by S. J. Lewis
“I’m saving you the trouble of finding a place to park,” Ron said. It was a little before noon, and there weren’t many other people out. That would change soon.
“There’s a parking lot right across the street from them.”
“I’ll bet it’s expensive.”
“Yeah, well, so what? The company’d pay for it.”
“This is good exercise.”
“You want the exercise, not me,” Lisa pointed out. “And what’s the point of getting some exercise before you go exercising?”
“It’s good for you,” he replied. “Like a warm-up. It gets your heart pumping, your blood flowing…”
“Your nose freezing,” Lisa interrupted grumpily. “I don’t feel warmed up at all.”
“Look, once you get me there you’re free for a couple of hours. Go have a long lunch or something and pick me up at two-thirty.”
“Not likely,” Lisa shook her head. “That was a Hell of a big late breakfast you cooked up. I’m not hungry now, and I won’t be until dinnertime. Pretty good cooking, by the way.”
“Thanks. So go see a movie or something.”
“No way,” she said. “There’s nothing out now worth seeing that I haven’t already seen. Anyway, how do you think you’re going to pay them?”
“I’ve got money.”
Lisa fished around in a pocket of her jeans. She pulled something out and flourished it under his nose. “Ta-da!” she grinned. “Company credit card. They’re paying. And as long as they’re paying, I’m going to take advantage of their facilities too.”
“I thought you didn’t want any exercise.”
“Foolish male,” Lisa’s grin was wicked. “I don’t, especially, but after I work up a sweat I get to wash it off in the women’s locker room.”
A little old lady picking her way along the sidewalk stopped and turned at the sound of Ron’s laugh. She saw the big black man and the skinny little white girl walking side by side, the girl cuddled up close to him, smiling. He was old enough to be her father, maybe. She shrugged and went on her way. It was none of her business.
Since they were in an older part of the city, he’d half-expected Mommsen’s to be in a big old brick edifice, dark walls and poor lighting inside, with the smell of decades of effort and sweat in the background. Instead, he found himself looking at a gleaming three-story construction of steel and glass. Inside, on the ground floor, he could see a few men working out on state-of-the-art machines.
“I don’t see any women,” he said to Lisa.
“They’re on the second floor,” she smiled. “Women don’t like men gawking at them while they exercise.”
He looked up. The glass walls on the second floor were all hung with dark red drapes up to what looked like neck level of anyone up there.
“It looks a lot newer than I’d thought.”
“Oh,” Lisa waved a hand. “The original building burned down about four years ago. It was in the middle of winter, really, really frigid, and the water the fire department used froze solid all over everything. They had to close off the street for a week until they could get it cleaned up.”
“What was the old building?”
“I dunno,” Lisa shrugged. “Some kind of furniture warehouse, I think. C’mon, let’s go in. I’m freezing my ass off out here.”
It was just as Lisa had said: Mommsen’s rented out their facilities by the hour. He stayed by the counter until Lisa had gone off upstairs.
“Isn’t it kind of unusual to run a gym this way?” he asked the clerk. He was an overmuscled young man in gray sweat pants and a tight, tight t-shirt in dark red. His hair was cut so short that it might have been easier for him just to shave himself bald. His nametag read: “Jason”.
“Yeah, it is,” Jason nodded. “Our main business is still year-long membership contracts, but since we started the hourly stuff we’ve gotten a lot of people coming in during slack times. It wouldn’t pay the bills all by itself, but it’s a nice little extra source of income.”
“Do you get much lunch hour traffic?”
“We get anywhere up to twenty, depending on the weather.” Jason looked out at the street. “I don’t think we’ll be getting many today. Too cold out.”
“Suits me,” Ron shrugged. “The lockers are over that way?”
“Yeah, just around the corner there. The guests’ lockers are through the doorway to the right. The members’ lockers are to the left. The showers are all the way in the back. Have a good one.”
“Thanks.”
