In Amsterdam. Suzanne was desperately trying to stabilise Lennon, while her phone kept ringing from the floor.
Suzanne rushed to his side to support him, and she embraced him, "Lenn...you're skin is blue! You're freezing! And...bleeding from the head, and you're hyperventilating!" She said as she pulled him to the bed, and threw a cover around him.
Lennon held her tightly, even though he could barely breathe, as he held her to his chest. "Queen! Queen...you're here! You're here with me..."
"Lenn!" Suzanne cried as she held him in a panicked, but relieved way, as tears ran down her face, as her phone started ringing again from the floor.
"Oh my God!" Lennon said as he threw the covers off the bed, "I think I'm gonna be sick again." He said as he pulled away from her and headed back to the bathroom.
Suzanne begrudgingly picked the phone back up from the floor.
"Yes..?" Suzanne asked emotionally, with a quivering voice.
"WHY THE FUCK DON'T YOU ANSWER...YOUR FUCK-KING PHONE! Spangna shouted down the phone, in a total panic.
"I'm sorry, I, I was..." Suzanne started.
"Where's Lennon now?!" Spangna demanded.
"He's...he's..." Suzanne stammered, intimidated by Spangna in a rage.
"Is Lennon still alive?!" Spangna shouted.
"Yes, he's okay, he's being sick in the other room..."
"Being sick is not okay!" Spangna said back, sternly."
"Span...please." Suzanne said, in panic.
"I can't believe you have Lennon out there, you know he's being self destructive because of that fucking Chéri, and you've let him ply himself with drugs when you know he has a heart condition, you selfish, irresponsible bitch! You've got him out there because you want his attention! I have a good fucking mind to drag Marcel out of bed, take a bloody plane to Amsterdam, and he can kick what's left of your arse after I'm done!" Spangna ranted.
"But, he's much better now! He's awake and his skins no-longer so blue and..." Suzanne started but was interrupted by Spangna.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN HIS SKIN IS FUCKING BLUE?! PUT LENNON ON RIGHT FUCKING NOW!" Spangna shouted down the phone.
"Okay! Okay..." Suzanne said as she rushed to the bathroom, and sat beside Lennon, on the floor.
"Spangna wants to speak to you. She's blaming me for all this and threatening to fly here with Marcel. He'll execute me on the spot!"
"Oh, what the fuck?! Gimmie the phone." Lennon said as he wiped his mouth with his hand and took the phone, "Hey, Span darlin'." He answered.
"Oh God! Lenn! You're still alive!" Spangna said with relief.
"Darlin', don't blame Suzanne, it ain't her, it's me." Lennon said, inbetween shivering.
"Lenn, I'll come out and get you, I'll bring you back!" Spangna said.
"Nah! Nah, I'm okay, and I'll get a checkup. Also, don't breathe a word to that old bastard ratatouille, I mean it! If you bring him here, he'll pose a massive risk to Suzanne and me, and I'll kill him myself, do you understand?!" Lennon managed to say, Inbetween waves of nausea.
"Okay, I won't, but..Lenn, you don't sound right! Please! Listen to me, who has your best interest at heart! Not other women!" Spangna answered.
"I'm alright! Now, where's Chéri?" Lennon asked.
"Umm, he's not here... he went out." Spangna answered honestly.
"What?! Where is he?! He's not answering the fuckin' phone which is usually surgically attached to his Godamned hand!" Lennon shouted, feeling sick at the thought that Chéri was out on his own.
"He said he went out to meet a friend. Lenn, I'm sure it's innocent." Spangna said, feeling concerned.
Lennon squeezed his eyes shut and hit the back of his head hard against the tiled wall, "It's never fuckin' innocent! I knew it! I knew it... he's out cheating on me..." Lennon said, but had to stop, drop the phone and turn around to be sick again.
"Span, it's me. Can I call you back In an hour or so, he's being sick again, and he's very upset." Suzanne said.
"I want an update! And take him to a bloody GP!" Spangna shouted.
"Okay, I will!" Suzanne said before she pressed the end call button, and knelt next to Lennon, by the toilet.
She rubbed Lennon's back as he was sick everywhere, even on the towel around his waist."You're still freezing! Come to bed! I'll get all the covers I can find!" She said as she dashed up and rushed to the bedroom, to throw everything onto the bed.
She went into the kitchen area to make him a hot tea, but she only had her pineapple, herbal tea. She came back in with the tea and started to clean the vomit from the floor.
