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The fourth section of the Lex Series. Life has treated her badly and the streets are a rough place. Lex doesn't care anymore. It's about money and rep, nothing else. She doesn't care about anyone or anything ... Until someone decides to get close and help her feel human again.
(April 9th, 2020) Unknown, Combat Zone, Night City, California
She waited, eyes closed, listening. She kept very still, forcing herself to breathe at regular intervals. She mentally counted the seconds as she breathed in and out. Holding her breath for a second, she listened. He was asleep. She sighed internally. She had thought that he would never drop off. She slipped from the bed, turning her back on last night’s bed partner. She quietly redressed, pulling the leather up her sweat-sheened limbs. She walked over to the terminal. She tried to remember his name, but she drew a blank. It took her less than ten seconds to type out her message.
Thanks, L.
She checked one final time for anything that she may have forgotten and left, never looking behind her. She walked through the apartment block, making her way down the stairs and back into the 'Zone. Another day, another buck. She wondered for a second where she would be bedding down tonight, but she knew that it didn't matter. She picked a direction, entirely randomly and started walking.
Lex walked down the street. Her face was set in a permanent mask of hatred and bile, an air of quiet fury surrounded her. It was clear that she didn't give two shits for the people she passed. People hurried to get out of the way of the six and a half foot woman. Her high heeled leather boots clicked as she walked down the centre of the busy street. These people were worth nothing to her. She couldn't profit from their lives, or from their deaths… At least not until they pissed off the wrong person.
She walked, head facing downwards. At first glance, it looked like she wasn't paying attention to anything except where her next step was landing but the truth was that she was looking through her black dyed shaggy hair at the scene around her. She wasn't taking in specifics of her surroundings but, instead, she trusted her instincts to point out anything suspicious. On the street, that was all she had now and, so far, they hadn't let her down.
She noticed a man to her right, just standing against the side of a ruined building. Something about his was off. She tried to pin point what was wrong, but she couldn't put a finger on it. It was something about his carriage, something... It clicked. The way he carried himself didn't fit with what he was wearing. He was wearing leathers. He was kitted out with some nice hardware. Both were new by the look of them. He looked uncomfortable with them. He was constantly flexing, trying to get comfortable in his second skin. To Lex, he seemed to be trying to be something he wasn't.
Yet another wannabe in the city, she thought wryly.
Lex kept an eye on him as she pulled closer to his position. He, finally, made a real move. He moved to intercept her. She took a deep breath and kept her head down to make him think that he hadn't been spotted. He stepped into her path. Lex kept walking. The man took a wide swing, hoping for a hit to the jaw, she presumed. With one movement, Lex blocked the punch with one arm and used the other to grab the back of her attackers head and bring it down. Her leg came up to meet the unfortunate man's face with a dull thud. She released his head a fraction of a second before her knee connected, leaving the momentum carry him forward before it knocked him backwards. The man flew backwards, landing on the asphalt. Blood ran from a broken nose, covering his face in red.
Lex walked on as if nothing had happened. A scuffle behind her told her that the man was struggling on the street. Stopping, Lex turned to face him, only her head and shoulders turning. Fixing him with a cold stare, she had one word for him.
"Stay!"
The man, who had been trying to get up, stopped mid struggle. His face reflected indecision for a second. He dropped back down to the street, his decision made. Lex faced forward again and continued on her path. She wondered why he had attacked her. Was it a contract? Was it personal? No matter what the reason was, the rookie had failed. Maybe that would convince whoever was behind it to hire someone with some real skill. If they wanted her dead, they should just do it, not make her suffer the indignity of having a wannabe street scum try to take her out. She didn't care if they killed her, as long as it was quick and clean. Well, that was a bit of a lie. If she was offered a choice between life and death, she would choose life. But if she was killed, that was fine. After all, everyone has to die. A tug at the empty place she felt in her heart reminded her that some met their fate sooner than others.
Lex mentally ran through the shopping list of tasks that she had to get done today. It was only small jobs but they would bring in the money that had become the focal point of her life. Find out a name here, broker a deal there. It was grunt work but it paid the bills.
Lex made her way through the streets. She checked the watch on her wrist and worked out the quickest way to her next meeting. Cutting down an alleyway she hurried to her appointment. Thinking over her game plan in her head, she almost missed the echo of footsteps in the alley behind her following after her. Her instincts pulled at her mind as she turned to face her pursuer. She almost laughed to see the man that she had put down standing behind her.
