Descent Into Darkness

by Michael Cross

  After getting information that I knew Katja would be thrilled to receive, I had to make sure. I asked, “What did this Tammy girl look like?” Tiffanie replied, “She looked a lot like your girlfriend in the face – and about the same height so I guess it must be a special Russian look. She also had this cute little tattoo above her left breast of two hearts circled by a ring.” I was tempted to ask about the threesome with the pimp but decided not to. I had established Tamilla had indeed worked there and that she was involved deeper than just being a stripper. There was no need to pry further and either embarrass Tiffanie or make her suspicious.

  I looked at my watch and noticed it was about 3:30 so I thanked Tiffanie for all her help. As I put my clothing back on she joked, “Too bad at this temperature we have to wear clothes at all, yet I guess if nudity was more accepted we would be out of a job, wouldn’t we?” I marveled at the profound observation offered by this simple country girl. I said I would see her later that evening and headed out the door.

  I was anxious to get home, or I should say to get to Katja’s apartment, and share the news. I saw Katja’s car parked in its spot so I assumed she was home, yet when I entered the apartment I found it deserted. I waited impatiently for Katja to return, wondering if she went for a run or something after she returned from her meeting with Alexa. The minutes ticked by. At 5pm I was a little upset, but by 5:30 I was getting both worried and angry. I tried to call but all I got was her messaging. Then, at 6pm the door opened and Alexa and Katja came in laughing, speaking in Russian and holding hands. I walked into the hallway and leaned against the wall looking at them. Katja saw me and said “Hello there!” and smiled, but Alexa looked at me with her characteristic blank stare. The two said a few things in Russian, continued to be in a rather jolly mood, and then kissed each other on the cheeks before Alexa departed.

  I looked at Katja inquisitively as she merely strutted over to me and gave me a huge hug. I asked, “I hope you two had a good time…what exactly took you so long?” Katja shrugged her shoulders and responded, “We just hung out.” I then said, “Oh, okay.” She looked confused as she responded, “Melanie, you can’t think I cheated on you. I did not – really!” I sighed and replied, “Whatever. I have some interesting information I can share while we get ready for work.” Katja rushed to me, “Please, Melanie, you have to believe me…I would not cheat on you. Alexa is nice but I am not interested in her!” I sat at the table and clenched my fists, “Katja, I thought you said you liked brunettes…she is that – and Russian.” Katja sat next to me and tried to take my hands as she pleaded, “Melanie, I can swear to you that I am loyal. Just a second…” she then ran over to her jewelry box and then returned, “…here is a key to my heart. I made this when I was a young girl and I give it to you. The only person who can be close to me will be the one who owns that key, okay?” I looked at the little key – it seemed to be fashioned for art and had little semi-precious gems glued to it. I looked at her, smiled, and kissed the key. Katja immediately grabbed me and hugged me so hard I could barely breathe.

  It felt strange that she was okay letting me have lovers but she was willing to pledge loyalty to me. What made it ironic I suppose was that I felt jealousy at the prospect that someone might be encroaching on my territory. It was all the more primal as I could smell Katja’s perspiration and not only did I enjoy her scent, but I could detect the subtle ways it was different from Nicole’s. In a way this awareness sparked an aggression that I wished I could channel into passion, but such a release would mean there would be no job for us anymore – and it seemed we were getting closer to some truth that involved the Zagriev brothers.

  So as we rushed to make something to eat I told Katja everything that Tiffanie had shared. She was overjoyed to learn that we were making progress. She did not seem all that pleased when I finally shared what Tiffanie had said about the darker aspects of what Tamilla had been involved in. Yet she again vowed to do all it took to find out what had happened to her sister…and find out who had hurt my family.

  When we arrived at work the bar was packed and there were dancers that had not been working the night we had danced. Of course the first thing that caught my eye in the dressing room was that all the girls had somewhat large, but quite attractive, ankle bracelets – each unique, but in my view a modern sort of slave collar. Tiffanie came in and greeted me and gave me the breakdown of how many times we would go on, when the more erotic shows would begin (on Friday and Saturday nights they started at mid-night), and explained how many different outfits we should use on weekends. It seemed Katja and I had to find a couple more changes from the used box.

