Dick Steel; Private Eye

"Aw hell, she even did the windows," I said as I headed for Iris' desk and the coffee maker. As I started my coffee I saw that this alone was untouched. This sacred place that Iris called her own was still blemished. I bet she threatened Li with some sort of severe punishment if she laid a finger on her things. That's my girl! I poured myself a cup of coffee and went to my desk. I spun around and looked out over the city and after the torrential downpour there was a glimmer of cleanliness about it. I knew that feeling wouldn't last, this was Chicago after all. I heard the front door open, then there was a knock on my door and the door opening.

"Dick, are you in," Detective Harry Everhard asked as he stepped in.

"Harry, what brings to this neck of the woods," I asked as I turned around. The smile fell from my lips when I saw his face. Then I gave him a cursory look and he looked unkept, frumpy and downright shabby. Now while I hold a fondness for that condition Harry was an impeccable dresser and as a police detective his appearance is paramount to his job. There was a haunted look in his eye and god help me it reminded me of the very same expression Iris had around Arthur Tresillion.

"Jesus Harry you look like hell," I said and his eyes widened a little and he was actually trembling. "Take a seat and I'll get you a cup of coffee."

"Thanks Dick, I knew you were the right man for the job," he said. I returned shortly with the coffee and I smiled when he added a little something from a silver flask from his jacket pocket.

"This is about that job you told me about at the club a month ago isn't it?"

"Yeah, god Dick I don't want to get you involved but I don't know who else to ask," he said his lip trembling.

"I am here for you; we've been friends for years now so just tell me what is going on and how I can help."

He nodded, took another swig of juiced coffee and began slowly. I was right this was all about Arthur Tresillion. Harry told me how Arthur was just a two bit thug until he did a favor for the Italian mob. Two years ago he went to Italy and took possession of some artwork. He transported said family heirlooms to a guy in New York. Simple transaction and he got paid very well. But then he returns to Chicago and within three months he opens up his nightclub, the Pit. The legal side of things is dancing and singing with the most beautiful women you ever saw. The other side, the darker side of the business is the high end brothel he manages. You name it he has it. If there is a perversion you want he can get it for you. That's how he got to be friends with so many prominent members of business and the political elite. He made all of their fantasies come true, for a price. But now he is expanding his horizons and he wants to buy out some very well established families. Then Harry stopped and broke down. I had seen him at some grisly crime scenes and never bat an eye but this. Another long swig of his coffee and he just blurts it out.

"He's got Danielle," Harry said.

"Wait, you mean Moorcock's daughter," I asked and he nodded.

"Yeah and he is going to add her to his harem," he said his fists tightening.

"When," I asked.

"Last night," he said. "Early this morning... I can't go in there Dick. I am a cop and it would rain hell fire if I did without a warrant. The judges are in his pocket and won't issue one. I need you to get her out. Don't mess with Tresillion that is already in the works. I called in some other favors for that. But you need to go in and find her before..."

"Okay, I'll do it," I said. "Besides it is just a matter of time before he and I crossed paths again anyway."

"I see," he said and smiled. "You really ought to marry her, settle down and raise a family."

"Wait, I'm not..." I said but he just laughed and shook his head.

"I know, you're Dick Steel... private eye," he said as he got to his feet. "I owe you one."

"Get out of here and get some shut eye you look like hell," I told him as he left. I walked him to the door and it wasn't until he was gone that I noticed the business card he left on my desk. I picked it up and there was the name and address of Tresillion's club.

That is where the trio found me. I heard them giggling and chatting as they entered the outer office. I was still holding the business card when Li, McGee and my sister charged into my office. They were all excited and trying to talk over each other. Wait, when did Hannah enter this picture? But that answer was already on the lips of McGee.

"Look who we bumped into," she said as they all set down their various bags. I noticed that Li Fang was now sporting a brand new black silk dress; it was one of those that Chinese women had made so famous. She was stunning and the fact that she was all cleaned up and in proper clothing multiplied that effect. The silk formed a second skin and I could see every curve and I loved it. Her hair had been washed, trimmed and braided into a long singular rope that hung beyond her curvy ass.

