After drinking their tea, Nero and Alexis bade farewell
to Melody, and headed back out into the street. "So, how many more left to
introduce me to?" asked Alexis.
"Only two more," said Nero. "Hmm… I think
Summer would be the closest from here. Let me check whether she's at home or at
work." Nero began typing out a message on his wrist-mounted smartphone,
his fingers moving over the virtual keypad with practiced precision.
"So, what kind of person is Summer, then?"
asked Alexis. "What does she do?"
For the first time, Nero hesitated to answer, his
expression changing to something resembling awkwardness. "Uhh… well…
you'll see when we get to her workplace," he said. "That's where she
is at the moment."
Alexis immediately grew suspicious. "What are you
hiding from me?" she asked.
"Nothing," said Nero. "Like I said, you'll
find out when we get there. It's just… easier if I show you in person."
"Alright," said Alexis, still a little uneasy.
"I'll trust you on this one."
"It's a little walk from here, but from there it's
only a few minutes on to the last of my associates," said Nero. "Come
on, let's get going." Alexis nodded, and the two set off once again.
As they embarked on the long walk through Port Elizabeth
in search of Summer, their surroundings gradually grew less glamorous. Soon
they were entering the darker parts of town. The walls of the buildings around
them became cracked and graffiti-covered, the windows smashed or boarded up in
places. At one point a wailing siren heralded an approaching police car: Alexis
hissed, "Shit! 5-0!" and dived down a nearby alleyway, only for the
police car to rush straight by, heading off to some unknown emergency.
"The fuck are we doing in this kinda
neighbourhood?" asked Alexis as she came back out of the alleyway.
"Is this where your friend works? What is she, a hooker or
something?"
Nero opened his mouth to object, but appeared to find
himself stuck for words. Alexis' mouth promptly fell open as well. "Don't
tell me we're gonna visit some crack whore," she said.
Nero swiftly regained his composure. "We're not
going to visit some crack whore," he said. "But yes, this is the kind
of environment in which she works."
Alexis sighed. "This had better be worth it,"
she said. "The last thing I need is for the cops here to find me - or
worse, the gangs."
"Don't worry," said Nero. "As long as
you're with me, nobody in this neck of the woods will even think about touching
you. Trust me on that."
"They better not," said Alexis. "I did
bring my guns, y'know." She patted the holsters hidden beneath her shirt, in
which her extended-magazine Glock 18 machine pistols sat, ready for use.
"And I brought my sword," said Nero, patting
his back, where his sword was sheathed. "Let's hope they won't be
necessary."
Alexis nodded. "How much further?"
"Not much further now," said Nero. "Let's
keep going."
A few minutes later, the pair happened upon the workplace
in question: a gentleman's club named The Foxhole, located in one of the
seedier parts of town. Alexis looked upon the neon-lit front with disdain.
"So she's not a crack whore, but she is
a whore," she remarked.
"Now you know why I was so hesitant to tell you
about her workplace," said Nero. "Believe me, I don't much care for
places like these either, but you get all sorts of people gathering here: from
petty crime lords to police detectives, from gangland kingpins to bigwig
senators. It's a great place to gather intelligence, and that's where Summer
comes in. She gets me information: news about what's happening in the city, from
the top of the chain right down to the bottom of the underworld. She also acts
as my confidante: a gentle ear to listen whenever I have problems I need to
speak to someone about."
Alexis snorted. "Like what, how desperate you are
for a fuck?" she asked.
"That's not
what I mean by confidante," said Nero, still managing to keep his
composure.
"Sure it isn't," said Alexis. "Well, are
we gonna meet her or what?"
Nero nodded. "Of course," he said. "Just
try not to start a fight or anything."
"I'll try," said Alexis.
As Nero opened the door to the club, the soft thumping of
bass that had been audible from outside suddenly blossomed into music.
Underneath the loud bass line and the general chatter of the patrons, the
drawling voice of Snoop Dogg could just be heard:
-Now wave your
hands in the motherfuckin' air,
And wave the
motherfuckers like you just don't care-
"God, I hate the music in this place," Nero
muttered.
"At last, something we have in common about this
dump," muttered Alexis, scowling.
Nero made his way through the crowd, with Alexis
following closely behind. Scattered around one part of the club were several
circular pole-dancing stages, most of which were currently occupied by
scantily-clad women performing all manner of erotic acrobatics in a bid to entice
the various males that made up the vast majority of the club's clientele. These
stages, unsurprisingly to Alexis, seemed to be Nero's destination. Specifically,
he was making a beeline straight for a woman who was somehow hanging upside-down
from her pole. Even at this distance, Alexis could see the bills tucked into
her black lace panties.
