10

Ch. 9 Lucky and Luscious

The gaming room in the back was no busier than the strip club. A twin to the customer out front was laying dollars down on the blackjack table like he was tipping a stripper. He was no luckier than the other fella; that is, he could see the goods, but he couldn't touch them.

At the base of the stairs stood a punk flunky wearing a windbreaker over a pointy-collared shirt, with gold chains around his neck. I said, "Hey, rebel without a cause, 'Goodfellas' was set two generations ago, and brushed past him before he unhooded his eyes.

"Wait a minute! You can't go up there."

"Yet here I go," I tossed back at him over my shoulder. "Come along if you want."

I took them two at a time, quickstepped it down the hall, and went through the door just before he got his hand on my collar. I stopped abruptly, ducked and backstepped. I got his hand with mine, put my thumb into the pressure point, and twisted his arm around behind him. I shucked his gun from his waistband just before he got his hand on it. I gave his elbow a love tap with the gun barrel. I kicked his feet out from under him and stepped past him to lay the gun on the desk.

"Hey Lucky," I said, giving no more attention to the flunky on the floor. "When are you going to get some security in here?"

"Rick! Why you always gotta show off when you come in here? Just call me, I'm always happy to see you. He looked at the flunky, now getting back to his feet and shaking his numb right arm. "Carmine, forgive my old friend Rick. He's a showboat. Go ahead back downstairs."

The door closed.

Two other people were in the room, standing to the side. I recognized one. Luscious Johnson was a pudgy younger version of Jimmy Mack. The other was a woman. 5'6" with a gymnast's build, in a shiny black catsuit that showed it. She had pale skin and fine features. Her dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She watched me like someone watching a fatal car crash; someone who's concern was that it would make her late for work.

I could understand why Luscious was giving me the evil eye, but what'd she have against me?

Lucky was talking. "Funny you mentioned security. That's one of the areas Luscious here is taking control of for me. You know Luscious, right?"

"We've never met, but I know him like tofu."

Luscious spoke, "What the fuck that sposed to mean?"

"Nobody likes tofu either."

He puffed out his chest and took a step toward me. One of his eyes twitched.

I thought the woman's mouth twitched a little too.

Lucky pushed his hands out in a calming motion. "Luscious, you know Rick's just fucking with you. Leave it alone."

Luscious said, "You'll be eating tofu through a straw if you keep talking, jack. Be eatin' dirt soon enough, when Jimmy Mack comes home. Tough time cracking wise when you're smiling with your throat." He pulled his finger across his neck."

"That's been tried before. You'll have a tough time cutting my throat while you're sucking dick on cell block D." I shrugged.

Lucky pushed on, "Actually, Luscious doesn't like touching other men intimately, so my other associate, Ivana frisks everyone who comes in the room. She gets a kick out of it."

The woman stepped toward me, saying, "Ivana Kikyanutsoff. Spread your legs please."

"That's been tried before, too."

"That's her name, Rick," Lucky said. "She's Russian."

"Also my pleasure," she said, with a thin smile. "Spread legs. Just a frisk for now."

She patted me down professionally, until her hand ran up my inner thigh. She got a good grip on my balls, held on and said, "Big target." Then ran her hand along my shaft and muttered, "Lethal weapon." But she looked at Lucky and said, "He's clean."

"Let's have a drink," he said. "Luscious, can you pour us all a whiskey?"

Luscious passed around the whiskey glasses, and we toasted and tasted.

"How can I help you, Rick," Lucky asked.

"I'm looking for Randy Mercury."

"Mercury! I love that guy, but I haven't seen him in about a week. You should ask Gina the bartender. They had a thing going."

"My sources say he was deep in debt to you."

"Nah! He owes me right now, sure. But he's owed more before, and he always pays off. He's a whale, Rick. Wait, you think I did something to him?"

"I'm just following up everything right now."

"Maybe he ran off on some soldier-of-fortune adventure."

"Maybe."

"If anyone took him out, they'd have to really catch him off-guard. He is -- was? -- one of the most aware guys I've ever met. And dangerous. If you're chasing a killer, you better be careful yourself."

"Yeah, thanks, Lucky. So you don't know anything else that might help me?"

I'd have to check into what he said, but it had the ring of truth. I had to get out of there. I had stuff to do. Luscious set my teeth on edge. I didn't like the way Ivana was looking at me, either.

"Nope. You can check with Gina, like I said."

"I'll do that." I had trouble speaking clearly. "See you around, Lucky."

I went out the door and down the hall, but in the wrong direction. I was at the back stairs. I turned and Luscious was in front of me, his ugly face looming up like something from a carnival haunted house.

"You..." I slurred, "the whiskey...."

I saw his hands coming toward me. Then I didn't see anything.

