Charlene walked as fast as she could to get out of the neighborhood. She felt the eyes of every resident who was at home staring at her lush body clothed only in that skimpy brown knit dress, stained and filthy, in high heels. She had no place walking down the street in a decent neighborhood and she knew it.
She now had twelve dollars in her hand. In Los Angeles, taxis are few and far between and very expensive. She figured that if she got to the main street, she could call a taxi from a convenience store, maybe, and hide until it came. She had several hours to get back to the club before her shift started but she was tired of feeling exposed and vulnerable. As the pleasant memories of sex with Enrique and putting on a show for the old veteran faded, she felt upset all over again at having been abandoned at the hotel. She was afraid that she would be attacked again, like she had been by those punks this morning, and that this time things would not end so well. Finally she reached the cross street and walked one block up to the avenue.
She didn't believe what she saw! There, in front of an old hotel, was a limousine. It was not a stretch limo or a van but it was definitely a limo and the driver was definitely holding the door open for the passenger. A tough-looking, tall man in dark glasses, wearing a full-length coat despite the LA heat, got out and said something to the driver. He looked like he was dismissing the driver, or telling him to come back later. She was too far away to hear the words but it sounded like they were speaking Russian. The driver nodded and closed the door as the man walked into the hotel.
Before the driver could walk around the car and get back in, Charlene had closed the gap and accosted him. She gave him a great big smile. He scowled at her.
"Hi there. I wondered if you could do me a favor. You see, I have to get somewhere and I don't have a car but I don't have time to wait for a taxi." She took a deep breath. "Could you drive me about two miles? I can pay you," she held out the twelve dollars. Close up, she could see that he was heavy-set, powerful-looking. His eyes were icy blue and his lip curled on the left. He wore a leather jacket cut like a sport coat. He was ugly.
"You want me drive you downtown?" He said with a heavy Slavic accent. "You whore." He said this matter of factly, as if whores didn't need transportation.
She had him figured out. These Russian "mafiya" types used to come into the club a lot but they caused a lot of trouble. They were always trying to bring drugs in or grab the dancer's crotch. Deidre had finally had to get the bouncers to stand over them whenever they came. She called them "droogs", a play on the Russian word for friend and also on the way the pronounced "drugs", of which they were very fond. Deidre had already told her that Russian gangsters were moving into Los Angeles big time.
Charlene was put off by his bluntness but she needed this droog to help her out. "Actually, no I'm not, although I know I don't look too decent right now. It's a long story. Just drive me to Lesters's Bam-Bam Girlie Club (that was its name, dumb as it sounds) and I'll pay you."
"Is not enough," the intimidating driver said. "Taxi in this town get $22 for that trip. Limo more. Limo service will check mileage on odometer and want fare, $35. I pay limo company $35, you pay me $12, I lose $23. You back from bad date? John don' pay?"
"Like I said, I'm really not a hooker even though I know it looks like it. I've got lots of money but it's at home. Drive me there now and I'll give you $50." She was getting desperate.
"Hey, moment ago you say drive you to Lester's. Now you say you go home. Sound fishy. You get in, rob me, stiff me when you get out?"
"No, no," Charlene reassured him. I live right next to the club and besides, the club will give me the money to pay you. I just need to get there."
"You give money now. Hurry up. Boss want car back in two hour."
"Look at me!" She was trying hard not to scream. She threw her arms out and then pulled the loose top of her knit dress down, showing her tits down to the nipples. "Where do you think I'm keeping more money? All I have is in my hand, but I've got more at home."
The droog stared at her suspiciously. "I go now. No money up front, no drive."
"OK, OK, OK," she said. "Can we make a deal? Can I do anything for you to make it worth your while?" She knew perfectly well that he would ask for a sex act. She was perfectly willing to give it to him if it got her off the street and back to the safety of the club and her apartment.
He thought for a moment. "OK, I take chance. You get in."
With mixed relief and fear, she got into the front seat on the passenger side, because she knew he would get mad if she got in the back. The funny thing was that she had plenty of cash at home. She made good money stripping at the club. She could rent this limo for the day without a strain. But at the moment all she had in her hand was a lousy twelve dollars. She obviously had to make this guy very happy to get where she wanted to go.
The driver drove three blocks, abruptly turned into an alley, and touched a little plastic box mounted on on the visor of the limo. The remote signaled a gate opener. By the time he pulled up to a chain link fence, the gate had opened all the way and he drove into a little yard paved with broken asphalt, with just enough room to park. The fence was high and there were metal slats inserted into the web, so it was hard to look inside from the alley. Obviously these were people who valued their privacy, probably for reasons she did not want to know. T
