The Girls Club (16 page)

Tucking the mobile into her pants pocket she tossed her clothes on the floor.  Ever ready,
the British bulldog
, this always made her laugh, she went off to the bathroom to see if she could further educate Miss Carmicheal.

The shower cubicle was quite spacious, like the rest of the apartment.  To her mounting horror she saw the most humongous vibrator on the shelf of the shower.

Kelsey saw her looking at it and smiled, it changed her face, “Oh, its not for you, would you mind?”

“Hell no, pass the peas”

Kelsey laughed, “You talk funny!”

A goose walked over Karen’s grave.  She had sounded just like Rosh.

After a playful half hour in the shower where they got cleaned up and in Kelsey’s case, cleaned out, they got out and Karen dressed.

“I’ve had a really weird time tonight” Miss Carmicheal looked very sleepy tucked up in her king sized bed.

Karen sat next to on the side of the bed and pushed her hair back from her face, it was going to dry a birds nest but she looked way too tired to dry it first.

“Me too. You’d have made a good farmer” they both laughed.

“Oh don’t worry about me now, I think I’ve got a lot to think about. Are you sure you can’t stay?”

She gave her a kiss and touched her dimpled chin, “No, I’ve got a couple of hot women waiting for me back home”

Kelsey sighed, “Night then”

“Night”

She closed the door very quietly on her way out.  Now it was time to play hunt the cab.

Get Rosh to come get you.

No.  She couldn’t keep expecting Rosh to run round after her, she respected her better than that.  The street was very quiet.  Checking her watch she saw it was after 2.  Chain ladies had to put long weekends in.  Maybe going to Law school would be easier hours. Grinning in the dark, how could books and libraries compare to any of this? 

Karen wasn’t sure how she felt about doing the deed with the files either.  It was wrong and unethical.

So is carving your name into someone’s thighs like you own them.

Yeah.  Playing the game.  Playing the game to get ahead.  That would be the goal.  Nothing else.  She had been walking for minutes and realised she hadn’t a clue where she was or how to get home.  She stepped back to the kerb.  Big fat nothing on either side.  No cars at all.

Her phone chirruped.

Rosh.

“Hey”

“Hey. Where are you?”

“I don’t know” she stood still and looked the street up and down as if to emphasise this.

“I don’t know why we let you out on your own” 
s
he could hear teasing in her voice.

“Yeah, silly sod!” Sky in the background, no matter how many times she used the word ‘sod’ it still sounded alien coming from her mouth.

“Its alright. I’m looking for a cab.”

“We can come get you”, she choked a little, she had been blessed with these girls.  Rochelle was so much like Jess. 

But we don’t talk about her any more do we?

And with good reason she thought.  The first heart break had been the hardest to heal, the most important lesson to have learned.

“Its fine. I’ll get home…eventually”

“But I want you here now” she was almost whispering. Not wanting Sky to hear.

It made her feel warm and silly.  She trotted up to the end of the street and read the signpost there, Rochelle told her to stay still, she was going to drop Sky off on her way to get her.

She sat at the kerb on the vast and empty street and tried to look at the photos she’d taken with her mobile to see if you could make out the names.

Impossible my dear.  Just sit here and behave yourself.

Karen was a fidget.  Always had been.  If someone had told her to sit still or face a firing squad she might have well have told them at that point where she wanted the bullet.  She hadn’t got her bearings at all yet in this large strange place.  Maybe it was all the time spent in bedrooms?

Hee hee.  Mention that to your mum in your weekly call, I’m sure she’d be very proud.

The smile fell off her face.  Then she got angry at herself.  It wasn’t her mums life though, it was hers!  And she was having interesting times. 
Very
interesting times.  She felt loved and wanted.  There was an unmistakable sense of danger that was very real, but it was a live thing.  It had given her pause.  Made her mad, fired up emotions in her she had felt she’d lost a long time ago.  Loyalty.  Love.  Purpose.

Her mum wouldn’t understand.  So she wouldn’t tell her.  One of the most fabulous reasons for travelling all this way had been the freedom to play.  No fear.  No restrictions.  She had lucked into the biggest club she’d ever been in,  but more than that, people who tried to understand her.

She was sniffling.  Beer and self absorbed bullshit.  She hopped up off the kerb, Rosh wouldn’t want to see her looking like this.  Beer time runs a little different than ordinary time, Rosh hadn’t called her but five minutes ago in her mind but the clock in the car said it was almost 3 when she got in.

