Max led them to the speakeasy attached to the address they'd found in the whorehouse. The place was undeniably abandoned. It was obvious before they'd even gotten close enough to the building to see the boarded up windows. Nobody had realized that it was a speakeasy until Rob found the secret entrance. Then, putting two and two together, the three of them figured it out, why a building would have a secret entrance. And why the door to that entrance would be reinforced so heavily.
Johnny insisted that he go first into the darkness. He decided to let the other two think it was bravado and wanting to get to Mary as soon as possible. Really, he thought that if anybody decided to start shooting, or if there were any boobytraps set up, it would be far better if things happened to him than either of his companions.
Oddly enough, and a thing that was unsettling, nothing but quiet greeted him. He even stood there for a couple of heartbeats, waiting. With a shrug, he realized that nothing was going to happen, and stuck his head back out to tell them everything was clear.
The dust was inches thick. There were still items laying around from when the place had been functional, and Johnny had to wonder if there was still contraband liquor in the casks set behind the bar. It seemed foolish to him to let anything go to waste. But maybe they'd been cleared out by some means that didn't allow for free booze all around. The boys left foot trails in the grime on the floor, and there were more than a few cobwebs for all of them to walk through. Johnny thought Rob might envy him and Max their hats because of that. If not just outright envying them because they were excellent hats.
They found the missing hooker first and easily. The room she was occupying was right up front, with no door on it. And she was making a good deal of noise. The state of her, though, wasn't great. It made Johnny's stomach drop. Was Mary silent because she was stronger than this woman? Or was she silent because she was already gone?
"Take care of her." He said, low enough so only they would hear him. "I'm going to find Mary."