Amalgamate

Chapter 1

The sound of my heels hitting against the sidewalk was the only sound to be heard that night. In any other part of the City the night would be alive with people eating out, people going clubbing or people blasting loud music from their cars and just hanging out. Not this side of the city. This side of the city was said to be owned by people from the underworld. No one dared to come around these parts of the late night. Only those who belonged to the elite or those who had connections to the underworld themselves had the guts to come around here. Officials tended to stay away so long as no commotions were created. The saying, "See no evil, hear no evil", was taken seriously around these parts.

The feeling of my personal gun pressing against the inside of my thigh helped ease my rapid, beating heart. My knee length coat helped conceal the gun from any human eye. My own eyes scanned my surroundings as I forced my legs to move faster towards a building a few feet away.

From the outside, the building seemed like any other club in the city. But I knew better and anyone who had stepped a foot in this place, well, anyone who was allowed in, knew that looks could be deceiving. Contrary to the boring look of the exterior side of building, the interior was a world full of sex, drugs, money and power.

I huffed as I made my way up the steps towards the entrance of the building. I knocked twice on the metal door while I kept checking my surroundings. My eyes focused on a black car that had pulled up on the other side of the street. Men in suits stepped out of the sports car. The dark night didn't give me the opportunity to see if I recognized any of the men as regulars or new clients.

"You're late." The voice of a man brought my attention away from the group of men and back to the metal door that was now opened. "Everything okay?" he asked as his eyes looked past me.

The man who stood on the other side of the entrance was part of the security crew that guarded the building. No one knew what his birth name was and he never answered when asked. But there were instances when I would overhear my boss call him, "Martillo". No one got past him unless they were on his list. At first glance he seemed like a hulk of a guy. He looked mean and people tended to steer away from him but any of the girls who worked here, including me, would tell you that he was a nice person. At least to us he was.

I didn't respond but decided to smile at him instead as I made my way past him and into the building. I made my way down the dark hallway, flinching a little at the sound of the entrance door slamming closed, a reminder that I was locked in here until my job was completed for the night.

Even in the dark I knew where I was going. From memory I knew that up ahead there were some stairs that led to the second floor where all of the girls got ready for the night. A door to the right of the stairs led to the main 'performance' room. That room consisted of black, high glass tables that spread across the walls as well as various black couches surrounding a large stage were men could lounge on. A bar full of expensive drinks was located at the back of the room. A pole extended from the center of the stage floor up to the ceiling. The stage had been placed in the middle of the room, giving everyone who visited a chance to see the show. A set of stairs led from the stage up to a door on the second floor.

The walls were the color red with small designs of gold. The dim lights from the ceiling gave the room a sense of alluring temptation. As I passed the door I noticed old and new faces of men who were already situated in the room watching the first performance for the night. The smell of cigarettes and other drugs drifted out of the room as I made my way up the stairs.

I reached between my thighs and grabbed my gun. I held it close to my chest as I neared the door at the top. There was no reason for me to carry the gun, nor was there a reason for me to worry about getting attacked. My job provided me the protection I needed to get from my home to my workplace. The protection was still in place as I worked.