For a Wednesday night the club was surprisingly packed, nearly wall-to-wall with dancing people. The drinks were flowing and the music pumping. VIP was almost full and business was top notch for the night. Darryl sat back at his desk and glanced down at the top floor of the club. The glass windows were tinted so no one but his employees knew where his office was, and the disco ball occasionally shone into the space. He propped his hands behind his head and sighed only to sit bolt upright when a familiar face caught his eye in the corner of the club. Grabbing for his walkie he moved to the large glass panes and watched as his unwelcome guest moved through the crowds, obviously following someone.

“Hey, Jerry, who’s on the door tonight?” he said into the microphone and his head of security responded almost immediately.

“The new kid, Jace.”

“Does he know the banned list yet?”

“He should, why?”

“I’m looking at one of the top people on it.”

“Fuck.” Was the last of Jerry’s replies and the walkie went silent. Darryl knew Jerry would be on another frequency reaming the new kid a new one so the situation was handled. Darryl continued to watch the man creep through his club, his bouncers following him closely, when his eyes caught the couple his unwelcome guest was following. Cursing under his breath he grabbed the walkie again and changed the frequency.

“I want all my bouncers to stand down. I’ll handle this one. Stay by the exits and keep an eye out for anyone who tries to leave through anywhere but the main exit. Keep the police on speed dial and for god’s sake don’t kill anyone. I’ll keep you posted.”

Tucking the walkie onto his belt he made his way toward the office door and down the metal stairs into the back dressing area for his employees. He glanced around to make sure everyone who was supposed to be on break, was, and continued out into the VIP section where his more prestigious guests drank and flirted with his bartenders. He nodded briefly at the two bouncers guarding the two exits and his own cousin standing at the entrance checking wristbands and slipped out and down the stairs into the main club.

As Darryl waded through the throng of dancing people he found the two people he’d been headed towards and reached out, grabbing the closest one by the shoulder. He turned, ready to curse and then stopped, a smile spreading across his face instead.

“D! How are you, man? It’s been forever!”

“Gerard Fucking Way,” he held his arms open and pulled the smaller man into a quick hug. “Good to see you.” The girl he was with spun around when she noticed her boyfriend’s absence from her side and she rushed to them, her familiar long hair hanging loose around her shoulders in dark waves. “Pocahontas,” he nodded with a crooked smile and she hugged him quickly.

“Hi D.”

“What brings you two into my club after so long?” he asked, leaning low so it wasn’t obvious they were speaking to the owner of the club.

Dominica leaned in to whisper in his ear, her hand on his shoulder. “I just needed to get out and clear my head.”

“You know you have a tail, right?”

She nodded and chewed the side of her lip. “I’m also trying to end this shit. I’m leaving New York and I want this crap to end here. I can’t live looking over my shoulder all the time.”

Darryl nodded. “I understand but it can’t happen in my club. Here, take these and head to VIP,” he handed her two wristbands. “My cousin will keep your little shadow out. Hang out in VIP for an hour and then come through to my office. I’ll let the bouncers know what’s going on and we’ll talk in my office, okay.”

“Thanks, D.”

“Anything for my Pocahontas,” he winked and she hugged him again.

“See you in a bit.”

Parting ways, Darryl cut back through the crowd. He took a detour to the main bar to make sure everything was all right up front. His main girl, a tall blonde he’d nicknamed Rapunzel for her waist length locks and big blue eyes, assured him everything was fine-busy-but fine, so he made his way through a side hall only available to his employees and slipped through VIP to his office.

Dominica and Gerard where engrossed in conversation with his cousin both sipping what looked like diet colas and talking with smiles. A fourth person joined them and he was about to grab his walkie when he recognized the curly tresses of Ray Toro. The guitarist looked relieved and Dominica looked furious but they resumed conversation quickly, Gerard leaving to get Ray a drink.

Moving to his desk, Darryl took the quiet time to sit and prop his feet up. He knew that with Dominica came drama. She was a magnet for it. It made him cringe even if he loved her like a little sister. Shaking his head he tossed his walkie on the desk only to frown when it crackled back to life.

“Hey, Boss,” Jerry’s voice echoed in the quiet room. “Uh, I think we’ve got a problem.”

_________________________________________

Dom glared over the edge of her glass at Ray. She’d told him to stay at her apartment with Frank and Nat but of course, he worried and just had to come after them. Now they sat in the VIP lounge of her former place of employment and, of course, she now had three shadows: Ray, Gerard and an unknown member of Luke’s posse. She’d had a feeling he’d somehow slip into the club no matter how many bans were circulated around the scene. Because he was a drug dealer, and a relentless one at that, he had gotten himself banned at almost half the clubs in the city. And he was banned in Darryl’s club because he’d physically violated her in the back alley.

The hair on her arms stood up just remembering that night and she shivered, scooting closer to Gerard. His arm wrapped instinctively around her and she took another sip of her drink. At least two of her shadows were on her side. She needed them close because her gut told her this night was far from over.