Once in the ‘guests’ locker room, Ron changed into the shorts and t-shirt he’d brought with him in a small gym bag. He’d worn his own sneakers for the walk here, so there was no need to change his shoes. The lockers were small. They worked the same way as at a bus terminal, but there was no need to feed coins into them. It was a nice touch. He put his street clothes and gym bag into locker number 23, locked it, and took the key with him. The key was another nice touch. It was on a small chain just the right size to hang around your neck. He tucked the key under his t-shirt as he left the locker room for the gym.
There was a short line of five or six men signing in at the counter when he came out. It must be lunchtime. He went over to the weights. Lifting took a lot of physical effort, but left his mind free. It was just what he wanted right now. He had a lot of thinking to do. He figured he’d start with the free weights and work his way up to heavier stuff. He noticed two of the gym staff circulating through the area. They had to be staff. They were both young men, dressed in gray sweat pants and dark red shirts like Jason’s. They looked fit, but nowhere near as bulked up as the clerk.
He chose a couple of twenty-five pound weights and started curling, one arm at a time. He hadn’t really exercised for a while, so it was a good idea to start small. While his body was thus occupied, he could let the problem of Elizabeth Anne occupy his mind.
He kept thinking about how she’d looked on those tapes, what she’d said and how she’d said it. It was apparent that the story about the pirate had made her start thinking about damsels in distress. She might have had some thoughts along those lines earlier, but the pirate story gave her a hook to hang things on. It was interesting that she’d gone from the pirate to an outlaw or a warrior as the man who would carry her off. It made sense to him. She’d seemed annoyed by the pirate’s lack of initiative. If she’d grown up in west Texas an outlaw or a warrior would be more appealing than an indecisive buccaneer. There might even be some old family stories that she could use for background material for her fantasies.
He put the free weights down and went over to a bench. One-fifty ought to be more than enough to press this afternoon. He could go higher, but he wasn’t here for a regular workout. As he got into position, one of the staff came over.
“Need a spot?” he asked. The name on his tag was “Jack”.
“I should be okay,” Ron answered. “But thanks.”
“Okay,” Jack nodded, looking at Ron’s arms and chest. “You look like you’ll be fine. Just give a holler if you need anything.”
“I will. Thanks again.”
Jack wandered off to see if any of the other men needed help or advice. Ron settled in to a slow routine.
It was interesting that Elizabeth Anne’s fantasies seemed limited to one man taking her for himself and making it stick even if he was the leader of a gang or a war party. It wasn’t unusual for a woman to fantasize that way. In his line of work, though, he usually encountered women who started out at that point and then added fantasies of being taken by a gang or by slavers. Those kinds of fantasies actually made his job easier, since a woman could enjoy sex more times a day than one man could manage. Elizabeth Anne, though, seemed to definitely be a one-captor woman. Even if the opportunity came for one of the company’s teams to snatch her off the street, having more than one man in on it was something she wouldn’t go for. He thought back to when she’d said she’d bitten a man who’d ignored her protests during oral sex. She’d b
een very matter-of-fact about it. The thought gave him a shudder. If she didn’t like something, it was certain that her partner wasn’t going to like it either, one way or another. Even if…no, even when he found a way to bring her in himself he would have to be clever and careful. The clever and careful part would come later. Right now, he had to think of a way to bring her in.
He couldn’t play the part of a warrior, even though he’d once been a soldier. This was the city, and warriors wouldn’t fit in at all. Outlaws did, but he didn’t think she’d be looking for some gangsta type, all strut and loud arrogance. She wouldn’t be looking for a criminal type either. That was fine by him. He wouldn’t feel right posing as one of those anyway. So what did that leave him?
He thought back to the few westerns he’d read when he was a boy, and the handful of old western movies he’d seen that seemed relevant to his dilemma. The outlaws weren’t always hardened criminals. Sometimes, they even turned out to be the heroes. So, how could he turn himself into a citified version of one of them?
