The few weeks that I worked at Dirty Work following the run-in with the man with the rose jacket went fairly uneventfully. I worked the bars, cleaned the stages and even got a chance to work the music during the time when the girls weren't on stage. We had a couple of new regulars turning up on Wednesdays and Fridays for the male stage, with a nice-looking Trovation girl in the new fandom, though I never managed to catch her eye. Shame, I think we could have worked something out.

      I think that this particular episode began whilst Markro, Ashrore and I were sat eating in one of the back rooms before the main workload began. The boss had gone out for a bit, as he was prone to do, one some task that we had no inclination to ask about. Although the strange and violent stuff was fun sometimes, we also didn't want to go into underground stuff too often. After all, we all just wanted to work, get the money, and one day get out of there and work upwards to some kind of stardom, wherever that might be.

      'Who's won the race?' Markro asked me. I'd just come back in from an adjoining room, where the Hyper-GP race had just finished. I sat down and grabbed a bite to eat out of the box in the middle of the table.

      'Horgrus,' I said. The food wasn't the best, but when was it ever?

      'Christ, him again? He wins every time.'

      'Hasn't won in three races actually,' I reminded him. 'Been off the pace for a bit.'

      'Who caressss?' Ashrore quipped. 'Wassss it a decccent racccce?'

      'Eh, wasn't bad. Big spin right at the start but nothing else really of interest.'

      'Who spun?'

      'Lar.4G'

      Markro swore loudly. 'I'd got money on him for the championship.'

     While we were eating and fuelling up for what would surely be a tough night - Saturdays were always tough, there was a knock on the door.

      'Who is it?' Markro called.

      'Is Lura in there?' The voice was female, and human. One of the dancers. I hadn't been around yet enough to be able to pick up identities purely from their voices, as they rarely were around us when they were speaking, but Ashrore knew her immediately.

      'Come on in, Hidra.' The door opened and one of the dancers, still clad in casual clothes and so obviously lined up for a late night performance, walked in. She had long blonde hair and thin eyes, mere slivers of eyes that seemed to pierce. Her clothes covered up every inch of skin possible. Definitely a veteran of Dirty Work, the newbies thinking it's all psychological warfare over the other girls for the prime spot out on the stage and the seasoned strippers knowing that shit like that couldn't phase them, and went around trying to prove it.

       'Oh,' she said, spying the box on the table. 'Can I have one?'

      'Help yourself. If it ruins your figure for tonight then that's your head, not ours,' Markro said.

      'The boss can't fire me; I'm one of his stars.'

      'Ssssome would ssssay the only sssstar,' Ashrore commented. Hidra took a cookie from the box and began to eat.

      'You were asking about Lura?' I asked.

      'Oh, yes. She's meant to be going on before me, but I haven't seen her. Bitch is probably shut up somewhere, or shot by someone that saw her last night, gods know how many we get trailing us home, but what can you do?'

      Markro sat back in his chair and put his hands together under his chin, lacing them together.

      'Yes, she was here last night. Decent show as well. She's done better, but then she didn't look too well when I saw her around afterwards. Maybe she's come down with something? A bug of some kind?'

      'Better not have done, or I'll have to go and double shift. And her followers are the most messed up of all the fan-groups we get here.' She wrinkled up her nose. 'The perverted fuckers.'

      'You work here,' Ashrore commented.

      'Doesn't mean I have to like it. Or mean that they're justified in being perverted.' Ashrore raised her eyebrows in the universal sign of 'good point' before returning to her own cookie.

      'Give it tonight, and if she isn't here by two hours before her shift I'll ask her where she is. Might have other commitments, you never know. Family?'

      'Disowned her when she was fourteen. For working down here.'

      'In Dirty Work?' I asked, incredulous.

      'No, on the outside Red Circuits.'

      You may think that it's strange of me to be glad that she was selling her body off at fourteen rather than just revealing it to strangers in the midst of flashing lights, air made of sweat, urine and other bodily functions, and with enough drugs being passed under the counters and consumed in the toilets to keep someone's pockets filled with money quite handsomely for a year at least, but in truth I was glad that the boss' reputation was safe. He didn't let anyone underage even step over the threshold of his club, no matter how much money they might bring in. And the way he ran the joint, he could afford it.

      'Anyone got her addresssss?' Ashrore asked.

      'No, but I bet we could get it off the boss,' I said. Markro waved his hand to dismiss my suggestion.

      'Don't bother him right now. Meeting with someone, and will be for most of the night, as far as I know Guys on the door told me. We solve any issue ourselves.' I nodded, submitting to Markro's superior knowledge and judgement. When the boss was busy, Markro took unofficial charge of anything that wasn't immediately to do with the financial side of the club.

      'What time is it now?' I asked, glancing at my Halo-Core simultaneously. Isn't it funny how people ask for someone else for the time as they're checking it themselves? Are they expecting someone to give a different answer, so that more conversation can take place and they can avoid whatever duty it is they're lagging behind on doing? I don't know. I've never quite worked it out.

      'We'd better get out and do final checks,' Markro said, rising from his chair. 'You go get prepared, Hidra. We'll sort out Lura, if we can.'

      'Thanks,' Hidra said, heading for the door. 'Just so you know, I don't actually care about her. She's a bit of a bitch that thinks she's an absolute idol when she's actually just a mediocre figure with decent eyelashes. I just don't want to go out for twice as long for the same cash. I like the money at the end, I don't like having to work for hers and then not get it.'

      'If you do have to go on early and work her slot, then I'll see you get paid extra,' I said. She snorted and left with a 'like that will ever happen.'

      'Well?' Ashrore asked. 'Are you going to check on her?'

      'Not now. I'll wait until half eight. If she hadn't been reported here yet, I'll check up on her or, if push comes to shove, get her address and go find her myself.' He sighed. 'I hope she turns up. She doesn't need anything else turning to shit for her.'

      And with this final, parting remark, we left to go and make sure the stages were prepared for the evening's performances.