The Girls Club (27 page)

Chapter 16

The sound of soaring planes made her anxious.  When she could see them taking off and landing a half mile away she knew that it was getting near to the end game.

She saw the Holiday Inn sign and pulled into a lot beside the gas station instead.

She texted Rosh,

How many did you say were coming for dinner tonight, I forgot.

Whilst she waited for whatever bizarre answer would come back she pushed the cigarette lighter into it’s socket.  Pulling down the strap of her shirt she knew it wasn’t going to stop bleeding on its own, she needed to do something before the waves of grey that washed over her vision became black.  When the lighter popped out she took the gadget and rested it against the hole the bullet had made going in.  There was a hiss and then the smell of burnt flesh and hair, again.  She leaned out of the door and vomited on the ground.

Using a bottle of water she took the other arm off her hoody and wetted it.  She used the mirror to clean off most of the blood and soot.  She had to at least look like she hadn’t come wandering in from a ten car pile up.

She smiled at her reflection and saw a lunatic with tones of blue running up the side of her face, her hair had burnt bits at the ends.  She rubbed them until they fell off, her hair looked odd.  Still.  It would have to do.

Taking the pistol she had lifted from the doorman’s dead body out of the rucksack she filled the clip, then got out of the car.  Tucking it into the back of her jeans she pulled her top over it.  Tipping the rest of the shells out she filled her pocket.  The text tone went and she checked her phone.

Karen! Don’t come here, please! You promised!

She leaned against the hood of the car.  Her breath was sour and her arm was aching.  Must be more of them now.  Must have been Sarah’s doing. 

How would she know which room?  On the back seat of the car was an overcoat, a light rain mac, she put it on and walked into the reception of the Holiday Inn.  This was Rochelle’s rain mac.  Not that anyone ever needed one in LA, she put the sleeve up to her face and inhaled. 

No way on earth I’m leaving.  No way.

She went through to the restrooms and racked her head, the next part of the plan had pretty much disappeared with Sarah Steiger’s re-arrival on the scene.  She shut the stall door and took the opportunity to pee.  As she did she looked up.  A smoke detector.

An evil grin broke her face. 

Well, lookie what we have here then.  If I remember right…?

Still sat on the toilet she checked the pockets of the mac and found a lighter and cigarettes.  Rochelle didn’t smoke much, Karen had seen her smoke once, she kept a pack handy though.

Sometimes with a beer.

This would be just the ticket.

Well.  Its been a long time since I had a cigarette, but they say its good for shock.  And today has been one long fucking shock.

She shook out a Marlboro and put it in her mouth, standing up and fastening her jeans she prepared for her first cigarette in years.

And I was doing so well.

She spun the wheel of the lighter and flame sprang into life.  It touched the tip of the cigarette and Karen inhaled.

She felt giddy almost at once, her head light and serene.  This is why cigarette smokers have a higher fall back rate than heroin addicts.  It’s easy and legal.

She took a few drags then put the toilet seat down, she hadn’t heard anyone come in so thought it would be now or never, she hoped the alarms went through the whole complex.

Blowing grey smoke with earnest she almost fell off the toilet seat when the alarm did begin to bray. 

Come on babe.  Lets blow this pop stand.

Against her mental moanings she took two more puffs from the cigarette then chucked it down the toilet.

Time to make like a tree.

She felt remarkably well to say her body had two more holes in it than it had started out with today.  Add to that a concussion already this week and really, she had no right to feel this well.  But she did.  This was the power Rochelle had over her, she was going to go get her back from the nest of vipers with little thought or regard for what might actually be the outcome.

The complex was evacuating.  The rooms spilling out into the corridors and the outside complex car park filling up with patrons.  A hazy grin spread Karen’s face, they were like ants, scurrying along. 

Couldn’t have planned it better really.

Well you didn’t actually plan it, fucking idiot! 
Words she needed to hear Rochelle say to her.

