A Shepherd Afield Pt. 04

"It's time to crack open that champagne now!" Bryan hooted.

Ben's stomach grumbled but only he heard it over the cheering. "Did I hear someone say there was a dinner planned tonight?"

"Shit yeah! I'm starved!" Henri called out.

"Fuck! Our reservation is in ten minutes and we're thirty minutes out!" Gary complained.

"I'll call and let them know we're coming!" Bryan ran back to his desk.

"Let's go!" Don said and the group ran to their desks to get their wallets, purses, and keys.

Then it was upstairs and out to the parking lot. They peeled out of the lot in their individual cars, Ben with Don, and started a bit of a convoy. They got to the restaurant in twenty minutes and parked. Ben craned his neck to see the sign on the place to see what kind of restaurant it was but they were moving so fast he missed it.

"Why are we running? Is it dinner theatre? Are we trying to get in before the curtain raises?" he asked Don as he held his laptop bag close to his body. The man just grinned at Bryan. Mare and Henri rolled their eyes at their bosses.

"The food is excellent!" Mare said to him and Henri nodded.

They got inside and were quickly ushered to their table. The room was dimly lit so Ben assumed his guess about dinner theatre was right. The waiter handed them menus which had all of three entrees on it so he ordered the steak dinner and got nods from the ladies. Apparently that was the correct choice. Minutes later the food arrived and they dug in. Ben was amazed by the size of the steak he'd been given and once he bit into the first bite he closed his eyes in pleasure. He heard the two women snorting at him and he opened his eyes and smiled with a nod in their direction.

The waiter served the drinks and Ben saw he was the only one who hadn't ordered a rather large stein of beer. He sipped at his water as the others pounded back the beer. No sooner were they empty than another round arrived.

Ben noticed bouncers by the doors. He was sure they hadn't been there before the beer started arriving.

He was almost done his meal when the lights dimmed further and a spotlight suddenly lit up a curtained doorway. Loud music blared from hidden speakers in the ceiling. Bursting through the curtain came a stream of young women wearing... very little. Their outfits were comprised of g-string panties in different colors and matching pasties covering their nipples. Completing the minimal outfit, each wore a mask which covered the top of their faces with feathers pointing upwards like a headdress. The feathers were colored to match their panties and pasties.

The line of women wound their way through the tables at a quick walk and eventually made their way up onto a stage that ran along the far wall which was only now visible because it was lit up. Once the stage was filled each woman struck a different pose and froze in place.

Ben was feeling very uneasy about this. The atmosphere of this club was certainly no Moulin Rouge. It was definitely giving off a much seedier vibe. Some of the girls didn't appear to be thrilled about being on stage and one looked so nervous she might burst into tears at any moment. Ben's unease increased when a man walked out on stage with a microphone and pinched the nervous girl's ass as he passed causing her to yelp painfully. The man laughed and the crowd chuckled along with him.

Except Ben.

"Welcome to Sassy Kat Review! I'm your MC for the evening, BD, which stands for Big Daddy. Or it could stand for Big Dick! Only the girls know for sure. HA! We have a very exciting show for you tonight! Some lovely ladies will be performing for you here on stage and for a nominal fee these ladies up here could be performing for you one on one, if you catch my drift..." He leaned over to look at an older man near the stage. "I'm talking about lap dances gramps!" he yelled as if the man were deaf. More laughter from the crowd.

"First up tonight, all the way from Paris, France... Trixie LaBlanc!" he bellowed.

The line of women on stage split in two and moved to each end of the stage. They climbed down the stairs and moved amongst the tables.

Once the stage was empty the lights went down and a single spot shone on the center of the stage. A puff of smoke shot up from the stage floor and a woman slipped out a door behind the smoke to 'appear magically' on stage. She was dressed in a white trench coat, a blue beret, a red silk scarf and red stilettos. Accordion music began to play and the woman began to move. She had some skill but it was still painful for Ben to watch. It was obvious she didn't want to be doing this.

He looked away and tried to concentrate on finishing his meal but his appetite was gone. He pushed it away. He glanced up and saw the nervous girl looking at is plate hungrily. He crooked his finger at her then cut a cube of the meat and stuck it on his fork. She stepped next to him and he gestured for her to lean closer. When she did Ben lifted the fork placing the steak before her lips. She glanced at him then the meat was gone and she closed her eyes in pleasure as she chewed and swallowed quickly.

"Ben!"

