4 Help Wanted

A little over a week had passed since Sunny had delivered the good news, and already the wheels were in motion for their new plan. The shipments were on their way, with the first one set to arrive that night. With that in mind, and the largest holiday of the year coming up soon, Vicky and Luke decided that it was time to take on some new staff to take some of the workload off of them while they managed Sunny's new imports. The only other employee outside of the three guards that they employed at the time was a short, dark-skinned bartender named Vanessa.

She started as an act in the club when she first moved to the city, like many others hoping to chase their dreams in the capital only to find themselves behind a bar or serving coffee. When her singing career didn't pan out, she started waiting tables. It wasn't a bad gig, she got good tips and they let her perform on slow nights or when there weren't any other acts booked. She was a nice woman who was friendly enough. She even helped bring in a few clients when they first started moving product for Sunny. You could always count on musicians to either be users or no someone who was. In Vanessa's case, she was both.

The first official new hire was Max, who'd just come back to the south side after finally selling the house their grandmother had left him. He told her he'd stick around until after Ascension Day, but he liked spending time with his crazy little sister, and wasn't planning on ducking out any time soon. He'd help wait tables, make drinks and act as the DJ on rave nights when Vicky was busy.

The second new hire was a chef by the name of Ramsey Sheffield. He worked up north with the nobles, but was tired of playing second fiddle to a pompous head chef who made over-complicated food and barked orders at his staff like a general. Sunny liked his food, and told him that he could design the club's dinner menu however he liked. He was quiet and a little reserved, but an excellent chef with more skill than most. Plus, he agreed to take a thirty percent pay cut from what he had before in exchange for running the kitchen.

The third and final hire was a person who was as down on her luck as any of the people that Sunny and co. seemed to attract. Rose was in her late thirties and had short, auburn hair, cut into a neat little bob. She used to own a shop on the upper-east side, but after years of busting her ass just to make ends meet, she lost it all to a fire from some faulty wiring. She had no insurance and no other options. She could either pack it all up and head back to her parents', where she knew she'd be met with constant disapproval from everyone around her, or she could move to a different part of the city and start over again. She chose the latter.

After looking around for what felt like ages, she stumbled on a help wanted ad for a club, looking for people willing to work for decent pay with a fairly relaxed schedule. Vicky had interviewed her, and despite making multiple inappropriate jokes and even overtly hitting on her, they got along quite well and she was hired on the spot. This evening found her talking with Luke and Vicky an hour before opening about what she needed to do for her first night on the job.

"It's pretty simple, really," Vicky started. "just look for people that need drinks and make them for them. When the drinks are empty, bring more. Make sure that they are all taken care of and happy, and you'll be fine. They'll even usually leave a good tip too, especially for a someone as cute as you," she finished with a wink and a sly grin.

"I'm sure you will do fine Rose. Just put on a nice smile and do your best," Luke said, ignoring the flirting, as he usually did when Vicky got up to her antics. He knew it was only a matter of time before the friendly flirting would turn into propositioning, and he wanted to curb it fast before things got out of hand.

Vicky was what some would call... rough when it came to intimacy. Sometimes so much that they had, on more than one occasion, ended up taking what was left of a woman of the night to Sunny's warehouse in the wee hours of the morning. That was something Luke was certainly not planning on doing again and he had no intentions of losing the new employee that they desperately needed. He needed to keep Vicky in check, at least for now.

Rose nodded her head and smiled at them. "Thanks again for the opportunity. I really appreciate it. I've been having a really hard time lately, and I'm glad I'm finally getting the chance to start over."

They both smiled back, with Luke adding, "It's no problem at all dear. They say the South side is for second chances after all. Everyone deserves at least one."

With that, Vicky went off to prepare for the first shipment, while Luke began showing Rose around the club. After walking around to the back of the bar, Luke looked around to make sure no one else was within earshot.

He leaned in close to Rose.

