The Big Bad

by Phil Beloin Jr.

  "Yea, you look like the temperature in hell is breaking through the top of the thermometer."

  "What time is it?"

  "Nine or so."

  "Too early," I said.

  I sat up a little bit. Bad idea. I burped and held my guts in.

  "There’s dried stuff all over your shirt," she said.

  "Got sick last night."

  "Serves you right."

  "Just a bad dream."

  "Were you thrashing Teddy in it?"

  The sun rose another notch and bored holes into my eyes. "Let me have your glasses."

  She put them on my face. "I gotta go get ready," she said, and then headed for the stairs.

  "How is Teddy?" I said.

  She turned around, her eyes clenched tight against the glare. "Like you care."

  "I asked, didn’t I?"

  She returned to the lounge chair with a little swing to her hips that didn’t quite reach her shoulders. Pulling out a chair, she sat across from me. "Actually, I’m glad you did."

  "Well, have you seen him this morning?"

  "Uh-huh. Besides a fat lip, I’d say you broke his nose."

  "That ain’t too bad then."

  "That ain’t too good, either."

  "Believe me, it could have been worse."

  She leaned forward in the chair. "Can I ask you something?"

  "Shoot."

  "What got into you?"

  I let out a deep breath. "I don’t wanna talk about it."

  "Hey, you aren’t some thirteen year-old kid talking to his mammy here."

  I pulled out a cigarette and put it unlit in the corner of my mouth. "I thought it would make me feel better."

  "I didn’t know you were feeling bad."

  "I was."

  "Well, did it make you feel better?"

  "When I was working for Irv, and the tension, the stress, built up, violence was an outlet, you know?"

  "Not at all, Nick."

  "This time, afterwards, I felt worse."

  What I didn’t tell her, I felt even worse this morning. Three years out of the trade, and I had grown a conscious.

  She leaned away now, jutting her chest back, giving me a good view. "So there’s hope for ya," she said.

  Had she been reading my mind? "You think?"

  "You stopped beatin’ on him, didn’t you?"

  "Because it was you asking."

  Her lips moved up into a small grin. "It’s weird, but when I went into the bathroom, saw you two in the tub, I thought with you having a hard-on, it was ..." She let it hang.

  "What?"

  "Rough sex or something."

  "No."

  "Let me finish. So when I saw you punching and kneeing him, I was almost relieved. I got nothing against homosexuals, but, you know what I mean."

  "Yea, I get you."

  "I was taken aback and turned on at the same time," she said. "Very strange."

  "I’m not going to hurt Teddy anymore," I said. "Making fun of him, I was just trying to be intimidating, superior, like back in the day."

  "Good. I’m glad you realize your…ah…foolishness. It would make me happy if you and Teddy got along. He’s still my friend, despite our differences."

  "Let me ask you one other thing.”

  “Shoot.”

  “What’s with the cowgirl outfit?”

  Eddie stepped up the stairs to the deck. "We’re ready in the barn, baby," he said. "I’ll need you as soon as possible."

  “I’m coming too,” I said, wanting to see the drug works.

  “No way,” he said. “Teddy’s there and with what happened last night, I’m keeping you two apart.”

  "Then we could just show Nick what we’re doing," Pam said.

  "Ah, come on," he said.

  "He’s curious and I don’t blame him. You brought some stuff up, right?"

  "Of course, I did."

  "Then go get it," Pam said. "He’s gonna find out anyway. I mean, he’s right here."

  Eddie thought at that. "Yeah, I suppose. I’ll be right back," he said and went into the cabin.

  22

  Kareem had picked up Irv in Nova and the limo moved along the back roads until reaching the highway near the capital. From there, they took the same route as Nick had done three mornings ago, parking in almost the exact same spot as the Beast.

  Michelle had stayed the night and through the morning, hoping Eddie might stop by his office, but opening the back door to the limo, she informed Irv that she hadn’t seen him. The downstairs door was unlocked and the three ascended the stairs to office 2B, Irv walking funny on the bad knee.