“I thought I told you to stay!” Lex commented.
“I don’t listen very well,” he shot back.
“Too bad,” she said as she dropped into a fighting stance.
The man tried to mirror her stance, but it was a bad imitation like someone trying martial arts after seeing a single Hong Kong action movie. Lex allowed herself a small smile.
‘This is going to be fun,’ she thought to herself.
She invited the wannabe soldier to attack her. He must have taken her invitation as an insult or something because he started running at her, arms flailing, trying to hit her before she was even in range. She noticed that his eyes were wild, dried blood still stuck to his face, his nose pointed in a direction that wasn’t straight. This was a joke.
A wild punch came at her head. Lex dropped straight to her knees, under his punch. She extended her leg out and, with hands on the ground for leverage, swung around. She caught her attacker’s leg, making it buckle. He struggled for balance but failed. He hit the ground hard, face first. Lex got to her feet to see him turning over. She was on him in a second, placing her sharp boot heel on his throat. His eyes bulged as she pressed gently.
“Maybe you’ll listen this time!” Lex said.
She could feel his Adam’s apple bump against her heel as she spoke to him.
Removing her heel, she excused herself, saying “Now, if you’ll excuse me… I’m late.”
She turned and continued down the alley, listening for sounds. She heard him scuffle to his feet again and she heard footsteps running out of the alley. Relaxing, she turned the corner and picked up her pace.
She was still two streets away when she looked at her watch. She was late, only by a couple of minutes but that enough for the person she was meeting to pull out and take his cred with him.
‘Bastard!’ She thought to herself. ‘If I catch the bastard again, I’m gonna take it out of his hide!’
She turned a corner. She could see the bar where she was meant to be meeting her contact. Looking around, she searched for her contact. No sign of him, that was good. He was probably still inside. Lex sighed, forcing herself to calm down her breathing.
She was nearly at the building when the little no-good bastard that had made her late stepped out in front of her. Lex tried to side step him, not in the mood for yet another simple put down, but he kept in front of her. Lex cursed loudly.
“I don’t have time for this! Get the fuck out of my way and I will give you the fight you want later.” Lex’s voice was insistent but patronising.
“See, later is no good for me!” He shot back.
“Watch me care!” Lex answered, noting that his voice was slightly more confident now.
“Me and the boys are in the mood for a little party right now!”
Lex watched two other men, about the same semi-scrawny build step out from an alley to flank him.
‘This has to be a joke.’
Behind them she saw the contact that she was supposed to meet leave the bar. He looked both ways. He locked eyes with Lex and shook his head. The deal was shot. Lex cursed under her breath.
“Shit… Looks like my calendar just freed up a time slot just for you. You just cost me a couple of hundred EuroBucks. You got my attention. Why the fuck are you attacking me?”
The guy looked back at her, slightly nervous at Lex’s calm exterior. It looked like this was a normal every day occurrence for her.
“Someone wants you dead, bitch!” He announced.
“No shit!” Lex said laughing. “I didn’t think you were doing this for the shit of it! Who?”
“Can’t tell you!”
Lex took a deep breath.
“Look, I can hand you your ass for the third time today and force you to tell me or you can just tell me and we can say that I handed you your ass!”
That seemed to infuriate the man. Stepping back, he nodded to his two associates. Both looked identical, like twins. Both had shaved heads which made them look like plague victims rather than the tried and tested fighter look that they were trying for. The twins slowly started to advance on her. Lex stood her ground. The one on her left stopped advancing. The one to her right broke into a run, coming straight at her. Just before he reached her, she sidestepped, throwing her arm out to side he was advancing. His throat connected with her outstretched arm, knocking him to his feet. She kicked her feet out from under herself, landing with an elbow on his solar plexus. The rest of her arm fell across his ribcage, only slightly less force than the elbow. She heard a crack that she assumed was a rib breaking. He screamed with the pain. Lex got to her feet again, facing the brother of the fallen man.
He looked between Lex and the man on the ground and rage filled his eyes. He walked forward. Lex leaned down and touched a hidden button on the side of one of her heels before straightening into her fighting stance again. She felt pressure trying to force one of her heels upwards. She waited until he was in range and flinging herself into the air, she twisted, kicking out at the remaining twin in the same movement. She could feel her boot heel slash across his throat. The ground was coming up to meet her. She landed on her forearms, breaking her fall. Looking over her shoulder, she watched a line of blood appear across the throat of the twin. His hand flew to touch the blood line. He fell forward, hitting the ground face first. Blood flowed forming a pool to the side of his body.