  While the first dance I performed seemed a bit awkward, I quickly made a come-back once I remembered Tiffanie’s little lessons. As the night advanced I did not care so much about the audience – I turned making tips into a game of sorts. In fact, as I gathered more and more money I became more and more flirtatious with the customers, who were mostly guys, but a couple of women. It began to feel like I was using sexuality as a weapon and I was enjoying this form of manipulation to gain an objective. I found it quite amusing that I could employ psychology to get some guy who worked a tedious job to give up his hard-earned money for something as fleeting as a little attention from a woman without clothing. And as they might have been analyzing me as being some white trash girl with no education or worth except as a fantasy, I was contemplating the possibility of getting a grant to study the dynamics of sexuality involved in this strange business transaction involving displaced reproductive urges in the male of the species.

  As the night wore on I could not help but feel threatened every time I saw Katja and Alexa mingling in the dressing room. The other dancers were merely stage props to me – and they did not seem to notice my presence either. Of course Katja and I were able to exchange glances during the early evening and encourage each other but these moments were brief.

  Once it was beginning to get late, Adlan came back to the dressing rooms and informed everyone that the dual numbers would begin soon. As he was leaving Alexa approached him and said something in Russian to which he gave an evil sort of laugh and left. In a few minutes I realized what she had probably said in that when the lights went on my light and Tiffanie’s flashed at the same time. Tiffanie rubbed my arm just before we went out and said, “Got to make it look real!” and so we began our number. The next few minutes were quite awkward as I knew all her “teasing” was fake, and so whenever I responded all I was doing was faking it as well. It felt weird to say the least, but the audience did not seem to mind. After we finished she said, “Great job!” and we divided the money that had been given in appreciation of our performance.

  Next Katja and Alexa were called up. I glared at Alexa as she pranced out of the dressing room, turned to look at me, and blew me a kiss. I was really getting irritated at her, and envisioned all sorts of nasty things – the least of which might involve a laxative in one of her drinks at the beginning of a busy night. I peeked out of the room to watch their performance…it was a slow song in which it seemed as if Alexa was doing her best to seduce Katja. And while their dance movements were quite graceful, I felt nothing but contempt for Alexa…and maybe a little bit of anger at Katja as well for looking as if she was having a great time.

  For the next hour Katja, Tiffanie and I were supposed to spend time mingling with the audience and getting guys to order drinks. I was quite able to fake taking sips and then just flirting with the men, even though I found them pretty much despicable – not because of how they acted, but the mere fact they thought they were superior to me. I did my best to repress my true feelings as I followed the advice Tiffanie had given me to seduce them out of their money. As the shift ended Adlan came up to me and Katja and took us aside. He asked, “You two available for a private show next Tuesday?” Katja in a frustrated tone answered, “Didn’t you look at the papers Aslan had us fill out? I will be indisposed early next week.” I figured he would find another couple of girls but
he turned to me, “You are still available, that is right?” I was as surprised, as Katja seemed to be, but then she looked at me and, biting at her lip, nodded her head as if as to say I should agree. I stared a moment at her until she sighed, “Go for it!” Adlan, not even waiting for my reply muttered, “Great! See you at 9 on Tuesday. Make note of it.”

  After the shift was over, and we were walking out the door, I asked Katja, “You are okay with me doing a show with someone else on Tuesday?” She motioned for me to hurry and get into the car. When the doors shut she explained, “I am sorry Melanie, I actually hate the idea but we are getting close to something I just know it. Look at our progress so far.” I sat back and sighed, “Yeah, we have come a long way. Oh well, I guess I can pretend to enjoy it.” She then rolled her eyes and giggled nervously, “So who do you think Adlan will pair you off with, the American girl with the enormous breasts?” I sighed again, “No idea. Could we try to change the subject?”

