Welcome To The Dark Side (Part II)

The next few days were so conflicting. She loved being around Jacob and the fact that he even traveled with her to a new place. The problem was the fact that this was no easy-going vacation. She really wished it was. He probably thought the same. Speaking of thoughts, there was a lot that she thought about. Mainly, how she didn't kill Bosco like she originally planned to even though it was his fault that she and Jacob were attacked back in Manta Carlos. Jacob almost died. That warranted enough reason for her to smear Bosco on the walls, but she didn't. Sure she gave him one hell of a scare and probably sent him to the emergency, but that was what she called 'getting off easy'. That was an accomplishment in itself! Then there was that nagging thing that also started to develop during the trip; a conscience.

Normally she wouldn't give a damn who was with her or what she did to people when she wanted answers. The original plan was to put the big man through so much pain that he would be begging for death. She could have easily told Jacob to wait in the car and lock the door, but she didn't. Why? Well...She wanted to see if it was possible. Things were changing. So far, so good.

That's why this task was going to be so difficult. She was sadly accustomed to the sex trade and all manners of illegal in the black market. Jacob on the other hand, she knew that he had a daughter. She just couldn't imagine what he was thinking or what he going through. He hadn't been exposed to such things before. No one should.

Which was why after they had carefully planned things out, she needed to talk to him. The dress she had chosen was quite...interesting; a red cocktail dress. It was a tight fit and never did she imagine that she was going to dress like this. Hair was down, make-up was set with black leggings and heels in order. This was...Ahem, all for the sake of the job. She couldn't just walk in there with her gear. That was just screaming for a gun fight and for Jacob's sake, she wasn't going to let any bystanders get killed for reckless behavior. Besides, that was sloppy. She finally stepped out of the bathroom, suddenly conscious of what she was wearing. God, she felt like a girl. "Q-Quit starin'...It's for th' job," she muttered and brushed a stray hair from her face. "Anyway, oy' wonna talk to ya about tonoight... About what you're going to see," hopefully he knew what she was talking about.

She could tell that he was a mess on the inside. It hurt her to see him in such turmoil, but this had to be done if she were to end things once and for all. Now here he was, wanting to get the full details about the trade. Was he...absolutely sure he wanted to know? It would only devestate him, but like they promised before the trip; no secrets...Even though these were one of the times where she didn't mind burying the truth. "Well..." She pulled the chair away from the little table and sat down, crossing her legs and leaning back in the comfort of the seat.

"Oy' won't shugah' coat this, luv. You know all tha' stuff you see on T.V.? The documentaries about this kind of thing? They weren't kiddin'. Everyday, girls across the country ah kidnapped and dragged into this trade. Most of 'em are pumped with drugs; Heroin, Cocaine, anythin' tha' can git them addicted so they don't try an escape. Some are..." she shifted uncomfortably in her seat, "Pulled into this trade as early as fourteen. They even ship girls outside of the country...and of course you get yer 'imports' as well." As far as she knew, Europe was the worst. "Once a girl's been kidnapped, you moight as well say yer goodbyes. They disappear and their loved ones will neva' see them again. They can be shipped off to brothels, put out on the streets...Or even be auctioned off to th' hoighest biddah'. Chase has been runnin' this show fer years. He runs an auction in his club. That's the club we're goin' to. Now, hon..." This was probably going to be the hardest part.

"To make this...as smooth as possible, we're only going to talk to Chase. We'll talk it out, find out where Donovan is, and leave. We're not...Here for the girls. We try anything funny and we'll be having a shootout on our hands. This is the dark side, Jacob. This is where you'll hafta' turn a bloind eye to things...You cannot get emotionally involved," she looked right into his eyes. Of course, she was asking the impossible of him, but he needed to do this.

Even if she warned him not to be attached, she couldn't help but be nervous about the whole plan. Jacob was a sensitive human being. He couldn't help but feel the way he felt. She honestly had no choice but to trust him on this. It was going to be fine. Things were going to go as uh..smoothly as it did with Bosco. "Right, oh wait!" she picked up a pair of masks before taking his hand. The way he was carrying himself out...He was going to need it.

The club was in the busier part of town yes, but only a select few knew where to find it. The two had to go down a few dark alleys, dawning the masks she had bought for the masquerade event. It was perfect. It meant that they wouldn't be stopped at the door for starters. The inside of the club looked immaculate and incredibly fancy for her tastes. Red velvet curtains, a fancy bar, large booth seats where girls gathered around older men; there was even a giant chandolier in the middle of the two story establishment. Like them, everyone had masks of their own. The two were greeted with a host who was even more polite when Lenn showed him a card; The Queen of Hearts. "If you two would please follow me..." The man said and lead the way. There were all sorts of people--rich people who laugh, drank, and smoked. Some older heavyset women had a girl in their lap as they talked with their colleagues.

Eventually they passed the main room and down into the dark hallways. Some...Questionable noises were heard behind closed doors, but Lenn kept her eyes forward, not wanting to see beyond large windows to the rooms where people would stop and watch. What she focused on was the chamber they eventually stepped into. It was dimly lit and a handful of people were in this room, picking at their fancy little snacks as half naked women served champagne. In the middle of the room was where the light shined the most, a little stage where a young woman sat, barely aware of what was going on around her. She looked flushed, loopy, unaware that she was wearing scantily clad white lingerie. "Ladies and gentleman, We shall begin tonight's auction. The starting bid is Ten-thousand." A voice spoke over the intercom.

