Night was draped over London like a sheet over a naked body. The warmth of the day gone by still lingered and made for uncomfortable sleeping. Not that it mattered to Jack Brodie. He never slept anyway. Besides, the heat made his midnight walk very pleasant indeed.
Stealing quietly out of his Mayfair flat, he kept a close eye out for deranged autograph hunters and paparazzi. Jack was the star of the remake of
Death Wish
and since its release, he hadn't had a moment's rest. Day by day, he struggled against the relentless tirade of ringing telephones and couldn't go outside by day for fear of the rabble. In a way, Jack was the victim of his own success.
This was what the midnight walks were about. By night, paparazzo was in bed and Jack was free to leave his apartment. Trudging past a still open off license, he looked at his tired, bespectacled reflection in the glass of the shop front and sighed. Jack was a popular and respected actor before
Death Wish
had come along, but that had catapulted him to superstardom. Offers for big parts started rolling in. Agents in LA called him at all hours of the day and night, often forgetting about the nine hour time difference. It got to the stage where he couldn't sleep undisturbed. He was a prisoner in his own apartment.
At night, Jack roamed the city taking in and relishing the dark alleys, quiet streets and deserted squares of his home city. He'd do some shopping in the late opening shops and then go home around three in the morning before maybe catching an hour or two of sleep. Then again, maybe not.
Tonight though was different. Since before
Death Wish
, Jack hadn't had a woman in his life. Being a recluse made it difficult to go out and socialise. It was tonight that he decided to go out and seek the some company. He would pay if he had to. Where better to go than old Soho?
Again, looking at his reflection in the windows of the rows of parked Vauxhalls and BMWs he thought about how old he looked. He was only twenty six, but it was his chiselled jaw and wisp of short black hair, covering part of his forehead that made him such an attractive star. In addition to being an immensely talented actor, Brodie was known throughout the world for his masculine good looks. Cynics said it was those looks alone rather than talent that made him a star.
Lovers held hands across a table in one of the fashionable late opening cafés. Jack smiled sadly as he glanced in the window, the couple oblivious to his presence. They were both entranced by each other and Jack wondered if he would ever feel the love that they felt for each other. Bouncers stood like sentinels at nightclub doors. Outside one club, Jack looked on in disgust as a young woman vomited on the pavement while pounding dance music emanated from inside where the coke addled partygoers danced the night away. He wished he could be
normal
like all those other people enjoying themselves. As much as he wanted to, Jack couldn't go in and he kept walking.
As the music was going out of earshot and the streets began to darken, Jack spied two ladies standing on a street corner. They spotted him too. He looked around for an occupied car nearby. There wasn't one. These girls weren't undercover cops. They were the real deal. If they were cops, there'd be an unmarked police car nearby with a plainclothes male officer inside ready to pounce on the unsuspecting customer. In fact, Jack had played a vice cop in one of his pictures so he knew the tricks of the trade.
As he approached the girls, he took them both in- one was blonde, the other, a smouldering brunette. Both wore typical hooker gear- tiny tank tops, short skirts and fishnet clad legs. Two things were unusual though; the blonde wore a collar attached to a leash held by the brunette. A bullwhip hung from the belt around the brunette's waist. They both looked relaxed.
"All right sunshine?" called the brunette, "You're looking lonely; like you could do with some company." Jack didn't speak until he was up close to them. The diamonds in both their navels glinted under the light of a streetlamp.
"As a matter of fact, I am. How would you ladies like to show me a good time?"
"We'd love to. Hey, do I know you from somewhere?" Jack smiled.
"I'd doubt it." The blonde sidled up to him and reaching up to his face, she removed his thick, black framed glasses and looked into his steely blue eyes. She turned to the brunette. Jack noticed the large crucifix tattoo on her back. He wondered what it meant to her. Was she religious? Had she once been? Why did she chose this life? Did she choose it or was it forced upon her?
"This is Jack Brodie. I'd know those eyes anywhere." she told the brunette.
"The actor?"
"That's me. Now seeing as you both know my name, how about telling me yours?" The brunette spoke.
"I'm Cindy and this is Lola. She's my bitch."
"Is that so? Well Cindy, well Lola, I want you to show me the night of my life."
"For you, anything. It'd be our pleasure. Lola, blindfold!" Lola produced a strip of cloth from her handbag and tied it around Jack's eyes. For the next while, everything would be black.
"What? What are you doing?"
"Trust us honey, we're professionals." Jack felt his arms being pulled behind his back and heard the unmistakeable click of handcuffs.
"Okay, we've got a little walk to get to the place we use when we want a little privacy. I'm sure you don't want this all over the front page of
The Sun
now, do you
?
"
They walked a short distance. Blindfolded, Jack's only guide was the pair of hands on his shoulders. In a matter of minutes, Jack felt himself being guided out of the night air and into some kind of indoor setting. But he had no idea where it was.
He was guided through a building and into a room. One of the hookers removed his handcuffs. They began to take off his clothes and pretty soon, he felt their hands rubbing all over his body. Cindy guided him backwards so that he lay on a table and he fervently wondered what these minxes were about to do next. Jack never thought that he could have been in any danger. After all, wasn't he the man that took down New York's underworld single-handedly? That had only been in a film, but what was the worst that could happen he thought as he felt leather straps tightening around his ankles. He reckoned it was going to be a pretty kinky night.
Suddenly, he heard a creaking noise and felt his legs being jerked upwards until his back was lifted from the table and only his head remained on its mahogany surface. Soon, he was completely free of the table and suspended upside-down in mid air by the ankles. It was only then did he hear the ladies speak again.
"Is he too high for you Lola?"
"What do you think?"
"Yeah, I'll let him down a bit." At this point, Jack was curious.
"Hey, eh, you mind telling me what's going on?"
"Sure. We've lured you into an elaborate trap and now you're our prisoner."
