Hollywood After Dark Ch. 05

"A party? Do you want me to come?"

"No, that wouldn't be a good idea,"

I suddenly understood. "It's Willis' party isn't it?"

Alex nodded in reply, his eyes looking downward at the floor. "I didn't want to wake you to tell you about it,"

I stood there studying him for a moment, trying to understand what he was telling me. Why in the hell, after all that we had been through, was he actually VOLUNTARILY going to a party at Wilton Willis' house?

"I appreciate that, but it still doesn't excuse the fact that you are actually contemplating going to this thing. And in a tuxedo no less,"

Alex placed his arms on my shoulders.

"Katherine, look. I don't want to go just because it's a party. I know how emotionally fragile you are right now - I am too in fact. But if I go to this thing, it might actually help us later down the road,"

I snorted in retort, crossing my arms under my chest. "How could that possibly be?"

"It's a costume party," he replied.

"A costume party? That doesn't look like a costume to me,"

"That's because it's not finished yet. I have to get a mask," Alex replied. "And when I get the mask, then I will be all set,"

I was still hesitant about the whole idea, actually shocked about it would probably be a better word, but I let him continue any ways.

"Here's what I'm thinking. All the men are required to wear masks at the party. I think Willis stole the idea from 'Eyes Wide Shut' or something, I don't know. Any ways, if I have a mask on, I will be able to move freely about the party, listen in on conversations, etc and no one will know the difference because they won't know who I am," he said, holding his breath expectantly as he waited for my reaction.

Truthfully, the idea was pretty ingenious. The only drawback would be getting bad info or not knowing who exactly the info came from. I told him as such.

"No, you see that's the beauty of it. If I was looking for generalized info, that would be a problem because you wouldn't know who to trust. But since we are just looking for specific stuff, things about the Rose Petals and Willis, then it won't be a problem. I can float around in conversations, staying on the edge for just long enough to pick up what I need to know,"

"And you actually think this is going to work? What about the women, who will you know to trust out of that group? Because you know how Willis likes to pair up men with his little stable of kept women," I asked, recalling bitterly the times that, before I meant Alex, Willis had done just that to me.

"I'll be careful and avoid any obvious come ons or traps. Who says I have to screw anyone to get the info I want?" Alex replied with a bit of a smile, fixing his bow tie on his tuxedo. Even in the nice fabric of it, his large frame made him look more like a bouncer than a guest. "Besides, I have to go to this thing. It would look weird if I didn't show up, especially in hind sight of you being on the lam now,"

"I guess you're right. But I can't stay here at your place much longer any ways, it's not safe. I was planning on leaving and taking my chances at home. My dog really needs to be fed," I said. Sucking in air through my teeth, I consented to Alex going.

"Promise me you will have a cell phone with you and I can call you when and if anything happens to me," I said.

"I promise. And the same for you - I'll call you as soon as I learn anything,"

"Alright then. Well, good luck finding a mask. Even though Halloween is just over, I think most stores will probably be out of stock,"

"Don't worry, this is LA. I'm sure somewhere there is a mask to be found," Alex said warmly, kissing my cheek. "I need to get going though. Are you sure you are going to be alright?"

"Yes. Like you said before, I can't run from my problems forever. I'll be fine,"

"Ok. Call me if you have any problems," he said and then stepped out the door. I locked it behind him and, disrobing, walked in and started a shower.

Even though I had taken one the night before, being back in LA was comfort enough to add to the warm water flowing over me. I felt totally at ease and relaxed as I stepped out and toweled off, taking a moment of vanity to admire my nude body in the steamed mirror. I put my hand over the Rose Petals tattoo, trying to recapture an image of what my life had been like before all of this mess. It was hard to do.

I left Alex's apartment just as the sun was going down and LA was coming alive for the evening. This time of night always worried me. You couldn't, as a pedestrian, see into car windows as they drove past you, even though they could see you perfectly fine with their headlights. Thankfully, it only lasted a few minutes every day and I would be glad when today's had passed.

I decided to walk home, just in case they had some people on the look out for me in the cab system. It was only a few dozen blocks and if I stuck to populated areas, I shouldn't have too much trouble.

