Ultimate Fantasy Chapter Nine
The show went on for about a month.
One month where everything was good. One month where Spoony wasn’t afraid. One month when Linkara was always there, always loving him, and they didn’t have to worry about Mercer. One month of peace.
And then one Thursday, Critic came barging out of his office, interrupting rehearsal. Chick called a halt and glared at him, the dancers all immediately found chairs, Todd came out of the booth, and Spoony and Linkara, who had been taking inventory of the liquor, dropped their sheets and came around the bar.
“Listen up, people!” Critic shouted. “I just got a call from a certain person at a certain office.”
There was an instant hush as everyone exchanged a look. Spoony felt for Linkara’s hand and gave it a tight squeeze, which Linkara quickly returned.
“Now, we’re not getting shut down any time soon, so you can keep dancing to your hearts’ content. But this certain someone has said that the person who brought charges against us has pulled some big fancy strings to get back in here. I’ve just been told that if we don’t allow this, we won’t survive.” There was a bit of whispering and Spoony fainted. Linkara caught him before he hit the ground and he stared wide-eyed at Critic, horrified. “So that’s your warning. He’s coming tonight and he’ll be at table six. Do your things as usual, don’t bother him, and don’t let on that you know anything. Hopefully, we can get all of this worked out tonight so you can go back to that thing you do.” He nodded at Linkara, who was struggling to support Spoony. “Meet me in my office when he’s conscious. Carry on!”
Everyone simply stared after Critic as he swept back into his office. There was about a minute of silence before Chick recovered. “Joe, help Linkara lift Spoony onto the bar,” she called. “We’ll wipe it down later. Film Brain, get a glass of water. The rest of you, we’re going to start with the Sailor number, so track four, Todd.”
Her orders were carried out and in a few minutes, Spoony’s eyes opened and met Linkara’s. “Linkara…” he groaned. “Did I just hear… did Critic say what I think he said?”
“It’s okay,” Linkara said. “It’s gonna be okay. He won’t see you. We’ll be in the back, as usual.”
“But he’ll wait outside, he’ll come back to us, he’ll…”
“I won’t let him hurt you,” Linkara said. “I’m gonna be right by you all night, we’ll lock the door, Joe will walk us out, Harvey’s picking us up…” It took quite a bit of reassurance before Spoony calmed down enough to stand up. As soon as he could walk a little, Linkara guided him into the office, entering without knocking, and started talking before Critic could open his mouth. “The hell were you thinking?” Linkara snapped.
“Linkara…”
“Look at him, Critic! Look!” He guided Spoony forward. “He’s terrified! You promised that this asshole wouldn’t be coming back-”
“Listen!” Critic snapped. “I know what I said. And I’m sorry. But my people have negotiated with his people and this is what we can do. You two don’t have to perform. Fuck it, you two don’t even have to be here. I’ll have one of the bouncers tell you when the fucker’s inside and you can slip out the back and go home. If you’re not here, he’ll probably get bored and find another place to hang out and drop everything, and you can get back to your real work.”
“But what if he doesn’t get bored? What if he latches onto someone else? Like Film Brain. Do you want a kid like that to have this happen to him? If you let him come back now, he’ll just walk all over you.”
“I know what I’m doing, Linkara,” Critic said. “He won’t see any skin. He’ll be given the worst alcohol I have, no matter what he orders. You two won’t be around. He’ll come, he’ll see what’s happening, he’ll get bored, he’ll leave. Besides, Film Brain’s at the back. I doubt he’s in any danger.”
Linkara opened his mouth to argue more, but Spoony shook his head. “Critic’s right,” he said. “This is probably the best way. And if we leave while he’s preoccupied, he’ll never even know we were here.”
Linkara looked at Spoony for a moment before nodding. “Okay,” he said. “But if anything goes wrong, Critic, we’re hopping the first bus to Los Angeles.”
“Deal,” Critic said.
*
It took another half-hour for Spoony to calm down enough to get back to work, but once his heart had stopped pounding he did anything he could, trying not to think about the man who would be coming tonight. Unfortunately, it was rather difficult since everyone else was incredibly tense-even if they didn’t know the details, they knew that Mercer was trouble, and seeing Spoony pass out like that had only heightened their concern. Finally, half-an-hour before the club was supposed to open, Chick called a halt and told everyone to get something to eat before they started. “Or just some water. Whatever you can stomach.”
Spoony wasn’t sure he could stomach even the water until he was safe at home with Linkara, but he did manage to take a few sips from the bottle Linkara offered him. “It’s okay, we’re going home soon, you don’t have to see him,” he said quietly.
“I know,” Spoony said. “I’m just worried. What if something does go wrong? What if we get shut down again? What if…”
“I called Harvey and he’s ready to take us to the Greyhound station the moment we ask. And if anything goes wrong, we’re out. I’ve got some money; we’ll just go as far as they’ll take us and start over. We’ve started with nothing before, we can start with nothing again.”
