Moral Degeneration

“I want this one,” Rowan said. Practically laying on the hood of the red convertible. 

“I’m not buying you that one,” I laughed. “You get a used car.”

“You have so much money though,” she said with a frown. 

“Guess how much I spent on my car,” I said. 

“Like $20,000.”

“More like $6,000,” I admitted. “Plus a lot of my own time fixing it up. I’m not about to spend more on your car than I do on my own.” Rowan frowned but ran to another one. 

“How about this?” She asked, holding onto the SUV. 

“I’m not going to buy you anything if you don’t start being reasonable,” I assured.

“You’re mean,” she said, but I could tell she was playing. “Fine. You tell me what then.” I pointed to a station wagon as a joke. “I’ll kill you, you know.”

“I know you would,” I said. Finally a salesman came up and it wasn’t long until we located the used cars. We drove a few but she ended up with a cheap Nissan Altima. It was a little ugly, but great for the price. She fought and cried, but in the end was happy to have her very own car. I called one of my new insurance agents and added her to my policy. She drove away with a smile on her face. 

Getting in my own car I was just in time for another meeting I had scheduled. This time with Eleanor, the new Florence of the Nightingales. 

“You look good,” I said as I got out of my car. She was wearing the black biker vest that said Florence on the back. 

“Thanks,” she said. “I got voted in last week.” 

“Good. What did you call the meeting for?” I asked. 

“Janet suspects you,” Eleanor said. Janet was the old Florence. A shaved/coke head that I was happy to put away. 

“Not sure what there is to suspect,” I said. I wasn’t about to trust this girl with saying something out of line. Bikers were known to only have loyalties with themselves. 

“Right,” Eleanor said, rolling her eyes. “She wants me to threaten you to impregnate her.”

“Yeah, she can threaten all she wants,” I said. “I assume she’s stuck in the county jail?”

“Maximum security,” Eleanor said with a nod. “The DA said they’ll be pursuing both cases. The aggravated assault of her morphine dealer, and the murder of that cop…” She eyed me. Still unsure how I managed that one. 

“Good, she should pay for her crimes,” I said. “Erica says congratulations by the way.”

“Erica?” Eleanor asked. “You still see Janet’s brat?”

She smiled, then frowned as she heard the threat. “When are you going to take the other half of our deal?” 

“When I’m ready,” I said. “Your sister was amenable. I finally have the storage, so probably in the next month. Don’t worry, I’ll be gentle when I rob the place blind.” She frowned more. “Don’t give me that. You made off like a bandit in our deal.”

“I guess,” she said. “Tension is still high with the Hermanas though.”

“I’m sure,” I said with a nod. “Anything else?”

She chewed her lip. “I want to know if you’re willing to do favors still.”

“No more favors for the Nightingales,” I said flatly. “But…I am willing to work for pay. For you, and you alone.” 

She let out a breath. “Fine. I don’t have anything right now, but when I do…”

“I’ll be there for the right price,” I said. Extending my hand she took it and we parted on good terms. I’d have to keep my eye on the Nightingales, but it was helpful to have their ear if I needed it. 

After the meeting with her I went to the truly scary place in the city. I had been putting it off for a while now, but it was time to meet the true power in Minneapolis. Parking beside a building. There were lots of other cars around me. Getting out the boom of the bass had already started though it was only 9. 

Walking to the street the front of the club already had a short line. Girls kissing, chatting, and laughing toward one another, they were dressed well for a Sunday night. Bright colored dresses, nails just painted, hair down up, loud and jangly jewelry on, they were ready to party. Walking around the line I put my hood up and stopped at the bouncer. 

She eyed me, but her eyes were on the $100 bill in my palm. Shaking her hand she took it without a thought and let me right in. The door released a wave of loud music. Inside was dark, but there were strobes and other lights above my head. The dance floor only had a few people on it. Since it didn’t officially open for another half hour it wasn’t too surprising. 

I walked straight to the bartender. My hood still up I asked, “I was told to see Marta.” The bartender eyed me but pointed to the back. Booths blocked off with rope were lining most of the back wall. I walked over to the specific one and was met with a very masculine bouncer. It was a woman of course. Tan skin, shaved head, her arms were as thick as my head. I gave her my best smile as she blocked my path. 