He glanced to his left and Mare was indicating for him to look the other way. He turned and saw a bouncer incoming.

"Did I just break a rule?" he asked the girl.

She nodded quickly. "Sorry, I'm just so hungry. We aren't allowed to eat and I can only be with a customer if I'm dancing."

Ben pulled out his wallet. "How much?"

"Twenty dollars-"

"Sir, please don't feed the dancers," the bouncer said, looking like he wanted a piece of Ben. His eyes looked a little glassy. Ben was worried the man was high on something that made him so aggressive.

"Excuse me. I'm negotiating a dance with the woman," he said to the bouncer.

The bouncer moved closer and Ben saw his fists close.

Then the man was gasping and moaning in pain. The MC moved out from behind the bouncer, his fingers tightly pinching a muscle in the man's back.

"I'm terribly sorry for this misunderstanding. My colleague here obviously didn't recognize you," BD said smoothly as he released the man's muscle. The bodyguard sagged then looked nervously at his boss.

BD addressed his employee. "This is Ben Shepherd. He's killed harder men than you. He also rubs elbows with the rich and famous. You will show him respect in my club. Is that understood?" The bouncer nodded rapidly. "Off you go!" The man went.

BD turned back to Ben. "It is a genuine pleasure to have you visit our club, Mr. Shepherd! A man of your stature should be served by the very best. I think you will find Natrice and Zara to be more to your tastes!" Behind him stood two fairly attractive women, one black and one white, both with very sizable breast implants.

"My tastes? I believe..." he looked questioningly at the frightened girl.

"Becky," she squeaked.

"...Becky here is exactly my taste tonight," he finished.

BD smiled smoothly and bowed his head. "Of course. I will let you get back to it then. Please enjoy!" With a look at the girl BD moved away taking the two busty ladies with him.

Becky looked at Ben with a nervous expression. She took the twenty dollars. "You'll need to move your chair back so I can climb on."

"I don't want a lap dance."

"But I have to dance for you," she said with a worried glance over at the bouncer.

"So... dance."

She blinked at him then began to undulate and sway. Not very well and Ben had no trouble with his teenage libido for once.

He looked at the young woman carefully. She was no more than 5' 6" and very slim. Behind the silly blue mask were lovely blue eyes. Her hair was light brown and fell with a slight wave to her shoulders. She had a sprinkling of freckles across her chest and her breasts were small. Her ribs were showing so he wondered when her last meal was.

Ben cut another piece of steak and stuck it on the fork. Her eyes went to it. He gestured for her to lean closer and she tipped forward awkwardly pushing her tits together. When she opened her mouth Ben put the steak into it and she pulled it from the fork with her teeth. Ben turned his eyes to the bouncer who'd approached him earlier and locked eyes with the man until the other turned away. So, no trouble from him.

He proceeded to feed the young woman as she danced for him and ended up paying sixty dollars for the privilege as it was twenty a song.

"Can we talk for a minute?" Ben asked as she finished her last dance.

"Only if you buy a drink and then only for ten minutes max," Becky said.

"How much are the drinks?" Ben asked.

"Ten dollars for the beer and fifteen for the hard stuff," Becky replied.

Ben handed her another twenty, he was getting low, and held her eyes with his. "Bring two steins of beer."

She nodded and slipped away.

Mare leaned closer with a grin. "Kinda young isn't she?" she said, slurring just a little from the beer she'd had.

"That's my worry. She seems much too young to be here." Ben said and looked around.

Don had the two busty beauties attempting to suffocate him with their tits much to his delight. True to his mantra, his hands were down, clinging to his chair seat to keep from betraying him. Ben snorted.

Bryan was mesmerized by a sweet Asian woman gyrating on his lap and playing with his beard.

Even Henri had a woman on her lap, a red head in twin ponytails, and the two were looking at each other like they were about to devour each other.

Mare looked embarrassed by her friend's obvious excitement. She gave Ben an awkward grin. Ben saw four empty beer steins in front of her and realized she was drinking to hide her discomfort at being there.

Becky returned with the two drinks but kept her face turned away from Ben.

"Becky?"

"I- I have to go."

"Becky, look at me," he said firmly.

The young woman turned her face and her left cheek was red and swollen. Ben's eyes went cold.

"Who hit you?" he said quietly.

Becky's eyes were tearing up. "BD. He was using the phone at the bar. I overheard him speaking to someone about getting the news stations to come down here to film you leaving the club. He- he told me to keep quiet about it. Then he hit me for eating the steak."

