Hollywood After Dark Ch. 05

"They don't know it yet, but they will soon enough. Eliza obviously got the girls out of there, but what I want to know is if she did it with money or with influence. Because if it's influence, the already dirty Vegas police are now in on the game," I said tensely, my fingers gripping the steering wheel. I still had a rush of adrenaline and it wasn't letting my body relax in the slightest.

"What about Charlie? Do you think they know that he tipped the cops off?" Katherine asked.

I had forgotten about Charlie's role in this whole thing. He had managed to swing something with the cops enough to get the girls taken down to the station, but whatever little sway he had was erased by Willis' people.

"One way to find out," I said, spotting a gas station up ahead. The place looked deserted except for a beat up old white pickup which was more rust colored than it's original white. I pulled into the parking lot and stepped out of the car, the heat of the day already enough to make you gasp as it hit you.

I glanced in the office of the station and saw a teenager sleeping, a bag of cheese doodles or something on his chest, his fingers orange from the snack. Deciding it was better not to wake him, I walked around back of the station and picked up the receiver of the pay phone, sliding in a few quarters so that I didn't get cut off in mid sentence.

Dialing Charlie's number at home, it took five rings before he picked up. I was just on the verge of hanging up in fact, when I heard him grumble into the mouth piece, his words half slurred from booze and being woken up.

"Hulllo?" he said.

"Charlie, it's Alex," I said, covering the mouth piece of the phone to keep the arid wind from blowing in.

"Who's Alex?" he replied.

"Katherine Heigl's friend. The one you helped out last night, remember?"

There was a long pause. "I did a lot of things last night Alex, but yeah, I think I remember that. What do you want?"

"You had your police friends pick up some girls for us and take them down to the station. Well, we appreciate that but they got out less than two hours after actually getting in. What we want to know is if you have heard anything from your contact or the people you know about this whole thing...we think you may be in some danger,"

"Shit Alex, I've been in danger all my life. This is a hell of a thing to wake a guy up with, you know? Well, no I haven't heard anything from them but I'll call today. I use the term 'police friend' pretty loosely but yeah, he's a buddy of mine I guess you could say. What is it exactly you want to know?"

"Who got them out, who else knows they were taken in and where they are now, if possible. Can you do that Charlie?"

"Jesus Alex, where are you? Sounds like a damn tornado is going on outside your head. Maybe it's my hangover though," he said, grumbling to himself.

"We are out in the desert, between Vegas and LA. We are heading back to town but we wanted to find out what you knew,"

"I don't know jack shit. That's why I'm still alive in this town. But yeah yeah, I'll get ya your information. You realize I only am doing this because your girl is one fine piece of ass, right?" Charlie said, laughing into the phone. "Charlie don't just stick his neck out for anyone,"

If that was supposed to be a compliment, it was certainly a backhanded one. I gritted my teeth and thanked him.

"Yes, thank you Charlie. Just be careful, I think we may have seriously stirred a hornet's nest here and your name will eventually be gotten back to. Should I call you later on? Say around 1 or so?"

"Na, na, I'll call you. Uh, I think I got Katherine's number here somewhere...yeah, it's in my black book. I'll call ya about your little detective work questions Alex, don't worry. Charlie will take care of you, you just take care of yourself,"

"Thanks Charlie. I'll expect you're call later on then,"

"Yep. Bye," he said, hanging up, the phone clearly not his favorite thing to use.

Walking back to the car, I started it up and pulled out of the gas station, the wind blowing a decent sized mound of sand in front of the door of the station, the teenage kid still sleeping. Pulling back onto the main road, we were headed back to LA, fresh and prepared to find out later on just what the hell we were up against.

HAPSBORO'S STORY:

I waited patiently in Willis' office, my legs crossed as I sat in one of his expensive leather chairs, picking off a loose thread from my gray Armani suit legs. Clearing my throat, I tried not to concentrate on the sounds coming from the bathroom.

Inside it, Willis was busy hacking up a storm. Though he presented a strong public image, especially to investors and at social events, I knew that Wilton Willis was anything but healthy. He had taken great lengths to protect his health, but only a few people knew of the truth. Of the cancer eating inside of him, of the secret chemo therapy trips and experimental drugs he was taking to try and cure it. He was a man who had emerged from nowhere to become wealthy and yet he had spent a large part of that wealth in fighting off the one thing none of us can avoid: death.