Karen waited just inside the reception behind a door, waiting for a glimpse of Rochelle.

Chapter 17

“You’re cars almost as crappy as mine”

They smiled at each other, headed down the road, Sky had nipped into the store and come back out with a pink shirt and jeans for Heidi.  Heidi had made approving noises, the shade of pink, candy pink no less, her absolute favourite.

Sky opened the glove box of the car and there was a folder there.

“What’s that?”

“Karen said to give it to you when it was all over, guess you might as well have it now”

Heidi opened the folder and took out the photo there, it was a small reproduction of what looked like a cell phone photo.  It showed about half a dozen people around a cutting table, Heidi was one of them, and there was Sarah Steiger herself.  There were pieces of Demi being bagged up.  There was another shot of the inside of Sarah’s office, a hand wrapped in plastic on her blotter.

“Hot damn” Heidi whispered.

There were some papers, some looked like forensic results.  There had been a double line drawn under something, it said ‘suppressed results’ in capitals next to it.

“Well, what is it?” Sky asked.

Heidi shook her head and turned the sheet over, scrawled on the back.

Guess she can’t finger you for it if she was there too.

Yours, Karen

“Limey bitch” Heidi whistled through her teeth.  This was her get out of jail free card with Steiger, who was obviously going to keep this from her.

Cunt lawyer bitch!

She put the stuff back into the folder and tucked it back into the glove box.

“Are you sure you want to go to Sarah’s?”

“Have we talked about this already. What choice we got Sky?”

Sky went quiet.  Something felt wrong.  She’d texted Karen, hadn’t been able to help herself.  There’d been no answer.

Heidi’s cell phone rang.

“Fucking thing”

“Don’t answer it”

“Its alright, don’t worry, its Sheila”

“Hey Sheila, I’m sorry about…” she stopped cold.  She couldn’t tell a lot of what Sheila was saying.

Fushing bikcth…smashed facse in…kill ros, rosh, chelle.

“Oh Sheila. What did she do to you?”

Being a hardass all the time eventually took its toll.  Heidi started to cry, all she could hear were jumbled syllables, her mind did the rest.

Sky indicated to cross to the breakdown lane.

“Fuck” Heidi dropped the cell.

Sky pulled up.

“What? What happened to Sheila?”

Heidi lit a cigarette, her eyes were wild, she had sent Sheila to have her face re-arranged.  It was heavy.

“Sheila got fucked up, She couldn’t even
talk
properly. Do you know what this means?”

Sky shook her head, “That you think its your fault?”

Heidi laughed, “As well as the fact that Sarah Steiger and her barmy army will now know that I had Sheila leave Rochelle, that I was helping you guys!” she rubbed her head and dragged on her cigarette.

“That’s just fine” Sky started the car again.

“Is it? What planet do you live on, SHE’S GONNA FUCKIN’ KILL ME!”

“Not if someone kills her first” Sky spoke with finality.

Silence then between them.  Rushing past cars, the decision about where to go now with Heidi entirely.  Sky jumped when her mobile chirruped, she wound down her window to throw it out, then saw the message was from Rochelle.

Sky, if you get this, please stop Karen! If she gets here they’re going to kill her, THEY ARE ALL HERE!

Heidi took the cell and read it.

“She’s mincement then. Stupid limey bitch” but there was no conviction in what she was saying.

“Well, Miss Heidi, still wanna save Sarah’s ass or go help Karen? In about two minutes we’ll miss the turnoff for the airport slip road.”

Cigarette smoke filled the car and Sky rolled her window down.  She would do whatever Heidi was happy with, she knew what Karen was capable of, she also knew Karen would die before she let anyone hurt Rochelle.

“H?”

“Is she any good?”

“What?”

“In the sack, she any good?”

“Heidi if you’re going to base your decision on whether…” Heidi held her hand up, “Cool your jets babe, lighten up”

“There’s the turnoff”, Sky pleaded with her eyes, “Heidi!”

