The others were waiting to hear Kai’s plan, hoping he wouldn’t send them into the lion’s den.
“Of course not. Did you already forget that we’re just here to scout out the area today?” Kai looked at Innu, who sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. “The quickest way to take down a gang or to make it collapse is to take out the head. Still, that will leave us with the problem I mentioned earlier about running the place, but we can worry about that later.
“The issue is… finding the location of the Pincers’ base. The information I received only helped me narrow it down. It should be located on this street. As to where exactly… well, that’s why we’re here.”
Looking around, the others attempted to look for some clues. Perhaps it was the place that was busiest, the one with the most workers, or maybe even the one that had the most guards outside. Alas, it wasn’t like after entering, they would instantly recognise the leader.
“I can’t sniff him out.” Gary eventually mumbled, thinking that Kai was expecting him to do something. The others had heard what their leader said, and were confused, but the comment made the upperclassman smirk.
“I never expected you to. Remember what I said about willing workers? It will be impossible to get any information out of anyone who has been working for a while for them. However, there will also be those that have been forced to work here. We’ll focus on those workers that aren’t afraid of the Pincers just yet. Our goal is to try to find one of these workers to… help us out.”
Strange, wild thoughts started to run through everyone’s head as soon as Kai mentioned this. If they needed to talk to the workers, and they were here, did that mean they needed to partake in… that?!
The blonde teenager walked up to Austin and Gary, handing them both a large pile of cash each.
“You two look the oldest out of all of us. I’m afraid it’s too risky for the rest of us to try our luck. They’ll probably won’t even let us past the door if we requested a worker. You know what to do, try to get the girls to confess something. Oh, and if you want to have some fun… at least give us a heads-up.” Kai smirked.
“Hey, Gary!” Marie immediately went up to him. “You're not actually going to listen to that idiot, right? Just go into the room with them, ask some questions, and head out.” Her face was red, aware that she had no right to tell the green haired teenager what to do.
“Since they think you will be doing-doing…doing that. They most likely won’t have cameras or that in the rooms, in order to protect their important clientele.”
Gary just nodded, not saying much, as he was left a bit speechless. Out of everything he had done, maybe this would be the hardest thing after all.
[Your BPM is rising]
[BPM 95]
‘Shut up!’
There was one person that seemed a bit bummed out about the whole thing, though, and that was Innu. He was cursing his somewhat small frame that did make him appear young to others. He could understand Austin, but seeing Gary, who had only recently enjoyed his growth spurt, pass him on their way to adulthood was a nasty pill to swallow.
After making it clear what they needed to do, the real question was where would they start.
“I have a suggestion.” Innu said. “Why don’t we head to where we had the meal today? It's as good a starting point as any other, right?”
Still curious about the girl that had acted strangely. Innu wanted to know whether that girl was a willing or a forced worker… he felt a little bad for her. For once, the boy was talking a surprising amount of sense.
——
Once Gary and Austin entered through the door, they were being led by a businesswoman who had a walkie-talkie attached to her hip.
She was wearing a business shirt and a tight skirt, and she herself didn’t look bad as she led the two of them to the reception room. The restaurant wasn’t even open for business. The tables had all been cleared, and now they were sitting on one sofa out of several.
There were other clients in here being led by a server worker as well.
“Please, what service would you like to select from our menu?” The woman asked as she handed them a leaflet.
Reading the ‘items’ on the list was just making Gary’s heart beat even faster. Imagining the scene in his head, for a young teenager who had done nothing like this before, he was worried that any second now he might stain the inside of his trousers.
‘What the hell is wrong with me…think Jabba the Hutt…Jabba the Hutt…’
“Austin, handle this one, please.” Gary whispered.
Since the large teenager seemed less affected, the gang leader left the talking to him.
“It’s hard to order from the menu’s description alone. Would it be possible to see all the girls here?” Austin asked. Gary was quite impressed that he had said those words so calmly, without stuttering. It all felt so… natural. ‘Could it be this isn’t his first time in such a place?’
The businesswoman got on her walkie-talkie, and a few moments later. A number of girls walked out in a row with numbers on a large badge that was placed on the top right of their shirts. They were wearing quite the flashy red Chinese style dresses that the others had seen today, only the slit seemed to go up the thigh, revealing more.
“Please, tell me which number you like the best, and what service you would like to get.” The woman told them.
Fourteen beautiful girls came to stand before the two teenage boys. Having somewhat calmed himself down, Gary lifted his head to take a look at the girls. That's when his eyes locked onto a certain individual.
‘Stacy! What is she doing here?!’