Stepping between two lustful-eyed patrons, Nero politely cleared
his throat, and the woman turned her head round to face him, still upside-down.
"Oh, hey, Nero," she said, smiling. "Wasn't expecting to see you
here today."
"Come down from there for a minute," said Nero,
"I need to chat with you for a bit. Plus, all the blood's going to rush to
your head if you stay like that."
In one swift, graceful movement, Summer flipped herself
back the right way up and landed on her feet, away from the pole. She was about
the same height as Alexis, and strikingly sexy, with a voluptuous chest that
was covered only by a small black crop top. Her entire body was beautifully
toned, like that of an athlete, from her finely-toned abs to her slender but
powerful legs. Though it was hard to tell with the club's passion-pink mood
lighting, her hair and eyes were both a deep, dark blue; her hair was long, and
drawn back into a ponytail, presumably to stop it from getting in the way while
she danced. As much as she loathed the woman's choice of profession, Alexis
couldn't help admiring her impressive physique.
Summer squatted down at the edge of the podium to address
Nero. "So, what's on your mind?" she asked, wiping a bead of sweat
from her brow. Then, noticing Alexis, she asked, "Is it her?"
"In a manner of speaking," said Nero.
"Summer, this is Alexis Moreau, my new partner. That's work partner, before you get any funny
ideas. Alexis, this is Summer Snow, my confidante and informant."
"Pleasure to meet you, Miss Moreau," said
Summer, smiling. When Alexis merely shrugged and grunted by way of response,
Summer remarked to Nero, "Not exactly the brightest ray of sunshine, is
she?"
"She doesn't like these kinds of
establishments," said Nero. "I can't say I blame her."
At that moment, Alexis was glaring up at the speakers as
though willing them to turn off. "How many times does this bitch wanna say
Snoop Dogg's name?" she asked. "Yeah, we get it, that's his fucking
name. Get on with the next song!"
Nero and Summer exchanged a private smile at Alexis'
expense. "I think she prefers metal," remarked Nero.
"Probably," said Summer. "She strikes me
as that type of girl. So, partner, huh? How'd that happen?"
"It's kind of a dual arrangement," said Nero.
"I provide her with a place to sleep and a place to hide, she provides me
with an extra couple of guns when I need them."
"A place to hide?" asked Summer, intrigued.
"From what, the KKK?"
"What? No," said Alexis, coming back into the
conversation at the wrong time. "The hell would the KKK be after me for? I'm white!"
Nero and Summer couldn't help chuckling at their private
in-joke. "No, silly," said Summer, "that's my nickname for the
cops 'round here. The Krispy Kreme Krew, or the KKK for short. 'Coz they eat
donuts and they shoot black people."
"Oh, I see," said Alexis. "That's a good
one, I gotta remember that one."
"It's not just the police that are after her,"
said Nero. "There's a gang after her as well, and she needs my protection
from both sides until the gang are wiped out. So we struck a deal."
Summer nodded. "That's a pretty good deal," she
said. "Hey, uhh… listen, I better get back on the pole before the crowd
starts getting antsy. It was nice to meet you, Alexis."
"I guess," said Alexis. As Summer straightened
up, she quickly added, "Wait, hang on… can I ask you a question?"
"Sure," said Summer, placing a hand on the pole
and leaning against it. "But make it a quick one."
Her pale face flushing a little, Alexis gestured at
Summer's impressive bust. "Are those fake?" she asked.
Summer followed Alexis' gaze and grinned. "What,
these?" she asked, cupping her breasts and squeezing them a little.
"I thought about it, but… I got plenty already. So the answer's no:
they're all natural." Before Nero could stop her, she continued:
"Why? You wanna touch 'em? If you want that, you'll have to pay like
everyone else~"
Alexis's cheeks flushed red and she turned on her heel,
seizing Nero's arm. "Let's get outta here," she mumbled, as she
started to drag him away.
As he was dragged away, Nero called out to Summer:
"You shouldn't tease her like that, she's fragile!"
Summer playfully pouted. "You're such a
spoilsport!" she said.
Nero sighed, and began to move under his own power.
"Sorry about that," he said. "I know she can get a bit… much at
times."
Alexis nodded. "To be fair, I probably shouldn't
have asked something like that," she said.
"Then why did you?" asked Nero.
Alexis looked away and folded her arms, which had the
side effect of hiding her substantially smaller bust. "No reason,"
she said.
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