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The modern techno-trance music exploding from the inside of the Blue Lagoon
nightclub would have disturbed anyone who was trying to get a good night¶s sleep at the
hour. Luckily, the nightclub wasn¶t near any residential areas. Madison Paige arrived down
the street from the club just as the clock was about to strike midnight. The brunette
journalist handed the taxi driver the compensation for the fare ± she had thought it
improper to pull up on a motorcycle wearing a skirt and heels. The nightclub boasted a
rather extensive line of guests waiting to get into the club. Madison conjured up a spot-on
idea that she played on the bouncer. ³Paco is expecting me,´ she smiled, winking at him. A
moment of reflecting later, the bouncer smiled and stepped aside for the woman.

As Madison entered the club, she nearly stumbled backwards as a wave of music at way too
high a volume exploded in her face, accompanied by the stench of sweat and alcohol. µI
have nothing against techno-trance whatever music,¶ she thought, µBut this stuff is
really...loud.¶ She found herself looking at the entire club from her position just fifteen feet
from the main entrance. The entire club was one giant dance floor with a large bar in the
back and women dancing around poles above it, a giant mirror behind them overlooking and
reflecting the entire club. To her left were the bathrooms with neon male/female signs, and
toward the back of the club was a stairwell with a lone security guard. Dressed in a black
suit and hands folded behind his back, Madison was sure that he was one of Paco¶s personal
guards.

The journalist adjusted her red, short-sleeved button up shirt and black pencil skirt before
she finally accustomed to the overall volume of the discotheque. µPaco Mendes,¶ Madison
said to herself, µHe¶s the guy who rents the Doc¶s apartment on Marble Street. I¶d better be
careful ± he might be the killer.¶ She looked around for anyone who may seem to know
where she could find Paco. Through her observations, it was clear that no one would be of
any help ± all of the partygoers were either far too drunk, high, or perhaps a combination of
both to concern themselves where the owner of the venue spends his time. µThe
bartender...he¶ll know where I can find Paco.¶

Madison made her way to the back of the club, politely pushing past the other nightclub
victims. She approached the bar and leaned against it. ³I¶m looking for Paco. Paco Mendes.´
The bartender set aside the glass he was cleaning and leaned forward. ³What?´ Madison,
now slightly annoyed that she had to not only repeat herself, but also raise her voice over
the unnecessarily deafening music, repeated herself. ³Paco Mendes. Do you know him?´ The
bartender nodded. ³I should, he¶s the boss. He¶s over there in the VIP lounge.´ Madison
nodded. µGreat. Precisely where I just came from. A section reserved for select guests.
Shouldn¶t be too hard to spot.¶

The brown-haired woman, a tad more annoyed now than when she arrived, made her way
back to the front of the club and spotted the aforementioned VIP lounge just to the left of
where she was standing previously. Madison noticed a rather masculine man standing in the
way of Paco¶s table. His custom tailored suit and velvet red undershirt screamed personal
bodyguard. Behind him, sat a man with a zebra print jacket and leather pants. Upon his
hands were a large number of rings. Around his neck was a thick, gold chain, and resting
upon his nose were sunglasses. What for, Madison hadn¶t a clue. She sighed and
approached him. ³I¶ve got to speak to Paco.´
³That¶s not possible,´ the guard replied. ³Mr. Mendes has asked not to be disturbed.´

Madison gritted her teeth and turned away. There wasn¶t a chance of getting to Paco while
that sack of meat stood between them. She looked around and spotted a table just to the
side of the middle of the dance floor. Madison leaned against it and weighed the pros and
cons of a couple of strategies in her head. Just then, she noticed Paco wave over his guard
and point to the Asian woman in the sequined dress dancing on the platform just to the side
of the VIP lounge. Madison observed the woman and noticed that she danced as if she was
trying too hard to be sexy while imitating something she saw on TV. The guard waved her
over and whispered something in her ear before she went into the lounge. Paco stood to
greet her and the two sat on the leather couch, the nightclub owner¶s arm around her.

µPaco seems to like his girls sexy. Sexy in a kind of dumb way. Hmm. I ought to find
someplace to change.¶ With that, Madison proceeded to the women¶s restroom. To her good
fortune, it was empty, and nearly soundproof against the raging music on the other side of
the door. She rested her small purse against the sink and leaned against it, looking into the
mirror. ³Time to play the sexy girl,´ she mused.

