Escape Work

Chapter 21

Trent pulled his pants on sluggishly, not bothering to avoid the eyes of the girl. She laid on the bed with an old blanket pulled up to her chin in a misguided attempt at modesty. Her dark hair tangled on the pillow around her as a cigarette burned between her fingers. It was equal parts relaxation and nervousness.

A look of expectation crossed the girl's face, and Trent frowned. She wasn't one of the w****s that usually frequented the room. He had picked her up on the dance floor, and they made their way upstairs as a matter of course. He didn't think she was expecting payment, but he could have been wrong. Perhaps she wanted some recognition after what they had just done, but Trent couldn't bring himself to care.

He shut the door solidly behind him and made sure his pockets contained what they should. Everything was there, including the two tabs of ecstasy Crazy Pete had given him when he left. Crazy Pete had given Lex a few extra in order to supply Bobby with something to play with, too. How the guy had known about Bobby, Trent didn't know.

Bobby ate his pills and disappeared into the mass of people spinning wildly to the techno music the instant Lex put them in his hands. Trent slid his pills into his pocket, though, and thought Lex did the same. It was normal for Lex to save his drugs for later, but Trent wondered at his own reluctance to get high on Crazy Pete's turf. In spite of his being hired on, he didn't feel comfortable compromising his consciousness in the building.

His eyes crept up from his feet to look at the scenery of Crazy Pete's hell hole. It was exactly as it had been before. Junkies lying around and girls in the corner staring at him with hate. Okay, the hate was new. Apparently they didn't appreciate someone they didn't know using their rooms. Trent showed his teeth in what he seriously doubted looked like a smile and walked through the slim corridors left open between the little cubicles of junkies.

None of the sickly individuals leaped up to grab him, in spite of his proximity and their superior numbers. They couldn't be seen attacking one of Crazy Pete's people. Now that he had been seen going upstairs, they knew he was in the loop. They were given shelter on the crime lord's allowance and nothing more. They weren't going to jeopardize it for a few bucks they weren't even sure a guy had.

It was past time to leave the nuthouse. Trent hit the stairs fast, wanting to leave before something went horribly wrong. Bobby was probably downstairs dancing on the DJ's table after being robbed of everything he owned, and Lex was surely sulking in a corner and cursing Trent. Lex's past was still an amazing development. His friend had always had a sixth sense about things when it came to people. It was an ability most criminals acquired over time, but Trent never made the connection. It didn't change anything about how he saw his friend, though.

He wasn't surprised to see Lex sitting on the bottom step of the stairwell. His friend's back was turned and his phone was jammed against his head while holding a finger in his other ear so he could hear over the screaming techno. Just as Trent came level with him Lex ended the call and looked up.

The expression of surprise on Lex's face when he saw him just three steps above him had Trent laughing before he could say 'hi'. When the surprise faded away, Lex's expression bore the remnants of having just been through an argument of some kind that had been less than pleasant.

“Where's Bobby?!” Trent had to scream over the pounding music even though the distance between them could have been measured in inches.

Lex didn't respond, he had been around too many loud parties to waste his time screaming over the noise. Instead, he pointed toward the floor that held dozens of people packed together and squirming in time with the music.

Trent groaned, but realized Lex couldn't hear him. He pointed Lex toward the door that led out of Crazy Pete's crazy world and headed off to find Bobby. Lex's face broke into a glorious grin at the prospect of finally leaving.

Bobby was grinding on the dance floor with a couple of girls that probably couldn't have picked the lanky guy they were dancing with out of a lineup just a few hours later. Bobby was drenched in sweat, and it was even odds whether he could stay on his feet fifteen more minutes. The fierce rapture obvious on his face told everyone that he had indeed partaken of the pills Lex had given him earlier. Of course, everyone around him looked the exact same. He probably couldn't have removed the smile from his face had he wanted to, the place was too happy to think of not being happy right along with everyone else. It was a happiness born of chemicals and other dancers filled with the same chemicals.

Trent didn't like it.

Bobby had his eyes closed to better experience the drug he had taken and the two bodies he so happily pressed himself against. One of the girls had her eyes open, though, and something in Trent's face must have scared her away. She spun and found a new partner before Trent had an opportunity to say anything.

