7. The Crimson Dance Aftermath

The aftermath of Selina's hypnotic presentation took a dire turn. The energy and intensity she used to perform, combined with the effects of the alcohol, overexerted her body and finally took a toll on it. Her body gave out under the strain of her mind, and her body caused her to stumble. Her beguiled performance ended in a thud. She fell face-first on the ground. It was only moments ago that the club was a space of artful and emotional expression; it had become a place of crisis and chaos.

The once-flickering colorful lights switched, and a blast of white light flashed past everyone's peripheral vision as they squinted to adjust to the incident that took place. Everyone now could see everything clearly; the exquisite dancer fell unconscious. The sound of gasping audiences filled the club, and the DJ stopped the tracks. Urgency, perplexity, and concern supplanted the festive atmosphere. Anguish and distress overshadowed the spirit of awe and amazement.

The influencers and onlookers in the club hurried over to capture Selina's distressed situation from a better vantage point. Once upon a time, not so long ago, Selina was lauded and worshipped for her tremendously heartfelt performance. She was sensational until she became a topic of slander in mere seconds. The influencers were taking advantage of the scandal by reporting false accusations and speculations about the crimson girl to their followers. The internet was buzzing, with her news of the fall of the Crimson Girl becoming the hottest trending topic on Crazebook, BigBog, TwiGx, and YouFunnel.

Raymond and Ally, who were engrossed in their moment, finally released themselves from their hold after both of them heard the loud thud that turned out to be Selina's fall. Raymond's eyes widened at the sight of the Crimson Girl's comatose body on the floor, and he realized the gravity of the situation and silently berated himself for making a fool. He was enamored with Ally and becoming increasingly lustful for her, which made him feel disgusted as the horrific incident played out right in front of his eyes. 'I should have apprehended her! Not kissing her! Now someone is about to die!' Raymond thought.

Ally, on the other hand, was annoyed that her nuisance roommate had garnered the attention of the entire club for making a scene. Her intoxicated mind was spinning on how to salvage this situation and disperse the crowd. Unaware that Selina had completed her mesmerizing performance ten minutes ago before falling from grace, she was irritated that the plan had failed.

The gang of drunken hooligans who were harassing Selina gathered closer, taking advantage of her disgraceful situation to rouse her under the pretense of concern.

"Someone call 911!" one of the hooligans yelled.

Furiously, Ally rushed over to Selina, with Raymond following right behind her, quickly overshadowing their intentions.

Ally: "SELINA! SELINA! This is not funny. Wake up! Come on! You will be kicked out of the club soon!"

Ally tried to wake her friend with useless threats, but Selina could not hear her and didn't flinch at Ally's rough shakes in an attempt to wake her up.

"You know her?" Raymond posed a rhetorical question, waiting for Ally's response.

"Not really; she was an acquaintance of mine," Ally answered hastily, avoiding Raymond's eye contact. Amidst the chaos, she totally forgot about this handsome man. Her face flushed, not out of embarrassment but out of nervousness and anxiety. Raymond did not miss those cues, and he quickly realized that Ally did not want the crimson girl to be admitted to the hospital.

"She needs to be at the hospital. We need an ambulance ASAP!" Raymond insisted and yelled at the crowd. He took the opportunity to call for backup and as he was about to dial 911, he saw Albert rushing towards him.

Ally: "Come on, Selina, wake up. The last thing you want is to be in the hospital." Ally thought that Selina's condition wasn't really serious. She is desperately trying to prevent Selina from being admitted. I hope and pray she will be awake and the crowd will miraculously disperse.

However, the whispers of the crowd grew louder and the voices of people teasing Selina's disheveled state were apparent. The influencers were trying to gain clout and were heard describing the crimson girl's legs spread free for everyone in the club to see. Onlookers snickered and mocked Selina's unkempt appearance. The vile perverts continued to surround Selina and Ally.

In an attempt to wake Selina from her slumber, Ally retrieved another shot of alcohol from the counter, preparing to drench Selina's face with it in hopes of waking her up. Ally was about to splash Selina's face with alcohol, hoping to shock her from her sleep.

Foams of vomit accumulated in her mouth, choking her. Symptoms of asphyxiation and seizures were slowly resurfacing. Albert realized that she would suffocate and sprung into action. He moved swiftly through the throng, passing Raymond and Ally. His attention is now entirely focused on saving Selina's life. She was about to die. He removed his coat and covered her with it. Then gently and quickly lift her from the ground and hurry out of the club into the limousine.

Ally was too perplexed by the scene unfolding before her. Her eyes focused entirely on the man who carried Selina away. She stood still for five seconds, then came back to her senses, regained her composure, and cried out, "STOP!" as she frantically attempted to catch up to the man.

Raymond slipped inside the vehicle from the other side, but Ally was too preoccupied with Selina and the enigmatic stranger. She failed to catch Raymond entering the limousine on the other side. Albert hastily ordered the officer outside, who was posing as a security guard, to apprehend her. The white limousine left the club, leaving Ally in disbelief. The security guard took Ally by the hand, ready to apprehend. Suddenly, she passed out!

Inside the limousine, Albert fought valiantly, trying to rescue Selina. As soon as he checked her pulse and felt that her heartbeat was fading away, he began chest compressions. Raymond instructed the driver to use the emergency siren. When the emergency siren went out, drivers swerved as much as they could for the white limo to speed through the traffic. Albert was administering the emergency treatment and Raymond watched attentively. To the best of his ability, he extended offers to help.

