Chapter Thirteen Part TWO

The girls had decided to have a hen party, facials, nails etc., no guys allowed so all the guys, except Miles who was frantically trying to meet a deadline, tossed a coin to decide between clubbing or a movie. Carlos won and they went clubbing. Urs wasn’t really thrilled with the thought but they convinced him he needed a break in his routine, just one guys night while he waited for Honey to come back from wherever she went and send another e.mail.

They hopped from club to club, totally at the mercy of Seb and Carlos, the only two of the Divos who had made a point of visiting every club they could in each city they went to on tour. The Striesand tour had been particularly good for that since they had few concerts on back to back nights.
Not that they ever did anything they couldn’t tell the girls about but it was fun, dancing with different women, flirting harmlessly then going back to the suites to talk to their girls on line.

The last club of the night was supposed to be the one called ‘Carnal Sins’. Carlos claimed that it wasn’t as bad as the name indicated and when they arrived it was to see Simon and Steve just going in the door.

They went in right behind Simon and David called out to him. Within minutes they were all sitting at his reserved booth, ordering from the scantily clad, buxom server.

“Well, this is a rare treat. I didn’t think you lot ever got out without the ball and chain anymore,” Steve teased them as they waited for their drinks.

“Actually it was their idea,” David said with a chuckle. “They’re all doing the facial and manicure things tonight and tomorrow we have to tell them how gorgeous they are…..like that’s going to be difficult.”

“I’ve never understood how such a bunch of ordinary looking guys managed to attract such gorgeous women,” Simon said and was saved from verbal or physical abuse by the arrival of the server.

The music had been silent when they came in and now the DJ came back and started up a set of Latin music that had Carlos’ feet tapping. He gazed around the dimly lit room and saw several women on one of the tiers moving to the music, without partners, and that was it, he was gone.

Over the next couple of hours the place filled, probably over capacity. The servers had a hard time keeping up, the dance floor was packed with writhing bodies and the noise level was deafening.

Urs was alone at the table when a woman sat down beside him in the booth and he turned to politely send her away, not interested in a pick up. But he knew this woman in spite of her curly, newly dyed red hair

“Nicole….”

“Urs, I saw you come in and wanted to come talk to you but this is the first time the others have left you alone. I am so sorry for the way we broke up. You didn’t deserve to be treated like that and neither did your friend. I am truly sorry.”

He was wary, really didn’t believe that she held any remorse. It was more likely that she had an ulterior motive. But it wouldn’t cost him anything to be polite.

“Thanks, Nicole. Have you been keeping busy?” He took a gulp of his Guiness, put it back down and smiled politely at her.

“Sure, you know me, always on the go. I’m here tonight with Connie and two friends. You remember Connie I think. She’s the little blonde in red on the second tier,” She indicated a tier of tables behind him and he turned around to glance that way, after a moment saw Connie and did indeed remember her, one of the ‘friends’ who had hit on him at a party they all attended.

“Oh yes…I remember Connie,” he said as he turned back and looked up with relief as Carlos and Steve wandered through the crowd back to the table.

Nicole left immediately when Carlos sat down without even acknowledging her presence. Steve glanced at him, surprised at his lack of courtesy until Carlos asked Urs what was going on.

“Nothing. Nicole said she wanted to apologize, which I don’t believe. She was only here about 2 minutes.”

The others returned and they finished their drinks, talked about leaving but Urs was laughing and moving to the music and said he wanted to stay a while so they decided on one more round. Carlos and Seb got up to dance again and part way through the next fast track were amazed to see Urs near them on the floor, dancing with a small blonde woman, really rocking and grinning, having a great time.

The music went right into the next track and they wandered through the dense crowd back to the table.

“Do you know where Urs is?” Seb asked as he sat down.

“He seemed a little antsy…went to the lav,” Simon answered as he lifted his drink to his mouth.

Seb shook his head. “Non…he’s out there on the floor dancing like a crazy man with a little blonde.”

“Urs? Are you sure it’s Urs?”

“I saw him too,” Carlos said as he sat down.

“When was Nicole at the table?” Simon asked with a frown, his face deadly serious suddenly.

Steve looked at him. “Oh sh*t…you don’t think?...”

“I do think! I wouldn’t put anything past her.” Simon stood and started scanning the crowd while the singers looked puzzled .

Steve stood as well and leaned over to speak quietly to them.

“Ruffies….she may have slipped Urs a ruffie…..it lowers inhibitions…they call it the date rape drug.”

