The Royal Hotel

CHAPTER 10 A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE:

We settled into the little room. "What would you like to drink Baltimore?" I asked.

"That be some real good Scotch there. I don't get a chance to afford that. " Baltimore pointed to the bottle of Cutty Sark. The old man knew his liquor. "Let me pour one for you my friend," I said.

"Thanks sir" Baltimore replied.

"You don't have to call me sir. Just call me Nick, and this is Beverly," I said as we reached for some glasses.

Beverly and I sat at the little table while Baltimore sat on his bed. I poured three Scotches and passed one to Beverly and one to Baltimore.

Beverly began, "So tell me Baltimore, you was the shoeshine boy at the hotel? "

"Yes Ma'am I was just a little boy then," the old man replied.

"Go on Baltimore. Tell us all about it because Nick and I are very interested to know what it was like back then," Beverly encouraged the old man. I sat back in my chair, and I began to listen.

Baltimore began to talk,"Ummm well, I was just a little boy. I never knew my papa, and my mamma she worked in the pleasure house. That's when I remember there was a lot of gentlemen that came around to meet the ladies. They were fine gents in fine clothes and with money. The gents they give me a dollar to shine their shoes. That's when I learned to do the shining. That's the time when my mamma she got sick. Then she died. Some of the ladies at the pleasure house they take care of me. Then one day, they get one of the gents to give me the job at the hotel. They give me this room, and I come and live here. That's when I was eight years old. Those were fine days. This hotel was something then. The gents they come here with their ladies and they have a fine time. Those gents they give me big tips. They send me on little jobs and such. Then that day they give that thing there to me," Baltimore pointed to a wall plaque.

Beverly and I turned to look.

Hanging on the wall was an ornate plaque, which read, "To Baltimore the best shoeshine boy in the land"

It was a square wooden plaque. Its' face was covered by a thin sheet of gold. It was about twelve by twelve and about one inch thick.

"You must have been very good at your job to get that?" Beverly remarked.

"Yes Ma'am I do a good job," Baltimore replied.

"Baltimore, tell me about the gentleman that came here", I asked.

"They was fine gents. Some from the city and some from other places. Most they was rich. Then there was gambling and women too. Booze then was against the law. But they could get those things they wanted. There was music and dancing and lots of good times. Back then nobody talked about it. It was all shush be quiet nobody say nothing. There were all kinds of things that go on here then," Baltimore sipped his drink. "You mentioned about things which went on here? What about the people? Who was the boss here?" I asked.

Baltimore continued to speak, "Oh there was all kinds of things that happened here. The Bosses they were mostly those Italian fellows. They was big shots. They rode around in the big black cars and such. More than one time somebody get in big trouble. There be fights and somebody he get shot. Then nothing happen everything goes back to the same like before. "

"The bosses, do you know their names?" I interrupted.

"Everybody was my boss! I be just around here and I mind my own business. That is why I am still here and they be gone," Baltimore insisted.

I could understand the concern of the old man. The Royal was a bad place to get into trouble considering who ran the place.

"Have another drink my friend," I poured Baltimore another Scotch. "Tell us about some of the things that went on here. I mean some of the wild things. This must have been a wild place. Am I right?" I tried to draw Baltimore out and put him at ease.

"Yes there was that, but I can't say them in front of the lady," Baltimore explained.

"Don't you worry about anything Baltimore. I have heard it all before. You just tell us the whole story and just relax," Beverly said.

The old man finished his drink, and I poured a third Scotch. I was pouring doubles, and Baltimore did not mind. After a while, the old man started to loosen up a bit.

"Why do you want to know about those old days anyhow?" Baltimore asked.

Beverly interjected, "Nick and I are thinking about writing a book about old hotels. During our research, we found this old hotel, and this is why we have come here. "

Baltimore looked at Beverly and smiled, "The book learning I never had much of that, but the ladies at the pleasure house they learned me numbers and reading and to write. They learned me to count the money. They always say, ' Remember Baltimore, it's the money that is important. '. "Baltimore sat back on the headboard of his bed and sipped his Scotch and said, "Well, in those days … "

The old man began to talk. He began to tell us things that you couldn't get out of books. He told us tales of how the rich came to the Royal Hotel to party. He described the men and the women. He described how they dressed and how they drank and had sex in the rooms.

