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It’s like Scar always tells me. Blend in by being average. It’s the best way Dare was able to describe this place to us. Before she started talking about the back rooms, that is.
“Jack and Coke,” Alec orders, pausing before remarking. “Pretty slow in here today.”
We can’t hear, who I assume is the bartender, too well but enough to make out his answer. “Been here before?”
Alec continues a casual conversation, saying he’s been once or twice before. “I like the diamond,” he says conversationally, confirming the bartender is one of the ones Dare told us about. The one who’s known for harassing and assaulting the dancers. At least we can cross him off our list of people that we need to hunt down.
Alec continues to subtly feed us information before thanking the bartender for the drink and opening a tab. Through their conversation we learn there’s only one bodyguard on duty and three girls in total. Scar and Kade exchange looks. That’s even less than we expected.
“Alec, see if you can find out if anyone is in the backrooms.”
He doesn’t respond, but it wouldn’t be easy for him to without giving away he’s talking to someone.
Scar starts to fidget in her seat. Tapping her fingers against the console. Rachel is quick to pick up on her agitation and only after a few minutes both are restless.
A feeling of unease starts to crawl up my spine, making my stomach sink. Just as I think Scar is about to say fuck it, and rush the building, we hear Alec again.
He must have flagged down one of the girls he told us about because a bright voice filters through the line. “What can I do for you, Sugar?”
He flirts with her a little. I sneak a glance at Rachel, but she seems unperturbed by it. Too on edge by the whole situation. “Who do I have to talk to about the specials?”
Dare shared with us the language they are told to use when someone is requesting the back room services. Not all the girls go back there and most of them have no idea about the truth of them.
“Aww, Sugar. You got bad timing,” she apologizes to him. “We don’t have anyone here for that right now.” She laughs lightly before dropping her voice to a husky whisper. She must be leaning into him and speaking directly into his ear because we can hear her perfectly as she offers to help him out off the clock.
He flirts with her a bit more before she must walk away and get back to work.
He stays silent for a few more minutes until we are all fidgeting in our seats. “Seems pretty quiet.” His words come out soft and muffled, like he whispered them behind his hand.
Scar trades looks with Luca and Kade before shrugging. “Might as well get started?”
Luca hesitates but Kade agrees. “Why not?”
Scar throws open her door and stands outside the car. I hop out right after her, followed by Rachel. Luca is slower to move, closing his laptop before getting out and walking to the front. By the time he reaches the driver’s side, Kade is out of his seat and moving towards the rest of us.
Luca pulls a rifle from the trunk and begins to set up on the hood of the car. He will be able to cover us from here. Not having to leave the car in case we need to make a quick getaway. Scar pulls out the bag of explosives as her and Kade start to discuss the best way to approach laying it all out.
Alec sighs, “This is good.” It’s quiet, as if he’s just talking to himself. Scar nods decisively as she lifts the bag from the ground.
“I’m going to start laying this shit down. You guys wait for the signal.” Her eyes meet mine before turning to Kade. “Watch my ass, I mean my back,” she says with a little smirk before turning and sauntering away. We chuckle lightly and I push the thread of anxiety that is unfurling in my gut.
Instead of heading towards the front like Alec did, Scar heads towards the far side of the building. The plan is for an explosive to be set at every wall, besides the side entrance we plan on using to evacuate the girls. That way all our exits are covered. Not that there’s anyone we are worried about getting away. We’ll make sure that isn’t a possibility even before we set off the bombs.
She disappears behind the corner and the unease that started building starts to intensify with her out of my sight and Alec being quiet. I rub the back of my neck, trying to stay focused. My stomach roils and my steps falter.
“Alec,” Scar whispers all of a sudden through the comms, a noticeable tension in her voice. Rachel looks at me with wide eyes. Anxiety wafting off her in palpable waves.
We trade looks and begin to move in. Something feels off. We’re about a hundred yards away from the front door when a small rumble shakes the ground, making all of us freeze.
“What the fuck?” Alec hisses. “Not yet.”
“Scar!” Rachel snaps at the same moment.
“That wasn’t me,” Scar tells him quickly. I turn to look for her to find her already making her way back to us, the bag still in her hands. She wouldn’t have had the time to get to the other side of the building. Rachel’s hand grips my arm, squeezing me tightly.
Smoke starts to trail out from the far side of the building. I start to point it out to Scar but she already sees it. “Get the fuck out of there, Alec,” she screams as she starts rushing back towards us.
We hear his breathing increase as the comms get louder with the rush of people confused inside the building. “One second,” he whispers, and we can hear him trying to evacuate the dancers.
