Jacquie Bloom stood over a slumped and half conscious body.

Larry no longer pulled at his restraints. His hands and wrists were caked in blood. If Jacquie couldn't hear his breathing he might assume that Larry was dead.

"Larry? Hey Larry! Cocksucker! Wake the fuck back up!" Jacquie screamed.

Larry shot straight up in the chair, eyes drooping.

"Over here, Larry. Don't you want to hear the rest of the story? You wanted to know how I found out you were being possessed by a Demon. How did I know you were a messenger from Hell, and then how did I get you?"

Larry swallowed hard.

"Jeez man, pull yourself together. I'll recap a bit for you since it seems you've suffered a little brain damage. I didn't know for sure you were possessed. You told me, and that confirmed it. But I wasn't one hundred percent sure when I kidnapped you. But not having all of the facts isn't the kind of thing that deters someone like me. You see, as a Gun Bearer, I don't really follow the same rules and laws as other people.

"So how did I end up on your trail? It wasn't that hard really. See, all of these really fucked up things have been happening. It all started when me and my former partner picked one of your kind up for a meeting with our boss. But we were kept in the dark about what you fucks really are, so when the guy went ape shit in the backseat, my partner put a bullet in his brain cavity.

"After that, more of you crazy fucks started popping up. The erratic movements, split personalities, homicidal, suicidal, speaking in tongues, which is the worst by the way, it sounds like a chorus of invalids talking all at once while they get electro shock therapy. So you cocksuckers would pop up and cause brief amount of mayhem and I would shoot you down. But it always came back to my boss, Gillingham, whose hands are the bloodiest of them all.

"So really all I had to do was start looking at guys who had been recently arrested for causing problems like the ones I'd witnessed myself. Then I looked at who got out of the charges by some mysterious means. How do I have access to such files? Well, revealing my sources isn't really part of our arrangement.

"I got a small list together, and yes, Larry my boy, you were on that list. I followed a few Joe Nobodies before I got a whiff of your trail. I knocked you out as you came out of a store earlier tonight. The rest is, as they say, history. Don't worry, I put the milk in a fridge so it won't get warm. Now..." Jacquie withdrew his .93r Berretta and used it to raise Larry's chin, "it's time for you to start your story.

Jacquie's sharp eyes met Larry's bloodshot and watery gaze.

"Okay..."

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A single light bulb hanging from a long cord beamed dull light down on a sweaty thin head of hair.

The room was consumed by darkness save that one bulb. It dangled like an uneasy halo. The head of hair belonged to an unconscious and tightly bound man.

A hand from the darkness appeared, illuminated from the bulb, holding a glass of water. A single flicking motion sent the water into the unconscious man's face.

The man snapped awake. He quickly whipped his head from left to right. His eyes blinked rapidly. He pulled at his restraints.

"Who is there? Help me. What is going on?" he yelled into the darkness. His voice quivered and quaked. "You can't do this," his voice cracked. He screamed out in the darkness. His twisting attempts to escape quickly became more erratic. He looked more confused. He looked angrier. His head snapped in all directions. His face twisted and contorted.

A fist appeared from darkness and slammed into the man's left cheek. He cocked his head back into place. The punch seemed to have settled him. He smiled.

Jacqueline Bloom appeared from the darkness. He had a second chair in tow and pulled up next to the bound man. He took a seat. He crossed a leg.

"My name is..."

"Jacquie Bloom, yeah I know," said the bound man.

Jacquie was surprised but his face would never show it.

"We've been keeping an eye on you," said the man.

"I'm flattered, since I've only been following you for the last couple of days."

The bound man convulsed like he was going into a seizure. "We hate you humans. Hate. Hate. Hate. You humans. Fuck I want so badly to murder all your children and bath in their blood, bile, and innards right in front of your ugly fucking faces."

Jacquie's face remains unmoved, "anything else?"

"How?"

"Did I track you down? Follow you? Kidnap you?"

"Yes, how did you do these things?"

"How did I capture a man possessed by a Lord from Hell?"

"Yes, yes, yes, you stupid fuck! How did you know. How did you know. How did you knoooooooow!?" The bound man dry heaved like he was going to throw up but nothing came out but drool at the corners of his mouth.

"To tell you the truth, Larry, I didn't really know. You just told me."

"What? What?" his eyes darted around the room. "Whaaaat?" He stomped his chair and pulled at his restraints.

"Yeah, Lar, you kinda fell for one of the old tricks. Stop fighting those restraints or I'll cut off your head."

Larry stopped fighting.

"I know you're probably a little pissed. I'm sure as shit that you're going to be killed by your Demon brothers for letting yourself be captured by me. So I'm going to indulge you. I'll tell you how I got you. Then you're going to tell me everything I don't already know."

A low growl came from Larry. It grew louder and louder. It seemed to surround Jacquie. It seemed as though Demons had possessed the darkness of the room. The growl was deafening. Larry's eyes rolled back into his head.

Jacquie got up from his chair. He snapped his fingers in Larry's face. "Hey, hey, cocksucker."

