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“Because I wanted you here.”
The car glides up to the entrance of a strip club before I can ask any more questions. Unlike Lorcan, who is the first out of a vehicle, Finn waits for one of the guards to open his door, and then he nods at me to do the same.
A few of the guys go ahead of me, and Finn and a few others trail behind us. It’s less organized than Lorcan, but being in the middle of the pack is safer than leading the charge.
Once we enter the club, it takes a few minutes for my eyes to adjust. The lighting is dim and, like in Vegas, there’s not a clock anywhere. Losing time, as well as the money in the wallet, is the point of a place like this. Alcohol and sex waft toward me. The women on stage are moving to the music as though they’re in quicksand, sinking further under. The walls and furniture are in shades of red, whereas the stage is bright white. The poles are dull, in need of a cleaning. While we wander through the club, the women are full of blank-eyed, dazed stares. Places like this set my teeth on edge. Outwardly, I can’t afford to show my disgust. It’s business, that’s all.
Money. Power.
Nothing else matters.
We’re led to the back by a security guard. In a room, before the office, is a gang of security guards who appear to be pressuring a drunk guy to go to his bank machine and clear it out. They’re holding his wallet and a bunch of photos as ransom.
Tell your wife what you did, buddy. One way or another she’ll find out you’re not a good man.
When we get to the office, a slight Asian man and his willowy wife come out. She’s draped across him like a shawl. People like her also cause my blood to boil. The women working here are selling themselves and not in the ‘I’m putting myself through college’ way but more of the ‘this is my life, watch me crumble’ kind of way. How do you see someone do that to themselves and not try to help? Instead, this guy’s wife smooths over problems, escalates deception, and creates a false sense of understanding or trust. I’ve seen her too many times.
“Finn!” The man holds out his hand. “I’m so happy you came.”
“Shen. Interested to see what you’re offering,” Finn says, his tone mild. “So far, it doesn’t seem to be much.”
Shen’s smile falters, but he waves us into the office with enthusiasm anyway. “Drinks!”
We sit in a strained silence while we wait for the drinks to arrive. He didn’t ask what we like, so I can only imagine what we’re going to be obligated to consume. A waitress teeters back into the room carrying shot glasses and a bottle ofbáijiu. I’m not much of a vodka drinker, and depending on what they’ve used to make it, this won’t be far off. Holding back a sigh, I take the shot.
Finn takes his shot and suspends it between his fingers. “Let’s get this done, Shen. How much are you after?”
Shen reclines in his chair, any trace of nerves gone with the shot he took. Liquid courage is a real thing for him. “Five hundred thousand.”
He doesn’t bat an eye. “I give you that, and you give me what?”
“Any woman you want. Any time. A fifty percent cut in this establishment.”
That deal would be good for me and my case against Finn and Lorcan. That sounds like prostitution, and it’s clear the money trail isn’t going to add up. Taxes might be another angle to work around this place. My brain keeps ticking along with other ways this deal might benefit me when Finn rises.
“I’ll think about it.”
Shen stands as well, pressing his fingers into his desk. “If not you, we’ll go to the O’Malleys. They like making money.”
Finn chuckles and narrows his eyes at Shen. “Don’t threaten me, or I’ll move my people in here and take over. I got the manpower to do that. You know it. You might want five hundred thousand, but you’re not going to get it. I’ll give you two fifty for a seventy percent stake.”
Shen gasps and appears offended. “You’re no friend of mine. I thought you were going to think about it.”
“I did,” Finn says. “I thought you were offering a shitty deal. Mine’s better.”
“Only for you.”
“That’s right.”
“I’m not that desperate.”
“You will be.” Finn comes across the desk, getting into Shen’s face. “Once the pressure starts, when the vise tightens, you’ll think back to today and wish you’d taken my deal.”
“I got other things going on.” Shen’s cheeks are full of color. “I don’t need you.”
“Give it a few days. You might be surprised.”
Finn drops a card onto Shen’s desk. It’s for a heating and plumbing business, another one of their enterprises. They charge excessive interest rates to people who can’t get credit elsewhere. When they can’t pay, they lean on them in any way they can to squeeze money out of them. Blood from a stone.