Spoony smiled. “I’m not starting with nothing,” he said quietly. “I’ve got you.”
Linkara rolled his eyes. “That line was so cheesy I could make several plates of nachos from it.”
“But you love it.”
“Of course I do.” He wrapped his arms around Spoony, pulling him close to his chest. They stayed there for a few minutes before the music started, signaling that the club was opening. Spoony looked at Linkara, and there was fear in his eyes, and love, and defiance, and all the beautiful emotions that equaled Spoony. Linkara smiled reassuringly at him as they waited, silently counting the seconds until someone came to tell them they could go.
They stayed that way for about half-an-hour until there was a knock on the door and Joe poked his head in. “Mercer’s on the floor,” he said. “Just ordered his first drink. I’ll take you out now.”
“Okay,” Linkara said, letting go of Spoony and grabbing his wallet, stowing it in the inside pocket of his coat. “Let’s go.”
Just as they left the room, though, there was a sudden uproar from out on the floor and Film Brain came dashing over to them. “Joe, there’s a fight out on the floor.”
Joe looked at him, then back at Linkara and Spoony, his face conflicted.
“Go ahead,” Linkara said. “That’s what Critic pays you for. Besides, if Mercer’s out there, he’s not bothering us. We’ll be fine.”
Joe nodded. “Harvey’s waiting outside. I talked to him before coming in.”
“Thanks,” Linkara said, grabbing Spoony’s hand. They slipped out the back door as Joe hurried off to deal with whatever was going on.
The back door was really more of a fire escape, with stairs leading down the side of the building. Linkara and Spoony hurried down them and had just reached the ground when there was a laugh behind them. “Really, boys? You thought you could pull that off?”
Linkara’s blood froze and he felt Spoony’s hand clench around his. They turned slowly to see Mercer standing against the wall, grinning lecherously at them. Linkara immediately pushed Spoony behind him, glaring at Mercer as hard as he could. “Weren’t you going in?” Linkara asked pointedly. Damn Joe for making a mistake like that…
“Why bother?” Mercer said. “What I want is out here. I sent in a double, though. Didn’t want to disappoint those who wanted to see me.”
“We can destroy you,” Linkara said, trying to keep calm. “You, your brother… pull down all those connections you have.”
“See, I talked to my brother,” Mercer said coolly. “And he said he would keep everyone else away from you.” He nodded at Spoony. “Clearly he couldn’t do that. So I don’t care about my brother. But I’m still going to have what’s mine.”
“He’s not yours,” Linkara said through gritted teeth. “He’s not yours, so stay away from us.” He looked around. There was Harvey’s car, and from the looks of things, Harvey was about ready to intervene…
“Try to stop me,” Mercer growled. He lunged at Linkara. Linkara threw a punch, but Mercer dodged. Linkara tried to move, but Mercer actually hit him and Linkara fell. Spoony saw the handle of a knife…
He couldn’t scream. He tried, but he couldn’t. Mercer was on him in a second, grabbing Spoony around the waist…
“You’re mine, bitch,” Mercer hissed in his ear, pushing Spoony against the wall. Spoony closed his eyes, whimpering, trying to get away as Mercer pushed against him…
There was a loud bang from somewhere above them and Mercer’s weight was suddenly gone. Spoony opened his eyes and saw the body fall to the ground. The man had been shot in the head and it was all Spoony could do not to faint at the sight. He looked up, away from the scene before him, to see Film Brain standing at the top of the stairs, slipping the still smoking pistol into the pocket of his jeans. He smiled at Spoony before jumping over the railing and disappearing into the night.
Spoony closed his eyes again and tried to catch his breath, tears streaming down his face. It was only when he heard footsteps from all sides that Spoony opened his eyes to see that the doors of the club had swung open as everyone came out. Harvey had already gotten over to them and was kneeling beside Linkara, who was sitting up and pulling the knife out of his chest.
Spoony stared. The knife was completely clean and Linkara seemed perfectly fine. Linkara looked up at Spoony and was instantly on his feet. “Spoony, are you okay?” he asked, dropping the knife and hurrying into Spoony’s arms.
“I… you… how…” This was all too much and Spoony couldn’t do anything but kiss Linkara, clutching his jacket, tears still falling.
Linkara laughed and pulled back, reaching into his jacket. “He hit my wallet,” he said, pulling it out. “Spoony, it’s over. He’s gone. He can’t hurt us anymore, it’s over… it’s over…”
Spoony leaned on Linkara, still crying. “It… it was…”
“Don’t tell me,” Linkara whispered. “Whoever it was is long gone, and there’s no point in getting more caught up in this than necessary.”