He moved from one piece of equipment to another, pacing himself and thinking. Different possibilities came to his mind. He rejected each of them in turn for various reasons, and went on to the next. He had just finished his last set when he finally came up with something that could very well work. He turned it over and over in his mind, trying to find the flaw he’d missed. When he was satisfied that there was no flaw, no false note, he got up and headed for the showers.
Lisa was waiting for him by the front counter when he came out. Jason was still manning the desk. He seemed to be trying to hit on Lisa, and having very little luck.
“There you are!” Lisa beamed when she saw him coming. She ran towards him and threw her arms around him. “You’ve kept me waiting forever!” she said, loudly enough for Jason to hear. “Get me out of here and away from this muscle-bound idiot, will you?” she went on in a whisper. “He’s too dim to take a hint.”
“Sorry, darlin’,” Ron grinned and slapped her lightly on her rump. She yelped. “I just lost track of the time.” He looked at Jason and smiled. Jason returned the smile, nodded, and suddenly found something urgent to do with the computer.
“That wasn’t necessary,” Lisa said as they stepped out into the street. It seemed even colder outside now. The air had a heaviness to it that could mean that snow was coming.
“You’re right,” Ron agreed. “But it was fun. What was that little act of yours about, anyway? He saw us come in together. Hell, he checked us both in. He knew you were with me.”
“Yes, and he kept trying to convince me that a younger man would have more stamina anyway. He wasn’t creepy about it, but he was too damned persistent, and all the time I had to just hang around, waiting for you.”
“Why didn’t you just tell him you were into girls?”
“Right. After he saw me come in with you? He wouldn’t’ve believed that at all.”
A gust of wind blasted down the street and she tried to put him between it and her again.
“So,” she said, changing the subject, “How did it go? You think up a plan?”
“Yes, I did,” he told her. “How did it go for you? Get any phone numbers?”
“As if,” Lisa sighed. “Only half a dozen secretaries there, all starting to spread a little from all the sitting they do. None of ‘em were my type. We going back to your apartment now? Please tell me we are.”
“Yes, but only because now we need the car.”
“We could have driven here. I told you that.” Lisa sounded aggrieved.
“I needed a walk,” Ron shrugged. “I’ve been cooped up in that little place for too long.”
“All right,” she sighed. “What do we need the car for?”
“Is there a limit on that company credit card you’re carrying?”
“No. I don’t think so.”
“Good. First I need to go to a barber. Then we need to find a place that sells men’s suits. It doesn’t have to be top of the line, but it does have to be better than average. After that, we go to a shoe store.”
Lisa looked up at him. She looked very puzzled. “What kind of plan did you come up with?”
“I’ll tell you later. Can you find those places for me?”
“I can. Man, you’ve got me really curious now.”
***
“Well?” He turned around slowly in his new suit so Lisa could make a judgment. It was a tan color, three-piece, beautifully cut, and it fit him perfectly.
“Looks okay to me,” Lisa shrugged. “The sneakers kinda spoil the effect, though.”
“We’ll take care of that next,” he grinned. He regarded himself in the full-length mirror. No doubt about it, the suit looked great on him. He’d need another one, of course, in a different color, and some dress shirts, and a couple of ties.
“This is really weird,” Lisa commented. “A girl watching a guy model clothes. And why did you have that barber shave your head, anyway?”
“Didn’t you hear?” he asked, still admiring himself in the mirror. “Bald is sexy.”
“Oh, yeah, right,” Lisa nodded. “That’s why bald guys are on the covers of all those romance novels.”
He laughed. “I don’t have time to grow flowing locks, and I don’t think they’d flow very well anyway, even if I did.” He ran his hand over his head. It felt as smooth as a bowling ball. He’d have to keep it that way now. It shouldn’t be too difficult. “This I could do right away, and it stands out.”
