Eddie watched as the blond man paid the twenty dollar cover charge. The blond put his hand on Eddie’s back and guided him into Tantrick. The door opened, and house music blared out at them. Steel stood close to the blond, protecting him with his body.
Eddie had showed them where he found the ring, about twenty feet from the entrance to the club, in the gutter. The blond seemed determined to go into the club for some reason. The blond guided Eddie to the bar. “Order what you want,” the blond said clearly in his ear, as he called for the bartender. “Wild Turkey, and whatever this guy wants,” the blond said to the bartender.
Since someone else was paying, he ordered a Jack and Coke. The blond looked out into the crowd, scanning it. Steel picked up the Wild Turkey while Eddie took his Jack and Coke. He nursed it, trying not to drink it too fast, but he hadn’t had his fix, and he knew the liquor, something he hadn’t had in a few weeks, would take the edge off.
Steel drank half the Wild Turkey before the blond waded into the crowd. Steel waited with Eddie, who watched the blond go. He stopped a waitress and said something to her, and she pointed up to the loft, where the VIPs went. He started to the stairs.
“Shit,” said Steel, finishing his drink to go wade through the crowd.
~~~~~~~~~
Erin had a butch haircut, stood 5’10” in stocking feet, and weighed 175. Not the type of person to be easily put aside, she stood as bouncer at the top of the stairs. She could hear a conversation behind her between Roberto and Tomas. Tomas had an unlit joint between his lips – he was trying to quit. He chewed on the end of the joint, sucking at the paper and pot inside.
She focused on a person coming up the stairs. A well-built blond man, someone she hadn’t seen in the club before. Her senses tingled. Something was wrong about this guy. She stood ready to throw him down the stairs.
“Evening,” he said, when he stood just out of her reach. His voice came to her clearly, even above the noise of the music. “I’m here to speak to Tomas.”
“Do you have an appointment?” she yelled at him over the music.The conversation behind her stopped.
“I didn’t realize I needed one. This shouldn’t take long.”
“Sorry, he’s indisposed.”
The man said, “Uh huh,” and looked beyond her for a moment.
The next thing she knew, she was thrown into the table where Tomas and Roberto were talking. Roberto jumped up, a pistol in his hand, while Tomas sat, stunned. Erin shook her head and sat up. She saw the unpresuming man now at the top of the stairs. “That’s my calling card,” he said.
Roberto aimed the gun at him. The man made a motion with his hand, and Roberto dropped the gun. The gun was bright red, melting into the concrete floor. Erin got to her feet. She glanced at Tomas, who shook his head. “What do you want?”
“I understand you’re the manager,” said the man. “Who’s the owner?”
Tomas shrugged. “He ain’t here.”
“I didn’t ask that. I asked for his name.”
“What’s it matter to you?”
Erin knew Tomas was buying time for her. She readied herself to rush at the man. If it meant she was going to tumble down the stairs with him, she would.
“He’s got something that belongs to me.”
Tomas snorted. “Doubt that, gringo.”
At that word, Erin rushed the man. The two of them grappled at the top of the stairs, and the man slipped on the top step. Both Erin and the man slid halfway down the stairs. Erin hauled off and went to punch the man in the face, but someone grabbed her by the back of her shirt and pulled her off as if she was nothing but a bag of rice.
“My mother said to never hit a girl,” said the huge man who held her, “but I’ll make an exception of you.”
“You’re gonna have to,” she said, and punched him in the jaw.
The man snapped back his head and punched her back. She dodged it, and gave him a shove, aiming to send him down the stairs. He didn’t budge, rooted to the spot.
As the two fought on the stairs, Mike got himself together and headed to the top of the stairs. The two men were gone, having escaped through a door on the other side of the loft. Mike ran at the door, throwing it open. It led down a hallway, with doors to the left.
“Shit,” Mike spat and rushed down the hallway.