She closed her eyes.  Rosh patted her leg and guided them home.  She would take her back to her own place.  An unlovely snore came from the seat next to her and she played through the conversation she’d had with Sky again in her mind.  Sky thought that it was time to leave LA.  She wasn’t quite,
in fear for her life,
but things had been going steadily wronger just lately.  Minnie had gone a little daft in the head, to coin the Brits expression, she’d also heard Miss Steiger a time or two on the phone having hot tempered conversations with unknown agitators.  Wrong.  And getting even more wrong by the minute.  Rosh had explained that she would not be leaving.  She could sympathise with Sky, she’d thought she’d found the one.  As in,
I always knew she was ‘The One’…
.  Rosh wouldn’t buy it so heavily again.  Karen rolled over and banged her head on the window.  “Whuzzit?”

“Hey”

Karen rubbed her head.  Whiskey was God’s own way of making you sorry for imbibing.

“Not long now. We’ll have you home.”

Karen didn’t remember feeling this giddy before she got into the car.  With owlish eyes she scanned the roads, the sky was a deep azure as early morning prepared to announce itself.

“You’re a good friend to me.”

And she was off again. 

They got back to Karen’s apartment, if she was going to have to keep bringing her home she might as well ask her to move in with her,
where did that come from? 
Rosh stopped with her hand on the handle of the side of the car.

You promised!  Not again!  Not ever!

Karen’s face was up against the glass and she smiled. 

“Fucking idiot”, still smiling she opened the door and put her other arm out to stop Karen tumbling out onto the side walk.

“Whuz…”

“…it? You crazy Brit. Come on hun” she hooked her under the arm, it didn’t look like Karen was going to come all the way back this time.  ‘The Sleep Stagger Express’, that was what Rosh felt like.  She propped her against the elevator wall and punched the 3 key.  To top it all she lived on the third floor.  If the lift hadn’t been working she would have been looking at hiking her ass up the stairs.

But she wouldn’t have minded in the slightest.

Outside Karen’s apartment she dipped her hand into Karen’s pants pocket, she always kept her keys in there, Karen moaned from inside her semi doze,  she pinned her with her shoulder and opened the door.  Dragging her across the room she then dropped her on the couch.  Karen rolled over. 

“You’re welcome” Rosh tossed the coverlet over her.  If her memory served, and it did so horrifically at times, she remembered her one and only encounter with Kelsey Carmicheal.  It had been about a year ago but it blazed in her mind on occasion.  Kelsey had been one macho fuck alright. Rochelle remembered feeling like someone had put a lit match in her pussy for days afterwards.  Sky had told enough tales, she hadn’t felt the need to make Karen feel worse.  She had slept with many people she would long come to deny knowledge of.

“Brrr”

The most fantastic piece of furniture Karen owned was a La-z-boy next to the window.  She took her tea, an odious drink but she was coming to love it all the same, over to the chair and sat back.  Tucking her jacket over her and making herself cosy she looked out as the sun began to rise. 

You don’t turn your back on family.

Sky had shook her head.  She knew very little about why Rosh was so staunch about staying.  And after what the Chain had done to her she couldn’t fathom quite why she was so adamant.  She certainly didn’t owe them anything.

Sky had asked her why she wasn’t on the Chain any more, asked her why it was she didn’t feel like she wanted to get involved any more.

I have what I need. 
She’d told her.

She looked over at Karen who had an arm flung up over her head, her mouth wide open, rattling noises coming form deep within her throat.

And its true.

Rosh slept.

Chapter 8

Monday morning and you could well believe that this was a Law firm going places.  People bustled about with files.  Calls were placed.  Meetings held.  Emails whizzed via cybernetic highways.  Millions of dollars in fees and damages were earned and lost in less time then it took to fix a good cup of coffee.

Miss Steiger had been in fine mood all morning.  The mobile phone photos had given her enough, Karen uploaded them at her PC and sent them in a mail to her boss.

The reply had been curt, simple,
“I owe you one”

To which she immediately thought,
well, it’s actually four, but I’ll keep that score for you babe.

Realistically she thought it at least meant that a quieter time was ahead.

Demi?

Gone, but not forgotten in Karen’s book.  She was old school.  Do unto others as you would have them do unto you shouldn’t just apply to oral sex.  Somewhere along the line in this place there had been a skew from reality.  The Chain hadn’t been created to hurt people, but it always ended up being the people in power that destroyed the true purpose of a thing.

