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Rafael Zapata’s two remaining men returned to the house with the girls after a night at the strip clubs. It had been a slow evening. Only a few patrons were interested in springing for the VIP room. Rafael would make the final count, but it didn’t look good.
The house was quiet when the two men entered at five-thirty in the morning. It usually was when they returned. This time, Rafael was not waiting for them. He would usually greet them as they walked in, anxious to get the evening’s take, then go to his office/bedroom to count the cash.
“Oh, I bet he’s with blondie,” one of the men said, laughing.
“He ain’t coming out for money? She must be good,” added the second man.
“He ain’t coming out, he must be coming.” Both men laughed
“Hey. Help me. Get your asses back here!”
“Bitch must be rough,” one of the men said, laughing again as they ambled to the office – they were neither concerned nor in a hurry. Once inside the office, neither man could keep a straight face.
“What the fuck happened, boss? That girl do this to you?”
“No, asshole. Some guys broke in. Stuck a gun in my face. Took the money, the drugs, my gun, and the women.”
“Both women?”
“Yes, both.”
“Wait, the money? All of it?”
“Yes. All of it. They cleaned us out. Untie me, J Dog.”
J Dog was the man’s street name. He’d worked for Rafael for over two years. Rafael had no idea what his real name was. The other man went by Freddy. Rafael didn’t know if it was his real name or a nickname. He didn’t care. Weren’t any 1099s being sent out.
J Dog untied the lamp cord the intruders had used to tie Rafael. “At least they didn’t kill you.”
“They should’ve. They took everything. I’ll find them, though. I’ll find them, get my money back, and I’ll kill those mothers. They don’t know who they fucked with.”
“Any idea who it was, boss?”
“No, but they knew we had money. I tried to give them a few grand from the desk. They wanted more. Either of you two tell anyone about the money?”
“No, sir.”
“Me either. I never told no one about our operation,” Freddy said.
“I’ll find them. Meanwhile, we’ll make it back. How’d we do tonight?”
“Not good. The place was dead. Between all them girls, I bet they didn’t bring in fifteen hundred. Maybe two grand. I think Tracy gave a guy a bareback-reverse-cowgirl in the corner of the main room. Guess he wouldn’t spring for a VIP room. She should’ve been tipped well for it.”
“Give me what you got. I’ll add it up.”
“What about us? We got cash coming.”
“All the cash we got is what you just handed me. I’ll pay you what you got coming next week. Fourth of July is coming up. It’ll be busy. Weekends are always good. This weekend will be better.”
“Did you say they took the drugs too?”
“Yeah, I did.”
“Man, that’s bad. I noticed a couple of girls are crashing. They need a fix.”
“Shit,” Rafael said. He counted out five hundred dollars in mostly twenty-dollar bills. “Here. Make a few calls. Get a couple of rocks of crystal and crack and some smack. Get all you can. We need these girls working, not crashing.”
J Dog and Freddy made a few phone calls and left to meet their dealers. Rafael walked up to the room he’d put Jana in. The door was closed. He opened it slowly, hoping the intruders decided against taking her – she could be a handful – but the room was empty.
Rafael checked on his girls. They were all going about their regular routines. Olivia, a dark-skinned girl from Venezuela, approached him. She was sweating and shaking.
“Rafael,” she said. “I feel bad. I need a hit. Can you give me a fix? Please.”
“How much money you make tonight?” Rafael knew it was not much. He was stalling until his guys could get back with the dope.
“Um, I don’t know. A couple hundred maybe.”
“That won’t buy much white junk.”
“It was slow tonight. I couldn’t help it. I’ve had slow nights before and you’ve never held out on me.”
“We’re running low. Your usage has picked up.”
“Bullshit, baby. You want me to blow you? Is that what this is all about? That hot blond chick wouldn’t give it up for you? I don’t give a shit. Whip it out if that’s what you want. Don’t mess with me.”
Rafael backhanded the girl across the face. She dropped to her knees.
“You didn’t have to hit me,” she said and reached for the zipper on his shorts.
“Get off me, hoe. You using too much. I want you to wait a little bit. I’ll have J Dog bring you a hit when he gets back. Oh, you talk to me like that again, I’ll cut you off. Hear me?”