The twin that she had dropped first rushed to his brother’s body. He was wailing in grief. Looking up at Lex, he screamed that it was her fault.
“I didn’t hire you. He did!” Lex pointed at the skinny man dressed in leathers.
His face was filled with disbelief.
Lex pulled up her leg to press the button on her boot again. The knife slid back in and locked in place with a click. She would have to remember to clean the needlepoint blade later.
“Who hired you?” Lex asked again, getting to her feet.
The leather clad man started backing away.
“Tell me and I let you live!”
He stopped dead in his tracks again. His eyes were wide.
“Don’t even think of doing anything stupid!”
He ran at her. Lex had no idea what the hell he was thinking. On instinct she dropped just in front of him. She drove a fist upwards, catching him just behind his nuts. A sickening sound issued from his mouth as he fell forward. Hands flew to his crotch. He curled up in a little ball. Lex got to her feet and stood over him. While he was rocking back and forth, she put her foot on his throat again.
“Tell me!”
She pressed down a little harder when no answer came.
“Tell me!” She demanded again.
Still no answer.
“Tell me or you die here and now!”
A croaky voice answered her.
“Bags.”
“The nightclub owner?”
“Yeah.”
“Thanks.”
Lex pressed down hard with her heel and felt it pop through his flesh and bite into his throat. Withdrawing it, she heard him gasping for breath. She had punctured his windpipe. She watched as blood gurgled in the wound, bubbling as he tried to breathe it in. She kept watching until he drowned on his own blood, her face an impassive mask.
Turning, she looked at the one remaining member of the attacking team.
“Leave.”
He looked at her, not making a move.
“Leave or the body lottery goes up by another number!”
The man looked into her dead eyes and saw no feelings there. He started backing away from the body of his brother. He could always come back for him later. If he stayed, he would die here in the street with his twin. He struggled to get to his feet but succeeded on falling on his ass a few times as he scrambled. He eventually managed to reclaim his footing. He turned and ran into the alley. The eyes of that bitch would haunt him, he knew. There was nothing there, nothing in them.
Lex watched him retreat, not moving from her position. He retreated around the corner before she moved. Turning to walk towards the bar that she was supposed to have a meeting in. The meeting was long past, the contact gone, but they still served alcohol. She walked. People moved out of her way. She pushed open the door and walked inside. She took a seat at the bar and ordered whiskey. The bottle was placed in front of her and she poured herself a large glass of amber fire. She replaced the bottle on the bar and picked up the glass. She considered the liquid for a second, watching the residue left on the side as she swirled it around the glass. She drained the liquid until only the residue remained and poured herself another glass. The liquid burned the back of her throat but heated her insides as she swallowed. The warm embrace of the alcohol heated her in the way that no lover had been able to, since she hit the streets at least.
She took the bottle and the glass and moved over to the dataterm at the corner of the room. She dialled a number from memory and watched as it connected. An immaculately groomed face appeared on the screen. She looked into the brown eyes of one of the few friends she had in the world.
“Hobo, good to see you.” Lex forced a smile.
“Lex, nice to hear you’re not face down in a sewer somewhere! What can I do for you?” Hobo asked.
“Who says I want something?” Lex tried to be light and cheery.
“Lex, honey, you don’t make social calls these days. Cut the bullshit and tell me what you want.” He knew her too well.
“I need to find out where I can find Bags, the nightclub owner.” Business took over the conversation.
“Give me a few minutes and I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thanks.” She meant it.
“Where can I get you?”
“Call me on the cell!”
“Done!”
“Done!”
The call ended, the dataterm screen went blank. Lex poured another drink, downing it as quickly as the last as she waited for the call.
About fifteen minutes and two more drinks later, the call came.
“He’s in Zingari, his nightclub near Alliance turf. You know it?” Hobo asked.
“Yeah, I know it. I owe you one.” Lex answered, about to hang up.
“You owe me a hundred actually.” Hobo joked.
“Add it to the tab!” Lex joked back.
Hobo turned serious. “Don’t get dead, Lex. I plan on collecting!”
“Not planning on it, Hobo!”
The phone went dead as both hung up. Lex finished her drink and tossed a chip at the bartender. He slotted it and tossed her back the chip with its corrected balance. Nodding, she left the bar.
