Chapter 25 — Nicholas

I crept down the hallway, groping along the walls to make my way through the dark. Occasionally, there would be a quiet snore or the murmur of a person talking in their sleep, but for the most part, a peaceful silence hung in the air.

The door to the sailor room opened when I turned the knob, the hinges oiled to stay silent.

“What are you doing here, Nicholas?” Ace’s eyes narrowed to slits of blue.

Josiah was asleep beside him, arms wrapping him in an embrace.

“It’s almost midnight,” I said. “Why are you awake?”

His stance was wary. “Why are you sneaking into my room like a cat burglar?”

“I wanted to talk to you.”

“You could have waited until morning. Won’t your mother worry if she notices you’re gone?”

“She thinks I’m sleeping over at Alex’s house.” I paused. “You were right earlier. Tom’s method hasn’t been getting any results. We need to try a different approach.”

“And you’re telling me this because…”

“You have knowledge of the Underground, and I know about EAGLE in a way that you don’t,” I said. “Face it. We need each other.”

Ace was silent for several minutes. If his eyes weren’t open, I would have thought he had fallen asleep.

“Meet me by the front door in five minutes,” he said. “I hope you know how to drive.”

I did not, in fact, know how to drive, so we ended up taking the night bus to Elmer’s Street.

“Take nothing anyone gives you,” Ace warned. “And if someone makes advances, punch them in the eye. It’ll get a message across loud and clear, even to drunks.”

“What sort of place is this?” I asked as we passed two women belting an Elvis song.

Ace came to a stop at a two-story wooden shack with light and music blaring from inside. It was one of the few places untouched by graffiti, a sign it held some reverence from the locals.

He pushed the door open. “Try not to stare.”

The music was so loud I could feel it vibrating in my chest. A huge crowd gathered around a stage with a long metal pole that ran up to the ceiling. The place stank of sweat and another smell I couldn’t quite place.

A woman looped her leg around the pole and leaned backward, flashing her cleavage to the crowd who welcomed the sight with claps and wolf whistles. She was wearing black stiletto heels and a lace outfit that left little to the imagination. As she started moving to the beat of the music, blonde hair swaying, I couldn’t keep my eyes off of her.

Ace elbowed me. “Stop staring!”

It took a tremendous effort to tear my gaze away. “How could you not?”

Any red-blooded man would be entranced by the sight. Ace pushed his way through the crowd, not caring if he trod on a few toes. Along with a creative description of what a donkey must have done to his mother, people parted to let him through. I hurried after him.

“What is this place?” I said. “You never answered my question earlier.”

“It’s a strip club,” he replied, “and a brothel.”

I raised an eyebrow. It was a trick I had learned from Tom. If you looked like you expected a person to continue speaking, they often would.

Sure enough, Ace elaborated, “Men reveal many things in moments of passion.”

“Would a prostitute’s word hold up in court?” I asked.

“No, but it could give us a starting point. Let me do the talking.”

A woman with eyes of steel stood in the corner. If Ace hoped to get a lead from her, it would be a long night.

“It’s been a while, boy,” she said. “Has Andrea sent you to beg me to let her back?”

“I’m here on my behalf, Darla, not my mother’s.”

“Then you realize I’m expecting compensation for the questions I answer.”

Ace blinked. “How do you know what I want?”

“Men come here for two reasons. I’m guessing you don’t swing that way, so you can only be after information.”

“Can you give me what I’m looking for?”

Darla flashed a grin that was all teeth.

I shook my head. “Wait. Seth wouldn’t come to this place when he’s with my mom day and night. Nathan Harker doesn’t seem like the type either.”

“Seth Vasiliev?” Darla asked. “He knows better than to show his face around here.”

“You banned the Underground leader from his own domain?” Ace looked impressed.

“He caused me a lot of trouble back in the day. Andrea was a favorite of his. The problem was, they fancied themselves in love. The spiels I had to hear from Andrea about running away with him, as if I were keeping her against her will.”

Ace opened his mouth to steer the conversation back on track, but I shook my head. Despite her formidable nature, Darla was still affected by the rambling that seemed to plague everyone her age. If I could nudge the conversation in the direction I wanted, we could walk away without forking over money we certainly didn’t have.

“It would have been kinder if they drifted apart with time. Their breakup was messy. Andrea was beside herself for weeks and turned to all sorts of drugs for comfort,” Darla said. “Though seeing you now, Ace, I guess something came of their relationship. How has your father been?”

Ace gaped at her.

“Close your mouth before a bug flies into it,” she said. “I never forget a face, and you’re growing more like him by the minute.”

“Has anyone else given you trouble like he did?” I asked.

“Not in the same way. There has been this one man, Will. He’s always coming here angry, and he takes it out on my girls. He left an ugly mark on Eva and she’s taken to wearing feather boas to cover it up.” Darla frowned. “From the looks on your faces, I see I’ve struck something. If you’ll come to the back, we can talk in private.”

“Maybe later.” I pretended to cast an interested eye over the room. “I’d like to look around first.”

Her eyes narrowed. I tried not to move too fast as I walked away. The same woman was at the pole, twirling and casting sultry looks at the crowd. I craned my head, trying to figure out where the other girls were hiding.

Ace crossed his arms. “You can satisfy your base urges later. Darla’s waiting for us.”

“We don’t have the money to pay her for information.”

“We don’t have a choice.”

The woman onstage peeled herself off the pole like a cat and walked down the steps, heels clacking against the wood.

I nodded in her direction. “Follow her. She might lead us to Eva.”