As I walked on, I saw that strangely, there weren't many people out. In fact, the two or three blocks ahead of me looked practically empty, with maybe half a dozen people for the dozens upon dozens of cars zooming past next to the storefronts and sidewalks. I lowered my head down and began to walk more quickly, hoping that when I got through this empty and deserted area, there would be more people around for me to blend into.

My head down and my arms underneath my chest, it took me a moment to realize that traffic had thinned out too. It wasn't bumper to bumper, and there were in fact still a lot of cars (this was LA after all) but I was moving pretty much at the same pace, block wise, as the traffic.

Which is why when a black SUV changed lanes and began to move at the EXACT same pace as me in the left hand lane closest to the sidewalk, I felt my heart start to beat quite a bit faster. I stole a glance up ahead and saw that the intersection there was roaring with cars, leaving me very little chance to keep going if I wanted to, the bright orange DO NOT WALK sign flashing violently.

Approaching it now, I waited impatiently for it to turn, for the light to turn, for ANYTHING to turn to get me away from this black as night car that now idled next to me. For a moment, I thought that my fears had been for naught when nothing happened from them - probably just some guy checking me out - when all of a sudden, my heart sank as I heard the doors of the vehicle open.

I tried to play it off as if nothing had happened, as if I hadn't heard anything, despite the fact that I was now shivering in fear. I heard two pairs of footsteps behind me and felt hands being placed on my elbows.

"Ms. Heigl, come with us," one of the voices said, my eyes closed so tight that I didn't dare open them to look. I shook my head back and forth hard, my hair swaying into their faces, but they wouldn't take no for an answer. Grabbing onto my arms, they lifted me up off of the ground.

I began to kick and thrash violently, but they were much bigger than me and despite my good physical condition, they managed to drag me over to the car within a few seconds time, shoving me into the back seat rudely as they shut the door, just making it in time for the light to change.

The car sped off and as I adjusted my eyes to the light, I saw Gordon Hapsboro sitting in the passenger seat. Next to me were two well dressed men, Secret Service looking types, who stared straight ahead, their large bodies towering over me.

"You are a hard woman to find Ms. Heigl," Hapsboro said with quite a bit of glee in his voice, glee at having found me.

"Fuck you," I spat back at him.

"No no, you've already done that, remember? No, right now you appear to have fucked your sisters in the Rose Petals,"

I decided to play innocent "I don't know what the hell you are talking about,"

"Of course, of course. Now comes the part where I say 'We have ways of making you talk' and then we cut the scene back to the hero," Hapsboro said, turning around to look at me. In the dying light of the day, his face was mostly shadows except for the occasional gleam of his teeth.

"You realize that you just kidnapped me in broad daylight, right?" I said, trying to steer the conversation in a way I could control. Hapsboro would have none of it.

"We didn't kidnap you. We simply acted on behalf of your sisters in the Rose Petals who are very deeply concerned for you and want to make sure that you are ok and that your little 'problem' from yesterday doesn't happen again,"

My heart sank and I felt tears start to well in my eyes. There was no point in playing the tough girl any more. I began to sob.

"Are you going to kill me?" I asked between gasps, the tears now flowing down my cheek. Oh why had I left Alex's apartment when I did! Of all the luck!

"No, not today. But we are going to make sure that you don't forget that the way you treated your sisters, not to mention Mr. Willis and his organization yesterday, does not happen again,"

I broke down in tears now, uncontrollable emotion as I tried to come to grips with things. He wasn't going to kill me, but somehow the thought of death had seemed less stressful and taxing than anything else my over active imagination would likely come up with.

As the car continued to move, another faceless guy driving behind the wheel, I managed to compose myself enough to speak once again, although my voice barely registered as a whisper.

"What are you going to do to me?"

Hapsboro didn't respond, only stared straight ahead. I found courage in my voice and leaned forward in the seat for a moment before the gruesome twosome pulled me back hard.

"What are you going to do to me?" I asked again, my voice now rising in fear.

"WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO TO ME!!!" I pleaded, begging for an answer. The car continued onward and as I glanced out the window, I saw that we were not in the best part of town. The buildings were run down and the wino-to-citizen ratio was incredibly high. As the car made a left turn, it drove a little ways and then stopped abruptly. My heart did double time in my chest as I looked out the window at where we were.