David pushed the table back and stood on the banquette while the others looked out at the crowd in vain. There were just so many people.

Seb and Carlos melded into the crowd, trying a search on foot but came back in a few minutes without Urs.

Simon pulled his cell out and keyed in his driver/butler, Phil asked him to watch for Urs coming out of the club and to intercept him if possible.

“He might be with a woman, or maybe two, just watch for him Phil. I think he’s been Ruffied.”

He had just clicked his phone closed when David called out.

“I see him…almost at the door…with two guys and two women.”

David leapt into the crowd and began pushing a path through. It wasn’t easy. The fastest route was across the dance floor and out there elbows and feet were flying, bodies were packed tight, not eager to give way to the group trying to reach their friend who they now believed had been drugged. There was no way that Urs would have willingly gone off without them, especially with Nicole and her friends

Finally they broke free of the last of the crowd, pushed out the entrance past the latecomers still in line and raced out to the street.

Simon spotted Phil staggering towards them with his hand to his face and raced over to help him.

“Hurry, they aren’t much ahead of us,” Phil cried out as they reached him and they all piled in Simon’s town car. Steve got behind the wheel as Phil told them what he knew.

“I saw them blokes come out with Mr. Urs between them and two women trotting along, a little blonde and a tall one with red hair. They headed down the street and I yelled and followed, then one of the blokes, the biggest one, he turned and hit me with something hard and down I goes. I saw them getting in a black van, red stripe down the side and Mr. Urs didn’t want to go, he was trying to come see if I was alright but grinning like a fool and they had to sock him one to get him in. Turn left here. I saw them drive away, just when you came out. They can’t be far ahead.”

They drove fast but everyone was watching out the side windows for a glimpse of the van Phil had described and within minutes Seb called out, “Right….. I saw them down the lane on the right!”

Steve screeched to a stop did a three point turn with the long car and sped down the lane on the right. There was no sign of the van. They cruised down to the end and saw nothing, turned around and came back…again nothing.

“Try the alley,” Simon said and Steve turned into the side lane then down the alley and there it was…empty.

They were in an area of cheap bars and hotels, the door that the van was parked in front of had a small hand lettered sign that just said ‘Hotel’ and was unlocked when David tried it.

It opened onto a dimly lit hallway that reeked of illicit smoke and old urine. They could see right to the front of the 3 storey building and further, out the open door onto the street. The light grew brighter as they all filed quietly along the hallway, not speaking, listening carefully, nervous but determined.

The hall opened into a front lobby area, stained, peeling wallpaper on the walls, tiles on the floor that hadn’t seen a mop for a long while and the fattest ****roach any of them had ever seen scuttling across the tiles from under the bench to the swing gate at the tiny desk on the other side. Stairs wound up to the upper floors to the side of the hall and a lift with an Out Of Order sign stood beside it, the door permanently braced open.

Simon strode purposefully to the desk and leaned in to speak to the young man who was sitting on a tilted chair staring a small color TV, watching a porn video. He smiled as his fist closed over the clerk’s shirt and pulled him to his feet, almost pulling him over the narrow counter.

“My friend, there’s two ways we can do this…..I can give you a hand full of money, you can tell me what I need to know and you can go back to watching your educational video or two of my friends here can take you out in the alley and beat on your skinny body until you tell us what you know…and then you get no money.”

Somehow Simon’s quiet, smiling manner seemed more dangerous than if he had yelled and the clerk, tried to smile back.

“What do you need to know….Sir?”

“That’s a good boy….a few minutes ago two men and two women came in, assisting another man. Where did they go?”

“The suite…room 303…they paid earlier.” He handed Simon a key without being asked.

Simon looked surprised then amused. “She followed you guys until she saw her chance, the devious *****.” He patted the clerk on the cheek then thought of another question. “Is there a phone in the room?”

The clerk shook his head then answered, wanting very much to avoid going to the alley. “No, sir…just the lights and camera stands….”

“Of course. I want you to sit down now and watch your video. Phil is going to keep you company until we come back down the stairs and then you aren’t going to see us, just the money we will leave on the desk, right here.” Simon patted a spot on the counter, nodded at Phil who put his hand in his jacket pocket and leaned against the wall, staring at the young man.

“Let’s go….quietly,” Simon said to the group of men and they all started up the stairs, trying to be very careful about noise, especially when they went up the last flight of dirty stairs.