Opening Scene

Pink Cheetah Gentlemen’s Club

The limo we were riding in came to a stop in front of the club. The blond driver got out and opened the door for me.

“Thank you, Ms. Falcon,” I said to her softly. I was dressed in simple slacks and sport jacket for this assignment. I reached back into the car to retrieve my briefcase. In it was five hundred thousand dollars, cash.

We had been tracking a stolen brooch for several weeks. This brooch was a family heirloom with a history. It was rumored that Queen Victoria herself had given this brooch as a gift to the family.

This brooch was very valuable even without its history. It was solid gold and set with several rubies, including one that was almost an inch in diameter. Whoever had stolen it had fenced it quickly, and it passed through several hands before winding up in the possession of one Anthony Gorgonzola, or Tony the Cheese to his underworld associates.

Tony had realized that it was something very valuable and had sought bids for the item. We had caught wind of the auction and managed to put in the top bid. Of course, once Ms. Swan discovered the other bids in Tony’s computer system, it was easy to outbid them.

We had chosen the Pink Cheetah to complete our transaction. It was a public place, but not too public.

I turned back to the car to assist my companion. The tall redhead placed her long legs out of the car and gave me her hand. She rose from the car as I helped her.

“Ms. Hawk,” I said to her, “You look stunning.”

She did look incredible. The green mini-dress she wore brought out the color of her eyes and set off her hair color perfectly.

“Thank you,” she said, with a bit of a twinkle in her eye. She took my arm and we turned to enter the club.

“Keep the car ready,” I said to Ms. Falcon. “We may have to leave quickly.”

We entered the club and were immediately stopped by the woman at the door. She accepted our cover charge as though we had never met. We had met, however. She was Ms. Starling, one of my associates.

She discretely pointed across the club. When I looked where she was pointing, I saw Tony and several of his henchmen sitting on the far side of the stage. They were all busy watching the scantily clad women dance on the stage in front of them.

Ms. Hawk and I walked directly towards them. When we drew near, one of Tony’s companions got his attention and pointed to me. Tony got up from his chair to greet us.

“Mr. Dove, I assume,” he said to me, extending his hand.

I shook the hand he offered. “Yes, and you must be Mr. Gorgonzola.”

“Please, we’re all friends here, call me Tony.”

“Of course, and you may call me Alexander, or Alex if you would like. This is my associate, Ms. Hawk.”

Tony had been watching Ms. Hawk closely and now turned to her with a lecherous glare in his eyes. “Well now, I am very pleased to meet you,” he said to her.

He was obviously a man who was used to having women at his beck and call. As he started to put his arm around Ms. Hawk, I knew he would be getting a lesson.

The second his hand touched her hip, she grabbed his wrist and twisted it into a submission hold. Tony gasped in pain.

“I decide when someone touches me,” she said to him, in a calm but threatening voice. “And you don’t have that privilege yet.”

She released his arm and Tony shook it to get the feeling back.

“I forgot to mention,” I said, “Ms. Hawk is also my bodyguard.”

“I see,” was all Tony could say to that. “Please, have a seat,” he told us.

I sat in the chair to Tony’s right and Ms. Hawk sat to my right. All of Tony’s men were on his left.

“Let me see it,” I told him.

“Alex, please, relax. Have a drink first, on me.” He waved his hand and the waitress appeared. A petite woman of oriental ancestry came over with her tray. Although she was wearing a very tiny dress and incredibly high heels, I knew this woman. She was Ms. Swan, another of my associates.

“Yes, sir?” she asked Tony.

He reached his hand around her hips and grabbed her, pulling her close. “Give my friend here whatever he wants.” He slipped a twenty into her tip cup.

Ms. Swan did a remarkable job of ignoring Tony’s hands as she turned to me. “Sir?” she asked me.

“Scotch, single malt.”

“Right away sir.” She twisted away from Tony, who only laughed.

“Only the good stuff when someone else is buying, eh, Alex?” he asked me.

“You know it,” I said with a smile. “Now, about the item.”

“Of course, as you wish, business before pleasure.” He gestured to one of his men, who pulled a small package from his coat and handed it to Tony. Tony opened the package and showed me the contents. The brooch shone brightly from within. “I assume you have the money?”

I reached down beside me and picked up the briefcase. I opened it and showed Tony the cash inside. I handed him the briefcase and he gave me the package. I quickly stuffed it into my jacket.

Before he could close the case, a woman’s voice spoke from the stage. “I don’t suppose I could convince you to part with some of that?”

We all looked up to see who had spoken. The woman standing on the stage had long blond hair and incredible blue eyes. The long sparkling dress she wore hugged every curve of her body, except for what was left open by the neckline and side slits, both of which reached to her waist. She stood there confidently in the strapped six-inch heels.

My associate, Ms. Thrush, was easily the sexiest woman in the club. She knelt on the stage and leaned over Tony, her hands resting on the arms of his chair. She spoke again into his ear. “I said, could I convince you to part with some of that.”

Tony had played this game before. “What are you going to do to earn it?” he asked with a lecherous smile.

Ms. Thrush leaned back from him and smiled with all the promise in the world. Tony quickly closed the briefcase and placed it on the floor beside him. Ms. Thrush stepped down from the stage and straddled his legs, sitting on his lap facing him. She grabbed his head and pulled it to herself, burying his face in her cleavage.

Tony’s men all roared in approval, slapping Tony’s back to encourage him.

None of them noticed when Ms. Swan returned to bring my drink. They also didn’t notice when she swapped an identical briefcase for the one at Tony’s side. She walked away quickly.

Tony quickly stuffed a few bills into Ms. Thrush’s dress. She got up off Tony and leaned down to him. “My name’s Veronica. Be sure to ask for me.” She stepped back up on the stage and blew Tony a kiss before she walked back to the dressing rooms.

“Well, Tony,” I said to him, “I can see that you’re going to be occupied for a while, so I won’t stay here to bother you. A pleasure doing business with you.”

“What? Oh, yeah, sure,” he answered. He stood and shook my hand. “Let us know if we can do anything else for you.”

Tony settled back into his chair to wait for Veronica to come back out.

Ms. Hawk and I quickly made our way to the door. As we exited, I nodded to Ms. Starling.