"There was pretty boys, you know those men who don't like women. Umm Then many times men be with other men's wives. A bunch of them go all together in the same room. Some of the men who didn't have a gal, they could get one of the gals from the pleasure house. Oh, I don't even want to remember. It was so bad. That time with my sweetheart. Maybe sometime a gent he get a little crazy and he want to beat up the gal too much. This what happen to my Elly May. Mister Nick it was that time when my Elly May was forced to go with the rich gent. She didn't want to go, but they make her. Elly May she be my gal. She worked in the pleasure house cleaning up and such. The rich gent, he get crazy and Mister Nick he beat my Elly May real bad! I tried to help her, but he tied me up on the chair, and mister Nick he made me watch while the gent he do his crazy thing. "

Baltimore was almost crying now as he told us the story about his girlfriend, and how she died. He told us about the gambling. He told us that a person would get into debt from their gambling, and they couldn't pay. He described how a person was forced to do things for the men who held his markers.

As I listened, I thought; things haven't changed even after all these years. The mob ran the hotel, and they were into loan sharking, extortion, and other illegal activities. Perhaps, this was why my father became involved with this old hotel. His stock and trade involved loans, which even King Midas couldn't pay off. That is the tough part of the loan business. You tell the sucker that you are going to give him money, and then you juice him with the interest. You look for a sucker who thinks he can come up with the money, but it is never going to happen in this world. Then when he defaults, you roast him on a spit.

A gambling casino is an ideal place to fine such suckers. There is a certain kind of individual who will gamble to his last dime and will keep gambling long after he or she can afford to pay the tab. From what Baltimore was telling us, there were many people who fell into this trap.

The picture was being drawn. The mob was making money hand over fist. They were getting paid on the front end, on the middle, and on the back end.

The mob did a thriving illegal business in liquor, prostitution, and extortion. It was the extortion, which would become the hammer. In those days, law enforcement had become a major problem to the mob. The good fellows needed a way to muzzle the cops as to keep them from biting into the profits. People who were in positions of influence were courted. They were taken out of the city, and they were taken to the Royal Hotel for a night of fun. While they were there, they were placed in situations of jeopardy.

If he was a boozer, he was given all he could drink for free. If he liked the ladies, he was given the best girls in the house. If he was a gambler, he was given a stake to get him started.

As the old saying goes, "If a thing is too good to be true, then it usually it is not true."

Then Baltimore dropped the bomb. By this time, the old man was as loose as a goose from the Scotch, which he had been drinking. Both Beverly and I sat up in our chairs as if a bolt of lightning had hit us.

"The special rooms with the secret passages," Baltimore muttered.

CHAPTER 11 THE OLD BADGER GAME:

"Excuse me, what did you just say?" I asked.

"The rooms? , Baltimore stopped talking to ask.

"Did you just say something about secret rooms?" I asked.

"Oh that was a real long time ago. Nobody even remember, just me. There was a time when the bosses they get the idea to spy on the customers. They build secret passages in the walls. Just like in the old movies. You can see for yourself if you don't believe me!" Baltimore brightened and smiled.

"Ya! We would love to see them. Now, you wouldn't be putting us on now would you," I indicated.

"Oh no mister Nick, I can show them to you right now," Baltimore arose from his bed, and with a gesture to follow him we stood up.

We traveled up to the top floor via the old squeaky elevator. We followed Baltimore to a utility closit where he unlocked the door with a key from a large key ring.

Baltimore stepped into the utility closit, and he said, "Watch this. "

We all huddled into the closet. The closet was full of cleaning tools, and Baltimore moved an empty pail, which was holding a mop so that we could reach the back wall of the closet. Then, he kneeled down facing the back wall of the closet and grasped the baseboard in the right corner. With his right hand, Baltimore tugged the baseboard, and it moved upward in a counter clockwise way. The extreme left end of the baseboard was fastened to the wall so that the board moved like a leaver. As the board moved to the twelve o'clock position, we heard a loud click as the back wall of the closet opened. With a groaning sound, we entered a secret hallway. It was totally dark, and the air smelled stale.