“Take it, so help me God, lets go see some fuckin’ airplanes”

Sky took the turn off and put her hand on Heidi’s leg, “You won’t regret this”

“Yeah, I’ll remind you of that when Sarah Steiger’s chewing on my fucking fanny”

They both laughed.  It was easy to laugh when you had no idea what you were headed into but each had agreed that a small rebellion against Sarah Steiger would bring about the same wraith.  Might as well make it worthwhile and maybe not end up like Sheila if possible.

“Here,” Sky handed Heidi her cell, “Text Rochelle back, just say,”

“The goose flies backwards at night?”

“You’re a dick” she squeezed her thigh, “Tell her, Don’t worry, the cavalries coming, if anyone’s reading her messages, which they probably are, it’ll put a scare into them”

“You hope”

“I know” she scowled, bringing her eyebrows down for dramatic effect.

“Now who’s the dick?” she set about sending the text.

“This way, they’ll know its not just Karen they need to be ready for, they won’t know what’s hit ’em”

“Sky”

“Yes Heidi love” she placed her hand over Sky’s on her brand new jeans.

“You’re a bona fide dangerous bitch”

“From you Heidi, I’ll take that as a compliment”

Chapter 18

It had been hell.

All morning sat with various strange girls.  All of them grumpy and out of sorts.  All of them regarding her with contempt and disdain.  All she’d done was fall in love.  Look at this happy horse shit. 

They had let her read and answer her texts as long as they got to read them too.  She managed to send two they didn’t know about from the bathroom.

She felt Karen getting nearer.  She felt the promise being broken.  She could have just grabbed her passport and left LA.  Gone back home.  Given time, Rochelle could have joined her.

Sarah would never have let you go, maybe Karen knows that.

Sarah Steiger.  Older sister.  Previous lover. 

She tried often not to think about the times they had lain together.  After she had encouraged Sarah to find her family she hoped Sarah would find someone else to be neurotic with.  Sarah was sexy, good in bed, obsessive and psychotic.  Rochelle held the belief to this day that she took some sick joy in telling Rochelle what she had discovered.  That the family tie they had shared had made the sex all that bit more enjoyable in her eyes.  She hadn’t been very pleased with Rochelle’s outrage.  If Sarah had gotten her way they would have continued to sleep together.  Sarah reasoned that it had been fine before they knew, hot even.  It had indeed been hot, but Rochelle would no more sleep with her now than her own mother, God rest her soul.

“Promise you won’t go” Sarah had asked of her.

Rochelle had promised that they could put it behind them and remain unlinked at the office.  There were certainly matters of stature to be considered.  Rochelle didn’t give a shit about stature.  What she didn’t want was everyone knowing she’d fucked her sister.  It was nothing she would ever have done intentionally.  A select few knew.  They kept it that way.

There had been looks at times, looks of smouldering passion.  Like the forbidden fruit was the best Sarah had ever tasted and she wanted more. 

Rochelle had moved on.  Along the Chain she had travelled until she had met Denise.  They had hit it off right away.  There had been no mistaking the look of animosity in Sarah’s eyes when she came to meet them at the bar.

If she couldn’t have you, no one could.

She had asked Rochelle to prove her promise to never leave by asking her to give her her passport for safe keeping.  Rochelle had complied, happy with Denise, no thoughts of dirty deeds in her mind.  If it meant Sarah chilled out then she was more than happy to hand it over.

She had been close to Denise, very close.  She had talked about many things with her.  She knew their link.  But that had only served to make her even more angry when Rochelle had been ‘marked’.  Hindsight being 20/20 Rochelle thought maybe that was exactly the reaction Sarah had been hoping to get out of Denise.  The beginning of the end.

All these things to think about.  All the while all she was really thinking about was Karen.  Karen was very head strong.  Rochelle knew, instinctively
knew
that she would be on her way here.  She’d mentioned a plan.  Rochelle dreaded to think what it was. 