Mare shared her drunk look of outrage with Ben.

"How old are you Becky?" Ben asked.

"Eighteen." she squeaked.

"When."

She paused then looked down. "Last weekend."

"How long have you worked here?"

Another pause. "A- about a month."

"Do you want to go home?" Ben asked.

"Oh god yes!" Becky's tears were running down her face now.

"Ok, let's go get your stuff." Ben stood and shouldered his bag. He looked at Mare who seemed like she wanted to go too. "Come on Mary."

The wobbly woman stood and Ben assisted her across the floor as they followed Becky. The bouncer keeping customers from entering the backstage area took one look at the flaring scar bisecting Ben's scowling face and discovered someplace else to be. Mare and Ben waited for Becky who quickly gathered her meager belongings in a ratty duffle and met them in the hall.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going?"

Ben turned and saw BD standing in the hall glaring at Becky who shrunk behind him. He slipped his bag off his shoulder to hand it to Mary who stepped in behind him as well. Becky began to whimper.

"That's no longer your concern," Ben said, seeing two of BD's larger bouncers step into the hall behind the man.

BD looked at Ben in disappointment. "Here I was thinking we could be friends but friends don't fuck with the livelihoods of their friends. She's mine."

"Becky isn't yours-"

"Like fuck she isn't. Her hole belongs to me. You and your fugly bitch can just fuck off. My associates and I need to explain the facts of life to the fuckwit." Becky began to cry in earnest hearing this.

"Fuck I hate hearing a skank cry. Boy's, move this pansy aside so we can fill her noisy hole-"

Ben's fist silenced the bile spewing from BD's mouth and the man flew back into the arms of the two men who stared in shock at Ben. They hadn't seen his punch coming. One moment the big man was still and the next BD was a loose bag of bones in their arms. They looked up at Ben who waited for them to decide. The men shared a look then carefully carried their boss back down the hallway away from Ben. They'd give each other a few bruises to show their boss they put up a fight and they'd keep their jobs.

"Fuck me! That was scary!" Mare slurred and clung to Becky.

"Is there a back way out of here?" Ben asked, taking his laptop case back.

Becky was drying her eyes and nodded. She led them further down the hall to a door indicating it was a fire exit. Mare grinned and yanked the fire alarm. Sirens began to wail. Scowling at Mary, Ben pushed out the door and they were in the alley behind the building. He made his way down the alley, feeling Mary clinging to the back of his shirt with Becky close behind. When they got to the corner they peeked around it and saw several news vans parked out front of the building with reporters on the sidewalk. A crowd had already begun to form to see what the reporters were up to. Moments later the firetrucks began arriving. Ben stepped out of the alley and walked casually across the street to the parking lot with Mary and Becky following. Ben held out his hand and Mary blinked at him.

"Car keys. I'm driving."

Mary blinked then fished her keys from her purse. Ben hit the unlock button and the signal lights on a pickup truck two rows back flickered. He made his way to the truck and got the women in. He drove them out slowly and didn't put on the lights until they were underway on the main road leaving behind the mess of the fire trucks, police, and the press.

Mary was leaning against Ben's arm and she'd begun to snore. Ben glanced over at Becky. The girl seemed lost.

"Becky? Where's home?"

"Sydney."

"Is it safe for you to go home?" he asked.

"Yes. I- I haven't spoken with mom since I left. We had a real blow-out. I- I need to apologize to her," the girl said quietly.

"I'm flying to Sydney tomorrow. I'll see if I can't get you on the flight," Ben said.

The young woman looked at him with a puzzled expression. "You could just put me on a bus. It's cheaper," Becky said.

"You don't want to fly?" Ben asked glancing over at her.

"More than I want to spend eight hours on a bus but... why are you doing this?" she asked.

"Because I can and it's the right thing to do," Ben said simply. He looked down at Mary who was drooling a little on his sleeve. "Listen, tonight you and Mary can sleep on my bed and I'll take the couch. Tomorrow I have a meeting with the company I came to see then in the afternoon we fly to Sydney. OK?"

Becky nodded.

They reached the hotel and with Becky's help to carry the bags and lock the truck Ben carried Mary in his arms. He carried her in and Becky got the door, elevator, and Ben's room door open as well.

Becky pulled the bedspread down and Ben settled Mary onto the bed. She smiled in her sleep.