Olivia, still on her knees, nodded. Rafael put his foot on the girl’s chest. With a quick shove, he pushed her to the floor.
“Go take a shower. You stink.” Rafael walked back to his combination bedroom office. He sat on the bed, taking deep breaths. He wasn’t sure what he was most pissed about – the close to two-hundred thousand dollars, the drugs, which could be easily replaced, or the woman. He had wanted a few nights with Jana.
Rafael replayed the events of the previous evening over and over in his head. He tried to remember the most minute detail that might help him find the guys who robbed him. They had worn blue jeans, long-sleeve black shirts, and gloves. Mechanics-type gloves.
It was mid-morning when Rafael’s two men returned. It had taken a while to find drugs at six in the morning. Most of the dealers had crashed for the night.
“Take a hit up to Olivia,” Rafael said to J Dog. “She’s coming down hard. Give her enough to get her to sleep. She can have more before she goes to work tonight.”
J Dog took the drugs to Olivia then rejoined Freddy and Rafael in the small den.
“The guys that broke in here last night, there was three of them,” Rafael said. “All big dudes. Two were huge mothers. They were wearing masks and long-sleeve black shirts, which they were about to bust out of. They looked like Arnold Schwarzenegger. A young Schwarzenegger, not the old one. That bitch gave one of them a good pop, barely missed his cojones. He didn’t flinch. The two big guys were all tatted up. I could see some on their necks. Couldn’t make out what they were. I bet they had tats on their hands too. They were wearing gloves.”
“Did they talk much? They have an accent?” Freddy asked.
“Not much. The masks muffled their voices, but I don’t think so. The smaller of the three, and he wasn’t small, reminded me a little of Reymundo, the boat guy. Similar build. He’s the one that thumped me on the head with his gun.”
“That’s when you gave them the money?” J Dog asked.
“I didn’t give them the fucking money. One of them found it. The safe was open. I would’ve opened it anyway. I ain’t going to die over a little money and drugs.”
“A little money?” Freddy shouted. “It was a fucking lot of money. Some of it was ours.”
“I know, I know, but we’ll get it back.”
“How? You don’t know who took it.”
“I mean, the girls will earn it back for us. But, yeah, I’ll find out who took it. I’ll get it back too. I won’t be so nice. I’ll take care of those dudes.”
“Think you’ll get the blond back? She was a hottie.” J Dog could not resist stirring the pot one more time.
Rafael ignored the comment. “Tied up like that, I didn’t sleep. I’m going to bed. When I wake up, I’ll hit the streets. Somebody knows who these dudes are. I’ll find them. You guys should get some sleep too. Make sure the girls get to work on time. They need to make some money.”
“Okay, we’re leaving. You be okay?” Freddy asked.
“Yeah. I don’t think they’ll come back. They already cleaned me out. Unless they want the rest of my hoes.”
“They might.”
“Hey, look into video cameras. We need one in here. Find out how much they cost.”
J Dog and Freddy nodded and left. Rafael went to his room and climbed into his bed. Sleep was hard. He could not stop thinking about the night he had planned with Jana – until those assholes took her.
“Hey boss, you awake?”
The voice roused Rafael from a deep sleep. He had no idea what time it was or what time he’d finally dozed off. He snorted a few times and said, “Yeah, I’m awake. What’s up?”
“We’re heading out. It’s four-thirty,” Freddy said.
“Already? Okay, see y’all later.”
The men left with all the girls. Rafael, still somewhat groggy, meandered into the kitchen, where he pulled a bottle of beer from the fridge. Using a church key, he popped the top and took a long drink. “Now,” he said aloud. “Who were those bastards, and where will I find them?”
At Lickety Splitz, J Dog dropped the six girls with him off at the front door. He watched them enter the building before he drove to the rear of the parking lot.
Exactly two-point-three miles to the east on 79th street, Freddy was dropping six girls off at Polecatz. On a good night, the girls could make a thousand bucks each. The previous night, they didn’t make a thousand between them. He was hoping tonight would be a good night. Rafael had lost their money. He had bills to pay and needed the cash.