“You kinda stand out anyway,” Lisa commented. “I mean, what are you, six-five, six-six? You almost look like one of those pro wrestlers.”
“Six-four,” Ron said. “Is that supposed to be another one of your odd compliments?”
“Yeah,” Lisa grinned. “Can we go now?”
“Not just yet. Where did that clerk get to?”
“I think he’s helping that gorgeous woman who came in to get her boyfriend a tie for a present. Want me to drag him over here for you?”
“Think you can?”
Lisa stood and smiled sweetly up at him. “I may be into girls,” she said. “But I know how to get a guy’s attention. Give me a minute.”
She walked away slowly, putting one foot directly in front of the other, like a model on a runway. He noted how well filled out her jeans were, and how much hip action was going into her stride. He turned away to look at his reflection again.
***
“So, what’s the plan, boss?” Lisa asked as she took another swig of beer from her bottle. They were back at his apartment, sitting at the miniscule table in the kitchen, eating Chinese takeout. “A topcoat, two suits, four shirts, two pairs of shoes and half a dozen ties? How is this going to bring in whatsername? You think maybe she’s a cross-dresser?”
“It really bugs you, not knowing what I’m planning to do, doesn’t it?” Ron teased her. He dug around with his chopsticks in the white cardboard container and pulled out the last shrimp, glistening with tangy sauce. It tasted great.
“You dragged me around over half the city today,” Lisa sniffed. “I think I deserve to know.”
“To be honest, I can’t tell you because I don’t have a whole plan figured out. I think I know how to do it, but I’ll need to gather a little more intelligence before I can make my move. I’m really going to need your services tomorrow.” He paused as she looked at him warily. “As a driver,” he concluded.
“Well, that I can do.” Lisa put down her beer and swirled her fork around in what was left of her chicken chow mein. She yawned hugely, covering her mouth with her free hand. “What time do you want me here tomorrow?”
Chapter Seven
When he heard the knock at his door, he checked his watch. If it was Lisa, she was right on time.
“Come on in,” he called out from the kitchen. He couldn’t see the door from where he was sitting, but he heard it open slowly. The hinges needed a little oil. He preferred them to stay noisy.
“Hello?” It was Lisa’s voice.
“You really shouldn’t leave your door unlocked here,” Lisa said as she came into the kitchen. She was back in her chauffeur’s uniform, complete with a peaked cap. She was carrying a bag from the donut shop on the corner. “It’s dangerous.”
“I had it locked up until five minutes ago,” he replied. “Anyway, if someone did try to come in while I was here, what do you think they’d be able to do?”
She plopped the bag down on the kitchen table and then plopped herself down in the chair opposite him. She regarded him for a moment.
“Not much, I guess, unless the creep had a gun. They do carry guns sometimes, you know.”
“I know. But a gun isn’t a magical thing that somehow gives special powers to whoever carries it. It’s the person carrying the weapon who might or might not be dangerous.”
“No philosophical discussions, please,” Lisa winced. “I see your point. I’m sure anyone who tangled with you would be sorry about it afterwards. I brought breakfast.” She waved at the bag. “I didn’t know what you’d prefer, so I brought you a selection.”
“Very thoughtful. Get yourself some coffee. I need to pick your brain a little.”
Lisa got herself a mug of coffee with a sprinkling of sugar and a couple of drops of half-and-half and sat down again. She took off her cap and set it on the counter.
“You aren’t hungry?” she asked. He hadn’t touched the donuts.
“Sorry. I was thinking.”
“Mind if I…?” she asked.
“Go right ahead.”
She reached into the bag and took out a chocolate-covered chocolate donut. She bit into it with evident relish. He looked into the bag and picked a cruller. He took a bite. It was fresh, still warm, and very good.
“So what’s your question?” Lisa asked around a second mouthful of chocolate excess.
“What time of day does our subject usually leave her hotel?”
“Anywhere between eleven and one,” Lisa shrugged. “Usually close to noon, though. Why?”