  Irv stopped by the glass door and rapped on it. He waited a moment and tried the handle. It didn’t move. He looked around the hall in each direction, saw no one, and spoke to Kareem.

  "Open it," he said.

  Kareem had burglary tools and popped the lock in seconds. He, too, opened the door while looking for alarm buttons.

  "It’s clean," he said.

  They went in, Michelle pulling and then holding her pistol by her side. Kareem had a pen light and swung it around the waiting area, landing on the desk.

  Irv told Michelle to go through the desk. Then he pointed to the door that led to the back of the office and Kareem lead the way. They heard Michelle rummaging through the draws, dumping them on the floor.

  Irv looked in the room where Nick had smelled the chemical odor. Now the smell had faded to a minor annoyance. He flipped a switch, noticed the empty countertops. Kareem was trying to open cabinets. They were locked, but didn’t stand up to a pick. Kareem saw picture slides in plastic cases and handed the top one to his boss. Irv held it up to the light. Two girls in college garb eating each other out. Jesus, he had lent ten gees to a pornographer. The bastard should have plenty of money to pay him back. A phone message reverberated down the hall, Irv hearing it clearly—a female wanting to schedule an appointment for Eddie’s special session.

  Irv looked at more of the slides, the same two gals going at it.

  "Ah, Irv," Kareem said. "You best look at this."

  The chauffeur had checked out a different cabinet. He handed a sheet over to Irv.

  Irv peered at it, couldn’t believe what he saw. He saw Pam through the layers of plastic.

  Then he heard Pam’s voice. The air whooshed out of him, like he had been crossed-checked in the back. Using a hand, he steadied himself from falling.

  It’s just the answering machine, man. Michelle’s playing it.

  But that didn’t make it any easier.

  "Hey, Eddie, it’s me. Where the hell are you? I tried you at home and you weren’t there. Now you’re not at the office. I’m here at the cabin tending to things. I can’t do all this shit by myself. You were supposed to be here first. I’m getting a little worried, you know? I’m in town using a payphone so don’t call this number back. My cell phone doesn’t have a signal on the mountain, either. Okay? Bye."

  2 3

  Eddie dropped an imitation leather book on my lap.

  “Here,” he said.

  Eddie pulled out a chair and sat next to me. Pam lingered by the table.

  "This, Nick, is a culmination of my life’s work," Eddie said. And then he opened to the first page for me.

  I wasn’t expecting what I saw— Pam’s beautiful naked body splayed on a bed, her head tilted back in ecstasy, nipples firm, her wetness visible to the naked eye.

  "He’s speechless," Pam said.

  "Everybody is at first," Eddie replied. "What do you think, Nick, old boy?"

  I was stunned. A shudder worked its way up my spine. I took my breakfast beer and reared my neck back for a swallow. Then I looked over at Pam. She cracked a smile and lifted her shoulders.

  "You got that right, baby," Eddie said. "He’s nonplussed. Come on, Nick, turn the page, look at some more."

  Eddie turned the page for me. I saw a series of photos like the first one. The shoot had taken place in North Chester. I recognized the bed and State un
iversity props from Eddie’s office.

  "I love art," Eddie said. "It’s kinda...special. There!" He pointed to a particularly graphic photo. "You see the shaft of light, how it just shows the lips of the vagina? Wow! And this one here? Look how I chose the perfect shutter speed to freeze her exploring finger."

  "You got a knack there, Eddie," Pam said. "I got to admit that."

  "What’s this?" I said, pointing to a photo. "Right between her legs."

  "That’s a double pronged dildo, buddy," he said.

  "Oh, really?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "Who’s holding it there?” I said.

  "I believe," Eddie said, ignoring my question, "that every person’s duty is to leave a record of their feelings, their thoughts about their life on this strange planet of ours. Art is the only way to express that."

  "And there can be a lot of money in porn," Pam said.

  "There’s something peculiar about all art, Nick," Eddie went on. "Whether it be painting or sculpting. I ... I can’t put it into words really."

  "What people get off to in the privacy of their own homes on their computers, is none of our business," Pam said.