As one would expect from an ambulance, the white limousine was surprisingly equipped with specialized emergency medical devices and instruments, like oxygen masks, stretchers, and medicine.

Since Albert frequently accompanied Raymond on high-stake missions, he always made preparations for their escape vehicle in case of an emergency, and this was an emergency.

Albert was busy doing chest compression on Selina. Whatever was lodged in her mouth was subsequently vomited out. He quickly checked her breathing and made sure that she wasn't going to choke on her own vomit and ruin the effect of clearing her airway.

Looking for any indication of awareness, he continued. Soon after, Albert and Raymond felt a brief sigh of relief when Selina began to show indications of breathing again. Albert then began to draw blood from Selina and finally had the energy to address Raymond.

Albert: "What you did was reckless and unprofessional!" anger started fuming from Albert as he had the intention to punch Raymond in the face for potentially blowing their cover.

Albert: "Why did you drink those shots knowing that they were spiked?"

Raymond: "You knew?"

Albert: "Did you think I was born yesterday? I was observing you and that suspicious chick as your competent wingman and backup."

Raymond: "Draw my blood too; the toxins are definitely still in my system."

Albert: "Do not deviate away from the subject and answer me! What happened? Why did you ditch that girl and leave her at the booth? Why did you switch targets so carelessly, and what about the girl you kissed? Did you find out anything from her?"

Raymond: "She was the one who spiked the crimson girl's drink."

Albert: "So it was wise to receive the drinks that she offered?"

Raymond: "I couldn't reject her; it would be suspicious! Besides, I apprehended her, and she will be spending the night at the cell for New Year's."

Albert: "You must be the one that hit your head, because I was the one instructing Rowan to apprehend for you while you were busy running away!

Raymond: "I called for backup, and they can catch her and collect the shots of alcohol and the shattered bottle of Pinot Noir for investigation."

Albert: "You big buffoon! Did you seal the place?"

Raymond: "Yes, and I declared it a crime scene for attempting murder."

Albert: "Are you out of your mind? We did not have concrete evidence; why did you seal the place? You are going to alert the perpetrators that law enforcement is on them, and they will be even more evasive from us, making it more difficult to catch them. You are behaving like a rookie detective."

Raymond: "I already caught Ally!"

Albert: "Oh my God, she is not your priority right now! What is the matter with you? You could have continued the investigation by having a friendly conversation with the lady at the booth and preventing this young lady over here from dancing during her intoxicated state."

Raymond: "She was dancing?"

Albert: "Yes, Ray! If you weren't so busy snogging, you could have seen her three-minute contemporary dance routine at the bar counter! It was mesmerizing! You can check your social media. It must be plastered all over the web, including her fall."

True enough, it was the number one trend on Crazebook, BigBog, TwiGx, and YouFunnel. The entire performance was captured from every angle. Selina showcased her inebriating behavior, which was both beguiling, inspiring and later devastating. Then, to Raymond's horror, he watched as the numerous clips from different angles caught Ally and him snogging and groping the entire time.

"Pfft! I am wondering how you are going to explain it to the chief when he sees this! It is all over the internet. If word gets out, your position in the precinct will be jeopardized. He will not let this slide, especially when it was caught on camera like that." Albert continued to state the obvious, showing contempt.

Raymond: "I will continue what I do best and investigate, and hopefully Ally is a mere pawn or a means to an end for the drug ringers. A light sentence could be in store for her. If she cooperates, she can negotiate for leniency."

Albert: "Unbelievable, you are still thinking of her well-being. Are you in love with her? Please do not do this again and jeopardize our entire operation! It took us months to plan, and it takes an idiot like you to destroy. If all goes well, they will continue to buy our cover and will not be suspicious of us."

Raymond: "Enough about me; what about you? You could have called 911 and let the ambulance take her to the emergency department! But no! You have to be the knight and shiny prince, whisking her away to rescue this damsel in distress!"

Albert jolted up and grabbed Raymond by the neck, fuming with rage.

"Do not pin the blame on me or make comparisons between our conduct; you are fully aware that you have to save a life as a doctor while you indulge your desires. Usually, you wouldn't make such a blunder! I don't know what is wrong with you today."

Raymond: "Just check my blood for drugs and identify them; I am feeling lightheaded."

Albert let Raymond go and the latter slouched, feeling disappointed in himself.

Once they reached the ER, both men admitted Selina. Raymond filed in the paperwork as he had done his background check on both Selina and Ally.

After evaluating Selina, the triage nurse assigned her to a vacant bed. They had to make sure her airway wasn't blocked so that her vomit wouldn't get into her lungs.

-------------------------------------------------------

Back in the club, the police officers were gathering evidence and questioning patrons in relation to the event. Ally had already been transferred to the police department and detained. But there was one person who already harbored hatred for Ally. She sat at the booth and saw everything. She had been sitting in that booth, waiting for her promised drink for the longest time. Annette was still in the club, looking at the sour-faced club owner.

Annette: "That went well. I thought the security guard was dragging you away!

The bitter proprietor shot a bombastic side-eye!

Annette: "Don't give me that glare; I wasn't the one ruining your night; it was that bargirl and black swan!"

The proprietor: "I will kill them! I planned this meticulously to lure those two!"

Annette: "We do have a few of them caught in the hotel, including that security guard; why don't we head back and enjoy ourselves there? Just put this aside and let it go for now, ok?"

Afterwards, the proprietor stood up and Annette hooked her arms around her. Both of them walked out of the club and disappeared after passing through a dimly lit corridor.