She tossed a look at the battleground she had found herself on before entering the bar. The bodies had been cleaned up.
‘Probably sold for parts,’ she thought cynically to herself.
Lex mentally cleaned her list of appointments for the day. Only one thing mattered at the moment, going to Zingari and having a friendly chat to Bags.
Lex waked down the streets, sticking to the main streets, shunning the backstreets just in case. Zingari was just 20 blocks away from where she was at the moment. She walked on, ignoring people as she walked through the streets until she stood in front of the nightclub. A vague memory surfaced. She thought that she had been here before. It wasn’t that unlikely. She had been drunk in a lot of places around the city. It was hard to keep them all straight in the alcohol and rage filled world she lived in.
The neon sign was unlit but the metal grate was unlocked and open. The building was in need of a facelift but no one really cared about the outside once the drinks were cold and cheap on the inside. The street was deserted for the most part. A few men unloaded a flatbed truck, bringing in alcohol for tonight's patrons. Lex pushed open the door to the nightclub, a little surprised to find it open at four o'clock in the afternoon. She walked into the bar, her heels clicking on the wooden floor.
"We're not open, come back later." A voice came from behind the bar.
She looked over to see a man standing there shining glasses as they were pulled from the steam washer under the bar. He wore a simple black t-shirt, the arms bulging as he flexed his muscles. He must have been about six foot nine. He was cute too, she wouldn't mind finding out what he was like between the sheets, but that would have to wait.
"I'm here to see your boss!" Lex shot him a sweet smile.
The muscle-bound bartender pointed her to a wooden door just at the end of the bar. The door itself stood open a crack. Lex moved towards it. She was just about to put a hand on the panelling to push it open when it was drawn back and a slab of muscle stood in front of her, blocking her way. She felt herself pushed backwards a little. Lex complied. It wouldn't do to cause a scene here before she had talked to Bags.
"Weapons?" The wall of muscle talked, his voice rough.
Lex took off her armoured leather jacket and let the man divest her of two guns, two knives and a length of monowire. She didn't volunteer the knife that she kept by her ankle or the needleblade on a spring mount in her boot heel. She was roughly searched.
'Please don't find them! Please don't find them!'
She didn't even dare whisper the words she was thinking. Luck was with her today and the bodyguard missed both. He waved Lex into the office and closed the door behind her. Lex looked around the plush office. Soft carpet made it hard to walk in the stilletto heels. Dark purples, vivid yellows and pastel greens surrounded Lex in oppulance. Couches lay against the walls with cushions thicker than any mattress she had slept on for months. Large faux flower arrangements adorned gold leaf tables placed against walls. A wall of television screens showing each corner of the nightclub were neatly fitted into a cupboard on the same wall as the door that Lex had entered through, partly obscured by the faux wooden panelling that was designed to pull over, hiding the screens from view. Lex was a little overwhelmed. She tried not to show it as she looked at the focal point of the room, a large wooden desk and the man behind it. The man was in his late twenties and good looking. He was magnificently croiffed and turned out. He wore a pristine white shirt and grey suit trousers, the coat of which was sitting on a hanger on the coatrack behind the desk. He looked the part of the consummate businessman.
This well-dressed, legitimate-looking man in front of her was apparently the man who had put the contract on her head. She couldn't recall a job that would bring down his wrath but she did have to admit that over the past few months she had done so many jobs that one simply faded into the next. It didn't really matter which one had made her an enemy of this man, or if not an enemy, then an annoyance to be removed. She watched him shuffle paper, knowing that it was his way of making her feel intimidated, and telling her that he was in control. Lex waited for a few seconds, letting him play his head game before asking the question on her mind.
"I hear you want me dead... Any particular reason?" Lex asked.
"Just biz." The cold reply came from the business man.
"As long as it's not personal." Lex's amusement filtered through her voice. She continued. "Anything I can do to persuade you not to kill me?"
"I hear you're a pretty good lay." Bags started, looking up at her, pausing to access her reaction.
"And?" Lex asked, seeming almost bored.
"How about you work off the ... eh ... debt."
"With you?"
"Yeah, that's the idea!" He seemed amused.
Bags sat back in his chair, waiting for her answer. Lex still stood on the other side of the desk, looking the business man in the eye. She just kept looking at him, forcing him to make the next move. When the silence had deepened to intolerable levels, Bags spoke.