"Just so you know, Vicky may be a flirt, but I can assure you that she is quite serious. I would be cautious around her if I were you. You may not be fully aware of what you're getting into."

Rose was a little taken aback by this. She had sensed that it may have been a bit more than flirting, but what could that possibly hurt? She was single after all, and it had been quite some time since anyone had really shown much interest in her, woman or man. She was open for a lot of things, especially where no one knew who she was and couldn't judge her.

She gave a slight blush and a smile to Luke. "Oh, you don't have to worry about me. I'm sure everything will be okay. Besides, I don't mind the extra attention. It's been a while since anyone has really said anything like that to me," she ended with an awkward chuckle, not knowing exactly how to deal with what Luke was telling her.

Luke just shrugged. "Whatever you say. Just remember that I tried to warn you. Anyway…"

He went on describing to Rose how to make certain drinks that were house specials and the prices for each of them. Just as Rose's head started to spin from all the new information coming at her at once, she was saved by a knocking at the door.

"Excuse me for a moment, my apologies," Luke said as he rushed over to the door.

Luke pulled open the door just enough to stick his head out. "I'm sorry but you'll have to come back later we aren't open…"

He paused when he realized who the person was that had been knocking. It was a very disheveled Lisa, looking like she hadn't slept in quite some time. Her hair sticking up in spots and matted in others, and her shirt stained with tears and sweat.

"Oh my, are you okay Lisa?" He asked, genuinely feeling for her.

Lisa's eyes began to twitch.

"No!" She said, quite a bit louder than she realized. "Al is still gone. I've called everyone I could think of dozens of times and still no one has seen him. Then yesterday I got a call from the bank that said that they were going to foreclose on the bakery soon if I didn't make a payment. I thought he owned the Empress-damned the bakery! I didn't even know we had any debt. How could he not tell me about any of that?"

She was speaking faster and faster, and the twitch in her eye became even more pronounced with each word.

Luke pulled her inside the club and wrapped her in a deep hug. Lisa began crying almost immediately, sobbing deeply into her friend's shoulder.

"Shh. Calm down, it's going to be okay. Just take a few deep breaths." Luke whispered into her ear.

"I just don't know why he left," Lisa choked out between her sobs. "I love him so much. If he had these problems, he should have just talked to me and not tried to run out on them. It's not like him."

Luke ran his hand through Lisa's hair, still whispering in her ear to soothe her.

"I'm sure he'll come back. Maybe he just needed to get away. Things must have just been too much for him. We both know how he can overreact under pressure sometimes. He probably just needs some time to figure things out. Who knows, maybe he's out there somewhere trying to get some money to bring back."

Lisa finally stopped crying, and after sucking up the rest of her tears she pulled her head from Luke's shoulders and looked him dead in the eyes.

"I have to fix this. I can't let the bakery go, especially if he comes back. I have to figure out a way to save it. I need to come back to work for Sunny. Do you think she would let me?"

Luke reeled inside from the irony of the situation that was playing out in front of him. It was starting to look like Sunny would be getting paid back for the debts after all, one way or another.

Outside though, Luke just smiled at her, finally saying, "I don't think she'd have a problem with that, you were always a good earner. She's going to be here later tonight to drop some things off. Why don't you stay until then and we can see if we can get things sorted."

Lisa wrapped her in another hug, and the tears started again, although only lightly this time.

"Thank you so much Luke. I don't know where I would be without friends like you and Vicky. I promise I'll do whatever she needs. I can't let the bakery go."

Luke just hugged her back, almost bemused at the absurdity of the situation he found himself in. Life could be pretty funny in horrible ways sometimes. He was no stranger to that. He just gave Lisa another pat on the shoulder.

"It's no problem, honestly. We would love to work with you again. It will be just like old times. She should be here in a few hours if you want to take a seat at the bar. I'll have the new girl get you a drink. Also, if you want to talk to Vicky, she's in the back office. Just knock first, who knows what she could be getting into in there."