  We then discussed all the things we had uncovered thus far. We knew Tamilla had worked at the club but we did not know what had led to her disappearance and that was crucial to find out if the Zagriev brothers had been responsible for her death. We also needed to find out the relationship to me and the fire. What did these men have to do with the police – especially the one in vice that my son identified with the dead cat? I hoped we would connect all the dots very quickly.

  When we got home I noticed I had left the computer on and I logged in to find a message from Nicole. She had just asked me to call her when I could. Part of me thought about doing the call right then but Katja wrapped her arms around me and began to kiss my neck. Needless to say, Nicole’s call would have to wait.

  When I woke up the next morning Katja was not next to me. I arose and went out to the kitchen to see that she was busy making breakfast. I then noticed the pile of currency on the table and it really took hold that here I was…Melanie Lindberg…a stripper! Yet Katja interrupted the disturbing thought and greeted me with a kiss. She asked, “What do you want to do today? Come on, whatever you want no matter how far out or weird and I’ll do it!” I sat at the table and said, “Well, summer is winding down and maybe we could go to the beach after a quick stop at the tattoo parlor.” She nodded her head, handed me a cup of herbal tea and then began to give me a back rub. While I enjoyed her attention I could not help but wonder if she was keeping something from me – namely what was going on between her and Alexa. I asked, “So, you and Alexa seem to have hit it off really well…if Adlan or one of his brothers asked you would you do a show with her?” She stopped for a moment, gave a little “hmmm” noise and said, “I suppose if it helped in our investigation, but I would not want to.” There was a pause and then she leaped over and got on her knees in front of me, “You do not think she and I are…no, please don’t think that. When I said I was loyal to you I swear I meant it.” I guess I believed her so I pulled her over so her head rested on my lap. At that moment I realized that this girl really did display a loyalty that was rare to find, yet what was I to do with her after this was over? I toyed with the wicked thought that one way to get her out of my life would be to encourage her to pair off with Alexa when things were over but the thought of losing Katja made me dismiss that idea. This was so confusing!

  While we were eating breakfast Katja said that she had earned almost three hundred dollars in tips. I later would find that I had earned only two hundred and sixty. I resolved to try to beat her that evening. When that thought ran through my mind I actually realized I was beginning to enjoy my new occupation. We then began to think about how we could get more information. It was Katja who suggested, “Maybe we need to get to know Adlan and Aslan a little bit more. You know, maybe they will slip up or something and reveal themselves.” I thought a moment and asked, “What if you find out one of them killed your sister, what then?” She froze and said, “Maybe I already believe that, and have to keep it buried inside me every time I see any of the Zagriev brothers. I will do all I need to do to find out.” I then asked, “Would you sleep with one of them?” She practically choked on her cheese sandwich and blurted out, “No way! That is…” she thought a moment, “…okay, if that was absolutely necessary I would.” She then asked, “Would you?” I thought a moment and said, “Only to protect my family.” She reached out and grabbed my hand and raised her eyebrows in a look of sympathy as I indeed wondered if I would actually do such a thing.

  The rest of the day was mainly relaxation. First we went to the parlor to get my fake tattoo looking good again. While there I joked, “You said you would do anything I asked today. What if I asked you to get a tattoo?” She smiled and looked around, “I might do it. Do you want me to?” I thought a moment and then said, “Maybe later. There’s a nude beach just outside of Portland. Want to go?” She eagerly nodded so after the tattoo was touched up we headed for the beach. We did not have to go to work until 7:30 so it was our turn to play. In fact, we found a place in between a mixed group of sunbathers and we took the risk of leaving everything there including the keys, and went for a stroll far down the beach just holding hands and enjoying the walk. Again, I felt a sense of primitiveness with her, especially as we realized that we were at least a mile away from our things. We were so isolated, that even though it was a Saturday, there were times that one could not even see any windsurfers or boaters. As we began to walk back I finally made a decision, although quite an illogical one, and stopped. I looked at her, took both her hands in mine, and asked, “Are you totally serious about us being together permanently?” She did not even hesitate. She perked up, displayed a huge smile and said, “Absolutely!” I then replied, “I wish we had the camera to take a picture that we could look at when we are all wrinkled and remember this moment.” She then leapt into my arms! Thankfully my legs were strong enough to support us as she held me tight.