I felt myself grow pale, my body grow weak and limp. "No, not here. Please Mr. Hapsboro, please!"

"Ms. Heigl, the time for pleading is over. Do not worry, this won't be painful. It will serve simply as a reminder of what the cost of your actions brought on this organization last night.

The side doors opened and the men grabbed me by the arm, pulling me out. My legs were wobbly and as I tried to stand up, I found myself unable to do so. The driver rolled down his window as one of the men lifted me up onto his shoulder, my body slack but my heart and mind racing.

"I'd love to stay and offer you some moral support Ms. Heigl, but I have a party I simply must attend. I trust Jules and Vince well enough, I'm sure they will make sure you get home safely. Isn't that right gentlemen?"

"Yes sir," the one holding me grunted. With that, Hapsboro's window rolled up and the two men carried me inside. I felt light headed and then suddenly everything went black as I was led in to meet my punishment for trying to screw the Rose Petals.

ALEX'S STORY:

I managed to find my mask without too much difficulty, which ended up being a bad thing. I drove to a costume shop a few blocks down from my apartment and started browsing their left over Halloween stock. I found a Greek comedy mask, one of those gold ones you always see at theaters and play houses, except this one was all blue. Trying it on, I was pleased with the way that it covered my face completely, obscuring all but my eyes to the world. I paid the man behind the counter and then walked out with it in my hands, tossing it on the seat as I got into my car.

Why it turned out to be a bad thing though, was simple: I now had lots of time to kill before the party started. Which of course meant that my mind had ample opportunity to go through all the possible scenarios of how things could go wrong at the party: what if no one else wore masks? Who was to say that people would even open up about the Rose Petals at a party like this? Or that I could even trust them?

All were valid questions as I drove my car, making loops around blocks purposely to kill time. It was only 7 now, and the invitation had said to be there no later than 8. That meant that I had about 45 minutes to kill before I actually decided to show up.

The reasoning behind it was not as rude as you might think: getting there early would simply draw attention to myself, as would arriving later than the time the invitation said. It was best to show up with the last group of stragglers, when Willis and the people in charge would be busy getting things going and spending less time greeting people.

Heading towards the hotel, I pulled into it's parking garage and simply sat in my car with the engine off, running through my plan in my head. I think the fact that everyone would be wearing masks was pretty much a given. And I knew from past experience that when people started drinking at one of Willis' parties, they were very open to talking. So two of my concerns were pretty negligible in the grand scheme of things. What I didn't know, and why I was sitting in my car now just hashing out every possible scenario, was if any of the information would be trustworthy, and who it would be coming from.

Katherine was right: it was the women at these things you had to look out for. The men were certainly dangerous because with the power of their pen, they could wipe you off the planet. But with the women, they were far more deadly than one would think: they would seduce you and pleasure you and get you talking and then stab you in the back (perhaps both literally and figuratively) if it helped out this sick little world that Willis had created.

Which is why I had to be on my guard and pay attention to everything. Women liked to gossip, and at a party like this, gossip would be flowing as much as the wine. It was all a matter of selecting the right information, the right vintage.

Taking a deep breath, I grabbed my mask and stepped out of the car. Putting it on, I walked to the elevator, leading up to the penthouse suite. As the elevator rose, I tried to calm my nerves. Looking in the brass mirroring of the elevator, I fixed my hair and waited for the ding. When it came, I stepped out onto the top floor, heading down the hall.

There was a doorman to greet me as I found the suite, situated right in the middle of the floor. He didn't say a word, simply ushered me in. Going inside, the party was actually quite a bit more than I expected. There were about 75 people total there, the men all wearing masks and the women formal evening gowns. A few of them looked at me as I walked in, but otherwise they were pretty involved in their conversations. I saw some of the same people from Willis' first party, as well as quite a few from my encounter at the strip club. The celebrities there were pretty much the same as before - some A listers, but also quite a few of up and comers and a few who I now knew to be Rose Petal members: Salma Hayek, Brittany Murphy, Tara Reid. And off in the corner, talking with the bartender was none other than Eliza Dushku herself. She was wearing a flowing green dress that came all the way down to her ankles but left plenty of room up top to expose her cleavage.