Sky had been round for a chatter, Karen had got her filing done even with her constant jabbering.  She’d grown very fond of Sky, but she truly could talk a glass eye to sleep.  No mail from Rosh yet today.  Silly really when they only worked round the corner from each other but it was how they got through their time at work.  Little messages.  Little tributes.  It was all building towards something Karen hadn’t wanted at first.  They were falling in love.  It was getting to the point where Rochelle was buying her clothes and taking her out.  Karen didn’t mind one bit.  This had after all been the main plan. 
Find someone.  Settle down. 
Ironically it had been with the very first person she had met when she had stepped off the plane.

In return for looking after the things Karen didn’t, she would look after things that Rochelle
wouldn’t. 
Like her emotional well being.  Karen felt so much for her in fact that she would have quite happily taken her home, back to England, away from this dark game.  Sunshine and secrecy was one thing, but she would give up her truth in order to show the world, including her mum.  If that’s what was required.

There was only one thing stopping her from booking herself and Rosh a plane ticket out of the whole damn mess though.  The scars. 
Those christning scars!
  She never felt angry when she was with Rochelle making love, but when she lay back and looked at her falling asleep it made the blood roar in her ears.  Rochelle would never tell.  Loyalty she’d found in no other, misplaced in a nasty creature, Miss Steiger.  No one had the right. 
No one.

Once she had settled what had happened, and made Miss ‘high tits’ Steiger pay, then they could go.  She was sure that when the right time came she could make Rochelle see that a new start was everything she needed.

Her desk buzzer went.  How she had come to loathe that noise! 

“Come through please”  it was Miss Toulouse.

She went round the corner and tapped on her door.

“Come in Karen.” She put a briefcase on the desk with a short gold chain attached.  One end was around the bolt on the case, the other end had a cuff to be attached to whatever silly sod had to carry it.

“Got a job for you”

Tap tap!

“Come on in”

Sky appeared round the doorway.

“Ok girls. Sit”

Karen felt like barking out a woof!  But they sat.

“I have just had a call from a certain someone who needs to be bailed out. The person in question is a very,
very
important client of this firm. This is the $275,000.00 bail that has been set” Sky whistled through her teeth.

“Miss Steiger has made the necessary arrangements with the court and is on her way back here. You two, get down there with the cash and collect our client. Then bring her back here”

Sky and Karen exchanged glances.

“Her name, is Heidi Huntington-Wolfe” she gave them a sheaf of papers.

“You unlock the case using this” she handed a key to Sky, she then clipped the cuff round Karen’s wrist.

“You get this signed, I need it back for the bail reccy”

She leaned back on her broad wood desk. 

“Decide between you who the heavy is, I don’t have the time. No idle chit-chat, put your jackets on. Pull this off and this weekend your dinners on me. Right?”

Karen had a sinking feeling.  Sky looked awestruck.

“Sure thing boss” Karen stood up, she’d have to unlock the flaming case to get her jacket back on, Miss Toulouse was far too distracted though to realise.

“Take my car” she handed Sky the key. 

Figures she’d get to drive.

“DON’T MESS THIS UP!” followed them out of the door.

“What the fuck?” Karen said, jingling the chain attached to the case.

“Fuck? Porsche!” Sky jingled the keys to the car like a loon.

“Bitch!”

She undid the chain and they each put their Tarkington Blazers on, funny thing blazers, Karen had worn hers religiously for weeks after getting here but now found there were times she left it at work, or forgot it entirely.  Guess it didn’t feel like anything she could buy into any more.

They combed their hair, Sky put perfume on them both and Karen made exaggerated coughing gestures. 

“Stop tryin’ to girlify me”

“You love it really”

They strode out of the office and heads rolled to follow their progress.  The two girls in navy blazers.  A golden Phoenix on the left breast pocket of each.  The case.  It was a rare occasion to see the likes of such.  It meant high stakes.  It meant someone had been very bad.  And there was a mega bail involved.

Sky was leafing through the sheets as Karen tried to find a way not to look so self-conscious carrying the case.

Miss Toulouse’s car was nothing short of fabulous.  It wasn’t very roomy.  But it was certainly going to get them noticed.

Karen went round and held the case handle, Sky leaned over and opened the door.  Sliding the card key into the ignition a look of pure delight filled Sky’s face, Karen recognised it easily enough, she’d seen it many times before on their Friday sessions.

Grrrrrmmm, GRRRRROOOOOOMMM!

“Sweet sleeping Jesus” Karen disdained.

Sky had become a ‘need for speed’ racer. 

“You better get it out of your system mate, we don’t want this Heidi Huntingdomwhosit grassing us up for being a couple of dicks do we?”