Larry snapped out of the growl and his eyes fixated onto Jacquie's glasses.

"Knock it the fuck out."

Larry frowned.

"We got a deal or what?"

Larry nodded.

Jacquie sat back down.

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The black mustang convertible roared into Cyrrous' One Stop Fast Shop.

"Oh fucking sweet!" said Jason Madinger from the passanger seat when he realized where he was being taken. "You should have just said you were taking me to Cyrrous' place!"

Long Barrel Darrel raised an eyebrow from behind his mirrored aviator glasses, "you've heard of Cyrrous' before?"

"Fuck yeah, man," said Madinger, who was starting to squirm in his seat, "this place is the shit."

"Good, then I don't have to deal with the formalities. Jacquie took me for the first time about a week ago."

"The first time?" asked Madinger as he quickly got out of the car before LBD had even turned off the engine. "Damn, he was holding out."

"No kidding. I've been back here almost every day since."

"Really, doing what?"

"Shooting."

"Fuck, yeah," said Madinger as they entered the store. LBD smiled from beneath his mustache.

The little bell on the door rang as the two Gun Bearers entered. Cyrrous was behind the counter reading US Daily and listening to some foreign music that sounded bad to LBD's ears. Madinger ran his hand through his hair and pushed some of it behind his ear. Cyrrous looked up from his magazine.

"What is the goings on, boys," said Cyrrous.

"What's popping, you old fuck?" asked Madinger.

In a flash, Cyrrous had his magazine rolled into a weapon and beat Madinger in the face with it as he walked past the counter.

"Ow, fuck!"

"Show some respect to your elders you worthless peon!"

LBD walked in behind Madinger. He grabbed a toothpick from a little dispenser at the edge of the counter. He lowered his glasses and looked at Cyrrous. Cyrrous didn't say anything to him he just reached under the counter and pulled out some keys. He threw the keys to LBD, who caught them in the air.

The pair walked to the back of the store and opened the door. They walked through a narrow hallway. At the end of the hallway was a door. They stopped two feet from the door. LBD bent down and stuck a key into a dusty lock that was flush against the floor. Once he turned the key he lifted it and a square door opened up.

Under the Fast Stop was a fully constructed shooting range. Madinger and LBD smiled at each other. All afternoon they fired revolvers, lever action pistols, semi-automatic pistols, machine pistols, submachine guns, machine guns, assault rifles, battle rifles, sniper rifles, single barrel shotguns, and double barrel shotguns. LBD shot an Elephant gun. Madinger shot a grenade launcher. Then LBD shot a Gatling gun. They smiled and they laughed as they shot these guns. They smiled as the fired these instruments of death. They saw an imaginary bloodbath in front of them. They imagined this together. And in that imaginary bloodbath, these two Gun Bearers, bonded.

The diner door opened and caught a springy little piece of metal attached to an old brass bell. Long Barrel Darrel instinctively closed the gap between his left arm and his chest, in between was his 12 inch custom made Huntington .22.

He looked around the diner from left to right. He didn't particularly like it. The entire wall behind him was nothing but thin window glass. The sidewalk outside was short and the street was behind it was busy. The windows were lined with booths and a long bar was on the other side of the aisle. At his far left LBD spotted Jacqueline Bloom sipping tea and reading a newspaper.

"So what's good here?" LBD asked as he took a seat.

"Everything and nothing," said Jacquie from behind his paper.

LBD liked Jacquie. He looked up to him, but he didn't like him much whenever he got into one of his ominous moods. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Stick to something simple. The pancakes are good."

The aging waitress with a big ass appeared at the edge of their table. "Hey sweetie, what can I get'cha tonight?"

"I'll just start off with coffee. Is it really strong?"

"Yeah, it's pretty strong," said the waitress.

LBD looked over at the glass container of sugar that you don't see much in restaurants any more, one of the ones that bigger than a soda can. He lifted it up, inspected it, and sat it down closer to his reach.

"Okay, yeah just the coffee. Do you guys bring out a whole pot?"

"We can."

"Yeah that'd be great," LBD said. The waitress looked at Jacquie, who kept reading his paper. She left. LBD looked at Jacquie and sighed loudly.

Jacquie folded his newspaper three times and set it aside, "So?"

"So," replied LBD.

Jacquie folded his hands in front of him. The hand wrapped in white bandages he put on top of his other. LBD looked down and then back up.

"How do you think its going?" asked Jacquie

"Its going pretty good."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Things aren't exactly what they fucking seem to be, are they?"

"No," said LBD giving a little laugh, "things are definitely not what they seem to be. I mean the gas station with all the hardware? That, I didn't expect."

"Yeah that's a little fucked up, I guess, when I think about it."

"Yeah, what if a shootout broke out over getting them guns. Everyone would be dead for sure."

"One of the reasons they are where they are."

LBD thought about that for a second, "Yeah, you're probably right." He thought about something for another second, "And those people that botched the Austin Tellamore job (#25), what the fuck was that?"

Jacquie straightened up, "That is exactly why I wanted to talk to you, LBD."

"Oh yeah?"

"They followed me half across Grimland last night."