"How about you get down on your knees and show your appreciation for my generous offer?"
Lex smiled as he pushed the chair he was sitting in out from the desk. She walked around the desk. An almost impressive bulge pushed out the business man's trousers. She dropped to her knees in front of him. Lex leaned in close, taking the material surrounding the button of his trousers in her teeth. She locked eyes with him as she pulled, opening the top catch in one smooth movement. Her tongue found the zip and propped it up until she could catch it with her teeth. As she slid the zip down, her hand slid down her leg to the dagger sheath she kept at her ankle for emergencies. Once unzipped, she caught Bags' black silk boxers in her teeth and pulled them down, revealing Bags' erect penis. She pulled a little more and exposed his scrotum. The dagger's handle felt right in her hand as she gripped it. Bags had closed his eyes, anticipating what Lex was going to do next, or at least, what he assumed she was going to do next. Lex brought the knife up slowly. The next sensation that Bags felt was the sharp, cold blade of her knife pressing against the underside of his scrotum. His eyes shot open. Lex was still looking him directly in the eye.
"You want me to work of a debt, give me a job. You want to fuck me, buy me dinner and get me drunk!"
It took a second for the words to register.
"Fuck, Lex, you're good!" Bags was laughing. "Cold, heartless but good!"
Bags moved back a little, trying to back away from the knife threatening his chances of fatherhood. Lex kept the knife in place. Bags started to look a little more nervous.
"Okay, fine... I'll see what jobs I have."
Lex eased off, sitting back on her heels for a second, sliding the knife back into the ankle sheath. She got to her feet, going back to the other side of the desk. Bags hastily shoved his exposed parts back into his trousers with one hand, using the other to lift a few files that were sitting on his desk. One after another, the files were checked and discarded as Bags checked the contracts that he had accepted. Finally, he found the one that he was looking for. He slid it across the table towards Lex. She reached out for the file. Opening it, she glanced at the details quickly. It was a hit, to be completed in the next eight hours.
"Do it and I'll take the contract off you!" Bags told her.
Lex nodded and turned to leave. She had a job to do and her life, such as it was, was riding on it. She collected her weapons and hid them back in their designated slots under cover of her armoured jacket. Checking herself out in the mirror, she proclaimed herself ready. No weapons were readily visible.
She felt Bags' eyes follow her as she walked out of the nightclub and back into the maze of the Combat Zone. Just before she left, she heard him yell for someone. Lex suspected that he was calling for his bodyguard, the one that didn’t find the knife at her ankle.
Looking around she saw an almost deserted bar across the street. Entering, she took a seat and ordered a double shot of the cheapest domestic whiskey they had, opening the file. She reviewed the details before closing the file again, the important details now contained in her mind.
Her cell rang, making her jump a little as the ring echoed in the noiseless bar. She pulled it out of her pocket and looked at the caller id. It was Hobo again. She wasn’t really in the mood to have a nice heart to heart with him but it was probably important… And he would probably know where to find her mark.
“Hobo, twice in one day… This is my lucky day!” Lex answered the phone.
“Maybe not, sweetie. Just found out… There’s a contract on you. It’s Bags.” Hobo sounded worried, actually worried about her.
“I know, Hobo, found out the hard way.” Lex was touched by his concern.
“Shit, you okay, sweetie?”
“Yeah, he sent a pack of amateurs after me. Body bank has two, other one is still about somewhere!” Lex tried to sound calm for Hobo, but amusement crept out.
“Shit! You need somewhere to crash?” It was a nice offer, but Lex doubted that Hobo’s current input would be happy to share their one bed apartment with his ex.
“Nah, its fine! Thanks for the offer… Incidentally, you know where I can find a Mark Wills? He’s a preacher sort.” Lex asked.
“Eh, isn’t he the guy associated with All Angels – you know, the anti-everything guy?” Hobo replied.
“Shit yeah, you’re right. Thanks Hobo.” Lex answered.
“You’re welcome, babe. Don’t get dead!”
“I won’t!” Lex answered and hung up.
She had a name, a place and a time period. All that was left was doing the job, the simple part, in other words.
Lex had a rough idea of where All Angels was but pulled up a map on a random dataterm she passed just to confirm that she was thinking of the same place. Everything was set. She double checked her weapons as she walked through the streets. Strangely enough, no one got in her way.
