Unusually, Lennon was coming out of his deep sleep in the middle of the night, and opened his eyes to see Suzanne finish tending her two year old in the darkened room, as she carefully placed Lena back in the pop up cot. Suzanne then moved to the window and looked out, over London, which seemed like a sea of little orange flames against the black sky, with only a shimmery silver light from the moon.
The bed springs creaked as Lennon turned around, "Suzy..." he said just above a whisper, before adding a very quiet, low whistling sound.
She turned towards him, surprised to see him awake, "Wonda, why are you awake?! You normally sleep so deeply, nothing ever wakes you up. It's almost comical how dead to the world you are." She said very quietly.
"I don't know. Anxiety I guess. Come back to bed." Lennon said quietly.
Suzanne pulled off her houserobe leaving herself completely naked, then quietly walked back to the bed and pulled the covers off Lennon as he reached out to hug her and warm her up. They lay in each others arms intertwining their limbs while they pressed against each other.
"Lenn, there's a beautiful moon out tonight." She said as she wrapped her arms around his firm, muscular waist.
"Yeah. Its lovely." He said, as he held her naked body close to his.
She giggled a moment, "I think you breaking the bed at my mothers house was very funny, and it gave you a reputation with her!"
Lennon briefly laughed, "Hey! It was nothin' that five pictures of Benjamin Franklin wouldn't fix."
He could feel her shaking with laughter, and it made him laugh again.
"I love your sense of humour. Chéri said you were funny in bed, now I believe him." Suzanne said.
"Am I not funny out of bed?" Lennon asked.
"You know what I mean!" Suzanne teased.
"Well, I don't exactly have a pre-sex standup routine or anything, but I do sometimes get the giggles and then it's hard to take anything seriously." Lennon answered.
"Really?! I love humour during sex! What do you find funny?" She asked.
"Anything! Like, if I climb on top of Chéri and he makes funny sounds, then goes limp, pretending to die under my weight, or when he suggests something ludicrous and we laugh over it...or if anything goes 'wrong', we both get the giggles, and..a lot can go 'wrong' during sex." He said softly.
"Even though I'm no fan of Chéri. It sounds like a beutiful sexual chemistry between you both."
Lennon placed one hand under his head as he reclined in the darkened room with its silvery shimmer, "Ohh it is. It is... sometimes, it's funny, and sometimes we're so wrapped up in the passion it's very intense, or other times the sparks are flyin' cause we been fightin'. I guess, it just depends on what's happenin' at the time."
"How are things between you both now?" She asked quietly, as she caressed his side, enjoying the warm sound of his voice, which still had a weird, temporarily adopted southern twang from his time back in his native country.
"Strained. He's ghosting me, he's out on the town, threatenin' me and has possibly cheated on me..." Lennon paused a moment, obviously hurt at the very thought, "But I try not to think about that as I just get upset. Though I noticed from his pictures that he's done something to his butt, it looked rounder, and I'm not happy about it. Why is he getting cosmetic procedures!?"
"I see you don't approve." Suzanne replied.
"No! I love him just the way he is. I don't want him to change a thing." Lennon lamented.
"I wish I had a love like yours." Suzanne said.
"What makes you think you don't?" Lennon asked.
"I don't feel it...yet. I'm also nervous about entering the Bordello again." Suzanne said.
"What are you going to do when we get back?" Lennon asked.
"Try and make things work with Javier. I know he's a good man."
"Y'know... " Lennon said as he shifted onto his back and placed both hands under his head as he stared at the dim outlines of the ceiling in the darkened room, "You don't have to go back to him. I could like... set you up somewhere, with Lena."
"With you?" Suzanne asked.
"Nah, but...close." Lennon answered.
"Ohh.." she answered flatly.
"It would be a safe place for you and Lena." Lennon responded.
"I'd rather stay in the Bordello, than wait on monthly maintenance from you, as I can't support myself and Chéri will put a stop to you helping me."