Heading over to the bar, I gave her a quick glance and asked the bartender for a drink. Eliza was leaning against the bar, drinking a martini. She turned her attention to me and spoke.

"You know, with all these damn masks, it's hard to tell who people are. But you look strangely familiar," Eliza said, sipping her drink.

I tried to keep my voice from expressing any nuances to give me away. "Oh really?"

"Yeah, you're build and all. If I hadn't already had three of these things, I'm sure I would remember," Eliza said. I looked at her directly now and watched as she pulled the olive in her glass out by the toothpick and put it to her lips, sucking it in seductively.

"You have a date for tonight?" she asked as she slowly chewed the little green ball.

"No, I decided to come alone,"

Eliza rose from where she was leaning and walked over to me, brushing her arm against mine as she was about to leave.

"Well, you let me know if you need some company. I'm dying to see what is behind that mask," she said, sauntering away slowly. I turned and watched her go, my heart rate slowing a bit now that she was gone. I finished my drink and had the bartender freshen me up another one as I scanned the party.

The suite was quite large, probably the biggest I had ever seen in a hotel. The main ballroom area had a full on orchestra going and with the suits and evening dresses, one would think this was a high class affair. I of course, knew better.

Leaving the bar, I mingled in with the guests, heading over to a crowd of about six or so who were standing in a circle, their voices low. On the arm of one of them was Molly Sims, that model from the Old Navy commercials and some show on MTV. She looked slightly bored by the conversation which, strangely enough, was reason for me to become interested. I lingered around the edge of the group, sipping my drink through the mask (a task that was a bit more difficult than it sounded)

"I hear they got caught with a shit load of coke and the cops hauled their asses out naked," one of the men said.

"Yeah, that's what I heard too. Only, it wasn't coke, it was some dope as well. Damn, you would think Willis would be more careful than that,"

"Willis was there?"

"Na, don't be such a prick. He wouldn't involve himself with stupid stuff like that. Now that Hapsboro guy on the other hand..."

"Hey guys, lighten up. This is their party after all, no need to start stupid rumors and reputation bashing,"

The conversation shifted to something else and I drifted away, mingling in on the party. Most of the rest of the people were content to talk about other things, stocks and what not, and quite frankly it didn't concern me. Behind my mask, I felt strangely invisible. Like a fly on the wall in a million different rooms with a million different conversations.

Brushing past Julie Bowen from that show "Ed", I felt a tap on the shoulder.

"Mr. Hilt?" the voice said. I turned around and saw a stocky looking man, wearing a Lone Ranger style mask.

"Yes?" I said, disappointed that my anonymity was broken.

"Enjoying the party?" the man asked. I recognized the voice - it was Gordon Hapsboro. He wore a slimming looking suit with a pastel orange tie, which matched the rest of his outfit pretty well, especially considering the Halloween/fall theme of the party.

"Yes, thank you. Mr. Hapsboro, correct?"

"Guilty as charged," Hapsboro said. "The mask isn't much. I didn't want the guests to not be able to find the host,"

"Indeed," I said, sipping my drink. "You are pretty adapt at picking people out of a crowd. Eliza Dushku didn't even recognize me,"

Hapsboro laughed. "Yes, well women seem to only know you by your pocket fold sometimes. Say, how are things going on your film? I haven't heard much lately, I've been busy with Mr. Willis and all,"

"They are going alright. I took some time away because of some personal things,"

"I'm sorry to hear that. Are they resolved now?"

"Yes, thank you for asking. I will probably come back on the lot on Monday," I said, trying to gauge if Hapsboro would be probing much deeper, because truthfully, I didn't have many more answers that weren't flat out lies. Thankfully though, a blonde passed between us and it caught his attention.

"Well, I hope to see you around soon. If you'll excuse me,"

"Of course," I said as he walked off after the woman. I waited for him to go before edging out away from the ballroom area and towards the more secluded hallways. The drink had run right through me, probably from nerves, and I needed to find a bathroom.