"What?"

The waitress returned with a cup and a pot of coffee. They stopped talking until she was gone. LBD poured a cup for himself and added a lot of sugar as Jacquie went on talking.

"I made'em pretty quickly and took off running." He looked around the diner and lowered his head, "I ran. They gave chase. I don't like to be chased. I doubled back around and got one of them. Then..."

"What?"

"They flew."

"They what?" asked LBD as he shot back-straightened in his seat.

"Flew," Jacquie let that sink in a second. "They flew that night on the roof top. They flew last night. I went back around to check the guy I shot and he or she was gone too. I know I nailed him so they must have gone back..."

"Hold on, wait, Jacquie...you're fucking loosing it man. The Tellamore job was way fucked. No doubt about that, but what you're saying is crazy. You told me they got across to another roof from a fire escape that broke as soon as they were over."

"I told you that because I was fucking freaked. Now shut up. There is something bigger than us here. I know it. Gillingham has hinted at it. Simon is missing, probably dead. I'm worried about Cherry going deeper into the Rabbit hole. There is something brewing in the Syndicate. Something bad is happening that I can't explain."

"Jacquie we kill people. We kill a lot of people."

"Most of the deserve it."

"So? We kill because we're told to kill. We're told to kill because someone benefits from someone else dying. We get vast sums of money to kill. All I've ever been good at is killing. These people make sure I get to do that and stay out of jail."

"Motherfucker, do you not get what I'm saying?"

"No, Jacquie, I have no ideas what you're talking about!" The men talk in loud whispered bursts close to one another.

"This is all going to come crashing down. Mark my words. Shit is being put into a pitchers hand. The Syndicate is going to change. We may be there for it but we may end up as casualties."

"You're talking about war."

"I'm talking about the war."

"What?"

"The end."

"Alright, alright, I'm going to allow a small corner of my brain to believe you. What do you want from me?"

(The day of the Tattoo)

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One dark night, Jacquie Bloom thought he was being followed by three figures. They were keeping their distance but there were three sets of footsteps behind him. He heard the steps but not the voices.

They were walking but not talking. He walked on. His suspicion was confirmed when he went down a street that he knew to be absent of any businesses still open. They could own one of the closed businesses but he knew they didn't. He was being followed.

He picked up the pace a little. He hoped over puddles. They walked through them. He crossed the street. They stayed on the same side. He turned a corner. They pursued. They didn't seem to be too interested in closing the gap between them and him.

Fuck this, he said to himself. He picked up the pace to a run. They didn't run at first. But he really put his soles into it.

They started to run.

Jacquie ran faster.

They ran faster.

Jacquie quickly took a turn.

He nearly fell on his ass.

They ran faster, harder.

They made the turn with ease.

Now they were pursuing.

He knocked over some trashcans.

He hit some cars, which sounded alarms.

They didn't notice any of it.

He turned a corner and stopped.

He pulled out his newly restored Berretta 93r.

He waited.

The running steps got louder.

He turned out from the corner, and fired a series of shots in rapid succession.

The pursuer on the left got all the shots.

The victim danced as the bullets invaded his body.

The other two, flew.

Jacquie watched.

Then he ran.

He looked up every once and awhile.

Nothing was above him.

He circled back around.

There was no body.

Jacquie ran home.

A man called out in the darkness, "What are you doing? You don't have to do this. Please, I'm begging you. Put me down."

The words were swallowed by the black.

Gloved hands worked feverishly at pulley systems at each corner of the dark room. The last screw was screwed into the floor mounted pulley. The gloved hand squirted a little grease on the pulley. It worked its way to all the pulleys. The black boots climbed a small later to reach the pulleys mounted on the ceiling. The gloves went to the center of the room where the naked man was shackled. The shackles were checked. They were tight. The gloves moved to a vanishan blind and twisted them open to let in a little light. The blue light hit the ground.

"Sorry, buddy. I intended to do this in the dark. It was part of the symbolism I was going for, but after getting those pulleys set up my eyes are strained," the man was covered in black except for his lightly bearded face. He had a tan and was very handsome looking; the naked man on the floor only saw terror.

The naked man's red eyes adjusted to the light and he saw that he was shackled to a system of wires. The wires went up from the straps on his ankles and wrist to the ceiling. Directly above him were four pulleys, one for each ligament. The pulleys guided the wires to the corners of the ceiling, where there were more pulleys that guild the wire to the ground. The grounded pulleys had small clamps in them to prevent the wire from going any further. The wire ends had black metal handles.

"Oh my God! You don't have to do this! Please let me go," the naked man struggled. The wires were fairly loose but he couldn't move enough to get his hands to meet or reach one of his legs. He flailed in pathetic attempt. "I will pay you whatever you want. I have money. Lots of money. Whatever you want it's yours. Just let me go."

"A-a-a-and there it is. I was waiting for that, buddy. I guess you could say it was my signal to start," The black clad man paced the room checking the pulleys. "I know you have lots of money. I did after all break into your office building, drug your coffee, and then waited for everyone to leave for the night. I know all about you Victor Fig, and that is why I will be killing you tonight."