At the loss of the third body, the final girl and Bobby opened their eyes. Both gazed wide-eyed at the person standing in front of them. Not dancing. Where everyone else was moving with the music that was felt more than heard, Trent stood out bleakly. Recognition bloomed in Bobby's eyes, and sadness followed on its heels.

Trent quirked an eyebrow, letting his friend know he was welcome to stay. Trent didn't want him to stay, the end result would be Bobby walking into Trent's apartment in twelve hours butt naked and wondering where he had been, but it was his choice. Bobby didn't look like he would take kindly to being pulled from the dance floor. It could have very easily turned violent if not for the X. And with it, Bobby was liable to sit down and cry.

The girl glanced quickly at the two men facing each other, and followed her previous dance partner. Bobby gazed after her, amazed at how quickly the girls disappeared. Trent shook his head and started away, knowing his friend would follow him without the candy girls to hold him on the floor.

Sure enough, Lex stared behind Trent with sheer revulsion written on his face. Trent looked over his shoulder curiously. It was only Bobby, sweating and dazed. And very lost. Trent turned back and stared hard at Lex.

The pretty boy ignored the silent question and started down the stairs. Mercifully, the music disappeared as they passed through the door and past the lonely guard. The quiet seemed to press down on Bobby, though. His shoulders slumped as he made his way through the dingy hallways of the building, and shuffled along in the others' wake once they came out on the empty roads.

Trent studied Lex out of the corner of his eye when the blinking street lamps allowed it. Lex pretended he didn't know Trent was doing it, but he was aware of the scrutiny. Trent also knew his friend didn't want to talk about what had been revealed at Crazy Pete's, but he couldn't just magically forget about it. Both of them knew Trent would grill him at the first opportunity.

They traveled the blocks to Trent's apartment as quiet as the night around them, and by the time they trudged into Trent's apartment they were all a little uncomfortable. Silence and drugs is always a bad combination. Lex plopped down on the couch next to Dave, and Bobby sat on the floor next to the dog. Trent walked toward his bedroom without stopping. He wanted a joint to help think things over before he talked to Lex.

Dave glanced up as Trent went by, and Trent nodded at the inquiring look. Then he nearly fell on his face at the sight of a book in the old bum's hands. The guy was reading! First the stove, now a book; Dave was doing all sorts of odd things. He felt like his apartment might catch on fire if the guy did anything else too strange.

It only took a minute after he got in his room to roll a joint and light it. He sat on his bed and decided he would go out to the living room after he smoked a bit. He wanted to talk to Bobby about what was happening, and Dave would probably have some old story of his that told of some past experience that dealt with the exact same thing.

More than his situation with Crazy Pete, Trent wanted to talk to Lex about his past. Obviously he wanted his secret kept, but why had Trent never been told? The two of them were best friends, and it turned out Lex had been holding out on him. There was no reason he couldn't trust Trent with his past. Although Trent had never told Lex about all the secrets he wanted kept, either.

He stood and threw his door open to call Lex into his room. The shout died on his tongue as his eyes swept the living room. Lex was gone. Dave looked up from his book and shrugged when he saw the quizzical look on his host's face. Apparently he knew what Trent was looking for.

“He said he had somewhere he had to go.” Trent could have told him that his friend was avoiding getting caught alone.

Trent looked to Bobby, but Bobby was enthralled with running his hands through the dog's fur and had no idea what was going on around him. The ecstasy he had taken was working well, if the grin plastered on his face was any indicator. The dog didn't even look up at the opening of the door, she was in heaven with all the attention she was getting.

Trent made his way to the couch and shot a look at the book in Dave's hands. It was some kind of thick reference book. History, maybe. When his eyes rose to Dave's face, there was a quiet smile that said the old man knew what Trent wanted to ask, but it wouldn't be answered.

“I dunno where he went.” Trent sat in the spot Lex had vacated shortly before and hit the joint in his hand again. He offered it to Dave.