"Nobody here in a long time," Baltimore advised. We could hear Baltimore mutter to himself as he fumbled around for something. "There it's ah right here. " As Baltimore found a light switch. A light came on; we could see a narrow passage winding through the depths of the hotel. "Follow me," Baltimore beckoned. Beverly and I followed the old man down the narrow hallway. We watched Baltimore as he stopped and reached for what looked like a peephole. Covered by a little door was an opening in the wall. Baltimore opened the little door and he stepped aside while he pointed. I stepped into position to look. There on the bed were our traveling clothes.

"Jumping up Christ! Would you look at that!" I exclaimed. I stepped aside so that Beverly could see. She drew a look of horror on her face as she said, "You mean to tell me that anyone could have seen my striptease dance? "

"Yep!" I said.

Things were becoming clearer as we began to understand the meaning of the secret rooms. It was the old badger game taken to the limit. It is one of the oldest confidence games on the books. As old as it is, the thing about it is that it almost always works. This is how it works. First you find a rich sucker who has a taste for the sex life. Then you set up a meeting with the sucker and the bait. If the sucker is a woman, the bait is a good-looking gigolo. If the sucker is a man, the bait is a drop dead gorgeous babe. Then, you take the sucker to a hotel room. When the sucker is in bed with the bait, you get all the action on film. Once you have the sucker on candid camera the trap snaps shut. The hammer falls when the sucker is told to pay for black mail.

"How many of these badger holes are there?" I asked. Baltimore replied, "Oh mister Nick, this whole floor got them. The seventh floor it was reserved for the big shots in those days. The rest they all over the hotel. They here and there just like this one. You want me to show you them? "

"I have a better idea. Why don't you give me that key, and I'll look for myself?", I asked.

"Well, Mister Nick, I am not sure that I can do that," Baltimore hesitated. I reached for my wallet and yanked out some greenbacks.

"Remember, I mentioned that we might study more about the dead presidents.", I enticed the old man. I was sure that we were on to something now. So, I took out a little bundle of Ben Franklins and held them in my hand. I showed them to Baltimore. For a man like Baltimore, this was a lot of money. I pealed off five of the bills, and I tore them in half. One half I gave to Baltimore, and the other half I kept for myself. " You get the other half when we are finished here. " I tucked the remaining bills into Baltimore's shirt pocket. With that Baltimore unfastened the key from his key ring, and he handed it to me.

"This is the key to the mop closets. It fits all the locks, but the closets don't all have the secret hallways.", Baltimore advised.

" Don't you worry about a thing Beverly and I will be very careful. Your secret is safe with us.", I agreed.

I closed the little portal to the room, and we began to walk out of the dimly lit hallway. Once we were in the main corridor, we said good night to Baltimore. It was well after midnight, and Beverly and I were tired from the day's events. Since we were on our floor and we were just steps from our room, we decided to call it a night.

We went directly to our room. The very first thing that Beverly did was to cover the badger hole. Using a wall hook and picture from the other wall, she replaced the picture directly over the peephole.

"There! That's better. Now no one will be getting any more free shows. So big boy, do you want to fuck?" Beverly giggled.

"Well, maybe just a little nightcap. You know, we are a little tired; we have had a big day," I yawned.

We stood by the bed and embraced. A lot of things have gone between us in a short time. Beverly and I kissed. Our kiss quickly became something intense. We began to undress each other. I grabbed those beautiful big tits as I tugged at her tee shirt. The shirt slipped over her head to reveal a black lace bra. Honey colored hair, blue eyes, and big beautiful tits holstered in a black lace bra, She stood in front of me. Again, I felt my cock grow hard. Beverly smiled.

"It's my turn," she said. She unloosened my belt and jeans. Then, she reached in to my briefs to grasp my cock. As I began to give myself to her, I remembered the gun strapped to my right ankle. It is one those times when a guy has to think fast. I want to make love to this woman, not scare her to death. Perhaps I should have told her that I was carrying, but it was too late. She already had me by the cock.

"Honey, would you excuse me for a moment. I have to use the bathroom please," I whispered.