"Oh no, no, no."

"Yes, yes, yes, you see I know about the money you've been taking from your employee's accounts. I know about the second account book. I know about your plans to take it all and run, or file for bankruptcy, did you ever decide on that last bit? Eh, doesn't matter." The darkly clad man reached for a pulley and unclamped the stopper. "You would have gotten away with it too, if not for ME-E-E-E-E!" He pulled hard and Fig went flying up to the ceiling.

The dark man ran to every one of the other pulley and pulled the exact same amount of wire. Once he had the desired level, he clamped the stopper back down. In the end Victor Fig was spread on the ceiling, each limb pointing in one corner. His face was an inch from the ceiling.

"You're right. I was going to take the money. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I know it was wrong. I'll give it all back. I'll give it all back, just pahuullleeasse let me down!"

"Really?"

Fig stopped crying, "Yes, yes, I'll give it back."

"You'll give all the money back if I let you down?"

"Yes, absolutely."

"What are the account numbers?"

"What?"

"The account numbers? I'll take all your money and distribute it amongst the employee's you've stolen from."

"Hey now wait a minute. Not all of that money I stole. Now you're trying to rob me. I wont stand for that you little prick!"

"Vicky buddy, you ain't standing period right now."

"Fuck you, you can't have my money. Not the money I worked for!"

"Oh buddy, you just said the wrong thing," the darkly clad man quickly pulled out a knife and stuck it an inch into Fig's back. Fig whaled and flailed and cried out. He screamed for help as his blood trickled down into a well placed waste basket. "Do you get it now, Vic? You're in the dark, well sorta, just like how you kept all your employee's in the dark. You've been stuck and are now being bleed dry, just like you bleed them dry. You're wound tight and well I guess I could argue that that's how your former employees would feel when they learned of their empty accounts but that's pushing it a bit. You get the idea. I'm Sticker. No, they don't call me Sticker because I stick people with knives. Though I do, as you know. I'm Sticker because I stick people with what's coming to them. I've always had this intense sense of irony. Anyway, enough about me, the account numbers, NOW!" Sticker sticks the knife in the same spot but a little deeper. More blood comes pouring out.

The whaling and flailing slowed to a stop and Victor Fig gave Sticker the account numbers.

"Thanks," said Sticker, and then quickly stabbed Fig even deeper in the same spot.

The next day Fig's secretary walked in on an over flowing waste basket of blood and her boss, cold and stiff, wired to the ceiling.

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Half way through Cherry's set on stage she caught sight of Jacqueline Bloom at the bar.

When her set was through, Cherry headed back to the dressing room. She passed one of her girls covered in Freddy Forever's blood waiting to go into the shower.

"Is Ellie in there, now?" she asked the crimson girl.

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Good, you're on after her Trixie so hurry up and get cleaned up when Ellie is done."

Cherry hung up her clothes and put on a little black dress, conventional by strip club standards.

Jacquie faced the bar mirror and sips on an opaque green drink. Cherry slide up next to him and took a seat.

"Well hello there, stud. Couldn't sleep? I figured after our little adventure in bed you'd be in a coma."

"I don't sleep much anymore, Cherry. My demons are closing in."

Cherry smiled with her lips still pursed. She playfully pushed her forehead into Jacquie's arm to try and make him smile. He just sipped from his drink again without really even noticing. She looked at him more closely, narrowing her gaze.

"What demons, Jacquie?"

"When was the last time you saw Simon?"

"The *funeral, why? When was the last time you saw him?"

"The funeral, Cherry. I think Simon is dead. I think Gillingham had him killed for helping Vasquez.

"Gillingham, killed him? Simon is his number one guy, though."

"Nope, that's me now. We had a meeting about it a little while ago. He just said Simon was unreliable and I was in. I think he manipulated things to get me more time with my son."

"How is he?"

"Amazing, which just makes everything so much worse. I think there is serious evil within the Syndicate's plans. Of course, I've always known what we do is wrong. We do bad things. We all have our own demons that pushed us into Gillingham's arms and I think mine are making me into something awful, Cherry."

"What can I do, Jacquie?"

"Nothing. Keep doing everything as normal. I just wanted you to know. I'm going to figure this out. I'm going to get some answers. Gun Bearers are supposed to just do their assignment. Enjoy the money and the women that Gillingham throws at us."

"Simon sure did. He enjoyed all aspects of the job."

"Not at the end, Cherry. Something changed him. I know he went to work with Lee Fook. I think that had something to do with it."

"The Lotus Wolf?"

"Yeah, the Gun Bearer Executioner. I think he told things to Simon that made him go against Gillingham?"

"That fuck? Why would Gillingham's little lap dog use Simon to go against Gillingham. It doesn't make a fucking bit of sense."

"It does if you figure the lap dog thought he was helping Simon. Fuck he was probably the one that killed Simon. I bet he thinks that was helping Simon too."

The two sit in silence. Jacquie finishes his drink.

"Cherry, I gotta go. We probably just fucked up talking about this in the club."

"Fuck'em."