It was easier said than done. People were unwilling to give up their spot to two teenage boys fumbling their way across the dim room. I caught an elbow to the mouth and a jab to the chest as I jostled people aside. The blonde head bobbed in front of us, on the verge of disappearing.

We cleared the edge of the crowd as the woman walked through a door guarded by bouncers. Ace sized them up, his hand closing around an object in his pocket.

I signaled for him to wait before marching up to the men. “What are you doing here?”

The shorter one looked at me. “We’re guarding the women’s personal space. Only paying customers can enter, and I’m guessing you aren’t one.”

“There’s a brawl right outside,” I said. “Darla wanted you by the door five minutes ago.”

“We haven’t heard fighting.”

“I’m not surprised considering the noise in here. Now hurry!”

He scowled. “I’m not taking orders from a little boy.”

I stood up straight and looked them both in the eye. “Do you know who I am?”

The taller bouncer nudged his partner. “We’ll be going now, won’t we Zachary?”

Zachary frowned and pointed to the door. “Who’ll keep people from barging in?”

I waved them away. “Everyone’s too distracted by the show.”

“Zachary.” The tall bouncer jerked his head towards the door.

Zachary gave me one last glare before following him into the crowd.

Ace looked impressed. “How did you get them to believe you?”

“If you act like you know what you’re doing, people will rarely question you.” I reached for the handle.

The door opened into a bright hallway lined with rooms on both sides.

“Isaac? Zachary? Is everything alright out there?”

A woman with short red hair poked her head out, caught sight of us, and opened her mouth to call for help.

I held up a hand. “Wait, we won’t cause trouble. We’re just looking for Eva.”

She stepped out into the hall. “You’re not supposed to be here. You’re lucky the bouncers weren’t in front of the door or you’d be dead meat.”

Another woman cracked opened her door. “Celeste, who are you talking to?”

“Two boys who wandered in here, hoping to get a look without paying.”

“We were not,” I said. “We only want to talk to Eva.”

The bouncers may have fallen for my bluff, but Celeste knew the place too well to believe the lies I told. Ace shifted from foot to foot as we argued.

Celeste’s eyebrows were traveling higher and higher on her forehead. “You can’t think I’m dumb enough to—Will!” She started messing with her hair. “Eva wasn’t expecting you until next Thursday.”

I whirled around. Will walked through the doorway and pulled a folding knife from his pocket. Celeste blanched as her friend hurried back into her room.

“Where’s your gun?” Ace smiled, but he had turned as pale as Celeste.

“Darla doesn’t allow weapons on the premises.” Celeste frowned. “That includes firearms and blades.”

Will’s hand twitched. “Care to repeat that?”

She gulped and shook her head so hard I thought it would fall off.

Then the guards returned to the room. Isaac took one look at Will and began speaking into a walkie talkie. Ace’s hand clenched in his pocket.

“I’m going to have to ask you to put up your knife, sir,” Zachary said. “Take the boys and leave the premises.”

“Gladly.” Will stowed the knife back in his jacket. “Ace, grab your friend and let’s go.”

His brow furrowed as he looked toward me, but there was no spark of recognition in his eyes. I sighed in relief.

Ace frowned. “You’re delusional.”

“Your father wants you back home,” Will said. “What would he say if he knew you were here?”

“I think he’d be glad I saw the place where he met my mother.”

“Don’t pretend you came for personal reasons.”

“I’m giving you one last chance to leave,” Zachary interrupted. “You can sort out your issues in the streets.”

Isaac held up the walkie talkie. “Wait, Darla wants to speak with the boys.”

Ace let out the breath he had been holding.

Will reached inside his jacket. Faster than a blink, he threw the folding knife as hard as he could. It tumbled hilt over blade, straight at Ace’s back.

I grabbed the closest object, a vase that was probably quite expensive, and knocked the knife out of the air. It went skidding across the floor and hit the wall with a dull thud. Ace turned around, eyes as wide as saucers.

Will cursed and lunged at him. Ace kneed him in the gut and used the wall behind him to launch himself over Will’s head, catching him square in the back. Will had to brace himself against a table to keep from falling over. Ace took the chance to flick open his pocket knife.

The sight set off Celeste. “Somebody, do something!”

Zachary wrenched Ace’s arm behind his back, forcing him to drop the weapon. Isaac grabbed Will by the shoulders and shoved him out the door. It slammed shut behind the two of them.

Ace aimed a vicious kick at Zachary’s leg. The bouncer jumped back before it could connect.

He jerked his head toward a back door. “Darla’s waiting.”

The words had an ominous tone. Zachary led us down an empty hall with a single door at the end. Our shoes clicked on the tile as we walked.

Darla was sitting behind a desk.

“If I had known you were in trouble with the Underground, I would have never let you through the door,” she said.

Ace bowed his head like a scolded child. “We weren’t planning on causing trouble.”

“I don’t want to hear it, nor do I want to see you again.” She nodded at Zachary. “Get them out of my sight.”

“Is that all?” I asked in disbelief.

“I called you here to separate you from Will. When you start fights, it’s bad for business.”

“Will’s waiting to attack us the moment we step outside,” Ace said. “Don’t you feel guilty about sending us to our deaths?”

Darla snorted. “Are you an assassin or a bunny? Besides, it’s almost five which means Will is headed to Liberty. He does it every day without fail.”

Liberty was a street across town filled with drab old buildings. Still, there was one thing noteworthy on that street, and it was the only place he could go to.

EAGLE headquarters.