Lenn had guided Jacob to the back of the room, arms folded as she watched the Auction begin. "This is how it goes. Tha' girl down there? She's bein auctioned without even knowin' it. Gave 'em Liquid Dream oy' waygah'. By th' time the drug wears off, she'll be trapped on a Yacht with a sweaty old man," she spoke to Jacob in a hushed tone. "We'll hafta wait till afta' th' auction is ova'."

A bell chimed from one of the seats, rung by a heavyset gentleman in a tux. He steepled his fingers together as the voice over the intercom announced that the bid rose to twenty-thousand. Other bells began to ring and the price for the girl rose higher and higher. Lenn couldn't help but feel sorry for Jacob. She knew exactly what he was thinking of right at this moment; to save the young women, but at the same time that would only complicate matters in getting towards the bigger goal. Hell, they probably wouldn't live to see tomorrow if they just ran in, guns blazing. At the same time, her hands were tied as well. There wasn't much that she could do to calm Jacob's nerves. All she could do was grab onto his hand and squeeze it tight.

Bringing him had been a mistake.

But there was no turning back now. Eventually the auction was settled at seventy-thousand and the girl was picked up and taken elsewhere. Another stumbled onto the stage, a brunette this time. The men began to chatter and chuckle amongst themselves, discussing their 'preferences' in the 'items' of the auction. Casual talk; that's how they were. It was enough to curl her lip in disgust. Luckily for them, it was too dark for anyone to take notice of Lenn's disapproval and Jacob's despair. A young girl came by with a plate of sausages and Lenn plucked one off of the platter and popped it in her mouth. The auction closed once again, this time the winning bid at almost a hundred grand. People seemed to appreciate brunettes here.

A man in a black suit approached the two and whispered discreetly in Lenn's ear who nonchalantly chewed on the toothpick leftover from her snack. Hm, good. Looks loike we don' hafta' wait. She tugged on Jacob's hand and motioned for him to follow. Behind a thick black curtain, the man guided them down a few hallways until they reached an elegantly designed door completed with a slot that slid open with a snap. Two hardened blue eyes looked between the trio until it snapped shut and the door opened. Once inside though, men on either side of the couple had drawn guns on them. Lenn could feel the cold rim of a compact .45 shoved against her temple and frowned at the sight of a man in an obnoxious blue suit and the busty red-head who stood behind his fancy seat.

The man in the blue suit brushed fingers through his finely combed blonde hair and regarded the two with a smile. "Shock an' surprise. You knew we were comin'." Lenn frowned as she recieved a pat down...A very personal pat down of her figure. The man seemed a bit more focused on her legs while the other man who covered Jacob went to confiscate his hidden sword. Chase smiled. "Long time no see, beautiful. I'm surprised we didn't need a bucket to keep your weapons in this time. Bosco was kind enough to relay the message...He didn't sound too good. I wonder why."

" Yeah. People tend t'not 'feel good' after they pissed me off."

"Then what can I do for you?"

That smug smile of his made her want to blow his face off, but unfortunately she couldn't do that at gunpoint. "Oy' came hea' to talk." she replied with a frown which seemed to shock Chase as if this was a rare thing to witness. The red head on the other hand who wore a much more revealing cocktail dress than Lenn, seemed to be more focused on Jacob and looked at him with that kind of smile on her face.

"Yeh oy' know," she sighed, not liking this one bit. She hated being unarmed and...'touched'. The man gave a smirk as he stepped away, letting Chase and his red-head know that Lenn was 'clean'. Lenn was hoping that Jacob would show no reaction, but that was to no avail. Well, she couldn't blame him. He was a normal citizen being dragged into a war she practically declared on Donovan and his pile of goons. Emotion only spurred these people on and speaking of them, they were amused to see Jacob's anger threatening to boil over.

It only seemed to rouse the red-head. Chase steepled his fingers, a fine brow raised at Lenn's request. "Ohoh? To talk? The mighty Lenn Greaves, the best mercenary money can buy...wants to talk?" he chuckled and the other guards around hesitantly followed. "Yeh, oy' know it's realleh cute, now look. Oy' jus want t'know where Donovan is. Oy' have something important to discuss with 'em," she frowned. God, this whole 'diplomacy' thing was kind of embarassing. Shooting first and interrogating the survivors always gained respect. Right now, they were laughing at her and the only reason why they were doing that was because she was unarmed and held at gunpoint. It wasn't the fear of being shot to death. It was just annoying and it took ages to get back up. There was one time in the morgue...

That was a story for later. "Well, I can relay the message for you."

Her brow twitched. "Sorry. It'll have a lil' more impact if I tell 'em m'self."

Chase sighed as a waitress entered the exquisite room and stood at his side, presenting the martini he had been waiting foor. He shooed her away with a flick of the wrist and calmly sipped his drink. He had asked for it shaken, not stirred. "Unfortunately, I cannot do that. Haha, you honestly think I would let someone like you 'talk' to the Boss?"

She gritted her teeth, getting nowhere with this. Chase was a stubborn ass. " Oy'll give you woteva' you want, just tell me where he is!"

BANG!

The first shot was the loudest. She didn't even see it coming. The bullet nailed her in the chest, the impact strong enough for her to stumble back. This was bad. The searing pain. Something was wrong. Before she could figure it out, she was pelted again and again; six gunshots before she dropped onto the carpeted floor. Three guards grabbed onto Jacob, one of them clubbing him in the back of the head. The smoking Glock in the Red-head's hands glowed and disappeared, now nothing but a harmless ring upon the woman's pinky finger.

Jacob would wake up in another room shortly after, tied securely to an uncomfortable wooden chair. The room was small, dark, and sported the same red-head who shot Lenn across the table. She still wore the pretty dress and was oblivious to the fact that her breasts were practically upon the table, such delicious cleavage shown for her man. " Well goodmornin' handsome."