In a swift motion, Madison ran her hands through her hair and messed up the neatly
cropped style she had originally. Her delicate hands travelled south to her shirt and
unfastened two buttons, revealing her cleavage and the essence of temptation. She took a
step back and reached down to her skirt. Getting a solid grip, she yanked it upward, making
a large tear. Reaching to the side, she ripped the skirt further until the large section of cloth
separated from the original article of clothing. Madison adjusted the skirt and smiled at her
success ± it was significantly shorter than previously; the skirt was now six inches north
from the knee, surely to reveal her arse should she bend forward. Madison reached into her
purse and applied eyeliner and lip-gloss before taking a step back to admire her work.

µNow lover boy, let¶s see if you can resist this,¶ she laughed to herself.

The young woman left the restroom and made her way to the platform where the other
woman was dancing previously. µIt feels like the whole place is watching me. But I suppose
I¶m not exactly keeping a low profile,¶ she thought, finding herself near the VIP lounge.
Setting her purse aside, she began flaunting her figure to the rhythm of the music. Madison
had gotten so into her dancing, she hardly noticed Paco ditch the other woman before
having his guard summon her a few minutes later. She grabbed her purse and walked up to
him. ³It¶s your lucky day sweetheart. The boss wants to invite you to his table.´

Madison smiled and proceeded to the table of the club¶s proprietor. ³Hey, thanks for
accepting my little invitation,´ Paco smiled, gesturing for Madison to join him on the couch.
³You new around here, honey? I think I would¶ve noticed you before. My name¶s Paco. And
you?´

³Madison.´ The journalist couldn¶t help but try to suppress a groan as she unwillingly inhaled
the stench of Paco¶s musk. It was rather distasteful cologne, mixed with either sweat or
body odour and cheap leather.

³I like the way you move, Madison. You¶re making me all hot under the collar,´ he laughed.

³Well, why don¶t we continue this conversation somewhere more...private?´

³Oh, sure baby. Yeah, follow me.´ He stood from the couch and proceeded to leave the VIP
lounge, with Madison following behind. µThis guy is truly revolting,¶ she thought. µNow¶s no
time to get squeamish...even if my legs do feel like they¶re about to give way. However,
everything¶s going to be all right. I have a plan. I know exactly what I¶m doing. Now just
follow him to his office.¶

As the two ascended the stairwell, the man in the black suit stepped aside and smiled.
³She¶s with me,´ Paco informed him. Madison was confident that he could have figured that
out for himself. She flashed him a quick smile and followed Paco down the candle-lit hallway
and into his office.

³So,´ he spoke, ³Welcome to my little kingdom.´ He turned on the nearby sound system as
he closed the door behind the woman. Madison observed the office and couldn¶t help but roll
her eyes. The office was decorated in a zebra print theme along with what she had imagined
the office to look like ± a typical nightclub manager¶s office. Along the walls was an
interesting plaid pattern. It was a good break from the general eyesore that the rest of the
room distributed. To the left of the room from the entrance was a large fish tank installed
into the wall; an assortment of aquatic creatures swam about, adding beauty to the overall
ugly of the room. To the right was a large, dark red desk and a punching bag beyond it.
Ahead was a large couch that took up the length of the north wall and a quarter of the west
wall. In the centre was a table made of four letters of mahogany spelling out µHARD¶ and in
the shape of a male reproductive organ. A small lamp with a lampshade of zebra print stood
on the table.

Paco came from behind and snatched away Madison¶s purse. ³I¶ll take that. It¶ll only get in
the way of the good thing, sweet cheeks.´ He tossed it onto the nearby chair, to Madison¶s
disappointment, for her defence mechanism sat securely inside. Paco lead her over to the
couch and sat down. Madison stood before him, rather nervous. ³Now, show me what you
can do. Take it off. Take it all off, baby.´

µHoly shit.¶ Madison swallowed hard, the pornographic music in the room intensifying the
situation. ³I-I¶m sorry...I think there¶s been a misunderstanding. Look, I¶ll just go...no harm
done...another time, perhaps.´ She started to back away, but Paco removed a silver M1911
handgun from the inside pocket of his jacket.