“Maeda sent me,” I said. The bouncer growled but turned to her boss behind her. At the boss’s table was what I expected. All Mexicans, they had tan skin, dark hair, and were eyeing me. The boss herself was younger than I expected. Perhaps in her early 30s, it was easy to say she was the most beautiful of all of them. Dark hair done up in waves, amazing rack that showed a deep V of cleavage, her muscles were firm, and she openly showed off scars in her arms. 

She eyed the bouncer who gave her a sign and the leader waved me over. I nodded and dropped the hood revealing I was a man. There were a couple of surprised faces but the leader wasn’t one of them. 

“I was wondering when Maeda’s boy would stop by,” Marta said. The leader had a wide smile on as I stood in front of her. I openly looked her up and down. Wearing a tight leopard print dress I would have made fun of anyone else wearing that, but she looked more dangerous and hot with it on. 

“Just trying to say hi,” I said. I didn’t have any plans for the Hermanas yet, but I figured I should see them before I needed a favor. “I hope Maeda said good things.”

“No,” I said truthfully. “Not yet. I hope to be in the next few months. But to get into your good graces I am also offering myself up for hire.” I was done with favors for the time being. 

“Hire? What could we want with a boy?” She asked, her accent was thick, but it was easy to understand her.

“Soy un hombre con muchos talentos,” I said smoothly. I am a man with many talents.  

“Ah, muy bueno,” she said and continued on in Spanish. “Tell me, did you really sleep with all of Maeda’s children?” 

“I assume the children are the girls she lives with?” I asked. She nodded. “Mostly. I didn’t count.”

She laughed sweetly and nodded. “Please, sit,” she said. I moved to sit at the edge of the booth. “Yes, I must admit, men are sometimes useful in our line of work. Officers are less likely to search men. It is so hard to find those willing to put in any effort as well. Consider me intrigued by you, Russ was it?”

“Yes,” I said. “Good. I am hoping to work up a mutually beneficial arrangement. I recently had a falling out with the Nightingales.” 

“Oh, you know them?” She asked. Better to hear it from me than someone else. I nodded. “They are children. Playing at a game where they don’t understand what is at stake.” 

“What is at stake?” I asked, testing her.

“My livelihood. I like my money. I do not like hiccups. So if someone becomes too much of a problem, we get rid of them,” she said simply. The message was clear, don’t cross her.

“Fair enough,” I said, playing the weak man. These girls didn’t understand that I was just as deadly as them. This was a huge risk coming here. Putting myself out in the open for attack or targeting by these women. But risk and reward were tied together. 

She smiled, nodding slowly. Waving me over she said, “Come, sit with me. I find my drink tastes better with a man present.” I didn’t see any reason why not. The girls scooted over and I sat next to her. She wasn’t shy about putting her hand on my knee.

“Oh, you are not shy,” she said. “Tell me, how did you sleep with so many women in one night?”

“It helps when you’ve never had a man before,” I admitted. “I’m sure it was a kink for all of them.”

“Yes, but still. The endurance it would take. We have some boys in our employ. They require a lot of recovery after one time,” she said. I really hoped by employ she meant it. If they were keeping sex slave boys…I would have to rethink my position. Until I was proven otherwise though, I would use these women as I needed.

“I eat a lot of meat,” I said.

“Oh, perhaps we should try that. Why don’t we get some food? I find myself hungry,” she said. Waving a waiter down I put on a smile and nodded. These people were all for their power moves and I’d let them have them. She was planning to use me for all I was worth, and I was planning to use her. Balance was restored and only time would tell who came out on top. 

My arm wrapped over her shoulder, eyeing her cleavage with a smile. “You’re very beautiful,” I said, going on the attack. “Why don’t I just show you how I handled all of those women instead of talking about it?”

The table quieted, all eyes on Marta. “Ha, I would if I could. My partner would not like that,” she said smiling. I nodded, there was a lot to dissect there. Maybe this woman really wasn’t the boss. I’d have to stick around to find out.