So, these morning rituals had become pretty routine by now, despite the grossness of it. I would come into his office around 9 or so, find him in his executive bathroom trying to stay as quiet as possible as he hacked up God knows what, then emerging from the bathroom a few minutes later, his face as white as his hair and his hands trembling. After a few minutes of course he would resume his normal fiery personality but in those first minutes of the business day, the great conqueror was as weak as a child.

Today was no exception, and now he stepped out of the bathroom, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as he fixed his tie. He pretended that nothing had happened but I of course knew the truth.

"Good morning Gordon. What have you got for me today?" he said with a sigh as he sat down at his desk, leaning backwards with his hands folded across the chest of his rich navy blue pinstripe suit.

"Well sir, there is nothing today that is too pressing of an issue. It was actually last night that was a problem," I said, handing him a folder of documents. He opened them and began leafing through them, his eyes glancing up occasionally to look at me.

"Oh? How so?"

"The Rose Petals had an initiation in Las Vegas last night. Jessica Biel was the new member; a pretty sweet piece of ass if I remember her correctly. Any ways, something went really wrong and attention was drawn to the Petals and to our organization," I said.

"I hope Ms. Biel is ok. I know how they can sometimes get carried away with the drugs and all,"

"No no, everyone is physically ok. The problem is, some how the Las Vegas PD found out not only where the girls were but what they were doing. Jessica Biel, Kate Hudson, Jamie Pressley and Tara Reid were all arrested and taken down to the station on drug possession charges," I said tentatively, not quite sure how he would react.

Willis stopped rocking in his chair and folded the file closed. He looked at me, his cold blue eyes alert and alive, despite the obvious evidence leading to the contrary that I had witnessed earlier.

"Are they still being held?" he said, his voice flat.

"No sir. We used our connections with the LVPD and they were free without incident. This certainly will cost the organization not only monetarily but also politically I believe. Thankfully, word of this did not get out to the press," I said.

"Money is not a problem. What concerns me though, is the exposure. They may be out, but there is at least two or three cops that know they were there. People only stay loyal to their masters for as long as it suits them. If we get some Joe Hero in there who decides to..."

I cut him off, raising my hand up. "Sir, that won't be a problem. All the officers involved were already on our payroll. We have upped their take substantially, so they will remain loyal for the time being,"

"And what about witnesses? Please don't tell me that they paraded the girls around town,"

"No sir. They picked them up at the Mirage and they led them down quickly and quietly through without a problem. The hotel staff I checked out last night, all of them seem to have different stories about what they saw, which rules them out as material witnesses,"

Willis relaxed in his chair. "Then this is a solved problem. Good work Gordon,"

I inhaled sharply. "Well, not exactly. The situation is a bit more complicated than that,"

Willis ran his hand through his hair, closing his eyes as he did so.

"Please explain Gordon, I just love getting dangerous news first thing in the morning,"

"Well sir, Eliza was supposed to attend the initiation, but she was late. She arrived just as the girls were being led away. Thankfully, the police did not take her in along with the others. The trouble is, Katherine Heigl, a newly brought in member, was also at the initiation,"

"And I take it that since this is the first time you mentioned her, she too was not taken into custody?"

"That's right sir. From what I gather, she was outside of the room just minutes before the police came in and took them away. Eliza saw her standing at the opposite end of the hall of the floor, watching the same thing as she was. When the police had left however, Katherine was gone,"

"Perhaps she was spooked by the whole thing and decided to wisely flee?"

"That is a possibility, but I don't believe that was the case. The situation doesn't seem quite right: she told the rest of the women that she was going to get some ice down the hall, only a minute or two before the police arrived. I believe that she had some role in this incident and knew what was going to happen and because of this, was careful to stay out of the way,"

"Hmm...and where is Ms. Heigl now?"

"We don't know sir. We have people looking for her actively, so I am sure she will turn up,"

Willis tapped his finger to his lips, thinking.

"Alright, well here is what we do. It seems that the incident has been contained for the most part, but the loose thread of Heigl disturbs me. Find her and then I would like you personally to question her, see what she says,"

"Yes sir. Shall we expel her from the Rose Petals?"