He finished with a smile that seemed to put Lisa at ease. It seemed like that was all that needed to be said, and Lisa walked over to the bar and sat down. Luke turned to Rose and motioned to Lisa with his head. Rose went straight to work and the two began talking.

Across town, a train was pulling into Grand Port Station on a direct trip from Endlane. There was a detachment of the royal guard waiting for it at, with a large truck marked with the guard insignia. Among the normal platoon of standard guards, stood Richard, there to ensure everything went according to plan.

He took pride in everything he did for Sunny. He, like many others who found themselves in her employ, had a deep respect for her and what she had done for him in the past. He started life in a rundown orphanage on the riverfront near the outside edge of Beacon. Growing up short and fat made him an easy target for bullying from a very young age. He took it for years, until they started getting older and their beatings started getting more frequent. He decided that it was time to go on the offensive.

He singled out one of the ringleader one night, pulling him out of his bed and waking up the others. He proceeded to beat him senseless with one of the legs he'd pried off of his bed, as the rest of them looked on in shock. Richard wasn't going to be pushed around anymore. Of course, the next day when they sent his former bully to the infirmary, with many of them doubting that he would survive, he was kicked out of the orphanage and left out on the street to figure out his next move.

He went on to do what most violent teenagers on the street at his age would do, and became a petty criminal. This went on for about six months until he had made the mistake of trying to rob Sunny's offices late at night. He didn't know that she was still there. She was ready to kill him until she saw how young he was. He was skinny, dirty and what clothing he had was tattered and torn. She couldn't help but feel bad for the poor boy, and decided to give him a job.

She cooked up something special for him, though. He was obedient, strong and loyal to her. No one had ever treated him with an ounce of care in his entire life until Sunny. She decided that what he would be perfect as her first full time undercover operative in the Royal Guard. So, after getting him cleaned up and spending some time with her getting healthy, she enrolled him just after his 17th birthday.

He loved it right away. Everyone was worthless in the eyes of the superiors, so no one ever singled him out. Throughout the grueling fourteen weeks of training, he did his best to stand out, and found that he was actually a pretty exceptional soldier. He loved the order and the schedule, as well as being able to take out his anger in a positive way. He also loved the respect and occasional admiration that he got from his comrades and superiors. No longer was he just a lowly orphan, unworthy to even share the same food with someone from another class. It wasn't long before he made Lieutenant at the age of only twenty-three.

Beneath it all though, was his true allegiance. He would do anything for Sunny. No matter what she had asked of him, he would always find a way to get it taken care of. From giving information on potential informants, to destroying evidence and even occasionally making people disappear that her usual squad didn't have access to.

His respect for Sunny quickly turned into a crush that he harbored over the years. Then, finally after the drunken haze of a night that was his twenty-fifth birthday, when she told him how handsome he looked in his guard armor. One thing led to another and then by the time morning came he had yet another reason to be loyal to Sunny.

Days like today always made him happy. He got to help out Sunny, and knew that he would be rewarded for it, one way or another. After everything was loaded up, he slipped some extra credits to each of the guards who helped him, and took the truck Sunny's office himself. Once he arrived, he trotted up with his helmet in hand and a smile on his face, which grew even wider when as he saw Sunny waiting for him with a smile on hers as well.

"So," she started, putting her hand on his shoulder. "I trust it's all taken care of, then?"

As she said it, she started rubbing his shoulder, eliciting a deep sigh. It turns out moving crates while in full armor without the help of machines could really take a toll on your body, especially after doing training drills with new recruits for most of the morning.

"Yes ma'am. It's all in the truck downstairs waiting for you."

He moved into her impromptu massage with his eyes closed. "Do you want me to get someone to bring it up?" He asked as he turned his head to the side.

"No, don't worry about that," she started as she walked around him continuing his massage and sliding pieces of his armor off. "I'm going to have it all shipped out tonight and take a chunk of it to the club myself later. The kids will be happy to see just what they're working with. I think we're going to make a lot of money together."