Freddy parked his Chevrolet Yukon and joined the girls inside Polecatz. A few customers had strolled in. One of Freddy’s girls was dancing. She’d yet to remove her G-string, and a pile of dollar bills with a few fives mixed in were strewn about the stage.
“It might be a good night,” Freddy said to himself.
By two in the morning, each girl had made at least one trip to the VIP room with a customer. Each had performed lap dances for several men. One older gentleman was captivated by Pilar. He bought her several expensive drinks and paid for at least eight lap dances.
Polecatz was not overly busy, but the girls were staying engaged. The clientele was generous. Pilar was rubbing her crotch into the older man’s face when two large men suddenly sat down beside Freddy.
“Hi,” one of the two said.
“Hey, whaz up, guys?” Freddy got a good look at the men. They were huge, with tattoos on their gigantic arms and necks. Remembering Rafael’s description of the men who’d robbed him the night before, he was sure he was sitting between them.
“Glad you asked,” the other man said. “We met your boss last night. Took his money and his ladies. Oh man, that blond, she’s a knockout.”
Freddy tried to lean forward in his chair, but a huge forearm had him pinned.
“Relax,” the man told him. “We’re not here to hurt you. We just want to talk. You okay?”
Freddy nodded. He was scared shitless, but okay.
“Good. See, we work for a guy who is moving into the area. He doesn’t like competition. You, Rafael, and these girls are competition. The girls are mostly skanky, but still competition. We’re going to take the girls tonight. We’re moving them to a new location. My boss has a spot for them. He thinks it will suit them better.”
“You’re taking the girls?”
“You catch on real quick. Good for you. Here’s what you’re going to do. You go back and tell Rafael we’ve taken his girls. We’ve talked to the owner here, he’s all in. He’s seen our girls. Even if Rafael digs up some new girls, they won’t be welcome here. Got it?”
“Yeah, I got it, but Rafael’s going to be pissed.”
“Do we look like we care? Feel free to give him our description. We won’t be hard to find.”
“You mind if I get a drink?” Freddy said. “I could use a drink.”
“Not at all.” One of the men waved a waitress over.
“Hi, what can I get you?”
“How ‘bout a Wild Turkey and Coke? Heavy on the Wild Turkey.” Freddy told her.
“Nice choice. As I was saying, we aren’t here to hurt you. We just make sure you don’t bring any more girls here. Our boss is set on handling the girls at all the sleazy clubs, like this one and Lickety. The nicer joints aren’t as open to employing controlled girls. We have gotten a few of our hotter girls in, but not many. That blond we took last night, we could get her in. She’s getting kinda old for the biz, but she could make some scratch. Unfortunately, she’s a stubborn one. She’ll come around soon enough.”
“Why don’t you let her go? She’s not a dancer. Rafael was holding her while her boyfriend does some work for him.”
“What, you have a heart of gold now? Let that fine piece of ass go? You’re hilarious.”
The waitress returned with the drink and handed it to Freddy, who wasted no time taking a big gulp.
“Is it true, what you said? You ain’t going to hurt me?”
“That’s true. Not tonight anyway. But if we see you again, we can’t make any promises.”
Freddy had grown tired of working for Rafael. He’d considered moving on and this was a good time. “I think I’ve had enough of this business. Rent’s due, and you stole all our money. I’ll take what I have and see how far I can get. ‘Bout time I made a fresh start.”
“You sound like a smart man.”
“I have to ask. You really takin’ the girls?”
“We are. Got a big van waiting outside.”
“Several of the girls are strung out. They’re going to come down hard if they don’t get a fix. You going to take care of them?”
“Yeah. We got what they’ll need. We take good care of our girls.”
“I’m glad to hear it. Rafael treated them like shit. Maybe they’ll be better off with you. They are good girls, deep down. I’m going to miss some of them.”
“Were you close to any of them? Like boyfriend girlfriend close?”
Freddy took several swigs of his drink. “I always liked Vivien, the girl sitting on the bald guy’s lap. She was always friendly to me. I don’t think there was much more to it.”
“She’s cute. She strung out?”
“No, she’s not. She’s only been around a few months. Rafael found her on South Beach. She’d been dumped by her boyfriend. Broke and homeless. She’s an enthusiastic dancer, but she draws the line. She brings in enough cash that Rafael hasn’t pushed her to start having sex with the customers. He says she’ll come around.”
