Inside the dark venue, some of the girls were doing their best to be chosen by the customers. They were throwing kisses towards the men in the room, lifting their dresses to show off more than just their legs.
"Sirs, while we do abide by the principal of ‘the customer is king’, I’ll have to ask you to hurry up your decision. We can't keep the girls out here forever, especially not when we have other customers they could attend to." The businesswoman had her arms crossed in front of her, her right foot impatiently stepping up and down.
On another sofa, some older men were already mumbling, and Gary could hear a few of them mentioning numbers here and there. Everyone had a menu, but not everyone had asked to see all the girls as Austin had done.
Looking at the girls, Gary immediately noticed a few things. While many of them tried to present themselves to the two teenagers, some of them were standing in a defensive position, rubbing their arms and covering themselves from the gazes of others. It was clear that they didn't want to be there.
'I was right, sure there are some who are willing, but not all of them want to be here.' Gary thought. With this thought in mind, it allowed Gary to calm himself down from the situation a bit. He looked over all the girls before he announced. "Number 13."
Her head held low, Stacy stepped forward. The businesswoman cleared her throat, making her flinch up, before she looked up, and put on a nervous smile at her suitor. Gary still had his hood up, even in the establishment. The workers didn’t seem to mind, indicating that he wasn’t the only one who had come without wanting anyone to recognise him.
'That was the girl that Innu kept trying to talk to as well.' Austin noticed. 'Man, those two are into the same girl. That's going to cause a problem, that's for sure. Should I stir the pot with Innu for a bit?' Austin smirked as he was finally able to make a decision.
"Are there any of you with a kid?" Austin loudly questioned with his arms crossed. The atmosphere immediately changed, and Gary almost fell out of his chair. Even the girls who had been vying for attention stopped and looked at each other strangely. It wasn't a request they often got, that was for sure.
'A kid?! Why is he asking if any of the girls have a kid…unless he is just here for fun. Does that mean he has a thing for older women? Man, I’m learning too many things about those close to me today, which I don't want to know. I'm afraid if Innu was here, he would be asking for the girls to show off their feet or something.'
The truth was that Austin had asked this question not because of some personal preference, but because he believed that those with children might be more willing to talk. Since they had more on the line, they might be more frightened of the Pincers. Potentially, they might agree to share some information in exchange for money…
"Apologies, sir, but that is private information our workers don’t feel comfortable revealing. Please just select the one you like. If she feels comfortable, perhaps she will answer your question then." The business was clearly frustrated by now, since the teenage boys had already wasted so much time. She was even second guessing whether she shouldn’t have just thrown them out immediately.
"Okay, number 8." Austin declared, and a small, young-looking girl stepped forward. If Gary were a betting man, that one would have been the last person he had picked, especially after his question. Honestly, he couldn’t comprehend his fellow gang member's way of thinking.
The rest of the girls walked away, and the workers led them where to go next. The two pairs entered an elevator together, arriving at the second floor. They could see a long hallway with several rooms on either side.
Each room had a corresponding number above. Following the girls, it was finally time.
'I can't believe I'm in a place like this… what the hell happened to my life?' Gary asked himself, when Stacy opened the door with the number ‘13’ on it. Meanwhile, on the opposite side, Austin casually entered the door with the number ‘8’ on it.
"Thank you." Gary said, heading inside. His legs felt like they were going to buckle at any second, and he was wondering just how Austin was dealing so nonchalantly with all of it.
Entering the room, the high schooler didn't know what he had imagined, but it wasn't… this. There was a large bed with all kinds of fancy pillows on them. Looking at them alone, he could just imagine how soft they were.
Then there was a closed-off bath and a separate shower with marble flooring on the toilet. Quickly running into the bathroom, the worker felt like her customer was acting rather strange.
"Hey, this is like a hotel, right? Meaning all these small Shampoo bottles and stuff are free?" Gary asked.
"Y-yeah, I guess." Stacy answered in a stutter.
Shoving them into his pocket, Gary felt elated, believing he had just obtained the perfect gift for Amy’s upcoming birthday. Hotel shampoo was a luxury… at least from where they were from. The high schooler would just have to keep quiet as to where exactly he had procured it from.
'This… is like a dream place. I've never even been in a hotel before.' He couldn't stop smiling.
Running out of the toilet, Gary ran into the main room with the same enthusiasm as a little boy in a candy shop. The first thing the teenager did was jump on the bed and lie on his back. It bounced him a little, yet soon enough his body started to sink in. It was, as expected, the softest sensation he had ever experienced.
He could only imagine how nice it would be to fall asleep in such a place. Not just that, but on his own. Without having to share a room. After a few seconds of bliss, he remembered that he was actually here to do a job.
He wasn't alone, but he soon got distracted again, seeing something else. A particular set of items on the table were laid out. The toys stood up hard and long and there were all sorts of different colours. Some had unusual designs, rigid, big and small, all shapes and sizes. He had seen these items on specific videos he would watch. It made him gulp.
Heading to the table, Gary picked up one of the strange objects. He had chosen the one that was pink in colour. He started to shake it about left and right with his hand, and surprisingly it had some give as it flopped about. His thumb rubbed against the bottom and noticed there was a button. Curious, he pressed it, and the object started to shake violently.
‘Whoa, I nearly dropped the thing!’ Gary thought. ‘That's really violent. Do they really like these things?’
As he was about to put the pink object down on the table, he heard the sound of sobbing and realised it was coming from the girl.
"I can't do it… please, I don't want to do it…" A cry came from behind, and he could see Stacy was in tears, hardly able to stand up.
"I'm sorry, sir, but please… it's my first day, and… I haven’t had time to adjust myself… I-if you could … just pick someone else." Stacy continued to plead amid her sobs.
Gary walked over, not realising he still had the object in his hand, which was only frightening Stacy more, wondering what this person planned to do to her until she heard him say. "It's okay. I'm not going to do anything like that. I’m just here to ask you a few questions."
Taking down his hood, it was the last person Stacy had ever expected to see in a place like this. Recognising the green hair, the girl loudly exclaimed: "Gary!"