  When I let her down we sort of just stood there wondering what was next. We decided we should probably get back before our things wound up stolen, although it was doubtful we would have any trouble getting a ride home in our natural state. As we walked back Katja remarked, “I guess this is it then. It is funny how things work out – I just feel a little sorry for my parents as they will never have grandkids.” I grasped her hand tightly and answered, “Yeah, but you can spend all the time you like with my kids.” She smiled and said, “I would enjoy that very much.” The odd thing was that I was already trying to figure out how I could integrate her into my life. Little did I realize how destiny and fate can make even the most logical of planning meaningless – and events in the near future would make that abundantly clear.

  Chapter 12

  That evening at the club seemed just like the night before. We came in and organized the outfits we would wear as the rest of the dancers were busy applying their make-up in the mirrors. The atmosphere in the dressing room was so removed from that in the bar – in fact as highly charged with sexuality as the dance floor was, this area seemed almost un-sexual. It was so phony, so much like women preparing for a play…so unnatural. I took a seat and began to join the other women. I noticed my tan was darker, and I had no line, but I also noticed that the fake tattoo work was much more defined than it had been.

  While I was fixing my lipstick Adlan approached me. He asked in an abrupt manner, “My brother said you will do a performance Tuesday night. Is that correct?” I hesitated a moment and said, “Yes, I can do it.” He then warned, “Good. I will need you here at 6 sharp. You will dance a short shift and you will be ready for performance at 9, you understand?” I said I did. I asked, “So who will be with me?” He grunted, “Does it really matter who she is?” I shrugged my shoulders and he walked out of the room.

  That night was just like the last. The bar was packed and I saw these men merely as potential money. It was not as if I was some poor girl in need of cash, but this was now a competition. And with my attitude of total contempt for the patrons, coupled with my ability to sell myself as some meek little stripper, I bega
n to gather up the rewards quite quickly. Later in the evening when the doubles routine began, Alexa was paired off with one of the other Russian girls, Katja was paired with Tiffanie and I was paired off with another one of the brunette Russians – one that looked as though she was part Chinese. After our performance the crowd went wild and we gathered up our tokens of admiration as we left the stage. The Eurasian girl looked at me, smiled and said, “It was fun!”

  When we were to circulate through the tables that evening, two men motioned me to come and sit with them. Both were distinguished-looking men in their late sixties perhaps, one white and the other black. They both had mixed gray hair and the black man had a slightly receding hairline. They were dressed in nice shirts, the kind with flowery patters one might see in a movie set in Miami. In a way I felt somewhat intimidated as, for some reason, they seemed perhaps a different breed than the other patrons. I just could not put my finger on why I felt this way. While I had been nude since the last dance routine I only noticed it after they called for me to come over. Maybe it was their age or something.

  When I walked over I noticed they were drinking non-alcoholic beverages. I asked if they might like something stronger but the white man shook his head and asked me to sit down. I complied and he took out a one hundred dollar bill and said, “Care to indulge an old guy in a conversation – nothing more?” I said I was more than eager and gracefully picked up the money. He then asked, “You look like you would like a piece of gum.” as he handed me a stick. Normally I would have been worried about what could be on something like this, but as it was tightly wrapped I opened it and put it in my mouth. As I chewed he asked, “So are you one of the Russian girls or American?” I answered him, “Born and bred in the USA. And you?” He replied that he was and then asked, “I hear there are private performances here. Who can I ask about that?” I pointed to Adlan and he nodded his head. He then pulled out a fifty dollar bill and said, “Sorry, the gum isn’t doing it for me. Please spit it out!” I looked behind me for a napkin or something but he asked, “No, in the glass here, okay?” I wondered what kind of fetish he had but I did not care. I spit it into the glass which appeared to please him as his friend just shook his head as if to say “whatever.”