The Fury - Jason Pinter [82]
club had reopened, its cachet as the most exclusive club
in the city skyrocketed. Not only was it the place to be,
it was basically a city landmark now. Lines that once
stretched around the block looped each other. Darcy's
husband was an old fraternity brother of Shawn Kensbrook, the Kitten Club's promoter, so they were able to
hop the line. All that for the privilege of spending five
hundred bucks on a bottle of Smirnoff.
The lights of the Kitten Club pulsated as the cab drew
near. I lowered the window. The smell of cologne,
perfume, cigarettes and sweat permeated the air. Natu
rally there was a line snaking all the way out the door
and down the block, and that it was three people deep
led me to believe it would be a two-hour wait just to get
in.
But I wasn't planning to wait in line.
As the cab pulled up in front of the club, I threw him
a twenty and hopped out, dragging my heavy luggage
behind me. A few people waiting in line noticed my odd
appearance--jeans, a short-sleeved shirt, sneakers and
a massive Samsonite--and pointed me out to their
friends. A few laughed. The rest looked slightly
worried, as though they expected me to be lugging a
bomb or a body in the suitcase.
I had to shove my way through the line to get to the
front. A massive bouncer with biceps veins thicker
than his waist blocked the way. He looked at me and
rolled his eyes.
The Fury
239
"Line starts over there," he said. He jerked his thumb
in the opposite direction of where I thought the line
started. Based on a rough calculation, the people at the
end of the line would be allowed in right around the
Rapture.
"I need to see Shawn Kensbrook," I said.
"I need a blow job," the bouncer said.
"One of those is going to be much easier to achieve
than the others," I replied. "Listen, tell him this is about
Darcy Lapore and her husband, Devin. He'll know who
you're talking about."
The bouncer looked me over, trying to see if I was
for real. Then he picked up a walkie-talkie, pressed a
button and spoke into it.
"Yo, Byron, some kid out here with a damn suitcase
says he needs to talk to Shawn. Says it's about some
chick named Darcy."
"And Devin," I added.
"And Devin." He clicked off the walkie-talkie and
waited for a response. Then he said, "You be messing
with me, I'm a make you give me that blow job."
"I don't think either of us would enjoy that very much."
Then a crackling sound came over the talkie, and a
voice said, "Hold tight, he'll be right there." The
bouncer nodded, clicked it off. "Guess you won't need
that mouthwash after all."
A minute later, a man came through the door and
walked right up to me. He was wearing an Armani suit
and sunglasses, and looked like a white, slightly less
bulky version of the bouncer. His cuff links were
sterling silver, and I could see his belt buckle was
engraved with the letters SK.
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Jason Pinter
Shawn Kensbrook walked up to me and said,
"You've gotta be him."
"It's me," I said. "Henry Parker. You must be Shawn.
I left you a few messages last year while I was covering
the Athena Paradis story."
"I didn't talk to any reporters after that happened."
"I can understand. I know you two were close."
"Cut the crap. What do you want to do with Devin?"
"Long story short. My girlfriend, Amanda, is with
Devin and Darcy right now. She's in trouble. I mean,
big, bad, lives-on-the-line trouble. I don't have the time
to wait on line, I just need to see her. You let me in, I
grab the girl, and we're gone. Simple as that."
"How do I know you're not messing with me?"
Shawn said.
I didn't know what to say. Then I thrust out the
suitcase and said, "A deposit. I'm not back in ten
minutes, you keep this. Some nice stuff in here. I know
because I bought it for my girl's birthday. Plus, Captain
Shower Rape here can have his way with me."
Shawn looked at the bouncer, confused. The guy
shook his head like he didn't know what I was talking
about. Shawn turned back to me, the light from the
neon signs reflecting in the shine of his suit.
"Even