Dating Rules And Pretty Fools Ch. 10

"Yes and yes. Now spill it. The faster we move, the better. But first, tell me everything you know."

Jasper linked his hands and pressed them with his knees. "I heard them talking. About fresh meat. They were talking about me. They said I wasn't pretty enough to keep."

A pregnant silence followed. "And they didn't mean they were going to fire you," Hudson said calmly.

Jasper shivered by his side, so Hudson draped an arm around him. For anyone who looked, they were the picture of any couple sharing a latte in a café. He pushed his cup toward the boy. "What were they talking about?" he asked calmly.

"I don't know exactly, but they were talking like... I don't know. Like they wanted to put on a show with me. At a new place."

Hudson's ears perked up. "What place?"

"Till The Sweet End," Jasper replied. "So they called it. And they laughed."

"Slow down," Hudson advised him again. "Who were they? Watkins and who else?"

Jasper bit on his bottom lip and winced. "I was behind the curtain and was supposed to have gone on a break. So I didn't see them. There were at least two other guys. One sounded like he was the real boss. He had a strange voice."

"Strange how?" Every little detail mattered.

"He sounded like a robot," Jasper replied. "I've never heard anyone talk like that before. I thought, at first, that Watkins was playing with some machinery or something. But their conversation... that didn't sound like something a robot would talk about."

Hudson had his theories about the robot-like voice, but he wasn't about to offer Jasper a crash course on them. They had no time for that. "Okay, continue. You say there was someone else there, besides Watkins and this boss of his."

"Yeah, but he didn't talk very much. They both treated him like he was their servant. It could have been one of the bouncers, but I didn't have the guts to look."

"Tell me more about their conversation. Till The Sweet End, you said?"

"Yes. They said they could use me as the debut piece. They talked about... making it last. Making me last." Jasper's voice turned so quiet that Hudson had to hold him really close to hear him. "They used words like finished, done for, like that. And then, the bouncer guy asked if... when he would have to get rid of the body."

Hudson schooled his face into a neutral expression and looked ahead, taking in the daily noise of human existence, so oblivious to the darkness lurking in the shadows. "What did they say next?" he asked.

"Didn't you hear me, man?" Jasper asked anxiously. "They made it sound as if I was the body."

"The bouncer mentioned the body," Hudson reminded him.

"Does it matter?" Jasper's voice came out as a frightened squeal.

"Yes. Everything matters." It mattered because otherwise, cases got dismissed, and murderers walked free.

"The one with the robot voice told him off. He said something about him being distasteful or something like that. But he did talk about a body!"

"When is this debut supposed to take place?" Hudson asked.

"Are you nuts? I need to fucking disappear!"

"I will make it happen," Hudson said calmly. "But I need all the details you can give me. And if you want to disappear so much, how come you haven't tried to run?"

"You think I haven't tried?" Jasper swayed between desperate and angry. "But they put that guy Jackie on my case. He sticks to me like glue."

Hudson worked his jaw. Jasper wasn't playing him, but he wasn't that bright either. "Where is he now?"

"I told him I was going to get a coffee and promised him one, too."

"Was Jackie with the boss and Watkins that time when you overheard that conversation?"

"I don't think so. That guy can't keep quiet for a minute."

Hudson stood from his seat and took Jasper by the arm. "We need to leave now."

"Oh, fuck," Jasper whispered. "Oh, no."

Hudson looked ahead, knowing already what to expect. Jackie was pushing through the waves of people, his eyes already on them.

He threw one arm over Jasper's shoulders and smiled. "Let me do the talking. Everything I say, your only job is to agree with me. And do it without looking like you're about to get lynched."

"Easy for you to say, man. Fuck, I'm done for."

"No, you're not." Jackie was barely a few feet away and grinning at them.

"My man, Vegas," Jackie said and offered his hand. "So nice to see you. How's work?" He winked and then turned his head to look at Jasper.

Hudson took the offered hand and shook it hard enough to make Jackie focus on him. "Good enough."

"Awesome for me, too. I'm in charge of watching Jasper, you know?" Jackie let go of Hudson's hand. "Make sure he doesn't want for anything."

"That so?" Hudson asked. "He just told me you sent him on a little errand."

Jackie rubbed the back of his head and smiled sheepishly. "He offered. Hey, man, what's with you?" he asked, his attention trained on Jasper now. "Have you been crying or something?"

"It's his mother. He just got the news. Terminally ill."

"Yeah," Jasper whispered softly and looked down. "She's got it bad."

Jackie's face metamorphosed into what looked like genuine concern. "Ah, man, I'm so sorry to hear that. Fuck, is there anything I can do? Just name it."

"Jasper needs to go be with her," Hudson continued. "And he needs to go now."

"Sure, sure," Jackie said but he didn't sound convinced. "I should call the boss and tell him--"

Hudson grabbed his arm. "You can tell him later. Now, we're going to take Jasper to the bus station and send him home."

"Okay, okay, sure, but just let me grab my bitter fix. Two minutes. I know these guys," Jackie promised and hurried toward the counter.

Hudson began talking quickly while slipping Jasper one of his cards and all the cash he had on him. "We go to the bus station, and you buy two tickets, in different directions. We'll load you into one of them, and then, I'll grab Jackie. You get down and climb on the other. Call me as soon as you can so that I can ensure your safety."

"They might find out. They might squeeze the truth out of you," Jasper whispered.

"So don't let me know that second destination. I'll find a way to keep Jackie in the dark while you buy the tickets. This way, they won't be able to squeeze anything out of me."

"Why are you doing this?"

Hudson remained silent for a moment. "It's my job," he said curtly and smiled as Jackie returned with a sealed cup in his hand.

***

"Poor guy," Jackie said and shook his head as they left the bus station.

Under the pretext that they both needed to be back to work ASAP, Hudson had dragged Jackie away just as Jasper boarded the first bus.

"You know, my momma passed away a couple of years ago, too," Jackie continued blabbering.

Hudson was all eyes and ears but pretended to be preoccupied by other stuff. "Yeah, that's tough."

"Man, you're all ice," Jackie complained. "I mean, you've never lost someone like that, huh? That must be it. I barely kept from crying in front of Jasper right now." He looked out the car window and sniffled. "But you, you're the big man, right?"

"What can you do?" Hudson said with a shrug.

"How the fuck am I going to break the news to the big boss?" Jackie continued his lamentation after a couple of minutes of silence.

"About what?"

"About Jasper taking off like that. He told me that Jasper would be our first hot number for the new club."

"What new club?" Hudson asked, acting as if he was hearing about it for the first time.

"He hasn't told you? Damn, big man, you're not one of the guys yet. That means you should work harder. Anyway, I'll tell you because I like you."

"Lucky me," Hudson said and offered Jackie a grin when the guy turned to stare at him. "Come on, shoot, what new club?"

"It's still in the works, but it's going to be huge," Jackie bragged. "Jasper needed some serious training before the big opening, and I guess the boss needs to find a replacement now."

Details, details, details. He needed more of them, but he couldn't act too eager. "Too bad his momma got ill."

"Yeah. Anyway, it's a couple of months until then. They'll find someone else, I bet," Jackie said.

"And what's the name of the club?" Hudson asked as if he was just making conversation.

"Right, I didn't tell you. Till The Sweet End. Pretty neat, huh?"

Indeed. Hudson looked away so that Jackie didn't see his nostrils flaring. Fresh scent. And he was on the hunt.

TBC