" O K why don't I wait for you in that nice big bed. Don't be too long now my pussy is getting itchy. I think that it needs a scratch. And I think that you're just the man for the job," she said while she slowly stroked my cock.

With my cock pointing north like the needle of a compass, I wandered off to the bathroom. I began cursing the sons of bitches that were making me carry a cannon. I vowed that I would not wind up like my father or my grandfather. I wasn't going to run from a fight either that's for sure! When I catch up to those purple pissing ass holes, they aren't going to know what hit them!

I began to mutter to myself. The family way is the way of the vendetta. In this case, the old way is the best way. When it comes to guys like these, you hit them hard. This way they think twice before trying anything again.

While in the bathroom, I took a piss, and I got ready to return to the bedroom. I wrapped my Beretta Mini Cougar in my clothes making sure that Beverly couldn't see it. I quickly walked to my suitcase and hid the Beretta under my sport jacket.

Having relieved myself of my burden, I turned toward the bed. Beverly was already snug under the covers. I stepped to the light switch and turned the lights off. The room was dark now, and I slipped into the bed to caress that bundle of joy, which was waiting for me.

Beverly placed her arms around me, "Why don't you just fuck me long and slow. "

"I would love to, but I don't know if there's anything left? You know, you have been giving it to me twice a day since we have met at the Blue Note. It's not that I'm complaining, but even Superman had his limits," I whispered in her ear.

" That's because Superman's girl was a nerd. You on the other hand have me, and I'm far from being a nerd," she replied. With that she rolled over on to her side and began stroking my cock. I placed my arms around her and began to kiss her while she stroked and tugged my cock. With her beautiful touch, my cock rose in her hand.

" There see! I told you that I wasn't a nerd."

I felt her arm guiding me on top of her. She positioned me between her legs. Still holding my cock in her right hand, she began to rub the tip of my cock against her pussy lips. She wrapped her left arm around me placing her hand at the back of my head.

She whispered a low throaty, "Give it to me long and slow baby. " As she placed the tip of my cock into her cunt, she wrapped her arms and legs around me pulling me into her.

I moved into her with amazing ease. The full length of my cock strained at the walls of her love canal as we became one. I lay there motionless enjoying the warmth and ecstasy of our union.

Stroking the hair at the back of my head, she whispered, "Take your time baby. I'm not going anywhere. You just take all you want sweetness. "At those commands, I fell into her. She cradled me in her arms while I began to move my cock within her.

My first stroke was nothing more than a twitch of my cock. In a short time, I would be stroking her with vigor. For now, I was content just to feel her at the length of my cock. I lay there. Like dropping sand in an hourglass, time seemed to move slowly.

I held her close to me as I enjoyed the scent of her perfume as it traveled up into my nostrils making me intoxicated. I held her head in my left hand as I nuzzled her left ear. With my right hand, I swept her pretty honey colored hair across the pillow. Serene and content, I lay there until the first urgency of my body became evident.

With her right hand, she began to stroke my naked back. She began to play me as if she was strumming an instrument.

As a million men before me, the urgency of the ages took hold of my body. The predator and the builder rushed through my being. The predator, the hunter, and the food gatherer stood together tall and strong. I became the builder, the provider, and the protector who claimed his territory.

The masculine strength overtook me, and I began to move to an ancient rhythm.

" Aouw baby," she moaned. The train was leaving the station, and it was on a journey to paradise. A strong thrust slammed into my balls. I twitched with the force of it. I spread my legs, and I moved onto my knees. I placed my hands under her shoulders as to pull her closer to me. Moving now just on instinct, I rose up onto my forearms and knees to aim my cock directly at her center.

" Come in me sweetness! " , she moaned.

Again I heard that unwritten law in my head, "If she is asking for it, you should give her what she wants. "

I pulled back to the tip of my cock while rising up to deliver the first long stroke. Like a pendulum, I began to swing in and out of her with strong purposeful strokes. At the same time, her long beautiful legs rose upward as to give me access.

With her toes pointing toward the ceiling, she encouraged me," fuck me baby fuck me now fuck me baby come for me let me feel your come shooting into me "

I began to puff and bellow like a bull," urruff! Urruff! Oh you beautiful cunt! Ahh yeeesss! Yeeesss! "