Like a Bird (3 page)

“I sure as hell hope you got her number,” Louis said.

Gareth said nothing as they left the club. Outside, a long line of people still waited to get in. They walked less than a block before Louis hailed a cab for them and gave directions to the driver.

- -

With a drunken grin on his face, Louis turned to Gareth. “Our night has only just begun.”

“I’m exhausted already,” Gareth admitted.

Louis laughed. “You’re a lightweight! You’re out of practice.”

“No, I’m old.
We’re
old,” Gareth said, pointing to both of them.

“Speak for yourself old man. I haven’t hit forty yet” Louis relaxed into the seat and fell quiet.

Gareth noticed his friend’s eyelids looked suspiciously heavy. He smirked to himself. As the cab carried them toward their next destination, Gareth noted buildings he had known now housed shops and restaurants he didn’t recognize. At a red light he watched two men on a corner shouting at each other. There was a brief scuffle before one decked the other. As the light changed, Gareth continued to watch the altercation until a grating sound coming from Louis caught his attention. He looked over to find his friend passed out, snoring.

Well past 1:00 a.m., the cab pulled up across the street from a large, white building with dominating columns and a wide staircase. Several black limos were parked in front and well-dressed people in masks were quickly escorted to or from the waiting cars. Gareth shoved Louis awake.

“Wake up old man. We’re here.”

“Huh, already?” Louis croaked. He gathered himself and pulled out his wallet to pay the driver. After filling the driver’s palm with several bills, Louis and Gareth bailed out of the cab and crossed the street. As they approached the main entrance a man in a crisp black uniform and hat opened the ornate door for them. Inside the grand but empty foyer, they looked around for direction. On the left, past a curving staircase, stood another man in uniform near a plain side door. Louis pointed in his direction and they both walked over.

“Good evening, gentlemen.” The man made a slight nod. “Password please.”

“April showers bring May flowers,” Louis said softly. The doorman bowed his head and opened the door.

Gareth and Louis passed through the door into a wide hall where a small number of people in masks gathered around a long table adorned with food, while others lounged on oversized furniture and talked with drinks in their hands. Glittering chandeliers hung from the high ceiling, providing just enough light to avoid bumping into anything. Gareth stiffened and lowered his head as he followed Louis down the hall. A man with a tray of drinks approached and handed each of them a glass of champagne.

Near the end of the long room, a stout set of stairs led to an upper level where music was playing and a large crowd was mingling. As Louis and Gareth reached the top of the stairs, they were effortlessly pulled into the dancing crowd. Gareth noticed others looked on from a circular balcony above.

“Who are we meeting and how are we supposed to find them?” Gareth asked, his eye already fixed on a quick exit.

Louis paused as he glanced around the room. “Ah, I’m not exactly sure. I don’t think they’re down here. Let’s try up there.” He pointed to the balcony. They wove a path toward a curving staircase. Gareth paused on the steps to take stock of the crowd, a few hundred people in their best attire shifting and glittering in the light while they hid behind elaborate masks. He turned back and noticed Louis was already scoping out the third floor. Gareth hurried the rest of the way up the stairs, nearly tripping on his cloak.

At the balcony level there were clusters of people at the railing and others perched on chairs and sofas in a large enclave. The sitting area was framed by a massive window that offered a panoramic view of sparkling city lights. Louis waved Gareth over to a set of large double doors off to the right, where another uniformed man stood guard. Louis approached but before he even touched the golden door handle, the guard stopped him.

“This is a private room.”

“I’m looking for someone. We have an appointment,” Louis replied.

“You won’t have any luck getting in there without a proper invitation,” the guard said, pointing with his thumb at the door. Louis turned to Gareth, who hadn’t heard the exchange, and just shrugged slightly. Louis addressed the guard again.

“Do you know where I might be able to find Amira Hassan?” Louis asked.

“I’m sorry sir, I’m not privy to the identity of the guests. But you might want to try one of the rooms further down this corridor.” The guard held out his hand to direct them.

Louis motioned for Gareth to follow and together they walked to the next set of doors only to find them unattended and locked. Gareth reached past Louis and wrapped hard on the wooden door. No response. They followed the corridor to another set of doors on the opposite side of the balcony.

One of these was slightly ajar, and laughter escaped through the narrow crack. Louis leaned in and peered through the small opening. Judging this was their destination, he straightened up again, pushed the door open, and strode into the room. The space was illuminated by a soft light and furnished with ornate antiques. One wall was comprised of a large bookshelf with a ladder on rails. A group of three amorous women were gathered on the long sofa in front of it. In the corner opposite Louis a man was seated in a large wing chair, casually sipping a drink and chained to a young woman who stood quietly next to him. Louis grinned at Gareth before he ventured deeper into the room.

Gareth hung back at the entrance and examined the scene. On his left a man lay on a chaise lounge while a woman in only a bra sat on top of him. At the back of the room, a group of people laughed loudly, but the lighting was too dim to see them clearly. With his hood still up, he looked again at the man in the wingback chair, attached by a chain on his wrist to a girl who shielded herself with one arm wrapped around her, tightly gripping the other. Gareth wondered if she was cold or frightened.

The girl’s long dark hair may have once been styled but was now a tangled mess, as though she had just been in a fight. She wore a black corset that amplified her small waist and large breasts, and she barely managed to balance on dagger-like stilettos.

The girl loosened her grip to adjust her corset and revealed a right arm amputated above the elbow. She glanced Gareth’s way and realized he was staring at her. She quickly looked away and resumed her protective stance. Gareth pulled the leather glove off his left hand, and as his movement caught her attention, her gaze returned to him. He grinned and waved with his three-fingered hand. Her saw her lip turn up in a slight smile and her body soften. He slipped his glove back on.