After a moment, Suzanne heard the toilet flush, and Lennon walked back into the bedroom. She looked up at him and gasped loudly as he walked back in.
"What...the...fuck...?!" Suzanne said as she stared at Lennon completely naked, in shock.
"What?!" He asked, worried about what was wrong now, but noticing that her eyes were firmly fixed at his waist.
After a moment, she managed to speak, "All the rumours about you...are true..."
Lennon looked down upon himself, "Oh..yeah." he said, a little embarrassed, as he got back into bed.
"You're...a little..excited, even though you're freezing cold, I see?" She said as she got back onto the bed with him.
"Nah, I'm always like that. Doctor V said I got an illness that causes me to have a semi all the time. I just thought it was normal." Lennon said as he got into bed.
"Well, if it's like that now, how big is it when it's ...on duty?" She asked.
"Big enough to make you smile, while crying." Lennon said, as he pulled the blankets up.
"That's the biggest I've seen in real life, not counting porno." She said.
Lennon smiled, "I'll take that as a compliment."
"What's that tattoo, you've got on it?!" She asked as Lennon got into bed.
"Barbed wire" Lennon said, as he shivered in the cold bed.
Suzanne noticed that Lennon still had a blue hue to his lips, "Lenn...you're still off colour."
"Yeah, it's just lack of circulation. I've been in freezing water for fuck knows how long. Not that it matters.. where is my Chéri.." Lennon lamented, as he still felt lightheaded and nauseous. He picked up his phone and tried Chéri's number again, but there was no reply.
"Stop calling Chéri!" She snapped, irritated, as she snatched away his phone. "Drink this tea! The sugar will help and the tea will rehydrate you and help clear your system." She said, as she took her fleece houserobe off, leaving herself naked, and draped it around his shoulders.
"I mmmm...don't really drink tea." Lennon said weakly, as he shivered. He glanced up and down at her naked body. Then his eyes fell low. "You've...got alot of...hair, down there. Very hmmm, retro." he said in an embarrassed tone, as his eyes flicked up to her eyes, then back down, then up again.
"Shutup and drink this! You look terrible." Suzanne ordered as she took pictures of him on her phone for Doctor V.
Lennon took a sip, "Mmm.. this is actually quite nice."
"Yeah. I'm sorry its pineapple." She said.
"Well, I'm strictly a black cherry guy...but, you're givin' me a taste for pineapple." Lennon said, smiling, with his blue tinted lips.
"I'm calling Dr.V." Suzanne said.
"No! Not yet! I'm okay. They'll just think we're out here just doing drugs, and ODing." Lennon said as he looked down to see the colour returning to his chest.
"And just what part of that isn't true? No more! That was dumb and we should know better! We had such a beutiful night together, then I thought I'd lost you..." Suzanne said, as she got into the bed and cradled his head against her chest.
Lennon placed his arms around her, and held her tightly, "Just, stay here a moment with me."
"I'm not going anywhere." She replied back, as she held onto him.
They stayed a moment in each others arms.
Lennon stared off blankly. "I fell...all the way, back down to earth." Lennon said quietly.
"Lennon, are you still high?"
"No. I'm gettin' flashbacks. I'm never doing mushrooms again. It sure opened my mind, but not in a direction that I was comfortable with." Lennon said, as he rubbed his forehead.
"Do you remember any of last night? Either here or while you were tripping?" Suzanne asked, interested.
Lennon nodded. "Yeah, I remember the whole night both ways, in one way, space was cold. I was naked, tethered to the planet and stuck in orbit. It was insane and I was powerless and paralytic in my...whatever it was."
"Wow...thats crazy kinky. Okay, well I missed space. But I was in a massive field, looking into the huge fibres of giant wheat and I found a friendly mouse, who spoke Polish. I ran off a cliff and could fly, which was amazing! We then ditched the mouse and made love in a wheat field. It was so beautiful, then there were kittens everywhere, I mean...everywhere! I wanted to hug them all." Suzanne smiled as she spoke. "But really in reality, I remember we got home, drank, and chatted, you were upset over Chéri, then you nearly ate the whole of the mushroom, then we went back to bed together, and chatted some more."
"Yes...yes, I remember all that." Lennon answered.
Suzanne stared at the floor, "All I have from then, are random flashbacks when I woke up as I kept passing out. I remember, when I was awake, you passed out, and I was so worried, but when I shook you, you came round again."