"I'll call you if I find anything out."

Jackie hesitates to go in for a kiss. He backs away and the decides to just lay one on her. He kisses her. Her lips follow his to make it last a little longer. He's gone when she opens her eyes.

There are only eight people in the world who know that The Damsel strip club has a hidden second basement. Other than Cherry and her Six Nines, Gillingham, the man who owns the club, is the only other soul aware of the small space. Sometimes however, that number grows, but only briefly.

The small room was burning hot. A dozen hanging light bulbs and lamps caused every possible space to be lit up. Freddy Forever hung shackled from an exposed pipe. Blood mixed with saliva drips from his mouth while blood mixed with sweat and oil covers his face. One eye was swollen shut. Cherry reared back with a bloody fist and went to work on the other eye.

"P-p-puhleesss," murmured Freddy.

Cherry stopped, it was the first Freddy had said since his arrival. His lips were a puckered asshole when he arrived but it looked like he was relaxing a bit.

Cherry briefly left the room and came back with her six other friends. One of the girls picked up a knife from the table of instruments and sliced a "C" into the side of Freddy's face. He screamed a little followed by a whimper. The blood oozed and Freddy's eye deflated. He blinked half a thousand times until the bright room became somewhat clear. The girls all stared and waited.

"Alright Freddy, it's confession time. This is your chance to not end your life like the asshole you've been while you lived it," announced Cherry.

Freddy tried to speak.

"No, no, no, not just yet. I want to introduce you to the women who helped bring your reign of terror to an end."

One of the girls stepped forward. She had short blonde hair that stopped at her jaw line. Her eyes were large and beautiful but dark, "This is Ellie Grey, my second in command. If I'm otherwise indisposed she's the one who fucks you up. When I give commands, she acts the out."

Ellie stepped back and another girl stepped forward, "Janice Killdragon, tougher than nails, she'll give you a lap dance that'll set you on fire." The girl had deep, red hair that flowed down her back. Her skin was milky and smooth, and her eyes were a light hazel. She stepped back and another girl stepped forward.

"Zelda Zee," said Cherry. The girl had long curly blonde hair but everything else about her was long and lean. Her breasts were small and pointed.

"Trixie Revolver," a blonde with a cowboy hat, chaps, and two revolvers. "Men think their props, they're real. If you knew a man named Long Barrel Darrel, you'd know these two were destined for each other."

"Lacey Lu, she is my little half Chinese half Japanese all American badass. And last but certainly not least is Dame Leslie, who has two talents. She can make men cum in their pants by whispering in their ear, and she can...well...you'll see soon enough. Well, that's it for me. I just wanted you to meet the women who are going to kill you."

Freddy's eyes bugged and he began shouting and spitting. "I'm sorry. I did it. I'm sorry. I killed those children. I raped them. I'm sick. I have a sicknesssssss."

Cherry popped him hard in the jaw. "Now, now, I don't care about any of that. We caught you in the act Freddy. We already know. My Six Nines will take good care of you. Ladies, skin this fucker. I have a show to do in five minutes and I look like hell."

"Yes ma'am," said Ellie, "Leslie?"

"Right," said Dame Leslie.

Cherry walked out of the hidden door in the basement wall, and closed it behind her sealing in Freddy's cries.

Fuck you Freddy Forever, Cherry said to herself as she walked down the cold, dark streets of Grimland.

She follows a trench coat covered figure some distance in front of her. The figure has the collar pulled up and his hands in his pockets. The only things that stick out are the dark red pants and expensive leather shoes moving fast down the sidewalk. Every once and a while a flap of blonde hair will kick back and Cherry will notice it.

If you are my target I will kill you. I will kill you tonight Freddy Forever. I will kill you. Cherry grits her teeth but is conscious of her anger and doesn't bite down so hard that she cracks a tooth.

The cold night air bites Cherry's face. My legs hurt. I'm not wearing high heels. I can't remember the last time I didn't wear high heels. It fucking hurts, but I could walk for days, weeks looking for this rapist, child molesting murderer.

Suddenly a man leaning up against a building jutted out a hand toward Cherry.

She looked at him, "Sorry, I don't have any cash on me."

She looked back toward Freddy. He was gone.

Fuck, Cherry said to herself. Her eyes follow the glow of a bright pink light.

Red's Shades of Love Adult Toys and Entertainment

Motherfucker must have gone in there. He had to have. Cherry darted into the building fully aware that she could be walking into a trap but too focused to stop and consider the consequences.  

Inside the Adult store there were wall to wall pictures of things Cherry sees on a daily bases. To Cherry, it's all just wallpaper. She stuck to the DVD's because their display cases were see-through. In the corner of the store, looking at a rack of phallic objects, she spotted Freddy. His collar was down and she could see the side of his face. Freddy Forever had perfect skin, cleanly shaven, medium to long length hair, young looking, inviting, trustworthy, fucking despicable waste.

They didn't stay in the Adult store long. Cherry carefully followed Freddy all the way to the Metro Stadium where a third ranked basketball team was playing. Freddy had a ticket and got right in. Cherry had some difficulty.