Spoony nodded. “Thank you,” he whispered softly.
One month where everything was good. One month where Spoony wasn’t afraid. One month when Linkara was always there, always loving him, and they didn’t have to worry about Mercer. One month of peace.
And then one Thursday, Critic came barging out of his office, interrupting rehearsal. Chick called a halt and glared at him, the dancers all immediately found chairs, Todd came out of the booth, and Spoony and Linkara, who had been taking inventory of the liquor, dropped their sheets and came around the bar.
“Listen up, people!” Critic shouted. “I just got a call from a certain person at a certain office.”
There was an instant hush as everyone exchanged a look. Spoony felt for Linkara’s hand and gave it a tight squeeze, which Linkara quickly returned.
“Now, we’re not getting shut down any time soon, so you can keep dancing to your hearts’ content. But this certain someone has said that the person who brought charges against us has pulled some big fancy strings to get back in here. I’ve just been told that if we don’t allow this, we won’t survive.” There was a bit of whispering and Spoony fainted. Linkara caught him before he hit the ground and he stared wide-eyed at Critic, horrified. “So that’s your warning. He’s coming tonight and he’ll be at table six. Do your things as usual, don’t bother him, and don’t let on that you know anything. Hopefully, we can get all of this worked out tonight so you can go back to that thing you do.” He nodded at Linkara, who was struggling to support Spoony. “Meet me in my office when he’s conscious. Carry on!”
Everyone simply stared after Critic as he swept back into his office. There was about a minute of silence before Chick recovered. “Joe, help Linkara lift Spoony onto the bar,” she called. “We’ll wipe it down later. Film Brain, get a glass of water. The rest of you, we’re going to start with the Sailor number, so track four, Todd.”
Her orders were carried out and in a few minutes, Spoony’s eyes opened and met Linkara’s. “Linkara…” he groaned. “Did I just hear… did Critic say what I think he said?”
“It’s okay,” Linkara said. “It’s gonna be okay. He won’t see you. We’ll be in the back, as usual.”
“But he’ll wait outside, he’ll come back to us, he’ll…”
“I won’t let him hurt you,” Linkara said. “I’m gonna be right by you all night, we’ll lock the door, Joe will walk us out, Harvey’s picking us up…” It took quite a bit of reassurance before Spoony calmed down enough to stand up. As soon as he could walk a little, Linkara guided him into the office, entering without knocking, and started talking before Critic could open his mouth. “The hell were you thinking?” Linkara snapped.
“Linkara…”
“Look at him, Critic! Look!” He guided Spoony forward. “He’s terrified! You promised that this asshole wouldn’t be coming back-”
“Listen!” Critic snapped. “I know what I said. And I’m sorry. But my people have negotiated with his people and this is what we can do. You two don’t have to perform. Fuck it, you two don’t even have to be here. I’ll have one of the bouncers tell you when the fucker’s inside and you can slip out the back and go home. If you’re not here, he’ll probably get bored and find another place to hang out and drop everything, and you can get back to your real work.”
“But what if he doesn’t get bored? What if he latches onto someone else? Like Film Brain. Do you want a kid like that to have this happen to him? If you let him come back now, he’ll just walk all over you.”
“I know what I’m doing, Linkara,” Critic said. “He won’t see any skin. He’ll be given the worst alcohol I have, no matter what he orders. You two won’t be around. He’ll come, he’ll see what’s happening, he’ll get bored, he’ll leave. Besides, Film Brain’s at the back. I doubt he’s in any danger.”
Linkara opened his mouth to argue more, but Spoony shook his head. “Critic’s right,” he said. “This is probably the best way. And if we leave while he’s preoccupied, he’ll never even know we were here.”
Linkara looked at Spoony for a moment before nodding. “Okay,” he said. “But if anything goes wrong, Critic, we’re hopping the first bus to Los Angeles.”
“Deal,” Critic said.
*
It took another half-hour for Spoony to calm down enough to get back to work, but once his heart had stopped pounding he did anything he could, trying not to think about the man who would be coming tonight. Unfortunately, it was rather difficult since everyone else was incredibly tense-even if they didn’t know the details, they knew that Mercer was trouble, and seeing Spoony pass out like that had only heightened their concern. Finally, half-an-hour before the club was supposed to open, Chick called a halt and told everyone to get something to eat before they started. “Or just some water. Whatever you can stomach.”
Spoony wasn’t sure he could stomach even the water until he was safe at home with Linkara, but he did manage to take a few sips from the bottle Linkara offered him. “It’s okay, we’re going home soon, you don’t have to see him,” he said quietly.
“I know,” Spoony said. “I’m just worried. What if something does go wrong? What if we get shut down again? What if…”
“I called Harvey and he’s ready to take us to the Greyhound station the moment we ask. And if anything goes wrong, we’re out. I’ve got some money; we’ll just go as far as they’ll take us and start over. We’ve started with nothing before, we can start with nothing again.”