"No, not quite yet. Perhaps Ms. Heigl really did get lucky in avoiding arrest. But until we know for sure, I do not want her harmed or any information about what else has happened told to her, if we can avoid it. Find out who she has been in contact with in the past few weeks inside the organization and start climbing the ladder up that way. Regardless of her role however, I do believe that she should be scolded in some way. I'm sure that you can come up with something fitting for the crime, am I correct?"

"Yes sir. I will consult Salma later today and find out what she feels is best. Of course, I will report all of this back to you as soon as possible,"

"Good good. Is that all Gordon?"

"Yes sir, I believe so," I said, standing to leave.

"Excellent. You are a good man Gordon and I trust you to resolve this issue. But I can not stress enough that this problem needs to be solved in as quickly a manner as possible,"

"I understand sir. And it will, don't worry,"

"I know. Alright Gordon, I have some calls to make. Be sure to inform me later on today,"

"Yes sir," I said, walking out of the office. I shut the door behind me and paused in the middle of the hall. Wherever you are Katherine Heigl, we will find you and indeed solve this problem.

ELIZA'S STORY:

"Honey, I'm home!" I called down the hallway of my apartment as I stepped inside, shutting the door behind me.

A few yards in front of me, I saw a blond head pop out from around the corner, a wide grin on her cherub face.

"I'm making pancakes," she giggled, disappearing back into the kitchen. I couldn't help but smile myself as I set my bag down on the floor by the door. Kicking off my high heels, I walked into the kitchen barefoot, sighing to myself that the long night was over.

I had driven back to LA after leaving the police station, still fuming over Jamie showing me up in the cell and in front of the girls. The Mistress would certainly hear of this, I had thought to myself as I drove, but as the miles passed, my anger had eased. More than anything, I was simply upset that I hadn't gotten to complete all the rituals that for me had been the best part of being in the Rose Petals. Now however, I was home and would certainly be able to relieve my tension, assuming I could get through a plate of burnt waffles first.

Walking into the kitchen, I saw Kirsten Dunst standing there over the stove, humming to herself as she stirred the batter. She wore a pair of white cotton panties, some socks and a long men's shirt over her small, supple frame and though the smell of the pancakes was certainly inviting, the sight of her ass bouncing up and down as she sang to herself brought out within me a different kind of hunger.

Kirsten had been what I would call an "easy convert" into the Rose Petals. I had just achieved second rank status when I was filming "Bring It On" with her and was eager to bring in a new member. Kirsten was the perfect fit - her naive nature and yet her willingness to just have fun with people had made me lick my lips in anticipation of her initiation. It had gone over without much incident, Kirsten proving to be a far superior lover than I would have thought. She was everything that you would expect from a lover: gentle, eager to please and return any sexual favor and oh so gorgeous, especially when she stretched her body out, her full breasts fascinating things to behold while you were making love.

Since that first weekend a few years back, Kirsten and I had taken to hanging out. I knew that playing favorites was frowned upon in the organization, but the Mistress was willing to overlook that as long as Kirsten was made available for anyone else. That was a compromise I was willing to live with and as such, we had been pretty much inseparable (and insatiable) whenever our schedules allowed. Kirsten must have come over last night and, figuring that I was at an initiation, just stayed the night. The thought of her entertaining herself on my bed with my wide variety of toys was enough now to make my skin grow hot and my lust to reach the soaring levels of heat found only perhaps in that skillet of hers.

Moving behind her, I reached my hand down slowly and gave her ass a quick little pinch, startling her. Kirsten giggled in surprise and turned around to face me, her batter dripping spatula in her hand for self defense.

"Hiya!" she said, smiling at me. I felt suddenly refreshed just being in her presence and, rather than reply, simply leaned in and kissed her. Her lips parted willingly as I pressed my now very horny body against her, moving her back against the stove as I wrapped my hands around her waist. Our tongues danced with each other, the familiar taste of each other's mouth still surprisingly arousing enough to turn both of us on.

"Hi," I said finally, breaking the kiss. "How's my little Kiki?"

"She's fine. Although she wishes that you wouldn't dry hump her while she was leaning back against a hot stove," Kirsten said with a sly grin.