“How interesting. Rafael has a good girl in his stable. Can you get her over here?”
“I don’t know. I mean, sure. Why?”
“Just do it.”
The man Vivien was sitting with had lost interest in her. She started to make the rounds when Freddy caught her eye and motioned her over.
“Hi Freddy,” she said with a wide smile. “You wanted me?”
“Hi Vivien,” the biggest of the two men flanking Freddy said. She took it as a cue to sit on his lap and put her arm around him.
“Hi. You know my real name?” She shot Freddy a dirty look for telling him her real name. “Would you like a dance?”
“No, I have a question for you.”
“Okay...”
“How do you feel about Freddy?”
“Uh?”
“Simple question. How do you feel about Freddy?”
“He’s sweet. I like him.” She shrugged. “What do you want me to say?”
“Just the truth.”
“The truth? Truth is, I like him. I keep wishing he’d hit on me. I’ve never seen him with any of the girls. Not like the other guys. Maybe he doesn’t like dancers.”
“That’s not what he told me.”
“What’d he tell you?” Vivien asked, still hugging the man around the neck.
“He said he likes you. He didn’t know how you felt about him.”
Vivien looked across the big man at Freddy. She walked over and sat on his lap. “Freddy, have you ever seen me kiss a guy in here?”
“Um, no, can’t say I have.”
Vivien gave him a long, passionate kiss, then turned to the other man. “That’s how I feel about Freddy. Why’d you ask?”
“Because I like the guy. I don’t want to have to kill him. I’m thinking if he has a girlfriend, one who maybe doesn’t mind doing a little dancing to support him until he gets a job, perhaps he’ll disappear, and I won’t have to kill him.”
Vivien’s eyes widened. “W...w...why would you kill him?”
“Business. We’re taking all the girls too.”
“Taking us? Where?”
“Can’t tell you, but I’ll make you a deal. If you like Freddy, I’ll let you go with him. Y’all disappear. Leave town. Find a new place. You can get real jobs, or you can dance to support him. Don’t matter to me. Just don’t do it in Miami.”
“Are you serious?” Freddy said.
“I am. Vivien, how much have you made tonight?”
“I’m not sure. We never count it. Rafael does. It’s better if we don’t know.”
“Well, you’re keeping it all tonight.” He pulled a wad of cash out of his pocket and handed Vivien and Freddy five hundred dollars each. “Here’s a little extra to get you on your way.”
“You’re kidding?” Freddy said.
“Nope. It’s your money anyhow. It’s from the cash we took from Rafael.”
“Thank you,” Freddy said. “We’ll get out of town. You’ll never see us again, I promise.”
“I need you to do one favor for me first.”
“Sure. What is it?”
“We’ve got two guys over at Lickety Splitz right now talking to your partner. Hopefully, he’s been as cooperative as you’ve been. What I need you to do is, after we load the rest of the girls, I want you to call Rafael and tell him the guys who took his money just took his girl—” The large man looked down at his buzzing phone. “I need to check this.”
Once he’d read the text from his partner at the other strip club, he looked back at Freddy. “Looks like your friend was ready to make a new career choice as well. He handed over the girls, but not without a few choice words. He didn’t receive a parting gift. We’re leaving now. Vivien, would you be a doll and gather up the girls for me? Calmly and quietly. Don’t make a scene. Tell them we want to take them to a private party, and we’ve made a deal with Freddy to take them.”
Vivien left to gather the girls.
“As I was saying, call Rafael and tell him we have his money and his girls. Tell him we’ve convinced you it would be best if you left town and that you understand your friend – J Dog, isn’t it? – is taking off too.”
“Man, he’s going to be pissed.”
“Yeah, I know.” Both men laughed. Freddy joined in.
When Vivien returned to the table with the girls, the big man said, “Y’all go get dressed. You’re coming with us. You too, Vivien, get dressed.”
The girls disappeared through a curtain behind the stage.
Freddy tipped his drink, making sure he got every drop. “You will treat them nice?”
“Very nice,” the larger of the two men said with a snicker.