She then stood him up to undo the underside of his chest piece and started to rub his chest. "I think that can wait for a little bit though, don't you?"

He couldn't speak though; he was already two steps ahead of her.

As night had just begun to fall at the club a few hours later, things were getting in full swing as a local indie rock trio was just getting into their set. The turnout that night was great, especially for a relatively unknown local band. Just about every table in the house was taken, and there were even some people on the dance floor. Vanessa was making her rounds from table to table with Max, as Rose stood with Vicky behind the bar, learning the intricacies of mixing drinks and occasionally talking with Lisa.

Vicky was doing her best to hit on Rose, and Rose was doing her best to pretend to ignore it. Lisa had calmed down considerably after a few drinks, and was actually beginning to enjoy herself a bit with the company of her old friend and a potential new one and music that she really enjoyed in the background. Luke was eating dinner in the office upstairs, and taking in the music coming from the club below and waiting for the call from Sunny. He ended up not having to wait long. Just as he started digging into his steak, the phone rang with news that she would be stopping by soon and that he needed to get Vicky ready. Luke brought up Lisa's question of coming back to work, and Sunny agreed right away, reminding him to be cautious around her.

A few minutes later, after barely pulling a slightly drunk Vicky (someone had to taste Rose's concoctions after all to make sure they came out okay) away from Rose and taking her and Lisa into the office, Sunny came in the door with two large boxes under each arm and a huge smile on her face.

"Well kids, I told you this was finally going to pay off, and here it is! Welcome to the future. This is only the beginning, too. I want you to try and get these out sometime before the holiday, I'll have more ready right away."

She pulled open the crates and hidden inside an assortment of books were bags of shining clear crystal powder. Everyone in the room lit up at the possibilities. Luke saw the credits, Vicky saw the potential for fun, and Lisa saw the opportunity to save the bakery. It was at this point that Sunny looked to Lisa. She hadn't even recognized her in the room. She was too excited at her big reveal to even notice her sitting there.

"Oh," she started, losing her smile for only a fraction of a second. "I'm sorry Lisa, I didn't even see you there. Luke told me about the unfortunate business about Al leaving, and that you may need some help getting back on your feet. I think that we may be able to make that work. It can be just like the old days again. Although, you should know that I fully expect you to not be afraid to get your hands dirty. What do you say?"

Lisa's smile grew massive and a tear came from her eye as she jumped up and wrapped Sunny in a tight hug.

"Thank you so much, Sunny. I promise I won't let you down. Once I get everything paid off, I know Al will come back. I'll do anything you want I swear. Just give me a chance and I'll do it."

Sunny was caught off guard at first, but eventually returned the hug, seeing her chance to test out the new girl's resolve.

"As a matter of fact, I do have a little something for you. I needed Vicky and Luke to go out on a little job for me later tonight, but maybe you can go with one of them instead. I need someone to go and have a little chat with a former friend of mine who decided that he would be better on his own and doesn't want to pay his dues. It's nothing too heavy, so I think it would be a good place to start. Sound good?"

As Sunny finished, Lisa was already nodding her head in agreement. "I'm all for it. I won't let you down," she said sternly, looking Sunny right in the eyes. She would do whatever it took to get the credits she needed to bring Al back. It's not like she hadn't been there before, and although it took Al to bring her out of it and show her how bad it could be, she had no issues getting right back in to bring back the man she loved.

Luke and Vicky looked at each other, silently deciding who would be the one to take Lisa out for the late night work. Vicky was the first one to speak up.

"I've gotta stay here to make sure the new girl keeps everything together. She's doing okay so far, but you never know. Also, if we are going to be spreading this new shit out there we need someone to be the official tester, and I'm the perfect volunteer. I know it's a rough gig, but someone's got to do it."

Luke just frowned. He knew any argument would be futile. Vicky would hit him with those big sad eyes again and he would end up doing it anyway. Why waste the time going through that? Plus, it would be nice to see just how dedicated Lisa was to coming back into the life. He decided to just bite the bullet and take one for the team.

