Читать книгу 1 Law 4 All - Vegas - Billy Angel - Страница 29

At Anthony's that evening, Rizzo's said seriously, "What are they going to call our generation?"

"We're thinking deep tonight," Jimmy responded. "The girl's will be here soon, so get it off your chest."

"I was thinking my grandfather's age group was called the Greatest Generation. They liberated Europe and defeated Germany, Japan and Italy."

"Italy doesn't count," Jimmy smiled. "But I hear what you're saying. They believed in the good old U.S.A. I can still visualize the war poster with the woman flexing her biceps saying, 'We Can Do It'."

"Our generation hasn't done anything but become socially progressive."

"We did get Saddam Hussein and bin Laden," Jimmy said defensively.

"That was like crushing an ant with a hammer," Rizzo retorted.

"Now that you mention it, we can't even handle a few ignorant terrorists."

Rizzo continued, "We did transition from paper and pencil to digital. Maybe, we should be called the Computer Generation. After all, we were born when computers became everyday technology."

Jimmy noticed Sugar and Tonya swaying towards their table. "Time to transition into a fun night." He stood, pulling a chair out for Sugar.

Rizzo snapped out of his generations funk and helped Tonya get situated.

"How are things at the Starlight?" Jimmy asked Sugar.

"Strange." He noticed that Sugar wasn't her usual bouncy self.

"Real strange," Tonya echoed.

The server stopped by and the girls ordered dirty martinis using Oceans vodka.

Jimmy questioned, "Strange that vodka is replacing good ole Kentucky bourbon?"

Tonya answered, "One of the dancers from Hawaii told us about Oceans. It's distilled on Maui and made from pesticide-free sugarcane."

Sugar added, "It's smooth and best of all, organic!"

"Did you say orgasmic?" Jimmy chuckled.

Rizzo ignored the Oceans vodka orgasmic talk and went into detective mode. "Describe strange," he said in both girls direction.

Sugar commented. "The girls are chattering up a storm in the changing room. They noticed that Janelle and Wendy left under weird circumstances. We're use to girls coming and going, but with these two it's different."

"How so?" Jimmy asked.

Tonya started. "Everyone knew that Wendy was Locci's keep."

"Keep?" Jimmy questioned.

"She was his mistress. Locci's wife puts up with his keeps. She doesn't live here much. She spends most of her time at their place in Lignano Sabbiadoro on the Italian Riviera."

"Rough," Rizzo groaned as the server placed the martins in front of the girls.

Sugar waited for the server to walk away and then said, "When Locci's keep winds up in a hospital bed, unrecognizable, something's very wrong. Locci can protect anyone, but he didn't protect his keep."

Rizzo raised his head and looked at everyone individually. He had their attention. "That can only mean one thing. He's protecting someone more valuable to him than Wendy!"

"You think Janelle's senator?" Jimmy asked.

"That must be it. What are we going to do?" Sugar followed, downing her drink as if it was water.

Jimmy called the server over. They ordered a second round of drinks and appetizers instead of dinner. They had lost their appetites thinking about Wendy's swollen, unrecognizable face.

Paula, Anthony's owner, walked over to their table. She wore a plain, black cocktail dress and matching flats. She noticed long faces all around. Their depressed moods spilled across the table. "I'm glad I wore black tonight. I feel in tune with your faces. Did someone die," she said dryly.

For a brief moment no one responded. Jimmy finally said, "We're at a lost what to do."

Paula stepped back and said, "It always looks darkest just before it gets totally black." And she walked away, indifferent to their dreary moods.

"She's quoting Charlie Brown," Jimmy said in a questioning manner.

"Sometimes, I feel like I'm in a comic strip. And a big, dark boogie man is hanging around the corner." Sugar sipped her drink and said, "Now what?"

Rizzo liked the Peanuts comic strip. "You know Charlie Brown is about kid-type insecurities."

"Ok," Tonya said, "What would Charlie Brown do?"

After a modest moment, Jimmy yelped, "He'd go into the pumpkin patch and wait for the Great Pumpkin!"

"The Great Pumpkin never came," Rizzo remarked.

"Charlie went on a stake out." Jimmy answered.

Rizzo smiled. "Now you're talking my language." After a short moment, he started thinking out loud, "Today, my guys busted one of the finest looking working girls I've ever seen."

"And what are you going to do about it," Tonya said moving her index finger back and forth, instantly eye-balling her new bow.

"I am going to offer her a way to pay back society by doing what she does best. I'll have our undercover people clean her up and then we'll troll her in front of Locci. He might bite!"

Jimmy chuckled. "He's in between keeps. Maybe, we can get him on the rebound. Good idea!"

Rizzo liked that Jimmy liked his idea. "I'll find out tomorrow if she's stakeout material."

A ray of hopeful direction chased away the table's dark shadow. Jimmy paid the tab. On their way out, Jimmy winked at Paula. "Thanks for the idea," he said.

"Stop by tomorrow. I'll have another!" she returned.

Tonya and Rizzo drove off from the valet stand. Sugar and Jimmy walked to the parking lot. Jimmy used the clicker to unlock his car's doors. When he faced Sugar, she pushed him into the side of the car and gave him a deep, wet kiss.

Jimmy murmured, "You're giving me a brain throb."

She pushed her thighs hard against his. "Your brain is standing at attention. Didn't May West once say, is that a flashlight in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?"

"Happy is my choice and excited." He spun her around. "It's my turn to press the issue."

"Press away!" she sighed.