"He doesn't need to know!" Lennon said back suddenly, in an almost irritated tone.
"I need security for Lena..."
"Listen, Chéri has kept so Godamned much from me, what does it matter if I help a vulnerable woman, with a baby, get back on her feet?!" Lennon said quietly.
"Javier does protect us, and...oh it's so confusing...I'm so badly confused..." Suzanne said, covering her face.
"Javier? Seriously? How?! How do you think Javier can protect you both better than I can, in any way! He's under Marcel's thumb! And bows and scrapes to him like he's some kind of idol! I don't know if you've noticed, but he idolises that old bastard...everyone does!" Lennon said.
"He's leaving security, to get away from Marcel." She said.
"Marcel's not the kind of man you can run from! On a whim, he finds you, and he kills you! And someone seems to be feeding him with information as he seems to find out everything! He hears without hearing, and sees without seeing. He's everywhere and no-where! He also seems to know my whereabouts. Who I speak to, what I say..."
"He just has a tight knit team of informers. I know Spangna is a big part of that, so is Elli, Molly, and Selina." Suzanne said.
Lennon looked shocked and turned to Suzanne, "Selina?! How..?"
"They had a fling, years ago, but have always remained close."
"Does Spangna know..?" Lennon asked.
"I imagine so. Surely she must!? But you have to be careful of Spangna, because Marcel is her first priority."
Lennon shook his head, "Nah...nah. Mercy's a good girl. She's never sold me down the river for him. She's fair, even though she's head over heels for the guy."
Suzanne sounded monotone in her response, "I hope then it's never down to her to choose...because you'd lose."
"You have her all wrong. She actively protects downtrodden people, across the board! You, Akara, Sanyi, Javier, me...she's helped us all, and behind Marcel's back." Lennon answered.
"Well, that's true." Suzanne relented.
Lennon looked like he was disgusted even thinking about it, "And why on earth, would Selina get into bed with that creep! Her and Serena are soo pretty, and look just like Chéri. What the fuck do these beutiful girls see in that arbitrary, murderous French bastard."
"Glamour..." Suzanne said flatly.
Lennon turned to her, "What?"
"It's like a spell, like witchcraft. Maybe he has a glamour cast upon him. It changes peoples perception of you." Suzanne said.
Lennon looked quizzically at her, "Suzy, I know you're superstitious," Lennon said as he held up his wrist, showing her the little red string she had tied to his wrist before he left for America, "But, that old bastard, has no 'glamour' spells on him, no special abilities, no superhuman powers...and he, is, not, bulletproof." Lennon said.
Suzanne shook her head, "I don't know if I believe that. He's not normal, and I also do believe he can not be felled by a bullet."
"Bullshit! He's a normal human man, in his late forties. He breathes and bleeds just like the rest of us." Lennon shot back, shocked at the extent of the beliefs surrounding Marcel.
~ X ~
Blake, the tall firy-haired swedish security member, walked down the corridor with Kenzo, Javier and Juan. They were explaining what the procedure was in various emergency situations.
"So, if chancers attack and reach the inner building?" Blake asked.
Kenzo answered, "If Chancers get in, or we take heavy casualties, then this place will get flooded by triads in about thirty minutes. In the meantime, if the compound is compromised, then the emergency lighting comes on, and thick steel shutters come down, breaking up the compound and locking assets in their rooms. Each asset room has a mini panic room in case they are locked in with a client."
Blake nodded, "And, in the event of a police raid?"
Kenzo turned to Blake, "If there is a police threat, espacially if they have a warrant, then we have a very different procedure. Marcel can access nearly all areas and his card can over-ride all the emergency steel shutters either directly or remotely, on the main security terminal. The only exception being in, and to, the family compound and their large personal panic rooms, which have big supplies of air tanks, water, food, generators, separate internet and phone lines. Marcel's job at that point, is to enter the security control room and destroy all the hard drives. There is a small hydraulic press in the office for that purpose. He must sabotage any evidence that would assist the police in any of their enquiries, particularly regarding money, laundering, assets of the Bordello or the personal wealth anyone has in their swiss accounts."