"I don't have any other clothes," Becky squeaked.

"What happened to your clothes?" he asked.

"BD threw them out. He only let me wear the stuff he gave me and took them back afterwards."

Ben sighed. He wished he'd punched the man a few more times. He suddenly realized he remembered hitting him. He was rather pleased with himself. This was an improvement!

"Why are you smiling?" Becky asked nervously.

"What? Oh, I was just remembering when I punched BD. It felt good. I wish I'd hit him some more," Ben admitted and Becky's face lit up with a smile.

"I'll give you a t-shirt for tonight. Tomorrow I'll get you some clothes," he said.

As he moved around the end of the bed she crushed herself against his chest and squeezed him in a hug. He hugged her in return then moved to give her the t-shirt.

"You get ready for bed and I'll look into the flight." He heard the bathroom door close and he flipped open the laptop which was no worse for wear from their little adventure tonight. He pulled up the airline's website and saw there was a seat available on the flight. He was booking it and it asked for last name.

"Becky? What's your last name?" he called out.

"Law. L. A. W," she replied through the bathroom door.

He finished the entry and booked the seat. The screen flashed something odd but it was gone before he could read it. He logged back in and the seats were still booked and he got a confirmation on his email. He shrugged, shut down the machine and packed it away.

Becky came out of the bathroom. She'd scrubbed away the make-up and was wearing his black t-shirt which made her look no more than fifteen. He grinned at her and she blushed.

"That's better!" he said.

"Shut up! I look like a kid!" she complained but the smile was still on her lips.

"Get some sleep. We'll have a big breakfast in the morning. All you can eat!"

"Mmmm! I've missed a few meals," she moaned.

Ben carried a t-shirt for himself and closed the door to get ready for bed when he came out Becky was already sound asleep.

He settled down on the couch and let himself drift off.

Chapter 30

Soft lips on his cheek woke him and he smiled as he opened his eyes thinking it was Tina. Becky was smiling down at him and Mary was behind her with a grin on her face. Both looked like they had already showered and Mary's hair was wrapped in a towel. Becky was still wearing his t-shirt with a belt to make it a dress. A rather short one.

"Good morning, Ben!" the ladies said.

"Good morning," he returned wondering why Mary's smile was getting wider. Then he realized he was sporting some serious wood this morning with only his boxers to poorly hide the fact.

With a blush he sat up and pulled a pillow to his lap. "Did I sleep in?"

"No, this one's stomach rumbles so loud I was amazed it didn't wake you all the way over here!" Mary joked.

Becky bit her lip. "I'm sorry. I'm hungry."

Ben glanced at the clock and saw it was only a quarter to eight. "Right, well, let me get ready and we'll get some breakfast." He carried the pillow with him to get some clothes and dropped it behind him as he stepped into the bathroom.

Once prepared the three made their way to the restaurant and sat at the same table Ben had chosen the day before. The same waitress approached and smiled at him.

"If it isn't my favorite celebrity!" she quipped and Ben smiled.

"I brought friends today. They heard the breakfasts are pretty special."

"They heard right! Everything on this menu is delicious." She eyed Becky. "This one should order more than one of everything," she stage whispered to Ben. Becky smiled self-consciously.

"Anyone for coffee?" the waitress asked.

Mary raised her hand but Becky just shook her head as did Ben.

"Large orange juice?" the woman said pointing at Ben as she recalled the previous day and he nodded. She looked at Becky.

"Large chocolate milk?" the young woman asked.

"Coming right up!"

When they were alone again Becky looked at Ben. "Can I really order what I want?"

"Yes."

"How about me?" Mary asked with a grin and Ben nodded.

When the drinks arrived they placed their orders and Becky got a sizeable meal with eggs, bacon, sausage, baked beans, toast and pancakes with fruit. Ben's order was smaller and Mary just asked for toast and jam.

"Oh! I got you a seat on the same plane as me this afternoon to Sydney," Ben told Becky.

"You're taking her with you?" Mary blinked.

"Right, you were asleep and drooling on me when Becky and I talked about this last night," Ben said.

"Shut up I was drooling! I don't drool!" Mary squeaked.

Ben smiled and nodded with a shrug. "Don't take my word, ask Becky. She's my witness."

"You're just avoiding the question, you're taking Becky with you?" Mary pushed.

"She's from there. She's going home." He looked at the young woman. "You should call to let your mom know you're coming."