The old man closed his book to take the joint and studied the youngster beside him. Trent looked to be brooding, and in their kind of lifestyle a guy couldn't afford the luxury of thinking too hard about what he was doing. That was the best way to lose your nerve. Or make a mistake.

“So, you officially workin' for that guy, now?”

“Yeah, the meeting went well. I'll prolly start in the next few days.”

Dave wanted to keep the doubts of his choices from eating away at the kid. He had just stepped up in the criminal hierarchy, he wasn't supposed to be upset. Most people didn't start that kind of lifestyle and immediately start having doubts.

“So, you're a drug dealer? How's that feel?” Dave said it like the status was something to be proud of.

“Yup. Although I dunno what I'm sposed to feel. I ain't done s**t yet...Hopefully I won't turn into some crazy a*****e because it's a part of the job.” He trailed off and grabbed his bag of weed out of his pocket. He wanted another joint.

“You won't,” Dave nodded sagely, “I've known alotta dealers, and most of 'em are pretty good dudes. They're just doin' what they gotta do to survive.”

In Trent's previous life he never would have considered it possible that he could end up as a drug dealer. Of course, no kid really grows up wanting to be one. Normally it's all astronauts and firefighters or some kind of hero or other. No one dreams of selling drugs.

Trent really didn't want to talk about his new occupation. Despite what he said to Crazy Pete, Trent was worried about Lex's story. Lex was one of the most capable people Trent had ever met, including his life before the slums. If he had gotten caught, what kind of chance did Trent have? He had no desire to visit prison, but he had to survive, too.

He opened his mouth to ask Dave about prison and his likelihood of going when a knock at the door jerked both their heads around. No one ever knocked at Trent's door.

They looked at each other in near panic, and even Bobby looked around blearily to find what had disturbed his half-formed version of reality. Bobby went back to petting the dog before learning what was happening, but Trent and Dave turned toward the door as if it was about to blow in under a battering ram.

Trent stood and took a cautious step toward it. “Yeah?” His voice quivered.

“Can I come in?” It was a girl's voice, muffled, but Trent suddenly had a suspicion about who it was. No one else that belonged there would think to knock.

He threw the door open and there stood Sandy, wearing a thick winter coat that didn't quite reach the middle of her thighs. Trent smiled in relief at the sight of her. She eagerly crossed the threshold into his arms. He nearly laughed at the overwhelming smell of cigarettes and sweat that permeated the air around her. She smelled like the strip club he assumed she had come from. Without letting go he backed up a few inches and looked down at her; she was the perfect girl for a drug dealer. For him. There was something about her that said his occupation held nothing that was going to scare her off.

Trent stared into the light green eyes staring up at him and felt a smile spread across his face without his telling it to.

“Ya know you can just walk in...I think you took a few years off my life by knockin'.”

“Yeah, I didn't think about it. I guess that makes sense. You never know, though. Can I get outta these clothes?”

Trent grinned lasciviously and looked her up and down, “Who could argue with that?”

The blond girl grinned and slid past him toward his room. Trent shut the door and looked back at Dave, who was staring wide-eyed at Sandy walking into his bedroom. Trent couldn't blame him, it was hard not to stare at her.

“She came back.” The bum mumbled in surprise.

“Well, I should go entertain our guest, don't ya think?” He looked at Bobby sitting on the floor with the dog. “Got him?”

“Can't be any worse than Bailey.”

Trent laughed as he shut his bedroom door. His laughter cut off when he looked at the girl that had preceded him into the room. Sandy was already out of her clothes.

“Can I take a shower?” If not for the state of his shower the statement would have been seductive. He cringed.

“Yeah, but I'm gonna warn you beforehand: It's the coldest shower you'll ever take. Otherwise I'd join you.”

Suddenly he remembered the two pills in his pocket. He smiled even wider, for more than just the naked girl walking away from him.

“Hurry up, I got a surprise for ya.”

Sandy scrunched her eyebrows in question, but didn't ask. She was too tired to play games, but she couldn't very well insult her new friend after showing up on his doorstep.

He waited for her to get out of the shower, and grinned at her excitement to find he had pills for the two of them. She forgot how tired she was, and happily played along.