“Hey, you okay? You’re shivering,” Gerard muttered into her ear, pulling her from her thoughts.

Dom cleared her throat and smiled. “Yeah, fine. I guess I’m just a little nervous. It’s been a while since I’ve been back here. It’s refreshing and nerve wracking at the same time.”

“Maybe we should go somewhere quieter? That bookshop you liked a few blocks away is open late,” he suggested but she shook her head. Her nerves were already shot and they were just going to get worse.

“No, let’s just stay here. Besides, D wants to talk to us anyway.”

“You’re sure?”

Dom nodded again. “Yes. Let’s go now and get it over with.”

Gerard nodded and stood. “Ray, come with us.”

The group entered the office to find Darryl standing in the middle of the room, a voice echoed around the space and Dom frowned at the familiar sound. It was Jerry. Darryl held his hand up as Gerard closed the door behind them and Dom listened to Jerry on the walkie.

“---think he’s got guys scattered a few blocks over. I don’t know how you want to handle it with them in the club but be advised that they’re not getting far when they leave.”

“Okay. Thank you Jerry, I’ll let you know. They’re here now. We’ll figure something out.”

“What’s going on?” Ray was the first to speak up and Darryl pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed,

“You guys better sit,” he gestured to the chairs by the window and they sat, Darryl resuming his seat behind his desk. He took a moment to gather his words before looking to Dom who sat wide-eyed across from him, her hands wrapped tightly around the arm of her chair.

“You don’t have just one shadow,” he started slowly. “There’s about four or five of Luke’s guys in the club tonight and who knows how many outside. They’re watching the exits. If you leave here tonight, I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Dom nodded and chewed the inside of her cheek. Of course he wouldn’t actually come into the club, that would just be stupid, but lurking until she came out was something Luke was a pro at and she knew what to expect. The only issues were Gerard and Ray. They’d get pulled into it again and she didn’t want to risk them getting hurt when they left.

“I know what you’re thinking and it’s not going to happen,” Gerard interrupted Dom’s thoughts. His eyes were narrowed at her and he reached across and took her hand. “You’re not going to ditch us tonight. You’ll end up dead.”

She opened her mouth to protest but Darryl cut her off. “He’s right. If you leave by yourself tonight, we’ll end up hearing about you tomorrow morning on the news. It’s not happening.”

“Then what the hell am I supposed to do? I can’t stay here forever and I’ll be damned if I let you three get into it. Ray almost ended up in the hospital last time!”

The tears sprang to Dom’s eyes before she could stop them and she cursed. She wasn’t even sad, just frustrated. Wiping at her eyes she blinked a few times and swallowed the lump in her throat. No, this was going to end tonight because she was sick of running. She knew Gerard and the other guys were sick of dealing with it too. So it had to end.

“We can keep an eye on you until you leave. If any of Luke’s guys come within ten feet of you we’ll know,” Darryl tapped his walkie. “Jerry has the cops on call. If Luke even comes close to this place he’s a goner.”

“Yeah, but he’s not that stupid,” Dom muttered. “He might not be the smartest guy but he’s not that dumb. He’s not going to just waltz in here.”

“Well, that’s where you come in, Pocahontas,” he turned to her. “If we want to get this guy we have to get him. You have to wear a tracker so we know where you are when you leave. If he picks you up somewhere we need to know where you are so we can get the police to you before something happens.”

“He looks for them,” Dom stood up, her hand falling from Gerard’s. “Luke has this thing he uses on his boys and new customers that checks for any type of device. Hell he barely accepts cell phones in his presence.”

Darryl rustled through his desk and pulled out the new equipment he’d gotten from a friend. The thing was tiny and hardly noticeable. Dom leaned close to look at it and laughed.

“He’s not gonna fall for the microphone tooth thing, come on. That’s bad spy movie shit right there.”

“Well it’s all we got. And it’s not a microphone, it’s just a GPS chip so cool your jets,” D made his way around the desk and grabbed Dom’s face. She rolled her eyes and loosened her jaw so he could plant the thing in her molar. Her nose scrunched after it was in place and she frowned.

“Either you hands are filthy or this thing tastes like rusty metal. Where did you get this crap anyway? Are you a secret spy or some shit?”

“I have friends in strange places,” Darryl muttered, ignoring the looks from his three guests. Dom stepped away from him and crossed her arms over her chest. She didn’t look pleased at all but he felt better knowing she couldn’t disappear.

“Just let me know when you leave and I’ll turn the tracker on. Don’t worry, kid, you’ll be fine.”

“Fine.” Dom waved him off, stomping out of his office with Gerard and Ray quietly in tow.

Darryl watched the group leave and fell back into his desk chair. He palmed the walkie before tossing it on the desk with a sigh.

“Long fucking night,” he grumbled and sighed when the walkie crackled on again. “Too fucking long.”