Spencer Hastings makes shockingly bad choices. (ctrl_a) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2016-09-27 14:25:00
Who: Spencer ctrl_a and Nikolai vor What: Random Encounter Where: Need/Want When: Mid Septemberish Rating/Warnings: Medium Status: Complete!
This was definitely not the place Spencer was expecting. Hadn’t this been a mini mall? Or an Ethiopian restaurant? Either way, Spencer was pretty sure it wasn’t this. She’d come in looking for a bathroom and found more than she bargained for. Way, way more than she bargained for. Wandering around, Spencer probably looked like a deer in headlights. This place was pretty amazing, actually, as far as design and concept went. Spencer wasn’t sure she needed all the scantily clad women and men, but… well, some of them were pretty pleasant.
~*~
Rare was the occasion someone ventured into The Need/Want without knowing what they were walking themselves into. Discretion included having someone at the door who allowed in only those who looked as if they belonged without any hassle. Nikolai encouraged the doormen to message him on his phone when someone entered who seemed to be an unusual guest of their club.
Hospitality could be extended to anyone with the right amount of money, but hospitality required an exchange of respect.
Respect was earned, not freely given.
"I am thinking you are looking lost, little lamb. I am Nikolai. Tell me: were you invited here by someone or did you stumble in on your own?"
~*~
Spencer Hastings was pretty good at looking like she belonged. The guy at the door didn’t keep her out. He hadn’t paid her much mind, actually, as she moved through the threshold into this place. When someone approached, though, she turned and straightened her spine a little. Her eyes went slightly less wide. Her jaw closed.
“I… I guess I didn’t realize that the building changed hands,” she offered, almost apologetically. Almost. Since she wasn’t exactly apologetic about being here in the first place. “How long has this establishment been here?”
~*~ "I am definitely knowing you are lost. The Need/Want was built from ground," Nikolai gestured with a tattooed finger pointing to the floor then up to the ceiling, "-up. We have been here over a year as of July. No other owner here."
He couldn't help the smirk on his face. Innocence was something so rarely seen by his eyes, Nikolai wondered he could recognize it at all. There was something brash about the girl. She had spirit. In his homeland, that would have made her a target or a prize to be won by the highest bidder. It was here in this new world she was safe as a kitten provoking a tiger through the glass at a zoo.
No one would hurt her here. He was oddly grateful for that knowledge even as he wondered how he should handle her presence in the club.
"Are you 21, little lamb? We only cater to adult needs at The Need/Want."
~*~
“Really? Wow. I guess I was wrong.” Spencer frowned a little. She could have sworn this place was something else when she was in school. But no matter, it was here now, and surely they had a bathroom she could use. That was the main purpose for her visit, anyway. She took a glance around, eyes wandering for the sign that would surely point her to the right facility.
“Hmm? Oh, sure.” She turned her bag to dig around in it, and found her ID card. Of course, it was a fake. But it was a really good fake. Best money could buy, really, since Spencer Hastings was dripping with it. Truth was, she wasn’t quite twenty yet.
She held it out so he could see it, but didn’t offer to give it to him. “...is it possible to use your bathroom? That’s really why I’m here.”
~*~
Nikolai was not a doorman. He did not check IDs or patrol the club looking to police its patrons based on age. They paid other people for these things and he would be speaking with the ones responsible for the lost little lamb looking to use a lavatory in their establishment. The public facilities were not necessarily designed for the purpose of being only for their most obvious uses. These situations were unusual for their business -people wanting innocent purposes from a place where everything except innocence was sold- and Nikolai gestured with his arm out for Spencer to follow him.
"This way. I will take you to private lavatory. Our facilities not necessarily appropriate for you, I am sure. Do not worry. No one will trouble you before you can find your way out again. I will be your personal guide."
He did not explain why he would lead her through the club or offer to let her go alone. She looked too young to be in their establishment which meant she was likely to be much too young. Nikolai was jaded enough to know age was only a number, but this New World had different ways than his home country and they had to abide by those ways if they wished to remain successful. Failure was not an option for them. Success came at a price. The price was negotiating according to foreign terms. Nikolai hoped he could get the girl in and out before she attracted too much attention. The last thing he needed was a customer to think she was there applying for a job.