Spoony smiled. “I’m not starting with nothing,” he said quietly. “I’ve got you.”
Linkara rolled his eyes. “That line was so cheesy I could make several plates of nachos from it.”
“But you love it.”
“Of course I do.” He wrapped his arms around Spoony, pulling him close to his chest. They stayed there for a few minutes before the music started, signaling that the club was opening. Spoony looked at Linkara, and there was fear in his eyes, and love, and defiance, and all the beautiful emotions that equaled Spoony. Linkara smiled reassuringly at him as they waited, silently counting the seconds until someone came to tell them they could go.
They stayed that way for about half-an-hour until there was a knock on the door and Joe poked his head in. “Mercer’s on the floor,” he said. “Just ordered his first drink. I’ll take you out now.”
“Okay,” Linkara said, letting go of Spoony and grabbing his wallet, stowing it in the inside pocket of his coat. “Let’s go.”
Just as they left the room, though, there was a sudden uproar from out on the floor and Film Brain came dashing over to them. “Joe, there’s a fight out on the floor.”
Joe looked at him, then back at Linkara and Spoony, his face conflicted.
“Go ahead,” Linkara said. “That’s what Critic pays you for. Besides, if Mercer’s out there, he’s not bothering us. We’ll be fine.”
Joe nodded. “Harvey’s waiting outside. I talked to him before coming in.”
“Thanks,” Linkara said, grabbing Spoony’s hand. They slipped out the back door as Joe hurried off to deal with whatever was going on.
The back door was really more of a fire escape, with stairs leading down the side of the building. Linkara and Spoony hurried down them and had just reached the ground when there was a laugh behind them. “Really, boys? You thought you could pull that off?”
Linkara’s blood froze and he felt Spoony’s hand clench around his. They turned slowly to see Mercer standing against the wall, grinning lecherously at them. Linkara immediately pushed Spoony behind him, glaring at Mercer as hard as he could. “Weren’t you going in?” Linkara asked pointedly. Damn Joe for making a mistake like that…
“Why bother?” Mercer said. “What I want is out here. I sent in a double, though. Didn’t want to disappoint those who wanted to see me.”
“We can destroy you,” Linkara said, trying to keep calm. “You, your brother… pull down all those connections you have.”
“See, I talked to my brother,” Mercer said coolly. “And he said he would keep everyone else away from you.” He nodded at Spoony. “Clearly he couldn’t do that. So I don’t care about my brother. But I’m still going to have what’s mine.”
“He’s not yours,” Linkara said through gritted teeth. “He’s not yours, so stay away from us.” He looked around. There was Harvey’s car, and from the looks of things, Harvey was about ready to intervene…
“Try to stop me,” Mercer growled. He lunged at Linkara. Linkara threw a punch, but Mercer dodged. Linkara tried to move, but Mercer actually hit him and Linkara fell. Spoony saw the handle of a knife…
He couldn’t scream. He tried, but he couldn’t. Mercer was on him in a second, grabbing Spoony around the waist…
“You’re mine, bitch,” Mercer hissed in his ear, pushing Spoony against the wall. Spoony closed his eyes, whimpering, trying to get away as Mercer pushed against him…
There was a loud bang from somewhere above them and Mercer’s weight was suddenly gone. Spoony opened his eyes and saw the body fall to the ground. The man had been shot in the head and it was all Spoony could do not to faint at the sight. He looked up, away from the scene before him, to see Film Brain standing at the top of the stairs, slipping the still smoking pistol into the pocket of his jeans. He smiled at Spoony before jumping over the railing and disappearing into the night.
Spoony closed his eyes again and tried to catch his breath, tears streaming down his face. It was only when he heard footsteps from all sides that Spoony opened his eyes to see that the doors of the club had swung open as everyone came out. Harvey had already gotten over to them and was kneeling beside Linkara, who was sitting up and pulling the knife out of his chest.
Spoony stared. The knife was completely clean and Linkara seemed perfectly fine. Linkara looked up at Spoony and was instantly on his feet. “Spoony, are you okay?” he asked, dropping the knife and hurrying into Spoony’s arms.
“I… you… how…” This was all too much and Spoony couldn’t do anything but kiss Linkara, clutching his jacket, tears still falling.
Linkara laughed and pulled back, reaching into his jacket. “He hit my wallet,” he said, pulling it out. “Spoony, it’s over. He’s gone. He can’t hurt us anymore, it’s over… it’s over…”
Spoony leaned on Linkara, still crying. “It… it was…”
“Don’t tell me,” Linkara whispered. “Whoever it was is long gone, and there’s no point in getting more caught up in this than necessary.”
Spoony nodded. “Thank you,” he whispered softly.