces of business materials that needed to be looked after. A knock came to her door and she called out for them to enter.

“This came for you.” The young woman said carrying a box over to her. Jean arched a brow as she’d already gotten the days mail. She closed her computer and put the laptop aside taking the package and unwrapping it finding a card tucked into the top. She opened it and it read:

“Sorry I’m a few weeks late, but I believe you were promised some stones gift wrapped for your birthday.” ~Archie~

Putting the card aside she untied the ribbon on the velvet box and opened it finding two large heart-cut pink diamond earrings, and an even larger heart-cut pink diamond pendant on a silver chain. She half smiled and shook her head finding another small card tucked away in the lid, “Dinner, Tuesday, 8pm.”

“Should I put it on your schedule Jean?” The young woman asked. Jean gave a nod closing the box.

“It’s either a business proposition or an apology for something going terribly wrong.” She mentioned. “Diamonds this large usually indicate the latter.”

“Maybe he’s going to ask you to marry him.” The young woman said taking the cards to add it to her appointment book.

“If that’s the case, even though incredibly unlikely, I’ll kill him myself.” The young woman left and Jean picked up her laptop going back to her work.

Dinner Engagements

“Must you always beat me to everything?” Archie asked standing next to the car door when one of Jean’s men opened it for her to get out. She stepped out of the car and looked at Archie.

“I hope this isn’t a personal meeting, Archie. I thought we agreed that we wouldn’t have public meetings.” She warned him.

“Of course not.” He said, leaning closer to her ear, “Private meetings come later.” He whispered. She gave him a sly look not usually agreeing to such meetings without having all the information. “You look absolutely stunning.” He complimented noticing that she was wearing the gift he’d sent her. “”Better then the stones you were hoping for?” He asked.

“They probably won’t sent the same messages the other would, but I think I can live with that.” He smiled as they turned and walked into the restaurant together.

Once inside they were shown to a table where several men were already sitting, one or two having dates they had brought with them. “Hello Archie. Long time no see.” One of the men said standing shaking his hand, as the others greeted him as well. Once that was over Archie brought all attention to Jean.

“Gentlemen, I would like to present Jean Gracie. Some of you know her by reputation I believe.” He introduced her as she smiled at the men. They stood and greeted her as well, one actually taking her hand and placing a kiss on her knuckles before she sat down and Archie sat beside her.

Apparently she was well known to everyone at the table, including the ladies who had come with their dates, as they gave her either death glares or condescending looks. Jean chose to ignore them although she had a feeling that wouldn’t be maintained the entire evening.

Once the appetizer was done and over with and they were into the main course, things got down to business. “Miss Gracie, I’ve actually wanted to ask you something about the women who work for you.” One of the men spoke up. “They all seem to wear the same ring on the middle finger of their right hand. Is that by design or coincidence?” He asked.

“I take it that you yourself have never been one of our clients.” She said taking a sip of her wine. “Otherwise all you needed to do was ask, the girls would have told you. You’ll find that they are very open to conversation.”

“You force them to wear them, is that it?” One of the women said with venom in her words. It was obvious that this woman was never part of Jean’s trade. She had no idea why things were the way they were or how things were done in that profession.

“The rings they wear indicate that they work for me.” Jean said starring at the woman straight on. “And they serve as a warning to those who hire them that they are indeed protected and looked after.”

“So it’s a collar with a name tag.” The woman said. “That you’re their owner.” Archie looked between the two women not certain how this was going to go.

“I’m their employer, it’s a vast difference. They work for me because they want to. They wear the ring by their choice. It’s not required.” Now Jean was going to bring this closer to home and make it more personal. “They are women, young ladies, just like you. Working to make a living the best way they can to get by and survive in this world. Most of them without families, and without options. I don’t expect someone like you to understand, as you have obviously had the privileges and chances that most working class people don’t get. That doesn’t make you better, it simply makes you lucky.”

The woman looked from left to right a little put on the spot and not certain if she wanted the attention. She sunk in her chair slightly and continued to eat her dinner in silence. Archie glanced at Jean, as he knew how protective she was of all of her girls, hoping her mood wasn’t spoiled for the entire evening.

“I’ve had the pleasure of spending an evening or two with your young ladies.” Another man said speaking up deciding that it was the best way to move past the uncomfortable topic that had just been thrown on the table. “I was impressed at how pleasant they were. More times than not, women in the profession aren’t usually in the best of humors.”

“Most likely because they are hungry or concerned where they will sleep if they don’t get enough money for their services. It is not an easy life by any stretch of the imagination. It may be the oldest profession in the world, but it’s not the most stimulating or lucrative. Not to mention the stigma that has a tendency to come with it.” She said shooting a glance towards the women at the table whose air of superiority had deflated a bit.

“Archie tells us that you’re open to business investments.” The gentlemen decided it was best to move on into the main reason they were meeting this evening. “We may have a few endeavors that you may be interested in becoming involved in.”

“That depends.” She said.

“On?” He asked.

“What business propositions usually depend on. The price, the profit, and of course the nature of the business itself.” She stated.

“The price is manageable, the profit is extensive, and the nature of the business . . . somewhat illegal.” The man stated. Archie had some idea about what this entailed, but not the full story. He waited and listened as everything was explained to Jean.

Anger

“God DAMNIT Archie!” Jean roared as her car drove away with her and Archie in the back. “What the fuck is wrong with you! How could you even think of taking me to meet with those bastards?” She demanded.

“Calm down!” he said as she pulled off her gloves and slammed them against her lap. “Look, they wanted to meet you. If for no other reason than they wanted to get a feel for what you were like.”

“You must have known something about their nature, why the fuck would you even consider this??” She asked.

“The only reason you’re flying off of the handle this bad is because those women got you all upset before business discussion could even be started. They don’t reflect these men, what they said is their own personal views.” He argued.

“Maybe you missed that spiel that just was thrown out there in front of me.” She said. “They want to use me to bring immigrants into the country, so they have somewhere to stash them until they get legal documentation for them. Expecting them to work for me while they wait for their papers. What the hell is that if not extreme exploitation! It’s exactly the kind of thing that I’ve been against from the beginning!” Jean wasn’t happy with the proposition but she listened politely and said she would need some time to consider the offer. Only when they were in the car and driving away did she finally let her temper loose on Archie.

“These girls aren’t being kidnapped, Jean. They’re told what they have to do, and what it’s going to take before they sign on. If they don’t want to do it then they can find another way to get transported into the country.” Archie was trying to get her to calm down enough to speak to him and actually discuss things rather than just completely blow up in every direction.

“If I were to agree to this, this would open a whole new can of worms that I don’t want to deal with. There’s their respective governments who didn’t want to grant them permission to leave, our government who didn’t want them here in the first place, and the majority of these girls will be refugees from one thing or another, some of which might just decide to come after them and take them back. It’s shit, Archie. The whole thing is Bullshit.” She said.

“Look, Jean it’s going to happen with or without your part in it. I know how strongly you feel about the treatment of working girls, and you are the best bet these girls have. If you don’t take them on, some slime ball scum of the criminal world is going to take them, and things won’t turn out very well for the majority of them. You know that better then anyone else.” Archie said seriously. “You want to expand your business, while looking out for women who need a guardian angel like you, this is the best way. Not to mention it will put you in good with some of the most powerful men in the criminal underworld. That will guarantee you protection that you don’t currently have.”

She sighed and fell silent. She would have to give this a lot of thought.

To Be Continued . . . . .

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