"Fine. Just don't do anything stupid while I'm gone," he said with a sigh.

Vicky cracked a huge smile and grabbed one of the bags out of the box and a knife from her hip. As she cut it open and spread a good-sized line on the table, she put her nose straight to it and gave a huge sniff. Her eyes grew wide and she slammed both hands down on the table, sitting her head up straight.

"Holy shit. That's what I'm talkin' about!" She then quickly stood up and began speaking loud and fast. "Thanks Auntie, I gotta go work the club now. The new girl isn't going to teach herself. Thanks again for covering for me Luke, have fun with Liz!"

She was already out of the door and heading down the stairs by the time they realized exactly what she'd said.

Luke's frowned deepened. Vicky got to spend the night flirting (and probably more) with the new girl while and getting high, and he had to go out and bust someone's head open to teach a lesson. At least, if nothing else, by the look on Vicky's face, the new stuff would sell well and the people would be breaking down thier door to get more. The image of his bank account rising steadily and the new house and instruments that he would soon be buying turned his frown slowly into a smile.

"Luke? Hello? Are you there?" He heard Lisa say from somewhere far away. He blinked as Lisa was moving her hand in front of her face. He realized that he'd been staring off into space as the thoughts of flowing cash rand through his mind. He let out a small, embarrassed cough and a bit of a blush started to show on his face.

Sunny just smiled at him. "Thinking of the money again, dear? Don't worry, it won't be long now. I'm off. I have a few more deliveries to make before the night is over."

She handed a piece of paper to Lisa. "Here are all the details for tonight's job. I'm sure you'll do fine. Good luck!"

With that she was off, and the others followed shortly after.

As they walked into the club, the night was in full swing. The band was well received, and the dance floor and the bar were swarming. Luke looked over to it just as they made their way out of the front door to see Vicky eagerly chatting up Rose. A small pang of something similar to jealousy struck him then. He knew Vicky was just trying to get laid, but sometimes he wished he was on the other end of that flirting.

It wasn't a crush. Crushes were for children and fools. He was full-on in love with his partner in crime for most of their friendship, but he knew Vicky would never be able to commit, he'd seen it dozens of times himself, and he didn't want to end up losing her if he had a chance to have her. So, he left it alone and locked his feelings away. He figured that one day, when they were older, she'd calm down a bit and they'd have a chance to be together, so he could bear seeing her with others in the meantime. That didn't mean he had to like it.

After he walked out, Rose watched in awe as Vicky spoke a mile a minute . She couldn't keep track of much of it after a while, but was still enraptured with her style and confidence. She had to admit that even though she seemed a little bit on the crazy side, she was certainly beautiful, and there was something about her that really turned her on, although she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Anyway," Vicky said, her tirade seemingly over. "I'm gonna be real with you right now. How about we go up to the office and get a little bit more acquainted. I promise I'll go easy on you."

Rose was a little taken aback at first but, after giving it only a few seconds of thought, she decided to throw caution to the wind and do something unexpected and possibly very irresponsible. Her life up until then had been boring and predictable, and she was ready for something new, she didn't care what.

She leaned into Vicky and planted a soft kiss on her lips. "Don't worry about going easy. I think I can handle everything you've got," she said, wrapping one arm around Vicky's leg. That was all it took to set Vicky off. The drugs were working their magic on her, and she was ready for action. She grabbed Rose by the arm and immediately pulled her through the crowd up into the office, locking the door behind them.

As all this happened no one noticed a man sitting by himself in the corner. He was wearing a black button up shirt and a white tie as well with black aviators, despite sitting in a dark club. He had been watching quietly as his former boss brought in the two boxes, and as his former friend just took one of the barmaids upstairs in a frantic rush. The wheels began turning in his head as he hatched a plan for how to deal with the new competition that his business would surely be facing soon. It was time to put a stop to this Sunny's expansion before it even started.