"Yeah, I wasn't feeling good at all." Lennon said.
"Yes, then we cuddled, and snuggled with each other. You were so warm and giving." Suzanne said ,as she hugged him.
Lennon smiled, and rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands, "Yeah, yeah.. I remember."
"After we talked, we both went to sleep. I was awoken when I thought you were seizing next to me, but as I got up to turn on the light, you had stopped so I was not sure if I imagined it because I was still high. Then, some other flashback...I heard you choking, and tossing and turning in your sleep, so I turned you over and found you were sweating again so I wiped your brow and took a cover off you. Then, a few hours later I heard you stumbling around and being sick and falling over, but you came back to bed and you seemed normal and all affectionate, so I thought everything was okay. But at some point in the night, you must have got up again and run a bath, because when I awoke in the night, you weren't next to me, so I was worried, went into the bathroom and found you like that. You were completely unresponsive, were off colour , and I panicked and called for help!"
"Spangna?" Lennon asked.
"Yes, she's smart and knows what to do in an emergency. Though, she was really mad when she found out about you, and gave me this whole list of things to check and do." Suzanne said.
"I'm not surprised. She loves me, like a brother. We're very close." Lennon said as he picked up his phone, and added sadly, "Ohhh..Chéri, contact me.."
~ X ~
Much later, Chéri walked into the canteen with his older brother Baptiste, and two members of the French security team, as he didn't trust the Spanish team as they all sympathised with Lennon, whereas the French team, which made up most of the force, were diehard Marcel supporters.
Chéri was right back to his stunning best, and was wearing a long sleeved hiphugging, sparkling silver miniskirt dress, with black horizontal lines on it, and with this he wore silver, over-knee high heeled boots. His hair was dyed a pastel grey white, and waved delicately.
The dress showed off his emaciated, female frame, his body which was covered in tattoos of vines and large blooms, and his huge thigh gap. He had also had some disolvable butt injections done, to give him a curvier backside.
Chéri sat down at the main table, right next to Spangna. Near her were Daiquiri, Lexi, Noir, Magda, Coco and Molly. "Hey sweetie! What's good?" Chéri asked.
Spangna didn't even look up from her phone, "Nothing much. You? Have a nice trip to America?" She asked flatly.
"I didn't want to leave! Lenny's family are so nice! I met his mom, dad, brothers, friends..." Chéri stopped listing when he noticed a complete lack of enthusiasm from Spangna, and that only the other girls were gushing and asking questions.
"Oh, lovely. They would be bangin' if their Lenn's relatives, as he's such a lovely guy." Spangna said, only glancing at Chéri.
"I saw on Facebook that you're engaged! Congratulations Chéri! Can I see your engagement ring?" Molly asked.
Chéri looked a bit embarrassed, "Well...you can see my...temporary ring." Chéri said as he held out his hand.
"That's it?" Daiquiri asked, "I see what you mean by temporary..."
Noir looked over, "What's it made of? Spangna knows her jewellery, I bet she can tell by just looking at it."
Molly looked over, "I wish I had a ring like that."
Chéri rolled his eyes, "Its temporary! Nothing like how my wedding ring will be! This is white gold with a diamond solitaire. Lennon bought it, it was the best he could afford at the time."
Spangna looked over at the ring, "Wanna know what I think this is worth?" She asked.
Noir giggled, "Go on Spangna! Tell us all!"
Spangna continued to look at it, on Chéri's ring finger. "I think, that this ring...is priceless. It was picked out carefully by Lennon, who knows nothing about jewellery, but he knew that you don't like gold coloured gold, and it has a full diamond in the centre. Lennon knows how much you love diamonds. He picked out the very best he could afford, but the cost of the precious metal, in this case, is meaningless. The ring is gorgeous." Spangna said honestly, even though some of the girls giggled.
"But...the diamond is hardly even visible and is set flush to the ring? I want a big piece of ice on my finger, like you do." Lexi said.
"Yeah, well if it's set flush, then nothing will get knocked off." Spangna said.
"So says the girl with the blinder on her finger..." Magda said.
Chéri looked at her ring, "Let me see that..." he asked, as he looked closely at it. "This is a Cartier! A platinum encrusted ring, Oval cut diamond...its Gorgeous! Where the fuck did you get it?" He exclaimed.