"Fine. Fuck. I'll take a damn nose bleed ticket; just let me in the damn building!"

Cherry lost precious time. When she finally found Freddy again he was kneeling down between a young boy and girl talking to them. The children' guardian appeared to not be around. Dozens of adult strangers walked right by the children and Freddy without so much as a head turn.

Cherry hid behind a pillar as she texted a message and sent it.

Cherry watched as Freddy led the children to an out of the way exit. The children went out the exit first. Cherry just watched still standing behind the pillar. Freddy followed. A few seconds later a slender, attractive blonde entered the stadium through the exit holding the two children by the hand. They attractive blonde appeared to be talking to the children. The little boy pointed of into the distance. Cherry followed the gesture to a nervous looking woman talking to a guard. Cherry walked out of the exit.

On the other side of the exit door, Cherry found an unconscious Freddy Forever on the ground, four women hovered above him.

"He isn't dead is he?" asked Cherry.

"No, Ma'am," one of the women replied.

"Good, I want to talk to the fucker before I kill him." 

The curtains at the back of the stage whip open hard.

Cherry Valentine moves out onto the stage like a panther moving in for the kill. She reaches the end of the stage and makes a pose. Her muscles flex. She pouts her lips and then parts them to reveal two rows of perfect shining white teeth. She bares her gums to show she isn't smiling. Everyone in the room has their eyes on her. The music is a random drum and bass choice that adds a fast pulse so everyone's hearts are beating together.

Cherry grabs the pole at the end of the stage and turns. She walks with defiance to the back of the stage. She walks back toward the front of the stage as she tears off her shiny black top to reveal a black bra holding back her breasts. She throws the top into the crowd of patrons, yet another rule she alone breaks. Her skirt disappears and reappears in the air over the patrons as well. She works the poll in only her bra and thong moving quickly with the drum and bass sounds.

Halfway through her dance Cherry stops and straightens up. She moves her head from right to left and then back again scanning the audience in front of her. She narrows her eyes. As she passes back from left to right she catches something in her sights. She moves her body to line up with the thing she spots in the crowd. She hops down from the stage, which you are not supposed to do. She moves across the floor like a living shadow. She made a perfectly straight line to her destination. One foot placed gracefully in front of the other.

Cherry's target was a fat man with a bird's nest of hair and a ten o'clock shadow. His eyes were lazy and red. He held a cigar between his fingers and a glass of scotch with the same hand. She wrapped her legs around him with so much sudden force it was like he was caught in a bear trap. She pressed her breast into his face and looked down at him with the top of her head pressed into his forehead. He was the envy of every man in the Damsel.

"Detective Horn, just the man I wanted to see."

The detective's eyes remained just as lazy and red as before she had wrapped herself around him. "This can only be about one of two things and since it ain't my birthday, you must be wondering about one of your stripper's little sister."

"Bingo, hotshot, spill your guts or I'll spill them for you."

"Talk like that could get you thrown in a cage for a long while little kitty cat."

"Fuck you, Horn, how about that?"

"You're apologies need work."

"I don't have much in the way of apologies when guys assigned to keep our citizens safe are in strip joints destroying liver and lung. What leads do you have?"

"Not much," Horn says, and Cherry squeezer her legs tighter. She flicks her head back and then forward again whipping Horn's face with her hair. "What I do have will cost you. I don't want to have to pay for lap dances for a week."

"No can do, hotshot. These girls get paid shit here that's how they make their money. Free drinks for a month?"

"Two and you have a deal."

"Deal."

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Cherry moved through the front door of the Damsel Strip club like a gazelle on the African plane moving fast and trying not to be noticed.

She always walked through the front door. She was the only stripper who did, and since it was against policy for strippers to walk through the front door it would remain that way. The club staff could quickly get an impression of Cherry's mood by how she walked through the front door. If she was moving fast like she was on that night then they knew not to fuck with her. Some nights she would come in with a bright smile on her face and greet every patron lovingly. Most nights though she came in pissed off. If she had a tail it would usually be wagging back and forth. Coming through the front door, letting every bartender, bouncer, and manager see that she was pissed off, was a warning sign. As long as the employees kept their distance and watched what they said then they could keep their head for one more night.

Cherry moved to the back of the club and disappeared behind a red velvet curtain. She reappeared in the center dressing room for the strippers. There were fifteen half naked girls of various shapes, sizes, colors, and styles running around piles of clothes with make-up dust and glitter trailing them. The stench of twenty different perfumes and deodorants mixed with B.O. and farts lingered in the air. A man's fantasy for sneaking into a girl's dressing room would be destroyed if they happened to walk.

The other girls slowed down from what they were doing as soon as they saw Cherry enter the room. As Cherry crossed the room, stepping over piles of clothes as she passed, the girls scrambled to get out of her way.

One girl still wearing her street clothes sat in a ball inside her closet. Cherry spotted her and moved in. The girl was shaking when Cherry approached. The girl felt her presence and looked up. Tears and snot covered the otherwise pretty girl's face.