"Oh yes, sorry about that," I said, stepping back from her but keeping my arms wrapped around her waist as I pulled her closer to me. "We wouldn't want you getting too hot,"

"Here, taste this and tell me how it is," she said, shoving the spatula in my face. I slid my tongue out seductively and lapped up the creamy batter, swallowing it. It wasn't quite ready to be eaten - a few more minutes perhaps - but it certainly tasted good. Though Kirsten's cooking skills were sub par, I still enjoyed tasting anything she made.

"MMm...not too bad. I'm starving, so whenever it's ready just let me know. Or do we have time for a little fun first?" I said, leaning my head down to kiss her soft neck. Kirsten sighed and giggled as I lavished her with kisses, enjoying the sweet taste of her skin almost as much as the batter of the pancakes.

She slapped at my face playfully. "No, not right now. Let me finish cooking these and then I'll be all yours," she said as I lifted my face away, still holding her tight to me. "You're awful frisky this morning. Just couldn't get enough last night I guess huh?"

I sighed. "No, things didn't go very well. I don't really want to talk about it - I hate bringing my work home, if you know what I mean,"

Kirsten frowned. "What, because I'm not a high enough ranked Petal I can't hear about it?"

I smiled at her weakly, trying to make less of what was exactly the issue "Fraid not sweetie,"

Kirsten pouted. "I don't see why you have all these stupid rules. I mean, I'm sleeping with - on a regular basis mind you - the second highest member, and you can't tell me about you're night? Who made up all this procedure any ways. Isn't the whole thing supposed to be fun?"

I slid my hands down to her ass, teasing her supple cheeks in my fingers. God did she feel good. Hopefully my attention to her ass would take her mind off things.

"Yes, the Rose Petals is about fun. But we have to have rules too. Especially to keep the organization a secret. You wouldn't want the world finding out that you munch rug now would you?"

"No, I guess not. But I mean...it's all so formal. I say fuck that, let's just screw each other and keep it a secret.

I leaned in and kissed her cheek, letting go of her waist. "You have a lot to learn young one," I said. "Oh yeah, and you're pancakes are burning,"

Kirsten turned to the stove comically, a wide eyed expression on her face.

"Oh shit!" she said, digging her spatula in to try and stop the burning batter. Experience told me that it was too late - I would inevitably be eating burnt pancakes yet again.

"I'm going to go change," I called to her as I walked down the hall. "Want me to dial 9, 1 and then wait for the last 1? The fire department is right around the corner," I said with a grin.

"Ack! It's burning! What? No no, it's fine, don't worry," she called to me, a bit of panic in her voice.

I shook my head and walked into the bedroom, sliding my dress off. Heading for my closet, I took out a t-shirt and a pair of pajama pants and, discarding my bra and panties, climbed into the soft clothes. Just changing outfits was enough to make you feel better, especially after a long night.

Heading back into the kitchen, I saw that Kirsten had dished up the slightly burnt pancakes and was busy pouring syrup on her own plate. Sitting down in my chair, I waited for her to finish with it. She handed it to me sheepishly.

"I guess I burned them. But don't worry, enough syrup and they will be fine," she said with a slight shrug, embarrassed at her lack of cooking. I thrust my fork into them and took a bite. Not too bad this time.

After we ate, and while Kirsten and I put away the dishes, I found myself feeling much more energized than I had thought. I wanted desperately to tell Kirsten what was going on, but like any good secret society member, I had to keep it a secret. Once it was resolved though, I'm sure there would be no harm in telling her, even though I was already planning on leaving the part about Jamie out.

Lost in my thoughts, I didn't notice as I set a dish down on the counter edge, only to bump into a moment later and knock it to the floor.

"Fuck!" I yelled in frustration as it hit the floor and shattered into a million pieces.

Kirsten looked down at the broken plate, then at me.

"Calm down, it's just a dish," she said, trying to coax me.

"Argh! I know but...I'm such a klutz sometimes," I muttered to myself, frustration and lack of sleep starting to take a toll on my mood.

"Hey hey, it's okay babe. Really. It's just a broken dish," Kirsten said, leaning into me, careful to avoid the broken plate. "I still love you anyways,"