Less than an hour later, Lex stood outside the gothic figure of All Angels church. The large wooden door stood open, inviting entry. Gargoyles perched on the corners of the church, guarding the entryway to the ancient building, keeping it safe through the ages. The church had stood on the same spot for hundreds of years. The gargoyles had watched the city grow up around the church, encroaching on its sacred shadow. Desecration after desecration had been perpetrated against its sacred walls. Graffiti now coloured the granite walls, gangs long broken up still claiming the imposing shell. Times and services were posted on a small plaque outside the church. Two stone statues flanked the entrance, both angels standing with hands grasped around the handles of swords. One statue had the sword point resting on the ground. Its mate held the sword aloft, the point extended towards the sky. Both had gigantic wings, folded neatly behind them. Long flowing robes adorned the figures, once white from bleached granite but now various hues of greens, blues, purples and oranges as they had become the scribble pad for any passing piece of gutter trash with a spray can.
Lex slowly ascended the steps outside until she was standing in the doorway. The church was a gothic monstrosity of pillars and arches. She noticed that the stereotypical image of the gold encrusted alter was not present against the back wall, granite taking its place. A man walked between the pews, stopping to talk to the sparse population worshipping within All Angels' walls. Lex watched his path before entering to follow him. His path took him to a small set of wooden cubicles against the side wall of the church. It was a confessional. The man opened the middle door and stepped inside. Lex walked to the pew beside the confessional and took a seat there. She looked around and saw the supplicants on their knees around her. Not wanting to look different, she dropped to her knees on the cushioned rest between the pews. Lex watched silently as, one by one, the other people around the church entered the confessional to participate in their religious observance. Lex waited until the last had finished and left the church grounds. Getting up and walking to the confessional, Lex pulled open the door and sat in. She heard a murmuring on the other side of the partition. She waited until the man pulled back a sliding door. Faint light shone through a grill in the wooden wall of the cubicle.
"Yes, my child!" His voice was soft and gentle.
"I'm not here for confession, Father Wills. I'm here to tell you that there is a contract out on your life."
"A contract?" The priest was incredulous.
"Yes, and I thought you should know."
"Thanks. Do you know who?"
"Who is going to carry it out?" Lex asked.
"Yes." The priest answered.
"Me!" Lex's voice turned cold.
"What?" Shock, fear, disbelief filtered through the grill to Lex's ears.
Lex reached into her waistband and drew her gun. The metal was cold against her palm. She pointed the barrel at where the voice had been and squeezed the trigger. The gun jerked in her hand as the bullet left the barrel. She squeezed again. Another shot rang in her ears. And again. She fired until the clip was empty. Taking a cloth out of her pocket, she wiped the gun and let it drop to the floor. The gun thudded and bounced before coming to rest under the seat, to be found later.
"Bless me father for I have sinned." Lex whispered, no one hearing her.
She heard a wet slump in the next cubicle as the priests lifeless body dropped to the floor of the confessional. Lex opened the door and walked out, sidestepping the pool of blood leaking from under the wooden door of the priests section of the confessional. The gunshots still rang around the deserted church, reflected by the granite slabs. She walked through the aisles and through the door, leaving the church. She stopped outside on the steps and fished her phone out of her pocket. Dialling Bags' number, she waited for the answer.
"Hello?" The answer came.
"It's done!" Lex stated simply.
"Consider the contract cancelled. Pleasure doing business with you, Lex. Now, about that dinner..."
Lex considered hanging up on Bags but she held off. It would be a bed for the night, and better than any she had been in for a long time. Dinner, booze and a comfortable bed. What else could a girl want? Of course, it would come at a price. Tonight, like every other night, it would be her body. At least it was a price she was willing to pay.
"I'd be delighted." Lex cut in.
"Eight o'clock, my place?" Bags asked.
"Sounds good." Lex put as much feeling as possible into the reply.
"Wear something ... nice!" Lex could hear him leering at her over the phone and shivered.
Prostitutes sold their bodies for money; she sold it for a warm bed and that feeling of waking up beside someone, their arms wrapped around you. She often wondered if she was better or worse than the common whore on the street. It didn't matter if she was or not, it wouldn't stop her from doing it.
"See you at eight then!" Lex answered.
With mutual dismissive comments, the phone call was terminated. With a bed secured for the night, she continued with the errands she had to catch up on. She added a new item to the mental to-do list she kept in her head. She had to buy something ... nice!