After one of the Chain guardians had left there had been a relatively quiet afternoon spent in front of the TV.  There were two of them here.  When she’d received Karen’s obvious message about being at the apartment another had left.  Rochelle could see how it was shaping up and allowed herself a thin hope that it might just turn out ok.

Then the shit had hit the fan. 

The Chain guardian left, Casey who was still there, had received a call on the room phone.  Someone who knew they were here then.  Mere minutes later there had been a surge of people arriving.  At last count there were 7 guardians and the word on the street was, Steiger was coming, and boy was she
pissed.

That thin hope was crushed.  If Karen came rolling in now she’d get swatted like a fly.

The guardians were all taking turns twitching the curtains to look out onto the parking lot.  Not one of them had taken their jackets off.  They were all dressed like funeral attendees, black jeans, black padded jackets, some had white polo neck shirts, some had black polo shirts.  All of them had guns.

Not one of them was in the room with her though.  She had demanded that if they had to sit guard, they could do it just as well from outside the room, one sat on a chair at the door break so they could see her at all times.

The word that Sarah was upright and taking nutrients didn’t fill her with sisterly love.  She would have the excuse she needed to kill Karen now, just like she had with Denise.  She would never allow Rochelle any happiness if it wasn’t to be with her.

The worst was not knowing what was happening.  She had received messages and answered accordingly.  When she got the message which read:

How many did you say were coming for dinner tonight, I forgot.

She had ran into the bathroom and bolted the door.  Sobbing against her arm she knew her heart wouldn’t be able to take it, not again, she had promised!

She had messaged her back as quickly as she dared telling her not to come.  She’d have no idea that all the clever manoeuvring had been undone, that Sarah Steiger was on her way.  That she would kill them both if she had too.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

“HEY, COME OUTTA THERE!”

She deleted her messages and pocketed the phone.  Flushing the toilet she opened the door, Casey eyed her up and down.

“Stay out here, I’m warning you, Sarah’s on her way. Be ready”

There had been no answer from Karen to say she had got the message.  That she had been slightly remit in her previous endeavours but now remembered her promise.  To not get herself killed.

Maybe Sky could head her off.

She had scooted under the blankets on the bed, tried to make it look like she was watching the television. She had her cell on her chest with the cover making a barricade, she texted Sky.  It hadn’t made her feel any better.  But it had made her feel she’d tried her best.

She sat back and prepared herself for whatever Sarah was going to be like when she got here.  There had probably been a punishment.  Sarah was too high profile to kill, they would have done something nasty to her though.  That was the way of the top ten. 

Rochelle jerked awake.  She’d actually been falling asleep in this room full of goons.  She got the message back form Sky,
Don’t worry, the cavalries coming babe,
and her heart filled with love for her friends.  Sky, who also knew what it was like on the inside to a degree, who had her heart broken by a wandering eye, was coming to her aide.

Rochelle the unlikely princess. 
The guardians would have no reason to hurt Sky, at least she thought not.  She would perhaps be a decoy. 

“You got another message?” the blonde goon came over and she handed over her cell.

Beep, beep, beep
, “Hmpf, oh yeah, hear this, the fucking cavalries coming!” she called over her shoulder, the girls there all laughed.

“Get outta the bed sweetness, if the cavalries coming you need to be ready to greet your company” she pulled a plastic tie grip out of her jacket pocket.

“You are not putting that thing on me”

“Girls” the guardian called over her shoulder and two of them came through.

Rochelle was lifted out of the bed and presented to Casey with her arms behind her.  The tie grip was attached and tightened.

“Now we wait” Casey smiled, the girls went back to the other room where the main room TV was playing Oprah.

Just as she was sitting down in her chair the fire alarm went off.  The shrieking bray filled the room and Rochelle knew it was Karen.  Just as sure as shit rolls downhill.

“Whadda we do?” one of the goons asked Casey.