"I think he approves," Li said smiling.

"I've seen that look before," McGee added with a wicked grin.

"So, we can celebrate Li Fang's arrival tonight," Hannah began but I shook my head. "No, but why?"

"I have something I have to do tonight and I can't get out of it," I said and the atmosphere changed instantly. They saw my expression and knew it was deadly serious. Li Fang caught the nervous action of my hands and saw the business card I still held. She moved forward faster than I would have thought possible and snatched the card out of my hand. She examined the card and gasped.

"Taipan..." she muttered as she dropped the card from nerveless fingers.

"What does that even mean," I asked as I recovered the card.

"Roughly translated, big boss, it is a term my people gave to European businessmen.

"You recognized the name on the card," I said and she nodded as she wrapped her arms about her body as if to fight off a psychic chill. I looked at McGee and frowned.

"I will look out after her and Iris," she said. "You do what you have to and come home safe to us."

"McGee, call Iris and get her over here now," I said. "Hannah, Li Fang sit down we have a little catching up to do."

"I don't understand," Hannah said as she sat down but Li Fang did.

"It's about your brother," Li Fang said. "No, not Richard, but his older brother Michael..."

"Wait a minute, why have I never been told about him?"

I gestured and Li Fang launched into my brother's story. He was the first born and was seven years older than Rodney and me. He had a troubled youth and his behavior spiraled out of control. Then one night while he was robbing a store he shot a man. He never came home he just simply disappeared. But the police came round looking for him. They searched the house and when they couldn't find him they looked elsewhere. Over time we believed he was dead in a gutter somewhere, well that's what our father hoped. He was so disappointed in him and soon we began to act as if he never existed. I thought he had died during his escape. What had actually happened is that he had jumped onto a freighter that was heading to New Orleans. From there he hired on to a ship heading to China. He never looked back. He took on a new name and a new identity. This new identity was that of a missionary. He was going to teach the English language to the Chinese people. He spent the rest of his life making up for the wrongs he had done in the previous one. Li Fang came into the picture when she was just an infant. Her mother had died in child birth and her father died during one of the many battles between rival Tongs. The Chinese mafia didn't want to raise her and there were no other close relatives so Michael raised her as his own after her sudden arrival at his door. Two years later Li's grandfather came knocking on Michael's door and wanted to take her up to his monastery to be raised properly. The two men argued for over two days but in the end they agreed to raise her together. So Michael packed up his belongings and moved up into the mountains with Li and her grandfather. Except for rare visits to nearby towns Michael spent the rest of his life at that sacred space and there his body lies even now in eternal slumber. Hannah's eyes welled up with tears as she listened to the story of a sibling she had never known. Then she looked at me and she didn't have to say a single word. She was terrified of losing me. I shook my head and cut her off before she begged me not to go.

"I have to go," I said in a tone I hoped brooked no argument. "There is a life in the balance and if I act tonight then the Taipan will no longer bother any other women ever again."

"What do you mean by that," Hannah asked.

"This man is the head of a white slavery ring. He sells American women to rich men all over China and Southeast Asia. Someone has to do something," Li Fang explained.

"Dear god," Hannah exclaimed. Her hand went to her mouth to muffle the sobs for the poor women who had already fell victim to this man. "Get him Richard..."

"I am not going there to kill him," I said. "I am going to rescue someone. Someone else is going to take down the Taipan."

Hannah just nodded and looked over at Li Fang. She wrapped her arm around the petite Asian girl and hugged her tight. Then she told her that she was family and if she needed anything all she had to do was ask. Li Fang clung to Hannah and thanked her. I sat back in my chair and let out a long sigh. I wished this night was over but there was still work to be done.