Ch. 10 Escape

I was naked and on my knees behind Gina, who was on all fours. The jumpsuit was zipped wide open and my hands gripped her spectacular ass as I worked my throbbing cock in her sweet and gaping asshole. To her left Lily and Rose, Marilyn Milford, and Velda twerked their naked asses at me, all begging, "do me doggy, fuck my ass...." To her right Jazmin, Rosie Peters, and the saggy bleach blonde from Lucky's were doing the same. Gina's ass clutched at my cock like a silky, buttered tube. I plunged deep inside her. I felt I was in an endless orgasm, cum fountained from my cock and coated her back and ass, even though I was fully encased within her. Beyond the row of women, Randy Mercury walked by, left to right. Behind me I realized were a number of figures in blue police uniforms. Flashing red and blue lights bathed the scene in garish light. My cum poured over all the women. Mercury walked by again. I tried to pull out of Gina and go to him, but my cock seemed caught as if in one of those finger trap toys. I saw that all the women not just Rosie Peters, asses twerking so invitingly, had cocks and balls dangling between their legs. They all stood up and came toward me, enormous erections pointing at my face, "Let me do you, Doggy! Let me fuck your ass!" they chanted. The police figures pointed and laughed, mouths stretching wide in distorted mirth. Jimmy Mack Johnson appeared with a knife and slashed at the women's faces and breasts. Blood ran down as they continued to wave their cocks toward me. Gina rammed her baseball bat up my backside as my body convulsed in an eternal climax.

"Rick, wake up," Gina said.

I opened my eyes. Everything was fuzzy, like it had been just before... just before Luscious grabbed me. I was in a shabby, shadowy basement room. Gina was a few feet away, lying on her back on a bare mattress. She was spreadeagled with her wrists and ankles duct taped to the iron bed frame.

That's when I realized I was similarly duct taped, to the chair I sat in. My ankles were taped to the chair legs, my wrists to the arm rests.

"It was Luscious," Gina moaned. "He told me something had happened to you and tricked me into coming here. By the time I realized what was going on, he knocked me down and got me taped to this bed. He's planning to keep us here for Jimmy Mack. Rick, Jimmy Mack threatened to cut my tits off! You know he cut me before. You were there. Rick, you know where we are?"

Right then I did. This old three-decker tenement apartment building was only two doors from the back of Lucky Lewis's place. This was where I'd caught Jimmy Mack terrorizing his hookers, Jazmin, Gina, and Rosie Peters among them. I'd knocked him out just as he slashed Gina. That had only been one scene in a nightmare that was still playing out.

"I know Gina. Listen, he failed then and he's going to fail again."

"What are we going to do, Rick?"

"Calm down, Gina. First we need to get loose."

I'd been thinking fast, and I didn't see any other way. I stood up. It was an awkward low crouch with the chair taped to me. I sat back down, hard. I pulled up on the chair arms. The chair was an old wooden chair. It seemed pretty solid, but I had hopes some of the joints had dried out. I stood again and dropped back to the floor again. As I stood, I flexed my arms upward. The chair pulled tight against my back. Then I dropped back to the floor with all my weight. I wanted to keep the whole motion straight up and down; if I tilted too far backward, I might fall and smash my head into the floor. No matter what, I was likely to go down pretty hard if I succeeded in breaking the chair. The standing and smashing down made my head spin. I took a moment to concentrate on my breathing: Deep inhalation as I stood and flexed my arms, hard exhalation as I dropped and pushed down and out on the chair arms. I did it six times, ten times, fifteen times. On the eighteenth drop one of the chair legs ripped part way loose. I caught myself before I could tilt over sideways, stood up and again flexed my arms upward.

Suddenly, I was standing straight with the two chair arms duct taped to my arms, and the chair falling apart beneath and behind me.

I was able to wrestle the chair parts free from the tape. I set one of the chair legs down on the mattress, to use later as a weapon of last resort. Using my fingers and teeth, I freed Gina fairly quickly and we headed for the door.

Locked. I was losing patience with the whole experience. I hit it hard the way they trained us at the police academy, and it banged open, a splintery piece of door frame flying away. We ran to the basement stairs and up to the first floor.

I looked quickly both ways in the hall, and we headed for the back door. We'd only gone a few steps when I heard the front door open, and someone yelled, "Hey!" Luscious. He was hot on our heels, and we weren't moving too quickly.

We hit that back door and were out in the alley. When I went into Lucky's it had been bright midday. Now it was dim dusk. I threw a look over my shoulder. Luscious came through the door right behind us, wrestling a gun from his waistband. We were in a narrow alley. The only cover was a dumpster two doors down. Quickly, I threw the chair leg at his head. He ducked aside and pulled the gun free. Our only hope was that Luscious couldn't shoot straight. I figured a gangbanger like him would have a Glock, and would unload a full clip down the alley at us. The odds weren't good.

But the fire didn't come. I heard a thunk and a groan, and looked back to see Luscious collapsing to the ground with a figure in a black leather catsuit standing over him.

Ivana Kickyanutsoff gave him another kick in the head, and kicked the gun from his hand. Then she ran toward us, saying, "Come quick! We must get out of here, now. This way."