"I got your text. What happened?" asked Cherry. The other girls in the room were still moving at half their usual pace. "Get back to changing this doesn't concern you!" Cherry yelled.

"It's my sister, Cherry. She's dead. I can't go on tonight. I'm sorry," said the girl.

Cherry knelt down beside the girl, "Your sister died?"

"My little sister, she was killed. She had been missing for nearly 24 hours when the police found her murdered! She'd been raped, Cherry. Some fucking asshole fucking raped my little sister!"

"What did the police say?"

"They won't tell us anything because the investigation is ongoing or whatever, but its bullshit. They don't have a single fucking clue who did this."

"Don't worry, Sugar. You can take the night off. And as for your sister's killer, I'll handle everything."

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(A few hours ago)

"I'm glad we finally got the chance to do this," said Jacquie from across the candle lit dinner table.

"Me too, stud," said Cherry Bomb Valentine at the opposite end of the dinner table.

They dined in a softly lit alcove off to the left of the restaurant's main dining room. A bottle of Sterling merlot sat between them. Their wine glasses were a quarter filled. The flame of the candle burned still and its light pierced through the wine and gave the alcove a blood red hue.

Jacquie subtly adjusted his glasses and glanced longingly at Cherry as she observed the rest of the restaurant. Her skin was a smooth creamy white and was revealed by her low cut black dress. Her lips were fuller and of a brighter red than Jacquie had ever seen before. Her eyes were light brown almost like a treasure of gold. A treasure that was protected by lashes so long they resembled lion tamer's whips.

"So I have to know, Jacqueline Bloom, Mr. Gun Bearer. Where did you get the guts to ask me out?" Her eyelids thinned and then widened in wonderment.

Jacquie smirked beneath his beard, looked away, and then looked into her eyes. "I've always had the guts Ms. Valentine. But you know as well as I do that timing is everything."

"I do know a thing or two about timing. Does it have anything to do with me kicking Lorenzo to the curb?"

"Us going on a date might conflict with Gillingham's orders for Lorenzo to protect you. Yes I should say him not being around to cause me to lose my apatite is a good thing."

"You don't like El Scorcho?"

"Gun Bearers are forbidden to speak unkindly of other Gun Bearers. All I can say is that I can't keep down veal when he is breathing down my neck. Now let's put the spotlight on you Ms. Queen of the Damsels. At the risk of having my ego bruised, what made you say yes?"

Cherry narrowed her eyes before looking down and when she looked back at Jacquie they were still narrow. She leaned in a little and said, "it was Kitten's death." Jacquie sat back in his chair but his face remained neutral. "She was always rooting for you and me to get together. You know as well as I do that when Lorenzo wasn't looking we flirted. Kitten knew and she thought we made a nice couple. Now she's gone. I think she would have loved to know we were out on a date."

"You don't think she does right now?" Jacquie asked.

"Please, all the weird shit I've seen at the club? The easiest thing for me to do is not to believe in anything."

"Here we are you two lovely mutts," said a chef in a white coat holding two plates of food.

"Lucius!" said Jacquie shaking the chef's hand after he sat down the food. "How are you doing?"

"Business is good. Hello Ms. Valentine."

"Mr. Martin."

"I'll let you two enjoy your evening. If you need anything at all don't hesitate to ask."

"Oh of course you're going to say that when you lay down your amazing food, man! You know our mouths will be too full to say a word."

Lucius smiled as he waved and walked away.

After the meal the waiter popped the cork on the third bottle of wine. Jacquie sniffed it and sipped it and nodded. Cherry took up her glass and softly pressed her lips to the rim of the glass. The crimson liquid met her lips and the two separate bodies became one. Jacquie's glass hung just below his chin as he watched Cherry drink and stare back at him.

"Your meal has been taken care of by Mr. Martin, sir," said the waiter. Jacquie withdrew a hundred dollar bill and handed it to the waiter after he helped Cherry on with her coat.

Jacquie's Lincoln pulled up to the curb and Jacquie opened the door for Cherry.

"Do you have anything to drink at your place, Jacquie?" asked Cherry when Jacquie got into the driver's seat.

"I think all I have is a bottle of scotch."

"Perfect."

The room was so hot and the air was so moist that the walls dripped. Pieces of floral wallpaper peeled away and slid down to the floor.

Their bodies were pressed so tightly together, writhing and pulsating, they looked like a monster.

He slid his palms from her shoulders up her neck to the back of her head. He grasped her thick damp hair tight and pulled back hard as he gritted his teeth. Her lips thinned and her mouth widened as she gasped for air. 

Her hands moved from his thighs up his sides to his back. His back was wet with sweat and he had tremors in his muscles. She spread her fingers wide across his back. She roughly bit and kissed his neck. She raised the points of her nails against the slick surface of his back. She waited for the perfect opportunity. She began to feel her thighs give way. She racked her nails down his back hard as she came.

He pulled away in painful ecstasy. Their chests separated but he continued to pump his waist into hers. Her neck twisted back and forth to the rhythm of his pelvis slamming into hers. He grew inside of her in the moments leading up to the end. The blood pumping throughout his body filled him with an inhuman strength. He dug deep beneath her and thrust his entire lower body up. She rose off the ground and continued to move up and down. He came in violent toe curling blasts that pulsated throughout their bodies and robbed them of their energies.