“We go out, they’ll check all the rooms and this is a bit of a strange arrangement, come on princess, I’ll stand right behind you. We’ll draw less attention if we do like everyone else”

Rochelle couldn’t see them getting on the defensive.  They were treated this as a genuine fire drill.

She cautioned herself to do the same in case this was just a flight of fancy and some dickhead had managed to set fire to his room by plugging a stove cooker in and falling asleep.

She allowed herself to be frog marched out of the room onto the forecourt, a respectable crowd was gathering there.  Karen spotted the group in black immediately and could just see Rochelle.  Not as tall as her captors,
I’m coming Rosh. 

There was a meat head right up behind her.

She shook her arm to wake it up a little and prepared to do the second most stupid thing she had ever done in her entire life.  The first being to have arrived here in the first place.

She pulled her hood up and put her good hand on the butt of the gun.  Without rushing she weaved through the milling people, the alarms shrill cry filling the lot and bouncing off the hills beyond to give it a queer doubling quality.

No fear, no fear, no fear, no fear.

She gave the group a wide skirt, the woman right behind Rochelle probably had an arm on her.  If that was their leader, mores the better in Karen’s book. 

When she was directly behind the Chain guardian she made a beeline right for her, still without rushing she got right up behind her and pulled the gun out, she placed it right in the small of her back.

“Guess who fuck face?”

“Wha…” an arm flailed round and Karen used her abused arm to grab the woman’s waistband.

“This is a real fucking gun stuck in your back and I’ll fucking use it, keep it down”

Amidst the noise and shuffling people they had remained unobserved by the rest of the troupe who were all forwards of Rochelle’s position.

Rochelle’s mouth swung open when she saw that behind her hulking captor, Karen was clinging to her back like a limpet with her hood up.

“Take your hand off her” Karen tiptoed and whispered into the goons ear,

“Rosh, back up” she mock whispered.

One of the goons looked round and Casey flung her hands up.

“She’s got a gun!” half the crowd fell to their knees.

Stealth is not your thing sweetie.  Maybe breathing won’t be for much longer either.

“You’re a fucking idiot Karen!” Rosh yelled over her shoulder.

“Undo that thing on her, slowly angel” Karen tickled Casey’s ear with her breath.  Casey took a penknife from her front pants pocket and opened the blade.  Karen had no idea if anyone was behind her any more, she only hoped it was clear to all these present that they had been holding Rochelle hostage.  A ‘have a go hero’ at this point would be a death sentence.

Casey gently slipped the blade under the plastic bind and cut it. 

“Rosh, run, GO!”

Rubbing her wrists she turned to face Karen.

“No”

“ROCHELLE, NOW!” Karen shouted so hard she felt herself go dizzy, Rochelle came up beside her and took the gun from her hand.

“I said no, you, get over there” she planted a foot in Casey’s ass and sent her sprawling.  Just at that moment, a car, weaving erratically in and out of traffic was hurtling towards the forecourt.

Karen’s strength was ebbing again now, that shout had been the last of her reserves and she was ready to hit the deck.  Rochelle grabbed her arm, it stung like blue blazes but it kept her conscious.

She pointed to the car that was barrelling towards them, “Sarah!” she wheezed.  People were diving left and right, Sarah hadn’t slowed, anyone in the way got knocked up and over the ones behind them.

Chain guardians were pulling weapons now.  Finally their hackles were raised.

Two Chain guardians bounced off the hood and were then run under the tires, guns flying bonelessly from their hands.  Sarah’s face was animated and disjointed.  She looked like she had perhaps had a stroke, her anger so resolute she had finally burst a blood vessel.

Karen weaved on her feet and Rochelle gave her a push.  Rochelle was up on the hood then, safety glass between the two sisters, the pistol on the end of one finger.  There was no sisterly concern on Sarah’s face for the welfare of her sib. 

Karen felt pretty good on the floor.  Like a well earned rest was just what the doctor ordered.  Everything had gone quiet in her head.  The day itself tranquil, clam.  A little sleep was in order.