B-CRUSH NIGHTCLUB, CICCONE NEIGHBORHOOD
FRIDAY, 10:11 P.M.
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B-Crush was in Ciccone, a small neighborhood known for its number of bars, restaurants, and clubs, all of them very exclusive, within the Magenta Area of the city. Adam loved visiting that neighborhood; he’d done it the night before and the nights before that one.
As always, in front of B-Crush was a long line of extravagant people waiting behind a rope fence for the bouncers to let them in.
Evading the crowd, Adam led his company through a passageway for VIP guests. But just before they could lose themselves in the darkness and the chaos of voices and music seething beyond the threshold, a heavy hand grabbed his shoulder.
“—And then we have those who wanna sneak in,” a thick voice said.
Adam turned, somewhat startled, and bumped into one of the security giants: a six-foot-tall guy with a shaved head and the looks of a former wrestler.
“Hey, Little John!” Adam called him, relieved.
“Adam?!” The big guy frowned, as if trying to understand what he was seeing. “I’m sorry, I—”
“What’s up, dude? I’ve been away from this zoo for a week, and you don’t recognize me anymore?”
“No. It’s just—” Confused, Little John looked toward the nightclub entrance. “I could have sworn I let you in a few minutes ago.”
“But here I am!” Adam pointed to himself with a smile and patted the man. “Chill. It’s easy to get confused with so many people around.”
“Sure thing!” the big man nodded, more relaxed. “I knew the beard was not your thing,” he added wittingly and continued with his business.
Adam said goodbye without knowing exactly what the big guy was talking about; joined Trevor and the girls, and as soon as he crossed the threshold, there were nothing but silhouettes in the darkness, shrouded in clouds of artificial smoke and flashing lights, moving to the rhythm of tribal percussion combined with futuristic sounds.
Mint and Strawberry were easy prey to the music and began to dance as if they were the only ones in the club. Trevor nevertheless… Well, something told Adam that the DJ would have to work hard to win over the ever-dapper businessman.
“No matter how much technology we develop,” Trevor said, “our rituals will continue to rule us. What a disappointment!”
And despite the loud music, Adam heard him well; although of all the comments he had thought to hear coming from his friend, that hadn’t been one of them.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Can’t you see it?” Trevor gestured at the surrounding people. “Change their clothes for animal fur, that mirror ball for a campfire, and lab drugs for hallucinogenic herbs, and you’ll be watching the same scene in a different time period.”
“Ha!” Adam surveyed his surroundings. “Modern Aborigines dancing around an illusory campfire, enraptured by the pounding of electronic drums,” he considered. “Hadn’t seen it that way, but I guess you’re right. Glorious, isn’t it?”
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Primitive, I’d say,” Trevor turned his head. “Doesn’t it terrify you the idea of giving your best in pursuit of new futures, only to find yourself reliving the past? Moving forward is running in circles.”
“Oh, c’mon, Trevor! Still with that BS about new paths and letting go of the past? Weren’t you the one who said that those were the words of a spiteful woman? Also, you run a goddamn company that makes robots, and you don’t see any progress?” He pointed to a Cyclops standing by a door marked PRIVATE not far from them, the red light in his eye, on. “Check that out. Who says that in a few years, you won’t have androids like him dancing on this floor, not just guarding the entrance to Lisandro’s office?”
“Well, that’s not what I meant. I just—”
“Look,” Adam pointed to Mint and Strawberry. “Those two good parishioners need to get back to the rite called modeling, and Priest Lisandro can help them with that. Let’s see him now, and in another time and place, we ramble about the past. What do you say?”
“Ugh! Do I really need to join you guys? Lisandro is…”
“A spoiled little brat, I know,” Adam said. “But look on the bright side, you and he have a lot in common.”
“Are you kidding? What do I have in common with that monster?”
“How about you start with a strong last name and end with powerful business owners?”
“I wouldn’t go that far, Adam. We both inherit things from our parents, true, but that’s it.”
“Things that your parents inherited from theirs, and so on and so forth, for generations,” Adam added. “And you were talking about running in circles?”
“You set the trap, and I fell for it,” Trevor admitted with a smile.
Adam laughed and led his group to the VIP section of the club.
The bouncer guarding the stairs to the VIP area let them through just by seeing Adam was leading the company—no surprises for Trevor there—and they climbed onto a catwalk-like platform that towered over the dance floor. Bars with endless drinks, railings illuminated with black lights, and lots of classy people hanging around.
“Hey! It’s Loud cover-boy!” a young woman said and raised her glass of champagne.
Next to her were about ten people around a table with drinks. Lisandro Carinae was among them, a dark-skinned young man with the body of an athlete and the handsome face of a teen movie star, gray eyes, an almost wicked smile, and a monetary power that none of those present could calculate. Nobody except Trevor, of course.
“What am I seeing? Am I in a board meeting and haven’t noticed?” Lisandro said when he saw Trevor coming. “My, my—It’s no other than Mr. Homam in person… and in a nightclub!”
“Be nice, Lisandro,” Adam laughed. “Don’t make him feel uncomfortable now that I’ve finally gotten him to come out.”
Trevor, somewhat downcast and flushed, greeted everyone from a distance but shook hands with Lisandro.
“Long time, no see.”
“You. Always so sober, huh?” Lisandro said. “When was the last time we saw each other, Trevor?”
“At the opening ceremony for the Carinae IV Tower, about three years ago.”
“Right! I think we’ve just opened our eighth. So yeah, it’s been a while.” Lisandro poured a glass of champagne and passed it to Trevor, then took a sip from his own. “That gala was crucial for me, y’know? My boredom levels were so high that night, I decided to never attend one ever again. Now, I let my siblings handle those things for me.”
“I see that being the living face of squandering within your family is a job you do quite well,” Trevor said without tasting his drink.
Lisandro forced a laugh.
“Can you imagine my snooty brother admitting to being the proud owner of a nightclub? Never!” he commented. “From my family, I’m the one who puts the funny note in business, baby!”
“You and your two cousins,” someone added, and those present seconded the affirmation with whistles of joy, which helped to interrupt the tense exchange between the two young men. Adam, who had witnessed everything feeling fire on his face, now was contemplating the thought that forcing Trevor to come might not have been a good decision after all.
“And speaking of your cousins,” said a young woman; “what time will they come?”
Lisandro put his drink aside and checked his phone.
“Rebecca says she and Cassandra will be here soon,” he announced. “‘Please leave some champagne for us,’ she wrote me.”
Everyone received the news with joy; and that was when Adam knew it was time to take his two female companions and introduce them to Lisandro, creating a kind of a human barrier between him and Trevor.
“Listen, Lisandro, I’ve brought two friends here. Strawberry and Mint,” Adam introduced them. “They were models for another firm and now they are looking for…”