³I think it¶s you who¶s misunderstood, honey. I hate wasting time. It¶s now or never, baby,
and I never take never for an answer.´ He gestured for her to return to her position in front
of him. Madison reluctantly obliged and nervously unfastened the buttons of her shirt. µI¶ll
puke if he so much as touches me,¶ she thought. µI could make a dive for him...go for the
throat? No, he¶s too strong. I wouldn¶t have a chance.¶ Paco raised the gun and gestured for
Madison to continue. She removed her shirt and tossed it aside, now standing in her black
bra and skirt. µI could call for help. Who am I kidding? No one will hear me with this music.
Maybe if I told him I¶m a lesbian? No, this is no time to get funny.¶ Madison tried to play for
time, but knew Paco was getting impatient. µThe lamp!¶ She remembered the lamp on the
table behind her. µIf I could only find some way to grab it...oh, I know!¶

Madison began to swing her hips from side to side, her hands travelling from her waist to
entwined above her as she slowly spun round to face the table. She bent forward and slowly
rocked her hips. ³Baby sweet-cakes,´ Paco drooled, ³You¶ve got it going on down below!´
Madison quickly picked up the lamp and swung it, the metal frame smacking against Paco¶s
face, rendering him unconscious. ³Now that¶s what I call kicking butt, ³Madison laughed.
³You go, girl.´

After putting her shirt back on and buttoning it to her mid-section, she hauled Paco over to
the armchair by the table and sat him in it. She found duct-tape in his desk drawer and
secured his arms and legs to the chair with it. Madison opened her purse and removed the
handgun from it before tossing the accessory aside. She cocked the slide of the Beretta
Tomcat and leaned against the fish tank, watching Paco. µWake up time. I hope I didn¶t
whack him too hard.¶ Madison took a step forward and slapped him in the face. No
response. She repeated the motion a second time, this time a bit harder. Paco remained
unconscious. The third time, she whacked him as hard as she could, this time waking him
up with a yelp. As he came to, he looked around the room, wondering how he got into the
current predicament. ³If you call out, I¶ll kill you,´ Madison stated firmly, showing him the
gun. ³Got it?´

³Shit, what do you want?´

Madison crossed her arms. ³You rent an apartment on Marble Street. I want to know why.´

Paco raised an eyebrow. ³An apartment? I don¶t know what you¶re talking about.´ Madison
clenched her fist and punched him in the face, earning herself slight knuckle pain, but a
feeling of satisfaction. Paco scoffed. ³Not bad for a chica, but you only hurt my feelings a
little bit, mama.´ This time, Madison clenched her handgun and smacked him across the
face with it, doing significant damage to his nose. ³You fucking bitch! I¶m gonna kill you!´

Before Madison could react, there was a knock at the door. ³Boss? Is everything all right?´

Madison raised the gun to Paco¶s face, making sure he understood that a single sound would
result in the immediate loss of his life. Thinking quickly, Madison had a clever idea. On the
other side of the door, the guard couldn¶t help but smile when he started hearing sensual,
yet rapid moans from the woman he recalled Paco taking into his office. He walked away,
leaving the two in peace and returned to his post. When Madison was sure he had left, she
ceased the display of phony pleasure and set her gun aside. She knelt before Paco and
smiled sarcastically. ³If you value those prized balls of yours, Paco, then it¶s time for you to
talk.´

With that, the young woman reached south and got a good grip on the nightclub owner¶s
testicles and squeezed; her grip was like a vice even through the material of his pants.
³Aah!´ Paco yelled. ³What¶re you doing?! Stop it! Stop it!´

³I¶m only getting started. How about some more?´ Madison tightened her grip and moved
her hand forward and back, causing significant pain. ³I never set foot in that apartment,´
Paco finally admitted, revealing the information in a tone of voice that confirmed his high
level of discomfort. ³I gave the keys to some guy. He needed a place ± he had money!´

³What was that guy¶s name?´ Madison asked, squeezing harder.

³I don¶t know his name, I swear it!´ The journalist found that unbelievable. She tightened
her grip as hard as she could, causing Paco to shout in pain. ³Sheppard! His name is John
Sheppard, that¶s all I know, I swear it!´

Satisfied, Madison released her grip and stood up. ³There, that wasn¶t so hard, was it? As
much as I¶ve enjoyed this charming moment, I¶ve got to dash.´ Madison collected her
handgun and purse and headed for the door. ³See you next time, lover boy.´ She closed the
door behind her and smiled to herself. µHow about that? You didn¶t do too badly now, did
you girl? It was surely an interesting way to get a guy to spill his guts.¶ Madison exited the
hallway and smiled at the guard before descending the stairs. µI¶ve got to get out of here ±
I¶ve got a massive headache.¶ Reflecting on her adventure, she laughed. µNext time he¶ll
think twice before he takes a cute chick up to his office. But...that name he gave me ± John
Sheppard ± could that be the name of the killer? I guess I¶ll soon find out.¶

Making her way through the crowd of dancers, Madison reached the exit and was glad to not
only escape from the nightclub without having gone deaf, but with the information she went
there to get.