~*~
“Thank you.” Spencer put the ID card back into her shoulder bag, then zipped it before turning to follow after him. She wasn’t really curious as to why this guy was giving her a personal tour of the place. She knew why. She didn’t exactly fit in here, and she was pretty keen to take care of business and get herself out. It just wouldn’t do for Spencer Hastings to be seen at a place like this. Not that there was anything wrong with a place like this, but Spencer’s mother was probably going to be running for senate in the state of California… not exactly good to have her youngest daughter anywhere near a place … like this.
Spencer followed in silence, thinking maybe she should just go. But now it would be awkward to apologise her way out of this one.
~*~
Nikolai used an electronic keycard to open a panel in the wall where he pressed his thumb to the scanner. It glowed red as its light moved over his thumb to check his print before a portion of the wall clicked open with a soft sound which would likely not be heard over the DJ. No one was looking at them. There were too many other distractions in The Need/Want for Nikolai and one young woman to make much of a ripple in the club's workings.
Holding open the hidden door, he nodded to her, "This is private office area. Security office where I work. There is lavatory straight through the walk. Just past the monitors. It's small with no niceties, but will serve your needs."
~*~
Spencer’s eyebrows rose at the high-tech, hidden wall panel, thumb-print… yadda yadda. It looked like it was out of a spy movie instead of a back room at a… strip club? That’s sort of what this was, right? Burlesque? Spencer didn’t even have the right kind of words to describe what she was seeing.
“Thanks,” she said, giving the man a smile as she moved into the hall. It wouldn’t be hard for her to find the lavatory, and she could just do her business and get out as quickly as possible. “I’ll just be a minute.”
As she walked down the hall she wondered what no niceties meant, and what kind of bathroom she was going to find. Hopefully it would have a toilet and a sink. That’s pretty much all she needed.
~*~
Every aspect of The Need/Want had been taken into consideration during its construction; the security room was designed for Nikolai's needs which were very simple. He had access to every camera in the place, an easy way to slip out into the crowd, a bathroom with no windows for anyone to enter through or escape out of and it was outfitted with a shower stall, sink, and toilet in less space than most walk-in closets in California. For him, it was perfect.
Nikolai had a feeling it would seem too utilitarian for the girl's tastes, but she really should have considered the sound of the club before coming in.
"Take your time. I will be waiting."
Spiders were often blamed for trapping helpless insects in their webs yet Nikolai saw them from the opposite view: if the little winged things were more careful where they flew, they'd not get caught at all, would they?
~*~
Spencer found the bathroom to be small, but clean. She did her business, washed her hands, then came back out only a minute later. Maybe two. She was dusting slightly damp hands on her pants.
“Thank you,” she added, making her way back out into the club. This place seemed interesting, but she was… well, not all that comfortable. The sooner she got out, the better.
~*~
"Of course," Nikolai nodded to her, an acknowledgement of her courtesy while returning courtesy in kind.
Vor had manners. They simply had different manners than what Americans would consider typical.
Offering her the option to proceed him, he said, "After you and I will see to it you are on your way unharmed for your adventure."
Nikolai didn't need to know what kind of girl this one was or where she came from or who her parents were or anything else at all. The look in her eyes had been enough to tell him she was not one for their establishment. He made certain she got to the front door without anyone touching her or offering her anything all while managing to look as if they were only walking together.
It was a balancing act he played with his role as enforcer at the club; Nikolai was very good at maintaining balance.
"Farewell, little lamb. Perhaps you come see us again when you are older, da? Or perhaps you find a place more fitting for your tastes. I am thinking the latter is better. This is not a place I see in your future unless your choices---not so good."
He tapped the side of his nose to indicate case-in-point before motioning to the doorman to let her out. She could fade away into the night safe as a firefly being loosed from a jar. No one would be the wiser. Nikolai had already been careful enough with her to ensure she wouldn't have to worry about her visit being called up in the wrong person's memory. When he escorted someone, it tended to become all about watching him. That was part of what made him effective: he was the one who everyone watched when he walked into a room.
Nikolai hoped the girl found herself lost in a more favorable environment next time because she had a look to her which could also command attention and that was rarely good for a girl out on her own.
Lessons were meant to be learned he supposed. Perhaps she'd learned one this night. Perhaps not. Regardless she was no longer his problem and Nikolai had work to do as he melted back into the sidelines of the club, always watching, always waiting, always willing to do whatever was necessary for the honor of his charge.