Spangna pulled her left hand back, "You remember my last client? The old Japanese guy? He gave it to me."
Chéri shook his head slowly. "No...no, he didn't."
"He did!" Spangna replied.
Chéri pulled her hand back. "That guy was a shipping tycoon. He wouldn't know his arse from his elbow when it came to fine pieces like this. This is also a ring measured for your ring finger, not a random purchase! This is the kind of thing my mom likes. This was bought by a man who knows his diamonds. So, I'll ask you again... who gave this to you, and are you engaged?" Chéri said, changing the whole tone at the table. Noir and Magda got up to leave.
"Sit" Chéri ordered, not even taking his eyes off Spangna.
Spangna raised her drawn eyebrows, and curtly responded, "Old...Japanese guy."
"I'm sure only one of those things is true." Chéri answered.
"Who gives a shit." Baptiste said in his Spanish accent."Women need fine jewellery to survive difficult times, like mamma did. Though, I'm not sure if you could buy lunch if you pawned your engagement ring, Chéri. But it is Lennon we're talking about, and he's known for his total lack of grace, and taste. Though he can't help it, he's an American. By the way, just when is his dirty weekend with his girlfriend over? I think its hilarious that dirty 'ol Lennon's out in Holland banging Javier's wife." He said laughing, as the other security members started to laugh.
Chéri grabbed Baptiste's plate and held it out to the side a moment, before dropping it to the floor, causing the food to fly everywhere. The laughter stopped immediately as everyone stared at Chéri, and Baptiste.
"Baptiste?" Chéri said calmly, yet furiously, "Get out of the canteen, now."
"Like fuck I will!" Baptiste responded as he stood up next to the seated Chéri.
"Get out! Or I'll call Marcel to remove you, and if you keep this up, I'll go to mom!" Chéri replied.
"Fucking little bitch! Sitting there like you're some kind of boss! I would tell you to man up, but...that's impossible for you, so see you in the family compound! I'll be speaking to mamma about you!" Baptiste said as he picked up his glass of water and threw it at Chéri, making everyone gasp, and Spangna snorted in laughter.
Finally the security team stepped in between their two bosses, Chéri and Baptiste, so that nothing more physical could occur. Chéri was scandalised, having his styled hair soaked by his wayward and reckless older brother.
Gerard turned to Pierre, "Escort Baptiste back to the family compound, then meet in the security room for a briefing with 'ol Bulletproof.
~ X ~
Suzanne lay on her back, and Lennon was on his side, propping his head up on his hand, looking down on her.
"Feeling better?" She asked.
"Well, I've stopped being sick. I've gotta see Doctor V when I get back anyway. I gotta get up." Lennon answered.
"Why? We're flying to Poland tomorrow. Lets just stay in bed and catch up on sleep?"
"Nah! I want some ink, more drugs, coffee and alcohol." Lennon said as he picked up his phone.
"Well! I want some Ink too! I want a garter tattoo, like yours, and maybe a few other things." She said.
"Really? Well, I'm gettin' some stuff on the sides of my head, and I want...a small black star under my eye. I'm also going to get my hair coloured and a restyle, and maybe, some new clothes." Lennon said.
"You're getting a tattoo on your face?! And the sides of your head?!" Suzanne asked, concerned.
"Just a little one, I'm also havin' the names of a couple of people who are dear to me, added on me somewhere, yours is one of them." Lennon answered.
"Really?! You mean that?!" Suzanne asked as she leant up to kiss him.
"And what's the first thing you're going to do when you get back to the Bordello?" Suzanne asked.
Lennon smiled before he spoke, "Hmmm..., toss Chéri's salad."
"Err yuk!" She said, wiping her mouth, "Okay, where's my name appearing on your gorgeous body, then?" She asked.
"You maybe...here." he said as he pointed to the top of his back.
"Can't it be on your chest? Around here?" She said as she placed her hand upon his chest, over his heart.
"Nah, around there I got saints and family member names, also stars and stuff. I got verses on my thighs, and ofcourse, Chéri in pride of place, with cherry blossoms like his, though I want them to weave all the way down my side, like Chéri has.."
"Aww... aaand, we're back to Chéri," she lamented, "what are you doing to your lovely golden hair?" She asked, with a smile.
"Dyin' my eyebrows and hair, black." Lennon answered.
Suzanne just stared back at Lennon, trying to stop her eyes welling up.