The girls left me alone for a while so I could collect my thoughts. I took out my keys, bent over and unlocked the bottom drawer. I slid it open and retrieved the stout oaken box that I kept there. I sat up and used my foot to close the drawer and then I set the box down on my desk top. I ran a hand over its dusty surface and felt the raised letter that adorned the top. While the box itself, though well made, was plain to look at except for the stylized tarnished silver 'S' that was in desperate need of cleaning. I went through my keys and found the slender intricate one and unlocked the box. I opened the lid and took out the two cloth wrapped bundles from within. They felt heavy after all of these years. I set one of the bundles down on the desk and the other I took into my hands and slowly unwrapped. The final bit of cloth was moved away to reveal the nickel blue steel revolver with its pearl handle. There were two of them of course and they were a gift from a thankful French gunsmith after the Great War. They were supposed to be one for Rodney and me but after the war my brother wanted nothing to do with firearms. I didn't blame him of course but it would have been a sin not to accept the gift. I took out the cleaning kit from a second drawer and went to work. My hands lovingly caressed the metal and I knew that if anything was going to get me through tonight's dark deeds it was going to be these two god killers. That is what Rodney called them. He had taken out his pistol and ran his fingers over the exquisitely etched surface of the weapon and spoken those harsh words with a tenderness that belonged to a lover.

'These are god killers Dick, they pierce the flesh and slay the soul," he said. "Look at the queer lettering on them, they must be spells don't you think, I do. I think they will kill whatever they touch." Then he nearly dropped the pistol as he handed it to me. His face became a rictus of loathing for the gift that had been so painstakingly brought into being. "Keep them, who knows maybe one day they will save your sorry ass."

Maybe he was right, maybe these were god killers and just maybe they might see me through to the other side. The first pistol cleaned I loaded it and closed the cylinder and then I began work on its twin. I was just finishing the second gun when a parade of beauties entered my office. They were carrying platters with food and wore some very provocative outfits. I loaded the pistol and with a flick of my wrist closed the chamber. I placed both weapons in my belly drawer and cleared off the surface of my desk. The girls were obviously taken aback by the display of firepower but quickly recovered and set the platters down. I looked them over all four of them and wondered if I had already died and went to heaven. Iris was dressed in a French Maid's outfit and even had a feather duster tucked into her side pocket. McGee was wearing a cheerleader's uniform and was shaking her pompoms for me. Hannah was dressed in a nurse's uniform and had a stethoscope around her long kissable neck. Li Fang, last but definitely not least was wearing a private school girl's uniform which included a short skirt and the glasses.

"So eat up," Hannah said even as Li Fang climbed into my lap to feed me by hand.

"I must have died," I said as the delicate fingers of the Asian girl placed a piece of chilled fruit between my lips.

"I think he likes it," McGee purred.

"If the bulge in his pants is any clue," Li Fang said in soft low voice.

"Let him eat first, he is going to need his strength," Hannah added.

"So what do you think of the outfits," Iris asked obviously eager for an answer. I could tell by her body language and the way she was fidgeting with her fingers.

"They are very nice, any man would be lucky to have one of you in his life but all four," I said.

"You see," Iris said. "I told you he'd like our disguises. At that point the other girl's all glared at her and I saw their plan quite clearly. They wanted to accompany me to the club and help me sniff out Danielle's location. I cupped Li Fang's chin gently but firmly and turned to look her dead in the eye.

"This was your fiendish idea wasn't it," I asked and she nodded. "It is too damn dangerous!"

"Dangerous... dangerous... you are going to lecture me on what is dangerous? I was the one who snuck aboard the slaver's ship. I was the one who had to sneak around and steal just enough food to survive so I wouldn't be noticed. I won't talk about the unsanitary conditions aboard that vessel. I was the one who snuck aboard a train and managed to get to your city in one piece. Now tell me how I don't understand what danger is."

I opened my mouth to argue but she was right, she had encountered more peril than anyone in this room. I nodded and looked at the others who attempted to stare me down and failed. I told them that Iris needed protection since Tresillion might be after her. So I enlisted McGee and Hannah to take her somewhere safe until this whole thing blew over. That left Li Fang and me to rescue Danielle. The rest of the entertainment would have to wait until after business had been concluded. I sent them off and told them to keep their location a secret, just in case. I couldn't tell what I didn't know. I watched the trio leave and saw that the sun was setting, it was time. I strapped on my shoulder holster and slipped the guns into their sheaths. I replaced my jacket and picked up the business card that was my ticket into the club. By the time I was ready to go Li Fang had changed back into the black silk dress. We headed out and she was all smiles, after all she had gotten her way in the end.