  "We need some photos of a randy cowgirl for this online magazine I’m gonna start with Teddy’s help," Eddie said.

  "Ah,” I said.

  "So we came up here cuz Pam told me about the barn," Eddie said. "Well, it’s off to work with my star."

  He got to his feet while I finished my liquid breakfast.

  "Hey, wait a minute," I said.

  "Yes, Nick?" Eddie said.

  "Have you thought about what’s gonna happen if Irv sees these pictures?" I said. "He has this illusion that the Almighty has sent him Pam to deflower."

  "I asked Pam about that," Eddie said. "It’s obviously a concern of mine."

  "Irv doesn’t know a foot long dick about computers," she said.

  "Yeah, I didn’t even see one in his office," I said.

  "See?" Pam said. "I never saw one either. Irv probably doesn’t even know what the Internet is. Must be all those hockey pucks that bounced off his skull."

  "He always wore a helmet," I replied.

  "So what?" Pam came back. "He’s almost as bad as that…oh, what’s his name?"

  She moved away from the table, shaking her limbs and staggering around like a punch drunk.

  "Don’t make fun of pugilists, baby," Eddie said.

  She kept on going, moving in a swaying circle. “I’m boxing, see me?”

  "That’s uncalled for, baby. I mean it now!"

  "Oh, lighten up, Eddie," she said, returning to her chair.

  "Thank you," he said.

  "Sometimes you have no sense of humor," she said.

  But Eddie had returned his attention to me. "Someday, Nick, I want to publish my own print magazine. That’s been a dream of mine since I was a little boy. Other kids wanted to be policemen and firefighters, but I’ve always wanted to be a pornographer. It’s had a grip on me since I first masturbated to a skin mag when I was five years old."

  "Really, Eddie, Nick doesn’t care," Pam said.

  "Whatever, baby," he said. "Now let’s get started before the light changes. I’ll leave that album with you, Nick."

  Eddie took Pam by the hand.

  "Hold on," I said.

  "Now, now, Nick, you can’t be watching," Eddie said. "We went through that."

  "But, Eddie, we could use an extra worker bee on set," Pam said.

  "Teddy’s plenty," he said.

  He took her by the hand and led her down the stairs. Pam leaned over her shoulder and winked at me.

  Turning through the album, my shock turned to excitement. No wonder Irv wanted her back. The girl had a perfect body, nary a blemish or flaw. As I flipped through the pages a second time, my hard-on never flinched. Pretty good for a drinking man.

  I closed the album to make the pulsing in my crotch go away. I lit another smoke. The three of them had been out back for over a half-hour now. Plenty of time for Eddie to have found the proper f-stop. I had to see what it was like. I went through the cabin to the sliding door feeding out back. I stepped outside, seeing a light stand holding a large white card behind the back end of the barn. Pam danced into view, topless, and I zeroed in on her jiggling ovals, while she strolled about. Did she know I was there? She never looked towards the cabin before going back into the barn.

  I walked onto the lawn, my steps slow and indecisive. I had never acted like that before. If I wanted to do something, I did it without thinking about the consequences.

  But ain’t there always consequences, Nick?

  I was about halfway across the gap between the barn and the cabin when the Rottweiler came charging out of the barn doors, heading right at me. Its teeth were bared and a streak of white foam sprayed from his mouth as he barked. Running like a cheetah on fire, his black and tan coat glistened in the sunlight.

  I turned and bolted for the sliding door, my curiosity of the shoot replaced by raw fear. I reached for my gun, but once again, I had awoken hungover and misplaced my rod.

  Looking over my shoulder, I believed that was the fastest animal there ever was. I figured I’d be having nightmares of a feral, rabid canine and a prancing naked princess. The only drama; would the dog get me before I got Pam.

  I reached the back door, the dog about an inch away from tearing me to nothing. If he locked his jaws on any part of me, there was no getting them opened. My hands didn’t fumble the handle. I slid it open, hopped in, and closed it all in one motion. The Rottweiler banged into the glass—almost broke through it—staggered, regained his composure and began howling, looking madder than ever.