- -

“Do you see something you like, my friend?” said the man still seated in the wingback chair. Gareth stared at the girl while addressing her master.

“I might,” he answered roughly.

“I’m looking for a buyer,” the man said. “You can take her for a test drive if you like.”

Gareth lifted his chest a little higher to conceal his tension. He hadn’t planned on jumping back into this game again. At least, not so soon. He kept his gaze on the girl. Gareth noticed small freckles spanned her nose and she had a shiny silver piercing above her lip. She shifted on her high heels while staring at the floor.

“I will,” Gareth said and reached out to take the girl’s hand. With her eyes cast down, she put out her hand as the man released the chain around his wrist and locked it around Gareth’s.

“You might find a quiet spot in the next room.” The man pointed to an arched doorway on his right. Gareth nodded and walked away slowly with the girl trotting along to his wide gait. Before exiting, Gareth quickly scanned about for Louis, who was nowhere to be seen.

On the other side of the archway was a spacious room with large pieces of comfortable furniture covered with writhing bodies. Pulsing music drowned out all the other sounds. Gareth spied an unoccupied round tufted bench in the far corner, so he beat a path to it, with the girl following awkwardly behind. She stood stiffly in front of him before consenting to his invitation to sit on his lap.

“What’s your name?” Gareth asked.

“Sky,” she replied in a small voice.

“I’m Gareth,” he replied, the words tumbling out of his mouth with a low rumble.

Sky gave him a gentle smile and took his gloved hand in her small one. She kissed the back of his glove and looked up at him, her large brown eyes heavily painted with black liner. She slid his glove off and ran her fingers over the scars on the back of his hand. When Gareth jerked his hand away and rested it on her back, Sky placed her hand in her lap and hung her head.

“You can do whatever you want with me,” she said without looking at him.

“I know,
”
Gareth said, “but not tonight.” He reached up and stroked her cheek. Sky stared at the smooth, white wall and sat nearly motionless, her breathing shallow and uneven.

“How old are you?” Gareth asked.

“Nineteen,” Sky replied. Gareth sighed and rested his hand lightly on her thigh.

“Do you know what you’re getting into?” he asked.

Sky almost rolled her eyes but held back and sighed instead. “Yes,” she said calmly and glanced into his only visible eye, a ring of speckled gray that seemed to reach behind her own eyes to scan the contents of her mind. She pulled back and he gave her a crooked smile.

Gareth brought her face to his and kissed her gently. After a moment she returned his affection. He pressed a little harder and bit down gently on her plump lower lip while his fingers slid across her shoulder and along her arm. Sky instinctively responded in kind, causing him to tighten up and pull away. She perked up and opened her eyes.

Gareth simply shook his head, and she glanced away to avoid his stern gaze. As he cupped her face with one hand, he ran the other through her knotted hair. She didn’t wince but leaned into his palm and closed her eyes again.

Gareth stroked her nose and grazed her lips with the tips of his fingers. Sky responded to his touch, her lips parting slightly.

“I think you’ll do,” Gareth said softly in her ear.

Sky slowly opened her eyes and her shoulders pulled back. The only response she could muster was silence.

They got up and returned to the man in the wingback chair, but he was gone. He had been replaced by two women who used the chair as a stage for an erotic show as three drunk men sharing a long sofa watched intently. Gareth scanned the room but saw no evidence of the man with the shaved head. He darted for the main door that led to the hallway as Sky followed behind like a duckling, her chain rattling with each step.

Just as Gareth reached for the door handle, Louis swung it wide open from the other side.

“Where have you been?” Louis shouted, his face lit with excitement.

“Right where you left me,” Gareth said flatly.

“I found Hassan. We had a nice little chat. Even though it was short, I think we might have a lead. I wish you could have been there.” Louis glanced behind his friend at Sky, who was leaning in to hide behind Gareth.

“Oh, I see. Who’s the girl? And what’s with the hardware?” Louis asked.

“I’m looking for a guy with a shaved head and a small mask like the Lone Ranger,” Gareth said.

“I have no idea who you’re talking about. I’ve seen a dozen bald guys in the last fifteen minutes, and they all look the same to me.”

“Hmm.” Gareth peered around Louis to scan the hallway.

“Why are you looking for this guy anyway?” Louis asked.

“He has something I want.”

“What? The other half of your face?” Louis laughed drunkenly at his own tasteless joke.

Gareth ignored him and contemplated his next move.

“Excuse me . . . sir,” Sky said softly. “If you can’t find Jared, you could just take me with you.”

Gareth spun around and frowned at her. “What?”

“She said you should just take her and run,” Louis said loudly. He turned to Sky, “You have to speak up, sweetheart. He has only one ear.”

“Oh, sorry sir,” Sky said, looking down again.

Gareth paused to weigh the options before he nodded. “OK, let’s go.”

He quickly backtracked in an arc around the balcony toward the staircase. Sky wobbled along on her stilettos, her corset barely containing her breasts, while Louis huffed behind, watching her closely. When they reached the open balcony Gareth scooped up the tiny girl as if she were filled with nothing more than air and carried her down the stairs. Her left hand clung to his cloak as he glided down the stairs.

He gently put her down when they reached the crowded dance floor, and they cut a wide circle around the crowd. Gareth, still in the lead, slowed his pace, trying not to draw attention to the trio as they made their way to the final staircase that led to the wide main hall. Gareth stopped to consider the chain that bound him to Sky.

He had no key.

Gareth wrapped most of the chain around his wrist like a massive bracelet and covered it with the ample sleeve of his cloak. He held Sky’s left hand, concealing the cuff on her wrist, and walked casually down the hall with Louis at his side. He focused on his target, the single door at the far end of the hall, and did not glance sideways. Louis instinctively remained quiet and went first through the door, speaking up only to thank the man in uniform on the way out.