They fell into each other with heavy gasps of air. She wormed her lips up to his. She kissed him hard. He kissed her back deep and long. They embraced each other again and fell back onto the pillows.

Cherry reached over to the nightstand still breathing heavy. She came back with a cigarette in her mouth and a lighter in her hand. She flicked the flame to the end of her cigarette. She sucked in hard and exhaled slowly as she spoke. "I don't say this often, but wow."

"I wonder if the second time will be as intense," replied Jacquie as he watched her smoke.

Cherry smiled with the cigarette in her hand and looked back at Jacquie. "I'm amazed and flattered that you got a second one in you, Doll-face. Unfortunately, I have work." She moved to the edge of the bed and got up. Her bare ass shook with every step.

Jacquie rose up, "Work? Tonight?"

"Not the usual kind of work, Jacquie," said Cherry as she went to Jacquie's jacket. She reached inside and withdrew Jacquie's Barrette 93r. She pointed it at Jacquie. "Mind if I barrow this?"

Jacquie lifted up his lower lip and nodded his head. Cherry sat the gun back on the chair and made a pouty face. She turned back around and put on a long black coat. She looked over her shoulder and pursed her lips at Jacquie as she disappeared behind the door.

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Long Barrel Darrel's eyes unconsciously drifted to Jacquie Bloom's bandaged right hand resting in his lap as he drove.

"Stop looking at my hand," said Jacquie causing LBD to jump a little.

"Sorry," replied LBD. "So we're going to a place you know where you can get replacement parts for a Beretta m93r?"

"Oh yeah, this guy is going to have everything I need to put Veronica back together," said Jacquie.

"That's good because that gun backfired into so many pieces you're lucky you still have a hand at all."

"Thanks for reminding me, LBD." Jacquie turned the black Lincoln into a gas station that read Cyrrous' One Stop Fast Shop.

"We need to get gas?" asked LBD leaning over to look at the fuel gage.

"No," said Jacquie, "we're here." He parked the Lincoln in the farthest area he could and got out. LBD looked around for a second and then hurried out of the car.

LBD hurried up to Jacquie, "You're going to get parts for a gun at a gas station?"

"Sure why not," said Jacquie. "Gas stations are the only places in the world that you can literally get anything you need. They're trading posts, convenience stores, grocery stores restaurants, auto shops, pharmacies, and in our case a gun store. Gas stations are off the road and anyone who has ever travelled anywhere knows that you can't plan for the unexpected. Gas stations are there to fix whatever problem you might have." Jacquie walked through the metal and glass door. A series of bells attached by a string on the door jingled as Jacquie and LBD walked through.

The man at the counter looked at Jacquie and smiled, "Jacquie my friend what a pleasant surprise to see you today!"

"Hello, Cyrrous you dog, go ahead and get on with it," said Jacquie.

Cyrrous looked at Jacquie then LBD and back to Jacquie.

"He's fine," said Jacquie pressing his unwounded hand to LBD's chest. "He's a Gun Bearer too."

"Good to hear!" Cyrrous was a little dark skinned old man with a thick mustache and his eyes were tiny pieces of bronze. "Maybe I make two sells today," said Cyrrous as he flipped a switch. The switch caused the little shop to buzz from every direction. Suddenly walls and display cases shifted to reveal a second set of merchandise, guns, ammo, grenades, explosives, swords, knives, timers, antique jewelry, passports, birth certificates, and money from foreign lands.

"All I need today is parts for my m93r, Cyrrous," said Jacquie as he took out the remains of Veronica.

Cyrrous' beady little eyes darted back and forth, "this is it?"

"Sorry to disappoint you, old man, but that is really all I need today."

"No no no no no, you cannot come in here and ask for these pieces of a gun and not buy anything else."

"Why the hell not, Cyrrous?" said Jacquie taking a step closer to Cyrrous' counter.

"I am running a business. People need to know that what I have is in demand. I sell you tiny little parts for something and no one even notices. You walk in here empty handed.  You walk out and even though you bought something you still look empty handed, no."

"Dammit, Cyrrous."

"Buy something else, either you or him, something big," Jacquie looked at LBD, who was still looking around at all the things mounted on the rotating displays.

Jacquie looked around, he saw a Katana with a black handle and a black sheath. "I'll take that samurai sword, Cyrrous."

"Ah the Katana. Excellent choice Mr. Bloom, very good." Cyrrous took down the sword and handed it to Jacquie. He reached under the counter and pull up a handful of parts for Jacquie's gun.

LBD didn't notice the sword until he and Jacquie were half way back to the car. "You bought a sword?"

"Cyrrous is a dog, only go in a gas station if you intend on buying something otherwise pay at the pump." Jacquie popped the trunk and threw the sword inside.

"I know what you mean," said LBD, "that impulse counter gets me every time. I have ten flashlight key chains and I don't even drive a car."