  I could see Eddie peeking around the barn grinning like a sly cat.

  24

  Irv sat in the back of the limo, dialing his cell phone. He was flipping pissed. Not just at himself, either. Oh, that bitch had played him all right, but she had fucked over the wrong dude. A virgin? Hell, she’d let anyone see the good stuff. God damn whore, was what she was. And I still couldn’t get any head.

  A raspy voice filtered through Irv’s cell.

  "Yeah?"

  Irv remembered—the guy was a heavy smoker. "Tom Boy?"

  "You called me."

  "Irv Marquette here."

  "You out of the slammer so soon?"

  "Yeah, and I got a job for you. Meet me in the office in an hour."

  25

  I saw another case of beer—light colored cans—had appeared in the bottom of the fridge. Good, I didn’t feel like driving down the mountain and looking for a liquor store. Hell, I couldn’t even get to my car. The Rottweiler was patrolling the back yard like a possessed beast, sprinting back and forth in a zigzag pattern. I’d hurt the bastard if he ate Van Gogh.

  The .45 was stashed in my overnight bag, which I had left in the john. I checked the clip, it was still loaded, and brought the weapon into the kitchen. I thought about plugging the dog, but what if the gunshot was heard? We didn’t need anybody nosing around the cabin right now—not with what was happening behind the barn.

  I stared out the kitchen window, downing several watery light beers and not getting even a tiny buzz. Occasionally, I’d see Teddy adjusting the light stand or exchange the card for a different piece of equipment from one of Eddie’s metal cases. All the while, the dog maintained its mad patrol. Oh, Eddie was screwing with me again.

  I hit the sofa and stared up at the logs forming the peek in the roof. I counted the support beams, eight in all, and then the A-frames perched in the corner…of my bedroom. Mona and Lisa sat on my bed. I thought; they’re still alive. Their mouths were moving but I couldn’t make out what they said.

  I jumped up. Pam was standing over me.

  "You’re a little nervous," she said.

  "Occupational hazard," I said.

  "You were sleeping again."

  "Was I?"

  "You’re kinda cute when you’re sleeping," she said. "But, I must be fair, you’re kinda cute when y
ou’re awake, too."

  "I can’t believe I fell asleep."

  "It’s well past noon Nick and we’re done for the day. Eddie and Teddy are wrapping the set."

  She was still wearing the tight cutoffs and plaid shirt, though it wasn’t tied into a knot, but tucked in. I didn’t know what she had done with the cool cowboy hat. I reached up and removed a piece of straw from her hair.

  "Occupational hazard," she smirked. "Move your feet, let me sit."

  I sat up and she sat down. Side by side now. I could smell the sweat on her body, see moist patches of pinkish skin. The strawberry strands in her hair looked darker, almost blush colored.

  "Wooo, I’m damp and tired," she said.

  "You look it."

  "It’s like a workout doing that stuff in this heat."

  "You need a smoke?"

  "Yea, thanks for offering."

  I got two going, and we worked on them, Pam taking long inhales, her breasts swelling with each puff. She blew the smoke out sideways, the bluish curls hanging low in the air, caught in the stuffy confines of the cabin.

  She wasn’t wearing a bra and I had a good look of cleavage, which looked like an ass crack. I wanted to lick a line between her tits right to those perfect, wet lips.

  "I know what you’re thinking," she said as smoke rushed from her mouth.

  "You do?"

  "You want to know what it’s like posing sans clothing.”

  Ah, close enough, I thought. "Can you blame a honest guy for wanting to know?" I said.

  "Does it..." She paused staring at the tip of the cigarette. "I don’t know, bother you?"

  "Hell, baby," I said.

  "It can be sorta’ like a barrier in some ways."

  "Whatta’ ya talking about?"

  "To a normal, healthy, mutually fulfilling relationship."

  "No way," I said. "I don’t see it like that at all."

  "You know, most people wake up in the morning hating to go to work," she said. "Dreading the commute, dealing with the boss, co-workers, or customers all day. But not me. I get this spark before we start. A total adrenaline kick."

  "I get what you’re saying."