The club was a converted warehouse near the docks though you couldn't tell from the outside. There was tons of space for a night club and all the other dirty business that went down inside. I knocked on the door and a burly man in his late twenties opened the door. He was six feet of muscle and menace but nothing that I couldn't handle if I had to. I handed him the business card and he smiled. He mentioned something about being a black card member and to make sure I checked out the entertainment in the back. He stepped aside and we walked inside and saw the stunning opulence of the Pit. There was a live band on stage with a cute little Latin gal belting out a little jazzy number. The shrill wail of the brass was almost overpowering as we moved and mingled among the floating crowds of the city's elite. I recognized several people from their photos in the paper and a few others I had met at one time or another during business ventures. The last note from the singer hung in the air and faded as the instruments died away. The crowd clapped as the band left the stage. I was trying to make my way to the rear of the club when a voice cut right through me.

"Richard Steel, as I live and breathe," Amanda Sterling called out from her table. She rose to her feet as Li Fang and I altered course and headed over to her. Amanda looked gorgeous in the sparkling black sequin dress that clung to her like a living shadow. As she moved her dressed shimmered and sparkled like a night sky. Her hair was done to perfection as was her make up. The plunging neck line of the dress gave me another eye full of her tantalizing cleavage and to accentuate the cleft between her breasts she wore a pearl necklace that draped down and almost but not quite touched that forbidden valley.

"Lovely dress you are wearing tonight," I said as I took her hand and kissed it.

"Who is this exotic beauty," Amanda said her eyes locked on Li Fang.

"This is my new body guard Li Fang," I said making it up on the spot.

"Oh pooh," Amanda said smiling. "If you needed anyone to guard that fine body of yours you could have rang me up." Then she turned to face Li Fang and smiled. "Lucky girl... you better try and keep him out of trouble."

"I will do my best," Li Fang said in perfect English. This seemed to take Amanda by surprise but she quickly recovered.

"So what brings you to the Pit Dick," Amanda asked her voice giving just a hint that she was indeed slightly drunk.

"Well, to be brutally honest, we are here to sneak into the back room, find the daughter of an old dear friend and rescue her from white slavers before something terrible happens to her."

"Oh you had me going for a second there," Amanda said her eyes wide with excitement. "I think I need another cock... tail."

"You are a naughty girl," I said and she bit her lip and leaned close.

"My dear boy you have no idea how naughty I can be," she whispered before she snared my earlobe between her teeth. She held on for a count of three and then let go. "If I had you alone, oh the things I'd do to you."

"Oh I wish it wasn't the alcohol talking," I said and her eyes blazed in challenge. She looked around a few times and then set her hands on her hips and seemed to be adjusting her dress. How wrong I was because a few seconds later her panties fell around her ankles and she deftly stepped out of them, picked them up and handed them to me. She raised a single eyebrow, smiled and sashayed away. I handed the panties to Li Fang who put them in her handbag. God, if only I had the time to take advantage of this growing situation. Cursing I made my way to the rear of the club where a singular male figure in a black suit stood guard over a door. I produced the business card and he smiled as he opened the door. Li Fang and I stepped into the hallway beyond. It went on for ten feet or so before it began to bend to the right. As we followed the corridor we could hear voices behind the doors and they were too muffled to be distinguished. Oh hell, we were going to have to open some doors to find Danielle. I let out a long breath to help steady my nerves and then I grabbed one of the doorknobs and turned it.

There was a man kneeling on the floor and he was wearing nothing but a leather collar attached to a chain. The end of the chair was held by a gorgeous brunette in a leather corset, a short-short skirt and stiletto heels. I couldn't help but stare at the pillowy breasts that blossomed from the top of said corset. Then she was yelling at him and chastising him for being a worm. The man groveled at her feet while she dug one of the heels into his shoulder. I closed the door and smiled. The next room was something out of a gang rape nightmare. There were three men and one petite blonde and she was being savaged by all three of them at the same time. I had heard about sodomy but I had never seen it in action. I closed the door and shivered.