The Bouncing Buns Gentleman's Club

Chapter 25

The cutter Triton was a very large boat in comparison to Beverly's Chris Craft, but it was still nothing like even the smallest of cruise ships so the walk down to the sick bay was not a long one. A Corpsman gave her some blankets and a dry uniform to change into as she came in. She put it on and went down the hall to find Dana.

Just ahead, and in a room to the left, Beverly found the injured Coast Guardsmen with their fluid bottles dangling from wire stands above them. One had been sedated and was snoring heavily. The other, less severely injured man looked up and smiled as she walked by.

To her guard's good fortune, Dana had calmed down quickly and was asleep in a room just to the right of where the Coast Guardsmen had been found. Beverly allowed the man to leave and then quietly sat down to wait, knowing Dana needed to rest more than anything else. Heavy eyed with exhaustion herself, she fought sleep realizing Dana could still be unpredictable if she woke without a guard and found her asleep. Dana wasn't a prisoner, so she wasn't restrained in any way, but the door to the sick bay was always open for quick access.

Beverly had been there about thirty minutes and was about to drift off involuntarily when Dana woke and noticed her.

"Hello, Dr. Anderson." Dana said in a low, subdued voice. "What are you doing here? Are you sick?"

"I might be," Beverly said, "I'm still trembling from the cold, but that's not why I'm here. I just came down to check on you. Are you warm enough?"

"Yes, I'm warm enough." Tears were starting to form in Dana's eyes when she went on, "I wanted to tell you how sorry I am that I didn't believe you on the boat. I don't trust people much, but I should have trusted you. We could have died, and it would have been my fault!"

"Dana, people are the way they are for a reason and I'm sure you've had more than adequate reason not to trust people right off. You may not view it the way I do, but you've been abused and neglected your whole life and you tend to look at people that don't treat you that way with some degree of suspicion. You're used to being victimized, although you don't understand it that way." Beverly then stopped to assess her reaction to this suggestion.

"Why do you keep thinking I'm a victim, Dr. Anderson?" Dana asked defensively. "I get paid very well for what I do and I was well on my way to being a movie star when you guys interfered. I even had my picture on the wall to prove it!"

Beverly knew this wasn't the time or place to try and explain to Dana why she actually was a victim. Instead, she chose to change the subject.

"Dana, did you ever have to do anything else on that boat, other than make movies for them?"

"I guess I don't know what you mean," Dana replied.

"Well, for one thing, Dana, I know that occasionally mob VIP's came aboard the boat to be entertained."

"So, are you asking if I slept with them?"

"Yes, did you have to do that, Dana? Was that part of the deal?" Beverly asked.

"Sure I did. I usually got a little something extra for getting it on with them and, if I'm good, sometimes they ask for me again and pay me more the next time. That's how doll-mother got to be a headliner at the buns. She kept the right people happy, especially Bud."

Beverly was dreading the next question, but it had to be asked.

"So, does that mean you've been on the boat to 'work' at other times too, Dana?"

"Oh, sure, several times. This was maybe my fifth movie, or at least it would have been before you guys showed up."

By then, Beverly was having a hard time containing her anger. It was one thing to use adults for this sort of sleazy business , but to get children involved in it was even more disgusting and she wanted terribly to help Dana understand this. She knew it wouldn't be easy.