“Not as uncomfortable as being dead.”
“That’s enough chitchat, Spike, you’ll annoy the customers,” the blond guy said firmly. “This way, sir.” The girl he called Spike smiled at me like she was watching a steer on its way to become a steak.
I followed blondy through the door on the right. It opened onto a steep, dark stairwell with a single lantern at the landing far below. Like the building facade, the steps were warped with age and humidity. It worked fine as a discreet entrance, but there had to be additional exits. I couldn’t imagine negotiating those stairs drunk.
The blond guy took the steps two at a time, his feet barely making a sound. “Didn’t catch your name,” I called to him.
He reached the bottom, turned and looked up at me. “I didn’t toss it.”
The stairs ended at another door. The unmistakable sounds of revelry bled through its reinforced surface. Blondy met my gaze with steady, fathomless eyes. The lantern’s light reflected from his pupils so he seemed to have a tiny spark inside each eye.
“Welcome to the Dragonfly,” he said. “We have simple rules. No fighting, no accosting the waitresses. If one of the floor girls turns you down twice, leave her alone. No drinking to excess. When you run out of money, go home.”
“You give this speech to everyone?”
He ignored me. “Present this at the bar. One free drink of your choice, on the house.” He pressed a coin marked with the dragonfly emblem into my palm. “I hope you enjoy the evening, Mr. Johnson.”
So Lonnie was faster than he looked. “Thank you, Mr…?”
Again he ignored me. He turned on his heel, opened the door and gestured that I should precede him.
The warehouse floor above formed the club’s low ceiling and gave it a cramped, false intimacy. The place was actually huge, and a central carpeted walkway ran its considerable length. Every kind of gambling seemed to be available, from roulette to cards to a tubular track for betting on rabbit races. It had a dance floor with a band, a small cafe, and of course a gigantic bar that ran along one entire wall.
The heat and noise in the place was exhilarating. As I predicted, the club was packed with both suckers and those who lived off them. Girls wearing little more than scarves and money belts served drinks to the gamblers at the tables. Most of the poor bastards were too enthralled in their games to even notice all the bare flesh. Probably a million tiny candles provided light, and their flames reflected off the gold and crystal surfaces. The dragonfly motif was everywhere, from the goblets and decks of cards to tattoos on some of the girls.
By the time I took all this in, blondy had vanished. With no clear plan, I made my way to the bar. After a moment a staggeringly attractive brunette bartender, with a dress so tight you could count her freckles, leaned over the counter and said, “What’ll it be?”
I put down the coin. “What’ll this get me?”
She picked it up, eyes wide. “Wow. You’re a friend of Canino’s. This’ll get you anything you want.”
The blond guy’s name was Canino, then. Seemed a good idea to remember it. With a wink I said, “Anything? Even you?”
“Hell, yeah,” she quickly agreed. “If you can wait until the end of my shift.”
I knew I was being watched, and wasn’t about to let this girl get me alone somewhere, despite her obvious charms. It didn’t take much strength to cut someone’s throat when their guard was down, and with her knockout figure, I imagined most guys dropped their guard pretty fast.
“I’m actually here looking for another pal,” I said. “Short guy. Name’s Andrew Reese. He used to hang out with Canino and me. Know him?”
She shook her head. “I’ve been on my feet since the lunch rush, I’m lucky to remember my own name. But didn’t you ask Canino?”
“Sure. He said to ask you.”
Her eyes narrowed and her smile grew devious. “Who are you, mister? Did you find that coin on the floor somewhere? Canino finds out you’re tossing his name around, he’ll hand you your liver.”
“I promise, Canino himself gave it to me.”
“Huh.” She stood back and thoughtfully crossed her arms. It almost boosted her charms right out of her dress. “So I got work to do. Do you want to cash that in for a drink, or an hour with me?”
I dropped the coin on the bar with a clack. “A drink’s probably safer. I’m not as young as I used to be.”
“You have to die from something,” she said, smiled with what might’ve fooled lesser men into thinking was genuine regret, and turned to pour my drink.
I scanned the crowd for Canino’s blond head even though I knew he was probably off consulting his superiors about me. He worried me more than anything in the place. Clearly he was on a leash, and I didn’t want to find out how tight it was. I might have to, though, to discover who held it.
The girl placed the drink before me, and I took a long swallow. I could do little at the moment but wait and see, unless I decided to lead the crowd in a chorus of “Andrew Reese is broken to pieces.” That seemed unwise.
I took another swallow of the really top-flight ale. In all honesty, I doubted I would have enjoyed the girl nearly as much, which was a sad comment on my priorities. She watched me, still smiling, and I raised my goblet to her in appreciation.
I tried to organize my thoughts into some semblance of a plan, but by the time I realized I wasn’t thinking straight, no plan would help me. The poisoned drink slipped through my fingers, and I followed it to the floor a moment later.
I awoke in a small windowless room. A single candle flickering in its sconce provided the only light. I lay on a bed that smelled of sweat and sex. This would be one of the chambers where girls like the bartender took their clients. Or victims.
I sat up. My brain expanded to three times the size of my skull, and I immediately lay back down. I probably whimpered.
Sometime later I awoke again. My mouth felt like someone had scoured it with sand. Even the candlelight hurt my eyes. My brain only went up half a size this time, though, and I managed to stay seated on the edge of the bed.
I was shirtless and barefoot. I saw no sign of my belongings, which was kind of annoying since my jacket was brand new. The candle, a chamber pot and a water jug were my only companions. I desperately wanted a drink, but there was no way I was taking a chance on anything else provided by the management.
It took four tries, but eventually I got to my feet. The room showed its appreciation by trying to turn inside out. In retaliation, I banged my head against the wall until my skull’s thickness scared the room into behaving.
I put my back to the wall beside the bed and locked my knees so I wouldn’t collapse. Whatever they’d slipped me was burning off, and moving around would make it happen faster. I stumbled from one wall to another for what felt like hours before I heard a key clank into the door. I stopped, drenched in sweat, and waited for my visitor.
It was no surprise: Canino. Behind him I saw a long corridor with many identical doors, and heard the faint sounds of the club. He closed the door and pocketed the key. It might as well have been in another country.
He picked up the water jug and held it toward me. “I know you must be thirsty.”
I shook my head.
He chuckled. “I don’t blame you.” He took a drink from the jug, then offered it to me again. I still declined.
“Suit yourself. Well, Mr. Johnson, judging from your scars, this isn’t the first time you’ve found yourself in a tough spot. I assume you know the etiquette. I ask, you answer.” He paused for effect. “You visit the Civil Security Force, you accost a total stranger at the racetrack, then you show up here. And always you’re asking for Andrew Reese. Why?”
“I’ll tell him when I see him,” I said, and sat back down on the bed. My voice sounded like two rocks scraping together.
“You won’t see him. And you won’t see anything but the inside of this room until you’re more cooperative. You’re not a young man, Mr. Johnson. You couldn’t take me on your best day, let alone now.”
I had to smile. He was probably right, but he’d also revealed the limits of his connections. His sources at Civil Security weren’t high enough to have gotten my real name. “You’re that good, huh?”
“Yes,” he said. I believed him.