“Ok” Sky slipped the gear shift and floored it, Karen was slung into the bucket seat and knew that for the next few short minutes she would consider each her last.  Sky was transcended by the power of the car.  Another look Karen was familiar with, evil mischief.

It wasn’t a long enough drive for Sky.  Karen suspected she had taken the longest route she could already.  Into the station to collect their boss’s client Karen followed Sky who had at least done this once before.  She took them past the desk and down some stairs to an underground office.  Like a holding area Karen suspected.  Sky took the papers and pushed them across the desk to a cop who eyed them curiously.  The two girls in their natty blue blazers.  Karen tried her best to look menacing, but sincere.  The purpose of the chain on the case was beyond her, if someone wanted it badly enough she’d give it to them.  Hell.  It was only money.  But the imposing sight it made wasn’t lost on her.

She lifted the case when the cop cocked his finger at her.  Sky unclipped it from Karen’s wrist and she was grateful of the burden being released from her.  Papers were being signed and counter signed and a cop was sent into the holding area to collect their prize.

Sky found the whole thing exciting.  Karen was completely weirded out. 

Then she appeared.

You will not,
not,
raise your eyebrow!

“Ok girls, try and keep her out of trouble yeah” the cop gave them the paperwork back as another cop gave their client her personals back.

“Better all be here, fuckin’ cop”

Potty mouth ain’t she?
Sky was grinning like a loon.

Karen wouldn’t wait to get this done.

She was a very slight woman.  Tipping the contents of the envelope out onto the counter ruthlessly she picked up her cigarettes and stuck one in her mouth.

“That’ll have to wait” the cop jerked a thumb over his shoulder to a ‘no smoking’ sign.

“Fuckin’ pig cop” she scooped up her stuff back into the long brown envelope.

“See you miss”

“Not if I see you first” on that exit line she whirled round to take in her escorts.

“The fuck you wearin’?” and she started to laugh.  Sky went on smiling, Karen never felt less like smiling in her life.

“We’re here to take you back to Tarkingtons” Karen told her.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah” Sky answered.

“What you drivin?”

“What difference…?” Sky asked.

“All the difference babe”

“Porsche” Karen told her.

“That’ll do.” Karen nudged Sky and held her hand out.  Sky reluctantly gave her the keys as she led them through the bowels of the judicial system and back outside.  Sky had the now empty case in her hand.

“This way” Karen led them to the underground car park.

“You guys don’t talk much” she seemed a little less snappy now, her cigarette making great grey clouds as she went prospecting back into the envelope.

There wasn’t really a way to tell her that ‘orders was orders’ and ‘no small talk’ meant ‘no small talk‘.

After taking one look at her ride she held her hand out.

“Gimme the keys”

Karen looked at Sky and they both shrugged.  She put the keys in her hand.  The customer was always right, a beloved expression of many an institution Karen had worked for.  Let the boss take it up with her.

“Neato” Heidi smiled and tossed her cigarette.

Sky got in the back, secretly knowing that upon impact this would be the best place to be sitting.  Karen rode shotgun, she switched on the satellite navigation so Miss Huntingdomwhosit could pick her way back to the office.

“Oh, heeeee” she clapped her hands gleefully when the car roared.

“Buckle up babes” she tore out of the car park and the back end of the car scraped asphalt as they flew out onto the street.  Sky went white.  Karen ground her teeth. 

“What’s that do-jigger?” she bent down to look at what might have been an mp3 attachment and they swerved, Karen reached over and pulled the wheel back to central.

“Highly strung aren’t you. I woulda seen it. God what’s that smell?” she looked back at the road.  Karen glared at Sky,
fucking pansy perfume I suspect,
Sky smiled again.  For some reason she was in 7
th
heaven.

Sky’s cell buzzed and she ignored it.  Two minutes later Karen’s cell buzzed and she ignored it.

“I hate it when people don’t answer their texts” the redhead intoned gravely.

They both reached for their phones, both messages had come from Miss Steiger, Karen let Sky deal with it.

“Your boss huh? Steiger?”

“Uh-huh” Sky said from the back.

Heidi began to make little side to side manoeuvres in the car, “I want one” she purred.

So whaddya think?  Never seen a true red head before.

Strange.  But true.  Her hair wasn’t just red.  It was all the colours of stoked embers.

Now there’s the starting point of a daydream.

She smiled. 

“Do you know what I did?” she asked of them both.

“No”, “Nope”

“Good. None of your damn business anyway” She picked up Karen’s hand and Karen knew what she was looking for.

“Ungraded eh?” and the teasing smile she had on her face totally changed her demeanour.

“British too. You don’t sound like a cockney”