"So, if all hell breaks loose, get out of Marcel's way." Blake answered.
Kenzo nodded, 'He's our first, and final line of defence. That final procedure is what he calls his 'suicide run'. Marcel will always be there to engage the thread first, and even finally last, when the business is through. He doesn't even fear death and doesn't even care for his life if it means not seeing something through to the end, and not keeping a promise. In the hierarchy here, apart from the family, he is firmly at the top." He said as they walked through into a large, opulent room with several chairs by the fire, where some of the Bordello family were sitting.
Sitting there in front of a large, roaring fire were Madam Dolores, Chéri, Constanza, Serena, Selina and Gabriél as they all tried to reason with Chéri over his behaviour and decisions.
Selina leant over to Chéri, "So then, are you finished with Lennon?"
"Lennon's a bloody pain! Everyones talking about him!" Chéri said, irritated at the whole conversation.
"Get a new boyfriend then." Selina said, as madam Dolores elbowed her.
Chéri rolled his eyes, "Its not that easy! I like tall, foreign, straight acting men! They have to seem totally straight! I don't want a man who acts and moves all camp, or who talks with a lisp. Lennon just ticked all the boxes. Six-four, blonde, American, likes manly pursuits and sounds amazing. He has a nice family too. His mother is soo sweet and took really good care of me." Chéri said.
"Then go to the southern states of America and get another. I bet they're a penny to a dozen out there!" Selina said.
Constanza cut in, "Not like Lennon, they're not! Anyway, you can talk! You, who have no boyfriend..."
Serena just looked into her glass as she cut in, "Lennon wasn't born, or brought up in the southern states."
Selina ignored Serena and answered. "Yes I do have a boyfriend! I'm currently having some fun with Bann." Selina said with a slick smile.
"Young Bann, the socialite? With the hot body?" Chéri asked.
"Yes! And he's good in bed and has a large cock...and knows what to do with it. He's a really good fuck." Selina said.
Chéri folded his arms, "Back in the day, he told me he was straight and didn't want to go out with me. Anyway, I doubt he'd be as long, or as fit as Lennon..."
Selina smiled, "He has an average build, which I like. I'm glad he's not athletic like Lennon."
"I love Lennon's body, he's so lean, and he's covered...in tattoos, even the tops of his hands and fingers." Serena said, as madam Dolores clinked her glass in agreement.
Chéri shot them a disgusted look, 'Shame you both can't enjoy looking at his fit fuckin' body then, because right now, Lennon's traipsing around Europe with a prostitute." Chéri said as he took his phone out and looked at his social media, "Oh for fucks, fucking sake!"
"What?" Dolores asked.
"Lennon! He's posted pictures on fucking Instagram of himself and fucking Suzanne! He's got black fuckin' hair! Cornrowed on the sides, and a tattoo on his fuckin' face! I didn't fucking approve these image changes! Look at them both! Her all fuckin' smug and smilin' cause she's out there with my man! That's it! You just wait until you see MY snapchat video tonight! I'll respond to this bullshit!" Chéri exclaimed angrily as he tossed his phone onto the table.
Serena pulled her phone out of her pocket to check the pictures on social media, "Well played Suzanne, well played."
Dolores picked up Chéri's phone and looked at the pictures. The pictures showed selfies of them smiling together, sharing drinks, smoking joints and doing other social pursuits together. One picture was of Suzanne in the tattooists chair, getting her garter tattoo aswell as having other tattoos done. The one that was most controversial was the 'Lennon' emblazoned on her.
Madam Dolores shook her head and passed the phone back to him, "You didn't ask him before you got more Juvederm, and ass implants."
"That ain't the fuckin' point, mom. This, is total bollocks." Chéri said.